Emperor's Bane

Chapter 767 A new main line has appeared
【you mean.】

[An alien civilization called the Ra people took the initiative to send a diplomatic ambassador to us? 】

"Not only that, they also thoughtfully marked the location of their home planet for us."

【Well... this matter is unremarkable. 】

Morgan gave a brief summary. She held the document, looked at it a few more times, and then casually placed it on the messy desk, next to a pile of material lists.

[In the hundred years of the Great Crusade, we have seen this kind of foolish race that likes to believe in xenophilia. ]

[But then again, once we cross the Damocles Gulf, there will be a lot of stupid species like this: Is it because the living environment is too comfortable? Did they mistakenly evolve empathy?]

The Primarch asked questions in the room, but no one could give her a correct answer.

Several company commanders were standing in front of Morgan's desk reporting on their work: this time they were finally not the three old faces. They looked at each other hesitantly, asking each other with their eyes what the Primarch meant by his words?
Seeing this scene, the Spider Queen couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

Sure enough...

Giving newcomers some opportunities to perform is a legitimate thing to do, but it also comes with a corresponding price: compared to the three of us who are currently on business trips, these new company commanders are still too immature.

Of course, not entirely.

The Spider Queen looked to the other side, and then squinted her eyes involuntarily: The smooth head of Dawu, the captain of the 11th Company, was still as shiny as ever.

He was the one who handed the document about the assassination to Morgan, because it fell within Davout's area of ​​responsibility: The 11th Company of the Dawnbreakers operates independently all year round, and is mainly responsible for military patrols and security tasks in the southeastern region of the Far East border.

Back then, it was Davut who first discovered the anomaly of the Triple Forge Star System, which triggered the Dawnbreaker Legion's brutal suppression war against the betrayers: after this battle, the three powerful Forge Worlds disappeared from the galaxy and became the private territory of the Queen of Avalon.

With this achievement, Dawu was able to roam outside the core layer of the legion, waiting for the old guys inside to retire voluntarily: as one of the few Avalon natives among the senior management, this was already a remarkable achievement.

You know, another representative of the Avalonian Dawnbreakers, the [Fighting Dog] Kulin, who was promoted by Hector himself, is still leading his company to patrol the Hell Rock Space in the north of Avalon. He is still several levels inferior to Dawu.

[I know you, Davut: even though we don’t meet often.]

The Primarch smiled at her child.

[But I know that you are not someone who would bother me for such a small matter.]

[Tell me: What is there about this thorny civilization that is worthy of my personal attention? ]

The Spider Queen put down her pen and faced her offspring's report with enough respect: at the same time, it was also a chance for her to relax a little. She glanced at the person beside her, and someone would go and get her some perfectly chilled fruit wine.

"The Razor civilization is indeed somewhat special."

Dawu lowered his head slightly, and wrinkles appeared on his slightly swollen face.

"They are very powerful and... unique?"

[I am not surprised that he is so powerful. 】

The Primarch stretched out in her seat. She felt that her neck and shoulders seemed a little knotted due to long-term desk work. She was wearing a sky blue silk dress, and the black straps of the tights were next to her snow-white collarbone.

The Spider Queen lets her hair down as usual. After a long period of maintenance, the silvery luster has extended to her hips, spreading out like a sparkling cape: one wonders how she will adapt to the next battlefield with such long hair?

But no one would ask such a stupid question.

Furthermore, the Dawnbreakers are slightly different from the rest of their battle-brothers in that they are not so eager to gain the honor of fighting alongside their Primarch on the battlefield.

They prefer to be independent, relying on their own performance to achieve extraordinary results on a front far away from their primarch: then they can return to the legion triumphantly and accept the reward from their mother with peace of mind.

To put it in more mundane terms: rather than following their mentor around doing odd jobs and then being last in the author column of a journal article, Dawnbreakers prefer to run a laboratory on their own and use research results that are entirely their own to prove that they are their mentor's most outstanding disciples.

Of course, this is based on the premise that Morgan can really provide every Dawnbreaker commander with the [Laboratory] and hardware equipment they want: the richness of the Far East Frontier is precisely for these things.

It is also relying on such conditions that the Spider Queen can accumulate experience. Just by reading battle reports and merit books, she can easily grasp the character and level of every commander and fighter under her command.
【After all, Davu. 】

[Given your personality, if the assassin was not a strong opponent, you would never bother me with this matter: I let you lead your own army because I saw that you have the courage to make decisions on your own.]

The Primarch smiled, and without even looking behind him, he casually extended his finger, and then carefully placed a wine glass filled with fine wine in the most convenient place.

Among the Dawnbreakers present, the somewhat immature company commanders could not even clearly see the pale pink twin tails of Virgo as she swayed left and right beside them.

As the Spider Queen's control over the Goddess of Dawn gradually penetrated into her bones, her eldest daughter, who had a close connection with her in the subspace, also gained some mysterious invisible authority in certain corners of the Queen of Glory.

The Primarch was not surprised by this.

Ever since the Emperor decided to withdraw from the Great Crusade, more and more supernatural phenomena have occurred on the Aurora: it was not until she invited back the little ancestor that the chaos of monsters and demons was slightly stagnant.

Compared to these, the Spider Queen is more concerned about real threats.

[Can make your courage disappear: Do they have any amazing achievements? 】

"The main reason is that the military force under my command is not sufficient to achieve victory, my lord."

Davout produced another document.

"Almost at the same time when the Assassin race sent envoys to my defense zone, a fleet of wandering merchants observed the Assassin civilization's fleet fighting with an independent pocket empire fleet near the Larlan system."

"According to their description and the battlefield exploration of the observers I sent over, the fleet of this pocket empire was almost as powerful as a large-scale imperial expeditionary fleet, but it was completely wiped out in the battle with the Assassins."

【you sure? 】

The Primarch frowned slightly: she finally understood what Davout was afraid of.

An entire expeditionary fleet?

Even in the eyes of the Primarch, this was not a force that could be fooled: it represented hundreds of ships of all sizes, and even an ordinary Astartes Legion usually only had an expedition fleet of dozens of figures.

"Yes."

Dawu nodded seriously.

"And the losses from stabbing people are minimal: they are powerful opponents that require the mobilization of the entire army."

"In addition, these assassin ships also used unknown technological means to destroy all the exploration equipment we sent out. They are at least superior to us in anti-gravity and tracking technologies. They are a civilization with highly advanced technology."

"At least it has surpassed 99.8% of the opponents we have encountered before."

[How interesting…]

Morgan drummed his fingers on the table.

[Such a powerful alien race: Where did you find them? ]

"Here, my Lord."

Davu unfolded the star map and pointed to the easternmost corner of the Milky Way.

"A star system called Larlan. It is confirmed that the home planet of the Assassins is here. It is an ocean world with almost no land, but it is highly mechanized: the Assassins have only this one civilized world."

【one?】

With Larlan as the center, the Primarch's eyes patrolled the star map: when she saw several names close to Larlan, Morgan's expression changed slightly.

[You mean: Such a powerful race has not carried out any expansion activities? ]

"So far, yes: the Assassins are content to remain in their home system."

【…】

Morgan looked up.

She knew that Dawu had something else in mind, but he was not willing to point it out directly.

Just when the mother and son were silent, a company commander next to them suddenly reminded them.

"My Lord: This means that stabbing people is in compliance with the Empire's Alien Civilization Servant Regulations."

【……ah? 】

What the hell?
What regulations?
Morgan quickly shifted his gaze and frowned to show his confusion: this behavior obviously made the Dawnbreaker who spoke hesitate, but when the Primarch nodded and signaled to continue, he stood firm.

"At the beginning of the Great Crusade, the Emperor issued a special decree to the Imperial Administrative Observers: If the expeditionary fleet encounters an alien civilization that meets this law during the Great Crusade, the iron law of annihilation of the aliens can be temporarily ignored, and they can be allowed to survive as a vassal state of mankind."

"But the alien civilization must meet the following requirements: be harmless to the Empire; have no history of large-scale genocide of the human race; and voluntarily give up the ability to travel in space, limit its living space to one galaxy, and completely give up external expansion."

"If an alien civilization meets all of the above requirements, and its power is strong enough that it would cost too much to conquer it, then the Imperial Expeditionary Fleet can use these requirements to make it a vassal state of the Empire."

(This sounds ridiculous, but it is actually true: in the original book, it was the Emperor's Children Legion that was responsible for annihilating the Razorite civilization. Before Fulgrim decided to take action, the imperial officials accompanying him had proposed to him that the Razorites be made vassals of the Empire, on the grounds that the cost of conquering them was too high, so it would be better to surrender.)
(But Phoenix rejected the suggestion, and after wiping out the Slasher civilization, he drew out the destined sword.)
[It seems that there is indeed such a regulation...]

Morgan pinched her cheeks with two parallel fingers and fell into deep thought: after shaking off the dust in her mind and going back along the long flow of time, she realized that what her offspring said was actually true.

The empire really has such rules.

In fact, there was a moment when the Spider Queen really seriously considered this so-called Imperial Vassalage Regulations.

But soon, when her eyes swept over the information about the assassin, a sudden anger devoured the Primarch's reason: after so many years, many of Morgan's factory settings have changed, but one thing has never changed.

That is the hatred for any alien race.

This is enough to start a war.

not to mention……

The Primarch glanced at the star map again.

【No. 】

Morgan spoke firmly.

[No rules are needed: Dawnbreakers never negotiate with aliens. We keep this glorious record and hope it will be preserved with pride.]

"Yes!"

Several captains stopped at the same time, looking firmly at the Primarch: Another unwritten tradition of the Legion, destined to be passed down between the Dawnbreakers and Avalon for a thousand years.

【Return to your station, Davu.】

Morgan looked at the captain of the 11th Company.

[The legion-level support you need will arrive as quickly as possible. I will personally summon the fleet and lead them to ensure that this hidden danger can be completely eliminated: notify your defense zone to prepare to welcome us. ]

"This news will make millions of Arcadia warriors rejoice, my lord." A smile appeared on Davout's lips.

"After all, the Arcadia Universe has been waiting for your arrival."

[I will visit them after I help them get rid of their bad neighbors.]

Morgan nodded, looking absent-minded: the Primarch's confusion was clearly seen by several nearby company commanders. They looked at each other again, but still no one understood what had happened to their mother.

And when they finally left, no one noticed a small detail.

I don't know when the Spider Queen started frowning, and then she covered the back of her neck with her fingers: and the other hand holding the wine glass also froze in place.

She maintained this posture for a long time.

until……

------

"Pooh, pooh, pooh, pooh..."

#prprpr#

【Drink your own wine! 】

Until Morgan noticed a small tongue licking her wine glass.

Turning around, I saw the figure of a girl with long black hair and dark skin: she looked about thirteen or fourteen years old. She was sitting on her desk, stretching her neck, and licking the wine in the glass with her tongue bit by bit.

After being discovered by Morgan, Miss Lucy was not panicked. Instead, she licked the rim of the transparent cup with ease. Her pink tongue left saliva on the round crystal, which made the Spider Queen feel her blood vessels rushing.

She simply raised her hand and rudely pulled out her wine glass, but Lucy, who was holding the wine glass in her mouth, seemed unwilling to give up. She quickly changed her position to kneeling, moved her knees forward, crawled a few steps following the wine glass, and then reluctantly let go of her lips.

"Cheapskate."

After licking the wine stains from the corners of her lips, Lucy simply rolled around on the desk, messing up the documents that were originally in their respective places. She then sat down in front of Morgan, and her bare feet tapped on her daughter's shoulders from time to time.

"I'm still helping you with your work."

【…】

Morgan rolled his eyes at her and wisely did not argue with his father. Instead, he pinched the stem of the cup with some disgust. His thoughts moved accordingly, and the platinum flame burned the crystal and liquid clean.

[How long have you been listening here? ]

"Since your discussion of Horus's federal law district."

【Half an hour?】

The Primarch's mind moved.

【Then why didn’t I notice you? 】

"I'm the goddamn Emperor: I have the means to hear what I want to hear."

Lucy patted her chest proudly, as if she had forgotten that she was wearing a dress today.

[…It’s exposed.]

"It's just the two of us anyway."

Lucy tilted her head.

"What? What's wrong with that thing behind your neck? Is that thing giving you any bad ideas now?"

【It has not yet come to this.】

Morgan continued to stroke the back of her neck: but soon she made a new and interesting discovery.

【Disappeared? 】

"It doesn't want to stay with me for too long, Morgan."

Lucy smiled smugly.

“That would make it embarrassing: No one wants to think back on their biggest failure.”

[You always brag about this.]

The Primarch muttered quietly.

【Who knows if it’s true. 】

"Of course it is true: and you will soon see the truth of it."

Lucy supported her body with her arms, shifted her center of gravity backward, and leaned her head lazily on one shoulder, blinking at her daughter.

【…】

Morgan had to admit: her calm thinking seemed to have paused for a moment.

No wonder this bastard always attracts so many followers...

【What do you mean? 】

"You can't really not see that the so-called stabbing is a trap he set?"

Lucy pointed to the back of her neck.

"Obviously, after I arrived, someone who was confident of winning started to get anxious."

[So what if you know? ]

The primarch snorted.

[The Larlan Galaxy is located in one of the most important rear areas of the Far Eastern Frontier. Next to it is Avalon's largest granary. Further north is the Triple Forge Galaxy, my most important productivity trump card: once Riza changes, my legions and fleets will need to rely on the output of the Triple Forge Galaxy to maintain their operations.]

[Even if I know it's a trap: I must completely remove it. ]

“That’s what it’s looking at.”

Lucy stroked her chin and curled up her thin legs.

"But what I'm curious about is, if it was a guy like Fulgrim, she could just put out a superb weapon, but how would she seduce you? Even I can't figure out the answer to the question."

"You are truly impeccable, my dear daughter."

【Thanks for the compliment. 】

Morgan snorted.

[So, you are here to remind me that I will be in danger on this expedition? ]

"of course not."

Lucy smiled brightly.

"If you capsize now, it will be of no benefit to me."

"You should wait until I have fixed the webway before you make any mistakes."

【…】

In a sense: they really look like real father and daughter.

【so? 】

"so……"

The emperor's smile was a little ambiguous, and she deliberately dragged out her voice very long.

"So: would you be interested in taking one of your daughters to war?"

【you? 】

"if not?"

[What's the reason: Is it the mother's fantasy of doting on her little daughter? ]

"Don't worry, my dear daughter."

Lucy shook her head.

"Sometimes, some incredible scandal can make you more legendary."

"For example, I like the conjugated mother-daughter relationship we have now."

"You call me dad."

"I call you mom."

"We are each other's daughters."

"This is indeed in line with the ethical relationship within a galactic-level royal family."

【…】

"Seriously, Morgan."

"If I were to write a memoir thousands of years from now, reflecting on my thoughts on the Great Crusade and the various Primarchs, I would definitely devote an entire chapter to our current relationship: it's far more interesting than most of the Primarchs."

【…】

------

Decided.

After everything went smoothly, she must get rid of this bastard as quickly as possible.

The sooner the better.

(End of this chapter)