Warhammer: Filial Piety Makes Power

Chapter 308 I am the Regent!

040.M31,

Unexpected windfall: Two years have passed since the trip to Katachon. During this time, the Mechanicus, led by Kaul, was dispatched by Guilliman to the Hive's Second and Third Research Laboratories, located in Katachon and Tranquility.

A vast array of technologies have been discovered, covering a wide range of areas, including but not limited to biological editing, chemical engineering, planetary terraforming, materials research and development, and even detailed research plans for subspace.

Aside from these technologies, which are 99.9% considered blasphemous, there are also a large number of STC standard building templates and poor man's version of STC that Atlas researched and copied.

Due to its enormous internal technological capacity, which encompassed all aspects of the Empire, Regent Guilliman and Warmaster Johnson deployed nearly 10 Space Marines to escort it in order to prevent data loss.

The two Hive Research Institutes located in Tranquility and Katachon were completely dismantled and relocated to the moon, the closest to Holy Terra.

But of these, only two are truly important, or rather, only two that, if used, would not have a serious impact on the empire.
First, there is the Blood Stack, which contains 678913 Gene Seeds from 18 Space Marine Legions. Second, there are the World Coordinates of the Warehouse Logistics established by Atlas throughout the Imperium.

After exploring according to these world coordinates, gazing at the Atlas containers that filled the entire world, an indescribable sense of fulfillment instantly permeated every pore of Guilliman's being:
"Thank you, my unknown brother. I will definitely make good use of this inheritance!"

But for some reason, as these Atlas storage worlds were unearthed one by one, the Imperial Navy, which was deployed on the frontier of the Great Vortex, observed a kind of emerald green supernatural lightning.

Accompanying this emerald lightning was an indescribable, strange howl.

However, the Empire did not take this matter seriously, instead considering it a natural phenomenon caused by some kind of subspace energy fluctuation.

049.m31,

The Ministry of Justice was established: After more than 30 years of extreme exploitation by Regent Robert Guilliman, and with the help of nine Primarchs, the mess left over from the Great Crusade was finally cleaned up.

It also made an epoch-making statistical analysis of the millions of major worlds "registered" within the Empire.

Although countless worlds have yet to be officially recognized as belonging to Holy Terra, this feat has greatly alleviated the Empire's tax deficit caused by data disorder, providing a basic basis for the Empire's tax department.

The following year, in order to ensure the stability of the empire's tax revenue, on the first day of the new year 50 years after the end of the Great Rebellion, the empire established a special department called the Ministry of Justice outside the Assassin's Court, which was founded by the Sealholder Macardo.

This move drew strong opposition from the Ministry of the Interior, the Star Domain Court, and even the Space Navy, who considered it a waste of resources and manpower.

Therefore, Regent Guilliman had to convene the Terra Conference to discuss the establishment of the Ministry of Justice.

During the meeting, watching Guilliman argue incessantly with the other leaders, the Lion King, as the Imperial Warmaster, remained silent, a stance that only emboldened the Terra Council.

However, three days after the meeting ended, 37 Terra members of parliament were found dead in their bedrooms with eight gunshot wounds, and traces of chaotic corrosion were found in their bodies.

Upon learning this news, Warmaster Thunder was furious and severely reprimanded Primarch Dorn, who was the Grand Master of Terra, saying that this was no ordinary arrogance and that a heavy blow had to be dealt!
Our noble, pure, and incorruptible Terran councilor was assassinated right under the noses of your Imperial Fist! What are you Dorn good for?
In order to thoroughly investigate this group of chaotic elements, the Seal Master, Macado, specially deployed the Assassin's Court to participate in the investigation.

With 800 Iverson assassins, 7000 Imperial Fists, and 1000 Dark Angels responding at lightning speed, countless rebels were identified and executed on the spot.

The other Terra councilors also immediately signed a petition, stating that the Regent is a man of great wisdom, and that we were blind to his true worth before. They argued that the Ministry of Justice must be established!
052.M31,

Seals Reborn: As the Atlas legacy is gradually sculpted, the Mechanicus finally deciphers some of the obfuscated data and uncovers a hyperspace communication network project called Seals.

The Mechanicus had long studied the Divine Spire, which was spread throughout the Solar System, but because the core Fel Furnace had shut down, the Mechanicus was unable to fully restart the Divine Spire network.

The local area network can only be enabled by the existing Shenyin network array, and its communication range can only cover a single star sector at most.

But how can a living person die of thirst?
Numerous Star Language bases were set up between star sectors, relying on countless parchments and communication ships for transport, serving as information liaisons between the various star sectors.

Although this communication method, which is both backward and advanced, is extremely abstract, it is better to have it than not to have it.

057.M31,

The rise of a state religion: Nearly half a century after the Lord of Man sat on the golden throne, a doctrine called the Imperial Deity began to emerge in Colchis.

People began to believe that the great emperor had not left, but was instead silently protecting his people in another form.

As time went on, this kind of talk became more and more popular, and gradually formed the prototype of a religion.

Because the core tenets of this religion are loyalty to the monarch and patriotism, and because those with steadfast faith are better able to avoid physical mutations during warp travel.

As a result, the Cult of the God Emperor began to spread rapidly within the Empire, and even appeared within the Space Marine Legions.

070.M31,

State Religion Established: With the rise of the Emperor God doctrine, and after 13 years of internal evolution, the God Emperor Religion fully emerged on the stage.

In order to better control the empire, a state religion based on the faith of the Lord of Mankind and the Primarch was formally established, with Luo Jia serving as the pope of the state religion.

On the day the state religion was officially established and the daughter of the God-Emperor, Loga Aurelion, formally ascended the throne as Pope in front of the palace gates, countless golden lightning bolts suddenly appeared in Holy Terra, and several of them struck the newly appointed Pope Loga.

But Luo Jia was no ordinary person. Protected by her golden words, she withstood thirteen bolts of divine lightning. The physical pain didn't deter her; instead, she felt a strange sense of exhilaration. As the lightning dissipated, Luo Jia, with wings of light on her back, floated in mid-air. A few pure tears slowly fell as this daughter of the God-Emperor uttered her oath of loyalty:

"Father, this must be your revelation, right? Don't worry, I will erect a golden statue for you so that everyone will remember your greatness!"

Such bold words instantly moved countless believers, causing them to kneel and worship.

Even the sky seemed to be drizzling for some reason, as if the spirit of the divine emperor in heaven was also pleased by this.

071.M31,

The following year, after repeatedly revising his previous book, the Record of the Emperor's Sacred Words, a new book, "The Supreme Record of the Divine Emperor," was published and was recognized by Pope Luo Jia as the only officially designated religious publication of the empire.

From this point on, the Empire entered the religious age, countless towering cathedrals rose from the ground, the Lord of Mankind was called the God-Emperor, the Primarchs were called demigods, and the Space Marines became the Emperor's Death Angels, revered by the people as Astartes.

In the same year, in order to expand the empire's military strength, a large number of women joined the state religion and established the Sisters' Fighting Order.

To enhance the individual combat skills of the fighting nuns, the Temple of Callidus, with the consent of all the demigods, offered a genetic enhancement technology specifically for women.

These battle nuns, who underwent gene enhancement surgery and were equipped with force feedback power armor, were quickly deployed to the war to carry out unified missionary work.

In an instant, countless golden banners bearing the twin eagles, symbolizing the empire, were planted in every corner of every planet along with these battle nuns.

Meanwhile, with the help of iterative updates in communication technology, the Empire launched its second expedition to quell the rebellion. Apart from a portion of the Imperial Fist stationed at Holy Terra, all 70 Space Marines were deployed to wipe out all rebels within the Empire's borders.

100.M31,

The Glorious Era:

After a century of repeated cleansing, the Empire finally reclaimed the four star systems, and countless worlds returned to the Empire's embrace. The demigods, separated for nearly 30 years, reunited with Holy Terra.

In addition to the Ascension of the Emperor, the Primarchs established the Ascension of Saint Gilles to commemorate their fallen brother with this glorious victory; this day is also known as Nirvana Day.

But on this day of universal celebration, a crucial meeting that would determine the future of the empire was convened.

The participants in this meeting included not only all the existing Primarchs, but also Marshal Waldo of the Imperial Guard, and numerous representatives of Imperial forces.

However, the atmosphere at the meeting was not friendly; it was tense and hostile throughout.

In the lead-up to the meeting, Guilliman, as regent, strongly demanded a halt to all large-scale military operations in favor of developing people's livelihoods, a proposal that was endorsed by all Primarchs.

Although it absorbed most of Atlas's legacy, the empire did not truly grow stronger during this century; instead, it was constantly filling in the gaps.

Even Zhuang Sen felt it was time to stop the war and allow the empire to recuperate, otherwise the empire would be doomed sooner or later.

As for the mortal representatives, they wholeheartedly agreed. After all, these representatives were veterans who survived the Mordred purge. You can call them bad, but you absolutely cannot call them disloyal.

For the first time, the entire imperial leadership was united in their support for the proposal, and it went incredibly smoothly. However, this atmosphere was quickly shattered.

This was simply because Guilliman had proposed several more policies.

First, establish the Highlord Council to replace the former Terran Council, and appoint yourself as its chief overseer.

Second, the division of responsibilities among the three agencies—the Tribunal, the Assassin's Court, and the Ministry of Justice—was established, with the Seal Holder, Macardo, in command and reporting to the High Lords Council.

Third, the Mechanical Church and the State Church shall retain their seats in perpetual succession, but they shall not interfere with each other's power of appointment and removal.

……

Although granting the Highlord Council such great power displeased many Primarchs, with Guilliman as Chief and General Johnson present, it was certainly not a bad deal.

Seeing that no one objected, Guilliman revealed his ultimate goal—to dismantle the Legion!
These words immediately enraged Johnson, who had just been supporting Guilliman, so much so that he drew his sword and stood ready to fight.

"Guilliman, do you know what you're saying?"

"I know!"

"Then why did you say it? Do you believe I'll chop you to death with one sword?"

Facing the blade pointed at his head, Guilliman showed no fear and drew his own Macurag short sword in return.
"My sword has never been less effective!"

Zhuang Sen remained silent, only giving Guilliman and the group of mortal representatives around him, who seemed to enjoy the spectacle.
"You will regret this!"

"I am the regent!"

(End of this chapter)