Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 244 Robert Guilliman
Fate is ever-changing; it is winding and unpredictable, and neither God nor man can fathom its endless and traceless trajectory.

It always deviates from the seemingly predetermined path at certain moments, delivering a heavy blow to those who believe they have seen through fate.

Ancient legends circulate in the warp, proclaiming a grand game orchestrated by the Lord of Change, with the ultimate goal of destroying all things.

The destruction of all things, the return to the origin, and the complete annihilation of the origin—this is the final chapter of destiny.

In his quest to glimpse the end of destiny, Tzeentch orchestrates a grand game, using a series of intermediaries to lead both the real universe and the warp to destruction.

Of course, all of this is just a legend.

The true purpose of the Lord of All Changes is unknown to anyone, perhaps even to Himself.

Fate took a turn, detached itself from the future, veered off its predetermined path, and slid into a direction the gods could not have foreseen.

The gods have the vision to see into the past and the future; they know everything that is destined to happen in the future and thus interfere with it.

This time, however, the one who stepped outside the chessboard of fate turned around and used his unpredictable destiny to influence the game of the gods.

Primarch XIII was supposed to be the eighth to return to the Empire, but due to Doom's interference, he became the seventh.

The gods came to them, hoping that "the Lord of Fate," Tzeentch, could provide a relatively perfect explanation.

"Fate is fickle." Outside the crystal labyrinth, a hellish storm carried the words of an evil god, blocking the three gods' inquiries.

Such an explanation is unlikely to convince the gods, and it is also unlikely to gain them further approval.

They left sheepishly, their consciousness returning to their respective divine realms, turning their gaze to the past, capturing the past of Number Thirteen, to see what made him different.

Amnion Pod 13 was swept away from the Emperor Laboratory and fell from the subspace to the Eastern End Starfield—Macurag.

Macurag is one of the few worlds that survived and remained intact after the warp routes were cut off.

Although the political system and technology inevitably deteriorate, Makulaq society remains relatively stable.

The planet has not degenerated into barbarism and ignorance; it remains industrialized and self-sufficient.

The Macurag have always known that they are a race called "Humans," originating from Terra, and that human footprints are scattered throughout the stars.

Modern Macurag, due to technological decline, is unable to conduct ultra-long-distance space travel, but it still uses ships to contact the surrounding world and learn about external information.

The Primarch's landing went unnoticed until a court attendant discovered the naked infant beneath Hera Falls while out for a walk.

He retrieved the infant and presented him to one of the two consuls of Makula: Connor.

Connor accepted the servants' offering and named the human baby boy Robert Guilliman, which means "hope" in Mackulacan culture.

The governor doted on his adopted son, but due to his busy schedule, he was unable to keep an eye on him all the time, so he entrusted the infant to his housekeeper, Ms. Tarasha Eudon.

Let this gentle, kind, brave, and wise woman raise her young adopted son.

Ms. Euton accepted this responsibility and cared for Guilliman's growth, giving the Consul's adopted son all her love.

Guilliman grew up very fast, far exceeding that of ordinary children. His physical development was astonishing, and his mind was terrifying.

At the age of five, he was already the size of a young man, but his taciturn nature and unfathomable gaze inspired fear in others.

Yes, Euton felt fear when faced with children who were far beyond his comprehension.

Whenever Guilliman's emotionless, lifeless, empty, and inhuman eyes looked at her, the woman felt an involuntary sense of fear.

The adopted son was different from the other children; his mind far surpassed that of ordinary people.

While other children were playing and laughing, Guilliman was reading books on military theory and studying war and philosophy.

His evaluation of what he saw was completely uncompromising and polarized, without any mediation or compromise.

Ms. Euton was terrified, and deep down she even thought that Guilliman was a monster in human skin.

But the lady remained steadfast in her duty, diligently guiding Guilliman and teaching him to distinguish between good and evil.

This perception persisted for over a decade until Guilliman led his army into battle.

Her eyes were as precise as a machine, seeing only the extremes of good and evil. Guilliman broke this prejudice with his actions, which also made the lady fully accept Guilliman.

That was an operation to wipe out the barbarians, which made Guilliman famous.

There have always been barbarian tribes in the north of Macurag, who split off in the early days after the warp routes were cut off.

The barbarians, entrenched in the wilderness, constantly send troops to harass towns, posing a major threat to Makula.

The decision to appoint a young man with no combat experience as commander was initially met with opposition from most people.

The generals and soldiers were unwilling, but because of Connor's reputation for virtue, they decided to trust the governor this once.

Mrs. Euton also went to war with the army, wanting to see what choices Guilliman would make in the war. As for the outcome of the war, Connor and Euton, two people who had watched their adopted son grow up, never thought he would lose.

Guilliman's campaigns were all about winning and how to win; defeat was not a part of his conquests.

Yodon kept thinking about how Guilliman would achieve victory and bring the barbarians under Makulag's control.

But Guilliman's wisdom in warfare dispelled Ms. Eudon's fears and gave her a different perspective on her adopted son.

Under Guilliman's command, the Macklage army was invincible, earning the admiration of his soldiers who did not trust him.

Within days of the start of the war, all of the barbarian outposts were destroyed, and the main force was surrounded under the tribal waterfall.

As everyone sharpened their swords in preparation for the attack, Guilliman gave the order to have the army turn around and head to another location.

If it were any other commander, surrounding the enemy without attacking would lead to discontent within the army and potentially escalate into a mutiny.

The numerous victories along the way convinced the army of the commander's wisdom, so they immediately changed course and headed towards their destination.

The army won another victory and captured the target location, but the result surprised everyone.

It was cold and desolate there, with only towering tombstones.

Guilliman remained silent, ordering his troops to set up defensive lines and await the arrival of the barbarians.

As he had predicted, the barbarian army marched out of their base, filled with rage, determined to fight Makula to the death.

Ms. Yoddon later learned that the cemetery was a sacred site for the barbarians, where their ancestors were buried and worshipped.

As the two sides faced off, Guilliman stepped out of the battle line, pointed his short sword at the barbarian chieftain, and challenged him to a duel of honor.

He knew the other party wouldn't refuse; the barbarians had a dueling culture, and they were passionate about it.

Guilliman was right again. The barbarian chieftain stepped forward, charging with rage and killing intent to engage him in a duel of honor.

The blades gleamed menacingly, the swords flashed endlessly.

The barbarian chieftain attacked with all his might, but Guilliman only dodged and did not attack, eventually exhausting the chieftain's strength and causing him to kneel on the battlefield.

Guilliman stood up amidst cheers, walked to the leader, looked down at his vulnerable opponent, and placed his hand on his waist.
Ms. Euton turned her head away, unable to bear looking directly at the front lines.

She imagined the scene of blood splattering, Guilliman executing his opponent and tearing off the head that symbolized victory.

Until gasps of surprise rose and fell, other changes occurred on the battlefield.

The woman glanced at him and saw Guilliman take a metal ring from his pouch and hand it to the leader.

Guilliman stood between the two sides and explained the origin of the ring to everyone.

That was the symbol of the barbarian king; whoever possessed it was the universally revered king of all the barbarian tribes.

When the barbarian tribes were in decline, a Makulag governor seized it to display his own honor.

As time passed, the ring was forgotten by Macurag and disappeared into the thick historical documents.

The barbarians have repeatedly invaded the border in order to attack Makurag, reclaim the Ring, and re-elect a king.

Guilliman read and memorized all the texts, and naturally knew the purpose of the ring, so he returned it to the barbarians.

The barbarians obtained the ring, lost the duel of honor, and naturally made peace with Macragge.

Ms. Eudon looked at the tall figure and smiled.

She was proud of Guilliman's victory, and she also saw the existence of humanity in her extraordinary adopted son.

He could have completely wiped out the barbarians, but he chose to use wisdom and strategy to reduce the killing and win people's hearts.

Guilliman was not a ruthless war machine; he was well aware of the cruelty of war and used it as a means to an end.

War is a means, and so is killing. Their ultimate goal is peace.

A war has ended.

Guilliman demonstrated strength in the early stages of the war, then addressed the root causes of the war through appeasement, and finally won popular support and victory through praise.

After returning home victorious, Mrs. Euton was no longer afraid and regarded Guilliman as her proud son.

Guilliman also proved his extraordinary abilities in war after war, and found a balance between war and humanity.

Such days did not last long, as Guilliman's adoptive father, Consul Connor, was murdered by another Consul.

(End of this chapter)