The Bizarre Adventure of the Warhammer Guard

After the Grand Master left, Kurland fell silent. He understood the Grand Master's intentions, but cooperating with such a person was tantamount to seeking help from a tiger.

Seeing Kurland's condition, Sain pushed through the crowd and came to his side.

“I’m sick of everything here,” Saine whispered. “Their flattery and compliments disgust me.”

"That's right, fighting on the battlefield is much simpler than this." Kurland agreed with Sain's opinion.

"Let's go," said Saine, "back to our fleet, and forget about these high lords."

Then, the two of them left the banquet hall directly, ignoring Lord Udo's dissatisfaction.

Stepping out of the hall, Kurland and Thane walked through an arcade adorned with an eagle emblem. In the shadow cast by the eagle emblem, a black-armored giant stood. Kurland instantly recognized him as the Space Marine who had fought alongside him on the Battle Moon.

"Chapter Commander Kurland, Lord Elpis requests your presence." The black-armored warrior then looked at Sain, "Chapter Commander Sain may also come along."

Kurland was somewhat surprised. He naturally knew who the black-armored warrior in front of him was talking about, but he did not expect that the legendary Imperial Guard would want to communicate with him.

This filled him with immense honor, but at the same time, a huge question lingered in his mind: he didn't know what the Imperial Guards meant, but now he could only go and see for himself.

Kurland and Sain followed the black-armored warriors through the palace's passageways, eventually arriving at the meeting hall via a secret passage.

Pushing open the door, they saw a tall and imposing Imperial Guard standing with his back to them at one end of a long table. In front of the guard was a huge screen displaying the words "Caudra" and "Ulano".

To Kurland's surprise, the Grand Master, Wangorich, was also standing by the long table.

"I misspoke before," Wangorich said in a low voice as he walked over to Kurland, "not another day, but today."

"Chapter Commander Kurland, Chapter Commander Sain, Grandmaster Vangorich, please be seated." Elpis slowly turned around. "I've called you here today for two reasons. First, to see what you think, and second, because I've obtained some intelligence that I need to share with you."

"What are your thoughts?" Kurland asked. "Please enlighten me, sir."

Kurland and Sion sat down at the other end of the long table, the power armor making a dull thud as it hit the tall chairs.

Wangoric chose to stand to the side and slightly behind the two seats, in a defensive stance, a common posture for assassins. It was not because he needed to jump to sit on the chair that he chose to stand.

"The Empire's politics are corrupt, and all the high lords only care about their own interests and development," Elpis glanced at the standing Grand Master. "Even aliens can come to Holy Terra at will, which is unacceptable."

"I'm sorry, my lord." Wangorich lowered his head. "I am powerless to help. I have already been removed from the ranks of the Twelve High Lords. Forcing them to send troops to Temple Port has already put them on guard."

"His Majesty once said that he would let you mortals rule the empire, and he trusted you," Elpis paused, "but you cling to policies from a thousand years ago and refuse to make any changes."

Kurland did not immediately express his opinion; his gaze was fixed on Elpis's calm face. The Imperial Guard, the Emperor's most loyal personal bodyguards, never concerned themselves with politics.

But now, a member of the Imperial Guard not only summoned them privately, but also revealed his dissatisfaction with the existing order in his words.

The message behind this forced Kurland to proceed with caution. His fingertips unconsciously brushed against the scars on his cheek, marks left by the Battle of Andamantu.

“My lord,” Kurland began, his voice steady and firm, “the duty of Astartes is to fight. We obey the oath we swore to the Lords of Mankind, and the Codex of Astartes left by the Primarchs. We are not adept at politics, nor do we intend to interfere. We only care about whether the Empire prospers and whether the sacrifices of our warriors are worthwhile.”

He deliberately avoided sensitive terms such as "coup" and "seizure of power," but the core of his words clearly pointed to questioning the current high lord's abilities.

"Some regulations should be changed." Elpis took out a box and took out a parchment scroll from it. This scroll had survived for thousands of years and was seeing the light of day again.

"This is..." Kurland looked at the scroll, feeling that what was recorded inside would be extremely horrifying.

Elpis laid it out directly; it contained only a short line of text, and the original signature of "Robert Guilliman" was clearly visible.

Immediately afterwards, a drop of crystal-clear primordial blood was hidden within, once again shocking everyone.

"Chaptermaster Kurland, Chaptermaster Thane," Elpis's gaze swept over the two, "I believe in the loyalty of the Sons of Dorne. From this moment on, you are no longer required to obey the Astartes Codex."

"Both I and Primarch Robert Guilliman authorize you to recruit new blood and expand your strength gradually in the years to come, without being limited to a thousand people. However, all of this must be done in secret, so as not to cause panic among the people."

Kurland and Thane looked at each other, both very surprised. Although neither of them were Guilliman's offspring, the aura of the Primarch's blood was undeniable.

"You too, Grand Master." Elpis looked at Wongorich. "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

Before the three could even process this astonishing authorization, Elpis turned around, tapped the screen with his finger, and brought up information about a planet.

"Caudra," Elpis said, "according to intelligence, the Primarch Vulcan is in this world."

"What? The Primarch!" Everyone was shocked again. How exciting it was to hear the news of the Primarch's reappearance a thousand years after the Primarch's disappearance.

"After we've dealt with things on Terra, we'll immediately head to Kodra to find the Lord of Fire Dragons. According to intelligence, that world is currently under siege by orcs."

Elpis retrieved information from another world once again.

"The orcs' stronghold is in Ulanor. Once we find the Lord of the Fire Dragons, we need to rebuild the expeditionary force to eliminate the orcs there and eradicate the alien invasion throughout the empire."

Silence fell in the meeting room again, as everyone was at a loss for words after hearing this series of messages.

"My lord, please forgive my bluntness," Wangorich broke the silence first, "but is this your will, or the will of the Golden Throne?"

"The Lord of Mankind ascended the Golden Throne to protect humanity," Elpis's voice left no room for doubt. "I was taught by him and I follow his path. Therefore, my duty is the same."

He did not give a definite answer, but his words carried enough weight; the actions of the Imperial Guards themselves had a certain extraordinary symbolic significance.

Kurland, Sion, and Wangorich exchanged glances. Sion's eyes were already burning with fighting spirit, the Grand Master's eyes were flashing with a deadly light, and Kurland finally made up his mind.

"I understand," Kurland took a deep breath. "We need a detailed plan."

"As you wish."