Emperor's Bane

Chapter 640 Where is Perturabo

+Fulgrim, Sanguinius, and Ferrus have all arrived. Corax and Magnus's schedule is also as expected. I have sent people to keep an eye on them. Although Alpharius is still missing, he promised me that he would return in time. +
"Use his character?"

＋No, use yours, Malcador.＋
"Then you better be prepared to be stood up. Tianqi: I have no character."

+...+
"But then again, Magnus, I can understand why you sent someone to keep an eye on Corax. Shouldn't they be keeping an eye on Mortarion? He's the one we need to worry about now. Last time in the Terran Palace, his anger almost broke my old bones."

+Because Mortarion and his Legion are already here: he, Horus, Dorn or Jaghatai, every Primarch still on the front line of Ullanor is within my grasp, and Corax is another matter, not a serious one, I sent someone to watch him out of concern rather than vigilance. +
The Emperor waved his hand, and when this simple gesture was performed by the Lord of Mankind, it took on an indescribable symbolic power, able to forcefully interrupt everything. Not even Malcador could defy its will: the Sigillite withdrew his curiosity in gnashing silence, but also secretly noted in his heart that he should pay special attention to the desolate area at the southernmost tip of the Storm Segmentum.

But Malcador did not see: but he was fully concerned about this matter, with his head lowered and his eyes full of thoughts, while the emperor who regarded him as a brother and friend secretly glanced at his old friend, and a moment of pride flashed across his bronze face, and then quickly retracted it before the seal holder looked back: the Lord of Mankind's momentum became majestic again, and he undoubtedly took the lead in the conversation.

+ In other words, only the ones in the east have no news at this time? +
"Have you forgotten Perturabo again?"

＋Isn't he also in the east? ＋
"...Yes."

Malcador was stunned at first, and quickly went over the empire's star map in his mind: then he started coughing awkwardly.

"I haven't seen the Lord of Steel for a long time. We have only kept in touch through letters recently. However, his professionalism is still impressive. After I sent him your order and the geographical information of Nicaea, it only took Perturabo seven days to give me a reply and a fresh design drawing."

＋How? ＋

"Even if it is placed in the Terran Palace, it is still an amazing star."

"He promised me that he and his legion would only need twenty-eight Terran days to complete this construction task, but I think it will take at least fifty days: you really should see the design, Apocalypse, there is no other person in the galaxy who can draw it."

＋No, Malcador, I am relieved by your words.＋
The Emperor turned his back to his best friend, nodding casually at Perturabo's topic.

+ Just to have confirmation that Perturabo is indeed commanding his IVth Legion: You know, Malcador, there have been rumors in the galaxy that my son is missing and the Iron Warriors are operating on their own. We all know how ridiculous this rumor is, but there is some truth to it. +
"Can't you send a specialist to confirm the authenticity of this rumor?"

+Send to the Iron Warriors? Please, Malcador, I have more important things to do. +
"..."

"Anyway, based on the information I have gathered, the Iron Warriors have indeed been operating steadily and improving over the years. Although the casualty rate is still higher than the average of all legions, they have also slightly expanded their recruitment worlds, so their size has been steadily growing. Many battles are planned very beautifully, and those tactical details and techniques can only be the masterpieces of a Primarch."

"But to be honest: Perturabo has not appeared in public for a long time."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

+I left him on my ship when I went to meet Corax. +
"Did he go down?"

＋This is where the rumors started.＋
"Hiss... Hey, wait..."

Malcador grinned, and just as he habitually felt his teeth ache, a flash of memory suddenly attacked him: the Sigillite raised his hand, stopped the Emperor's words, and then dived into his own mind, constantly searching through tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of events, looking for the part about Perturabo.

This won't be easy: it's about as hard as finding a guy in the Five Hundred Worlds who puts the interests of the Empire ahead of the interests of the Five Hundred Worlds.

And the seal holder is worthy of being the seal holder: it only took him one minute to react.

"No, Apocalypse."

"He went down."

＋Are you sure? ＋
"Yes, I was on your warship at the time, handling some matters. I saw you and Perturabo walking on the bridge and talking for about five hours. You personally escorted your son out of the ship, and I remember that it was Fricks who was in charge of greeting him."

＋Really? ＋

The Emperor nodded, frowned, and rubbed his chin with two fingers. His thick lips kept biting each other in uncertainty, and his mouth was full of low sounds that Malcador could not catch: The Lord of Mankind thought for nearly three or four minutes in a rare silence. There were few things that could make the Emperor so uncertain.

His expression was somewhat serious.

+You mean, Perturabo and I talked for five hours on my ship?

"That's right?"

＋But I have no impression of it. ＋
+Have I talked to him? +
"..."

At this moment, looking at the confused face of the Lord of Mankind, which was not false at all, the Sigillite could not help but wonder: When the Emperor created the Primarch Perturabo, did he inadvertently add some unexpected factors that even the Emperor himself did not notice?

Then he severely doubted his memory again.

"You have no recollection of whether you've even had a heart-to-heart talk with your own son? Tianqi?"

+ I have twenty sons, how can you expect me to pay attention to each of them? +
"You just asked him to build you the greatest one-off structure in the galaxy."

＋That's because you and Morgan both emphasized to me that this is a reward for him! ＋

"..."

Malcador looked at the Emperor in amazement.

Then he found that the emperor was looking at him with even more astonishment.

"Apocalypse."

After being stunned for a while, the seal holder felt that this issue was worth his serious consideration.

"Do you feel that with the beginning and continuous progress of the Great Crusade, your emotions as a human being are becoming increasingly thinner: even more than a decade ago, I rarely heard you say such words, except for the moment when you faced Morgan just now."

＋No. ＋
The Emperor denied it without hesitation.

+Horus, Fulgrim, and Dorn all say I'm pretty normal. +
"Well...never mind..."

The Sigillite opened his mouth, but finally gave up the topic for the time being. At the same time, he secretly made a note in his heart: After the Spider Queen comes to Ullanor, he must take the time to have a good talk with her in private.

Something is definitely wrong.

"At this point, we can be sure that Perturabo is still alive."

"What more can one expect from a Primarch?"

＋That’s true. ＋
The Emperor seemed relieved: he had long since given up on discussing this topic.

+Okay, Malcador, we have spent too much time on unimportant things. Now, let's talk about something important: I heard that Terra plans to allocate a large area of ​​land in the heart of the Far East Star Region to Perturabo for management? +
"Yes: I personally think that this will urge Perturabo's sense of responsibility, and we do need to establish a strong military organization next to the Maelstrom area to build and support this chaotic transportation hub. The Iron Warriors Legion is just right for this."

+ We have deployed four legions in the Maelstrom region. My friend: Do you think this deployment is not enough to make you and the high lords of Terra feel at ease? This is more dense than other places. +
"It's because they are too dense that I feel uneasy." "Don't forget, according to your standards, two of these four legions are completely negative."

The Sigillite sighed long and deeply. He might be the person who sighed most often in the entire empire. In his old aria, a star map of the Greater Vortex region slowly unfolded: Unlike what the world imagined, the Emperor did not have much understanding of the details of various regions of the Milky Way. He was keen on grasping the overall strategy. Whenever he needed to delegate the perspective to the grassroots level, he needed the Sigillite and others to give explanations.

[The military forces stationed in the Great Vortex area for the Empire can be divided into two parts: internal and external.]

"Inside are the four legions whose home planets are in the Great Vortex area: the Emperor's Sons, the Thousand Sons, the White Scars, and the Salamanders. According to the predetermined plan, we will distribute the vast majority of the land to these four legions as their fiefdoms and defense zones."

+Is it a fiefdom or a defense zone? +

"It depends on them. Dorn once told me very clearly that he would regard the land he governs as a military control zone, that is, a temporary military control zone. His legion would only be responsible for the most basic administrative and military work until the Terra government is able to take over in an all-round way. Leman Russ plans to set up a governor's office in his own territory, claiming that he is the governor sent by the human empire rather than the king of Fenris."

＋They are all very reliable. ＋
"Yes, these two people, together with Jonson and Ferrus, are the four shields of Terra, each defending the land under Holy Terra from possible invasion from a certain direction: Leman Russ is responsible for monitoring the east, Ferrus is responsible for defending the west of Terra, Dorne guards the south, and Jonson faces the north. The four of them can also restrain each other."

"But the Maelstrom is an exception: We don't have a strong grip there."

＋Yeah. ＋
+You are right: the only ones we can count on seem to be Fulgrim and Vulkan, but they are not the ones who can rule the country. Fulgrim may be able to entrust me with some military affairs, but I can never be completely assured of him. +
＋Where is his fiefdom? ＋

"The Emperor's Children own the largest and best piece of land in the center of the Maelstrom. I think we can entrust the overall defense of the Maelstrom area to Phoenix. His loyalty and ability are unquestionable. With the assistance of Terra's Maelstrom Garrison, we can guarantee the stability of this area to the greatest extent possible."

＋It's worth considering.＋
"Chagatai Khan's Chogoris is located in the eastern wasteland. Although the territory under his rule is vast, it is full of bandits and pirates. Moreover, the people in each world are fierce. It is not easy to tame them completely. Chagatai is one of your wisest but most rebellious heirs. I am actually quite curious about how he will govern his people."

+The Great Khan wears the crown: there is only one long successful example in human history. +
"What is it?"

+The Tsar. +
"……You are joking?"

＋Maybe: Magnus. ＋
"The Thousand Sons Legion's Prospero is located in the northwest of the Maelstrom. The nearest Legion home planet is actually Fenris under the rule of Leman Russ. This is the most remote and barren area in the Maelstrom. There are only a few warp channels leading there. The Empire knows almost nothing about it."

＋Suitable as a prison.＋
"Are you really planning to imprison him?"

＋Some restrictions are inevitable. ＋
The Emperor's voice was firm.

+ Will I lie to you, my friend Malcador: I have seriously considered whether to let Magnus stay with me for a long time, but in the end, caution made me give up this plan, because anyone with a discerning eye can see how great the impact of the success of the Webway will be on psykers, and I am not sure that Magnus can accept this change calmly. In this case, I cannot bring this time bomb into my Webway project. +
"He is your son! You boasted to me yourself about his loyalty to you!"

+ Horus, Dorn, and Fulgrim were equally loyal, but I also kept the Webway plan from them, and Morgan and Conrad did so out of necessity: and, remember, Malcador, loyalty and reliability are two completely different things. +
＋As we all know, even when the Thunder Warriors raised the banner of rebellion, we cannot deny their loyalty in their bones: but they did rebel. ＋
"I understand."

The Sigillite lowered his voice, he had lost the courage to continue to confront the Emperor: Malcador knew very well that when the Emperor seriously used the word Thunder Warrior, it just showed that he was unquestionable on this matter.

"So you have decided to punish Magnus at the Council of Nicaea?"

＋It depends on his performance. ＋
In an instant, the Lord of Humanity seemed to become calm again.

+ Although Magnus's behavior has long disappointed me, he is not the worst of the brothers: if he had shown the slightest remorse at the Council of Nicaea, or had come up with a plan that would have impressed me as Morgan did, I would not have minded continuing to keep an honorable place for him in the Great Crusade. +
+You know that, Malcador. +
+To this day, I have never condemned the loyalty of any of my sons, neither Morgan nor Guilliman, and I have never considered them a real threat: the only reason the Primarchs could anger me was because their own side effects outweighed the positive effects they could bring to the Imperium. +
＋Magnus is like that.＋
＋Any objections? ＋
"Yes: Why Nikea?"

＋That world is very special, and Magnus' fate lies with Nikaea.＋
"Ok."

The Sigillite once again retracted his inner curiosity. He would never question the so-called destiny mentioned by the Emperor, but instead thought about more realistic issues: since the Emperor suddenly decided to choose the unknown Nikea as the location for the Psychic Conference, many of the original plans had to be changed.

Many groups are busy.

Among them, the Mechanicus is the most prominent: this group of Omnissiah's believers combined the Emperor's will with their own personal interests, using the best planetary teleportation technology to teleport Ullanor to the surrounding space of Nikaea, in order to ensure the continuity of the conference.

The Sigillite thought more. He knew that Nikea was located due east of the Solar Star Region and was one of the three optional routes to advance into the Solar System from the Far East Star Region. Since Ullanor was placed next to Nikea, it was entirely possible to build an indestructible twin fortress with these two massively built worlds as the core.

At that time, to the north of this fortress will be Betanjamon and Fenris, and to the south will be Invit, Taran and Ekromonda: the various fortresses and semi-fortress worlds will help each other and together form the defense line of the east of the solar system. Any military threat to Holy Terra must break through at least two of the three points of this defense line to ensure the subsequent offensive against the solar system.

And considering that Terra is always assisted by two to three legions and a large number of mortal troops, this is simply an invincible Maginot Line: the army from the east has no other way to threaten Terra except to go north to face the coalition of Leman Russ and Jonson, or to go south to gnaw at Dorne's fortresses.

Malcador chuckled, his depressed mood improving slightly.

"The Salamanders' Nocturne is isolated in the southernmost part of the entire Maelstrom. There are not many prosperous civilized worlds here. The various human gathering places are backward and isolated, and are frequently harassed by void bandits. In fact, rampant banditry is a common problem in the entire Maelstrom."

"We can't help it. The core area of ​​this region is too complicated. Even the Wotan Alliance, which was defeated by you personally, fled into the center of the whirlpool. We haven't been able to catch them until today. Those smaller pirate fleets hide in there, and everywhere is a natural safe haven."

“It’s simply the graveyard of empires.”

＋Besides the inside, what about the outside? ＋

“That would be even more confusing.”

"Morgan and Perturabo in the east, Guilliman in the southeast, Terra in the west, Angron in the south, Dorne in the southwest, Leman Russ in the northwest, Sanguinius in the northeast, and Horus in the north: each Legion has its own interests in the Greater Vortex, but the most powerful external group is Guilliman, who owns the core world of Badab, the richest place in the entire Greater Vortex."

＋Where does Terra plan to collect taxes? ＋
"We have to set an example."

Malcador skipped the question.

"At the same time, Morgan should also be aware that she has a core world in the Maelstrom region, called Catachan, which provides her with the best mortal auxiliary troops in the entire galaxy. Her most important ally, Ryza, is also here. This Forge World is the overlord of the Maelstrom region, and the territory under its command is not inferior to that of Fulgrim and his army. Even I don't know how much territory Ryza has in the Maelstrom region."

+Are you saying that Riza will stand firmly on Morgan's side? +
"It depends: but the price Morgan offered is really not affordable to anyone."

"In addition, my informant in Riza provided me with intelligence before. They claimed that Riza was very likely to have secretly hidden a very powerful knight family, which was powerful enough to affect the situation on the battlefield at the legion level. However, this family was hidden very well, and there was no intelligence that could point out that Riza had them."

+Don't worry about it: this is a private matter between the Adeptus Mechanicus. +
The Emperor looked at his old friend: some words are spoken with the eyes.

+ Moreover, a strong Reza may not be a bad thing for us. The new Forging General Kalberhar has been consolidating his power recently, but he is not as humble as his predecessor: I will have a final communication with him during the Ullanor Conference, hoping that this will make him change his mind. +
"What if it doesn't work?"

＋After the webway is built, Mars will probably need a new general: the hostess of Lava City looks pretty good.＋
"..."

"Apocalypse, do you think the Mars Casting General will not be able to see this trend?"

＋What if he finds out? ＋
"..."

"Unknowingly, you have created a new rival for yourself, Apocalypse."

+I know. +
The Emperor nodded.

At this moment, the Lord of Mankind looked so arrogant.

＋But since I have chosen to take this most difficult path. ＋
＋From the beginning, I was destined to defeat everyone in front of me.＋
＋On my own. ＋
+Down with this world. +
(End of this chapter)