Chapter 291: The Art of Extraction
Aboard the Endurance, Mortarion and Hades walked together toward the opposite docking bay. Once Malcador finished exchanging a few more words with Horus, he would be heading over to the Death Guard.
There, he would speak with Hades and Mortarion.
[You've finished negotiating with the Night Lords?]
Hades nodded.
"Nothing too critical. I mainly tried to win Sevatar over—and at the same time, finalized the redemption agreement."
Mortarion blinked.
He could perhaps understand how Hades's rhetoric had bent the Night Lords into accepting those nearly unbearable terms. But what he could not comprehend was why Hades would attempt to recruit that bat cub under such circumstances.
[…Hades, how did you convince him?]
So Hades explained the reasoning from Sevatar's perspective, laying out the analysis for Mortarion.
Mortarion frowned deeply.
[Since when did you become so… charitable? Konrad put his blade through your chest, yet you still concern yourself with his Legion's fate?]
The thought of Hades attempting to draw in the Night Lords, while he himself only heaped scorn on Konrad Curze… Mortarion did not like the feeling.
[Why trust such a Legion? They look as if they're bound to—]
Hades chuckled.
"They won't live to see true rebirth."
As things stood, the chance of Konrad Curze and his sons falling was still extremely high. If they failed to purge the filth within, then most of the Night Lords would inevitably turn traitor—even if Konrad himself never intended it.
If they were to remain loyal, they needed a cleansing. And once the cleansing was done… well, Hades trusted Sevatar's ability to lead.
Should the Night Lords awaken to the light of Humanity and choose loyalty, they could fight as raiders, striking from the shadows in support of frontline Legions like the Death Guard. They could still deliver damage.
Hades made his decisions from the perspective of Legions, not Primarchs.
Primarchs? Who are they? Don't know them.
In fact, the hints he gave Sevatar all pointed toward weakening Konrad Curze's control over his Legion.
Better to invest effort in developing the Death Guard—or slipping Guilliman a bit of advice to push him toward mass recruitment—than waste it on gambling for Curze's change of heart.
It\s much more efficient.
If Hades had his way from the start, he would never have spawned on Barbarus with the Death Guard. Removing personal factors, the most efficient opening move would have been on Macragge. There, he could have urged Guilliman to begin building up a vast force early, assassinated Magnus at the outset, and then rushed to reinforce Terra.
With half a million Ultramarines garrisoned on Terra, who could stand against them? Not even the Warmaster. Even Khorne himself would need to exert real effort to breach them.
Why waste breath persuading Primarchs when they could instead feel the flood tide of the masses? Primarchs, no matter how strong—save for exceptions like the Angel or Magnus—could still be crushed beneath the weight of Titans. And the Ultramarines had entire Forge Worlds bound solely to their Legion…
—Thus, Macragge was always Hades's first option to reincarnate into.
Hades glanced sidelong at Mortarion, who was still brooding over his words and the agreement. Ah well. The Death Guard will do just fine.
As long as the Legion did not betray, such a hardened frontline force could perform feats on the scale of entire wars.
The only thing Hades needed to worry about now was this: if he were ever reassigned by the Imperium, the Death Guard must not fall into corruption in his absence. And when he was gone, they had to develop their logistics. They needed to mass-produce troops—ruthlessly.
But then… Hades quietly shifted his gaze away. If Mortarion still fell to darkness, those who followed him would likely be only the natives of Barbarus—and perhaps not even all of them.
The reason was simple. In all the other recruitment worlds, Hades had established education systems rooted in loyalty to the Imperium and to the Emperor. The emphasis on devotion to any particular Primarch or Legion was kept to a bare minimum.
At least—aside from tax evasion and underreporting—the Death Guard's education system focused on war, military affairs, and production.
If not for Barbarus being the Legion's homeworld, where loyalty to its Primarch had to be emphasized… otherwise…
Hades had deliberately preserved an administrative cadre led by the Galaspar-born. Even if the Legion were divided, they would be able to adapt swiftly to the battlefield.
Mortarion might understand what Hades was doing—or he might not. Either way, he would tolerate Hades's actions.
On the other hand, Mortarion was still mulling over Hades's earlier words. They won't live to see it?
He silently noted down the time limit fixed in the agreement. If Hades did not attempt any further moves to weaken the Night Lords, then something significant must be fated to occur during that period.
…No matter. The Lord of Death thought slowly to himself.
The Death Guard had long known the shadow of a dark future.
[The Night Lords will pay for their recklessness. Though the blood of his sons cannot bring that derelict father much true pain.]
Hades brightened with amusement.
"Mortarion, your punishment has already caused him enough pain."
For when Hades had seen that bloodied, twitching, agonized face, he realized Mortarion's creativity in torment was remarkable.
It had simply never shown before—perhaps because the Lord of Death had always found such things beneath his notice… or perhaps he had simply been too lazy to bother with such embellishments.
Mortarion let out a proud, muffled chuckle.
[He will remain lost in the nightmare of his shattered beliefs. Each time he looks upon that bat cub, he will remember this torment.]
"And besides…"
Hades spoke slowly.
"I expect Malcador will take me away this time. What do you think, Mortarion?"
Mortarion paused. A muffled voice rumbled beneath his mask.
[I thought we already discussed this.]
Hades raised an eyebrow. He could have sworn Mortarion had once been trying to nudge him toward the Ultramarines, of all things.
"So what's the conclusion?"
[It is your decision. As a comrade, I am glad to see you use your abilities to the fullest.]
Mortarion looked ahead—they were almost at their destination.
[And as Primarch, the Death Guard will always recognize your authority as commander.]
Hades was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Mortarion, you can see I've always hoped to build the Legion in certain ways. All of these directions… I laid them out according to the futures I have foreseen."
Hades spoke heavily.
"You must strive to expand our numbers, build a complete logistics system, make strong ties with the Forge Worlds—at the very least, siphon more technology from them."
[You mean to leave Magos Korklan behind?]
Mortarion suddenly spoke.
[You may take the Zero Company with you, Hades.]
Hades blinked.
"I'm not certain yet—it depends on what the Imperium decides. But I would prefer the Death Guard to keep the Zero Company."
"…As for Korklan…"
Hades sighed inwardly at the thought of that zealot. Yet he had to admit: Korklan was the most efficient, and the one who best understood his intentions. More often than not, whenever it came to dealing with the Forge Worlds, it was Hades who brought Korklan along.
"I intend to have him take command of the ship I instructed Rust to build. Depending on how things play out, he'll either bring it to me… or remain with the Death Guard."
"And besides, it's not impossible that I'll return by then."
Mortarion cast him a calm glance.
[I will keep an eye on him—along with your other fanatical little followers.]
"Don't mock me, Lord of Death."
[I will, Lord of the Underworld (Hades).]
Pale blue light washed across their armor, cast by a ship from Terra slowly descending into Endurance's docking bay.
At the vessel's ramp appeared Malcador. Fresh from his sparring words with Horus, the old man carried a subtle air of disheveled exhaustion.
He gave Hades and Mortarion a brief glance, as though he already knew their arrangements were complete.
"Board the ship, Hades."
Wait—they areleaving now?!
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