Chapter 572 Trial

Before Vito walked into the hall, it was full of discussions about today, but when he walked in, the whole hall suddenly became quiet.

All the Astartes Space Marines in the wide hall looked at him and bowed to Vito who walked up to the high platform and sat on the chairman. The latter sat on the snow-white throne made of granite, with the ring sword snake symbol carved on both sides, symbolizing justice and judgment.

Vito put on the marshal's robe for the first time in a long time. The red cloak, gold ornaments and honor chain shone on his chest. He sat on the throne, "The trial begins, priests bring the defendant up."

He looked at Asmodai, who nodded silently, raised his hand to signal his fellow priests in the distance, and soon the door there opened, and Luther walked out.

His armor was taken off, revealing his old face. He entered the hall with handcuffs and heavy anklets, accompanied by the interrogation priest behind him, and the warriors on both sides looked at him.

There were only members of the Dark Angels here. Ragnar and the Space Wolves were invited back to their warships. Bell and Eisenstein were also sent away.

Azrael stood on the roadside with his hand on his sword and looked at him. The other fallen angels were placed in advance. Not far from him, the veterans of the Dark Angels' First Company, wearing shackles and holding a spear symbolizing order, stood guard in the judgment seat.

Luther walked up to the judgment seat, and the door behind him closed. He raised his head and looked at Vito, who was sitting high up. He looked down at him, and his face was difficult to see clearly under the light behind him.

"Luther. Ars, a former member of the Order Knights and a former member of the Dark Angels, you are accused of a crime. Today we will try you and your accomplices. Do you have any objections?"

"No, sir."

"Then please come in." Vito said.

The door on the side of the hall was knocked open, and Ryan walked into the hall alone. When he passed by, the dark angels around him all paid tribute to him. Some of them knelt on one knee and knelt on both sides of Ryan's road.

But he looked straight ahead and walked straight to his position. The tall Primarch stood there, out of tune with the fence and table in front of him, but still full of majesty.

"Lian. Orr's Johnson, the king of the First Legion, the Lord of Caliban, some people call you the Lion King. Today we are here for a fair trial. Do you have any accusations?"

"I do, my lord."

"Then please speak, I will listen." Vito put his hands on the armrests after speaking, and Ryan nodded.

"I claim again that Luther and his accomplices have committed the crime of betrayal. They shamefully betrayed the Knights, their brothers, their fathers, and the Emperor and his Empire."

Lian said loudly, his voice echoing throughout the hall, "They once swore an oath, but broke it and chose to betray."

"Do you have any objection to what Lion said?" Vito listened silently, then asked Luther, who shook his head, "No."

"Then do you plead guilty?"

"My crime of betrayal does exist, and I will repent, but not to the Emperor and his Empire." Luther stood there and said, raising his gray head.

"I have never regarded him and his Empire as my country, so how can I talk about betrayal?" Luther said firmly, "I am a Caliban, born and dead."

"But your king is loyal to the Emperor, and you are loyal to him, so you are also obliged to be loyal to the Emperor's kingdom." Vito responded.

"I am a member of the Knights, I am loyal to my leader, but my oath also requires me to defend my people, my home and what I believe in."

Luther looked at Ryan, his tone still firm, "I was born in Caliban, I grew up in that forest and grassland, I am not a noble, I was raised by farmers, farmed with them, and worked with them, so I swear to protect them, take up the sword, and become a knight."

"Didn't the Emperor do that? Didn't he protect the people of Caliban and the people of the Empire as he swore?" Vito asked.

Luther shook his head, attracting some discussion, but soon the sound of the lances quieted down. Luther didn't speak at the first time until Vito signaled him to continue.

"He may have protected others, but he abandoned my people. When he arrived, reunited with Laun, and recruited knights to join his expedition, I left my homeland and followed my king to fight until the end of the universe, as I vowed."

"But as time passed, I witnessed the fall of the Knights." Luther said, and Lion frowned, but in the end, Vito asked, "What kind of fall?"

"The loss of the knight's faith. When we became knights, we swore to defend the weak and protect the people. But as the expedition progressed, the knights became bloody executioners. Without reason, they killed one world after another just because of the words of the Emperor. There was no investigation, no inquiry, and no fair trial."

"Only massacre, like a butcher."

After Luther said this, he attracted a whisper from the Space Marines present. Lion frowned, but said nothing.

"My brother, they were once noble knights, but they killed innocent people on his orders, just because the Emperor said they were not innocent."

"Astartes is a weapon. It is the responsibility of the sword holder to think whether it is necessary to kill the enemy. They only need to follow orders and swing." Vito retorted.

"Then who will think about it? The knights? The Knights? Or just him, the Emperor." Luther said seriously, without any emotion. "Our leader, the king I swore allegiance to, Ryan has also become his tool. Carrying out his orders without ever questioning them, even the wrong ones, killing those he called our brothers."

"Have you informed Ryan? Discuss it with him."

"I did and we argued about it and ultimately he made his choice."

"What choice?"

"He banished me back to Caliban along with those warriors who, like me, were unwilling to give up the glory of being a knight and had independent personalities."

"Is what he said true?" Vito turned to ask Lane, who nodded silently.

"Very well, continue."

"As you wish, my lord." Luther nodded and said, he was silent for a moment and sighed, "I returned to Caliban, the place where I was born and raised, but I found that the place had been destroyed and there were dangers everywhere. Chimneys burning black smoke, pipes spewing toxic wastewater, and mines hollowing out entire planets.”

"My people, the people of Caliban, were taken deep underground to mine our planet for the Emperor and his people. Day after day, countless people died in the mines, and many more became sick. , but was ruthlessly abandoned by outside supervisors, and eventually died of illness at home. "

Luther's words were full of sadness, "They hollowed out our planet, the forests were bulldozed, the villages were occupied, they used our home as fuel, and its people, the oxygen needed to burn."

"This is a violation of our oath, the knight's oath, and we disgrace my people."

"So you chose to betray."

"For you, it's betrayal, but for me, it's just redemption." Luther said solemnly, "Just like the oath I made when I became a knight, I have no regrets. I'm done."

Luther fell silent, but in exchange for more silence, no one spoke, and the entire hall was silent. Vito looked at Luther for a while, with something in his eyes, and then turned to Ryan.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"Yes." Ryan said.

"Luthor, the Emperor may have disgraced the people of Caliban, but he saved more people, the entire human race, just like when we were in Caliban, we would not give up the entire region just because of the life and death of one village. , your selfishness and behavior cannot be tolerated.”

"For me, my people are only those of Caliban." Luther said calmly, raising his head, "I will not be his executioner. I am a knight, and I will be the same when I die."

Ryan looked at him, "And you destroyed Caliban."

After Ryan finished speaking, Luther did not speak. After a moment of silence, Ryan looked at Vito, "I have finished speaking. Make a judgment. Marshal, make a fair judgment. I will obey."

The soldiers present all looked at Vito, wondering what they would think after hearing what they just said. They looked at Vito, waiting for his verdict.

Vito sat on the throne and looked at Luther silently. It lasted for a long time, but finally he stood up slowly.

"You betrayed the empire and all humanity. This is a fact. No matter what the reason is, betrayal is betrayal and it will not change." He said, looking down at Luther from a high place and looking into his eyes.

"I find you guilty, Luther, and the penalty is death."

After Vito said this, Luther's face was only calm. He sighed longly and nodded silently.

"Keep them down, execution will take place tomorrow."

As Vito said, Luther and the fallen angels were taken down, and their figures disappeared into the darkness behind the door, but they left even more powerfully than when they came.

Ryan watched them leave, and then left. In the salute of the soldiers, he walked through the door, and Vito watched his back and left with his robes fluttered.

And behind him, on the scales above the throne, a crow stood there, emitting a shrill cry.