War Council, Thanks from Guilliman

In the fifth month of 837, in Incaladion.

Nimrod led the Honor Guard, defeated the main force of the rebels, and arrived at the outer perimeter of the Second Forge Temple.

The young Tech-Priest Neto, who was fighting alongside him, looked at the Primarch with admiration.

"Lord Nimrod, the leader of the largest rebel army in Incaladion, Barnes, is in his Forge Temple."

"He was a radical and mad Sage, and it's rumored that he was constantly performing blasphemous modifications on himself in his laboratory."

Nimrod nodded slightly. He strode to the gate of the Forge Temple, raised his left arm, and slammed the Power Fist, which shone with a dazzling golden light, heavily against the gate.

The Disruption Field tore apart the steel gate, sending debris flying.

Nimrod looked inside and saw that the ground was covered with strange, savage totems, including tiger heads with black stripes and giant pythons with their mouths wide open...

His eyes flashed, and he thought to himself: [For thousands of years, Incaladion has been attacking the surrounding world, plundering Barbarian, and absorbing the cultures of tribes.]

The Titan crew of "Tiger Eye" were performing strange rituals during the "Great Crusade," which even delayed the deployment of their God Engine.

Their rituals were a horrific hybrid of Omnissiah mechanical rituals and primitive animal worship totemistic practices, which is partly responsible for the future downfall of "Tiger Eye" and Mordred.

As Nimrod pondered, a strange hissing sound rang out.

The sound was like both the roar of rapidly spinning machinery and the roar of a wild beast.

Rumble!

Nimrod looked in the direction of the sound and saw a half-mechanical, half-flesh monster about nine meters tall striding over.

Neto, who rushed over, saw the human head on the monster's body and shouted at the Primarch.

"Lord Nimrod, this blasphemous object is Barnes."

As the young Tech-Priest looked at the monster with anger and horror, he saw Nimrod rushing towards it.

It was so fast that all he could see was a black afterimage.

"Die!"

Barnes let out a strange roar, raising his hydraulic giant fist high.

Rumble!

The giant fist smashed through the metal dome of the Forge Temple, then swung down violently, crashing towards Nimrod.

Nimrod raised his left arm, and amidst the deafening explosion, his Power Fist blocked the hydraulically powered giant fist.

He drew the Spear of Dionysus from behind his back, his eyes flashing with light, and hurled it.

"It's yours!"

The Spear of Dionysus whistled through the air, piercing Barnes's raised, grotesque, fleshy arm.

"Roar!"

Barnes let out a strange roar, his body swayed, and flesh and parts fell off with a crackling sound.

Nimrod leaped into the air, drawing the Sword of Vaul from his waist. A blue-white light flashed, and the Disruption Field tore Barnes' head apart.

Neto was astonished to see Nimrod kill the monster and the blasphemous Sage Barnes in the blink of an eye.

Before he could react, the Primarch walked up to him, its black eyes fixed on him. He immediately felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Incaladion should abandon their barbaric tribal culture, do you understand?"

Neto's gaze fell upon the hellish scene within the Forge Temple, where countless grotesque creatures lay dead on the ground, their blood splattered across the walls.

He shivered and replied, "Sir, I understand."

"Then I will help you rise to the position of Fabricator-General; you will reshape Incaladion."

Nimrod had been observing Neto and comparing his information with that of other military Tech-Priest reported by other commanders, and ultimately selected him.

Upon hearing that the Primarch was going to promote him to the Fabricator-General, Neto's eyes gleamed.

[Incaladion was shattered, its strength was less than one-tenth of what it was before the civil war.]

The liberation of the "Shadow of Order" that Forge World can determine everything here.

Thinking this, Neto immediately said, "My lord, in the name of Omnissiah, I pledge my allegiance to you and will follow your will."

On the return journey, Nimrod said to Neto.

"You're Tech-Priest now; you can't directly become the Fabricator-General."

Even if I forcefully put you in the position of Fabricator-General, you still won't be able to win the support and control Incaladion.

"I will help you first obtain the title of Sage and assist you in developing your power."

"My lord, thank you for your help." Neto's performance pleased Nimrod; he had not been blinded by ambition.

Five days later, Nimrod, having purged the rebels of the Second Forge Temple, returned to the First Forge Temple, where he stood before the twelve Sage.

"The Tech-Priest Neto performed admirably in the judging process. I believe he possesses exceptional talent and should become Sage, joining other Sage in rebuilding Incaladion."

The twelve Sage looked at each other and exchanged binary Lingua-technis.

After a moment, a Sage spoke on behalf of everyone in Vostonian Language.

"My lord, as you wish."

The liaison officers of the Shadow of Order have successfully made the local elites fluent in Vostonian Language.

As the ground clearing continued, Nimrod returned to the Shadow of the Throne, where he appointed Neto as a "Savant."

He had assessed Neto's loyalty and ability and decided to train him to be Beyonder.

Improving Neto's abilities was also a result of Nimrod's assistance.

Nimrod then instructed Rosicky Czech to discuss with Neto how to mobilize resources to help him expand his power.

After the two left, Arsena Dunn began his report.

"My lord, the Emperor has retrieved Primarch Robert Guilliman in Macragge within the Ultima Segmentum."

"He is the ninth Primarch to return, according to official Imperium records."

Nimrod nodded slightly, but thought to himself.

The Dice of Prophecy are almost fully charged; a new divination will soon be possible.

So, what should we divine? Should we intercept the STC that Horus will find in the future, or seize the jewel of Ultramar first?

Nimrod knew that just as Rome wasn't built in a day, so too was the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar.

Before Guilliman returned to the Imperium, his only territory was Macragge he inherited from his adoptive father, Konor.

Konor was one of the two Archon of Ultramar; he died in a coup led by the other Archon Galan.

After quelling the rebellion, Guilliman became the ruler of Macragge. In five years, he developed the world into a prosperous place like never before and began trading with several star systems, including Espandor.

The Old Man in Yellow heard about the Primarch of a person suspected to be the Primarch in Macragge while he was in Espandor.

Without the Navigator and Astropath prepared by the Old Man in Yellow, intergalactic expansion would be virtually impossible.

Without Navigator, Warp travel is like gambling, which is the fundamental reason why I must rely on the Imperium for development.

To the best of my memory, of all the Primarch, I am the only one who escaped the galaxy from which I fell.

Nimrod recalled his personal participation in the Warp voyage, a long and arduous journey.

Even when navigating in the Warp, progress is extremely difficult; Psyker are ultimately less skilled than Navigator.

Even I, aside from Vostonia, have only completed the conquest of the Crystal Illusion Realm Galaxy.

Astropathic Communication is equally important; the "Nation of Disorder" can only conduct high-level communications and cannot replace regular military and civilian communications.

Nimrod sighed with admiration as he recalled the significantly increased efficiency of his conquests after reuniting with his sons.

Without Legion Warrior, even the Primarch could not conquer the Five Hundred Worlds.

The Five Hundred Worlds of Altarama are the result of the entire Ultramarines Legion's Great Crusade.

And yet, they have not yet embarked on their journey of conquest.

Nimrod's eyes gleamed, and he thought to himself.

Most of the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar have not yet been discovered by the Imperium.

Calth, the pearl of the Eastern Galaxy, is Firestorm Star with abundant mineral resources and a production capacity comparable to that of the Forge World; it is also the rich Aventinium.

There's also Thalassa, a world more suited to recruiting for the Ninth Chapter, an Ocean World even more suitable than the Cradle of the Sea for the "Tyrant" Pathway of Shadow of Order.

Nimrod knew that once the "Ultramarines" started to take action, the speed of his conquest would increase, and his territory would inevitably not be contiguous.

He carefully selected from a hundred worlds, initially thinking of five, then eliminating the completely impossible Macragge, leaving only four.

As Nimrod pondered, the Primarch's Attendants spoke.

"My lord, the Astropathic Choir's leader told me that the Emperor has decided to convene a new War Council."

The Great Crusade was a massive undertaking, involving twenty Astartes Legions, thousands of auxiliary legions recruited from the newly conquered worlds, the Collegia Titanica of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and countless other armed groups.

The "Great Crusade" also involves an increasing number of Forge World that are incorporated into the logistics system, as well as numerous transshipment and supply points.

In order to manage the many matters of the "Great Crusade," The Emperor convened the War Council.

Before the formation of the Council of Terra at the end of the Great Crusade, the War Council was the de facto ruling body of the Imperium.

Each Primarch has its own seat in the council.

Of course, this excludes Alpharius, whose identity has not been publicly revealed.

"He and Wojciech Berek calibrated the time and determined it to be 10:00 AM tomorrow, the ship's standard time."

"I understand," Nimrod Lu said.

The following day, at 9:52 AM ship time.

Primarch's Palace, Remote Conference Room.

The runes on the mechanical device lit up, and each modulator made a crisp click as it touched the indentation on the mechanical drum, blending into the choir's melody.

"My lord, we are ready."

"Let's begin." Horus, who had already changed his mindset and decided to be a good older brother, suggested that everyone participate before the official start of each meeting and use this time to exchange ideas.

At the same moment that the light engulfed Nimrod, his figure Flash Step inside the Golden Palace of the Imperial Palace, where the War Council was held.

The head of the War Council is a position reserved exclusively for the Emperor.

Nimrod sat second to the left of the Old Man in Yellow. He saw that nine people were already seated in the hall, with only three people missing.

Next to him was Leman Russ, followed by Hannibal and Vulkan.

Right next to the Old Man in Yellow on his right was his Sigillite, Malcador, dressed in a gray robe.

Sitting opposite Nimrod was Horus Lupercal, with Ferrus Manus, Rogal Dorn Dorn, Fulgrim, and Robert Guilliman in that order.

To encourage the Primarch to compete and help him reclaim more worlds, the Old Man in Yellow rearranged the seats in the War Council according to their merits.

The closer you are to the Old Man in Yellow, the greater your achievements will be.

In relation to each other, the right side is considered more honorable.

Among them, Fulgrim, Vulkan, and Guilliman have not yet achieved much in battle, and their positions are based on the performance of the three legions before their return.

Horus spoke to Nimrod before Malcador could speak.

"Nimrod, I want to introduce you to a new member of the War Council, our brother Robert Guilliman, the Primarch of the 13th Legion."

"Nimrod, I thank you for saving my son, Glenn Worsotto, and preventing the complete annihilation of the Osiris suppression fleet."

Guilliman and Malcador, who were in Terra attending the welcoming celebration, were the only two people who were physically present in the Golden Palace and not participating via projection.

He had short blond hair and a smile on his face as he thanked Ning.

"Welcome back, Guilliman," Nimrod in response.

"Since I've run into this, I certainly won't stand idly by."

As Nimrod spoke, he thought to himself, "Well, the four worlds, including Calth, will be mine as a thank you gift to me."

Although I got it on my own merit, arriving first still counts as me robbing you.