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

Page 291

The initial topics were quite whimsical; they started by discussing why strawberries are more sour than blueberries. Anglon tried to answer this with his meager knowledge of chemistry, while Hades argued that red was jealous because it was being manipulated by blue, hence the sourness.

Angron couldn't understand what Hades was rambling about, but that didn't matter, because he was talking nonsense too. His mind was half-awake and half-asleep, and sometimes Angron found that what he was saying was different from what he was thinking.

Hades explained that Angron needed to let his brain adjust to the current state.

As Angron gradually regained his senses, the conversation inevitably began to veer towards seriousness. Angron asked Hades about his Butcher's Nail, and Hades' reply was quite simple.

Hades put down the chocolate chip cookie he was holding and said seriously that he might be more convincing if he wiped the cream from his mouth.

"The nails have completely stopped; they won't go any deeper."

Hades said seriously,

“Originally… you wouldn’t have survived this depth, but perhaps… your father, the Emperor, saved you.”

Angron spoke, his voice hoarse.

What did he do to me?

Hades waved his hand.

"Don't ask me, I'm a psionic Muggle, you have to ask him yourself."

Angron didn't ask what "Muggle" meant. He understood Hades' words from Hades' tone. He opened his mouth, but the question stuck in his throat. Angron suddenly remembered that something other than cake seemed to have been stuck in his throat before.

What should we do with these nails now?

Hades looked at Angron.

“A large portion of your brain and spinal cord has been replaced by nails, so they can’t be pulled out directly. If they were pulled out directly…”

Hades shook his head.

"Then the rest of your brain tissue will just be like a broken egg yolk, wandering around inside your skull."

So I have to carry them with me all the time?

An unconscious sense of loss permeated his words.

"Not necessarily. You should trust your Primarch's constitution, Angron."

Hades said hesitantly,

“I prefer to remove the nail slowly—for example, move it one millimeter first, and then let’s see if your brain tissue can grow back on its own and fill in the gap.”

But Hades quickly added the next few sentences.

"The nails are useless now, maybe you could try psionic techniques, but I can't answer that... or perhaps..."

Hades blinked.

"I do know someone who is good at life sciences; he might have done research on how the brain can grow properly."

As Hades spoke, he tapped the left side of his metal head with his finger.

"It's a pity I already have this big iron block installed, but it's not bad—wait, Angron, how about I give it a try—"

【No. 】

Angron's clean and decisive rejection of Hades meant that he lost the possibility of seeing what message Hades was currently sending on the radio.

3.8k. None today, yay!

Chapter 352 Hades Hates Religion

O believer! Your worst act is choosing a mercenary as your master. Your daily preaching with holy water is worthless in His eyes.

Your greatest fortune was choosing a mercenary as your master. The worldly one knows your carnal desires; with a little loyalty, He gives you water, shelter, and a job to earn bread.

—A manuscript from Kim-306

[Damn it! How dare you bunch of bastards call yourselves pious! Don't try to appease Him with your greed. Do you think He's some kind of vending machine?! God is ignorant and merciful, and he imitates people, but that's not an excuse for you to deceive Him for money!]

Don't apply to see Him until you've completely let go of your damned greed! If I detect even a trace of greed in your thought processes, you'll receive more than ten lashes!

—An archived audio recording from the Kirkland data block

Uh, don't be nervous... what would you like?

—Hades

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Sometimes, Hades simply doesn't want to delve into things.

Seriously contemplating the morality, ethics, and humanities of this cesspool world will only lead you into a dead end; giving up thinking is the best choice, although this does not mean that Hades abandoned his human identity and turned to the Greens.

Well, green skin might be a good choice.

Neos, Hades doesn't do it—waaaaagh—cough cough, no.

Hades took a deep breath. The rustling of gears around him made him a little anxious. After finishing the fifth table of desserts, the Primarch, who was full, felt sleepy for once. So Angron lay back down to rest. Hades kept him in the dark, and he had no idea what was happening outside.

Outside this room, the ocean of radio waves was almost deafeningly noisy.

The Mechanicus ships were silently surrounding the World Eaters' Glory Queen, and out of respect for Zalem's victory in the war, the World Eaters tacitly allowed the Sages to approach little by little.

The sage had been waiting for him.

After the first drop of blood fell in piety, Hades was finally confronted with the very topic he had always avoided and refused to face—

He must respond to a belief that should not exist in the first place.

Hades' current position is not that of a general, rewarding the brave, posthumously honoring the dead, and comforting warriors with material wealth and power; this is not like what he did in Deathguard.

He is now considered a god.

Although people behave so similarly in these two aspects—for example, a valiant general may have soldiers willing to risk their lives for him—their nature is ultimately different.

Generally speaking, some secular believers pray to the gods only to try to fulfill their small wishes—Hades understands these people, and he even hopes that more of them will come, because all Hades needs to do is establish a complete system of rewards and punishments.

But it is clear that most believers, at least for now, are not the sages who await Hades.

This is true faith, the enlightenment of "If I hear the truth in the morning, I can die content in the evening." In the bloated religious education of the Mechanicus, they became beings willing to resolutely give their lives for the god of machines in their hearts.

Hades swallowed hard. In a way, this was terrifying. People who had never met before were willing to give their lives for a being that only appeared occasionally in mythology. This fanaticism made Hades tremble.

The Emperor has been doing something terrible: he planted the seeds of religion on Mars and let them grow into a terrifying behemoth over time. This is not the Emperor's perverse pleasure; his purpose is to preserve the spark of technology, a spark that will not need his care during turbulent times.

Then, when the Emperor needed this fire, he descended upon Mars, demanding support and supplies under the guise of being a "god"—the Emperor did indeed provide material aid to Mars, but without the name of "Om Messiah," his cooperation with the sages would have been much more difficult.

In other words, for the sake of humanity's great cause, the emperor personally cultivated a group of fanatical believers and sages who were willing to sacrifice themselves for their faith. He used the name of faith to obtain their weapons and supplies, and he did this very skillfully.

This is a necessary sacrifice.

Hades could already imagine the Emperor's response when he asked him about this.

Hades was the next person to be burned at the stake by the Emperor, but... in reality, it was the fallen believers who truly put Hades on the stake.

Hades respects every drop of blood, and no drop of blood should be shed in vain. As long as Hades has the power, he will try his best to fulfill everyone's dying whispers, but if their wish is to see a god that is an illusion in their hearts and should not exist...

Hades, expressionless, gestured for his servant to open the door, and strode out.

Then give them a dream, even if the price is a lie they are destined to bear.

--------------

In the narrow corridor, darkness surged and enveloped everything, while scorching green arcs of electricity lit up.

A crisp, cold, and heavy footstep sounded, the sound of metal clashing against metal.

At the end of the corridor, the halberds that the Silent Sisters and the Imperial Guards had set up were slowly lowered.

But the sages who had just been shoving and jostling did not take the step they had longed for. They slowly lowered their limbs that had been striking each other, and the crowded people slowly moved backward, consciously standing in a certain order.

During the recent fight, the World Eater, who had been pushed to the back by the sages, let out a few strange roars, but no one paid him any attention. He could only see the sages, who had only shown him the back of their heads, nervously adjusting their robes.

What's there to sort out? Most of the sages' clothes are more like tattered strips of cloth than red robes.

Kahn, who was next to the World Eater, punched him, signaling him to shut up.

The footsteps drew closer, one step at a time.

The leading sage shouted praises to Om Messiah, his distorted voice carrying a powerful force, and a sea of ​​praise began to surge.

Amidst the shouts, the engine churned awkwardly, the sound of metal hitting the floor echoing repeatedly. People knelt, heads bowed, displaying their loyalty to the gods.

Even though they had proven their loyalty with their dripping blood, everyone still trembled and bowed their heads as much as possible. They were still terrified, for no one was without fault before the true god.

The footsteps stopped.

Then came a long silence, which gave the crowd the illusion that they heard the sigh of Om Messiah.

One corner of the robe swayed uneasily.

"There's no need to kneel."

The voice rang out steadily and without any questioning.

“Stand up, so that you may better approach the truth.”

It's strange that believers who would give their lives without hesitation if they saw even a glimpse of lightning in the hands of a god hesitated when the god asked them to stand up.

Perhaps because the latter implies disobedience.

"You have proven yourselves; you don't need to kneel."

Finally, the sounds of metal and chains rang out, and a sea of ​​rags began to surge forth.

The believers silently awaited divine guidance—whether it be praise or criticism, joy or sorrow—the power was in His hands, not among them.

Hades wanted to sigh inwardly, but he held back.

Faced with these questions, how did the emperor respond? Would he fail to heed these gazes, even if they were not wise, or even foolish?

What should he say to them? What should he bestow upon them?

Hades should bestow upon the sages, as both victims and fearless warriors, all the knowledge and wealth he can provide. Hades will grant them wisdom and guide their path, as long as they so desire.

But they sought more than that; they were more greedy, yet also more ascetic. Hades could not judge these sages, who had grown up in a religious atmosphere, by worldly standards. Specifically, they needed Hades to inspire them spiritually and religiously.

In the darkness, Hades opened his mouth. He recalled the prayer he had frantically memorized in the Martian church, and spoke it softly and quickly, as if the language would corrode his tongue.

"People of Zarem, your ceaseless gears prove your courage, your ever-flowing blood proves your loyalty, and the fire of wisdom deep within your souls delights me—so what reward do you desire? If I can grant it, I will not hesitate."

Even if they asked for nothing, Hades would still gather resources for this forged world. Hades had already decided what to give these sages the moment the war ended: a large amount of resources and the necessary technology, enough to give them the capital to establish themselves as kings in the Vortex star system. And now Hades was only asking for an extra gift of gratitude.

Although Hades currently only holds the title of Lord of the Order of Silence, he can later exchange supplies by beating up (and being beaten up by) Makado.

In a way, the sages who forged this world were Hades and the World Eater's saviors, but now their positions have been reversed, which makes Hades uncomfortable, but this is exactly what the sages wanted to see.

Hades could only hear the roar of the Sage's Engine in the front row, which sounded like it was about to overheat and overload.

The sages before him remained silent for a long time, so long that the Devourer of Worlds behind him swayed slightly.

What...what do they want?

The leading sage, Heisen, remained silent. He was not originally the leader of these sages, but their true sage had already led the Titans to their deaths after shouting "For Om Messiah!" On the roster, the sages above Heisen were already buried beneath the snowfield.

Thus, he naturally obtained the status he had always dreamed of, a status that countless people had schemed against but could not obtain. Although there were three others who survived at the same level as him (the sages' shoving was also for this reason), among them, Hysen, who was closest to the center of the battlefield, ultimately emerged victorious.

So what do they want?

Heissen realized that they didn't seem to have considered this question. They were just pushing and shoving their way to see Om Messiah. When the war ended and the silvery rain of miracles slid into the metal shell, the most shocking emotion in their hearts was that they had experienced a divine war.

People stood joyfully on the ruins, savoring the victory and recalling the magnificent scene they had just witnessed—perhaps the grandest spectacle most of them had ever seen in their lives.

The dead were overjoyed. They died in the holy war, falling on the land closest to the truth. Nothing is more valuable than dying for the God of all machines, especially since they truly received the tears and blessings of Om Messiah before they died.

If it weren't for the scar on his left shoulder, still covered by silvery-white teardrops, Hysen thought he would be jealous of the dead.

So what do they really want?

Heisen realized with alarm that he had been silent for too long, but he had not found the answer to the question. For both he and Zalem, fighting alongside Om Messiah was the limit of their imagination.

If you ask a devout believer what his greatest dream in life is, he will say that he wants to see his God with his own eyes.

So... what happens after that?

Heissen slowly fed electricity into the microphone, lifting his tattered robe as gracefully as possible and bowing deeply.

"...We ask for nothing more, sir."

His sincere voice reached Hades' ears. The King of the Underworld looked down at the sage who was slowly bowing, and remained silent for a long time.

That's all for today, 3.4k words, great!