Emperor's Bane

Chapter 565: Magnus is calling

"So, why couldn't you drop the bomb into the Emperor's Dream?"

【Because I can’t catch up. 】

"Can't catch up? Isn't the Hercules Fenr very fast?"

[But the Emperor's Vision was faster: it even overloaded its own engines.]

[Not to mention, my dear (emphasis) gene father, in order to prevent me from asking him for an explanation, actually blew a subspace storm behind his fleet, covering several star regions: I can't easily blow such a strong storm. ]

"Are you sure this isn't a coincidence?"

【coincide?!】

Morgan burst out laughing and glanced meaningfully at her eldest daughter.

[Then tell me, my Aniya: what kind of coincidence can make the subspace storm golden! ]

[Still shining there! ]

"..."

Virgo stopped talking.

She turned around and left Morgan there to vent his anger, and walked to the other side of the room to start preparing today's afternoon tea. But when choosing drink cups, Virgo held the medium cup and the extra large cup, her eyes kept moving, and she hesitated slightly.

To be fair, even by the standards of the Primarchs, these two cups were not small. Even the medium cup, as long as it was filled with Morgan's favorite drink, was almost equivalent to the total amount of calories required by an Astartes warrior after a hundred hours of high-intensity combat. The volume of the extra-large cup was more than three times that of the medium cup. An Astartes warrior could not finish it even if he emptied his stomach.

In the past, the extra-large cup was the standard for Morgan's afternoon tea. However, about a few months ago, the Spider Queen suddenly made adjustments to her afternoon tea: not only did she cut the quota of food and drinks, she also cancelled the time originally spent on eating and drinking, and instead used her free time to handle official business while having her afternoon tea.

Virgo had wondered why her mother had so abruptly given up her greatest hobby to date, and Morgan's response had been so brief and serious that it had been etched directly into Virgo's memory array.

Originally, on that day, Morgan was just enjoying her afternoon tea as usual, but when she was fully immersed in the joy and satisfaction that [Taotie] brought her, an indescribable strange feeling suddenly flashed through her heart, like a silver needle piercing Morgan's wonderful fantasy.

At that moment, the Spider Queen suddenly realized something.

She discovered that the sights and laughter from the Prince of Pleasure, which had originally lingered around her and which she had long since become oblivious to, had actually become much more intense as she enjoyed her meal. Not only had the sights become more substantial, but the sounds had also become clearer. In the vast ocean, these sights and sounds had vague, misty outlines, rather than being shapeless as at the beginning.

It is not known whether the Warp Evil God's means of hiding himself are indeed superb, or Morgan has been numbed by the Prince of Pleasure's dog-skin plaster-like gaze over the past few decades: in any case, Morgan did not notice this problem for a long time before.

However, this time, perhaps it was the Prince of Pleasure's own mistake that triggered the remaining vigilance in Morgan's mind, or perhaps it was from other energies in the subspace, those verbal reminders that were either well-intentioned or had ulterior motives: for example, those faint shrill laughs?

But no matter what: when Morgan put down the meal in his hand and turned around to look at the Prince of Pleasure behind him, even though the youngest evil god withdrew his gaze in time, the warp fog that had not completely dissipated still made the Spider Queen alarmed.

At that moment, she briefly recalled the contents of her original version.

So, what happened next was a matter of course: while the Prince of Pleasure was whispering indignantly and summoning his energy in the subspace to launch revenge on the laughing Crystal Maze, the Spider Queen in the real universe had already gritted her teeth and without hesitation personally denied her greatest hobby and way of pleasure.

That afternoon tea became Morgan's last proper afternoon tea: although the disappearance of this form of indulgence did have a great impact on the Primarch, and even the frequency of migraines increased, but Morgan still forced himself to suppress his eating habits, and even changed the drink from extra large to medium cups.

It's not that she is so strong, but Morgan knows very well that since the Emperor is about to leave the Great Crusade and return to Terra, her greatest reliance when facing the Warp will be weakened a lot: the power of the Chaos God may sweep in at any time, and even a small matter like eating must be taken seriously.

Fear turned into motivation, urging the Spider Queen to make changes.

But today...

Virgo turned around and glanced at her mother's figure surrounded by resentment. She couldn't help but think for a moment, and a rare ideological struggle began in her heart, she hesitated about which cup to choose.

This was not a problem at first: Morgan ordered to change to a medium cup, so she should obey any order from her mother unconditionally, but when she witnessed her mother's loss at this time and needed some comfort, an idea quietly came to Virgo's mind.

Maybe she could change her afternoon tea to a venti today?

Just once, just let the mother indulge herself temporarily to adjust her mood: this is also for her own good. As long as the mother can get out of her distressed mood, the difference between a medium cup and an extra large cup is not a problem.

Just once... just once.

Virgo comforted herself in her heart. She did not notice that she seemed to have a lot of mental activities today. There seemed to be a voice in her heart encouraging her behavior: Virgo had never remembered this voice, but what it said seemed to make sense, and it could also find a completely reasonable solution for Virgo's current indulgence.

It's just an extra large cup, no big deal: if all else fails, just slash the calorie quota for mother's dinner tonight. This simple calorie calculation is no problem at all for Virgo, the walking humanoid computer, and she is always fearless in doing these things.

After all, as long as she does it for the sake of her mother's health, even Lana will stand on her side: although if Morgan is really angry, Lana will abandon her without hesitation.

But it doesn't matter, if the situation was the other way around, Virgo would do the same. In two days, they would unite again and worry about other things about the Primarch together: the friendship between brothers and sisters is like this, fragile and stubborn.

Like a silk thread that can't be broken.

Virgo muttered to herself as she pushed the afternoon tea and the extra-large cup filled with drinks in front of Morgan at the same time, while the Spider Queen leaned back in her chair. She did not sit at her desk, but instead chose a balcony-style table. While admiring the loneliness among the stars, she crossed her legs on the high stool, swaying casually, and boredly checking what had happened in the past few days.

Of course Morgan knew the difference between a medium cup and an extra large cup. She instinctively wanted to scold Virgo, but after seeing the food being delivered, she silently lowered her head and began to focus on her daughter cleaning up the garbage around her. Staring at the round little head, Morgan finally licked her lips and swallowed back the scolding that was about to come out of her teeth.

【Ania. 】

"I'm here, mother."

Virgo looked up.

[While I was helping the Emperor solve the mess in the Perfect City, was there any important news coming from the Dawnbreakers and the Far Eastern Frontier? I don't need to mention that Conrad had borrowed part of the fleet.]

"Then there will be none."

Morgan's oldest daughter shook her head.

"However, before leaving, Lord Conrad asked me to tell you that he plans to take Lord Corax to the star system called Fanaritus to carry out an annihilation operation. Therefore, when he stops at the Far Eastern Frontier, he hopes to requisition local materials and supplies."

Let him figure it out.

Morgan waved his hands, not caring at all about the news.

Because of his close sister-brother relationship with the Lord of Avalon, Midnight Haunter has certain privileges in the Far Eastern Frontier: he can mobilize a certain amount of resources and even troops, and he only needs to greet Morgan in advance.

Another Primarch with this privilege was Jonson, whose authority was even higher than Conrad's, but Jonson himself never had the opportunity to use it: Luther, who was recognized by both Jonson and Morgan, had used this privilege hundreds of times when he served in the Far Eastern Frontier.

What is even more valuable is that this old knight of Caliban has not given up his power and connections in the Far East Frontier until today, and will use them: this can be seen from what Virgo reports next.

"In addition, there is a very interesting report from the Far Eastern Frontier."

Virgo tapped her earlobe and activated the memory array in her mind.

"This report was relayed by Forge World Riza through the Far Eastern Frontier: About two months ago, they welcomed a trade delegation claiming to be from Caliban. They held Lord Luther's documents of authority, and all their credentials were examined."

"Because you have ordered that all of Lord Luther's positions and powers in the Far Eastern Frontier should be retained, these Calibans ordered a large number of semi-military ships from Riza at a favorable price. They also asked Riza to erase the records of this transaction and not to reveal the existence of these ships to anyone."

"In addition, they also used the forge world Ryza as an intermediary to order a large amount of refined gold from Nostramo, and also requested that the transaction records be completely erased: It is said that although these Calibans did not allow Ryza to gain any advantage in the sale of bulk goods, they provided Ryza with two never-before-seen STCs in the name of gifts."

"So overall, the talks between the two sides were very harmonious."

[This is a transaction model that is similar to the First Legion and Luther. ]

Morgan smiled.

She had no doubt that these Caliban envoys were indeed sent by Luther. After all, the Caliban Alliance formed by the old knight had indeed developed rapidly in recent years, so it was natural that they lacked hard currency such as ships.

The reason why he went across half the galaxy to find Riza to place an order was probably because of the delicate relationship between the First Legion and the Mechanicus, which made Luther reluctant to trade with orthodox people like Mars, or other forge worlds that he did not fully trust. On the contrary, because of Morgan, Riza had already had a close relationship with Luther decades ago.

As for why we need to order a batch of semi-military ships?

Ha, that's what all Dark Angels do: they use bath towels that can strangle you to death.

[If I'm not mistaken, the Far East Frontier will welcome many envoys and trade teams from Caliban in the future: pass on my words, Anya, tell Marshall and others to treat the Calibans as trustworthy partners in their dealings with them, even if it means giving up a little bit of benefits, and try to meet their demands as much as possible. 】【Luther is a clear-headed guy, he won't push his luck. 】

"clear."

【correct. 】

Morgan opened his eyes.

[Has the Ministry of Internal Affairs handed over any intelligence related to Caliban recently? ]

"Yes, the Ministry of Internal Affairs' intelligence is always updated in real time."

Virgo searched for it.

"The Bureau of Investigation has always maintained a certain amount of manpower in the Caliban Star Region. The latest regular report was thirteen days ago: According to the intelligence provided by the Bureau of Investigation, the Caliban Alliance led by Lord Luther now has a total of forty core worlds, with hundreds of resource worlds and semi-wild worlds radiating from them."

"And in the same intelligence, there is also a record of the Caliban Alliance expanding its power: Lord Luther personally assigned a colonization team to colonize a wild world next to the Eye of Terror and designated it as the Alliance's 40th core world."

[…Next to the Eye of Terror? ]

"That's right"

[…What is this world called? ]

"Katia, mother."

"It's called Cardia."

[Kadiah…]

"In fact, this world is very close to the Eye of Terror and is not suitable for long-term survival by humans, let alone colonization. Lord Luther's actions have even caused discussion within the Caliban Alliance, but his attitude is very firm. The Ministry of Internal Affairs analyzed that he may have received hints from some bigwigs on Terra."

【You can guess it. 】

[…Let’s do this, Aniya.]

[Remember to remind me then: When I pass by the area of ​​the Caliban Alliance in the future, or when I travel with Lord Luther again, you must remind me to help him build a batch of equipment specifically placed on Cadia to help that world resist the influence from the warp.]

[Note the key words: Eye of Fear, Psychic Power, and Black Stone. ]

"clear."

【So be it……】

Morgan rubbed his temple in distress: the cut-back afternoon tea was placed next to him. The Spider Queen didn't want to discuss anything related to the subspace in the short term, and her eldest daughter had already understood her thoughts.

【Anything else?】

"Mr. Marshall sent you a private report, which mentioned the latest round of recruitment activities conducted by the Dawnbreaker Legion in the Far Eastern Frontier: the number of recruits this time is slightly higher than before, and the total strength of the Legion has now exceeded 60,000."

【good. 】

Morgan nodded: This was the best news for her.

"And there's another interesting point: these 60,000 soldiers are exactly the new recruits that Lord Dantioch brought from the Salamas sector, the latest batch of [Blood Tax]. Along with him are 57 new recruits from Salamas, all of whom have been incorporated into the Dawnbreaker company."

[Blood tax.]

Morgan whispered the word.

[I always think this name is very bad taste, but very appropriate: since decades ago, I allowed the Iron Warriors of Dantioch to recruit freely in Salamas, on the condition that they must regularly hand in the best recruits they can recruit, this model has been running smoothly until now? 】

"Mr. Dantioch has always been faithful in fulfilling the agreement with you, mother. According to recent intelligence, the number of new soldiers provided by the Salamas sector has even shown a steady increase. In the Far Eastern Frontier, some mortals already call Mr. Dantioch your [Grand Duke of Salamas], and believe that the entire Salamas sector is your private fiefdom bestowed upon him by you."

[I wish I had twenty more dukes like this.]

Morgan chuckled.

[But even I know that this is just wishful thinking: Send all the other intelligence from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Anya, and check by the way, since the number of Dawnbreakers has exceeded 60,000, can it be considered a medium-sized army? ]

"Actually... uh..."

"Mother, your current legion's strength ranks third from the bottom among all the Astartes legions."

【……ha? 】

Morgan was stunned for a moment.

【Wasn't it fifth from the bottom before? 】

"Under the management of Lord Konrad, the Night Lords have grown in numbers, and the same is true for the World Eaters. As for the Death Guard and Salamanders, which originally had a relatively small number of legions, they are now constantly expanding their manpower after learning that the Emperor intends to seal off the Primarchs."

"The only two legions with fewer men than the Dawnbreakers are the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Legions, which are the legions of Lord Magnus and Lord Corax. The Thousand Sons Legion is ranked last in terms of manpower."

【Twenty thousand?】

"Nine thousand."

【Nine thousand?!】

"Yes, the Thousand Sons Legion had suffered very serious losses in the two years of fighting with the greenskins. They lost at least nine hundred warriors, and one of the societies was completely wiped out: the Thousand Sons Legion itself only has ten societies."

"So, Sir Magnus simply left only nine institutes."

[Nine thousand people... nine societies...]

[What an unlucky number...]

[By the way: Where is Magnus now? ]

"Hmm...Aguru Planet."

[Agulu...]

【What is he doing there, fighting? 】

“No, archaeology.”

【…】

[I remember that Leman Russ has already issued a call to him, right? ]

"True, but Lord Magnus insists that the task at hand is more important."

What did he discover?

"According to the intelligence sent back by the Ministry of Internal Affairs' spies within the Thousand Sons Legion: Magnus announced to his descendants that he had discovered a completely independent entity that existed outside the physical universe and the warp..."

"The third world?"

【…】

"He named it the Webway."

【……ha?!】

(End of this chapter)