Warhammer: Filial Piety Makes Power

Chapter 8, Second Legion, Atlas

With Mordred's official return, a grand celebration ensued, with both Space Marines and mortal support troops participating to celebrate the return of their true Legion Commander.

Mordred, not forgetting his roots, sent a transport ship to airlift all his clan members, dogs and people, over.

As the celebration reached its climax, Mordred raised his glass and delivered another passionate speech, announcing that the Second Legion would henceforth be renamed Atlas and its flagship would be renamed the Exemplar of Abomination.

This move drew cheers from the crowd, but the happiest were the clan members who had always been by their leader's side. They had risen to the top in one step, from peaceful natives toiling in the soil to becoming part of the Empire, a dark force in the galaxy.

Perhaps it's because the population density in the tranquil world is too low.

Mordred's men were either cannibals or Oglins, which led to the legion's rapid integration and the complete absence of factional disputes.

After all, from the Legion members' perspective, their Primarch was clearly conscripting them. Apart from eating a lot and not being very smart, Oglin was a perfect chosen beast of burden.

And the best part is that it's buy one get one free, bringing in a group of big dogs that are just as big as Oglin's, which can not only guard the house, but also be petted a couple of times to relieve boredom.

As for the dog-men and Oglin, their simple minds simply couldn't grasp the situation. They spent their days either eating or waiting for food, thinking that being a dog of the legion was simply wonderful.

During the period of Legion integration, Mordred was not idle. As the Legion Lord, the first thing he did was to take stock of the supplies, see how much stock he had in his rice bin, and how many gold coins he had obtained from Old Man Huang.

After all, although the name of the world of Tranquility sounds quite warm and inviting, it is full of all sorts of monsters and demons. Mordred, who has been scavenging for garbage for twelve years, is truly terrified of being poor.

The first step in asset attribution is, of course, to visit the work site of one's own ships.

As a Glory Queen-class warship, the Abomination Paradigm is less a ship and more like a steel city floating in the void, and Mordred is the master of this city.

According to Tom, the company commander of the Eighth Company who had been stationed on the flagship, the HMS Abomination was a sister ship to the First Army's HMS Unyielding Truth, which was started at the same time. It was 26 kilometers long and, although slightly smaller, was faster.

"Father, in the days before your return, the Exemplary was assigned to the First Legion, but unfortunately, those cunning cousins ​​didn't treat us like human beings."

In order to seize credit, they only sent us to the second-line battlefields, and sometimes not even that. We were either sent to clean up the battlefield or transport supplies; they treated us like underlings.

The eighth company commander's complaints resonated with many, and several other company commanders who had gone to study in other legions also began to complain to Mordred, saying that they were basically assigned to do odd jobs.

Although they enjoyed a leisurely life and their casualty rate was ridiculously low compared to other legions, it also meant that there was no honor to speak of, which led even the ghouls of the Ninth Legion to secretly call them junk collectors.

Mordred finally understood; even during the 30K era, bullying and such awful things could happen.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. As bio-engineered humans who have undergone 19 surgeries, Space Marines have a very high mental threshold. In addition, they were trained in their youth, so ordinary enjoyment cannot satisfy them.

It's not that all Space Marines are eunuchs, but honor excites them more than mating, and studying abroad really makes them feel like stepchildren, with no chance to even compete for military merit.

But Mordred soon noticed something was wrong: two company commanders were sulking in a corner, not saying a word.

"So what's the situation with those two?"

Following their father's gaze, the company commanders looked at the two unfortunate brothers, and when they discovered that it was the fourth company commander, Gao Wen, and the seventh company commander, Livier, a hint of sympathy appeared in their eyes.

“Father, one of them went to the Fourth Army Corps and the other to the Seventh Army Corps. Those were not places for humans to live.”

Although they were valued by their cousins, they hadn't fired a single shot in the more than thirty years since the Great Expedition began. Every day they were either repairing bunkers or digging trenches, fighting for a full thirty years, practically brainwashed. Brian was right. Through comparison, Mordred discovered that these two offspring were the shortest among the generally 2.7-meter-tall men, barely reaching 2.3 meters in power armor, their physiques wider than average, giving them a solid, stable appearance.

Considering the various scraps that emperors stuffed into their bodies, it's not hard to deduce why the two of them became specialized as "gray boys."

Seeing that their father was in a bad mood, the company commanders changed their previous demeanor and very diplomatically approached Mordred, picking up the data panel and asking her to look at it:

“Father, although we were ostracized for studying abroad, we are not to be trifled with. Over the past thirty years, we have brought back a great deal of wealth, which we are waiting to present to you!”

Mordred, surrounded by the little cans, took the data panel, glanced at it, and couldn't move. This was more than just getting some stuff; it was practically robbing someone's house. There were three squadrons of Overlord Knights and two Titans.

There were many other odds and ends, including a brand new Stormbird that nobody wanted, a tattered but still usable Mastodon, and even a few Fenris Wolves.

"Wait a minute! How come there are Dreadnoughts in here too? You brought back people from other legions as well, who brought back this gene seed?"

It has to be said that there are reasons why other legions are targeting the Second Legion; it's quite strange that it hasn't been discovered all these years!
Fortunately, Mordred was quite morally flexible. Instead of blaming them, he praised his children, saying they were thrifty and hardworking. He suggested that since the property was ownerless, they should be given to them.

He crossed out only a few Dreadnoughts from the list, thinking that he could have a chance to make a double profit later and exchange them for some good stuff from other legions.

For ten whole days, Mordred moved about at a leisurely pace, wandering back and forth on his own warships, trying to learn about his legion as quickly as possible.

Ten days later, Mordred summoned all the company commanders and senior officers of the auxiliary forces, including former corps commander Goff, who had just come out of the dueling cage.

At the meeting, Mordred decided to follow the tradition of his hometown and first develop a five-year plan, starting with clearing the way and improving the infrastructure of Tranquility.

Especially in Starport, the principle of "building roads first to get rich" applies at all times. Just like the task given to him by the Emperor, Mordred plans to build Tranquility into a space fortress.

Mordred assigned this task to Company Commander Levier of the Seventh Company, promising that once the Starport was completed, his father would erect a statue for them there.

Secondly, there's the issue of immigration. The population of Atlas is far too small. Even though there are nearly 1.5 million people on the Abomination Paradigm, almost all the humans on the Serenity have died out. Even including the Oglins and the canines, the total population is less than 40 million.

With such a small population, let alone recruiting soldiers, you'd be struggling just to maintain your homeland.

Mordred assigned this task to Tom Kraus, the company commander of the Eighth Company. This student, who had returned from studying at the Eighth Army, assured Mordred that he had at least nine ways to trick people into coming over.

At the end of the meeting, Moredre decided to change the Legion's paint scheme. After combining the best features from various sources, Atlas's paint scheme was changed from the previous original paint and new skin to a dark gothic style with black as the main color and red outlines and embellishments.

As for high-ranking military officers, they were also issued a hooded trench coat to show off their status. After all, being strong is not the issue; being handsome is a lifelong matter.

As Atlas became thoroughly busy, gazing at this vibrant scene of life, like all things vying for attention, Mordred began to take stock of his troops. He still had an unfinished goal, and now was the time to do so.

Inside the cabin, the Atlas soldiers, who had been preparing for a long time, had unwavering eyes. After thirty-two years, they could finally fight for themselves.

"Father, give the order!"

"Alright, listen to my command, launch an attack!"

Three minutes and seventy-two seconds later, the Stormbird, carrying a full 5000 Space Marines, swept across the tranquil sky and flew toward the abandoned hive city covered in lush vegetation.

(End of this chapter)