Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monsters

Chapter 504 The State Religion, Rhodes' Identity, and the New Scriptures

At this moment, cheers erupted from the crowd, a roar of jubilation. This was the Emperor's decree: the Emperor had appointed the Second Primarch as the Crown Prince of the Empire, and the Empire now had an heir.

At the same time, all the Spirit Speakers of Holy Terra also sent out Spirit Communication messages to all the planets in the Holy Frontiers of the various Empires.

The news was announced to everyone! The emperor had an heir, and the empire had a crown prince.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the great Crown Prince Rhodes!"

"Rejoice! People of the Empire, this moment belongs to all mankind." The Emperor's avatar raised the golden greatsword high, unleashing a beam of light that shot straight into the sky.

The golden light illuminated the entire sky of Holy Terra, then transformed into golden raindrops that fell upon those who received them. Those who received the raindrops felt more powerful, and some minor ailments were cured.

This is a psychic technique used by the Emperor to heal minor injuries and illnesses in ordinary people and make them feel more comfortable.

"By the Divine Emperor, this is a gift bestowed upon us by the Divine Emperor."

"Thank you for the divine emperor's blessing!" Countless citizens of the empire knelt on the ground and began to pray.

The most bewildered people at this moment were the members of the state religion, because the state religion believed in a single God, and this single God was the Emperor himself. Even the universal god Om Messiah was now just an incarnation of the Emperor in the doctrines of the state religion.

Now that the Emperor has appointed a Crown Prince, what is the status of this Crown Prince? And this matter is a little inappropriate! The other Primarchs are all the Emperor's biological sons, his children of the gods.

However, this Primarch named Rhodes was not the Emperor's son, and he never even called the Emperor "father."

His only connection to the Emperor was his wife, but strictly speaking, his wife was not of the Emperor's bloodline, but rather the Emperor's goddaughter, just like those battle nuns.

However, Elena holds a very important position among the fighting nuns, and even among the women of the female empire, so she has been a key figure in the propaganda of the state religion in recent years.

Elena's identity also changed to that of the emperor's lost daughter, and she was no longer a commoner.

Of course, only the country's top leaders know the truth, and the state religion is even actively downplaying the matter.

But now that the Emperor has announced his successor, how will Lord Rhodes be placed? How will his status within the state church be defined?

The Son of God? Then is he the second god? The second god of the empire?
This is an extremely complex issue; if not handled properly, it could shake the very foundation of the state religion. The concept of a single God is fundamental to the existence of the state religion; the emperor is the only true God.

If this truth is shaken, then all the scriptures within the state religion must be overturned and rewritten.

If anyone else had said such things, or even if Rhodes wanted to become the crown prince of the empire, the country would have jumped out without hesitation to condemn him as a heretic!
The problem is that this was spoken by the Emperor himself; it was the Emperor's decree, the decree of the Divine Emperor, and it could not be disobeyed.

So, a thorny problem arises: they must revise the doctrine, and some of the higher-ups in the state religion are well aware of where this doctrine, the classic texts of the state religion, comes from.

The return of the Emperor and many Primarchs confirmed the suspicions of the high-ranking members of their state religion: the classics they studied were indeed written by that traitor.

“Your Excellency, perhaps we should revise the deal, since the doctrines we are currently studying were written by that heretic,” a state priest said.

Looking at the cheering crowd before him, he knew very well that soon this news would cause a huge uproar in the empire, and if their state religion could not provide a reasonable explanation, there would be enormous problems.

"I already know about this! You must remember that our state religion serves the Emperor. The great God-Emperor has already issued his decree, so all we need to do is acknowledge it."

We have no intention of tampering with the classics, but the only God-Emperor has already said that there are problems with the classics, so we only need to modify this part.

"From today onwards, Lord Rhodes is the son of the God-Emperor, the heir to the Empire. That's all we need to say in public pronouncements." The Archbishop said after a moment's thought.

Lord Rhodes actually has a good relationship with the state religion. Because of his wife and the suppression of the Martian Mechanicus, he was elevated to the status of a god. This was not too difficult for the country and was also beneficial to the development of the state religion.

“I understand, Archbishop. When I return, I will summon all the high-ranking assistants and have them come together to compile the classics,” the accompanying priest nodded and said.

“You don’t need to handle this matter. You’re just a priest. We bishops will take care of it. After this investiture ceremony is completed, I will personally go to see Lord Rhodes,” said the Archbishop of the State Church.

If necessary, His Highness Rhodes' two offspring would also be excellent targets, and could be brought into the propaganda of the state religion.

Besides the state religion, the imperial nobles also had some military power, although they had some opinions about it.

But now that the Emperor has returned and the Primarchs have returned, they can't make any waves even if they don't want to!
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Rhodes waved to them and then entered the palace with his wife and two sons.

Upon entering the palace, Rhodes instructed his servants to take his two sons to the banquet hall, while he and Guilliman went to meet the Emperor. "Was this really necessary? He didn't even give me a heads-up beforehand, and just made me the second Emperor and Crown Prince of the Empire. Did the other Primarchs agree to this?" Rhodes asked.

Although the Emperor had mentioned this to him before, and even expressed it to Rhodes on several occasions, to be honest, Rhodes wasn't very interested in the position of the Empire's second Emperor.

Rather than being an emperor, it would be more important to develop one's own strength, transcend this universe, and become a true multi-life form.

“This is the result of discussions between my father, my other brothers, and me. You are the most suitable candidate, after all, you have children,” Guilliman said.

Although Rhodes once said that he could also give their wives a cosmic beast or a super beast transformation so that their wives could also give birth to real offspring.

But the question is, among all the Primarchs, who is qualified to be the second Imperial Emperor? If Rhodes is not an option, then Saint Gilles is the most suitable candidate, followed by Guilliman.

Now that this position has fallen into their laps, will the other gene originators accept it?

"Don't worry, Rhodes. The other Primarchs all agree that you are the most suitable successor to the Empire of Man. It is with your help that the Empire of Man is where it is today."

If it weren't for you, humanity would already be extinct by now.

"And I have been forced to rise from the golden throne, the entire human race has perished." The Emperor's voice came from afar.

On the golden throne, the emperor remained as gaunt as ever, and Magnus stood beside him.

If Rhodes hadn't retrieved all the Primarchs, and if Rhodes hadn't brought that faster-than-light engine!
If it weren't for Rhodes bringing all sorts of new equipment, and if it weren't for Rhodes's last appearance in Holy Terra, we might have already fallen!
Therefore, from any perspective, Rhodes' importance is self-evident; he basically saved all the other Primarchs.

Even Vulcan only sent the God of Laughter to rescue him because of Rhodes.

All the other Primarchs returned because of Rhodes, and everyone owes Rhodes a huge favor.

Most importantly, everyone understands Rhodes's character; he is not a cruel ruler, nor a tyrant.

Moreover, he will not sit on the throne of the empire for long; one day he will pass it on to his son. The supreme throne of mankind should not always be occupied by one person.

Having a family is the best choice. Moreover, Rhodes now has a child with the Elven goddess who is about to be born. What attitude this child will have towards humans and Elven races after birth are all questions.

Therefore, it is essential to ensure that Rhodes firmly stands on the side of the Luo Empire, and even directly becomes the master of the empire.

The Primarch of the Regene, after discussing with the Emperor, decided on this matter, and it would be done when the Unyielding Expedition ended.

Rhodes will return to Holy Terra for his coronation ceremony, officially becoming the second emperor of the empire.

The Emperor himself can then focus more intently on dealing with the Dark Lord, the greatest threat to all life in the universe.

“Since that’s the case, and you’ve all put it this way, then I’ll accept it without hesitation! I accept the position of Crown Prince of the Empire.” Rhodes took a deep breath and nodded to the Emperor.

“That’s right, Rhodes, this is the you I know. There’s something I need to discuss with the people of the State Church about the new scriptures,” the Emperor said.

It would be better to let Rhodes, the person directly involved, discuss this matter with the nation. From this moment on, a portion of the faith of all humanity will also converge on Rhodes.

“I already have a suitable candidate for this matter,” Rhodes said with a smile.

There is someone more suitable for things like missionary work and scripture writing.

Besides him, is there a more suitable candidate for Luo Jia?

"Oh? Who is this talent you're talking about?" the emperor asked.

“Luojia!” Rod said.

"???" Emperor.

“???” Guilliman.

“???” Magnus.

(End of this chapter)