Emperor's Bane

Chapter 709: Karas-Typhon's Performance
"Karas-Typhon?"

"Mortarion actually sent him to lead the charge?"

"Has he forgotten that his dear First Captain is also a psyker in private?"

【Perhaps it is precisely because of this. 】

"What do you mean, Morgan?"

[Many times, the confession and identification of a tainted witness can often arouse more empathy from the jury than the accusation of the victim: Think about it, my Robert, if a chief think-tank of the legion who is deeply loved by psychic power is willing to take the initiative to stand up and explain the threat of the warp, then his words will seem particularly credible, right? ]

"If you put it that way, it is true."

After being enlightened by the sisters, the Macragge fell into deep thought: Although Guilliman himself is not an expert in psychic powers, this kind of thing is very suitable for learning by analogy, and the Primarch happens to be an expert in this field.

"If it were me, if a rentier was willing to betray his own interests and the interests of his class in front of me, just to explain the darkness to us, I would definitely be moved by his courage and selflessness, and instinctively choose to believe his words: this is almost the same as the heroes in the story."

[And Mortarion wanted to make Nikaea a heroic epic of unity. ]

[Magnus is the evil wizard who lives in the tower. Each hero is responsible for breaking one of his weaknesses, and then instigating the oppressed masses to tear the wizard and his minions into pieces with rakes and hoes and throw them into the valley: the Lord of Death must have had a lot of experience with all this.]

"That's what he did on his home planet."

Guilliman smiled, but his pupils were dead silent.

"This will do us no good, Morgan. I don't want to become a blue-striped two-headed ogre under the command of the great wizard Magnus, and you might be a green dragon raised by Magnus. It will not end well for us. I don't want to provoke a conflict with Terra because of a small figure like Mortarion and his trivial matters, and I don't want to see you break your oath because of this."

"That was a vow made to one's parents: there is nothing more sacred in the galaxy."

【…】

Morgan was silent for a moment, then suddenly noticed the loophole in Guilliman's language.

[You mean: Is there something so important that it's worth you breaking up with Holy Terra? ]

Guilliman did not deny this statement, he just stood there, quietly watching the Captain of the Death Guard Legion walk triumphantly to the center of the venue, take off his helmet, and ensure that his face would be deeply remembered by every participant present today.

There is no doubt: this moment of being able to surpass the Primarch is undoubtedly a pleasure for Typhon himself.

"You know, Morgan."

After the debate began, Guilliman's faint sigh narrowly escaped the ears of the Spider Queen.

“I want peace.”

“There were many times when I had to prepare for war.”

"No matter who it's directed at."

------

“We will all be treated equally.”

The last sacred oath flew out from the dry throat, and the Sigillite held a slender scroll tightly, hanging at his feet. A clear emblem of an eagle and crossed lightning could be vaguely seen: these signals imprinted on hot wax with a fine gold seal encircled the oath of the three primarchs, and it even had some kind of mysterious influence, imprisoning Magnus in his position, and he could only look at his new enemy with angry eyes.

The first one is Typhon.

"Greetings to you, Sigillite."

Different from his rough appearance, when Typhon's voice penetrated the hall, it gave people a sense of humility and ambition. The voice was low and hoarse, like the sound of rubbing papyrus.

He was wearing a full set of Death Guard Legion armor, and the countless medals and honor marks told every onlooker present that he was an Astartes warrior who had served the Empire for more than a hundred years. His loyalty and glory were the capital that allowed him to stand here and speak so freely.

"Typhon."

Malcador looked at this man. He had heard of Typhon's name, but after seeing him with his own eyes, he felt an indescribable strange feeling: the Sigillite did not care about these things. He took a step back and gave the venue to the two opponents.

Typhon strode up to the podium. Even though he was still as small as a baby in front of Magnus and the shadow cast by Prospero could easily cover him, the Death Guard straightened his chest like a warrior challenging a dragon.

"Can I speak now?"

After getting the Sigillite's nod, Typhon was silent for a moment, cleared his throat, and then opened his arms: he did not look at Magnus in front of him, as if the huge Primarch was just a piece of air, and the real target of the Death Guard was everyone present.

"Everyone."

He shouted loudly.

"I won't waste my time on any irrelevant rhetoric."

"So, I have to be honest with you first."

"I, Karas-Typhon, have sworn allegiance to the Emperor of Mankind and Primarch Mortarion ninety-six years ago. I am the Captain of the Death Guard Legion. I am a psyker myself! I am a Librarian in the Legion!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the thousand-tiered podium was instantly filled with low discussions and whispers. Typhon stopped speaking and deliberately left a few minutes for public opinion to ferment, smugly admiring his work: Some primarchs and onlookers did not feel anything about this sentence, and were even a little confused. Those who were well versed in the inside story, such as Chagatai Khan or Morgan, had gloomy expressions. They had obviously guessed what the Lord of Death would do next.

In response, Mocharian gave a rare genuine smile.

"Keep speaking, Typhon."

Malcador raised the scepter until the whole audience returned to silence. After he gave the order, the Death Guard bowed exaggeratedly in the direction of the Sigillite: Typhon's every step strictly abided by the etiquette of the Empire, which invisibly made most of the onlookers have a simple good impression of him.

"Well, everyone present."

Typhon clenched his fist and hit it over his heart.

"Please listen to my feelings, listen to my feelings as a psyker."

"Since I can remember, psychic power has been entangled in my soul, but I knew nothing about it at the time: I only knew that I was different from other people since I was a child. I would be troubled by mysterious fantasies at night. When I couldn't control my temper, I would involuntarily hurt my companions and objects next to me. Because of a short gaze, I would let large tracts of crops go to waste, and the efforts of several families would be wasted, falling into famine and distress."

"I was therefore ostracized by all, until my spirit matured enough to suppress these instinctive malice: but I tell you that this fortitude of spirit is not shared by all, and I have witnessed more than one person like me, all of whom were troubled by the power of the spirit, causing harm to themselves and others, and most of them did not make it out of Barbarus alive."

"Perhaps, people will regard us as nightmares because of this, but I want to tell you that this is not the path we actively chose: even for us psychics, psychic power is not a gift that can be chosen with good intentions. It is a shackle imposed on us. The power we gain from it is nothing more than the pain our enemies feel when we wield the shackles. Of course, our limbs must also endure the same pain."

"In the face of psychic power, we are all victims."

"So, even though I am a psychic, I never think that psychic power is a friendly existence. The pain it brings me far exceeds the help it can give me. Moreover, every minute and every second of my life, I have to fight against the throbbing brought by psychic power, curb the impulse in my heart, and endure strong mental pressure: it is a hardship that you can't imagine, like torture."

"And those psykers who ultimately failed created endless purgatory."

Everyone could see a tear flowing from Typhon's pupil, sliding down his rough skin and dripping onto the black marble of the Nikaea Hall.

"Everyone, you can't imagine what terrible scenes I witnessed when I began to follow the footsteps of Primarch Mortarion and the Death Guard Legion to gain glory for the Imperium and the Emperor in the galaxy. Most of you were not even born at that time. It was the beginning of the Great Crusade, and the most vicious enemies were still rampant in the galaxy. Among them, countless out-of-control psykers were the biggest threat the Legion would face."

"Let me give you an example."

Typhon raised a finger and turned to look at Mortarion.

"Our legion once pacified a barbaric world called Galasper. Let me tell you, everyone here, the scene there is ten thousand times worse than the most extreme hell that would appear in your nightmares: tens of billions of people are crowded in a palm-sized nest. They have no food, no wisdom, no right to survive, and even no freedom of life and death. This is only because dozens or hundreds of wizards who have mastered psychic power have manipulated the entire world at will. They extract the souls and flesh of their compatriots like slaughtering livestock, just to continue their own dirty traditions."

"In order to rescue Galaspar, the XIV Legion paid a more tragic price than any other war. We lost a fleet, and countless meritorious battle brothers fell into eternal sleep, or even lost their bodies. We fought against curses that could crack the earth, magic fluids that could ignite the body, and hundreds of souls that were controlled. The living dead rushed towards us with fear on their faces, sorrow and tears: Your Majesty, as an Astartes warrior loyal to the Empire, I have never felt fear in my heart, but in Galaspar, I felt the emotion closest to fear."

"Just a few dozen or a hundred wizards can cause tens of billions of compatriots to fall into such a living nightmare: they should not be like this, but they suffer because of the loss of control of psychic power and the most instinctive greed of human nature."

"And in the process of our conquest of the galaxy, I witnessed countless Galaspar's crimes and operations. The more we eliminated, the more we discovered: as long as uncontrolled psychic power roams the galaxy, there will always be weak-willed villains who will extend their evil claws to those innocent people."

“This is the truth I realized.”

"I confess to you, my respected compatriots, this is the only thing that scares me. I am afraid that one day, my mental pressure will exceed my limit, and I will succumb to the power of psychic energy and become a wizard that I despise the most: I have been in constant fear because of this terrible fantasy, but today, I can stand before you and proudly promise you that depravity and ambition will never exist in my heart."

"I conquered them: for that I have two men present to thank."

Typhon raised his fist high, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"The first one is my Primarch: Mortarion, the Lord of Death."

"Perhaps in everyone's mind, my Primarch hates everything related to psychic power, but I want to tell you that this is not actually the case: what the Lord of Death really hates is the sins of wizards and the use of psychic power in the wrong place. He knows very well that the power of the Warp is not something that can be chosen after birth. For us Death Guards who possess psychic power, Lord Mortarion is still full of kindness and patience."

"He personally taught us how to use the tenacity of the Death Guard to restrain our inner desires and suppress the lingering shadow of psychic energy in our minds. It was under his guidance that I realized that I should not feel inferior to my identity. I had the firm confidence to fight against the psychic power that always tempted me and defeat it!"

"So, I stand here proudly as the captain of the first company of the Death Guard Legion and declare to all of you that my position and honor are earned entirely by my courage and blood, and not a single bit is gained through the power of psychic energy."

"And I am standing here to prove to everyone that the rumors that my Gene Father intends to attack all psykers are wrong. The Lord of Death will give enough respect and courtesy to any psyker who is willing to fight for the Empire and is loyal to the Emperor and the Great Crusade."

Following these words, countless eyes, including those of the Astronomican representatives and the Navigator family, were focused on the Lord of Death: Mortari hid most of his face behind his respirator. He responded to these gazes calmly, looking proudly in the direction of Typhon, and nodded, endorsing his offspring and the First Captain.

"Indeed." The voice was soft, but it was a promise.

“It looks like our allies no longer feel like they’re being backed into a corner.”

Beside Morgan, Guilliman sighed with some regret.

"Mortarion has become wiser: he at least knows how to keep one out."

[An Xin: The Star Language Court and the Navigator are not so easily won over. ]

"Of course I know this: the real trouble is Magnus. Obviously, Mortarion wants to finish cutting off the other psionic organizations and the Thousand Sons Legion in the Empire, and then chop off Magnus' head in public. Typhon is just his first step."

“This is indeed a beautiful move.”

The Macragge shook his head.

"I hope Magnus doesn't fall for it."

【…】

Morgan did not respond: because she found that Typhon was looking at her with respect, attracting the attention of the whole audience.

"And the second person I want to thank is the Lord of Avalon, the Primarch of the Dawnbreaker Legion, the true writer and editor of the Think Tank Codex series, and the teacher that every one of our Legion think tanks holds in their hearts: the respected Primarch Morgan."

"It was the textbooks she compiled that taught us how to maintain inner peace, how to use our power properly, and how to avoid the countless hidden dangers in the warp: in the preface of every think tank's holy book, Master Morgan repeatedly and tirelessly warned us to resist the temptation brought by power, to keep our original intentions, and to uphold our loyalty and pride as human beings under the influence of psychic energy."

“Thanks to her: I did it!”

“We all did it.”

Typhon's laughter echoed off the ceiling.

"If Lord Mortarion gave me the courage and faith to fight against the eternal nightmare in my heart, then Lord Morgan personally provided me with a sword and a shield, which is the Codex of the Think Tank: It is under her guidance that we will not blindly pursue power, we will know how to suppress the desires and impulses in our hearts, and we will understand that only by suppressing psychic power and locking it in the cage of the Imperial system can we maximize the benefits for every citizen of the Empire, and as a warrior of the Empire and a follower of the Emperor, I should do."

At this point, whether by chance or design, Typhon's gaze quietly slid from Morgan to Magnus' face: When the two men faced each other, the provocative gaze of the Death Guard made the King of Prospero frown and clench his fists.

Magnus spoke up.

"The Think Tank's Canon?"

He laughed loudly, and the irony of his laughter echoed off the walls of Nikaea.

"You are Morgan's apprentice and the beneficiary of the Think Tank Codex. How dare you stand in front of me and accuse me of my actions? Typhon of the Death Guard, don't you know who is the original initiator of the entire Imperial Think Tank plan?"

"Of course I know!"

The Primarch wanted to continue speaking, but a gleam flashed in Typhon's eyes. He slammed the table and stood up. The violent slamming sound shocked everyone and interrupted the Primarch's words directly: Magnus had never thought that this brat of Mortarion would be so rampant. He was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a moment.

Seizing this opportunity, Typhon's accusations came like a barrage of cannonballs.

"Not only do I know these, I also know who has been running around and working day and night to compile and plan the Think Tank Codex over the years, and who has abandoned countless battles and responsibilities for his so-called warp cause, with the power of a legion but still unwilling to sacrifice for the Empire."

"Let me tell you, Lord Magnus of Prospero, there are countless people here who can boast that they have made their own contribution to the Librarian Project. Lord Morgan can, Lord Jaghatai Khan can, Lord Sanguinius can, Lord Robert Guilliman can, and even my Primarch, Lord Mortarion can."

"I, Typhon, can do that, too!"

"You can look it up. Every time the Think Tank Codex updated the manual on the psychic alien species in the galaxy, was there any time when the Death Guard Legion did not make contributions? Was there any time when Lord Mortarion's name was not written on the list of special thanks? And ranked first!"

"The Fourteenth Legion shed endless blood for the promulgation of the Think Tank's holy book. We went to countless battlefields and won countless hard-fought victories. We can proudly declare that we have made our efforts for the Think Tank, and we have received corresponding rewards."

"And what about you, Lord Magnus? Which think tank tome did you compile? What efforts did you put into it? Which brand-new psychic alien race did you discover? Which emerging legion think tanks did you teach? Which academies did you found? What standards did you set? When and where did you work hard to establish and continue the think tank system!"

"..."

Magnus' eyes widened.

But he said nothing.

"Ruined……"

Guilliman shook his head and slapped himself across the face.

"He really fell into the trap."

"Now, we can't help him."

【yes. 】

Morgan dropped his eyelids.

[If he is cut off from us, the preservers of the think tank, where can Magnus rely on for help? Mortarion's move is really brilliant. I have to say that he has grown a lot.]

"Yes."

The Macragge gritted his teeth and looked at the Lord of Death with a smug look on his face.

"He even learned to use us as knives."

"I can imagine what Typhon will say next."

【Me too. 】

"It's obvious, everyone."

In the center of the venue, without waiting for everyone's surprise and Malcador's scepter, Typhon opened his arms again, as if he had taken all the hesitation of the onlookers into his chest and made it his strength at the moment.

"You are all clever people: I think you can all see it now!"

"And I'm going to tell you!"

"I want to say that I can use my personal experience as proof, and I can use the personal experience of every Librarian in the entire Death Guard Corps as proof to make you believe that the only way to reasonably use the power of the Warp is to follow the guidance of the Librarian Codex, suppress our power, restrain our original intentions, and use a careful and scientific new system to limit the reproduction of all psykers in the Empire."

“Reason, restraint, discipline, prudence, system, and always humility.”

"That is all that Master Morgan and her think tank scriptures taught us."

"This is the true meaning of psykers: this is the path of the Imperium's future."

"And those who oppose all this are the true enemies of the Empire and all psychics. They are the death knell that will bring us disaster, the omen that will allow countless wizards to run rampant in the world again, and they are the ones we will sentence and judge."

"Tell me, guys."

"Who is it? Who has made no contribution to the construction of the Empire's think tank, but is absorbing its results?"

"Who is it? He clearly holds the mighty power of an entire psychic army, but he has not achieved any success in the entire Great Crusade. He is obsessed with his false fantasies and even makes the pathetic act of abandoning his allies and fleeing from the battlefield!"

"Who is it? He clearly knows the nature of psychics being out of control, and he is clearly the most outstanding psychic master, but he keeps encouraging people to pursue so-called extremes, and he turns a blind eye to the need to restrict psychics, and he turns a deaf ear to the safety of all the citizens of the Empire and all the psychics of the Empire?"

"Who is the threat to all of us here, ordinary people and psychics?"

"..."

After a moment's silence, in the dead silence caused by this arrogant speech and the rude transgression against the Primarch, the captain of the Death Guard Corps turned slowly like a victorious general and looked triumphantly at the livid Primarch.

He pointed a finger at Magnus, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Let me tell you."

"It's him!"

"It's Magnus the Red!"

"It's Prospero's Witch King!"

"He is the root of all evil!"

"He is the only enemy of the entire empire and the entire legion think tank system!"

"He is the only one we need to judge on Nikaea: the Man of Original Sin!"

(End of this chapter)