Emperor's Bane

Chapter 659 Opposition Party (2/2)

Morgan's words silenced the Emperor.

He said nothing more.

It was not that Morgan's words made the Emperor wake up, but that He had no time to fight back: because every Primarch present was not a fool, and although they had never expected this to happen, when Horus and Jonson made their moves, at least half of the Primarchs had already raised their brows.

Some were excited, some were disdainful, but more were confused and hesitant about whether to get involved: after a long while, no one took the initiative to step forward.

At this time, the benefits of keeping a Conrad in captivity became apparent.

Just when everyone was hesitating, they saw that the Night Lord had already secretly protected Guilliman in front of him, accurately grasping the pain point that everyone was still confused about. Conrad leaned over to the Macragge man's ear and whispered a few words in a swaggering manner. His movements were so obvious that it was hard not to be noticed by others.

Even Morgan could see it clearly: at the very beginning, the Macragge man's facial features were wrinkled together. He was obviously a little disgusted with Conrad's whisper, and he was still muttering words of rebuttal, but then, I don't know what Midnight Haunter added, Guilliman's facial features, after a while of melting, finally turned into a long sigh.

So, in full view of everyone, the Macragge people took the first step and marched towards the Emperor along the path that Jonson had taken: the meaning of this action was so obvious that the Primarchs present fell into a long silence, and Horus' pupils were hidden in the haze, and no one knew what he was thinking at the moment.

As for Jonson? He was frowning at Guilliman, like he was looking at a rusty sword, his reluctance clearly written on his face, but Guilliman didn't react to it: after all, the way he looked at Jonson was much the same.

"Guilliman?"

Standing not far away, deliberately avoiding everyone's gaze, Sanguinius laughed.

"He actually took the lead? And was persuaded by Conrad?"

"Maybe some kind of deal was reached, or maybe they have leverage over him."

Fulgrim's mouth curled into a grin, his eyes darting between all his brothers.

"What leverage can a Primarch have?"

Faced with Sanguinius's knowing question, Phoenix didn't even bother to turn around.

"I did something bad, and was caught by the eyes in the shadows."

"That is Guilliman, after all, and that is Konrad: have faith in them."

The Phoenix's eyes were fixed on the Lord of Macragge, whose back was left: he did not believe that Guilliman had voluntarily helped Jonson.

Just as Guilliman was about to reach the Emperor, a figure appeared on the empty road on Horus' side: between the smiling Fulgrim and the frowning Sanguinius, a helpless sigh and the sharp eyes that followed all indicated the arrival of the Steppe Eagle.

Chagatai saw it too clearly, and he didn't want those brothers who still didn't understand, or pretended not to understand: the Khan's face was clearly filled with dissatisfaction and resistance, and his sharp eyes swept in the direction of the Emperor, but he still stepped out of the formation unwaveringly and walked in front of Horus.

Khan's pace was so fast that even Morgan, who was also a Primarch, could not catch up. He and Guilliman arrived almost at the same time. When Khan met the relieved smile on Horus' face, he just nodded silently in response: he refused to even look at the Emperor.

However, Morgan soon received a look of disapproval from the Khan.

But the real pressure has come to the Lord of Mankind: the Emperor took an imperceptible deep breath and gave his two heirs a rare smile, but compared to the one he gave to Horus and Jonson before, it lacked sincerity. Fortunately, this time both of them did not care much about superficial efforts.

After all, Guilliman had almost never been alone with the Lord of Mankind, and he was already very satisfied to receive the Emperor's smile. In his view, this was goodwill given by the superior, which at least proved that this time was not a dangerous journey.

And Chagatai Khan...

＋We haven't seen each other for a long time. ＋
“That’s a good thing: more time is spent on meaningful things.”

Jaghatai Khan spoke quickly and sharply, not bothering to suppress the contempt in his tone: this successfully earned him a shocked look from Guilliman, and compared with the Khan, Guilliman's response to the Emperor was a bit unworthy of his reputation.

"I'm sorry, father: the affairs of the Five Hundred Worlds are too busy, and I can't spare the time."

Morgan shook his head after hearing this.

You are so disappointing: why don’t you use a stronger tone?

＋I understand. ＋
The Emperor nodded.

+Because Malcador has been complaining to me about the same thing as you, my Guilliman: He always told me that there are some unresolved minor conflicts between Holy Terra and the Five Hundred Worlds in the Maelstrom region? +

"I'm already trying to figure it out."

"But please forgive me. For the sake of the overall interests and stability of the Five Hundred Worlds, there are some issues that I really cannot compromise on. However, I am willing to hold a consultation meeting on this matter: Holy Terra is not the only part of the Human Empire. Please also consider the well-being of the people of the Five Hundred Worlds."

+ Do you think I've ignored you? +

"I don't think so: but I have to suppress the voices within the five hundred worlds."

＋If that's the case, why not deal with them as soon as possible? ＋
"For they have done no wrong: I cannot forbid my people to speak their mind."

＋They are hindering the development of the empire.＋
"It's not wrong to fight for their hometown, father: and the main reason they are still fighting is because their voices have never been heard, even if their demands are reasonable."

Even Chagatai Khan, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but look sideways when he heard this.

Guilliman's voice was low, and his words sounded polite, but the people present all looked at him in the same way as the Khan: everyone could hear the unquestionable views behind the Macragge's humble words, and the Emperor's words did not shake Guilliman's firm determination to safeguard the interests of the Five Hundred Worlds.

＋That's it. ＋
The Emperor did not insist.

+ Malcador is also in this world: I hope you can solve it as soon as possible. +
"I will do my best."

After receiving Guilliman's promise, the Lord of Mankind once again turned his attention to the Khan.

"As for Chagatai."

He managed a forced smile.

"I think there is nothing left for the two of us to discuss."

"indeed so."

Khan stood straight.

"But if you insist..."

＋Let's discuss this some other time, Chagatai.＋
"can."

The Khan turned around without any regrets, ready to leave in style, but Horus, who was standing beside him, suddenly smiled at him.

"Brother Chagatai: Do you want to stay and help me protect the Emperor's safety?"

"..."

The Khan was silent for a moment.

"For you, Horus."

He nodded.

Then, the Lord of the Icy Blue Sky stood next to Horus: the problem came to Guilliman's side. Lord Macragge, who originally thought that he had successfully dealt with the matter and could go back to pretending to be a passerby, now began to look difficult, and he looked towards Jonson's position with great heavy heart.

Then he found that Zhuang Sen was staring at his face even more seriously.

#A few seconds of silence#

After a few seconds, the Macragge finally took action. Guilliman, with a determined expression as if he was going to his death, dragged himself to Jonson's side step by step, and slowly shortened the final distance between the two: he and Jonson both clenched their jaws, as if they were standing shoulder to shoulder with a blazing star.

Just by looking at their backs, one can write a torture article of at least 100,000 words: both of them held their heads high, looking at the emperor, looking into the distance, looking at the imperial guards who were always wary of their advances, but they were unwilling to look at the person next to them.

But no one paid attention to the interaction between these close brothers. After Guilliman and Jaghatai Khan made a less than successful start, the Primarchs finally faced the reality: it was time to make a small compromise for the meaningless brotherly competition between Jonson and Horus.

Therefore, Sanguinius chose to set out in the same batch as Corax, because he noticed that this big crow might be the most innocent one among all the people present: the Lord of the Star of Redemption had not yet fully understood what was going on, and was pushed forward without any explanation by Conrad, who had warped behind him after Guilliman left.

Looking at the end of the road, Morgan and Guilliman calling out, and then looking at the smiling Midnight Ghost behind him, Corax naturally had no reason to refuse these closest brothers. He walked reluctantly in front of Jonson, and only nodded to the archangel in a friendly manner along the way.

Sanguinius was pleased with this, especially when he and Corax stood before the Emperor: just as he had thought, the Lord of Mankind had his attention focused entirely on the Raven King, and the conversation between the father and son was boring, as boring as a real conversation between a father and son could be.

But when there was a smiling archangel standing next to them, the boring chat seemed holy. After the Lord of Mankind patted Corax's shoulder intimately and promised a private meeting, he glanced at the archangel: Sanguinius nodded quickly to his genetic father, and then the two of them looked away as if fleeing.

This was the entire conversation between the Archangel and the Emperor: but to outsiders, enveloped in the infinite glory of Sanguinius, it was nothing more than a tacit understanding between father and son, a passionate affection that did not need to be expressed in words.

As for the Wolf God, he seemed to be very envious of this matter, but he still maintained his attitude and welcomed Sanguinius to his half of the team. As for Johnson, there were some small waves.

Seeing Corax standing next to him, Guilliman immediately moved forward, trying to stay away from Jonson, but he soon realized that this seemed a bit inappropriate, so after thinking for a moment, the Macragge man actually came up with a very good idea: he looked back at Morgan, measured the perfect distance, and then created a gap between him and Jonson.

Through this gap, everyone could see Morgan standing next to Zhuang Sen.

"Exquisite: it is hard to imagine that this could have come from Guilliman's mind."

Fulgrim smiled contemptuously, then followed Angron's steps: the King of Red Sand blatantly smashed the axe blade to the ground, and then walked in front of the Emperor like a whirlwind. Under the tense gaze of the Guards, he stared at his Gene-Father for a few seconds, then turned his head and walked towards Jonson without saying a word.

However, the Emperor's eyes were always following Angron, and no one knew what he was thinking.

This was exactly what Fulgrim had wanted, and Angron's early departure left just enough time for a brief personal performance: the Phoenix spoke the official words between him and the Emperor like poetry, and after making sure that he had received the most attention, he strolled over to the side of the Wolf God.

"Don't count on Ferrus."

Passing in front of Horus, Fulgrim reported in a low voice.

"Thank you."

The Wolf God's smile remained unchanged, but his expression when he looked at the Primarchs became gloomy: because Conrad on the other side was still jumping up and down, pushing the situation out of control. When Horus saw him skillfully hooking the shoulders of Leman Russ and Perturabo, his face involuntarily broke for a moment.

Russ? Perturabo?
Why...for what?
Beneath the Wolf God's calm surface, a storm of self-doubt was brewing, and he almost ignored the next few combinations.

Dorn and Perturabo? Who would be surprised by their tit-for-tat? Even without Conrad's provocation, when the Master of the Imperial Fist stood up impatiently and walked in front of the Emperor to salute him, the Iron Tyrant naturally followed: he did not notice that the Emperor's eyes were full of vigilance, circling back and forth on his mechanical body.

After them, another classic combination was pushed out by Conrad. Magnus was originally looking at the Lord of Death who was advancing towards Horus like a warrior, while he was thinking about the Nikea Conference in the near future: this made him not notice a certain Midnight Haunter who quietly slipped behind him.

The techniques of lurking around psychics were nothing new to Conrad.

As expected, when no one wanted to remind him, the absent-minded Prospero was easily knocked to the center of the road by Conrad: and when Magnus just came to his senses, he felt the contemptuous gaze of Mortarion as soon as he looked up.

"Even when everyone is gathered together, can't you concentrate your noble attention, Great Wizard?"

The Lord of Death's contemptuous laughter made Magnus forget to turn around and see who was plotting against him: in his opinion, nothing was more important than fighting against this pathetic and stupid brother in front of him.

"I am just temporarily lost in the vast ocean of knowledge."

“It used to be like this.”

Magnus stood up and easily covered the fully armed Mortarion with his shadow, but this made the Lord of Death even more excited: looking up at his brother who was as tall as a monster, Mortarion felt the intimacy of Barbarus.

Victory would still be his, as it had been on Barbarus: Malcador had come to him long ago, and he and the Emperor had promised that should Magnus fail on Nikaea, he would be the one to sound the death knell for the Scarlet King.

The Lord of Death muttered in his heart.

He laughed, and the contrast between his unwavering voice and his thin and lanky body was unforgettable.

"May your dying struggle be effective, and I am not afraid of your preparations, my poor brother Magnus. Prepare with all your might, and use all that you are proud of: only then, when I knock you to the ground, you will understand how pathetic these sorceries you have relied on so long are."

"You'll thank me."

The Lord of Death said this very seriously: because this is what he really means.

In a sense, he and Magnus are actually the same kind of people, and even the motivation for their confrontation is exactly the same: they do not hate each other, but simply despise each other. The feud between Mortarion and Magnus is far less serious than that between him and Morgan, but his view of Magnus is much more pessimistic than that of Morgan.

Morgan is just bad.

And Magnus was stupid.

Mortarion, hates stupidity.

So, he will destroy it with his own hands.

"Soon, Magnus: I will destroy your malign influence myself."

"I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you."

The natural arrogance on Prospero's face was unbearable. He opened his arms casually and his voice was unimaginably confident.

"I never deliberately exert my influence on others. It is always the outside world that actively focuses attention on me."

"I didn't know you were so vain?"

"Vincent?"

Magnus' mouth twitched, and he felt the word tainting his teeth.

"This is the truth, Mortarion: it is not my fault that the outside world is attracted to me." "Because this is my excellence. Fulgrim and his warriors still strive for perfection: but I am the embodiment of perfection!"

(Magnus actually said this in the original book, to Ahriman.)
"..."

Mortarion was stunned.

Then he burst into laughter.

The laughter of the Lord of Death made Magnus frown in dissatisfaction. He disdained to argue with such a rough man, so he turned around, quickened his pace as if avoiding the plague, and came before the Emperor first: Mortarion, who witnessed all this, was not in a hurry. He weighed his every step like a warrior and laughed at Magnus's bookishness.

+...+
The long silence came from the Lord of Mankind who was standing at the best viewing angle and was forced to witness all the above confrontations: when Magnus and Mortarion came to their Gene-Father one after another, the Emperor's gaze quietly turned to Morgan's direction.

Even this adopted daughter who had been clearly going against him today now seemed much more pleasing to the eye: but what really concerned the Emperor was the number of Primarchs next to Jonson, or more precisely in front of Morgan, who were almost equal to those on Horus' side.

Although the Emperor had known long before that his daughter was forming cliques beneath the surface, the Lord of Mankind at the time paid no heed to Malcador's warning: the Primarch's small circle had been around for a long time, and it was no big deal for Morgan to bring together a few close brothers to support each other on certain issues or to advance and retreat together.

It's just a smaller version of Horus.

This optimistic thought, which was almost unique to the Emperor, had continued until just now: until Morgan had actually demonstrated to the Emperor how many people she could actually bring along.

After pairs of Primarchs came before the Emperor in a clear line and stood beside the brothers he supported, in a moment, only six Primarchs were still waiting: Conrad's position was needless to say, and even Leman Russ was shaking his head helplessly, and was walking towards the Emperor with his arm around Vulkan, who was slightly bent over.

Halfway through the walk, the Wolf King did not forget to give Zhuangsen an exaggerated thumbs-up: a strange change appeared on the lion's face, but he finally said nothing. After all, even a guy like Zhuangsen now realized what they were doing.

Turning his head, Jonson rarely took a break from his duties and carefully observed his brother standing on his side: the Caliban man's cold brows melted for a moment, but soon forced himself back to normal.

In the time it took them to get here, Leman Russ and Vulkan arrived at the same time. Their conversation with the Emperor was simple and polite: the Wolf King seemed to have regarded the Emperor as a simple lord from the beginning, while Vulkan looked as if he had a lot on his mind.

+What's wrong, Vulkan? +

The Emperor patted the fire dragon on the shoulder.

+You can tell me. +
"I…I can't say it here, Father."

＋I understand. ＋
The Lord of Mankind nodded and let his two sons walk to the left and right. His two arms actually maintained balance again.

No, that’s not right: after all, there is a Morgan behind Jonson.

Then take another look at the opposite side: apart from the evenly matched Conrad and Alpharius who openly declared that he would defeat Horus, the remaining Ferrus and Lorgar don't seem to care about such things.

After all, they and neither side have...

wrong!

Did he ask Morgan to help him solve the problem of Perfect City?

+...+
[Don't worry, I haven't talked to Luo Jia about this matter. ]

The emperor was still in deep thought when Morgan's inner voice came faintly.

[Stop staring at Luo Jia, it's too obvious: Ever since the incident in Perfect City, your eyes have never stayed on Luo Jia for more than five seconds at a time.]

＋It's just not necessary. ＋
Morgan's slightly resentful words made the emperor pause. He resolutely avoided the topic related to the Great Speaker and turned his attention to the other people: As for Luo Jia? Seeing him closing his eyes and chanting, he must have no interest in these mundane things.

He didn't even bother to look at the last pair walking together, Konrad and Alpharius: these two smiling primarchs used smiles instead of words all the way.

------

"I thought you would choose Jonson?"

"I thought you wouldn't choose Jonson?"

"I see: you should have chosen Jonson's side."

"I also [saw] that you and Jonson had a bad relationship."

"..."

"Do you think the future has really changed?"

"That's not something we should worry about, or have the ability to worry about, Conrad."

"We are creatures of the shadows, so we should not think of deciding things under the sun."

"In contrast, I have another matter here that is worthy of your concern."

"What is it?"

------

[How likely do you think it is that Ferrus will vote for Horus?]

As the Night Lords bowed joyfully before the Emperor and attempted to kiss the fingernails of the Lord of Mankind with their sharp teeth, his eldest sister, in a channel that only the two of them could hear, asked the Emperor a question with an almost suppressed laugh.

Morgan didn't even need to turn around to look at Horus's expression, because the Emperor's was already exciting enough: of all the nineteen Primarchs present, excluding Ferrus and Lorgar who were determined to live in seclusion, the rest were tied eight to eight between Horus and Jonson.

Morgan didn't even count himself, but it didn't matter anymore: no matter who would be the Warmaster between Jonson and Horus, the pressure brought by this position would be extraordinary. Even if the Wolf God got what he wanted in the end, could he ignore the eight people on Jonson's side?

＋Is this what you wanted? ＋
There was a hint of anger beneath the Emperor's calm words that sent a chill down Morgan's neck.

+Making the Warmaster a joke? +

【Because the Warmaster is a huge joke, father.】

Morgan smiled.

Let me give you a simple example.

[You established the Warmaster so that after you left the Great Crusade, you would have someone who could command respect from everyone to replace you. I will not mention for the moment the fact that we are a military empire, but you, as the supreme leader, are giving up military power. Here, I simply want to ask you a question.]

[The Warmaster who aims to be loved by everyone: But among the Primarchs, how many people support the establishment of this position? And if they don't support the establishment of this position, how can they love the person in the position? ]

[Even though I can get eight votes, and Horus can secure the remaining eight votes with his personal ability, how many of these sixteen brothers really want to elect a Warmaster? At least among the eight on my side, none of them do.]

The Emperor was silent for a while.

＋So, what are you trying to tell me by doing this? ＋

【Don’t tell me anything. 】

[I just want to piss you off.]

Morgan almost laughed out loud.

+? +

[Ullanor has been fought, the Warmaster's ceremony has been carried out, and the Primarchs who have never been reunited are now in front of us: Even if I say something fancy, what's the use, aren't you still stubborn and insistent on doing this? I can only scold you here to vent my anger. ]

[It can be considered as empathy for Makado. 】

+...+
[By the way, I'd like to show off my potential destructive power in front of you about my future coordination of the war general: since you are going back anyway, if you want to get some benefits, this is probably your last chance, right? ]

It was as if Morgan had just thought of this sentence.

The Emperor responded with only silence.

Now, despite the calmness on the surface, the pressure and self-doubt in his heart have made him into something he really is.

Even the Lord of Humanity was a little overwhelmed.

He spoke carefully, his voice echoing in the private channel between father and daughter.

+How did you win over Mag...? +
No, considering the relationship between Magnus and Morgan, it seems that if Morgan wants to win him over, it would only take a word.

The Emperor shook his head.

+Tell me, Riemann... +
Wait: Although Leman Russ and Morgan didn't have a deep connection, they had fought through the gates of hell together, not to mention the friendship between Russ and Jonson, which he had heard of on Terra.

Ruth was no surprise.

The Emperor shook his head again.

+ How did Perturabo...? +
Needless to say: in his impression, Perturabo seemed to have only Morgan as his close friend.

Although it sounds incredible to ask the Lord of Steel to put aside his pride and support Zhuang Sen, it's even more incredible that he has made arrangements for Morgan: isn't this adopted daughter still jumping around and causing trouble for him?
So, who else?

The emperor's brows gradually furrowed, and he vaguely realized that this matter was not simple.

Corax?

The relationship between him and Horus had become so bad that the Wolf-God came to him specifically to complain.

Conrad?
He had never considered this kid: just treat it as a green plant project called [Gene Primarch], and directly graft this No. 8 sapling onto Morgan.

Angron?
He had not yet grown a second head: and one head alone did not seem to be enough to appease Angron's opinion of him.

Guilliman?
Ok……

+How did you win Guilliman over to your side? +
"Didn't your men on Terra tell you about the three-headed monster in the Far East? It doesn't seem strange that Guilliman and I should stand together, right?"

＋But he is the pioneer this time: this is very strange. ＋
[It's very strange: before I said that this would be good for Macragge, he didn't seem very enthusiastic. ]

Morgan tilted her head, and she caught a glimpse of Horus from the corner of her eye. When Sanguinius was accompanying the Wolf God, the Phoenix Lord stood up and called on the best artists and recorders on Ullanor: the presence of the Emperor and the Primarchs was enough to make the works of mortals become myths that would be passed down for thousands of years.

【Like I told you, Father.】

The Primarch laughed, her eyes sweeping over her increasingly agitated blood brothers.

[The reason why people like us can gather together is partly because of the friendship in the past, and partly for our own benefit: if we really want to talk about ambition, it is just a joke. After all, even Zhuang Sen has let it go, right? ]

[But even so, the compensation you deserve still needs to be obtained. ]

+That’s it. +
The Emperor nodded, his eyes sweeping over each Primarch present.

+Were you pushed out by them again? +
[It’s just that I have the biggest appetite. ]

[I can't help it. There are so many old and young people to take care of at home. I don't have a good father like Guilliman.]

[My poor father: He died early...]

+...+
＋Let’s talk: conditions. ＋
【Ah, it’s very simple, a true father. 】

The Spider Queen stretched out a finger, and in the dimensional space that only she and the Emperor could see, the figures of Horus and the Primarchs were casually pinched by Morgan and placed in front of her genetic father.

[In the final analysis, we are able to accept Warmaster Horus. This was confirmed by several of us in private through letters long before my ship arrived in Ullanor: We are willing to respect Warmaster Horus.]

[But the premise for doing so is that Warmaster Horus is also willing to respect us. ]

＋Where do I start? ＋
The emperor's voice actually sounded a little amused and pleased.

＋Respect? You are bringing up a topic that cannot be measured by material things at all. ＋
【I know. 】

But we can take it slow.

The Primarch stretched out his five fingers, then slowly but firmly clenched them into a fist.

[As for the first step: it was not my personal wish, but the collective idea of ​​all of us. ]

＋So what do you want? ＋

We want everything from the Great Crusade to remain as it was before. We want your return to change nothing. We want freedom and respect, as they always were: just as they were before.

【in other words.】

[We want Warmaster Horus to still be one of us, a brother with whom we can consult on everything, rather than a new emperor who is above us and can command our legions with orders and letters.]

+You know, he's not. +
[I know, it's not important.]

【You know, that's what matters. 】

(End of this chapter)