Word Bearers

The Empire always preferred to refer to outer space as the Void, just as Earth was called Holy Terra. Over the years, Mordred had grown accustomed to it.

But only now has Mordred confirmed a problem he had been ignoring.

This world is a giant Emperor fandom; no matter who it is, human or ghost, as long as the Golden Giant flashes his shiny hook, everyone will be drawn to him.

The Four Merchants were like this, the Primarch was like this, and even ordinary humans who had never seen Yellow Skins would be instantly conquered by his charm and become sunspots who could only shout for gratitude.

You said you weren't a god, and everyone else was just a human, but you keep showing off everywhere, trying to act like you're something special, huh?

Thanks to her secondary development, Mordred has mastered the art of flight. Unfortunately, she ended up floating in the void like Kars, just like before, before being sent flying back to Colchis by a burst of sparks and lightning.

Then he saw the scene of high blood pressure that had led him to this idea.

The Colchis people, who had been pulled into the factory by Atlas, did nothing but gather below the platform and shout "Long live the Emperor!"

Meanwhile, Luojia, atop the high platform, waved flags and shouted, summoning one missing limb after another to come forward, preparing to have him undergo the Emperor's baptism and be reborn; all that was missing was the power of Five Fish and Two Cakes.

Mordred wasn't a conservative old-fashioned type. Since Psychic Power was so useful, he certainly wouldn't mind. In fact, some Space Marines who were once Psyker only became stronger after embracing Fel Energy in Atlas.

What truly annoyed him was the Emperor's unconventional approach, much like a certain Great Commander who liked to perform dodging bullets, which directly disrupted Atlas's plans to modify Colchis.

The Colchis people already suffer from a lack of culture and are prone to feudal superstitions. With your actions, you still expect them to believe in the Imperial Truth? Don't you even consider whether they understand the scientific principles of Psychic Power reshaping of the body?

Knowledge cannot determine a person's character, but it certainly broadens one's horizons. Mordred was unwilling to say anything more.

Even so, Mordred still instructed his sons to maintain order and urge the workers to get back to work, and as expected, only a very small number of them were willing to return to work.

In the past, Mordred had only one way to deal with such opportunists who only wanted to reap without sowing: to completely neutralize them. After all, Atlas never tolerated idlers.

But Colchis wasn't the Serenity 50 Worlds after all, and Mordred couldn't be bothered with it anymore. Anyway, the Word Bearers had already arrived, and this place had nothing to do with him anymore.

As time passed, the Emperor, who had been busy for three whole days, was covered in sweat. He found a secluded spot and plopped down on the ground. But before he could even find a drink to moisten his throat, he saw a head suddenly pop out next to his thigh:

"Hey, isn't this Old Man Huang? What happened? He's gotten so sick in just three days. And who was it that kept shouting 'I Am Not a God, I Am Not a God'? He's laughing like that~"

These words were so sarcastic that even the Emperor felt a pang of shame. "I only resolved a minor problem; it doesn't mean anything."

"Yes, that doesn't mean anything, but Old Man Huang, do you really want to be an omnipotent savior?"

"If one day you, this so-called savior, are beaten into a paraplegic, unable to speak or move, and can only stand there as a toilet decoration, what will the empire become?"

The Emperor had no way to refute this; whether it was the unification of Terra, the Webway Project, or even the Great Crusade, the goal was always the same:

That means letting the human body rot in the pot.

As for the future path of the empire, the Emperor never thought about it, and even the empire itself was a hasty decision made by him and Malcador.

Fortunately, the current Emperor possessed some humanity and wasn't the cold, unfeeling sun of the future. Knowing that his answer would surely lead to an argument, he resorted to his old tricks:

"As long as the Great Crusade succeeds, everything will be alright."

Besides, don't I still have you? With our father and son working together, we will surely make humanity great again. You promised me you'd work with me to rebuild the empire!

Mordred couldn't stand the Emperor's pitiful look, which made her feel like she owed him something.

Seeing the crowd cheering in the distance for the restoration of her limbs, Mordred finally softened. "I really can't do anything with you. This is the last time. If you keep doing this, and you really get Alzheimer's one day, I won't care about you."

The Emperor remained silent, but secretly chuckled to himself, thinking, "You little Mordred, you can't escape my grasp after all. You'll be working for me for the rest of your life."

"By the way, Malcador isn't here, so go write me a speech. You don't want Luojia's return ceremony to be so rushed, do you? She's your own sister!"

"Fine, I'll write it. You good-for-nothing, you've lived so long, you've really wasted your life. No wonder Eldar doesn't want a piece of trash like you. Just wait and see."

Soon, riding on the wave of the previous miracle of turning people into living beings, the return ceremony of Luojia was also solemnly held, 17th Legion, which had been renamed Word Bearers, lined up and assembled.

Unlike the idiotic and dull soldiers of later generations, the Imperium of Man during the Great Crusade were ambitious and far less cruel and dark than scholars had imagined.

Imperial Truth prevails, and with the advance of the Great Crusade, all sorts of technologies are discovered and quickly put into practical use. Just as the Emperor said, now is the best time for humanity to revive.

While Space Marine are killing machines, they also have their own thoughts, and they will complain and even slack off.

The Emperor's speech was undeniably brilliant, but even that can become tiresome after a while, especially one that lasted a full five hours straight. It's only because the Space Marines was a cyborg that he couldn't keep up.

Some of the Word Bearers veterans noticed that Atlas beside them was snoring, and even His Highness Mordred was asleep standing up. For some reason, they also felt drowsy.

Two hours later, the Emperor finally finished speaking. Looking down, he saw the audience filled with people dozing off, heads bowed. Embarrassed, he slammed his hand on the floor.

"Are you finished? Okay, let's give a round of applause!"

With Mordred, who was already half asleep, leading the way, enthusiastic applause erupted instantly, and people shouted "Long live the Empire!" But the Emperor couldn't feel happy at all.

The ceremony moved to the next stage. Accompanied by pink petals falling from the sky, Luojia, who had been waiting for seven hours, walked step by step up the platform in heavy silver armor, ready to receive the Emperor's blessing.

The Emperor then took the speech manuscript handed to him by Mordred behind him:

"My child, the moment you returned to the Legion, the entire Empire was—"

The Emperor suddenly felt something was amiss. He couldn't remember where he'd heard that line before, but he remembered that whoever recited it would be stabbed to death. However, the die was cast, and he had no choice but to continue reading.

"The entire empire sings your name, Luojia Aurelion!"

"I proudly watch you grow up day by day, becoming an embodiment of justice."

"And today, your return will bring new hope to the Empire, and I believe that you will dedicate your life to the cause of humanity, illuminated by reason and technology."

"Hey ha, Imperium of Man Eternal Prosperity!"

"Waaaagh!!!"

Waaaagh, for the Imperium of Man!

After a burst of cheers and jubilation, Mordred felt it was time for him to make his appearance. Before he could even step forward to announce his arrival, Luo Shan preemptively grabbed the microphone:

"Okay, now it's my turn to say a few words."