BXBX NOVEL Chapter 56: Codex and Territory
Chapter 56: Codex and Territory
"You dare to believe the Emperor\'s Champion isn\'t fit to lead us to a new crusade?" Veteran Cantus of the Black Templars challenged Dioricus\'s words and got up from his chair with rage. Everyone in the room knew that William demonstrated the Emperor\'s miracle during the battle with Greater Daemon of the Slaanesh thanks to the testimonial given by Battle Brother Raduriel of the Black Templars.
There is no doubt that the Emperor chooses William according to the Dreadnought and multiple witnesses from this world, but Space Marines are still humans, and they tend to reject certain things if it\'s against their point of view.
"William may be the Emperor\'s Champion, but he is the Champion of the Black Templars, not of ours. By the codex, no one shall command multiple chapters at once." Ultramarine sergeant said to Cantus with bitterness and reminded everyone why codex exists in the first place. For ten thousand years, no one held power and authority of commanding Astartes Legions since Warmaster Horus, and that didn\'t go well for humanity, especially for the Emperor.
Ironic to what Sergeant Dioricus said, the current military forces of the Imperium are led by Roboute Guilliman himself as Lord Commander of the Imperium. But then again, Roboute Guilliman is the lone active loyalist Primarch of the Imperium and the only hope against the Dark New Age.
"It is true Emperor\'s Champion is the title of chapter\'s Champion given by Black Templars, but we can\'t ignore the unique circumstances and situation we are currently in. Gentlemen, the Emperor\'s mortal enemies are already here, and all we have is a handful of guardsmen that I won\'t even consider a regiment." Lord Creed said to everyone, which caught everyone\'s attention. As Space Marine\'s ego is high and mighty, they must recognize the Cadian Supreme Commander when he decides to speak his mind.
Lord Creed may be a mortal man with a short lifespan compared to Space Marines, but his legendary accomplishments and reputation are more extraordinary than anyone in the room.
"Lord Creed is right. We are in an unknown world facing multiple enemies on multiple fronts. We have no military or logistic support from our homeworlds and no ship to send messages through the warp. We are all we got, and Champion is the only one connected with the Emperor\'s light." Commissar Cain adds additional problems and the weight of disadvantage they are facing. Logistical issues and troop limitations, all these problems can be solved with William\'s ability to \'Call or summon units,\' which everyone at the meeting table realized.
This information placed William as the most valuable person and powerful evidence that the God-Emperor chose him. Few had a theory that they might have a similar ability just like William, such as gaining additional weapons and ammunition but couldn\'t summon units under their command.
"Both Lord Creed and Commissar Cain are right. We have limited supplies, troops, and other essential supplies to continue without Imperium\'s help. As we are cut from the Imperium, I suggest we form a second Imperium Secundus just like the old days when Primarchs of old days did during Horus Heresy." Lieutenant Bolic Firehammer of the Salamander finally spoke after quietly listening to the entire meeting until now. Bolic held the highest rank of lieutenant out of four representatives with years of experience and old historical knowledge of the Imperium of Man.
"You do bring up a good point, and this means we must vote to elect the head of state and form our own government until we reunite with the rest of the Imperium. Does anyone have an object? If not, then let us select a candidate." Sergeant Dioricus of the Ultramarine chapter made a clear announcement and waited a few seconds to see any objection from others. With no one objecting to the proposal of the second Imperium Secundus, each representative placed their votes to determine who would be the leader of the new government.
Without complicating, everyone wrote a name on the piece of paper and placed it on a hat provided by Commissar Cain, who later counted each vote. Lord Creed and Cain can\'t put their name for the leadership, but they had the honor to vote as it impacts every faction of Imperium.
[Head of State Candidate]
Sergeant Dioricus of the Ultramarine: 1 vote
Veteran Sergeant Sariel of the Blood Angel: 1 vote
Champion William of Black Templars: 5 votes
The room went once again silent with the facial expressions of the two Astartes representatives sour with disappointment. Meanwhile, Lord Creed quietly smiles with a cigar still in his mouth, and Veteran Cantus of the Black Templars widely smiles as if he won first place in the competitive tournament.
"It looks like we have our leader, gentlemen. Champion William will be our Lord Supreme Commander with five votes until we reunite with the rest of the Imperium. Of course, the official title won\'t be Imperator Regis (Commander of the King), but an Imperator Fratrum (Commander of the Brother) for only Primarch Sanguinius held the Imperator Regis." Lt. Bolic said with an official tone and pointed his hand to William, signaling William to say some sort of speech for this historical event. This made everyone in the room turn their heads towards William, who was silent until now.
"Thank you for your kind words. I will not waste your time with long speeches or how I\'m qualified to lead this group. I can only promise you all that we will reunite with the rest of the Imperium, and when that time comes, I will fold my position just as Great Angel did. Now, let us continue with our meeting and plan our next move." William finishes his speech and immediately changes the subject, for he knew he had many things to do before leaving the capital city to invade Legellan. By the end of the meeting, three main problems came to light and must be taken care of before leaving the city.
First is the stability of the Alderim, in which minor nobles are a thorn in the side for both Prince Benton and William. Ever since William almost crushed the young nobleman with his hand, he was the prime target of both political agenda and potential assassination attempt. Removal of a giant warrior who commands a small army and an ally of the royal family would be a big sigh of relief.
The second is filling the gaps when the first problem is solved. The power vacuum would destabilize the Alderim, which could start a civil war. It is something William can\'t solve with bolter gun nor chainsword but with political strategy and negotiation. For this, William thought of one person who could accomplish this with authority and trustworthiness.
Lastly, the third problem is maintaining Alderim after William\'s force leaves for a military campaign. There is no guarantee that all of the Ork\'s spores are terminated. William can\'t allow the reemergence of Greenskins. Also, there is the possibility of Chaos\'s force invading Alderim or the return of Trazyn with a more powerful force. To solve this problem, William decided to use his new authority as Imperator Fratrum when Legellan was conquered once and for all.
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Next Day,
Rana Bassilo Backett, the Duchess of Argus, was on her seat while taking a small sip of tea, enjoying the taste of citrus and refreshing scent from her cup. Meanwhile, her host, Countess Danel Van Shaw, waits patiently as her maid places another cup and a small snack on the table.
"I didn\'t expect to meet you so early, your grace. I would have prepared more appropriate tea if I knew you were coming." Countess Shaw said with a neutral tone as she picked up her cup to drink the content. Since four days ago, many rumors have been of William\'s true identity and the army he commands. Not to mention the sudden recovery of King Benton\'s health once again rebalances the power structure between noble factions.
"My apologies, I don\'t have much free time ever since the chaos event happened three days ago. I\'m sure you are aware of my uncle\'s recovery and how he began to praise Lord William\'s achievements, including the successful campaign of Deron and Fort Stormfist." The last part spoken by the Duchess gave a hidden message to Countess Shaw, for she is very aware of the potential reward King Benton might give to William for all his accomplishments. As a member of the minor noble faction, the countess knew this could change the scale of power tremendously. Every noble knew and saw two potential choices, either join the winning side or resist and perish.
"Let us not exchange hidden words but talk more directly. Rana, why are you here?" Countess Shaw put down her teacup and looked directly at Rana\'s eyes without giving any sign of weakness. Countess Shaw isn\'t a battle-hardened warrior or a great military strategist, but she is a renowned politician and trade negotiator who could destroy business negotiation. For this reason, Countess Shaw\'s region is prosperous and well equipped compared to the rest of the minor nobles within Alder.
"I will be straightforward then. I want you to support the royal family once again." The Duchess\'s request sends a clear message for Countess Shaw, and the room goes silent. Even maids hold their breaths due to seriousness. The faction change is one thing, but Countess Shaw already changed her alliance before, and doing it again shows weakness.
"And why would you think I would do that?" The million gold coin question hit the mark which Countess Shaw expected to receive a grand excuse such as supporting the royal family or love for the country.
"It\'s simple. The royal family will give the city of Deron and Fort Stormfist to you. For generations, your family struggled with the southern border with rogue vampires and a small army of undead. Now that the royal family retook the Deron and Fort Stormfist to block the potential vampires from invading, I believe you are the perfect person to govern the city." The Duchess explained with ease and took another sip of tea from her cup. The original purpose of the campaign against vampires was to gain recognition and display of strength for the crown prince. This all changed when Sir Dolven hired William, and a giant black knight single-handedly slew multiple vampire armies and mysterious daemons.
"Are you sure? I was under the impression that William would take over the city and fort with the recommendation of Sir Dolven, rest his soul." The countess said with curiosity in her voice. This was one of the common knowledge since William arrived in the capital city four days ago. Of course, rumors are nothing but rumors since Prince Benton took extra measures to prevent any information leak.
"The plan changed when William started kicking representatives from the Legellan. There is no point in holding a city and fort if it is the opposite side of the conflict after all." The Duchess\'s reasoning made sense since Legellan is located far west, away from the eastern region of the Alder.
"Does this mean William has no problem with losing territory full of resources and a formidable fort? I know guilds are sending large groups to rebuild Greenhill and a southern border outpost. I\'m sure he wouldn\'t want to lose the potential gain of wealth and recognition." The last sentence piques everyone\'s interest except for the Duchess and waits quietly to hear the answer.
"You are right, but he personally declines the idea and asks if he could give it to someone worthy to rule. I believe your action from three days ago impressed William because he recommended you right away. As for his portion of the territory, William considered taking over Legellan from current \'residents,\' his word not mine."