Warhammer: Filial Piety Makes Power

Chapter 309 The Era of Legions Has Ended
As news of Johnson and Guilliman's falling out spread, the entire Terra was plunged into a state of unease.

It's no wonder people are so sensitive, because the great rebellion a century ago is still fresh in everyone's memory. It was precisely because of the great rebellion that everyone is wary of the Space Marines.

With the Empire's technological prowess, let alone whether it's practical or not, anyone with a bit of strength could undergo life-extending surgery and live for hundreds of years without any problem. And these people in their prime have all experienced the Great Rebellion, not to mention the Space Marines.

The policy has sparked heated debate within the Legion, with some arguing that splitting up the Legion is an inevitable trend, while others believe it is the stupidest decision ever.

Without exception, almost all Space Marines cursed Guilliman as inhuman, calling him an ambitious bastard, especially those Legions without Primarchs.

We shed our blood for the Empire, we risked our lives for the Empire, and now that our father is gone, you, Guilliman, want to dismantle our legions?

If the news hadn't been blocked immediately, the Empire might have faced serious turmoil. Even so, the Primarchs remaining in Terra and the other Legion representatives were arguing fiercely.

"I disagree. If you want to dismantle the Legion, then dismantle your Ultramarines first."

"Who said I wouldn't demolish? I'll be the first to demolish my own army!"

Upon hearing this, even Zhuang Sen lost his temper and looked at Guilliman with a rather strange expression.

"What do you want?"

To be honest, although Johnsen doesn't like to use his brain, he does have a brain. Not only the Lion King, but all the other Primarchs understand why Guilliman did what he did.

But one's perspective is determined by one's position; understanding does not equal agreement. Moreover, this thing is really too ruthless. You're breaking up my huge legion into 1000 people? Are you kidding me?
Feralas is alright; their Iron Hand has less than 5000 people at most. How many of us Dark Angels have? 7! A full 7!
If we follow Guilliman's method, not to mention the other legions, the Dark Angels alone would have to be split into 70 chapters, and what's most infuriating is that after the split, each chapter would be on equal footing.

The question is who gets the Primarch of Light. Even if we take a step back and imagine a veteran legion soldier finally rising to the rank of company commander, only to find, after splitting up the legion, that everyone is now exactly the same.

Logically, almost every Primarch would be unwilling to break up the Legions, but rationally, all Primarchs know that given the current state of the Empire, breaking up the Legions might truly be the best option.

After all, the Great Expedition has already crushed all the decent alien forces, so for a legion of this size to participate in the battle would be far too inefficient.

Back when we were on the Great Expedition, all we had to do was push forward as fast as we could, and the more legions we had, the better. But now it's time to defend our territory. The era of massive, overwhelming troop operations is over.

Looking at the white hairs that had appeared on Guilliman's forehead, Zhuang Sen didn't know how much effort his brother had put in, but he knew that Guilliman truly had no selfish motives.

A century-long career as a war commander exhausted Johnson, but it also taught this lion the most basic communication skills:
"Sure, if you want to dismantle it, then go ahead. But I have one request: your battle group has too few members. At least the mother group should have more members, right?"

Guilliman knew that this was not only a concession by Johnson, but also a final concession by all his other brothers, so he immediately brought out his long-compiled Astartes Bible, wanting to revise it on the spot.

Upon seeing this extraordinary book, even Dorn couldn't hold back, and the Raven King, who had always been relatively unknown, posed a profound question:
"Brother, it's no wonder people say you're ambitious. Do you really need to specify everything in such detail?"

Legion structure, personnel promotions, tactical templates, equipment configuration, you even stipulated what time to get up every day, and you even have a damn menu.

To be honest, Guilliman also felt that he had gone a bit too far. He hadn't thought that much about it at the time; he was only thinking about how to get an ordinary Space Marine to build a Legion based on this book.

According to Guilliman's vision, the Astartes Codex was an STC module applicable to Space Marines, a supreme manual that incorporated his extraordinary wisdom.

Anyone, as long as they are of sound mind and practice according to the scriptures step by step, will definitely be able to build a strong battle group.

Guilliman wrote in such detail entirely to prevent the emergence of fools, just like the foolproof mechanisms on weapons and equipment—it's like breaking things down and feeding them to others.

As for Corax's sarcasm, he also wrote that this is for reference only!

"My holy book is version 1.0. If there are new and improved methods, I can certainly add them to the holy book. Otherwise, why would I need to discuss it with you?"

Guilliman's words made sense. Since things had come to this point, the Primarchs had no choice but to pour their own understanding into this masterpiece.

Splitting the Legion was simple, but the Primarchs had much more to think about. After forty-nine days of repeated discussions, the 3.0 version of the Holy Scripture was finally released.

While retaining the original Guilliman style, the chapter's structure remained at 1000 people, but it gained the right to establish its own mortal auxiliary army, the Astral Army.

The 18 Space Marine Mothers were increased to 20,000 men, and at Dorn's suggestion, a backdoor called the Final Wall was left open.

In other words, under special circumstances, the parent group can initiate the Final Wall Protocol to summon all sub-groups to come to its aid, but the price is that it needs to provide a series of assistance to the sub-groups.

At the very least, you have to give them something when they first form a battle group; you can't leave them with nothing.

While the founding team led by the Primarch retained a size of 2, this founding team of 2 people no longer had the power to make the final decision.

101.M30,

Second Army Re-establishment:

Since his brothers had all participated in compiling the holy book, Guilliman wanted them to sign their names, but without exception, the suggestion was rejected by all of them.

But Guilliman did not forget his roots. After years of investigation, he was convinced that Atlas was absolutely not a traitor. Although he still could not utter Mordred's name, to commemorate his brother, Guilliman left a blessing on the sacred texts:
"Second brother, your achievements will never be forgotten!"

In the same year, with the emergence of the Astartes Codex, and under Guilliman's example, all legions were broken down into warbands.

Meanwhile, Tom, seizing the opportunity, acted first, successfully taking a portion of Iron Hand's wealth and reclaiming his Blood Raven name.

He also used his connections with the Steel Hand and the Cult of Mechanics to start doing shady work for these techies, perfectly circumventing the Holy Scripture's quota by using the excuse of being an overseas student.

As the saying goes, there are always countermeasures to policies from above and no law is perfect. Although it has been divided into battle groups, the Space Wolf has always been Guilliman's little black dog.

So much so that the wolf cubs came up with a unique trick, and Bjorn, the then commander of the Space Wolves Legion, said, "We certainly support the Regent's instructions."

Then battle groups were formed, called Space Wolves Regiment 2, 3, 4, 5... openly disgusting Guilliman.

And what's even more despicable is that they sent a squad of space wolves to Macurag, where they did nothing but wait for Mrs. Yotton.

Whenever he sees her, he rushes over and throws himself on her lap, crying uncontrollably. He throws tantrums, threatens suicide, and immediately starts accusing her of having bad people in Terra, saying that the Primarchs have disappeared and are bullying us.

Instead of being angry, Guilliman granted the Space Wolves a special position stationed in Macurag, allowing them to act as bodyguards for his mother.

You like heading to Makula, don't you? Fine, I'm entrusting my mother's safety to you. What else do you have to say?
Such an open and honest approach, coupled with Mrs. Euton's unparalleled parenting skills, completely silenced the group of space huskies.

Although the dog behaved itself, the dark angel, who was part of the cat-dog duo, soon encountered a problem that would last for ten thousand years, creating a group of madmen.

106.M31,

The Lion King Returns Home:

In order to implement the splitting of legions, Johnsen, as the Imperial Warmaster, had to stay in Holy Terra to oversee the splitting of other legions.

As the legions were gradually dismantled, the only remaining legion was the Dark Angels.

He had finally achieved the coveted position of War General, but now he found himself the second mastermind behind the dismantling of the legion.

But a lion king is a lion king. Looking at his brothers who came to see him off, Zhuang Sen still uttered his usual arrogant words:

“You, Guilliman, are a gentleman, and I, Zhuang Sen, am no villain either. Since you were the first to dismantle the Ultra Warrior, I won’t break my promise. Do you need to come and supervise me?”

A century of working together had taught Guilliman how to get along with his brother. He knew that Johnson wasn't against him; that was just how he was. So the best way to deal with it was:

"I believe you."

Watching Johnson leave the field at lightning speed, Guilliman knew he had won again. However, he did not know how much he would regret not going with him in the future.

107.M31,

The fall of Caliban: No Dark Angel knew exactly what happened that day; they only knew that the First Legion had no secrets.

The lion cubs, eager to grow, were not greeted with glory, but instead with the furious lion king. The indiscriminate barrage of artillery fire from the sky caused their already strained reason to collapse instantly.

For the Lion King, this was a stain on the First Legion.

For the Dark Angels, it was the Lion King who betrayed the Legion.

When the mother and son, separated for a century, reunite, all that remains is accusation and insult, and the clash of swords between life and death.

After the war, King Johnson of the Lions disappeared completely, becoming the first Primarch to vanish since the Great Rebellion.

But this is far from the end; it is a new beginning.

Meanwhile, 3 years ago, in a ravine somewhere in Holy Terra, a warp rift suddenly formed, spewing out all sorts of debris.

Amidst the scattered scrap metal and gravel, the most striking feature is a tall, magnificent horse. A red scar, like a lightning bolt, runs across its head, making this white horse stand out.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, and seeing the bizarre scene before it, the horse, in a remarkably human-like manner, collapsed onto the ground with a sharp, piercing neigh.

Before it could even hum a few times, the horse suddenly shuddered and instinctively looked back.

Then he saw a tall man squatting in a crack in the rocks, defecating, and his gaze was fixed on his own tail.

"A tail? Oh no!"

(End of this chapter)