After the enthusiasm for eating melon raw frame subsided, Hades suddenly realized a terrible truth -

Motarian has changed.

It's a ...... Indescribable change? Hades didn't know if it was Mortarian who he was, or if he had sublimated himself in the fight with Conrad Coz.

It's not just the madness and rather terrifying battlefield sensitivity that Mortarian showed when he fought Konrad Coz......

…… Was this what Motarian looked like before? Wait a minute...... It seems that at the Battle of Galaspa, Motarian did show this tendency.

But not quite the same?

Most notably, when Hades finally came out of the medical room and returned to the office, he found that the number of documents he needed to approve was greatly reduced.

Hades even took a second to conspire theories about whether he was going to be hollowed out because he didn't have any new papers on his desk, and even the old ones were gone.

Later, he found out that no, and that the Legion business to be dealt with had been moved by Vaux and Garo to the Legion Commander's desk, while Motarian approved the documents with a calm face (more like he was dead).

Seeing Hades coming, he just glanced up faintly, and then continued to write documents with a dead face.

Hades looked up and saw two newly hung picture frames in the original office, a blue-and-white envelope and a gold-white envelope quietly displayed in them, out of step with the bleak style of the room.

Until then, Mortarian's room would only be covered with the Death Guard's flag, and nothing else.

Hades opened his mouth, and Motarian finally went crazy? He walked over and studied the two letters—he seemed to know where the limited letter in his treasure chest had gone.

“…… Motarian, what is this? ”

Motarian didn't even lift his head,

【Decoration.】 】

Haha, that's what Hades doesn't believe anyway.

Hades turned his head to glance at Mortarian, who was still wrestling with the immersive file, and then he quietly reached for the frame—

"Smack!"

In an instant, a fountain pen was firmly rooted in the wall, and the excessive speed even made the pen tremble slightly, and the sharp tip of the pen was a few millimeters away from Hades's hand.

Hades gasped, and he slowly turned his head to see Motarian casually pull another pen from the pen holder and continue to write his plan with his head down.

You don't have to look at this, Hades. 】

Hades silently retracted his hand,

"Ah...... Haha, ha... Ha ......"

Hades swallowed,

"Motarian...... If you have something in mind, say it in time, detect it early and treat it early. ”

Motarian looked up from the pile of papers and looked calmly and resentfully at Hades, who suspected that the pile of papers was about to succeed in killing Motarian.

[If you're really fine, then I don't mind putting you in charge of more content.] 】

Motarian said calmly,

"Ah, I remembered that the foundry hall had something to do with me recently, and the purchase price of the No. 3 screw was half price-"

"Ahem, no, Motarian, what's going on over there with the Moon Wolf? And the Midnight Lord and the Empire, I haven't heard from that at all. ”

[Everything is smooth. 】

Motarian said silently, and then he watched Hades stride away from the damn frame, across from his desk.

Hades looked at Motarian with a serious and calm face,

"Tell me the details, Mortarian, and the matter of Garo and Vaux, it's not over for me, the surveillance footage of that area, as well as the video recording of Vaux's helmet, have been artificially deleted."

Under Motarian's mask, with a soft sigh, he looked up and looked at Hades calmly.

[Do you know what Garo said to me at that time? 】

Hades was stunned,

"What?"

[He wants me to be a qualified corps commander.] 】

Motarian said helplessly,

Motarian watched expressionlessly as the expression on Hades' face changed from stunned to uncontrollable, and then Hades really didn't hold back, he began to laugh, and even because he laughed too loudly, he tore the wound and had to crouch down and continue laughing.

Finally, Hades, who was trying to hold back his laughter, stood up,

"I understand Garo, let me guess, did you want to take the risk and Garo wanted to keep you? He's trying to provoke you? ”

[He almost made it.] 】

Motarian said matter-of-factly.

Hades had a serious expression,

"You really need to put some thought into it both internally and diplomatically, and there's a lot of pressure on Garo and Vaux, and there's a lot of work on the other management."

Actually, it's you who has the most workload, Hades.

Motarian thought silently, but he didn't say anything.

Hades' enthusiasm has always been the highest one, and he originally thought that Hades liked to manage the affairs of the Legion, but in fact, Hades did show it like this.

Motarian was never a power-hungry tyrant, and he believed in Hades, so he naturally gave it all to him.

But now he realizes the pressure behind the workload and what he really thinks when he is faced with these boring paperwork.

In a way, Garo is right.

Motarian silently looked away, his gaze lingering on the blue-and-white envelope for a moment, then he pulled a few papers from the papers, handed them to Hades, and digressed the subject,

[Because I had a private conversation with Coetzes again, at least I settled my personal grudges.] 】

Mortarian said with a bit of sarcasm,

[The moon wolf looks relieved, and I never expected Horus to have that kind of expression-]

[To tell you the truth, if I hadn't communicated with him remotely in the channel and told him the result, the wolf herding god would have ...... immediately. Give me a hug that disaligns my skeleton. 】

[He has since contacted the Midnight Lords, and I think the Midnight Lords have given him a pretty similar answer, so he's busy talking to the human civilization and preparing to meet the people on Terra's side—the answer is always coming.] 】

Hades skimmed through the documents quickly......

"Wait, peace?"

[Yes, peace, when we confronted the Midnight Lord, Horus was obviously not concerned with only one thing, he was keen to clean up as much trouble as possible, because he realized the fact that it was impossible for the Death Guard to cooperate with the Midnight Lord, so he contacted the human civilization without permission......]

Motarian said with some irritation,

[Horus chose to give the kingdom some preferential terms to surrender on their own initiative - this was more than once or twice, and the Shadowmoon Wolves often did this thing. 】

Motarian pulled out another wad of papers, which Hades recognized as the papers Motarian had been reading in the hospital room.

[No tithes are levied in the first tax season, and then 10% tithes are levied in the second tax season, and the tax is increased by 20% in each subsequent quarter until the tax is fully collected.] 】

Hades looked carefully at the terms of the document, and in addition to that, the document also marked the benefits given by the Imperial side-

At the same time, it will open up the empire's borders to trade with this civilization and gain the right to connect with the world......

Hades spoke softly,

He portrayed it as a ...... It's more like a cooperative, and the tax is like paying a due, while giving a great deal of autonomy. ”

…… Horus gave some kind of ...... to his language Modest packaging.

In fact, except for those civilizations that are particularly inconsistent with the truth of the empire, the autonomy given by the empire itself is extremely great - because the empire cannot control it at all, but generally in the signed documents, the various powers are actually set very rigidly, and at first glance the planet does not have much autonomy at all.

It stands to reason that this should be the case, but it is a pity that the empire has not established any effective institutions other than the tax department.

Motarian nodded,

[Horus's document to the Death Guard is also asking if we agree to this approach—because such a recovery cannot be called "glorious and glorious" without immediate tax collection.] 】

"The Death Guard doesn't care about that."

Hades whispered,

[Yes,] Mortarian laughed, "We don't care. 】

He said

[It's up to the wolf shepherd god to convince the other side completely, as far as I know, they are still negotiating, and Horus has even revealed the location of the three legions - to make the other side realize that they have no chance of winning.] 】

"It's a bit of a risk."

Hades commented,

Motarian spoke unconcernedly,

[The closest to this civilization is the Midnight Lord's legion, the Eighth Legion is also the farthest from Mandeville, followed by the Shadow Moon Wolves, and finally the Death Guard, and I even expect this civilization to have the necessary spirit of resistance. 】

…… For a moment, Hades thought in his heart, it's not impossible.

It's just a decoy for a legion...... If it were a different legion, Hades might also advocate keeping the casualty rate as low as possible, but the Midnight Lord? Forget it.

In the middle and late stages of the Great Expedition, the Midnight Lord's army is full of criminals and scum, and Sevita is a rare mutant bat.

What's more, Conrad Cotz is still a madman.

And...... If this is the case, Horus's rash action this time will become ...... It's worth playing.

While Motarian has already sanctioned Konrad Cozy on a personal level, Hades still needs to make sure ...... After this, and beyond, the Midnight Lord will not pose a substantial threat to the Death Guards......

"What did the people on the other side of the empire say?"

[No civil war, no propaganda, erase all records.] 】

Motarian's tone cooled,

[I should have realized this, Conrad Coz, my "brother", who has long been guilty of crimes, Horus said, according to "rumors", he had been at odds with Magnus, Killiman, Dorne, and Fogen long before us. 】

[Of course, I still sincerely hope that in the conflict between him and Magnus, the two of them will disappear together.] 】

Mortarian-style dry humor, Hades smiled,

"That's all the Empire said?"

[Also,]

Motarian said, staring at Hades,

[They want you not to move, not to make subspace jumps.] 】

Hades' smile froze, he did sense something was wrong...... But since he couldn't release the Black Domain on a large scale, he wasn't sure what that layer of golden psionic energy had become now.

Motarian said slowly,

[They ......]

They may take you, Lord of the Silent Retreat. 】

Motarian was silent, he stopped talking, and for a moment, Hades even saw unwillingness, remorse, and even cautious temptation in Motarian's eyes.

What do you think, Hades? 】

After a moment of silence, Motarian suddenly spoke,

[I know that the Silent Retreat may be more suitable for your physique than the Death Guard, you see, you chose to stay on the Death Guard in the first place, but...... The Death Guard didn't give you what you wanted, did they? 】

[Power? Corresponding to this is an even more desperate responsibility, and your friendship with Barbaros has faded as the Legion recruits new recruits from other planets......]

[And...... And this time, and the collaboration with the Iron Warriors. 】

Motarian's eyes were dodging, he was staring at the two letters behind Hades?

[Leaving the Death Guard is not a bad thing for your advancement in the Empire, and you will gain more power and glory than if you were in the Legion and have been in the second-in-command position - instead of worrying about the material and political status of the Legion. 】

[So,]

Motarian is still talking,

[If you choose to leave the Death Guard, I understand your actions and have no grievances or objections to it. 】

Motarian's erratic gaze suddenly moved back, and he stared cautiously at Hades,

[Really, Hades. 】

Hades didn't know if he should be shocked that Motarian could say so much in one breath, or if he should be shocked by what Motarian said.

Seem...... Mortarian feels guilty about him?

A thought popped up in Hades' mind, with a slight evil taste.

Motarian looked at Hades, who was happy to let Hades see Coetze's apology - but that still didn't erase the truth, which was what it was, and it saddened Motarian.

He observed Hades...... Hades laughed?

"You want to drive me away, Motarian?"

Motarian had a rumble in his head, he didn't expect Hades' reaction to be this.

It shouldn't be that.

【…… No. 】

"What's not?"

Hades waited for an answer slowly, and by the way he continued to casually flip through the papers on Motarian's desk to continue to understand the current state of the Legion.

[I don't mean that, you are still an irreplaceable and important figure for the Death Guard, you have a very high authority within the legion, whether you are a recruit or a veteran, the Death Guard does not want you to leave, if you leave, it will be a heavy blow to the Death Guard. 】

After dealing with the lethal amount of documents, Motarian also learned to play officially, Hades sighed silently.

"Then why do you want me to leave?"

Hades casually mentioned it and continued to hit real injuries and critical hits,

【…… I don't want you to leave. 】

"That's it."

Hades sorted the documents in his hand again,

"It still depends on what Terra has to do...... My physique is indeed a bit distressing to me, but at least I don't want to leave the Death Guard, otherwise all my years of work will be in vain. ”

"All my years of hard work have been wasted?"

Motarian immediately straightened up,

[No matter what, you will always be the one who has the supreme command of the Death Guard......]

Then Motarian choked up, as if with the consciousness of seeing death as home,

【…… Even suppose the Empire sends you to the Ultramarines. 】

……？

Yes?

"Why should I go to the Ultramarines?"

Before Hades could finish speaking, he suddenly realized something, and he jerked back and saw the blue envelope—

He immediately pulled his leg and reached for the letter.

Realizing what Hades was going to do, Motarian also got up in horror, and the Lord of Death burst out with ten or even nine points, with an astonishing speed, and rushed to grab the letter that was already in Hades' hands and was about to be opened—

The eventual winner was Motarian, and Hades went to the infirmary once again.

——————

Small Theatre:

Garo silently looked at the Ultramarines Blue ...... in Motarian's office

There is no help.

For the first time, the veteran had a profound appreciation of this brutal truth.

Sorry for being a little late.

It's 4.3k today!

A new group has been created, and the introduction can be seen, the previous group had too many people.

None.

(End of chapter)