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

"'Tall buildings are closer to the sky'. Objectively speaking, this is a matter of course." Fujimaru Ritsuka recited, "Beyond the sky is the Milky Way, in the Milky Way is Holy Terra, and on Holy Terra is the throne. Therefore, we can also say that 'tall buildings are closer to the Emperor'."

Kellya, who had received some scientific education in grammar school and had a certain understanding of the universe and the galaxy, was somewhat puzzled: "Although this is true,... the distance between Parmenio and Holy Terra is calculated in light years. With only buildings, the distance can only be close to a few kilometers, which is a negligible value?"

"Mystical things should not be understood with too scientific thinking." Fujimaru Ritsuka explained, "One possible explanation is, 'The height itself has no special meaning, but when humans give it meaning, it has meaning'; another possible explanation is, 'When most people who live in a place for a long time believe in this statement, over time, this meaning itself will be embedded in the subspace through the collective unconsciousness of the crowd'. I don't know which statement is correct, or both are wrong, and the correct explanation is another - I don't intend to study the principle of this phenomenon like a scholar. For us, as long as the law of symbolic meaning can be used, it's fine."

Kelly looked confused, and Fujimaru Ritsuka realized that it might be too early to explain this part right away.

"As for the knowledge of mysticism, perhaps we can arrange courses to discuss it in detail when we are settled down for the time being." Fujimaru Ritsuka brought the topic back to Chaldea's duties in the Empire. "Do you remember the metaphor of 'Deus ex Machina' just now?"

"Remember, we need to find the key point and 'Deus Ex Machina' at the right place to give the story a 'good ending'."

"Yes, we are in 'Deus Ex Machina'. But we must remember that it is often the Emperor who can play the role of 'God', not us." Fujimaru Ritsuka raised the Sky Eagle Scepter in his hand towards the remaining part of the church, and looked up at the other brass Sky Eagle on the top of the towering broken wall. "We inherit the Emperor's spiritual energy, so we can do things that most people can't imagine. But we must always remember that this is not our power, but the Emperor's power. We are only responsible for guiding the Emperor's power and making it appear in the right place and in the right way. In other words, we are in the 'Deus Ex Machina' part, responsible for setting up the mechanical device that 'pushes God onto the stage'."

As she spoke, the eagle on the top of the scepter in her hand had already lit up a faint light. Then in the next second, the Aquila statue standing on the top of the broken wall also responded, and golden light also bloomed from the position of its eyes. There was no wind around, but the sand on the ground moved without wind, followed by small pieces of rubble, and then larger stones. After a few seconds, even large pieces of building materials or metals that should have required cranes and hoists to move naturally joined this inorganic parade, taking off from the ground in a harmonious order and flying towards the ruins of the church.

Whether it was out of awe for religion, power, or both, the other three people in the square watched everything happen in silence: the destroyed materials returned to their original positions, the burned or bent carvings became complete and bright again; the huge church rose again from its own wreckage within a few minutes, and the cracks filled with sand and soil disappeared in the golden light; neat artistry emerged from the building again, and the self-ringing clock behind the church also sounded the sacred melody at this time, spreading throughout the ruins of Tyros City, like a celebration, and like a declaration; some invisible waves spread to the entire city with the church as the center. Whether it was civilians, Astra Militarum, Battle Sisters, or Astartes, at this moment, they all felt this warm ripple almost synchronously.

"'The spirit of the Emperor resides here.'" Sister Iolanth held the pendant of the state religion on her chest, knelt on the spot, and murmured prayers in tears under this sacred scene. Lanmarok quietly moved his feet away from her. However, the stunned Kaelia accepted this the best, and asked Fujimaru Ritsuka curiously:

"how did you do that?"

"Good question. I don't know either." The latter answered confidently, "You probably have to ask the Emperor about this. Just like you didn't know what was going on when you purified the well water before, I just acted as a transit station for the Emperor's psychic energy, allowing his power to cross the barrier of the veil and penetrate into reality. It was he who actually repaired the church, it was he who made the clock ring, and it was he who used this to protect the entire city. You see, we are just the stage workers responsible for setting up the stage equipment. The essence of our work is to allow the 'God' who should be on stage to stand on the stage at the right time."

Fujimaru Ritsuka shrugged indifferently and turned to Lan Malok:

"Tell Captain Aphrodite that the enemy's offensive may intensify in the future. He may need more armed forces to hold the front line. I will try my best to let the Imperial Regent send reinforcements to the city before noon tomorrow. Before that, the front line may have to rely on the forces carried by the Lion's Mane itself to maintain, and the ship will need your airdrop permission - in addition, I need to issue an air defense alarm warning."

——The plague warriors who also rely on the power of the warp, and even the demons who are happily preparing everything behind the curtain, must understand what the strange phenomena happening in the city mean.

Mi (six o'clock)

The original novel wrote that all the buildings in Tyros look like towers, but I made up the reason why the people of Tyros like to build towers (you).

Haha, I forgot the timer again! (Cheerful)

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 86 Some Questions about Self-awareness

About two hours later, after thoroughly checking the psychic operation of the Tyros Cathedral, Ritsuka Fujimaru used psychic teleportation with Kellya and Lanmalok and returned to the Storm Edge.

Lanmarok was just passing through here, he had to return to the Lion's Mane to take charge of the dispatching issues. Fujimaru Ritsuka had no intention of paying attention to whether their one-on-one operation mode would change in this mission. The Dark Angel assured her that the city's defense mission would never go wrong, and she was sure of this result.

Kaelia looked around with a little curiosity, and was obviously very interested in this environment that was very different from the common decoration style in the Empire. Fujimaru Ritsuka found another vacant room near his room to accommodate her, and lent her a small sling as a guide on the ship. It took Kaelia some time to accept the existence of such a living doll. The good news was that she did not think in the direction of hating intelligence or touching the red line of the Empire. The bad news was that she might have some misunderstandings about Chaldea itself.

Fujimaru Ritsuka reminded her again and again with great concern: Asclepius would come to give her further diagnosis later so that an effective treatment could be developed, she could use the things in the room freely, and if she was hungry, she could go to the cafeteria... and so on, until Kaelia became annoyed, and even annoyed enough that she mustered up the courage to push Fujimaru Ritsuka out of the room.

The latter stood at the door and reflected for a few seconds, and concluded that "I might have become like Emiya's mother", then shrugged indifferently and turned towards the main control room.

Unfortunately, she didn't remember until she actually arrived that Somni wasn't here. The three people who went to the Glory of Macragge as representatives didn't come back, and were only allowed to send out two communications. Now what they are doing on the flagship of this fleet, I'm afraid only the parties involved and the regent know. And when Somni was away, Conrad Curze occupied his original position in the control room.

The Primarch of the Night Lords has become very clean now. This means that, even counting his last life, he may only be cleaner than now when he just got out of the amniotic fluid tank or when he just got reshaped. At the same time, he was even fiddling with the small portable star map projector on the console, pretending to study the current battle situation displayed on it, and seemed to be speculating on the location where the Night Lords fleet would jump out of the warp, as if he really wanted to shoulder the responsibilities of a "Primarch".

Fujimaru Ritsuka was very sure that Curze had listened to her impassioned speech on the Claw of Destruction. But after "listening", what happened between these words and the inherent ideas that were deeply rooted in his mind, and why he became what he is now, she had no idea - in the final analysis, she could hardly explain what Curze's "current state" was like.

But she could not tell anything from just looking at it. She cautiously walked around to Curze, stretched out her hand and snatched the projector that was only as big as her palm (and the latter let her snatch it from his fingertips), glanced at his expression, then lowered her head and changed the content of the projection according to the situation shown to her by the Emperor in her lucid dream last night.

"I noticed that the doctor didn't come back with you." Curze, who didn't look like he had ever left the main control room, said, "The number of Dark Angels has decreased, so of course they have been deployed to the ground battlefield. But letting a life-saving doctor leave your side on a battlefield like this? I don't think this is a wise choice."

Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced up at him in surprise, then returned his gaze to the projector: "For now, those injured soldiers and sick civilians need his strength more than I do. Besides, Asclepius won't stay on the ground forever. Once he standardizes the execution procedures of the infirmary to fight the warp plague, he can return to the ship from the planet's surface."

Coates did not comment: "I also noticed that you brought back a girl who is about your age."

"The Emperor found that her physique is very suitable for carrying his spiritual energy." Fujimaru Ritsuka said without raising his head, "I must intervene, otherwise she will become a corpse in fifteen days at most."

"Maybe it won't take fifteen days, or maybe it will take a hundred and fifty years." Curze snorted coldly, "Sometimes I really find you annoying - the future that was once clear and could be seen at a glance has been messed up by you, and it has immediately become a mess with an uncertain future."

"Isn't this a good thing for you? It can effectively control you from making stupid moves according to the prophecy you read." After a stage of work came to an end, Fujimaru Ritsuka raised his head from the projector and looked directly into Koz's almost pure black eyes. "Why do I feel that you have been showing off your increased ability in these few sentences?"

"I just know myself better - thanks to you, ma'am." Coze said in a deliberately affected tone, "In every sense of the word."

"I have no doubt about that, but I am afraid that your so-called 'knowing yourself' just means that your thoughts have entered another corner that ordinary people can hardly understand."

"It's hard for me to say. After all, I realized that I have never understood what you call 'ordinary people'. But what does it matter?" Curze said with a cheerful smile that would be considered a "horror scene" by anyone familiar with him. "I just gradually realized after thinking about it that 'people' are indeed complex and diverse, and 'gods' are basically a group of bloodless bastards. As for the 'primarchs', they are something caught between the two."

"...This is quite novel. What do you want to express with this?"

"Which side do you think I leaned towards in my previous appearance?"

"To me every individual is different, and therefore you are you."

"That's a nice way of saying it, but it won't work in front of me." Koz moved his position slightly threateningly, closer to Fujimaru Ritsuka's direction, "I'm the 'Judge', and the 'Judge' doesn't need ambiguous answers. 'A' or 'B', you have to choose one."

"...Ah." Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed heavily, "In a few hours at most, you will have to meet your brother. Do you really have to force me to say something unpleasant to you before such an important occasion?"

"I do not consider this an important occasion. We have never liked each other, and I do not like the... tepid and cumbersome tricks that my dear Regent prefers."

"But the Imperials will think this is an important occasion, and Mr. Robert will definitely make some compromises because of this." Fujimaru Ritsuka had a deadpan expression. "Do you think he will bring a credible outsider to record this scene?"

"You don't have to worry about that. Speak your mind, and you'll find that I'm not the same person I was before."

"That's better." Fujimaru Ritsuka lowered his head again and began the next stage of revisions to the star map on the projector. "Give me some time to organize my words."

The silence lasted for about four minutes, with only the small clicks of the projector buttons being poked. After all the sorting and corrections were completed, Fujimaru Ritsuka put the projector back on the table in front of him, sighed softly, and then spoke without any pause:

"If you ask me, you were a 'monster' before."

"'Monster.'" Curze surprisingly wasn't angry, but chewed on the word with interest.

"That's right, monster. Humans are social animals. Many of the qualities that make humans human are not innate, but need to be acquired in society. But you obviously missed the link of being taught by your parents, and Nostramo society can't teach you the right things.

"You have a set of views on good and evil and a sense of justice that come from the Emperor. Your obsession with these things, coupled with your powerful strength, makes you look like a 'god' who is obsessed with strict justice and uses fear to create obedience. But in fact, you are not a god. Gods must stick to their own rules even if they destroy themselves, and you can't do that.

"When the Emperor created the Primarch, he did not configure you with such a cold and ruthless mind. You will doubt, be weak, and be afraid of the future you foresee. This is originally a necessary part of being a 'human', and it is a necessary factor that allows you to better understand the thoughts of ordinary people, but they make you deviate from the path of 'God'. However, your incomplete mind makes it obvious that you cannot become a 'human', and in the end you can only be stuck in the middle of 'neither'."

Fujimaru Ritsuka finished speaking, and the control room returned to silence for a while. Surprisingly, and very commendably, Koz himself did not get angry because of this series of long-winded comments - Fujimaru Ritsuka could see that he was indeed a little angry, but he did suppress his anger and forced himself to think about what the other party said.

The Primarch's mind worked very quickly, so Curze's thoughtful expression lasted only a second before he finished his words: "Since the path of a 'monster' is not feasible, then what do you think I should become? A 'human' or a 'god'?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka thought for a moment and replied, "'Original'."

"This is an option that didn't appear in the question." Coze seemed a little annoyed again, but Fujimaru Ritsuka argued:

"But you are indeed the Primarch," she said. "You were born between man and god. Since you lack the ability to get close to either side, why don't you carve out a path in the middle? Besides, that's what you did anyway."

Coates, surprisingly, did not seem confident at this point: "I 'originally' failed."

"Failure is the mother of success. Remember it as a lesson and remind yourself that this is wrong." Fujimaru Ritsuka said nonchalantly, "Someone once told me that a true warrior is not someone who has never failed, but someone who can get up again and charge towards the same goal after failing hundreds or thousands of times. You are the Primarch, you still have a long life ahead of you."

After she finished speaking, she turned around twice, silently counted in her mind what to do next, and finally reached out to pick up the star map projector that had been put back on the table, put it in her pocket, and then turned and left the control room.

"Don't forget, we have to meet Mr. Robert later." She finally said this and left the room.

Meow (no more).

Actually, this part is the story that was just after the plot was accelerated, and then I realized that I had over-accelerated it. Before the flash of Parmenio, there was a story of Curze and Sevatar talking by candlelight (?). If you want to read it, I will sort it out and wait for the whole extra story to come out one day.

In addition, there was originally a story about Ritsuka and the Batboys betting on the traditional Nostramo card game, but I searched for a long time and couldn't find the rules of that thing. I forgot it while searching. If you want to see it... (Shut up)

(Why do they start using loans to delay the plot progress?)

Card Player, please stop! Impossible! The biggest problem with playing Yu-Gi-Oh is that I am not a card player!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 87 A much-anticipated brother meeting

Roboute Guilliman found it hard to believe that what he heard from the representatives of the Lion's Mane was true.

After realizing that these three people brought some incredible news, his first reaction was to summon people he believed to be credible and question them separately. In this almost interrogation-like situation, their statements were still able to barely corroborate each other, which was enough to explain some problems.

First up was Konrad Curze. This was not the first question Robouti Guilliman had to ask, but it was undoubtedly the most important. The Imperial Regent had heard rumors of his brother's death before he was defeated at Thessara and forced into a stasis field. For a Primarch, Konrad's death was obviously a bit too hasty, but considering that he had been completely driven mad by his prophetic powers at the time, and a madman could do anything - Guilliman himself was skeptical about the content of the rumor.

His first reaction was that the rumors he had heard were wrong. But then, he got two different versions of the story about how Konrad Curze was resurrected. The one from Somni was concise but general, only indicating that it was the end result of a very expensive psychic ritual; the other was detailed but the credibility was questionable. Guilliman had no doubt that the many specific details contained in it that mocked the Emperor and superstitious behavior were just temporary fabrications by Sevatar to cause trouble.

——Then, he received a video file of about fifteen minutes from the Dark Angel Raven Wing Captain, Jeramil Larion. The file was encrypted and urgently transferred to him without anyone watching the content along the way.

Roboute Guilliman was shocked.

After being shocked, he thought for a while and destroyed the video in his hand. Then he warned Captain Larion: once the video footage related to a living rebellious Primarch was leaked, it would likely cause a strong negative chain reaction in the current empire that no one wanted to see, and asked the other party to destroy most copies of the video and do a good job of information control.

He guessed that the descendants of the lion king would complain that he was rigid and boring, but in this era, this was a necessary behavior. He did not think about whether he still had any brotherly love for Conrad Coates in the reason why he chose to do this, but instead focused his attention on the other protagonist in the video.

Then, the Imperial Regent received a long list of titles from Somni, such as "Emperor's Chosen, Envoy of the Throne, Son of Hope, Star of the Long Night, Drinker of Sin, The Grand Master", and a note from the Ravenwing Captain that he was "a good partner who knows his limits". Even Sevatar said, uncharacteristically, "You'd better be more respectful to that lady, she does represent the will of the Emperor" - but considering his numerous criminal records in such a short period of time, the credibility of this statement is questionable.

Only the name is certain: Fujimaru Ritsuka.

It was a strange and ancient language, even to Guilliman. It was thanks to his photographic memory that he could even recognize the name as "a strange and ancient language" rather than assuming it was a little-known dialect from a remote part of the Imperium. Even at the time of the Great Crusade, the language was thought to have died out long before the darkest days of the Old Night.

Based on this inference, perhaps this name really comes from an Imperial dialect that sounds similar to that ancient language, which is obviously more logical, but Guilliman has an almost stubborn intuition about this. He just thinks that this name belongs to that ancient language that he has only had a glimpse of in the records, and he doesn't even know how to pronounce most of its phonemes.

This was also a puzzling point, but Guilliman put it aside for the moment and tried to figure out why the Lion's Mane came here - the point was, how did they appear without warning in an instant. This part of the content had obviously become quite complicated, and the interrogator trusted by Guilliman spent a lot of time on questioning and sorting it out, so that the Imperial Regent, who was commanding several battles on the continent of Kyraton while caring about these issues, did not appear after he got the decisive match point in the game.

Guilliman spent about two milliseconds weighing the pros and cons and decided not to wait for the reports to be submitted. He put aside the war that had already entered garbage time, handed over the overall command to the Tribune Coken, summoned the Librarian and the Sister of Silence, and prepared to board the Lion's Mane to find out what was going on.

"I'm not sure if this is wise, sir." Digris, the head of the think tank, suggested cautiously, "We really can't tell whether this is a miracle or a conspiracy. Before we successfully figure this out, perhaps we shouldn't be so reckless."

"But the issue we need to face is too sensitive, a traitorous Primarch..." Guilliman did not explain the whole issue in public. He believed that his son would be able to fully understand the unfinished words behind it through these few words. "...Until we have enough information to make a correct judgment, the fewer people who know about this, the better. We cannot let them board Macragge's Glory, so we go over."

This did not completely convince the Librarian, but Roboute Guilliman was determined, and Digoris was forced to agree to go ahead with the trip, though he managed to convince the Primarch to take a larger escort than would normally be required.

Guilliman felt increasingly burdened by the care and protection from his offspring, but he urged himself not to show these emotions on his face. For a politician, this was a basic accomplishment, but since he woke up, he had done this more and more often, and there were fewer and fewer occasions that allowed him to express his emotions smoothly, so that the politician's mask had almost formed a thick shell on his face.

He stepped onto the teleportation platform with a layer of shell on his face, and in the push of the warp, he arrived on the Lion's Mane in an instant. These black-armored descendants of the Lion King were as reserved and proud as the impression he left ten thousand years ago. The entire team was led in silence, passing through a corridor decorated with dark green curtains and solemn murals, and arrived at a large meeting room with a decorative style that was obviously derived from Caliban.

"Hello, Guilliman, my brother." A soft voice came from behind the large round table in the meeting room. Its volume was not loud, as if it was just a whisper, but it miraculously echoed repeatedly throughout the space, accurately and clearly drilling into the ears of everyone present. "Or should I call you Regent of the Empire, Lord of Greater Ultramar, Son of Vengeance, Lord of Battle, Blade of Unity, and a long list of other titles that you actually have but I don't know?"

Conrad Koz, who was sitting behind the round table, made this comment in a joking manner.

Meow (six o'clock).

It’s short. Today’s update will be short, and the next one will also be short, otherwise I will die suddenly (peacefully).

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 88 Bat Provocation mp4

At least someone should have glared at the person who said that. That was what happened in Guilliman's guard, but no one, not even Robouti Guilliman himself, had time to react in time.

The existence of a Primarch here, just the first recognition of this fact itself, is a shock to everyone's spirit. The Primarch is the most perfect creation of the Emperor, and just by looking at this unparalleled work, it is enough to shock the viewer's mind. The Ever-Victorious Army may have thought that they have gradually become accustomed to this in the long-term contact with their Gene Father, but at this moment they suddenly realized that there are differences between Primarchs.

Roboute Guilliman and Konrad Curze are clearly very different.

If the former is a majestic statue that walks down from the marble table and walks with people, then the latter is a terrifying stone sculpture that stands on the top of a magnificent building and looks down. Conrad Coates sat behind the round table, the luxurious but hideous carvings on the dark blue armor supported his pale face, and his dark eyes and long hair made him look like a gloomy ghost. The scrutinizing and analyzing gaze naturally existed in those eyes, as if it was real, making everyone present feel an instinctive fear and panic, but they had to admit that there was undoubtedly a kind of beauty in his image itself.

Most of Guilliman's guards were stunned by this, but for him, the reason was completely different. Although the last time they "met", everything was very unpleasant, Guilliman had not forgotten what his crazy brother looked like.

——However, Curze now looks completely non-crazy.

The Night Lords Primarch had lost not only the pain and hysteria that seemed to exist all the time, but also the remains of sinners that were originally left on his armor as decoration. In short, he looked surprisingly neat and clean now, making Guilliman wonder if he was impersonated by someone else.

But he was very sure that this was not the case. Perhaps someone could fake the appearance of a Primarch through various means, but the temperament and sense of oppression naturally exuded by the Primarch himself could not be faked. Guilliman was very sure that the person in front of him was Konrad Curze, although his appearance had changed greatly.

"You are different from before." However, it was Coze who said this first. "I still remember the trial ten thousand years ago. At that time, the three of you had such dazzling golden hair that it was difficult for me to even look up at you. If you were as honorable as you are now-"

A small knocking sound stopped him from continuing. It was then that people noticed that a mortal girl holding the Skyhawk Scepter was sitting in the seat next to him. Her presence was almost completely swallowed up by Curze, but her courage was obviously not - she was glaring at the traitorous primarch.

"Do you have to bring up something that is not relevant?" She spoke almost in a whisper, but the volume was clear enough for the Primarchs and Astartes present.

Perhaps others present would be surprised by this, but Guilliman had already recognized her. From such a distance, Fujimaru Ritsuka's size seemed smaller than the effect in the video. The guards might not have noticed it for a while, but from Guilliman's slightly higher angle, he could easily see that the reason why this girl could reach the large round table in the meeting room while sitting was because the chair she sat on was padded with a lot of things.

At this moment, Guilliman had twenty-eight questions waiting to be answered in no particular order, but he also reminded himself that it was inappropriate to start a conversation like this. The Imperial Regent took a breath without attracting attention, walked forward slowly, and spoke with the hard shell of a politician who was not fluctuating:

"Coincidentally, I think so too. You are not the same as before, Curze." He suppressed his anger and carefully controlled the sarcasm in his tone, trying to make it a simple objective evaluation. "Perhaps ten thousand years is enough for us to change a lot - can I sit down?"

Guilliman didn't know how he came up with the last sentence. This should have been a tense situation, at least that's what he thought, but when this sentence came out, it seemed like something he would ask when he was visiting his brother peacefully, and he inexplicably felt that it seemed to fit the current atmosphere.

Curze laughed for a moment as if he had heard a joke—there was no madness in his smile, but he simply thought it was funny—and then he answered generously: "Of course, of course, Imperial Regent, although this ship is neither under your organization nor under my jurisdiction, you can certainly relax and feel like you are at home."

Another small tapping sound was heard, and this time Guilliman could tell it was caused by Ritsuka Fujimaru poking Curze's leg armor with his staff under the table.

"Conrad Coates, could you please focus on how to move this conversation forward efficiently?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka still said this in a breathy voice, but Koz obviously didn't show any "embarrassment" at all. Instead, he said loudly and confidently: "Then you are asking too much of me. I didn't pounce on him and try to dig out at least one of his hearts when we met. You should praise me for my rapid progress."

This caused some of the guards behind Guilliman to react, but the Regent simply stopped his men. He walked to the round table, pulled out a chair that seemed to be specially prepared for him, and sat down calmly. Then he looked his brother in the eyes and said, "I noticed that your mental state is much better than before."