The Trail of Nuceria

The farce was quickly quelled. The Blackwatch troopers who had air-dropped in did not return to their ships but remained on Macragge, where quarters were soon arranged for them.

Perhaps it was because Hogg's insults were truly foul, and directed at Emperor—to curse a father in front of his son is an act of insolence—that Guilliman could no longer stand by. He had to walk over and grab Hogg's calf to stop him from continuing his oral gymnastics.

If you are wondering why he grabbed the calf, it is because the transformed Hogg is a giant over seven meters tall.

"Hogg, calm down and stop shouting. There are so many people watching! Think of your image! The image of a Primarch!" Guilliman was helpless. Hogg's voice was so loud that he estimated the entire neighborhood could hear his ranting.

Perhaps Guilliman's words had an effect, or perhaps Hogg feared being beaten again, but the beast-form Hogg ceased his output and reverted to his human form.

"Guilliman, I am usually a refined and easygoing person. This time, I'm doing it for Mom's sake; I don't want to disturb her rest. It's a good thing he isn't here, otherwise, I would definitely have slapped that old geezer."

After changing his clothes, the two returned to the reception room feeling quite awkward. After all, it is truly embarrassing to be caught gossiping about someone else's dark history.

Guilliman also noticed that his brother was indeed different from others; to take such a powerful blow and be completely fine—perhaps this was what Hogg called the essence of a Primarch.

"Hogg, I remember you saying that every Primarch has their own essence. So, what is my superpower?" After a moment of deliberation, Guilliman, who believed in the Imperial Truth, chose the term "superpower" to voice his confusion.

"Superpower? You could say that. I remember your superpower is 'Super Office Work.' Don't think about anything else. With me around, you won't need it anyway, since you're a null-psyker Ogryn."

Hogg said this casually while stuffing desserts into his mouth. Having been slammed into the bedrock by a backhand from Emperor earlier, his energy consumption was quite high; if he hadn't been tough, his health bar would have bottomed out.

Hearing that his superpower was "Rapid Office Work" and being called an Ogryn—which clearly wasn't a compliment—Guilliman felt very depressed. Although Primarchs grow up at a rapid pace, they still had a childhood, and who wouldn't want a cool superpower? What on earth is "Rapid Office Work"?

Ignoring Guilliman's dejected expression, Hogg began to discuss serious matters.

"Guilliman, since you intend to gift me a sector, I won't take it for free. I plan to have Alicia establish formal trade with Macragge, and I can also share some of the Blackwatch technology with you."

"When you see those things, you certainly won't feel like you're getting the short end of the stick. Furthermore, since our two Legions are so close, we can interact more and establish a strategic alliance. I also need your help to train some of my people to serve as government officials; my subordinates lack any outstanding political talent."

"I agree! An alliance between two Legions can achieve greater strength. As for training personnel, that is also fine; the officials on the worlds near Macragge have all undergone standardized training."

After clarifying the details of the formal cooperation, both sides were very pleased. After all, the benefits of an alliance between two Legions are immense.

The future Imperium Secundus was the product of an alliance between three Legions that greatly increased their strength, and Hogg's early arrival only served to align with Guilliman's own ideas.

Soon, Emilia received the order and took a portion of the fleet to take over the territory of that sector, stationing soldiers there to handle recruitment and security.

"Guilliman, you've seen what kind of person our father is, right? He beats me for no reason. A father like that can't properly educate our brothers. Take Perturabo, for instance—he was the one I was closest to, and now he won't even contact me. We used to be so close, and I was the one who found him first. It's been years, and Pepe hasn't come to see me once."

"That doesn't seem right, brother. When I returned to Terra, I saw Perturabo. The other Primarchs were there too. When we were dining with our father, I even asked him about you. His expression at the time didn't look like someone who was on good terms with you."

Hogg's grumbling could not fool Guilliman. To be honest, Guilliman felt that his other brothers had very strange personalities, but Perturabo was a good man, as if he had experienced a great awakening; sometimes he could even mediate conflicts between brothers.

After that inquiry, Guilliman had felt humiliation on his face for the first time, and the other Primarchs had come to believe that Hogg was an extremely malicious Primarch because of that incident.

However, in his conversation with Hogg, Guilliman discovered that his previous thoughts were wrong. Although Hogg was a bit of a goofball, he was a decent person, and being around him was quite relaxing—it even made his brain feel much lighter.

"Oh! Guilliman, you don't know the half of it. Pepe once swore that he would never let me suffer a grievance again. But later! Emperor beat me right in front of him, and since he couldn't beat our dad, he just felt embarrassed."

"Hmm! What you say does make sense," Guilliman thought it sounded reasonable.

"By the way, Guilliman, I didn't just come here to talk about cooperation. I have another purpose. Since the territory you govern is in the Ultima Segmentum, do you know if there is a planet called Nuceria in the frontier? It is a planet with human colonies and vast stretches of red sand."

"Nuceria? I have heard of this planet," the administratively proficient Guilliman trusted his memory; he had once seen the name in a record of interstellar pirates.

"Is there something special about this planet?"

Nuceria was the world where Angron landed. As one of the Primarchs discovered later, Angron could be considered the most tragic. Originally capable of being a thoughtful political commissar, Angron was fitted with the Butcher's Nails and turned into a mindless wreck. In short, it was a complicated situation.

"I can see fragments of the future, Guilliman. One of our brothers will land on Nuceria, but his future is not good. If possible, find him as soon as possible; this could prevent a portion of that miserable future from occurring."

Hogg wanted to change Angron's fate. He also understood why Emperor was monitoring him. Although The Four Ruinous Powers could not track his every move, he was still very weak at this moment, and Emperor's power was constantly protecting him, allowing him to disrupt the threads of fate within a certain range.

After all, only in muddy waters can big fish appear, and searching for Angron was a probe Hogg was making.

Soon, a report was transmitted to Guilliman's data-slate. When the Ultramarines were clearing out an artificial world occupied by interstellar pirates, the coordinates of Nuceria appeared on the pirates' star charts. According to the records, this group of pirates had once established a small hideout on that planet.

Looking at the marked coordinates, it was truly effortless. The coordinates were quickly entered into the Imperial star charts. Since the anchor points on the pirate charts were not the Astronomican, it would still take time to convert and decipher them.

"Guilliman, the decryption will take time. Hurry up and prepare; we are going to Nuceria. Trust me, you will soon have a new brother."

After saying this, Hogg had no time to boast. He arrived at the Blackwatch encampment and began to assemble his troops.

But what the fate-disrupting Hogg did not know was that what awaited them might not just be Angron, but also a gambler who was guaranteed to lose.