Emperor's Bane

Chapter 648: Debut

Chapter 648: Debut (Part )

"Jupiter?"

"It's really interesting: According to the cultural tradition of Olympia, shouldn't the Lord of Steel call himself Zeus? After all, he has lived in an ancient Greek theme park full of city-states, tyrants, and marble temples since he was a child. Even if he is so arrogant, he still has to abide by tradition."

"Is it possible that if he called himself Zeus, people who heard him would involuntarily associate him with certain qualities that are not suitable to be discussed in public? Lord Perturabo is not Fulgrim, so he is probably not that open in this regard."

"You mean: fraternity?"

“That’s right: and inclusion.”

#Ladies' laughter#
"This is too much, Ms. Keele."

Mesati shook her head, with a hint of denial in the smile on her lips, but her hands did not stop moving: the narrator's black arms occupied half of the stone pillar, pushing all the teacups and plates aside, leaving enough space for her dinner utensils.

A recording board, a radio pen, a top-quality video recorder and a sketch array, implants that can extract and enhance memory fragments in the mind at will are placed behind the neck. Needle-thin precision instruments on the eyebrows and fingertips allow the user to maintain the theoretical best condition at all times. They are naturally psychic creations.

As for overusing them, what kind of harm will it bring to your soul?
Then it is the user's own responsibility.

After all, the producers and sellers of these high-end psychic products no longer bear any legal responsibility from the moment the goods are officially sold: there is such a sentence on every product manual and trade invoice issued by Far East Frontier, and the invoice with the Avalon seal that Mesadi received when shopping is of course no exception.

Sounds a bit unsafe.

But so what?
The narrator hummed a tune easily, chatting with her predecessors while taking out polishing fibers from her small jar and using these magical fine dusts to perform daily maintenance on each Avalon imported item in her hands, which can greatly increase their service life.

She believed it firmly.

You know, these essential instruments for narrators in front of her were bought by her at least seventeen years ago from a wandering trader with an excellent reputation who specialized in long-distance trade between the solar system and the Far East frontier. Their performance exceeded any similar products on the market in Holy Terra at that time, and they can still keep up with the trend today.

Especially video cameras: their shutter count has long exceeded four million times.

More importantly, their performance seventeen years ago was almost the same as it is today, and their service life was terribly long. Maybe they could send her away: Mesati never regretted spending a lot of money to buy herself such a luxurious set of equipment. After all, it is no longer available on the market.

It's strange to say: In fact, the long-distance trade between Great Avalon and Holy Terra began as early as eighty or ninety years ago. Countless wandering merchants have devoted themselves to this. They transported high-quality high-end products and exotic specialties that the Terrans have never heard of from the Far Eastern frontier, obtaining a large amount of wealth and products unique to Terra, and making astonishing profits.

Logically speaking, such a lucrative trade route should have continued to expand, but the fact is that more than a decade ago, the number of merchants who traveled thousands of miles to Holy Terra to trade gradually decreased: a typical example is Mesati's Narrator Set. When she saved enough money and wanted to buy another set from a familiar merchant, she found that he had already devoted himself to the new trade route.

The trade between Holy Terra and Avalon is now less than one-tenth of what it was at its peak. Those Far Eastern merchants who are still willing to go to Terra are often vague about the reasons for such a sudden change, and no amount of inducements can make them speak: these wandering merchants are so loyal to their homeland, or to the Queen of Avalon, that it seems as if they were bound by a natural contract.

Mesati also heard that those Far Eastern merchants who had given up the Terra route now had other opportunities to make money: the Far Eastern merchant she was familiar with said before leaving Holy Terra for the last time that he would devote himself to the internal circulation trade route within the Far Eastern frontier.

Although profits have been reduced, they can be made up in other areas.

Mesati had remembered this strange remark for a long time. She had once used this question to consult the wisdom of Ms. Qile in front of her, and the answer she got was quite vague: According to Ms. Qile herself, the seal holder was actually well aware of the rapid decline in trade with the Far East.

"He was not happy: but he accepted it."

Mesati remembered clearly that when Ms. Qile gave this incoherent answer, she was sitting upright in a chair, with her hands clasped together, her head lowered, and speaking softly. Her rapid speaking speed made it difficult for Mesati to hear clearly what she was saying, but it felt a bit like a believer's prayer.

Qile often does this.

Just like: now.

After using the polishing fiber to maintain the last hand tool, Mesati secretly glanced at Ms. Qile who was sitting opposite her: she had just finished the strange prayer and was now holding a cup of cold tea, slowly observing the scene under the tower.

Mesati looked in the direction he was looking at, then curled his lips in boredom.

"What catches your eyes?"

"Those are the four Primarchs, Mesati."

Qile chuckled.

"Weren't you smitten with Horus and Dorn just a few minutes ago?"

"They are different."

Mesati argued.

"Even if a god-like figure sees too many words in a short period of time, he will develop a certain degree of immunity. Moreover, how can these four compare with the Wolf God? Three of them have a bad reputation: I haven't even heard of the story of Chagatai Khan, Mortarion is so cunning and tyrannical, and the rumors surrounding Lorgar are enough to stop a child from crying."

"Fulgrim has a good reputation, but who hasn't seen him? He returns to Holy Terra every once in a while to immerse himself in his exploits and art exhibitions. Even I have seen Fulgrim several times with my own eyes. He has a palace-like barracks on Terra."

"Ah, I've heard of it too."

Qile nodded.

"With the Emperor's special permission: Fulgrim is truly a favored one."

"Yes."

Mesati's gaze drifted.

"But Luo Jia next to him, I heard that he was scolded by the Emperor many years ago?"

"You mean the City of Perfection? No one knows what happened there. Some say the Emperor's legions punished the Word Bearers there, but others say the Emperor acknowledged Lorgar's faith in him in disguise. Anyway, the Word Bearers have never been at peace in all these years, and I heard that their forces are now frighteningly numerous."

"At least two hundred thousand."

"Each Crusade Expedition Fleet has at least 10,000 people, and the Word Bearers have at least 20 fleets like this. It is said that they have divided the entire Pacific Star Region into war zones that they need to be responsible for, and then evenly allocated 20 purification zones, just one for each Crusade Expedition Fleet."

"I also heard that they are planning to send new crusaders to the Storm and Hazy star regions."

"Will the Primarchs there agree?"

"Hard to say."

"Anyway, I don't like the name 'Purification Zone': it makes me feel uneasy."

“What happens in there?”

"I don't know: The Word Bearers forbid any outside visitors to visit their purification zone. The entire planet of Corgis and a large area around it are actually designated as a navigation restricted area by them. Only a few ports are allowed to receive outsiders: they say that this is to carry out the purification will of the God-Emperor as efficiently as possible and completely prevent the unclean from escaping to the outside world."

"It's incredible."

Hearing this, Mesati could not help but look at Luo Jia who had already walked away with some surprise: Even from such a distance, the appearance of the Great Speaker was so holy: he looked exactly like the Son of God in ancient legends, almost exactly like the great Lord of Mankind, his white face was full of sacred prayers, which complemented the majestic battle robe he was wearing.

Ever since the declaration of the Perfect City ignited the flames of the Crusade, the Great Bearer has rarely taken off his battle robe. Except for the sacred prayer ceremony, he always maintains a posture ready to devote himself to the holy war.

But such determination did not kill Lorgar's gentle aura. He smiled and waved at the mortals, whispering the blessing of the God-Emperor to his people. When he noticed that Mesati and Qile were looking at him from afar, the Great Speaker was the only one among the four Primarchs who raised his hand to smile and greet them. Beside him, Jaghatai Khan simply ignored them, and Mortarion hurried on his own, leaving the necessary communication to Typhon next to him: As for Fulgrim? He had already left others, including his brothers, far behind, and was intoxicated by the carved beams and painted buildings and the magnificent military power of the parade tower.

At this moment, the Phoenix Lord was carefully comparing those exquisitely crafted reliefs, observing how many of them were boasting about the Emperor's Children, and how many were praising the brother legions that he had quietly listed as competitors?
He was indeed paying homage to the mortals.

But even at a distance, Mesati could still see Phoenix's perfunctory attitude.

"Would a phoenix be so rude?"

"He said hello, but you didn't see it at the time, Mesati: don't expect these Primarchs to take your ideas into consideration and exert their energy on you a second time: we might as well guess who will be next."

"It's incredible..."

Mesati did not respond, she just looked at Fulgrim as his figure gradually disappeared.

"In my impression, Fulgrim's humility comes from his bones. He can let a child ride on his neck without any scruples and mingle with illiterate people. These were only 20 or 30 years ago. Although he is definitely not bad now, what makes him different?"

"People are going to change."

Qile looked at her nails.

"If you insist, Fulgrim will let children ride on his neck and mingle with mortals, but this will not change the pride and complacency in his heart. One day it will completely change his gentle nature. Or maybe his gentleness is just a disguise that deceived everyone, but now he can't pretend anymore."

"why?"

“Because life is going so smoothly.”

Qile chuckled.

"When life is smooth sailing, one will naturally lack respect for others and fate. Don't forget that Phoenix is the happiest of the Primarchs. He has never encountered any setbacks, and the Galaxy has not taken away from him even a treasure that would make him heartbroken."

"In this regard, Fulgrim is even luckier than Guilliman. The King of Macragge at least truly lost his father, but can you remember what the Phoenix lost? And he happens to be the most glorious Primarch. Such a smooth life will naturally breed arrogance."

"You have a very low opinion of him."

"I actually have a very low opinion of most of the Primarchs. Among these four, I rate Jagatai Khan the highest. Mortarion ranks second. I don't know if you noticed that when King Barbarus passed through the mortal array, the poison gas on his body was obviously reduced a lot."

"This doesn't seem like a coincidence."

"Ah, I saw it."

Mesati nodded.

"Speaking of this, I remember."

Miss Narrator has secretly lamented her good popularity more than once.

"When I was in the academy, someone told me a story: They said that the wandering traders in the Barbarus region had been moving strangely for a while. They would travel to various well-known civilized worlds, even Avalon and Macragge, but their main purpose did not seem to be to trade, but to investigate the local livelihood technology and policies."

"Then, they will collect all the methods they can to improve people's livelihood and bring them back to Barbarus, even if it costs a huge price. The Death Guard has never said anything about this, but it is said that the population base of Barbarus has been growing continuously in the past few decades, and modern facilities have been introduced one after another."

"I heard that the Death Guard has also built a very advanced void trade center in the low-Earth orbit of Barbarus, and has been encouraging the people of Barbarus to take the initiative to colonize the surrounding areas and cultivate those wild lands: they call this method the survival of the fittest, which means that people must take the initiative to adapt to the changing wheels of the times."

"That sounds great."

"Yes, but the poisonous fog and miasma on Barbarus still exists."

“Nothing is perfect.”

Qile stared at Mortarion, watching the Primarch become the last of the four to disappear from her sight: although the noise beside the main road never stopped, Mortarion was isolated from all of this, and he seemed to be a naturally marginal figure.

This is different from Khan.

After all, Khan took the initiative.

As for Mortarion: his marginalization is more like a passive choice.

"The Primarchs were all freaks: normal was the most extravagant word for them."

At this moment, Ms. Qile remembered the words that the seal holder had complained to her.

She now feels the same way.

Who will be next?
Qi Le asked herself this question, but she actually already knew the answer: the communicator in her palm transmitted the latest information to her in real time, including which Queen of Glory ships were approaching Ullanor's low-Earth orbit.

"It's time to get to work."

The narrator sighed softly, then stood up to Mesati's astonishment.

"Have you rested well?"

"Now that you've rested, focus on the next scene."

"Is there any important person coming?"

"That's right: up to nine Glorious Queens are arriving one after another."

"Get ready to record, Mesati."

"after all……"

There was a cold light flickering in Qile's pupils that Mesati could not understand.

"Before fate sets in: this could be the last time they'll be together."

"Everyone is on stage: all we have to do is watch quietly from the sidelines."

"Who is next?"