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

Page 270

Chapter 323 Guilliman Forgotten on the Edge

Guilliman sat quietly in his office. All the personnel of Perfect City had been handed over to the Word Bearers. These mortals who had previously been temporarily residing in the Ultramarines' ship harbor would be taken to their new homes by the Word Bearers.

On the wall opposite Guilliman's desk, a double-headed eagle, hanging high and gleaming with a cold light, stared expressionlessly at the Primarch.

He...he wanted to see Luojia; it was an irrational need based on emotion.

But Guilliman slowly recalled the moment he gave the order, the innocent mortals who had been taught those things since birth, who didn't know where they had gone wrong—and now they were being punished for these things they took for granted as part of their daily lives, as their homes burned fiercely.

Guilliman recalled the desperate and pleading roar of the Word Bearer from the previous communications.

He was just one step away from turning against his brothers, but this was indirect, ordered... This isn't...

He suddenly thought of Ruth, the executioner of the empire. What was the Wolf King thinking when he raised his giant axe?

So this is what Ruth had faced—no, it was a thousand times more painful for him than for Guilliman.

Guilliman may understand the Emperor and the Empire’s actions; he knows that a country will sometimes encounter problems that require someone to correct them, which is necessary and essential. But from an emotional point of view… no, he cannot accept it.

Perhaps at some point in Perfect City, Guilliman had already given up the competition for the Warmaster position. His armor, now covered in the ashes of Perfect City, could no longer be as glorious as before, and he realized that he had done something wrong.

Guilliman let his thoughts wander. He recalled the worried look on Macard's face when the Emperor went to the City of Perfection—was it an act, or a genuine expression of emotion from the cunning politician?

The old man sighed and spoke.

“You always overthink things, Guilliman. You’re too empathetic, too emotional—that’s not a bad thing, but you need to control yourself.”

Guilliman does not believe this assessment is objective and rational. Emotion? No, emotion is the first factor that needs to be eliminated in decision-making.

Empathy is essential; if a ruler cannot truly understand the joys and sorrows of his people, then he is not a qualified ruler.

Killieman thought of his adoptive father, King Connor.

Perhaps he was being stubborn, or perhaps he simply didn't want to focus his thoughts on the perfect city. Guilliman discussed it with Macardo, but neither of them could convince the other in the end.

……

“Killiman always prides himself on being rational. He meticulously cites data and examples to refute me, but in fact, he cannot quantify his inner emotions. Killieman can never quantify the various emotions in his heart—the methods he has always relied on are not applicable to the soil of his heart.”

Makado slowly sipped his tea. Hades, sitting opposite him, had run out of food and could only rest his chin on his hand, chatting idly with the old man.

Hades glanced casually at Makado and spoke.

"Hmm... let me think, it's not like you were talking to him about how to manage emotions, and then he was talking to you about data and reality, right?"

Although reluctant to acknowledge Hades, Macardo nodded heavily.

“He was very idealistic, I think that was Killieman’s sentiment, the influence of high empathy on him—but apart from that, the way he dealt with his inner emotions was highly dependent on his old habits… he developed in Mackula.”

Hades paused for a moment.

“Macado, you’ve thought this through very carefully, but I want to ask—will the Emperor really realize all this? Or to put it another way, will he… will he take your assessments into account when advising Guilliman?”

Makado shook his head heavily, and Hades immediately perked up, slapping the armrest of the sofa.

"You're a liar, Lao Ma. Then I won't let him use the finger bone to point at the Emperor. It'll be a waste of his time."

Macado's face was gloomy.

"Hades, first of all, I am not called Old Ma, and secondly, his persuasion was far more effective than all of ours combined."

The old man looked helplessly at Hades's strangely disgusted expression—as if realizing he was still useful, and that the Emperor and Macado were not serious people, Hades began to slowly and gradually test their limits.

But this tactic did work, and Makado sadly discovered that he had indeed lowered his standards for Hades considerably.

“I don’t believe it, Makado.”

Makado fell silent, then composed himself before speaking again.

"He is not ignorant; on the contrary, he sees more than we do, Hades. Words are not always reliable, nor are momentary actions. Too many betrayals occur after vows of eternal love. People are not always the same; if they change, then all the previous words are just empty talk."

Hades looked thoughtful, and Makado hoped he had really taken it to heart, rather than just thinking about having the servants bring in a few more plates of snacks—heaven knows why he would be so foolish as to put those two options together one day!

Makado took another sip of tea and continued speaking.

“When we look at a person, we observe their facial expressions, body language, and speech. He, on the other hand, observes the person’s past, their projection in the warp, their possible future, and what he should do to guide the waves of the warp in the direction he desires.”

"so,"

Makado paused.

"He is not what you think, Hades. Don't judge him by ordinary standards. His wisdom far surpasses that of others."

Hades's vacant eyes darted around, then refocused on Makado.

"Okay, so from a normal person's perspective, what would the Emperor say to Guilliman?"

Macado got stuck, and finally, the old man said slowly.

“I cannot fathom the thoughts of my Lord… but I think he will… command Guilliman to remain strong and loyal.”

Hades, who was opposite him, once again showed a look of utter despair.

……

“You are doing the right thing, my child, there is no need to doubt your heart.”

The Emperor casually sat on a side chair next to Killieman's desk. Although the chair wasn't in the center of the room, the Emperor's presence made it the main seat in the room.

The Emperor's sudden arrival caught Guilliman off guard. His biological father was always mysterious and unapproachable, and he would always leave after giving orders, as if there was always something more important waiting for him—which was indeed the case.

...And...a little corner of Guilliman's mind whispered, compared to Shadowmoon Wolf, compared to the Emperor's Son, compared to the Fist of the Empire, the Emperor's mind was clearly not on his thirteenth son.

Although Guilliman was content in his own Five Hundred Kingdoms, he devoted his attention to the Limitless Kingdoms. Unlike Primarchs who liked to curry favor with the Emperor, Guilliman believed that a prosperous Five Hundred Kingdoms was perhaps his greatest treasure.

Guilliman remained silent, carefully choosing his words, even if it might offend.

【My Lord, forgive my intrusion, but if possible, I would like to know the mistakes of Luo Jia and Huai Yan Zhe, or the words you spoke to Luo Jia in the Perfect City—even if it requires memory erasure surgery afterwards.】

He needs to know why, he needs to know what kind of wrongdoing could atone for the sin of destroying a civilization.

The Emperor looked at him, his brow furrowing slightly. Guilliman's heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to speak to remedy his words, the Emperor spoke.

“I didn’t think you and Luo Jia had a good relationship, Killieman.”

The unexpected answer struck a chord with a deep-seated sense of self-reproach within Guilliman.

I... truly cannot agree with his religion. Religion represents ignorance; instead of standing up, people rely on some illusory existence for their own. If a civilization is to progress, it must first break free from the idea of ​​depending on external things...

[...But I believe Luo Jia simply mistakenly idolized you, to some extent deifying you. The planet he landed on limited his thinking, causing him to mistake his worship of you for religion, and your... handling of the situation led to this misunderstanding.]

Although my relationship with him was not good, from my personal perspective, and from the perspective of being your son and brother... I still feel... a certain sadness for what he went through.

Guilliman took a deep breath. He suddenly realized that he had said everything. His biological father, the Emperor, always had a kind of magic. He was taciturn, always stood straight, and always right. In the presence of such a being, Guilliman always felt that he was still a child, a child who had made a mistake, standing in the corner in fear and anxiety.

The emperor looked at him, his eyes calm.

“I am comforted that you are still worried about your brother, Killieman, even though you disagree on politics.”

Then the emperor fell silent, and a suffocating silence once again enveloped the entire room.

The emperor sighed softly, which was particularly noticeable in the quiet room.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, Killieman could clearly see the weariness in them.

“I was reluctant to discuss this with you, but Killieman, you have shown me your brilliance.”

"As a warning, the perfect city must be burned."

The emperor said calmly,

“The faith of the Word Bearer is tainted with poison; it is corrupting Luo Jia and his offspring. I need to save him.”

Guilliman paused... After a long while, he cautiously spoke again.

You mean... some of the followers of Huaiyan do not believe in the teachings of Luojia... but rather... some other...

"An even more blasphemous existence."

The Emperor casually picked up on Guilliman's words.

“Killiman, you may know that before Luo Jia launched the war of unification on his home planet, the religion on that planet was a cult that practiced witchcraft.”

"Thanks to his awareness as the Primarch, Luo Jia avoided being corrupted by the cult on his home planet and successfully overthrew the cult on the planet, establishing a religion centered on me, even though I myself am unwilling to see this."

The Emperor remained silent, looking at Guilliman. This was enough for Guilliman to piece together the truth.

Guilliman's mind raced. What was even harder for him to accept than the Word Bearers establishing a religion was that its core was some kind of evil entity. If they worshipped the Emperor, Guilliman could understand it, but they didn't even worship—

No, even faith in the Emperor is difficult... Guilliman felt that both sides were enough to make him nauseous and unable to accept them!

[Father, how are Naluojia and his army doing now?]

Guilliman spoke first, then realized his disrespect, but the Emperor seemed unconcerned about the change in how he addressed him, or rather, Guilliman was allowed to call the Emperor "father."

The Emperor gently shook his head, but he still looked at Guilliman with calm confidence.

“That was bad. I pointed out and punished his mistake.”

Guilliman couldn't imagine what it would be like if he were the one to see the ruins of Macuragh, and everything he had done before was deemed a mistake...

He couldn't imagine Luo Jia's current state; it was too cruel, too...inhumane.

Guilliman looked at the Emperor again.

[...Speaking only from my personal perspective, as a brother of Luo Jia, I am very worried about him. Can he and his legion rise again after this setback?]

To Guilliman's surprise, the Emperor stood up, preparing to leave, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“He will, he is my son, Guilliman.”

The emperor paused.

"But he hasn't reached your level yet; he needs some encouragement and support—"

"So I'll allow him to accept his previous opinion of me for now."

The Emperor's figure disappeared behind the door, but his last words still echoed in Guilliman's ears.

“Robert Guilliman, I am glad to see your awareness that civilization needs to progress, and I have dedicated my life to this.”

After a brief moment, Killieman abruptly stood up, causing the objects on his desk to jolt.

He looked towards the doorway, where the emperor's figure seemed to still be. His mind was reeling and confused—his opinion had been affirmed by the emperor. This was... this was unimaginable.

All told, the Emperor didn't even stay in Guilliman's office for half an hour.

Guilliman would never have imagined, and would never have known, that the Emperor who spoke words that filled him with joy had come to him because he had failed at cheating.

Hades sneezed suddenly in the reception room. He rubbed his nose and looked at Macado, who was giving him a look of disgust.

“Someone is definitely cursing me, Macado. I bet it’s Neos. He must have finished talking to Killieman, but the conversation was a complete failure.”

"No, Hades, I never fail."

The Emperor suddenly appeared behind Hades, still confident and with a composed smile.

Startled by the sudden appearance of the emperor, Hades nearly dropped his tea. He quickly steadied himself and retorted...

"Who was cheating and failed just now, Neos?"

The emperor's smile didn't falter in the slightest; he naturally returned to his previous seat.

“This was my plan all along, Hades.”

Hades let out a loud exclamation.

"So,"

Hades said loudly,

"I imagine your conversation with Guilliman went very well, didn't it, Neos?"

"nature."

The emperor slowly sipped his tea, remaining unmoved by Hades' provocation.

"Because I am the emperor."

4k! That's all for today! I remember I used to update 4k even when I only updated twice a day!

I need to take the day off tomorrow; I need to catch my train.

I'm missing an update, 11 chapters.