The people of Barbarus had long faced the plundering acts of those terrifying Xenos warlords.
Simply managing to avoid defeat or capture by the enemy was already an astonishing feat.
Launching a counterattack against the warlords, crushing and annihilating the foul-smelling undead legions — that was something they had never even dreamed of.
But now, with the help of the nameless one, Ferrus, and Mortarion, they had overturned the tide of battle and succeeded in defeating the invading Xenos warlord.
At the village entrance, the hideous head of the Xenos hung swaying in the wind.
Cheers of victory echoed throughout the area, and smiles appeared on everyone's faces.
Mortarion, who had defeated the Xenos warlord, was praised as a hero and surrounded by people repeatedly shouting his name.
A little girl in a hemp dress ran out from the village, holding a laurel crown she had woven herself from flowers and twigs.
Thanks to Pugh and Orange purifying the areas around the village, flowers and plants had begun to bloom in many places.
The girl carefully selected the most beautiful flowers and wove them into a beautiful laurel crown.
People along the way made way for her, allowing her to reach Mortarion.
The girl was extremely thin and fragile-looking. Standing before the Primarch, she looked like a tiny speck.
"This is a gift for you," the girl said in a loud voice. "You are my hero, and everyone's hero, Mortarion."
Before Datch and his group arrived at the village, the girl's parents had been brutally slaughtered in an attack by a terrifying Xenos warlord.
Mortarion killing the Xenos warlord was, without a doubt, revenge for her.
Mortarion went down on one knee. The movement caused the servo-motors of his power armor to whir.
"I am honored, little one."
"Nothing is more precious than the praise and honor of a child."
Mortarion was extremely tall. Even on one knee, he was still too tall for the girl.
At Datch's urging, the Angel of Life Orange gently lifted the girl and had her place the laurel crown on Mortarion's head.
At this sight, the villagers raised even greater cheers.
"Mortarion, Mortarion, Mortarion."
The cheers that followed filled Mortarion's chest with joy, and he swore in his heart that he would never forget this day.
These villagers had helped him find the meaning of his life.
He would devote the rest of his life to protecting and guiding them with all his strength.
...
The villagers used their limited resources to hold a celebratory banquet.
This dinner was probably the simplest one Datch and Ferrus had ever attended.
There was almost no meat or alcohol. The only thing that filled their stomachs was a nutritious porridge-like substance boiled into a paste.
Yet the people still looked very happy. They sang ancient songs, and laughter and joy filled the entire area.
They danced around the fire and warmly invited Datch and the others to join them.
As Mortarion watched all of this, a unique emotion he had never felt before welled up in his heart.
It was not hatred. Hatred is cold and sharp, like a knife stabbed into the chest.
It was not anger. Anger is fierce and unstable, like a wild beast locked in a cage.
It was not fear. Fear is sticky and heavy, like stuffing a wet lump of cotton into the throat.
It was a softer, warmer sensation that made people feel the world was a beautiful place.
If he were to search for a word to express this emotion, Mortarion would call it love.
He loved these frail yet lively and resilient ordinary people. They were the ones who had given meaning to his life.
"He really seems like a good-natured person."
Ferrus kept his eyes fixed on Mortarion, staring intently at the blissful expression on Mortarion's face.
He was filled with sympathy. What kind of life had that evil adoptive father forced Mortarion to live?
Datch ignored Ferrus and secretly formulated a plan to complete the mission.
Mortarion's personality was not a major problem.
Having just escaped his adoptive father's control, he continued to maintain a calm and gentle personality even when alienated by others.
This showed that Mortarion's character was fundamentally calm and kind.
He had a strong sense of responsibility. He helped elderly farmers harvest grain and patrolled the village boundaries alone late at night.
When children gathered around him, he awkwardly yet earnestly told them stories about distant planets and the sparkling sea of stars that he had heard from Ferrus.
However, Mortarion was not perfect either. He was a rather small-minded person.
He would remember every word and action that had hurt him.
Moreover, his self-esteem was extremely fragile.
They needed to be recognized, they needed to be praised, and their value needed to be affirmed by ordinary people.
Datch recalled the plot he had seen in the game database.
The event that caused Mortarion to be unable to cut off his desire for revenge against the Emperor.
After escaping from his adoptive father's hands, Mortarion organized the humans of Barbarus.
They annihilated all the Xenos warlords and reclaimed this cursed land as the crystallization of their blood and sweat.
Eliminate the Xenos warlords and purify the valleys covered in toxic fog.
His name resounded throughout the land of Barbarus, illuminating the people suffering in despair like lightning cutting through the darkness.
In the end, only one target remained for Mortarion.
It was his former adoptive father — the most powerful, most evil, and most feared Xenos warlord among the people of Barbarus.
If he could conquer the fortress built on the highest peak of Barbarus and covered in dense toxic fog,
then he would be able to unify this planet and become the King of Barbarus.
But at precisely that moment…
The Emperor arrived.
Clad in golden armor and radiating light, he declared himself the Master of Mankind.
"Defeating the last warlord is easy," the Emperor told everyone.
The villagers under Mortarion's protection and the army they had painstakingly built all knelt the moment they saw the Emperor's figure, each shedding tears of emotion.
Realizing that the other party was trying to steal his credit, Mortarion had no intention of simply accepting it and made a bet with the Emperor.
"Give me a little time. I will conquer that fortress myself, defeat that warlord, and then leave. Barbarus will be yours."
"I do not need Barbarus. What I need is you alone, my child," the Emperor said. "If you cannot do it, then swear loyalty to me."
"Understood," Mortarion said. "If I succeed, you will immediately apologize to me and leave Barbarus."
"Yes," the Emperor nodded.
In reality, Mortarion was completely unprepared, yet for the sake of his own glory he still resolutely set out.
He took not a single soldier with him and went alone to challenge his adoptive father.
However, his adoptive father's fortress was covered in dense toxic fog.
The armored suit he was wearing lacked the ability to filter such toxic gas, and the hoses quickly corroded and decayed.
With every breath, he felt toxins entering from his throat into his lungs.
By the time Mortarion reached the fortress gate, he was already exhausted and dizzy.
When he stood before his adoptive father, he was only pretending to be brave. He could not fight at all and could not exert his full strength.
Within just a few rounds, he was mercilessly beaten down by his adoptive father. His armor shattered into pieces, and his scythe slipped from his hand.
His adoptive father stood on his chest, holding a terrifying beheading blade in his hand.
"I told you, if I see you again, you damned traitor, I will not let you live."
"Now is the time to fulfill our oath."
At this critical moment, the Emperor descended like a golden god of war.
The sword gripped in his hand burned with psychic flames, drawing a dazzling arc in the darkness.
That Xenos warlord could not withstand even a single blow. In an instant his head was severed and flew into the air.
At that time, Mortarion lay on the ground watching his adoptive father's headless corpse fall before his eyes. Far from feeling joy, he felt cold indignation.
Why did you take away my victory and glory?
If you had not appeared in this world, I could have steadily accumulated strength, eliminated my enemies, and achieved my revenge.
Now everything has been destroyed.
"The Yellow Old Man's methods are truly abstract."
Datch thought to himself.
To be honest, in the original storyline, if Mortarion had followed the expected development, he would definitely have been able to defeat his opponent — his adoptive father.
The Emperor's arrival and the Emperor's statement that "the last warlord can be easily defeated" rubbed Mortarion's nerves the wrong way and wounded his dignity and pride.
In trying too hard to prove his own ability, he lost his reason, abandoned the planned and steady approach, and chose the most dangerous path.
"The Primarchs inherited the Emperor's personality. Does that mean this shut-in man has a small-minded personality with fragile self-esteem?"
There is a rumor that when the Emperor was betrayed by the first Lord Commander Ollanius Persson, the shock was so great that he questioned the meaning of life.
"Helping Mortarion defeat his former adoptive father only feels like a temporary measure."
Datch possessed the Infinity Gauntlet, had Ferrus's Primarch-level combat power, and could transform into the Emperor.
Helping Mortarion defeat his adoptive father was not a big problem.
The problem was whether that would solve the issue.
Be careful not to get involved in trouble one day, start obsessing over trivial matters, and ultimately end up being regarded as an enemy by your allies.
"In other words, I need to find a way to correct Mortarion's bad habits and give him a lofty goal to strive for."
Datch carefully considered the plan.
It was not about leading Mortarion to victory, but teaching him to seek inner strength rather than valuing external honor, and to have a lofty goal to aim for.
Ferrus sat to the side, continuing to talk to himself while staring at the nameless man who looked at a loss.
At least I am a Primarch.
With a single command, a million elite Imperial troops charged all at once.
As a result, you ignored me. That is truly infuriating.
After the banquet, Mortarion's fame rose, and his position became more solid.
Whenever he passed by, everyone bowed their heads in salute and acknowledged him as their leader.
Even Calas Typhon was promoted to commander of the Primarch's royal guard.
…
Over the following days, Mortarion led the villagers in cutting stone and building a fortress to prevent the Xenos warlords from attacking again.
Datch asked Pugh to help the villagers purify the contaminated air and water.
Borrowing Orange's power, Pugh emitted a vivid green light.
The toxic fog that had covered this land for thousands of years was peeled away layer by layer, decomposed, and transformed into pure air.
The turbid water containing large amounts of toxins was also thoroughly purified, becoming clear and transparent water.
Through the numerous miracles Pugh performed, the villagers came to revere Pugh as the God of Life and built temples and statues as a sign of gratitude for purifying the world.
Psykers such as Calas Typhon could clearly feel that the voice whispering in their ears grew stronger and brighter the closer they approached Pugh.
The psykers of Barbarus had been able to hear strange whispers since birth.
It was ethereal and indistinct, as if coming from a bottomless well far away, and could not be clearly heard.
As they approached Pugh, the whispers became surprisingly clear.
"Life… life… life is… the most beautiful… the most precious… the most to be protected…"
"Could it be that the voice whispering in my ears was actually coming from the God of Life, Pugh?" Calas Typhon rejoiced at this discovery.
Unexpectedly, he who was a demigod had been able to obtain the recognition of the God of Life.
Praise life. Praise the nameless one.
Datch used "Golden Hammer" to repair the massive machines left from the past and improve people's lives.
This included hydroponic farms that could produce large amounts of food and plasma energy stacks that could supply power to the entire Nest City.
It rapidly elevated people's lives from the feudal agricultural era to the interstellar era.
An entirely new civilization rose at an astonishing speed.
When the news spread, countless people rushed from far away.
They saw the magnificent cities, soaring walls, and residents freely enjoying every kind of exquisite cuisine, clear air, and water.
These long-distance travelers knelt and regarded it as salvation given by the gods.
"Praise the King of the Nameless Gods, who rebuilds our homeland and leads the great heroes to victory against evil!"
"Praise the great God of Life, who clears the toxic fog for us, restores life to the earth, and protects us from the disasters of plague and disease!"
Calas Typhon also devoted himself to missionary activities in his spare time.
He stood at the city gate for hours on end, shouting until his throat was dry.
Besides him, many psykers took similar actions.
Because when they approached Pugh, they felt the same thing as Calas Typhon.
In that moment, they found the meaning of life.
It was to become messengers of the God of Life and spread the god's gospel.
"Praise the nameless ones… praise the God of Life… praise this great salvation…"
In the deepest, most decayed garden of the Warp, Nurgle learned that the nursery he had made for the Primarch had completely transformed into the form of a great life-form. He collapsed weeping beside the cauldron and fainted.
This bastard! This bastard! I was your previous employer, yet you can treat me like this!
Do you have any conscience?
With Ferrus's help, Mortarion selected strong and resilient refugees from various places.
Mortarion trained these soldiers himself and even used toxic gas to cultivate their resilience and endurance.
After a series of selections, the chosen ones received finely crafted power armor and weapons and became members of the army.
Once preparations were complete, Mortarion planned to lead them to war.
On the night before departure, Datch took Ferrus to Mortarion.
After the city was purified of the smog, the harmful smog disappeared, and the clear night sky was like soft black satin adorned with diamonds.
At this time, Mortarion was discussing with Calas Typhon and others the method of attacking the Xenos warlord Zharr.
They sat around a massive strategy table carved from a single rock.
The finely made sand table clearly showed mountains, rivers, the deployment of enemy forces, and more.
Seeing the nameless man arrive, Mortarion and the others became greatly excited and bowed their heads to him.
"Nameless Lord."
"Nameless Lord."
"..."
Ferrus smiled as he watched their performance.
In his previous life, after returning to the Imperium, his relationship with Mortarion had grown cold.
Therefore, he had never known that Mortarion also had such a simple and gentle side.
Look at Mortarion's appearance before unifying Barbarus. How kind and calm he was.
If I had not come from the future, I would never have believed that such a person would later recklessly shower toxic gas on innocent people.
"Mortarion, Calas Typhon, may I ask a question?"
Datch walked over to the strategy table, looked at the various marks drawn on the sand map, then raised his face and looked around at everyone present.
"Of course." Mortarion nodded. "Nameless Lord, please ask as many questions as you like. I will answer everything I can."
"As your power increases, it will become inevitable that you defeat the foreign warlords, unify Barbarus, and become its ruler."
"I would like to ask you: Are you fighting for the people, or are you fighting for yourselves?"
The moment they heard this question, everyone looked at one another with puzzled expressions.
They had both suffered the pain of torture and enslavement at the hands of foreign warlords. What was the difference between them?
Mortarion pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, answering with a resolute attitude.
"Of course, we are fighting for the people."
"I would give anything for them."
Datch looked at Mortarion. After hesitating for a moment, he continued the question.
"Give up everything? Including life and glory?"
Mortarion did not hesitate. "Yes, including life and honor."
"If one day they are led by a better person, come to live better lives, and for the sake of their happiness you must give up revenge against your adoptive father, would you give it up without hesitation?"
When the nameless man posed the question, the confident Mortarion froze, and an expression of hesitation appeared on his face.
Every time he recalled his unbearable childhood, he was assailed by an uncontrollable hatred toward his adoptive father.
As time passed, this hatred had seeped into the very marrow of his bones.
Datch asked him: "If for the sake of the people's happiness you must give up revenge against your adoptive father, would you not hesitate?"
In that instant, countless images raced through Mortarion's mind.
Calas Typhon and the others also stared at Mortarion, waiting for the Primarch's reply.
Mortarion wanted to say "yes," but the words swirled violently on his tongue and would not come out of his mouth no matter what.
In the end, he could not lie to the nameless people.
After a while, Mortarion said dejectedly, "Nameless Lord, I do not know."
Hearing Mortarion's reply, Datch smiled and said gently.
"There is no need to hurry to know the answer to this question. The war to unify Barbarus will take a long time. Think about it slowly."