Warhammer: Empire Reboot

Sefal responded quickly: "The Grey Shield's role is to supplement the various chapters, not to rebuild the Legion. Guilliman did not announce the rebuilding of the Ultramarines Legion; he was making adjustments within the framework of the Code, not overturning it."

Hadras scoffed, "If I were to lead hundreds of thousands of dark angels into battle, the Inquisition would call it a rebellion."

As the Chapter Leader of the Devotees, Nakir had just experienced a bloody battle on Dragon Spirit Star that nearly wiped out his entire army, so his words carried much more weight than usual.

“I agree with some of Hadras’s points. The code is not immutable, as Guilliman’s own actions have proven. But the question is not whether it can be changed, but whether it will benefit us if it is changed.”

He looked at the Lion King: "My lord, I almost lost the entire fleet on Dragon Spirit Star. It wasn't because I was a bad commander, but because our logistics couldn't keep up. Ammunition, spare parts, evacuation of the wounded, ship repairs—we had to solve everything ourselves."

"Rebuilding the Legion is a political issue, but we are facing a military reality: the intensity of the Empire's dark side wars is rising, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to fight alone."

The council chamber fell silent for a few seconds.

Belial spoke up: "Whether or not to rebuild depends on one premise."

"After we rebuild, who will we stand with? With Kiriman? He's on the holy side of the empire, we're on the dark side, separated by a great rift. With Dante? Dante is the regent of the dark side, but his resources are limited."

"Still standing with Lawson?"

The Lion King had been listening the whole time, and now that someone mentioned Lawson, he looked at everyone and asked:

What do you think of Lawson?

Argos, the angel of forgiveness, was the first to answer.

"The most important existence in the dark side of the empire, this is a consensus, there is no dispute."

"His navigation system covers the entire dark side of the empire, his instant communication allows different war zones in the dark side to exchange information within seconds, and his resource allocation efficiency is higher than that of the Holy Side of the empire, even higher than that of the empire before the Great Rift."

Kovacs' assessment was the most succinct: "The dark side of the empire would be paralyzed without him."

"And his personal combat strength is among the best, even among Primarchs."

After everyone had finished speaking, Sefaro, the Keeper of the Covenant, added a different perspective.

"All of the above is correct, but this person is arrogant and unruly. The Imperial Inquisition dares not provoke him, and the regent Dante in the shadows cooperates with him more than he governs him. He is not bound by any traditional power structure and acts entirely according to his own judgment."

"We need to be cautious about someone with this kind of ability and personality."

After listening to everyone's remarks, the Lion King asked another question.

“I learned from Lawson that he has deployed navigators and communications officers to all Astartes chapters in the Dark Side of the Empire, and is also responsible for logistical support.”

He glanced at everyone present: "Do you have any of his people in your battle group?"

All the chapter leaders turned their gaze to Azrael.

Azrael coughed lightly.

“My lord, the situation at the time was… our First Legion’s secrets were far too sensitive. The Fallen Angels’ hunt, the existence of the Inner Circle Council, the truth about Caliban… these things could not be exposed to outsiders. Lawson’s navigators and communications officers needed to travel with the ships, which meant they would have access to our navigation records, communications, and mission deployments.”

His tone carried a hint of unease.

"Therefore, we declined Lawson's request to be stationed there, citing the principle of 'warband autonomy'."

The Lion King looked at him and shook his head speechlessly: "You guys..."

Azrael's face flushed slightly.

His decision, made in the presence of the father of genetics, was perfectly reasonable at the time, but now it suddenly seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The Lion King did not pursue the matter further: "Lorson's strength is not surprising. He is the Emperor's chosen one. He can contact the Star Torch in the Warp. These things cannot be forged."

“The people chosen by the Emperor are trustworthy, and the First Legion must follow the Emperor’s will.”

Azrael is the head of the inner circle and has an extremely keen political sense.

He immediately grasped the deeper meaning of the Lion King's words.

"Father, do you mean we need to pledge allegiance to Lawson?"

The Lion King corrected him: "No, we are loyal to the Emperor's will, and that has never changed and will never change."

He looked at everyone present.

"But Lawson is the emperor's agent in the dark side of the empire."

"Therefore, the question of whether or not to rebuild the First Legion should not be decided by us alone."

Lion King continued, "Leave this issue to Lawson. We'll make the decision ourselves. Whether we rebuild or not, it will spark political controversy."

"But if this decision was made by Lawson, then the nature of the matter is different."

Azrael's eyes lit up.

He got it.

Nakil was the first to understand this.

“Brilliant. By entrusting the decision to rebuild the legion to Lawson, we have gained both legitimacy and his support in navigation, communications, and logistical arrangements.”

Belial nodded: "Solve two problems in one step."

Hadras's frown relaxed.

After a moment of contemplation, Sefalo also expressed his opinion.

“If that’s the logic, I have no objection. Being loyal to the emperor’s will and obeying the people chosen by the emperor is not fundamentally in conflict with what we have been doing for the past ten thousand years.”

Azrael stood up and faced the Lion King.

"All members of the First Legion's inner circle shall abide by the judgment of the Father of Genes."

The Lion King glanced at him, then surveyed everyone around the table.

There were no dissenting voices.

The expressions of the various battle group leaders varied: some were excited, some were cautious, and some breathed a sigh of relief.

The will to be loyal to the Emperor is something etched into the bones of every Dark Angel from the day the genetic seed is implanted.

Now the Lion King tells them that Lawson is the agent of the Emperor's will, so obeying Lawson is the same as obeying the Emperor.

They had long been envious of how strong Lawson's logistics system was.

Uninterrupted navigation, uninterrupted communication, uninterrupted ammunition, and uninterrupted troop evacuation—every chapter commander has a clear understanding of what these things mean for the various chapters fighting in interstellar space.

We didn't connect to it before because there were too many secrets, and we didn't dare let outsiders touch it.

Now that Father has spoken, the secret matter will be handled by Father.

Those logistical support services that were previously turned away can now be legitimately brought in.

Ecovacs is the fastest at mental arithmetic.

If Ravenwing were to join Lawson's intelligence network, his reconnaissance efficiency would increase at least threefold.

If Deathwing were to connect to Lawson's stasis field teleportation system, the Terminator squad's deployment speed would undergo a qualitative change.

If the warships of each battle group are connected to Lawson's navigation system, they will no longer have to worry about getting lost while traveling in the subspace.

He almost burst out laughing during the meeting.

The Lion King made his final conclusion.

"Once the fallen angel warriors return one by one, we'll go find Lawson together."

"The First Legion has taken a detour for ten thousand years. It's time to get back on the right track."

Azrael led the way in bowing: "Yes, my lord!"

…………

The news of the pardon of the fallen angels emanated from the core of the Great Stone Monastery.

Through a type of encrypted psionic pulse that the First Legion used during the Caliban era.

As long as the gene seed is still functioning, it will be received.

"The Father of Genes has returned. All uncorrupted sons of Caliban, return to the Stone Monastery. The absolution has been granted. The Resurrected Chapter welcomes you."

Then came a voiceprint, the voice of the Lion King.

The interrogation area on the seventh floor of the Great Stone Monastery.

This place is perpetually shrouded in darkness.

The corridor is flanked by encrypted alloy doors, behind which are interrogation rooms.

Each room is shielded by psychic energy, so neither sound nor soul can escape.

Judge Reverend Heramon stood in front of the control panel in one of the interrogation rooms.

A fallen angel was strapped to the interrogation rack in front of him.

This fallen angel is called Talion.

Three hundred years ago, he was tracked down by Ravenwing on a desolate planet and captured alive after a seventy-two-hour chase.

For three hundred years, Heramon used all the methods taught in the inner circle during the interrogation.

The sole purpose was to make Talion repent, reveal the locations of the other fallen angels he knew, and then accept his execution.

Three hundred years have passed, and Talion has not repented.

Because he had nothing to repent for.

Talion was an ordinary fighting brother when Caliban shattered.

He didn't even know why Luther had gone mad.

All he remembered was the order to fire, he opened fire, then Caliban shattered, and he was thrown into the warp.

After waking up, he drifted on a strange planet for five hundred years.

He had killed aliens, saved civilians, repaired other people's machines, and served as an unnamed guard in a mine for three hundred years.

Until the Dark Angel found him.

Three hundred years of interrogation did not break him.

But three hundred years of darkness, pain, and being repeatedly told he was a traitor had worn him down into a silent stone.

As usual, Heramon entered the interrogation room today, preparing to begin his 10,937th interrogation.

Then his communicator rang.

Then he put down the interrogation equipment, walked to the interrogation rack, and pressed the unlock button.