Emperor's Bane

Chapter 877 Terra Crisis - A sharp turn for the worse
he can not.

Even though he already knew it.

But when fate makes its final decision, the unforgettable pain is still so real.

It extinguished the dream of the bearer, and just when the light of hope just emerged, it threw it back into the darkness: so easily,
It was an irony of fate that, like gods laughing in the Warp, the parasites of Chaos could thwart the Master of Mankind's ambitions without even having to mobilize their armies, and wrench half of the Imperium from Terra's clutches.

Although on the surface, the Chaos Gods never seem to have made any effort.

They just sat there like exhausted spectators, allowing humanity to drift along in the glory of the Great Crusade, allowing the Lord of Mankind's Webway plan to advance steadily, bit by bit, opening up a bright future in the darkness.

Once upon a time, even the Sigillite, who always liked to think in a pessimistic manner, was relieved because the situation was going well: like the Emperor, he believed that fate was really favoring mankind, and after experiencing the most tragic era of strife, their great race was finally about to usher in a turning point.

Perhaps, they were right: the Webway is truly the only impossible thing in the Chaos Gods' omnipotence.

Until the iron sickle of reality cuts all illusions of joy into pieces.

Only now has the Sigillite belatedly pieced together all the accidents and coincidences, the conspiracies that were scattered like shattered lenses, in the face of the heavy burden of reality: without the Emperor's help, it would not be easy even for Malcador to see through the darkness of the Warp.

The Sigillite realized that the so-called Four Chaos Gods were not actually slacking off. They were just showing the Emperor and his most loyal followers a tip of the iceberg that had never been known to the world: first showing off, then using this power to crush them and listening to their sadness in the face of failure.

The Warp wants the Seal Holders to know that in addition to the endless armies and pervasive corruption in their traditional thinking, the gods also possess more and richer means: it seems that some people always forget that in the vast ocean without time and space, the powerful beings who control the four realms are the masters who can play with time and space at will.

They do not need to launch a massive attack, nor do they need to mobilize their irresistible divine power. They only need to use their omnipresent gaze, their pervasive whispers and influence that can be projected onto hundreds of millions of people at the same time, in order to destroy the grand blueprint of the Lord of Mankind in detail.

A thousand-mile long dam can be breached by a single ant hole: what an ancient and wise philosophy of pragmatism.

As Malcador put everything together, it finally dawned on him.

This Sigillite, who had been busy since the crisis of the Council of Nikea, was obsessed with ensuring the Emperor's expenses for opening the Webway, dealing with the complicated relationships between Terra and the various Primarchs, and supporting the shaky post-war order. He finally realized what a huge conspiracy he and the entire human empire he was loyal to had been entangled in.

Those rumors about the Emperor's safety suddenly appeared in the streets of Holy Terra at any time, and no matter how the Guards and agents searched, they could never find their source. However, they spread throughout the galaxy at an alarming speed, completely ignoring the blockade ban. Who is behind this?

Why did those fleets ordered to collect tithes either escape the control of the Ministry of the Interior and arrive at the most difficult time for some worlds, or simply disappear mysteriously when carrying supplies back? In the uncertain warp jumps, what shadow cut off the blood vessels of the Human Empire?
And now, the focus comes to Terra.

The various vassal kings were forced by the taxation and the Emperor's life-and-death crisis. Their already thin loyalty was already in jeopardy, but the only person who could appease them was nowhere to be found: Malcador could not even reveal the news that the Lord of Mankind was in danger. He could only block the inside and outside like a treacherous minister.

Because if the primarchs knew, they would definitely rush into the palace at all costs.

If any one of these people had been secretly contaminated by Chaos, the consequences would be disastrous.

The Emperor has made it very clear: even if one does not enter the Webway, even if one merely stays close to the entrance, a Primarch secretly contaminated by the Four Chaos Gods can still, with his terrifying nature and powerful strength, cause irreparable catastrophic consequences.

The Empire has invested too much in the Webway, and Malcador is in no position to gamble on this matter.

He could only refuse, and he knew what it meant to refuse the eight primarchs who came with him.

It seems that, at this point, Chaos can really become a spectator, and they can enjoy it leisurely: with just a little trick, a superpower empire spanning the universe can be drowned in internal suspicion and disputes, and everything that has been built together can be smashed to pieces.

This time, even iron men, psykers and endless warp storms are not needed.

"..."

Malcador gritted his teeth, his mouth already filled with a bitter and sad taste.

But his steps remained firm, his eyes remained bright, and his back remained straight. He did not succumb to the raging waves that were about to swallow him: even though the whispers of the Four Gods were close to his ears, even though the will of chaos was wandering around his soul, and was mocking his incompetence and weakness.

But none of this stopped the Seal Bearer from clinging to his last straw.

He clenched his fists. Even though his wrists were as withered as dead trees and even the blue-black blood vessels were dry, this did not affect the bracelet made by the Lord of Avalon himself, which was still firmly attached to the skin of the bearer.

After all, the Spider Queen would naturally take the Sigillite's status into consideration: as one of the few [Mortals] that Morgan could respect, the Lord of Avalon chose to respect Malcador's habit of maintaining an old appearance despite being an immortal.

In addition, Morgan will never disappoint you in terms of core functions.

Whenever the bracelet began to flicker, a strange light would envelop Malcador's vision, allowing him to see a world that was inaccessible to mortals: even one as powerful as the Sigillite had never before come into contact with such a realm.

Indeed, at his most arrogant, Malcador explored the deepest depths of the Warp like an Emperor, and even Magnus seemed humble in comparison: but there are some things that even a psychic master as powerful as the Sigillite cannot do, but Morgan can easily touch that interface with the Primarch's talent and even more terrible nature.

Malcador once again sighed: What kind of monsters are these Primarchs created by the Emperor?

Compared to her brothers, Morgan had only developed the potential of the Primarch a little more.

But that's enough.

With her help, the great enemy of the Lord of Mankind fled invisibly before the Seal Bearer.

And Malcador wants to use this to determine if there is still a last chance for peace.

As soon as he left the room, the Sigillite could not wait to start his own actions: as a great mentor who could create an organization like the Assassin's Court in secret, it would be a great loss if he thought that Malcador was really as old and weak as he appeared to be.

When necessary, such as now, the Sigillite's speed of action is not much slower than that of the Primarch. In the blink of an eye, Malcador walked past Dorn, Leman Russ and others one by one, and was glad in his heart that they were all safe.

Although these descendants of the Emperor all expressed doubts and negative attitudes, they were indeed not contaminated, especially Dorn. The abundance of the golden light in his blood made the Sigillite certain of one thing in his heart: he could continue to believe in the Terra Guard and his Legion.

They are strong and unyielding.

As long as the golden light continued to flicker, Dorn would not surrender to the Four Chaos Gods even if they came to his aid personally.

In the following, most of the Primarchs did not disappoint Malcador's expectations of them: although not all of them were pure and flawless, some auras of corruption and danger had begun to appear in some of them.

The Sigillite felt a very strange aura on Mortarion, but since it did not belong to the Fifth God, he could not draw a conclusion: but what was certain was that the Lord of Death's involvement with the Warp was definitely deeper than imagined.

Malcador did not complain about why Morgan only performed functions targeting the fifth god: with the current ability of the Lord of Avalon, it was already the limit for her to involve a god who had not yet awakened. If Morgan were to play tricks in front of the other four mighty ones, regardless of whether she could do it or not, at least the seal holder would feel guilty about it.

But even so, the Lord of Avalon still thoughtfully added some functions: although it is impossible to tell which evil god has contaminated it, it can be shown whether it has been contaminated by the subspace.

This was the limit of what Morgan could do while still protecting herself.

Therefore, the seal holder looked at it very seriously.

He discovered that Fulgrim was in the same situation as Mortarion: Chagatai Khan, who looked very unruly, was still as bright and clean as new on the inside.

And the Archangel, though there is some disturbing filth on the tips of his sacred wings, is generally harmless: the angel's loyalty and purity are unquestionable, but he still has some seeds in his heart that may explode, and his future is not 100% secure.

Those diseases: he should have advised the Emperor to confront Sanguinius long ago.

No, perhaps it was useless: even if the Emperor had given his assurances to the Angel, judging by Sanguinius's pitiful trust in the Lord of Mankind, if he could find a way to cure the disease, the Archangel would certainly be willing to take the risk.

Another hidden danger, damn it.

It had been Sanguinius: perhaps he should have leaked the news to Morgan.

If the Angels really get out of control: Morgan may be the only one among all the Primarchs who has the ability to nip the crisis in the bud.

They can destroy each other.

But the more likely scenario is that Sanguinius lies in his grave and Morgan struggles in a pool of blood.

As for the others: Vulkan's purity even made Malcador feel pity, Alpharius hid his true nature in the shadows, even as his former teacher, the Sigillite could not see through him, and Corax did not need to worry more.

Because on his body, there was a layer of silver-white gauze that was almost invisible to the naked eye: Obviously, someone cared about the safety of the Crow King more than the Seal Bearer.

Malcador had felt the same aura in the likes of Jonson, Konrad, and Guilliman: but theirs were thicker than Corax's.

Especially Guilliman: his is thicker than the other three combined.

It’s not a preference: it’s just a focus on prevention.

Of course, this is all nonsense.

The Sigillite frowned, and in the brief time he waited for Horus to enter the room, he took the time to glance at the others present.

The two high lords: their loyalty and glory are no less than that of Dorne.

Lana: The silvery veil that lingers about him is no less than that of Guilliman.

This petty little mother!

Sevatar received the same treatment: but after all, he was not as good as his own sons and brothers.

People like Gage, Fricks, Santo or Coswayne are also considered safe.

The only exception was Kharn: although the majority of the World Eater's soul remained stable, the sharp-eyed Malcador noticed that there was still a trace of bright red aura that refused to give up, stubbornly lingering near the World Eater's heart, waiting for the opportunity to reverse all past failures.

That's really its style...

The seal holder shook his head in his heart, then followed his sight and saw Angerte next to Kahn.

"..."

"Tsk!"

Malcador frowned.

Although it was very faint, a hint of murderous intent did flash across the old pupils of the seal holder.

This is a bit too outrageous. It seems that after the meeting, it is time to take care of Luo Jia's situation.

Malcador put his hands behind his back and clenched his dry fingers into fists: to him, this meant he was taking things seriously.

One can only hope that what happened to Horus isn't worse than what happened to Lorgar.

Just as he was thinking this, Malcador heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the other end of the room.

The anger of the Wolf Shepherd God could be heard from his heavy tone. The Primarch was accumulating rage, and the last bit of patience and rationality in his heart that he was proud of was gradually disappearing: instead, it was replaced by a rage that was enough to burn the galaxy.

Maybe, just maybe: seeing the truth with your own eyes would extinguish the wrath of the wolf god?

Malcador was not sure, but he still held on to the last glimmer of hope and turned around.

He looked towards the Wolf Shepherd God.

And what did he see?
------

"..."

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dark.

------

He saw: darkness.

------

What made him feel like he was falling into an icy cave: darkness.

------

He saw it; there it was: right between the two hearts of the wolf-god.

It seemed to be dormant, or parasitic, but either way it was affecting the wolf-god in a most worrying way: the dark presence was so faint that Malcador would not have been able to detect it if he had not been so well versed in it.

But he still saw it: the moment Morgan's bracelet came into contact with the dark figure, it emitted a sharp scream that only the holder of the seal could hear.

He had no doubt that, at least for now, the Wolf God did not realize how terrible a thing was parasitic in his soul: he might have long forgotten about Nikea and the Fifth God, but subjective confusion could not change the objective reality, nor the coldness in the pupils of the Seal Bearer.

The wolf shepherd god was polluted.

No one knows when or where, no one knows whether he took the initiative to contact them and cleverly hid everyone, or whether from the beginning to the end, Horus was just an unwitting victim of a more obscure plan.

But reality does not lie, and the loyalty standing here is no longer 100% trustworthy.

Darkness was parasitic in his body, even though it was still very weak, but Malcador knew very well that the pollution of the warp had never been differentiated into strong and weak, and always only followed the rules of existence and non-existence: even if the gods only splashed a drop of dirty blood on you, then the whole body and even the soul would be beyond salvation.

Maybe this sounds cruel: but behind every act of cruelty, there are at least a million tragedies spread because of pity.

In the face of this iron rule, even the Primarch can be abandoned.

At this moment, Malcador was no longer thinking about how to save the Warmaster of the Empire. What made him more anxious was: when did the darkness seize the opportunity to take advantage of Horus?
Does the Emperor know?

Is this his plan too?

Although even the seal holder believes in the thirty-year friendship between the Lord of Mankind and the Wolf God.

But, that’s the emperor.

In his eyes, even he himself was just a tool that could be discarded at any time: even if he was the Wolf God, how could he be more special?
After Morgan's reminder, Nikea's memory returned to Malcador's mind. At this time, he no longer cared about whether to keep it secret or not. He clearly realized how solid and tragic the relationship between his lord and the fifth god was.

The Emperor is the Dark Lord: in a sense, this is no joke.

Could it be that it was because of this that the son who was closest to the emperor suffered an unexpected disaster?
Or maybe there are other reasons...

In an instant, thousands of possibilities ran through Malcador's mind like a howling herd of beasts. He had never felt so absurd and painful. The Sigillite had to grit his teeth and order himself to be more awake: the bracelet still bit his skin tightly, and the needle-like pain actually helped him to stay calm.

At this time, Makado had to start thinking about a very necessary possibility.

Is this possible?
There was actually nothing wrong with Horus.

The problem was Morgan's bracelet.

This sounds ridiculous: but if the Spider Queen was misled during the creation process, or if Rana inevitably made a mistake in his work during the escort across half the galaxy: this possibility must be considered.

After all, if he really pushed Horus to the other side because of misunderstanding, such a tragedy would definitely be worth the collective investment of the Four Gods: and when the powerful people in the Warp unite, even a reliable figure like the Spider Queen is likely to fall into the gutter.

"..."

At this moment, Malcador hesitated.

But he didn't hesitate for long.

Ultimately, it is a multiple-choice question: choose to believe that Morgan is as reliable as ever, or choose to believe in the loyalty of the Wolf God.

This sounds difficult: because whether it is Morgan or Horus, to be fair, they are not Primarchs that the Imperium can give up, and Malcador is not qualified to comment on whether they are trustworthy.

But for the seal bearer: perhaps the wolf shepherd god is indeed very loyal.

But if Makado had to make a choice, he would side with Morgan without hesitation.

He chose to believe everything he saw, believing that the Wolf Shepherd God was already a potential enemy.

This is a difficult decision.

But Morgan was worth the gamble.

And although the Imperium's Warmaster is unlikely to realise his current predicament, and although the darkness in his heart is still so faint, it is still suppressed by the glory of loyalty shrouded in the Emperor: there is no doubt that the Emperor's assurances were not false, and it was thanks to the power and guidance that the Emperor instilled in Horus that the Wolf God was able to remain loyal for so many years.

In fact, in the soul of the Wolf Shepherd God, the Seal Bearer saw many traces of battles: the Four Gods had been trying to corrupt the Warmaster from the outside, but the power of the Emperor eliminated their threats: Unfortunately, although the power of the Lord of Mankind was reliable, it could not prevent the corruption from within.

Therefore, the seal holder knows very well that the so-called loyalty is just an illusion on the surface.

As long as the darkness still existed, he would not risk letting Horus enter the palace, let alone let him get close to the gate of the Webway: even if the possibility of losing control was less than one percent, the Sigillite was not qualified to start such a gamble.

As for letting others in? Letting them serve as the eyes of Horus?
Perhaps it would work: but how could the Wolf God give in on issues concerning the Emperor?
Let others in but not him in: maybe the situation will be worse.

The more likely future is that the Sigillite's rejection will make Horus disheartened, and when the Wolf-God leaves in disappointment, the Warmaster's footsteps will not be far behind. The Warmaster's loyalty to Holy Terra is not worth expecting, not to mention that anger and madness will devour his rationality.

He would call the banner, and he would not hesitate to plunge the galaxy back into war.

Once the war begins, and once the two most powerful monster regimes in the entire galaxy are ready to start a never-ending dispute, it is almost natural that Chaos will corrode and spread. By then, I am afraid that the tiny darkness in the heart of the Wolf God will grow into a towering evil that hollows him out from the inside and completely undermines the body and will of the War Marshal.

Really...

This is exactly the kind of plot development that those bastards deep in the subspace love the most.

But he had no choice.

At this moment, the Sigillite thought of the chess games that had been decided between him and the Emperor countless times: although they had seen every path, and although the actions of the Four Gods did not exceed their expectations, when the Warp really rolled up the waves in the real universe, the human empire's trump card would never be enough.

It always requires bloodshed.

Human blood: their blood.

And they have no choice, do they?

At this moment, Malcador understood.

He saw through it too.

The Sigillite raised his head, loosened the bracelet made by the Spider Queen, and his originally blurry vision fell back into the real universe, where he saw the Primarchs and mortals gathering together.

He saw Horus, the wolf god, standing in the middle of his most loyal followers, discussing something calmly. When their eyes met, the Warmaster frowned and told the Sigillite in a clear tone that his patience was running out.

He was raging, and he would only give Malcador and Terra one last chance.

But what Horus didn't know was.

The same is true for the seal holder.

Amid the noise and silence, the Master of the Imperial Fist returned to his seat, picked up the hammer, and announced the continuation of the meeting with a hard, harsh sound.

Everyone sat back in their chairs, the Sigillite and the Warmaster stared at each other again, the star map of Terra and the Milky Way was raised, and dozens of gazes were shot over, some expecting answers, some praying for peace, or some frowning deeply and feeling uneasy because of the imperceptible changes in the air.

In this bizarre scene, when everyone is immersed in their own thoughts and selfish desires, no one would notice or care: before the seal holder spoke, he lowered his head and sighed very slowly.

They will never know.

The last hope for peace, along with Malcador's sigh, dissipated into the air without anyone noticing.

(End of this chapter)