I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 238 Hundreds of thousands of Space Marines gathered together? Not a big deal.

The atmosphere in the round table meeting room of the High Lords' Council in Holy Terra was as heavy as lead.

"What is Calgar doing! What are the Ultramarines doing!" The Inquisition representative slammed a glove encased in power armor onto the ancient black stone table, the impact echoing with a dull thud. His voice reverberated beneath the magnificent dome, filled with barely suppressed rage. "How could they do this? How dare they do this!"

Around the round table, the other eight most powerful figures in the empire reacted in various ways. The Pope of the State Religion's lips curled into a faint, cold smile; the Grand Instructor of the Assassin's Court's face was filled with sarcasm; while the Abbot of the Star Language Court seemed detached and indifferent... Of course, what was most prevalent was the lingering weariness that permeated the air.

It should be noted that the reason the court representative spoke so loudly was not to intimidate others. In the Highlords' Council of Terra, who wasn't a cunning old fox with centuries of experience? Such childish tactics as bluffing were utterly useless here.

The real reason was that the massive, heavily modified body of the Martian Forging General sitting opposite him not only occupied nearly half of the conference room, but its complex life support system and power core also continuously emitted tremendous noise. Unless one shouted loudly, no one else could hear him.

"So, what do you intend to do?" Pope Eos Ritra of the State Church spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice elegant yet sharp. "Immediately send a strongly worded letter of condemnation to Macragge, denouncing their actions, and then wait with hope that those hundreds of thousands of Space Marines will have a change of heart after reading the letter, lay down their weapons in tears, and line up obediently to accept the judgment of your Inquisition?"

The court representative's face flushed red, and he shouted, "Of course we would not use such a weak method—we never would!"

“The Emperor!” Ritra’s eyes widened dramatically, as if he had heard something out of the blue. “You’re not planning to… take on hundreds of thousands of fully armed Space Marines by force, are you?”

These words instantly roused everyone in the previously drowsy conference room. The Minister of the Interior was the first to jump up from his seat, his slightly overweight face filled with terror as he sharply objected, "No! Absolutely not! If a war really breaks out, the tax revenue of the five hundred worlds of Alteramar... no, the entire eastern part of the galaxy will be wiped out for the next hundred years!"

“To be honest, this is no big deal at all,” the Grand Master of the Assassin’s Court said in a calm tone, as if discussing what to have for dinner. “It’s probably just that your Inquisition has gone too far lately, and the Astartes have decided to throw a tantrum. Send someone to appease them and make some concessions, and this should be the end of it.”

“Yes, we should be discussing more important matters,” Abbot Xingyuting yawned, smacked his lips, and looked around with his cloudy eyes. “For example, I’ve finished my cookies, why haven’t the new ones been served yet?”

"If a war really breaks out, there's no need to worry about the military industry," the Mars Forging General's booming voice, processed by a synthesizer, rang out. "Mars has the capacity to take on all orders."

The tribunal representative, looking at the group of dignitaries, was burning with rage; he felt his blood boiling: "This is the most important matter! Hundreds of thousands of Space Marines have gathered here; if we're not careful, it could be a second Great Rebellion!"

"Oh, so you intend to send them all on a crusade of atonement to prove their loyalty?" The Pope of the State Church remained unmoved, elegantly folding his hands. "My dear representative, you must understand, these are not some newly formed warbands that we can easily manipulate. Each of them has a history and deep roots that predate most of us, and they are now banding together! What makes you think they will obey a single command you issue?"

Ritra paused, then added, “Also, I haven’t heard any rumors that the Space Marines have abandoned the Imperial Ascension Cult. On the contrary, my reports indicate that Chapter Clerics have played a crucial role in this war, and their shared faith in the Emperor is one of the major reasons they have been able to unite. Calgar is already considering building more churches within Altramor and even increasing the proportion of Chapter Clerics to expand and solidify the Imperial faith.” “I haven’t heard anything about Calgar planning an armed resistance to taxes,” the Minister of the Interior shrugged indifferently. “They’ve been very proactive in filing their taxes this year; the tax forms were handed to me not long ago, and the amounts are even significantly higher than in previous years.”

The Forging General's mechanical eyes flickered, emitting a low chuckle like the turning of gears: "Now that you mention it, I suddenly remember. The number of Space Marines scheduled to come to Mars for technical training next time is significantly higher than in previous years. Quite a coincidence, isn't it? Hahahaha."

"Oh, thank you." Abbot Xingyuting took a plate of delicate cookies from the navigator ambassador behind her, picked up a cookie, and put it in her mouth, crunching it out.

“Eat less sweets,” the Navigator Ambassador said, settling into his seat. “I don’t want you to die before me from chewing cookies at the High Lords’ meetings every day. Until you elect a new abbot, I’ll take over your job.”

The anger in the court representative's heart cooled rapidly, as if doused with ice water, by this series of words. He calmed down and finally realized why these old foxes were all so fearless—Calga was clever; he had actively expressed his willingness to negotiate and compromise to every faction. This was true in all aspects, including faith, taxation, and technology. If he truly wanted to rebel, he would never have done so.

Of course, the main reason is that there are simply too many Space Marines, hundreds of thousands of them, so many that no one dares to easily accuse them of rebellion.

"In any case, a delegation should be sent to conduct the review!" The court representative made the final and only concession.

“That makes sense,” Ritra was the first to nod in agreement. “Why don’t you have your court take the lead? We can just send someone to supervise.”

"Agreed," the Minister of the Interior immediately echoed.

“Good suggestion,” said the Grand Instructor of the Assassin Court.

“Well said.” The synthesized voice of the Forging General hummed.

"Hmph," the court representative snorted coldly, sitting down again, "I wouldn't trust you with this!"

“So hurry up, next topic,” the Grand Master of the Assassin’s Court impatiently tapped the table. “We’ve already wasted too much time on this trivial matter. I don’t want to only get one Terran hour of sleep today.”

(End of this chapter)