Emperor's Bane

Chapter 164 The only choice
According to legend, the master of the human empire possesses innumerable powerful weapons. In his personal arsenal, there are as many terrifying magic soldiers capable of destroying kingdoms and planets as there are stars in the sky.

And at certain moments, the Lord of Humanity will also select suitable existences from these most powerful weapons, and bestow them on outstanding characters who can control their power and gain his trust: the latter is often several times more difficult than the former times.

In countless years, this kind of gift may have happened many times. Countless heroes including the Lord of the Death Whispers of the No.14 Legion of Astartes have had such honors, but among them, the one who is truly known to the world There are very few people who have been sung and sung, and among these few cases, the most famous ones are the two spears of the gods.

The Spear of the Sun God is held tightly by the head of the Custodians at all times: Valdor, in that unshakable hand, this powerful weapon that is majestic in the name of the Sun God, so that the Chief Custodian can see every one he kills. A memory in an opponent's mind: Whether it is humiliation, pain, or beauty, all kinds of sinful emotions in the world are accompanied by killing, washing Waldo's spirit over and over again, making him the purest weapon in the world. A breathing, blade wielding only for the Emperor, without really losing all of its humanity.

The other powerful weapon, which is independent of the Apollonian Spear, but complements it, is the Dionysian Spear, the most powerful and hated weapon of Leman Russ, the king of Fenris and the Space Wolves. , Only when it is absolutely necessary will it be used on the most urgent battlefield.

And this magical weapon also has its own powerful power: whenever the drunken Lord of the Wild Wolf tears away his foolish illusion and reveals his brutal and cunning fangs, accompanied by his impossible-to-miss Hunted ferociously, every opponent and king wounded by the spear of Dionysus, no matter how powerful, ruthless, or depraved he is, will involuntarily fall into the pain of memory and sobriety, facing the The most vulnerable part of my heart returns to its original form.

In many cases, this is even a more terrible punishment than death, and the weapon in Leman Russ' hands, which inherits the name of Dionysus, the god of wine in ancient mythology, even contains the power of the lord of mankind himself. The power, so that such a terrible punishment can befall every injured opponent, no matter how powerful he is.

No matter how decisive it is.

Even gods, weak gods who walk in the mortal world and have not yet awakened themselves, absolutely cannot escape.

------

When Skanderbeg took the first batch of airdrop pods and crashed into this steel world that was already wrapped in blood and death, it felt a long-lost emotion, a feeling that had not been in its body for at least 500 years. Emotions that have appeared in the giant heart.

No, calm down.

Look for the lord.

It's not over yet.

As long as the Emperor is still...the Empire will never come to an end.

keep cool!

It ordered itself and urged itself like this. On its ferocious head that was not protected by a helmet, a pair of pupils mixed with jet black and scarlet swept across the ruins of a desolate battlefield at the fastest speed. In just one breath, he found the location of his lord.

Without any hesitation, Skanderbeg turned into a black lightning and came behind his lord, and behind it were more and more forces that were coming.

That figure, the figure that it had sworn hundreds of years ago to follow and be loyal to the end of time, was standing there.

Skanderbeg walked behind the emperor of his race, and felt a trace of ancient memories: 1000 years ago, it was standing on the highest mountain of its parent planet in exactly this posture, listening Taking the Emperor's oath, he also took his own oath.

That was a long time ago, but nonetheless, in all these centuries of allegiance and killing, it has never repeated that oath.

For a real oath, it is enough to say it solemnly once.

"Lord."

It bowed its head and called it respectfully.

But in front of it, its lord, Ran Dan's emperor, did not respond, it just looked indifferently at the [Fate Engine] that could no longer be recovered, and indifferently watched the continuous stream of painful souls gushing out of that place. A cage, and because of the almost incomprehensible pulling ability of this terrible machine, it is impossible to escape very far: they cannot escape, but they cannot be put into use.

Souls, those souls, those souls born and fallen in endless pain and distortion, they are in groups, they are unstoppable, their numbers bring absolute power, they can easily crush any arrogant king and the kingdom.

Even the most greedy, despicable, and vicious Spider Queen dared not dare to speak to this hot-mouthed tonic without making all preparations, because such a huge power can certainly make her stronger Enough to face any blood relative, but also has the possibility of completely tearing her apart.

But now, facing another powerful being, facing Ran Dan's emperor, they can't do anything: they are in pain, they are roaring, they are using the dry hoarse roar of their souls to utter endless vicious curses and curses , They rushed out of the cage visible to the naked eye but were trapped in a new cage. In a rage, they rushed to the alien king, but hesitated in front of its strength and momentum.

The emperor of the aliens didn't even bother to give them a look. It just silently witnessed its own hope and hard work, and now only the dilapidated remains remained. It looked at it and didn't speak for a long time.

Skanderbeg lowered his head, waiting for the order and words of the lord for a long, long time.

Until, it heard that old sigh.

------

【We failed. 】

[Skanderbeg, we have failed. 】

[Challenging the gods is nothing but a struggle to seek death, and the search for fate is nothing but a predetermined comedy. Thousands of golden thrones are in dilapidated condition, telling the fate of every challenger. 】

[But even so, even so ridiculous and pathetic, but the possibility of launching a challenge alone is the most precious wealth in the void, and millions of races, empires, and civilizations fight to the death to compete for one A priceless gem. 】

[Every era, every reincarnation of rise and fall, is destined to have only one winner, he will get everything, he will control the galaxy, and he will have the qualifications and qualifications to challenge and gamble against the existence in the deepest part of the void Possibilities, dying with solemn promises and good expectations for one's own race. 】

[This is our mission, the sole purpose of our birth. 】

[But now, I have failed. 】

[Skanderbeg. 】

[I failed to win the power of this challenge for my people, we fell in the first round of this cruel game, we lost all possibilities of the future: we once had them, although so Small. 】

[But now, there is no more. 】

[I only see darkness. 】

------

The alien emperor's words were old, like the most ordinary old man, with the most trembling voice, telling a thing that made him regret the most.

And hearing this, Skanderbeg: the leader of the most powerful army in the Randan Empire, a legend of undefeated for 1000 years, and the most trusted blade of Randan's emperor, finally raised his head.

The emperor, its lord, is so tall and beautiful, even the most superb artist that the Randan Empire can find cannot carve a ten-thousandth of its majestic face.

In Skanderbeg's memory, everything was as it should be: but all it saw was a withered figure, a most ordinary diminutive thing, a slave who was even the humblest of Randan's A taller and stronger existence: this is Ran Dan's emperor.

Every Randan warrior knows that when they look at their emperor, they will only see the greatest warrior, the greatest commander, and the most heroic god: only the most perfect image in their hearts, The aggregate of all truth and correctness in the world.

But that's just an illusion.

Scanderbeg knows, and only Scanderbeg knows, that its lord is this crooked figure in its eyes: it was once taller, majestic, and more heroic and heroic than all the most boastful warriors combined.

Until that day, it made its own choice, and it carried the empire, civilization, and race.

The blood that was once hot has turned into the vast fleet that is now a sea of ​​smoke, and the once heroic aura has turned into an army that is now fighting to the death. The hair and face have decayed and dripped on the ground, pouring out countless flying flags, covering the territory of the empire. Inserted all over half the galaxy.

This is its master.

Ran Dan's emperor.

Skanderbeg looked up.

It looked at its master, its only master, and it spoke, forcing the trembling lips to speak.

"But... but, my lord."

"This is impossible."

"You are still here, you are still leading us, leading the empire, it is impossible for us to lose victory and hope."

"We have more legions! We have more fleets! We have hundreds of millions of warriors and tens of billions of subjects, each of whom will die for you, and will follow in your footsteps forever, until time the end!"

"You have not fallen! My lord! Then the empire has not fallen!"

"You are the Empire!"

【…】

And the only answer to it was silence.

[I was never an empire, Skanderbeg, my dearest friend. 】

[I can't represent the empire, I can't represent my people, I can't represent even the most ordinary Randan people, all I do is appear in front of them and make promises to them, promises about Xinghai and the future. 】

[They believed in me, they chose me, and our cause will stand proudly in countless worlds and establish this great but bloody country. 】

[But this does not mean that I can represent anyone, yes, my order can make every soldier leave his family, let every piece of steel be cast into a battleship, let every child and blood receive relevant education from an early age, and become a The most ruthless and fanatical killer. 】

[But, that's all. 】

[This is my task. 】

【my responsibility. 】

【my choice. 】

[My promise. 】

[Only not, my power. 】

[I don't have such power, no one can have such power: If someone can do this, it can only mean that my dreams and plans have completely failed and become worthless garbage. 】

Ran Dan's emperor looked at his most trusted subordinates. After a long time, he slowly turned his head, and above their heads, the war was still going on: the human fleet had forced Ran Dan's army away from the tower. X[-], allowing them to massacre the Randan landing forces left on the surface, but despite this, the army of aliens stagnant in the void is still an invincible number, a number that is enough for Jonson to think about evacuating Question numbers.

But now, at this moment, they have nothing to do with Emperor Ran Dan.

It just looked at the [Destiny Engine] that no longer had any possibility, and said in a muttering tone.

【This is Ran Dan's empire. 】

【Not the emperor's empire. 】

------

[They believed in me, Skanderbeg, they chose to believe in me, and have been for 1000 years, supporting my decisions, all my decisions: whatever it is. 】

It walked up, slapping the shell of the creation heavily.

[Even if it's a gamble. 】

[It is the craziest gamble. 】

[It's a gamble for survival. 】

------

[I lied to everyone, Skanderbeg. 】

[From the moment this war fell into a tug-of-war, we have no possibility of victory, and we are doomed. 】

【What I have done is just a crazy gamble. I am betting. I am betting that this deal with subspace existence, countless massacres and resentments, can be exchanged for a truly powerful weapon of war, which can protect us from breaking through our opponents. Layers of barriers, rushed to that place. 】

[That Holy Terra. 】

It closed its eyes and remained silent for a long time.

------

[It's over, Skanderbeg. 】

[That human being, that cold-blooded creature named Mengele, he was right. 】

[Let's issue an order to disband all subsequent fleets, and let those fleets that were forcibly conscripted leave the battle sequence. 】

[Tell them. 】

[Scatter and run for your life. 】

[Escape, escape at all costs, even if you are escaping back to our home planet, don’t stop for a moment, escape, escape to the darkest edge of the galaxy, avoid human pursuit and endless revenge. 】

【Then……】

【Live. 】

[In this most terrible age ruled by the most terrible race, live. 】

The alien emperor gave his orders word for word, and for the rare, if not the only time, Skanderbeg raised his head.

"My lord, this..."

[To execute. 】

[For my promises, my lies and my gamble, they have already shed their own blood and tears, and gave up their everything and hope. 】

【I failed. 】

[I dragged them down. 】

[I cannot, will not, and have no qualifications to ask them to do more. 】

[As I said, from the beginning, I didn't have this kind of power. 】

------

The dead silence lasted for a long time, just like the short and long echo before death.

"Is there really... is there no way, my lord? Can't even your wisdom think of any way?"

[This was originally a last resort, Skanderbeg. 】

The alien emperor caressed the [Destiny Engine] that was getting more and more broken, and muttered to himself.

[Compared to humans, we are still too weak. 】

[Yes, my friend, I do have another way. 】

[These souls haven't dissipated yet, they still have great power, as long as we can trap them and let them attach to a brand new container, we still have the possibility to continue this expedition. 】

[Until Holy Terra. 】

[Or the whole army is wiped out. 】

The light called hope flickered in Skanderbeg's pupils for only a moment, then turned into something called shock and despair.

It thought of something.

"My lord...you..."

【Yes, my friend. 】

The alien emperor turned his head and showed a smile to his partner, a smile that was irresistible.

【We only have one choice, right? 】

【This is... the last thing I can do for my race. 】

Skanderbeg wanted to howl, to rush to stop, to do everything: but it couldn't do anything.

It can only watch, watch its lord, its emperor, and all of it, stepping firmly towards the most terrifying cage, torture, torture, and despair in the entire galaxy.

Emperor.

Without any hesitation.

It came there, and then, walked in, countless souls rushed over at this moment, drowning it.

drowned everything.

------

【In this galaxy, there are as many kinds of sufferings, responsibilities and sacrifices as there are stars. 】

[Every race, when it desires to survive and grow among the stars, and fulfills its ambition and greed, it will face these difficulties, one after another. 】

【To experience, to suffer, to overcome. 】

【I am your emperor, I am the one who led you and chose this path and these sufferings. 】

[I am a careerist. 】

[I am a fantasist. 】

【I am the guilty one. 】

[I am arrogant. 】

[I can't do anything. 】

[And now, my friend, the only thing I can do is this. 】

[When we face suffering, when we have to make sacrifices, when we must elect a tragic character, to turn all hopes, all despairs, all responsibilities, and all futures into an eternal A cage that is impossible to break out of, a shackle that can never be undone. 】

[Someone has to bear all this. 】

[And I, I will use the power you gave me, my only power, to guarantee one thing. 】

【that person. 】

[It can only be me. 】

(End of this chapter)