Chapter 128 120. Hades is also working hard to fish out people today.
The stench of corpses permeates the wasteland of Galaspa. Near the nest, corpses have already piled up into rising hills.
A large hole was clearly visible in the bloated hive city, and a few wisps of fireworks floated out from time to time.
Mortarion watched in silence as his two brothers stepped off the shuttle, and he slowly pursed his dry lips.
Originally, each Primarch returned and was led by the Primarch brothers who brought them back to learn how to become a qualified legion commander and gradually integrate into the Empire.
Originally, it would be Horus who would lead Mortarion, but by chance, the step of integrating Mortarion into the Empire was completed by Malcador.
Mortarion, on the other hand, did not have much contact with his so-called biological brothers.
But he still distinguished the two coming through Malcador's previous descriptions of each Primarch.
The figure walking in front was shorter, wearing obviously distinctive black steel-colored fine workmanship armor, but this complex and exquisite power armor did not wrap his hands, but instead exposed silver-white steel arms. Those metal-looking It was already tough enough to be flawless when it went up -
Mortarion captured this detail, he must be Feinus. According to Malcador, this is a person who was born in the world of death like him, extremely Pursue rationality and efficiency.
This is good news, Mortarion thought.
Because from his previous understanding, Mortarion realized that he was not satisfied with all of his brothers. In those obscure and evasive descriptions, Mortarion decisively captured those brothers that he might not like.
For example, he has a brother who uses psychic powers, and for example, he is puzzled by the pursuit of glory and splendor of most of his brothers.
But now here comes Faenus, Mortarion thought. He hopes that his brother can fairly judge the Death Guard's merits. After all, this will affect the Empire's positioning of the Death Guard in the future, and the battlefields to which they may be called. .
And behind his brother, Feinus, a very tall figure walked over silently.
Quite a burly figure, this brother is even taller than Mortarion, and he looks wider than three Mortarions stacked without armor.
Aside from the Emperor, Mortarion had never seen anyone taller than himself.
Mortarion felt himself tense for a moment, but he forced himself to relax and stared closely at the second comer.
A question briefly emerged, why didn't the taller man go ahead?
The thought quickly passed away.
The sapphire green armor was carved like dragon scales. Because of the clever carving angle, even in the dim daylight of Galaspa, brilliant light shone on his armor.
Distinctive pure black skin, fire burning in his eyes.
That must be Vulkan, Mortarion thought silently.
According to Malcador, Vulkan was a benevolent Primarch.
kindness? Would he then understand the mercy of Mortarion's death? Will he evaluate the Death Guard mercifully?
Mortarion didn't know, he just stood there silently, waiting and welcoming the two brothers to come over.
Beside him, the death shrouds also stood silently, but he knew that there was one person missing in the queue.
The feeling of being evaluated by others was not good, and Mortarion felt himself becoming irritable again, but the fact that he saw two brothers who had good opinions for the first time weakened his uneasiness.
However, he later knew that he was wrong, very wrong.
They came closer and closer, and even Mortarion, as dull as Mortarion, quickly sensed that something was wrong in the atmosphere.
The visitor remained silent, and Mortarion even saw a hint of moisture in Vulkan's flaming eyes.
Mortarion's heart skipped a beat.
Misfortune has begun.
"Hello, my brother, it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Faenus Manus, Lord of Medusa, Captain of the Iron Hands."
Faenus motioned for his escort to withdraw, and at the same time said to Mortarion stretched out his iron hand.
"Mortarion, Lord Barbarus, Captain of the Death Guard."
"Nice to meet you, too."
Mortarion muttered behind his breathing mask.
His voice was hoarse and rough compared to his brother's firm and full voice.
They shook their hands, and the other person's hand was very strong and firm.
Then Mortarion slowly turned his eyes to Vulkan and stretched out his hand.
Vulkan seemed to smile reluctantly, but he also took the hand extended by Mortarion.
"Vulkan, Nocturne, Commander of the Salamanders."
The Fire Dragon Lord's body temperature was very high, and even through his power armor, Mortarion could feel the burning sensation like lava.
They soon let go.
"I've looked at the statistics of the Death Guard in this battle."
Faenus in front of Mortarion took a deep breath. His deep-socket eyes stared at Mortarion, as if he was restraining something. ,
"But I still hope that you will introduce us to this battle of the Death Guard."
Mortarion blinked slowly. He felt something was wrong, but he decided to continue speaking, and faced his two The elder brother introduces the victory of the Death Guard.
The Lord of Death turned sideways to give his brothers a better view of the mountain of corpses.
Vulkan's figure swayed.
"Those were the rulers of the tyranny of Galaspa, but they are all there now, every one of them." "
The tyrants oppressed the people, treating them as their real property, oppressing the people for generations." "
But now , oppression no longer exists."
"The Death Guard uprooted the management system of the Garaspa system, not even the smallest cell escaped." "
We dismantled the regime of Garaspa in one day."
Having said this, Mortarion felt a little relieved. His Death Guard had not failed him, and he had not failed his Death Guard. He had uprooted the tyranny.
"Brother Mortarion, may I venture to ask a question?"
Vulkan's voice sounded,
?
Mortarion turned his head and looked at Vulkan in confusion, but the shadow of his hood covered his eyes,
"Those... who are those people moving on the mountain of corpses?"
On top of the dense mountain of corpses, The ragged dots moved slowly.
At first, Vulkan thought they were locals who stripped the wealth and clothes from the corpses, but he stared at them for a long time and found that those people did not remove any jewelry.
"They are counting."
Mortarion said in an understatement.
"The oppressed need to feel that the oppression has disappeared, and they need to stand up on their own."
"So?"
Vulkan was confused.
"So I asked them to count the tyrant's corpses to make them realize that the heavy oppression was over."
Vulkan choked up completely.
He couldn't understand, he couldn't understand, and he struggled to understand this brother. He heard that Mortarion came from a dim death planet, so is this their custom there?
"Then did you ask about the wishes of these locals?"
Vulkan asked the last question carefully, but Mortarion's reaction made him collapse.
"?"
What's there to ask?
These ragged men were unable to realize Mortarion's ideas, and the Death Guard had so many things to do that he had no time to do them.
What, talk to a local? He might as well go to the infirmary and sit there for a while.
Vulkan collapsed completely, and the fire dragon spoke slowly but firmly,
"Brother, brother Mortarion, you cannot replace one tyranny with another."
Mortarion paused.
Is Vulkan saying that the Death Guard is a tyranny?
They clearly brought liberation, and Mortarion even allowed those people to see the tyrant being hanged.
tyranny?
He hasn't done anything yet, why blame him.
Suddenly, Mortarion realized that his brother was known for his kindness. He let out a silent breath.
That was too kind of him, Mortarion thought.
If Vulkan was in a death world like Barbarus, he wouldn't think so.
However, Feinus spoke. He first turned his head and looked at Vulkan comfortingly. Vulkan nodded, indicating that he was okay, "
So, brother, is this what you want us to see?"
" Putting aside words like tyranny, I think brothers like Guilliman may be interested in this, but I really don't pay much attention to these." "I want to say,
if you know that you have cleaned up all the administration of Garaspa, personnel, then where will you find candidates to replace them?"
Mortarion choked, and after a moment, he spoke slowly,
"The empire will send the administrative agency, they have already sent the tax department."
Fenu Si smiled slightly, but his frown did not relax,
"My brother, we do have slightly different views on the taxation of the empire, but I think you know that things like the Galasper Star Territory In the giant hive star field, the empire cannot send so many administrative personnel in a short period of time."
In fact, except for some major planets or the extreme star field, on most conquered planets, the empire only sends tax departments. , and then symbolically insert a few administrative departments, and let the natives of the original planet do the rest.
Mortarion was silent. He did not pay attention to the administration of the hive after this. He just knew that the factories here were no longer running.
But that's what happens in war, isn't it?
"The Death Guard can let the locals manage it."
"I hope this is a feasible method."
Fenus said ruthlessly,
"But on this planet, with a high degree of division of labor in education, I don't think you can do it in the short term. Find a lot of administrative talent."
Mortarion said no more, he quietly hid himself under the shadow of the hood, but he knew that he was not defeated.
"This is my first time doing this. No one told me that in addition to war and victory, the Legion also has to worry about these mortal affairs." "
But the Death Guard's war performance is not so satisfactory, my brother."
Faenus He continued to pursue Mortarion, trying to tear him apart with words.
"The fleet suffered too many losses, and in this battle, the Death Guard's damage ratio, even when compared to other battles, was astonishingly high." The Death Guard directly
lost more than 10,000 people in this battle. Although most of them are new recruits who have just joined the legion.
Fainus looked at the gray brother before him with dissatisfaction. The poison gas and broken cloak covered most of his brother's body, making it impossible for him to see Mortarion's reaction.
Is this newly returned brother similar to Perturabo's attitude towards his own legions and heirs? No Primarch would approve of this attitude towards his offspring.
Mortarion in front of him moved, and poisonous gas floated into the air with his actions.
"These are necessary sacrifices to liberate this area."
He spoke hoarsely, and Fainus noticed his brother. His tone was too hoarse, like pebbles that had been etched in acid. But given their physiques, it stands to reason that it would be difficult to leave long-term permanent damage.
"Have you really liberated this place?"
Feinus asked. He really didn't understand this brother's strange thinking, and he avoided the important and chose the light. But the data and reality are here.
Did he turn a blind eye to those huge sacrifices?
So far, based on Mortarion's behavior, Fainus has analyzed that Mortarion attaches great importance to some ideological "values".
But it is not the pursuit of glory in the ordinary sense. He deliberately chooses Galaspa in order to pursue glory.
After all, no matter which dimension this battle is measured from, it cannot be described as "glory."
Faenus knew that his best friend Fulgrim would pursue perfection and glory on the battlefield and win every war beautifully.
But he was ashamed to compare their previous battle to the battle of Galaspa.
A pointless battle.
Feinus thought.
Huge sacrifices and losses, conquering a galaxy that cannot immediately provide production capacity for the empire, even the empire needs additional support here.
Items on both sides of the scale are not equal.
Why didn't his brother give up here and let the empire surround this star field, and wait until the empire needed this place before jointly attacking with other legions?
Before this evaluation, in order to comprehensively and comprehensively examine the results of his brother's battle, Fernus inquired about all data and information in detail.
Obviously, there are at least three pocket kingdoms suitable for the Death Guard to attack outside the star field not far away. Mortarion can complete the Death Guard's first battle speech on their main star with pleasant scenery.
"My brother, based on reality and post-war data evaluation, I think this battle is not suitable to be recorded in the history of the empire."
According to the empire's custom, after a legion battle, the victory record will be recorded by historians history and publicized throughout the empire.
Legions that win hard-fought battles and display superior results in battle are further rewarded, sometimes with direct rewards from the Emperor.
But not all battles are like this.
Those disgraceful battles, or those that suffered heavy legion losses and were not glorious, would be hidden in the snow and disappear in the vast history of the empire.
Obviously, such a battle, as the first battle of the Death Guard, a battle that left an impression on other legions, was not suitable for publicity.
Faenus was also thinking about Mortarion. After all, some of their other brothers were not so tolerant.
He looked at Mortarion, who had been standing silently without saying a word since just now, and the poisonous gas slowly dispersed.
"You -"
You cannot insult me and my legion's victory. You just want to steal the results of the Death Guard's victory and measure this war by your so-called standards.
In war, the only criterion is victory or defeat. Don't use those cumbersome standards defined by you to limit and steal our victory.
Mortarion is familiar with the ugly faces of these people. When he was still weak enough, his adoptive father would always assign him various tasks. Whenever Mortarion completed them, it would make completely opposite judgments. standard.
Just like now.
They won, but they had to be judged by whether there were enough mortal officials after the war? !
Mortarion's vicious words to defend himself and the Death Guard's honor were about to be sprayed like poisonous gas -
behind him, his death shroud suddenly stirred.
In front of him, Faenus and Vulkan stared behind him in confusion,
so Mortarion stopped what he was saying and turned back.
Hades, fully armed and wearing the Death Shroud Terminator Armor, stood in the queue impressively. On his left shoulder was the emblem of the Death Guard, and on his right shoulder was the emblem of the Martian Cult.
Hades took a step forward slowly, feeling as tired as if he had just walked over a mountain.
He put his hands on his chest and performed an eagle salute.
"Sorry to bother you, sir, the data you asked me to collect has been collected."
What data?
Although Mortarion was happy to see Hades awake, he was sorry for not being able to visit him.
But now these emotions, including the anger just now, are surrounded by inexplicable doubts.
Mortarion's face was full of confusion, but fortunately he was wearing a breathing mask, so Faenus and Vulkan did not see his confused expression.
However, Hades did not give Mortarion time to react and quickly continued.
When Faenus and Vulkan saw that Mortarion was not angry or scolded the death shroud for interrupting their conversation, they thought it was Mortarion's arrangement and said nothing more.
"The secondary survey report on the distribution and production capacity of the Galaspa Hive has been completed, and a preliminary assessment of the population structure and original division of labor has been carried out." "The
Mechanical Sages have also analyzed this."
"Conclusion Yes, Garaspa is suitable as a recruiting planet for the Death Guard. Your previous doubts can be dispelled."
He had never thought of using Garaspar as a recruiting planet -
"So that's it?"
However, Feinus's words broke the news. Putting an end to Mortarion's doubts.
Fainus's eyes fell on Hades. He looked at the Mars Cult label on his shoulder armor, thoughtfully.
If it was sent to Mars when the Death Guard was first established, it shouldn't be able to get the Mars certification badge now, right?
But Feinus quickly focused on what Hades had just said.
If his weird brother wanted to use Galasper as a recruiting planet, then his behavior would be more explainable.
At least it's more reasonable than for "liberation".
After all, as a giant hive world, Galaspa also has resources that can produce weapons and ammunition in large quantities. It has a large population and rich resources.
Generally speaking, in this kind of world, the empire would not give up to the Legion because they were too wealthy.
But the difficulty of attacking this galaxy determines that the empire will not touch it.
Regardless of the blockade, insisting on attacking and capturing this system, the Death Guard, who suffered heavy losses, can apply to the empire for this system to be used as a recruitment system.
Could it be that
Faenus glanced at Mortarion meaningfully,
and was he deliberately clearing out all administrative staff to make it more difficult for the imperial administrative agencies to accept it, so as to better take advantage of the resources here?
I didn't expect such foresight.
Generally speaking, apart from Guilliman, few of the Primarchs who returned at the beginning started arranging the recruitment sources and supply areas of the Legion so early.
And Fainus also knew that his brother, Mortarion's home planet Barbarus, did not seem to be able to support a large population.
So what Mortarion did just now was to prevent them from seeing his intentions and report them to the imperial administrative agency?
It turns out that's
not the case, Feinus thought. The Primarchs actually didn't like Imperial institutions very much.
"I see, I misunderstood, my brother."
Fernus said,
"We are all brothers, don't worry."
"Can I ask a few more questions about your intention to use Galaspar as a conscript? Planet?"
Mortarion in front of him was silent.
Hades's voice sounded, as hoarse as Mortarion's, but sonorous and powerful,
"Sir, Lord Mortarion, who is busy with legion affairs, has handed over this matter to me. Please let me answer your confusion. "
Okay."
Fernus was not the original body to be entangled in this, so he simply threw out some of his confusion about the structure of Galaspar and the composition of its star field.
To his delight, as expected of a technical sergeant, the other party answered his questions one by one with succinct summaries and rich data.
"Okay, very good."
"I am very happy to meet such an outstanding Death Guard technical sergeant. What is your name?"
"I am the Death Guard, Hades."
Mortarion looked at him in silence. The two brothers boarded the shuttle in the distance. After a roar, the judge left.
It was Hades who had been answering the questions of Fernus and Vulcan just now.
Mortarion was confused at first, even a little angry, but he soon realized that the two brothers' attitude towards him had changed.
Especially Vulcan, when Hades "inadvertently" proposed to search and rescue children for the future education of the Death Guard, the search and rescue team had already set off, the originally dark Vulcan was simply glowing.
Obviously, except for using Galaspar as a recruitment planet, everything else has not changed. Why have they changed so much?
But anyway, Mortarion didn't care about having another recruiting planet, so he listened silently to Hades's answer.
Mortarion blinked and looked back at Hades who was standing.
Hades must have mastered some unexplained evaluation criteria and learned the rules of those games.
Will this be taught on Mars?
He was about to ask -
however, on the other side, Hades watched in confusion as his nose began to bleed. The huge amount of calculations and data input just now made his brain hot at the moment.
In my chest, my second heart felt like it was pumping out blood.
God knows what a shock it was for him to hear Mortarion going to meet Faenus and Vulkan just after he woke up.
He was even thinking about whether Vulkan would fight Mortarion.
Not caring so much, Hades hurried here based on his memories of other original bodies in his previous life.
Facing the pharmacist who came to dissuade him, Hades decisively threw himself on his back and ran away after learning that a few steps or a small fight would not allow him to enter fearlessness.
At the same time, he directly contacted Gallo, Vox, other previous company commanders, and Enrique, and asked them to send him all the data on Garaspa.
Hades also bluntly instructed Vox to help him investigate.
The good news is that Garaspa is a really good recruiting spot, and he managed to fool it.
Hades looked at Mortarion who still looked confused and even wanted to ask him.
Mortarion, you TM——
"Bang!"
Hades fell to the ground unable to hold on any longer.
When I sort out the book reviews, I will send out a leaflet
(end of this chapter)