Chapter 494 "Heretical Behavior" "Question" "Sin"

The edge of the central square, which has become a complete ruin, is so quiet that it is depressing.

Even the morning light after the disaster seems unable to illuminate this devastated land. There is no wind, no birdsong, only suffocating silence.

"."

In this dead silence, all the Emperor's Sons knelt on their knees, with solemn and pious postures. There is no anger or unwillingness on their faces, only unspeakable pain and fear.

They did not make a sound, as if they no longer have the ability to speak, but just remained silent and waited for the Emperor to come.

At this time, they were exhausted physically and mentally, and endured unprecedented torture.

The decision to give up the blessing of chaos and the "protection" of the evil god, although it represents their hope of finding "justice" again, it also means facing the ruthless rejection of the rules of the physical universe.

Every cell and every inch of skin is struggling on the edge of collapse.

Especially those veterans of the Emperor's Sons.

Their armor and body have long been integrated, and the adhesion between metal and flesh has become extremely painful. Every twitch of the body makes them almost unbearable.

Those once indestructible armors are now more deformed and twisted, with cracks and mottled rust on the surface.

From the gaps in the armor and the cracked skin, the smelly blood keeps oozing out and dripping on this dead land.

The color of the blood is no longer bright red, but like corrupted ink, with an indescribable stench.

Even these traitors who once sought extreme emotions and perceptions still cannot stop their trembling, and their bodies and souls are suffering from the extreme "torture".

The arrival of the Emperor means that they have a glimmer of hope for redemption, or to meet their final judgment.

"."

The one hundred guards responsible for guarding these sons of the Emperor, as well as the three hundred Phoenix Guards, are also silent and highly alert, ready for battle.

Although each soldier wears a sophisticated helmet that conceals their faces and expressions, they cannot conceal their inner emotional fluctuations anyway.

From their tense postures and the "murderous aura" that is hard to ignore, one can clearly feel their extreme disgust and indignation towards the Emperor's Children who came from other universes and once served Chaos.

As the most elite force of the Sons of Man, the Phoenix Guard has always been known for its fearlessness and courage.

In this ruin ravaged by Chaos, although their figures are as quiet as sculptures, the angle from which they stand and the direction of their gaze are enough to glimpse the storm in their hearts.

The Phoenix Guards seemed to "penetrate" every Emperor's Child kneeling on the ground with their sight.

In particular, most of the warriors in the Phoenix Guards have bloodlines from the locals of Universe 08 (Halo) or the descendants of colonists of the Harvest Star.

They know very well that these fallen people in front of them have destroyed their homes with their own hands, causing countless innocent people to die in the flames of war.

But they still kept silent, suppressing the anger and hatred in their hearts, and did not take action, as if every second of waiting was testing their will and loyalty.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have been unable to suppress their inner anger and would have drawn their swords to launch a fatal attack on the traitors.

However, the strict discipline of the Phoenix Guard allowed them to adhere to the orders of the Primarch, even though their inner hatred became increasingly difficult to suppress.

Without Fulgrim's order, the Phoenix Guard would have rushed to these fallen Emperor's children like a tiger out of a cage, avenging the innocent people who died and bloodbathing the traitors in front of them.

But behind this suppressed emotion, there is always the possibility of an outbreak.

If the Emperor comes and sentences the Emperor's children to death, then they will completely eradicate the traitors in front of them with the Emperor's order.

As for the Imperial Guards,

their attitude is even more straightforward, that is, they do not hide their contempt and disdain for the Emperor's children in front of them.

In the eyes of the Imperial Guards, these so-called "Astartes" originally shouldered an extremely lofty mission and honor, but eventually fell to the point of loyalty to Chaos and betrayal of the Empire.

Even though their father (Sui Yang) had not shared any information about the Warhammer 40k universe with them, it was not difficult for the Imperial Guards to guess that the dress, appearance and power armor paint of the group of "Astartes" in front of them might very well correspond to the Sons of Man from another universe.

Therefore, although the Legion had the name of "human", it had tarnished this symbol with its own behavior and became a group of zombies.

This betrayal and depravity made the Imperial Guards reveal their undisguised disgust and disdain every time they looked at them.

However, the attitude of the Imperial Guards was far more than that. Deep in their hearts, they were also wary and suspicious of Fulgrim.

In their view, it was already an incomprehensible thing to plead for these more than 3,000 scums who had been loyal to Chaos and now "turned back" because they had no other way to go.

Especially as the Primarch of the Sons of Man, Fulgrim had absolute power and prestige, but chose to mediate for these traitors at this time, which aroused the dissatisfaction and vigilance of the Imperial Guards.

For the Imperial Guards, such actions were somewhat "abnormal" and could even be considered as signs of heresy.

If Fulgrim made any further moves that made them uneasy before his father arrived, these warriors who were most loyal to the Emperor would not mind taking more decisive actions.

They had already made two preparations in their hearts -

The first is to directly dismiss Fulgrim's command and temporarily exclude him from the decision-making of the situation;

The second is a more extreme plan, that is, to attack first when necessary to ensure that the order of the Harvest and the interests of his father are not destroyed.

The confidence of the Imperial Guards to "challenge" the Primarch is not groundless.

Although the power and will of the Primarch Emperor are unmatched, the Imperial Guards have their own confidence.

Their existence is to defend the glory and authority of the Emperor, and they will not compromise or give in even when facing the Primarch.

In the eyes of the Imperial Guards, although the Primarch is their "brother" and leads a large legion, he is not an unquestionable existence.

Once Fulgrim crosses the boundary of a certain restricted area, they are fully qualified to regard him as a potential threat and deal with him quickly in their own way.

After all, the loyalty of the Imperial Guards always belongs to the Emperor, not any Primarch.

So when Fulgrim pleaded for the Chaos Astartes, or slaughtered and ravaged countless bastards of the Empire, the Imperial Guards were able to suppress their anger, and without Fulgrim swinging his lightning halberd, which was already considered very "humane and righteous".

On the other hand, Fulgrim at this moment.

This Primarch of the Sons of Man, wearing fine power armor and full of majesty, always maintained a calm and composed demeanor, waiting for the further development of the situation with an expressionless face.

Under this calm appearance, he has a clear judgment.

Although he is not good at using psychic power, Fulgrim has long been keenly aware of the subtle fluctuations in the hearts of the Imperial Guards, and can even sense their suspicion and dissatisfaction with himself.

However, Fulgrim did not care about it.

He neither tried to explain nor had any intention to ease the situation.

For him, the doubts and opposition of the Imperial Guards were not a problem, but a balance that was beneficial to him.

He knew that if he tried to get closer to the Guards and showed excessive friendliness, it would only make his father question his loyalty to him and the Sons of Man.

After all, a Primarch who was too smooth and deliberately flattering was truly worthy of suspicion.

Because of this, Fulgrim chose to treat the Guards with indifference, and even took the initiative to keep this suspicion.

In his father's eyes, the Guards' vigilance against him was the best "proof" -

Proof that he and the Sons of Man Legion did not seek improper actions, but always operated within the framework of the Imperial regulations.

This "hostility" became a kind of balance invisibly, and it was also another way for him to show his loyalty to his father, and it was also within his "calculation".

"."

After a moment of silence, Fulgrim suddenly raised his head, his eyes penetrated the broken sky of New Argo, and cast his sights on the deep blue sky in the east.

No mistake, one song, one post, one content, one 6, one book, one bar!

It seemed that he sensed the breath of his father approaching, and his expression became more focused.

More than ten seconds later, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard and the Phoenix Guard also stepped up their alert and pointed their guns at the more than 3,000 Emperor's Sons kneeling on the ground. The tense atmosphere almost made the air heavy.

Because their radar showed that the Emperor was about to arrive -

To ensure that any flames of rebellion would not grow in front of them, especially in the face of the Emperor's Sons who had rebelled and now returned.

Once the Emperor came, how these "traitors" would respond and how they would act under the Emperor's scrutiny would indirectly or directly determine the future direction of their 300 Phoenix Sons and more than 100 Imperial Guards.

So in order to avoid unnecessary complications, they became more focused.

Soon after, three exclusive Thunder Eagle gunboats appeared in the distance, and the roar of the engine also broke the silent air.

The paint of these three exclusive Thunder Eagles was mainly black, and the golden details outlined majesty and solemnity, as if it was a sign of the Emperor's personal guidance.

When the three Thunderhawks began to circle in the air with a strong sense of oppression, they gradually approached the ground.

As they descended, the Emperor's Children began to experience violent emotional fluctuations and broke away from the initial silence.

Their bodies began to tremble, and their legs became slightly weak, as if they were oppressed by an invisible force.

Fear, repentance, guilt, these emotions quickly surged into their hearts.

The Emperor's majesty was like the judgment of the god of death, making them deeply aware that the crimes they had committed were unforgivable. Many "people" had even begun to whisper, making weak prayers and pleas.

Obviously, they were filled with extreme fear of the Emperor's arrival, especially those who had been deeply trapped in Chaos, whose eyes reflected an inescapable fate.

But unlike those Emperor's Children who showed fear and regret, more than a hundred old veterans were ready to face the Emperor's judgment.

Their expressions were calm and resolute, with no fear in their eyes, only endless fatigue and acceptance.

They no longer crave forgiveness, but instead long to end their sins and corruption under the Emperor's judgment.

For the veterans, complete annihilation is no longer synonymous with fear, but the only way out.

Just like facing the mistakes of a lifetime, they would rather be judged by the Emperor himself than continue to live in this heavy self-blame and regret.

As the Thunderhawk gunship released its landing gear, the air waves raised by the engine became more and more obvious, and the majesty of the Emperor seemed to spread throughout the area, as if the air was frozen.

And the countdown to the upcoming trial has finally begun.

Boom, boom!

The low sound of the Thunderhawk gunship's landing gear when it touched the ground was like a giant hammer striking the earth, shaking the hearts of more than three thousand Emperor's Children. It was like a declaration of fate in their ears.

Immediately afterwards, the door of the gunship slowly opened, and a steady and solemn sound of footsteps came from it. Every step was like a war drum beating on everyone's soul.

Sui Yang, wearing his own power armor, stepped out of the cabin surrounded by the forbidden troops behind him.

His armor is engraved with complex and sacred imperial patterns, and the black and gold color scheme demonstrates unparalleled authority and power.

Sui Yang's gaze was like a torch, and he passed through this messy battlefield. He did not stay at any scene for too long, but walked straight towards Fulgrim.

Every step carried a suffocating aura that made the trembling of most of the Emperor's Children more and more obvious.

"Father."

Fulgrim whispered in front of Sui Yang, with respect in his tone and a hint of complicated emotions that could not be concealed.

He raised his hand to make a fist and put it on his chest, then slowly lowered his right knee, preparing to kneel on one knee.

However, as soon as his movement started, he was stopped by Sui Yang's raised gesture.

"No need to be polite, kid." Sui Yang's voice was gentle, yet dignified.

He waved his hand gently, which seemed to not only prevent Fulgrim from kneeling, but also hinted at his tolerance and trust in the original body.

The Phoenix Guards and more than a hundred Imperial Guards who were responsible for the vigilance were still keeping an eye on the more than 3,000 Emperor's Sons in order to avoid unexpected surprises.

Taking note of this, Sui Yang did not rush to speak, but also turned his attention to the Emperor's Son who was kneeling on the ground.

His gaze was deep and sharp, as if it could penetrate the soul of every Emperor's Son, revealing the deepest regrets and fears in their hearts.

At this moment, time completely stopped, and even the air became extremely heavy.

Suddenly, Sui Yang's eyes were filled with golden light, and then, a spiritual energy impact like a blazing sun centered on him, covering the entire core area of ​​New Argo in an instant.

This sudden change made everyone including Fulgrim unable to open their eyes.

After the scorching sun-like impact dissipated, Fulgrim, who was the first to regain his vision, looked forward——

? ?

It was then discovered that only half of the Emperor's Children present were left, and the bodies of these half of the Emperor's Children, which were originally twisted, deformed, and about to collapse and die, had returned to normal.

However, the word "sin" was clearly branded on the faces of half of the Emperor's sons.