Chapter 145: Traditional Arts of the Dark Angels
Black Templars Gloriana-class - Eternal Crusader - Bridge
Drakus stood at Romulus's side, the instincts of a Primarch's Honor Guard making him subconsciously scan his surroundings.
Since the main assault had been switched to the Black Templars, the command center was now naturally the Eternal Crusader. The lords were always very particular about such details. They would first judge the situation and decide who would lead the main assault, and then they would command around that Chapter's battle group as the core. This made the Chapter members who were receiving the commands feel much more comfortable.
However—
Drakus discreetly sized up his surroundings. He instinctively felt that the atmosphere on this ship was slightly different than before. The senses of an elite veteran were very keen. His astonishing experience immediately allowed him to find a similar feeling in his past.
This feeling was like when Lord Guilliman had welcomed the Lion on Macragge after the Battle of Calth.
Someone was watching them.
Dark Angels?
Drakus frowned. He quickly remembered the unfamiliar model of cruiser that had been fighting the Drukhari when they had entered the system, and which had then joined their fleet under the arrangement of Archmagos Cawl. It was also an old relic, but it should be different from them. These old veterans had never experienced death.
Drakus was certain of this. They had heard the four lords tell plenty of Primarch jokes in their daily lives. "Ambitious," "eternally loyal"—although it had often challenged their ability to maintain a straight face, it had also given them a clear understanding of the Great Betrayal as a whole, and they knew what had actually happened on Caliban.
His expression remained normal. He exchanged a look with Sarpedon, the leader of the Crimson Paladins, who was not far away. This one, after Dante had confirmed he couldn't be counted on, had been released to follow Karna. A total of five Crimson Paladins had been left on Baal to assist Dante with management and operations. The remaining eight had followed Karna on the crusade, to review the sons of the Angel they encountered along the way and to select those who could bear the responsibility of guardianship.
They nodded to each other, both clear that the other had also noticed something was wrong. They then tacitly tightened their grip on their power halberds.
After ten thousand years, do these Dark Angels not have a single rule or any honor?
"Identity confirmed. Drakus, Master of the Invictarus Suzerain, second-in-command of the ever-victorious army."
Askelon silently watched the council chamber. The ancient elders, including Rann, were all gathered here. The decorations on their bodies, symbolizing their honor, were enough to make countless veterans of the Great Crusade era green with envy. But that was in the past. Now, ten thousand years had passed, and the knowledge and history behind these honor medals had long been buried. Even the members of the Founding Chapters might not be able to recognize their meaning.
And they, the Ravenwing, while specializing in frontal assaults and reconnaissance on the battlefield, were also experts in infiltration operations.
"So they really are the ones from ten thousand years ago?" a comrade asked in confusion. "I thought it was just us."
"The database contains the general history of the various Legions over the past ten thousand years. I suggest that while you are cracking the armor technology, you should devote more energy to your primary duty," Askelon replied. "The cracking of the technology is handled by the members of the Ironwing. The Knight-Lord has admonished us that since we are a pride, we should rely more on our comrades and be more honest with each other."
Arthur had not changed the internal structure of the Fallen Angels. He had just spoken to each of them individually and, in the process, had assigned their duties. Each of the Fallen Angels was individually responsible to Arthur, but he had also repeatedly emphasized during their conversations that they should communicate more with their comrades.
Whether these independent and confident warriors were willing to listen or not, Arthur felt he still had to say it. Only by saying it could he make his attitude clear.
"I am an apprentice of the Ironwing Inner Circle. That is also my primary duty," the Fallen Angel replied, putting his learning to good use and explaining honestly.
"..."
Askelon replied with silence.
In fact, monitoring Drakus and the others was not Arthur's order. Arthur had simply ordered them to be responsible for the fleet's intelligence work, to ensure the internal security of the fleet, and to report any problems. He would provide feedback immediately. The rest was up to them. Arthur also knew that he didn't have to teach this group by hand. He just had to set the bottom line and let them be.
But the Ravenwing, from the beginning of their work until now, had only arrested some heretic believers on the lower decks, turned some naval officers loyal, and killed some heretek Tech-Priests. They hadn't accomplished anything else.
"There are really a few too many ten-thousand-year-old veterans in this fleet. That Alpharius too," another comrade remarked.
An Alpha Legionnaire had infiltrated the fleet. They had discovered him immediately. It was likely that the special nature of the relic-cruiser, the Silent Vow, had attracted his attention. The other's skill level was not bad. In the accounting of the outer ring's round table council, his answers had been orderly and well-reasoned, and he knew more than most of the Fallen Angels.
But in the inner ring's round table council, he had revealed himself. This guy couldn't find the position that his comrades had prepared for him based on his history. He had only deduced the erroneous guidance they had deliberately created and then found a new, erroneous position. However, because this guy, after multiple verifications, had not fallen to Chaos, and after being thoroughly debriefed by the psychic masters of the Order of the Pentagram, the Dark Angels, under Arthur's orders, had let him go.
Currently, four brothers were playing with him to see if he could be of use in the future.
And these Astartes who should have been dead... Askelon had rarely dealt with other Legions. He, like Astelan, had been dissatisfied with the Lion's positioning of the Legion in his early years and had been thrown to Caliban together. His understanding of these famous figures from the Great Crusade existed only in documents.
After having nothing better to do, they had come to monitor this group. Anyway, Lord Arthur had said that as long as they didn't kill anyone, didn't get caught, and could respond immediately upon receiving an order, they could do whatever they wanted.
"Ramesses mentioned that their resurrection used some kind of Warp-sorcery, and that it had the cooperation of the Emperor. The principle is theoretically sound, but I do not understand how he avoided the prying eyes of the foul things of Chaos," a member of the Order of the Pentagram explained.
Although the Five-fold Host had been disbanded, it did not mean that the Librarian brothers had been eliminated. The Grand Master of the Librarians was still alive. They each still had their own private Orders, and with the Lion's tacit approval, they were conducting research into the Warp. In the past, it was they who had used their psychic powers to help the Lion escape danger in Warp travel. The psyker that the Chaplain had admonished the Lion to execute had included him.
Currently, this Grand Master of the Order of the Pentagram had also undergone Ramesses's "little knowledge of the Warp" training and had a certain understanding of the "Stormcast."
He believed that including Arthur, as well as these old veterans, all had greater secrets. Zabriel and Gareth, the two representatives on the surface, their emotions had not been quite right after participating in several meetings. These guys had attended an internal meeting behind their comrades' backs, but were unwilling to tell them the content of the conversation.
No one would doubt the loyalty of these old veterans, but whether these ten-thousand-year-old veterans were keeping secrets was a matter for discussion.
You couldn't just forcibly probe their memories, could you?
—It wasn't that they couldn't. The main thing was that Lord Arthur had forbidden it.
It wasn't that he hadn't tried with the members of his Order. But aside from the time with Alpharius, all the other attempts had ended with them being arrested by Arthur.
Arthur's bottom line was no loss of life and no interference with the mission's progress. Beyond that, he welcomed the provocations of the Lion's pride. And in this process of "them grabbing the water cup, and Arthur being responsible for arresting them before they grabbed it, and giving them a good beating," the understanding between the two sides was also increasing at an absurd rate.
In just a few days, the Lion's pride's approval of this Knight-Lord had also increased significantly.
Powerful. He could immediately arrest them in the face of the Fallen Angels' provocative behavior.
Orderly. He could sort out the entire structure in an orderly manner. If there were any difficulties within an Order, they could immediately seek Arthur's help.
He kept his promises. Their claws had been stretching back and forth, but no one had died. They were dealt with according to the regulations of their respective Inner Circles. The most serious was Cypher's challenge, which had delayed Lord Arthur's teaching, and he had been beaten black and blue and hung at the entrance to the Inner Circle council chamber for a night, earning the collective ridicule of the Order of the Broken Crown.
"Don't go too far. Although Romulus has usurped the power of the Knight-Lord, we are still under the same framework. Disrupting unity is not advisable," Askelon reminded him.
Lord Arthur had already made it clear that absolutely no bloody conflict could occur internally. The tasks of the four of them were all reasonably distributed according to their respective abilities. There should be no speculation on any level. They had to obey, because for now, these words were genuine.
"I know. Otherwise, I wouldn't be standing here," the master of the Order of the Pentagram replied. He also felt that the Knight-Lord was more suitable for leading the crusade fleet, but he hadn't gone so far as to attack an ally over this power distribution.
Lord Arthur had already proven with his actions that his words and deeds could be trusted.
Although the Fallen Angels themselves would not abide by the rules and keep to the bottom line in extraordinary times... having such a boss made everyone feel relaxed.
(End of Chapter)