Emperor's Bane

Chapter 826 4 [King] Parliament

Chapter 826: The Four [Kings] Council

"I hope you know what you are doing, Brother Horus."

"I also hope that only we know what you have done."

"Otherwise, if this matter gets out, you know what Terra will say."

Less than ten minutes after the departure of the envoys from the Federation of Kings, the seeds of division had already been sown among the Primarchs: and were bound to spread to the entire expeditionary fleet.

Morgan and her three brothers trampled on the debris of the welcome celebration and returned to the Wolf God's private lounge. No one spoke along the way. The oppressive feeling of silence and thinking slowed down the pace of the Primarchs.

As soon as they returned to the room and drove out the offspring and the mechanical servants, the one with the hottest temper among the four primarchs exploded.

"Six whole months: how much blood have we shed in that damned world?"

As soon as the door was closed, the Phoenix Lord of Chemos tore off the bright red cloak he had specially prepared for the welcome ceremony. Under his long silver hair were a pair of eyes filled with anger: Fulgrim sat directly on Horus's sofa, and the golden Imperial Sky Eagle epaulettes left their marks on the soft silk leather.

"As a result, they turned around and accused us of being unreasonable: we solved the difficult spiders for them, but we didn't even get a light apology, as if we were the one at fault, and the land of the galaxy deserved to be occupied by these dirty aliens."

"Don't be so angry, Fulgrim."

Along the way, Horus rubbed his barren forehead, as if doing so could grow hair. He looked extremely tired, with more wrinkles on his face than the other three brothers present combined: After shaking off the wolf skin on his shoulders, the wolf shepherd god slumped down in the chair behind the office desk.

In front of him, the two rows of sofas used for welcoming guests were filled with primarchs, with the Phoenix occupying the left side alone. He opened his arms, raised his beautiful chin slightly, and looked at the ancient paintings on the dome of the Warmaster's room that remembered the victory of the Great Crusade and the glory of the Emperor, using these perfect works of art to express his dissatisfaction.

The Archangel sat on the other side, next to the Spider Queen who, after some hesitation, finally chose to sit here as well: Sanguinius did not immediately lean back on the sofa, but dragged his feet to the wine cabinet by the wall, deciphered the code left by the Wolf God with ease, and took out the best wine from it.

The whole time, Sanguinius was happily humming an unrecorded Baal tune, completely oblivious to the resentful look that Horus gave him on the back.

During this time, the Spider Queen drew a circle on her chest, then reached in and fumbled around: When Sanguinius came back, Morgan just happened to hold out a fruit plate: The Warmaster silently stared at the fruits that still exuded coldness, not daring to think about where his Lord of Avalon found them from.

The two Primarchs had a clear division of labor. Sanguinius filled the glass with wine while walking, handed one to Morgan before he sat down, and picked his favorite bright red fruit from the fruit plate on the table.

One of them sat upright, while the other crossed his legs out of habit. With a wine glass in one hand and fresh fruit in the other, they turned their heads in unison and looked in the direction of Horus, as if they had already made up their minds to be loyal listeners.

"interesting."

Before the Wolf God could say anything, the Phoenix sitting opposite him started laughing.

"I didn't know that you two have cooperated so well?"

"Haven't you met each other a few times?"

"indeed so."

The Archangel swung his wine glass.

"But I've seen one too many times someone's weak heart needs to be taken care of."

Horus shook his shoulders.

【Yes. 】

On the other side, the Spider Queen was absorbing the moisture from the fruit with some slurred speech.

[And I've long since learned how to get along with guys with wings or golden hair.]

After saying this, the two Primarchs did not forget to smile at each other: a smile without any real smile.

"Well...I guess so."

Fulgrim's brow twitched, and he wisely did not provoke the pair: although they seemed to have no cohesion at all, like a broken house, it only took a kick to break it apart.

But history has proven that those who believe this sentence seem to have a bad ending.

"Forgive them, Fulgrim."

In the end, it was the Wolf Shepherd God who was slumped in his seat who rescued his brothers.

"You know."

He smiled at the Phoenix Lord.

"It's not easy for the two of them to find a match."

“That’s why we should cherish it especially.”

"Do you think so too?"

Unfortunately, Fulgrim did not accept all of Horus's overtures.

The Phoenix Lord leaned back on the sofa, his gaze returned to his brothers, and when he looked around at Horus, his sight could not help but be stung by the thing behind Horus: it was a holographic projection of the murderous galaxy. Seeing it would remind him of the Emperor's children who died in battle.

"Warmaster."

Phoenix cleared his throat: This unique title immediately alerted the three remaining Primarchs in the room.

"Please answer my question: Are you really going to give up the war on the murderous planet?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the room, which had been somewhat noisy, fell silent. The Primarchs all looked at their brother, while Horus remained silent: it seemed that this choice was still truly bothering him.

"Fulgrim."

The Warmaster's answer came more like a sigh.

"I can only say: I am willing to reserve the right to avenge those who died in battle."

"Then you don't have to hesitate."

Phoenix raised one hand and clenched his fist to make his words seem more convincing.

"Six months. We fought on that damn world for six months. Armored units and Titan legions were dispatched to completely wipe out this race. Hundreds of Astartes warriors shed his blood, and victory was only one step away from us."

"We have driven those damn aliens back to their last lair in the high latitudes. This battle is no longer suspenseful. The only thing to do now is to seal off all their nests, or simply inject poison gas into them, so that those damn eight-legged beasts will completely disappear from the galaxy."

"Leave it to the Emperor's Children: we only need three days to accomplish this."

"If it doesn't work, then just drop a virus bomb on this world."

"Whatever: Do we have to wait for these giant spiders to flourish again?"

"But we have reached an agreement with the Federation of Kings on this matter."

Horus retorted instinctively

“They won’t even give you a piece of paper!”

Fulgrim threw his hands to the sky, showing his extreme speechlessness.

"Listen to them: We shouldn't interfere with the lives of these giant spiders."

"It's as if we are the ones at fault!"

"These bastards even forgot that they had bled because of these giant spiders, and now they blame us instead: I have seen humans who are willing to degenerate and get along with alien races, but I have never seen such a disgusting mental alien."

"Hear my words, Horus: they have no place in the Emperor's Galaxy."

"Whether it's those spiders or the damned Commonwealth of Kings: they should all disappear."

"Are you signaling that I should declare war?"

Horus frowned.

"After the Federation of Kings and I have expressed goodwill to each other."

"Their good intentions are worth nothing."

Fulgrim raised his chin.

"Believe me, they have no interest in signing a peace agreement with you. I can see through their minds. I know what these hypocritical guys are thinking: they regard us as a group of bloodthirsty barbarians. They greet you out of pity, not because they want to establish any friendship with you."

"I think you are too pessimistic."

The wolf-god seemed unmoved.

"Unless it is absolutely necessary, war should always be the last option, brother."

"And you've also seen that the three warships they sent out in an emergency were no less powerful than the Queen of Glory, and their combat power is unknown. It's no small matter to go to war with such a civilization. Although it's not as powerful as the former Randan and Ullanor, a hostile Federation of Kings would be a headache, enough to stir up unrest on the borders of the empire."

"Then we should get rid of them!"

Phoenix's tone was firm.

"Just in time for our army to gather!"

【It’s not that simple, brother.】

This time, before the Wolf God could come up with any rebuttal, the Spider Queen had already put down her wine glass and took the initiative to block the Phoenix's verbal offensive for the Warmaster: In Horus's somewhat surprised eyes, the Lord of Avalon just smiled at him gently.

Morgan certainly didn't stand up against the Phoenix just for Horus.

You know, when Fulgrim said to assemble the army, he naturally included the Dawnbreakers in it: although Morgan brought tens of thousands of elite veterans of the legion for this expedition, she had no intention of losing these people here.

Now, to fight against the Federation of Kings, whose strength is unknown but certainly not too weak?
What a great idea, a display of Imperial military prowess: just don't get her legions involved.

【You need to consider more reasons. 】

But on the surface, the Spider Queen acted fair.

[As you said, your three legions have been fighting on the murderous planet for six months. They are not in the best condition now, and my legion is understaffed. You know, it's an old problem. It can't take on the main front of the war.]

[At the same time, we also lack sufficient fleets and mortal auxiliary troops. The number of Titans is not that large. After all, time is still quite tight. Horus only dispatched two understaffed legions: With this configuration, we want to fight against a pocket empire that has been passed down for at least three thousand years? Then we should at least call two more brothers over. ]

"..."

"You are right: I was a little impulsive on this issue."

Fulgrim still maintained his arrogant attitude, but after a brief silence, Phoenix did not continue to be stubborn, but admitted his mistake as tactfully as possible: However, this did not make him side with Horus.

"But even so, I still think destroying them is the right option."

"We can use more time to fully mobilize the power of the Empire, perhaps in a few years or a dozen years. Although the size of the Federation of Kings is not small, it is not large either. This period of time is not enough for them to grow into an existence that can directly confront the Empire."

"At that time, we can still destroy them with absolute power."

"It is true."

The archangel nodded.

"But have you forgotten one thing: they have something we want now?"

“Those historical records?”

Phoenix laughed.

"Trust me, Sanguinius, I know the value of these relics better than anyone else."

“If they really exist”

"You think they're lying?"

"Don't trust anything the alien says!"

Phoenix's fist slammed heavily on Horus' coffee table: fortunately he did not use his true strength.

"Not to mention that the Cairnbridge people can't even produce a single valid piece of evidence. Just based on their empty words, they want us to believe that they have preserved such precious artifacts? How do we know if they really have a history of 15,000 years?"

"not to mention……"

Phoenix suddenly laughed: there was a dangerous meaning in the happy laughter.

"Even if these are true, it does not mean that we need to use peaceful compromise to get these treasures from the aliens: as long as their existence is confirmed, the Empire's sharp blades and naval guns have plenty of means to take back the human relics from the aliens."

The three Primarchs were silent: they all knew the implicit meaning of the Phoenix's words.

"Pretending to make peace, did you regret it later?"

The archangel chuckled softly: but it sounded more like a snort.

"I thought these dirty tricks were not in line with your perfect values."

"If you keep your hands clean, you won't be able to accomplish anything practical." Phoenix smiled back, his face showing no less confidence and cunning.

“I will make the result perfect, even if the process doesn’t look so perfect.”

"After all, who cares what the path behind victory was like?"

"Will you, Horus?"

Phoenix looked at the Warmaster again.

"I'll see what the situation is."

The Wolf Shepherd God smiled and tapped his fingers on the table.

"Being too serious or too frivolous is not in line with the logic of reality. Going with the flow is the panacea for solving most problems. However, you must always remain firm in your position, otherwise you will become a real fence-sitter, which is much worse than being serious or frivolous."

After saying this, the Wolf Shepherd God nodded solemnly towards his brother.

"Believe me, Fulgrim: I have not forgotten the Emperor's line."

"No matter what, I cannot possibly reach any peaceful coexistence treaty with a highly developed alien civilization unless they are willing to abandon all void-related technologies, traditions, and wisdom, and willingly block themselves off on their home planet."

"Indeed: meeting these conditions is the minimum bottom line for the Empire to tolerate aliens."

Sanguinius nodded.

[It's a pity that so far, it seems that few alien races are willing to abide by this already very relaxed regulation. ]

Morgan was somewhat emotional.

Do you think the Cairnbridge people will give up their past history, Horus?

"That is not up to them."

The wolf shepherd god smiled arrogantly.

"If they disagree, all they will face is the Emperor's destruction. If they can really hand over treasures related to human history, we can relax some of the conditions, such as allowing them to keep an entire galaxy, but the Emperor's iron laws cannot be violated."

"I'm glad you're sticking with this."

Phoenix smiled.

"Then... the Federation of Kings?"

"As for the Federation of Kings..."

The wolf-shepherd god leaned back in his chair.

"I will do my best to reach a mutually satisfactory peace agreement with them, but I will not compromise on our bottom line: if they can convince the Kane Blacks and their other alien friends to accept the mercy bestowed upon them by the Lord of Mankind, then all will be happy."

"But I think they are more likely to join their allies in resisting us."

The corners of Phoenix's mouth curved up.

"What do you think, Warmaster?"

"Then we will do what Ferrus did to the Diaspora fleet."

Horus replied without hesitation.

"That's right."

Fulgrim laughed: he knew which incident Horus was referring to.

In fact, the Phoenix and the III Legion were witnesses of that event: Fulgrim had been leading his legion, working alongside Ferrus and his X Legion, before he accepted Horus' invitation to join the joint expedition to the north of the galaxy.

About three years ago, the two legions accidentally encountered a large immigrant fleet in the void: it was also a force composed of a mixture of human and alien civilizations. Although they were willing to make concessions to the Imperial fleet, they were unwilling to obey the orders of the two primarchs and hand over their alien compatriots whom they regarded as their relatives.

In the end, Ferrus showed a side that was completely different from Horus: Gorgon had almost no hesitation, and after several ineffective attempts to persuade them to surrender, the Lord of Medusa ordered a swift offensive, and the fate of the Diaspora Fleet was sealed from then on.

After a short war, all alien races were slaughtered, and humans who were willing to take up arms to protect their alien compatriots suffered the same fate: the few who surrendered were pardoned by the Emperor and sent to the nearest Imperial world to endure at least ten generations of hard labor to pay the price for their previous stupidity and arrogance.

“This is the right decision.”

When talking about this past achievement, Phoenix simply couldn't suppress his pride.

"I'll consider that approach."

Horus made a promise.

"First, I must go to Zenobia at the invitation of the Federation of Kings, meet with their higher-level envoys and officials, and discuss with them the possibility of reaching the best agreement. At the same time, I must confirm the authenticity of the historical document. If the document is just a bluff, then there is no need for us to continue the negotiations."

"I agree."

In the Phoenix's grinning mouth, a flash of bloodthirsty light passed by.

"I'll go too, to make sure they're not deceiving us about this."

"What about you, Angel? Morgan?"

Fulgrim looked at the two stomach warriors who had been drinking and eating fruit silently almost the entire time, and what answered him was Sanguinius's perfect smile and Morgan's calmness beside him that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Of course I'll go too."

The Archangel replied softly.

"After all, there is nothing important happening in Bal's side in the short term."

"What about you, Morgan?"

[I am curious about their possible 3,000-year history.]

The Spider Queen absentmindedly played with the half-eaten fruit in her hand.

[So, I will go: if the situation develops to the worst, more strength will also be more protection. ]

"Thank you for your help."

Horus nodded solemnly.

“I just knew I could look forward to my brothers.”

"Then don't let your brothers down."

Sanguinius smiled, a gloom gathering in his lowered brows.

"I'm being honest, Horus. Although Fulgrim's words just now were biased, one thing in them was correct: we should not give up the war against the Killer Planet for the sake of so-called peace with the Confederation of Kings. This will have an unimaginable impact on the morale of the Imperial Army. I must completely wipe out the aliens."

"You'd better teach us to clearly tell those officials of the Federation of Kings that this must be one of our bottom lines: because this is the bottom line of the empire. We cannot cross the bottom line of the empire just to please them. This is unbearable."

"I will consider leaving an Extermination Order fleet on the Murder Star at all times."

The wolf-god rubbed his fingers lightly.

"If the negotiations go well, I'm sure they won't tear up the existing peace agreement for such a small matter. If the negotiations don't go well, the war on the murderous planet won't be a big deal compared to what happens next: we can always find a way to deal with those spiders."

"indeed so."

Phoenix was very satisfied with this answer.

And Horus looked at Morgan.

"And you, my sister."

"Is there anything you want to say to me?"

[I don't have any very important points to express to you, Warmaster.]

Morgan's body tilted a little: she was as relaxed as he said.

[It's just that I have a small question and I want to get your answer. ]

"Speaking?"

[How long do you plan to stay in this territory of the Federation of Kings? ]

"What do you mean?"

Horus frowned.

[I mean: these guys obviously don't intend to reach an agreement with you in a short time. Just look at their attitude. Even if they want to sign a peace treaty with you, they will definitely delay as long as possible before the negotiation is successful. Time is not on your side.]

Morgan glanced at the wolf-shepherd.

【You are the Warmaster. 】

[If you keep delaying here, what will happen to the Great Expedition? ]

"indeed."

Fulgrim nodded.

"Look at the attitude of those envoys: they are not decisive people."

"We may have to spend months in their welcoming ceremony, just like the Emperor did on Colchis."

"..."

"This is indeed a problem."

After thinking for a while, Horus nodded and agreed with Morgan's idea.

Then he looked at Morgan again.

"In that case, do you have any advice for me, sister?"