Warhammer: Don't Call Me the God of All Machines

Chapter 38 A new storm has emerged
A new command center was established on the remaining orbital platform, and the urgently summoned Ultramarines and mortal staff quickly took action based on the orders issued by the Primarch.

The journey from the docking port to the Primarch's command room is not far, only about twenty minutes.

Roche followed Ventanus onto the orbital platform, where the low gravity allowed him to travel farther with each step.

Astartes holding promethium flamethrowers were everywhere. They burned all the bodies and belongings left behind by the Word Bearers, and then special robot servants would collect the burnt ashes for centralized processing.

"This is a way to eliminate the contamination of the warp. According to the intelligence we know, if mortals come into contact with the items they left behind, unknown corruption events are very likely to occur."

"The war on Calth has taught us many things that are difficult to explain with the Imperial Truth. We must continue to learn and improve our concepts."

Ventanus said that Roche noticed that the indomitable captain was more relaxed than before, perhaps because of the end of the large-scale battle, or perhaps because of the injection of a large amount of sedatives and healing potions.

"What's the situation on the ground like?"

"Everyone is evacuating underground. The stellar radiation on the surface is increasing rapidly. Mortals without protective gear won't survive even a minute." Ventanus sighed.

"Living underground is at least better than dying in agony."

The two soon arrived at Guilliman's temporary command post. Several honor guards, still smelling of gunpowder, were standing guard at the door. Their eyes were sharp and their weapons were kept ready at all times.

After confirming his identity, Luo Xi entered the command center on this floor which was converted from the orbital dock command tower.

The Ultramarines Lord, without his armor and with his chest bare, was now sitting on an iron chair, and the legion's apothecary was treating the Primarch's wounds: those horrific injuries caused by psychic energy.

"You came."

Even when sitting on the chair, Guilliman was much taller than Roche who was standing. He regained his usual calm and friendly appearance and nodded in a friendly manner.

"It looks like you have won. Congratulations."

Luo Xi looked carefully at Roboute, who was wearing the laurel wreath of victory. His facial features were three-dimensional as if they were carved by an axe or a knife. His pair of blue eyes were sincere and honest, allowing people to see what he was thinking.

The Lord of the Ultramarines' hair had some signs of being burned, but it only looked more heroic against the backdrop of the laurel wreath.

"My friend, it was not you, but us. It was you who brought those veterans from Isstvan V to deliver the crucial intelligence, buying us the most precious reaction time."

Guilliman shook his head, pointing out the error in Roche's words.

Upon hearing this, Luo Xi burst into laughter. It seemed that this Primarch really valued a nobody like him.

He recalled the records he found in Calth's database. The Primarch of the XIII Legion was born on Macragge, a world with a Senate and two Archons.

And the Primarch's adoptive father, Connor, was assassinated by another consul.

History repeated itself with an astonishing coincidence ten thousand years later, which surprised Luo Xi a little.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like a space Roman? With all due respect, this is indeed very similar to the Rome I remember."

Roche stared at Guilliman for a long time. Even when the Primarch was wondering if there was something foreign on his head, Roche suddenly laughed.

"Your father must have shaped you and your legion with reference to Rome."

"If you mean the ancient kingdom that existed in Terra's distant past, then I should know something about it." Guilliman was not annoyed by Roche's mention of the Emperor. "Can you tell me about your origins?"

Roche, male, unknown age, was first seen on Istvaan V, where he rescued the veterans in a starship that appeared to be from the Golden Age.

The warriors did not conceal the information that Guilliman had obtained from the Iron Hands and the Raven Guard.

Humanity has long lost too many records of the distant past, and even Guilliman knows very little about that glorious era. Only the remaining historical books on Macragge and the extraordinary technology can give people a glimpse into the past.

At this moment, facing a person who was most likely from that era and standing in front of him, Guilliman also showed patience and tolerance.

"I am just a remnant from the distant past. At that time, humans did not have the ability to leave their home planet and could only imagine what the universe and the starry sky really looked like." Luo Xi sighed and recalled the past years.

At that time, humans knew nothing about the darkness of the universe and were even naive enough to keep sending signals to the starry sky, trying to find traces of other life.

When humans really found extraterrestrial life, brutal wars followed. After continuous expansion, humans gained sufficient living space and owned territories covering most of the galaxy.

"Then what are you going to do? Coming from the past to the future, you must have your own mission." Guilliman continued to ask.

He was observing the micro-expressions and body language of the person in front of him. His ears could even hear the sound of heartbeats and distinguish truth from lies from the heartbeats.

"I am just an executor of the plan. You don't have to worry about my intentions. My only mission is to prevent the extinction of mankind. I must continue human civilization."

All he said was true, Guilliman confirmed in his mind.

"You mean to say that humanity is now on the brink of destruction?" the Primarch asked. "Yes, I slept in stasis for ten thousand years. During this time, humanity's Golden Age ended, and the years that followed were what you call the Dark Age of Technology."

Before Luo Xi communicated with those Space Marines, he thought that the Dark Technology Age that humans now call is the Golden Age, but after comparative analysis, he was convinced that the era he arrived at was by no means the so-called Dark Technology Age.

Human civilization in the Golden Age is enlightened and still maintains the pioneering and enterprising spirit since the colonization of the galaxy. Human civilization as a whole remains rational and progressive.

The era when technology was abused, all kinds of technological lunatics were rampant, and human genetic sequences were frantically modified was the real dark technological age. Although the golden people who could transform themselves without any scruples raised human civilization to its peak, they also lost the most important humanity.

"According to some information I got, at the end of the Dark Age of Technology, the most reliable Iron Man launched a rebellion. After the rebellion was ended, humans entered an era of strife where communication with each other was cut off, but I still haven't woken up."

"The Red Alert's computing power is sufficient to calculate the general direction of the future. It has determined that humanity is currently experiencing a disaster more dangerous than the Iron Man Rebellion."

"That's really bad news." Guilliman did not seem very depressed, or perhaps his depression had already been exhausted in the war.

Three legions were completely destroyed, the Word Bearers' goal was roughly achieved, the XIII Legion suffered heavy losses, more than half of its fleet was destroyed, and most of the power of the legion that the Warmaster feared the most was crippled. Guilliman lost too much on this day.

"What are your next plans? Will you continue on to Terra or stay in the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar?"

Guilliman looked at Roche and realized that this was a great opportunity. The starship had a large number of backups of ancient technology, and he could use that technology to create a more terrifying army.

"I believe in the results of my intelligent computer's calculations. Humanity is now in a desperate situation. I wanted to leave after delivering the information to you. Every minute and every second of staying on the battlefield is dangerous."

"Although the destructive power shown in this war is not enough to pose a threat, the possibility still exists."

Roche's words sounded very harsh, and Guilliman realized that this man had almost no sense of identity or belonging to the human empire.

In other words, he is not exactly the same as humans today.

The reason why he was willing to lend a helping hand in the Battle of Calth was probably mostly because both sides were human.

"I will continue my mission to continue human civilization. Maybe I will go to Earth and take another look at my hometown. Then I will stay away from the war, or maybe leave the galaxy. In short, I must ensure that my ship is in a safe environment."

Roche could hear the meaning of Guilliman's words to keep him, but he had to consider the risks of staying here. The Ultramarines' Ultramar 500 Worlds were located in the eastern part of the Milky Way, not very far from the human home planet.

If the Warmaster Horus wanted to betray his father, he would have to capture Terra and destroy all resistance forces in the galaxy.

If he stayed on the Five Hundred Worlds, everything he had built here would be destroyed once Horus achieved final victory.

In the vast universe, the power of an individual is too small. Even if he reproduces the technology stored on the Red Alert, he does not have the confidence to fight against a galactic-scale human empire, especially since this newly born human empire is a puppet of some malicious existence in the subspace.

Supporting behind the scenes are the malicious gods in the subspace, and no one knows how terrifying their power is.

Are the madness and eventual destruction of the Dark Technological Age inextricably linked to the will of the subspace?
"In your eyes, the sacred mission you were given: to continue the flame of mankind, is to let you drive this ship that contains the miracle of human wisdom to escape? Escape from the galaxy, escape from the homeland of mankind?"

Guilliman's tone was heavy, expressing a completely different opinion.

"I cannot agree with this. You are actually shirking your responsibilities by doing this."

"Perhaps your ship will be able to locate itself without relying on the light of the Astronomican, and thus sail out of the dark edge of the Milky Way. If you are lucky enough, you may be able to settle down in an undiscovered galaxy and rebuild human civilization."

Guilliman stood up, his height reached nearly four meters, and Roche only felt like there was a wall in front of him.

"But what about the billions of suffering humans in the galaxy? Are they your victims? If everyone dies, and only the spark you protect remains, what's the point?"

"There is a saying in ancient Terra that goes, 'If the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached?'"

"Although a civil war has broken out among humans, things have not deteriorated to the point where they cannot be reversed. Please give humans some confidence. You know that you have the ability to do so."

The pressure from the Primarch was enormous, and Roche could feel Guilliman's voice buzzing in his head.

"What right do you have to accuse me? I know you hate artificial intelligence, and most of the technology on my ship relies on artificial intelligence to operate. Why should I trust you and believe that you won't destroy my ship after obtaining enough technology?"

After hearing Roche's answer, Guilliman understood why the other party was so resistant to cooperation.

The Empire's absolute vigilance towards artificial intelligence made Luo Xi unable to let down his guard.

He knew that it would be difficult to eliminate the gap between the two parties with words alone, but he had to do it to gain Luo Xi's trust.

Guilliman said, waving his hand: "My friend, perhaps you can no longer leave now. A rapidly intensifying warp storm is approaching, and the entire Five Hundred Worlds have lost contact with the outside world. I think in the face of a storm of this magnitude, even your ship from the Golden Age will find it difficult to leave."

The Word Bearers not only inflicted heavy damage to the Ultramarines, they also used this opportunity to perform a massive ritual. The Warp storm was raging, and long-distance Warp navigation and communication became impossible at this moment.

"Give me some time, and I will prove that the Five Hundred Worlds can tolerate your existence, including your ship." Guilliman said solemnly, "In the name of the Emperor, in the name of the Lord of the Five Hundred Worlds, I swear."

(End of this chapter)