The Era of Legions Has Ended

As news of the unpleasant parting between Zhuang Sen and Guilliman spread, a sense of unease settled over the entire Terra.

It's no wonder people are so sensitive, because the Great Heresy of a hundred years ago is still fresh in everyone's mind. It is precisely because of the Great Heresy that everyone is wary of the Space Marine.

With the Empire's technological prowess, let alone whether it's practical or not, anyone with a bit of strength could undergo life-extending surgery and live for hundreds of years without any problem. And these people in their prime have basically all lived through the Great Heresy, not to mention the Space Marine.

The policy has sparked heated debate within the Legion, with some arguing that Split the Legions is an inevitable trend, while others believe Split the Legions is the stupidest decision ever.

Without exception, almost all Space Marine cursed Guilliman as inhuman, calling him an Ambition bastard, especially those Legions without Primarchs.

We shed our blood for the Empire, we gave our lives for the Empire, and now that our father is gone, you, Guilliman, actually want to dismantle our legions?

If the news hadn't been blocked immediately, the Empire might have faced serious turmoil. Even so, the Primarchs remaining in Terra and the other Legion representatives were embroiled in a bitter dispute.

"I disagree. If you want to Split the Legions, then dismantle your Ultramarines first."

"Who said I wouldn't demolish? I'll be the first to demolish my own army!"

Upon hearing this, even Zhuang Sen lost his temper, and looked at Guilliman with a rather strange expression:

"So what are you after?"

To be honest, although Zhuang Sen doesn't like to use his brain, he does have a brain. Not only Lion King, but all the other Primarchs understand why Guilliman did what he did.

But one's perspective is determined by their position; understanding doesn't equal agreement. Besides, this thing is really too ruthless. You're breaking up my huge legion into 1,000 people? Are you kidding me?

Ferrus is alright; their Iron Hands has less than 5,000 people at most. How many of us Dark Angels have? 70,000! A full 70,000!

If we follow Guilliman's method, not to mention the other legions, the Dark Angels alone would have to be split into 70 Chapter, and what's most ridiculous is that after the split, each Chapter would be on equal footing.

The question is who gets the Primarch Light. Even if we take a step back and imagine a veteran legion soldier finally rising to the Captain of company commander, only to find, after the Split the Legions, that everyone is now exactly the same.

Logically, almost every Primarch would be unwilling to Split the Legions, but rationally, all Primarchs know that given the current state of the Empire, Split the Legions might truly be the best option.

After all, the Great Crusade had already crushed all the decent Xenos forces, so for a legion of this size to participate in the battle would be far too inefficient.

Back when we were on the Great Crusade, all we had to do was push forward as fast as we could, and the more legions the better. But now it's time to defend our territory. The era of massive, overwhelming troop operations is over.

Looking at the gray hairs that had appeared on Guilliman's forehead, Zhuang Sen didn't know how much effort his brother had put in, but he knew that Guilliman truly had no selfish motives.

A century-long career Warmaster exhausted Zhuang Sen, but it also taught this lion the most basic principles of communication:

"Fine, if you want to dismantle it, then go ahead. But I have one request: your Chapter still has too few members. At least the parent group should have more members, right?"

Guilliman knew that this was not only a concession from Zhuang Sen, but also a final concession from all his other brothers, so he immediately brought out his long-compiled Astartes Codex, wanting to revise it on the spot.

Upon seeing this extraordinary book, even Dorn couldn't contain himself, and the Raven King, who had always been relatively unknown, posed a profound question:

"Brother, no wonder people say you're Ambition. Do you really need to specify everything in such detail?"

Legion structure, personnel promotions, tactical templates, equipment configuration, you even stipulated what time to get up every day, and there's even a damn menu.

To be honest, Guilliman also felt that he had gone a bit too far. He hadn't thought that much about it at the time; he was only thinking about how to get an ordinary Space Marine to build Chapter based on this book.

According to Guilliman's vision, the Astartes Codex was an STC module applicable to Space Marine, a supreme manual that incorporated his extraordinary wisdom.

Anyone, as long as they are of sound mind and practice according to the Codex Astartes step by step, will definitely be able to build a strong Chapter.

Guilliman wrote in such detail entirely to prevent the emergence of fools, just like the foolproof mechanisms on weapons and equipment—it's like breaking things down and feeding them to others.

As for Corvus Corax's sarcasm, he also wrote that this is for reference only!

"My Codex Astartes is version 1.0. If there are any new and improved methods, I can certainly add them to the Codex Astartes. Otherwise, why would I need to discuss it with you?"

Guilliman's words made sense. Since things had come to this point, the Primarchs had no choice but to pour their own understanding into this masterpiece.

Split the Legions was simple, but the Primarchs had much more to think about. After forty-nine days of repeated discussions, the 3.0 version of the Codex Astartes was finally released.

While retaining the original Guilliman style, the Chapter's structure remained at 1,000 people, but it gained the right to establish its own Auxilia, the Astra Militarum.

The 18 Space Marine Mother Companies were increased to 20,000 men, and at Dorn's suggestion, a backdoor called the Ultimate Wall was left open.

In other words, under special circumstances, the parent group can initiate the Ultimate Wall Protocol, summoning all Scion Chapter to come to its aid, at the cost of providing a series of assistance to the Scion Chapter.

At the very least, you have to give them something when they've just formed Chapter; you can't leave them with nothing.

While the First Founding, led by the Primarch, retained a size of 20,000, this First Founding of 20,000 people no longer had the power to make the final decision.

101. M30,

Second Founding:

Since his brothers had all participated in compiling the Codex Astartes, Guilliman wanted them to be credited, but without exception, the suggestion was rejected by all of them.

But Guilliman did not forget his roots. After years of investigation, Guilliman was convinced that Atlas was definitely not a traitor.

Although he still couldn't utter Mordred's name, Guilliman left a blessing on the Codex Astartes in memory of his brother:

"Second Brother, your achievements will never be forgotten!"

In the same year, with the advent of the Astartes Codex, and under Guilliman's example, all legions were broken down into Chapter.

Meanwhile, Tom, seizing the opportunity, acted first, stealing a portion of Iron Hands and successfully going into business, thus regaining his title as Blood Ravens.

He also used his connections with the Iron Hands to get involved with the Adeptus Mechanicus and started doing shady work for these Mechanicus, perfectly circumventing the Codex Astartes's quota by using the excuse of being an overseas student.

As the saying goes, "where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure," and no law is perfect. Although it has been divided into Chapter, Space Wolves has always been Guilliman's little black dog.

So much so that the wolf cubs came up with a unique trick: Bjorn, then commander of the Space Wolves Legion, declared, "We certainly support the Lord Regent's instructions."

Then Chapter were formed, called Space Wolves Regiment 2, 3, 4, 5... openly disgusting Guilliman.

And what's even more despicable is that they sent a squad of Space Wolves to Macragge, where they did nothing but wait for Lady Yuton.

Whenever he sees her, he rushes over and throws himself on her lap, crying uncontrollably. He throws a tantrum, threatening suicide, and immediately starts accusing her of having bad people in Terra, saying that the Primarchs have disappeared and are bullying us.

Instead of being angry, Guilliman granted the Space Wolves a special position stationed in Macragge, allowing them to act as bodyguards for his mother.

You like heading to Macragge, don't you? Fine, I'm entrusting my mother's safety to you. What do you have to say now?

Such an open and honest approach, coupled with Lady Yuton's unparalleled parenting skills, completely silenced the group of space huskies.

Although the dog behaved itself, the Dark Angels of the cat-dog duo soon encountered a problem that would last for ten thousand years, creating a group of madmen.

106. M31,

The Lion King Returns Home:

In order to implement the splitting of legions, Zhuang Sen, as the Imperial Warmaster, had to remain in Holy Terra to oversee the splitting of other legions.

As the legions were gradually dismantled, the only remaining legion was the Dark Angels.

He had finally achieved the coveted Warmaster Position, but now he found himself the second mastermind behind the Split the Legions.

But Lion King is Lion King. Looking at his brothers who had come to see him off, Zhuang Sen still uttered his usual arrogant words:

"You, Guilliman, are a gentleman, and I, Zhuang Sen, am no villain either. Since you were the first to dismantle the Ultramarines, I won't betray you. Do you need to come and supervise me?"

A century of working together had taught Guilliman how to get along with his brother. He knew that Zhuang Sen wasn't against him; that was just how he was. So the best way to deal with it was:

"I trust you."

Watching Zhuang Sen leave the field at lightning speed, Guilliman knew he had won again. However, he didn't know how much he would regret not going with him in the future.

107. M31,

The Fall of Caliban: No Dark Angels knew exactly what happened that day; they only knew that the First Legion No Secrets.

The lion cubs, yearning to grow, were not greeted with glory, but instead with a furious Lion King. The indiscriminate barrage of artillery fire from the sky caused their already strained reason to collapse instantly.

For the Lion King, this was a stain on the First Legion.

From the perspective of the Dark Angels, it was the Lion King who betrayed the Legion.

When the mother and son, separated for a century, reunite, all that remains is accusation and insult, and the clash of swords between life and death.

After the war, Lion King Zhuang Sen the Lions disappeared completely, becoming the first Primarch to vanish since the Great Heresy.

But this is far from the end; it is a new beginning.

Meanwhile, 30,000 years ago, in a ravine somewhere in Holy Terra, a Warp Rift suddenly appeared, spewing out all sorts of debris.

Amidst the scattered scrap metal and rubble, the most striking feature is a tall, magnificent horse. A red scar, like a lightning bolt, runs across its head, making this white horse stand out.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, and seeing the bizarre scene before it, the horse, in a remarkably human-like manner, collapsed onto the ground with a sharp, piercing neigh.

Before it could even hum a few times, the horse suddenly shuddered and instinctively looked back.

Then he saw a tall man squatting in a crack in the rocks, defecating, and his gaze was fixed on his own tail.

"A tail? Oh no!"