Emperor's Bane

Chapter 727 Chaos is the Ladder
"Who the hell put that thing here?"

When he gritted his teeth, bared his eyes, and turned over an Emperor Poison Blade tank that had fallen to the ground with the brute force of his hands and the rage burning in his heart, the sound of Captain Hector's cursing could be heard within a radius of 30 kilometers.

But all he got in response was the dust raised by the poison blade tanks and the roars of the legion's pharmacists asking for support: the entire surface of Nikaea has now fallen into a situation more corrupt than a legion-level war. Every soldier is already unable to take care of himself, and every team is dizzy. Hector's roar dissipated in the strong wind filled with the smell of burning, and disappeared completely in the blink of an eye.

Faced with this helplessness, even Morgan's pride could only spit. He got nothing except a mouth full of sand and a still-aching scar on his chest: just over ten minutes ago, in the wave of destruction, a piece of iron that came from nowhere almost split Hector's entire chest in half horizontally, and the bleeding had only just stopped now.

If it were wartime, such a hideous wound would have temporarily forced the Dawnbreaker's captain to withdraw from the combat sequence, but now, he had become the busier person: on Nikaea, there were people whose conditions were worse than his everywhere. In less than ten minutes, Hector had heard three-digit death reports.

And they were all Astartes: as for how many mortals were lost, there is still no approximate figure, but piles of dead bodies have been found in some large lounges and social places, and blood has flowed into the collapsed lava river. Countless big figures such as star district governors and fleet commanders cannot even find a complete body.

"Come and help! Brother!"

Before Hector could lament the sudden disaster, a familiar call brought him back to reality: the dust at their feet had not yet settled, and two Dawnbreaker pharmacists had already rushed over impatiently, not caring whether the still shaky Poison Blade tank was in danger of toppling over again.

"Help us hold it!"

When the pharmacists carried out the unrecognizable wounded from the poisonous blades, Hector responded to their requests for help silently: he tried his best to steady the giant beast in front of him, but his eyes were fixed on the figures being carried on stretchers, among whom were his soldiers.

Fortunately, I'm still alive.

Hector breathed a sigh of relief. He persisted until the last person left, then he hurriedly withdrew from the wrestling: When the overturned Poison Blade tank raised a second round of dust, the Dawnbreaker walked in it, looking around in a daze.

Everywhere he looked, there was chaos and ruins: the exquisite craftsmanship built by Perturabo and his Iron Warriors no longer existed, countless magnificent buildings turned into rubble, and the mortal dignitaries who had talked big in them were reduced to piles of flesh and blood, or wailing for help in the ruins.

Those lucky ones who had managed to survive the catastrophe were uniformly dispersed to an area that had been confirmed to be safe by a search and rescue team temporarily formed by Astartes warriors. They sat there like dazed children, all looking at each other with pale faces, questioning each other what had just happened?
But no one could give an answer: not the mortals whose cheeks were still stained with the blood of their compatriots, not the Astartes who were in a hurry and their armor was covered in blood, not even the mechanical priests who still operated coldly like machines, relying on cold logic to measure who was worth rescuing.

And Hector is no exception.

When another team of colorful fighting brothers ran past him and plunged into the bloody ashes, Hector just stared at their figures, made up his mind in silence, and then quietly moved his gaze upwards a little.

He looked into the void.

That void was already very different.

There was nothing there: although it was not as prosperous as the sky above Ullanor in the past, as another important world that would determine the fate of the entire Great Crusade, Nikaia was indeed a very important temporary transportation hub in the human empire during this period.

While the Emperor, his sons and elites from across the Imperium were deciding the fate of all psykers in the palace, thousands of warships were waiting for their masters in the low-Earth orbit of Nikaea and beyond. The shadows cast by the Glorious Queen-class battleships from various legions were enough to make the people standing on the ground see only a metallic sky.

For the warriors, this would definitely bring an unparalleled sense of security: but this sense of security has now disappeared. When Hector looked up at the sky again, he did not even see a single imperial warship. Whether it was the Queen of Glory class or the smallest frigate, they had all disappeared without a trace.

Instead, there was an unimaginable horror: Hector couldn't help but think back to decades ago when he followed his genetic mother Morgan to participate in a brutal war in the northwest of the galaxy. During the intermission of that war, he had the honor of witnessing the famous Eye of Terror in the Empire.

The Dawnbreaker could swear that, even though he knew it was just a unique astronomical sign, that horrifying eyeball was still the most terrifying thing in his memory, without a doubt: but today would be an exception, because above Nikea, a new eye of terror was hanging brightly above everyone's heads.

No one dared to look at it: the order prohibiting the raising of the head came belatedly, but before that, it had become a consensus among the survivors.

The dirty red veins were like a corrupt giant beast thrown into a meat grinder, and the stench was as if it was blowing in the face, making people nauseous at a glance: but this vortex, which was larger than the entire Nikea and made countless brave imperial soldiers dare not even look up, was not even the most terrifying thing at the moment. The truly terrifying thing was the eyes that were staring at them.

The eye behind the vortex: like an ancient god that is reviving.

It glowed with a black light, but gave people a sacred feeling: this sacred feeling was so familiar that Hector had only felt it in one person.

"The Emperor..."

He lowered his head. The swelling pain in his head and the scar on his chest forced him to succumb to the terror. Hector could not help but quicken his pace, wanting to go to where the crowd was denser. He needed to hear the voices of mortals and longed to smell fresh blood. In this way, he felt that he was at least living in the real world.

Although he knew very well that they were definitely not in the real universe now: the fleet in low-Earth orbit could not disappear for no reason, without even a piece of metal left. The only reasonable explanation was that Nikea was no longer in its original position.

Look at that terrifying sky, this is clearly a scene that only exists in the subspace.

Hecht was sure of that.

Because, in a past psychic seminar, the Dawnbreakers had heard their Gene Mother mention this phenomenon: when a real world is in the warp but does not succumb to the disorderly chaos in it, it means that this world is stuck in the veil between the real universe and the warp.

It has a very high chance of getting out, but it also has a very high chance of getting completely stuck in it.

Hector hoped it was the former, but this was not something he could decide: the only one who could truly save the world might be that...

"brother!"

"Hector!"

The voice interrupted his thoughts: it was so familiar that Hector wanted to cry.

He turned around and saw Rana, the Lord Chancellor of the Guard, trudging out of the ruins with a team that was just as dusty as him: Morgan's most trusted son had been left outside by the Primarch to command the Dawnbreaker's forces on Nikaia, but who would have thought that this was originally just a routine backup plan, but it actually came in handy this time.

Although judging from Lana's expression, he was not happy about it at all.

"Emperor... Primarch above!"

Waving his hand and letting the soldiers behind him do their own things, Rana ran to Hector alone. He first looked at this proud son of Morgan carefully, then patted him heavily on the shoulder and breathed a long sigh of relief.

"I finally found you."

"Rana."

Hector nodded: he didn't care about the pain in his chest.

"What the hell happened?"

"I still want to ask you."

Lana muttered something.

"Where's your team? Why are you wandering around outside by yourself?"

"I just came out to look for a mortal friend of mine, but something went wrong halfway. Do you know what happened, Lana? I just remember that there was a huge explosion in the direction of the Temple of Nikea, followed by a psychic storm and shock waves. They knocked me unconscious, and when I woke up, I found myself under a ruin and a damn vortex."

"Me too, bro."

Lana hesitated.

"Me too. I just heard an explosion and passed out. But at least there were still some people around me. By the way, listen to me. Don't look at that vortex. I met a few guardsmen on my way out. They said that the Emperor required everyone not to look up at the sky."

"Emperor?"

Hector was a little nervous.

"And what about the Primarch?"

"The Primarch also sent the same order: she is weak, but safe. However, the guards did not allow us to enter the Temple of Nikea. I suspect something went wrong inside: because the communication between me and the Primarch was also cut off immediately. Now every legion can't contact their Primarch. Some brothers are almost going crazy."

"World Eaters?"

"Yes, it's them."

Rana rubbed his temple in pain, and when he lowered his head, Hector could see a Lefebvre Crown stuck on his head: this psychic device, first invented by Morgan during the Randan War, is now widely equipped in the ranks of the Second Legion. Its greatest function is to ensure that the Dawnbreakers will not be affected by external psychic shocks.

But on Nikaea, the function of the Lefay Crown was greatly weakened: Hector knew this very well, and the crown on his head was not enough to keep his mind clear. If it were not for the habit he had developed over decades, he would probably have been swallowed up by the madness inside when he first looked at the vortex in the sky.

Thanks to their mother, they have always kept a distance from psychic powers.

"Listen, Hector."

Morgan's inner feelings did not reach Lana's ears: after thinking it over again and again, the chief guard suddenly waved his hand and asked Hector to bend down. His expression showed a great determination.

"I have something to ask of you."

Rana's voice was serious: his right hand was tightly holding something.

"Please advise."

Hector nodded.

"listen."

After making sure that there was no one around, Rana put his lips close to Hector's ear and whispered several directions and addresses.

"According to my instructions, there will be a fully-armed team waiting for you there. They are all veterans who are trustworthy in terms of strength and mind. You need to lead them, try not to attract other people's attention, and then take them to find the Dark Angels, the Ultramarines, and the Midnight Lords..."

Lana paused.

"Forget it, let's find the Dark Angels. They are next door to us. Only the old guys can trust this kind of thing. Others are a little unreliable. Also, don't let the Ultramarines know. But anyway, those guys should have run out to help with the disaster."

"This kind of thing?"

Hector raised a brow.

"Don't tell anyone."

Rana gritted his teeth, his voice like a sharp blade thirsting for blood.

"In her last communication with me, the Primarch hinted at something: Magnus might be responsible for all this, that he and the Thousand Sons might have been [tainted] by something in the Warp: while it's uncertain whether their loyalties still exist, they are certainly no longer safe."

"The culprit?"

Hector was stunned for a moment, and he quickly glanced at the disaster around him: Although he did not travel all over Nikea, just based on the tragedies around him, the Dawnbreaker could understand from the tip of the iceberg how great a catastrophe the destructive storm had caused.

Hundreds of battle-brothers had died inexplicably. They were the cream of the crop and champions of their respective legions, and the loss of just one of them would have been enough to anger their primarchs: but now they were falling in dozens.

The casualties among mortals are several times or even dozens of times greater than theirs: countless imperial worlds and expeditionary fronts will fall into chaos and come to a standstill, and the entire empire will be affected, from Holy Terra to the Far Eastern Frontier.

There is no doubt that the tragedy of Nikaea would haunt the empire for decades, if not longer.

And all this was actually done by a certain Primarch or Legion?

This is betrayal!

Cold fear and anger ran along Hector's neck and up.

"Are you sure, Lana?"

"At least that's what the Primarch thought."

There was a shadow in Lana's eyes.

"She also told me that the Emperor was not prepared for this incident, and that his current state is not good: the Primarchs in the Temple of Nikea are at least safe because of the Emperor's protection, but the Emperor's protection did not spread to the outside in time, resulting in such heavy casualties on the surface."

“More than you think.”

Lana sighed. "You may not know, Hector, but before I came, the Guards had told me a preliminary statistic: let's put it this way, the number of governors who have been confirmed dead has reached three digits, more than eight hundred expeditionary fleets must now replace their naval commanders, and hundreds of navigator families have lost their heirs. Moreover, under those ruins, dozens of representatives of various forge worlds are being dug out, and the Knight pilots and Titan captains piled next to them don't even have time to clean them up."

"On my way here, I saw an entire collapsed building complex. The entire marble ceiling collapsed directly, and the bodies inside could not be identified at all. But we can be sure that among the High Lords of Terra, the soon-to-be-appointed Minister of Justice and his entire family were completely wiped out today."

"My Lord, the Great Crusade has been going on for more than 150 years. The total number of high-ranking officials lost by the Empire in this century is not as many as those who died here. I am even too lazy to mention the casualties of the Astartes, because in my list, at least half a company of Dawnbreakers has not been found until now."

"As for the other legions... I don't even bother to mention them: in one crater alone, we found the bodies of three Astartes, all of whom were blown in by the shock wave. Two were Ultramarines, and one was an Imperial Fists. All of them were Terran veterans, all of them were big shots like company commanders or even legion archons."

Lana grinded his teeth and spat a mouthful of acid heavily onto the ground.

"..."

"Do you know what this means?"

"Someone has to be held accountable for this, my brother Hector."

"And he's a heavyweight."

"So…Magnus?"

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When he spoke again, the panic was gone from Hector's voice.

"Yes."

Rana continued to instruct.

"When the time comes, you will lead your team and cooperate with our old buddies from the First Legion to sneak up to the Thousand Sons' base. I have already arranged for Bayar to guard there. With him here, you don't have to worry about losing the battle."

"Also, you don't have to worry about not having enough weapons. The Dark Angels are always ready to fight a civil war. But without further orders from me, you must not open fire first. Your mission is to seal off the entire 15th Legion camp and everyone in it until the next order comes."

"If they ..."

Hector made a dangerous gesture.

"I know, it's very likely..."

Lana licked his lips, his dark pupils gleaming dangerously.

"If they persist in being disobedient: let them bleed a little."

After saying this, the Chief Guard spread out his tightly clenched right hand.

"Look at this. This is what the Primarch gave me before attending the Nikaea Conference. With Lord Morgan's token, I can now mobilize any force of the Dawnbreaker Legion to do anything. So, if the Thousand Sons Legion attempts to break through the blockade, open fire. I will be responsible for all the consequences."

"..."

Hector just nodded.

“How many people should I bring?”

"Not much. The Dark Angels and the Custodes will assist you when the time comes."

"Force?"

"It's strange, isn't it? They didn't just rush in and kill all the Thousand Sons right away."

"But... trust me, bro."

Lana patted Hector on the shoulder.

"If the Imperial Guards ask you to do this, you must not obey them casually: before the Thousand Sons threaten your lives, you must not let blood flow again. If the Imperial Guards want to fight the Thousand Sons to death, you can just be responsible for guarding outside."

"Won't they be dissatisfied?"

"Then leave it to me."

Lana waved his hand.

"Let me take care of those plague gods."

"Don't worry, at this point, even the Imperial Guards will only say one word..."

------

"What did the Dawnbreakers say?"

"They are willing to cooperate with the operation: the prerequisite is that the Dark Angels must join in."

"As expected. Ask them to arrive at the scene as quickly as possible. We need more manpower to contain the Fifteenth Legion until the Emperor reaches the final conclusion: all Thousand Sons soldiers should be disarmed, and anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy."

"Repeat that."

"That's right... kill without mercy."

Before the cold voice faded away, La-Endinion put down the communicator.

He was not worried that his brother on the other end of the communicator would not understand the order: such low-level mistakes would not happen to the Imperial Guards.

"Speed ​​up the search."

After putting down the communicator, La immediately urged the imperial guards beside him.

"Yes, tribune."

They responded in low voices.

La nodded and also joined the search: Before this, they had received accurate information that the bodies of two imperial guards who had unfortunately died in the previous storm of destruction were found here, and they must retrieve them as soon as possible to ensure their safety.

"over there!"

Just a dozen seconds later, a member of the Imperial Guard called out on the communicator.

"I see them: next to them is an Emperor's Child!"

"Tell him to put his hands up!"

While giving orders, La ran towards the scene of the incident.

But in the blink of an eye, he had arrived at the bodies of his two suffering brothers, and saw the Emperor's Son they mentioned: as a tribune in the Imperial Guards, he always had some impression of the most famous Astartes, and the man in front of him was one of them.

"You are……"

He recalled.

"Fabius of the Emperor's Children: Chief Apothecary of the Third Legion."

"Greetings, sir."

The embarrassing situation of being forced to lay down his weapon and hold his head in his hands did not make Fabius angry. He was even in the mood to smile to the tribune of the guards in front of him and patiently explain why he was there.

"I heard from the mortals that there were two Imperial Guards in distress, so I rushed over to help. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, it was already too late... Please accept my condolences."

"..."

Ra said nothing. He took a quick glance at the bodies of his two compatriots: such a huge wound was indeed not something an Astartes could do.

But he couldn't let his guard down.

"you……"

La wanted to say something else, but his communicator started ringing again.

"Tribune!"

It was Aquitaine: his squad was responsible for guarding the gates of the Temple of Nicaea.

"What's wrong? Aquitaine?"

"It's the World Eaters: those lunatics are attacking the gates again! They say their Primarch is inside, unstable and dangerous, and they won't listen to our orders. Tribune, I request to open fire..."

"turn down!"

Ra roared.

"The Emperor has decreed: no blood shall be shed except that of the Thousand Sons."

"Stay there, I'll be right there."

After saying this, the tribune of the Imperial Guards glanced briefly at Fabius.

"I will remember you, Emperor's Child: you had better tell the truth."

"Of course I..."

"Take them with you and gather the troops!"

Too lazy to continue dealing with them, the imperial guards soon walked away.

"..."

"call……"

When the figures of the golden warriors finally disappeared from the edge of his vision, Fabius breathed a sigh of relief, and a crazy smile crept up the corners of his mouth.

"What good luck..."

As he spoke, Fabius silently reached his fingers into his breastplate.

Several rows of full test tubes and urgently sealed chunks of meat lay quietly there like priceless treasures: they contained the secret of how the Emperor created the most powerful Golden Army in the galaxy.

And now...

"This secret, this answer...will soon be mine!"

"Hahahahaha..."

(End of this chapter)