Emperor's Bane

Chapter 604: Fulgrim's Thoughts

Chapter 604: Fulgrim's Thoughts (Part )
Royal Court.

The Phoenix's royal court.

A paradise that belongs only to the noble.

The unremitting pursuit of perfection and the praise of the brilliance of human nature will be the only cornerstone of this country, and eternal responsibility and narrow romance will help it spread its wings and help its people float high into the clouds, away from the vulgar troubles of the world.

The Phoenix Lord opens his arms, and his purple-gold cloak will protect billions of ignorant subjects on hundreds of worlds. He will pull these unfortunate people out of the quagmire they are trapped in, teach them what perfection and nobility are, and then calm all the grievances among his people caused by family hatred, ethnic conflicts, sectarian conflicts or class divisions, and let them return to their original appearance.

This is not easy, and requires bright ideals and resolute means, but Fulgrim believes that he can do it all: he can clear away the narrow-mindedness in the hearts of mortals, so that society will no longer rely on selfishness and plunder to develop. Instead, people will yearn for a better future and be willing to contribute and pay.

The Emperor's Children will become the protectors and mentors of countless people, and Fulgrim will become their Lord Protector and role model. Together, they will teach every mortal who is fortunate enough to live in the Phoenix Court what perfection is, what is nobility, and what are the dreams that truly need to be pursued in this troubled life: this time, the court will be built on sincere cheers.

It would be more perfect than the Emperor's Empire.

It will be greater than Chemos: Fulgrim's greatest masterpiece to date.

It will become the last bastion against vulgarity and ignorance in this galaxy, and will also become the most convenient path for the entire human civilization to lead to a bright future: or perhaps, it is the only correct path.

Fulgrim never ruled out this possibility, for he believed that he had the ability to do better than the Emperor in this regard: this was by no means an empty boast, but a full affirmation of his own abilities after countless observations and careful thinking.

Indeed, in Fulgrim's claims to outsiders and his descendants, the Emperor has always been the model of perfection that he strives to catch up with, the Supreme Being who has achieved the great work of God in a mortal body, but in the Primarch's heart, his evaluation of the Emperor is completely different.

To put it simply: Phoenix does not believe that the Emperor is perfect.

Or in other words: He did not think that the emperor was superior to him in every way.

In certain areas, such as the rule and guidance of mortals, Phoenix believes that it does a better job than the Lord of Mankind: the resource-poor Chemos and the Milky Way after the Age of Strife are not in the same league, but are a contrasting combination in terms of difficulty, and the answer Fulgrim handed in on Chemos is naturally more [perfect] than the current Empire.

He always believed this, whether it was when he knelt down on the sands of Chemos to pledge allegiance to the Emperor and his Legion, or when he witnessed countless riots on Imperial worlds for various reasons on the battlefields of the Great Crusade, or when he returned to the Pride of the Emperor fifteen minutes after ending the battle on the ground.

He never changed his mind.

Phoenixes are stubborn creatures.

But stubbornness could not prevent other troubles from continuing to bother the Primarch's nerves: when Fulgrim put the battle situation on the planet behind him, letting his warriors shout his name and marching towards the next scrap iron fortress of the greenskins, the Primarch on the Pride of the Emperor naturally fell into daily boredom.

Fulgrim is always bored: but it was not always like this.

But as the Great Crusade progressed, as those truly difficult or terrifying opponents were completely wiped out in the previous century, leaving only a few remnants, and now even the Ullanor Orc Empire can be called the strongest enemy, Phoenix has felt more and more bored in recent years: the Great Crusade has brought him less and less joy.

Things worthy of his personal attention became fewer and fewer: whether it was a problem within the legion or on the battlefield, the lord commanders could often solve it properly, while he, the Primarch, could only sit there and smile for these trivial matters that were not worth his attention, satisfying his descendants' pursuit of "perfection".

Everyone is happy.

Except: Fulgrim.

Of course, the Primarch did not join this expedition for the sake of pleasure: Fulgrim left Chemos and joined the Emperor's Great Crusade for only two reasons: the first was naturally because of his Legion, and the second was that the Phoenix saw the endless benefits that the Imperium could bring to him personally.

Fulgrim knew very well that under his unremitting governance, Chemos had become perfect and proper enough that it could operate on its own even without him as its builder, and the power of the Phoenix had nowhere to be utilized there. The Great Crusade had brought him the stage he had always dreamed of, and the conquest and culture among the stars would fill the empty time.

As for loyalty to the Emperor and the Imperium?
Ok……

Just discuss the matter.

Phoenix smiled: He didn't like discussing these issues about loyalty. As a giant who had the power to control everything on Chemos, Fulgrim knew too well what the so-called loyalty and followers were, and he was also well aware of some of the Emperor's methods. However, since he was not affected, Fulgrim was happy to be a silent spectator, doing his best to complete his job while having fun.

The emperor gave him the stage, and he did his best on the stage: that was all.

loyalty?

This topic is too heavy and not suitable for a guy like him who flies in the sky.

It is enough for him to satisfy his self-worth.

……

Before that, it was exactly as he wished.

"But right now, maybe we need a little change and fun."

The Primarch muttered to himself, with no offspring around him. The nearest Phoenix Guard was dozens of meters away, leaving their Gene Father with space to think alone: The Grand Master was perched on the highest point of Heliopolis, the Sun City, overlooking this building that represented the entire Pride of the Emperor. The endless luxury and elegance could not lift his spirits.

All the splendor has long been ignored, and there is no longer any excitement: it is like the Great Expedition.

Therefore, the Primarch looked forward to having his own fiefdom after the Emperor's departure: the Emperor's departure for the Great Crusade was, of course, sad, but the challenges of holding sole power over the universe were enough to dilute this sadness.

Let people like Horus or Vulkan be sad, but he needs to look forward.

Phoenix's fingers tapped rhythmically on the black marble throne, creating a perfect rhythm of movement as he pleased, his gaze lingering on the two seats closest to him: those belonging to Eidolon and Vespasian, and as for Akudona? He rarely appeared on the Emperor's Pride, and when he did, he was allowed to stand beside Fulgrim.

But now, the exclusive positions of these warriors are empty: everyone has gained their own honor on the battlefield, Eidolon and Vespasian took on the responsibility of commander, and Akudona was precisely teleported to the location of the orc warlord, who will be responsible for ending this boring war.

Only the Phoenix returned to the starting point, falling into endless emptiness. He was not interested in competing with his descendants for the glory of war, nor was he interested in gaining any fame for his legion at the coronation ceremony of the Wolf God: in fact, he didn't care who the Warmaster would be, whether it was Ferrus, Horus or Jonson. Phoenix would actually support them all.

He supports whoever is elected.

Anyway, in the final analysis, the position of Warmaster was not an enviable one: Horus needed to combine the laurels of Warmaster and all the honors he had won in the Great Crusade to barely compete with the Imperial Skyhawk on the chest of the Phoenix, and before becoming Warmaster, the honor of the Wolf Shepherd God was not even qualified to be compared with him.

At least, that's what Phoenix thought.

The Imperial Sky Eagle was enough to make him look down upon all so-called "honors", and his sense of belonging to the Emperor and the Empire also determined that he would not strive for more honors: he was not the loyal and loveless Horus, he grew up in a normal family.

There is an adoptive father and there is an adoptive mother.

Therefore, compared with honor, the Phoenix Lord is more concerned about how he should spend the boring days ahead: dear Ferrus is now on the other side of the galaxy, and the battle with the greenskins is really uninspiring. Theater and music may be a good idea, but after all, his descendants are still fighting bloody battles, and as a primarch, he cannot indulge in fun at this time.

Ok……

Perhaps he should meet the narrators who had just arrived?
It is said that each of them graduated from the highest art academy on Terra, and each of them is a top genius, responsible for depicting every detail of the Great Crusade with vivid brushstrokes: Phoenix hopes that these reports are not exaggerated, he really loves the art on Holy Terra.

Perhaps in the future, he will turn Chemos into a new Holy Terra, and his own achievements will naturally be no less than those of the Emperor...

"grown ups."

The voice of the Phoenix Guard brought Fulgrim's thoughts back to reality.

"what happened?"

Phoenix looked at his personal guards, but the latter did not answer immediately. Instead, they handed two briefings, one large and one small, to the Primarch: Fulgrim glanced at the two briefings, then picked up the large one and read it carefully, his expression becoming somewhat intriguing.

"Guilliman has arrived?"

Phoenix asked the question, but he didn't expect anyone to give him an answer. Instead, he continued to read the contents of the briefing, talking to himself with a slight smile, as if there was an audience in the void listening to his complaints.

"Incredible... My Ultramar brother is truly incredible."

"The Ultramarines had only just taken over the defense line not long ago, and they hadn't even had time to set up their headquarters yet they were able to advance so quickly relying on the intelligence provided by Morgan and their own qualities. The speed of a latecomer was actually faster than our Forerunner Legions."

"They are almost catching up with Chagatai."

Phoenix snorted softly when mentioning this brother whom he had never admired very much.

"As expected of you, Guilliman."

"It's obviously something that has nothing to do with you, but you still want to make such a fuss about it."

"Does it make you happy to be better than us?"

"Or is there something else he wants?"

"..."

"Are you showing off your strength?"

"Or are you still fighting back against the accusations against you? There are many people on Holy Terra who accuse the Five Hundred Worlds of having great power but making no contribution to the Great Crusade, because every world recaptured by the Ultramarines will be under your command, while the Empire actually does not gain any benefits."

"Does such talk make you uneasy?"

"Or do you feel... proud?" "After all, we can't do anything to you?"

Perhaps out of boredom, the Phoenix spent some time mocking his brother behind his back: he did not dislike Guilliman, at least he did not hate him, but since the day he returned to the Legion, Fulgrim liked to secretly compare every achievement he had created with Guilliman.

First, the Legion.

Then there is the battle record.

The future will be their own country.

……

Okay, that's a bit overestimating one's abilities.

The Primarch laughed at himself and casually put Guilliman's merit book aside.

He knew that even in the future, his Phoenix Court would certainly not be able to match Guilliman's Five Hundred Worlds, at least not in terms of size and quantity: however, he could try to surpass it in quality.

Moreover, compared to the five hundred worlds, Fulgrim is actually more interested in another one of the Three Kingdoms of the Far East.

That's right.

It is Conrad's ghoul country.

"I really didn't expect that, Conrad..."

A smile appeared on Fulgrim's face as he recalled his brother.

He admired his brother for a very simple reason: Fulgrim was amazed by the career that Conrad had created.

What did he do?
To take a land that stands beside the most terrifying source of darkness in the entire galaxy, full of violence and barbarism, and to restrain it back to rationality, and to build one's dream home with crazy means and a pure heart: isn't this a slightly crazy Chemos story?

Although it was certainly not perfect, the mere thought of a pure land of order like the Ghoul Realm, which had previously been a nest of madness and chaos, and of the indescribable Nostramo that he had seen when he welcomed Conrad back decades ago, was enough to make Fulgrim still obsessed with it, even across thousands of stars.

How did Conrad do it?
How did he make his rebellious subjects learn his ideas?
Phoenix wanted to know it all.

Therefore, in the Eastern travels he had planned for himself, the Kingdom of Ghouls would be the first and most valuable stop, followed by the Far Eastern Frontier, and finally the Five Hundred Worlds: in descending order of importance.

It’s not that Konrad’s kingdom is better than Guilliman’s, but because what Fulgrim really cares about is what new knowledge he has learned in the land of the Three Kings in the Far East: in this regard, the Five Hundred Worlds are completely defeated.

Don't forget that Phoenix climbed up from a low-level worker to the position of planetary archon. He is a rare politician among the Primarchs. He has already mastered both the overt and covert methods: Guilliman's methods are of no value to him.

On the contrary, Conrad and Morgan's unconventional approach at times is quite interesting to watch.

"Yes... that's it."

Nodding, Fulgrim convinced himself once again, and mentally planned a meeting with Morgan on the Aurora after the battle: since Guilliman had arrived anyway, it was time for the leaders of their [Eastern Front Legion] to meet, even if it was just a pretense meeting, it showed that they were truly willing to share the worries of the distant Wolf God.

The scene can't be too ugly.

What's more, whether it's Morgan, Konrad, Guilliman, or the newly returned Corax, they are all very mysterious blood relatives to Fulgrim: these people have never been in Phoenix's circle of friends.

Except Morgan.

Because of the Psionic Codex and the Think Tank Project, the Phoenix Lord actually maintained a correspondence with the Lord of Avalon, although it was not frequent, but it had never been interrupted: he knew Morgan, the Spider Queen, who was a resourceful person.

The weaklings that Terra mentioned could not build a huge imperial psychic system and an even larger Far Eastern frontier by themselves: that would be the workload of at least hundreds of Chemos. His relatives of Avalon had an indestructible heart beneath their weak appearance.

But speaking of appearance...

Phoenix ruffled his long hair, and then he remembered the small briefing.

There is only one line on it.

"Fabius wants to see me?"

"Yes, sir, the chief pharmacist hopes you can pick a time..."

"No, right now."

Phoenix waved.

"Call Fabius over. If we can talk faster, my pharmacist can still catch up with his work after the battle. I don't want to disrupt his work rhythm."

"Understood, my lord."

After his offspring withdrew, Fulgrim fell into thought again. As the passion brought to him by the Great Crusade became less and less, the Phoenix found that he had more time to think: his thinking remained at the stage of self-pity, because looking at the entire legion, the Phoenix Lord actually lacked a offspring who could let him express his feelings directly.

People like Eidolon, Vespasian and Kesoron were indeed excellent and respected him as the genetic father, but they were not able to have a heart-to-heart talk with the Primarch: Akudona might be able to do all this, but the Second Captain's daily interests meant that he had no ability to persuade the Primarch to resolve the problems and depression in his heart.

The only thing he could do was to fight Phoenix a few more moves in the arena.

Fabius...

Phoenix recalled this old friend: the Chief Apothecary was not the Primarch's favorite offspring in the Legion, that position should belong to Eidolon or Akudona, but Fabius's position in Phoenix's heart was enough to rank in the top ten, just like his position in the Legion.

He is very capable.

Also very...insightful?
Maybe, he'd be someone to talk to.

Phoenix pondered secretly, and in the last few seconds waiting for Fabius to come, his eyes glanced at the last line of the briefing: an unexpected name, which made the Phoenician raise his eyebrows involuntarily.

"..."

"Jonson?"

"Why did Morgan call him over?"

The Primarch's brows twitched, he was sure that this was definitely not a coincidence.

"Jonson is clearly involved in this war..."

"...hiss...wait..."

Phoenix pinched the ends of her hair.

"Let me think about it..."

“…Ah~”

After a moment, he laughed.

"Interesting...Interesting..."

Fulgrim narrowed his eyes.