Warhammer: I don't want to become a stinky can!

Page 573

The two Primarchs met for the first time in front of the Cathedral of the Underworld. Mortarion merely nodded, and then, unsurprisingly, Magnus showed a surprised expression.

Looking at the fog-shrouded Mortarion, Magnus's red hair almost stood on end.

I know what you want to say, but please be quiet.

Mortarian spoke first, while Karas, who was standing behind him with a faint look of death on his face, also gave the Grey Knights a malicious smile.

The wizard Mortarian spread his hands. "We don't need to fight here."

"I understand!" Magnus raised his voice, shielding Ahriman behind him. "I just... I just haven't seen you in so long, Mortalian. How are you?"

The pale-faced lord's eyes were lined with wrinkles.

"I won't die." Mortalian said ominously, then ended the conversation and walked into the cathedral.

"Hey—" Magnus paused, "Okay."

[Has quite a temper.]

The Primarch said in a low voice, and followed Mortarion, keeping a careful distance.

The mist of the Lord of Death enveloped everyone. Cecilia saw that some people had already started collecting the white mist with bottles, or taking out some strange little things and soaking them in the mist. Surprisingly, the big guy who looked like he was not to be trifled with ignored it.

The two Primarchs stood on either side of the main stage, with the Death Guard and the Grey Knight following behind them. The crowd fell silent again until the slightly late footsteps sounded hurriedly.

"I'm a little late, sorry I had too much to do."

Hades' casual voice rang out from the doorway. Hades had fully realized that the Church of the Underworld was all one of his own, through his dealings with Archbishop Samuel of the Church of the Underworld.

He saw Mortalian and Magnus. Hades smiled and strode over. There was no need for the Primarch to come over; this was just an opening ceremony, and the screening that followed was the main event.

Cecilia heard footsteps approaching, but they slowed down as they got closer. Then she heard a very low question coming from Hades.

"...Soulless Oglin?"

“Lord Hades,” said Missing Soul, “you missed something, damn it.”

Magnus coughed.

Standing behind the Pale Lord, Karas, with a forced smile, saw a faint aura of death emanating from Mortarion.

Karas was pleased that Mortarian shared his feelings.

5.5k, great, that's it!

Chapter 632 Resignation!

"Come and see Hades, Belinda."

A small appendage extends from the massive body of Jin-306, holding a champagne glass in its hand, the golden liquid shimmering within.

He doesn't need to drink Barbarossa's rubbish.

The Great Sage calmly looked at Belinda, who was hiding in the crowd, and smiled sheepishly, but didn't move an inch toward him.

"Father, I might not be feeling well today—"

"impossible."

Kim said, "You're the best one. I'm not that crazy Kirkland. It's time for you to take over some of my work."

His words were overheard by others at the banquet, and a deacon from some star sector whistled at him.

Kim knew he was agreeing with the statement that "Kirkland is a madman".

Compared to yesterday, they are now holding a banquet in a magnificent hall. The Church of the Underworld doesn't have many suitable places for entertainment, so the archbishop rented a chapel from the state church.

Therefore, the atmosphere here is nothing like the ascetic and repressive style of the Dark Cult in the past (although the people here are not that type at all).

Instead, it was resplendent with gold and glitter, with all sorts of details piled up on the dome, and hanging down along with the silk on the carved cherub statues.

The guests invited today are far more diverse than those at yesterday's opening ceremony. They include highly respected believers, soulless individuals, space marines, mechanical sages, wandering merchants, astral army officers, speculators, swindlers, gamblers...

Jin stared intently at Belinda, while the electronic screen displayed calmly flickering dots of light.

The sage finally released the innocent, soulless person she had suddenly grabbed from somewhere, and slowly walked towards Jin.

"You said I would take your place,"

Belinda said with a smile,

“You taught me everything and gave me all your connections—but—you never mentioned Hades to me before.”

"You have to see for yourself,"

Kim said, "I don't want to influence your opinion."

Belinda sighed; she knew that one day she would have to take over her job from Jin.

Before this, she had been assisting King in supporting the Hades Warband, but after finally waiting for Hades to return, King immediately began to withdraw from the fray.

In fact, even among the chaotic, drunk, or simply drugged crowd, Jin's size gave him an absolute advantage; the Great Sage tore through the crowd like a battering ram.

They walked past long tables laden with food, ignoring the opportunists giving impassioned speeches, and headed toward the longest and most prominent line in the center of the auditorium.

Jin walked indifferently from the back of the line to the front. Everyone in the queue saluted him when they saw him, but Jin ignored them and just kept walking.

The enormous auditorium connected to another side hall, where jeweled tassels partially obscured the gazes peering inside. The highest-ranking person at this banquet was inside.

The further forward in the line they went, the higher the rank of the people in line became. Finally, Jin and his group reached the second person in line, a cardinal.

The bearded man sized them up, his eyes filled with a less than friendly glint.

"what do you want?"

Jin spoke directly.

The bearded man wasn't annoyed; he smiled and said, "I've heard that the Academy of Athens is a good place..."

"You want the regional central construction rights?" Kim said. "Add you to the next proposal for bullet bows."

A satisfied smile spread across the bearded man's face. The cardinal took a step back, but deliberately glanced at Kim.

The first person in line was a mechanical sage.

"I'm allowing you to cut in line, but the person in front of me... seems a bit difficult."

As soon as the bearded man finished speaking, the sage in front of him automatically saluted Jin and made way for him.

Good day, mentor.

The wise man said, and King glanced at the cardinal indifferently.

"My apprentice."

He said that, and then bent down and walked into the side hall.

Jin sensed that Belina's tension level behind him had increased by 0.34%, but the sage ignored it and looked into the hall.

As expected, Hades sat in the main seat. Because he was receiving guests, the king was not wearing armor, but a black tuxedo specially made by the Hades Church, which at first glance looked like mourning clothes.

While eating, Hades was talking to the previous visitor, a wolf shepherd from a wolf pack, who surprised Jin.

Magnus, to Hades' right, seemed eager to interject, while to Hades' left... a pitch-black coffin lay quietly. It seemed the Pale Lord had lost all patience after yesterday's farce; the coffin lid was tightly shut, unwilling to be seen.

"Yo, Kim."

Wolf Shepherd, who was talking to Hades, nodded and left with the gray knights behind Magnus with a serious expression. Hades looked up at Jin.

"I was wondering why you hadn't arrived yet,"

Hades finished his plate and picked up a new one, seemingly thinking of giving Kinsey a plate as well.

"I told Kirkland that it was unnecessary to snatch the first one today, since he can see me every day if he wants anyway."

Hades, biting his fork, watched as the sage behind Jin Tong sat down.

“And guess what?” Hades laughed, as if recalling something funny. “Kirkland said he just came to make a statement, stayed for seven minutes, and then left.”

Jin nodded, then shook his head.

"madman."

He muttered to himself, "The same fanaticism that hasn't changed in ten thousand years, Kirkland is too crazy."

"I'm still waiting for you. I thought you weren't coming today."

Hades said, glancing at his watch, and handed a snack to both Kim and Belinda, "It's almost the evening show."

Jin recalled the long queue,

"You look like you'll be busy until the early hours of tomorrow."

Hades curled his lip indifferently.

"Fortunately, they spend months or even a year coming to see me, while it only takes me a few days—besides, I specifically applied for a day and a half of leave."

Hades proudly raised his fork.

"It seems the Nirvana System is being used smoothly. Is the next step to implement it on a large scale?"

Jin asked seemingly casually, and Hades smiled and said, "Yes, you know what, when the Lord of Mankind sends the Imperial Guard to surround the mainframe, chant incantations, and sprinkle water, it really does improve system efficiency."

"You can ask Kirkland about that,"

Kim said, "As a secondary personality simulated by Nirvana, Kirkland may be able to describe and oversee Nirvana to you."

Hades' smile widened.

"That's what I thought too, Kim. The good news is that so far there haven't been any major problems. I can hardly believe it's going so smoothly."

Jin nodded, and there was a moment of silence between them, broken only by the sound of Magnus turning pages with an air of seriousness. Then Hades spoke hesitantly.

"Jin... are you alright?"

“So-so,” Kim said, as she pushed Belinda, who was hiding behind her, out with her limbs. “I’m planning to take a break from work and go see my students.”

“This is Belinda, Hades, my most prized student—you may not remember her, but she was the one who once placed your dark aura on you.”

Hades was taken aback. It seemed that such a thing did happen, but... it seemed to have happened ten thousand years ago?!

His gaze shifted to Belinda, who, like a child being pushed forward by relatives during Chinese New Year and forced to call out to all sorts of gossipy aunts and uncles, politely greeted him as Hades.

Hades' gaze returned to Jin, who felt as if he were suddenly standing on a deserted island, with the black tide surging up and slapping against his feet.

Hades is using the Dark Realm to confirm his soul.

Jin swallowed the urge to vomit and continued.

"I wonder if you would allow me to gradually leave. In these ten thousand years, apart from teaching and temporarily acting as the son of Hades, I have nothing else to boast about. These jobs can be replaced at any time."

What has sustained him for millennia, what has kept him alive, is the waiting for Hades' return.

After Hades' return, King began to worry about Hades' fall from grace again... But now Hades has been in Terra for over a year, and King's worries have long since subsided.

He saw Hades staring at him, somewhat stunned, and a smile appeared on the gold screen.

":) I want to retire, sir. Please approve."

Hades' expression turned to one of deep anguish.

“King, the revolution is not yet successful, and it’s still dark—” Hades gritted his teeth. King had shown his detachment earlier. Hades might understand King’s ten thousand years of work. “But if you really feel too tired, then I approve.”

Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m grateful to hear that,”

He reached out and took the glass of wine Hades offered him. It contained pure Barbarossa liquor. Jin poured it into his feeding slit, hearing the sound of the metal pipe corroding.

The sage casually turned off the alarm indicating damage to the feeding tube.

"I never had any great ambitions,"

Jin said, listening to the hissing sounds coming from inside his body,

“Back on Mars, all I wanted was to survive. It was you who disregarded past grievances and promoted me,” King paused, “and Kirkland too.”

"After you left, there were many times, probably more than 40,000 times, when I thought about leaving, but in the end I gritted my teeth and persevered. Don't laugh at me, firstly, Kirkland used reverse psychology to pull me back, and secondly, I also wanted to do something. I agree with your point of view and hope that all mankind can do the same."

King was silent for a moment. He looked at Hades. The sage might know that this was inappropriate, leaving when Hades desperately needed talent. But as he said, he was a little tired. King was not like Kirkland; he was not a madman.

For Jin, the timing wasn't that Pluto needed talent, but rather that he was certain Pluto was still the same technical sergeant he once was on Mars.

He realized he wasn't needed; a mere sage had come to stop the out-of-control Hades.

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive. Even Magnus sensed something was wrong and kept his head down, engrossed in his book, without moving an inch.