"The Imperium's heretic is none other than myself."
Guilliman could imagine the expressions the Grey Knights and the daemonhunters would have if they knew that the Primarch Regent of the Imperium was preparing to cultivate daemon spies.
But Guilliman had no other choice; deeply aware of the threat posed by the Four Gods, he knew very well that he had to use every possible method to ensure his absolute victory.
Against those abominations, using legitimate means was utterly impossible to win.
This is a universe where the lowest common denominator prevails.
Morality and rules are less important than survival.
Humanity knows very little about daemons, while daemons know humanity like the back of their hand.
Furthermore, crucial technologies that maintain the integrity of the Imperium, such as psyker communication and warp travel, all rely on the Warp.
There is a severe information imbalance between humanity and the Chaos Gods; it would be a miracle if the Imperium could win in this situation.
This situation must be improved.
Guilliman needed to ensure that the war between the Human Imperium and the Warp was fought on equal terms.
Daemons can enter reality and pile up mountains of skulls.
So why can't the Imperium enter the Warp and conduct massacres??
Cultivating a few daemon collaborators wasn't an unacceptable thing.
Harboring heretical thoughts that could easily get him burned at the stake by the Ecclesiarchy and the daemonhunters, Guilliman exited the secret chamber and used his code to re-enter the encrypted elevator.
When he stepped out of the elevator, the Honour Guard was still faithfully guarding the entrance.
"My lord."
Phicris saw Guilliman emerge and came over to salute him.
"Sicarius just sent a message; he's looking for you, saying he has the latest intelligence."
"Let him come over, to my reception room," Guilliman said.
"We can deal with the matter he encountered there."
"Understood."
Phicris nodded, then walked towards the other side; he needed to notify Sicarius.
"Let's go."
Guilliman watched Phicris' back disappear down the ship's corridor and walked towards another passage.
The Honour Guard escorted their master away, while a few Terminators remained behind, boltguns in hand, continuing to guard the door, allowing no one to approach the area.
They needed to ensure that no one could intrude upon the secret place belonging only to their liege.
After Guilliman left, the area returned to darkness and silence.
The Terminators responsible for guarding this place were all Ultramarines veterans.
They could better endure solitude and silence.
Unlike new recruits, who needed to find things to talk about.
Like statues, they stood there silently and coldly, faithfully carrying out the task assigned by their master.
Guilliman's reception room was much larger than a standard commander's reception room, and also much simpler, with no other decorations besides projectors and data-slates used for intelligence purposes; it prioritized simplicity and practicality.
Frankly, he didn't like the Imperium's skull culture.
The current Imperial nobles and the Adeptus Mechanicus like to make everything in the shape of human skulls, using them to represent their purity as humans.
Over the long ten millennia, with the development of the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition, the status of mutants has also become increasingly low.
Those mutants can basically only serve in the military, and no world in the Imperium is allowed to be ruled by mutants.
If such a thing happened, that world would be viewed as rebellious by all factions of the Imperium.
When Guilliman returned to the reception room, Sicarius and Phicris also arrived just then.
"My liege."
Sicarius said respectfully.
"What happened?"
Guilliman sat down in the large chair reserved for him, while motioning for Sicarius to find a seat.
Sicarius found another chair and placed the data-slates and books on it to the side.
"News has come from the Missionary World - Espandor. They hope that the Primarch will descend upon that world so that its residents can feel the Emperor's benevolence and glory, or the Primarch can designate a location for them to travel to on pilgrimage," Sicarius said.
"Missionary World??"
Guilliman's fingers tapped rhythmically on the table in front of him, indicating that he was deep in thought.
"Yes, this world underwent some upheaval sixteen hundred years ago, after which the Ecclesiarchy moved in, purged the heretics there, and shaped it into a Missionary World within Ultramar," Sicarius explained the situation on Espandor.
Missionary Worlds are also referred to as Church Worlds, Bishopric Worlds, etc., and they are populated by fervent believers from various planets.
Just like the City of Perfection that Guilliman once burned, they are full of hymns and sculptures praising the Emperor, fanatical religious planets.
Much of the history from ten thousand years ago has been lost; the current Ecclesiarchy should not know about Guilliman's act of burning the City of Faith.
Even if they did know, they would not widely publicize it.
If one were to trace that period of history, they would understand that the Emperor disliked religion.
If the Emperor disliked religion, then what is the meaning of the Ecclesiarchy's existence??
For whatever reason, Espandor should not know about what Guilliman had done, otherwise they would never dare to invite him.
Invite Guilliman to do what??
Aren't they afraid of being burned again??
Guilliman pondered for a moment, then looked up at Sicarius.
"Reply to them that I will arrive at Espandor within a few days."
"Understood, my lord, are there any other instructions??"
Sicarius asked.
"No more, go and reply to them."
Guilliman waved his hand, signaling Sicarius to attend to the task he had assigned.
Sicarius exited the reception room, the sound of his footsteps fading into the distance.
"My lord, why go yourself? You could have simply designated a world for them to come and see you," Phicris asked, puzzled.
Guilliman stood up and walked to the side of the viewport.
At this time, they were still in the Warp, and all viewports were sealed to prevent crew members from succumbing to temptation and being corrupted by the Warp, turning into twisted monsters.
However, a faint light still seeped in through the gaps in the shielding, appearing strange and unusual.
In Guilliman's memory, he knew that Primarchs had experienced direct confrontations with the Warp several times; those bizarre scenes contained an unimaginable amount of information that could burn out a person's mind.
Thanks to his powerful Primarch physique, he was able to survive.
If he were an ordinary person, he would have surely died beyond recovery long ago.
There are countless ways to die while traveling through the Warp, but dying from directly looking into the Warp is undoubtedly one of the most foolish ways to die.
"I need to evaluate Espandor's value, Phicris," Guilliman said.
"The Ecclesiarchy's faith has deeply penetrated people's hearts, and to completely eradicate it is already an impossible task.
Furthermore, in this dark universe, the citizens of the Imperium also need some faith to support them through these difficult years."
"My lord, then do you have a new plan for the Ecclesiarchy??"
Phicris inquired.
"I have an undeveloped idea; the specific details can only be confirmed by going to Espandor.
I will find a way to bring the Ecclesiarchy under my control and minimize its influence on the Imperium," Guilliman said.
"The power of the Imperial Ecclesiarchy is too great; they even have the right to accuse which space marine Chapter or which world is disloyal, thereby declaring the other party rebellious.
This is too dangerous.
Religion makes people blind and lose their reason; the Ecclesiarchy must be controlled."
The foolish things the Ecclesiarchy has done since its birth are almost countless.
While it is true that saints like Celestine appeared and saved the fate of the Human Imperium, they are also greatly responsible for humanity's descent into ignorance.
In the 32nd Millennium, during the War of the Beast, the Ecclesiarchy incited believers to launch a fanatical crusade against the ork War Moons, resulting in heavy casualties.
In the 33rd Millennium, a schism occurred within the Ecclesiarchy; the Temple Faction purged the Light Alliance and took control of all religious activities in the Imperium, leading to the gradual collapse of human reason and entry into an age of ignorance.
In the 34th Millennium, the Ecclesiarchy formed the Frateris Militia and purged the Twin Imperium - New Terra, and the Imperium completely became a religious state.
In the 36th Millennium, the newly appointed Ecclesiarch Vanndaire initiated a reign of blood, during which he executed exterminatus on at least a hundred human worlds for insufficient piety towards the Ecclesiarchy (impious behavior included: insufficient statues of the Emperor, insufficient enthusiasm in welcoming Ecclesiarchy processions, and insufficient religious donations).
He once launched a campaign against the Space Wolves because the Space Wolves held firm to their own beliefs and were unwilling to change to the Ecclesiarchy's faith.
The Imperium entered a period of decline during this time, with millennia of accumulation being depleted in the ravages of religious activities.
In the 37th Millennium, thirty Chapters, over twenty thousand Space Marines, were declared rebellious by an Ecclesiarchy saint and sent on the Abyssal Crusade.
Apart from the remnants of the Spears of the Emperor Chapter which managed to return, all other Chapters were annihilated, with over half of them being completely corrupted.
These events represent some of the more significant actions taken by the Ecclesiarchy in the past; many events are not listed in detail but are also extremely horrific.
The Emperor was right back then; every religious organization is a tumor.
Unfortunately, Guilliman also did not dare to let this tumor rupture directly, as that would kill the entire Imperium.
He has a new plan that will guide this fervent faith onto the track he needs as much as possible.