Emperor's Bane

Chapter 824 Peace...Peace?
After a brief discussion and negotiation, the location for the first official meeting between the Human Empire and the Federation of Kings was finally chosen to be on the deck of the Spirit of Vengeance.

Both parties were allowed to bring a team of armed guards and any entourage they deemed necessary to demonstrate their sincerity in the negotiations and the need to respect the other party.

The Federation of Kings insisted on explaining this as their duty as a host, because they believed that the galaxy for which the Empire was fighting had been their territory since ancient times: this friendly arrogance made many warriors in the expeditionary fleet begin to feel dissatisfied.

The majority of them were warriors from the Luna Wolves and the Emperor's Children, but even among the descendants of the Angels there was no shortage of people like Amit who instigated war: Morgan's Dawnbreakers were much more indifferent, after all, they had not shed blood on the Murder Planet.

At this time, the Wolf God showed his ability to become a warmaster: after receiving Morgan's communication, Horus immediately called off the war with the Megarached Spider and returned to his warship.

He wiped the blood off his armor, selected capable personnel, and personally commanded the team to set up a welcoming venue that was in line with the dignity of the Empire in the shortest possible time. While preparing these things, Horus had already appeased all the dissatisfaction in the fleet one by one.

He invited Fulgrim to work with him to arrange the welcoming venue, and during this period he did some psychological work on the Emperor's Children, asking the Phoenix Lord to return with the news of the ceasefire to put an end to the Third Legion's war machine.

He contacted Sanguinius, commanded all parties remotely, and had a sincere conversation with the Archangel, allowing the Primarch of the 9th Legion to temporarily forget the humiliation his descendants had suffered on the land of the Murderous Planet.

While changing his armor, he summoned the disgruntled captains. When the servitor wiped the last trace of blood from his armor, even the most fanatical warmongers, in front of the Warmaster's gaze and smile, promised to do their best to curb the flames of war in the legion.

While doing all this, the Wolf Shepherd God also remotely commanded the order of the subsequent troops on the Killing Star to retreat in sequence, ensuring that there were no unnecessary casualties: even the remains of the soldiers hanging on the lime trees were escorted back without exception.

In short, when Morgan and her guards boarded the deck of the Vengeful Spirit first, the Warmaster had already taken care of everything that was his responsibility: the dark clouds of war that were so thick a few hours ago had dissipated, and the once cold deck of the Vengeful Spirit had become a sea of ​​flowers and music.

"You're a little late, Morgan."

The three primarch brothers of the Spider Queen had already arrived here early. Horus stood in the center like a king. Although Sanguinius and Fulgrim retreated to the sides, their respective majesty and beauty ensured that their dignity would not be ignored.

Compared with these three most famous Great Crusade icons of the Empire, Morgan's clothing was just like her presence among the many Primarchs, full of simple style: she simply tied her most commonly worn blue-black long skirt, pulled over a roll of gauze cloak as thin as a cicada's wing, covered her shoulders with white, and hurried over.

[Someone has to be responsible for keeping an eye on these warships of unknown origin, right? ]

Morgan smiled and walked all the way to the position between Horus and Sanguinius, seemingly inserting himself between the two unintentionally.

【After all, they are not friends yet. 】

"I'm sure it will be soon."

The Wolf God declared his determination in a loud voice, and his three blood relatives gave almost similar responses. Fulgrim and Sanguinius seemed to have little interest in the diplomatic negotiations, while Morgan showed a sense of numbness?
"You look a little bored, Morgan?"

【For eighty years, I have lived with various human regimes.】

The Spider Queen tried hard not to appear to yawn: although it was fair to say that Horus's arrangements were very elaborate, and the narrators and artists from Terra also showed their value for the first time, Morgan had long been desensitized to all this.

God knows how many diplomatic activities like this she hosted or participated in during the century of establishing and consolidating the Far Eastern frontier: neither the primitiveness of the barbaric world, nor the luxury of the feudal world, nor the various unique traditions and customs, could touch the Spider Queen's heart more.

The same was true for the archangel next to him. He had the same difficulties as Morgan. However, the Wolf God and the Phoenix still retained a great sense of novelty about this greeting from a different era: the Warmaster seemed to have vowed to solve the problem with the most pacifist means, and the double-headed golden eagle on the Phoenix's shoulder was so dazzling that people could not open their eyes.

"Are you saying that all three of their warships are larger than our Glorious Queen?"

In his excitement, Fulgrim did not forget a more serious issue: the Queen of Glory class basically represented the pinnacle of the Empire's shipbuilding skills under normal circumstances. If the Federation of Kings could easily produce three even larger warships, that might not be a good thing for the subsequent negotiations.

The Primarchs had seen it too many times: pocket empires that relied on their powerful military strength rejected the goodwill from Holy Terra until the expeditionary fleet was forced to resort to force.

【There is more.】

Morgan narrowed his eyes because of the loud noise in his ears.

[According to my observation, the Federation of Kings has no generation gap with the Empire in terms of the various technological levels they have demonstrated, and is even more advanced in some areas: and they have preserved very good Terran traditions.]

“How come you see?”

Sanguinius also became interested.

[In my innate database, there are thousands of human languages, dialects and slangs from all over the galaxy, as well as the most orthodox ancient Terran language: the spoken language of the Federation of Kings is basically similar to the ancient Terran language, which is better than most variants in the galaxy.]

Morgan glanced at her brothers.

[Including your home planet.]

"It was an unpleasant surprise."

Fulgrim smiled, and it was unclear whether he was laughing or feeling annoyed.

"A pocket empire located at the edge of the galaxy has a more complete heritage than ours?"

"Isn't this a good thing?"

The wolf-herder comforted his brother, patting his hand gently on Phoenix's shoulder.

"This means that even after thousands of years, there are still wanderers far away who remember everything about the human home planet and tenaciously pass on their bloodline. Isn't welcoming such loyal descendants home the original intention of the Great Crusade?"

"Yes."

Fulgrim shrugged.
"I hope they will be willing to return to this family that has been changed beyond all recognition."

"You must know, Horus: they have not changed, but we have."

"But I still believe that we have more common topics than differences."

The Wolf Shepherd God maintained his optimism, and it seemed that the envoys of the Federation of Kings did not intend to let the Warmaster's optimism go to waste: their aircraft adhered to the most stringent etiquette and arrived on the deck of the Spirit of Vengeance, followed by a burst of strange-sounding music.

The four Primarchs stopped chatting, each of them smiled appropriately, and walked forward to greet their guests who had come from afar. Standing behind the four children of the Emperor, their personal guards maintained serious expressions, holding their weapons tightly under their cloaks.

The eyes of everyone present were focused on the first group of people leaving the cabin: they looked to be soldiers of the Federation of Kings, with tall stature and shining armor. Although they were much thinner than the Astartes, the level of equipment they had was obviously on the same level as the elite troops of the Empire.

But: there is a difference.

"It's strange."

Fulgrim's laughter echoed on a channel that only the Primarchs could hear.

"Look at them. These soldiers are on ships that can sail through the void, wearing the most advanced armor, but the weapons they hold are only spears, swords, and recurve bows: Emperor, is that a quiver tied to the right leg of the soldier at the edge?"

"Where are we? In some city-state of space-crazed ancient Greek enthusiasts?"

"In Fenris, I think."

Sanguinius responded.

"Do not take it lightly, Fulgrim."

The Archangel continued to speak, looking at the last few soldiers who came out.

"Look at those people: the equipment they carry is full of imagination and sophistication, but maybe it's just their ceremonial weapons."

The archangel was pointing at several soldiers in the form of centaurs. These warriors had obviously undergone genetic modification and had their bodies installed in silver four-legged mechanical bodies, just like the centaurs in ancient legends.

"what is that?"

Behind the Primarchs, Abaddon muttered in disbelief.

"Heavy cavalry? Are they planning to conduct a knight charge in space?"

"Look at those fragile skeletons. Without any external protection, I can smash them to pieces with just one slap."

[Are your soldiers confident? ]

The whispered discussions of the Luna Wolves did not escape the ears of several Primarchs. Morgan looked straight ahead, but joined his three brothers in making fun of the Wolf God: Horus was not angry, he was just looking at the visiting guests with a relaxed look.

"Perhaps after signing the agreement, we can discuss the corresponding technology."

The wolf-shepherd god offered his advice.

"Especially the centaurs. Their statues will be very suitable as decorations on both sides of the avenue in front of the Terra Palace. Let the artists and sculptors move. Such imaginative creations will be enough to evoke the beautiful impression of the Great Crusade for people ten thousand years later."

"You rarely say anything smart."

Fulgrim's response made the four Primarchs laugh. They were not worried at all that these strange technologies would pose any threat to their legions. Surrounded by four Astartes companies, the Primarchs turned their eyes to the real envoys of the Confederation of Kings.

【Horus.】

Morgan lowered his voice.

[Do you still remember what the intelligence I gave you before said? ]

"How could I forget?"

The Warmaster's expression was convincing: what they were discussing was the valuable experience summed up by the Spider Queen, who was responsible for remote communications with the Federation of Kings, in the hours before this formal conversation, when the other three Primarchs were preparing.

"The most basic means of communication in the Federation of Kings is called aria, which is more like a song than a language. Therefore, envoys from the Federation of Kings often bring performers named Metzi with them. They use music to serve as translators in the envoy team. Please pay attention to this when communicating with them."

【very good. 】

The Spider Queen felt a little emotional.

【You are much more spiritual than Jonson. 】

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Horus smiled slightly, then stepped forward to greet the envoys from the Federation of Kings. His brothers followed behind him, standing half a body length behind to demonstrate the authority of the warmaster: the same was true for the envoys on the opposite side.

The senior envoy walking in the front was one of the most capable men in Morgan's memory. He had intricate tattoos on his face, and the smooth fibers used to weave his clothes looked like a technology that the Empire had not yet mastered. When he saw the imperial heirs from afar, he was obviously surprised by their height.

What is commendable is that this mortal did not show even a trace of cowardice. He showed the utmost respect, but obviously, he did not think that the Primarchs were higher-level beings than him. His courtesy towards Horus was based on his own pride.

The Primarchs saw this, and found that the entire Confederation of Kings' delegation was highly united on this matter: Fulgrim was obviously somewhat dissatisfied with this, Sanguinius frowned briefly, but soon calmed down, and Morgan seemed completely indifferent to these issues.

As for Horus: he seemed to like the other party even more because of this incident.

"I speak on behalf of the Lord of Mankind."

"Welcome, my friend."

The Warmaster took a step forward. He hesitated for a moment between the Empire's unique Sky Eagle Salute and a simple handshake, and finally chose the latter: The envoys of the Federation of Kings also hesitated when facing Horus's giant hand expressing friendship, but ultimately did not let down the goodwill of the Wolf God.

"I am honored to have this opportunity, guests from afar." The friendly words of the two diplomats brought out the lively tunes of the performers in the team of the Federation of Kings. Its accompaniment was a very expressive means of communication, although it was difficult to adapt to from the perspective of the Empire: because the music was chaotic, sometimes deafening, and sometimes so subtle that it was inaudible.

But at least it makes clear the kindness and confusion in the words.

Horus nodded, and after a good start, the Warmaster took a step back, made the Sky Eagle salute in front of his chest, and formally spoke.

"Standing before you is Horus, Primarch of the Imperium of Man, Commander of the 16th Legion and the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet, and Supreme Dictator of the Wolf Realm. Behind me are my three brothers and sisters. I will introduce their honors to you in turn."

"We speak on behalf of the Emperor of Mankind: He is the ruler of the entire galaxy and all of humanity, the mother planet of human civilization, the restorer and founder of Holy Terra, the conqueror of the galaxy, the defender of our great race, the eternal king beloved by all, the supreme commander of the Great Crusade and the truth of the Empire, and the almighty Caesar who is the only one who can illuminate our future and guide us forward in this dark age."

"And we are his descendants, entrusted by him to conquer the galaxy for him, to fight for the future of all mankind and the dignity of the empire. We are both his generals and his followers, and equal commanders of every legion: The Lord of Mankind personally gave me the title of Warmaster, allowing me to communicate with you on behalf of my brothers."

The powerful voice of Horus turned into a passionate main melody in the instruments of the performers of the Federation of Kings: Morgan could see beads of sweat on the foreheads of some performers, and it was obvious that they had never played with such majesty before.

The envoy of the Federation of Kings seemed stunned by this long speech, but what silenced him was not the praise for the Emperor, but something else in the words of the Warmaster: when the performers of the Federation of Kings used their tones to introduce the words Terra and Warmaster respectively, even the roughest Luna Wolf could hear the obvious difference in the music.

The former was a slow respect, as the masters of the instruments used their awe and tears to weave together the name of the human home planet, and when the syllables of the Warmaster appeared, the discordant murmurs were imprinted on everyone's tangled faces.

"Terra... Warmaster..."

The envoy of the Federation of Kings whispered, his face filled with emotion and pain.

"Sorry, please allow me to apologize for my gaffe."

"I am Diaschen, the plenipotentiary envoy of the Federation of Kings. I speak on behalf of every equal province and every friendly race. We firmly believe in the concept of mutual benefit and coexistence. If you really come from the sacred mother planet of human civilization as you say, please accept our extra respect."

These extremely humble words made several Primarchs look strange, and even the Astartes warriors standing behind them fell into a brief silence: everyone present could hear the words "every race".

What does this mean?
Horus kept smiling and did not bring up the topic immediately.

"I am glad to see that someone still remembers Gutera's name in such a faraway place."

"We are all from Terra."

Unlike the wolf-shepherd god, the face of the Dias envoy was extremely serious.

"It is our origin, the mother none of us has ever met. The Federation of Kings has stood alone in this galaxy for more than thousands of years. If you can really bring us news about Terra, this will undoubtedly be the most important moment in our history: we will return to the embrace of our mother."

“That’s what we’re here for.”

Horus' pupils glowed: he had seen the possibility of peace.

But the envoys of the Federation of Kings seemed to be more cautious than the Wolf God.

"But, forgive me for asking a question: How can you prove that you are from Terra?"

"..."

The Wolf Shepherd God was silent for a moment, and for a moment he had no better answer.

And at this moment, Fulgrim and Morgan spoke at the same time.

"We have our own way." / [Do we need further proof? ]

The two Primarchs who had the same words looked at each other, but soon looked at Horus and the Dias envoy who was looking at them: Phoenix made a humble gesture, indicating that he would give this opportunity to his Avalon sister.

Morgan's smile made the envoys of the Federation of Kings believe it most of the time.

[We are very lucky, because I happen to have the habit of collecting art: I have always kept some artworks and original works from ancient Terra on my warship. They come from tens of thousands of years ago. If your memory of the mother planet is deep enough, you will realize their value.]

“There has never been such good news.”

“Thank you for your generosity.”

The envoy bowed deeply to Morgan.

For a moment, even the arias of the Federation of Kings were immersed in a sea of ​​happiness: but their ambassador obviously had not forgotten his original responsibilities because of this. There was more worry in his eyes as he looked at Horus.

"Besides that, please be patient and answer me a question."

"You said you were... the Warmaster?"

The noise appeared again: Warmaster was obviously not a good word in their context.

"Ok."

Fulgrim muttered under his breath.

"At least this language doesn't have to worry about unclear expressions."

"Yes."

Sanguinius nodded.

"But it's still much more tactful than the compliment you give yourself."

"..."

Phoenix showed a look of disapproval.

In front of them, the Warmaster was carefully weighing his tone.

"Does this title make you uncomfortable?"

"please forgive."

The envoy shook his head.

"But [war] has a special and ominous place in the culture of the Federation of Kings."

“We had no choice.”

The Shepherd God nodded.

"If possible, we would like to come in pure peace. There are always potential crises in the galaxy that want to bring war no matter what. We can't cross the stars unarmed to find long-lost brothers like you."

“I can understand that.”

The envoy paused.

"Then I would like to ask: Is this the reason why you attacked Ulisarak?"

"Uri...what?"

【It is the murderous star. 】

Morgan explained.

【Their name.】

The Spider Queen stepped forward and blocked the topic for her brother.

【Yes, sir.】

[But in essence, the reason why we launched a war against this galaxy is because the worlds in the galaxy were occupied by non-human races and aliens: and we failed to decipher the warning signs you left in time. ]

"That's it."

The node nodded.

"So, it's a misunderstanding?"

"Please believe that we have absolutely no intention of actively invading your territory."

Horus explained quickly.

"I would like to apologize for this: please allow me to express my apologies and formally welcome you."

The Wolf Shepherd God extended his hand again, and this time, the envoy tightly grasped the Primarch's hand without the slightest hesitation.

"I suppose this means peace?"

"of course."

Horus smiled, then motioned for his warriors to remove their helmets.

"Guarantee of peace: as you see."

"Then please accept mine as well."

The envoy team of the Federation of Kings did not show any arrogance at all. They immediately signaled their soldiers to take off their helmets: removing the defense of vital parts meant that war would not come in a short time.

That's how it should be.

The air suddenly became quiet only when the genetically modified centaur warriors took off their helmets: because underneath the helmets of these warriors was a face that could never be considered human.

These faces were ape-like, with deep eye sockets and blue-black skin, and tan hair hanging beside non-existent ears. As for the mouth and nose, they were simply an organ, with a huge crack at the end of the nose tip, revealing the wet red inner wall and dolphin-like comb-shaped fangs: just like a grinning chimpanzee.

That's the alien's face.

"Tsk..."

Fulgrim spoke again, but this time it was not a sarcastic remark, but an instinctive sigh, and the Primarch's fingers quietly resting on the scabbard: just as most of the Astartes present had done after seeing the faces of the xenos.

"such a pity."

Phoenix shook his head: It’s a pity that the vague voice can’t tell whether it is true or not.

"I thought peace would come soon."

(End of this chapter)