Emperor's Bane

Chapter 867 Terra Crisis - Ready to Go
"It's been a long time since we last met, Master of the Seal."

Just hours before Horus's Vengeful Spirit was to sail into the Sol System, an unexpected guest, deftly circumventing the layers of security at the Imperial Palace on Terra, knocked on the door of Malcador himself at midnight.

The man was tall, even more sturdy and majestic than an Astartes. He was wearing a bright armor of the Imperial Guards, which was much more luxurious than the ordinary golden warriors. On that Central Asian face, there were a pair of ruthless iron eyes that were enough to stop the Primarch.

There was no doubt about it: the man before him was a perfect tool who consumed life, despised killing, and even despised himself.

"Waldo?"

The seal holder raised his head. He was not shocked by the arrival of the person in front of him, but there was still some surprise in his tone.

If you listen carefully, you will find that in the voice of the actual helmsman of the Human Empire and Terran Territory, there is a hint of uneasiness that even he himself is not aware of.

"Why are you back?"

Makado put down his pen and stood up in a hurry, but he did not forget to carefully arrange the documents on the table: although those were just ordinary documents, disposable items that only required a signature.

But the seal holder still handled it very seriously.

And Waldo did not urge him, he just watched quietly, time seemed to have stopped at this moment, using this strange sense of tacit understanding to remind the world: the two seemingly unrelated people in front of him were actually the pair of partners who had cooperated the longest under the Emperor.

"I have something to come to you about."

After seeing that Malcador was about to clean up his mess, the chief of the Ten Thousand Guards took a step forward, the Spear of the Solar God emitting a dazzling cold light in his palm.

He glanced at the time: it was already late at night in Terra.

"But I thought you were taking a break: I didn't expect you chose to stay in the office."

At this point, Waldo couldn't help but glance at the seal holder's office.

Anyone who visits for the first time will be shocked by the sight.

In contrast to his glorious status as the Sigillite, the supreme authority in charge of the Terran government and the human empire, Malcador's office can be described as shabby: even a small bureaucrat in the middle of the Ministry of the Interior would live more comfortably than the Sigillite.

The narrow space made the tall Waldo feel very uncomfortable. As far as he could see, an old chandelier emitted a strong light that did not match its appearance. Apart from a few potted plants and paintings on the wall, there was a huge desk and a hard chair, which were all there was in this office.

Apart from this, there are only mountains and seas of literature.

Whenever the seal holder was busy at his desk, his thin figure was like a small boat, swaying left and right in front of the endless vast sea of ​​literature, as if he would be completely swallowed up in the next second and would never have the chance to see the light of day again.

But strangely, Malcador himself was happy to do this kind of embarrassment, and he almost took a penitential attitude to devote himself to maintaining the daily operation of the Terran government: although he had privately complained to the Lord of Mankind many times about his serious lack of rest time.

But in reality, Machado doesn't seem to mind the hard work.

When the high lords, who always worked day and night, could not help but say goodbye and leave after a month of high-intensity work and various meetings, and fell asleep in their accommodation with their exhausted bodies that even stimulants could not work, the seal holder was still shining at his post.

Although in Waldo's opinion, now is not a good time to write tirelessly.

But he said nothing: when the Sigillite and the Chief of the Imperial Guards chose to serve under the Lord of Mankind one after another, the first lesson they learned was to remain silent about each other's preferences and habits.

Just as Valdor would never ask the Sigillite how many times the memories in his mind had been modified by the Lord of Mankind, Malcador would never randomly wonder if there was even a single part of the Chief of the Guards that had not been used by the Emperor.

"Sit down, but I only have cold tea."

It took the seal holder about a minute to finally tidy up his messy workspace into something presentable. Then, he walked around his desk and snapped his fingers. The originally closed room seemed to be widened a little without him noticing. Before Waldo discovered their traces, a round table and two chairs for guests appeared in the corner.

There is also a tea set on it: it looks like it has been there for quite a while.

Waldo nodded, being accustomed to such things. He sat on the rattan chair that looked like it could not support the weight of his armor at all. He did not touch the cup, but just watched the seal holder drinking by himself.

After drinking a cup of cold tea, Malcador's decadent spirit seemed to have improved a lot. He looked at the head of the imperial guards seriously.

"It better not be anything bad."

"It depends on how you interpret it."

Waldo lowered his head and looked at the ripples in the teacup.

But the seal holder discovered a problem.

"Your armor..."

He frowned.

"Is there blood? Did a fight break out?"

"There will always be something unfriendly: but it's not quite a fight."

"lets change a topic."

"How long will it take Horus?"

"It's almost there. The orbital station on Pluto has received the communication request from the Spirit of Vengeance and the Hercules Fenr. The monitoring station and listening equipment managed by your Imperial Guards have also determined the route of the two warships. They will arrive in a few hours."

"Horus doesn't play any tricks: he's just so honest it's scary."

"A Warmaster who follows the rules."

Having said this, the seal holder let out a mocking whisper from his nose.

“He has grown a lot.”

"But it's still a bit naive: he shouldn't have brought so many people with him."

"I don't care about that."

The chief of the Ten Thousand interrupted Malcador's mumbling and, in a computer-like tone, relayed the message his lord had asked him to bring.

"The Emperor issued an order: He found the fifty Custodians who were responsible for receiving the Lord of the Dawnbreaker in the Ten Thousand Corps and asked them to leave the Webway and go to Terra. He also gave them temporary command during this period. They will be responsible for assisting you, the Sigillite, to stop the possible extreme behavior of the remaining Custodians."

"it's necessary."

Malcador rubbed his temple: only until this moment could the fatigue of old age be heard in his voice.

"Although there are only a few hundred Custodians on Terra now, if any one of them fires a bullet at the Spirit of Vengeance, everything will get out of control: this is why I insisted on dispersing the armed forces near Terra and lowering the void shield and anti-aircraft firepower at the meeting."

“It’s risky.”

Waldo frowned.

"After all, the Vengeful Spirit is also a glorious queen. It is one of the most powerful warships in the entire galaxy. Even without the void shields and the fleet in orbit, the power of Holy Terra alone is enough to sink it. But if the Warmaster decides to go all out, he has enough time to bring shame to the Emperor's throne."

"Horus is a wise man."

Malcador just shook his head.

"Besides, we can't use the muzzles of our artillery to greet the eight primarchs and the plenipotentiaries of the other eight legions."

"The other eight?"

Waldo frowned.

"I thought Morgan and Guilliman had communicated with you privately."

"That's it for now."

The seal bearer put down the teacup.

"Before this, the Lord of Avalon sent a secret delegation to me in the name of the three Far Eastern nations. She can guarantee that the three of them, plus Jonson, and perhaps Angron, will only be guests invited by Horus, not followers of Horus."

"But at the same time, they are indeed curious about where the Emperor is."

"This is not their concern."

Waldo snorted, his nasal tone showing his disapproval.

"The Emperor asked me to tell you how to negotiate with Horus. You are fully responsible. You can propose any conditions, but they must not involve the Webway. You can explain to the Wolf God in private that his Gene Father is carrying out an extremely secret project. The tithe and the Emperor's disappearance are all due to this."

"What if Horus wanted to know more?"

"If he is really as loyal to the Lord of Mankind as he claims, then our Lord Warmaster should know that truly loyal subjects never ask questions on their own initiative. They only wait for their lord to tell them the truth and remain silent and patient until then."

"If his little desire for knowledge outweighs his loyalty to the Emperor, then Horus is no better than that. You can also tell him directly that the Emperor wishes as few people as possible to know the details, and that this Warmaster has no necessary connection with this matter, and the Emperor does not need to count on his help."

"Tell him that his father can still accomplish things without him."

"Moreover, since the Emperor has allowed him to soar in the sky like an eagle, he should no longer care about what the Emperor is doing in the gardens of the Palace: his eyes should always be looking outward, hunting down the jackals in the wilderness. This is what the Warmaster appointed by the Emperor should do."

"Let him learn from Jonson."

"..."

"Should I say all these things?"

"The Emperor said you have the choice: it's okay to polish it a little."

“It’s OK as long as the core idea is expressed.”

After the Lord of the Custodes relayed the Emperor's words almost verbatim to the Sigillite, Malcador was silent at first, then he filled a pot of cold tea for himself and drank it by himself until the tea was empty bit by bit: he maintained an almost suspicious silence throughout the whole process.

"what happened?"

Waldo frowned.
"nothing."

Malcador just sighed.

"I can foresee that this argument might convince Morgan, because she knows what kind of man the Emperor is.

"But the same argument would never convince Horus: because he did not know what kind of person the Emperor really was."

“That’s his problem.”

Waldo didn't care.

"The Emperor's bottom line is clear: the Webway Project must not be revealed to Horus."

"It cannot be revealed to other Primarchs either."

"If anyone wishes to inquire, it is as it was with Mortarion."

"I see."

The palm bearer nodded.

Of course he knew what the Lord of Mankind meant by Mortarion.

You know, long before the Council of Nicaea, the Primarch of the Death Guard had successfully discovered the entrance to the Webway buried under the Imperial Palace through his strange numerology: so why didn't Mortari mention it again after that?
The reason is self-evident: the Emperor is adept at erasing memories.

"Besides that, it doesn't matter what the Warmaster wants to ask for: if he wants to cut the tithe, you can temporarily agree to it. The demand for materials on the Webway is no longer that tight. We have passed the trial and error stage, and the relevant engineering technology is mature."

"In the past, a big mistake would cause the precious resources of an entire planet to be wasted. Now it is basically impossible to find it. And since there is no need to mine rare metals on a large scale at extremely high costs in the world, there is no need for us to collect so much tithe."

"What great news."

The palm bearer nodded.

"But what if the Warmaster wishes to be regent?"

Malcador just stared at his tea.

Waldo was silent for a moment, then gave a nonchalant answer.

"As long as he doesn't enter the palace, the Warmaster can give him anything he wants."

"Regent? Sure."

"But he cannot disobey any order issued from the Terran Palace."

"Then all this would be meaningless."

Malcador shook his head. "Even if Horus could agree, he would certainly ask to enter the palace."

"He will not."

Waldo was firm.

"The Custodes will stop him."

"The Emperor's orders are clear: no Primarch is allowed into the Imperial Palace."

"Neither Dorn nor Morgan: not to mention Horus without them."

"..."

Malcador frowned.

For a long time, the Sigillite was the only person on Holy Terra who could maintain a stable connection with the Lord of Mankind. Therefore, when the entire galaxy was worried about the whereabouts of the Emperor, only Malcador could remain calm and discuss countermeasures with the Emperor in real time.

But before this, he had never felt such a firm attitude from the Emperor: Valdor could not lie, and the words in his mouth were actually the words of the Emperor.

So the question is: When the Webway project was just beginning, the Emperor's attitude towards whether to invite the Primarchs to join was only ambiguous. He even had a serious discussion with Malcador about inviting his descendants such as Vulkan, Ferrus or Perturabo to join the Webway project?

How come now he has strictly prohibited any Primarch from approaching the palace?

"Did something happen?"

Given Malcador's status, he naturally didn't need to think about it on his own and could just ask Waldo directly.

"Do you remember that incident?"

The head of the Imperial Guards did not hide either.

"It was the conflict twelve years ago that prevented the Emperor from leaving the Webway."

"The enemies of the warp were rarely united on this matter. They almost shook the foundation of the Webway, but they failed in the end. However, they did cause a huge impact on the engineering and the hub city. The Tech Patriarch has not slept for a long time."

The seal bearer's heartbeat skipped a beat.

His worst fear happened.

"What happened to the Webway?"

“So far, everything is under control.”

Waldo's voice was hoarse.

"The shield machine remains stable: it is worth the effort the Emperor has put into it."

"The newly opened route is far more solid and reliable than the ruins left by the ancient races. Under the advice of the TBM, we chose the safest option. Although it costs more, it has proven to be worth it: because it is hidden deep in the webway, the enemies of the warp cannot fundamentally destroy it."

"But their combined attack still created a large number of rifts and space-time chaos, which not only devoured a number of technical elites, but also caused a large amount of resource waste. Hundreds of precious mineral deposits in star regions were destroyed. Otherwise, there would be no need for us to increase the tithe to this level."

"But the biggest problem is that the enemies of the Warp have not left. They are still staying around the Webway. As long as the Emperor leaves, they will immediately launch an offensive. We dare not bet whether the new Webway can withstand the next wave of attacks without the Emperor."

"Um……"

The seal bearer nodded seriously.

The situation was not beyond his expectations: facing the Emperor's Webway plan, the counterattack of the Four Chaos Gods was indeed swift, but so far, the situation was still under control. Compared with the Sigillite's pessimistic attitude towards the Webway, the current progress could be said to be a pleasant surprise.

But the problem is...

"What does this have to do with the Primarch?"

“It matters a lot.”

Waldo leaned forward and spoke to the seal holder in an extremely low voice.

"During the last conflict, the Emperor realized a problem. Although the enemies of the Warp could not destroy the Emperor's Webway through direct means due to the special location of the TBM and the new Webway itself, their own power was enough to do all this: they only lacked a detonation point."

"You mean..."

Malcador simply blinked and instantly understood the situation.

"If those guys can capture, bewitch or induce a Primarch to go near the Emperor's Webway, they can use him as a drill to break through the shield machine's engineering. Then the demons of the Warp will file in and completely destroy the Emperor's plan with war."

“That’s the worst possible scenario.”

Waldo nodded.

"But fortunately, because of the TBM, the Emperor did not choose to use the ancient webway left by the Eldar, and the TBM also gave the best solution: although the cost of the newly built webway was far higher than expected, its solidity and remoteness were guaranteed."

"If the Primarch who was bewitched by Chaos only stayed outside the Webway, it would not be enough to truly blow up the Webway's barriers. At most, it would only cause new shocks."

"But if they could enter the Webway from an entrance like the Imperial Palace, and destroy it from the inside, even the Emperor would be powerless to prevent the tragedy: this is why the Lord of Mankind requires all Primarchs to stay away from the Imperial Palace."

"Because right now, the only entrance to the new Webway is inside the palace."

"We dare not gamble, Sigillite."

"Even the Emperor wouldn't dare to gamble."

"All his energy and attention have been dispersed. He must constantly monitor the actions of the enemy in the warp and the status of the shield machine. The surviving technical patriarchs are not completely reliable. Compared with Holy Terra, they are more inclined to the interests of Mars itself."

"If we hadn't promised that after suppressing the rebellion in Kalborhar, the Emperor would hand over the wealth of Mars to the Tech-Patriarchs in the name of the Omnissiah, they wouldn't have worked so hard on the Webway project. But we can't do without them for now, and the Emperor won't allow anyone to leave the palace, which would lead to the possibility of leaks."

"Of course, no one is allowed to enter the palace at this moment."

"That's it..."

Malcador sighed and placed the cup on the table.

"If that's the case, it will be very difficult to convince Horus."

"Don't be too discouraged."

Waldo was quite relaxed.

"Just like I said before."

"Except for not being able to enter the Imperial Palace, you can grant Horus whatever he wants: he can be given power or fame if he wants it. Even on the issue of the Astartes and Primarchs participating in politics, you can make certain concessions. The Emperor allows you to make your own decisions."

"Compared to the Webway: the power of the Imperium and Terra is nothing."

"And if the Wolf God insists on meeting with the Lord of Mankind, I have a real-time projection left by the Emperor, which allows Horus to communicate with the Emperor in real time. With the Wolf God's psychic power, he can naturally detect whether this is true or false."

"not enough."

The seal bearer just shook his head.

"I know Horus. He is now more mature than I thought. He is no longer the child who only expects praise from the Emperor. He has more ambitions, more followers and more burdens behind him. He wants more."

"Believe me, even if Horus could see the Emperor in person, he would not immediately believe that it was his father. Moreover, he would use all means to invite the Emperor to appear in public and erase the previous rumors. A real-time projection would not impress him."

"No need to convince him."

The leader of the Imperial Guards chuckled.

"It is enough to convince the eight Primarchs who did not come, the smarter ones among the eight Primarchs who came, as well as Dorn and Leman Russ: Horus alone, even an enraged Warmaster, cannot shake the order of the Empire."

"That's what I said."

The Sigillite rubbed his temple: He had never been optimistic about the Emperor's plan.

But he had no choice.

"Well, I just hope that the concessions in power, status, and fame will be enough to satisfy the Wolf Shepherd God for the time being."

At this point, Makado seemed to have thought of something interesting.

"Speaking of which, not long ago, Morgan used psychic power to tell me about the arrangements for the Regent in the Horus Plan. His appetite is much smaller than I thought. He is even willing to keep a nominal position for me, the Sigillite, and the High Lords' Council."

“Also, it’s a relief that he put forward a list of key government officials.”

"To be honest, if Horus can really convince Guilliman or Morgan to help govern Holy Terra, I don't mind giving him most of the power: after the crisis of Ullanor and Badab, Terra can no longer represent the entire galaxy."

"Morgan?"

The name made Waldo a little uneasy.

"She can't, Sigillite."

"how?"

Malcador's brow twitched.

"The Emperor finds he can use Morgan again on the Webway, doesn't he?"

"There's no one else available."

"That's true."

Macador smiled.

"But then again, wasn't it forbidden for any Primarch to access the Webway?"

"The situation is different, Malcador: and the Lord of Avalon does not need to travel to the Webway."

"The Emperor may require Morgan and her Legion for another matter."

"Is it."

Malcador nodded.

"Then I hope he can hurry up, if Morgan is not there to act as a stabilizing anchor in the Far East. I am not optimistic about the situation in the galaxy: the difference between the Far East Three Kingdoms with a Spider Queen and the Far East Three Kingdoms without a Spider Queen is too big for Horus."

"Who knows, our Lord Warmaster might decide to take a gamble. Fortune and wealth are won through risk."

"..."

"Hmm...wait?"

Just as the seal holder was chattering to himself, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten a very important issue.

"If I remember correctly, wasn't the clone he left with Morgan already withdrawn in the conflict twelve years ago in order to concentrate all his strength against the four bastards in the warp? Is there any way for him to notify Morgan in the webway?"

"You won't let me come?"

"I don't have any new benefits to exchange for Morgan's help now."

"This position under my butt? I'm sure the Lord of Avalon wouldn't even look down on it."

"Don't worry."

Waldo shook his head.

Obviously, he, or the emperor, had thought of this problem a long time ago.

"According to the Emperor."

"He and his baby girl have a wonderful father-daughter connection."

"Morgan only needs to have a sweet dream and she will take the initiative to help her beloved father."

"..."

"Grass."

(End of this chapter)