Emperor's Bane

Chapter 728
"What... are you doing, Sanguinius?"

"As you can see, Horus: I am healing our brother Angron."

"Knocked him out?"

"It's not surprising that treatments that work immediately have some side effects."

"..."

The usually gorgeous Sanguinius was now covered in dust, his finely carved face was stained with blood and dirt from nowhere, his silky golden hair was tangled like a bunch of ugly straw ropes, his feather-white wings had rolled in the sea of ​​dust, his most exquisite feathers were mostly damaged, like a completely annihilated army.

It seemed that since the moment he was born and gained self-awareness, the Archangel of Baal had never been so miserable: even the sandstorms of the Death World could not tarnish his face, and even the largest battlefield could not stain his wings with blood. But when the danger came from another Primarch, even someone as powerful as Sanguinius inevitably suffered the first loss in his life.

Only a Primarch can kill a Primarch: This was originally just a lie circulated among Astartes warriors and mortal crews and used as a joke in daily life. Now thinking about it carefully can make people's backs cold, especially for Sanguinius, who has always been sensitive.

But no matter how fierce the storm was in his heart, at least on the surface, the Archangel could always remain calm: even though the sudden [supernova explosion] was not in any of Sanguinius's expected plans for the Nikea Conference, when he woke up from the ground covered in ashes, Sanguinius adjusted his mentality in the blink of an eye.

And expressions.

At least, when the equally dusty Wolf Shepherd God and Chagatai Khan came over, the archangel in their eyes was no different from usual except that he looked a little more embarrassed: his calm appearance surprised the two primarchs, and then they noticed that there seemed to be an inappropriate object lying on the ground.

Horus rubbed his eyes and looked over carefully, only to find that it was their brother Angron.
The Primarch of the World Eaters Legion fell headfirst into the ruins like a silent boulder: while his blood brothers woke up one after another, busy looking around, recovering their strength or rescuing others, Angron's aura was still as low as death.

But this was not because the Void King's psychic barrier was weaker than his brothers: although Angron's spiritual world would have been affected by the existence of the Butcher's Nails, what really caused him to fall into a long coma was the bruise on the back of his neck that was so eye-catching that it was even visible to the naked eye.

After just one look, Horus touched his neck unconsciously, and his hands, which he had finally cleaned, were covered with ashes again: The wolf shepherd god thought that if there was such a scar on the back of his neck, he would not be able to escape those hours of high-quality sleep. As for Chagatai Khan next to him, he had already cast a suspicious look at the archangel.

He happened to see the moment when the archangel put his right hand behind his back.

"Won't you explain, brother?"

The Khan spoke first, and before the last syllable fell, his fingers had already rested on the hilt of the scimitar, intentionally or unintentionally: Even someone as smart as Chagatai had no idea what to do with the sudden storm of destruction, and a rare sense of fear arose in his heart. Any slight movement was worthy of his attention.

Thinking of this, Horus also shifted his gaze over: Although the Wolf God did not believe that his best brother would have anything to do with the terrifying vortex above his head, in the deepest part of Horus' heart, he had his own set of standards for measuring and utilizing each of his brothers.

When the Khan starts to get serious, his words are definitely worth listening to.

Similarly, when Sanguinius acted overly indifferent, he must have been hiding some little secrets in his heart. Of course, it is also possible that he simply didn't care: but considering the current situation, the possibility of the latter is really too slim.

"Indeed, it is me."

The Archangel did not deny it. When he noticed that the two brothers in front of him had become visibly nervous, Sanguinius first smiled, then slowly spread his hands, and when the situation calmed down, he asked a question.

"You two, after you woke up, did you see that [thing] in the sky?"

"I looked once, and then I stopped Horus from looking up again."

The one who answered him was the Khan: Chagatai was already sitting upright at this time, even his long and thin beard was tense.

"But I don't think it's very useful: when we are knocked down by the storm, our minds are already polluted. Looking up at the vortex will only make the situation worse, at least that's what I think."

"The right thing to do."

The angel sighed and rubbed his eyes seemingly unintentionally.

"It's a pity that I wasn't with you at the time."

"So, Sanguinius: do you know something?"

Of course, Khan noticed the Archangel's abnormality, but he ignored it: whether it was the Nikea Conference that had long exceeded expectations, or the wailing and cries for help coming from the distance through the layers of fog that separated them, all made Khan feel very uncomfortable.

He felt as if he had fallen into an endless vortex and was about to be completely swallowed up: everyone present shared the same pain as him, but they didn't even know what was happening.

Perhaps the Emperor knows?

But the Emperor certainly has too much to do.

The reason was simple. When Chagatai Khan just woke up, he felt that there was still a faint light flickering on the high platform where the emperor originally sat. It was as distant and ethereal as the sun in a cloudy sky, but it was playing the role of a stabilizing force: resisting the storm of destruction raging on Nikea.

The Khan instinctively realized that his gene-father seemed to be fighting some great enemy in a higher dimensional space, and the outcome of their war would determine whether Nikea would fall to the side of reality or the warp: However, before Horus regained consciousness, Jaghatai Khan had already speculated on the outcome of the war.

Although it sounds strange to say this, Chagatai felt that the Emperor seemed to be fighting against something without self-awareness. It was more like imprisoning some out-of-control force than fighting. It was indeed very difficult and long, but the victory of the Lord of Mankind was a foregone conclusion.

After all, his opponent didn't even put up any resistance. In other words, the powerful energy that had stirred up the storm of destruction had no intention of taking further action against anyone present: even the storm itself might have been just an unexpected disaster when it was released.

"..."

When Chagatai Khan thought of this, he felt a chill down his spine.

Just think about it, a being that is powerful enough to stun all the Primarchs in an instant and cause such devastation to a world is an unconscious creature: just like a giant beast accidentally stepping on an anthill under its feet.

It was precisely because of the unintentional act that the despairing gap in strength was revealed.

And such a giant beast is actually closely related to their genetic father. They have fought side by side with the Emperor for more than a century, but they were completely unaware of this. And now the Lord of Mankind actually has a way to put this giant beast back into his cage?

Where, how, and why did he master this power?
They didn't know, and they would never know: as smart as the Khan was, he had naturally foreseen that Nikea would be the next "Lost Legion".

I'm afraid that by then, even the fear in his heart will disappear.

This feeling is terrible.

The Khan withdrew his thoughts and did not delve further: he was already satisfied to know that the current situation was not completely beyond the emperor's control. As for more things, even if he figured them out, it would only be a waste of time.

Be patient and wait: see when the Emperor will recover.

In other words, in the face of this indiscriminate force that wanted to destroy them all, even if their father had ulterior motives, he was at least an ally in the open, wasn't he?

Chagatai was deceiving himself here, while his two brothers were still obsessed with maintaining superficial issues.

"Inside story? Of course I don't know?"

In response to Khan's question, the angel quickly shook his head to deny it, while pointing to his temple.

"But you should remember that I told you a long time ago that I have the same ability as Conrad, and I can also foresee certain future events. However, this ability of prediction is very vague, like looking through a foggy mirror."

"So, you foresaw what would happen here before Nikea?"

The Khan continued to question, ignoring the frown on Horus' face beside him.

"I saw this coming."

The angel pointed at Angron.

"I had a vague foreseeing that the Angron Brotherhood would lose control at the Nicaea meeting, so I had been guarding him, but I didn't expect the prophecy to come true in this way. Fortunately, when Angron woke up and realized that the Butcher's Nails in his mind were losing control, he was very cooperative with my treatment."

"Understandable."

The Khan nodded and looked around for the ruins around the three men.

"After all, we are definitely not at the original location in the real universe now: Morgan once told me how she and the Emperor controlled the principle of the Butcher's Nail in Angron's mind. If we are too far away from the Liberator, there is indeed a risk that Angron will lose control again."

"The problem now is that we don't seem to be in the subspace either."

The angel smiled and skipped over the subject of Angron: while he and Horus helped Angron to a seat nearby, Sanguinius avoided the Khan's gaze and kept his secret to himself.

He would not tell anyone that he had not foreseen Angron's problems, but that he was asked by Morgan to stay by Angron's side just in case: when the archangel questioned why Morgan did not put Angron in their own side, his sister silenced him with just one sentence.

[Of all people, you are the only one who can guarantee a sufficient chance of victory against Angron.]

【What? Jonson?】

[Please, I want someone to help me watch Angron, not to kill him.]

The angel blinked. He had to admit that these words were convincing. Although he was also wondering in his heart, after all, he had never heard of any deep friendship between Morgan and Angron before. Why would the Spider Queen meddle in other people's business?
They don't see each other often.

Forget it, I can’t figure it out.

what?
His vision of Nikea?

……

Darkness, pure darkness.

Originally he thought that his ability to predict had finally begun to wane like Conrad next door: now thinking about it, it has become more and more accurate.

After a little thought, the Archangel felt a throbbing pain in his head like a maggot in his bones, which made him more and more certain that they were definitely not in the real universe now: after they settled Angron, the three Primarchs looked worriedly at the destructive storm that was still raging in the center of the venue.

They really wanted to take action right now, such as rushing to the Emperor's side, or looking around to see if there was anyone who needed help, but the severe pain in their heads, the numbness in their limbs that had not yet fully adapted to the feeling, and the storm barrier that kept lingering around them, all restrained the three Primarchs' steps.

In the end, everyone could only stare at the direction of the storm in silence.

"Magnus is in there."

Horus spoke, and the remaining two brothers only responded with silence.

"Do you know what happened?"

After a while, the Wolf Shepherd God, who felt better, looked around and then was the first to explain his situation.

"I feel like there's a missing piece of memory in my mind: I just remember that Magnus's sun seemed to explode, and after a flash of white light, nothing could be seen. But one thing I'm very sure of is that before I fainted, I felt the Emperor's energy protecting me. I will never mistake that kind of information."

"not necessarily."

The Khan lowered his head. As the dust gradually dissipated, he, with his best eyesight, could vaguely see the positions of Mortarion and Leman Russ. Following the fishy cold wind, the voice of the Lord of Death floated into the Khan's ears.

It was a series of curses, most of which were directed at Magnus, and a few were equally directed at everyone: the Lord of Death was burning with rage, as if he was about to grab his scythe, rush onto the field, cross the fog, and chop off Magnus' head.

Perhaps he did think so, but in reality: when he noticed his unconscious blood brother beside him and the dead bodies scattered all over the ground, Mortarion stopped.

He muttered and complained, but he also tried his best to carry Leman Russ to a position as far away from the storm as possible. As for the body of the Emperor's Son lying behind the Wolf King, who was a stranger to him, the Primarch was silent for a moment, and also walked forward to collect the remaining corpses as much as possible.

"..."

In the thick fog, the Khan only observed a moment: but in his heart, all the great achievements of the Lord of Death that had been heard by him in the past hundred years were far less important than this moment of silence. It was not until this moment that he realized that his brother Mortarion was actually a man worthy of respect.

"Think about it, Horus."

But on the surface, the logic in Chagatai's voice remained.

"Isn't Magnus's sun also filled with the aura of the Emperor?"

"This is different, bro."

The wolf shepherd god shook his head firmly. When he turned to look at the Khan, he couldn't help but glance upwards. However, Chagatai, who was well prepared, pressed down on his head and forced his head down.

"I said, don't look!"

"Chagatai is right, brother."

The angel also pressed Horus' somewhat dissatisfied shoulder from behind.

"Don't look at it: you're not like us on that, brother."

"What's the difference!" "You are not a psyker: at least you don't have any research in this area."

Without paying attention to the obvious dissatisfaction in the words of the Wolf Shepherd God, Sanguinius gave his answer casually, but found that the situation seemed to be beyond his expectations: Horus' figure paused obviously, and then fell silent with a weird attitude. Instead, Chagatai Khan, who was facing Sanguinius, flashed a fierce look at the archangel.

"..."

Did he say something wrong?
The angel was a little confused: he always felt that after the storm of destruction, especially when he accidentally looked up at the terrifying giant eye in the sky, something in his heart seemed to have changed silently, but Sanguinius couldn't tell what it was.

Fortunately, he had a mature process for dealing with the current situation.

The archangel immediately kept his smile, his voice just the right amount of curiosity.

"By the way, Horus: Why are you so sure that [they] are different?"

"Instinct, bro."

Sure enough, the Wolf God's attention was diverted at once.

"I have been bathing in my father's light for more than thirty years. So, I am sure that when I was unconscious, there was a light from my father that protected me. Comparing it with Magnus's sun, I am sure that the sun is not real."

"At least not completely."

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As soon as these words came out, the angels and the Khan could not help but fall into deep thought. Although Horus had almost no say in matters of psychic power, if one were to understand the Emperor, the Wolf God's answer was still very prestigious.

"What about you?"

Horus looked at his brothers.

"My brothers, has your memory been affected?"

"Do you know who did this?"

These words were met with strange silence from the angels and the Khan: Chagatai Khan turned his head and glanced in the direction of the Emperor intentionally or unintentionally, while Sanguinius simply lowered his head, his eyes moving left and right, and he could not give an answer at all.

"My memories...are similar to yours, Brother Horus."

"Yes...me too."

After this, there is no more words.

The three Primarchs stood together and endured a long time in silence. In the chaos of the storm and the groans of death, even the Primarchs' sophisticated brains could not accurately measure how many minutes had passed: until the storm barrier behind them began to gradually weaken, until they could clearly see their brothers and sons waving at them in the distance.

The angels stayed where they were, continuing to tend to Angron's condition, while Horus and the Khan joined forces to respond to the call of others. They rushed to the ruins without stopping, carrying out the living mortals from under the rubble, counting the number of warriors behind them, and keeping an eye on the Emperor's platform.

As time passed, the light of the Lord of Humanity became more and more dazzling on his golden platform. The storm barrier around them was gradually weakening, and the people around them became clearer and clearer. They could faintly hear shouts from the opposite side of the hall.

Dozens of minutes later, or perhaps even longer, when Horus could clearly see the guards surrounding the foot of the Emperor's platform, looking at all of them warily, he could also see on the other side, where Jonson and Conrad were working together to lift a huge rock and rescue yet another mortal nobleman.

"Did you hear that?"

At the same time, Chagatai Khan whispered in Horus' ear.

"Ah."

Horus nodded, not in a good mood.

He knew what the Khan was referring to: despite their distance, despite their lack of specific listening, as the Emperor's light grew brighter and the storm barrier weakened, an eerie sound inevitably reached the ears of everyone present.

It was a howl, the most miserable and chilling howl, a voice so powerful that could only belong to a Primarch, and destined to be a dying Primarch who was living in a life worse than death every moment: and this voice came from the direction of Magnus, who was still surrounded by the storm.

"The Emperor bless him..."

Every wailing sound was more tormenting to the nerves of all the Primarchs present than a real Apocalypse War. No matter how much resentment they had towards Magnus in their hearts, at least at the moment they heard the sound, everyone prayed silently in their minds.

Even Mortarion was no longer standing in anger beside the storm. He was the first to hear the crying: a minute later, the Lord of Death huddled and silently came to the ruins to help his brothers.

“It’s becoming clearer.”

The Khan shook his head.

“It’s just torture.”

"Don't think so, Jaghatai: at least we know for sure that Magnus is still alive."

"He might as well be dead."

The Khan was hinting at something, but Horus deliberately did not understand: his eyes were always fixed in the direction of the Emperor, and although he had long wanted to step forward to see about his father's condition, the wolf shepherd god never took a step.

The human wall formed by Malcador and the Guards naturally could not stop him, but Horus was inspired by the Emperor in his heart, which was the only reason that stopped him from moving forward: he needed to wait patiently, and his genetic father needed enough time to subdue the catastrophe in his heart.

He would win: of this Horus had no doubt.

And the emperor did not let him down.

As another group of Custodians hurried back and forth through the ruins of Nicaea, reporting on the relief efforts outside and receiving new orders from Malcador, a sudden ray of light stung everyone's eyes: a voice coming from the Emperor's throne, his majesty and brightness finally restored to the reassuring level it had been at the beginning of everything.

A brief, icy breeze brushed across everyone's cheeks. The power in it was so strong that even the Primarchs felt a momentary sense of suffocation: when the vast majority of people were secretly rejoicing in their hearts that the power of the Lord of Mankind had finally returned, those who were truly proficient in psychic powers frowned silently in the shadows.

Morgan, Malcador, the Khan, even Konrad and Sanguinius.

They could all feel that the Emperor's power had been significantly weakened, especially his might in the Warp. Although it was not permanently lost, it would at least require a very long recuperation period, perhaps thirty years or even longer.

There is no doubt that the process of taming the beast within is not as smooth as it appears.

But that's the Emperor, isn't it?

Morgan shook his head and expressed his feelings to Conrad beside him, half complaining and half sighing.

[What he is best at is enduring endless pain in his heart, but appearing calm on the outside: Even though we know how great a catastrophe we are facing, when his light shines again, we always have a strange kind of confidence.]

【I believe he will win. 】

"At least he won this time."

Conrad became unusually serious.

"Indeed, Morgan: for the first time I regret how weak my powers of prophecy have become."

[Because your prophecy is no longer a torture to you, it can actually help us: and this is what our enemies least want to see. ]

After saying that, Morgan turned his cold eyes towards the center of the Nikea Palace. At this moment, almost everyone present was doing almost the same action as Morgan: as the Emperor's energy was finally gradually restored, and as the raging storm of destruction was put back into the cage in the Lord of Mankind's heart, the truth behind the wailing was finally about to surface.

The guards clenched their weapons, waiting for the storm to completely dissipate so that they could put the culprit behind all this in jail. Mortarion did the same thing, his scythe rubbing against the abandoned marble table with a hateful sound. The Wolf King still stood beside him, but this time, he no longer had the energy to sympathize with the Lord of Prospero.

The same was true for others: the mortals who had no relationship with Magnus were waiting for the next capture with hateful joy, while the closer Primarchs, even Morgan and Jaghatai Khan, and Perturabo who was trying his best to adjust the various out-of-control parts of his body, just watched indifferently.

Perhaps before all this, some people had not planned this for Nikea. In the plans of the Emperor, Morgan and others, this would have been a lose-lose situation for Magnus and Mortarion, a warning to both sides, and a timely curb on all extreme thinking.

But now, everything is out of control: What will be the final fate of Mortari and the extreme anti-psychic faction he represents? How will they celebrate their victory in Nikaea? It is no longer something that even Morgan cares about, but in turn they can be sure of another thing, that is, Magnus's defeat is beyond doubt.

Fate awaits the death knell of the Scarlet King.

After a few more breaths, with the Emperor's Sword inserted into the ground again, the power of the Lord of Mankind finally got on the right track. He was weak but tenacious, and although only a part of him was left, he could still dispel the stubborn storm. At the same time, he set up a golden illusion, isolating the huge vortex above his head from his sight.

After doing all this, the last trace of the storm reluctantly retreated: almost at the same time, without the shield, the heart-wrenching wails hit everyone's ears like a storm, all the way to the sky, as if to tear the sky apart.

So desolate, so terrifying: even the guards paused.

When the Emperor's Golden Warriors saw the scene clearly, even the most revengeful of the Guards stopped their steps unconsciously: with wailing, the swords and halberds of the Guards slowly fell, and the Sigillator and the Emperor behind them also did not issue any more orders to detain the Primarch.

Because...it's no longer necessary.

"Oh my god..."

The same silence infected every bystander present in the blink of an eye. No matter whether they were the Primarch or the surviving mortals, the anger in everyone's heart had disappeared: everyone opened their eyes wide and stared at the ruins after the storm dissipated with horror.

"The Emperor bless..."

Horus shook his head, biting his lips tightly together, and tilted his head, crying for his brother.

Next to them, Chagatai Khan and Sanguinius persisted even longer. They looked silently at the source of the wailing, staring at it quietly for about three or four seconds. Finally, they could not hold on any longer, closed their eyes, and helplessly turned their heads to the other side.

Guilliman and Corax beside Morgan also made the same move. The two brothers were supporting each other. They also couldn't bear to look at the tragic scene in the middle of the venue. Hot tears flowed for the simplest brotherhood.

Further ahead of them, Midnight Haunter lamented the extent of the bloodshed, and the Lion of Caliban, who had already drawn his sword, silently sheathed his sword again: Morgan also stopped chanting the spell, but closed his eyes, silently bidding farewell to Magnus in his heart.

"Bye, brother."

The wolf king turned around, trying hard to suppress his trembling shoulders and crying tone.

"I said, I hope we will never meet again in this life."

Behind the Fenrisians, Lorgar prayed devoutly for his brothers, Ferrus sighed with regret, Vulkan didn't even dare to look a second time, and even Perturabo silently withdrew his gaze, preferring to look at the bloody pile of corpses next to him.

Amidst everyone's silence, a crackling sound of metal was particularly harsh: it was the sound of Mortarion's scythe hitting the ground. The face of the Lord of Death was filled with shock, his eyes widened, his mouth opened, and he seemed to be trying hard to say something, but in the end, he just lowered his head in silence, apparently having given up the idea of ​​adding insult to injury.

because……

“It’s no longer necessary.”

Khan shook his head and his former friend shed a tear.

"Magnus...ah..."

A sigh from the grassland, accompanied by ashes and dust, pierced through the endless wails and floated towards the King of Prospero, who was living a life worse than death.

As he floated towards the bloody mess, all that could be seen were fragments of bones and minced meat, but there was no trace of his original legs.

It floated towards his lost arm, and the charcoal on the other side opposite to it, although it vaguely resembled an arm, he had no idea how to use it.

The original body floated towards it with its skin blown off, revealing its torso which had been roasted black. A large amount of flesh tissue was burned with holes, and it seemed impossible for it to walk on the ground regardless of whether it had legs or not.

The blood that flowed towards the Primarch almost covered the entire marble platform.

The soul drifted towards the Primarch, and was shattered in a crazy howl.

Drifting towards the Primarch's thoughts, where there was once glory, there is now only madness and loss.

Floating towards the Primarch's face.

His lips went nowhere.

His missing ear.

His cheekbones were exposed.

And under his forehead, there were eye sockets that once sparkled with countless wisdom.

Now: There were only two bloody holes there, like holes in the sky.

(End of this chapter)