Lorgar Advocates for Chaplains in the Astartes Legions

After the Emperor took his seat, he looked around at everyone and began to speak.

"The reason for convening this War Council is that Lorgar proposed creating new positions within the legion."

"Lorgar, you can introduce him to your brothers."

At the Emperor's signal, Lorgar Aurelian rose and began to speak as if he were preaching in Colchis.

"No force can forge such strong bonds and great aspirations as the bonds forged by faith and dreams."

"Faith is the backbone of intelligent races, the Pillar that helps us transcend beasts, machines, and Xenos."

Nimrod listened to Lorgar's opening remarks, Horus Lupercal and Robert Guilliman frowned.

Lion El'Jonson and Rogal Dorn Dorn remained calm, but Nimrod believed that Dorn would not agree with Lorgar's words.

"Lorgar, I've emphasized this to you before."

"I am not a god!" The Emperor declared majestically.

"Never forget the Imperial Truth!"

Lorgar was stunned for a moment, then decided to temporarily set aside the truth and focus on achieving his goal today.

He avoided the sensitive topic and continued.

"Before I took command of the legion, the Seventeenth Legion already had sons who served as Imperium vanguards, wielding winged scepters to deliver an ultimatum to the newly discovered world—surrender or be destroyed."

"Just as I renamed the Legion 'The Word Bearers,' I will rename the Vanguard 'The Chaplain.'"

"Establishing Chaplain within the Legion can bring enlightenment to a foolish world and wash away the stains of the past."

"The Chaplain will also instruct our Warrior on the truth, fight alongside their brothers in arms, recite sacred battle creeds, and inspire them to strive for even greater acts of heroism."

"..."

Lorgar described at length the Chaplain's vision and the positive impact it could have on the legion.

After listening to Lorgar's account, the Emperor looked at the Primarch and said in a deep voice.

What are your thoughts?

Sanguinius, who had just been rescued by Lorgar, spoke first.

"My legion has Warden, who are mentors and guides to newly recruited Blood Angels, and are also responsible for upholding the legion's Decree."

"They would provide tactical and theoretical advice before the battle and hold memorial services for the fallen sons after the fighting."

"I believe that the establishment of Chaplain will be of great benefit to the legion."

"Among my legions are those who convey the 'Voice of Fire,'" Vulkan continued. "They will tell my sons that every life is equally important."

Ferrus Manus's silver-coin-like eyes gleamed, and he spoke with a voice as heavy as lead.

"The Iron Father bears the dual responsibilities of Tech Sergeant and Chaplain; I don't think that needs to be changed."

"The Legion has no need for Chaplain; the Imperial Fists is as solid as a rock." Dorn spoke frankly, being the first to explicitly express his opposition.

When Nimrod heard this, it was pretty much what he had expected.

Prior to the Council of Nikaea, the only Chaplain with large-scale appointments were the "Word Bearers," "Blood Angels," "Salamanders," and "Iron Hands."

Other legions either had no legions or only a small number of Chaplain.

After the meeting, the corrupted Lorgar offered assistance to the Primarch, quelling the discontent of the Legion Library and persuading them to accept the responsibility of returning to being ordinary Astartes.

The vast majority of Primarch accepted his request, Word Bearers Chaplain entered the Legions, spreading the Chaos Faith.

From then on, the Chaplain took root in each legion.

Following the Great Birthday Celebration, most loyal Chapter also appointed Chaplain.

Not only the traitorous legions, but the loyalist legions were also affected.

He remembered the underground war in the later stages of the "Battle of Calth," where Ultramarines, Chaplain, and many of their fellow warriors were brainwashed and plunged into Chaos.

Sanguinius, however, insisted that his Warden be in charge and did not accept the Word Bearers Chaplain.

Seeing that no one else seemed inclined to speak, the Old Man in Yellow turned his gaze to Nimrod, who then spoke up.

"The Legion will benefit from establishing Chaplain positions; I agree with Lorgar's proposal."

Hannibal fell into deep thought upon hearing Nimrod's words.

A few seconds later, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"I agree with Lorgar's suggestion."

Nimrod looked at Hannibal. Although he could only see the Psionic Energy projection, he keenly noticed that Hannibal's cheekbones protruded slightly outwards, and there were also signs of a bulge at the junction of his forehead and parietal bone.

This is a significant change for the Primarch genome.

How many Xenos did Hannibal eat?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Nimrod's mind.

[Would Hannibal have wanted to establish Chaplain to indoctrinate his offspring with a ritual of tasting Xenos?]

While Nimrod was pondering, he heard the Old Man in Yellow speak.

"You can decide for yourselves whether to appoint Chaplain and the size of the position."

After the war council concluded, Nimrod returned to the Shadow of the Throne.

He sent a new message to Arsena Dunn, summoning him to his office.

Nimrod walked toward his office, pondering how to arrange the position of Chaplain along the way.

Regardless of how other legions define the duties of Chaplain, for me, there are two main roles.

One is to boost morale, serve as a commander, and lead a certain scale of Shadow of Order; in this respect, the Beyonder of the "Sun" Pathway are most suitable.

The other is to examine the loyalty of those under the Shadow of Order and proclaim their faith in me; the Beyonder of the "Visionary" Pathway are best suited for this task.

Nimrod knew that the "Alpha" Legion would infiltrate other legions.

Although he couldn't be certain whether the Cabal had begun infiltrating before he met with them and joined the rebels, he believed it was necessary to take preventative measures.

Key positions in the legion were held by Royal Court Friar, whose loyalty was personally observed and confirmed by Nimrod.

The core secrets were even more closely held by high-ranking monks and their trusted confidants.

The Primarch confirmed through superhuman perception and Psionic Energy that they would be fine, but nearly two-thirds of the Legion's members are not currently members of the Royal Court, and the assessment may not be completed by the time of the Great Birthday Celebration.

[Yes, the corruption of Chaos also needs to be considered. My review can only confirm that there were no problems at the time, but it's hard to guarantee that new situations won't arise later.]

All I can guarantee are a small number of close confidants.

A strong Mental Defense Line is needed to promptly identify and address any problems with one's offspring.

After organizing his thoughts, Nimrod reached a conclusion.

Loyalty and faith are more important than boosting morale. The position of Chaplain should primarily be based on the "Visionary" Pathway, with the "Sun" Pathway as a secondary approach.

"The Spectator" and "Telepathist" can examine the inner world of the Shadow of Order during conversations, while "Psychiatrist," "Hypnotist," and "Dreamwalker" can uncover their hidden secrets, subtly influencing the Shadow of Order and the people of their territory to be loyal to me, and even to believe in the Black Emperor.

In that case, Wilshire is not the best candidate to oversee the duties of the Legion's Chaplain.

Nimrod had already returned to his office while he was pondering.

After taking his seat on the Throne adorned with thirty-three black iron swords, he decided to ask Wilshire for her opinion before making a decision.

Before that, he needed to ascertain Gardinal's current situation.

Nimrod looked at Arsena and asked.

What is Gardinal's current situation?

"My lord, the Second and 12th Chapter have already occupied five neighboring star systems, establishing a defensive perimeter and keeping Gardinal hidden in the shadows."

"One month ago on Terra, the Wayfarer jumped to the Gardinal system and withdrew in accordance with your blockade order."

Seeing the Black Emperor nod in satisfaction, the Primarch's Attendants continued.

"My lord, the battle of Gardinal has ended. I have tallied the casualties across all Chapter, and the total number of dead is 4,920."

"The Second Legion suffered the greatest losses, with 1,740 men killed during the attack on the Biomass Reclamation Center."

Arsena wasn't as sad as he used to be, he continued.

"Compared to the strength of Gardinal, our past battles, and our glorious achievements, our casualties were relatively small."

"My lord, this is all thanks to your selection of the High Lord as your target and your Thunder actions."

"Your actions have been very effective," Nimrod praised generously.

Although he did not know how many Iron Hands had fallen, the Ultramarines had suffered a defeat, with more than two thousand killed, and were then used as cannon fodder by Manus in the attack on the capital, where Chapter Master Cicero was killed.

"Emperor's Children" Second Company Captain Akurduana and his Warrior were killed in action.

Manus's guard suffered nearly half its casualties, and Amad DuCaine and Gabriel Santor, among others, were crippled.

Taking all factors into account, the combined number of casualties across the three legions was no less than, if not greater than, that of his legion.

Without the use of forbidden weapons, Nimrod could accept the casualties.

As Nimrod pondered, the silver-haired Primarch's Attendants continued.

"The Auxilia suffered 74,000 casualties, most of whom died in the operations in the capital."

"The Vostonia Auxilia suffered the most casualties, exceeding 50,000, in addition to 1,500 Catachan warriors, and 380 elite Catachan Banshees."

Nimrod slightly. Compared to Manus's use of forbidden weapons, which killed millions of Imperial Auxilia, the number of Auxilia killed was much smaller.

The Void Walker Legion lost seventeen Titan, Tiger Eye Titan Legions lost thirty-five Titan.

Nimrod remembered that the "Flame Pattern" Titan Legions lost more than half of its units in the "Battle of Gardinal," and he could accept the loss of fifty-two Titan.

"The Veroni Family lost sixty-three knights, most of whom were killed in battle against the Tripod Walker, and a small number were destroyed by the High Lord."

Nimrod realized that the Tripod Walker could rival the Warhound Titan, Reliquary Armor was even more powerful, so he could only accept the battle damage.

"Tell Mezoa of the Forge World to replenish the Veroni Family's lost Knight Mech as soon as possible."

"At least two of them must be Nemesis-class Cruise Knight."