Emperor's Bane

Chapter 884 Super Imperial Fist Black Temple
"Excuse me, Your Excellency the Master of the Seal."

"The conclusion you drew is very problematic."

"It makes me doubt your true purpose."

Compared to a few days ago, Rogal Dorn's serious, naturally unsmiling face seemed to have become even stiffer.

If in the past, one could tell whether the Lord of the Imperial Fist was in a good or bad mood by the trembling of his eyebrows and the subtle curve of his mouth, now: no one knows what a real stone is thinking.

But one thing is certain.

The death of Vengeful Spirit did not only cause psychological damage to one Primarch.

For Dorn, who regarded Horus as a close friend, was sincerely happy for his election as Warmaster, and regarded the glory of the Great Crusade as his most precious treasure, and even named his flagship the Eternal Crusade, it is easy to imagine the inner torment of personally killing the Spirit of Vengeance, who was regarded as one of the symbols of the Great Crusade.

Yes, he did not hesitate when carrying out orders.

But that didn't mean the Primarch wasn't bleeding inside.

When this warship, which was older than the Empire, slowly crashed onto the surface of Luna, Dorn was perhaps the most heartbroken person besides Horus.

This pain developed over time, and the lifeless face of the Wolf God that was so close to him finally converged into an emotion that was very rare for Dorne.

Guilt: Or is it withdrawal?
Although, if time passes and he needs to sink the Spirit of Vengeance once again, the Terra Guard will still execute the order without hesitation: but this does not prevent him from feeling guilty as a brother and bystander after executing the order as a soldier.

All Primarchs have two hearts, but Dorn is one of the few who can separate public interest from private interest.

The most intuitive example is that although he ruthlessly sank the Vengeful Spirit, after the incident was over, Dorn did not hesitate to launch the Everlasting Crusade as a temporary residence for Horus and the Primarchs: the Imperial Fists vowed to use their lives to ensure that the Warmaster could safely return to the Wolf Kingdom in the north of the galaxy.

Malcador saw all of this, but he did not stop Dorn from doing it.

He knew that even the Terran Guard sometimes needed the power to act recklessly.

Stone is stone after all. If it is hammered too hard, it will crack.

What's more: From beginning to end, the Seal Bearer never doubted Rogal Dorn's loyalty.

This is his biggest trump card.

As the Primarch closest to the center of the Empire, Dorn naturally knew more secrets about the Emperor and the Sigillite than his brothers, and could better understand the difficulties behind the Council of High Lords. Even without the Emperor's order, he would not abandon his duties as the Terra Guard.

No matter how much the Lord of the Imperial Fist personally favored Horus, if the Wolf God really broke his oath on Ullanor and allowed the Luna Wolves to pass through Betanjamon, Rogal Dorn would not hesitate to become an enemy of his most admired brother.

This is almost an open secret.

The Sigillite knew it, the Lord of the Imperial Fist knew it, even Horus knew it: no matter how great the influence of the Warmaster on the Guard of Terra, he never tried to use it to win over the 7th Legion to his side.

Although, if successful, the rewards would be unimaginably rich: with the main force of the Custodes missing and Mars on the brink of civil war, the Sigillite really has no good way to deal with the Phalanx, which has raised the Warmaster's flag in low-Earth orbit around Terra.

Even if they could sink this theoretically unbreakable warship, Terra's firepower alone would not be enough to completely destroy the Phalanx as it plummeted toward the surface, or worse: directly into the Imperial Palace.

Considering that the shadow cast by the Phalanx alone is enough to cover the entire Terra Palace area, once the main part of this behemoth falls to the ground, the damage caused will definitely be incalculable.
It is even possible that the Wolf God would win without a fight: if the Mountain Phalanx used his own death to successfully send away the entire palace and the Council of High Lords.

At that point, who could deny that the Warmaster was the only surviving leader of the Empire?

For any military commander with a gambling nature, this is an irresistible temptation.

But Horus had never considered this: for many reasons, and Dorn's loyalty was undoubtedly one of them.

Sometimes, even the Sigillite himself found this a little too strange: although Rogal Dorn had not yet undergone a real test, no one had ever doubted his loyalty, whether it was Morgan who was far away or the High Lord who was nearby. Many plans were even built around Dorn's loyalty that had not yet been truly revealed but no one would doubt.

Sounds strange, doesn't it?
What's even more strange is that, precisely because of this inexplicable loyalty, the Seal Bearer is now ready to tell the Lord of the Imperial Fist more secrets.

He wanted to use these secrets to convince Dorn that Terra was sure to win the war.

At least it won't let Horus win.

But before that, the seal holder needs to make an important preparation.

He needs to find some ancient rooms, reopen some dusty memories, seek true wisdom among the shelved theoretical thinking and scientific fantasies, and avoid those wrong options that are very likely to appear: some things cannot help him win the current war, while for others, the situation is not desperate enough to consider them.

There aren't many pieces of wisdom that are truly applicable at this moment, but each one of them is enough to turn the tide of the battle.

However, before finding these wisdoms, he must first find the treasure cave that had sealed them away.

He prayed secretly that before leaving, the Emperor would really give him every key he might need.

After all, memory had never been the Lord of Mankind's strong point.

If he had admitted his mistakes and corrected them, they wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

------

"..."

"This place is really... weird."

Rogal Dorn rarely used this word to describe anything that appeared before his eyes.

But this time was different, the Primarch's stubborn worldview seemed to have suffered a shock.

In silence, the Lord of the Imperial Fist carefully observed the environment on all sides: after he accepted the invitation of the Sigillite to meet in front of the blocked ruins of the Eternal Gate, Malcador took him through narrow paths, walked through dark rooms, pushed open the heavily guarded side doors and secret passages shrouded in danger, and finally came to a secret place that had never appeared in the Primarch's memory.

This is unusual: as a Terran guard, since being given this responsibility by the Emperor, Dorn has dutifully measured every inch of important land on the human home planet with his own footsteps in the past fifty years:

This area around the Terra Palace in particular, he had etched every room he was allowed to enter into his mind as a memory.

But the Primarch had never had any impression of this area, or the extremely unfamiliar building in front of him.

This is impossible.

This place is so close to the main gate of the palace, how could he ignore the area that needs the most protection?

The Primarch narrowed his eyes, then redoubled his efforts to check the surroundings. Soon, he discovered some familiar sights: the corner in front of his left seemed to be the only way he had to take for his daily patrols, and the statues behind him were indeed familiar.

Using these clues, he locked onto the corresponding target in his memory array.

Now, the Primarch finally knew what had gone wrong.

He looked at the building in front of him.

Even though what appeared before him was a huge building that was more than 200 meters high and covered an area of ​​perhaps more than 8,000 square meters, and even though every piece of blue-gray stone moss on the building and the sculptures on the walls that had experienced wind and rain told of its antiquity, when Dorn spoke, he still did not hesitate at all.

"I passed through here fourteen hours ago on routine patrol and maintenance."

The Primarch looked around and fixed his gaze on the silent Sigillite beside him.

"And I'm pretty sure that fourteen hours ago, this was just an empty lot. It was blocked off and there was a sign in front of it saying construction was pending."

"But as far as I can remember, in the fifty years since I came to Holy Terra, this sign has never been put down, and the open space has always remained sealed."

“During this time, I never saw the building.”

"Although it looks to be at least four hundred years old."

"Five hundred and twenty-three years, actually."

The seal bearer sighed.

“There are only a handful of ancient buildings that have survived the Age of Strife and the War of Unification.”

"And we must have some way to protect the confidential laboratory hidden inside it."

“Does it have to be placed here?”

Dorn frowned and once again looked at the streets on both sides. Just a few hundred meters away, he could hear the sounds of a bustling city.

"In my impression, there are at least twenty-six places that are more suitable for placing a confidential laboratory than this place."

"If we could have moved away, we would have done it a long time ago."

"But unfortunately, your father and I are not the first owners of this laboratory."

Malcador did not explain further, but walked up and knocked on the dusty door.

A few breaths later, two figures in black robes helped them open the door. The Lord of the Imperial Fist stared at these two human-sized figures. Dorn felt a dangerous aura from them: even more dangerous than the Custodes and Astartes warriors.

"Does the Emperor know of them?"

he asked.

"He left me in charge of... them."

"they?"

The primarch did not miss the odd appellation.

"There are technologies that can transform humans into something you wouldn't believe they were ever human."

The Sigillite's tone was flat, as if he was just narrating a very ordinary little thing. He guided the Primarch slowly forward in a dark and deep corridor that was so long that there was no end in sight. The passage was very wide and every few steps one could feel a dangerous aura, some of which were living creatures and some that looked more like metal.

"But if you need some powerful and scary shadow killers, this little problem won't matter."

The Primarch frowned at these words.

"I disagree, Sigillite."

Dawn's voice was low.

"The empire is now extremely powerful. We are not afraid of any challenger. With our army and courage, we can defeat any enemy head-on. We cannot win a real war or establish any long-term rule by relying only on assassinations and threats in the shadows."

“Only a fool would regard conspiracy as the wisdom of politicians.”

“I don’t deny that.”

Malcador merely nodded, seemingly unfazed by Dorn's words and anger. He advanced at a steady pace, occasionally waving a beam of psychic fire into the deep darkness. The Primarch had no idea what he was doing, but every time he did so, there seemed to be an invisible obstacle missing in front of them.

When almost the same process was executed for the 46th time, even Dorn felt that the protection of this place was a bit too complicated.

And Malcador's voice still lingered.

"Believe me, if possible, I also want to keep these assassins in the shadows: unless the situation collapses to the point where we cannot control it, we will not let those killers walk in the sun. Their current position is the most suitable position for them, and it is also the position that the Emperor arranged for them at the beginning."

"So, they're not your secret weapon?"

Of course, the Sigillite could hear the strange emotion in the Primarch's words.

So, when they walked through the corridor and stood in front of the final door, Malcador did not open it immediately, but stood in silence with the Primarch.

"You don't like secret weapons, I suppose?"

"Can't talk about it."

Dawn's tone was cold.

"I just hate pinning my hopes of victory on so-called secret weapons and trump cards."

"War is a grand, rigorous, scientific and logical undertaking. A qualified commander should be more like a mathematician than a gambler: quantity, morale, fearlessness and sacrifice are the keys to victory. The so-called secret weapons or trump cards of war will be vulnerable in front of a well-trained and powerful army."

"Just like your assassins, they can't be more useful than a capable company on the front battlefield."

"If you want to use them to hold back Horus: allow me to be pessimistic."

“I never thought of it that way.”

Malcador pushed open the final door.

“My confidence does not come from this.”

"I reserve my doubts."

The Primarch simply nodded, then followed him into the room behind the door.

"But please allow me to remind you: With the power we have now, I have no confidence that I can stop Horus."

To the Terran Guards, these words carry a lot of weight.

"His legions and fleets will be able to break through all the way to the solar system before we can expand our military."

"Not so fast."

The seal bearer closed the door, and the Lord of the Imperial Fist carefully observed the surrounding environment: this was a room that was spacious enough but also empty enough. There was almost nothing except the star map instrument in the center. The walls were gray and permeated with an unpleasant sense of silence.

When the Sigillite knocked the ground with his staff to start the star map instrument, the Primarch finally understood why this was necessary: ​​this star map was so large that it took up the entire room, and its exquisiteness and detail were something Dorne had never seen before.

He could even see on this star map the several fortress worlds that Morgan had deployed on the easternmost side of the galaxy, the areas that the Dark Angels and the Luna Wolves were fighting over, the strongholds that Mortarion had placed on the outer side of the galaxy, or the secret galaxies that Terra used to hide its fleet: these were all top military secrets.

It took Rogaldorn more than ten seconds to take in all the details on the star map. He secretly memorized the most important ones, and then quietly waited for Malcador to speak.

"Dorn."

The seal bearer's tone was flat.

"How long do you think it would take Horus to mobilize a force capable of attacking Terra?"

"One year."

After a little thought, Dorn gave his answer.

"Horus and his allies will need at least a year to gather troops and supplies and start military mobilization within their own territories. The Wolf Kingdom can be faster. After all, before Horus came to Terra, he had already prepared his fiefdom for war. Although it is still a long way from a true total mobilization, it can save several months."

"As for his allies, the Blood Angels Legion will most likely not participate in Horus' military campaign. The remaining three legions will need at least a year to mobilize: the Emperor's Children may be faster, but the Death Guard and White Scars will take at least several months just to gather their legions."

"I think so too."

The Sigillite nodded and painted the seals of the nations that were destined to follow Horus in red.

The Luna Wolves, Emperor's Children, Death Guard, White Scars and Blood Angels.

"Even if Horus ordered military mobilization immediately after returning to the Wolf Kingdom, it would take him a year to launch a full-scale offensive."

“This is based on the premise that everything goes well.”

"Of course, during this period, small-scale harassment and military operations are certainly unavoidable."

“We’re not worried about that.”

Dawn's tone was firm.

"Motarion's territory is in the southern part of the Storm Segmentum, the southernmost part of the galaxy. If he wants to attack Terra, he must first break through my territory in the northern part of the Storm Segmentum. There are enough bunkers and garrisons there to stop him."

"As for the Emperor's Children and the White Scars, they are located due east of Terra. If they want to go further, they must first break through the Betangamon Line of Defense: that is the area that Terra has focused on for the past fifty years. Small-scale military intrusions will not cause any damage to Betangamon's defense line."

"As for Horus, if he wants his fleet to enter the Solar Segmentum, he has only two options: either bypass the Dark Angels' territory from the side, which the Wolf God will never make, or attack head-on and destroy the Space Wolves' kingdom first."

"In these three major directions, we don't have to worry about harassment from small groups of troops when we deploy."

"One year is worth it."

"But the thing is..." Dawn hesitated.

"Even so, we cannot gather enough troops within a year."

The Terran guards looked solemn.

"Although we are not inferior to the Wolf God's Legion in terms of the number of mortal auxiliary troops and fleets, we are indeed at a slight disadvantage if we add a few allies of Horus. But the real problem lies in the strength of the Astartes."

"My Imperial Fists and Leman Russ' Space Wolves only have a combined strength of more than 500,000 troops, while Horus' five legions can mobilize at least 1.5 million people. Even if the Blood Angels will not participate in the attack, this number is at least 1.3 million."

“The gap is just too big.”

"So..."

The seal bearer sighed.

"Before this, I and the High Court's main council have repeatedly reminded you to expand your army."

"I never thought anything like this would happen."

Dorn lowered his head, and no one knew what mood he was in when he said this.

"But you don't have to worry."

Malcador smiled, raised his scepter and tapped the ground again. Immediately, several countries marked as light green appeared one after another beside the bright red countries that supported Horus.

"Though so far, apart from your Imperial Fists and Leman Russ's Space Wolves, no Legion has been willing to stand firmly on Terra's side: the Dark Angels retain their neutrality, Luther refuses to make a choice before Jonson's expeditionary fleet returns, and although Vulkan sympathizes with us, he does not have the confidence to get involved in the war."

"Similarly, Ferrus' Iron Hands and Angron's World Eaters also refuse to be involved in this war. They don't want to support us, nor do they want to support Horus. Lorgar's Word Bearers Legion has an ambiguous attitude. Like Ferrus, they will not act until the Emperor stands up."

"As for the World Eater, he probably doesn't care who the galaxy belongs to."

"neutral."

Dawn frowned.

“But it’s understandable.”

"After all, anyone who hears about the farce on Terra will start to doubt."

"Is the Emperor still alive?"

"And what about the rest of the people?"

"The rest..."

The palmer smiled.

"It depends on the opinion of the Far East. However, this is also our advantage."

"Even though our forces are few, Horus cannot move everything he has at will."

Malcador pointed first to the southern part of the galaxy.

"Death Guard first."

"Mortarion's three neighbors are the Word Bearers, the Raven Guard, and you. Among them, the Word Bearers have an ambiguous attitude, but due to their reputation and strength, Mortarion cannot help but be wary of them. The Raven Guard has constant friction with the Death Guard. Although Corax has complaints about the past tithe policy, compared with the two, he will definitely be more inclined to Terra."

"Not to mention that a word from the Far East could change Corax's mind at any time."

"Under these circumstances, how much force do you think Mortarion will lead to leave home and go on an expedition?"

Dawn thought about it.

"If I were him, I would only mobilize one-half to two-thirds of my strength at most."

"That's one of the beauties of the feudal system."

The seal bearer nodded in agreement.

“Few people will give their all anymore: the defense may be more favored.”

"Similarly, the Emperor's Children and the White Scars Legions have the same concerns: although they are neighbors, in the more peripheral regions, their closest neighbors are Guilliman's Five Hundred Worlds, Vulkan's Salamanders, Perturabo's Iron Warriors, and you."

"The first three legions have ambiguous attitudes and may turn to Terra's power at any time. Although Guilliman leans towards Horus in political stance, he will not take the initiative to participate in the chaos in the galaxy unless Morgan speaks up. We have already talked about Vulkan before. As for Perturabo, he is no longer interested in the war. Moreover, I believe he is more willing to listen to Morgan than the Warmaster."

"Under such circumstances, Fulgrim and Jaghatai Khan naturally cannot come out in full force."

"As for Sanguinius, it goes without saying: Even if he is willing to participate in military operations, Horus needs him to keep his main force in the East and keep an eye on the Far Eastern border. Don't forget that Horus's Wolf Kingdom and Morgan's Avalon have a long border. In addition, he also has to deal with the border issues with the Dark Angels in the West."

"Otherwise, if the First and Second Legions attack from the east and west, even the Wolf Kingdom will be in danger."

"..."

"Morgan again?"

Donne keenly captured a detail.

"From your description, Master Seal, Morgan seems to be a third force that is independent of us."

"of course."

The palm bearer nodded.

"Avalon itself can influence the situation in the galaxy. Guilliman is used to listening to Morgan in foreign affairs. Conrad is a vassal in a sense. Morgan's words can also influence Perturabo and Corax to a great extent. Although it is not enough to urge them to join the war, if we want to keep these two legions neutral, it can be done."

"Also, don't forget the World Eaters: The Twelfth Legion will always remember the favor bestowed upon us by the Spider Queen."

"That's too much."

Dorn's frown deepened.

"This force is already able to rival... no, it can be considered to have surpassed Horus."

"Aren't you worried, Malcador?"

"Worry?"

The seal holder just smiled.

"Before I saw what the Wolf Shepherd and the Vengeful Spirit had become: I did worry about the possibility of Morgan turning to the Warmaster."

"But now, we can think about something else."

The seal bearer pointed to the Wolf Kingdom.

"The Dark Angels in the west and the Dawnbreakers and Night Lords in the east can at least hold back the 100,000 to 150,000 troops under Horus. Of course, we also have to consider the possibility that Horus may become even crazier, but his allies will definitely not be as crazy as him."

"In the most extreme case, Horus only leaves a minimum garrison force and mobilizes more than 600,000 Luna Wolves to attack, and his allies also mobilize more than two-thirds of their forces: excluding the 9th Legion, the total strength of the rebels will not exceed 1.1 million."

"And your legion and Leman Russ's, combined, now has more than 560,000 troops."

"That doesn't sound so different now, does it?"

"This is not funny, Sigillite."

Dawn glanced at him.

"Two times the force advantage: that's exaggerated enough."

"Besides, we can't gather all our forces on the eastern and southern fronts. Although we can ensure the loyalty of the Dark Angels in the north, we still need to leave at least a minimum number of guards. The Word Bearers and Iron Hands in the west deserve even more attention."

Having said that, a painful expression appeared on the face of the Terra Guard.

"After all, Luo Jia has always had a strange temperament. Although his loyalty to the Emperor is impeccable, we are not the one who is right in this matter."

"And Ferrus..."

The corners of Dorn's mouth twitched a few times.

"Who can ensure that Fulgrim's... influence on him will not cause him to join the war?"

"Not to mention, if I want to hold back the Death Guard, I'll have to send part of my army south."

"After the reduction, Leman Russ and I can only mobilize more than 400,000 troops to the Eastern Front, most of which are Space Wolves."

"And, with all due respect..."

Dorn's expression was somewhat grim.

"I do not deny Rus's bravery and loyalty, nor do I deny the strength of the VI Legion, but they will not last long against the full-strength Luna Wolves: Leman Russ may only buy me a few months, and even if you take into account Horus' own mobilization time, the Warmaster's army can set foot in the Solar Segmentum in less than two years."

"Although we have enough fortresses, fleets, military supplies, and mortal auxiliary forces, two years is not enough time to complete a new round of military expansion: If I only have more than 100,000 Imperial Fists, I have no confidence in defending Terra from the blade of Horus."

The Primarch looked towards the Sigillite.

“That’s the biggest problem.”

“I hope you really have a solution.”

"Of course I do."

Malcador stretched his muscles and walked towards the shadow in the corner of the room.

"You know, Dawn."

"Holy Terra is a world of unique privilege for the Astartes."

"During the Age of Strife, Terra could single-handedly help the Emperor provide for a full twenty Astartes Legions. Although the strength of each legion at that time was far less than what it is now, overall, Holy Terra, which had experienced two centuries of recuperation, could fully provide enough high-quality soldiers for the Seventh Legion."

“I’ve never worried about that.”

The Primarch was a little annoyed: he couldn't believe that the Sigillite couldn't see the point.

"But the real problem is: two years is not enough time to train a new batch of Astartes."

"enough."

"One year is enough."

Malcador smiled and flipped the switch.

The sudden appearance of bright blue in the dim room made Dorn squint his eyes.

After he got used to the light, the scene before him made Rogal Dorn freeze in place.

He saw that on the wall to one side, a petri dish taller than him was slowly rising. An unknown light blue liquid was glowing strangely, tightly wrapping the experimental subject inside. And that experimental subject was actually a fully grown Imperial Fist.

As the Primarch of the VII Legion, Dorn immediately noticed that this Imperial Fist was different from every other child under his command.

“This is the latest achievement.”

The Sigillite introduced to the Primarch.

"It was also the latest technology that the Emperor allowed me to officially put into use before he left."

"..."

Dorn looked at the warrior sleeping quietly in the petri dish with some awe. Beside his ear, the Sigillite was explaining the advantages of the new technology to him one by one.

"He is more mature. He only needs the gene seed implanted. Every implant and organ required for the remaining eighteen surgeries will grow automatically: even the black carapace."

"He is more experienced. Soldiers born after this operation do not need to cultivate combat experience. Their combat experience is innate. Even a new soldier who has only served for a week can be compared with a veteran who has been invincible for hundreds of years before that."

"He is more powerful. Whether it is speed, attack power, or physical defense, it is a qualitative leap compared to the old Astartes. With the right equipment, they can even keep up with the Primarch."

"He is also more loyal. You need not doubt these warriors. They are as loyal as the true Imperial Fists: I can guarantee that."

Having said this, the seal holder paused.

"Of course, there are shortcomings, but we are not in a position to be picky at this point."

Dawn's brow twitched.

He almost instinctively realized that the shortcomings concealed by the Master were definitely not a small problem: If this technology was really perfect, why didn't the Empire use it to strengthen its army before?
But he did not pursue the matter: as the Sigillite had said, they did not have time to investigate the details.

"Besides, compared to his greatest strengths, his shortcomings are indeed negligible."

Malcador knocked on the petri dish, and the crisp sound woke Dorn from his thoughts.

“Its real advantage is that it’s faster.”

"From planting the seeds to developing combat effectiveness, the entire process takes less than two months."

"Yes, you heard me right: two months."

"We have plenty of time to conduct at least seven to nine rounds of conscription before Horus arrives."

"The only thing that could limit the number of conscriptions is the lack of specialized petri dishes needed for these soldiers."

"There's really nothing we can do about that."

"But even so, it can still bring you at least 200,000 to 300,000 new soldiers before the Warmaster arrives."

"So, like I said, Dawn."

In the shadows, the Seal Bearer looked at the Lord of the Imperial Fist with a terrifying light flashing in his eyes.

"One year. That's enough."

------

"So, what are they called?"

"I don't know: maybe we should come up with a name for this new generation of warriors."

"What do you think of the Super Imperial Fist, Dawn?"

"……seriously?"

"Either Blade, Punisher, Paragon or..."

"Black Templar?"

"what?"

"Conrad told me: he said it was a good name for my regiment."

"..."

"Then let's do it."

"The Black Templars: I think the galaxy will soon learn of this new name."

——————Volume 10, End——————

(End of this chapter)