Emperor's Bane

Chapter 543: Reunion and Dignity

"So, Morgan, what you mean is that you want our two legions to join forces and conduct a complete evacuation of the residents of Perfect City: as soon as possible before the Emperor's wrath completely burns the city to ashes?"

[Otherwise, do you have any more efficient method, Robert? ]

"On a humanitarian basis: Not yet."

The corners of Lord Macragge's mouth twitched slightly, but soon returned to normal. His eyes and attention were focused on the thick stack of files in front of him, as if talking to his blood relatives was just a side thing.

The Archon's hand, which was used to holding a quill, tightly grasped the rough parchment, and his cobalt blue pupils flickered with the luster of reading at a frequency of milliseconds: the master of the five hundred worlds had just taken over this long book that was almost three fingers thick from Morgan's hand less than a minute ago, and now, he had chewed up most of the information and knowledge in it into his brain.

This made Guilliman curl his lips, looking relieved.

"To be honest, Morgan, my idea actually coincides with yours. As early as when the Emperor told me that he planned to send my legion to deal with the problems in Perfect City, I immediately created an action plan: including how to evacuate the six billion people in the entire Perfect City within a maximum of seven days."

[Did you know that there would be six billion people in this city? ]

Morgan leaned back in her seat, her back and left shoulder and elbow squeezed together, her free right hand tightly holding the same document: When asking this question, the Primarch's eyes swept over her blood relatives with interest, and he was obviously very interested in the specific source of the Lord of Five Hundred Worlds to obtain this accurate information.

After all, from beginning to end, Morgan never forgot one thing: although the Macragge people seemed to have little interest in all matters of the Human Empire, in his conversations with Morbai, Guilliman would always inadvertently reveal his meticulous understanding of the outside world, and more specifically, of other Astartes Legions.

He knew the movements of other Legions and their internal situations, and knew the capabilities of the best of their brothers and their real-time positions better than his own blood brothers themselves: no one knew how Guilliman did this, and it was something that became more terrifying the more one thought about it.

The reason why the Lord of Avalon was able to perceive this was that Guilliman accidentally revealed a clue during their routine government exchanges: the Macragge people had boasted to Morgan about a fortress built by her [Special Employee] Dantioch in the Salamas sector, and in the letter they euphemistically expressed their desire to obtain the final design blueprint of the fortress.

But what's interesting is that when Morgan received this letter, Dantioch had just built the fortress for less than half a month, and he had never boasted about it: this horrifying reality once made Morgan throw the entire General Administration of Internal Affairs to the Salamas star zone, but in the end he still got nothing.

From that moment on, the Spider Queen actively sought to pry open Guilliman's mouth: but this was obviously a difficult goal.

"It's just hearsay."

Faced with Morgan's curiosity, Guilliman just smiled and brushed it off.

His smile was so perfect and non-threatening, just like the sun that had just broken through the morning light. This gentle smile came not so much from the flesh as from a passionate heart: it was an optimistic mentality that could only be born out of an infinite desire for the future, and a simple self-confidence that firmly believed that one could overcome all suffering.

Morgan spent a second staring at the smile. She always hoped to find some clues in it, but failed every time: Guilliman's smile was always puzzling to her. If she only looked at this smile, then the Macragge people seemed to be simple people who believed in the essence and ideals of the Great Crusade and believed that the Great Renaissance would definitely be realized.

In other words, even Corax would not be so idealistic: Guilliman seemed to be unable to see the countless sufferings lurking in the dark corners of the galaxy. He truly believed that the Great Crusade they had launched would lead to a glorious future without the smoke of war.

From this point of view, he seems to be the one who is most like the Emperor.

The same...frivolous.

Morgan burst out laughing at this speculation in his mind.

But she could still hear the next words from Guilliman's mouth.

"But in any case, Morgan, I am very happy that we can reach a tacit understanding on this point in advance without any discussion or debate: no matter what specific orders the Emperor gives us, we must be responsible for the billions of lives in the Perfect City."

"I hope we can continue to be on the same page on this, sister."

【certainly. 】

The Primarch noticed the look in her blood relative's eyes, she smiled and made a promise.

【Just for the perfect city? 】

"Not really."

Guilliman shook his head.

"The Perfect City was originally a mistake. It was just like the wrong path that Luo Jia had taken. It didn't have much to recommend it, but the billions of people in it were innocent. Although they became believers who went against the truth of the Empire, they themselves were not cunning. They were also working hard to manage their own lives with a positive attitude. It was just that before this, they did not receive the correct guidance."

"So, faith is not the reason why they should be punished: even if our Gene Father really wants to punish Lorgar and his Word Bearers Legion for the problems of the Perfect City, we must keep these innocent people away from the Emperor's wrath during the early cleanup activities."

"Speaking of which, I hope you have also planned a plan in advance, Morgan, so that we can exchange our plans and better check for deficiencies: only the eyes of others can see the whole person."

The primarch smiled.

I do have a plan.

Morgan rubbed her chin and put the document in her hand aside.

[But it's very rough, because I don't have much time to prepare, so I'd rather see yours, but there's one thing I want to ask in advance, Robert: Do you really think your plan will be implemented smoothly? ]

"...It's hard."

Morgan's question made Guilliman silent for a moment, then he shook his head, bitterness overflowing from the corners of his mouth. The brilliance of idealism in his chest was dormant at this moment under the ruthless logic of realism in his mind.

"Although I personally hope to save the residents of the Perfect City from fighting, based on my understanding of that city, their residents will definitely not be moved by words: I will order my soldiers to strictly abide by the complete evacuation time of seven days, and try not to use force unless they have to passively fight back."

[So what do you think is the probability of a violent conflict? ]

“Almost 100 percent.”

The Primarch snorted softly, obviously thinking of something bad.

"After all, that's six billion people, and we can't guarantee that every one of them is calm and wise: for comparison, there are only 400 million people on my Macragge, but even so, there is still a community of Illyrians that gives me a headache. They are willing to be restrained by their inner savagery and constantly resist my rule."

"If this is the case with 400 million enlightened people, what about the 6 billion stubborn believers?"

(Yes, I wrote it correctly. According to the information I found, there are only 400 million people on Macragge, and the natural environment of Macragge is not that good. In general, it is a relatively difficult civilized world.)

"I try to avoid conflict as much as possible, but the end result is ..."

Guilliman hesitated for a moment, and his next words came out as a sigh.

"I just hope that Luo Jia can stay rational and not be consumed by anger."

"I only hope that the Emperor can find a way to help our brothers who have fallen into ignorance to return to the right path."

"I hope things won't get worse: but if the Emperor is here, they won't."

【…】

Guilliman's words made Morgan pause for a moment, and then the Lord of Avalon raised her head, with dark lines on her face, and glanced at her brother.

It was an extremely complex look: it contained pity, ridicule, contempt, speechlessness, absurdity, and a myriad of other things that Guilliman couldn't put into words.

【I think it’s better to believe in our own efforts than to rely on others. 】

The Primarch snorted.

[I hope you brought enough strength this time, Robert: You should have brought enough strength, right? ]

Halfway through her words, the Lord of Avalon glanced suspiciously at the bird's-eye view of the auspicious instrument hanging on the side of her head. The hundreds of densely packed red dots on it symbolized the huge fleet following Archon Macragge: they were the newly formed 43rd Expedition Fleet, loaded with elites from all over the five hundred worlds.

"of course."

Guilliman nodded sheepishly.

"Although I was unable to gather my entire legion due to the necessary defense forces in 500 different parts of the world, as well as the expeditionary fleets of various branches that had not yet returned in time, I still brought as many warriors as possible, which is equivalent to about 60% of the strength of the Ultramarines."

"It's not a particularly large number: barely over a hundred and twenty thousand."

【…】

Morgan: Lord of sixty thousand Dawnbreakers.

The Primarch's face was somewhat distorted, but this distortion had obviously caused her Macragge relatives to have a wonderful misunderstanding: so, Guilliman quickly raised his hand and wrote a string of numbers in the air that made Morgan gasp twice, trying hard to make up for himself.

"But don't worry, Morgan. I have brought enough heavy firepower and war equipment, as well as a large expeditionary fleet of nearly two hundred capital ships and a matching number of mortal auxiliary troops."

【……? ? ? 】

What are you doing with the heavy firepower and equipment?
Aren't we just going to burn... evacuate a city?

Morgan's mouth was slightly open, his eyes were dull, and he fell into silence.

"what happened?"

Guilliman realized it later.

[Nothing: Why do you carry so much heavy equipment? ]

"Ah, this..."

The Macragge hesitated.

"Because this is the first time I have received a direct order from the Emperor, and it is such a sensitive issue, so I subconsciously prepared myself and armed my 120,000 soldiers as much as possible to deal with any emergency that may occur at any time."

"Is there any problem?" [...Nothing.]

Morgan grinned.

[I hope Luo Jia will really believe that we are only targeting the Perfect City, not him and his Word Bearers Legion. ]

"I'm a little confused, Morgan."

[You don't need to understand, Robert: Since you have more people with you, then the main task of evacuation will be left to you. After all, I can only mobilize 20,000 Dawnbreaker warriors, and my preparations are not...proper.]

The Spider Queen licked her lips, and in her exaggerated smile, she concealed some realities from her blood relatives: Morgan did indeed only take out 20,000 Dawnbreaker warriors, but more than 6,000 of these 20,000 were Terra veterans who had participated in the Unification War, and the remaining more than 10,000 had also fought on the battlefield and were elites who could be deployed into battle at any time.

In terms of overall quality, this force has surpassed all the resources that Morgan had spent to support Zhuang Sen in the Third Randan War: nourished by the potential of the Far Eastern border, the strength of the Dawnbreakers has doubled in the past few decades.

However, because of the comparison target of Guilliman, Morgan always felt that her business was not very successful: otherwise, why couldn't she come up with 120,000 people?

"Didn't you make the necessary preparations?"

Guilliman frowned.

[Hmm... I can't say anything. ]

Morgan thought for a moment.

[I actually mobilized the hidden energy of the Second Legion.]

"Hidden energy?"

[Ah, ten hours ago, I just spoke to Jonson on the phone, asking if our Caliban brother could squeeze out some time from his busy schedule to go to the Perfect City to ensure... be prepared.]

"That's what he said."

[Jonson was quick to point out that he just happened to have a few months free.]

"So, are we still going to act with the lion of Caliban?"

The Lord of Macragge rubbed his brows in pain, and he seemed to have mentioned a word that was most uncomfortable for him: To be honest, when the Emperor first revealed to him that he was going to let him take his Ultramarines to deal with the problems of the Perfect City, Guilliman had secretly prayed in his heart, hoping that he would not bear this pressure alone.

His prayer was effective: during the Emperor's second conversation with him, the mission was changed to be carried out jointly by him and Morgan, which really relieved the Macragge people: However, now thinking back...

Was he praying a little too much?
Guilliman pursed his lips, his face pale. Obviously, the joining of a certain Caliban man made Guilliman very uneasy: Morgan noticed the embarrassment of his relative in time, and then gave him a comforting smile.

[Don't worry, Robert, Jonson won't be a problem. Someone will be able to control the lion on this mission: you don't think you're the first person to suggest that I make more preparations.]

"Who else?"

【Emperor.】

The primarch smiled.

[When our gene father gave me this order, he added a sentence at the end, asking me to prepare some necessary means: I once asked him what the necessary means were.]

"Then?"

[Then, he assembled the entire Custodian Army in front of me, and called Leman Russ, ordering his Space Wolves to prepare: Yes, not only Jonson and his Dark Angels, but our father also led the entire Custodian Army and the entire Space Wolves to the Perfect City. As for our two legions? They are just the vanguard of this event.]

"hiss……"

Guilliman's eyes widened.

"Four legions? Plus the Imperial Guard?"

"What on earth does father want to do? Did Luo Jia do something blasphemous?"

【How would I know?】

Morgan's voice was lazy and he seemed very nonchalant.

She really didn't know. Of the information she already had, the only thing that was certain was the inefficiency of the Word Bearers and Lorgar's fanaticism in his faith: the former could only illustrate the incompetence of the entire Seventeenth Legion, while the latter was never a big problem in Morgan's view.

In fact, the Lord of Avalon had always doubted whether the so-called "faith" was the red line in the Emperor's heart: look at the Mechanicus who praised the name of the Omnissiah all day long; look at the secret worship of the Emperor's ascension to godhood that has been quietly going on in the world of the Empire; not to mention the efforts of the Word Bearers Legion over the years...

If faith could really shake the red line in the Emperor's heart, then his entire Great Crusade must have been accompanied by the uninterrupted music of "Ambush from All Sides".

Even when sleeping.

……hiss……

As a person who was often forced to suffer from insomnia, Morgan suddenly understood the occasional tics of her genetic father.

[In short, Robert, don't worry about these things: neither the Custodians nor the Space Wolves can be changed by the will of the two of us, let alone Jonson. We just need to do our part. ]

[You take out your plan, put it into practice, formulate and execute the evacuation of the entire Perfect City. As for whether the residents are willing to cooperate, what kind of questions Luo Jia will raise to us after his arrival, and other verbal work, leave it all to me: we divide the work and treat it as an ordinary overtime task.]

[There's not much overtime pay anyway, so I'll just muddle through and make it sound reasonable later...]

Morgan's voice became softer and softer, and the last sound was almost like he was talking to himself.

"So much the better."

Guilliman nodded, and admittedly felt a little elated: the thought of not having to do the verbal negotiations gave the Lord of Macragge a new appreciation for his kinsman of Avelorn.

"But, Morgan: Aren't you really curious about why the Emperor summoned so many legions?"

"As far as I can remember, there doesn't seem to be any operation that would require four legions."

【……yes. 】

The Primarch was silent for a moment, then nodded.

But deep down, Morgan already knew the answer to Guilliman's question.

The Emperor's actions were not difficult to interpret: he was simply about to return to Terra and could no longer take care of the front lines of the Great Crusade, so many things that had originally been planned to be done in a long-term manner now required drastic measures.

The four legions that are about to gather in the Perfect City are an example.

If Luo Jia's matter could finally get a reasonable solution.

It was just a rare reunion among four or five brothers.

But if Luo Jia's matter couldn't be settled smoothly in the end...

Then, the only thing left for Luo Jia, and even the entire Word Bearers, is to leave in a dignified manner.

but no matter……

【Since the order has been issued, we have no reason to disobey it.】

Morgan glanced at the clock.

[My legion still needs three hours to complete the final supply work. How about your Ultramarines, Guilliman? ]

“About the same time.”

The Macragge nodded.

【Then we will officially start the subspace voyage in four hours. 】