Warhammer: Filial Piety Makes Power

Chapter 350 Leave no one behind

"What, we're being sent to Holy Terra?"

"Yeah, boss. The High Lord issued a secret order, ordering us to go to Holy Terra to take up a post. And he not only summoned us, but also the Iron Hand. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Where did those minotaurs go? They're the council's dogs."

"You're the dog, Gabriel, you bastard! If you can't speak properly, shut up!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a tall figure emerged from the shadows. Its enormous size, nearly 4 meters tall, was awe-inspiring, and one might mistake it for a Primarch.

But Gabriel didn't care about that. He vanished instantly, teleporting directly behind Morlock and delivering a powerful flying kick:
"Shut up, you're here, so what are you acting all high and mighty for? Do you think you're a Dark Raven Guard? Still hiding in the shadows, all that size and no brains. Even the Oglins of our chapter are smarter than you."

Morlock remained silent in the face of Gabriel's taunts. It was precisely because he was brainless that he came to Tranquility to gather information. After all, everyone knew that the Blood Ravens were cunning thieves who never made a losing deal.

He slapped away the hand that had somehow slipped into his pocket. To show his sincerity, Morlock didn't wear power armor this time, but instead went alone in a simple robe.

"Stop taking it out. I don't have a single penny on me. I only had a box of canned food with me, and those two dog-men at the door stole it."

Gabriel, we're old friends. Back when Blood Raven got caught stealing from the palace, I was the one who ransomed you. Give me a straight answer: what's the situation now?

"What's the situation?"

Gabriel picked up a piece of parchment, which he had taken from Morlock's pocket. There was an identical one on his desk, the only difference being the chapter number: one was Blood Raven, and the other was Minotaur, the minotaur chapter led by Morlock.

“Look at this. The Council is just using us as pawns. Now that the Primarch has returned to the Empire, they are unwilling to have their power divided and unwilling to have another powerful figure standing above them, not just three.”

"But those were only three Primarchs! The Iron Hand was also transferred to Holy Terra."

Upon hearing this, Gabriel laughed in anger: "There are only three Primarchs? I don't know if you're really stupid or just pretending. Tell me, what is a Primarch?"

"A Primarch is a Primarch, three Guillimans."

"You make it sound so easy. Let me tell you, the Primarch is the son of the God Emperor, or in other words, the legitimate heir of the Empire. If we dare to fire the first shot, our lives are over."

Seeing that his old friend still hadn't reacted, if he didn't know that Morlock's skin wasn't dark, he would have suspected that this guy's genetic lineage was that of a fire lizard.

"I don't know about the other chapters, but I know the Steel Hand better than anyone. They will absolutely not get involved in this mess, and even if they go to Holy Terra, they will just wait and see."

But they're the founding mother organization, and what are we? You're a dog of the council, and I'm just a garbage collector. We don't even know who our own Primarch is. Who can protect us?

"So, let's find an excuse?"

Gabriel slapped Morlock across the face, implying that Morlock was stupid and that they couldn't afford to mess with either the Primarch or the Council.

"If even you know the situation is not right, then all the other people with names and surnames probably know as well, and they are all watching and waiting."

So our two little squads have to go, but going doesn't mean we have to do any work. We can just stand there and coast for a few days. Otherwise, do you really want to be the parliament's dogs for life?

"I don't want to be a dog!"

"This is terrible. We have no power or influence right now because we don't have the original gene."

To prevent Morlock from acting recklessly, Gabriel earnestly reminded him, "Your reputation as Tauren is ruined. You're nothing but executioners for the Council. You know better than anyone how many people you've sent to the Black Shield. You don't want the Chapter to be destroyed by your own hand, do you?"

At this point, Gabriel also felt a little helpless. Their Blood Ravens were considered to be doing relatively well, with the Iron Hand protecting them and the Mechanicus as their powerful backer. They were among the better-off groups in the chapter.

After becoming the chapter leader, he flirted with the Assassin's Court, getting the council to turn a blind eye to his actions, and expanded the chapter to a full 3300 people.

But so what? None of the 12 seats in the Highlords Council belong to Astartes, so they have no say at all, and they don't even have the qualifications to enter Terra. A large number of chapters have been squeezed out, either joining the fray or disappearing without a trace.

Loyalty? Loyalty my ass. If you were truly loyal, you'd become like a minotaur, a dog at the feet of Parliament, hated by both sides.

Sometimes Gabriel thinks that if Blood Ravens could find their Primarch, things would definitely not be like this now. But even if the Primarch returns, they probably wouldn't dare to recognize him, since Blood Ravens' Primarch is Magnus.

Yes, that's right! The Blood Ravens have always believed that their Primarch is Feralus, and not only them, but many Chapters share this view.

After all, Blood Raven was originally separated from the Steel Hand.

But this is a complete stereotype. Blood Raven's gene seed is completely different from Steel Hand's seed. After all, whose gene seed moves on its own?

Blood Raven is also extremely obsessed with treasures and likes to collect historical materials, which matches the former Thousand Sons. Moreover, the think tank accounts for such a large proportion of its resources, and even its battle cry is "knowledge is power." Protect it well.

At first, Blood Raven didn't believe it. Judging from our chapter's markings, it should be Blood Angels, or at the very least, Dark Raven Guardians. But after going to verify it, they found that it really wasn't.

In an attempt to uncover the identity of the Primarch, Blood Ravens began frantically stealing gene seeds from other chapters at one point, only to find that none of them matched, and they were even raided by the other chapters several times.

Then the question arises: which legion didn't steal anything? The answer is the Thousand Sons!

"No, no one is allowed to know this secret. We Blood Ravens must have a Primarch. Even if we don't have one, I will take one back."

Meanwhile, Feros, the Father of Steel of the Steel Hand, was also having a secret meeting with his Second Company Commander, Angier. Due to the unique nature of the command system, the Steel Hand did not have a Chapter Commander like other chapters. Instead, they formed an organization called the Steel Council to take command, with one representative from each of the ten clans.

Whenever a large-scale military operation is carried out, an Iron Father, equivalent to a battle group leader, is elected to take command. Although this is somewhat abstract, this is the Iron Hand.

As for why Feros, the father of the Steel Hand, needed to discuss things with the second company commander, it was because Angel had lived long enough to be an old veteran who had been active since the second founding of the Steel Hand.

Now, faced with such a sudden transfer, especially one jointly ordered by the commanders of the Imperial Guard, Feros would naturally consult with the elder, Angel.

The two decided that they might as well go. They could get so many benefits just by showing off. Only a fool wouldn't go. They would just hang around there. Anyway, there were other people around. Slacking off wasn't illegal. Who could stop them?

"But what if those three Primarchs really don't have the power to suppress everything, as the rumors say?"

"We still have to go. After all, meal replacements can satisfy our hunger. If we manage to steal a Primarch, Iron Hand will have a Primarch."

"Then who should we rob?"

"Nonsense, we grabbed whichever we could get our hands on back then, but that Mordred guy looked easy to bully, so we took him first."

As the saying goes, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. Feros immediately made the decision and set off for Holy Terra with the Iron Hand.

The High Lords Council was unaware that the reinforcements they had summoned had already begun forming cliques, with everyone harboring their own agendas and thoughts.

But none of that matters. What matters is the sheer power of the combined forces of the three battle groups. Just standing in front of the palace gates gives one immense prestige and instantly boosts confidence.

After all, in the eyes of the parliament, Guilliman's announcement said it all: the Ultramarines fought a hard-fought battle, the Blood Angels and Dark Angels were reduced to less than one in ten, and they only achieved a hard-won victory after a fierce battle.

And that so-called Atlas, with about 200 people, is completely insignificant.

After a simple calculation, we can roughly estimate the exact number of people in this fleet. With comparable strength, what are we afraid of?

In order to bring the Primarch myth to an end once again, the Council summoned a large number of nobles to a banquet in Holy Terra, where they intended to publicly drag the Primarch off his pedestal.

However, to ensure everything went smoothly, after the Steel Hand, Blood Raven, and Minotaur chapters were stationed in Holy Terra, the Council used its connections to bring in the Black Templars.

The other chapters are fine, but the Black Templars have a weakness in the Council's hands: their numbers are several times greater than the other legions.

The so-called Eternal Expedition is just an excuse. We usually turn a blind eye to it, but now that we need you, you have to send people.

Although the Black Templars didn't want to get involved in this mess, Grand Marshal Amarritch had no choice but to summon Second Company Commander Mordred and send him to Holy Terra to make up the numbers.

As for why Amalric sent Mordred, it's because this guy is a smooth operator, the kind who gets on the train first and buys the ticket later. Not only did he single-handedly behead the orc warboss, but he also attracted the attention of the Emperor.

But a lie is still a lie. Mordred deceived everyone by saying he saw Sigismund, when he didn't see him at all.

This was both a stain and an honor. The Grand Marshal, though seemingly criticizing him, actually praised him. After giving him a severe scolding, he told him to go and make up the numbers, but immediately bestowed upon him a black sword to assert his sovereignty.

This is my henchman. You bunch of councilors better watch out. If you get hurt, don't blame us for purging the court of corrupt officials again.

Thus, although four waves of reinforcements were summoned, three smaller groups were formed among them: one group was the Iron Hand, another was the Black Templars, and the Blood Raven even formed an alliance with the Tauren.

This is still straightforward. You have to know that the Black Templars are nominally the Fist of the Empire, which will inevitably attract the attention of the parent organization.

Iron Hand has close ties with the Cult of Mechanics, the Minotaur is a member of the Council, and Blood Raven not only has a good relationship with the Cult of Mechanics, but also flirts with the Assassin's Court.

As for Trajan, the commander of the royal guard who brought all this together, he remained silent as he watched the increasingly bizarre atmosphere in Terra, and led everyone into the palace.

Deep within the underground palace, before the golden throne, Trajan knelt on one knee, gazing silently at the emperor who could only utter incoherent "abba aba."

"Your Majesty, the task you entrusted to me has been completed!"

"Betrayal, savage, death, ambition, woof woof woof, nose is itchy, second son, second son, close the door quickly."

Trajan was completely bewildered by these incoherent words, but it was much better than before, especially when His Majesty was holding that yellowish little centurion, at least he could utter relatively clear words.

“My lord, you mean the Primarch is coming soon, but why close the gate? They are your offspring; they won’t attack you.”

"Woooooo~"

It's only natural for Tula to think that way, but Mordred didn't appreciate it. Looking at the Holy Terra so close by, especially the Imperial Navy gradually closing in, she grabbed Johnson's hand.

In an instant, the world changed color, and a cold, damp fog appeared, along with a mirage of a verdant grassland rising from the sky above Terra.

Subsequently, 8 Ultramarines, 1 Dark Angels, 1742 Atlas, and 314 million mortal support troops appeared at Lionsgate:

"Everyone, listen to my command! Leave no one alive!"

(End of this chapter)