Chapter 229 The Audience Ceremony and the Beginning of Governance

A low-key but not simple audience ceremony was held in the atrium auditorium of the Soul Redeemer.

Every Orpheus noble who was fortunate enough to participate will never forget the scene they saw at that time.

Under the bridge of the Soul Redeemer, the location originally used as the forbidden knowledge library was transformed into a huge palace and auditorium.

Passing through two huge porches over 100 meters high carved with the imperial double-headed eagle emblem, a decagonal hall consisting of nine high walls and ten columns appeared in front of everyone.

The nine high walls were all made of platinum metal, nearly 100 meters wide and nearly 300 meters high;

Eight of the high walls were carved with stories of Calvin and the past Grey Knights Grand Masters killing demons.

The high wall on the front porch was carved with a golden imperial double-headed eagle flying with its wings spread, and the two sharp claws of the double-headed eagle firmly grasped a rising silver sun.

That meant that Calvin's rights were granted by the Emperor.

In the middle of the silver sun is a sword inserted in the middle of the holy book.

This was the former mark of the Grey Knights, and with the newly added silver sun on the periphery, it is exactly the logo of the Grey Knights today.

On both sides of it, there are two slightly smaller emblems:

The famous Roman numeral "Ⅰ" with a skull of the Inquisition, composed of blood red and imperial gold as the main color, not forgetting to declare the purity of human beings while showing authority;

The unknown lion and thorn gear on the other side only have the low-key and simple brass, which is the exclusive emblem of the more confidential Omen Order.

Trinity, the imperial (divine) right of kings, the content of the heraldry array is complicated and precise.

It not only clearly expresses the sacredness of the source of Calvin's power, but also clearly shows the composition of the power in his hands.

And this complexity itself is another symbol of power.

If there were scholars who were proficient in Imperial heraldry and theology, he would not need to identify the specific meanings of those emblems one by one. He could clearly know from its specifications:

This complex specification and level has exceeded the specifications that the Imperial High Lord, who is at the top of the mortal world, should have;

Insignias of this level, apart from the Emperor himself, only the leaders of the legions who expanded the territory for the Empire during the Great Crusade era and had the power to kill and take the lives of thousands of people in the Imperial world, had.

And these leaders have another familiar name in the Empire - the Primarch.

This is not all of this emblem. Countless war halberds and broken swords replaced the position of the state religion angel in this level of emblem. (Or, this position should not have belonged to the state religion?)

They use two huge wings made of steel and sharp blades, which spread outward and extend downward around the legion emblem, and reach towards the throne below in a lifting posture.

The sacred runes engraved on each of these weapons represent the existence of the Grey Knights who have sacrificed in silence in the past nearly ten thousand years.

The end of the wings extending downwards was the huge metal throne standing on the nine-step platform.

A giant was sitting on this throne made of pure gold with countless thick cables extending from the base to the back. (In fact, it was the launch hall of the Psychic Titan. The throne they saw was the driver's seat of the modified Psychic Titan.)

A scepter-like giant hammer made of psychic crystal was flashing with dazzling spiritual light, and its owner casually placed it beside the throne.

His sacred face was blocked by the psychic light mist, and only the laurel wreath carved from azure psychic crystal could be seen on his short silver hair. His face was not clear, but it showed different faces in everyone's eyes.

The platinum-colored giants stood on both sides of the throne, standing beside the throne with the mechanical priests from the Omen Order.

The halberd with an ice-blue blade was tightly grasped in his hand, and the book and sword emblem on the armor was from the same school as the relief on the high wall;

The power axe and power scepter engraved with the lion gear emblem of the Order of Ominous Omen also echoed the lion emblem on the wall, guarding their monarch together with their allies.

Further down were more giants, forming a crowd of people watching the ceremony on both wings:

Hundreds of veterans from the four Astartes regiments wore Terminator power armor and stood silently behind their battle flags, adding color to the two wings of the throne again;

Far away, the judges of the Imperial Inquisition wore red robes of different shades of their respective orders, and quietly stood in a distance with the generals of the Tindalos Legion in black and gold uniforms on the other side.

What a sacred scene it was!

What a cruel beginning it was!

Juan and the few nobles who were lucky enough to see the audience looked at this mythical scene, and their hands and feet were sore from the shock.

Every part of this palace is so sacred and cold, and every detail is more exquisite and full of meaning than the native nobles can imagine;

And the nobles with a little knowledge can clearly understand that in such a huge and sacred space, there is not an inch of space reserved for weak mortals like them!

But in a sense, this is the cruelest truth of the universe to mankind:

The enemies faced by the Emperor and his empire are so powerful and extraordinary.

Countless aliens and demons constitute the pus and sores on the rotten body of the empire;

Countless conspiracies and the malicious gazes of the gods make the empire, the master of the galaxy, always on the verge of collapse and difficult to walk.

The enemies of the Empire are so powerful that the Emperor tried his best to forge a sharp blade for mankind.

These tempered weapons and souls, even after thousands of hardships, are just for a chance to stand in front of the enemies of the Empire and fight fairly.

Mortal soldiers, Astartes, Guards of the Imperial Guard, Primarchs;

The Astra Militarum, the Imperial Navy, the Inquisition, the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Convent of Doom;

All of these represent the revenge and roar of the Empire against the enemy over the past ten thousand years.

And in these sequences representing human armed forces, except for the Astra Militarum represented by the Tindalos Legion, there has never been a position that truly belongs to civilians.

"Why are you here?"

The solemn voice descended from a high place, making these mortals who have been entangled in interests all their lives terrified and at a loss.

Yes, why are they here?

For the cause of the Empire?

Or for the fate of the citizens of the Empire in their star zone?

Or for hatred of heretics and aliens?

Do they dare to say so?

In front of such an existence that can penetrate their filthy bodies and look directly into their rotten souls, do they dare?

Then, what can they say?

Say that they come for power?

Say that they have been captured by power, and now they are only attracted by the aura of power like the instinct of lower animals for food?

Do they dare?

The nobles stammered their fat lips and wanted to say something, but the last instinct left by reason tightly strangled their vocal cords, trying to prevent their self-destruction.

Under the gaze of many sacred beings, they fell into a strange but understandable silence.

The suffocating silence continued, and the sacred in the high place lost patience to wait.

Juan knelt on one knee beside these nobles, and with his head lowered, he was nervous and could not care about sympathy or ridicule for these pitiful people.

Before he could get over the shock of the scene he had seen, he heard another question from above:

"What about you? Admiral Juan, the eagle rider in the sky of the empire. What are you doing here?"

"I..." Juan raised his head, his eyes extended to the dazzling existence, and then he lowered his head nervously.

Thinking of his previous situation, and seeing the epic scene in the auditorium now.

This middle-aged man, who was a high-ranking general of the empire and had barely entered the real ruling class, dared not hesitate any more, and simply told everything about himself to the person in front of him:

"I... came here to fulfill the responsibility given to me by the empire! I came here to better fulfill my mission and deliver this precious power to a more meaningful place!"

"You are wrong."

The man standing high above the clouds denied his words, and his heart suddenly fell into the abyss.

But the next second, his heart was lifted up again with the words of that person:

"The mission given to you by the Empire can only be undertaken by you! The fate given to you by the Emperor is decided by you! I already know your loyalty, so leave!"

Juan, who was pardoned, felt light all over and sore all over;

Among the Grey Knights who had been standing on both sides, two of them stepped forward and pulled him up and put him on the right side of the crowd, just below the Tindalos Legion.

And those nobles, like dead people, were pulled away by other Grey Knights with their bodies stiff. They were completely immersed in fear and even failed to make a single excuse for themselves at the subsequent execution ground...

This small-scale but far-reaching audience continued, and many members of the local Inquisition then walked into the auditorium;

Waiting behind them were the officers of the Astra Militarum distributed in various star regions.

The final outcome of the audience ceremony is unknown, but judging from the information that was declassified in later generations, the political ecology and norms of the entire Orpheus for thousands of years were rewritten at this moment.

It was at this audience that Calvin issued a clear order to the local forces squatting in the wilderness of Orpheus:

The entire star region will be forgiven and purified for a hundred years.

The rain of judgment from the starry sky fell on the sky of Amara.

Teams composed of Grey Knights, members of the Inquisition, and the Tindalos Legion appeared almost simultaneously in various functional units of the Empire here.

They pulled away the bureaucrats who had long been marked as termites and traitors from their posts.

In the nearest place where the sun could shine, the verdict signed by Calvin was simply read out, and the subsequent execution was also carried out on the spot.

The few who were shot and the majority who were directly burned by the promethium flamethrower greatly shocked the onlookers.

Like the people of Layak who gradually recovered in the following hundreds of years, they were all deeply impressed by Calvin and his messenger who brought the death notice.

And this large-scale internal purge, as people passed it on by word of mouth, eventually became the most important classic scene written in the history of Orpheus, known as the Rain of Ashes.

After the audience ceremony, Admiral Juan returned to the front line of the Hassan sector with peace of mind;

And with him, the various Astartes squads and the law enforcement teams of the Tindalos Legion led by officials of all levels of the three major orders of the Inquisition headed for hundreds of planetary worlds throughout the sector.

Large-scale purges were carried out throughout the sector under Calvin's orders. Hidden dangers that had been hindered by various reasons before were successfully carried out under the leadershipless situation of local forces in the sector.

The cults and other rebels hidden in various parts of the sector were rooted out one by one by the three major orders of the Inquisition.

The thousands of Astartes warriors who shuttled through the sector not only aroused countless horrors, but also brought precious stability to the entire sector with their power that surpassed mortals.

Calvin was on his way to the surface of Amara at this time.

The call from Grand Master Aidan made him put down the battle reports from various parts of the sector and the heavy command tasks in his hands.

In Aidan's letter, there were some strange things about the governor of the sector, Harold Ondan, which attracted his great attention.

In the palace on the top floor of the hive, the Grey Knights, who drove out all the mortals, led Calvin to the governor's bedroom.

He was the last trump card of the Inquisition.

Governor Harold, who had completely lost his mind, was imprisoned there, and more than a month had passed without him noticing.

During this period, the Inquisition and the Order of the Holy Hammer examined him many times, but still could not find the reason for his murder.

Passing through the heavy palace restrictions and gates, Calvin finally met this mortal who had met Calvin once when he was the chief of the Star District Council.

Now he is unrecognizable, his withered body and twisted face show his fear, and the words he whispered in his mouth are unclear, but this is most likely the only clue.

"What is he saying?"

Calvin carefully examined the other person's figure, and then disappointedly failed to find any trace of psychic energy on him.

"He said... he doesn't eat this?"

Dulles, a high-level judge of the Alien Inquisition, said hesitantly.

This sentence has been analyzed by them for a long time, and the chefs of the Governor's Mansion who followed this clue did not escape, and all were taken to the prison of the Inquisition.

"Hmm..." Calvin shook his head in disappointment at Aidan, indicating that he had given up, and then planned to return to the track to continue to deal with the complicated official business in his hands.

But he didn't walk far away. He suddenly stopped and turned around and walked towards Harold's bed again.

This time, he didn't get entangled in Harold's illogical words, but focused on looking for some traces on his body.

Finally, after several rounds of inspection, Calvin's eyes were firmly locked on Harold's pale hands.

On the hands that were tightly fixed with silk to prevent him from hurting himself, there was a faint silver-green light flashing in the nails of the skinny bird-claw-like fingers.

If Calvin hadn't seen this kind of thing himself, he really couldn't confirm his inference.

His abnormal return naturally attracted the attention of everyone present. Facing Aidan's inquiring eyes, Calvin fell into memories of the past.

After a while, Calvin, who had confirmed something from his memories, dipped his finger in the drinking water on the table in the bedroom, and then drew a strange symbol on the stone table according to his memory.

"That's it!"

Calvin looked at the strange text and said to the people around him;

The memory of this text came from the engraving on the building he encountered in the Gemini star.

The obscure energy fluctuations on Harold's body and the strangeness in his bones after being affected by this energy just matched Calvin's taste of the energy running in the unknown civilization ruins!

"Check!" Aidan gave a simple order.

The court personnel around him signaled to each other, and then took turns to write down the text with their own equipment, and then turned and walked towards the residence of the three major orders.

"You think his situation is not caused by psychic power, right?"

In the room with only three people left, Aidan looked at Harold who was still in madness and asked Calvin.

"Yes, it is basically certain that it is the energy fluctuation unique to this civilization!"

"Misfortunes never come alone..."

Aidan's brows were deeply furrowed, and the lines on his cheeks silently told of his old age.

And Calvin was also thinking silently:

This incident is by no means accidental, but if it is really as the two of them thought, the scope of this strange incident will far exceed everyone's initial expectations!

That means that Orpheus, a war-torn star region, will face the threat of a new and unknown alien civilization again soon after getting rid of the two-way battle with orcs and chaos, and there is no time to breathe!

"Has Nicholas replied?"

Aidan thought of something and asked Calvin.

The imperial guard and his colleagues stayed near the wreckage left by the twin stars for several years after Calvin's initial disappearance.

But their mission was equally heavy. Under the repeated orders of the Throne Court, these indignant guards finally left Orpheus with full of regrets and went to other battlefields where they were needed under the dispatch of the Throne Court.

It has been more than a month since Calvin officially appeared in Orpheus after his return, and it has been nearly a day and a night since he sent a communication to the Throne Court through the internal channels of the Inquisition.

Calvin also understood Aidan's thoughts. After all, the alliance of the war group is an existence that is out of the sight of the empire, and the pressure on the four war group leaders also makes it difficult for them to stay here for a long time.

The authority of the High Lord is not without limits. At least now that he is the representative of the three major orders, he has to consider the smooth operation of other orders in the empire.

Other High Lords must be given basic respect, which is the basic condition for the parliament to operate.

And the most important thing about this respect in reality is that he must curb the endless expansion of his military power.

Otherwise, it is not enough to reassure the allies; otherwise, it is not enough to maintain basic strategic mutual trust.

Calvin knew clearly that as long as he had not returned to Terra, he would still lack a righteous status without meeting the Emperor.

And without the power brought by this status, he would have no reason to retain the soldiers of these regiments openly.

At this time, Orpheus was like a microcosm of this empire in the eyes of the two. The precarious star zone had just walked out of the shadow of the war failure, and fell into a new crisis in an instant.

"It's difficult..." The two looked at each other and sighed at the same time.

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