Chapter 178 23, "My Father, the Lord of Humanity"

Lev, the head of the Supreme Council, sat in this conference room, listening to the conversation between the two Primarchs. Whether he was willing or not, he had to admit that his mentality had improved a lot since he swore allegiance to Duker. In the past, his heart, which was always tense in the power struggle, was now completely numb.

As a mortal without special abilities and a non-native ethnic group of Terra, he was able to enter the Terra power system and become the head of the Supreme Council through a series of political games. Lev never thought that he was an incompetent person.

Until he met Duker, he was really open-minded.

He played political games within Terra just to maintain the balance of power.

But with Duker, there was no balance. Those who obeyed were loyal servants of the Emperor. Those who disobeyed? Chaos evil gods understand.

Whether it was the Grand Master of the Inquisition or the Grand Marshal of the Ministry of Justice, he didn't care about the other party's identity, and he just cut down the knife with his hands.

Before killing people, the First Legion had to collect evidence and dig deep into the secrets. Good guy, the Second Legion directly killed people first and then verified.

In Lev's cognition, shouldn't politics be a game of checks and balances and compromises? How did it become a game of elimination?

When he heard that Duker was going to unilaterally declare the Mechanicus of Mars to be a heresy, he was completely unable to hold back.

Lev carefully reminded: "My Lord, if all the Mechanicus priests are heretics, isn't this number a bit too much? The entire galaxy will not believe that the God of All Machines has so many heretic believers."

One or two, everyone can still accept it, after all, the corruption of Chaos is hard to prevent.

But if the Mechanicus from bottom to top are all heretics, then the Empire would have been finished long ago.

The state religion does not need to believe in the Emperor, just convert everyone to Chaos.

In this regard, Dukel was as calm as ever, "The invasion of Chaos is like a flood and a beast. The people of the Empire will believe it. If I say they are heretics, they must be heretics, and they are not here either. Don't worry, I also understand the law. Everything is done according to the process. The evidence is solid, and the people will believe it."

Lev: "."

It is well-reasoned and convincing.

What else can he say?

Guilliman was a little reluctant, "Brother, the thief of the country really deserves it."

First of all, the regent stated his position. In principle, he still supported Dukel, but he still reminded,

"But this number is indeed too much. Tech priests are different from nobles. They are the indispensable pillars of the empire. If we clear them all, how the empire should maintain normal operation will be our next problem."

If Dukel can still maintain the mentality that the empire is not short of talents when clearing the nobles. But it is really impossible to use such a mentality to clear the mechanical priests.

Mechanical priests are really scarce.

Even the lowest-level priests have to go through thirty years of simulation and eighty years of assessment before they have a slight chance of becoming a formal member of the Mechanicus.

This is ten thousand times more difficult than becoming the top scholar in the ancient Terra test.

Dukel also knew this situation, otherwise he would not have taken out the STC templates looted from the Endless and asked Doron to go to Mars first to bribe those neutral great sages.

Although those templates are useless and they were all robbed.

But Dukel woke up alone from Ophelia VII and pulled up such a huge expedition fleet. Isn’t it based on only taking in and not spending out (crossed out) and being diligent in managing the household?

Although he already had a plan in mind,

Dukel still put on a pensive attitude, as if he had really gone through a difficult ideological struggle, and then continued to speak,

"Brother, for your sake, if someone else came to persuade me, I would never listen. But since even you said so, let's get rid of those leaders first. Guilliman, Lev, in your opinion, who is the pillar of the Mechanicus opposition?"

Dukel's words made Guilliman's heart warm, so he said one thing and one thing, straightforwardly:

"Mars Casting General, all the instructions within the Mechanicus cannot bypass his will. In my opinion, it is his inaction that has made the entire Mechanicus follow suit, causing the great sages to be perfunctory. If you want to solve the problems of the Mechanicus, it is best to start with Mars Casting General."

"Crack——"

Lev, who was writing and recording, broke the pen tip instantly.

He suddenly realized that his mentality was not that good.

My lords, can you let me go away first when you discuss things?

Mortals really can't accept the high-level dialogue between demigods.

Mars Casting General, also known as "General Caster" within the Mechanicus.

The Mechanicus is an ally deeply bound to the Empire and the other head of the Empire's double-headed eagle.

Let's put it this way, even if the Emperor steps down from the Golden Throne today, he must ask the "General Caster" for his opinion if he wants to do something tomorrow.

How could the two Primarchs suddenly point their spearheads at Mars Casting General while chatting and laughing?

Lev quickly said, "My lords, I think the General Caster is loyal, but he is blinded by the heresy within the Mechanicus."

Lev hopes that the Empire will get rid of darkness and move towards light. For the overall health of the Empire, he also supports surgery for the Empire.

But who would cut the aorta first during surgery?

Duker looked at him and said, "Lev, don't worry. If this foundry general steps down, the next general will naturally take his place. We can support more knowledgeable great sages to participate in the election. The Mechanicus will not If you are divided because of this, you will become more cohesive. I think Kaur is very good. He has spent ten thousand years to accumulate it, and it is difficult to find a more knowledgeable wise man than him today."

When Guilliman heard these words, he quickly said, "Brother, Caul is not suitable to be the Chief Forger, and he has never expressed that he wants this position. There seems to be something wrong with his copy of consciousness. Many times , I can’t even tell which one is the real Kaul.”

"Then it'll be Gris." Dukel didn't care who became the Chief Forger, as long as he could remain loyal to the original body.

"Grice is sober enough and loyal enough."

The two Primarchs had already started talking about the ownership of the Forge.

"But my lord."

Lev opened his mouth, wanting to say something more.

But at this moment, the voice of the original body sounded again,

"By the way, nearly half of the great sages within the Mechanicus have already sworn allegiance to me."

Lev blinked,

He changed the topic, "I am just an old man, and my vision is far less clear than the two adults. If both His Highness and the Regent feel that there is something wrong with the chief caster, then he may really be a heretic."

Lev's situation opened up instantly.

He's not a fool.

If nearly half of the Archmagos within the Adeptus Mechanicus pledge their loyalty, the resistance to the Warmaster's expedition will be greatly reduced.

If more than half of the Great Sages swear loyalty, the Warmaster's will will be unimpeded.

What if 90% of the great sages swore loyalty to the Adeptus Mechanicus? May I ask what you are doing with our Warmaster's Adeptus Mechanicus?

When he knew that nearly half of the great sages currently supported the original body, Lev, as a follower of the original body, felt that a 90% support rate was not impossible.

At that time, the power of the Supreme Council will also be brought to unprecedented heights.

Lev recalled that during the past eighty years of his rule, every time the Supreme Council was held, those representatives did not give him face.

He said he could no longer bear the hardship.

Efilar stood behind the original body. In this meeting, she assumed the duties of a secretary as usual, so she just watched Lev's polar reversal calmly and did not express any opinions.

However, as a secretary, she still reminded Duker,

"Your Highness, according to our information, although the current Chief Forger is not the most knowledgeable person within the Mechanicus, behind him, there is the support of the Titan Order and the Knight Family. If you want to replace him, the Titan Order and the Knights The family will definitely stand up and oppose it.”

Dukel raised his eyebrows, "The support of the Titan Order and the Knight Family? I also have the support of the Emperor behind me. Are they more holy than the Emperor?"

Efilar: "My lord, your father is the co-owner of mankind."

Duker continued to ask, "Can their strength be able to resist my and my brother's legions?"

Efilar: "My lords are the gods of war in the empire."

Dukel nodded, "I think the Titan Order and the Knight Family are also heretics."

Efilar was not surprised by this answer.

Yes, in front of her master, the heretic is really the busiest person in the empire.

"But Your Highness, there is one more question."

Although Efilar believed that Dukel should know, as the secretary of the original body, he still fulfilled his duties, "The Emperor made a covenant with the Mechanicus back then, and the Empire would not interfere in the internal affairs of the Mechanicus. If we violate A covenant is tantamount to betraying the emperor's will."

Dukel nodded. It was clear that he had his own understanding of this covenant. "Not interfering in internal affairs does not mean that heretics cannot be killed. If anyone feels that our actions are contrary to justice, you are welcome to report to the Supreme Council, the Tribunal, and Real-name reports to the Ministry of Justice and other agencies, remember, only real-name reports are accepted.”

He wanted to see how the heretics in the hall sued the original body.

If you want to know about the final right of interpretation in the empire, it is better to consult Dukel himself directly.

The benevolent Lord of the Second Legion will kindly tell the heretics——

"My Father, Lord of Mankind"

"My Brothers the God of Earth"

"My Loyal Manchu Civil and Military Affairs"

Do you want to report me? Are you even going to be my enemy?

You are not a heretic, then,

Who are the heretics?

Efilar nodded, she had said everything she should say as a secretary.

Now she has returned to her role as Sister of the Lord of Destruction, gazing with adoration at the master she serves.

"In all battles, victory is your due, my lord."

She had already expected that the Lord of Destruction would not be afraid of any obstruction.

But this does not prevent her from admiring the other party's calmness when facing powerful enemies.

Guilliman, on the other hand, had never thought about what Dulquer would be afraid of from the very beginning.

Although the memories from ten thousand years ago have been forgotten by him, in his mind, his second brother is truly the number one hunk in the galaxy just from the time they spent together in the past few years.

To be honest, Guilliman was not a man who would belittle himself. But in terms of bravery, he felt that there was a big gap between himself and his opponent.

He was a Primarch who was good at learning. He could not learn the scholar side of Dukel, but he felt that he could still learn the side of charging into battle. He was trying to catch up with the gap in this aspect, so as soon as he opened his mouth, he set his target on the Chief Forger.

If it were in the past, he would never be so bold.

Guilliman felt that he was not stupid. He also knew the root cause of the problems within the Empire and even the Mechanicus. It was just that in the past, he usually considered the problem from the perspective of politicians and laws. For those who could not give justice to the law, he always expressed his powerlessness.

Dukel made him realize that loyalty must not be bound by rigid rules.

His pattern opened up at once. He should regard politics as war, just like the other party, and not just a game of power.

Where is the compromise and rules in war?

Beheading the leader of the other party, if it can have a deterrent effect, is also a strategic victory.

Guilliman's eyes were firm, "Brother, if we change a chief forger, we can make the Mechanicus loyal to us and unite their strength. Then many of the problems facing the Empire now will be solved. It will also reduce the casualties of many soldiers in our next war. For the Empire, for those soldiers who should not have died, he should be executed! If you violate the Emperor's former covenant, I will definitely stand in front of you and accept the punishment of the people."

"As long as we can achieve the final victory, even if we are condemned by the people, everything is worth it!"

Duke smiled with some relief, "Guilliman, it seems that suffering has indeed made you grow a lot, but there is one thing you said is wrong."

"What is wrong?" Guilliman asked sincerely.

Duke also carefully instructed him, "The chief forger of the Mechanicus is a heretic."

Even if the Emperor stepped down from the throne, he could not clear the chief forger's guilt.

They are killing heretics.

"If we want to achieve the final victory, we must not lose our reputation for justice. At least in the eyes of the people of the Empire, every loyal Primarch must not have any stain on him."

Duker said firmly, "We are killing heretics, and we are definitely not betraying the Empire's former covenant. We represent the justice of the Empire and have the credit given to us by the Holy Emperor. Whoever is against us is the enemy of the Empire and must be an evil heretic."

Guilliman: "."

He instantly realized the gap between himself and his brothers again.

This may be hypocritical.

However,

In order to fight against the enemies of the Empire, every loyal Primarch needs such a disguise. They should learn to protect themselves so that they can lead the Empire to fulfill their common ideals.

How can they easily bear the stigma?

Even if the Chief Forger suddenly died at home, if anyone was to be the assassin, it should be Koze who did it.

As the descendants who walked in the world on behalf of the Emperor in the light of the stars, they must not be stained with any dirt and always represent the justice of the Empire.

Guilliman was convinced, "Duke, you are right, we are on the right path, whoever stops us is a heretic!"

Ephilar looked at the righteous Regent and nodded silently.

Very good, the Regent has been completely led astray by His Highness.

Perhaps Guilliman himself did not realize that he was really easy to trust others.

In the early stage of the Horus Heresy, Lorgar led the Word Bearers to stop Guilliman, facing more than 200,000 Ultramarines on Macragge at that time.

Lorgar naturally chose to deceive and sneak attack.

Guilliman also naturally believed it.

He even felt that Lorgar had forgiven him for the feud with him in the City of Perfection.

Until the Word Bearers opened fire on the Ultramarines, a round of salvos damaged nearly one-third of Guilliman's fleet, he was still wondering if the other party had fired by mistake.

And in the Plague War not long ago, the Tzeentch demon gave nine answers in succession.

If it were any other Primarch, even Russ, it would be impossible to believe any of them.

But our regent accepted it without hesitation.

He dared to believe Tzeentch's words!

Perhaps Tzeentch also anticipated Guilliman's trust in Him, so in order to achieve his goal, He did not dare to tell a lie.

For fear of misleading Guilliman.

"Your Highness, should we kill people directly, or prepare a gift for the Mechanicus first, and then start killing people?" The sister of the Lord of Destruction asked him.

This time, before Dukel spoke, the head of the Supreme Council, Lev, spoke first:

"Your Highness, preparing gifts is a waste of time. I sent people to find the chief forger several times before. He claimed that his body had a malfunction and was under repair. Let's take action directly."

Efirar: "."

Even the weakest wanderer in the empire, following behind the Lord of Destruction, will be filled with courage in his bony chest.

At this moment, Efirar deeply realized that this sentence was true.

She felt that Lev had great potential and integrated quickly.

No wonder he could fight all the way in the imperial political arena and finally hold the supreme power. He is indeed a ruthless and cruel person.

Duke felt relieved again.

A general leads his soldiers like a general. Only such a president of the Supreme Council is qualified to follow him.

Despite this, Dukel still adheres to his conscience as the son of the Emperor, "Let's prepare gifts first. If the Chief Forger can understand our ideals, I am still willing to keep his life."

Guilliman agreed, "Brother, your kindness shines brighter than the stars."

Efilar and Lev also agreed that kindness is indeed one of the many noble qualities of the Lord of Destruction.

And the kind-hearted Dukel is also practicing his character,

"The Chief Forger's machine malfunctioned?"

Lev nodded, "Yes, and he named the envoys who have not seen Terra, especially you, Your Highness. He is deliberately avoiding contact with you."

After a pause, Lev said again, "The Chief Founder, the Inquisition and the Ministry of Justice were political allies before, and they were tightly bound together by their interests. He should have stopped you from purging the criminals, but you killed them It was too fast. Before he boarded the spaceship to Terra on Mars, you had already executed all the sinners. The interests of the Chief Forger were seriously harmed, so he was furious, for fear that if he really saw you, he would be punished. I can’t control my attitude towards you.”

Dukel nodded.

He actually colluded with the Tribunal and the Ministry of Justice, and he indeed had a plan to kill him.

However, in his bones, the Lord of Destruction carries the kindness he inherited from the Holy Emperor.

"Take me to him. I will visit him personally. He will not refuse again, will he?" continued the Primarch. "I hope this will be a cordial and friendly meeting."

It is absolutely impossible for the chief caster to avoid him forever.

The Primarch personally came to visit, and no matter from any perspective, the current Mechanicus did not dare to turn them away.

"Your Highness." Lev asked a question cautiously,

"Do I need to inform the Adeptus Mechanicus in advance?"

"Yes, follow the formal procedures." Dukel nodded.

Only by doing this can the chief caster let down some of his guard.

Lev reminded, "But if you act like this, you won't be able to clear your suspicions if you execute him."

If the Chief Forger commits suicide at home, or dies suddenly and inexplicably, it can be said that it was Coz who did it. After all, it is reasonable for Terra's murderous ghost to go to Mars.

Duker looked at him: "First of all, I don't want to kill the Chief Forger. I hope to reach an agreement with the Mechanicus. Secondly, even if all the people of the empire know that I executed him personally, what's the point? What’s the relationship? Killing heretics is the duty of everyone in the empire.”

He wanted to use the death of the Chief Forger to shock the voices within the Mechanicus and make them consciously cooperate with his actions.

Assassinating the Chief Founder secretly will completely fail to achieve the strategic purpose of deterrence.

However, considering that he went alone and killed someone directly, it was indeed a bit less convincing.

Thinking of this, he looked at Guilliman,

"Brother, go with me and help me witness the heretic side of the Chief Forger."

There is a witness, at least there is clear evidence.

Guilliman nodded, "I will testify against the heresy of the Chief Forger in front of all the people of the Empire."

"Lev, if I break up with the Chief Founder on bad terms, and by chance I find out that he is a heretic. After I kill the heretic, can you control the public opinion of the empire in the shortest possible time?"

Lev took a deep breath and did not immediately answer the original body's question. Instead, he was thinking seriously about the energy in his hands.

After a moment, he nodded.

"After the various institutions on Terra were purged, the Supreme Council has fully grasped the actual power. After the death of the Grand Master of the Tribunal and others, there are no different voices within the Council. Now the energy that the Supreme Council can control will definitely exceed Everyone’s imagination.”

Duker was very pleased with this.

He arranged affairs against Mars just like arranging a war.

"Efilar, you stay on the Fire of the Heart. If the voice of rebellion within the Mechanicus exceeds our expectations, you will directly launch a fire bombing on Mars."

Maybe there are some unknown black technologies hidden inside Mars.

But the problem is not big. Their war potential will never exceed that of the original body's expeditionary legion. What's more, there are three other legions of the original body stationed here inside Mars.

If they remain stubborn, destruction will be their only outcome.

Dukel wants a loyal Mechanicus, but if they are rotten, he is willing to let Mars turn into the dust of history.

There is no sacrifice too big to accept, and no betrayal too small to tolerate.

"Follow your will, Your Highness. If there is any sign of rebellion, I will ensure that the sparks turn into dust."

Dukel smiled,

"Very well, Lev, send our itinerary to the Adeptus Mechanicus."

"Your Highness, what is the date of your visit?"

"Just tomorrow, the sooner the better."

Duker has always put efficiency first.