Emperor's Bane

Chapter 855: The Powerful Moon Wolf

"Full STC? Are you serious?"

"If this thing really exists, it is not impossible for Horus to establish a new Mechanicus."

On the hand-crafted pine round table, the scent of annual rings is still clearly visible. They are wrapped layer by layer like a soft blanket, marking every time their owners look back when they leave the grassland and gallop across the starry sea.

This was Chagatai Khan's favorite table, and he kept it with him after he chose to leave the steppes of Chogris.

However, for the Great Khan, who was naturally indifferent and calm, the value of his favorite treasure was actually no different in essence from that of the table he hated the most.

Objects are objects. They should be used when they are needed and thrown away when they are damaged beyond repair. If you irrationally place your emotions on dead objects, it will only interfere with your own steps in the end.

Khan has long made sure he lives up to this message.

It's not easy.

Seeing the cup filled with boiling hot tea leaving a circle of sizzling water stains on the bright pine wood surface, the Khan was silent for a moment, then frowned and reached out to wipe it away. Then he handed the cup to his distinguished guest.

"Thank you."

The man opposite just nodded imperceptibly, his tone was monotonous and stiff. If the Khan had not already known this man's character, he would even have mistakenly believed that this guy came to his warship deliberately to cause trouble.

But he knew: No.

Anyone in the galaxy, any of the primarch brothers, could, out of jealousy and dark thoughts, come all the way to humiliate another brother: but the man in front of him would never do that.

Not because he was kind: it was precisely because he was not kind.

The Khan smiled.

"You're welcome: I hope you can get used to Chogris's nastiness, Jonson."

The teacup was placed on the table, and the colorless tea was swaying in it, reflecting the oil lamp that was lit because of Chagatai Khan's personal preference, and also reflecting the golden face of the King of Caliban in the dim light.

Jonson seemed older.

For no reason, Chagatai Khan sensed a sense of calmness in his brother.

This is a big step forward.

He knew that the Lion among the Primarchs had never been a man of calm character: Jonson was a cold man, a silent man, a reliable man, but until he slowly stepped down from the Stormbird and stepped onto the Khan's warship, Jaghatai did not think he was a calm man.

Morgan is a calm person: it's a pity that the Spider Queen didn't teach this advantage to any of her friends who revolve around her.

But now, Zhuang Sen is self-taught.

It seems that independence really makes people grow up at a rapid pace.

The Khan could not help but sigh in his heart. The Calibanites were not the only brothers he had seen change drastically in recent years: not only Jonson, but also Leman Russ and Horus...

Forget it, just don’t say it.

Chagatai shook his head. He was not a person who liked to talk about his brothers behind their backs, even if it was just to himself.

"You don't have to worry about how I feel about Chogris, brother."

On the other side, the lion naturally didn't care what the Khan was thinking. He just picked up the tea offered by his brothers, glanced at the sediment in it, pondered for a moment, as if thinking of something in the past, and then raised his head and drank it all.

There is no intention of tasting it at all.

Chagatai Khan's eyebrows twitched when he saw this scene.

His finest tea is imported from Avalon.

"Are you used to drinking it?"

"good."

Jonson smacked his lips.

"I haven't had tea in a while. Morgan did make tea for me before."

"She can also make tea?"

"She knows a little bit of everything: Whenever we were having a bad time in a battle, she would make herself a pot of tea, give me a cup, and then we would sit down and talk about our mistakes while we drank the tea."

The Lion King paused.

"Besides, her tea-making skills are much better than yours, Chagatai."

"..."

He retracted his earlier assessment that Jonson had become more stable.

The Khan was silent: he suddenly understood why Jonson was even less regarded than Conrad by many of his brothers.

At least Konrad had brought him a gift the last time he visited: although anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Night Haunter had simply mixed up the gifts he had received from his different Primarch brothers.

But it was better than Jonson: the Calibans really had nothing.

The Khan took a sip of tea and shook his head in his heart at the brother in front of him.

He led the First Legion's fleet out of Mandeville Point in a swagger. If the signal had not been received in time, the White Scars Fleet responsible for patrolling the border would have almost opened fire. He also did not say why he came, but stubbornly demanded a meeting with Chagatai Khan.

If Chagatai Khan had not always thought that he had a clear conscience, the only problem he might have was the tax issue. But Jonson would not be the one collecting tax bills for those mortals on Holy Terra, right?

Moreover, he did want to get some information out of Jonson: the whole galaxy knew that the main force of the First Legion had just completed a joint expedition with the Sixteenth Legion, but the specific contents were still unknown to the outside world, not even to the Khan.

In fact, when Horus solemnly invited Jonson to go with him, and Jonson actually agreed, the news caused quite a stir in the empire and shocked many observers.

After all, the confrontation between the Warmaster and the Lion on Ullanor happened only more than thirty years ago: to be more specific, it was in the news thirty-eight years ago. Since that incident, regardless of the relationship between the other Primarchs, Horus and Jonson have always been more embarrassed.

Moreover, over the years, the Dark Angels and the Luna Wolves have never stopped their tit-for-tat confrontation: the border between the two Primarchs' fiefdoms is long and desolate, and small-scale bloody conflicts between patrols and mortal servants have almost never ceased.

The largest one involved the sixteen governors under the Dark Angels and the twelve star systems ruled by the Luna Wolves in the same war. Without the participation of the Astartes, countless mortal troops fought bloody battles in the star field, and even knights and battleships were used.

Ultimately, the one-year-and-three-month conflict ended with Holy Terra forcibly intervening, ordering both sides to execute their respective leaders, and the Luna Wolves eventually taking control of most key areas.

This conflict was like a microcosm: in the first ten years after the Emperor left, the armed conflict between the two legions basically ended with the victory of the First Legion. But the longer the time dragged on, the higher the probability of success of the Luna Wolves. Now, there was a tendency for them to suppress the First Legion.

An important factor for this is that after the Badab crisis, both sides had tacitly agreed not to use Astartes in the battle: the strength of the elite inner circle veterans of the Dark Angels naturally could not be demonstrated.

But the Khan knew that the real reason was not this: as Horus promoted a large number of his mortal elites and completely controlled the entire Wolf Kingdom, the astonishing size of the largest fiefdom among the Primarchs was enough to completely suppress any single opponent.

Even if the opponent is the First Legion.

In fact, it's not just Jonson: every country that borders the Moon Wolves will be despairing of the huge size of the Wolf God's army when the mortal forces under their rule break out with the followers of Horus.

The only one that could rival Horus in size was Morgan's Avalon, but ever since the Badab Crisis caused the Five Hundred Worlds to turn to isolationism, Guilliman's two allies in the Far East were also affected and no longer focused on outward expansion.

The current Spider Queen has also reduced her interest in the outside world, and instead concentrated on tightly curling up the existing core territories to create an airtight fist: and almost all of the outer spheres of influence have been swallowed up one by one by the giant mouth of the Wolf God.

However, these were the lands that the Emperor had promised to Horus on Ullanor.

But even so, this was enough to cause considerable friction between Horus and Morgan.

That is to say, since taking office, the War Marshal has been constantly trying to maintain a good relationship with Morgan: gifts and letters have never stopped coming, and whenever there is a large-scale event, he will solemnly invite Morgan to stand by his side, and he even does not hesitate to publicize to the outside world the equality of their status.

Thanks to various efforts, the relationship between the Far Eastern countries and the Wolf Kingdom is harmonious: but Zhuang Sen should not have such conditions.

The favorite activity of this lion of Caliban in these years is to go to the dark areas outside the domain and carry out various expeditions: he has no interest in the turmoil within the empire, and the Wolf God has never successfully invited the lion king to participate in his activities before.

So it was that Jonson's agreement to join Horus on a joint expedition, in order to achieve a détente between the two Primarchs and the two Legions, shocked so many: even Jaghatai Khan.

He wanted to find out the truth: it didn't matter if his most precious tea was wasted a little.

"So, how does it feel to fight alongside the Imperial Warmaster, Jonson?"

When he was sure that Jonson had swallowed the last of the tea in his throat, the Khan put down the cup and let the liquid gold in it slowly cool: his eyes were focused on the face of the Lion of Caliban, observing every inch of it with great concentration.

As he expected: Zhuang Sen was still the Zhuang Sen who seemed extremely deep but was actually too lazy to hide himself.

"is acceptable."

The Lion King was silent for a while, absentmindedly fiddling with the cup twice, mumbling something inaudible, then he slowly raised his head to one side, looking unwilling to admit what he had said.

The Khan smiled.

It's really interesting: I don't know if he learned it from Morgan, but whether it's Jonson, Conrad or Guilliman, they all like to mutter a few words before they say something they don't mean, as if they are trying to convince themselves. "Not bad?"

Khan repeated this assessment.

"The vast majority of people in this world would say that most of the things they have experienced are just OK. If you delete the word 'I don't know', then it would probably be the most common sentence used by humans."

Zhuang Sen did not respond. He just glanced at Chagatai Khan quietly, and seemed to have thought it over again and again. As if to make up for a non-existent mistake, he slowly added two specific comments.

"If you really want me to say it, I am satisfied with this expedition."

"Nothing extra, all spent on fighting and negotiating: Horus's command level is as good as ever. He is a pretty good general, and now he has learned how to command his troops in a fairer and more inclusive manner."

"fair?"

The Khan raised his brow.

"Do you think that some of Horus' previous actions were unfair?"

"You don't have to cover for him."

Zhuang Sen snorted dully.

"We all know that Horus during the Great Crusade had his shortcomings, and it was not entirely pleasant to fight under him: there is nothing to be ashamed of in admitting these, brother Chagatai Khan, everyone has shortcomings, and there is no such thing as a perfect person."

"The important thing is that Horus has realized and started to improve his shortcomings."

"At least from my perspective, the Wolf God has changed his ways: he truly accepts the mortals under his command, and truly treats his soldiers and my soldiers equally."

"If before this, I just didn't care about the position of Warmaster, now, I admit that the Wolf Shepherd God deserves his crown."

"It's... surprising."

Khan's pupils dilated slightly.

"Given your character, Jonson, it's hard to imagine you would think so highly of someone."

"I'm just telling the truth."

The Lion King was still a little unhappy.

Obviously, deep down, he still didn't like Horus very much: but this just proved the value of his words.

"It seems that the Emperor's departure has indeed made Horus grow a lot."

When he said this, Zhuang Sen suddenly laughed.

"At least I don't see those damn warrior societies anymore in his legion."

"He finally realized that these things were harmful to the military organization and had no benefit at all."

"Yeah, I heard that too."

Chagatai Khan nodded.

"Ten years ago, Horus officially decided to expand the Council of Four Kings and promoted a large number of selected mortal elites to the Council of Four Kings to serve as his trusted advisors. At the same time, he also ordered the abolition of all warrior associations within the Luna Wolves Legion."

"A wise decision."

The Lion King nodded.

"But no one objects?"

"You underestimate the Wolf God's ability to control the Moon Wolf Legion."

"Also, there were indeed some stupid people who wanted to oppose the Primarch's orders, but they were all suppressed by Abaddon. Sejanus and Loken also played their roles: about five or six years ago, the last secret warrior society also disappeared completely."

"At the same time, Horus also announced that he would no longer use Xonia as a fixed recruitment point for the Luna Wolves. They are now recruiting soldiers from the entire northern part of the galaxy. The original deep-rooted gangster culture has also been almost impacted: the 16th Legion has indeed been reborn."

"That's too absolute, Khan."

Jonson shook his head.

"But I admit that the Moon Wolves are indeed a powerful force now."

"Oh?"

Khan became interested.

"A strong team?"

"Yes."

When it comes to this issue, the Calibans seem particularly calm.

"During the joint expedition, I paid close attention to the combat effectiveness of the Luna Wolves, although I am not sure whether my conclusion is reliable: because this expedition was somewhat boring, we did not experience many real wars, and most of the time it was purely a crushing defeat by sheer volume."

"Is it?"

Khan thought of a question.

"What about the legendary Golden Republic that has a complete STC?"

"There was no fighting at all."

Zhuang Sen closed his eyes. He didn't seem to want to discuss this topic.

"The Golden Republic's friendly attitude towards the Empire is simply incredible."

"They welcomed Horus and my fleet with the highest etiquette. I saw with my own eyes how Horus and their supreme leader became close in one night. The alliance agreement was signed immediately, and even the legendary STC was generously given to us as a gift."

"Of course, it is definitely not as complete as the legend says, but it is also a treasure."

"But more importantly..."

The Lion King paused.

"The Golden Republic, from now on, is Horus' ally. They are not loyal to the Empire, but to the Wolf God and the Wolf Kingdom. They exist as his allies rather than servants of the Empire."

"That's not bad."

The Khan glanced at his brother.

"Does this worry you?"

"Not that I'm worried: I'm just nervous about my duty."

Jonson opened his eyes: the Khan pretended not to see the cold gleam in the corner of the Lion of Caliban's eye.

"Horus is too powerful."

"He now has the largest realm of any Primarch, a mortal auxiliaries that outnumber Macragge, powerful allies like the Golden Republic, and loyal Forge World reinforcements like Goth and Lucius."

"Of course, the most important thing is the Moon Wolves who follow his lead. After the Wolf God eliminated the malpractices, the combat effectiveness of the 16th Legion has been greatly improved: when most of us are enjoying peace, they are still fighting against darkness in the north of the galaxy."

"Now, these Sons of Horus are among the finest warriors in the Imperium: I have put my soldiers to the test."

"How's the effect?"

"They are still not as good as the Inner Ring veterans, but the Dark Angels other than the Inner Ring veterans can no longer guarantee their chances of winning."

"I witnessed a group battle: thirteen Dark Angels Inner Circle veterans from Holy Terra could only perish together with thirty-five elite Gastalin Guards. To be honest, this ratio already makes me feel very dangerous."

"after all……"

Jonson paused in his exposition, and a dangerous gleam of fire flickered in the emerald eyes of the Caliban man.

“Before this, who would have thought.”

"The Legion of Horus today."

"Will there be a full half a million people?"

"And the Wolf God is still expanding his legions: they are expanding every moment."

"I heard that Horus wants a Luna Wolves force of 600,000, or even more..."

(End of this chapter)