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

Chapter 162: Regent and Crow

The expression on Robouti Guilliman's face when he opened the door of the room where he had settled his brother and found it empty was worth recording. Unfortunately, there was no equipment nearby that could perform a similar function, and even if there was, no one could issue similar commands to it.

"Corax?" he asked tentatively at the door.

He was not wearing the Armor of Destiny, but a formal dress that made him look solemn and serious. The Imperial Regent was originally trapped in one meeting after another that seemed to be endless, but he received an electronic signal from his own room in the tower at the top of Macragge's Glory, so no one would disturb him.

His brother woke up after 19 hours of sleep, so he immediately dropped all the subsequent official duties and returned here as undisturbed as possible. But he didn't expect that he would only see an "empty room".

But in the next moment, Guilliman was sure that this room was not truly "empty." A hand as cold as a corpse ghostly grasped his throat, and the huge force exerted from the front caused his center of gravity to shift backwards.

The Primarch's reaction speed was beyond the reach of ordinary people. Guilliman could have reacted to this in this instant, stepped back to stabilize his center of gravity, and punched the enemy while maintaining his standing position - but he restrained his instinct to counterattack. He had predicted similar situations and roughly guessed the cause and effect in the same instant, so he did nothing, almost obediently following the other party's wishes, allowing himself to fall to the ground, and the laurel wreath slipped from his hair.

The other Primarch's huge body should not have been missed, looking down at Guilliman's blue eyes. After calming down, Corax's appearance became more similar to the brother Guilliman remembered, but there were still many differences - from Guilliman's current point of view, the most conspicuous was the pair of black wings behind him that could be described as covering the sky and the sun, and currently blocked almost all the light from above.

"What are you?" Corax snapped.

Even in a desperate situation where his throat was being strangled, Guilliman's never-stopping brain could still provide him with more information that he didn't actually need at the moment.

He first clearly realized that Corax's words were not asking Guilliman to give an answer, but more of a question to his own judgment: the Raven Lord's hands on his neck were tightly locked, and he was completely unable to speak normally;

Then, the politician in him told him that this "stern question" was a forced display of strength, and that beneath Corax's seemingly tough tone lay a great many questions, doubts, and surprises.

Then he realized that the situation was indeed a bit bad - simply choking a Primarch by the neck and making them unable to breathe was certainly not a quick kill, but for Guilliman, the wound on his neck inflicted by Fulgrim, which had not yet healed, began to bleed.

Guilliman took advantage of the last bit of time he had left to suppress his desire to fight back and just gently patted Corax's wrist, which was pressed hard on his throat, to express that it was indeed "very uncomfortable". This was the last attempt he could make. If this still couldn't calm the other party down, then he would really have to resort to some violent actions to free himself.

Fortunately, along with the return of his original appearance, Corax also had similar thinking and judgment abilities. At the moment when Guilliman was about to lose his patience, the force strangling his throat suddenly relaxed. The air was finally able to pass smoothly through his throat again, but along with it flowed blood from the wound that had burst again. This stimulation made the Primarch choke and cough a few times.

"Guilliman, I--" After questioning, Corax found the answer based on his own judgment and moved his hands away. He looked at the blood of his brother on them in a trance, revealing an expression mixed with "disbelief" and "self-blame".

You almost killed me. Guilliman thought so. In the past - ten thousand years ago, during the Great Crusade, he would have said this as a joke. But now, he just pinched the old wound on his neck to make sure that the unruly piece of flesh had reattached itself under the Primarch's extraordinary healing power, then sat up from the ground, and after confirming that he could make normal sounds, he immediately said with relief:

"It's okay, it's an old wound, it just looks scary." He said this, pulling out a decorative handkerchief that matched his dress from his chest pocket. He didn't wipe the blood that was still slowly flowing from his neck, but first wiped Corax's bloody hand. "Sometimes it does crack a little bit due to external stimulation, but you see, I'm completely fine."

Corax stared at Guilliman's neck, half of which was still bleeding, and the other half had a clear red mark due to the pressure he had just applied. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything successfully. In the end, he just let Guilliman wipe the blood that had almost coagulated on his hands in such a short time, and tightened his wings behind him guiltily and nervously.

Amid the sound of feathers rubbing against each other, Guilliman looked up at the restless wings and said with a smile, "I hope you can sleep comfortably here with me. This happened in a hurry, otherwise I should find a way to ask the Blood Angels what kind of bed their Gene-Father rested on."

To Corax, this was not a pleasant joke, but he still managed to understand that the other party wanted to make a joke to lighten the atmosphere, so he forced a small smile. Strangely, after he did this, he really felt that his originally chaotic mood calmed down a little, and he was finally able to ask the question he wanted to say but couldn't say:

"Are you really okay?" The wound was obviously unusual. Even if we didn't know the cause and effect of it, we should be able to easily realize that what kind of weapon could leave such a long-lasting and difficult-to-heal wound on a Primarch?

But Guilliman still seemed unconcerned, or perhaps he forced himself to appear unconcerned: "Nothing, I just need to change out of this blood-stained suit - you see, I just happened to get out of a meeting with great difficulty."

After Corax's hands were roughly wiped clean, Guilliman took back the bloody handkerchief, wiped his neck twice casually, and after getting up from the ground, threw it directly into the trash can: "Well, my brother, I'm sorry that I couldn't be in this room the first time you woke up. You must have a lot of questions now."

"Yes, I do..." Corax also stood up from the ground following Guilliman's movements, still with a dazed look on his face, "...I'm not sure...are you real? Or is this another one of my fantasies?"

This question seemed to be asked by himself, because he did not wait for Guilliman's reply, but just looked down at his hands that had just been cleaned, and answered himself: "You look real. Whether it is my own memory and impression, or the magic created by the evil creatures wandering in the warp, it is difficult to achieve such accuracy. There are even some traces of time in it."

“…You could just say that I’ve grown old in your eyes.” Guilliman’s tone was filled with just the right amount of complaint. “You’re not the first person to point this out to me, but I can’t help it. The Empire needs to function, and I always have too many things to consider and weigh, one after another…”

He turned to the cloakroom while complaining, and pulled open a dressing mirror that matched the Primarch's body, carefully examining his recently injured neck and the blood stains on his collar that had to be cleaned. Then, he smiled unconsciously at the small part of Corax's pale skin reflected in the mirror:

“This reminds me of when we first met,” he said. “I think I was complaining about jobs that never ended.”

Corax nodded indifferently. "You did say that, but those days...will never come back."

Guilliman paused for a moment, but after a brief hesitation, he spoke:

"I've been having some second thoughts about this lately." He wasn't entirely sure, but he decided to appear optimistic in front of Corax. "Why don't you just sit down somewhere casually? It's like I'm torturing you if you just stand there."

Meow (six o'clock)

Obviously, a kind of desperate attempt at a title...

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 163 How could a politician not understand strategy techniques?

"After all, ten thousand years have passed, and many things have become different from what they were before."

Guilliman's voice came from the suite that was used as a cloakroom.

"When I first woke up, I even found that my descendants had set up stasis fields for all the furnishings in this room, so that it would always remain the same as when I left ten thousand years ago. They even became quite obsessed with this matter, and I had to quarrel with my current chapter master before I regained the right to use my own room. It's really strange - can you imagine?"

As he told this rambling story, his voice sounded very amusing and tearful. After saying these words, Guilliman fell silent for a moment, and the subtle rustling of clothes coming from the suite explained the silence well for Corax.

The latter adjusted the position of his wings and sat vigilantly on a small single sofa in the room, nervously letting his hearing grasp the rustling sound tightly - this was unnecessary, but he very much needed some external stimulation to prove to him that the "Robert Guilliman" he had just seen was not an illusion he had imagined out of thin air.

"...I don't know." He whispered so softly, more like he was talking to himself than answering another person's question, "I haven't thought about going back..."

What right do I have to go back? Corax thought. I have failed to do anything, I always break promises, I dragged my companions and old friends on my home planet into an expedition with no end in sight, I—

"Then you really need to think about this." Guilliman's voice in the cloakroom interrupted his thoughts. "This may be a little difficult for you to accept at once, but in a sense, this may become a general trend in the next few years."

The Imperial Regent was not sure about this, but as a qualified politician, he knew how to make promises: "If you don't go back and take a look, it will be difficult for you to determine what your descendants have become in the past ten thousand years. I believe the Raven Guard is also looking forward to your return. I can provide some experience on how to get along with your descendants ten thousand years later. If you feel that our legions have too different styles and these experiences are not useful, you can ask Ferrus."

"...?"

An unexpected name came up in the conversation. Confused, Corax temporarily put aside the idea of ​​"going back to have a look" and asked, "... Ferrus?"

He stood up from the small sofa silently, picked up a CNC pen as he passed the table, and approached the door of the cloakroom without making any sound. Guilliman's voice, which was completely unaware of this, became clearer as the distance got closer:

"Yes, that's the Ferrus Manus you were thinking of." Corax approached the door that was already ajar. Guilliman faced the other mirror in the deepest part of the suite without any defense, with his back to the outside world. He had already changed his inner shirt and was buttoning his coat. The clothes that had been changed because of blood were messily piled aside, just like his desk, which was far from tidy. "I was also shocked when I first learned about this: How could this be possible? But - confirm, do you want to stick that pen into my throat?"

When the CNC pen, which was not sharp but could still be a deadly weapon to the Primarch, was pressed against the edge of the wound on his neck, Guilliman remained very calm. He had not expected this, but as long as he replaced his mood when he first heard that "Ferrus had also resurrected", it was not difficult for Guilliman to understand why Corax behaved like this. In fact, for the Lord of the Ravens who had been wandering in the Warp for thousands of years, it was already a very restrained performance for Corax not to immediately stab the pen into his throat or directly pierce his brain stem when he heard the "nonsense of the evil creature in the Warp".

"... Ferrus is dead." The Raven Lord's voice trembled in pain, "In Istvaan V, he was..."

Guilliman could see that his brother was hesitating. Corax was still unsure whether what he was seeing was real, an illusion, or some enemy trick. It was all too good for him: he could talk to his brother normally again, without any condemnation of past failures, resentment of the current state of the Imperium, or angry denunciations of enemies. Everything was too peaceful, and for Corax, it was precisely because of this that it seemed unreal.

He felt that this couldn't be true, but he refused to make up his mind to convince himself that this was indeed not true. For various reasons, Corax's way of making decisions now was far less straightforward than it was ten thousand years ago. A part of him was greedy for this peaceful "present", trying to believe what "Guilliman" said in front of him; a part of him shouted "This is an illusion, kill him!", urging him to return to the painful reality; and another part of him was worried about the former: if everything in front of him was true, how would it end?

The tip of the pen against Guilliman's neck was shaking uncontrollably. The Ultramarines Primarch had no idea what his brother was thinking, but he could see that the flickering expression on Corax's face, reflected in the mirror in the cloakroom, proved that he was in a painful psychological struggle.

He relaxed himself as much as possible, and gently pressed the CNC pen pointing at his neck with a non-threatening force. He turned on the spot in a harmless manner and faced his brother again: "I understand, I understand, you don't have to force yourself to remember--"

"Shut up! You are a liar who has taken on my brother's form!" Corax took the opportunity to tightly grab Guilliman's unbuttoned front, and his angry roar echoed the warp. "Whatever you want from me, you will never get it! Show your true self! Then you will know that, except for death-"

"--I do not want anything from you." Guilliman replied calmly, "I just want to know what you need now. If you tell me, I will do my best to provide it to you."

Under the other party's almost pure black, shocked eyes, Guilliman opened his arms, not caring that the other party was still pulling his collar, making the matter look a little ridiculous: "At least for now, I think you need a hug."

This seemed to completely confuse Corax. Guilliman didn't know what he was thinking, but he could still easily see that Corax's expression clearly said "I don't know what to do". The hand that was holding Guilliman's lapel gradually loosened its strength, and the pen that was intended to point to the other's throat fell to the ground unknowingly. The current "Corvus Corax" has almost lost the decisiveness that a legion master should have. When facing another loyal brother, the bewildered expression on his face is no better than that of a recruit who just graduated from the Loyalty Academy.

"I don't know..." He answered dreamily, as if this sentence was not spoken after Corax's brain had judged it, but was just a simple reflex action. But for Guilliman, he obviously thought that this noncommittal answer was also an answer.

He actually took a step forward, managed to bypass the wings that grew from Corax's back, and gave his brother, who was almost completely broken mentally, a warm hug.

After a few brief seconds, he let go of Corax, who seemed to be completely confused, as if nothing had happened before, turned back to smooth his collar, and then dealt with his buttons: "I know this sounds too good to be true. Everyone mourned for Ferrus's incident, but... I have reason to believe that when the tragedy happened, our father managed to preserve his soul, which made it possible for him to reappear in reality today, ten thousand years later."

Corax's mind was still confused, and his voice sounded weak and uncertain: "But...how is this possible?"

"I have seen some... evidence." Guilliman wanted to add the modifier "conclusive" before "evidence", but considering that the most decisive evidence that made him "have to believe" at the time had produced some disastrous chemical reactions with Corax just a day ago, he had to swallow this part back and use another more roundabout way to prove it to his brother.

"We haven't actually met since I learned of this, but Ferrus sent me a video recording." The Imperial Regent finally tidied his appearance, but he obviously did not intend to immediately throw himself into the next meeting he had to attend. Instead, he turned to face his brother again. "I must have kept a copy of it in this room before. Do you want to see it?"

Corax's expression showed that he was hesitant, but it seemed that, so far, the idea that "this is indeed Guilliman" had a slight advantage in his somewhat fragmented mind. His actions and thoughts thus became gentle again: "But you just changed your clothes. Isn't this to continue your next work?"

"Work can wait." Guilliman dragged Corax out of the small suite in the room without a care. "Work is never done. I don't have anything urgent or important to do right now that's more important than a brother I haven't seen in ten thousand years."

"That makes you sound like a tyrant," Corax grumbled slightly, and Guilliman smiled a little at that.

At least his brother was trying to laugh and chat again, which Guilliman considered a good change.

Miwu (Dive into the Ice Cave)

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 164 After working overtime in the dream, it has to end in reality

Accompanied by Guilliman, Corax finally quietly watched the video recording from Ferrus, which was only three minutes and forty-two seconds long. He didn't think that such a thin, unreliable, and even possibly forged video could convince him in any sense, but he had to admit that even if it was a lie, he hoped that he could be deceived for a short time.

"He doesn't look changed at all." The Raven Lord carefully looked at the brother in the image, who was exactly the same as the one in his deep memory: the iron hands reflecting the metallic gleam in the dim environment, the seemingly rough and barbaric appearance, the hard expression, and the dry sentences that came out of his mouth, which were even harder than his expression.

Ferrus in the video did not look like he was greeting his brother through a video, but rather mechanically reciting the words he had organized in his mind. He was obviously trying to hide it, but it was still clear to Corax: Ferrus was somewhat uncomfortable in front of the camera. But it was this subtle "uncomfort" that was difficult for mortals and even Astartes to imagine, and only belonged to the Primarch, that made Ferrus in the video seem more vivid.

This was almost identical to the "Ferrus Manus" that Corax had in mind. He almost thought in a trance that this was a video record that had been preserved from ten thousand years ago, but the complaints made by Ferrus in the video clearly proved that this was not the case.

"I don't have much evidence, but I don't think this will last long." The Lord of Ultramar, whose hairline is already receding, said sourly, "He may have realized that something was wrong among his legion's descendants after he left for ten thousand years, but he must know: this is just the beginning."

This part is revealed by Ferrus's "recent report" in the video: he greeted Guilliman briefly in two sentences, and then began to "report" what had happened to him recently in a plain and uninteresting manner, and the focus was obviously very "Ferus" - specifically, in this video, he briefly described in two sentences "I withdrew from the Webway War and returned to some of my descendants" (original words), and then spent a full minute explaining the technical points in detail with many unheard-of terms, and finally simply stated that he was still very weak and could not completely stabilize himself in reality. He needed to return to his home planet to solve this problem (and here he complained in an unobvious sentence whether the Astartes of the Iron Hands in this era were a little too fanatical), and then turned back to Baal, and together with Ritsuka Fujimaru, he promoted the construction plan of the "Chaldea Lighthouse" to prepare for the resurrection of Sanguinius.

This part made Corax confused, but he decided not to worry about what the content of the video represented, as he could not be sure of the authenticity of the video, or even the authenticity of the environment around him. For him, it was good enough to see Ferrus again, even if it was just an imaginary image in the video.

"I can see that these 'many' tasks after ten thousand years have exhausted you." He did not respond to the content of the video, but replied to Guilliman's sour words beside him, "Remember, Dorn also looked very old after the Siege of Terra."

"Yes, perhaps that was the first time we clearly realized that the Primarch was not absolutely immortal." Guilliman sighed, "We are indeed different from mortals, but sometimes I also vaguely feel that these differences are not as great as we originally thought."

Corax did not respond. He could see that Guilliman meant what he said, but he also knew that he was something else entirely. If the veil in this room had not been weakened just right, he would not even be able to be in this complete form -

Wait a moment.

Once again, Corax realized something was amiss: why was there such a Warp environment in Guilliman's chambers? How had he weakened the Veil - or was they really in reality now?

This thought fell into his stomach like a piece of ice, causing his organs in his abdomen, which he didn't know whether they still existed in the physical world, to twist together uncomfortably. Guilliman, who was sitting next to him, obviously noticed his emotional changes, turned around and asked with concern: "What's wrong, brother? Did you remember anything?"

Corax still didn't answer. His face was pale, but it was hard to tell because of his skin color, but his hands were still shaking like a human, from the tension of his spirit.

Guilliman pressed Corax's shaking arm with just the right amount of force. His palm was dry and warm, with a reassuring pressure that somewhat stabilized the Raven Lord's once again confused mind, allowing him to focus his attention back on his brother.

"Can I trust you?" Corax asked. "Can I believe that this is real?"

"I can assure you that all of this is happening and is real." Guilliman said this in a calm tone, "I can't force you to believe me, but I can do anything you think you need to prove it."

"Then why, when I was supposed to be able to go beyond the veil in fragments, can I speak to you in such a complete form?" Corax asked sadly, "If all this is true, then where are we now? In reality? Or in the warp? If this is reality, what have you paid for it?"

Guilliman showed a bit of a "forced but helpless" expression at this moment. He quickly locked this bit of outward emotion back into his heart, but it was still obvious enough to Corax who was staring at him without blinking.

"I thought you would ask about this as soon as you woke up." The Imperial Regent said with emotion, "But you didn't... But it's not too late to explain now."

Something was obviously omitted in the suspicious pause between the two sentences, but Guilliman did not give Corax the opportunity to explore it in detail. "We are now in reality, specifically in the Far East of the Imperium, in the Ultramar Sector of the Ultima Segmentum, in orbit around the planet Parmenio, in my chambers aboard the Macragge's Glory. As for what I have paid to be able to speak with you like this, it is actually of little consequence."

"What?" Corax asked nervously. He couldn't tell whether the part about "no big deal" in Guilliman's statement was true or just a casual remark, so he had to ask persistently, "What did you pay?"

"To be more specific, I have to replenish the armor and logistics consumed in the previous battle for a group of Lion's descendants who are not under my organization." Guilliman shrugged, "They are not many so - you see, this is really no big deal. You can stay here for a while and receive some treatment at the same time."

All of the above seemed incomprehensible in Corax's mind, so he could only make the most basic response to all of this: "Treatment?"

"Yes, treatment. This is how Fujimaru Ritsuka contacted me, but I don't know what's going on, so I will stay with you throughout the whole process." Guilliman said, "I guess the Chaldean people will arrive in a while."

Meow (six o'clock)

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 165 Don’t mess with the doctor

"I bet Mr. Robert thinks he made a killing. Coincidentally, I also think Chaldea made a killing." Fujimaru Ritsuka commented on this matter to Kaelia. "This is a typical 'win-win' situation. If doing the same thing can make both parties involved benefit at the same time, generally speaking, this matter can be easily promoted."

"But this kind of 'both parties have the same goal' and can reach an agreement smoothly is rare in reality. What an inquisitor encounters in actual work is often much more complicated than this." Inquisitor Hastings added.

This scene was very magical to Kellya: the day before yesterday, she was following behind Ritsuka Fujimaru in the hall where the Psychic Council held a meeting and was reprimanded by Inquisitor Hastings (although it was mainly directed at Ritsuka Fujimaru). After a day, today, she and this Inquisitor, who seemed to be fierce in her impression, and Ritsuka Fujimaru, who could barely walk around short distances indoors, gathered at a small table, having "class" and drinking afternoon tea.

For the Inquisitor himself, this scene was no less exciting, and his previous experiences were even more dramatic than those of Kylia. However, for an Inquisitor who often stood at the forefront of the battle against the enemy forces of the Empire, his well-trained strong spirit made him appear calmer when facing such a fantasy scene.

——Although Hastings didn't know why, after Fujimaru Ritsuka woke up and explained the facts to him, he thought the whole thing was logical and began to willingly regard himself as Kellya's mentor in various senses.

A young psychic who has just awakened and has a very high psychic compatibility with the Emperor, this is perhaps a rare and important qualification that is hard to find in the entire Empire. After knowing the above information, Hastings really believes that this young girl needs to be monitored and guided by a trustworthy person (given that an Inquisitor usually does not trust anyone other than himself, of course, he is referring to himself here), and in particular, she must be strictly guarded against contact with heretical ideas (here specifically refers to some of Fujimaru Ritsuka's twisted ideas).

The sudden attention from the judge who had once left Kaelia with the impression of being "aggressive and difficult to get along with" made the girl, whose most severe person before was a grammar school teacher, feel quite pressured. However, Fujimaru Ritsuka had told her alone before that the ability to "convince others to cooperate with oneself" is very important in any "leader" position. Kaelia will definitely take over her position one day in the future - this is also the Emperor's intention, so she'd better start to practice this ability related to strategy, negotiation skills, and personal charm from now on.

To this end, Fujimaru Ritsuka first suggested that she try to get along well with the judge who was her new teacher and seemed too strict just by looking at his face. At least she should be able to make jokes with him casually during the conversation like a friend without having to consider the occasion.

Fujimaru Ritsuka told her to treat this as an extracurricular assignment that would not affect her grades whether she completed it or not, and told Kaelia not to feel too stressed and just try her best after studying. But for Kaelia, since the other prerequisites were added, this matter was more than just "trying her best" for her.

-

"What's going on?" The Imperial Regent looked at the head of the think tank at the door of his own room. "Where is Fujimaru?"

"That's exactly what happened." The first person to answer the question was not Diglis, but another man in white clothes and carrying a cane with a coiled mechanical snake beside him. "I have confined the overworked Fujimaru Ritsuka as my patient. Besides, I'm here to see a doctor. Although she is one of my most pleasing investors, I don't need an outsider like her to come in and meddle in such a professional occasion."