The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Although he had worked among the Ultramarines for a long time, Ilyan was not rigid due to his mixed-blood identity. On the contrary, he had always been a pragmatist, which strained his relationship with some Ultramarines company commanders.

However, he gained a deeper understanding of Sochoyan. He was undoubtedly a figure who lived up to his reputation, not just a powerful warrior and an outstanding commander, but also a tactful ruler, an unconventional diplomat, and a meticulous politician.

Frankly, Azrael and Calgar, the chapter masters he had met, were perhaps slightly inferior to this man in some respects.

However, he was still a little uneasy. Was a chapter master going to such lengths really just for the sake of revitalizing the chapter?

After arriving on the Randol, his unease intensified. The interior of this warship was even more astonishing than its exterior. Especially after seeing those short mechanicum technicians. Although he hadn't left the astropathic spire much during this time, he would occasionally wander around the ship. The high degree of automation inside was impressive. If he hadn't known better, he would have found it difficult to believe it was an Imperial warship.

"Mr. Ilyan, what are you thinking about?"

A deep voice with a hint of a smile disturbed Ilyan's thoughts. He turned around and looked in surprise at the person behind him.

"Chapter Master Sochoyan, why... why are you here?"

Wearing armor, Sochoyan walked slowly on the carpet, making almost no sound. Compared to his size, this was almost a miracle, and it also showed his terrifying control over his body.

"Am I disturbing you?"

"Uh, no, not at all. After all, this is your ship, you are the master."

Sochoyan grinned.

"This is not my ship. This ship belongs to the chapter, to the Imperium, to humanity. I am just using it."

As he spoke, he walked past the rows of equipment and looked up at the empty platform of the astropathic choir. The servants around him bowed to him.

"I haven't been to the astropathic spire for a long time, and I've almost forgotten how it works."

Then he turned around.

"Are you getting used to being on the ship?"

"Thank you for your concern. I am getting used to it. The accommodation here is surprisingly good."

Ilyan was telling the truth. It wasn't as if he hadn't served on a warship before. Astropaths were already considered senior crew members, and the待遇 was just a separate cabin, usually no more than fifteen square meters, with some simple furniture. But on this ship, he had a nearly fifty-square-meter two-story residence with a living room, beautifully decorated and cozy, and even a private kitchen that supplied meals at any time, as well as more than a dozen kinds of alcoholic beverages to choose from.

He would have thought he had become a noble.

"I came here to ask you something about the Necrons."

"The Necrons?"

"How much do you know about this alien? Have you had any contact with them?"

"About understanding..."

Ilyan pondered for a moment and replied:

"The Ultramarines once fought this alien on Damnos and paid a great price, but that was almost twenty years ago. I didn't accompany the army on the expedition at that time, but stayed in Macragge, so I don't know much about the details."

"Have you met Guilliman?"

Sochoyan's unexpected question caught Ilyan off guard. After a long while, he cautiously said:

"Only a very few high-ranking members of the chapter can enter the place where the Great Primarch sleeps. I am just an outsider and do not have such qualifications."

"Please don't be offended, I'm just curious. Over the years, have the Ultramarines not thought of a way to awaken their Primarch?"

"Perhaps it's out of caution."

"It's been ten thousand years. No matter how cautious, they should have thought of some way, shouldn't they? Have they not thought of seeking help from other missing Primarchs?"

"Uh, this question is beyond my ability to answer, Chapter Master Sochoyan."

"Do you think the Imperium needs a Primarch to stand up and lead it right now?"

"Well, in my personal opinion, if a responsible Primarch could stand up and take charge of the overall situation, at least the situation would be much better. The biggest problem in various fields of the Imperium now is chaos. A lot of resources and troops are not being used where they should be. Although this is also due to the vague and delayed astropathic communication, it is more critical that various departments act on their own and the armed forces are isolated from each other. When there is a force that can unite them, the situation will immediately be different."

After listening, Sochoyan nodded. During this period of time, he had roughly figured out the personality traits and tendencies of this distant relative - after comparing his DNA sample obtained by the servants with the genealogy of the Aleksey family, especially the Olrod line, it had been determined that he was indeed a descendant of this branch, but his kinship with Sochoyan was very distant.

Ilyan is a person who tends to change, but not so radical, and he is very eager for recognition. This is also the reason why he is exceptionally close to the Ultramarines, because he has gained recognition there.

In addition, he has a very broad vision, not the kind of pure astropath who is ignorant of worldly affairs. He has a lot of research, especially on politics, religion, and history. He has not wasted his long life, spending a lot of time on learning. He has read a lot of books, and the rich collection of Macragge must have helped him.

Such a person is too wasted in the position of astropath.

However, Sochoyan must confirm whether this person can be on the same boat as him. Blood ties are useful and useless. The focus is on personal thoughts and character.

At present, there are no conflicts between the two people's ideas, but he still has some inherent ideas rooted in his mind that need to be slowly broken. Sochoyan is not in a hurry, after all, the other party cannot even face his mixed-blood identity.

"I remember that the Ultramarines seem to have had several conflicts with the Eldar in recent years."

Ilyan seemed to be accustomed to Sochoyan's indirect probing. He sighed softly and said:

"I am just fulfilling my personal responsibilities and don't have much to say about military matters."

At this moment, Sochoyan's personal communicator suddenly rang. After connecting, a voice came from inside.

"Chapter Master, the navigator's spire sends a message that we can jump out of the warp."

"Received. Order the bridge to jump out at the nearest warp jump point."

"Yes."

Ilyan then whispered:

"Are we at Orpheus?"

"No."

Sochoyan shook his head.

"We're not going there first."

"Then this is..."

"Echowria, we'll go to this forge world first."

Soon, the fleet left the turbulence of the warp and arrived near the Echowria system, and entered the system smoothly, heading straight for the forge world.

After several years, returning to this forge world, some traces of the last fierce naval battle can still be seen in the void. Some of the wreckage of the ships has not been cleaned up, standing in the darkness like tombstones, reminding people of the kind of slaughter that once happened here.