*Endurance.*
Now.
"This is a personal observation room," Mortarion's voice echoed in the vast space.
A large pane of reinforced glass was embedded in the deep gray walls, with starlight gently pouring in from the cosmos beyond.
Several dark green banners bearing the Death Guard insignia hung down beside the walls, and two rows of black sofas were casually placed in the center of the room.
Mortarion stood by the window, gazing out at the vast, infinite expanse of space.
For Hades, countless stars twinkled, the deep void seemingly swallowing everything. At the center of the observation window, a planet shrouded in green mist slowly rotated, its hazy moss-green hue embracing it.
A massive, mechanically gleaming ring orbited above it, with ships occasionally launching from the ring.
*Barbarus.*
A dim yellow light illuminated Hades's face, with tiny specks of dust floating in the faint glow.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Mortarion's raspy voice sounded, "But beneath that beauty, beneath the mists, lies such ugliness."
"Will the Imperium help improve the toxic atmosphere of Barbarus?" Hades asked nonchalantly. In the original story, the Emperor used the promise of terraforming Barbarus as bait to persuade Mortarion to join the Imperium. Naturally, Mortarion had refused.
Hades hoped that now, since Mortarion had already slain Necare, he wouldn't reject the Imperium's offer to improve Barbarus.
Wouldn't it be better for the homeworld of the Primarch to prosper a bit after tax reductions?
"They did make that proposal," Mortarion replied.
"But I wonder, without the toxic atmosphere, will the people of Barbarus become weak?"
Hades was at a loss for words. But in truth, not only Mortarion held this belief. The Primarch of the Sixth Legion, Leman Russ, thought the same.
Russ's homeworld, Fenris, was a death world covered in ice and snow. When the Imperium chose Fenris as the new recruitment point for the Sixth Legion, Russ requested that the existence of the Imperium be kept a secret from the Fenrisians.
He believed that only those who overcame the harsh cold on their own could become warriors of the Sixth Legion.
Hades couldn't directly refute this viewpoint. In his simple values, if the overall well-being could be improved, there was no need to intentionally challenge others with hardships.
Not everyone wanted to become a war machine like an interstellar warrior. Some might just want to live a peaceful life.
After some thought, Hades spoke, "Resilience is an inherent quality of the Barbarus people. It flows in the blood of every Barbarian and won't change just because the environment does."
"Moreover, I believe that an environment free of toxic gases will allow the new generation of Barbarus to grow even stronger."
Mortarion fell silent.
He remembered the children who had died young, their skin turned purple from inhaling too much toxic gas.
Were they weak? If given a chance to grow up, would they have become good warriors?
He hesitated.
"Perhaps... I should accept the Imperium's proposal."
Hades smiled, "I think you won't regret this decision."
"The people of Barbarus will be grateful to you."
Mortarion shrugged, "I hope they don't become weak because of it."
Meanwhile, Mortarion reached out and touched the glass. Instantly, an image appeared on it—
It was as if, outside the glass, in the cosmos, a massive battleship was slowly floating.
The ship was vast and cold, its dark green hue and silvery metallic sheen gleaming mercilessly. Its streamlined body, dagger-like in design, had long spikes protruding from its prow, piercing the void.
The streamlined deep gray metallic frame, the plow-shaped prow bore the large golden emblem of the Imperium's double-headed eagle, which oddly clashed with the ship's style.
Beside the eagle emblem was a similarly sized iron-gray skull emblem—the insignia of the Death Guard.
Next to her, the smaller, intricate battleships seemed insignificant, mere ants in comparison.
This massive ship was like the scythe in the hands of the Grim Reaper, silently cutting through space.
Hades, of course, knew what it was—the flagship of the Death Guard, a Gloriana-class battleship, the *Endurance*!
It was... breathtaking.
Unlike the cathedral-with-thrusters that Hades had imagined, the understated and cold *Endurance* was the dream spaceship for anyone.
This beautiful flagship was simply handed over to Mortarion by the Emperor.
Hades admitted that, for a moment, he was indeed envious.
Mortarion chuckled, "This is the *Endurance*, the battleship we're currently on."
"It's beautiful."
"I decorated her. She wasn't this beautiful before."
Indeed, the gray-green primary color was Mortarion's touch. Before this, the Dusk Raiders used deep red.
"Too much decoration would overshadow her inherent beauty."
"In the future, I plan to engrave all the battles the Death Guard has been through on her prow."
Mortarion's rare smile carried a hint of pride.
You're just here to show off, aren't you?
Hades felt a bit annoyed.
Later, Mortarion told Hades that he would start training with the squad tomorrow. These few Terran standard months were just small-scale training.
Hades needed to familiarize himself with how an interstellar warrior fights.
Even though Mortarion wanted to quickly place Barbarus-born individuals in squad leadership roles, those who had just undergone transformation surgery and whose average training duration was less than six standard Terran months were still not qualified for any position.
They hadn't even met the standards of a qualified interstellar warrior.
If Mortarion wanted to place Barbarus-born individuals in leadership roles, he would need to wait until there was a shortage of experienced old soldiers, and the new generation of Barbarus-born had achieved military honors.
So, for now, all the legion's affairs were still handled by Terran-born veterans.
Mortarion couldn't openly assist Hades. After all, as a Primarch, he needed to establish his credibility in the military. Promoting what the Terran-born saw as a "new recruit" right after taking office was clearly reckless.
Following Mortarion, Hades had pretty much toured all the places he might frequently visit on the *Endurance*, including some scenic or high-tech spots that were dazzling to behold.
As they began to return, Mortarion and Hades took the elevator inside the *Endurance*, slowly ascending towards the interstellar warriors' rest area.
Looking at the numerous floor numbers in the elevator, Hades suddenly remembered something.
Wait, did Mortarion come to find him alone?
The Death Guard had a distinctive unit, Mortarion's personal guard—the Deathshroud.
These warriors, clad in heavy Terminator armor, would silently follow Primarch Mortarion, always forty-nine steps behind, ensuring his safety.
And those who became Deathshroud were marked as "KIA" in their squads.
Perhaps Mortarion hadn't established the Deathshroud yet since they were still in a period of adjustment, Hades thought.
But
that didn't seem right.
During their tour, apart from some human crew members and servants, Hades hadn't seen any other Death Guard.
Hades cautiously looked at Mortarion.
"Mortarion, you're the leader of the Death Guard now, right?"
"Yes," Mortarion hummed contentedly.
"...Aren't you very busy?"
Realizing what Hades was hinting at, Mortarion replied in his usual calm tone, "It's rest time now."
Hades silently glanced at the elevator wall displaying the time.
[Standard Terra Time 21:36]
Considering that every interstellar warrior only slept four hours a day, it was far from rest time.
Hades looked at Mortarion again.
Mortarion remained silent.
Silence was the theme of the evening.
Finally, Mortarion couldn't take it anymore.
"I've temporarily entrusted the legion's training to First Squad's Captain Barasin."
So, you skipped work to come here?!