Chapter 105: The Secret of the Second Legion

Inside the palace, Ninglu, upon the throne, looked toward the two warriors approaching in amber-colored armor; their shoulder pads were green.

Their most prominent feature was the strange, ash-like substance smeared on their faces, making them look like ghosts.

Standing within the palace, the Order Shadows selected as the Honor Guard from various Chapters could not discern their faces, even with their superhuman perception.

The mysterious ash-like substance naturally could not block the perception of a Primarch.

Ninglu keenly noticed that their cheekbones were slightly overgrown outward, there were signs of protuberances at the junction of their foreheads and parietal bones, and most notably, the muscle fibers from their temples to their mandibular angles showed clear signs of calcification.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the back of the chair, silently pondering in his heart.

【Smeared with ash-like substance, this is the reason they call themselves the Faceless.

Is it to hide the mutations of their faces?

Hmm, muscle fiber calcification—what connection does this have to the characteristics of the Second Primarch and their future erasure from the records of the Imperium?】

Ninglu thought for a moment to no avail; what he saw now was not enough for him to draw a conclusion.

The two Faceless arrived before the throne at this moment, and they bowed in salute.

The Faceless standing on the left, with a Power Sword and Bolter Pistol at his waist, opened his mouth to reveal a mouthful of sharp, tiger-like teeth.

"Primarch above, I am Suarez, First Captain of the Second Legion, reporting to you under orders."

Standing on the right, carrying a bolter and with long hair, the Faceless followed up by saying.

"My lord, I am Erlin, Second Company Captain of the Second Legion, awaiting your instructions."

Having already decided to find a way to annex the Second Legion, Ninglu immediately displayed enthusiasm.

"Welcome, Faceless."

The two Faceless were astonished by the Primarch's enthusiasm and bowed in response, flattered.

Ninglu said with a smile, "No need for such formalities."

"I wish to hear a briefing on the situation of the Second Legion."

Suarez immediately began to report: "My lord, the Second Legion currently has a total of 10,424 Faceless, all concentrated in the 22nd Fleet."

"The 22nd Fleet currently has a total of 24 warships of various classes, and the Legion Flagship is the battleship Ashes."

Ninglu noticed that Suarez did not mention having a fixed Solar Auxilia to coordinate with the Second Legion in combat.

He was thoughtful and said in a curious tone.

"The ash-like material you smear on your faces is very unique."

Suarez was prepared, and he answered calmly.

"My lord, 22-1, the first world we conquered, was a volcanic ash world, which is also the origin of the name of the Legion Flagship."

"On that world, we discovered a special volcanic ash that, when smeared on our faces, allows us to look like ghosts and intimidate the enemy."

"Later, smearing this volcanic ash became our habit, and we therefore call ourselves the Faceless."

Ninglu nodded slightly; although the First Captain answered calmly, the Primarch keenly sensed that he seemed to be deliberately hiding something.

His gaze was deep, his consciousness spread toward the two, and he asked at the same time.

"What is the current command structure of the Second Legion?"

Ninglu's consciousness circled the bodies of the two, searching for their mental gates.

The will of an Astartes is tougher than that of a mortal, making mind-reading more difficult, but not impossible.

"The Second Legion follows the Codex Astartes; the command layer is composed of companies and squads, and there are currently ten companies..."

While Suarez was speaking, Ninglu locked onto Erlin's mental gate, which was something like a pot lid, churning with the aura of Death.

"... The honor guard of each Company Captain is composed of dozens of Faceless of varying numbers."

Ninglu's consciousness flashed, turning into the scent of a rotting corpse, and seeped into the Second Company Captain's mind.

The Primarch's consciousness shuttled rapidly through Erlin's mind, skimming past one light orb after another; he saw what happened on the world 22-1 inside a green light orb.

After the warriors in amber armor crushed the centipede-shaped Xenos, a hungry warrior grabbed the Xenos corpse that was roasted by the edge of the volcano and exuded an alluring aroma.

He drooled and tore into the corpse of the centipede Xenos with big bites.

As if contagious, all those wearing amber armor rushed toward the Xenos corpses.

Ninglu's brow furrowed slightly; he first associated this with the Ninth Legion, known as the Ghouls.

But immediately, he keenly discovered the difference between the two: the defect in the genes of Sanguinius's progeny is the "Blood Thirst," and they consume blood, not flesh.

The Faceless are not picky; they eat both blood and meat together.

【Although Sanguinius worried that the Blood Angels would be purged like the Second and Eleventh Legions if the secret of their blood consumption was discovered by Huang Laohan.

But Huang Laohan only has humanity as a whole in his heart; individuals are not so important to him, or rather, they are expendable.

Then, would the Second Legion be erased because of gnawing on corpses?】

Ninglu, filled with doubt, continued to examine Erlin's memories.

He then discovered that the Faceless do not eat just any corpses; they only eat the corpses of Xenos.

A sentence Erlin said when teaching new recruits to accept this cultural habit caught his attention.

"Remember, we only eat Xenos; they are like livestock kept in captivity."

"Not only because we are human and cannot eat our own kind, but also because of our special abilities."

"Every Xenos you eat will not only allow you to learn their weaknesses to better exterminate them, but will also enhance you—be it strength, speed, or perhaps cheekbone protuberances; anything is possible."

"This improvement is very slight, but if you eat enough, you will clearly feel the changes."

Ninglu noticed that the Faceless conduct strict tests on themselves; their improvement is not a beautified hallucination from a penchant for gnawing on Xenos corpses, as their physical fitness indeed improved slightly.

He also understood the changes in the appearance of the two Faceless and the cover-up they used; it turned out that everything was a change caused by gnawing on Xenos, he couldn't help but think to himself.

【Is this the special ability of the Second Legion's Primarch? The ability to gnaw, digest, and evolve?

Was it bestowed upon them by Huang Laohan to let them eat all the Xenos and exterminate them, or is it an ability hidden in genetic defects like the Blood Angels?】

Ninglu knew that the Blood Angels drink blood and also perform better; the exhausted Imperium hero Dante felt it clearly after drinking the blood of a blood thrall.

As he reined in his consciousness, he also thought of the Penitent Chapter, which had been split off from the Ultramarines during the Second Founding, and how they had adopted the primitive tribal customs of their homeworld, Posul.

After a battle, the Penitent would drink the blood of their enemies, eat their flesh, and sever their heads to keep as trophies.

【Could the Gene-seed of the Penitent have come from the Second Legion, which was absorbed into the Thirteenth Legion?

Could it be that the Primarch of the Second Legion underwent changes due to long-term consumption of Xenos corpses, was viewed as fallen by Huang Laohan, and was thus erased?

Was it originally designed to exterminate Xenos by eating them, only to end up becoming Xenos, a plan that backfired?】

As Ninglu reined in his consciousness, he could not help but wonder what would happen if the Second Legion had not been destroyed and encountered the Tyranids, and they began to devour one another.

【It probably still wouldn't be as efficient as the bugs, but the image is quite comical.】

Ninglu reined in his thoughts and began to revise the plan he had previously formulated for exerting influence over the Second Legion.

He had originally intended to keep the Faceless by his side to exert influence through subtle, imperceptible means.

In this way, when Huang Laohan would choose the affiliation of the Second Legion in the future, he would take into account the difficulty and time required for integration and absorption.

But now he had rejected this plan; he did not want the Eleventh Legion to be influenced by a corpse-eating culture.

The Faceless concealed the secret of their consumption of Xenos and disliked fighting in coordination, so it would also be inconvenient if they were to act together.

Thinking of this, Ninglu already had a new plan in his heart.

"You will rest and refit first; ten stellar days from now, all Company Captains are to come and attend my Legion's strategic meeting."

"At that time, I will issue orders."

(End of this chapter)