Emperor's Bane

Chapter 851 Golden Words Envoy Experience Card
The air smelled of alcohol, blood, and volatile organic compounds.

He smelled the slow burning of glass, a fishy stench and a bitter odor like explosives, a sticky mixture of ethanol, paint, hydrochloric acid and rotting fruit: it assaulted the Word Bearer's unprepared sense of smell.

Angertay had no time to frown, for the suffering of his nose was but one of many senses: as Ingthor led her guests into the illusion, both Primarch and Word Bearers were reeling before the malevolence of the Warp.

This ensured that they had no idea how they had arrived in a new world.

When they closed their eyes briefly as instructed, and opened them again, the scene before them had completely changed: the madness of the Eye of Fear had disappeared without a trace, and was replaced by a suffocating orderliness.

The cold air pierced Angertai's weak skin, and his eyes quickly returned to clarity after a brief trance: he first caught the pale gold color of the primarch, and then the disgusting pink of Ingsel.

But what really caught the eye was the flawless pale white color everywhere.

This messy, ruthless white color, completely stripped of natural elements, made Anglete instantly realize where he was. He and his original body were in an unknown laboratory: in an almost ghostly posture.

Is this an illusion?
The Word Bearers were unsure, but the Primarch seemed to have accepted the situation, and under Ingthel's enthusiastic guidance, Lorgar simply glanced around before following her, heading deeper into the laboratory.

Before leaving, the Primarch did not forget to signal his children to catch up with him quickly.

"Don't leave my hand, Anglete."

"I have to take care of you."

Angletai nodded quickly.

Following his Primarch, and the monster that called itself Ingsel, the Word Bearers stepped into this pure white hell.

In the next few minutes, he witnessed one of the most spectacular sights he had ever seen in his life: this biochemical furnace composed of cold logic, roaring giant machines and thousands of workers deeply shocked the heart of the Word Bearers.

Even the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra and the perfect city of Kur had not made Angertai have any fearful thoughts, but this laboratory could: the dense cables and ruthless working terms stripped the Word Bearers from the warmth of humanity and threw them into the mouth of the invisible monster called technology.

He felt as if he had reached the end of human history. When his compatriots abandoned the path of faith, they might evolve to the current situation: perhaps this was the case with the dark technological age.

Thousands of scientists had no enthusiasm or light in their eyes as ordinary people. They slaughtered their fellow human beings imprisoned in the experimental chambers like they were slaughtering animals. No matter they were vicious criminals or innocent children, wailing and crying could not change their fate, nor could they awaken the conscience of these demons in white.

He witnessed with his own eyes how these people stuffed a twisted mass of flesh and blood - a thing that reminded him of gene seed - into the abdomen of a child who was no more than nine years old. After a twisted impulse and teeth-grinding wails, the inhuman experiment was thrown aside.

All this was so similar to the Astartes operation they had undergone.

For a moment, Anglete had a very bad feeling.

He wanted to go closer and take a look, to confirm whether what he saw was real, but he did not forget the Primarch's order: Luo Jia was striding forward with a focused mind, as if the grandeur and tragedy around him did not exist at all.

The Primarch was talking to Ingthor, but he did not speak on his own initiative: most of the time it was the Cadian witch who used all kinds of crude and backward words to boast about the power and gifts of the god she believed in.

But the Word Bearers could guess: power and mercy were not what Lorgar cared about most.

If Ingsel wanted to get Luo Jia to change her allegiance just by doing these things, she would definitely be disappointed.

For Angertai knew that after the events of the Perfect City, the Great Bearer had gone through a period of meditation that lasted for weeks. He locked himself in a room alone, kneeling before the statue of the Emperor, and for thirty-five days he neither ate nor drank, with only incense and the ashes of scriptures to keep him company.

According to rumors, the Primarch's adoptive father, the old dog Kor Phaeron, once tried to enter the Primarch's room to talk to him: but perhaps his eloquence had long since declined, and after a not-so-long negotiation, Kor Phaeron was politely asked to leave the room by the Primarch and sent to prepare for the launch of a holy war.

It was lamented that if Erebus, the most gifted Chaplain the Legion had ever seen, had not been lost in his adventure, perhaps he could have gone with Kor Phaeron, thus allowing the Primarch to emerge from the chamber sooner.

But the fact is that Lorgar completed his meditation alone, and according to what he said later, this was the most important meditation he had ever had since he was born: after this, all the Word Bearers who had seen the Primarch could feel that their father seemed to have changed.

Angletai was no exception, but like his other fighting brothers, he couldn't tell exactly where the changes had taken place.

In short: this change does not alter the absolute obedience of the Word Bearers Legion to their Primarch.

So, after Luo Jia made the decision, the Word Bearers had to follow him closely. The three of them quickly left the scientists and the experimental subjects behind and walked towards the core laboratory protected by heavy guards. The further they went in, the more awed Angletai felt.

Although he had never visited a laboratory in his life, relying on his Astartes instinctive intuition, the Word Bearer was certain that even by the standards of the Empire, the scale of this laboratory and the advanced nature of its equipment were incredible.

It can almost only belong to one person.

Further ahead, the huge double-headed eagle symbol on the wall and the golden figure slowly passing by at the end of the corridor confirmed the Word Bearers' guess.

"The Divine Emperor."

In front of him, the Primarch, who had been silent until then, couldn't help but whisper.

Yes, it's him.

The Word Bearers also looked over: despite being surrounded by a golden halo, the Emperor was clad in a white lab coat, his hands were stained with blood and unknown substances, and his godlike face was full of coldness and gloomy expression, which was far from the holiness in the Word Bearers' memory.

Is there something wrong?

In a trance, Angerte felt as if there was a gap deep in his heart: some strange voices came in one after another.

The Divine Emperor...would also look like this?

But Luo Jia did not do so. He quietly watched the emperor go away until he completely disappeared from the end of his sight. Then he withdrew his gaze with a sense of unsatisfied satisfaction: Ingsel was already standing in front of the final door.

She was also looking towards the Emperor, but her tone contained a completely different emotion.

"The Cursed One."

She exhaled white cold air.

"Yet you call him the God-Emperor."

"Ah!"

Luo Jia was not angry, instead he became complacent because of this hatred.

"The Cursed One? It seems my God has left your God with some very painful memories."

Ingthal did not respond, she simply invited them to go further.

"Come in and take a look. You will see the truth, Luo Jia. You will know how despicable his actions were and what shameless lies he told. Everything behind the door will satisfy your curiosity. You will wake up, and then you will be like me."

"I swear that will never happen."

The Primarch glanced at Ingsel's slightly deformed posture with disgust, but he still walked in fearlessly.

Anglete followed closely behind.

Then, they entered a cold palace that far exceeded the limits of the Word Bearers' imagination. In Ingsel's words, this was the Emperor's personal genetic laboratory: hidden in the darkness, it was vast enough to accommodate an entire team of warlord-level sacred engines.

There are not as many equipments here as outside, but their complexity and mysterious structure are comparable to ancient relics, and the busy scientists also exude an aura that makes the Word Bearers fearful: but what attracts Angertai's attention most are the twenty amniotic chambers located in the center of the room.

Those metal cradles, surrounded by dense wires, chains and cables, and connected to the main platform by fixings, like altars for sacrificial offerings in mythology: Anglete only needed to take a glance to know what kind of creatures were sleeping in these cradles.

He began to feel cold all over.

The reason was simple. He actually felt a breath in the amniotic chamber numbered seventeen that was exactly the same as that of the Primarch in front of him. It was a breath he would never mistake, and it was a breath that made him want to kneel down and surrender.

That is...that is...

"The Cursed One gained the power to create you in his agreement with the gods, but he broke the contract he made with his own mouth. He is eager to use you to benefit his ambitions: using ancient technology and unimaginable witchcraft, you grow and take shape in the cold culture fluid, and finally become his most loyal slaves."

Ingsel told everything she knew in a long hymn, which still began with the utmost flattery of the gods, and then continued with the condemnation of the vileness of the damned. The noisy Colchian language was mixed with the truth of the laboratory and the original embryo.

Luo Jia listened very carefully. He maintained a profound silence throughout the whole process. His pupils, which were extremely similar to those of the Lord of Mankind, showed no sadness or joy, as if he was weighing truth and value.

Of course, the Primarch saw himself still in the incubator, his unformed limbs still rolling unconsciously, but he did not show any uneasiness: it was as if the embryo in front of him had nothing to do with him.

However, he was more interested in the amniotic chambers of others, such as the two marked No. 2 and No. 11, because they were too conspicuous: they stood alone, like the control group in the experiment.

"You seem to be hiding something from me?"

Luo Jia interrupted Ingsel.

"My brothers."

He pointed to the two amniotic chambers.

“We don’t seem to be coming from the same trade.”

"indeed so."

The Cadian laughed.

"Because the Cursed One is not the true god in your eyes. He cannot control everything. Among the creations he painstakingly created, two are completely beyond his control."

"In fact, one is the most divine, and the other is the most human."

"So, while they were still pure and innocent, they were torn away from all their brothers."

Luo Jia did not respond. He just looked at No. 11 quietly and muttered to himself.

"I felt sad for him."

"But now it seems that he deserved it."

The Great Speaker seemed to sense something from this amniotic chamber. He trembled, then retracted his gaze, not even daring to take a closer look at his brother.

"He is the human one?"

"Maybe."

The Primarch sneered, he was not surprised by Ingsel's vagueness.

"Go on: tell the barbarian poetry that comes to your lips."

"Are you still doubting the truth?"

Faced with Ingsel's questioning, the Great Speaker just glanced at him helplessly.

"Why, do you think you can shake my loyalty to the Divine Emperor with just a few words?"

"Perhaps that would work for Guilliman: but I am better than he is."

"Why do you people always imagine me to be so weak? What have I done to make you have such illusions?"

The Primarch waved his hand impatiently. Although on the way with Ingsel, Lorgar had used various means to confirm that what he saw was not an illusion or witchcraft, but a power that was truly far beyond his control: that is, the power of another god.

Although this truth briefly impacted the Great Speaker's original worldview, it did not fundamentally shake his spirit: in the meditation in the world of the Perfect City, Luo Jia also quietly figured out a lot of things, which now became new weapons in his hands.

Protect him from being affected.

On the other side, Anglete had unconsciously approached the amniotic chamber: he did not realize what he was doing, as if a voice was quietly controlling his steps, moving closer to these despicable artificial wombs, where lay the person he regarded as the father of his life.

Is this the truth?

The Word Bearer's eyes widened, his heart burning painfully.

His father, their father, had been the product of ancient blood rituals and forbidden technology.

He is neither as sacred as in the stories nor as glorious as imagined. The God-Emperor they worshipped used the gifts of other forgotten gods to shape his own sons: prayers and witchcraft were engraved on the incubation chambers of the primarchs. This is definitely not a power that humans should possess.

So this is the truth, this is the sad truth and the answer: what they worship is not a god at all, but a thief who possesses technology and luck. They have been deceived all along, and their fathers and legions were born in humiliation.

Think about what the bloody experiments he had just seen would produce: procedures that were highly similar to the operations that every Astartes warrior had undergone, the connection between the two was known to everyone, and the countless tyrants and mad scientists they had sworn to strangle and slaughter in the name of the God-Emperor, how different were these from what he had seen?

What they defend, what they believe in, what they hate, what they kill...

Everything is so similar.

Everything is just lies under falsehood and disguise.

That’s right…that’s right…that’s it…

Yes, yes…

He should do something.

Someone seemed to be talking to him, filling his brain and mind, or as if he was just talking to himself. The Word Bearer was not sure: but he was sure that he could hear the sound of the trigger being pulled on the hilt, the sound of metal rubbing against each other, and the sparks flashing on the blade.

The electricity has been activated.

For no reason, he had such a bold but correct idea: he seemed to be told that Geller's position of protecting these amniotic chambers would become invalid in the future, and he only needed to raise the sword in his hand to nip all the lies in the bud.

Let's do it.

that's it.

For Lorka.

For the truth.

Let this all start...

"What are you doing!"

A voice so familiar that he wanted to kneel down immediately, rudely interrupted Angertai's final plan. An unshakable force tightly grasped the raised sword. The Word Bearer looked up blankly, only to see the cold and ruthless eyes of his gene father.

Lorgar grabbed his sword, the Primarch's flesh was being burned by the flames on it, but the anger in Lorgar's heart was more trembling than the pain he experienced in reality: however, this anger was not directed at Angertai.

When the Word Bearers were about to kneel down in confusion and trembling for their primarch, Lorgar had already gently waved his hand and tossed Angerte aside: to a position where he would never do anything stupid again.

Then, the Great Bearer, filled with all his anger, turned his head and looked at Ingsel who was still standing there.

The Primarch's questions came out word by word from between his trembling teeth.

"I told you, I warned you: I warned you and your gods!"

"Never! Never! Never lay a hand on my offspring, don't bring them into this!"

"Do you think I'm a coward? Or do you think I'm as ruthless as the legend says?"

"Do you think I will just watch you guys manipulate my child and do nothing?"

The Primarch was roaring. He had never been in such a real rage: even after the incident in the Perfect City, during the half-century of endless holy wars and fighting, Angertai had never witnessed Lorgar's anger as strong as it was at this moment.

The Primarch bent down, like a top carnivorous beast, staring at Ingsel who was still in a daze. Angertai couldn't even see how Lorgar moved. He didn't blink or stare blankly, but in a moment of error, the Primarch had already grabbed Ingsel's throat.

His last bit of sanity prevented him from killing the Cadians outright.

"I've heard enough of the primitive myths."

"Now, it's time to tell me what I think."

The Primarch was laughing, and his sarcastic expression revealed a terrifying majesty.

"Listen, whatever your god asked you to do to me, you have already failed."

"No... not yet..."

Angertai was shocked. When the primarch's rage burned in front of her and when the primarch's palm was strangling her neck, Ingsel, who was no stronger than a mortal, could still struggle to make a clear sound.

She looked at Lorja, and her gaze was the same as at the beginning, without any awe or fear towards the Primarch.

In fact: she was even smiling, albeit a forced one, with blood trickling from between her teeth which were beginning to break.

"I have told you the truth, beloved Lorgar. No matter how angry and upset you are, you cannot deny it: you know that all this is true. You know that your father is not a god, nor does he want to be a god. He deceived you in this laboratory, in your perfect city."

"The true God is someone else: you are following only the wrong path."

"you……"

"so what!"

Ingsel's heart, it seemed that there were still thousands of words to be expressed, but the Primarch was no longer interested in listening: under the shocked gaze of Angertai who was struggling to get up, Lorgar raised one hand, pinched Ingsel's neck, and lifted the witch high into the air.

The dim light in the laboratory was projected onto the metal amniotic chamber, and then onto the Primarch and his prey, making this bloody scene seem uneasy. In the gurgling culture fluid, the unformed Sons of God were swaying irregularly, as if witnessing all this happening.

"Listen carefully, I will only say this once."

Luo Jia stared at his prey with a slight smile on his face.

"You can tell me the history of my father. You can speak for your gods and complain to me about how cruel and despicable my father was and how he lied all the time."

"Put the facts before me, for I will not deny anything."

"But, let me tell you."

"Every time you mention one of his past crimes, my devotion to him grows, and my pride grows."

"Why are you……"

Ingsel breathed hard, and she seemed to lose her composure for the first time.

"why?"

The Primarch grinned.

"Look at me, you pathetic witch."

"I am Lorgar, the Primarch who led the Word Bearers Legion for the God-Emperor. I conquered Colchis with a holy war, and forged the perfect city with piety. I have made mistakes, but I have made up for them with my blood. I have conquered countless worlds for the Emperor, and I have personally purified more heretics and unbelievers than all the stars you have ever seen in your life combined!"

"I am a killer, a burner, a destroyer, a conqueror. I destroy towns, I devour civilizations, I destroy idols of heretics, I raze disloyal worlds. My hands are filled with countless crimes, and my cruelty is enough to make the death gods of aliens sleepless."

"And now, you, a woman who has never left your ridiculous tribe's lair in your entire life, are standing in front of me, denouncing the mistakes made by my God to me, a devout believer who has committed countless crimes?"

"Despicable? Deceitful? Heartless? Stealing? And treacherous?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Do you think I haven't done these things?"

"Do you think these can compare to even the smallest crimes I have ever committed?"

"Do you think that hearing this alone would cause me to lose my parents, that I would no longer be worthy of my respect for the God-Emperor, that I would abandon him for another god: because I would be so foolish as to regard my father as a pure and flawless Supreme Angel after witnessing the wars and slaughter he insisted on?"

"Let me tell you!"

"I don't mind him lying to us because I know that we don't deserve to know the truth yet."

"I do not care what power he stole from your gods, for I am certain that he committed such a crime for humanity, for us: to sacrifice the interests of you heretics for the sake of humanity, is this not the most sacred sacrifice in the Great Crusade?"

"Why should I blame my God for the losses you have suffered?"

"He is paying, cheating and committing atrocities for us: but this is nothing more than a false concept derived from the perspective of the beneficiaries."

"As for what you said...ha!"

The Primarch laughed, and he gestured to the liquid that enveloped him and his brothers.

"Do you think this would shock me?"

"Do you think this would make me angry?"

"What do you think: do you think I have always believed that my brothers and I were the offspring of my father and some powerful woman? Or that we were made of his flesh and blood?"

"Look at the mighty powers of Magnus and Morgan, look at the divine wings of Sanguinius, look at the genius of Ferrus and Perturabo: How could flesh and blood create such gifts? Our birth must have been the result of careful consideration."

"God created us with his wisdom, his flesh, his calmness and his hypocrisy."

"This proves that we are not the product of desire and momentary confusion, but the offspring of his infinite desire. We are the followers of the Emperor who were unfortunately left behind in the world after undergoing a sacred ceremony: whether this ceremony is blasphemous is just a word from you and your God."

"The more angry you are, the happier I will be, because it means we benefit, it means humanity benefits."

"How...ridiculous..."

Ingsel vomited blood and some unknown meat residues.

"Can't you see? Are you still deceiving yourself? You are following just a despicable mortal! He doesn't even have the power to be called a god!"

"He's just a..."

"You think I care about that!"

Luo Jia breathed contemptuously.

"Do you think I worship the Emperor as a god because I witnessed his power?"

"No! It was his actions, not his power, that moved my will."

"What he has is not important."

"It doesn't matter what he says."

"But what he did: that's the only thing that matters!"

The Primarch paused, pulling Ingsel in front of him and lowering his voice.

Like a soft whisper.

"Listen: if you and your gods want to know my response."

"Then I have only one thing to say."

"Remember this firmly: this sentence will always be my answer to you."

------

"No matter how weak, mean, or hypocritical the Emperor is, he is the only one who tries to stand up and save the world when humanity is in dire straits."

"For us, the Emperor is God. This has nothing to do with His power, for pure power brings only pure fear: and a true God never relies on fear to attract His followers."

"He relies on mercy: all under heaven. Who dares to claim to be more merciful to mankind than the Emperor?"

"And no matter how powerful your gods are, they are nothing more than silent spectators when humans suffer. It is not until we regain our glory and reconquer the galaxy that your gods will step forward in a hypocritical manner and try to shake our loyalty with power and lies."

“They never struggled for humanity: yet they want to reap its fruits.”

"Listen..."

The Primarch smiled tenderly.

"Don't you think..."

"Are your intentions ridiculous?"

------

Ingthel said no more: for she had no time to say anything.

After expressing his contempt, Lorgar lifted the witch high up and smashed forward with all his strength: Ingsel smashed the surrounding illusions and phantoms like a cannonball, the environment around the Primarch and Astartes was shattered again, the darkness swallowed them again, and pulled them into another new world.

And in the midst of this dark change, the Great Bearer is still roaring with contempt.

"come!"

"Show your strength: don't cower like a coward."

"If there are gods sitting on the throne in this ridiculous Eye of Terror, then show me your might: my father once conquered the entire galaxy, how do you want to prove that you can defeat him?"

"Send out your troops."

"Burn your anger."

"Bring down your divine punishment!"

"I am here for you: gods who only dare to hide in the shadows."

"Do you hear my voice?"

"Have you... accepted my challenge?"

------

+……+
+……+
+……+
+…as you wish. +
In the endless darkness, the strange and twisted silence lasted for so long.

But in the end, there was a voice that responded to Luo Jia's roar: Angertai heard the voice clearly, he knew it was the sound of brass and skull colliding, he knew it was eternal rage, forcing himself to show even a moment of calmness.

He knew: because he saw it.

The moment the light returned, Anglete saw it.

He saw the beast, a beast far beyond his imagination, a beast larger and more ferocious than any opponent he had faced in the Great Crusade: it raised its whip high, and its demonic face was filled with endless rage and desire for killing.

"The gods have answered you."

The giant beast stood in front of the Primarch. It was three times taller than Lorgar and made no secret of its desire to kill the Primarch.

“And I am their response.”

……

"I'm Angrath."

"The Unbound One."

"The chief of the blood god."

"Also: your god of death."

(End of this chapter)