Chapter 63: Lieutenant Titus, Come and Follow the Emperor's Chosen!

An image of a muscle-bound powerhouse instantly flashed through Rhode’s mind—someone who could tear a Tyranid Hive Tyrant apart with his bare hands, punch Daemon Princes, and kick Ork Warlords across the battlefield.

No wonder this guy possessed such formidable combat prowess!

So it was you all along, Titus! That is quite a legendary figure!

Barely a century after crossing the threshold to become a Space Marine, he had already risen to the rank of Captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company.

Had it not been for certain events where his ungrateful rookie subordinate falsely accused him of Chaos heresy, he undoubtedly would have achieved even greater glory within the Ultramarines mother chapter.

As for why he was mentally dubbed the "Khorne's Chosen"?

That was because his ferocity in combat reached absolute extremes, relying almost entirely on Kratos-style brutal executions.

Furthermore, the more gruesome the kills and the more violent the executions, the more Titus could regenerate his health, armor, and stamina! The more he slaughtered, the stronger he grew.

Of course, those mechanics were merely gameplay requirements designed to provide players with a health-recovery system, while the cinematic execution animations were meant to captivate the audience, deliver visual impact, and showcase the sheer might of the Adeptus Astartes.

In reality, Titus possessed no such supernatural restorative abilities. During his prior campaigns against the xenos hordes, there was never any sign of him recovering vitality, repairing armor, or regaining stamina simply by butchering bugs.

However, one thing was undeniably true: Titus was impervious to the corruption of Chaos.

Even when exposed to Warp-spawned entropic energies potent enough to utterly corrupt multiple Space Marines simultaneously, he remained completely unscathed, standing tall as if nothing had happened at all.

He could even casually backhand and lay low a Daemon Prince on the verge of completing its ascension.

This was precisely the primary reason why his rookie subordinates grew suspicious that their captain had fallen to Chaos corruption. In the Warhammer universe, such a fate befalling a Space Marine was far too common an occurrence.

Though Titus himself remained entirely clueless as to why he possessed this immunity, the protagonist who spanned both Space Marine games maintained an absolute, unwavering loyalty to the Imperium and the Emperor.

Why was Titus immune to the taint of Chaos? Rhode himself was quite curious. Could it be that the Emperor had secretly placed him under His personal divine protection?

Regardless, his combat capabilities firmly placed him in the echelon of a Chapter Master.

"Lieutenant Titus, how long have you served in the Deathwatch Blackshields? I noticed three service studs upon your brow; does that mean you have served for three hundred years?" Rhode asked.

"Yes, my lord. Over a century ago, I was accused by my own subordinate of being corrupted by the forces of Chaos. Consequently, I was detained by the Inquisition, enduring a century of imprisonment.

"Following that, I was selected to serve among the Deathwatch Blackshields. In another decade or so, my total service will reach four hundred years," Titus replied.

Throughout the long, desolate years of his imprisonment, he had harbored lingering fantasies concerning his founding chapter.

He had dreamed that Chapter Master Calgar would come to deliver him, to prove his innocence, and to vindicate his absolute loyalty to the Imperium and the Emperor.

Yet time erodes all things. It seemed he had been utterly forgotten by the Ultramarines chapter; not a single word of defense or advocacy ever reached him from his brothers.

It appeared the Ultramarines had completely abandoned him, cast away their former 2nd Company Captain.

Ultimately, Titus chose to accept his fate, remaining within the ranks of the Deathwatch Blackshields to slaughter the xenos of the galaxy until the day he drew his final breath.

"The Emperor be praised, you must have endured a multitude of trials. However, I have just used the Emperor's psychic power to bestow a divine ward upon you.

"There is nothing amiss with your soul; you have never been corrupted by Chaos. Of that, I can assure you," Rhode declared.

Very well, from now on, you shall ride with me!

At that moment, Rhode was actively scheming to lure this overpowered powerhouse to his side to act as his personal bodyguard.

"You flatter me too much, Lord Rhode. I never imagined that one day a true Chosen of the Emperor would stand before me, bearing the magnificent creations of humanity's Golden Age," Titus remarked.

"Lieutenant Titus, my status as the Chosen is exceptionally delicate, and this matter of being the Emperor's Chosen must remain strictly confidential.

"As a seasoned veteran, you are well aware of the current state of the Imperium," Rhode said, releasing a heavy sigh and projecting an expression of profound disappointment.

"My lord, are you... are you concerned about the Ecclesiarchy? How—how dare they?" Titus seemed to grasp the implication instantly, a surge of intense indignation rising within him.

As an experienced Space Marine captain with three centuries of service under his belt, Titus was intimately familiar with the true nature of the Ecclesiarchy. Should a genuine Chosen of the Emperor manifest,

if they could control him, they would undoubtedly exploit him for propaganda; but if they could not control him, they would spare no effort to denounce him, branding him a heretic in order to eliminate him.

He held zero fondness for the scoundrels of the Ecclesiarchy, particularly certain Inquisitors. After all, he had once been slapped with trumped-up charges of Chaos corruption for no apparent reason and imprisoned for a century.

He was only released after the Inquisitor responsible for his confinement died under mysterious circumstances. Imprisoned for a hundred years merely on suspicion, without ever receiving a shred of absolution,

and denied even the basic decency of a fair trial—one could easily imagine the depraved nature of the Imperial Ecclesiarchy and the High Lords of Terra.

At this thought, Titus clenched his fists. How vile and thoroughly decayed!

The Ecclesiarchy of the present age had fallen so low that a true Chosen of the Emperor was forced to conceal his very identity. What an unspeakable disgrace!

Though he loathed to admit it, the Imperium of today was truly rotten to its core.

Great Emperor! Was the appearance of Your Chosen before me a portentous sign? What path shall Your Angels of Death choose?

"Rest assured! My covert mission shall not endure indefinitely, for I have received a divine prophecy from the Emperor Himself.

"One year from now, at the very close of the 41st Millennium, a divine scion of the Emperor shall awaken from his millennia-long slumber.

"The Primarch of the Ultramarines Chapter, the true master of the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar.

"Roboute Guilliman shall awaken from his sleep of ten thousand years to become the Lord Commander of the Imperium, to set things right, and to save a decaying realm," Rhode proclaimed.

"My Lord Rhode! Are—are you speaking the truth? My gene-father, Roboute Guilliman, will awaken from his millennial slumber?" Titus asked, staring at Rhode with an expression of sheer disbelief.

As a member of the Ultramarines and a former captain of the 2nd Company, he had naturally made pilgrimages on Macragge to pay homage to his gene-father.

That very Primarch had slumbered within the stasis field for ten thousand years—the father of all Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman.

"Indeed! Furthermore, I am the linchpin in the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman, and this awakening of the Primarch is destined to be fraught with peril.

"The Imperium is on the precipice of its darkest hour, the darkest millennium in its history. Are you willing to stand by my side and aid in the resurrection of the Primarch?" Rhode asked with a nod.

No loyal Space Marine could ever refuse the call to save his gene-father.