pertwk Chapter 74 The Verdict, Narrator and Finn Baker
Chapter 74 The Verdict, Narrator and Finn Baker
The verdict has been handed down on this planet, which the natives call Pilgrimage Star. The planet still has value, but their civilization, their culture, and nearly 40 percent of the planet's population have been sentenced to death.
This number was determined by the Dawnbringer Legion and the Space Wolf Legion after a week of effort and research. Even so, the vast majority of them were handed over to the Forging World of the two legion alliance for supervision and control.
This may be too cruel, but it has to be.
Hector put down the book about the planet that hadn't been burned by the Space Wolves Legion. It contained information about an evil deity called the God of Red.
The indigenous people of the pilgrimage planet would perform sacrifices in units of eight Terra years. They would cut off the heads of all the corpses preserved during this period and arrange them into a mound of eighty-eight squares, offering sacrifices to the most central and prominent sculpture in the entire world.
If they cannot gather enough people, they will kill each other, and the strongest will wear a bull-shaped helmet with three horns.
They would kill enough slaves and livestock to soak their robes in their blood, which is what the ships observing closer discovered at the foot of the statue—a strange, crimson earth that resembled a flowing pool of blood.
Even Hector, upon seeing this, secretly vowed in his heart: if it weren't for the fact that this planet still held value for humanity, and if the newly born humans on this planet still had a need for salvation.
He could even accept Hel Kavis's suggestion to directly put the Dawn into orbit around this world, using the Dawn's massive hull and the planet's negligible gravitational pull to directly cause the planet's gravitational collapse.
Let the tides flow backward, let the mountains collapse, let the volcanoes erupt.
They will wipe this planet out of this sector without sacrificing a single soldier, a single bullet, or even using a Cyclone torpedo.
"call······"
I heard a man's long, drawn-out exhale.
Hector glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.
Finn Baker.
At this point, thirty percent of his body had been replaced with machinery. He was wearing a red robe and exuded a faint smell of machine oil.
He traded his life savings and a mansion in Terra for this opportunity.
He used his storytelling skills to gain entry into the Mechanicus from one of Hector's mechanical priests through a near-deception, but it was an extremely amateurish method that was almost unrecognized.
Finn Baker didn't care, or rather, it wasn't something he wanted to do anyway.
"You're a very bold man, Finn Baker," Hector said.
"But you appreciate me, don't you, sir? You even did me a great favor." Finn Baker pointed to his mechanical eye, which had been replaced with a gemstone prosthetic eye; his original eye was now unusable.
Looking into those deep green eyes, the master control protocol that the mechanic priest used to restrain Finn Baker had been erased at Hector's request.
"That's true in a way." Hector didn't deny it; he nodded. "But you don't need to join the Cult of Machines. I'll give you plenty of help, out of respect for Wardmaker."
"I used to think the same way, adults," Finn Baker said with almost fawning admiration. "But after meeting you, I regretted it. I suddenly realized how ridiculous my thinking was."
"You are so magnificent and radiant that my limited life is far from enough to witness your brilliance. I must live on, at least long enough, to pass on your greatness."
"No one can refuse to witness the life of a great person from their own perspective."
Hector laughed, but his laughter didn't show any appreciation for the flattery and boasting; instead, it carried a hint of exasperation and helplessness.
In response to Finn Baker's flattery, he tapped his finger on the page.
"Let you write it, write my life story from your perspective, Finn Baker, do you think you're some kind of saint?"
"As you approached me, the troops around me had already brought me your information."
"You've had countless lovers, Finn. It almost surprises me that you even had feelings for a plant alien."
"If I were to investigate this matter further, I would hand you over to Space Wolves or my legion's interrogation unit."
"Believe me, you will be in unbearable pain, and you will feel that death is a great blessing."
"I can tell you, if it weren't for the fact that my executioners thought that skipping me and directly skinning you would displease me, you would have already been delivered here as a breathing chair."
"Their skills are excellent, I admire them."
"That's terrible." Finn Baker bowed deeply, his face showing no fear whatsoever. "But my lord, that is not my wish. Bards need enough material."
"And I would never insult a great man in this way."
"If your material consists only of so-called eroticism, then it is a defilement. At the same time, I have no doubt about your courage. You actually wrote these stories in the stories you preach, without any regard for the consequences, and you dared to challenge the bottom line of the empire."
"In fact, the fact that you are so arrogant and brazen, yet still alive, makes me want to rant about the inaction and stupidity of those officials."
"They've always been like this; if they weren't the great Masters, they'd be even more useless than you think," Finn Baker said. "Of course, there's also the possibility that I'm not worth them trying to talk to through the Star Speakers."
"After all, this is a relatively tolerant era."
"Hmph." Hector laughed heartily. He liked having someone to complain with him about the incompetent internal affairs officials from the Empire, but his offspring were always reserved and respectful in his presence.
Those internal affairs officials, aside from following him around and wishing they could skip the ships built and developed by the Mechanicus and start collecting taxes directly, accomplished almost nothing.
Hector wished he could hang all the nobles he sent, or those he paid a great price to bring from Terra, except for those with the vision to join his legion.
Hector beckoned to the side, and a mortal servant approached him with his arms folded in front of his chest, looking very honored.
"My lord," he said.
"Summon Azir Hall, the narrator of the Dawn, to an audience. Also, summon Paris; I have a task for him."
"I will obey your command," the other party said, bowing deeply before slowly retreating.
"The narrator?" Finn Baker's eyes lit up.
“Cherish this opportunity, Finn,” Hector said. “I don’t know how you convinced Wardmaker, my brother’s wolf cub, but you must remember, this is your only chance in this lifetime.”
"You will complete the work you desire under the supervision of Azir Hall, the former commander of the 15th Company."
"Anyone who dares to tamper with or conceal any information will be sentenced to death with no possibility of redemption."
"Including your family on Terra!"
Finn Baker praised the Emperor in his heart, but as for his family, he had long since forgotten about them.
"Thank you so much, sir!"