Chapter 543: Reunion and a Dignified Departure

"So, Morgan, what you are saying is that you hope that our two legions will join forces to conduct a complete evacuation of the residents of the Perfect City: as much as possible before the emperor's wrath completely burns the city to the ground?"

[Otherwise, do you have any more efficient ways, Robert? 】

“On a humanitarian basis: not yet.”

The corner of the Lord Macragge's mouth twitched slightly, but it soon returned to normal. His eyes and attention were focused on the thick stack of files in front of him, as if the conversation with his blood relatives was nothing more than a conversation. Just a casual thing.

The archon's hand, accustomed to holding a quill, clenched the rough parchment tightly, and a pair of cobalt blue pupils flashed with the luster of reading at the frequency of milliseconds: The master of five hundred worlds in less than a minute He had just taken this long document, which was almost three fingers thick, from Morgan's hand a while ago, and now, he had chewed most of the information and knowledge into his brain.

This made Guilliman curl up his lips and seemed to be relieved.

"To tell you the truth, Morgan, my idea actually coincides with yours. As early as the Emperor told me that he planned to send my legion to deal with the problem of the Perfect City, I immediately built a Action plan: including how to evacuate the entire Perfect City’s 6 billion people in up to seven days.”

[Did you already know that there would be 6 billion people in this city? 】

Morgan was leaning on the seat, her back and left shoulder and elbow squeezed together, and her free right hand was holding the same document tightly: when raising this question, the original body's interesting eyes swept across He knew her blood relatives, and was obviously very interested in the specific source of the Lord of Five Hundred Worlds obtaining this accurate information.

After all, from beginning to end, Morgan never forgot one thing: Although the Macragges seemed to have little interest in everything about the Human Empire, Guilliman would always inadvertently make mistakes when talking to Mobai. During this time, he revealed his meticulous understanding of the outside world, and more specifically, the other Astartes Legions.

He knows the movements of other legions and their internal situations, and even better than his blood brothers themselves, he knows the abilities of the best scions under their command and their real-time positions: no one knows how Guilliman does it This is something that the more I think about it, the more terrifying it becomes.

The reason why the Lord of Avalon was able to notice this was because Guilliman accidentally revealed something in his regular government affairs exchanges with her: the Macragge once boasted to Morgan about her [special employee] Danti. The Orcs built a fortress in the Salamas sector, and euphemistically stated in the letter that they were eager to obtain the final blueprint of the fortress.

But what's interesting is that when Morgan received this letter, Dantioch had just built the fortress less than half a month ago, and he had never boasted about it: this chilling reality once made Morgan The entire General Administration of Internal Affairs was thrown into the Salamas sector, but in the end they still found nothing.

From that moment on, the Spider Queen actively tried to pry Guilliman's mouth open: but this was clearly a difficult goal.

"It's just hearsay."

Faced with Morgan's curiosity, Guilliman just smiled and brushed it off.

His smile was so perfect, without any threat at all, just like the sun that had just stepped through the morning light. This gentle smile came not so much from the skin as from a passionate heart: it was only The optimism born from the infinite desire for the future and the simple self-confidence that can overcome all hardships.

Morgan took a second to stare at the smile. She always hoped to see some clues in it, but every time she failed: Guilliman's smile always seemed to her puzzling. Yes, if we only start from this smile, then the Macragge seems to be a simple, pure and true person who believes in the essence and ideals of this great expedition, and firmly believes that the great revival will definitely be realized.

In other words, even Corax is not so idealistic: Guilliman seems unable to see the countless sufferings lurking in the dark places of this galaxy. He truly believes that the great crusade they launched will Towards a glorious future without smoke.

From this point of view, he seems to be the one most similar to the Emperor.

Same... frivolous.

Morgan burst into laughter because of this speculation in his mind.

But she could still hear the next words from Guilliman's mouth.

"But in any case, Morgan, I am very happy that we can reach a tacit understanding on this point in advance, without any discussion or argument: no matter what the specific orders the emperor gives us, we must work for the numbers in the Perfect City. A billion lives are responsible.”

"I hope we can continue to be consistent at this point, sister."

【certainly. 】

The primarch noticed her blood relative's gaze, and she smiled and made her promise.

[Just for the perfect city? 】

"Not really."

Guilliman shook his head.

"The Perfect City was originally a mistake. It is just like the wrong path that Lorgar went astray. It has few merits, but the billions of people in it are innocent. Although they have become believers who go against the truth of the Empire, they are not cunning people. They are also working hard to manage their lives with a positive attitude: it's just that before that, they did not get the right guidance."

"So, faith is not the reason why they should be punished: even if our Gene Father really wants to punish Lorgar and his Word Bearers Legion for the problems of the Perfect City, we must keep these innocent people away from the Emperor's wrath in the early stage of the cleanup."

"Speaking of this, I hope you have also planned a plan in advance, Morgan, so that we can exchange each other's plans and better check for deficiencies: only the eyes of others can see the whole body of the person."

The Primarch smiled.

[I do have a plan. ]

Morgan rubbed her chin and put the copy in her hand aside.

[But it's very rough, because I don't have much time to prepare, so I'd rather see yours, but there's one thing I want to ask in advance, Robert: Do you really think your plan will be implemented smoothly? ]

"...Very difficult."

Morgan's question made Guilliman silent for a moment, then he shook his head, bitterness overflowed from the corners of his mouth, and the idealistic brilliance in his chest was dormant under the ruthless logic of realism in his mind at this moment.

"Although I personally hope to save the residents of Perfect City from fighting, based on my understanding of that city, their residents will definitely not be moved by words: I will order my soldiers to strictly abide by the complete evacuation time of seven days, and try not to use force unless they have to passively fight back."

[Then what do you think is the probability of a violent conflict? ]

"Almost 100%."

The Primarch snorted lightly, obviously thinking of something bad.

"After all, that's a population of six billion people. We can't guarantee that every one of them is calm and wise. In comparison, there are only four hundred million people on my Macragge, but even so, there is still an Illyrian community among them that gives me a headache. They are willing to be bound by the wildness in their hearts and continue to resist my rule."

"Four hundred million enlightened people are like this, let alone six billion stubborn believers?"

(Yes, I wrote it right. According to the information I found, there are only four hundred million people on Macragge, and the natural environment of Macragge is not that good. In general, it is a relatively difficult civilized world)

"I will try my best to avoid conflicts, but the final result..."

Guilliman hesitated for a moment, and his next sentence turned into a sigh.

"I just hope that Lorgar can keep his sanity and not be consumed by anger."

"I just hope that the Emperor can find a way to help our ignorant brothers to turn back from their mistakes."

"I hope things won't get worse: but if the Emperor is here, it shouldn't get worse."

[……]

Morgan paused at Guilliman's words, and then the Lord of Avalon raised her head, with a dark line on her face, and glanced at her brother.

It was an extremely complex look: it contained pity, ridicule, spit, nothing to say, ridiculous, and all kinds of things that Guilliman couldn't say.

[I think it's better to believe in our own efforts than to rely on others. ]

The Primarch snorted coldly.

[I hope you brought enough power this time, Robert: You should have brought enough power, right? 】

Halfway through her words, the Lord of Avalon glanced suspiciously at the bird's-eye view of the auspicious instrument hanging on the side of her head. The hundreds of densely packed red dots on it symbolized the huge fleet that followed Archon Macragge: they were the newly established 43rd Expeditionary Fleet, full of elites from all walks of life from the Five Hundred Worlds.

"Of course."

Guilliman nodded a little embarrassedly.

"Although I cannot gather my entire legion because of the necessary defense forces in all the Five Hundred Worlds and the various branch expeditionary fleets that have not yet returned in time, I still brought as many warriors as possible, equivalent to about 60% of the strength of the Ultramarines."

"The number is not particularly large: it barely exceeds 120,000."

[……]

Morgan: 60,000 Dawnbreaker Lords.

The Primarch's face was a little distorted, but this distortion obviously caused her Macragge blood relatives to have a wonderful misunderstanding: So, Guilliman quickly raised his hand and wrote a string of numbers in the air that made Morgan gasp twice, trying to make up for himself.

"But don't worry, Morgan, I have brought enough heavy firepower and war equipment, as well as a large expeditionary fleet, almost two hundred capital ships, and a mortal auxiliary army to match this number."

[...? ? ?]

Why do you bring heavy firepower and equipment?

Aren't we just going to burn... evacuate a city?

Morgan opened his mouth slightly, his eyes were dull, and he fell into silence.

"What's wrong?"

Guilliman realized it later.

[Nothing: Why do you bring so much heavy equipment? ]

"Ah, this..."

The Macragge hesitated.

"Because this is the first time I have received a direct order from the Emperor, and it is such a sensitive issue, so I subconsciously prepared myself and armed my 120,000 warriors as much as possible to deal with emergencies that may occur at any time."

"Any questions?"

[...Nothing. ]

Morgan grinned.

[I hope Luo Jia will really believe that we are only targeting the Perfect City, not him and his Word Bearers Legion. ]

"I don't understand, Morgan."

[You don't need to understand, Robert: Since you have so many people, the main task of evacuation will be handed over to you. After all, I can only draw out 20,000 Dawnbreaker warriors, and my preparations are not...proper. ]

The Spider Queen licked her lips. In her exaggerated smile, she concealed some realities from her blood relatives: Morgan did only draw out 20,000 Dawnbreaker warriors, but more than 6,000 of these 20,000 were Terra veterans who had participated in the Unification War, and the remaining more than 10,000 people had also fought on the battlefield and were elites who could be put into battle at any time.

In terms of overall quality, this force has surpassed all the resources that Morgan had spent to support Zhuangsen in the Third Randan War: With the potential of the Far Eastern border, the strength of the Dawnbreaker has doubled in the past few decades.

However, because there has always been Guilliman as a comparison target, Morgan has always felt that her management is not very successful: otherwise why can't she come up with 120,000 people?

"Didn't you make the necessary preparations?"

Guilliman frowned.

[Hmm... I can't say anything. ]

Morgan thought for a while.

[I actually mobilized the hidden energy of the Second Legion. ]

"Hidden energy?"

[Ah, ten hours ago, I just called Zhuangsen and asked our Caliban brother if he could squeeze out some time from his busy schedule to go to the Perfect City to ensure... be prepared. ]

"What did he say."

[Jangsen quickly said that he happened to be free in the next few months. 】

"So, do we still have to act with that lion of Caliban?"

The Lord of Macragge kneaded his eyebrows in pain. He seemed to have mentioned a word that made him most uncomfortable: To be honest, when the Emperor first revealed to him that he was going to let him take his Ultramarines to deal with the problem of the Perfect City, Guilliman had prayed in his heart, hoping that he would not bear this pressure alone.

His prayer was effective: in the second conversation between the Emperor and him, this task was changed to be carried out jointly by him and Morgan, which really relieved the Macragge people: However, now thinking back...

Did he pray a little too much?

Guilliman pursed his lips, his face was a little pale. Obviously, the joining of a certain Caliban made Guilliman very uneasy: Morgan noticed the embarrassment of his blood relative in time, and then showed him a comforting smile.

[Don't worry, Robert, Jonson will not be a problem. In this mission, someone can control the lion: You don't think you are the first person to suggest to me that I should make more preparations. 】

"Who else?"

[The Emperor. 】

The Primarch smiled.

[When our Gene Father gave me this order, he added a sentence at the end, asking me to prepare some necessary means: I asked him what the necessary means were. 】

"Then?"

[Then, then he assembled the entire Custodians in front of me, and called Leman Russ, ordering his Space Wolves Legion to prepare: Yes, not only Zhuangsen and his Dark Angels, our father also took the entire Custodians and the entire Space Wolves Legion to the Perfect City together. As for our two legions? But they are just the vanguard of this incident. 】

"Hiss..."

Guilliman's eyes widened.

"Four legions? In addition to the Custodians?"

"What exactly does father want to do? Did Lorgar do something blasphemous?"

[How would I know. 】

Morgan's voice was lazy and very indifferent.

She really didn't know. Of the information she had, the only thing that was certain was the inefficiency of the Word Bearers and Lorgar's fanaticism for faith: the former could only indicate the incompetence of the entire 17th Legion, while the latter was never a big problem in Morgan's eyes.

In fact, the Lord of Avalon had always doubted whether the so-called "faith" was the red line in the Emperor's heart: look at the Mechanicus who praised the name of Omnissiah all day long; look at the secret worship of the Emperor's ascension to the gods that had been quietly going on in the Imperial world; not to mention the efforts of the Word Bearers in these years...

If faith could really shake the red line in the Emperor's heart, then his entire Great Crusade must have been accompanied by "Ambush from All Sides".

Even when he was sleeping.

...hiss...

As a person who was often forced to suffer from insomnia, Morgan suddenly understood the occasional convulsions of her gene father.

[In short, Robert, don’t worry about whether these are present or not: neither the Forbidden Forces nor the Space Wolves can be changed by the will of either of us. As for Jonson, let alone that, we only need to Just do our part and that's it. 】

[You come up with your plan, implement it, and formulate and implement the evacuation of the entire Perfect City. As for whether the residents are willing to cooperate, and what kind of questions Luo Jia will ask us after arriving, what else? If you have any verbal work like this, leave it all to me: we can divide the work and treat it as an ordinary overtime task. 】

[There’s not much overtime pay anyway, so just fool around, as long as it makes sense...]

Morgan's voice became softer and softer, and the last one was almost talking to himself.

"So much the better."

Guilliman nodded, and he admitted that he was a little excited: thinking that he did not need to carry out the verbal negotiations, the Lord of Macragge had a new feeling for his Avalon blood relatives. of gratitude.

"But, Morgan: you really don't wonder why the Emperor summons so many legions?"

"In my impression, there seems to be no operation that would require four legions."

【……yes. 】

The Primarch was silent for a moment and nodded.

But in his heart, Morgan already knew the answer to Guilliman's question.

The Emperor's actions are not difficult to interpret: it is simply that he is about to return to Terra and can no longer take care of the front lines of the Great Crusade, so many things that were originally planned to be smooth and smooth now need to be dealt with by thunderous means.

The four legions that will soon gather on the Perfect City are an example.

If Luo Jia's matter can finally be resolved reasonably.

That was nothing more than a rare reunion between four or five brothers.

But if Luo Jia's matter cannot be settled smoothly in the end...

Then, Luo Jia, and even the Word Bearers as a whole, can only be allowed to behave honorably.

but no matter……

[Since the order has been given, we have no reason to disobey it. 】

Morgan glanced at the clock.

[My Legion still needs three hours to complete the final supply work. What about your Ultramarines, Guilliman? 】

"About the same time."

The Macragge nodded.

[Then, we will officially start our subspace voyage in four hours. 】

"Can."

Guilliman nodded.

"So next: we have to continue to refine the details of the plan."

【No……】

Morgan shook his head.

She smiled ambiguously.

[We have more important things to do. 】

"...for example?"

[For example... Guilliman. 】

[You haven’t met the brother we just returned, right? 】