Warhammer: Filial Piety Makes Power

Chapter 31 Master Mo, what do you do for a living?

“Refuse? How could I? Your Highness Mordred, you are absolutely amazing! I’ve been dreaming of sending my good-for-nothing son into the Legion!”

"What?"

Mordred thought he had misheard, so he pointed at the unshaven, abstract patriarch who was wearing a tight-fitting school swimsuit and ordered him to repeat it to him again.

"Your Highness, I must say your decision is truly magnificent. We have long wanted to serve the Empire. We have sacrificed so much for you, and we have no way to repay you! Don't you agree?"

"???"

Mordred was stunned, and grabbed the chieftain, asking:

"No, didn't you realize I'm trying to cram your family members into the legion and send them to the front lines to fight the aliens? Are you out of your mind?"

The clan chief, still excited despite being held captive, kept crying as he shouted things like, "I understand! I'll be the first to send my son to the battlefield to blow up the bunker! I will never let Your Highness down! I want to be Lord Mordred's dog!"

"That's right. If I weren't so old, these kinds of good things wouldn't be available to those little brats. It's just a pity that I'm already old."

"You're old, yet you still dare to spout such nonsense. You old fool, why don't you abdicate in my place? How can an old man like you be loyal to His Highness? You rebellious father!"

"I'm not dead yet!"

"Then why don't you just die already?"

The young man in fine clothes showed no martial ethics and punched his father, who was well. The old clan chief was not to be outdone and picked up his cane to beat him mercilessly.

This move drew cheers from the onlookers, who shouted things like "Have some spirit, don't lose face!" and "Attack his bottom lane!"—all expressions of a desire to stir up trouble.

Watching this group of chattering traveling merchants start a full-blown brawl over a spot, Mordred felt for the first time that things were beyond his expectations.

Wait a minute! I was clearly forcing you to take a stand, so you should all look reluctant. How did it turn out like this?
However, what Mordred didn't know was that although he knew the future, he clearly didn't understand people's hearts, and his mindset was still based on his past life's experiences.

In particular, they underestimated the value of that merchant license. After all, in ancient times, the person who obtained this thing had another title: Jiedushi (military governor).

Having a merchant's license issued by the original entity, while not guaranteeing the family's immense wealth, at least ensures that as long as one doesn't act recklessly, one can live and die alongside the nation.

If they're lucky enough to be selected by the Legion, and their family produces a Space Marine, they'll have a lot of face when they go out. It's a real honor to have a page dedicated to them in the family tree. They'd fight for it even if it meant selling everything they owned!

Mordred's actions, which he saw as eroding the merchants and ronin, were seen by the other side as His Highness not looking down on their lowliness and wanting to help everyone improve.

"I want to make progress so much!"

The thought of their clans participating in this great expedition and fighting the aliens on the battlefield filled the clan leaders with excitement, and they raised their flags in celebration.

All I can say is that the Yellow Weasel's Imperial Truth is incredibly useful; it's a quintessential Legalist ideology. Even Hill would have to admit he's inferior to it.

Although something still felt off, the outcome was fortunately successful. Seeing their high level of awareness, Mordred gave up on thinking about it.
"Stop arguing! Whether you'll even be selected is still uncertain. I don't care who you are, just register according to the procedure. You've wasted all my preparations. Get out of here!"

Before anyone could understand why the Primarch was angry, several Atlas figures clad in optical camouflage appeared from all around and left the banquet hall without looking back, leaving them stunned. Especially the father and son who had been wrestling on the ground, who immediately reverted to their loving and filial state.

"The meeting is dismissed!"

........................

Before dawn the next day, Chaodu Square was packed with people, all eagerly watching the conscription officer wearing rabbit ear ornaments.

Although they didn't know why this lord would wear such an undignified ornament, who cared? All they wanted now was to enlist in the army and become a member of the legion.

But they were soon dumbfounded, because there was not just one recruiter, but a whole group of them, and they had to take a written test and a physical examination, and there was even a strange test called a political review.

Especially the Legion trainee and the Spartan guard, who left them completely bewildered. Looking at his son frantically typing on the keyboard below, Mordred, who had finally figured it out after a night of contemplation, was utterly exasperated and could only vent his anger on Forgrim.

"What are you laughing at? I did all this for you, you heartless bastard. If it weren't for you, would I have bothered to gather them all together?"

To be fair, the benefits brought by this large-scale conscription really pleased Forgrim. Even though he was being tortured to death by Mordred every day, he could only put on a fawning smile and say that his second brother was right.

After all, words are meaningless; what my second brother really gave was genuine!
After a while, Mordred grabbed Forgrim's head and said very seriously:

"Third brother, you've been with me for half a year now. Putting everything else aside, how has your second brother treated you?"

"Great! Second brother, you're practically my own brother. Why are you asking this?"

Mordred remained silent, staring intently at Forgrim before him, but after a long while, he couldn't discern anything from him, only seeing a pair of slightly wise eyes.

"It's alright, maybe I'm overthinking it. After all, the timeline has changed, who knows what will happen in the future? Come with me."

Even though he didn't understand why his second brother had suddenly gone crazy, Forgrim still followed Mordred and took the elevator to the heavily guarded bottom of the hive.

Looking at the heavy door before him, which seemed impenetrable even by a nuclear bomb, Forgrim asked:

"What is this place?"

"This is the Hive, our Atlas biochemical research institute. Your offspring who have contracted the wither disease are all inside. They will be able to come out healthy soon."

Without much explanation, Mordred led Phoenix through 13 security checkpoints to an operating table.

On the operating table, a comatose emperor's son is being dissected alive. His organs are being removed step by step, leaving only his brain and spine. He is eventually placed in a life support container for gene replacement.

The horrifying scene sent chills down Forgrim's spine, instantly reminding him of the bowl of braised pork offal he had with Mordred that morning, and he felt nauseous.

But Mordred acted as if nothing was wrong, leading him into the operating room, picking and choosing among the parts, and occasionally offering her comments:
"See? This is the power of knowledge. Your offspring's wilt disease is caused by genetic pollution. The best solution is to abandon them and rebuild the army with new blood."

But I know you're reluctant, so I've changed my approach. I'll amputate below the cerebral cortex and then use your gene sample to perform reverse overwriting. Once all the cells are replaced, the disease will be cured.

So, what do you think of my treatment plan? It's as simple and convenient as removing an appendix. The only drawback is that I need to start over and have another remodeling surgery.

But don't worry, our Atlas technology is the best in the world. We're experts in augmentation surgery, and we can even do things that aren't human.

Fugrim mentally cursed, "What the hell is this? Amputation below the cerebral cortex? Is this an idea that any human could come up with?"

But on second thought, this kind of abstract therapy might actually work.

But Mordred's antics didn't stop there. He also proposed a body reconstruction service, which allows patients to undergo customized modifications if they are not satisfied with their original bodies.

This includes, but is not limited to, a variety of packages such as tendon hardening, gland regeneration, subcutaneous armor, anal tightening, and fearless mech implantation. Even awakening the feminine side within is possible, and skin rejuvenation services are also provided.

"Huh? Second brother, what do you do for a living? They're all smashed to pieces, how can I give you advice?"

Mordred gave a wicked smile and said, "You still don't understand." He then reached out and removed the brain jar, inserting it into the holographic projector next to him.

After connecting to the power source, a holographic projection of a Space Marine was indeed generated, but his eyes looked slightly vacant, as if he had just woken up.

Then, this emperor's son, who had been brutally dismembered, leaving only his brain and spine, heard a voice that caused his cerebral cortex to atrophy:

"Not bad, you have the tightest anus among this batch of new recruits."

(End of this chapter)