Chapter 216 The Price of Loyalty

 "So you can still say that." Liu Haodong said suddenly.

  His voice was not loud, but it was enough for the entire audience to hear clearly.

  The messenger suddenly broke out in cold sweat. He didn't know what happened just now. It might be out of hatred for the World Eaters, or it might be a simple preference for the brave and fearless First Chapter Leader.

  But no matter what, no one in power can turn a blind eye to this selective reply.

  Especially in this age of rebellion where loyalty cannot be distinguished from traitors.

  "Auguston!" the Primarch Guilliman's voice echoed through the vast audience hall.

  The matter of the messenger is a trivial matter, and the messenger can be replaced at any time.

  Auguston's loyalty was unquestionable, and the Primarch Guilliman never doubted Auguston's loyalty.

  But as a well-read, knowledgeable, and politically savvy Primarch, Guilliman was all too aware of the negative consequences of doing bad things in the name of loyalty.

  From a small perspective, it is only for Liu Haodong and the others, but from a large perspective, some people believe that Auguston is for all non-Ultramarines members.

  Especially at this time, there were members of the other two legions standing next to them, making the three of them a tiger!

  "Macragge welcomes all those who are loyal to the Empire and my father, let alone our battle brothers?" Guilliman asked, making Auguston bow his head again.

  "I am overly sensitive, Lord Guilliman, but protecting him is the mission of me and all the Ultramarines. For your safety, I am willing to sacrifice everything, including my life." Auguston said stubbornly to Guilliman He said, but when he said the last sentence, he stared at Liu Haodong.

  Having said that, no matter how angry Guilliman was, he could not get angry at a subordinate who was loyal to him and valued his own safety.

  "Now that Lewis and the others are also members of the Ultramarines, do you have anything else to question?" Guilliman said sternly.

  "But they refused to put down their weapons. This is not normal. How can they bring weapons when meeting the Lord?" Auguston still insisted.

  The atmosphere became somewhat solemn.

  Liu Haodong knew that he could not embarrass Guilliman at this time, so he took the initiative and said: "My lord, there is no problem with the first chapter leader. If it were me, I would not let someone I just met come to me with weapons." See the original body."

  As the party targeted by Auguston, Liu Haodong's words were obviously a good step forward. Everyone present was relieved by Liu Haodong's speech. When they looked at Liu Haodong, their expressions became much friendlier. .

  "My subordinates cannot give up their weapons and go to court because after we came out of the monastery, we saw too much betrayal and lack of security. Just like the first chapter leader doubted us, they will also doubt all those who can threaten their lives. Things, these things are not glorious to talk about." Liu Haodong followed.

  Guilliman and the other officers all looked at Liu Haodong with confusion. There was obviously something more in his words.

  Liu Haodong took a deep breath again, looked up at Guilliman and continued: "My subordinates followed me to bring order to the rebel fleet. At that time, because our manpower was limited, although the purpose was for the empire, the methods used ...Well..."

  At this point, Liu Haodong no longer raised his head to look at Guilliman. He always felt awkward speaking from this perspective.

  He has been in the Warhammer world for many years, and since he reached over three meters tall, he rarely raised his head to talk to people like this.

  However, based on how the think tank around the original body scolded the messenger just now, this think tank should have the ability to identify whether others are lying, or even further, the ability to probe other people's thoughts.

  Liu Haodong hasn't noticed anything wrong yet, but that think tank must have used its power on him, that's for sure.

  Therefore, Liu Haodong was ready to take the initiative to explain some things. If he took the initiative to say these things now, people like Auguston would not use these things against him in the future.

  "The method used was similar to Horus's betrayal on Istvaan III. I gave the recruits the choice of being loyal to the Emperor or loyal to the original body... Although the purpose of controlling the recruit company was achieved, this method was not Glory."

  "Because of my strength, I was recruited by the commander to be the guard captain. When the commander attacked Satus, I killed the commander and other guards."

  After saying this, Liu Haodong was the same as Auguston. , did not look at the original body Guilliman, but looked at Auguston and said: "So my subordinates will insist on bringing melee weapons. As their commander, they know exactly what I have done. In order to be loyal to the empire, , I led them to betray my company, betray my commander, betray my legion, betray my original body..."

  At this point, Liu Haodong's emotions suddenly became excited, and he no longer deliberately faced Auguston, instead, looked up at Guilliman following his true intention, and said with a wry smile: "Maybe now, they are not sure whether I will betray them again, so they are always so vigilant!"

  "In the loyal Primarch and the loyal Legion, loyalty is not a problem, but in the betrayal Primarch and the betrayal Legion, loyalty needs to pay a high price." The

  quiet needle drop could be heard in the audience hall, and everyone was Under Liu Haodong's constant "betrayal", his emotions went up and down.

  The surrounding officers looked at each other speechlessly. Although they had also suffered betrayal in Calth, it was a backstab from other legions. They were all on the same side as the legion and the original body, and they were surrounded by battle brothers.

  But Liu Haodong was different. As he said, when he entered the legion, the legion was full of traitors. He was surrounded by enemies and recruits who had stepped out of the monastery. There was indeed a huge price to pay for staying loyal.

  "So I feel that it is necessary for the First Chapter Commander to be rigorous and responsible for security work at all times. What if there is someone like me around the original body who will do anything for the rebels?"

  Liu Haodong got a question His words, which made Guilliman very satisfied at first, left him speechless afterwards. Liu Haodong's previous situation was much more difficult than he imagined.

  Under normal circumstances, Liu Haodong would have died long ago, but Liu Haodong succeeded.     Being able to say something like this proves that Liu Haodong is a person who has an overall view and will not let temporary emotions affect his judgment.

  Compared with Liu Haodong, who takes the overall situation into consideration, the aggressive Auguston is more like the irascible World Eater.

  Guilliman turned his head slightly and looked at Titus, the think tank beside him. Titus nodded to indicate that Liu Haodong was not lying.

  "I'm sorry for Auguston's recklessness. Your ability to lead his men to accomplish such a feat is far beyond my imagination." Guilliman held Liu Haodong's shoulder armor with one hand and covered his heart with the other. Partially, he said sincerely to Liu Haodong.

  "This is not recklessness, Lord Guilliman, but responsibility." Liu Haodong did not expect that Guilliman would take the initiative to block the responsibility for his son, which surprised him. "Presumably under the protection of the First Chapter Commander, Guilliman Your Majesty's safety will be assured."

  The others stopped talking, and Guilliman said to the officers beside him: "Go and tell the people of the First Chapter to let me see these loyal warriors."

  Then Guilliman pulled him back. Holding Liu Haodong's shoulder armor, he brought Liu Haodong to stand next to him, and then said: "You will stand next to me later and let your subordinates see your loyalty and my trust in you."

  Although he said this , but Auguston and Grod, the commander of Guilliman's Invincible Iron Guard, focused their attention on Liu Haodong, observing his every move.

  Although many people's impression of Liu Haodong has improved due to what he said just now, as a mature commander who has been fighting for many years, these words will not affect their negligence in their responsibilities.

  The officer heard the primarch's order and immediately nodded and left.

  The messenger on the side was breathing a little heavier.

  He should have been the one to convey the order of the original body, but the original body did not give the order through him, which means that the meaning is naturally self-evident.

  The messenger looked towards Auguston for help, but found that Auguston didn't look at him at all.

  Auguston's attention has always been on Liu Haodong. Debating is not Auguston's area of ​​expertise, and the situation is no longer suitable for him to speak at this time.

  Not long after, the sound of neat footsteps sounded outside the reception hall.

  The World Eaters, wearing black power armor, walked neatly into the vast audience hall.

  Liu Haodong scanned it and found that there were 500 people coming. It seemed that everyone who could come after receiving the news came.

  All the World Eaters who entered the audience hall did not wear helmets, showing their original appearance.

  Compared with the surrounding Ultramarines officers who were tall, thick and over a hundred years old, Liu Haodong's World Eaters all looked very young, and each of them came in with a melee weapon.

  When these World Eaters came in, they found that their commander Liu Haodong was standing next to the Primarch, and many people's eyes lit up.

  This change can be clearly felt by everyone present.

  The Primarch encouraged the World Eaters who came in, and praised their loyalty to the Empire. Commander Liu Haodong had already declared his allegiance to him, and now they were also members of the Ultramarines Legion.

  After saying this, the World Eaters who came in were very excited.

  Standing before them praising them was the Emperor's scion, the great Primarch.

  Liu Haodong had no reaction to Guilliman's words. Like other officers and the Invincible Iron Guard, he was now focused on the 500 World Eaters.

  I'm afraid that if one of them has a bad mind and reacts at this time, it will be troublesome.

  It is definitely impossible to say that all 500 World Eaters are loyal to Liu Haodong.

  As Liu Haodong said, the methods he used on these new recruits were not honorable.

  When they had no power armor or weapons, they were fully armed and asked who they were loyal to?

  In the end, these recruits chose who won and who to help, and then if Liu Haodong won, they would help Liu Haodong, and that was it.

  There are less than 150 direct descendants of Liu Haodong, namely members of the Brotherhood and the recruits he trained.

  Although they were a little nervous, the meeting went smoothly. The encouragement from the Emperor's children made the World Eaters feel high.

  After the World Eaters left, Liu Haodong made his demands to Guilliman.

  "Since we are also Ultramarines now, I hope that your Excellency can arrange some tasks for us, even if it is patrolling or garrisoning, so that my subordinates can integrate into the legion faster."

  "No problem, I will arrange it." Guilliman nodded.

  At this point, Liu Haodong left the reception hall.

  Guilliman took the think tank Titus to his office. After entering the office, Guilliman asked: "What do you think of Lewis? How credible is his words?"

  (End of Chapter