Emperor's Bane

Chapter 557: Punch the Emperor with 3 Punches!

Chapter 557: Punch the Emperor with Three Punches!

"Jihad."

"Is this the path you chose for Lorgar and the Word Bearers?"

"Yes."

"Since they have believed in religion, they have no other options."

The seal bearer sighed.

"In fact, the Emperor, Morgan, and I have studied this many times."

"Under the current circumstances, it is impossible to completely turn the Word Bearers back into the original Iconoclasts, or even the Golden Word Messengers who protect the truth of the Empire. It is too late."

"Unless we can carry out a complete blood transfusion of Lorgar and the entire Word Bearers Legion, using purges or large-scale brainwashing to erase all religious marks: the workload is almost the same as completely annihilating the Seventeenth Legion and then reorganizing it."

"The latter is even easier."

"That's true."

Guilliman nodded empathetically: he had no doubt that if the Legions remaining in orbit joined forces with the Dark Angels who could arrive at any time, then destroying the entire Word Bearers would be nothing more than a special military operation of a few hours at most.

This is the case when the Lord of Mankind does not intervene at all: not every Primarch deserves an apocalyptic war.

However, if one wanted to mentally re-cleave the 17th Legion, just imagining the general workload, the Macragge people, who were famous for their multi-threaded thinking, could not help but feel a splitting headache.

"However, it is not advisable to leave the Word Bearers here and let them continue to rot and degenerate in the quagmire of religion: at least the Emperor would not allow such inefficient behavior to exist, right?"

After having a headache, Guilliman, out of a strange desire for revenge, took the initiative to add the second half of the sentence to Malcador beside him: He himself did not even realize that his awe of his genetic father did not seem as unattainable as it did at the beginning.

This is understandable: after witnessing the Emperor's [powerlessness] with his own eyes, and learning of the Emperor's various plans for his brother (even if he was not a very good brother) Lorgar, the flawless sun that once hung high in Guilliman's heart has now been stained with some worldly ashes.

But fortunately, as one of the few politicians among the twenty Primarchs and a true vassal, Guilliman actually understood from the bottom of his heart the helplessness of the Emperor's actions: emotionally, there was indeed a crack in the Lord of Mankind in his heart; but rationally, this made Guilliman feel that the Emperor in his eyes had become more three-dimensional.

It is unacceptable, but understandable, and the distance between us seems to have been shortened a lot.

It’s really...sad.

The Macragge man stroked his cheek and felt a little sad: he knew that this kind of sigh was the true background of politics.

"So, since we can neither completely rectify the chaos nor indulge in following the crowd, the only way is to compromise: organically combine the actual situation of the Word Bearers with the overall background of the Great Crusade, and finally reach a result that all parties involved in the incident can barely accept?"

"That's what I mean."

Malcador just nodded.

"And what lies before us is the result of this compromise: the Word Bearers' holy war. The new era of the Crusade not only satisfies the religious enthusiasm of the Seventeenth Legion itself, but also meets the Emperor's practical requirements for the Great Crusade."

Guilliman pursed his lips.

"After all, given the character of my gene father, as long as Lorgar and his legion can launch fanatical conquests and stop being so inefficient as before, even if their war slogan is faith and holy war, the Emperor will choose to turn a blind eye."

"He wants to be perfect."

The seal holder snorted coldly.

"But unfortunately, his laissez-faire attitude has made the situation irreversible."

"The Holy War is already the best outcome. After all, the original purpose of allowing the Word Bearers to return to the Great Crusade has been achieved. As for what the Seventeenth Legion's war slogan will be, it is probably because of the Emperor's own actions. Since he did not strongly oppose it in the beginning, who can he blame for being crowned as the God-Emperor now?"

Guilliman nodded.

He found that when he heard the ridicule of the Emperor from Malcador's mouth, he, the Primarch who should have been furious, actually felt a hint of pleasure in his heart: although he could not show it on the surface, in his heart, Guilliman actually agreed with the Sigillite's conclusion.

"I think this plan must have been proposed by Morgan, right?"

"how do you know?"

"I've been with her for a while: forty or fifty years, at least."

The Macragge laughed, and there was something boastful in his laughter.

"Even though we haven't met many times, I can still understand Morgan's temperament."

"My blood relative, although she appears to be a cold and selfless person who is keen on treating everyone equally, she is actually extremely protective, has strong desires, and has a great appetite. She is always in a contradictory position of being fair but biased, selfless but selfish, restrained but greedy. However, in most cases, Morgan can avoid falling into a real dilemma by constantly expanding the pie, distributing it relatively reasonably, and most importantly, staying rational on key issues."

"In other words, I'm not sure if Morgan is someone who can keep sailing in a storm, but she did use her wisdom and rationality to adjust her course several times before the storm came: I have witnessed all these years."

Speaking of this, the people of Macragge couldn't help but feel proud.

He showed a rare bit of genuine emotion.

"Standing in the Far Eastern Star Region, far away from the light of Holy Terra, establishing a civilized country in what you consider to be a barren land, and controlling the rise and fall of thousands of worlds: It does sound impressive, but in reality, the sacrifices and hardships required are far greater than you can imagine, for both Morgan and I."

"In fact, over the years, both Morgan's Far East Frontier and my Five Hundred Worlds have experienced major internal problems. The number of innocent people killed in these minor problems is tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions, not to mention the turmoil and trouble caused."

"What can we do? We just have to grit our teeth, use our means, support each other at all times, and remind each other: The Emperor's grace is like a longbow, shooting our arrows into the land he cannot take care of, but the rest, we can only rely on ourselves. This is how we got through the most difficult days."

"A little later, Conrad also joined our team. There was one more person who could support each other, but there was also one more responsibility to fulfill. So in my eyes, Morgan and Conrad are the two special brothers, and Morgan is even more special because Conrad would habitually rely on Morgan on many non-principled issues."

"It's not that he doesn't have ideas, he's just too lazy to use his noble brain."

"So, I know Morgan just as well as Morgan knows me."

Guilliman touched his cheek.

"So I am sure that Morgan's character has determined that she will be caught in a bigger storm sooner or later, because there is always a storm whose interests she cannot give up: she may hesitate for a moment, and then she will find that she can no longer get out of it."

“…What an interesting comment.”

The Sigillite spoke, his voice still flat, as if he had no interest in the relationship between Guilliman and Morgan: he took out a pair of sunglasses from his arms and covered his eyes, while with his other hand he produced a script and pretended to look at it.

"I have always thought you had a good opinion of Morgan, Guilliman."

"Ah, you're right."

The Macragge people smiled innocently.

"I do have a very good impression of Morgan, Master Seal. More than a decade ago, I listed Morgan as one of the four brothers I trusted. As for now? She is my best brother. If you let me talk about her advantages, I can stand here and talk to you for three days and three nights without repeating myself."

"But the only shortcoming I can be absolutely sure of is the one I just mentioned."

"The rest is speculation."

The Primarch felt somewhat helpless.

"After all, my relative is too introverted. She is good at handling various delicate tasks as a staff member, but she is extremely bad at expressing herself to the outside world. Even Leman Russ can surpass her in this respect."

“I hate to say it: but maybe that’s the subtle difference that comes with gender.”

"..."

Malcador said nothing, he just gave Guilliman a silent look.

But the Macragge man didn't notice the complicated look in the Sigillite's eyes at all. He just stood there and gave a long speech: a typical Guilliman-like problem.

"For those people and things that are close to her and can bring her benefits, Morgan will be extremely thoughtful and careful. You can entrust the most important things in the entire galaxy to Morgan in this state. She will devote far more effort and patience than you can imagine."

"The most typical example is Conrad, and I am the most authoritative witness because I am the only one who has witnessed Conrad's appearance before and after being changed by Morgan. They are completely different. Even if the Midnight Haunter regards Morgan as his reborn parent, I will not be surprised at all."

"Because my relative did everything a mother should do when facing Konrad. Regarding this point, I think among all the Primarchs, only I am qualified to make an evaluation."

"..."

Because you are the only one who meets the relevant hardware requirements, right?
The Sigillite murmured in his heart. He was not surprised why Guilliman's reputation among the Primarchs was so bad.

"What if you ask her to do something she doesn't like or that has no benefit..."

"Do I need to tell you that?"

Guilliman asked back, then pointed to the scene in the distance.

"Isn't that just like now?"

"Neither good nor bad, just around the passing line: just like Ruth."

"..."

"Apart from Leman Russ, would you blame anyone else?"

Others don’t know, but the relationship between the Seal Holder and the Wolf King has always been good.

"Uh……"

The Macragge's eyes darted around.

"Then it must be Jonson!"

"It must be that boy, Zhuang Sen. He has been causing so much trouble for Morgan that she couldn't handle it at all. In the end, she had to deal with it. Over time, she developed this bad habit of just trying to pass the exam."

"hiss……"

The seal holder clenched his chin.

"Don't say that..."

“That makes some sense.”

------

"By the way, Sigillite, you are in such a hurry to turn the Word Bearers into the Crusaders of the Great Crusade. Aren't you afraid that something bad will happen to them later? I remember that the Crusaders in ancient history all had good reputations."

"Why, is there a place called Constantinople in your five hundred worlds?"

"Not really: there are only seventeen or eighteen Romes."

"Then don't worry: In Terra's official archives, Avalon is called Constantinople. After all, no matter what Morgan said, he went from the west to the east of the galaxy, which is consistent with the history of Rome's migration from the west to the east."

"That's it..."

"What about my five hundred worlds?"

"Well, you know, as the founder of the Five Hundred Worlds, haven't you always been active in the East? In the eyes of the Terrans, you have always been an Oriental, and the Five Hundred Worlds were also founded by Orientals, Guilliman."

"so?"

“So: Costantiniya.”

"... Costantinye?"

Guilliman chewed on the name.

"what is that?"

"how to say……"

------

"That is our ultimate goal, the sacred temple in our hearts."

When the war cries of the Word Bearers Legion finally paused for a moment, their Gene-Father had already turned around and knelt before his Gene-Father again, doing his best to demonstrate the piety in his heart.

In Luo Jia's series of actions, Morgan discovered something very interesting: that is, the Great Speaker did not seem to look the Emperor in the eye very seriously from beginning to end, or examine the Emperor's face carefully.

If he did so, he would discover how stern the Emperor's expression was.

But Luo Jia didn't: he only worshipped the sacred light behind the Emperor, or perhaps as a believer, he didn't dare to look the god in his eyes.

The Primarch simply prostrated himself, tightly gripping the warhammer beside him, not for anything else, but because he now regarded this weapon of war as the great mission bestowed upon him by the God-Emperor: the warhammer would replace the scripture in Lorgar's hand and become the new foundation of faith for the entire Word Bearers Legion.

The time has come to raise the hammer: as long as it is in the name of God, the Seventeenth Legion will commit the most terrible war atrocities without hesitation. They may get lost on the road, or like the real Crusaders in history, they will eventually become a group of beasts in human skins, but the Emperor does not care about all this. He only cares about the thousands of lands that the fanaticism of faith will bring to him when these Crusaders just set out.

However, before that, the Great Speaker still needs to determine some details.

"God Emperor, please tell me."

The Great Bearer raised his head, his voice sounding more like a plea than a prayer: such a gesture was far too humble for a Primarch.

"Please tell your ignorant followers what the result of this divine enlightenment will be: before you leave, will you accept our sacrifice to the perfect city? Do you need us to light the torch with our own hands so that this city will be immortal because of your coming?"

[……] Morgan's eyebrows moved slightly. This question was more or less beyond her expectations. It seemed that the status of Perfect City in Luo Jia's heart was higher than she had originally expected: However, this accident was not enough to make the Spider Queen panic. She had a backup plan.

But before that...

Morgan looked towards the Emperor.

This is the true God-Emperor: the Primarch dare not forget this fact.

+...+
The Lord of Mankind remained silent for an indescribable moment. He looked like he was thinking about this question seriously, but Morgan could feel that the Emperor had made up his mind the moment Lorgar opened his mouth.

+ No. +
The voice was very soft, but it had an authority that could not be challenged, and did not even allow for further questions.

Luo Jia nodded. He did not feel disappointed about this. Instead, he was eager to try out the second plan in his mind.

"So, will you leave this holy city to us as a living symbol of your presence on earth, a holy city revered by all ages? I swear that my legion will only select the most pious residents, and they will never tarnish your greatness."

+ No. +
This time, the Emperor did not hesitate and even spoke a little louder.

Now, before the Great Speaker could continue speaking, Morgan already felt uneasy: neither allowing it to be burned as a sacrifice, nor allowing people to re-inhabit it, although there were other ways, the Emperor's tough attitude and lack of explanation made the Primarch smell the scent of impending storm.

On the other side, without being affected by Morgan's hesitation, Luo Jia's third proposal came immediately: compared with the previous two opinions, this proposal seemed much humbler.

"I understand, Father."

Luo Jia first bowed devoutly.

"I understand what you mean."

What do you understand, evil creature?
Morgan glanced at Luo Jia: Even she hasn't figured it out yet.

"Since you do not allow sacrifices and do not want it to be visited by the world again, then I will ensure the purity of this city. I will not let anyone interfere with it, Father. My legion and I only want to publicize the miracle of your personal descent before this city, so that it can become the object of worship for thousands of believers from afar and the spiritual sustenance of the Crusades in this new era."

"May I?"

Luo Jia raised his head, and his purple eyes made Morgan feel a little bit sorry.

But the answer to him was still:
+ No. +
There was no explanation, no emotion, not even the slightest rise or fall in his voice. This third tough stance directly extinguished the raging fire of faith in Balojia's heart. Faced with such facts, even the Great Speaker himself could not come up with any more explanations for his Divine Emperor in such a short period of time.

In Luo Jia's pupils, something that Morgan had just tried his best to smooth out seemed to gradually emerge again.

And the Emperor remained silent.

------

"Damn name."

Malcador cursed inwardly, while Guilliman beside him stroked his chin.

“Is this part of the script?”

"No, it was a performance accident."

The seal holder replied unhappily.

"Next time I should find a needle and thread with a timing system, and wait until that guy has finished speaking all the lines he needs to say, and then sew his mouth shut: he alone can kill as many people as a whole table of high lords on Terra."

Guilliman did not respond, he was just curious about one thing in his heart.

High Lord?
Are they irritating?

"Be at ease, Master of the Seal."

The Primarch spoke comfortingly.

"I believe Morgan will find a way."

"How come you are so confident?"

"After all, Morgan even thought of the possibility that the Emperor would be strangled by a greenskin warlord who suddenly emerged from the warp and shook him back and forth. It is impossible for her not to have thought of the high probability that the Emperor would suddenly speak. All she needs to do is..."

"Hey? What is she doing?"

"……nothing."

Malcador raised his eyelids and glanced at the center of the stage with a lack of interest: in Guilliman's eyes, he only saw his blood relative of Avalon suddenly adjust his posture, but in the eyes of the psychic master, he saw things in the spiritual realm.

"It's just that your sister just punched the Emperor three times."

"Using psychic energy."

"Ah... ah?"

"What did you say?"

------

[Are you sick? ]

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Morgan lowered her voice and gritted her teeth, her rage boiling in her mental realm like her trembling psychic fists: enough rage to crush an entire company of Astartes, now feeling the pain of being burned by the Emperor's defenseless, instinctive golden light.

The more it burns, the more painful it is. The more painful it is, the more frustrated I feel. The more frustrated I feel, the more I want to fight. The more I fight, the more I burn...

Morgan was so angry that his teeth itched.

Especially when the Primarch looked up and saw the innocent expression on the face of the cold sun, and the full tolerance of [a father watching his three-year-old daughter making trouble], Morgan put on a mask of pain.

【What are you doing? 】

With the last bit of rationality in her heart, the Primarch asked her genetic father with an extremely disrespectful tone: Anyone who is suddenly defeated by his partner when things are 99% done will definitely not perform better than the current Primarch.

＋It has to be done. ＋
The Emperor was still - damn - succinct.

[Why don't you let Luo Jia just burn down the city? ]

+Because I placed something important in this city. +
【what? 】

+You are not qualified to know. +
【…】

No, even if Luo Jia doesn't do anything, she will find a chance to burn this broken place down!
[So, you won't allow those believers to live in this city anymore? ]

＋Just in case. ＋
[Okay: Then why did you reject Luo Jia's third suggestion? ]

+Why? You mean... +
The Emperor sounded surprised.

+Acknowledge that this is a holy city and let me endorse Luo Jia's belief in the God Emperor? +

【…】

damn it.

It seems that it is really unacceptable.

Morgan felt his tooth ache worse.

[Then what do you think we should do? 】

+...+
+I believe in your abilities, Morgan. +
After saying this, before the Lord of Avalon could react, the Emperor turned his head away and became the indifferent statue again: before that, he even did not forget to double the special effects light around Morgan, which directly attracted Luo Jia's attention.

+ I'll leave the rest to you, since I don't have any words left in my script. +
＋Come on, director. ＋
【…】

------

One day she would kill this old bastard with her own hands.

【…】

No, it's not enough.

Punch him three more times!
------

Morgan's smile was forced.

Standing in front of Lorgar, she had to accept the Emperor's special effects light to strengthen the persuasiveness of her words: no matter how frustrated she appeared in front of the Lord of Mankind, in the heart of the Primarch, Morgan still had a set of theories that could barely justify herself.

[You don't understand, Luo Jia.]

Morgan shook his head.

[You don't understand your father's expectations of you... and love for you. ]

The Primarch said this with gnashing teeth.

[You built the perfect city, and the Father accepted it, and now he has given it back to you: how can you give it to others or burn it? It belongs only to you, only to the Word Bearer.]

"……I see!"

There was light in Luo Jia's pupils again.

"what do you mean……"

【But don't forget, Luo Jia. 】

Morgan had interrupted Luo Jia unreasonably countless times.

【You are guilty.】

The light dissipated.

"Yes."

Luo Jia lowered his head.

"I should atone for my sins. I should atone for the reward and forgiveness of the God-Emperor."

【That's it. 】

The Spider Queen went with the flow.

[He gave it to you, but he also commanded you to atone for your sins: how can you freely proclaim the glory of the perfect city before you can stand proudly here? It is a gift from our Father and you, you should not comment on it lightly as if it were an ordinary object, and you should not touch it rashly before you have removed your sins and restored purity. ]

[It is a holy city, it is a holy object, it is a saint who cannot speak. ]

[No one except the purest is worthy to enter its new realm. ]

【And you...】

"I……"

Luo Jia took a deep breath.

"I'm not worthy yet..."

"I haven't atonement yet..."

【Yes. 】

Morgan breathed a sigh of relief quietly.

So we closed it: in the name of the Holy Father.

[So, you cannot touch it either, but must leave immediately and join the holy war.]

【Go on an expedition, go fight. 】