40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 646 29. Belated Judgment (Part )
Kamas, or to use its full name, C-Kamas. A planet in the human territories, with three orbital defense stations and four Dark Angels companies stationed on it.

It has no nominal direct governor, for reasons that are well known to the world, but the Lion does not participate in the political situation of Camas in any form.

He allowed officials to do whatever they wanted, whether they were ambitious or simply wanted to make people's lives better, and he never made any comments.

Foolish people would see this attitude as laxity or indifference, but that is not the case. Those who were entrusted with important tasks and power but betrayed trust have never escaped the punishment they deserve, and the angels in black armor will personally bring down the sword of judgment.

Yes, the Lion never entered the political arena of Camas. He just influenced it in his own way, that's all.

A Stormbird slowly flew across the sky of the eastern hemisphere of Kamas. The setting sun shone on its beautiful wings. The dark paint absorbed all the light. Only a winged sword emblem shone in gold in the reserved space on the side.

Nowadays, Stormbirds are no longer the first choice of the major warbands. In fact, as early as the end of the Great Crusade, they have been replaced by cheaper Thunderhawks. However, each warband is willing to keep a few or a company.

It doesn’t matter whether they are antiques or not, they are still powerful and reliable, and most importantly, they have strong symbolic significance.

But it is a bit sad to say this - from a war machine that symbolizes destruction and bravery, it has been transformed into a Primarch's vehicle that represents status and identity.
If the machine soul could speak, what would it choose?

The lion shook off this rare thought indifferently and walked down from the Storm Bird with his spear in hand.

They landed in a clearing in the woods, surrounded by a pristine natural landscape that was well preserved—and that meant big profits, in every sense of the word.

For example: air.

It may sound absurd, but the air of Kamas is a very luxurious enjoyment among some nobles. They will spend a lot of money to buy a can and share it with their family on important occasions, just to be able to get close to the Primarch Lion El'Jonson for a moment.
They don't seem to realize that this will not bring their imagined 'closeness' to reality, nor will it make them more noble.

In Kamas, air is supplied equally to everyone, and the treasures they spend a lot of money to buy may be exhaled by some civilian whom they will never even look at.

Of course, a more reasonable guess is that they know, but don't care. After all, it's just a title.

Purchasing the air of Kamas means getting a kind of stepping stone, which allows you to try to get in touch with the aristocratic circle that is similar to the lion.

The Primarchs have never left the Empire, and whether they want to or not, countless people will choose to depend on them. Some people hate this, some people can't do anything about it, but the Lions choose to hold it in their hands and make good use of it.

With the help of this huge and not-so-loose circle, the Lion was able to control the general situation in the Hazy Star Domain. Although the efficiency was still not high and corrupt officials still existed, the situation was slowly improving.

"grown ups."

A man in aristocratic robe stood in front of the clearing and bowed slowly to the lion. He seemed to be the only one who came to pick up the plane, which was quite strange.

However, considering that the lion came alone and even drove the car himself, this is not unacceptable.

He was about thirty or forty years old, with a white face and no beard, and a sinister and serious expression.

Of course, the external age of the nobles is not credible. Expensive surgeries such as life extension and plastic surgery are just a matter of waving their hands for them. They don't even have to pay, and others will rush to pay for it.

"Semel."

The lion nodded to him and read his name, but he did not stop, but continued to move forward. He just slowed down a little to allow the Semmel to keep up with him.

In this way, they walked into the primeval forest of Kamas, but after walking only ten meters or so, the light of the setting sun completely disappeared.

The thick and dense leaves completely blocked out the light, and the dampness and coldness emitted by the soil buried under the dead leaves even changed the "smell" of the air. However, the lion walked with his eyes fixed forward, unmoved, and Semmel actually followed his footsteps with normal manners.

They were like two reckless travelers, moving forward in a dark world without light and filled with coldness, until two heavy doors appeared in front of them without warning.

The rock base was black and had no carved lines. The lion took a step forward and raised his head calmly.

A few seconds later, accompanied by an extremely obvious buzzing sound, the winged sword emblem originating from the First Legion and now used by the entire chapter quietly appeared in the center of the door.

The stone began to rub against the metal, making a low and heavy sound. Colder but drier air surged out from inside and blew past in the form of wind. A deep and wide road slowly appeared. The lion stepped into it, followed closely by Semel.

The light came on, but they couldn't see where it came from. They walked in silence until several minutes later, when they heard the sound of the door closing from behind.

Then the lion spoke.

“How’s Camas doing these days?”

"It's the same as always, my Lord—" Semmel replied slowly, his expression still maintaining that sinister look.

"——To be honest, there is nothing worth mentioning. And I guess you didn't come back just to ask me about those trivial government affairs, right?"

The lion sneered and turned his head, glancing at him: "To speculate on the Primarch's thoughts without permission is a crime as serious as blasphemy."

"And you are not one of those fanatics in the state religion. So, what do you need from me?"

"No hurry." The lion retracted his gaze and said calmly, "Let's talk about it when we get down there."

"As you command, my lord."

Ten minutes later, they stepped onto a platform, and beneath the platform was an extremely noisy and busy world.

Rocks and machines coexist, metals and plants coexist in the same room, it is as wide as the general parade square in the Legion era, but the specific structure is as complex as a treasure hunt maze. Even at a glance, there are at least tens of thousands of rooms divided by metal, most of which are tightly covered by the black dome, with only a few exposed.

The lion walked to the center of the platform and reached out to wake up a control panel. The genetic verification was quickly passed, and with a slight sound, solemn military music suddenly sounded around the platform.
The lion's expression suddenly turned gloomy. He pressed the screen to lower the platform, then immediately turned around and questioned Semel.

"What's going on? What stupid idiot added this feature without permission?"

"It is the wise Benejov, my lord."

"Tell that tin shell to remove this damn function for me today!" the lion roared. "I invited him to work here to improve the weapons. If I really need military musicians to show my status, why don't I hire a group of people to work for me like before?!"

"Yes, my lord." Semmel sighed and bowed slightly.

At the same time, the platform slowly fell to the ground. The lion took a deep breath, returned his expression to normal, and stepped into the maze holding the spear tightly.

He seemed to be very familiar with this place. No matter how many forks appeared at the next corner, the lion could easily choose the right one.
However, it is worth mentioning that until they arrived at their destination, there was not a single guard or any automatic warning turret on the road.

They stopped in front of a large door made of obsidian.

"You can go get ready, Semel." The lion said in a low voice. "Call everyone over."

The noble saluted solemnly, turned around and left without saying a word. The lion took a step forward, pushed open the heavy door with one hand, and walked inside.

Instead of a maze, he was surrounded by a world full of solemnity and mystery. The ground, made of unknown silver metal, was painted with strange symbols, and the distance between them was strictly controlled, creating a unique aesthetic at first glance.

At first glance, the pillars holding up the ceiling might be mistaken for stone, but a closer look immediately reveals that they are actually made of ashes.

On the wall hung a torch that never went out. It had a strange texture, like impure colored glass. The flames dancing on the top were not the usual red, but a gentle light gold.
The lion took a deep breath, lowered his head, and suddenly said: "How is it, are you satisfied?" Quiet footsteps were heard between the bone pillars, and Khalil walked out from the darkness, holding a human spine in his hand.

In response to the lion's question, he just shrugged: "I don't know much about mysticism, so I probably don't have the authority to comment on this room you placed in the fortress, Leon. But I must admit-"

He raised his hand and pressed it on the bone pillar closest to him, sighing and smiling.

"——You really put a lot of thought into it. It must have been quite a hassle to collect so many loyalists' remains?"

The lion shook his head in a calm denial. Khalil walked over to him, handed him the vertebra, and then threw another question.

"Forgive me for being impatient, Leon. But I really want to know what will happen next? I know that Inquisitor Serrano has teamed up with Inquisitor Shefa to reveal the magic on the horn to you, but how are you going to use it here?"

He stopped talking and raised his hand to the ceiling. In the pure gold, a huge eagle was looking down at them coldly.

The lion smiled.

"Do you ever get curious?" he asked, his tone surprisingly amused.

"Of course, I'm not some inhumane killing machine who only cares about how to kill efficiently." Khalil smiled softly. "You can't think that I shouldn't be curious, right?"

The lion looked down at him and said, "Ruth just expressed some unpleasant opinions about your remarks."

Khalil raised an eyebrow.

"Then why don't you let him come out and tell me himself?"

"He didn't want to, thinking it was asking for trouble unless there was wine to drink. Besides, I didn't want to either."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lion turned around, the door was pushed open, and thirteen people followed Semmel in.

They wore uniform clothing, with the emblem of the state religion engraved on their heads, and many other objects of faith worn devoutly around their necks or wrists. They were both men and women, of different heights, weights, and sizes, but all had the same fanatical look.

However, as soon as they entered here, they immediately knelt down in front of the lion, prostrating themselves. The leader recited the hymn written with him as the protagonist, and the others raised their heads slightly and sang the hymn in solemn and harmonious voices.

Still wearing his noble robes, Semel stood aside calmly, head lowered, observing Khalil, the man who suddenly appeared in the uniform of the Inquisition, from the corner of his eyes in a polite manner.
He had doubts, it was obvious, but since the Lion hadn't mentioned them, he didn't either.

He is a very sensible person, no wonder he can be the manager here. Khalil thought so. However, he was still a little surprised that Lion El'Jonson could build such a complex and important place.

In the past, the lion didn't seem to have similar ideas. He just wanted to be a sharp sword. Although he had the majesty of a king, he rarely used it. Most of the time, he used the sword to speak. But now, the situation seems a little different.

He took a step back silently and stood behind the lion, waiting for the hymn to end. He wanted to listen to the end, but the lion seemed unwilling.

He raised his right hand, forcibly stopping the monks' pious behavior, and then showed the spine to a bald woman.

"In the name of the God-Emperor," the lion said very slowly. "Purify it."

The woman bowed her head respectfully, raised her hands above her head, and then reached out to take the vertebra. She was not young, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were the best proof, but her face still had a childlike innocence.
Khalil caught this incident accurately, as natural as a knife stabbing his heart. He frowned, and a certain guess flashed through his mind, and then the slowness shown by the remaining twelve people and the similar childishness on their faces confirmed his guess.

The lion turned and led him out the door.

His noble chief left very quickly. The gate closed again, and the lion leaned against it, holding his spear, and slowly closed his eyes.

Khalil heard him taking deep breaths, continuous deep breaths.

"Will you look down on me for this?" Lion El'Jonson asked after a moment.

"Why do I look down on you?"

"For them," said the Caliban, and then he gave a rare self-deprecating laugh. "I thought I could do this without any psychological burden."

"Are they going to die?"

"No," Leon said. "Not now, at least, but their life span will be shortened."

“Will they be in pain?”

"I don't know. I only know that I selected these flawed children from the society of Kamath, and raised them as tools, filled them with faith, in case they were needed at some point."

The old lion lowered his head solemnly but stiffly, looked at the judge he had invited, and asked the last question.

"I would like to know."

He didn't finish.

Khalil shook his head and deftly did something he had never done before—he interrupted the lion decisively and without rejection.

Similar things have happened many times since his resurrection, and along with it has changed his obsession with titles or identities.

Time changes everything, nothing is an exception.

"There is no space for these children in the Empire's society. There was no space in the past, there is no space now, and neither you nor I can be sure if there will be any space in the future."

"Furthermore, curing brain defects is still a difficult task at present. Our understanding of our own body structure is not yet perfect enough to prevent similar things from happening at the genetic level."

"I believe that even in a thousand years, deformed children will still exist in our society and be bullied. So there is nothing wrong with what you did, even in the eyes of a bigot like me."

"You have provided them with food and clothing, and they don't have to go hungry and look for food in the garbage dump. The most important thing is that you have given them dignity, Leon, and this is something that cannot be bought back with any amount of money."

"Even if this dignity comes from fanatical belief, even if they actually have no concept related to it."

Khalil smiled, his eyes lit up with psychic energy. He flew up silently, and to the lion's astonishment, he raised his hand and patted his shoulder, then landed again.

"So, you might as well think carefully about how to invite that war gang later."

Lion El'Jonson looked at him strangely, and after a long while he managed to utter a warning: "Don't do that next time."

"what?"

"Psychic energy."

Khalil chuckled.

(End of this chapter)