Chapter 246: Romulus: So We're Not Pretending Anymore? What Are You, a Gacha Master?
Most of the time, Romulus was very successful at managing his emotions. After all, he always approached any event with a rational analysis, calmly considering a solution after integrating all the various factors. When a problem gradually had a systematic solution, all that was needed was to push it forward slowly. So Romulus was never one to be shaken by the turn of events.
But now, Romulus's expression was frozen. The light in his eyes was so dazed that Arthur could almost see the vast celestial bodies of the galaxy and complex mathematical formulas behind him.
CPU has burned out.
He raised a hand. The gauntlet, black with a crimson trim, unfolded naturally. This gesture was an unmistakable signal for the surrounding Dark Angels to leave.
"Go," the Grand Master of the Order of the Crown—Cypher—said, his expression stern, immediately giving the order to his subordinates.
Ever since the nine Heavenly Hosts had been disbanded and integrated into the six Wings, the veterans had, with a tacit understanding, formed their own Orders. The Order of the Broken Crown, the Order of the Severed Wing, the Order of the Shattered Radiance... each one, through its imagery and emotional resonance, conveyed a longing and remembrance for the past. And, with their declining status, a resentment for the Lion...
But now was different. Everyone was fighting to return to the position that should have been theirs. Even the Prince himself was on the front line, advancing with them. To call themselves by these names was terribly unlucky. It was as if everyone was charging forward, and you were in the back, singing a dirge. Broken what? We are whole. The only thing that's going to be broken are those Fallen Angels.
So Cypher, with a flash of inspiration, had submitted an application to Arthur. But don't think that the old Orders were gone. There were still those who, nostalgic for their past, were running their own secret societies. After all, there was still the Order of the Broken Claw, which recorded all information about the Rangdan Xenocides to prevent their return. It could be said that Cypher's little idea had doubled the already complex structure of the Dark Angels. The amount of administrative work required was unimaginable.
But these Dark Angels now no longer had to face the internal pressure of imminent death. This was their only hobby. It was fine to play along with them.
"..."
Azrael, who had just joined the "Broken Wing Brothers" not long ago and had been sent by the Dark Angels' Inner Circle as a mole, looked hesitant. On one hand, he believed he should obey the Prince's order. On the other hand, he couldn't suppress his curiosity. After all, the oath of joining the Order was that they must seek the truth. Even the truth of the Primarch.
If you want to be hanging from the Nova Cannon of the Silent Vow tomorrow, then go ahead.
Cypher and Gareth exchanged a look. "We have the right to question the Prince," Cypher said. "If you have questions, you can ask him afterwards." If he had dared to do this in the past, he would have likely been silenced. But now was very different. With the Prince leading by example, there was really no need for all the cloak-and-dagger secrecy. If you had a problem, you could just go and ask.
"Understood," Azrael replied. He did have many questions. Unfortunately, the Prince had not been with them for long, and it was not yet his turn for a routine one-on-one meeting.
Seeing the little old-brother who had been transferred from the Dark Angels Chapter still hesitating, Cypher couldn't help but say, "What, do you think Romulus can pose a threat to the Prince?"
There were those in the Dark Angels who thought Romulus was ambitious, who thought the Ultramarines were their greatest rivals, and who had even prepared a series of countermeasures. But there was no one who thought Romulus could defeat Arthur in a one-on-one duel.
Seeing Cypher's "I'm going to have to drag you back to memorize the Order's statutes" look, Azrael quickly replied, "Yes, my Lord."
The shadows around them obediently departed with Arthur's gesture. He then stepped forward, waved a hand in front of Romulus's eyes, and said, "What are you thinking about, so engrossed?" His tone, it was clear, was much more relaxed.
You don't have a damn clue what I'm thinking about? Romulus's eyelid twitched. "I was thinking about how you did it," he said, tapping his palm as if the document were in his hand.
"The usual way. Under the pretext of the four Primarchs forming a legion, we recalled the members of the successor chapters, expanded the army, and at the same time, began to expand the Inner Circle," Arthur replied.
In the face of a clear external threat, there was no need for a reason to expand the army, especially for the sons of the Lion. The Dark Angels were masters of factionalism. Especially without a leader who could suppress all the members. Everyone had their own ideas, everyone thought they were right, and they put them into practice. And because no one was there to rein them in, this series of operations would become more and more serious over time, and then become a secret that had to be kept.
The current Dark Angels Chapter, although much smaller in number than before, and with a great deal of its heritage lost—compared to the rings-within-rings of the Great Crusade era, they had now taken this tradition to a new level, fully proving that they were the true sons of the Lion.
"Before Chapter Master Naberius had even officially given the order, the Dark Angels' Inner Circle had, because of our existence, split into three public factions: contact, ignore, and assassinate. And they began to act, using the successor chapters or special units they controlled. At the same time, they all began to expand, relying on the resources they controlled."
As for the opinion of the current Chapter Master, Naberius? It was completely unimportant. He was just the Chapter Master. Could he command the others in the Inner Circle? What did he know about the Inner Circle? They called him Supreme Grand Master out of respect, and would respond to his call to assemble. The rest, he should stay out of.
The Firewing members who had infiltrated the Consecrators were at first a little dumbfounded. They hadn't expected the internal affairs of these Chapters to be just like the Hydra, with everyone wanting to be the head. If not for the so-called "united front against the Fallen," they would have likely fallen into chaos long ago.
"At the same time, the organization is also developing. Using the Consecrators as a baseline, we have begun to gradually enter the Inner Circle, interfere in their selection process, and have begun to develop the 'Broken Wing Brothers' among the younger generation of Dark Angels. Our main task is to reveal the truth, to select members who can be absorbed, and to gradually purify the Inner Circle's ecosystem. The reckless infighting of the past can absolutely not be allowed to happen again."
Romulus took a deep breath, pretending nothing had happened. "So Azrael is a member of this generation?"
Arthur turned his head and glanced at Azrael, who was huddled in a corner with Cypher and Gareth, sandwiched between them. He looked speechless and shook his head. "Not yet."
Not yet? So that means he's currently undergoing an employee evaluation, right? Romulus suddenly felt a wave of suffocation. "No, how did you get past the Inner Circle's screening?"
Don't think you can just pretend and get past the Dark Angels' Inner Circle. That's a proper mind-reading and brainwashing process. Although it's very absurd from a modern perspective, such an operation is a routine procedure among the Astartes. When Guilliman had welcomed the Lion back in the day, he had had a Librarian named Titus read the Lion's mind. It's a case of the apple not falling far from the tree.
Arthur had gone to great lengths to make the Dark Angels relearn what it meant to have a sense of proportion, what it meant to have morals. The only fortunate thing was that the vast majority of the Dark Angels supported the changes Arthur had brought. After all, the sense of security that came from the decline in internal strife was very real.
"Ramesses can just create a blank soul to store the information and put it on," Arthur explained.
"What about Ezekiel? That precognitive psyker is probably not easy to deal with, right?"
"Simple. We reported Ezekiel," Arthur replied. "His experience on Impech Prime was a huge stain on his record. He thought no one else knew, but the Firewing, who had replaced the Consecrators' Inner Circle, reported his actions truthfully in their internal debriefing. He is no longer the Grand Master of the Librarius."
After all, loyalty that is not absolute is absolute disloyalty. Ezekiel's act of silencing witnesses made it hard not to suspect that he had some connection with the 'Fallen.' He had now been sent to a stasis field by the true fanatic, Asmodai, to be Luther's roommate.
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