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

Page 232

Gage breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, things didn't get too unpleasant between the two sides. In the end, both sides made concessions, and at least it didn't escalate to a point of confrontation.

Just now, Gage blinked in confusion as he experienced the hallucination of everything going black. He wasn't the only one who felt this way; the Queen also screamed and collapsed after that.

"He's a monster."

As if sensing Gage's doubts, the Queen spoke softly and tremblingly behind him.

But clearly, it wasn't just Gage who heard that.

Hades gave a bright smile and stared straight at the Queen.

“I am a soulless being, which does cause some confusion for wizards. If my condition has caused the Queen discomfort, then I apologize.”

"No, my cousin, you don't need to be so humble."

Gage quickly reassured Hades that while peace talks were important, the relationship between the legions was also a matter of great importance.

Gage blinked. He felt Hades' body flicker, suddenly turn black, and then return to its original state.

But upon closer inspection, nothing had actually happened.

Although the Queen behind him was leaning closer and closer to him, it reminded Gage of the people hiding in the shelter.

Circe gasped for breath. No, no, no, no, the previous warmth was gone, and it was even worse than that.

For a fleeting moment, she felt the earth disappear and herself plummeting straight into the abyss.

She...she disturbed something indescribable, and it was taking its revenge on her.

The weightlessness of her soul continued; the monster's words had turned into the piercing sound of the wind. Dizzy and disoriented, she stumbled and ran through the darkness of her soul.

She clung tightly to the feet of the man in the blue helmet; it was her last straw.

Gage's voice was still ringing out; they seemed to be heading back. The monster was also beginning to retract itself, and Circe felt her senses gradually returning.

She smelled a pungent, foul odor.

She opened her eyes groggily and saw a wisp of yellowish poisonous gas, like saliva dripping from a wild beast's mouth, hanging down to the tip of her nose.

She looked up, following the wisp of poisonous gas—

I saw a pair of bloodshot, wide-open eyes.

Death was looking down at her, and from the shadow of his hood, his eyes gleamed with an eerie light, a desire to kill her—

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh-!"

A piercing scream tore through the hall once again.

Gage, who was talking to Hades, suddenly turned around and found that Lord Mortarion had somehow appeared behind him and looked like he wanted to poke the unconscious queen with his scythe.

Gage was certain that for a moment he didn't know where he was or what he should do.

".grown ups?"

Mortarian blinked and spoke in a flat tone.

"I was wondering if this woman needed help, but it seems I frightened her."

"No need for further explanation, we have completed our investigation. Thank you for leading the way, Gage. Guilliman has a good warrior."

The Lord of Death casually tossed out a few words, then strode away from Gage's side.

The Death Guards followed him away.

Gage blinked and decided to take the Queen to the medical room first. The poor lady, the Death Guard's silent demeanor, and their armor with faint bloodstains were indeed frightening.

Great!

Chapter 278 Helping Him Maintain His Respect

Everything falls apart; the center disintegrates.

[—Guilliman quoting The Second Coming]

On that day, Guilliman witnessed the collapse of a civilization, its decaying core exposed.

Before he could even see, his brother had already raised his sickle.

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

"This is an exciting and joyful moment, and I am glad that this day has finally come, even though there have been some misunderstandings along the way."

Two giants walked in the sunlight, the white stones gleaming beneath their feet, neat and clean, like fresh snow.

Two small dots moved across the vast front plaza corridor.

The Ultramarines and Deathguards stood in neat rows on both sides of the square, silently standing in the wind, letting the double-headed eagle banners in their hands flutter in the wind.

But compared to the proud, gleaming armor of the Ultramarines, the Death Guards exuded a more somber aura, as if they were watching everything with melancholy, preparing to deliver a swan song for this civilization.

Just like their original form, still dressed like a mourner.

Mortalian followed Guilliman slowly, casually accommodating his clueless brother. The Primarch surveyed the plaza. Good, the Death Guard could take control of the area immediately.

Hades was not present; he had gone where he was supposed to be.

Over nine days, under the pretext of ensuring the safety of the peace ceremony, the Death Guard deployed squads at various points in the main city, with tanks parked in the streets and alleys, which naturally drew complaints from frightened civilians.

"Those aren't commoners," Mortarian scoffed.

But to make things go more smoothly and to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the discord between them, the Lord of Death reluctantly went to the Radiance of Macragge in person to explain to Guilliman the necessity of the watchtower squad.

Based on Hades's previous investigation of a half-mad wizard, Mortarion relentlessly pursued the truth that there were still wizards here.

The legion must be on guard, otherwise those mad wizards will rush out and detonate themselves during the peace ceremony.

During his conversation with Guilliman, the Lord of Death displayed a rare brilliance in his eloquence, cleverly using the participation of the Death Guard in the peace ceremony as leverage to arrange the scene in a way he "liked".

However, Guilliman, whose ideas differed slightly from Mortalian's, misunderstood Mortalian's actions. He believed that his efforts to enlighten the Lord of Death had achieved a partial victory, which at least made his brother less extreme.

While the abrupt deployment of guard forces would indeed make assimilation of this civilization more difficult, Guilliman knew that with the rulers now completely subdued, these setbacks were acceptable, and the price was the Death Guards' slightly softened attitude.

So the two of them, talking at cross purposes, managed to negotiate a solution that satisfied both of them.

Now, it was time to reap the rewards, Guilliman thought with satisfaction. The peaceful submission of a civilization was a cause for celebration.

The Primarch looked up and saw the Queen standing in the very center of the square, wearing a lake-blue dress with silver patterns that shimmered in the light.

The Queen held the Codex Alimentarius, a symbol of governance, and was surrounded by Abbas's ceremonial guard.

The ceremony was simple: the Primarch, symbolizing the outsiders, walked over, the Queen delivered her speech, recounting the history of Abustu and their allegiance, and then Guilliman received the Codex and delivered a speech on behalf of the Empire.

Guilliman had subtly asked Motalian if he needed to give a speech, and he received a firm and affirmative refusal.

Since Motalian himself was unwilling, Guilliman did not make things difficult for him, even though he was the only one giving the speech, which had political implications.

Historians and recorders are in place, ready to document this glorious and honorable moment for the empire.

Mortalian was very unhappy with Guilliman's plan to appoint historians. The Lord of Death approached Guilliman several times, demanding that he remove these "useless and only hindrance people".

Guilliman patiently explained to Mortalian the political necessity of propaganda, though he suspected Mortalian hadn't listened to a word. After Guilliman made it clear he wouldn't budge, the Lord of Death stared at him and slowly uttered a few words.

"Okay, then the Death Guard won't be responsible for them."

Guilliman was both amused and exasperated. These were all historians who accompanied the Ultramarines, so the Death Guard naturally didn't have to be responsible for them.

The double-headed eagle flag was still fluttering in the wind. Soon, they would arrive at the center of the square, and the first part of the ceremony would begin.

Guilliman saw the hunched queen smile with satisfaction at them, and he silently expressed his respect for the lady in his heart, for she maintained her noble self-respect even in their presence.

Moreover, she wisely chose the right path for her subjects. Sometimes, the biggest obstacle to peace negotiations is not the local people, but the rulers, because they cannot bear the humiliation of suddenly being subservient to others.

The Queen's early surrender further highlights the admirable qualities of this woman's spirit.

Killieman remarked that the brilliance of humanity never fades, no matter where it is.

Beside Lord Macurag, Mortarion stared silently at the witch.

The witch gave him a triumphant smile, mocking the Death Guard's weakness. He knew this civilization was a poisoned chalice, yet he had to accept it out of fear of the Ultramarines, watching as this poison seeped into the rivers of the Empire.

Even when faced with provocations from the Death Guard, the Death Guards did not fire a single shot, responding to the insults with silence.

No, you're wrong. Mortarian thought to himself.

The Death Guard will not accept the witch's surrender; he will strip away your disguise.

He vowed to set this place ablaze with the flames of war.

As the horns sounded and rustled in the wind, the Queen, trailing her long, lake-blue gown, slowly stepped forward and, with tears welling in her eyes, began her speech.

"My subjects—"

Mortarian chuckled under his respirator.

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Hades walked silently through the streets and alleys of the slums, accompanied by mech soldiers and soulless people dressed in mortal armor.

A faint, almost imperceptible gaze peeked out from the cracks in the darkness, greedily licking Hades and his men.

Hades silently increased the concentration of the dark domain to another level, which resulted in screams and curses from the witch tied at the back of the line.

But the psionicist's voice quickly faded away.

Hades ignored her and continued his steady advance.

Soon, their view opened up, and an open space appeared before them. Hidden within the narrow and crowded slum was an altar that faced the royal palace from afar.

But clearly, this altar is the correct one; it has not been shifted or destroyed. Broken glass has replaced gems, rags have replaced silk, and dried blood has been smeared on this altar, writing blasphemous words that Hades cannot understand.

Hades looked up and checked the place again. He dared not use the Dark Domain to cover the area for reconnaissance, otherwise the place would lose its purpose.

Hades originally intended to have the wizards reveal their true forms at the altar in the palace, but Mortarian stopped him.

That wasn't a real altar.

The Lord of Death silently sketched and drew on the map, muttering incantations. Finally, Mortarion circled the slum in the depression that was symmetrical to the Highland Palace, and solemnly told Hades that it was here.

Mortarion possessed psionic talents, Hades knew that.

But seeing Mortarian's confident demeanor, Hades silently swallowed back his questions about numerology.

Let's talk about it later, but Hades repeatedly advised Mortarion not to actively contact the warp.

During their subsequent reconnaissance, they did indeed find the altar that had been erased from the map by psionic energy.

Hades completely withdrew his dark domain, then waved his hand behind him, signaling the Soulless Ones to bring the wizard forward.

She was captured by Hades in the slums and incidentally played a role in Mortalian's efforts to persuade Guilliman.

In the Ultramarines' investigation, Arbus was only in management, while the royal family were the psionicists.

No, they are wrong.

Everyone here is a psionicist, men, women, young and old, and an ominous light flickers in the soul of each person. This place has long been completely corrupted, but for some reason, they have disguised themselves as a human civilization.

But beneath the darkness, no one can hide the truth.

The good news is that their shared faith in the same deity has strengthened their spiritual bond; you only need to ignite one of them, and the rest will perish.

The corruption in the slums was even more severe and daring. Hades stared silently at the half-mad woman, whose face was exactly like the Queen's, but who was blind in one eye.

Her other eye had long lost the ferocity and sharpness it had displayed while imprisoned on the ship. She screamed in terror, struggling to escape.

"Not here! No—not here!"

Hades silently opened a black thermos-like object, but there was no warm water inside; instead, grayish-white powder lay quietly within.

He opened his communication channel and issued orders.

In the distance, in places unseen by Hades, the Death Guard's sentry squads began to move. The Soulless nimbly climbed into the tanks, opened the black stone jars inside, and then quickly retreated to a certain area.

Among them were powdered psionicists.

The sky above Abusdu distorted slightly, but it didn't matter; the Death Guards' airdrop pods and torpedoes were already ready.

Mortalian watched the queen, who was still giving her speech, with amusement. Her boastful speech faltered for a moment; she was a psionicist, and she was certainly aware of it.

He finally felt that the face full of lies was becoming slightly less repulsive to him.

Mortarian gripped his scythe tighter and stepped forward, placing himself between Guilliman and the Queen. Guilliman gave him a unease and displeasure, as if asking Mortarian what strange thing he was up to now.

Beneath the hood and the mask, Mortalian smiled at Guilliman. Soon, Guilliman would know everything and shut his mouth, which was full of empty rhetoric.

Hades dragged the sorceress to the very center of the altar and silently began to sprinkle the ashes of a psionicist upon her.