40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 638 21. Trial (Part 3, Current State of the Empire, and Meeting Asmodai on the Way Out)

I sat, waited, and silently counted my own heartbeats, feeling stiff all over. Transformation surgery, training, and meditation gave me the ability to control my heartbeat, but now it seems to have lost its effect.

So, I turned to another method to divert my attention - I buckled my helmet on the knee armor plate on my right knee, and then rubbed my forehead with my fingers.

This is an ancient habit from the past. In the past, we needed to attend some ceremonial occasions fully armed, and at certain moments we even needed to take off our helmets to sit down.

Most of my old brothers of the same era have this habit, but I think no one would do it now.

Twenty-six minutes later, the lion came back, alone, without help, with only three servo skulls floating behind him. They were obviously specially modified, and I couldn't see what technical means they were, but those extra fake mechanical tentacles were really obvious.

The skulls used these strong tentacles to hold three books that were so heavy that they could be used as armor plates, and followed closely behind the lion. They had crimson covers, and a golden eagle shone in the center.

They were placed on the table in front of me, and the sound was so loud that it seemed as if someone had thrown three iron ingots in front of me. After doing this, they flew away without respect, and the only thing worth mentioning was that they did not forget to close the door.

Unfortunately, it was not until this time that I remembered that I should stand up.

It has been too long since I have been in an occasion that requires etiquette, and I have long forgotten my previous instincts. But my primarch did not mind. He raised his hand, pressed me in place, and then opened the first book.

The pages of the book rustled, and the weight of the cover slowly opened the thin first page, and his tone was still calm.

"Read it and go out, come to me."

"Is my interrogation over?"

"It depends on the situation." He said, and for some reason, I always felt that he was smiling. "Anyway, I'm going to leave for a while. You're not the only one to be interrogated."

I stood up immediately and wanted to ask him something. However, he nodded slightly at me, silently confirming my guess, and turned away.

The door closed, and I took a deep breath again. The good days I had spent in the legion flashed before my eyes again. The thought of "I'm no longer alone" took me several minutes to calm down.

I cast my eyes on the book that had been opened. The paper it used was a type I had never seen before. The surface was slightly yellowed. It looked very delicate at first glance, but in fact there were many irregular particles.

I was a little confused, because this kind of paper was obviously not suitable for compiling books. At least not in my era.

It took me about seventeen minutes to read the first four hundred pages of this book. For us, this speed can hardly be called fast, but I can't speed up at all.

Every line of these four hundred pages can bring me impact and thinking, just in different sizes. But if you look closely, these four hundred pages are just about one thing, or one organization, a very large organization.

The State Religion.

I began to ponder.

I am not unfamiliar with it. During the years of exile, I had already known about its existence, but I still couldn't help being angry and disgusted.

Seeing that an evil thing we once defeated has come back so openly, how can people be willing to swallow this breath?

People regard the Emperor as a god, worship him, worship him, burn incense and chant scriptures for him, pray and offer sacrifices. Most of the people I met called him the God-Emperor, and they were extremely fanatical. The truth of the empire seemed to disappear from people's consciousness in an instant, and there was no trace of it.

But I have not actually seen the true face of this huge religion, so I must admit that the four hundred pages helped a little.

The author wrote down the creed, doctrine, power and various departments of the State Religion in a relatively calm tone. From this, I learned that the State Church does not only worship the Emperor and his sons, but also includes some men and women who have been canonized as saints.

Most of them were canonized posthumously for their achievements or purity.

I can still understand the former, such as a living saint specifically mentioned in the book, Sister Celes Hera.

In 699.M33, she single-handedly protected 130 wounded soldiers of the 3rd Company of the 432nd Regiment of the Cadian Blitzkrieg in the Kabian Hive, and repelled a Chaos Demon that came to attack their rear position.

In the subsequent investigation, more than one wounded claimed that they saw Sister Hera "grow wings and a halo" during the battle.

Regardless of what these wings and halo are, if this sister is really so brave, then it is reasonable for her to be canonized.

But, canonized for purity?

Forgive me - this is really ridiculous.

And there are actually quite a few such people. The book mentions that there are currently 121 living saints on record in the state religion, of which 12 have been canonized for their purity.

In the official definition of the state religion, these people are sinless, pure, and not corrupted by any form of chaos.

They are vigilant when facing enemies and kind when facing the people. They are compassionate, selfless and generous, humble and powerful, brave when holding a sword, and kind in life.

However, the twelve absolutely pure living saints were all underage male children. How could they hold the sword and repel the enemy?

If this is not ridiculous enough, then look at the time when they were canonized. The first case appeared six centuries ago, and then spread to the beginning of this century.

This matter really made me angry.

I think that religion is still the same as always, under the banner of uprightness, doing all kinds of dirty things. However, the part about the state religion has a total of 400 pages, and the part about the living saints only occupies less than 20 pages.

Just like the number of pages it occupies, the state religion itself is also a huge organization. It is very likely to be the largest religion since the birth of mankind. Good and evil must coexist.

The matter of Sister Hera and the twelve pure boys are two living examples, occupying the two ends of the scale. After that, every piece of information I learned added chips to the two ends of the scale.

For example, the healing church that provides free assistance to the poor and devotes its body and soul to the way of salvation, or the devout assassins who specifically target the "enemies of faith" identified by the church's top leaders.

These contradictory and opposing things continue to accumulate within the state religion.

I saw combat nuns, military chaplains, crusader soldiers, and one after another of genuine blood-stained holy flags.

But I also saw assassins who hold great power but only obey the so-called bishops, the rigid weekly worship, and the power struggles that are constantly entangled within the state religion.

The author of this book focuses on the path of promotion within the state religion.

Generally speaking, members of the state religion come from the Zhongsi Academy or join voluntarily. The former need to discover their qualifications and cultivate them from an early age, while the latter need to pass the review and purification ceremony. Only those who are confirmed to have a devout faith can be allowed to join the state religion.

After being taught some basic scriptures, women will enter the nuns and visit different orders and monasteries one by one. After adulthood, they will choose one to join. Mercy or killing, there are many ways to serve the Emperor.

Men will start with internship titles such as acolytes. They can choose to become missionaries, travel around the galaxy to spread the teachings of the state religion, and educate the barbarians in the unbelief wilderness. They can also accept assignments to different planets as priests and dedicate their lives there.

Some people choose to become military chaplains or crusaders to face the enemies of mankind in a more direct way.

I must admit one thing - mortals seem to have found a new power to support their own spirits, and it works. I have seen a lot of such descriptions.

The pure mark that can weaken the power of demons and various amulets representing faith. Asking military chaplains to pray and bless before the battle can make the power of weapons against demons stronger. The blood of the crusaders can make demons afraid, and the remains of the devout can be mixed into water after burning to form powerful holy water.

If it is not really effective, I think these things will not be recorded so seriously, and the lion will not bring me the book recording them.

However, realizing this brought me a chain reaction.

We have faced many so-called gods in the past, and a large number of them are psykers. Those who follow them are very firm in their faith because they have really witnessed things that cannot be explained.

But psykers are not unfamiliar to the Empire, so why can the believers of the state religion be so firm?

A terrible guess slowly emerged in my mind, and just thinking about it made me shudder. I had to continue reading the book, so that more things could dilute this terrifying imagination of seeking the root of the matter.

However, what I saw after four hundred pages shocked me even more. I couldn't understand the terms "Terra's Shattering" and "Fortress Wall".

And the damn Astartes Chapter.

What is a chapter? A thousand people? Split into sub-chambers? Scattered all over the galaxy?

Robert Guilliman

I closed the book, put on my helmet and walked out of the interrogation room. The lion asked me to find him after reading the book, but I couldn't obey. I had to find him and ask him about this matter. After this, my brain might allow me to do other things.

I think I must be mad, otherwise the hairy boy standing on the left side of the interrogation room door would not have immediately drawn his gun and pointed it at me.

He was fully armed, wearing a coat that looked like a knight's tunic over his sophisticated power armor. He pointed a plasma directly at my forehead, and I heard a strange creaking sound faintly coming from under his helmet.

He could shoot at any time, and I was not armed at all.

I looked at him, knowing that words could be the fuse that detonated in this situation - I don't know why, but the nerves of this so-called Dark Angel were obviously stretched to a limit.

I repeat, he could shoot at any time.

If it weren't for another voice behind me, I think he would really shoot.

"Asmodai, put down your damn weapon!"

I heard a low roar and felt a gust of wind at the same time.

I lowered my head, a black streak passed through my vision, and then there was a heavy metal collision. When I raised my head again, another Dark Angel had already controlled the boy called Asmodai.

"Are you crazy?!" he yelled. "Do you want to be punished and sent to the recruit company again?!"

"He is a traitor!"

I heard Asmodai's roar, and I was furious at the name, but it was okay for him to call me that.

I am a fallen angel, whether I want to or not, I am already one. What happened on Caliban tore a gaping hole between the legions, and I was the one who fell into it.

"Whether he is a traitor or not is up to the Lion to decide."

"Go to hell, Azrael! Give me the gun!"

They started fighting, right in front of me.

A few seconds later, the young man called Azrael knocked Asmodai to the ground with a fierce swing, and then added a kick, which made him dizzy for a while, and took all the weapons on him in these precious ten seconds.

And Asmodai didn't seem to be willing to accept this result. He stood up with a roar and tried to rush towards me again.

I have to admit that when I saw this scene, I sneered behind my helmet.

Ignorant fool.

I could see hatred in his eyes, and this hatred obviously could not be explained simply. He hated me, or hated one of my brothers.

I didn't know who it was, but that person must have done something terrible to him, which made his hatred so strong that it even spread to me. I understood these things, but I still planned to teach him a lesson.

The reason was simple, and it was not even for myself. He disobeyed the order of the lion, so he must be punished.

"Stop, Asmodai!"

Azriel roared angrily, and I saw him bend his legs and try to run. He probably wanted to stop Asmodai by standing in front of me, but his speed was not as fast as that stupid hairy boy.

So I stood firm, clenched my right hand into a fist, and planned to teach that idiot a lesson. I thought so, and I did so. When he rushed towards me, I raised my fist and tried to break his nose, but I failed.

A hand grabbed my hand firmly, followed by some kind of muffled sound, and the attacker who should have been knocked to the ground by me suddenly fell to the ground.

I looked up and saw the expressionless face of the lion.

I tried to explain.

"No, no need." My primarch said. "I can hear what happened here from halfway across the corridor, and even if I can't hear it, I can guess it. Stand up, Asmodai."

"He is a traitor, my lord!"

"I have the final say on whether he is a traitor or not." The lion said coldly. "Stand up now."

He raised his hand and pointed to the room I walked out of, then looked at me.

I took a deep breath and patted my shoulder, and strode in first.