"My followers, my heirs...all the Word Bearers of the 17th Legion, today...will be the Day of Atonement that will be remembered forever."
"I, Lorgar Aurelion, have made an unprecedented mistake, because there is a hateful traitor in my legion that I did not know existed."
"Chief Chaplain Erebus of the Word Bearers and First Captain Kor Phaeron conspired to commit sinful acts of betrayal to the Imperium...Their foul and filthy treachery has been fully confirmed."
"This is inexcusable blasphemy."
"This is the eternal sin of the Word Bearers... This is also the price of my pride and arrogance. No matter what, this sin must be repaid in the most painful way..."
"Otherwise, the Seventeenth Legion will cease to exist..."
"The Perfect City was once the apple of the Word Bearers' eye, the shining beacon of our rationality, and the eternal treasure of the Seventeenth Legion..."
"Now, our faith has been tested as never before. We must sacrifice the Perfect City and the blood of the Sinners to demonstrate the Word Bearers' loyalty to the Empire."
"The orders from my father, the Holy Emperor of the Imperium of Man, the Lord of Mankind must be carried out to the fullest extent."
"Any possibility of rebellion will be stifled, and any sporadic disloyalty will be judged."
"I issue this order with the heaviest and saddest heart."
"Destroy the perfect city."
"Leave no one alive."
…
Ashes are floating.
Bolt bombs were fired in front of innocent and pious eyes, and the slaughter occurred among the panicked crowds.
This is the smoke of the perfect city, where the proud masterpieces of the Word Bearers of yesteryear are burning.
The most rational city in the entire galaxy, Jerusalem in the hearts of many believers, was burned to the ground by its creator.
The thunderhawks hovering in the sky breathed out bolter fire, and the tracks of Leman Russ running over the church were covered in blood.
The once prosperous city-states are being wiped out inch by inch by the sword of the empire, and peaceful people are also dying in ignorance and confusion.
The terrifying roars of the light spears and macrocannons had dissipated, leaving behind no signs of life in the ruins of the walls.
Only the gray angels of death constantly shuttled through the ruins, ruthlessly carrying out the punishment of the God-Emperor and the will of the Primarch with explosive bombs.
In front of the collapsed sacred elephant of the God Emperor, only the desperate howls of the survivors were left.
No mercy.
Hundreds of thousands of Word Bearers Astartes carried out the orders from the Primarch numbly and coldly, and the glory of their faith was temporarily obscured in the face of too heavy responsibilities.
They were the founders of the perfect city and the spreaders of religious faith - but before that, they had only one most important duty.
The merciless warhammer of the Empire.
Obedience to military discipline and orders is the nature of all Astartes, and this is especially evident in the XVII Legion.
Even though they saw the confusion in the eyes of mortal believers, they heard their prayers before despair, and were even questioned by those hysterical questions.
——Since you have shaped all of this, why did you destroy it all with your own hands?
Faced with the questions raised by the believers who shed tears of blood, every Word Bearer is unable to answer.
They themselves couldn't understand why this happened.
They were supposed to be rational propagandists, and they were supposed to face these people of the God-Emperor with a kind face.
However, the command from the Primarch always lingers in everyone's heart.
【No one left alive】
Therefore, the Astartes raised their cold guns.
That overly tenacious will forced them to ignore everything in front of them, as if it was the same as before in the brutal wars of the past hundred years.
It's just that the enemies in front of them are no longer dirty pagans, but the people of the empire who desperately pray to the God-Emperor for salvation.
The broken limbs torn apart by explosive bombs, the charred corpses burned by promethium flames, and the vicious curses uttered by desperate believers on the verge of death.
They became the Fallen Angels, executioners who brought death and destruction to the people of the Empire.
Most of the Word Bearers could see the headless corpse hanging high on the highest point of the Perfect City.
The beginning of everything, the birthplace of all sin.
Chief Chaplain of the Word Bearers - Erebus.
The wavering faith in everyone's heart turned into hatred for the former chief priest. If it were not for the treachery of this heretical priest, then the treasures of the Word Bearers would not have to be destroyed at all.
This was never meant to happen, for the faithful to be purified in the Word Bearers' fire.
But they can't stop.
If they showed any mercy, it could mean that the Word Bearers as a whole would be forever stained with the filthy mark of treason.
Not only will their faith be denied, but everything they have dedicated to the Imperium, to humanity, to the Emperor and the Primarch will be turned into a dream and fleeting.
They saw the hunched figure of the Primarch of the Seventeenth Legion kneeling before the Emperor, and they heard Lorgar's atonement prayers in great sorrow.
This is the last chance to decide the Word Bearers' loyalty.
Destroy the Perfect City with your own hands, completely kill the fire of rebellion in the most hysterical way, and devote your complete loyalty to the Empire and the God-Emperor.
Beginning with Lorgar's prayer of penitence, the city that the Word Bearers were once so proud of was destined to be destroyed.
For the Word Bearers, this may even be just the first step in atonement.
Even though they never knew why the flames of rebellion were born, it did exist. The death of the chief company commander and chief chaplain had brought the 17th Legion to the brink of destruction.
Yes, destruction.
If the Legion shows the possibility of rebellion, it will usher in the most complete destruction of the human empire.
The quiet disappearance of the Second and Eleventh Legion is not false. The two legions that quietly disappeared during the Randan War have turned into secrets that only Terran veterans know. This lesson has been engraved on every Terran veteran. In his heart, even the Word Bearers, who have endless loyalty to the Lord of Mankind, may not be spared.
Therefore, even if they were subjected to the most vicious curses and sights, no Astartes would stop killing.
Men, women, old people, young children.
No one was spared.
The flames that burned heretics in the past are now pouring on these believers who used to devoutly believe in the God Emperor.
There is no room for luck in the flames of faith. Regardless of piety or not, sin has existed from the beginning. All the Word Bearers can do is to completely erase all irreparable sins.
This is a sad and cruel farce.
It is also an irreparable tragedy.
…
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