Emperor's Bane

Chapter 875 Terra Crisis - Futile Efforts
at the same time.

Phalanx, Mataris Hall.

------

"Your Majesty, the Emperor..."

"We've only been here for less than half a standard hour, but I feel like everything is over."

The Primarch of the Raven Guard huddled in his own chair, the rock-solid base and backrest causing pain in his bones.

Rogal Dorn was not a master who was good at dealing with people. In his eyes, "comfort" was almost synonymous with the safety of the fortress and the thickness of the armor, and he could not tell the difference: for him, treating everyone equally was the best solution.

Back then, even someone as distinguished as Morgan could not get even a glass of water on Dorn's flagship: perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, such rude behavior was enough to constitute an insult, but Dorn had his own unique way of thinking.

The Primarch of the Imperial Fists hated any so-called conversation and destruction that was not aimed at achieving practical results. In his eyes, if the outcome of a conversation was affected simply by the hardness or softness of a chair or the quality of a drink, then the conversation should not have existed in the first place.

People who really want to get things done will not consider these unnecessary off-field factors.

Of course, this does not mean that the Lord of the Imperial Fist does not know how to entertain guests: Dorn can still treat distinguished guests such as the Warmaster or the Sigillite with the utmost respect.

The Mataris Hall, which was once open only to members of the Imperial Fists, is now used entirely for talks between the Warmaster and Terra. The most elite Imperial Fists guards and comprehensive information blockade ensure that no secrets in the venue will be leaked: for Dorn, this is a meaningful way to meet guests.

As for the hard and irritating chairs carved entirely from stone that sat under the buttocks of the war commander, the seal bearer, and every participant, they were not within the consideration of the Lord of the Imperial Fist.

In his view, this rigorous environment may even have some benefits: at least it ensures that every participant is fully engaged in the discussion.

Just like in the ancient Terra Church, the venue for electing new religious leaders was also known for its harsh environment: it was designed to force participants to reach conclusions as quickly as possible, thereby avoiding more chaos during the vacancy period.

In Corax's opinion, this idea was certainly not wrong, and he morally agreed with Dorn's approach: if he himself did not happen to be among the participants.

The Crow King already felt a little regretful.

In order to participate in this meeting, which he considered to be of great significance, Krax deliberately picked out a gorgeous piece of clothing instead of the casual clothes he was used to wearing on weekdays: as a result, after sitting on the hard stone base for half an hour, the tight lines and stiff patterns had made his legs feel completely numb.

Even the Primarchs cannot violate certain basic biological common sense.

The only consolation was that he was not the only one enduring this torture.

Following the Raven King's gaze to the left, one can see that Fulgrim's anxiety was already written all over his face. His gorgeous makeup was completely unable to fit in with the pragmatic background inside the Phalanx. The lengthy and boring negotiations made the Phoenix Lord, who was used to excitement, feel at a loss.

Mortarion simply closed his eyes.

Saint Leon still kept smiling, but the white wings behind him were shaking unconsciously, and the archangel who was speaking was not as calm as he seemed.

As for Chagatai Khan, although he still seemed to be carefully reading the documents in front of him, judging from his slightly straightened pupils, even this eagle had already lost his mind and didn't care about the negotiation at all.

That’s right: information.

Although Dorn did not plan to prepare even a glass of wine or a cushion, he did bring the most detailed information for every participant: from every tithe in the past fifty years to the most detailed map of the Primarch's fiefdom in the entire galaxy. It was indeed a good thing to kill time.

At least Astartes like Lana or Angortai, as well as those mortals, are now watching very carefully: with their slow thinking speed, if they want to keep up with the speed of the Warmaster and Malcador, they cannot do without the assistance of these detailed information.

Therefore, they watched and listened very carefully: contestants like Anna, who were committed to recording every word of the conversation, had beads of sweat on their foreheads.

But for the Primarchs, the situation was completely different: even Mortarion, who was the least adept at handling government affairs, could easily keep up with the Sigillites and Warmasters who deliberately slowed down their voices for the sake of mortals due to his excellent thinking ability, and understand the true meaning of their words at a faster speed.

Moreover, unlike the others who were still somewhat confused about the situation, the Primarchs who were accustomed to holding all the power had already known after the first round of confrontation between the two sides that this meeting would most likely not achieve any practical results.

Even Corax could see it clearly.

The Crow King leaned back in his chair, feeling hopeless, and closed his eyes.

That's right. In the past half hour, the two sides seemed to have reached a lot of tacit understanding, and the Warmaster's side had achieved remarkable results: in front of Horus, the Sigillite and the High Lords had made a lot of concessions and promised many major measures that in the past, the Primarchs present would not even dare to think about.

Holy Terra is willing to compromise on the issue of the tithe and gradually reduce the originally ridiculously high taxes in the next few years. In some places that are determined to be extremely difficult, the High Lords Council even attempts to directly cancel the tithe: this is simply a benevolent policy that has never been heard of in the entire galaxy.

Malcador also took out a preliminary list of plans: even the most demanding person would not be able to find any fault with it.

Moreover, the Seal Holder is also willing to make concessions regarding the seat of the High Lord.

Although a more detailed list of personnel and job allocation may require countless consultations to decide, the Terrans will no longer be the only ones holding sway in the Empire's supreme power hall: the High Lords promised that elites from other provinces will also have opportunities.

In addition, on issues such as allowing the vassal states to freely develop their armaments, stopping espionage, reducing military labor service and respecting judicial independence, Terra either made eye-catching concessions or at least proposed the possibility of dealing with them, and the success rate was often very impressive.

The excellent political qualities of the high lords were fully demonstrated in these issues: the plan they negotiated and discussed was truly a heart-warming gift even in front of the picky Horus and the intelligent Khan.

What's more, the Federalization of the Empire, which even the Warmaster himself did not have much hope for, was also seriously considered by the Council of High Lords: Although they proposed a large number of restrictive clauses and equal conditions, the mere gesture of willingness to negotiate was enough to make the Wolf God overjoyed.

Of course: before that.

Instead of this one now.

In fact, although it seemed that the Wolf Shepherd God was winning battles and conquering cities at the negotiation table, there was no joy on the Primarch's expression: Horus, like the other Primarch brothers present, occasionally frowned to express confusion, and remained numb and gloomy for the rest of the time.

There is no other reason.

Although it seemed to outsiders that Horus had gained a lot, the problem that the Wolf God really cared about was never solved.

If someone carefully recorded and analyzed every word Horus said during the half-hour meeting, he would find that in the Warmaster's seemingly scattered words, there was actually a hidden main thread.

That is to meet the emperor.

To achieve this goal, Horus took many measures.

From straightforward requests to enter the palace to meet the Emperor, to trying to invite the Emperor to preside over the Imperial Federation Conference, or personally meeting with non-Terra elites to show their appreciation: almost all means have been exhausted, and the purpose is nothing more than to witness the state of the Lord of Mankind with their own eyes, so that he and his brothers can feel at ease.

But under the witness of everyone, especially in the gradually cold eyes of the Primarchs, every attempt of the Warmaster ended in failure: his various methods were fooled by the Sigillite who either took advantage of the situation or made irrelevant remarks.

In the end, Malcador bluntly rejected the Wolf God's request to enter the palace to meet the emperor for so-called security reasons.

During this time, the Sigillite had tried to improve the atmosphere: he had solemnly introduced Lady Hesula to the Warmaster, and she said that the Astronomican was still functioning normally, which seemed to indicate that the Emperor was still in good health, or at least the most worrying consequences had not occurred.

But such roundabout reasoning could not convince any of the Principals present.

In the end, even the slower-thinking Astartes mostly reacted.

Because this matter is really strange.

According to common sense, compared to reducing the tithe or federalizing the Empire, wanting to see the Emperor was undoubtedly the easiest and most reasonable of all the conditions proposed by Horus: the Warmaster made this his first condition, which could even be said to be a disadvantageous act.

But even so, Holy Terra, contrary to her usual practice, insisted on rejecting Horus.

It's so weird.

Everyone present remembered the Badab Crisis fifty years ago, when the High Lords went to war with the Five Hundred Worlds in order to collect the tithe and maintain their dominance, and their determination and ruthlessness indeed frightened the Emperor's descendants for a long time. But now, the interests that were worth raising an army fifty years ago have been thrown away like garbage by the Sigillites and the Elder Lords, and the simplest and most legitimate request has been rudely rejected: Malcador's attitude is so firm that he has even disregarded the opinions of the Primarchs present.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is a problem.

It's just about letting the Warmaster meet the Emperor. Is there anything wrong with this?

No!
unless……

……

unless?

At this moment, even the slowest-thinking person thought of the terrifying possibility, although it sounded ridiculous: but it seemed that only this ridiculous reason could barely reasonably explain the abnormal behavior of the high lords today.

Rather than believing in the truth of the world, the Primarchs were more willing to believe the facts they saw with their own eyes.

and so……

"Did...something really happen?"

Even Corax, who had always maintained a basic good impression of the Terra government, could not help but begin to mutter to himself at this moment: Although he was told in Morgan's education that the seal holder was not a bad person, the current scene was too weird, so weird that it made people doubt.

Although in front of the Crow King, the Warmaster and the Sigillite still maintained a harmonious atmosphere. As the meeting time passed, the two sides seemed to have reached compromises on more issues and put forward constructive ideas to each other in more areas: but in the eyes of the Crow King, these were just castles in the air.

The impression this meeting made on Corax was simply bizarre and terrifying.

In his opinion, the two people sitting in the center ultimately could not reach any tacit understanding at all, because they were like a lion and an antelope, confronting each other across the river, and discussing in a harmonious atmosphere what to eat for dinner.

They reached a lot of tacit understanding and were very effective in discussing many details: such as where to dine, what kind of tablecloth to use, what kind of music to listen to, and whether to choose crystal or ceramic cups. It seemed that the discussion was very meticulous.

But from beginning to end, neither side ever touched upon the most important issue.

In other words, it is the Seal Holders and the High Lords who have been unilaterally avoiding this issue.

This leads to a problem: no matter how much agreement the two sides have reached, no matter how rich the conditions offered by Machado are, these things are fundamentally untenable.

Just like if the lion does not give a guarantee, how can the antelope be sure that it will not become the delicious dinner in the lion's mouth?
The same logic applies here: if even the condition of meeting the Emperor is not allowed, or in other words, if the Lord of Mankind does not personally agree to these reforms that are enough to shake the foundation of the Empire, who can ensure that the Sigillite and Terra will not change their minds afterwards?

No one can be sure: not even Malcador himself could produce more convincing evidence.

Because ultimately, he could not meet the most pressing needs of the Warmaster and others, so no matter what promises he made in other areas, this meeting would only disappoint Horus and the various allies he invited.

Not only them, but even those more neutral onlookers would detect the Sigillite's deception of them in the obvious concealment of Holy Terra: and the unsettling silence regarding the Emperor's whereabouts.

This is enough to sway many people.

People like Vulkan and Leman Russ were frowning. It was obvious that even these Primarchs who were inclined towards Terra could not accept the rough answer given by the Sigillite. Although they would not question Malcador's loyalty, they would also doubt whether they were being deceived by the facts.

The Primarchs hated to be deceived: every Primarch had a deep-seated pride.

Corax is no exception.

He also began to have his own doubts.

But he did not doubt that the Sealholder and the Council of High Lords had really done anything outrageous to the Lord of Mankind.

The reason is simple. Corax has absolute confidence in the power of the Emperor. He does not believe that anyone in the real universe can really plot against the Emperor: even if the Emperor is really missing, that should be a decision made by the Lord of Mankind out of subjective consciousness.

But that did not mean Malcador could keep this secret from the Emperor's sons.

What power do these people have, what qualifications do they have to isolate the Emperor's children, the heroes of the Great Crusade, from the most fatal problem of the entire Human Empire?
Were these mortals so arrogant that they believed they could single-handedly resolve the tsunami-like impact that the Emperor's disappearance would have on the Imperium of Mankind even without the help of the Primarchs? Thinking of the possible future devastation, Corax's attitude towards the High Lords began to decline.

He believed that the same reasoning and disgust applied to Vulkan next to him at least.

They didn't hate Terra's concealment, they hated Terra's arrogance.

As the nominal highest authority in the empire, the Sealholders and High Lords could not have been unaware that the disappearance of the Lord of Mankind, even if it was only a rumor, would have a huge impact on the four borders of the empire, and would cause harm to countless innocent mortals: it might even spark an unnecessary war.

Innocent blood will be shed: simply because they are hiding the truth here.

They know: but they don't care.

They are so arrogant that they think the sacrifices of the lower class civilians are not sacrifices.

This was enough to make Corax mentally cross out the high lords.

It was enough to make him doubt them.

And he was obviously not the only one who did this.

Looking at the other side of the Raven Dynasty, they found that the same suspicion had spread to the Astartes: Lana was still taking notes diligently, but his frown told of his true thoughts.

Khân still looked nonchalant. Although he was equally curious about the Emperor's current situation, it was clear that neither the Warmaster nor Malcador, the representatives of the World Eaters, intended to take sides.

Gage and Sevatar also maintained a neutral attitude, but unlike Kahn, their neutrality did not mean indifference, but a cautious stance chosen after careful consideration.

In other words, if the Warmaster and Terra really come to the worst fate, the World Eaters will not care about it at all, and they will remove themselves cleanly from the internal strife of the Empire.

The several legions in the Far East might be more inclined to band together for warmth first, and then, in the coming chaos, wait for the right price to sell themselves, and use their decisive power to influence the situation in the entire galaxy: Corax had heard Guilliman express this ambition.

……

So, what about him?
What should he do?

The Crow King pondered this question.

From what he had just seen, Corax no longer had much confidence that the Terra crisis would be resolved well.

And he has begun to have a pessimistic attitude towards the future of the empire.

Unless the Emperor were to appear immediately, there would be nothing to stop the Sigillite and Warmaster drifting apart: and without the Emperor, the split between the two powers second only to the Emperor would tear the galaxy apart from the very top of the structure.

Chaos is inevitable.

So, in this chaos, where should he lead his legion and his people?

"..."

The Crow King began his thinking.

(End of this chapter)