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

Page 236

Hades sat down, and as he turned to face Killieman, he seemed to instantly don a politician's mask. Killieman couldn't help but let out a small sigh of admiration.

"Lord Guilliman, in fact, we cannot use normal thinking to understand the behavior of these wizards."

Hades said in a very serious tone,

"The deployment of the army and the construction of the defensive lines are not worth considering in the face of psionic energy, or rather, they are not the points that need to be considered."

“For wizards, they pay more attention to special meanings and those vague characteristics.”

"For example, the Peace Negotiation Day has a significant meaning; compared to other dates, the Peace Negotiation Day is more likely to cause waves in the subspace."

“Any special date, special place, or even special thing or person can have special meaning in the warp, and these special things will bring them power.”

"An altar and a special date can grant them the ability to control the wind and rain, cut off enemy communications, block fleet signals, and even make enemy soldiers lose their minds or attack their own side."

"Lord Guilliman, this is why the Death Guard is so vigilant about the Day of Peace, because it is itself a signal to start a war."

Hades' words made Killieman think. He had indeed heard similar vague descriptions from think tanks, but they were not sure about his language and could not draw any common conclusions.

In other words, the Abustuans hope to unleash some kind of psionic spell on the special date of the peace negotiations in order to fight the Empire?

Hades nodded.

Even so, their magic did not work.

Guilliman's voice gradually faded away.

[Because the Death Guard went to stop them?]

Hades smiled.

"That's right, sir. I led the Death Guard to stop their plot, but we were ambushed as well."

Thank you for your hard work.

"It's just my duty."

Guilliman and Hades engaged in a round of pleasantries, while Mortalian stood at the door, deep in thought.

So that's another way to put it.

Under the shadow of the hood, Mortarian gave Hades a long, meaningful look as he exchanged pleasantries and evasive talk with Guilliman.

How many lies did this guy tell without Mortalian noticing?

"Then there were those two figures."

Hades swallowed hard, and became serious once again.

"As the Lord of the Silent Order, I wish that the Ultramarines would forget them or downplay them."

Guilliman's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He was about to say something, but Hades raised his hand, signaling for him to finish.

"Lord Guilliman, I would like to know, what was your first reaction when you saw that blue figure?"

The room was brightly lit, but Killieman felt an even stronger sense of oppression emanating from it.

"What is that? That was my first reaction."

He saw Hades become surprised.

"That's all? Are there any other emotions?"

Guilliman began to ponder, letting his gaze sink into that moment in his memory—that enormous blue phantom.

[Seriously, I was shocked and wanted to know what had happened, and wanted to order the Ultramarines to form Defense Formation 5.]

"Gone?"

【Gone. 】

Hades opened his mouth, could he say that Robert Guilliman was indeed worthy of the name?

But I felt uneasy about the second black phantom; my first reaction was that I didn't want to look directly at it.

Hades waved his hand weakly.

"The first illusion is some kind of large-scale witchcraft of the enemy, which has the power to shake people's minds and arouse the most evil desires in people's hearts. Only people with strong minds will not be affected by it, and even when recalled in memory, this witchcraft may corrupt people's minds."

So you want me to be aware of whether any inappropriate thoughts are emerging within the Ultra Warriors organization?

Hades nodded; talking to Guilliman was so much easier.

Killieman pondered for a moment,

[Okay, I'll keep an eye on the Ultra Warriors participating in this battle.]

"As for the second figure, it is an anti-psy weapon of the Death Guard, which the Death Guard does not want to disclose at present."

Mortarian coughed twice at the door, which almost made Hades' smile twitch, but he held back.

Fortunately, Killieman didn't pay attention to any of this; he simply agreed to Hades's request seriously.

I wrote 6.8k today, yay!

Unupdated 2/14

Chapter 283 Mortarian Admiring the Extermination Order

The absence of precedent is a catalyst for developing adaptability. Don't hope to predict everything that might happen; instead, embrace it.

[—Guilliman, *Principia*, 17.vi]

Influenced by Robert Guilliman's personal philosophy, the Ultramarines are not a legion enthusiastic about extermination orders.

In addition to extermination orders, they also tried their best to avoid phosphate weapons, radiation weapons, poison gas weapons, and any weapons that could cause lasting damage to the local environment.

War is merely a necessary process for reconquest. Ultramarines do not seek anything from the war itself; they do not derive any morbid pleasure or glory from the cries of the enemy.

This inevitably leads to ideological clashes between the Ultramarines and some Legions that are passionate about war and destruction. In fact, the Ultramarines have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the combat styles of some Legions.

The Death Guard happens to be a legion skilled in using [special weapons], and has also earned the title of [Brutal].

Logically speaking, cooperation between two legions wouldn't be very harmonious—

There are exceptions to everything.

Extermination order approved

They stood at the observation window aboard the Makurag Glory, awaiting the final curtain call of this planet.

After a long, unemotional discussion and weighing of interests with Hades, Guilliman gave permission to commit this atrocity.

This is an atrocity that must be committed.

Yet another civilization has vanished. Whether it was their meticulously crafted stone palaces or the hawking cries of street vendors, they were not allowed to exist; they were erased because they did not serve the interests of the empire.

The Makurag Glory was large and had a good gravity system, but Guilliman still felt the floor beneath his feet tremble slightly. He silently counted the loading steps of the atmospheric incineration torpedoes, each step causing a tremor.

[Sir, torpedo loading complete.]

Killieman's lips twitched twice. "Fire," he said.

This is an atrocity that no one with a conscience can tolerate.

He watched the torpedo silently streak across the void; on the scale of the Milky Way, it was such a tiny bullet.

The faint tail flame, like the last glimmer of light after a campfire has burned out, clung to that tiny dot, slowly approaching Abster in Guilliman's sight—

The torpedo was the first to enter the planet's upper atmosphere, where it burst into a brilliant blue light, but it did not explode, continuing faithfully toward its calculated detonation point.

Guilliman imagined whether, among the wreckage traversed by those Imperial warriors, someone had struggled to survive and was desperately calling out for their family amidst the ruins of their homeland.

Once the enemy has retreated, will they mistakenly believe they are saved? Will they mistakenly thank the enemy for their mistakes or mercy?

On the gray earth, he dragged his severed limbs, the buzzing in his ears growing louder. He suddenly realized this wasn't his problem. He looked up and saw a burning meteorite streaking across the sky—

The next moment, my retina, along with the sky, burst into flames.

The atmosphere howled, the oceans boiled, and a bright, intense yellow rapidly filled and embraced the gray planet. Fiery red flames devoured all oxygen, and all living things screamed and headed for destruction in the suffocating heat.

The entire planet melted away as easily as glass, revealing a crystal-clear outer shell like amber.

The brilliant red color shone through the porthole onto Killieman's face.

He is still witnessing all of this, the inevitable consequence of his actions. Guilliman needs to witness, learn, and then better salvage what can still be salvaged.

Thirteen seconds after the flames boiled, Killieman looked away.

The first thing he saw was Mortarian, whose eyes were burning with intense flames, flames even hotter than those of the burning Abus.

Mortalian harbored extreme hatred for psykers, and Guilliman chose to silently avert his gaze.

Then he saw Hades, who had no expression on his face.

Compared to Mortalian's overflowing hatred or excitement, Guilliman couldn't detect a single fluctuation in Hades's emotions.

He reminded Killman of the stone sculptures in front of the cemetery, which merely witnessed and monitored everything, ensuring the dead were laid to rest rather than lingering in the world.

Guilliman thoughtfully turned his gaze back to the burning planet.

Sure enough, when that planet was burning so intensely that no living thing could survive, Hades spoke first, saying softly,

"It's over. We have done everything in our power to eliminate this planet's contamination of the Empire."

Guilliman looked at Hades, and then the two of them glanced together at Mortarion, who was still engulfed in flames, seemingly lost in the hellish scene.

Hades silently took a small step back.

Upon receiving Hades' signal, Killieman subtly took a half-step back, then opened his private communication channel and turned on ambient silence.

[I'll be in charge of Abustu's battle reports next, but I need the Death Guard's help with the psionic aspects.]

Hades raised an eyebrow in surprise; he had assumed that the Death Guards would be responsible for the overall battle reports.

"To the extent that it is reasonable, the Death Guard will provide the Ultramarines with all reasonable assistance in punishing psykers."

Hades said, neither humble nor arrogant,

【So.】

Guilliman deliberately drew out his words. He recalled what Hades had told him about psionic beings, which, in summary, meant that they were rare but also dangerous. He advised against trying to understand the logic and knowledge of psionic beings, suggesting that if you encountered them, you should simply destroy them.

Hades emphasized in particular that one should not try to understand or access such knowledge, as knowledge is poisonous, he said seriously to Guilliman.

As the Lord of Alteramar and the Primarch who received the ashes of the Randan War, Guilliman, though outwardly a politician, is like Dorne in that he has no curiosity whatsoever in the face of absolute prohibition.

However, Robert Guilliman, like many others, liked to learn from and emulate the superior units in various legions.

Robert Guilliman pondered for a moment, then decided that the Death Guard's anti-psy unit was quite good.

Guilliman's keen political acumen told him that the Lord of the Silent Order would be a better fit for the Ultramarines in this regard.

Hades, what are your thoughts on seeking a friendly exchange with the Ultramarines to learn from the Death Guard's anti-psy tactics?

Hades stared silently at Mortarian's retreating figure, the sound from the private channel unable to travel outwards.

It seems Killman has sensed something. Typical politician.

"The Death Guard is known for its silence, and we're afraid it will be difficult for us to get the Ultramarines inside to learn."

As expected, Killieman remained unfazed and continued asking questions.

[And what about weapons? The Ultramarines lack weapons as specifically designed for this purpose as the Death Guard. Although we don't often encounter psykers, there are always a small number of psykers in a civilization, and I value the practicality of those weapons.]

"Thank you for acknowledging the existence of these substandard weapons I've researched."

Hades smiled.

"Unfortunately, because I figured out and developed these weapons myself, they are not suitable for mass production, and even within Deathguard, they cannot be deployed on a large scale."

Killieman looked at Hades.

If he didn't want to give them to the Ultra Warriors, he wouldn't have said that he developed these weapons. Hades's point is that he can give them, but Guilliman needs to show his sincerity.

Killieman instantly returned to the negotiating table, where he excelled most.

The necessary research and development of new equipment is of paramount importance, and I am pleased to see that the Empire possesses such talent.

If you need help, the Ultramarines will provide it to the best of their ability, as a token of gratitude for the Death Guard's assistance in understanding psionic abilities, and also as a sign of respect for talent.

Hades finally showed a very bright smile.

"Lord Guilliman, do you know?"

Killieman's right eyelid twitched.