Chapter 138 130. The original body will still show off to
Barbarus. At the foot of the mountain, Hades looked at the selection queue in front of him, thoughtfully.
The Mechanicum skeletons used for propaganda and recording floated in the air, preparing to record and broadcast the pre-conscription preaching to the Barbarians.
This was requested by Mortarion. The Primarch hoped to use this conscription to speak to his people.
In a special location on this mountain, the black stone obelisk that had been arranged long ago stood quietly, surrounded by countless untouchables and death guards, as a guarantee for this selection.
After a standard week of recruiting and screening, now standing opposite the podium are the children who are about to be selected.
These children, wearing gas masks uniformly distributed by the Death Guard, will enter the mountains in batches.
Perhaps influenced by the death guards around them, these children, most of whom were pale and had calluses on their hands, spontaneously chose silence.
Some children even gritted their teeth silently.
Heavily armed Death Guards stood on both sides of the queue, with clean chainsaws standing on the ground, and bolt guns hanging quietly on their waists, breathing.
The small damage on the power armor showed the battles they had participated in.
Compared to some legions who like to meticulously maintain their armor, oil it regularly, and decorate their power armor, the Death Guard tend to keep the scars on their armor and will not repair it as long as the damage does not affect the function of the power armor. .
These knife marks and gun pits are their unique glory.
The silent death guards added a bit of chill to this place. They were not angry but showed their murderous intent.
The Death Guards present today are all descendants of Barbarus who have made outstanding achievements in the Battle of Galaspa.
In addition to Mortarion, other Death Guards also attached great importance to this selection. When Hades came out of the foundry workshop in a daze, he found an inexplicable atmosphere permeating the Death Guard.
The soldiers gathered in the training area in silence, wiping their weapons over and over again.
The Duel Cage was particularly popular at that time.
Are they nervous?
Realizing this, Hades burst out laughing. Indeed, the Barbarian Death Guard led by Mortarion had never experienced a similar scene where they could show their glory.
For these Barbarus people, it can be regarded as a return to their hometown in glory.
Of course, although Hades, who realized this, couldn't help but want to laugh, he was currently standing on the podium with a solemn expression. The Death Guard's six-thorn ring skull on his right shoulder armor was shining brightly, and the Mechanical God on his left shoulder armor was shining brightly. The skull with gears in the teaching ring bared its teeth and claws.
Hardest was specially equipped with his most exaggerated-looking Seiko backpack. The sophisticated and huge Mechanicus equipment hung obediently beside him. The ferocious servo skeleton spit out cables and stared at the queue in front of him.
From time to time, curious children took advantage of the cover of the queue to secretly glance at Hades' equipment. Curious and envious eyes lingered on Hades' equipment that was obviously different from other Death Guards.
Noticing that some children were looking at him, Hades murmured in his mind whether he was recruiting people to the Death Guard casting hall in advance.
The black sickle flashed a ray of light in the sun, and the star slowly but surely moved to its established position.
The time has come.
Heavy footsteps sounded, the crackling sound of finely crafted power armor penetrated everyone's ears, and the metal incense burner hit the power armor crisply.
Ding——
The gray cloak rises without the wind.
The powerful pressure of the original body directly enveloped the entire audience, and some timid children even held their breath.
The eyes hidden under the shadow of the hood sparkled.
Mortarion walked to the podium. He stood in the center of the podium and stopped.
The original body stood still.
All the death guards present showed unprecedented murderous intent and coercion at this moment. Some children even softened their knees and knelt down tremblingly.
Influenced by the first group of children who knelt down, some children were also hesitant to kneel down.
After all, that is what their parents call "adults."
On the Star Ring, it is no longer uncommon for Mechanicus officials to kneel and bow to the imperial bureaucrats and Mechanicus officials.
In the queue, An Tai looked at the boy kneeling in front of him and gritted his teeth silently.
For no other reason than he didn't want to kneel.
"No kneeling."
Mortarion took off his hood, a hoarse hissing sounded from behind the breathing mask, and the original body's brows frowned unconsciously.
Hades standing next to him couldn't help but frowned. This was not the scene they wanted to see.
Unexpectedly, they could already eliminate people before the selection started.
The death guards standing on both sides of the queue have begun to record the kneeling children.
In order to give the kneeling children time to stand up, Mortarion reached behind his head and slowly and methodically took off his breathing mask.
The chapped lips that had been corroded by poisonous gas for a long time were exposed, and the pale skin looked like a corpse in the sun.
Now, all the barriers that Mortarion usually used to defend himself have been removed.
Hades blinked, it seemed that Mortarion was serious this time.
The children who were kneeling stood up tremblingly after hearing this order.
Antaeus silently pulled the child in front of him, and then they stood back up and looked at Mortarion in front of them.
The primarch took a deep breath.
"My people,"
he said,
"I am glad to see you sign up for the Death Guard's conscription."
"I know that the Barbarians have no substantial knowledge of the Imperial Legions." "
But you still choose Standing here."
Mortarion looked around, the original's sharp eyes seeming to look directly into everyone's soul.
"Because you are not here because of the Empire's Death Guard."
Since Barbarus took over the Empire, the Legion has not appeared frontally in people's field of vision.
Historians who were supposed to promote the empire's achievements were instead attracted by the glory of the front lines and mostly ignored this bleak and poor planet.
Therefore, the Barbarians did not form their own impressions of the Empire, the Legion, and the Great Crusade.
They don't come for the fact of "being a Space Marine".
"Some of you are here because of Barbarus' death guard."
The generation brutally ruled by the alien lord has not yet passed away, and Barbarus's most painful memories are still circulating in people's mouths.
The legendary rebels standing on the top of the mountains in the thick fog are still an important part of the barren culture of Barbarus.
Perhaps in the equally bleak dreams of this generation of Barbarians, a blood-stained flag of resistance once appeared.
The children standing here now, their ancestors may have been the rebels at that time, or they may have been farmers rescued by the rebels, but no matter what, every Barbarus has personally experienced the liberation that year.
They are attracted to the Resistance, they are attracted to the Primarch, they want to break out of the bleak cycle of life, they want to participate in the continuation of the resistance back then.
"For those of you who hope to devote yourself to the cause of the resistance, I sincerely wish you can pass the selection." The
scythe in Mortarion's hand flashed with cold light, and the original body looked at these aspiring people sincerely.
"You, and the relatives who sent you here, represent the unyielding side of Barbarus."
Hearing the words of the original body, some children stood up straighter, but some lowered their heads.
An Tai lowered his head in embarrassment. He didn't come here because he admired the rebels. His numb parents never told him this.
Children who sign up can be rewarded with providing food for a family of five for a week, which is why he came.
The children who are selected to become the Death Guard will have all their family's food provided by the Death Guard.
An Tai lowered his head and stared at his dusty toes in a daze. His pride in not kneeling just now disappeared, and he felt his cheeks turn red.
Maybe he would be eliminated because of this, An Tai thought uneasily.
"But I know that not everyone is here for this."
"As someone who has lived on Barbarus, I know that dreams and passion are too rare on Barbarus."
"Barbarus The barren land here cannot produce much blood, and more people are burying their heads in the loess all day long." "
But I know that these people who are burying their heads in the loess are not short-sighted and superficial. You are just unable to do so under the gravity of reality. Look up."
"Moreover,"
Mortarion smiled as if he recalled something,
"One of our most elite warriors now, Morag, was once a peasant buried in the loess." "
I used A bag of grain in exchange for him following the resistance team."
Hades was keenly aware of a burst of electricity passing through Morag's channel.
Hades blinked. Morag was startled by the primarch's impromptu speech.
But this guy didn't think about it immediately, and he had already made considerable progress.
"But it turns out that he is no worse than others, and he even does better."
"He just needs a chance."
"So I give you a chance."
The original body raised a hand and spread it out to everyone.
"Each child who registers can harvest food for a week, and after passing all selections and becoming a Death Guard soldier, the Death Guard will be solely responsible for the subsequent food supply for their family." Hades stood beside Mortarion
. On the other hand, I have to say that as the original body and a Barbarusian, Mortarion did take Barbarus's situation into full consideration.
A boy who is about to enter young adulthood is a strong labor force that cannot be ignored for any family.
As for Barbarus' unique small-scale peasant economy, losing a strong laborer is an unacceptable thing for a family.
This may lead to some families being unwilling to sign up their children for the Death Guard, or the children themselves being unwilling to let go of the burden of taking on the family responsibility.
But now, Mortarion has eliminated those families' worries.
"I know that some of you are here for food."
"This is not shameful."
Mortarion handed down his verdict.
"In fact, for those who are burdened with the burden of life and still continue to move forward, You, the Death Guard also welcome your arrival."
"You, and the relatives who sent you, represent the truth of Barbarus's cruel reality." "
Before we can raise our heads to look at the tyrant above our heads, the first thing we must learn is to be poisonous. Struggling in the fog."
"The prerequisite for every Barbarus to survive on this planet is that we dare to face the cruel reality." "
I also sincerely hope that you can pass the next test."
"Then,"
Mortarion turned sideways and pointed to the mountains behind him with a welcoming gesture.
This is not the tallest mountain on Barbarus, but it is tall enough that a Space Marine who takes off his helmet will feel a suffocating pain on its top.
The gas masks issued by the Death Guard simply cannot support them to reach the qualified height.
"Just come and climb."
"If you want to behead the enemy, you need to be tough enough." "
Back then, the most elite resistance force of the Death Guard once climbed this mountain and beheaded the alien lord. "
Now, it's your turn."
"The higher you climb, the more likely you are to be selected into the next round." "
Only the toughest among you will survive." "
If you are not tough enough, you will be trapped in the poisonous gas." Suffocate, and you will be given death."
There was a slight commotion in the crowd. They had been told that there would be death as early as the initial registration, but people did not expect that the first screening would be so brutal.
Death is too abstract, but every Barbarus has experienced the feeling of suffocating in poisonous gas.
The original body narrowed his eyes in dissatisfaction and looked at the crowd. His original peaceful image was suddenly replaced by sternness. At this time, Mortarion once again played his best image-the god of death
.
The queue fell silent for an instant.
Watching Mortarion threatening the candidates, Hades remained indifferent.
Because he knew this guy was scaring kids.
In fact, Barbarus was already sparsely populated and could not withstand the high mortality rate of conscription.
What's more, basically a whole generation of Barbarus boys of the same age are here. If we really select based on survival rate, Barbarus will have to be cut off in this generation.
Although Mortarion really wanted to practice his socialist ideas and screen and clean up Barbarus's "inferior genes" in the name of selection.
But reality and Hades didn't allow him to do this.
↓
[We can use this screening to screen out a small number of weak people. ]
Mortarion looked at Hades.
[The later construction of Babaru requires a large number of people. ]
Hades sat opposite him, never compromising.
↑
So there are actually pharmacists hidden on the only way up the mountain. If someone is unable to support them, these pharmacists will appear when no one is around and save the lives of the selectors.
"So, you can withdraw now, and the food will not be taken back."
"Correspondingly, you will lose an opportunity to change your life."
Mortarion said the next sentence slowly.
He raised his hand and put his hood back on.
"But if you think you are tough enough,"
Mortarion put on his breathing mask, and a hoarse voice came from behind the mask.
"Then you can start climbing."
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(End of this chapter)