For the Emperor wasn't just a slogan. It was the absolute faith these soldiers had devoted their lives to. Even when faced with the terrifying, seemingly unbeatable monster before them, a cry of "For the Emperor!" could make these ordinary soldiers fearless in the face of death as they charged at every enemy of the Emperor.
But was that really true?
Watching the tiny mortals charging toward him, Hogg wondered what the Emperor would think if he saw this scene. The brave warriors who should have been conquering the Galaxy and tearing apart Xenos and Chaos were instead trapped in endless, meaningless infighting because of the greed of a few vermin.
The blazing plasma didn't overheat. Under Hogg's influence, the weapon that old soldiers' tales claimed would never overheat only in the hands of the most loyal fired continuously, granting every soldier a painless death.
Flak Armour was pierced by the searing plasma, and the flesh beneath it was completely vaporized.
Death and destruction! On a battlefield choked with smoke, it all seemed so fitting—and so wrong. Hogg pondered the question he could never quite understand: why did every Imperium end up like this, no matter the world?
Without help from an external brain, Hogg's mind couldn't handle the kind of philosophical question that drove people mad. It only urged him to get moving:
"Loyalty? To hell with loyalty. If you can't change things as they are or give humanity a future, then I, Hogg, will do it."
As the Disruption Field lit up, Hogg met the Titan Group charging toward him head-on. In a single pass, he smashed the God-Machine before him, leaving it completely wrecked and able only to watch as he continued slaughtering the other Titans.
The guns on the defensive line fired in unison. Hogg didn't