This is our Warhammer journey

Chapter 285 On Whether the Lion King Was a Traitor
Flames danced between the cracks in the arena's stones, and swift shadows flickered in rhythm with the clash of blades.

Knights clad in black armor clashed in silence, sparks flying from the clashing steel onto the damp sand.

Amidst the wolves' vulgar laughter, the dark angels silently settled their grudges in the arena.

block!
The two dark angels in the center of the arena suddenly took a half step back at the same time, and the hum of their power swords vibrated in the air.

One of them tilted his helmet slightly, as if listening to whispers only he could hear; the other used the tip of his sword to draw ancient Caliban runes on the sand, the lines quickly turning dark red with dripping blood.

They were questioning, they were pouring out their hearts, they were reminiscing about the past, and they were reminding each other.

Even though the Milky Way is scarred and devastated, even though the past was filled with the killing of compatriots, even though their homeland has been destroyed, if even one person survives, their past will not be buried again.

"First of all, I am not a god."

At the edge of the arena, golden-red wizards were conducting their daily warp whispers.

"This is not to deny our extraordinary abilities, but rather to affirm our spiritual and personal values, because we grow up as human beings and gradually form this understanding within the context of human society."

"Many Primarchs lacked the process of growing up in a collective as humans, yet their inherent wisdom and talents endowed them with unparalleled insight and immense power, making their thinking difficult to understand at times."

"A prime example is the Lion King—"

As soon as the words were spoken, several Dark Angels who had recently been formally recruited immediately stood up, following their bodily instincts to try to keep the secret.

However, the veterans beside him reacted even faster.

The armored hand pressed down heavily, abruptly cutting off their movements.

The pharmacist Aspiel's fingers were still clenched at his shoulder joint, the force precisely enough to prevent the armor from resisting, yet enough to prevent him from breaking free.

"Aspire, what are you doing?"

With bruises still visible on his face, Bevedan let out a low growl, his gaze sweeping over the Space Wolf, who was watching the show with amusement.

He had just passed his rejoining assessment not long ago and was now in the review process under the guarantee of Pharmacist Aspire. He had just undergone surgery to become a Primal Space Marine and was still in the recovery period, not yet having reached his full height.

Aspel was also uncivilized; he had just received his armor when the apothecary dragged him into a duel.

"At least let me drive these wolves out."

He wasn't crazy enough to try to shut up a Primarch.

Moreover, he also learned about the relevant history during the evaluation process.

The First Legion has a detailed account of the overall development of the Great Rebellion, which anyone can access. Some of the stories are so detailed that they seem like firsthand accounts.

With the addition of numerous details from the Fallen Angels regarding events such as the Samaras Expedition against the Midnight Lords, the establishment of the Second Empire in the Extreme Starfield, and Luther's secret expansion of Caliban's influence and the hiding of a traitor fleet, the First Legion finally understood what their entire rebellion was all about.

No one knew what they were doing.

"it's useless."

Aspire's voice was very calm.

Or rather, it's already numb.

The new Primarch of the Thousand Sons would occasionally appear before them as a storyteller, telling them a few stories, and leaving behind various First Legion jokes in ciphers throughout the Silent Oath. Sometimes he would even use psionic powers to disguise himself as a Deathwing and blend into the crowd, and His Highness would let him do as he pleased.

After their resistance proved futile, the Dark Angels had no choice but to submit.

And for no apparent reason, Bevedan even sensed that the usually serious pharmacist was almost about to laugh.

"You see, although the Lion King's actions were very strange and resembled a rebellion, after learning about the massacre of Raven Guard, Iron Hand, and Salamander by Istvan V, he attacked the Forgeworld to prevent Horus from obtaining his customized Great General Cannon."

"On the one hand, we let Typhon go, so he could warn Mortalian not to try anything with the First Legion."

"On the one hand, he arrogantly handed over the Great General Cannon to Peturabo, hoping to strengthen the Terra garrison, but his plan backfired."

As Ramses spoke again, the expressions of both the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels around them became unusually tense.

"But don't mistake this for a rebellion."

Ramses held a glass of mare's milk wine that he had gotten from White Scar a few years ago, and said as he drank.

"The Lion King doesn't actually have that many thoughts. He's just like most people in the Dark Angels. I want to achieve great things, I want my father's approval, I want to be a war commander, but I just don't speak up. In the end, the more I keep it all bottled up, the bigger it gets, and it all causes problems."

"Here I must commend Leman Russ; at least he opened his mouth."

The surrounding dark angels were embarrassed, while the wolves were laughing so hard they were doubled over, some warriors even slapping their thigh armor, making a clanging sound.

Ramses looked around and noticed that the movements were much stiffer, and the trajectory of the power swords became hesitant. The dark angel, who was hesitating whether to continue the attack, was overjoyed.

"The reason why they chose to wait and see at the beginning of the Lion King War was simply because they thought Horus had lost his mind. They never expected that this was a conspiracy of Chaos. They just thought it was an opportunity for him to become the war commander."

"Then the Primarchs, to some extent, all have a savior complex. A divine intervention is always more memorable than struggling. They thought that the First Legion would definitely play the role of savior when the situation was most critical, and then when the Emperor saw it, they could be promoted to War Marshal."

"So while he was actively attacking Horus's logistics, he was also supplying the captured resources to the loyalist legions, and he was keeping a close eye on the battlefield situation, preparing the First Legion in the hope of turning the tide at a critical moment—"

He suddenly spread his hands, and the wine in the glass remained completely still.
"As you all know, that's the result."

A few suppressed chuckles came from the stands.

Aspire's eyes were lowered slightly, reflecting the flickering light from the candlestick.

"The Great General Cannon was tricked by Perturabo into using it to bombard the walls of Terra. During the Themaras expedition, there were problems with warp travel, and they couldn't return to Terra. At that time, the Lion King basically felt that things were bad and that he had messed up. He was thinking about what to do if he couldn't return. Then he remembered that Guilliman was still there and he found the guidance of the Pharos Beacon. In order to prevent Guilliman from rebelling as well, he rushed to the Limit Starfield."

"Therefore, we should look at the Lion King dialectically. The Lion King is undoubtedly an extremely excellent commander, as can be seen from the fact that all the Primarchs are wary of him. From the very beginning of the rebellion, Horus tried every means to keep the Lion King away, rather than wanting to confront the First Legion."

"Capable of both offense and defense, eternally loyal, with no secrets, and receiving the most attention, but the Lion King is actually quite easy to understand."

Ramses wouldn't go so far as to say that the Lion King is nothing; after all, he is the Primarch and must have some abilities.

When Lion King first took over Dark Angels, things were incredibly tough. He faced internal attacks, had to deal with the Randan campaign, and then had to rebuild Dark Angels afterward. The fact that this person managed to handle everything so well speaks volumes about their professionalism.

"When Horus was thinking about burning the galaxy, Guilliman was thinking that Terra was doomed and he wanted to establish a second empire, and Dorn was still fighting against various traitors on Terra and fortifying the walls of Terra, the Lion King simply wanted to be a warlord and didn't think of his brothers as bad as he thought."

"So even though his actions in the early stages of the Great Rebellion were outrageous and hard to understand from the perspective of a strategist's thought process, they are quite normal if you look at it from the perspective of the person in question wanting to be a war commander."

When the Empire's forces were first being consolidated, everyone was still angry and always wanted to find a scapegoat among the loyal Primarchs.

He remembered how oppressive the atmosphere was at the meetings in the 'Time Traveler's Hut' back then, with everyone looking for someone to vent their frustrations on.

After all, the current situation of the empire really depends on the answer. Just thinking about the actions of all sorts of geniuses during the great rebellion makes it hard not to feel emotional.

Especially the Dark Angel.

Ramses truly didn't believe he had the ability or energy to deal with a group of terminally ill mental patients, which was something only Master Asia could handle and understand.

However, after much deliberation, the four ultimately chose to reconcile with reality.

Why should I argue with a bunch of mentally unstable idiots? I figured I'd better clean up the mess first, and then fight the real culprit when I run into them later.

Since people are loyal anyway, let's not ask for too much.

Ramses is now also responsible for declassifying the history and various events of the Legion era.

Currently, the focus is mainly on members like Dark Angels and Space Wolves, who are relatively isolated among the loyalists. Once they have all been desensitized, then it will be other founding groups, and then the history books of the Dawn Sector.

Many things aren't a big deal once you talk them out. It's better to keep the power of interpretation in your own hands first, so that if someone uses it as a pretext, you can handle it properly.

Anyway, none of the four of them have any original sin.

I don't know about the holy scriptures, I'm not taking the blame for the great rebellion, and if there are problems, that's none of our business. We're here to solve problems.

We are all working hard to build our empire.

Of course, the main thing is to have fun.

Especially the Dark Angel.

Nothing is more interesting than watching other people react when their dark past is publicly exposed.

cough~
Noticing that his expression was a bit too tax-evasive, Ramses quickly coughed a few times.

According to him, this is called desensitization.

"After all, the Primarch is also a human being, and he has his own shortcomings. What's wrong with admitting shortcomings? The key is to be able to reflect, correct them, and take responsibility."

"Just like the Dark Angels today, you who have learned from the past will only be stronger than before."

Ramses concluded by saying that at least he had said something agreeable.

The expressions of the surrounding dark angels softened slightly.

"Although I rack my brains, I still can't figure out how he became the Duke of the Second Empire."

The original body of the thousand children suddenly changed the subject, lightly tapping its temple with its fingertips, pretending not to understand.

"But overall, the Lion King is definitely loyal; it's just that his thought process is probably not on the same wavelength as the other Primarchs most of the time."

Oh shit.

The atmosphere that had just eased instantly froze.

Happy early.

"Haha~"

Aspelton, who had just been trying to persuade Bevedan, suddenly smiled with relief, and the hand that had been on Bevedan's shoulder had somehow slipped away.

Bevedan turned his head to look at the old acquaintance.

He was resting his head on his knees, trembling slightly. The lights from the tavern's dome swept across the area, illuminating the tiny tremors on his shoulder armor caused by suppressed laughter.

The Great Rebellion nearly set the entire galaxy ablaze—

The magnificent palaces were burned to ashes, the grand city walls were crushed into dust, and the rain of airdropped pods no longer sowed hope.

Countless humans died because of the pawns of the warp gods.

Everyone has their own grudges and passions, their own bloodshed and turmoil, their own heroic and tragic songs.

The show's appeal was entirely on the side of the Second Empire.

The name alone is enough to create a dramatic effect.

"I still can't figure it out."

Bevedan gave up maintaining his half-squatting position, plopped down in the chair, and muttered a curse.

"How did Akao and Arajos agree to this absurd decision? Even if Akao, as a steward, must obey the Lion King's orders, are all the Terrans dead?"

The space wolves around them were laughing so hard they were practically screaming and staggering.

The questioning voices from the ancient Terran people were deafening.

"do not ask me."

Aspire suddenly raised his glass and began to drink in a less-than-elegant manner, the rim of the glass perfectly obscuring his face.

Could he say that at that time he was still on the Unyielding Truth, confronting the Eighth Legion Primarch Coz, who was infiltrating the lower decks of the warship, about whether Lion King had betrayed them?
Can you tell me?
　P.S.: There's more, but I don't have enough time, so I have to stay up all night to write it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)