How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 245 Judge versus Judge (Part )
"Although after seeing those imperial troops, everyone will think that your failure in that operation is not surprising." Wilchak gently shook the feather fan in his hand thoughtfully, "But 'paint on the lintel'? This is a little too much.”

"I didn't say I was defeated by the Imperial Guard." Hastings responded unhappily.

"So, what made your... strategy fail? Those dark angels in black paint?"

"Not entirely, but there is no difference in nature."

"And what allows you to appear here calmly in this capacity?"

"I think I've said it already. Losers often don't have the right to decide who and where they can appear."

At this time, Wilchak's face finally showed an emotional reaction that seemed very real: "You don't seem to have much complaints about your 'failure'. To be honest, this surprises me. In My impression is that you are a very competitive young man."

"First of all, that was more than a hundred years ago. You will most likely need to update your information." Hastings's attitude was still very calm. "Secondly, people often just think that they should have crossed over but failed to do so." When you fail to overcome difficulties, you will have the idea of ​​'not admitting defeat'."

"Such depressing words don't sound like something you would say."

"This is not a 'dejection'. I really don't want to admit it, but it is a 'fact'." Hastings took another sip of wine. "You know, people call me the 'Legend Crusher' because I can The 'truths' that happened in the past were unearthed from the roadside rumors and archives in the imperial world, and those so-called 'truths' often contain a lot of lies, pretense, and even the temptation of chaos. Most of the so-called 'truths' The same goes for the 'Imperial Saint'."

"How many forging worlds did she mobilize for this?" A little water seemed to appear on Wilchak's forehead, flickering under the dim light at the edge of the ballroom. "If she can get the relevant design drawings—— "

"Appreciate further details?"

"Like the Emperor's Dream," Hastings admitted generously. After all, the huge and eye-catching emperor's flagship was hanging brightly above the airport, and everyone saw it. There was really no need for him to be vague in this regard.

Hastings paused and pointed to Fujimaru Ritsuka in the center of the crowd with his eyes: "But this one is completely opposite to what I have been doing."

"She also dug out some 'real' legends and stories from the old papers." Hastings deliberately made his findings very general. "Then she brought them back to reality."

"...Like the Emperor's Dream?" There was already a serious weight in her tone when asking about this matter.

Wilchak laughed again—until she realized that Hastings's comment wasn't some random joke.

"——None." Hastings interrupted the other party's wild guess, "From the bedside stories of childhood to the relatively credible Imperial archives, all records will tell you that the Emperor's Dream is 'completely A ship built and produced on Holy Terra."

"But she was sunk in the war ten thousand years ago! If you want to recover-"

"——It's a 'miracle'." Hastings directly announced the answer with a regretful lack of interest, "Or, a kind of psychic witchcraft. A large-scale ceremony, which requires the environment, but does not involve any A kind of sacrifice. It is completely legal, the procedures are complete, and the relevant documents and application process records are all available for inspection, in triplicate, and placed under the management of the Throne Hall, the Star Torch Hall, and Fujimaru Ritsuka himself. The reason behind this matter The truth is really boring and disappointing. I have seen the document in her hand, and I think that as long as you have the right authority and you are willing to spend some time, you can also access the corresponding procedures and records from other relevant departments. According to The consistent efficiency of the imperial administration, I imagine, only takes about fifty years?”

"I probably understand why you can stand here emotionally as a loser." Wilchak said with sadness, "It sounds like this little girl is a completely comparable opponent to you in terms of the way she acts. . But the energy she can mobilize is much greater than you." Hastings snorted coldly: "The first half of your sentence is completely unnecessary. And, I strongly recommend that you use personal pronouns when you need to refer to the Emperor's Dream , it’s better to choose ‘him’.”

Wilchak raised an eyebrow: "Should I ask why you suggest this?"

"If you have the opportunity to board the Emperor's Dream in the future, you will naturally know it. And if you have not had such an experience, I think it is difficult for anyone to be convinced by an explanation in the pale form of language. .”

To be honest, before Somny actually transformed the ship in front of him, Hastings also felt that the explanation of "the machine soul became a human", which had been adapted by the empire's localization, was really too farfetched. Tan.

Wilchak obviously did not read the true meaning of Hastings, but she still let go of this doubt - even among the judges, the unspoken rule of "don't ask what you shouldn't ask" is still certain. effective to a certain extent.

So, she calmly returned to the previous question: "So, in your opinion, can this so-called 'miracle' be replicated?"

"Just a 'copy'? You underestimate her a little too much." Hastings said with a wry smile.

He didn't say much more, but Wilczak naturally read between the lines: "She was capable of more than you think." The Lord Commander frowned and considered for a while, then asked the "Saint Killer" beside him: "I think you must have made some plans for the possibility of the situation getting out of control, right?"

Hastings clearly heard that the other party was certainly hinting at a possible situation in which "Fujimaru Ritsuka breaks away from control and begins to harm the empire." This is normal, because the job of the inquisitor is to doubt everything. Of course, Hastings himself has made such assumptions countless times and tried to deduce situations based on this premise.

"I did do some," he admits, "but I'm not prepared to share them. I may be called a 'saint killer,' but it's important to note that not all the so-called 'saints' I carefully investigated ended up being All will be 'killed'."

"I've heard some things about Saint Celestine and the Imperial Regent Expedition." Wilchak put away the feather fan with a snap. "You are saying that you think those stories 'should exist' 's?"

"I didn't say that. My point is still the same as before: any result achieved through psychic means cannot be completely credible, and that includes my own prophecies." Hastings said calmly, "But - —I’m not talking about propaganda issues—in many cases they are useful enough to the state of the empire today that I suggest we tolerate and exploit them within safe limits.”

Wilchak raised his eyebrows and asked in an almost demanding tone: "Like Saint Celestine?"

"Like Fujimaru Ritsuka." Hastings turned his head and stared back without fear, "At least from the current point of view, the existence of her and her mission is beneficial to the dark side of the entire empire. And I believe , the vast majority of people with basic judgment abilities among the Baal Samsung will notice this."

He didn't ask, but Wilchak understood. He was actually asking: Do you think the Blood Angels have basic judgment capabilities?

"In addition, just as you investigated what I did in the more than a hundred years after the Great Rift unfolded, I also investigated your recent resume." Hastings raised his glass to Wilchak. "For the sake of getting acquainted with each other, I sincerely make a suggestion to you: Don't think that if you use the favors you saved with the Black Templar, you can successfully achieve anything under the premise of force deterrence. . It’s useless even if you succeed in seconding an entire Black Templar expedition to Baal – the outcome will be decided before a single shot is unloaded, and the victor cannot be you.”

He simply "toasted" to his mentor's old friend, then turned and left, casually placing the empty glass on the tray in the hand of a passing servant.

The dance continued, and Hastings decided to let Wilchak replace him as the inquisitor who was left alone in the corner of the ballroom.

(End of this chapter)