Chapter 188 Storm of Destruction: Heresy and Truth

To have a Space Marine kneel down and salute you, it should be the highest treatment a mortal can enjoy. Most people would probably be so excited that their hearts would stop, hoping to condense this moment into this moment forever.

But Vito wouldn't. First, he was not a mortal. Second, he had seen so many similar scenes that he had become insensitive to them. Third, Bell kept kneeling on the ground, which made him feel uncomfortable all the time. There was always an unusually awkward feeling.

Vito smiled bitterly and walked up to Bell and patted his shoulder armor, "Okay, get up, you always make me feel wrong."

"You are the Supreme Marshal, my lord, and that is how it should be." Bell said with his head bowed, still kneeling on the ground, while Vito held his forehead helplessly and smiled, "Then the Marshal orders you to stand up now."

Vito said and walked past Bell, who also stood up after a moment of hesitation. He turned around and watched Vito sit on the steps beside the fountain. He propped himself up on the steps and sat down on it and rubbed his arms.

"And I'm retired, so don't be a marshal." "Retired?"

Bell's words made Vito stunned for a moment, and then he covered his face and smiled speechlessly, "Well, it seems that there is no retirement age for my position, and there is no pension. Damn, I really should let that old bastard sign it for me. a labor contract.”

Vito put down his palms, rested his elbows on his knees and looked at the slightly reserved Bell in front of him, "Relax, you can talk to me how you usually do, you are acting weird like this."

"No, you are the Supreme Marshal now, so I should." "Okay, Bell, don't be so rigid as to cling to the Holy Scriptures. I am still the Vito Constantine you know. There is nothing different."

Bell stood silent for a moment. After some mental struggle, he reluctantly nodded. The Ultramarine looked at Vito sitting in front of him with a serious and serious face, although he still tried his best to look as natural as possible. , but the expression was strange.

Vito smiled wryly and waved his hand, "Okay, it's convenient for you. I can see that you have many, many questions. Bell, if you want to ask something, just ask."

Bell nodded, raised his eyes and looked at Vito, "I do have a lot of questions, but I believe you don't have time to answer them all, but I have a few very important questions, and I hope you can give me answers."

"If I can give you an answer, then I will. Just ask." Vito said as he leaned on the steps. Bell nodded affirmatively and cleared his throat, as if he was attending an important war group meeting, and he still gave The kind that Chapter Master Calgar made.

But Vito is used to Bell, and he does this every time he encounters such an important occasion. No matter what he says, he will maintain the extreme warrior's usual serious, rigorous and even rigid ritual attitude.

"I saw you wrote a lot of books, Marshal, and I want to know why? Why did you spend so much time writing so many books that never saw the light of day?" Bell asked, looking at Vito, who smiled lazily. Lean on the steps and look at the fountain on the side.

His eyes looked at the splashing water, the sparkling water, "Bell, I am already very old. When you live as long as me, you will find that time will wear away your memory, and many things will gradually fade away. Blurred until finally forgotten.”

"I have forgotten a lot of things, more than you can imagine. Some of them I forgot on purpose, and some of them were forgotten because time blurred my memory, so I need to write those books, which are like anchors for each memory. , so that I will not forget those things that cannot be forgotten.”

Vito let out a long sigh, and Bell heard the sound of the long river of history flowing from those words, and a sense of aging like the vicissitudes of the sea, "Like the empire, I have forgotten many things in the millions of years of darkness and war, and I have forgotten the past human beings." How proud to be alive, I almost forgot, so I wrote my memories on paper and read them again from time to time to remind myself of those past memories, memories that cannot be forgotten. "

Vito smiled bitterly and rubbed his temples, "Every time at this time, I hate the electronic demon so much that I have to write by hand. Do you know that it's tiring to write down tens of thousands of years of memories? I can't find someone to write it for me. You can only do it yourself.”

Bell nodded and thanked Vito, "Thank you Marshal, please allow me to ask the next question." "Damn, Bell, your words gave me goosebumps all over my body, just ask me directly."

"Since you have written so many precious historical documents, why don't you make them public?" Bell asked. He looked at Vito seriously. It was obvious that this was an issue that this knowledge-loving Ultramarine was very concerned about.

"The Empire has lost too many documents, records and truths. Even Macragge's Great Library has lost a lot. When I read it, I noticed omissions, errors and even deliberate distortions. And your book There are real answers, convincing answers, why not make them known to the world?"

Bell said excitedly. He clenched his fists subconsciously, and his words became more and more excited. "This will correct a lot of mistakes. Your book can change a lot, Marshal."

Vito looked at Bell in front of him with a wry smile. He stood up and patted his trouser legs, "Then do you know what most people in the empire would call me? Heretic, Bell."

"To be honest, even if I bring Guilliman along, we are heretics in the eyes of the current empire. Even the emperor himself will be burned to death as heretics in the empire today, or hanged? Shot? It depends on the legal affairs. The Ministry and the State Council are in a good mood.”

Bell was stunned by Vito's words. He looked at Vito and hesitated to speak, but he quickly understood what Vito said, and Vito also saw that Bell did not need to explain himself.

Vito walked up and patted Bell's arm, then walked to the armored window and looked at his reflection in the mirror, "Today's empire cannot accept the contents of those books, Bell. Not only is it meaningless for me to disclose them, those books It will just get burned and cause more trouble."

"Now all I can do is to keep it safe so that those memories and truth can truly see the light of day one day."

Vito smiled and turned to look at Bell, "Of course, my old friend, I will lend you those books if you want."

"Thank you Marshal, I have one last and most important question." "Ask it, Bell."

"In the current Imperium, is what we are doing really what the Emperor, you and the Primarchs wanted?" Bail asked, asking the question that had been bothering him since he became a Space Marine recruit. Menglao’s question is, is the current empire really what the emperor wanted?

He looked at Vitor, expecting an answer from the High Marshal himself, who had joined the Emperor and the Primarchs in forming the Imperium.

Vito turned his back to him and looked at the glass in front of him. He looked at his own reflection on the glass, and also looked at Bell behind him through the reflection. He glanced at Bell on the glass.

"No, no, to be honest, the current empire is terrible. It is completely different from what we originally dreamed of. It is simply a reflection of nightmare."

Bell closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. This answer was actually not beyond Bell's expectation. He himself also knew the current situation in the empire. He couldn't avoid it at all. All he felt was a kind of shame, which was unbearable.

"We let you down, Marshal." Bell said sadly. Vito looked at Bell reflected in the mirror and smiled and shook his head, "No, Bell, you didn't. In fact, you made me proud."

"What?" Bell raised his head in confusion, Vito turned around and looked at Bell with a smile, "You are fighting Chaos without us, fighting countless nightmarish enemies in the dark universe, undead, Tyranids, etc. That's it. The emperor and I may not be able to handle it easily."

"But you did it. You allowed mankind to persist for ten thousand years. Bell, you used your mortal bodies to fight against the demons, monsters, and monsters in the dark galaxy for ten thousand years. So you did the best you could. ”

"You held the line and defended the empire. I did not sit on the golden throne, nor did I sit in a static position. Instead, I was with you, watching your sacrifice and courage over the past ten thousand years, so Bell, you don't need to be ashamed. "

Vito looked at Bell, who raised his head and saluted Vito gratefully, but Bell still had a questioning look on his face. Vito looked at him and smiled and put his hands behind his back, "I can see that you still have questions. , ask Bell.”

Bell lowered his head and hesitated for a while, then looked up at Vito, "Marshal, since the empire is so bad today, why haven't you shown up to correct our mistakes? Why have you been hiding your identity and not showing up? How can personal salvation correct all this?”

Vito laughed, turned his back to Bell and sighed, "As expected, you still asked this question, Bell." "I'm sorry, Marshal, if I offended you, please forgive me, but I still know the truth, if you If you wish.”

Vito let out a long sigh, turned to look at the angel's fountain and was silent for a moment, "Okay, Bell, I don't guarantee that this answer will satisfy you, but let me tell you a story first."