Chapter 218: Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [218]

Words : 1305 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

The Emperor had told them long ago: bring anything beneficial to humanity into your own camp—make them your people. One person alone cannot accomplish anything! All of humanity must unite as one. "So, you two... can you also extract gene-seed and create Space Marines of your own?" This was Robert Guilliman's biggest concern. If not, he'd have to find a way to help this sworn brother, given the status of being a Primarch. A major part of your identity as a Primarch is your own Space Marine Legion. Without one, it's hard to even announce your identity as a Primarch. "You don't have to worry about that. Both my gene-seed and my wife Elena's can be used to create gene-seeds, and we've already established our own Space Marine Legion," Rhodes said. Guilliman nodded at this. With that concern gone, these two were now his new brother and sister—genuine Primarchs of the Emperor. "What do you think of this new era?" Rhodes asked. Rhodes wanted to gauge Guilliman's views on the current Imperium—did he support his legion plan? "To be honest, it's terrible. This is not at all the ideal state my father, the Emperor, and the other brothers wanted to build. My father, the Emperor, is worshipped as a god, which is what he hated most. Lorgar once worshipped him as a god and even built a religion for him. Back then, Father was furious and destroyed his perfect city. Who would have thought that Lorgar's writings would now become the official religion of the Imperium?" Guilliman sighed. The Imperium was in utter shambles. He never imagined all the loyal brothers would be gone, nor that the Imperium would have no Primarchs left. Even his new brother hadn't made his identity public. It seemed the Imperium had fallen badly, and after his father sat on the Golden Throne, he'd completely lost control. This was a strange Imperium to him, but not enough to make him despair—there were still two Primarchs left. With himself, three Primarchs could save the Imperium. "Religious worship has helped the Emperor. You'll understand once you return to Holy Terra. Honestly, if not for the rise of the state religion and ten thousand years of worship, humanity might not have lasted this long," Rhodes said. In the 31st millennium, there was no need for a state religion—the Emperor would have destroyed it first. But now, the state religion's existence allows the people of the Imperium to worship the Emperor, making him stronger, even matching the four Chaos Gods to some extent. "I'm sorry my writings disgusted you. I hate them myself," Guilliman told Rhodes. The new brothers all seemed to dislike the Codex Astartes—but when he wrote it, he never thought it'd be used for ten thousand years! It was meant to limit military power, to restrict the Imperium's armies as much as possible, suitable for the 31st millennium. But not for the 42nd millennium. Even with just a simple understanding, Guilliman could see how dire things were for the Imperium now. "Glad you understand, so get rid of that thing! The Imperium is on the brink—we need to reform quickly, or it won't last much longer," Rhodes said. "Abolishing the Codex will be very difficult. Many in the Imperium will oppose it. We must restore the legions," Guilliman replied. He hated the Codex too, but while small changes were fine, outright abolition didn't seem right! Especially bringing back the legions—he needed to think carefully, as there would be major resistance. "The opposition is just from the Imperial elites. We don't have time for political games with the High Lords or the Senate. Use force—quick and decisive action is best," Rhodes said. "To do this, we need absolute military strength! It's no small task—it'll take decades, maybe centuries, unless..." Guilliman glanced at Belisarius Cawl. Ten thousand years ago, before dueling Fulgrim, he'd given the Mechanicus Archmagos two tasks: resurrect him and create a new generation of Space Marines. This was the Emperor's will—his power had foreseen that Cawl would create a new breed of Astartes. He'd even given Cawl the Primarch gene bank for this. "You're thinking about the new generation of Astartes, right?" Rhodes followed Guilliman's gaze and immediately understood. "Yes. Ten thousand years ago, I gave him two tasks: bring me back and build a new Astartes legion," Guilliman nodded, not hiding anything from Rhodes. "Cawl did very well. The new Astartes are incredibly strong, far beyond your expectations—their strength rivals the Custodes," Rhodes said. "Beyond my expectations? Brother, why do you say that? It's not beyond my expectations! Ten thousand years to elevate Space Marines to Custodes level is only natural. That's what I asked Cawl to do—make the Space Marines strong enough," Guilliman said, puzzled. Why did his new brother think this would surprise him? After ten thousand years, shouldn't Astartes be as strong as Custodes? Even the Custodes' enhancements should have improved! "Heh! You still don't know enough about this Imperium," Rhodes smiled. To Guilliman, even if the Imperium was a mess, some progress should have been made in ten thousand years! His father, with just the resources of a solar system, built the Custodes and a million Space Marines in a few centuries. He swept across the galaxy—the Custodes were expensive, but with galactic resources, there should be tens of millions by now! Surely the Imperium's tech hasn't stagnated for ten thousand years? Guilliman immediately sensed something was wrong, and from Rhodes's expression, he understood. Alright—it seemed the Imperium hadn't advanced at all. Without these new Astartes and his brother's help, Rhodes wouldn't be talking to him like this. "The Imperium is even worse than you think. Tech has regressed. The Custodes, after ten thousand years, are barely back to their former strength. As for the Astartes, there are only a million left in the galaxy—far fewer than during the Great Crusade. It's absurd!" Rhodes revealed the worst to Guilliman. In the canon timeline, when Guilliman learned the full situation, he wanted to die out of despair. He even regretted that it wasn't him who died back then, but Sanguinius. "It truly is terrible! But at least I have you and our new sister—otherwise, I'd despair alone," Guilliman said, patting Rhodes' shoulder. The good news was, he wasn't alone. If he were, he'd consider suicide. "I've prepared a special gift for you: I have 560,000 new generation Astartes—each one as powerful as a Custodes. For you, I've prepared 200,000 troops," Rhodes said. "That's great news! What about the gene-sons of the other brothers? How many did you make?" Guilliman was satisfied, nodding at Rhodes. This new brother had done a lot! If he had 200,000 troops, then the other brothers' legions must have at least 100,000 each! A bit few, but more would be even better. "You're overestimating—this much took Cawl thousands of years to build up. But as long as you're awake, we can ramp up production. The new Astartes transformation is perfect—if we have enough gene-seed, we can make more. The other loyalist chapters are extremely conservative. I think the Imperial Fists will accept the new Astartes, as will the White Scars, and with you, the Ultramarines. Salamanders are fine, Iron Hands and Raven Guard may partially resist. The hardest will be the Space Wolves, Blood Angels, and Dark Angels," Rhodes said. "You're right, those three are the most difficult. But since you bring it up, you must have a solution?" Guilliman asked. Can you give me another surprise, new brother?

Chapter 218: Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [218]

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