After confirming the authenticity of Kiliman's return through various channels, Kaul realized that he could no longer stay in the Krenna sector.

"I must go to Otrama at once."

Belisarius Kaul's mind quickly unified, and he used his connections as a great sage to force his way past the large number of ships lined up in the harbor of Pluto, cut through the stargate in advance, and took the sage's mechanical ark to the temporary capital of Otlama: Connor.

As the casting world, Connaught originally housed a large number of mechanic cathars, and after being designated as the temporary capital of Otlama, it was even more heavily guarded, and a large number of naval fleets gathered from all over the Otlama star field were docked in the planet's orbit, obscuring the starry sky in black. A large number of armed forces of the army have gathered here to transform this forged world named after the original father, King Connaught, into an impregnable fortress.

The Dark Angel's flagship, the Indomitable Truth, was docked over the administrative center of Connaught, and Ryan arrived there before Kaul.

While undergoing identity verification and obtaining permission to land on the planet's surface, Kaul noted:

A large number of marching crowds gathered on the surface of Connaught, and the fanatical procession phalanx was clearly visible even in orbit, showing the size of its personnel, as if the population of the entire planet had gathered in one place.

Kaul asked the clerk who was handwriting permission for himself: "The scale of the gathering on the planet seems to be extraordinarily large, what kind of large social events are the people of Connaught going on?" Is it a celebration of the return of the original? ”

"No, Sage." The clerk stamped Kaul's permission to land and said, "The Primordial Confession Ceremony is taking place on the planet, and Lord Kiliman is going to publicly confess his sins in front of the people of Otrama today. ”

Just as Kaul was amazed at this, the clerk continued: "Lord Kiliman is so merciful, we have never felt it a sin when he was seriously wounded and slept in defense of the Empire ten thousand years ago......"

Rather, it's glory.

Kaul didn't quite understand what the clerk was talking about, and he didn't have the energy to inquire deeply, the Great Sage just wanted to get the landing permit documents as soon as possible and go to the ground to find Kiliman to talk to him face to face.

As Kaul descended the rust-red surface of Connaught on the rail elevator, Kiliman's 'confessional ritual' was underway.

Although Connaught is classified as a Foundry World, due to some political reasons during the Horus Rebellion, the Mechchanists did not actually have full control over this important industrial planet, and the large population of the empire on it still firmly supported the Ultramarines and Emperors, most of whom were natural people rather than clones.

As a result, Kaul was able to see a large number of fanatical people surrounding the square where the original ritual was held, and the anthem chanted by the Anglican priests were broadcast to every corner of Otlama through the servo skull.

In the center of the crowd was the grandest Anglican church on Connaught - a structure that would not have existed if it were for other casting worlds that were completely controlled by the Order of the Mechanics.

From afar, Kaul saw a burly blue-armored giant standing in the square in front of the church, his muscular figure projected onto a huge display, and his resolute face was a pair of deep eyes containing complex emotions.

Standing next to Robert Killiman stood two columns of Ultramarines who had survived the Battle of Macurag, their dark blue power armor scarred – striking by the fact that they wore blood-red helmets painted on their heads.

Looking at the ultramarines in blue armor and red helmets, Kaul thought of an ancient past:

During the Great Expedition era, there was a sergeant named 'Hill' in the Ultramarines Legion, who once came up with a rebellious idea - Sergeant Hill proposed that Ultramarines should not only use Xenomorphs as enemies to deduce tactics and make training plans, but should also try to use Space Marines as imaginary enemies to practice in order to deal with possible future battles with other Star Marine Legions.

At that time, the commander Horus had not yet started a rebellion, and the various Star Marine legions were like brothers, and Sergeant Hill's idea of using the brother legions as imaginary enemies to develop targeted tactics was considered an unforgivable rebellion.

As a result, Sergeant Hill was donned a red helmet that symbolized punishment and imprisoned in the arsenal to wait for the original body to be released.

(—This is a tradition learned from the 'Midnight Lords.') Once the Midnight Lord Legion would have the warrior who made the mistake wear red gloves, symbolizing the Primordial's disappointment in him. The Ultramarines learned this system and only changed the red gloves to the red helmets, much to the disgust of the Midnight Lord. ）

During the ensuing Horus Rebellion, the Renegade Legion Bearers raided the Ultramarines, and the imprisoned Sergeant Hill immediately activated the original weapons in his arsenal and led the surviving combat brothers to fight to the death and rebuild the chain of command.

Sergeant Hill's heroic actions have made the Red Helmet no longer a symbol of shame among Ultramarines, but a proof of the glory of the position of 'Sergeant'.

So why are the Ultramarines veterans standing at Kiliman's side now all wearing red helmets? Are they all sergeants?

Kaul didn't think it was realistic.

Thinking of the nature of this 'confessional ceremony', the red helmets worn by these veterans seem to have ceased to be a symbol of position in the army, but have returned to their original nature 10,000 years ago – a symbol of shame.

Immediately afterward, Kaul heard outside the crowd Kiliman's speech to all of Otlama that had been broadcast:

"In the last 10,000 years, the empire has endured so much that the regime that my father established for humanity has suffered from storms and storms, and has even been on the verge of collapse.

It is the fearless sacrifice of countless warriors who have saved the empire from crisis after crisis, who have defended the authority of the Golden Throne with their lives, kept the spark of hope in the dark galaxy, and protected the people of the empire from the evil heresies and alien threats that are eyeing the empire......

It is impossible to praise the heroes who died for the Empire, but it is extremely painful for me that in the past, when the loyal world of the Emperor was invaded by the enemies of mankind, and the innocent people of the Empire were brutally poisoned by heresy, I, as the heir of the Emperor, failed to stand up for the Empire.

For 10,000 years, I have been asleep between life and death, unable to contribute anything to the defense of humanity......"

At this point, Killman's tone was already choked. But as the original body of the Ultramarine, the heir of the emperor and the god, he did not shed a single tear.

Kiriman was full of emotion and said in a seismic voice:

"The planet is wailing! The people are bleeding! And I just sat in the temple day after day......"

"I'm ashamed of that! I'm ashamed of that! ”

The original body's speech was impassioned, mobilizing the emotions of countless people on Connaught. In the church, the priests of the state religion were already in tears.

Only Kaul frowned, and he sensed that something was wrong.

Immediately afterward, Kaul saw the Red Helmet veteran next to him kneeling on one knee and presenting Kiriman with a crimson helmet entwined in pitch-black thorns and exuding a bloody breath.

After previous propaganda, the people of Otlama have learned that the Red Helmet is a symbol of shame and repentance in the culture of Ultramarines.

For some reason, the moment this helmet appeared, the atmosphere in the crowd suddenly became restless, and an inexplicable war frenzy began to burn on Connaught.

Killiman picked up the hideous crimson helmet in both hands and placed it on his head.

Suddenly, the crowd burst into tears, and Kaul heard many people crying hoarsely not to blame himself like this, he had been seriously injured in the battle for the Empire, and he had fallen asleep until now, and he had not made any mistakes.

"In the name of the Human Emperor, I, Robert Killiman, swear that every world devastated by heresy, every citizen persecuted by Xenomorphs, and every heavy blood debt of the Human Empire will be paid in blood—"

A big question mark popped up on Kaul's head.

(End of chapter)