Emperor's Bane

Chapter 691 The Last Whisper
+ Come here, my children. +
+ Stand facing me: I have one last thing to say to you before I leave our common cause. It concerns all of you, and each of you has a part that belongs to you. +
+I hope you can treat them like the war we are fighting now. +
+Because that is your duty: your duty from now on. +
＋And for some people: maybe permanently. ＋
Thanks to a certain human lord's slight capriciousness regarding the right of interpretation, the ceremony of enthroning the warmaster on Ullanor ended earlier than anyone expected. The wolf shepherd god received his crown from his father, welcomed his army, and solemnly swore the responsibilities that would soon be his.

And this is all Horus' part in this day that belongs to him.
As the Wolf God and the Emperor returned from the terrace one after the other, Horus retreated behind the Emperor without any further words, allowing everyone's attention to be focused on the Lord of Mankind again: this was exactly what the Emperor needed.

The Wolf Shepherd God knew that the time and attention from now on would no longer belong to him alone.

Along with this action, the Warmaster's Hall, which was immersed in the bustling crowd, began to have some subtle changes: the Royal Guards who had been standing behind Malcador, silent as sculptures, making people doubt whether they were alive, began to perform their duties under the silent command of their lord.

Hundreds of imperial guards followed the route that had been planned long ago, and in the blink of an eye they shuttled among the dignitaries on both sides of the ceremony. Their figures standing with halberds brought a sense of oppression, and their dull tones were polite but unquestionable: At the polite request of the imperial guards, a few seconds later, the first mortal dignitary stood up, and with a heart full of strangeness and regret, he quietly left this great hall.

Like falling dominoes, such scenes soon occurred everywhere. Even the most unruly officials did not dare to say anything in front of the silent imperial guards. After just a dozen minutes, the bustling corner that originally housed thousands of people was reduced to rows of cold marble chairs.

At least two-thirds of the Guardsmen present followed these dignitaries out, acting as their temporary bodyguards and supervisors until they returned to their respective camps. The remaining one-third at the venue were the Emperor's most trusted confidants, the top 100 best warriors in the Guards' Ten Thousand. Chief Valdor led them personally, quietly guarding the corners of various vital points, away from the sight of the Lord of Mankind and the Primarchs.

Just like that, more than twenty minutes after Horus received his Warmaster's crown, his brothers looked around, only to find that all the people present were their own blood relatives. The only Sigillite left had shrunk back into his own shadow corner. The Primarchs certainly noticed him, but most of the Emperor's children were so arrogant that they ignored this old servant who had been supervising them.

They were more curious about what the Emperor meant.

Without much hesitation, after Leman Russ took the lead, the Primarchs quickly came from all directions. The rush of time made it impossible for them to form a queue according to their closeness as they did at the beginning. They just stood in a straight line. The eighteen best generals in the entire galaxy were like a group of freshly enlisted soldiers, waiting for the voice of the Lord of Mankind more than ten meters away.

Some were calm, already knowing what was going to happen next, or simply not caring; others seemed a little uneasy, as if they were worried that their father would make a difficult and painful decision on this solemn and decisive occasion: after all, if they had better memories, they would know that there should have been nineteen people standing here.

Something may be erased, but it still affects reality: a corrupted brother can haunt the rest of the family like a nightmare.

But more people were simply curious about the last thing their genetic father wanted to tell them before he left them: especially when they saw that the Emperor was unusually nervous, not only his face was serious and his spine was straight, even the fingers that kept tapping on his other arm told how important what he was thinking about at this moment was.

Anything about them?

Doubts were wandering in everyone's brain, and no rough conclusion could be drawn. The Emperor's voice, which forced everyone to take it seriously, had already crushed into everyone's ears: the Lord of Mankind's expression changed slightly, and he was like a lousy actor who had practiced repeatedly backstage but still showed his flaws on stage. He could only express his dissatisfaction with a frown.

The next sentence is so straightforward that it seems a little abrupt.

+ I will not describe more useless words here one by one, in short: just as I gave the duties and title of Warmaster to Horus, for you, my descendants and Primarchs, I also left a title for each of you, and the duties corresponding to this title. +
At least a third of the Primarchs smiled at this, and there were also those who frowned.

But no one is in it for that [title].

＋I want to tell you. ＋
The Emperor's gaze swept over everyone, from Jonson standing in the center to Alpharius wandering at the edge. He clenched his teeth, and each note was accompanied by a heavy collision, using this method to make every one of his conclusions seem unquestionable.

＋I have thought about you for a long time. ＋
The Lord of Mankind crossed his arms and began to pace in a small area.

+ I can guarantee that the titles that will be given to each of you are the most suitable. They are the responsibilities that you should fulfill, the areas where you can best display your unique abilities and talents, and they are what I envisioned for you when I created you. I hope that you will achieve a future of supreme success. +
#Brief Pause#

＋Our future. ＋
The Emperor's eyes were downcast, and his next words fluctuated between that of a king and a father.

＋In the past hundred years, we have joined forces to create the greatest conquest in the history of human civilization, allowing our race to stay away from chaos and war, and allowing countless people to live in an empire that cares about them and fights for them wholeheartedly. ＋
＋This is the greatest cause, and each of us has done our best to create today's glory. ＋
He nodded again to his offspring.

This time, no one frowned, and there were more proud smiles.

But the emperor suddenly changed the subject.

＋But defending is always a more difficult task than creating. Now, we have to face it, we have to face this critical node: our cause will be like the countless empires of the sun in history books, which will be destroyed in the blink of an eye, or like the sun that once protected the entire human race, it will burn brightly until tens of millions of years later. ＋
＋We all know the answer, and we won't allow any other answer. ＋
The Emperor clenched his fists and questioned his children with a glance. To his delight, everyone responded to him so firmly, bravely and arrogantly: they all longed to become the sun, and to create a miracle with their own hands that would last for tens of millions of years.

＋But it’s difficult. ＋
The Lord of Mankind nodded.

＋Perhaps, the entire Great Crusade is just the tip of the iceberg of this challenge.＋
＋But even so, I still choose to entrust this task to you. ＋
The Emperor stopped and faced his children again, making everyone focus their eyes on him: his voice was like thunder echoing in the valley, each strike was so deafening that it would echo far away in the ocean of souls.

+ As you all know, I will soon leave the front lines of the Great Crusade and return to the Imperial Palace of Holy Terra: but I will not really leave the war between all of us. When you face the challenges ahead, remember that I am still standing with you. +
The Emperor clenched his fists and, like any warrior, took an oath.

＋The war that is about to begin may separate us all to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, but no matter what, I need you to remember: each and every one of us, all of us, are fighting together. ＋
+You and I, and every pair of brothers between you, our teams just have to be separated and stationed in a vital but long trench. This does not mean that we are on different sides in the war: it only means one thing. +
＋Then the responsibility of each of us will be even heavier: especially for you. ＋
The Emperor took a deep breath.

+ Before I leave, before I can return, I will temporarily split the empire we created together into 18 modules of varying sizes. Each one is equally important, and is related to countless lives, honors and disgraces, and hundreds of legions and expeditionary fleets. +

+And each of you has your own side. +
These brief words caused a commotion among the Primarchs. One could vaguely see a few people heaving a sigh of relief, but they soon joined the army of their brothers.

Now, almost all the Primarchs were frowning, some were confused, and some were lamenting the difficulties of the future.

The only exception was Fulgrim: his frown was a manifestation of pride and joy, which needed to be matched with his cheeks and mouth corners, outlining a look of confidence and certainty of victory.

And still the Emperor's voice continues.

+From now on: war will no longer be your only concern, it will only be part of it. +
Everyone could see Perturabo straighten his chest like a prophet.

+ You need to work together, you need to try new areas, join hands and jointly defend the empire we have built with our hard work: even if I am not by your side, I believe you are capable of doing all this. +
Having said this, the Emperor's gaze directed the attention of all the Primarchs, temporarily focusing on Horus.

+ And Horus, your warmaster, will have a special position in this temporary imperial system. His status will not be higher than any of you. He is still your brother rather than your superior. But when you each occupy a fragment of the empire, Horus's existence is responsible for guiding you and keeping these fragments connected. +
+The Warmaster's duty is to thread the needle between war and peace, and to maintain the unity of the Empire and the Great Crusade: Horus will be my heart, and he will be the source of power for the entire Empire and the Great Crusade from now on. +
+But I repeat: this does not mean that his status is higher than yours.

Perhaps noticing that the brows of some of the Primarchs had begun to tremble unnaturally, the Emperor did not pause this time.

+All of you are like my limbs and bones. Each of you is a vital organ and body part. Who dares to say that any part of their body is unimportant? You are just in different positions. In the responsibilities given to you by me and the entire empire, you are all equally important individuals. +
＋Of course, you can consider yourselves Warmasters in your respective fields.＋
＋Because that’s the truth. ＋
Behind the Emperor, Horus' eyes flickered for a moment because of these words, but he quickly adjusted his mood, curling the corners of his mouth to mock his own anxiety.

+So, I don't want you to fight over these trivial issues, you have to learn to unite, you have to learn to unite for me and the Empire, for yourselves, and connect like true brothers: although I am about to leave, I don't want to see that my departure will change anything. +
＋I hope you guys can stay the same. ＋
The Emperor paused: after being trapped between the roles of father and lord for so long, at this moment, when he looked at each of his children so carefully for the third and last time, the Lord of Mankind's throat rolled, his throat trembled visibly, and the voice became that of a real father.

＋I hope you can do your best. ＋
The air was silent at this moment, and the eyes and faces of every Primarch changed differently because of this sentence: some looked stunned, some were calm, some instinctively clenched their teeth, and some had already closed their eyes in advance, cleverly avoiding the expression of emotions that they should have at this moment.

But there can be no doubt that no Primarch expressed contempt for the Emperor's true feelings.

No matter how much they disliked their genetic father on weekdays, at this moment, they all maintained silent respect.

Until the Emperor shook his head and smiled as best he could. +Okay, come forward. +
＋I have a final word to say to each of you. ＋
＋Who wants to be the first one? ＋
……

After looking at each other in bewilderment, an unexpected figure surpassed all his brothers in the blink of an eye: before those slightly distracted Primarchs could turn their heads, a pale figure stood in front of the Emperor.

+Chagatai? +
The Lord of Mankind was a little surprised.

+You will be the first one? +

The emperor smiled mockingly.

＋I thought you would carefully observe other people's reactions and treatment. ＋
"I was going to do that."

Even in the presence of the Emperor, the Khan's voice retained its pride.

"But where you are concerned, I know I cannot trust their judgment: just as I cannot trust your word."

The Emperor shook his head and was not angry at the words. He put his hands behind his back and gave the Khan a real smile.

+You haven't changed, have you? +
"Eagles don't like to shed their feathers."

+Yes, that's good: I'm glad to know that you are exactly the same as you were decades ago, because it is based on my memories and impressions of that time that I have set you this next responsibility. +
Chagatai Khan remained silent, neither responding nor nodding.

+ I hope you can make good use of the traditional advantages and strengths of the Fifth Legion and continue to be the pioneer of all mankind in exploring the dangerous unknown areas of this galaxy: I know you liked to do this kind of thing before, but now, you can't do it casually. Exploring the unknown is no longer a plan you reserved on the war map, it is now your primary responsibility. +
+Go and survey the area for me, and fill in the remaining blanks on the Great Crusade map. +
The Khan still did not respond, but this time he took some action. After confirming that the duty given to him by the Emperor was to continue exploring the unknown areas of the galaxy, Chagatai Khan instinctively looked at Horus beside the Emperor, met the wolf-god's gaze, and nodded.

All three people present knew that if any region in the entire galaxy had the most unknown territories from now on, Horus's Wolf Kingdom would be the one to take it. If this was a deliberate trick used by the Emperor to allow Chagatai Khan to smoothly take over his responsibilities, then the Khan had to admit that it was a brilliant move.

At first glance, he had no reason to refuse.

The Khan pondered for a moment, he remained silent and did not refuse. After confirming this, the Emperor breathed a sigh of relief: at least the start was smoother than he had originally expected.

＋Do you need me to explain it in more detail? ＋
"No, I'm not interested in riddles."

The Khan shook his head.

"That's it: while I still understand what was said?"

"But I do have a question."

The Emperor hesitated.

＋Go ahead. ＋
"Where's my title?"

Chagatai asked softly, causing the emperor's face to twitch.

+Do you care about this? +
"I only care about the truth of the last oath you made to us."

“Although I didn’t have any hope.”

The Emperor fell silent.

At this moment, he finally remembered why he had tried his best to avoid one-on-one communication with Chagatai Khan in the past few decades: perhaps it was a mistake to take him away from Chogoris.

The Lord of Mankind wavered shamefully.

But fortunately, he...they!
They were not unprepared for the problem at hand: in the words of his clever little daughter, they had to take into account that each of the Primarchs inherited the convulsion gene from the Emperor's bloodline, and no one could be sure what they were thinking.

So we have to assume, assume that they were thinking about everything: for example, Chagatai Khan was thinking about his title.

And this title...

＋It is indeed difficult: I admit it. ＋
The Emperor nodded, finding his laugh easier than he'd thought it would be.

+ Jaghatai, my eagle: When I leave the Great Crusade, and I recognize Horus as my Warmaster and the heart of the Imperium, I will make them recognize you as their equal, the forerunner of all mankind... +
+ You are my eyes: my vision in the stars, you see for me, search for me, discover all the potential dangers and truths for me, identify them, find them and point them out. At this point, I can only trust your wisdom. +
"..."

The Khan remained silent. He did not immediately respond to the emperor's expectations, but after a brief thought, he suddenly smiled.

"If that's the case..."

"If I, as your eyes, only look at the unknown things in the Milky Way, and not at other things, other dangers and evils that exist in the vast universe, wouldn't that make you seem a little narrow-minded?"

+...+
The Emperor was silent, then smiled.

＋Maybe. ＋
＋It's up to you what you want to say, Chagatai.＋
+You are my eyes. +
＋Whatever you want to see, whatever you want to look for, whatever you want to confirm, it is all your freedom. ＋
＋I have only one request.＋
＋At the most critical moment, I hope you can see the truth of the facts. ＋
"I always like to do that."

＋Yes, this requires reason, and reason is your greatest advantage. ＋
"Do not."

Khan shook his head slightly.

“It takes courage.”

"And courage... is my greatest strength."

(End of this chapter)