Warhammer: In the Name of the Emperor

When Vito walked into the hall, it was full of chatter about today, but when he walked in, the whole hall fell silent instantly.

All the Astartes Space Marines in the vast hall looked at him and bowed to Vitor, who ascended the dais and took his seat on the chair, who sat on a white throne made of granite with carved sides. Symbolizing justice and judgment, the snake is surrounded by a sword.

Vito put on the marshal's robe for the first time in a long time, with a red cloak, gold jewelry and a chain of honor shining brightly on his chest. He sat on the throne and said, "Let the trial begin. The priest will bring the person on trial up."

He looked at Asmodai, who nodded silently and raised his hand to signal to his fellow priests in the distance. Soon the door there opened and Luther walked out.

His armor was taken off, and his old face was revealed. He entered the hall wearing handcuffs and heavy anklets, accompanied by the interrogation priest behind him, and the soldiers on both sides stared at him.

Only the members of the Dark Angels were here. Ragnar and the Space Wolves were invited back to their battleships, and Bell and Eisenstein were also sent away together.

Azrael stood on the roadside with his sword in hand and looked at him. Other fallen angels had been placed in advance. Not far from him, standing in the judgment seat, shackled and holding a spear symbolizing order Veterans of the Dark Angels' 1st Company stand guard there.

Luther walked up to the trial seat, and the door behind him was closed. He raised his head and looked at Vito, who was sitting high up. He looked down at him condescendingly, his face difficult to see clearly in the light behind him.

"Luther Als, a former member of the Knights of Order and a former member of the Dark Angels, you have been accused of a crime. Today we will try you and your co-conspirators. Do you have any objections?"

"No, my lord."

"Then please come in," Vito said.

The side door of the hall was opened, and Ryan walked into the hall alone. When he passed by, the Dark Angels around him paid tribute to him. Some people knelt on one knee on both sides of Ryan's path.

But he looked straight ahead and walked straight to his position. The tall Primarch stood there, incompatible with the fence and table in front of him, but still full of majesty.

"Ryan Al'Jonson, the king of the First Legion, the hero of Caliban, some people call you the Lion King. Today we are here to give a fair trial. Do you have any accusations?"

"I do, my lord."

"Then please speak and I will listen." Vito put his hands on the armrests and Ryan nodded.

"I declare once again that Luthor and his associates have committed a crime of treachery. They have shamefully betrayed the Order, their brothers, their father, and the Emperor and his Imperium."

Ryan said loudly, his voice echoing throughout the hall, "They swore an oath, but they broke their promise and chose betrayal."

"Do you have any objection to what Ryan said?" Vito listened silently, and then asked Luther, who shook his head, "No."

"Then do you plead guilty?"

"My sin of treason does exist, and I will repent, but not to the Emperor and his Empire." Luther stood there and said, raising his gray head.

"I have never regarded him or his empire as my country, so how can I call it a betrayal?" Luther said solemnly, "I am a Caliban, born as a Caliban, and as a Caliban as I die."

"But your king is loyal to the Emperor, and you are loyal to him, and you are also obliged to be loyal to the Emperor's realm." Vito responded.

"I am a member of the Order and I am loyal to my leader, but my oath also requires me to defend my people, my home and what I believe in."

Luther looked at Ryan, his tone still firm, "I was born in Caliban, I grew up in that forest and grassland, I am not a noble, I was raised by farmers, farmed with them, and worked hard with them, for this I Swear to protect them, pick up the sword, and become a knight."

"Didn't the Emperor do that? Didn't he protect the people of Caliban, and the people of the Empire, as he swore to do?" Vitor asked.

Luther shook his head, which aroused some discussion, but the sound of the knocking of the spear soon became quiet. Luther did not speak immediately until Vito motioned for him to continue.

"He may have protected others, but he abandoned my people. When he came, reunited with Laun, and recruited knights to join him in his crusade, I left my homeland, as I swore to do, Fight with my king until the end of the universe.”

"But as time passed, I witnessed the Knights' corruption." Luthor said, and Ryan frowned, but it was Vito who finally asked, "What kind of corruption?"

"The loss of knightly faith. When we became knights, we swore an oath to defend the weak and protect the common people. But as the expedition progressed, the knights became bloody executioners. Without explanation, they killed every world just because of the emperor's words. , no investigation, no inquiry, no fair trial.”

"Only slaughter, like a butcher."

After Luther said this, there was a burst of whispers from the Space Marines present. Ryan frowned but said nothing.

"My brothers, they were once a noble knight, but they killed innocent people on his orders just because the Emperor said they were not innocent."

"The Astartes is a weapon. It is the sword wielder's responsibility to think about whether to kill the enemy. They only need to follow the order and swing it." Vito retorted.

"Then who will think about it? The knights? The Knights? Or just him, the Emperor." Luther said seriously, without any emotion. "Our leader, the king I swore allegiance to, Ryan has also become his tool. Carrying out his orders without ever questioning them, even the wrong ones, killing those he called our brothers."

"Have you informed Ryan? Discuss it with him."

"I did and we argued about it and ultimately he made his choice."

"What choice?"

"He banished me back to Caliban along with those warriors who, like me, were unwilling to give up the glory of being a knight and had independent personalities."

"Is what he said true?" Vito turned to ask Lane, who nodded silently.

"Very well, continue."

"As you wish, my lord." Luther nodded and said, he was silent for a moment and sighed, "I returned to Caliban, the place where I was born and raised, but I found that the place had been destroyed and there were dangers everywhere. Chimneys burning with black smoke, pipes spewing toxic wastewater, and mines hollowing out entire planets.”

"My people, the people of Caliban, were brought deep underground to mine our planet for the Emperor and his people. Day after day, countless people died in the mines, and many more became sick. , but was ruthlessly abandoned by outside supervisors, and eventually died of illness at home. "

Luther's words were full of sadness, "They hollowed out our planet, the forests were bulldozed, the villages were occupied, they used our home as fuel, and its people, the oxygen needed to burn."

"This is a violation of our oath, the knight's oath, and we disgrace my people."

"So you chose to betray."

"For you, it's betrayal, but for me, it's just redemption." Luther said solemnly, "Just like the oath I made when I became a knight, I have no regrets. I'm done."

Luther fell silent, but in exchange for more silence, no one spoke, and the entire hall was silent. Vito looked at Luther for a while, with something in his eyes, and then turned to Ryan.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"Yes." Ryan said.

"Luthor, the Emperor may have disgraced the people of Caliban, but he saved more people, the entire human race, just like when we were in Caliban, we would not give up the entire region just because of the life and death of one village. , your selfishness and behavior cannot be tolerated.”

"For me, my people are only those of Caliban." Luther said calmly, raising his head, "I will not be his executioner. I am a knight, and I will be the same when I die."

Ryan looked at him, "And you destroyed Caliban."

After Ryan finished speaking, Luther did not speak. After a moment of silence, Ryan looked at Vito, "I have finished speaking. Make a judgment. Marshal, make a fair judgment. I will obey."

The soldiers present all looked at Vito, wondering what they would think after hearing what they just said. They looked at Vito, waiting for his verdict.

Vito sat on the throne and looked at Luther silently. It lasted for a long time, but finally he stood up slowly.

"You betrayed the empire and all humanity. This is a fact. No matter what the reason is, betrayal is betrayal and it will not change." He said, looking down at Luther from a high place and looking into his eyes.

"I find you guilty, Luther, and the penalty is death."

After Vito said this, Luther's face was only calm. He sighed longly and nodded silently.

"Keep them down, execution will take place tomorrow."

As Vito said, Luther and the fallen angels were taken down. Their figures disappeared into the darkness behind the door, but they left even more powerfully than when they came.

Ryan watched them leave, and then left. In the salute of the soldiers, he walked through the door, and Vito watched his back and left with his robes fluttered.

And behind him, on the scales above the throne, a crow stood there, emitting a shrill cry.