Emperor's Bane

Chapter 718: Eagle and Hydra
"To be honest, Brother Chagatai, I can understand your concerns and why you want to do this."

"But I still have to say that what you did this time was really stupid: fortunately the old man doesn't know about it yet."

"But then again, even if he knew, there would be nothing to say: after all, this matter is ultimately his fault. Whether it's you, Horus, or even me, he doesn't have the face to blame us for getting into trouble again, and he can't take care of our side of things."

The walls, carved from a single piece of basalt, are as smooth as the finest mirrors, while the pale golden dome lights conceal every inch of shadows they cast, shrouding this room wrapped in winding crystal veins in a reassuring and comfortable warm tone.

The cushioned circular sofa is undoubtedly the core of this private lounge. When the guests' gazes start from here and radiate to the space of nearly 100 meters in radius, their entire field of vision will be filled with rows of robot servants holding meals and drinks.

"All of them are made on Mars: first-class products supervised by the Forge General himself."

Alpharius and Jagatai Khan were the first of all the brothers to leave: if the Khan had not insisted on saying a simple farewell to Horus, Magnus, Morgan and others, their speed could have been faster, but the Hydra was obviously no match for the Eagle.

As compensation, since the two of them stepped out of the door of the conference hall, Alpha had the final say on where to go: Hydra's understanding of the volcanic world beneath their feet was obviously much better than that of the Khan. He led the Chogoris people to change various routes easily among the crowds of tens of thousands of people, perfectly avoiding the gazes and greetings of all mortals.

When their other brothers just came out, the two Primarchs had already gone into a lounge specially prepared for the Emperor's children.

Quiet, remote, clean, and almost completely soundproof: the only drawback is that it cannot resist the prying eyes of truly powerful psychics. When he closed the door, Khan could clearly feel at least two psychic auras brushing against his back.

One was Morgan: she was clearly trying to make sure her ally was okay.

The other, or the Emperor, stayed for a long time: the Khan hoped that he was the mastermind behind Alpharius, so that there would be less trouble.

He hated trouble: very much.

But he just couldn't avoid trouble.

For a moment, Chagatai Khan was somewhat deflated, which was rare. He found a place to sit down after Alpha sat down. His first action was to place the Chogoris scimitar, which he never left behind, in the most comfortable position: no matter what his brother wanted to do, the Khan could guarantee that the blade would be stuck in the cunning neck of the Hydra before the next breath.

Seven inches: Probably this is the position.

Alpharius seemed unaware of all this: from the moment the two brothers sat down, Hydra focused all his attention on the snacks and drinks brought by the servants, and these precious things filled the round table between the two in the blink of an eye.

Bubbling champagne, fresh meat, and dewy fruit: this seemingly simple spread could easily buy a decent house in any world except Holy Terra.

Of course: which city area is a matter of debate.

The Khan shook his head, clearing his mind of random thoughts, and waited as calmly as possible for the Hydra's words, but after almost five or six minutes of fruitless efforts, when Alpharius was wondering whether to order bright white or orange for his next drink, the Chogoris realized that his patience was much less than he had originally expected.

"These things evaporate before they reach your stomach: what does the color matter?"

"That's how narrow-minded you are, brother."

Before he finished speaking, Alpharius had already turned his head, as if he had already anticipated Chagatai Khan's impatience.

"Listen to me, brother. I once stayed on Morgan's Aurora for a while. It wasn't long, just a few weeks to a few months, but I still learned something there: the most important thing is to keep loving our current life and love it like a mortal."

"I'll tell you in secret, Chagatai. I think this is the biggest reason why our dear sister has been able to achieve what she has today. In a way, she is the one closest to a mortal among the twenty of us. Father clearly favors her in this regard."

Khan narrowed his eyes and did not reply.

"Moreover."

Hydra smiled: that smile always made people feel uncomfortable.

"I can't let down the kindness of His Excellency General Casting, can I?"

"kindness?"

Chagatai raised his eyelids.

"You don't really think that the Lord of Mars would personally supervise the manufacturing of these machine slaves? When I first returned to the human empire, even when my Bladestorm was refurbished, the Forge General was not present even once."

"Things are different now: and those robot guys really hate you, bro."

Alpha picked up the fork and nonchalantly tore a beautifully presented steak into pieces in front of the Khan.

"Besides, Mars is different now than when you came back. You haven't been in the empire often in recent years, so of course you don't know much. Brother Chagatai: Riza's de facto independence has caused Mars to lose almost all of its power in the eastern part of the galaxy. Now they can't even keep the south and north."

"Luther and Horus in the north, Mortaria and Corax in the south, are all trying to win over their respective Mechanicum allies: if they just imitate Morgan and Riza's relationship, Mars's position as the top Forge World will only be a false name, and even this false name will not be maintained."

"So you see, the great Lord Forge General got along with our Perturabo in the conference hall like a brother: How dare such a Martian defy the Emperor? Kalberhar might not even have time to be happy to be able to show his face in front of the Lord of Mankind."

"But how did I hear that? He was an opponent of the Emperor back then."

"Back then? Back then, the entire galaxy and all of Terra were opponents of the Emperor."

"This kind of thing can never be eliminated."

At this point, Alpharius finally became serious. He threw away his fork, leaving the torn steak lying on the table to cool quietly. He picked up the wine glass and let the scarlet liquid stain the edge of his thin lips in circles.

“It was like this before, it is like this now: it will not change in the future.”

"Rather, after the Emperor's departure, more and more opposition groups will emerge. Isn't that the case in the Maelstrom? Fulgrim was so busy there that he couldn't even get back to attend the Council of Nicaea. It is said that the Emperor's Children have lost more than a thousand men, which is higher than most conventional battles in the past."

"And this is just a warm-up: the future will definitely be more exciting. If the news of the Emperor's departure from the Great Crusade is to be transmitted from Ullanor to every corner of the human empire, it will take at least three to five years or even ten years. By then, there will be more troubles waiting for us."

"No doubt, we will be overwhelmed with dealing with these matters. No one is qualified to laugh at Fulgrim. After all, this is the inevitable pain of power transition. Especially when the ability and authority of the heir lag behind his predecessors, he will definitely face more troubles to establish his prestige."

“But the results are usually not very good.”

"Or……"

The Hydra put down the cup and watched the Khan's face with a smile: the Chogoris spread his arms and legs, leaned the center of gravity of his whole body forward, placed his shoulders and elbows on his knees on one side, and cast a large shadow on the ground with his chest.

This is an act of thinking.

"What do you want to say?"

It was a minute or two before Chagatai Khan looked up at his brother.

"Just a question?"

Alpharius smiled.

"Jaghatai Khan, I want to know if you share my lack of confidence in Horus' future rule: I doubt Horus's ability, and you doubt that Horus can handle the huge mess thrown to him by the Emperor."

"Yes."

The Khan did not hide his displeasure with the Lord of Mankind.

"I don't doubt Horus's ability, but the Emperor's decision is too crude. Even if Horus is more capable, he cannot maintain everything the Emperor has entrusted to him in such a hasty situation. So he must choose to abandon some areas. This is what I just told him."

"Really?"

The Hydra tilted its head.

"By creating a bad impression in Morgan's mind?"

“That’s her true self.”

Khan's voice was flat.

"For a long time, although Horus also valued Morgan's status and ability, he was still troubled by rumors from the outside world, and he would look down on the power of the Spider Queen in his heart: It was nothing in the past, but if he wanted to act as a warmaster in the future, he must pay attention to Morgan's energy and..."

"threaten?"

"You can say that."

Chagatai Khan nodded.

"If I don't explain it more clearly, I'm afraid that in another thirty or forty years, Horus will still wishfully believe that Morgan is just a shield pushed by Guilliman. He has no idea who is the leader between the two of them: it may not matter internally, but when the two of them unite against the outside world, Guilliman's role is only worthy of taking off Morgan's boots and wiping his feet."

“Ah…Is that so…”

Hydra leaned back, and it took him about three or four minutes to sort out all the thoughts in his mind. "Let's start from the beginning."

Alpharius waved his hand.

"First, Brother Chagatai: What are your thoughts on the order left by the Emperor?"

"no idea."

Khan glanced at the piece of meat that was torn into pieces by Alpharius. He frowned slightly, but before this piece of food, which was enough to exchange for a dozen lives in some wild world, got completely cold, he grabbed it, tore it into pieces, and then threw it into his mouth to chew piece by piece.

"I don't like the responsibilities the Emperor has given me. He has given me a large piece of land and people to protect, but he also promised me that I can travel around the world: a typical Emperor's promise, which seems to give you what you want most, but in fact, it is a strong shackle behind it."

"So you want to break it?"

"not at all."

The Khan raised his head and looked at the Hydra calmly: Although there were no more advanced lie detection methods, Alpharius could be sure that what Chagatai said was true just through the most direct eye contact between the two.

"Listen, Alpha: I do not like the responsibility the Emperor has given me, but I have no reason to break it. In the face of the common interests of all of us, the gains and losses of any individual are insignificant: I will wait patiently until the Emperor emerges from Terra, and then throw my responsibility at his feet."

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"By that time, I think I will have fulfilled my obligations to him."

"Ah, I think so too."

The Hydra looked away to block out the storm in its pupils.

"In other words, you want to maintain our current system?"

"Why else do you think I should warn our warmaster?"

"why?"

Alpharius looked over.

"You deliberately tried to sow discord between Horus and Morgan in order to maintain the system?"

"That's too harsh to hear."

The Khan swallowed the meat, grasped a bright silver knife, and hesitated before saying his next words.

"Think about it, Alpharius. We all want to maintain the existing system, with the Warmaster as the core, until the Lord of Mankind is willing to take on his responsibilities again. Then, in this system that needs to be maintained, the Warmaster is undoubtedly the leader and the first person responsible."

"He has to see some things clearly, including who his biggest enemy is."

"Do you think Morgan will be an enemy of Horus and the Imperium of Man?"

"She's not, but she most likely is."

Khan spread out and said.

"Otherwise, tell me, apart from Avalon who took the initiative to act as a bridge and led the Far Eastern countries to betray Holy Terra, who else is there in this galaxy? What other force is there that can stir up a war that engulfs the empire?"

"Or, what other force can threaten Horus' life and status?"

"..."

Hydra didn't say anything, but the strange smile on his face made Khan feel very uncomfortable.

"Look, Chagatai."

"I've said it before, this matter ultimately has to be blamed on our father."

"If he had told us the truth earlier, you wouldn't have made such a mistake. Your intentions and thoughts were good, but you did something stupid that was out of character."

"..."

The Khan frowned.

He wanted to stand up and ask what those stupid things Hydra was talking about, but Alpharius took action first: he dodged the eagle's breath like a serpent and floated to the door in the blink of an eye.

"Well, let's end this conversation: I just want to confirm your position."

"And your answer reassures me."

Alpharius pushed open the door: before officially leaving, he turned back and gave the Khan a few instructions in a heavy tone.

"And in return, I will reveal a few facts to you, brother."

"First, you did something really stupid: you'll regret it later."

"Secondly, Morgan is not the greatest enemy of Horus and the Empire. At least at this stage, she is still an ally of the Emperor. As for Horus? Don't interfere in their affairs. It will only harm the Wolf God."

"at last……"

Hydra paused.

"Just listen to me. There are indeed enemies in this galaxy that can threaten the entire human empire, but the Emperor has not revealed their existence to you. Yes, my clever brother Chagatai Khan, you should be able to guess where our enemies are hiding, right?"

"..."

Khan frowned, and his voice sounded heavy and hoarse.

He just thought about it.

"Everyone in the galaxy tells me that there is nothing in the Warp."

"The Emperor said so too."

Alpharius smiled.

"You'd better believe so, Khan."

"For your own good."

"Ah, right."

Hydra seemed to remember something, and he gave Chagatai Khan a cruel smile that he would only have when torturing prisoners.

"I'm telling you something unfortunate: Don't think you can rest easy after you've aroused Horus's desire for psychic power. You don't know how to give him psychic power, but that doesn't mean there aren't ways in the galaxy to awaken the Primarch's psychic power."

"At least the Emperor has it."

"So: think carefully about what stupid thing you have done, Khan."

"I hope you can come up with a remedy."

"but me?"

"I'm going to supervise another harmonious and friendly sister-brother tea party."

"And then there are the little things, the private conversations that are just as important."

"Brothers, allies, enemies, and the most classic father and son."

"Anyway, everyone is very busy before the final scene of Nikea is revealed."

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I just got home, so I’ll write these down for today. I might be busy in the next two days.

(End of this chapter)