Warhammer: Don't Call Me the God of All Machines

Chapter 784 Guilliman at the Front Lines (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

When Alicia learned from Diocletian that Christopher, the head of the Star Court, was still alive, she was struck dumb, instantly plunged into deep shock and horror.

She clearly witnessed the sudden death of the Star Language Court's presiding official, and other high lords could also testify to this as eyewitnesses.

Furthermore, the opponent's corpse was twisted into the shape of a chaotic egg under the so-called blessing of that living saint, and was then killed by the battle nun.

These fragments of memory are incredibly clear; Alicia can even vividly recall the adrenaline rush she felt when she saw the host transform into a Chaos Egg.

However, the Imperial Guards' words could not possibly contain any falsehood, and they had no reason to deceive themselves.

"This……"

"how is this possible?"

Alicia instinctively covered her open mouth with her palm; she could no longer distinguish between what was real and what was fake.

If that coup was a hoax, then why is the state religion now expanding its influence so rapidly?

Alfreda, the acting pope, has completely turned the state religion into her plaything, wantonly infringing upon the power and interests of other imperial departments.

If that coup was real, then why is Christopher still alive when he was supposed to be the first to die?
Or perhaps Christopher did die, but was brought back to life by some mysterious force?

Alicia was almost instinctively convinced that this was the truth, and there was no other explanation.

"Please come with me to see the host of Xingyuting. I still firmly believe in my memory."

The ambassador pleaded, now somewhat unable to believe what she was seeing, and the Imperial Guard could undoubtedly give a positive answer.

"Then I'll go with you."

Diocletian initially wanted to refuse, but he also sensed an undercurrent surging on Terra that was not under the control of the Imperial Guard.

They expended a great deal of effort and sacrificed more than a dozen Imperial Guards to suppress the Shadow Prison Uprising.

The reason the Imperial Guard suffered such heavy casualties was not due to the four imprisoned Chaos Demons, but rather to the prisoners who escaped from the other cells during the chaos.

Those terrifying creatures, if even a few escape, could turn the entire Terra upside down.

After suppressing the riot, the Imperial Guards were busy counting the number of prisoners in the Shadow Prison and reinforcing the rune cages to prevent the same thing from happening again.

They have now determined that the reason the cage containing Tzeentch was malfunctioning was due to interference from external forces.

That's why Diocletian didn't want to bother with the High Lord's petty affairs.

After all, it's rare for high lords not to quarrel or make a big fuss. These mortals fight each other for various interests, which the Imperial Guard finds utterly boring.

However, since the situation Alicia mentioned was likely related to the Shadow Prison Incident, he reluctantly agreed to investigate.

The offices of Xingyuting and Xingjuting are very close, and the two have always had a close relationship.

When Alicia and Diocletian found the Archon of the Star-Speaking Court, who should have been dead long ago, he was meditating with his eyes closed and teaching other young Star Speakers more psionic techniques.

The transmission of knowledge among Star Speakers often lacks a fixed pattern; most of the time, it involves disciples passing on their experience to their masters.

Star Speakers need to maintain a high degree of tranquility of mind while working, so they often use different forms such as Emperor Tarot, meditation, or even shamanic practices.

"Christopher."

Alicia called softly, and the host of the Star Language Court had already sensed the visitor's arrival through psychic abilities.

“Alicia, tribunal, what brings you here…?”

Christopher smiled warmly, looking more like a kind elder.

Diocletian kept his distance and then used the advanced instruments on his power armor to carefully and repeatedly confirm the specific situation of the Star Language Court host in front of him.

Even the most cunning psionic wizards, or demons skilled in disguise in the warp, would find it difficult to slip past the Imperial Guard's scrutiny.

After a half-minute examination, the tribunal simply shook his head at Alicia.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you, farewell."

The navigator ambassador could only leave with a belly full of confusion.

"Walk slowly without sending."

Christopher didn't say much, just nodded, and then continued to meditate.

As Alicia left the Star Language Court, she suddenly turned her head, wanting to take one last look at the host behind her.

He sat quietly, but he always gave people a strange feeling.

"If all of this is true, is there a problem with my memory? Has someone altered my memories?"

"Is even Holy Terra safe now?"

"The Imperial Guards didn't detect anything unusual. Besides the fact that the concealment was flawless, is it possible that their perceptions were subtly altered?"

"Your Majesty, please grant me revelation. What is happening to all of this?"

Alicia was in a state of turmoil, while Dirk simply patted the navigator lightly on the shoulder before disappearing around the corner of the corridor.

Every minute and second he spends is precious and cannot be wasted on comforting a woman.

Alicia had no choice but to return the way she came with her servants. The certainty and confidence she had shown at the beginning were gone, replaced by confusion and helplessness filled with self-doubt.

"I have already handed over the video recording to Lord Diocletian. What should we do now?"

The attendant asked attentively from the side, but her mistress still looked lost and dejected.

"If we do nothing, we can't rely on anyone now. We need to call Guilliman back!"

Alicia smiled bitterly. Although she couldn't prove it, her instinctive intuition told her that there was something wrong with Christopher.

However, the other party's methods were too clever; even the Imperial Guards were fooled.

However, rationally speaking, the probability of her having problems is much higher than that possibility.

“How ridiculous. I once hoped Guilliman would leave Terra, and now I hope he can come back immediately.”

"No one, except the Primarch, can stop the madness of the State Church, or the dark hand that is secretly pulling the strings."

……

"My lord, we have received another interstellar communication from Terra. They are strongly urging us to return to Terra immediately."

"The Navigator Ambassador claims that after your departure, the State Church launched a violent coup in a very short period of time."

Acting Pope Elfreda has seized de facto control of the Council of Terra Highlords.

"Therefore, they hope you will return to take charge, stop the state religion's ambitions, and restore the original order."

Beside Guilliman, the ever-victorious army leader, Grod, meticulously reported the interstellar communications from Terra.

Since the space bridge is not yet officially completed, they still used subspace travel to traverse this long distance.

If they wait until the space bridge is completed in the near future, they will be able to completely break free from the constraints of the subspace and travel freely.

"Do you think I should go back?" Guilliman didn't answer, but instead asked his son.

“From a rational perspective, you should return to Terra to take control of the situation. After all, a chaotic rear will greatly affect the stability of the Empire and will not be of any benefit to the war against the Greenskins.”

Grod tries his best to maintain an objective attitude; calm thinking is a characteristic of the Ultra Warrior.

“But from an emotional standpoint, I think you should never go back. They treated you so harshly, only seeing the stain of the former Second Empire, completely ignoring everything you have done for the Empire.”

“What’s there to miss about Terra like this?” Grod roared. “They just need you to go back and clean up their messes. Once the trouble is over, they’ll still turn their anger on us.”

"To be summoned and dismissed at will is an utter disgrace we will never accept!"

Guilliman nodded silently; this was indeed what he was thinking.

Those elders of Terra are really going too far!

Even a Primarch as good-natured as Guilliman felt a surge of anger burning within him when he recalled the day he was publicly insulted and coerced by Alfreda and rejected by hundreds of thousands of fanatical and ignorant members of the State Church.

He served the empire and shed blood for humanity; to have worked so hard only to receive such a reward is truly disheartening.

"Let them make a fuss. Perhaps my father's decision back then was wrong—returning the power to decide a galactic empire to mortals will inevitably lead the empire to decline and decay."

"I want to see how far they'll go if the Primarch isn't in charge on Terra."

In Guilliman's heart, there was still some trust in the High Lord's bottom line.

In his view, even if the high lords were incompetent and cowardly, they shouldn't have been able to bring this huge empire to ruin in such a short time.

The empire is too vast; even if a high lord wanted to destroy it, it would be virtually impossible.

Necessary sacrifices and trial and error are unavoidable; only by stepping on landmines can we learn from our mistakes.

After all, you can't teach someone everything, but you can learn something from a single experience.

Now that Guilliman has made up his mind to let humanity venture out on their own, he won't be running back eagerly.

Besides, he simply didn't believe that if the Empire were really in serious trouble, that damned Makado would keep playing dead and hiding.

Aren't they just taking advantage of his strong sense of responsibility and high moral standards?

Then he'll abandon any sense of responsibility and see who gets anxious first.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Guilliman may have a good temper, but he's not entirely without limits.

In any case, his foundation will always be Otlamar. As long as this human territory remains intact, Guilliman will have no fear of any enemy's challenge.

Moreover, even if those high lords were to destroy themselves, Guilliman was confident that he could turn the tide once again before the Empire collapsed.

He had saved the empire from the devastation of the great rebellion, so he refused to believe that he couldn't do anything about the empire that was doing well now.

The warship carrying the Limit Lord sped through the warp, with turbulent waves of aether washing over the Geller Field, occasionally bursting into blinding flashes of light.

"According to the navigator's report, it appears that a subspace storm is forming between the solar system and the extreme system."

"If we had arrived any later, we would likely have been caught in a subspace storm, which would have slowed our progress."

Grod's report made Guilliman's eyes furrow slightly. For some reason, he felt a little uneasy about this warp storm.

This unease reminded Guilliman of a strange sense of fear he had experienced in Terra.

For the past century, whenever he was handling state affairs in the palace until late at night, and his mind became somewhat hazy and tired, this sense of fear would quietly creep in.

Guilliman didn't care too much about it, believing it was just a hallucination caused by his exhaustion and overwork.

The Emperor is above, he is in the palace of Terra, the Golden Throne is not far away.

Even though the Emperor fell into a long slumber to suppress the Dark Lord, the psionic light he emitted remained a nightmare for all warp creatures.

But when Alfreda and her men pressured him, Guilliman felt that fear again, more than ever before.

His instincts told him that the best option now was to use this excuse to leave Terra and get away from this human throne world.

In his final act, Guilliman chose to trust his subconscious.

Confused, Guilliman led his private fleet to Nostrama.

With Marius Gage in charge and the heroes assisting him, Guilliman was quite at ease about the situation on the Ultramarines' side.

On the contrary, Nostramamo, where Loshi was located, was the area where the fighting was most intense in the entire war against the Greenskins, according to previous reports.

Humans used Nostramore as their bridgehead for attack, while the green-skinned orcs used Skullcrusher as their stronghold, firmly blocking the humans' powerful assault.

The two sides are currently engaged in a standoff and infiltration war on Skullshatterer, but Guilliman has no firsthand information to refer to regarding the specific stage of the battle.

That's why he needed to rush to Nostradamo as soon as possible.

The warships' warp engines began operating at high capacity, and a slit was opened between the real universe and the warp, allowing the entire fleet to complete a warp jump.

Guilliman stood by the porthole on the bridge, while the Nostradamus sun cast its dim light on his face.

Within this star system, orbital systems are operating at full capacity everywhere, and thousands of warships are busy with resupply and repairs. These are all warships that have been withdrawn from the front lines for rest and recuperation.

The cannons of those warships still seemed to retain the smell of gunpowder, and their outer armor was covered with green-skinned orcs, bearing the scars left by all sorts of strange and unusual weapons.

Guilliman's flagship connected to the human mind network, and instantly countless chaotic communication signals appeared in the Primarch's ears, reporting on the situation at the front.

A chilling, oppressive atmosphere of war washed over him, and Guilliman's eyes widened with excitement. He tensed his back and felt the depression and frustration that had been gripping him being quickly washed away.

Yes, yes, that's it!

His hundred years in Terra had worn away much of his ambition, leaving him only with a calm and compromising temperament cultivated through burying himself in paperwork.

The Primarch is like a precious sword that has been hidden away for a long time, suddenly wiped clean of dust by spring water, and once again shines with brilliant brilliance.

Grod, standing to the side, looked at Guilliman, trembling with excitement. The invincible battlefield commander he remembered had suddenly returned.

Although the Ultramarines unconditionally accept whatever their fathers want to do, what they are most passionate about and dedicated to is always war.

To fight a bloody war with one's Primarch, even to die a heroic death, is something countless Space Marines dream of.

"It is our honor to fight alongside you." Guilliman patted his offspring's shoulder armor, and he felt the same way.

The Primarch's flagship sent a docking request to Nostrama, which was granted within three seconds.

The warship's subspace engines ceased operation, while the physics engines started at minimum power, propelling the warship slowly forward through the star system filled with navigation orbits.

When Guilliman docked in low Earth orbit, he looked at Nostramo several times.

“From that sinful world filled with toxic black clouds to this war fortress armed to the teeth, it is indeed something that Losi is capable of doing.”

"This is my old friend's consistent style: bold, unconventional, and unconventional."

"Actually, I had thought about doing this before, but it remained just a thought."

Guilliman chuckled, then, along with Grod and a few other victorious soldiers, hurriedly took the space elevator to the surface.

Lothie, having learned of Guilliman's arrival, was already waiting for the Primarch at the exit with Vulcan, the Lord of Dragons.

The heavy space elevator door slowly opened, and Guilliman, clad in cobalt blue power armor and wearing a bright red cape, strode towards the two.

Grod and the other victors slowed down a bit, considerately giving their father enough private space.

Roche and Guilliman embraced warmly, while Vulcan nonchalantly pulled both of them into his arms.

Guilliman instinctively tensed his muscles; Vulcan's enthusiasm was something not everyone could handle, and he still remembered it vividly.

However, the Lord of Fire Dragons simply placed his hand lightly on the two of them and then blinked his scarlet eyes.

"People always improve. I've learned to control my joy, brother."

Guilliman was speechless for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

"I was being stereotypical, my brother."

"However, how did you get here?" Rose was still a little confused about Guilliman's arrival.

"Have you finished dealing with everything in Terra? Or is it because of the information released by those green-skinned orcs?"

Loshi instinctively felt that the latter was more likely, after all, those green-skinned orcs were spreading the Second Empire's scandals all over the galaxy, and Nostramamo had also received the news.

However, the Astartes Legion gathered at the front lines were not particularly interested in this.

Even Vulcan, after a brief moment of shock, chose to believe Guilliman, Lane, and Saint Gilles.

Compared to the scandals whose veracity is unknown, the Primarchs' performance during the Great Rebellion was clearly visible.

Only a fool would choose to believe the greenskins instead of the Primarchs who made so many sacrifices.

Furthermore, Vulcan recalled that the Emperor's attitude towards these brothers was no different, leading him to conclude that the Lord of Man must know the truth, but chose to keep it a secret in order to cover for Guilliman and the others.

Under the suppression of Primarch Vulcan, the morale of the troops at the front was not greatly affected. Even if some legion soldiers had some complaints, they would not show them at this time.

Although a hint of embarrassment flashed in Guilliman's eyes, he still nodded affirmatively.

"Indeed, it's laughable."

"I, the commander of the empire, was driven away and expelled by the very mortals I was protecting."

“When they attacked me with words and scorn, I even felt that in their eyes, I was perhaps no different from Horus.”

Guilliman did not describe in detail what he encountered that day, but the fact that it could anger a Primarch suggests how immense the damage must have been.

Loxi opened her mouth, wanting to say something to comfort her old friend, but she couldn't come up with any suitable words.

Vulcan stood shoulder to shoulder with his brother, showing his support and affirmation.

Do these fools think that by driving you away, they'll get back the benefits they lost?

"When they start to suffer the consequences, they will realize how wonderful it is to be in Terra—when the sky falls, a tall leader can hold it up."

Unexpectedly, after hearing Rosie's words, Guilliman suddenly revealed a strange smile.

"Actually, there's no need to wait. The moment I left, those incited believers and mobs, led by that Bishop Elfreda, surrounded the Terra Senate."

"Then the people of the State Church led the battle nuns and blocked the High Lords who were having a meeting in the room. When they came out, the High Lord Council had already been reshuffled by the State Church."

"They deposed the original Pope Cielo and put Alfreda in charge of the papacy."

Roche was stunned, and Vulcan was even more speechless.

"So now Terra is the state religion and has the final say? Is this the result the other high lords wanted?"

Loshi had not expected that the high lords who had driven Guilliman away would be so pathetic and incompetent.

They never even considered that, after the Primarch left Terra, who else could physically attack and threaten them?

“But if Terra falls into chaos, won’t we be in trouble here?” Vulcan was more concerned about the battle at the front.

He was not politically astute, and even the management model adopted by his home planet was an extremely crude, laissez-faire approach.

“I’ve calculated it, and the impact is minimal,” Guilliman gave a fairly confident answer.

“I had already sent the Solar Fleet with Loxi to the Ghoul Cluster. This force was selected from the elite troops guarding the Solar Starfield, while the rest are just right for protecting Terra.”

"Moreover, so many Astartes legions have answered the call and come to the front line against the greenskin orcs, so we have quite a lot of power at our disposal."

"Furthermore, my Altera 600 world is right next door, and we can obtain sufficient troops and supplies from there without needing any more aid from Terra."

"I'm here, I'll pay."

Guilliman’s words exuded a strong sense of confidence; he had already calculated everything.

"In that case, let them make a scene."

"When ambition exceeds ability, all that will result is bitter consequences."

Lothie also stood by Guilliman's side without hesitation. Those high lords of Terra who wanted independence and to stand on their own, let them try and see how they fared.

If they truly possessed this ability, then Losi and Guilliman should be even more pleased, as it would prove that even mortals were capable of governing the empire effectively.

Only those who have actually sat in that position can understand that it is actually a terrifying torment.

If they mess things up, then they can simply abolish the High Lords and start all over again.

"Alright, let's not talk about those awful things anymore." Guilliman waved his hand. Now that he had left Terra, that hell, he was no longer bound by those heavy responsibilities and ideals.

"How is the situation between you and those green-skinned orcs? All I ever see in Terra are battle reports, and battle reports can never fully capture the ever-changing battlefield."

Guilliman asked eagerly, and Loshi led him to the Midnight Court in Nostramore, where the most comprehensive battlefield intelligence was available.

Currently, humans and green-skinned orcs are engaged in a tug-of-war in the space region near Skullcrusher.

Every so often, a massive number of green-skinned orc warships would emerge from the ghoul constellations and launch probing attacks on human defenses.

Meanwhile, Admiral Raeder commanded the Imperial warships of the Nostramo Line, proving humanity's dominance in space naval warfare with a series of perfect victories.

If the Greenskins don't deploy their battle planets or battle moons, they have no chance in conventional naval battles.

As for the underground of Skullcrusher, the infiltration force composed of Ash Claws and Midnight Lords is chasing and hunting each other with the Greenskin Orc special forces.

Humans have roughly figured out the layout of the Orcish underworld on Skullshatterer Star, especially the exact location of the Waaagh Gate, through these infiltrators and intelligence transmitted by the Eldar through special means.

After learning about the specific battle situation, Guilliman was also filled with a surge of fighting spirit.

His arrival was just in time; humanity can immediately launch a full-scale attack on Skullcrusher.

"It has been a long time since I personally commanded a war, let alone led the charge into battle."

"I don't know if my bones have rusted, or if my sincere short sword is still sharp."

"So, leave the task of conquering Skullshattering Star to me."

Rosie wasn't surprised by Guilliman's statement; that's just how the guy likes to act.

Guilliman's best position is still to sit in the rear and command remotely.

Thanks to Guilliman's powerful multi-threaded thinking, he can perform incredibly absurd multi-tasking maneuvers on the battlefield.

Single-handedly, Guilliman was able to micromanage all the soldiers and armored vehicles on dozens of separate battlefields at the same time, and make them work together perfectly as a whole.

Even Ryan and Horus don't possess this ability.

But Guilliman liked to get carried away and lead his guards in a frenzied charge.

His habit often creates unexpected twists and turns in situations that are otherwise stable, and can even give the enemy a chance to turn the tide.

Loshi initially wanted to refuse, but then she thought that Guilliman had indeed endured so much hardship in Terra and deserved a break.

The situation on Skullcrusher Star has been roughly assessed, and there shouldn't be any major problems.

"I suggest you bring the Tengu Squadron, or other armored units. The green-skinned orcs you're encountering have heavy firepower," Loshi advised.

“I have used the power of the AllSpark to create a new batch of armored units that can serve as your fire support.”

Guilliman's face lit up with joy. He understood that the new armored force that Roche was referring to was the same Jazz, the Transformers representative he had met before.

"You didn't turn all our heavy vehicles into Transformers, did you?"

“You can understand it that way,” Rose replied.

Guilliman pondered for a few seconds, then said, "I'm leading a vanguard assault force, and the most important thing is rapid mobility."

"Those Transformers are inevitably constrained by the environment in the underground world. Why don't you send these firepower support to where we need it when we need it?"

After calculating the feasibility of Guilliman's suggestion, Roche ultimately agreed to his plan.

……

The Skull-Broken Star Universe.

This planet, a crucial bridgehead controlled by the ghoul orc empire, has already witnessed countless brutal wars.

Within the star system, numerous orc warships were once again dismantled into space debris by human light spears, macro cannons, and torpedoes, drifting and spinning alongside the orcs' cold corpses.

The amount of debris was so great that it blocked the shipping lanes.

Many pieces of space debris have even clung together under the influence of gravity, forming some veritable "junk planets".

Every time a human warship sets out, it even needs to use a special magnetic device to clear the waterway ahead to avoid a direct collision and unnecessary damage to the warship's armor.

The cunning green-skinned orcs, whether due to a lack of Deadhead Boys to salvage the wreckage and reassemble it into a usable vessel, or by deliberately creating this chaotic battlefield to provide a suitable environment for their sneak attack, remain to be seen.

According to the kill counts recorded by the Imperial Navy, the Greenskin Orcs deployed at least eight thousand junk warships on the Skullcrusher battlefield.

The number of green-skinned orcs who died in the battle was too numerous to count; conservative estimates put the death at the billions in the space naval battle.

Their troop strength and number of warships have always been a mystery, seemingly able to be continuously supplied from the Ghoul Cluster to the outside world.

As for the surface of Skullshatterer, it had already been turned into a dead land by the Imperial Navy's several orbital bombardments.

The green-skinned orcs could only huddle in deep underground bunkers, relying on miniature Waaagh field shields to withstand the bombardment.

They are also using the fierce fighting here to hone more orc special forces lads, so as to project harassment forces into the human world bordering the ghoul constellations.

According to the Empire's intelligence system, many human worlds in the northern part of the Extreme Starfield have begun to be attacked by green-skinned orcs more and more frequently.

Although these attacks are not particularly powerful, they are still a threat. If we are not careful and give them time to develop, they will soon become a major problem.

But today, everything will come to an end.

Robert Guilliman personally led a team to launch a deadly attack on Skullcrusher.

The Imperial Navy cleared out the seemingly respawned orcish junk warships, and then deployed Space Marines and Sentinel Ironmen to the surface of Skullcrusher via orbital drop pods and teleportation beacons.

Like raindrops, batches of airdrop pods fell from the lower deck of the warship, creating dazzling sparks as they rubbed against the thin atmosphere of the Skullshattered Star.

Plasma jets are ejected from the back of the orbital drop capsule, and with the help of the main control computer, the direction and speed are finely adjusted to ensure a uniform and orderly descent.

If we were to describe it using a line of poetry from the ancient Terran era, it would be: "The east wind at night releases a thousand trees of flowers, and blows down stars like rain."

Although the surface had already undergone several orbital bombardments, the Imperial Navy warships still used light spears to clear the battlefield once again before the orbital drop pods landed.

The airdrop pod and the Astartes that arrived on the ground via teleportation stepped on the scorching earth, their hard power boots crushing the already crystallized and solidified gravel.

The Sentinel Iron Man took the initiative to clear the way, while the Gene Primarch's airdrop pod opened quickly and was pinned to the ground.

With the Crimson Sword in his right hand and the Hand of Domination in his left, Guilliman advanced rapidly toward the direction marked on the tactical visor like a war god.

The long-dormant blood is flowing again, the rusty bones are starting to function again, and Guilliman no longer holds a quill pen and a data tablet, but a humming and trembling power sword and explosive gun.

The Primarch weapon's soul has been fully awakened; it craves the blood of the greenskinned orcs and celebrates the Primarch's return with the deaths of its powerful enemies.

"For the Emperor!"

"Kill all these green-skinned barbarians!"

(End of this chapter)