Warhammer: Primarch's Life from the Beginning

After saying these words, the Pope was helped away by his servants.

The palace fell silent, leaving only Kara and the nuns in place, awaiting orders. They knelt quietly, heads bowed, hands on their weapons, their breathing barely audible, like a row of statues standing beside an altar. Even the most composed nuns, having just witnessed the holy light emanating from Leo, had not yet fully recovered from the heaving of their chests.

Leo glanced at them and raised his hand.

"Get up, all of you. Stop kneeling."

The nuns rose in a swift and orderly fashion, their movements swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Leo looked at Kara, curiously examining her black power armor and red fabric and cloak.

"So you're all mine now."

Kara smiled slightly, a very faint smile that softened the chilling aura of a battle nun.

"Not only us, Your Highness. According to the State Church, all the nuns are under your command, and they will respond to your call whenever you give the order."

Leo raised an eyebrow, nodded, and didn't continue the conversation. He turned and walked out. He didn't want to stay in this palace any longer; the corrupt atmosphere outside the palace was like a thorn in his side, and he had to see for himself.

Kara exclaimed "Eh," seemingly surprised by Leo's sudden departure, and immediately led her people to follow.

"Your Highness, are you going out?"

"Yes, just wandering around."

"Please allow us to travel together."

"I originally planned to go alone."

"That won't do." Kara's reply was gentle, but her attitude showed no sign of backing down. "Given your current status, it's not appropriate for you to go out alone late at night."

Leo could tell that this was her most tactful way of putting it, so he didn't insist anymore, ignored them, and tacitly allowed them to follow.

.

.

Along the way, the guards on duty in the palace corridors would immediately lower their heads when they saw Leo. A few couldn't help but raise their eyes, but their gazes would immediately shift away once they met his face. As Leo walked, he thought to himself that his understanding of Warhammer from his previous life was limited to the major events in the chronicles, and he didn't actually know much about the intricate systems within the Empire.

He asked Carla without turning his head.

"There was no state religion in my time. Tell me, what kind of armed forces does the state religion have now?"

Kara followed behind him on his left, her voice steady.

"Basically, it's us."

"The cause was the great blasphemer Van Diehl from the apostate era several thousand years ago. The Church of England was later stripped of its right to possess a fleet and a frigate army. This ban continues to this day, but the legitimacy of the fighting nuns has been preserved. Therefore, the Church of England's main armed force today is the Sisters of the Cleric."

Leo listened, then asked with interest.

"Then where will you recruit women? Does the Empire have that many suitable women?"

"Your Highness, the state religion has established Loyal Succession Academy in various worlds of the empire, where most of us grew up."

Kara continued.

"In addition, there are the Death Worshippers, as well as the Crusaders composed of church militia and pilgrims, who respond to calls in many war zones. If the situation is special, local parishes will also temporarily organize defensive forces, but their combat strength and discipline are hard to compare with the Sisters."

She thought for a moment, then added another sentence.

"The Black Church has many dealings with the State Church, and they are very close to the faith, but theoretically, they do not belong to the State Church's influence."

Leo simply hummed in agreement.

Kara glanced at his retreating figure, her brow furrowing slightly beneath her white hair. She mistakenly thought Leo felt the power was insufficient, and a pang of guilt stirred within her. After all, he was the son of the God-Emperor, the Primarch; if he truly desired to command an army powerful enough to pacify the galaxy, the Sisters' resources did indeed seem meager.

"Your Highness, do you think it's too little?"

Leo didn't stop walking, but he almost lost his composure on his face.

Too little?

In his mind, this was enough, more than enough. Adding to what the Pope had said earlier, the state church's power was actually greater than he had previously imagined, and it had far more cards to play than he had anticipated. The revival of the empire couldn't be accomplished with passion and empty words alone; if he truly wanted to move forward, he should start planning early.

He suppressed his excitement and replied with only one sentence.

"No, I was thinking about something else."

After walking for a while, Leo suddenly stopped and looked back at the group of nuns who had been following him. They stood under the corridor lights, their expressions serious, their eyes pure, as if they were truly gazing upon some kind of miracle.

Leo looked at Kara.

What is your view on emperors?

Kara's heart suddenly clenched. Her first reaction wasn't doubt, but a test. The Primarch wouldn't ask such a question for no reason, especially not at a time like this; a wrong answer could mean death. She raised her head, staring intently at Leo, her voice filled with conviction.

"His light will illuminate the pure heart, and His holy seal will respond to the call of my soul. Your Highness, your might will resound throughout the Empire. Even darkness cannot conceal sin and heresy, and our bullets will carry out your holy will."

Leo looked at her but didn't speak immediately.

Then he slowly began to speak.

"If I want humanity to once again dominate the galaxy, and for emperors to once again roam the earth, what will you do then?"

After he finished speaking, the corridor fell silent for a moment.

The next moment, Kara and the nun behind her simultaneously knelt on one knee, their movements so synchronized as if they had rehearsed it countless times. Kara lowered her head, her eyes showing no hesitation whatsoever.

"If that is what Prince Leo desires, we are willing to abandon our own flesh and blood as a stepping stone to the Holy Land."

Leo looked at them without any emotion.

These women's loyalty to the Emperor was utterly genuine, but the more loyal they were, the more they used their faith to push the Emperor on the throne in another direction. That faith was slowly killing the Emperor's humanity, and even Leo himself was at risk of death.

How ironic!

Ironically, these mortals did nothing wrong; they simply loved the emperor and protected humanity in their own way.

Leo turned around, his voice very low.

Get up.

He must find a solution to change this absurd situation.

.

.

Outside the palace, in a cellar in the slums, candlelight flickered, casting the shadows of the nearby crowd on the wall.

A group of raggedly dressed people surrounded the wooden crates, their expressions wary, yet their hands moved hastily. The merchant who brought the goods was sweating profusely, rubbing his hands back and forth, his eyes constantly glancing at the crates. All he knew was that these people had asked him to bring a batch of sacred artifacts from another star sector, and the reward was astonishingly high, high enough to shut him up and not ask where they came from.

"I've taken a huge risk," the merchant said in a low voice. "The checks around the palace are getting tighter and tighter, so you'd better not make me come all this way for nothing."

He looked around at the strange people who were behaving oddly and muttering something under their breath.

A person comforted him in a hoarse voice.

"Of course not, you did a great job. Just hand over the things to us and you can leave."

The merchant then bent down and opened the box.

Inside were intricately carved skulls and blood sealed in a container. The merchant looked at these things with a hint of awe. He couldn't distinguish between the sacred objects of the Imperial State Religion and other evil artifacts; in his eyes, they were all bones, blood, and valuable goods.

The next moment, the person in the shadows moved.

Behind the object, on the wall, and on the roof beams, a group of agents pounced simultaneously. They struck relentlessly, short sticks and knife handles smashing into joints, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the cellar, which erupted in screams of agony. The cultists were pinned to the ground, their limbs all broken, and the merchant was forced face-to-face, his teeth bleeding from the impact.

In their field of vision, the agents' weapons and the insignia of the Inquisition at their waists became increasingly glaring.

Oh no, we've been caught red-handed.

The cultists struggled fiercely, their voices trembling with fanaticism as they began to pray in hushed tones. Their severed limbs twitched, bones bulged against flesh, and blood vessels and tendons twisted beneath the skin, showing signs of breaking free from their restraints.

Just then, a cold voice came from above.

"The Holy Land of the Divine Emperor will not allow such blasphemous things to appear."

A young woman walked down the steps leading to the cellar entrance, the hem of her clothes brushing against the steps. Her steps were slow, but her presence carried an oppressive aura that silenced everyone.

A dark gray stand-up collar long coat with a military-style feel, featuring green trim and gold embellishments on the shoulders, and fitted cuffs adorned with the insignia of the Holy Hammer Inquisition.

She looked at the mutating cult members without any change in expression, only raising her chin slightly, and a response came from behind her.

"As you wish, Judge Catherine."

Several holy judges in long robes descended from behind her. They wore pure white bird-beak masks, their robes adorned with marks of purity and transcribed copies of sacred words, and their staffs were decorated with human skulls and sacred books.

They formed a circle and simultaneously slammed their staffs on the ground.

A wave of pressure immediately descended.

The cult members let out a shrill scream as the mutations on their bodies were forcibly reversed. Their swollen limbs began to atrophy, and their twisted flesh slowly collapsed.

Catherine drew her fusible pistol from her waist, her tone even quite relaxed.

"Come on, tell me, where is your headquarters?"

The cult members stared at her intently, their eyes bloodshot, spewing vulgarities.

"You're dreaming! You bunch of fakes..."

"Bang! Bang bang!"

Before they could finish speaking, several gunshots rang out, turning their heads into charred, broken pieces.

Catherine casually tossed the molten pistol to the person next to her, as if she had just gotten rid of a few pieces of unsightly trash.

"Take that merchant back and interrogate him severely. Destroy the filth in the box on the spot."

After she finished speaking, she turned and walked out. Immediately behind her came the businessman's desperate cries, repeatedly shouting that he was innocent and that he knew nothing about it.

Catherine did not turn around.

She walked into the slum streets, the night lights illuminating the chaos. Stormtroopers from the court had already dismantled the surrounding hideouts, some places set ablaze, flames climbing up the shacks and debris. A row of people knelt along the street, suspicious tokens found in their pockets piled beside them, gunshots rang out intermittently, and one after another they fell.

Catherine glanced at it casually with her grey-blue eyes.

She'd seen this kind of scene too many times; there was nothing to note.

She raised her hand, turned on the communicator, and spoke in a purely businesslike tone.

"This is Catherine von Hohenstaufen. I have discovered another Chaos entity near the palace, the eighth recorded today. I request a court hearing in two hours."