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

Page 113

At first, Vulcan thought they were locals who had stripped the bodies of their wealth and clothing, but after staring at them for a long time, he realized that they hadn't removed any jewelry.

"They are counting."

Mortarian's nonchalant voice rang out.

“The oppressed need to feel for themselves that the oppression has disappeared; they need to stand up for themselves.”

"so?"

Vulcan was puzzled.

"So I made them count how many tyrants were dead, to make them realize that the heavy oppression was over."

Vulcan was completely speechless.

He couldn't understand, he couldn't comprehend it, and he struggled to understand his brother. He had heard that Mortarian came from a dark, dead planet. So, was this their custom?

"Did you ask the locals for their opinions?"

Vulcan cautiously asked the last question, but Mortarian's reaction devastated him.

"?"

What's there to ask?

These ragged people were completely unaware of Mortarion's plans, and the Death Guard had too many things to do to deal with them.

What, talk to a local? He might as well sit in the medical room for a while.

Vulcan completely broke down, and the fire dragon spoke slowly but firmly.

“Brother, brother Mortarian, you cannot replace one tyranny with another.”

Mortarian has come to a standstill.

Is Vulcan saying that the Death Guard is a tyranny?

They clearly brought liberation; Mortarion even let those people witness the tyrant being hanged.

tyranny?

He hasn't done anything yet, so why should we criticize him?

Suddenly, Mortarian realized that his brother was known for his kindness. He breathed a sigh of relief almost imperceptibly.

That's because he's too kind, Mortarian thought.

If Vulcan were in Barbarossa's world of death, he wouldn't think this way.

However, Fernus spoke first, turning to Vulcan with a reassuring look. Vulcan nodded, indicating that he was alright.

"So, brother, is this what you wanted to see?"

"Leaving aside words like tyranny, I think Brothers like Guilliman might be interested in that, but I don't really pay much attention to them."

"I'd like to ask, if you know you've purged all of Galaspar's administrative staff, where are you going to find replacements?"

Motarian choked up, and after a moment, he slowly spoke.

"The Empire will send an administrative agency; they have already sent the tax department."

Fernus smiled slightly, but his furrowed brows did not relax.

“My brother, we do have slightly different opinions on the Empire’s taxation, but I think you know that the Empire cannot send so many administrative personnel to a giant hive region like the Galapa Star Region in a short period of time.”

In fact, apart from a few major planets or extreme star systems, on most of the conquered planets, the Empire simply sent in tax officials and symbolically inserted a few administrative departments, leaving the rest to the native inhabitants of the original planets.

Mortarian fell silent. He hadn't paid attention to the subsequent administration of the hive; he only knew that the factories there were no longer operating.

But that's how it is during wartime, isn't it?

"Death Guard can be managed by locals."

"I hope this is a viable solution."

Phenus spoke ruthlessly.

"But on this planet, with its highly specialized education system, I don't think you can find a large number of administrative talents in the short term."

Mortarian fell silent, quietly hiding himself in the shadow of his hood, but he knew he was not defeated.

"This is the first time I've done this. Nobody told me that besides war and victory, the Legion would also have to worry about these mortal affairs."

"But the Death Guard's performance in war has not been so satisfactory, my brother."

Fernus continued to pursue Mortarian, trying to tear him apart with words.

"The fleet suffered too many losses, and the Death Guard's casualty ratio in this battle was alarmingly high, even compared to other battles."

The Death Guard suffered over 10,000 casualties in this battle, most of whom were new recruits who had just joined the Legion.

Fenus looked at his brother, who was covered in a gray haze, with displeasure. Poison gas and a tattered cloak obscured most of his brother's body, preventing him from seeing Mortarian's reaction.

Is this newly returned brother similar to Peturab's attitude towards his legions and offspring?

No genetic material would praise such an attitude toward offspring.

The Mortarian in front of him stirred, and poison gas dissipated into the air with his movement.

"These are necessary sacrifices for the liberation of this region."

He spoke in a hoarse voice, and Finus noticed that his brother's tone was excessively hoarse, like a pebble that had been constantly eroded in acid. But given their physical constitution, it should have been difficult for them to suffer long-term, permanent damage.

"Have you really liberated this place?"

Finus spoke up, genuinely unable to understand his brother's strange way of thinking, his avoidance of the important issues, but the data and reality were right there.

Does he turn a blind eye to those enormous sacrifices?

Based on Mortalian's behavior, Finus has concluded that Mortalian places considerable emphasis on certain "values" of thought.

But it wasn't the pursuit of glory in the usual sense; he deliberately chose Galaspa in order to pursue glory.

After all, this battle, no matter how you measure it, cannot be described as "glorious".

Fernus knew that his close friend Fugan would pursue perfection and glory on the battlefield, winning every war beautifully.

But he was ashamed to compare their previous battles with the current battle in Galaspa.

A pointless battle.

Fernus thought.

The immense sacrifices and losses involved conquering a star system that couldn't immediately provide the Empire with production capacity; in fact, the Empire would need to provide additional support there.

The items on both sides of the scale are not equal.

Why didn't his brother abandon this place, let the Empire surround this star system, and then launch a joint attack with other legions when the Empire needed it?

Before this assessment, in order to thoroughly and meticulously examine his brother's results, Finus meticulously reviewed all the data and information.

There are at least three pocket kingdoms in the star system not far away that are suitable for the Death Guard to attack. Mortarion could easily conduct the Death Guard's first battle speech on their scenic home planets.

“My brother, based on reality and post-war data assessment, I believe this battle is not suitable to be recorded in the annals of the Empire.”

According to imperial custom, after a legionary battle, the victorious achievements would be recorded in the annals of history by historians and publicized throughout the empire.

Legions that win hard-fought victories and demonstrate outstanding performance in battles will be further rewarded, sometimes even with direct rewards from the Emperor.

But not all battles are like this.

Those disgraceful battles, or those that resulted in heavy losses for the legions and were not glorious, would be buried and disappeared into the vast river of the Empire's history.

Clearly, such a battle, as the Death Guard's first battle, a battle that would leave an impression on other legions, is not suitable for publicity.

Fernus was also thinking of Mortarion, after all, some of their other brothers were not so forgiving.

He looked at Mortarian, who had been standing silently without saying a word, the poison gas slowly dissipating.

"you--"

You cannot insult my and my Legion's victory. You are merely trying to steal the Death Guard's victory and measure this war by your so-called standards.

In war, the only standard is victory or defeat. Don't use those cumbersome standards you define to limit and steal our victory.

Mortarian was familiar with the ugly faces of these people. When he was still young and weak, his foster father would always assign him various tasks. Whenever Mortarian completed them, he would give a completely opposite evaluation.

Just like now.

They won the war, but will they be judged by enough ordinary officials afterward?

Mortarion's vicious words, defending his own and the Death Guard's honor, were about to be sprayed out like poison gas—

Behind him, his death shroud suddenly stirred.

In front of him, Fernús and Vulcan stared at him with some confusion behind him.

So Mortarian stopped talking and turned around.

Fully armed and clad in the Death Shroud and Termination Armor, Hades stood prominently in the ranks. On his left shoulder was the emblem of the Death Guard, while on his right shoulder was the emblem of the Cult of Mars.

Hades took a slow step forward, feeling as exhausted as if he had just climbed a mountain.

He clasped his hands together on his chest and performed the Eagle Salute.

"Excuse me for disturbing you, sir. The data you asked me to collect has been completed."

What data?

Although Mortarian was happy to see Hades awake, he also felt sorry for not being able to visit him.

But now these emotions, including the anger just now, are surrounded by inexplicable doubts.

Mortarian looked puzzled, but thankfully he was wearing a breathing mask, so Fernus and Vulcan didn't see his confused expression.

However, Hades didn't give Mortarian time to react and quickly continued speaking.

When Fernus and Vulcan saw that Mortarian was neither angry nor reprimanded for the death shroud that had interrupted their conversation, they assumed it was Mortarian's arrangement and said nothing more.

"The second survey report on the distribution and productivity of the Galapagos nest cities has been completed, and a preliminary assessment of the population structure and the original division of labor has also been conducted."

"The mechanical sages have also analyzed this."

"The conclusion is that Galaspa is a suitable recruiting planet for the Death Guard, and your previous doubts can be dispelled."

He never considered using Galaspa as a recruitment planet.

"So that's it?"

However, Fernus's words interrupted Mortarian's doubts.

Phenus's gaze fell on Hades, who looked thoughtfully at the Martian insignia on his shoulder armor.

If they were sent to Mars when Deathguard was first established, they probably wouldn't be able to get the Martian certification badge now, right?

But Phenus quickly turned his attention to Hades's words.

If his eccentric brother intended to use Galaspa as a recruitment planet, then his actions would be somewhat understandable.

It's much more reasonable than doing it for "liberation".

After all, Galaspa, as a giant hive world, also possesses resources that can produce large quantities of weapons and ammunition, and has a large population and abundant resources.

In general, empires wouldn't give up control of legions in such worlds because they are simply too wealthy.

However, the difficulty of attacking this star system meant that the Empire would not touch it.

If the Death Guards disregard the blockade and insist on attacking and capturing this star system, they will suffer heavy losses and can then apply to the Empire to designate this star system as a recruitment star system.

Is it

Fernus gave Mortarian a meaningful look.

Was he deliberately purging all administrative personnel to make it more difficult for the imperial administration to take over the resources here?

Such foresight! I never expected it.

Generally speaking, among the Primarchs who returned to the Primarchy, few, apart from Guilliman, began to lay out the Legion's recruitment sources and supply bases so early on.

And Fenus also knew that his brother's home planet Barbalus, Mortalian's homeworld, seemed unable to support a large population.

So, was Mortalian's behavior just now intended to prevent them from discerning his intentions and reporting them to the Imperial administration?

That's it

No, Phenus thought, the Primarchs don't really like the Imperial institutions.

"I see, I misunderstood, my brother."