Meanwhile, on the other side...
This was a planet filled with traitors.
The humans on it, for a little bit of petty profit, had not hesitated to obstruct the advance of the Imperium of Man to please the xenos, and had become their auxiliary army.
This vile, blasphemous act would suffer the highest punishment decided by the War Council on Terra—
...to be torn to pieces by the Ghoul Legion and the War Hounds together.
Madmen.
This was the first impression of every Primarch, legion, and Imperial Army who had ever partnered with the Ghoul Legion in battle.
Even the War Hounds, who had never been merciful, were far too civilized compared to the Ghoul Legion, who truly gnawed on human flesh and blood like wild beasts.
At least the War Hounds didn't eat human flesh.
"Blood! Blood!"
"Flesh and blood!!!"
Below the ravaged ruins of the planet, at this moment, only a few scattered ghouls were chasing the human corpses all over the ground, trying to wipe off the dust on them and have a good meal.
Gnawing on their broken bodies, sucking on their remaining blood.
The battle was already over.
Or rather, the battle had long been over. Now was just the time for the ghouls to enjoy their feast.
"...Sigh, this group of ghouls again."
At the highest point of the building ruins, the commander of the War Hounds in blue and white paint, Locke, looked helplessly at the bloodthirsty madmen below.
"Why are we always partnered with them?"
"Could it be that in the eyes of the great Emperor, we are also as stupid and as crazy as this group of madmen?"
"Lord Commander, please rest assured. This is the last time."
Eighth Company Captain Khârn came forward to comfort the legion commander.
"The Ghoul Legion will soon rendezvous with their Primarch. We, the War Hounds, will be acting on our own next."
"Until we find our Primarch."
"Khârn, what kind of person do you think the Primarch of the Ghoul Legion will be?"
"I don't know. Maybe... very similar to them?"
"That's not good news," Commander Locke said with a smile.
"And us? Our War Hounds legion's Primarch, what kind of existence will he be?"
[Blood! Blood!]
A low roar still came from the ruins below. Accompanied by the smoke and dust floating on the battlefield ruins, everything seemed to be exceptionally slow.
The Pride of the Emperor, the deck.
What do you mean, Horus communicated with you about how to be full of love and respect for the Emperor?
This was what Kasjia urgently needed to know from Lorgar.
What on earth did he say to you!
And what did you choose to believe!
This is a very important question for the Word Bearers, and even for the future Ecclesiarchy, if it exists!
Even the Lone Staff Banner Bearer that Erebus had just made was not as crucial as this.
"He..."
Lorgar's expression was a little embarrassed, as he recalled the whole process of his meeting with Horus at that time.
"At that time, he invited me to visit his Vengeful Spirit, and led me into his private room, saying that he had something good to show me."
At that very moment, Sanguinius's hand, which was halfway through picking a grape, stopped in mid-air.
She took a deep breath, and then slowly closed her eyes.
It seemed she had already guessed the subsequent development, and was now mourning for Lorgar's encounter.
"And then..." Lorgar's mouth twitched a little, as he was thinking about how to present what he had seen and heard next to them in an easy-to-understand way.
And in a way that would not offend anyone.
"He showed me the various things that the Emperor had experienced after he had met him, and told me what an important position the Emperor held in his heart."
"I was also very interested in this—how did the Emperor once guide a Primarch to grow? In those years when the Great Crusade had not yet begun?"
"So, I expressed my great curiosity about his story, and was willing to record the Emperor's words and deeds in detail as a model for our daily study."
"And then, he began to talk endlessly in front of me about how the Emperor had gone from—"
"Stop!"
The Angel Sanguinius, as if she had some kind of PTSD, immediately stopped Lorgar's words.
"Stop. You don't need to say anymore."
I've had enough. Take it away!
"We already know all of this. Just get to the point."
"...It was probably that he clarified to me the Emperor's importance to the first-found son, but he also advised me not to be discouraged, that the Emperor always loved every Primarch."
"And because of the Emperor's superhuman strength and wisdom, it is not something we can easily understand and master."
"Is there really no trick to it?"
Lorgar expressed his great disappointment.
But!
Seeing this, Horus also proposed the method of their Luna Wolves legion.
The Great Luna Wolf Study Session.
This was an activity that was often held within the Luna Wolves legion while the crusade was in progress.
In the activity, the battle-brothers could all express their respect and admiration for the Emperor.
[Emperor! I really love you so much!]
Even sometimes, some of the Luna Wolves would choose Horus himself as the object of their respect and admiration.
"Alright, very instructive."
Lorgar noted this down.
However, when the Angel heard the words Great Luna Wolf Study Session, her whole body almost froze on the spot.
It seemed to have triggered some painful memories in her mind.
"But apart from that. Horus said that he had not yet found more ways to praise the Emperor."
Horus then suggested.
And if he was willing, he could first imitate the Emperor in everything, and slowly feel the Emperor's wisdom and strength in his words and deeds.
Since he was going to learn from the Emperor, the first thing he had to do was to start with his appearance.
As he spoke, Horus summoned the long-waiting Luna Wolves, and prepared a soft, black, straight wig and a magnificent golden laurel wreath crown for Lorgar.
Put them on first.
After all, you, Lorgar, are exceptionally talented. You can't just waste this advantage!
Lorgar: "?"
The crowd listening to Lorgar's speech: "?"
Sanguinius: "...(facepalm)"
"...And then what did you do?"
"I felt that something was not right, so I didn't put them on."
"And then I just made up an excuse and quickly returned to the Pride of the Emperor on a gunship alone."
"After that, Horus took the initiative to offer to help with the reorganization of the Word Bearers, but I refused him out of instinct."
Seeing that the situation was not good, he fled in panic.
"That was the right thing to do, Lorgar. you chose a correct judgment."
Sanguinius was sincerely happy for the other.
Actually, Horus was a very good leader, a war genius, a master tactician, and a Primarch brother.
But there was just one flaw—he would express his love for the Emperor in front of others regardless of the occasion.
Sometimes, it was really hard to grasp the other's thoughts.
You never knew if he would go crazy in the next second and tell you the story of the Emperor and him when he was a child.
As one of the main victims, Sanguinius had been told about Horus's growth trajectory from childhood to adulthood.
Especially the centaur and the book of constellations.
And the thirty years.
Like three nightmares, they had been haunting the poor Angel all this time.
"And then? Lorgar, what do you think of Horus's remarks?"
What do I think?
"Very shocking."
Nothing else, just shocking.
A kind of shock of having preached on Colchis for many years, only to find out after going to space that his piety was not even as good as others'.
It was less that Horus was guiding him and the Word Bearers legion, and more like...
...a show of force?
A show of force to Lorgar, who wanted to establish a faith in the Emperor within the Imperium.
(Lorgar really didn't believe in God anymore. He believed in the Emperor now.)
A religious leader who had once expressed absolute loyalty to the Emperor, at this moment, felt his own shallowness.
He did not seem to be the most pious one.
Lorgar: "...I've dropped to number two?"
In front of the Primarch Horus, Lorgar was like a new recruit.
So my piety is nothing in front of Horus!
His piety is too shallow, his faith is worthless!
He's even afraid of Horus's expressions of respect for the Emperor. On what grounds do you say you believe in the Emperor!
[Great, another one has gone mad.]
A psychic message from the Angel came to Kasjia's mind.
She was at this moment supporting the table with her elbows, her hand against her forehead.
The Angel's flawless face was hidden under her hands and her golden, smooth hair.
It seemed she had fallen into despair under Lorgar's words.
Kasjia had only just heard Lorgar's retelling of Horus and had found it unbearable.
It was hard to imagine what kind of cruel treatment Sanguinius had suffered in Horus's Luna Wolves fleet.
Horus and the Luna Wolves: Expressing their love for the Emperor.
Sanguinius: Gah! This world has gone mad!
Tragic.
So tragic.
A feeling of shared suffering instantly arose in Kasjia's heart.
"...Then, Lorgar, what do you want to do in the legion?"
Kasjia took a moment to compose himself and was the first to ask.
"The Word Bearers, as the Emperor's most loyal soldiers, the preachers of the Emperor's Imperial Truth, I will not allow any other legion's love for the Emperor to be above ours!!!"
A competitive spirit was constantly growing in Lorgar's heart.
What?
The Luna Wolves and Horus love the Emperor more than he, Lorgar Aurelian!?
No!
This is impossible!
He was not willing to fall to a level inferior to the Luna Wolves with his Word Bearers legion!
Oppose Horus, understand Horus, become Horus.
Surpass Horus!
"We, the Word Bearers, are the Emperor's most loyal followers!!!"
With the fall of Lorgar's cathartic roar, it seemed that a mountain-like, tsunami-like cheer and echo came from the communication device of the Seventeenth Legion.
Actually, the Seventeenth Legion was originally a fanatical follower of the Emperor.
Even before the return of the Primarch Lorgar.
The recruits of the Seventeenth Legion were mostly from those who were extremely loyal and pious to the Emperor, and the more pious they were, the higher the success rate of the modification surgery.
They were willing to burn all other faiths for the Emperor, and they were also willing to smash all other idols for this.
The already extremely pious Word Bearers, after meeting the even more pious Lorgar (the Imperial Truth version), had madly advanced in the direction of becoming all Horus.
This was bad.
Now there was an arms race for the Emperor.
Kasjia, sitting opposite Sanguinius, held his forehead in the same posture.
He also fell into despair.
Now, how come the Word Bearers seem to be even crazier than before!
Was it still Horus who had gotten there first...
Horus, you bastard...
The Vengeful Spirit.
In front of the huge conference room on the bridge, the Primarch of the Luna Wolves and his Mournival were talking.
They were currently being guided by the Navigators through the surging and undulating sea of the Warp, and were launching a new advance towards the future crusade target.
"My lord, you seem to be in a good mood."
The Luna Wolves' captain, Loken, after a long silence, was the first to speak at this meeting.
He could be said to be the most rational one in the entire Luna Wolves in his love for the Emperor and the Primarch.
"Lorgar is a good brother. I am happy for him."
Horus said.
"Not just for his transformation from faith in God to love for the Emperor, but also for the transformation of his expression of love for the Emperor to be more enthusiastic and more direct."
"But we still made him flee in panic."
Torgaddon let out a burst of laughter.
Looking at that guy's fearful eyes when he saw him, Torgaddon, take out the long black straight wig and the golden laurel wreath, he knew he was not pious enough.
"Torgaddon."
Horus was a little dissatisfied with Torgaddon's act of suddenly taking out a wig and a golden laurel wreath to scare Lorgar. "Lorgar is my brother after all. It's not good for you to play such a prank."
"But you didn't object, my lord, did you?"
He had even participated in it.
"Hmph, just this?"
"With this level, he still dares to boast in front of our Luna Wolves that he is the Emperor's most faithful believer?"
I see you, Lorgar, you don't understand at all!
"Torgaddon, do not speak of a loyal person who loves the Emperor like that. I believe that in the future he will show much more love for the Emperor."
Horus raised his hand to signal, and stopped this captain of the Luna Wolves from continuing to tease Lorgar.
"When he... when you left, I saw his eyes."
"My Luna Wolves, it was a look of unwillingness to admit defeat. I could see the raging fire in Lorgar's heart. He was not convinced."
"Perhaps in the future, the Word Bearers will become a strong competitor for our Luna Wolves."
One day, everyone will be an Emperor-con.
Back on the Pride of the Emperor.
"Stop!"
"Lorgar, you can stop for a moment on the matter of spreading the faith in the Emperor within the legion."
Kasjia urgently stopped the other from moving in the direction of the entire legion becoming Horus.
"This matter will be handed over to me and Sanguinius to assist you in completing the reorganization of the legion!"
"As for now, we have other important things to discuss!"
"Alright, Kasjia."
Lorgar hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement.
"But I believe that one day, the faith of our entire Word Bearers in the Emperor will not be inferior to Horus!"
"Horus..."
The Angel's mouth murmured softly.
She, who was lying on the table? Her reaction seemed a little... strange?
"Horus..."
"It's Horus again, it's always Horus..."
Kasjia: "?"
Wait, how come the Angel also seems a little... not right!?
Just set up a book club. You can see it by scrolling down the summary.
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it