Emperor's Bane

Chapter 763: Filial Son Zhuang Sen
"I'm not trying to refute you, Luther."

"Quite the contrary: I know full well how dangerous the Eye of Terror is."

Zhuang Sen bent over, took a few steps, put his two big hands together, and carefully held the ceramic cup that was running towards his face just a few seconds ago, and slowly moved to Luther's desk.

"But I'm sure you, Luther, also know that passively taking a beating is never a good idea."

Although he objected verbally, there was no lack of flattery in the Primarch's tone: After discovering that Luther still had his arms crossed and gave him a resolute back, Zhuang Sen could only quietly put the cup on the table.

He put it back in its original position, and at the same time sorted out the various documents that were disturbed by the airflow when Luther suddenly attacked: the murderous lion was a little clumsy at this time.

After doing all this, Zhuang Sen glanced at Luther's cup again, and felt that it was a little inappropriate, so he reached out a hand, put his five fingers together, pressed against the edge of the ceramic, and pushed forward.

Pushed again.

Well, almost there.

He poked it again.

That's almost it now.

The Primarch nodded and glanced in Luther's direction: after realizing that his adopted father had adjusted his breathing and looked less angry, Jonson took the opportunity to retreat to a slightly farther position.

Ah, right!

Halfway through the walk, the Primarch suddenly had an idea and forcibly changed his pace, moving closer to Luther's star map.

When the old knight Caliban, who had finally recovered after patting his chest, looked again at the debt collector he had picked up that year, he found a commander who was standing in front of the star map with great concentration and a serious expression.

Well, come to think of it, this kid usually makes him proud.

The anger in Luther's heart was extinguished in an instant.

It disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

What did Zhuang Sen say just now?

The old knight blinked: then he realized that Jonson was standing in front of the star map, pointing in the direction of the Eye of Terror.

I still know the importance of it.

Unconsciously, a relieved smile had returned to Luther's mouth.

"Jonson, you mean to say that my plan to fortify Cadia is not sound."

"From a military perspective."

"Yes."

The Primarch nodded, and the humorous tone in his expression disappeared: when the topic of the conversation shifted to command and killing, in the blink of an eye, the Lion King of Caliban, who had conquered countless fortress worlds for the Human Empire, stood alive in front of Luther again.

For a moment, Luther felt himself intoxicated, immersed in the sweetest part of his past memories: when the Emperor's fleet had not yet arrived on Caliban, when Jonson was just an ordinary brother in the Knights, with extraordinary physical fitness.

At that time, when Jonson took over the sword and armor from him and became the youngest leader in the history of the Grand Knights, wasn't he encouraging them in the hall with the same spirit: unite all the knights on Caliban and slaughter every giant beast?

That was the starting point of all the legends: if his life was a biography, then Jonson's speech in the auditorium was the perfect prologue to this biography.

A prologue that is worthy of being sung for thousands of years.

At this moment, Luther even felt his eyes moist. He tried his best to suppress his brief loss of composure, lowered his head, and pretended to think. In his mind that was foggy with memories, he dug for information about the Eye of Fear.

"So what do you think we should do?"

Luther coughed twice to make his voice sound normal.

"We certainly can't just ignore it, Jonson. The Eye of Terror is a huge threat, and the Emperor is willing to give us full authority to defend this place. This is undoubtedly a sign of his great respect and trust. We must defend the Empire against possible invasions."

"You're right, Luther."

The Primarch did not deny this, his gaze lingering on the black hole on the star map.

In fact, to be frank, no one in the Empire has been able to conclude that there is a threat harmful to humanity in the Eye of Terror: but conversely, no one can be sure that there is no threat to the Empire in the Eye of Terror.

However, the Lion King Caliban has his own solution to this problem.

Firstly, although he himself knew little about the Eye of Terror and psionics, he was not short of psionics masters around him: both the Emperor and Morgan had hinted to him that he should beware of the waves in the Eye of Terror.

Secondly...

Jonson's fingers paused: the Primarch glanced at the focused Luther and knew that there were some things he could not tell him.

That was Nikea and Magnus.

As one of the candidates to help the Emperor clean up the mess of the Thousand Sons Legion, Jonson was naturally allowed to retain some of his memories, and he had a vague understanding of the truth on Nikea: although not as good as Morgan and Malcador, he was much better than Horus and his ilk.

So, after vaguely recalling what Magnus had done, Jonson was actually very clear in his mind: in the warp that the Emperor claimed was empty, there must be something terrifying.

And if these sins, isolated from the real universe, wanted to invade the rising empire of mankind, is there a better entry point than the Eye of Terror?
Even for this reason, he couldn't completely oppose Luther's plan.

But...

"Although the Eye of Terror is indeed a galactic-level hidden danger: if there really are beings with ill intentions towards humans living in it, then their threat to the Empire will far exceed that of the Ghoul Stars. After all, it is so close to Terra."

"But, Luther: Are you taking its defense too lightly?"

Jonson tapped the table.

"You shouldn't put all your hopes on one fortified world."

"That's too arrogant."

The Primarch shook his head in denial.

"With deep trenches and high ramparts, and iron walls, we can build an everlasting fortress?"

"This is a fantasy that only scholars who have never been to a battlefield can have."

“Indeed, some places are so strategically important that they cannot be ignored.”

"But throughout history, I have never heard of a fortress that will never fall."

Jonson placed his hands on the table and looked at his adoptive father with a serious expression.

"Look at me, Luther."

The Primarch raised his head slightly, his golden beard unable to hide his pride.

"Standing before you is the Emperor's most powerful blade during the Great Crusade, the battering ram that has annihilated countless alien civilizations for humanity. I can assure you of one thing based on my 120 years of military service: there is absolutely no such thing as a permanent fortress in the galaxy."

"The evidence is me."

Jonson tapped his chest, and the thumping sound echoed throughout the room.

"In past wars, I have attacked and destroyed the capital of the alien empire, destroyed space hulks larger than planets, and witnessed with my own eyes how an armed galaxy collapsed in the face of the First Legion's offensive."

"I can assure you that whether it's the Phalanx or Macragge, or even Tai..."

The Primarch stopped abruptly.

But a second later, he continued speaking.

"Yeah, even Terra."

"As long as I am given enough elite troops and smooth physical supplies, even if Dorn has made perfect preparations, I have enough means and experience to drill a hole in his defense that is impossible to plug."

The Primarch crossed his arms arrogantly.

"So, don't expect that Cadia alone can keep an eye on the Eye of Terror."

"Even if you can really build a fortress that can withstand the wind and rain of ten thousand years, let me ask you: are the enemies in the Eye of Terror really stupid enough to stare at Cadia like a bull for ten thousand years?"

"If anyone really does this, he will be the most famous joke in the world."

Luther did not respond, he just listened quietly to the Primarch's advice. This was a good habit he developed during his military career in Avalon: as long as time was not urgent, the old knight would try his best to listen to every suggestion that stood in front of his desk.

And think carefully about the ideas behind it.

"Jonson, what do you want to say..."

Luther leaned forward.

"You don't object to my idea of ​​building a fortress on Cadia, you just think it's not safe enough, right?"

"Yes."

The Primarch nodded, and moved his finger from the Eye of Terror to Cadia. "Luther, I know exactly why you chose Cadia as the location of the fortress world: it controls the only permanent passage that can stably enter and exit the Eye of Terror. If you want to sail the fleet from the Eye of Terror into the real universe, Cadia is the only choice."

"But the problem is that if we only rely on Cadia, it will not be enough. I have been there, and I know very well how harsh the living environment is in Cadia. The influence of the subspace on this world is too profound. Apart from the air in the atmosphere, there is nothing suitable for normal human life there."

"If we want to build Cadia into a qualified fortress world, then we must station at least tens of millions of full-time soldiers on it. Cadia's own output is definitely not enough to support so many soldiers, not to mention the logistics personnel who serve these soldiers."

"So, we also need a stable shipping route, a fixed logistics world, and sufficient ships..."

"These are just minor obstacles."

Luther smiled.

"The High Lords Council will fully support our plans for the fortress of Cadia."

"Are you confident that you can convince them?"

"No: they have agreed to it."

Luther shook his head.

"Believe me, Jonson, the officials of Terra are more generous than you think: they will pay for all the expenses of Cadia, and will also provide all the subsequent supplies. The condition is that among the soldiers stationed in Cadia, some must be elite soldiers drawn by Terra personally, including some soldiers of the Imperial Fists."

"no problem."

Jonson nodded: he had been planning to send some Dark Angels there anyway, and now some Imperial Fists would do the trick.

"But it's not enough, Luther."

Then, Zhuang Sen's fingers marked several key points on the star map.

"If we really want to cage the threat of the Eye of Terror, then we must build a cage around the Eye of Terror, with Cadia as the center and the worlds I pointed out as fulcrums: just like the fortress worlds my brother Conrad built around the Ghoul Stars."

"Cadia, Caliban, and this world called Vigilant, they will become the three fulcrums of the Eye of Terror's cage. They will echo each other from afar, and each will have a large army stationed there. If one is in trouble, the other two will need support."

"In addition, the forge world Agrippina in the south and the industrial world of Vostronia in the north, which is rich in fine weapons, should also be integrated as logistical support for the Caliban Cage. And on the knight world of Darova next to the Vigilant Star, the Mandecor Knight Family should also take on more responsibilities."

Having said this, the Primarch paused.

"You can ensure the loyalty of this Mandecor family, right, Luther?"

The old knight nodded.

"The sons of the Mandecor family are in the embassy outside the window. You can meet them."

"Row."

The Primarch readily accepted advice: he was not completely inflexible.

"Tell the High King of Mandekor that if there are any of their descendants who cannot resonate with the Knight Throne, they can also participate in the selection of the Dark Angels: I will personally recommend these candidates."

"Even if they fail, there will always be a place for them on Caliban."

"Also: I look forward to the Mandecor family joining the First Legion's expedition plan."

"I'll pass it on."

The old knight leaned back in his chair.

"But then again, Jonson: we can't just focus on Cadia."

The finger pointed to the northwest of the empire.

"Look here: there is still a large unclaimed area in the northwest of the Milky Way."

"..."

Jonson blinked.

He knew that this vast expanse of barren, unowned land was caused by the war with the Randan Empire and "that person".

“It is indeed a threat.”

The primarch nodded.

After all, this unowned land was almost a quarter of the size of the entire Nebulous Sector, and was adjacent to his and Horus' kingdom: if the Luna Wolves moved westward, their already huge wolf kingdom would expand to an unbearable size.

This is something Zhuang Sen didn't want to see.

and so……

"I know what you mean, Luther."

When the Primarch nodded, the old knight was looking at him in a daze.

Do you understand what he means?
What do you mean?
Luther was confused.

How could he not know that he was interesting? Didn't he just point to a place?
“This is indeed a hidden danger.”

Jonson poked at the no-man's land.

“We need to address that, too.”

"..."

Luther glanced at the star map and saw the Eye of Terror, which was almost one-third the size of the Caliban Alliance. He also glanced at the [New Hidden Danger], which was larger than the entire Taliban Alliance.

He suddenly had a bad feeling...

"I will launch a new expedition to eliminate the potential threats here for the Emperor."

"fortunately!"

Hearing this, Luther breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately it's not...

"And you will follow me and mobilize enough immigrant ships: after I eliminate the potential threats in this uninhabited land, you will be responsible for incorporating these worlds into the Caliban Alliance and expanding our defense zone until Horus's Wolf Kingdom can no longer advance further west."

"..."

Luther looked up.

"You mean: we want to colonize a land larger than the entire Caliban Alliance?"

"Do you know what you mean by that, Jonson?"

"Of course I know."

The Primarch smiled, then patted Luther's shoulder with trust.

"I also believe that you can do it."

How come he didn't know that he could colonize a quarter of the Nebulous Sector with just a Caliban Alliance?

This is almost one-fifth the size of Ultramar's five hundred worlds!
"You...believe it?"

"I saw Morgan do that."

The Primarch stroked his chin.

"And she never complained about it: it must not be a difficult job."

"It's just colonization and development. What's so difficult about that?"

The Primarch's countenance was so radiant.

"Relax, Luther."

After saying this, Zhuang Sen patted his adoptive father's shoulder with satisfaction.

Of course he understood Luther's psychology: he had understood it decades ago: but at that time it was an emergency moment for the Great Remote, and he naturally did not have the time and energy to help Luther solve the grand ambitions buried in his heart.

Even though he was well aware of the old knight's desire to make great achievements in the stars, he could only ruthlessly drive him back to Caliban: Luther's loneliness was a memory that Jonson could not forget, and it was also a regret that he vowed to make up for.

And now, it's time to give back.

It's not too late yet.

After all, Luther is only over a hundred years old: it is the right age for him to go out and explore the world and strive to reach the top.

(End of this chapter)