"Can you leave the original with me after you copy it? I imagine there is no better place in the galaxy to preserve this precious book."
Lox hesitated for a moment, still hoping that Guilliman would hand over the original of the Book of Rowell for him to keep.
"I have traveled across time from ten thousand years ago to the present, and I am entrusted with the mission of continuing human civilization."
"I have always wondered what could represent our civilization."
"I used to think that the precious works of art handed down from ancient times, those technological creations that crystallized human wisdom, and the witnesses of human civilization and rationality were the only things worth cherishing. But until now--"
"Until now, I have seen the embodiment of our civilization. This book is a projection of our civilization: indomitable, sacrificial, and fearless."
Guilliman did not hesitate, and he handed the heavy book into Lox's hands.
"I hope you will collect more witnesses to civilization."
"But now we have to do something else, like... finding Lorgar and figuring out where that damned ship escaped to."
Although the main forces of the Word Eaters and World Eaters had been routed and annihilated, no one dared to lower their guard because the immensely powerful Blessed Lady had not yet been found.
Even if only a single warship remained, the Blessed Lady could still crush an entire fully armed world. All the defending ships of the system combined together were probably no match for it; it could obliterate all orbital defenses and then reduce a prosperous human world to ashes with orbital bombardment.
Even Macragge, the capital of the Five Hundred Worlds, might not survive against the Blessed Lady while Guilliman and the fleet were away on campaign.
As long as this thorn