Emperor's Bane

Chapter 660 In the Queen's Palace

"When I first heard that your people had built a palace for you on the land of Ullanor, I thought it was just a rumor. Morgan: I didn't expect that what he told me was actually true?"

【Who told you that? 】

"Our youngest brother, that is Alpharius: he seems to know everything."

The Archangel of Baal, the genetic father of the Ninth Legion, was folding his pale wings into his crimson armor, spreading his palms with an innocent look, and selling his brother without hesitation: in exchange for a golden ticket to enter Morgan's palace.

"A palace? You are truly noble: not even Fulgrim thought of bringing his own palace to the surface."

So: He lives in a tent?

"No, he went straight back to his ship, the Emperor's Pride."

"Of course: it is also possible that I feel inferior to your pomp?"

Sanguinius raised his head and faced the iron-gray sky of Ullanor. His light, mocking words flowed down his teardrop-shaped wings, lingering in the ears of Morgan and the Dawnbreakers, but none of them felt disgusted.

Instead, the archangel's pupils flickered with discomfort towards the green tiles and red roofs in front of him: although to be fair, the Spider Queen's palace was far from reaching the standard of extravagance, even the hill-sized [simple tent] on the next hilltop, which belonged to Magnus alone, was more luxurious than Morgan's palace.

But this silver-domed building is indeed not suitable to be placed on the land of Ullanor. Just like its owner, it is filled with a comfortable atmosphere from head to toe that is completely opposite to war: flower-filled hanging courtyards, Baroque-style colonnades, exquisite and beautiful sculpture fountains and artificial waterfalls, as well as interior decorations and food and daily necessities all airlifted from the Far Eastern frontier and its affiliated worlds.

These were all great and pleasant, but not so gorgeous as to be annoying. At least compared to where Fulgrim and Magnus were staying, Morgan's palace was very low-key: if Sanguinius did not have a unique air advantage, he would not even be able to find it for a while.

Unlike Magnus: Prospero's warriors simply dismantled the famous glass pyramid on the Radiance and reassembled it on the ground of Ullanor. The crystal panels refracted the daylight like a second sun, torturing every eye within its sight.

And when a certain Sanguinius, who knew nothing about this, foolishly flew into the residential area of the Thousand Sons, he was naturally almost caused to crash by the sudden light pollution: Fortunately, the Archangel flew high enough, and no one on the ground saw the scene of Sanguinius covering his eyes and fumbling to make an emergency landing in the air.

After this incident, the Archangel's original plan to go to Magnus to make a final remedy for the Conference of Nikea had to be aborted halfway, and he was forced to make an emergency landing in front of Morgan's palace: and although this palace was not a light-polluted holy place, it gave Sanguinius an indescribable sense of awkwardness.

how to say……

"This is, after all, a celebration world that is about to host the grandest military parade in the history of the galaxy. Morgan: Strength, glory, and martial spirit are the themes of the next few days. They are what can be praised. Everything else can be despised."

Sanguinius sighed softly. The deeper he went into Morgan's territory, the more obvious this awkward feeling became: the maze corridors with carved beams and painted rafters and the magnificent amber palace were obviously not necessary for a person like Morgan. The spiral staircase carved from a whole piece of marble would become a topic of discussion among the soldiers, not to mention the artificial stalactite caves decorated with stained glass, which exuded a mysterious style. Even on the Emperor's Pride, there was no such landscape.

"Morgan, I always thought you were a very frugal person?"

【I think so too. 】

The primarch nodded.

[After all, I only have this one palace, so I can live wherever I go.]

"Let me guess: Is this place called..."

【Camelot: That’s right.】

"But I remember that Kameno was famous for its strong castle rather than its luxurious gardens."

In response to Sanguinius's questioning, Morgan simply picked up a cold drink.

[Listen, bro: I can tell you haven’t done any financial calculations.]

"That's normal. I never thought about economic issues before I left Baal. This term is a bit too advanced for Baal's tribal system. After I left Baal, I never even heard of this term. How many Primarchs would consider financial figures?"

You're about to hear about it.

Morgan raised his goblet.

【To the Lord of the Baal Enclave.】

"Hail my subjects."

Sanguinius sighed, and his next words were absolutely heartfelt.

"May the Emperor grant them their own resources and a good economy, with nothing to worry about except the lack of military protection. Otherwise, I can't think of what I can give them: a few hundred colonies living on their own in the desolate meteorite space? The Emperor might as well just throw my legion outside the Astronomican."

[Trust me, brother: the world outside the Astronomican is scarier than you think.]

【And more numbers are needed. 】

Morgan took a sip of his wine.

[My Rogue Traders and Exploration Fleets lose hundreds of ships every year in the dark space outside the Astronomican, or even more. The financial cost of this is equivalent to hundreds of palaces like this.]

"Really?"

[Of course it’s true.]

The primarch laughed.

[Throughout history, how many dynasties have destroyed themselves by building palaces? This is as ridiculous as the saying that beautiful women are a disaster: there are countless empires that enthusiastically threw themselves into wars and were torn apart by wars in turn.]

[The total cost of all the sights you see is not as much as the smallest destroyer in the navy fleet. War is the real money-eating beast in the galaxy, and this palace is just a decoration: I will not use it outside of public places. ]

"You don't like this style either?"

[Not comfortable enough, nor safe enough. ]

The Spider Queen spoke briefly and pointed in a random direction. Waiters carrying drinks and fruit plates came to the angel. They all had a sign with "Number Nine" on their chests. They were the reception team specially prepared for Saint Guinius in this palace.

Although she didn't say much, when her subjects built this rarely used palace for her on the land of Ullanor, the Spider Queen immediately asked her servants to prepare to welcome the visit of her Primarch brothers, and to prepare various plans in advance for each gene Primarch's respective hobbies to ensure that the guests would feel at home.

Even Mortarion is no exception.

If the Lord of Death could shut his stinky mouth, Morgan wouldn't mind treating him to some refreshments on his balcony and chatting about topics that would benefit both parties: for example, building an information-sharing alien data database among the three legions of Dawnbreaker, Night Lords and Death Guard.

However, there were a few Primarchs who were not included in Morgan's reception: for example, her dear Conrad and Corax, the two of whom had rooms in the palace and were now playing in their shared game room, and Jonson, who had his own sword tower on the edge of the palace, built entirely in the Caliban style.

"I can understand the insecurity: by the Empire's standards."

Sanguinius smiled at the servant who brought him a fruit plate.

"After all, they always claim that machine slaves are safer than mortal servants: but I prefer your arrangement here."

If there was one place in the palace where Saint-Gilius felt comfortable, it might be the waiters walking around with meals and drinks. He did not see a single machine slave here. Even the most humble servants had eyes that sparkled with the vibrant colors of life that belonged only to humans. This was also the main reason why the archangel was always willing to give his sister a high evaluation in his heart.

It was also the reason for him to speak.

"Perhaps you want to use this method to let others witness the rich heritage and powerful transportation capabilities of the Far East Frontier. I have to admit that this method is very effective, Morgan. It is indeed impressive to build such a gorgeous building in less than half a day. At least it is much better than that honest gentleman Guilliman."

【What happened to him? 】

"The campsite occupied by his one legion has surpassed that of the three legions next to it."

[What is the Emperor's reaction? ]

“No: but the Ten Thousand Custodes have just set up camp next to the Ultramarines.”

[Did Alpha tell you this too? ]

"I said: He knows everything, so he told me something else, too."

【Rumors about me?】

"The content is not very good: As I said just now, Morgan, this palace may make others marvel at the power of the Far East Frontier, but they will not respect you, because they will despise you after being amazed, because the way you show your power is too..."

【soft?】

"I prefer to call it mild."

"But showing off the splendor of your palace in front of a group of warriors is not a good idea."

[But isn't this how I should behave in their minds? ]

Morgan turned and winked at her angel brother. In the past, this was a signature move of Sanguinius, but when the dim white light of Ullanor shone through the narrow window cut out of marble, casting a hazy curve on the pupils of the Spider Queen, her words still made Sanguinius stunned.

[They don’t really want to know what kind of person I am. They’ve already made their own conclusions. So why not just go along with them? Maybe in the future, this kind of inherent influence won’t be a bad thing for me.]

This sentence silenced the angel: he could easily associate it with himself.

So, Sanguinius shook his head and smiled helplessly.

"Well: at least this is something Alpharius could never tell me."

[I don't think I've seen him since the Emperor ordered it to disband.]

"In the beginning, he was with Horus, and there were also me, Dorn, and Jaghatai Khan. But Alpha soon had a dispute with Dorn over certain events. At first, Horus tried to mediate, but the Emperor's messenger soon summoned Horus away."

[Private meeting?]

"Obviously, starting with Horus: I hope the Emperor forgets about me by then."

[Let me guess: The Khan, who was troubled by this, also disappeared immediately? ]

"Even I didn't notice his movements."

Angels stroke the Romanesque semicircular capitals along the colonnade.

"Is this Guilliman's suggestion?"

【He has a room here: it has a bonus room for file storage.】

"I'm surprised you can tolerate Guilliman living in the same building as you."

[Can't you tolerate staying in a tent with several brothers? ]

"That's because without Horus, they would disperse quickly, just like what happened just now."

What about Mortarion?

"He seems to be with Malcador: I hear Leman Russ is also there."

[Using Magnus's brain, he can guess what they will discuss.]

The Spider Queen threw her frost-colored plush shawl to the Chief Guard beside her, then frowned and thought for a moment: this was a hint. The Dawnbreakers, having received the silent order, immediately retreated, leaving space for the Primarch to talk and time for Morgan to think.

But this time, his thinking was not very successful, because the remaining sweat on his neck made the Primarch feel a little irritated and unable to calm down: as soon as his thoughts wandered a little, the embarrassing memories at the starport would re-invade his mind.

The pain this memory caused the Spider Queen was worse than the Dark Prince doing a striptease in her mind.

God knows how much embarrassment and stiffness they felt when all nineteen Primarchs stood in two rows: even Morgan herself didn't want to recall how she went from the Emperor's side to the array of Primarchs. Eighteen different gazes made the Spider Queen's soul burn.

She didn't remember how she managed to hold out until the Emperor gave the order to disband ten minutes later, but Morgan was very sure that those ten minutes were a torment for every Primarch present, even for the Emperor himself.

The evidence is this: after the Emperor ordered the Primarchs to move freely, Jagatai Khan was actually the slower one, while Primarchs like Mortarion or Perturabo, who were considered to be clumsy, perhaps ran the best results of their lives on the spot.

But if we ignore these inner aspects: at least the scene was still very beautiful.

The Lord of Mankind and all his descendants stood shoulder to shoulder, their incomparable power and majesty eclipsed the Titan legions guarding not far away: only warlords or even greater beings were qualified to set foot on the land of Ullanor today, and every ticket was worthy of a duel between the two legends.

Thousands of divine machines waiting for the Emperor's inspection came from every gathering of giants worthy of being told in the Empire. Many of them had been recommended by expedition fleets, primarchs, and even the Emperor himself, and were therefore qualified to gain a foothold on this dry land, silently telling of their hundreds of years of conquest.

Each divine machine stood like a god, unwilling to waste even a single unnecessary movement, because every Titan captain knew very well that their every move represented the entire legion behind them, and represented how the flag they were loyal to would be known to the world a thousand years from now in this unprecedented painting of behemoths.

No one would give up such an opportunity, so all the Titan legions in the empire could be found on Ullanor at this time. The total number was so large that even the forces under the rule of Mars were not so conspicuous among them. Ryza was just an elite who was only slightly bigger than others. Large forging worlds like these were mixed in with epics and prayers. The titles and names that were once as loud as thunder in the past seemed ordinary on Ullanor today.

The giants of the Mechanicus had different reactions to this situation. Most people were satisfied, even Riza kept her mouth shut. However, the Spider Queen's friend on Riza specifically told her: It is said that the current Martian Forge General Kalpohar is not satisfied with this result.

"Yes, I heard that too."

Sanguinius was not at all affected by this matter: the 9th Legion had no further connection with Mars. After all, their unconventional combat style meant that their demand for equipment was not that rigid. It was enough to win over several forge worlds around the home planet and make them long-term allies.

But Sanguinius was still happy to find out about Mars: who doesn't like free fun?

"General Casting felt that Mars's power did not have an absolute advantage in this unprecedented exhibition, which would further undermine Mars' authority. His concerns were correct, but unnecessary: what was the point of his advantage?"

"The blood has been shed, hasn't it?"

Sanguinius was hinting at something: a hint that Morgan would surely understand.

Because she is half a party involved, the angel is at most just a bystander.

After all, decades ago, with the help of an unnamed Spider Queen, Ryza, a forge world in the Maelstrom region, successfully obtained de facto jurisdiction over the entire Maelstrom region from the Emperor, the Omnissiah. As the news spread, Mars' ruling system over the forge worlds under its jurisdiction, which was not very reliable to begin with and could only be regarded as a restraining system at best, began to shake fundamentally.

The de facto independence of Riza is not the most serious problem. The really terrible thing is that after Riza has been so presumptuous for decades, the Forging General and his subordinates are still unable to do anything about this large forging world: nothing can better illustrate the serious decline in Mars' control over the ministers under its rule.

Although in the western part of the galaxy, every nail that Reza thrust out was crushed by Mars with the most brutal means, but on the side closer to the Far Eastern frontier, the Martian rebels could still rely on the power of their allies and their own solid foundation to fight back and forth with the expedition fleet sent by the Forge General: and by the way, they also made the Great Whirlpool as hard as an iron barrel.

Nowadays, it is Mars' power in the eastern galaxy that is gradually declining, and its original stronghold in the Maelstrom has been driven out by Riza to the point where only one tenth of it remains: Even with Morgan's help behind the scenes, Riza's strength is actually far from comparable to that of Mars. But who says its international situation is far better than that of Mars?
Riza only needs to focus on facing the threat from Mars, but Mars has more than just Riza to suppress: what's more, with Riza's activeness, the other plates are becoming increasingly unstable.

And if, without launching a full-scale war, the Forging General can take a large-scale forging world that is strong in itself, united internally, and backed by powerful allies and a vast market, what can he do?

This is undoubtedly a vicious circle: Ryza's strength boosted the ambitions of other forge worlds, which in turn weakened Mars's power. Mars's lack of power allowed Ryza's strength to continue to grow unscrupulously. Kalbohar had tried to break the bottom line of war. For a period of time, the Martian expeditionary fleet often accidentally fired outside the colony world controlled by Ryza, and even deliberately broke into the space domain where Ryza's native land was located.

The answer given by the "Forge of Bound Stars" is also very simple: after forcing back the Martian fleet, they directly carried out a large-scale renovation work for Morgan and Conrad's Queen of Glory-class battleships free of charge, and the location was naturally chosen to be in Riza's low-Earth orbit.

"Honestly, I'm curious how you managed to suppress such a big thing?"

Sanguinius ate up a whole piece of fruit and was very satisfied with these delicacies that had been preserved through space and traveled across half the galaxy.

【What does it have to do with me? 】

Morgan chuckled.

[I just want the Forge World that I am friendly with to repair my warship. ]

[As for the retreat from Mars: Isn’t it an internal matter of the Mechanicus? ]

"That being said."

The angel shook his head.

"But you should be thankful that Firestar and Riza's Titans didn't fight right here."

[Of course they won't fight: regardless of whether they have the guts to do so, these Titan pilots are eager to serve as the background of Omnissiah, to be written into poems and painted into oil paintings by countless artists and successors, and to be praised for their heroic names thousands of years later.]

【That’s what they did.】

Morgan saw it clearly.

No matter how the Titan captains of Mars and Ryza viewed each other in private, on this land, they all firmly maintained the majesty of the God's machines. These giant steel towers became the best backdrop for the artists and narrators summoned by Fulgrim to create their works. The thin clouds of Ullanor and the dark silence of the God's machines highlighted the glory of the Lord of Mankind and his nineteen demigod offspring incarnated.

It was an unimaginably magnificent sight, and every mortal present was the luckiest bastard alive.

Morgan was not surprised to hear the news that some mortal artists who were unable to witness such a spectacular sight had shot themselves in grief.

Sanguinius told her.

“It’s hard to understand, isn’t it?”

He was amazed and didn't feel any regret at all for not being able to catch such a scene.

"Mortals are cowardly, but when they find their own way, their indifference to life also scares me: some of my officers are like this, especially those who come from the barbaric world. Their shallowness towards human life is incredible."

[I find this easy to understand: I am always observing their lives.]

[Many people are just used to putting the importance of some things above their lives: but selfless people only put it above their own lives, while selfish people put it above everyone else’s lives, but not their own.]

"What if they value the lives of all people, including their own?"

【That is a great man: or a madman. 】

"Have you ever seen such a person?"

[Met: We may be arranged to have a private meeting with him soon. ]

Looking at each other in silence, the two Primarchs laughed heartily.

They walked to the edge of the balcony. In the distance was an entire flattened mountain, where the six primarchs stayed. There were various tents and legion camps lined up: although the Mechanicus had already prepared rest rooms for the primarchs near the parade platform, the bloodlines preferred to stay with their offspring and mortal soldiers.

"You are no exception."

Sanguinius glanced at the resting area belonging to the Dawnbreakers and the Avalon Mortal Legion, which was not far from Morgan's Palace: the Dawnbreakers' camp looked small and exquisite, and had a lot more flashy-looking components than those of other brother legions.

"Why do you have a special place in your legion camp for bonfire parties?"

[Then why is there a blood donation station at the gate of your legion camp? ]

"..."

Sanguinius did not pursue the subject.

He turned his head and looked at the mortal army loyal to Morgan. These elite soldiers owned the largest camp in the entire Ullanor. Compared with their mortal colleagues loyal to other legions, the hardware facilities and luxury of these Avalonian camps were also quite amazing.

There are actually several very nice libraries standing among the solemn military tents, as well as...

“Wait: Doesn’t that stone cottage look a bit like a church?”

The angel raised a brow: he had no idea that his sister would dare to play such a big game.

Do you know what happened to our last brother who pursued religious victory?

【Ah, that one.】

Morgan was stunned for a moment.

【Uh……】

[It is a nature reserve prepared for possible visitors from the Word Bearers Legion.]

"..."

[By the way, my mortal soldiers like to reenact ancient battles in their spare time during their military careers: Cannae, Agincourt, and Austerlitz. This church is just a necessary prop for the pre-battle prayer session during the reenactment.]

"Why are you so interested in the history of warfare in the classical period of mankind?"

[I wasn't interested at first, until I compared the fighting style of the ancient human race with our current fighting style: especially in the history of Terra, the period known as World War I and World War II, which made me feel as if I were in another world.]

"No wonder they all say that you value mortals as much as your own offspring."

The angel looked at his sister.

"Aren't you afraid that the children will complain?"

【Why complain? 】

Morgan contentedly picked out his favorite fruit in front of the archangel.

[My descendants can stay in the mortal camp at any time, or entertain their mortal friends in their own tents: as long as they know that they belong to a common collective called the Far Eastern Frontier, the relationship between Astartes and mortals will be better than imagined.]

"And you have to arrange for the mortals to have the same living conditions as the Astartes?"

【No. 】

Morgan shook his head.

【This is due to the climate.】

[I don't want my elite soldiers to suffer non-combat casualties in this land. After all, after returning to Avalon, I still have to prepare for the next step of military expansion. Every soldier present can provide me with at least one squad of armed forces in a few years.]

[We can't let them fall here. ]

"really."

Sanguinius nodded.

"Ullanor is not a nice place: especially for mortals."

The land and its soul were equally bad in the past two years. Not long ago, this place was the most fetid nest in the entire galaxy, brewing a crazy war that wanted to destroy all civilizations and pollute all known worlds. Although the Astartes Legion and the Mechanicus used blood and fire to cleanse the filth of this land as much as possible, the air still lingered with the former breath of the Greenskin Empire.

Madness, and glory.

To make matters worse, the arrival of the Astartes and the Mechanicus not only brought purification to the world, but also the stench of bullet casings and the exhaust fumes of spaceship engines. The Mechanicus's skills, which could flatten mountains, fill chasms, crush hills and castles, and then use promethium fuel to cleanse the entire continent, would themselves devour countless metals and cleanliness, and then leave behind a royal capital standing in the sour smell.

This is Ullanor today.

It was scorching hot and extremely crowded, and the air was filled with the smell of a mixture of flowing sweat and burning metal. Even the Emperor's Dream, which was deserted and lonely in the void and devoid of any human atmosphere, seemed more livable than this place, not to mention the Aurora, which Morgan regarded as his home.

"I kind of understand why a lot of brothers don't like being on the ground anymore."

The angel waited for the second fruit plate: even the slightly scorching sun was no longer a problem.

"Now I can only hope that the Emperor will quickly complete the private conversation with us, and then complete the ceremony of the Warmaster: no matter how bad the environment on Nikaea is, it should not be worse than here in Ullanor."

【Your words are like praising Guilliman's mother as better than the mothers of other Primarchs.】

"That's pretty much what it means."

[Then how long do you think it will take the Emperor to finish talking to us? ]

"It won't take long."

The angel was silent.

"Based on my experience, we can estimate the approximate time by looking at how long Horus stayed there. Subtract the private time Horus got, and that's the time that brothers like Dorn and Corax, who are more favored by him, get."

"Subtract a percentage, and that's the treatment that ordinary people like me can get."

【What if we subtract another section? 】

"That's the Khan's level."

【What's the meaning? 】

"negative number."

Sanguinius smiled.

"But no matter what: our father will definitely be busy for a while."

【What do you want to do?】

“I just thought this was a good opportunity for us to work some things out among ourselves.”

[For example? 】

"Magnus."

【What other questions does he have? 】