Emperor's Bane

Chapter 692 Today we are going to dissect the emperor

"It is interesting that Jaghatai Khan should be the first of all people, and that the Emperor should be able to have a little conversation with him, and to bring every line to life: have you considered this development in your plans, Morgan?"

【certainly. 】

[I've considered every possibility, thousands of hypotheses and storylines, and Jaghatai Khan is not the most surprising option: you know, of all people, I least want to see Leman Russ come too early. ]

"Yes: after all, the position we are prepared to give him is a bit too much."

The seal holder's slightly helpless sigh made the Spider Queen chuckle, but Conrad and Johnson beside her did not react at all: after all, even if Magnus, who was not far away and had a psychic level far superior to that of his other brothers, was not able to eavesdrop on Morgan's inner thoughts smoothly without using his true power.

So, gradually, the Primarch developed the good habit of smiling in her heart. She could at least ensure that in the current galaxy, except for her gene-father who seemed upright on the surface but was capable of all means behind the scenes, no one could eavesdrop on her own thoughts without disturbing her at all.

Even the Sigillite was no exception. The only thing Malcador could do was to build a two-way psychic communication channel with the tacit consent of the Spider Queen: the two people holding the microphone could cut it off at any time.

In this psychic communication channel that only the two of them can perceive, even if the Spider Queen and the Sigillite roared at the top of their lungs or accused each other, the Primarch who was so close to them would not notice anything: what's more, this pair of reluctant partners had already learned to be calm towards each other.

If one only saw how Morgan and Malcador interacted in their daily lives, anyone would mistakenly believe that they were actually a pair of harmonious, like-minded grandfather and grandson, or old friends regardless of age difference: even below the invisible level, at the intersection of Holy Terra and the Far Eastern Frontier's interests, the agents under the command of the Primarch and the Sigillite would incur a considerable number of casualties every year.

Moreover, with the growing national strength of the entire Far Eastern frontier, and more and more fronts that Holy Terra needed to suppress, the subordinates of the Sigillite had gradually become precarious from the initial offensive: about three years ago, Malcador stopped sending his most capable mortal agents to the eastern front, and even he could not withstand such consumption.

But these are minor issues. In the face of the unlimited cooperation between the Primarchs and the Sigillites, a few dozen or a hundred lives would not even be considered as bargaining chips. When Malcador and Morgan discussed the possible situations of the various Primarchs for the last time, they naturally ignored the dry blood splattered on their boots.

after all……

"I care more about what Leman Russ thinks of you than these."

Malcador smiled, not disguising his gloating: the cooperation and confrontation between the Sigillites and the Primarchs might be a topic that could never be determined, but their attitude towards each other had already been fixed into a doubling of appreciation for each other's abilities and a heavy mockery of each other's predicaments.

So similar, exactly the same.

Malcador almost really believed that when the Emperor created Morgan, he did use part of his genes to replace the part that originally belonged to Bilda: just looking at the difference between the Spider Queen and her brother, the Sigillite felt that he could be proud of it, that he was at least stronger than Bilda.

[Stop laughing, Magnus is right next to us. ]

Morgan bit the soft flesh inside the corner of his lip with a hint of annoyance and closed his eyes again.

【However, you are right.】

[If Leman Russ knew that the position that the Emperor was going to give him was something I had thought up for him, then the brotherly relationship between him and me would definitely collapse, and there would be no chance of saving it. So you must cover up for me, Sigillite, and make Russ believe that this was all the Emperor's wisdom.]

"It's a little difficult."

Machado assured without any sincerity.

"And I'm also curious: Do you think Ruth will love you to death or hate you to death?"

【Look at the time.】

The Spider Queen glanced unnoticed at the brother they were discussing.

[At first, Leman Russ would probably love me to death for this.]

[But in the end, he will definitely hate me so much that he wants to skin me alive: after all, I pushed him into the fire with my own hands.]

"Isn't this the fate of clover?"

The Sigillite was mumbling something in a riddle that Morgan couldn't understand at all. The Spider Queen simply stopped paying attention to him and turned her gaze back to the Emperor's face: Chagatai Khan walked back to his brothers with an expressionless face. Facing everyone's curiosity and inquiries, Chogoris's eagle did not answer a single word.

It is strange to say, the distance is only seven or eight meters, far beyond the hearing range of the Primarchs: but the Emperor can deprive the Primarchs of their most basic powers at will, just by clapping his hands.

This is necessary, after all, some people receive contradictory blessings.

Besides, maybe there are people who just want to be the Emperor's eyes instead of any other body parts?

The Spider Queen grinned, she had always thought this was an interesting bad idea: since they really couldn't decide which titles could be compared to the Warmaster, they could only forcibly transform Horus's position as Warmaster into "Heart of the Emperor", and then find eighteen physiological organs in the body of the Lord of Mankind that might be materialistic or not, but at least sounded important.

There is no way around it. After all, human history is very long. With the imagination of the Emperor, the Sigillite and the Primarchs, any glorious title they can conceive of has appeared in past human history. It is natural that it will appear in the knowledge base of each Primarch along with the memory in their genes.

Why do you stuff so much useless stuff into their heads?

Morgan also began to mutter.

But the problem is that human history is so long that any title or honor you can think of, in the tens of thousands of years of civilization history, will always carry one or two... not-so-nice labels.

Moreover, you cannot stop the Primarchs from imagining these textual issues.

Why is he the Emperor's belly and I am just the Emperor's teeth: is he implying that I only work for him?

It was perfectly normal for such ideas to develop in the Primarch's mind.

and so……

Morgan took a deep breath.

[Let's wait and see which part of himself the Emperor will cut off next. ]

[Don’t let the end leave you with only a skeleton sitting on the throne. ]

The primarch smiled.

[All important body parts and organs have left him, leaving only the skeleton and the pitiful soul by his side: If this is the price of victory, do you think my father can accept it, Master of the Seal? ]

"..."

Malcador was unusually silent.

He seemed to be sighing.

"You got one thing wrong, Morgan."

【What? 】

------

＋This is hardly a price.＋
The Lord of Mankind answered the questions from his descendants slowly and calmly.

+ Or, Fulgrim: Why do you think my withdrawal from the Great Crusade would be a great sacrifice that would move you? +

"Because to willingly step down from the stage is incredible enough in itself."

"Besides, this is your stage."

Although his voice sounded humble, Fulgrim's appearance still faithfully maintained his smug personality. He stood proudly and straightforwardly in front of his father, with no more sadness and timidity on his face: if Chagatai's speed had not been so fast, he might have been the first to arrive here.

His views are also the most firm.

"If it were me, I would not leave the stage that belongs to me: we are writing every new chapter in the history book of mankind for hundreds of thousands of years from now. Your departure is bound to cause great loss. Although I know that you will continue to watch over us, the feeling and experience it brings are completely different."

"It's... brand new."

The carefully considered words flowed on the lips of the Phoenix Lord.

But there was no need for the Emperor to say anything, as Fulgrim seemed to have adjusted his mentality, and after ending his long speech, he ended his speech with a brilliant smile.

"But I think I'll get used to it: I'm just expressing my regret and reluctance to leave you."

+I feel it. +
The Emperor nodded. He always maintained an unshakable kingly demeanor in front of the Phoenix Lord. At this moment, the Lord of Mankind was the most living embodiment of the word "perfect king" in the entire galaxy. His gaze made the Phoenix lower its head willingly.

"That's great: may I know what responsibilities I will have?"

＋It’s simple, but also very important. ＋
This was the sentence the emperor had been waiting for: since his child was able to speak on his own initiative, he didn't have to recite that long opening speech.

＋Two things, public and private. ＋
"Tell me something more serious first."

Fulgrim was full of confidence.

The Emperor opened his five fingers: an incredible miniature galaxy map appeared in his palms, and a light green light enveloped the faces of the Emperor and the Primarch, making the Phoenix's eyes sparkle.

＋Are you surprised? ＋

"Many years ago, Morgan gave me the same gift, but it was much bigger."

Fulgrim watched as the Emperor adjusted the star map to a location that looked familiar.

“Is this a maelstrom?”

＋It is also your responsibility. ＋
The Emperor looked at him sternly.

＋After things here are over, I will officially issue an edict: I hope that you, my descendant and the Phoenix Lord, will take on the responsibility of being the Supreme Guardian of the Maelstrom from today on. This is a title specially created for you, and its responsibility is as simple as its name. ＋
Phoenix hesitated: but his smile was swifter than his thoughts.

"My sharp blade will defend every world in the Great Whirlpool from now on?"

+ It can be understood that from a purely military perspective, every world in the Maelstrom is your responsibility, and their inhabitants and administrators, no matter who they are, have a responsibility to cooperate with your actions: I have chosen you, Fulgrim, from the four candidates, and you have advantages over your brothers. +
"I'm not surprised at all."

Phoenix smiled as modestly as possible: he knew that his competitors were Magnus, Chagatai Khan and Vulkan, and what was there to be proud of in defeating these four brothers? He had already defeated them.

The Primarch nodded and wrote his oath in the proudest tone.

"Leave it to me, Father."

"Give me a generation, and the Maelstrom will become the most perfect fortress of the Empire."

+ You have more time to finish. +
The emperor's reasonableness was met with a rejecting smile from the Phoenix.

"That's too much trouble, father. I don't want to spend all my time and energy on just one place, the Maelstrom: I don't think it's a lifetime title, right? Perhaps I can recommend my successor?"

+Of course: In the future, if circumstances permit, I hope that the guardians of the Great Vortex can be Astartes warriors or even elite mortals. There is no need to waste your talents on these things. +
"I knew it."

The light in Phoenix's eyes became even brighter: he became eager to try.

"So, it's a private mission?" + Not so serious. +
The emperor waved his hand, thinking seriously about his next words.

+I do not know how to describe this somewhat abstract task in words, but my Fulgrim, from now on: I hope you can be my lips. +
"Lips?"

Phoenix raised his eyebrows, he felt simply surprised by the word.

"Sing to everybody?"

＋No, that is the responsibility of your other brother. What I hope you can do is to smile at the people of the empire, so that they can feel our kindness most directly, and in turn, be the first to taste or identify what they can give us. ＋
The emperor's gaze hesitated for a moment.

＋In simple terms, I hope you can enrich the great cause we have already established in terms of culture, aesthetics and spirit: we have the resources of the entire galaxy in our hands, and the next thing to do is to eat them into our stomachs. In this process, lips are the first step. I hope you can distinguish which ones are good and which ones are poisonous. I hope you can become the most sensitive one and tell everyone that there is something worth absorbing. ＋
＋After all, we cannot maintain a purely military empire forever, we all know this: our conquests are for the sake of subsequent art and development, for the sake of reuniting human resources and forging them into a path that leads to the future. ＋
+ I'm not sure if you understand me, kid, I just want to say... +
"No, Father."

Phoenix interrupted him with a smile.

"I understand it as the Ministry of Arts and Literature, the Ministry of Education, and part of the Ministry of the Interior?"

＋That’s not all. ＋
"Ah, of course I know: art is only a narrow part of it. You want me to be your lips, to identify those unknown things that you don't have time to identify, to select those with aesthetic value, to allow them to enter the stomach of the empire, and then to discard those that are not desirable, right?"

＋After all, lips are the most important medium for us to communicate with the outside world. ＋
＋You can not see, hear or smell, but you can not not eat.＋
＋More importantly, you need to identify what kind of food can enter the stomach. ＋
＋This is more important than war. ＋
＋And I know you have the ability. ＋
"Yes."

Phoenix laughed, and the light in his pupils changed color.

A color called ambition.

"You're right, this is indeed a duty that sounds very abstract."

“But abstract art is exactly the style of art that I have just started to like.”

"I'll know what I need to do."

"I will understand what you say, too."

------

"Of course: take it my way."

"Haven't I always done this?"

But when Midnight Haunter stood carelessly in front of his Gene-Father, that smile that was too slight to be described as ferocious made the Emperor sigh inwardly: It was not until then that he realized that he had almost never really communicated with this child.

But he felt that this was not his problem, because Conrad's resistance to the father-son conversation was more obvious: the Emperor, who had confirmed this, looked at his darkest child and found that the Night Haunter seemed to know what he was thinking.

"That's normal, isn't it?"

Conrad spread his hands and greeted Horus, who was frowning behind him, in a friendly manner.

"When the relationship between parents is strained, children always tend to favor one side: I'm just not favoring you. After all, you didn't sign my name on the property division. I'm the junk stock that you refused to take over."

+Conrad, I am not... +
"It's okay! It's okay..."

The Midnight Haunter chuckled.

"I don't care about these things. After all, I'm living a good life now. I'm very satisfied with the family atmosphere and development prospects of this small family I'm in. After all, we were brought up by her with great difficulty. I don't want you to come back and cause any debt disputes."

"She is tired enough: though I think you will not let her go after all."

+...+
The Emperor's gaze grew colder.

＋Why do you think so? ＋

"Because everything you did was to lock her up in the cat bed called Empire. Yes, I admit that this cat bed is indeed very comfortable, and it's not bad to live here. The fact that she will feel nostalgic for this place is within our consideration."

"But seriously..."

This time, Conrad's sharp fangs exuded an extremely dangerous aura.

"We all know that what you gave her was not a reward or love, but just some shitty compensation. After depriving her of her original desires, goals, and dreams, you threw a bunch of insignificant things at her. This is what happened to all of us, but it was particularly serious for her."

"You are a real jerk, father: you are even less merciful than I thought."

＋Because mercy is useless. ＋
The Emperor calmly watched the increasingly hideous face of the Midnight Haunter. He had no reaction to Conrad's condemnation and curses, and even blocked the senses of Horus behind him to prevent a conflict between the brothers from breaking out here. After quietly listening to Conrad's heartfelt words, the Lord of Mankind was like a calculating machine, and gave his own operating results indifferently.

+And you, Conrad: it's time to be more useful. +
"Will this relieve her worries?"

+ You should know that the Far Eastern Frontier was not a place of peace and comfort from the very beginning. +
Conrad snorted lightly and said nothing.

"so?"

+So, the duty originally given to you is your duty from now on, but the scope of your responsibility will become wider, not just the Ghoul Stars, in the east and north outside the borders of the human empire, in those outer darkness that we have not yet set foot on: your duty is there, and it will always be there. +
"Lifelong hard labor?"

＋You deserve it. ＋
"That's right: after all, this is how I originally judged myself."

"but……"

Conrad changed the subject.

"I thought you would hand over the title of the exploration to Chahe Terrace Khan."

＋He is responsible for the safer and more humane part. ＋
The Lord of Mankind even laughed.

+ Don't lie to yourself, Conrad: I created your existence with my own hands. I know very well that your bloodthirsty desire cannot be eradicated. You and your legion need a suitable place to release the bad part of your heart. Only in this way can you put away your claws and not harm the things you value. +
“An accurate assessment.”

Conrad nodded, a hint of anger flashing quickly in his pupils.

"And you're more of an asshole than I thought."

＋More praise will come after we die.＋
The Emperor waved his hand, motioning for Midnight Haunter to stand closer to him.

+Besides this, I have an additional duty for you.

+ When you fulfill your duties in the outer darkness, you should not cast your eyes completely outside, but pay attention to things in the inner part of the galaxy, especially to those around you: I hope you will get used to leaving a task force. +
"I have eighty thousand people in my habit."

+ Very good: In short, I want you to be my ears, Conrad. +
＋I don't think I need to explain any more.＋
"Of course: you made that clear."

Midnight Haunter nodded, took off the non-existent courtesy on his head, and then exaggeratedly performed a gentleman's salute to his genetic father.

"That is all, then: I think I cannot bear your further expectations."

"Goodbye."

"May you die a miserable death, father."

+...+
＋Do you really think so? ＋

------

"Does it matter what I think?"

"Our ideas are of no use at all in regard to your problem."

"Allfather."

Leman Russ bowed and saluted, every gesture and detail was just right: in front of people who did not need him to deliberately hide, the Barbarian King of Fenris would naturally disappear, and his originally wild and bloodthirsty wolf eyes would be replaced by a pair of sparkling shrewdness.

This is the real wolf king.

The Wolf King that satisfies the Emperor.

＋That was the previous state. ＋
The Lord of Mankind nodded with satisfaction. Leman Russ had always been the child that made him worry-free. He might not be well-behaved, but he would never cause trouble. More importantly, he never regarded him as a higher status than himself. No matter what the task was, Leman Russ would not react with dirty hands.

As for what he was thinking in his heart: the Emperor didn't have time to take care of him so carefully, just as there was no need for him to beat around the bush in front of the Wolf King.

+ I've had my share of red tape. +
Ruth heard the Allfather sigh.

+Let's talk it over, Ruth. +
"It could not be better."

The Wolf King bared his fangs. God knew how much he disliked the riddles that came out of the mouths of the All-Father and the Sigillite: Although the Barbarian had always been Leman Russ's external performance, he had been disguised for so long, and the wild and unthinking image had naturally corroded his soul, making him more and more headache about word games.

It's not that I can't, I just don't like it.

Hatred of red tape became the biggest common point between father and son at this time.

＋In simple terms…＋
The Emperor raised his hand and patted Leman Russ's cold shoulder.

＋After I leave, you can temporarily relieve yourself of your duties as a military police officer, Russ.＋
"Really?"

Leman Russ didn't notice the slight tremor and hesitation in his voice.

＋That's the situation at the moment. ＋
The emperor's expression was slightly complicated.

+Because I have a more important duty for you, my fang. +
"Are you still going to bite people?"

＋No, quite the opposite. ＋
The Emperor shook his head.

＋This time, you have to grit your teeth. ＋
"……What's the meaning?"

＋In simple terms…＋
The Emperor signaled Leman Russ with his eyes to look at Horus behind him.

+ You should know that Horus's Cthonia and your Fenris are the only two Legion homeworlds in the Solar Segmentum: with the Luna Wolves heading to the Wolf Realm, Cthonia has become a de facto enclave, and only your homeworld is still near Terra, Russ. +
+ Moreover, you are the one who has the best relationship with Malcador among all the Primarchs, and the one I can trust the most now: I don't have to worry about your loyalty, the tacit understanding between you and Malcador, or your awareness when necessary. +
＋Therefore, I have decided to hand over the most central area of ​​the entire empire to you.＋
The emperor patted the wolf king's shoulder heavily.

+Yes, Dorn and the Imperial Fists will be responsible for guarding Holy Terra, but their numbers are still insufficient: you and your Space Wolves will be responsible for guarding the outer layer of Holy Terra, that is, guarding the entire Solar Segmentum. +
"You mean..."

Ruth's mouth began to feel dry.

+That's right. +
The Emperor's smile made the Fenrisians feel as if they were falling into an icy cave.

+After this is done, I will issue an order by the power of the Emperor: from the moment I leave, you and the Space Wolves will be the gatekeepers of the Solar Segmentum, holding the power to control everyone. +
+From now on, except for you and your legion, all the Primarchs who are fighting outside are not allowed to bring any large-scale armed forces to the Solar Segmentum, unless they apply to you and Malcador in advance and get the permission from both of you. +
+ If any Primarch leads his army into the Solar Sector without the mutual consent of you and Malcador, you have the right to summon him in my name, Russ. He is only allowed to bring ten unarmed attendants to the area you specify and report to you the reasons why he did so. +
+You have the power to decide his fate: allow him in or expel him. +
＋And if he ignores your summons, or refuses your expulsion. ＋
+Then everyone will know... +
＋No matter who he is. ＋
＋Whatever he wants to do.＋
＋No matter how many people will stand up and speak for him at that time. ＋
+He is a traitor. +
＋To the traitors of the Empire.＋
＋To the traitors of humanity.＋
+ Also to my traitors. +
(End of this chapter)