Emperor's Bane

Chapter 735 Eye of Horus

"funeral?"

+That's right: I want you to be the host of this mass funeral. +
"no problem."

Without even thinking about it or asking for more details, the Wolf God simply nodded and agreed: The Primarch never thought that his father would give him any meaningless tasks, as long as it was the Emperor's will, Horus would carry it out to the end without any discrimination.

The Lord of Mankind had obviously anticipated his decisiveness.

+Don't worry, my Horus. +
The Emperor turned around and grabbed a list with wet ink on it.

+ Read this first: These are the names you need to remember as a funeral director. +
"Ok."

The Primarch read through the list at a glance and memorized all the names in the blink of an eye. Then, he realized that something was wrong: Horus had a very good impression of more than half of the names of the dead on this list, and some of them could even leave outlines in his mind.

These seemed to be the names of the governors of the planets in the northern part of the Milky Way. Most of the worlds they ruled were assigned to the governance of the future Horus Kingdom, so the Wolf God had done some homework in this regard and had a good impression of these future subordinates.

Are they the dead?

Or is it just a coincidence of names: but it shouldn’t involve so many people?

Thinking of this, the Primarch cast a somewhat dazed look at his father.

＋It's just what you think. ＋
The Emperor's voice fell silent.

+Horus, do you still remember why I confined you to the north of the galaxy? +

"Of course, Father."

The Wolf God nodded: He would not forget any of the words his genetic father had specifically told him, especially these words with a sense of mission. Horus had a special database to record them, which was placed in the room where he was responsible for recording the intelligence of every blood brother. Usually, there would be at least a team of Gastalins guarding there.

It is not an easy task to become the most beloved son of the Lord of Mankind and the most respected brother of most of the Primarchs: at least for Horus, maintaining his good personal image takes up more of his mind than commanding the war.

But the rewards are also generous, and the title of Warmaster is not even the most precious one: when the Wolf Shepherd God begins to talk, his heart will ache with excitement because of the glory and status he sees, and his throat and voice will tremble involuntarily.

"In the land of Ullanor, when you promised me the crown of the Warmaster during our conversation, you also told me about the choice of the kingdom: because the north of the galaxy is a burden that only I can bear. This is a choice under objective conditions."

Horus smiled brightly, showing great self-confidence.

"First of all, my home planet Cthonia is too close to Holy Terra, and the primarch's plan to assign the entire Solar Segment to the Empire under the governance of Holy Terra is an unshakable premise. Therefore, you must choose another piece of land for me."

"And considering that my blood brothers came from all over the galaxy, when they established their kingdoms, most areas in the galaxy were reasonably allocated. The only two areas left were the Taiping star field on the west side of the galaxy, and the northern part of the galaxy, which was made up of a part of the Misty star field and the Far East star field."

"Considering that I, as the Warmaster, have my own responsibilities for the Great Crusade, my fiefdom naturally cannot be the relatively remote Pacific Segmentum. Therefore, the only remaining choice is the northern part of the Milky Way, that is, the power vacuum between Fenris and Isstvan, and from Baal to Caliban."

"This hollow area is far away from any legion's home planet. It is rich and chaotic, filled with countless independent regimes and alien empires. It is one of the main areas that the Imperial Army will attack in the next phase of the Great Crusade. At the same time, it is not particularly far from Terra. The southern border can touch the gateway to the Solar Segmentum, and it can support other fronts at any time."

"After comprehensive consideration, this place is the most suitable place for me to become my next kingdom. Let me and the Luna Wolves use conquest and iron fist to transform the last unowned land in the Milky Way into loyal subjects under the flag of the Double-Headed Eagle."

The wolf shepherd god smiled.

"You also told me that this fiefdom, which is larger than five hundred worlds, will be a huge challenge. The rewards for conquering it are countless, but the conquest itself is difficult. And I am the only one among all your descendants who has the confidence and determination to complete this challenge."

＋At least for now, yes. ＋
The Emperor did not deny it.

+Among your brothers, some actually have the talent for conquest and governance, but they have become lazy now. They have their own responsibilities and weaknesses, and no longer have the ambition to expand territory: you are the only one who still maintains a strong fighting spirit. +
The Primarch the Emperor was referring to was definitely not his brother Guilliman.

Horus thought in his mind.

But on the surface, the Wolf Shepherd God raised another question at the right time.

"So, Dad, what does this have to do with the funeral I'm about to attend?"

＋A huge relationship. ＋
The Emperor pointed to the list.

+As you said, this area in the north of the Milky Way was not under the influence of any legion in the past, so during the Great Crusade, no matter which fleet recaptured the world here, they would not appoint a governor who was close to them, but would directly select one from Terra. +
"I know."

The Shepherd God nodded.

During the Great Crusade, when a Primarch and their Legion reclaimed a new world for the Imperium of Man, the Legion would have a great influence on the outcome when choosing the ownership and ruler of this new world: they could simply appoint a Governor who was close to the Legion and assign the world to the Primarch's sphere of influence.

Although there is no explicit rule, this is basically an unspoken rule tacitly accepted by the entire Empire, and all the Primarchs have profited from it: the most famous among them are Guilliman and Morgan, who established two huge kingdoms and became superpowers that can stand shoulder to shoulder with Terra.

Although Horus's profits were not as great as his brothers, under the banner of the Luna Wolves, there were at least dozens of worlds that would swear allegiance to the Wolf God.

Perhaps it was a coincidence that most of these worlds were concentrated in the north of the Milky Way, basically in the future territory of the Wolf Kingdom: but in other corners of the sealed country, the governors personally selected by Terra still occupied the majority. Horus was secretly troubled by this matter. He did not want to see the old seal holder who made a living leave any traces on his land.

But... speaking of this...

Horus suddenly thought of something.

He suddenly lowered his head and carefully looked over the list in his hand again.

These dead... yes... they...

"Father...they are all..."

＋They are all imperial governors who were summoned by Malcador to attend the meeting. ＋
The Emperor waved his hand.

+ As you know, in order to better enforce my decrees on Nikaia, the Terra government has issued conscription orders to powerful governors from all over the galaxy, but there are particularly many governors from the Solar Segment and the Northern Galaxy, because only most of the governors from these two regions are personally selected by Holy Terra. +
+So...+
Horus could hear the Lord of Mankind's voice growing colder.

+After your brother Magnus caused a disaster, the Imperial Governors of these two places suffered the heaviest casualties: at least 300 Governors were crushed to death by the collapse of a hall specially prepared for them. Many of them were governors of star regions, in charge of more than a dozen or even dozens of star systems, and enjoyed perfect prosthetic transformation technology, but there were still very few who survived. +
＋To be more specific, only about 30% of the people can return alive, and the rest need to prepare a funeral as respectable as possible on Nikaea, and then bring his body or ashes back to the north: this is the task I have prepared for you. ＋
"..."

The Wolf God did not respond immediately. He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. The tip of his tongue was incredibly dry, but he could not stop the excitement rising in his heart: Although he felt distressed for the Emperor's exhaustion, most of Horus' heart was still occupied by joy.

opportunity!

This is an opportunity!
While Malcador is preoccupied with such heavy losses, he will have a great opportunity to completely eliminate the remaining Terra forces in the Wolf Kingdom and completely control the vast land in the north of the galaxy!
It would take at least ten years for the seal holder to fully recover from the tragic loss of Nikaea. This period of time was enough for the wolf god to turn his wolf kingdom into an impenetrable steel kingdom: Who could have imagined that not long ago, he was still worried about how to win over and divide these governors.

But here he was, profiting from his brother's folly.

Really...

Horus opened his mouth, not knowing how to describe his current mood, but he dared not let the Emperor see any clues: after quickly suppressing the excitement in his mind, the Wolf God quietly waited for the Emperor's instructions.

"So, what you mean is..."

+It's very simple. +
The emperor's words were concise and to the point.

+ I hope you can hold funerals for these governors from the north, serve as the host of their funerals, and then bring the remains of these governors back to their hometowns with your Luna Wolves Legion, and try your best to suppress the great turmoil that the Nikea incident will cause in the north of the galaxy: Horus, this is not an easy task. +
indeed so.

The Wolf Shepherd God knew it well, but he still nodded firmly.

"Leave it to me, Father."

When it comes to the Nikaea incident, the Primarch naturally thought of a possibility.

"But, Father: you won't tell them what happened on Nikaea?"

＋Not to anyone. ＋
The Lord of Mankind's attitude was more resolute than Horus had ever seen.

+Everything that happened on Nikaea must be kept strictly confidential, and all parties involved must undergo memory erasure, including you and me: I don't want anyone to know what kind of stupidity and tragedy happened on this land. +
"Memory wipe?"

The Primarch hesitated for a moment, as the word reminded him of something bad: his missing brother and his legion, but in the next second, the Wolf God personally shattered his hesitation in his heart.

This is different!
Although it is still unknown what mistakes his lost brother made, this is different from Magnus. His lost brother may have excusable circumstances, but Magnus did make a big mistake: no matter how outrageous the mistakes made by the eleventh primarch were, they could never compare to the tragedy on Nikaea.

That's it.

The Wolf Shepherd God took a deep breath.

"I see, Father: will we forget all that has happened here?"

＋I hope so. ＋
The Emperor looked at him and smiled the way only a father could.

＋But, my Horus, I will let you remember part of it: because you are the more special one, and one of the few people I can fully trust, you have the right and obligation to know more than others. ＋
"it is my responsibility."

Horus raised his chin: he felt warm in his heart, and then he suddenly thought of something exciting.

"So: does this mean you will perform my memory erasure ritual yourself?"

＋It's done. ＋
The Emperor pointed to his eyes and then handed him a mirror.

＋Look at this, my child.＋
The wolf god took it, and the smooth mirror surface immediately revealed his godly face: in the sculptors' ultimate fantasy, every contour and every muscle on the original body's face appeared so perfect, and the demeanor displayed by this face alone could make the whole world surrender to it.

Hmm... He seems more handsome now. Horus nodded: Then he noticed the difference.

His eyes, his left eye, had been aching slightly since a while ago: the flesh and blood that originally filled it had long since disappeared, replaced by a smooth piece of material that could not be told whether it was metal or some other high-tech synthetic material. When the mirror shone on it, a dim golden light was so similar to that of the Emperor.

It was a lifelike prosthetic eye, its textures and details golden, and pulsing with psychic vibrations: clearly, this was the gift the Emperor had bestowed upon him, an implant of supreme power, a soul more like that of the Lord of Mankind, a gift more precious than his Sagittarius Ring.

Very good: when he reminisced about his time with the Emperor in later years, he would finally have something to talk about besides the already familiar thirty years and Sagittarius.

＋I made some more modifications.＋
Noticing Horus's great satisfaction with the golden prosthetic eye, even the Emperor became noticeably proud: he patiently acted as a tour guide, explaining the functions of the prosthetic eye to Horus one by one.

Of course, there are some things that the Emperor will never tell, even to Horus himself.

For example, he would never tell Horus what harsh side effects he imposed when he filled his psychic energy into this golden prosthetic eye: the Lord of Mankind used the most powerful means to ensure that when Horus squandered his psychic energy, he would be invisibly influenced by the Emperor, causing the golden mark to sink deeper and deeper into his heart.

After all, the Lord of Mankind would not be so foolish as to hand over this power that could get out of control at any time to Horus without any precautions: although it was far less brutal than when he treated Morgan, the Emperor still ensured that his control and influence over Horus was almost unshakable.

Especially when Horus himself enjoys such control and influence.

It might not be apparent now, but should certain beings in the Warp wish to lead his son astray, they would see what the Emperor had left behind: He would ensure that Horus would not yield of his own accord, and as long as he did not yield in spirit, even individuals as powerful as gods would be unable to do much about the Primarch's soul and essence.

The Emperor knew this very well.

But he chose to remain silent: these were not things the Wolf Shepherd God could know.

Faced with these truths that were far beyond Horus's capabilities, white lies were the best way to deal with them: the Wolf God was not like Morgan at the beginning. He was very important and was far from an asset that could be abandoned or risked. The Emperor did not want to gamble on him.

Of course, these words don’t need to be said explicitly.

The Lord of Mankind kept smiling until his offspring came to their senses.

＋How does it feel? ＋
"Amazing power..."

When Horus first grasped the invisible power of psychic energy in his hands, his golden prosthetic eye began to shine.

But then, the Wolf Shepherd God seemed to be thinking of something else. He quietly stroked the scar at the corner of his eye that would take time to fade away, and then began to search the room.

Sitting on the throne, the Lord of Mankind took special care of this: losing an eye would not affect Horus's vision at all, so he quickly found what he wanted.

The Emperor looked over.

On the table at one side: floating in the maintenance liquid is the eyeball that Horus had removed.

＋Do you want to keep it? ＋

The Emperor looked at his son: the Wolf God seemed to be hesitating.

"Father...I..."

Horus hesitated.

He knew that what he was about to say next would undoubtedly anger the Emperor.

He knew that he shouldn't bring up this idea at this time.

He knew that this matter actually did him no good, and he would not lose anything even if he kept silent about it: if it were the former Wolf God, he might really choose to turn a blind eye to this matter.

he knows……

He knew too many reasons: each one could convince himself.

But...but he is the wolf shepherd god!

He is the war commander chosen by the Emperor!

He is the elder brother of the Primarchs: his father longed for him to unite everyone, and he had sworn before the Emperor that he would change his previous bad habits and treat each of his brothers like a true eldest son.

Even if it’s a brother who made a mistake.

"Father."

Horus's lip began to tremble.

"This eyeball: are you going to use it for anything else?"

＋No idea at the moment.＋
The Emperor withdrew his gaze, curious about Horus's hesitation.

＋What? What suggestions do you have? ＋

"I was just wondering."

The Warmaster gritted his teeth: there were things he had to say.

"You remember: Magnus lost his eyes for his folly."

+...+
+What are you talking about? +

In an instant, the Emperor's voice turned cold: he could naturally guess what Horus wanted to express.

"I was just thinking..."

The Wolf God took a deep breath. He didn't even dare to look at the Emperor, but his heart and throat became more and more determined.

"Yes, my brother Magnus did commit a great mistake, and he will certainly be punished and imprisoned. But despite this, he is still my brother, and he is still your loyal son. He may not be capable enough, but he did contribute to the Great Crusade. He really just wanted to find a way to the future for mankind in his own way."

+...+
The Emperor stared at him in silence: his expression gave Horus a great deal of pressure.

"So, I want to say: For someone who once used his vision and wisdom to embark on the path of seeking truth, it is undoubtedly a great sorrow to lose the eyes that can observe the world because of an accident. Even Magnus should not have to endure such a tragedy."

"Even he should have a chance to see the light again."

"so……"

The wolf-god filled his lips.

"So, maybe you can heal the scars on Magnus' body, or at least transplant my eye into him, so that he can see the world again: so that he can atone for his sins with a more sincere attitude."

+...+
The Emperor still said nothing.

He stared at his child with an unprecedented strange look, staring at the wolf shepherd god who would basically never disobey him.

Horus had seldom been so stubborn or so bold in the Emperor's presence.

+You know, Horus: I don't like the idea you're proposing. +
"I know, Father."

＋Some prices must be paid by those who make mistakes.＋
"I know that, too, Father."

"But there are some things I must say as the Warmaster and the Primarch's brother."

+Speak for your brothers? +
"always like this."

＋Even though there is no benefit? ＋

"cough……"

The Wolf God was a little embarrassed: it seemed that some of his little tricks in the Great Crusade had never exceeded his father's expectations.

But at this moment, Horus still chose to face his Emperor bravely.

"Maybe not before."