Chapter 455 Rebirth From the Ashes:

Sorry, I was pulled away for something this afternoon, so I am sorry for the delay.

————— (Beginning of the main story)——————————

Bell looked at the data board in his hand. The oversized tablet specially made for Astartes was scrolling with words and pictures. Those were war briefings. Adhering to the excellent tradition of the Ultramarines, Bell always tried to understand and master any intelligence on the battlefield as much as possible before the battle began.

As their genetic father, Robert Guilliman said, an excellent commander should try his best to predict any possible actions of the enemy, the various changes and countermeasures on the battlefield before the battle, so as to win the war as quickly, efficiently and with the least loss.

But obviously, not everyone had the same idea as Bell. He raised his head and looked over the steps below to look at Ragnar and Lancelot. The two were arm wrestling on a table in the front row of the stepped seats in the conference hall. Obviously, they were impatient to wait until they went down to decide the winner.

The Space Wolves and the Dark Angels decided to compete during the break before the meeting. They pressed each other's hands and pushed each other down. Both of them had a forced smile on their faces, which looked awkward and funny, but it did not affect their interest at all.

They called Olaf as the referee. The old wolf sat in a seat one level above the table, and around him were representatives of the Astra Militarum, the Navy, and the Ministry of Justice who were killing time. They gathered around the table to bet on who would win, and pushed the bets up. The same reaction was also reflected in the shouts of the players they bet on.

Bell watched them and then turned to the other end of the stairs. Eisenstein and Loken were talking to each other not far away. Around them were many equally serious army and navy officers who did not intend to indulge themselves before the war. They all sat on the long stairs and talked about intelligence with each other.

Behind Bell, on the higher steps, was a sea of ​​red, literally, because the seats there were filled with clergy of the state religion. They sat around the Emperor statue at the top of the steps, their red robes connected into one piece, and merged with the representatives of the Mechanicus next door, forming a sea of ​​red covering most of the conference hall.

But it was not all red, there were also gray power armor and silver-white hair moving in it. The battle sisters holding rosary beads walked into the hall, followed by many sisters of the order, all of them tall and wearing fitted power armor.

The armor formed a sharp contrast with the Space Marines, it was more slender, the waist and legs were as thin as possible, fitting the curves of their bodies, making it look more appreciative.

The elder nun wearing a white scarf strode in. She was not beautiful, with a striking scar on her right eye and burn marks on her lower jaw, which made her very intimidating.

But not all of the nuns were so scary. Some were younger and more beautiful. They met the imagination of the people of the Empire about the Emperor's daughters, strong, beautiful and gentle, before they tried to use flamethrowers to make you feel warm.

Bell looked down and saw the head nun at the end of the stairs. She nodded to Captain Cole, who was sitting beside her, and the latter put down the tablet in his hand and politely returned the greeting.

Bell initially doubted whether Anna would have any objections to this, but it was obvious that he thought too much. Anna was not angry but smiled and nodded to the head nun, and then greeted several young nuns following behind her. It was obvious that they had a good relationship. The young sisters all smiled and waved to her.

The nuns walked past them. Anna sat sideways beside Cole. When she looked back and saw Bell, she also greeted him. The latter nodded to Anna with a friendly smile, but suddenly, a knock on the ground interrupted the greeting.

Anna turned her head to look at one side of the conference hall, and Bell also looked up. At the side of the rostrum under the arc-shaped conference hall, the honor guards holding golden long sticks walked in from the gate. They were wearing gorgeous breastplates with the wings of the Imperial Sky Eagle branded on their chests.

They walked into the hall with guns in hand, and the iron heels of their military boots kept stomping on the ground. The neat sound attracted everyone's attention. Even the two people who were competing stopped, let go of each other's hands and looked at the honor guards marching neatly in front of the rostrum.

The feathers on their helmets floated under the steps. They walked in a line along the steps. Everyone who was chatting around immediately returned to their seats. Ragnar and Lancelot stood up and turned over the table and sat next to Cole.

The impact of the two Astartes sitting down together made Cole tremble. The bench creaked and almost fell apart, and the data board in his hand almost fell to the ground.

But he didn't have time to scold the two for vandalism. A neat sound of rifles falling to the ground interrupted him. All the gorgeous guards of honor in front of the rostrum stopped. They stood at attention and turned to the direction of the stairs. The precision lasers in their hands fell to the ground with a neat clatter.

It was like the sound of church bells, instantly interrupting the hustle and bustle in the hall just now. The towering stairs and the cloister seats above were all quiet. Representatives of the entire expeditionary force looked down with bated breath. , looking at the person walking in from the rostrum.

The gorgeous golden power armor he was wearing shone under the light. He walked in from the door, and the female judge in a black windbreaker followed him. They walked between the honor guards saluting with guns at the door and stepped on He walked onto the rostrum and walked to the podium in the center of the rostrum under the watchful eyes of Bell and everyone else.

He stood there with his hands behind his back and looked at the packed terrace seats in front of him. He raised his head and looked up at the corridor seats above. There were also people standing there, and everyone looked at him in silence.

"Hello everyone, I'm glad that everyone arrived so quickly. I guess you all know the reason for coming here, right? Ragnar." He looked at the front steps on one side of the podium, Ragnar. Sit there and smile with a mouth full of fangs.

"Of course, the planet in front of us is on fire, and it's not even burned yet. Let's go down and put out the fire, Marshal." He said, nudging Lancelot beside him with his elbow. "Does the son of Fenris know how? Playing with fire, while these guys just sit in their monasteries and chant endlessly.”

As soon as Ragnar said this, before Lancelot could react, the nun sitting next to him frowned, and the nuns around her cast frowning glances. , obviously, they have some different opinions on this.

Ragnar looked at them with a fanged smile and winked at them flirtatiously. Then the nuns sitting beside them rolled their eyes and turned their heads, but the Young Wolf Lord obviously didn't care at all. He smiled and hugged them. Lancelot, who was staying on the side, looked towards Vito on the stage.

Vito looked at him and smiled, then looked up at the people below, "As you can see, the war is raging in Vlasov in front of us. The archbishop there who was once loyal to the emperor violated the empire's laws because of greed. Afraid of the law and defecting to Chaos, he led his traitors to resist the Empire's agents of order on the planet."

"The warriors of the Krieg Death Legion are on the surface of the planet, representing the Emperor to implement the order of the Empire and make the rebels pay the price. The latter rely on the central fortress of the fortress world and the defense facilities all over the planet to resist, but according to what I have learned Received news from Inquisitor Hossenst of the Inquisition that the fearless Sons of Krieg have breached the outer defenses of the fortress and are approaching the inner walls."

Vito was walking on the rostrum. He walked on the high platform and continued to stare at the people in the audience. Lilith stood behind him without saying a word, with her hands behind her back. Only Vito continued to speak, "The rebel bishop has become even more depraved from this." Entering Chaos, he sacrificed the entire world to the Chaos God in order to protect himself. He invited traitorous Space Marines, Chaos Daemons and the forces of destruction to come to the planet, betraying the Emperor's light."

As soon as Vito's words came out, he immediately aroused indignation among the clergy of the state religion above. They stood up, raised their rosary beads and sacred books in their hands and shouted, "Heresy! The emperor's will must be implemented! Punish them!"

The younger sisters among the Sisters of Battle also stood up, clad in power armor, filled with a furious desire to immediately inflict the wrath of the God-Emperor on these shameless traitors, purifying everything on the planet with the fire of the flamethrower.

But Vito raised his hand to signal them to be quiet, and the hall became quiet again under the giant claws of the emperor's golden armor. He looked around and then stood on the high platform with his head held high, "We will punish the traitors, let them They paid the price they deserved, but this is not the end of everything, but just the beginning. This is not just a matter of Vlasov's loyalty, but is closely related to the life and death of the entire empire."

After Vito finished speaking, he nodded behind him. Lilith immediately walked to the podium and pressed a button. Immediately, a holographic star map of a star area was projected next to Vito, with galaxies and brilliant stars crisscrossing it. The dense starlight intertwined together, and many name rulers emerged from them.

The Vlasov star hung high in the center of the map, surrounded by the surrounding satellites and stars in the galaxy. But as Vito stretched out his finger and pulled back suddenly, the entire star map quickly switched to the size of the Milky Way, the brilliant Milky Way. Floating on the rostrum, the huge crack across the Milky Way on one side immediately attracted Bell's attention.

The learned Son of Guilliman immediately recognized the thing, and the Astropaths around him immediately screamed. Their faces were bandaged, and their blind eyes seemed to see the thing, and everyone screamed in terror. screamed, and Bell stood up with the data plate in his hand.

He stood on the steps and frowned as he looked at the star map. Cole below also straightened up and stood up. He recognized the crack almost immediately. He couldn't be more familiar with that thing, and all the naval officers were. Couldn't be more clear.

"The Eye of Terror appeared on the east side of the Milky Way?" Bell asked in surprise, but it was not Vito who answered him, but Cole below. He looked at the star map on the rostrum that he was familiar with, and he looked at Looking to the north saw the real crack, still there, as it had been every moment for millions of years.

"No, that's not the Eye of Terror, but a new subspace rift!" Cole's words immediately attracted an exclamation. Eisenstein and Loken beside him frowned at each other, and the naval ship The elders also started discussing among themselves, while the clergy of the state church became hysterical.

"God's punishment! The emperor is punishing us!" Someone raised the Book of Holy Words in his hand and shouted hysterically. This aroused the agreement of the surrounding clergy of the national religion. The words about the end of the world, disasters and sanctions suddenly filled the air, making the entire The hall was engulfed in chaos and fear.

The priests of the Mechanicum looked at each other. They communicated in binary language that ordinary people could not understand, while the nuns below looked at each other. Someone approached the elder sister who was holding a small statue of the emperor, "Great Sister, we The Emperor's wrath must be unleashed immediately! His will must be carried out, the day of judgment has come."

"Enough!" Vito roared. His voice was like the roar of thunder, and like lightning jumping in the storm. He instantly calmed everyone present, and suppressed everyone present with his voice. confusion.

Everyone looked at Vito, who stood next to the star map of the big rift and raised his head, "This is Abaddon's purpose! He and the Great Power of Destruction created this rift and nourished it with fear and despair. , from which it will grow, expand, and devour all the worlds along its way until it connects with the Eye of Terror and tears apart the entire galaxy."

Vito walked on the rostrum, his eyes looked at the people on the steps, and the power claws in his hands were raised to sweep them, "Your fear is exactly what the evil god wants. The more people look at the crack, the more people fall into it." In the desperate panic, more emotional nutrients that the evil god relies on will be sucked into the gap, and it will continue to expand until it cannot be stopped!"

Vito stopped. He was standing on top wearing a tall golden armor. Golden lightning jumped out of his body as he spoke. The priests became quiet. They stood on the steps and looked at the tall giant in front of everyone. , he stood on the rostrum and pointed his finger at the Milky Way hologram behind him.

"I shouldn't have told you this truth, because your fears would play into the evil god's hands, but I told you anyway because I believe you. The Emperor himself found me last night and conveyed this news to me. He Let me tell you!"

When they heard the emperor's name, all the battle sisters who were closest to the podium looked up. They clutched the faith pendants on their chests and the emperor's idol necklace, looking at them with incomparable reverence and excitement.

Vito looked at them, looked at each other with the Sister who stood up among them, and then nodded affirmatively and looked at the rest of the steps, "Yes, the Emperor asked me to tell you this truth, because he believes in you , he believed that the proud sons of humanity would not succumb to the fear of Chaos."

"We will fight! I will be here with you to defeat Chaos in Vlasov, drive them from this star realm, and let the light of hope shine on all the worlds around us, and all people in all worlds will know, We haven't lost yet, the empire's counterattack has just begun."

Vito spoke with a passionate voice, and his words seemed to reveal an irresistible passion. Cole felt a fire burning in his heart, driving away all the coldness of despair, and the fire brought Come to strength, a flame called hope.

Anna beside him also stood up, Ragnar and Lancelot on her side also stood up, followed by Olaf and more people on the steps behind them. They all stood up under the trend of the flame in their hearts, Looking at the source of the fire on the podium, the man on it.

"The news of Vlasov's victory will spread like wildfire throughout the galaxy, and the fire called hope will burn in the hearts of all Imperial people. They will understand that the light of the Emperor has never been extinguished! Hope will replace fear, and it will burn brightly. Burn until a fire breaks out! The evil gods and their lackeys will not get despair from humans, they will only get bombs and cannonballs fired in the name of the Emperor!"

Vito raised his iron fist. He stood there, wearing the Emperor's armor. Cole looked at him as if the Emperor himself was standing there talking to them.

"The fire of hope will be rekindled, and you are the one who ignited it! Now, everyone returns to you and works with me to demolish the illegal building! Starting from Vlasov! Do you understand?"

Vito shouted loudly, but no one in the audience responded to him for a while. Everyone stood there and looked at him, "Do you understand?!" "Understood!"

This time they gave him a roar, and the entire hall was filled with passionate roars. Fear was completely dispelled, and the fire of hope burned in everyone's chest, giving them the strength and courage to release that angry cry.

"Then return to your posts, in the name of the Emperor!"

"All fathers above! Hear me roar!" Ragnar spread his arms and roared. He turned around and strode towards the exit first. Lancelot beside him also nodded sharply to Vito and followed closely with his sword. As he left, the entire hall was filled with the sound of footsteps, both those wearing power armor and those without armor.

Everyone walked towards the surrounding exits to convey the order of the Empire's counterattack. Cole walked to the rostrum with the crowd. He raised his head and looked up at Vito. After the two looked at each other, the captain turned and walked towards Beside the gate, from now on, the Empire Strikes Back officially begins.

After watching Cole leave, Vito turned and walked to Lilith. The latter opened her palms, and the holographic communicator in it quickly lit up, and a holographic image appeared in front of Vito, which was of two people. bust.

Vito first looked at the man in black on the left. He had short black hair and wore a breastplate under his windbreaker that was open in the middle. "Inquisitor Hosenst, lead all the storm commandos you can find to attack the starport and control the land airport within three hours. My transport fleet will land there."

"Yes, Marshal." Hosenst nodded to Vito, and then raised his hand to another person beside him. He had been standing there in silence, with only the low breathing sound coming from the filter. "My lord, please allow me to introduce this to you. This is the Death Legion from afar. Marshal Bart of the expedition. "

Vito nodded slightly, then glanced at the silent man wearing a gas mask, "Grand Marshal, I order the Krieg Death Corps to advance to the city wall before dawn tomorrow, can you do it?"

"Sir, there is a vast open area in front of the city wall. If you attack directly, it will cause serious casualties..."

"Guarantee to complete the task."

Before Hosenst finished speaking, the Marshal of Krieg gave Vito a reply, without any hesitation. His invisible face under the gas mask did not hesitate at all for the death order.

"The Krieg Death Corps will complete the mission for the Emperor. "