Emperor's Bane

Chapter 890 New List, New List

Just like that, under the instigation of the vicious Spider Queen, the King of Macragge, who had long been ambitious, finally couldn't bear it anymore and agreed to the deal: one hundred thousand brave and fearless Ultramarines were abandoned, and they would be made into delicious blueberry pies and thrown into the insatiable mouth of the Lion of Caliban.

Both parties in the transaction benefited.

Morgan was given flesh and blood to squander at will to feed her greedy beast.

As for Guilliman, he took the opportunity to clear out the last of the Terran remnants in the Legion: no one dared to say no to the Lord of Makura's orders anymore.

During the negotiations between the two sides on more follow-up details, the number rose to 150,000.

That’s all: no more.

The Lord of Avalon is well aware of this.

She knew that, while Guilliman was perfectly willing to help his brothers, even then he would prioritize the reality of the Five Hundred Worlds: most of his blood brothers were less important than his own kingdom, at least in the eyes of the Macragge people.

As for Terra and the Emperor?
That's another question.

In Morgan's opinion, Guilliman's initial proposal for 200,000 reinforcements was just a bargain price offered by the Lord of Macragge out of brotherhood without him having time to think.

That is to say, after calming down, Guilliman will definitely find a way to regret it.

Regardless of whether Morgan told him about Johnson or not, Guilliman would not send out these 200,000 reinforcements.

As for the reason?

The reason is simple, but also complicated.

If we talk about the root cause: this can even be traced back to the reason why Morgan did not fully trust Guilliman.

……

As we all know, the current Ultramarines have a total of 550,000 regular troops and 100,000 reserves, at least that's what they claim on paper.

This force may seem huge, but it is not the best among the existing legions: the Word Bearers' strength has already exceeded one million, the Iron Warriors and the Luna Wolves have 800,000 and 600,000 troops respectively. Compared with their troops, the Ultramarines' strength can only be ranked fourth now, fortunately it has widened the gap with the fifth and sixth.

But for the Thirteenth Legion, which had long maintained a cliff-like lead in terms of troop strength during the Great Crusade, this was really a bit too unusual.

With millions of soldiers, far ahead of other legions, they can single-handedly fight against four or five brothers, and even shake the foundation of the Empire's rule: this is the stereotype of the Ultramarines that most people have.

There are many reasons why there is such a huge gap between expectations and reality.

The first is that the Primarch of the Ultramarines is highly optimistic about the situation. Among all the Emperor's children, Guilliman is one of the few optimists who believes that the Great Crusade will truly bring permanent peace to all mankind: this is also the number one reason why he is willing to participate in the Great Crusade.

In Guilliman's view, although the Great Crusade brought countless hidden dangers to the Human Empire, the power that the Emperor and his loyalists now possessed made them fully capable of suppressing the aftermath of the war by force: after that, it would only take a few hundred years of peace and renewal, and the new generation of Imperial citizens would naturally and habitually submit to the rule of Terra and form a stable inertia of obedience.

By then, perhaps only a galactic-level crisis would lead to the destruction of the human empire.

As for the civil war?

This option would only appear when the situation was extremely unstable, internal divisions became intense, and all classes and even legions were completely split. It was impossible for it to appear in the human empire, which was now on the rise.

In the days to come, peace will be the mainstream.

Just like the old saying: things that come together for a long time will eventually separate, and things that separate for a long time will eventually come together.

Since the Age of Strife lasted for thousands of years, why should the Heyday of the Human Empire be shorter?
All the political knowledge Guilliman had been exposed to since childhood made him believe this.

This optimistic pursuit of pacifism is an important reason why the Ultramarines Legion is incomplete in strength.

As for other reasons, it is impossible to state them openly.

That the Five Hundred Worlds were drifting towards isolationism: and that Guilliman's loyalty to the Emperor and Terra was fading over time.

Well, that’s not quite accurate.

It should be said that from the very beginning, the Five Hundred Worlds had no reason to be loyal to the Human Empire.

In the eyes of most people, there are only two sources of legitimacy for the Empire's ability to unify the galaxy: first, the Empire's fleet has indeed rescued numerous worlds from the madness and cruelty of the Age of Strife; second, the billions of troops loyal to the Emperor are indeed capable of protecting the worlds and preventing them from falling into a new era of strife.

And for this security, they were able to endure Terra's high pressure and cruel taxation.

But from the perspective of the Five Hundred Worlds, this is not the case.

Long before encountering the Empire, the various allies of Ultramar had united into a powerful group of five hundred worlds under the coordination of Guilliman. They had emerged from the darkness of the Age of Strife through their own efforts, and were confident that they had enough ability to protect themselves.

In their view, the Emperor and his empire were just a simple plunderer.

Not only did they rob the Five Hundred Worlds of their independence, they also robbed them of their wise kings, dragging them into an endless bloody expedition: the Great Crusade, which lasted for more than a hundred years, devoured countless supplies and young men from Ultramar. They were sent to the stars and never returned. Faced with the death notices that came like snowflakes, anger and dissatisfaction had already accumulated in the shadows.

If all this was still bearable, then when the Ullanor Conference marked the end of the Great Crusade, the people of Macragge finally breathed a sigh of relief and planned to return home to enjoy the peace they had bought with their blood: the Terra government's order to blatantly deprive Badab of its territory finally aroused the rage of the Five Hundred Worlds.

A fight ensues.

But if I win, it would be fine.

But they lost, and it was a crushing defeat: an unprecedented defeat.

It was a disastrous defeat that would become part of the collective memory and could hardly be forgotten.

Although half a century has passed, the tragic defeat at Badab and the shame brought by the Treaty of Bucephalus have not disappeared from the hearts of the Macragge people. On the contrary, as time passed, the anger and humiliation eventually brewed into a wave of isolationism that is now sweeping across the 500 worlds of Ultramar.

In the two hundred years before this, Ultramar had never suffered such humiliation. The prosperous life and the glorious victories outside the skyline had engraved pride into the bones of every Macragge: therefore, a complete failure would seem so glaring.

Two hundred years of victory went unnoticed, but the humiliation of a defeat is still known to everyone today.

Furthermore, as the refugees from Badab gradually multiplied and thrived on the land of Ultramar, and some of their descendants became recruits of the Ultramarines, the hatred for this humiliation gradually spread to all classes and even within the Thirteenth Legion: it has now become a part of Macragge's history textbooks and will be passed down from generation to generation.

It is true that most people do not think that taking back Badab would be a good idea, but the gap between the Five Hundred Worlds and Terra has long been too deep, and no one wants to be a loyal subject under the rule of the Empire: in the name of the shame of Badab, a wave of isolationism that is isolated from the overseas empire is launched. This is the real reason why these histories can be passed down from generation to generation.

By now, this isolationist mentality had even backfired on Guilliman himself.

Even the Primarch was helpless against these problems: he thought about using violent suppression, but when his adoptive mother, Lady Euden, and thousands of warriors in the Legion regarded what happened on Badab as a shame, how could he change the minds of so many people?
Ask Morgan for help and take forceful action?

It’s not that it’s impossible: in that case, what’s the difference between him and the tyrant he despises the most?
What's the difference between this and trampling on the promise made in front of my adoptive father's tomb?
There was no other way. Given Guilliman's character, all he could do was compromise and give in, and use a more gentle attitude to soften the surging public opinion.

In fact, he did a pretty good job.

Today's stubborn isolationism is the result of Guilliman's efforts to appease it: in the years just after the Badab Crisis, the wave of separatism on Macragge was far more fierce and radical than it is now. If the Primarch had not had a very high prestige in his kingdom, he himself might have been implicated.

But despite this, he still had to compromise on some issues: the current strength of the Ultramarines Legion of 550,000 is an example.

Because for Macragge, a standing force of this size is [sufficient].

Five hundred and fifty thousand people are enough to protect five hundred worlds: but they can only protect five hundred worlds.

And if there were more, it would be difficult to guarantee whether the people under Guilliman, who were full of resentment towards Terra, would make any big news in private.

As for if the allies in the north are in trouble, we only need to slightly adjust and weaken the garrison forces to arm a sufficient support army, but this is the limit of what 550,000 people can do: they can protect the Far East, but they have no ability to interfere in the Milky Way.

In other words, the Ultramarines Legion has now become a defensive force, and they also represent the mainstream view of the Five Hundred Worlds: the Macragge people have little interest in overthrowing the rule of the Empire and establishing an independent and free country, but they also don't want to get involved in the vortex at the center of the galaxy and have to shed blood and sweat for the ambitions and tyranny of Holy Terra.

They will protect themselves and Terra doesn't need to worry about it: but Terra shouldn't expect to get anything from them.

And this, in a sense, was the final result of the compromise between Guilliman and his subjects, also revealed a little bit of the inner thoughts of Lord Macragge: the Primarch was indeed content to live his own life behind closed doors in Ultramar, and was indifferent to the affairs of the galaxy.

This is also the reason why the Spider Queen never urged Guilliman to expand the army on a large scale: the hatred of Terra is the unanimous opinion of the entire Five Hundred Worlds, and the Badab Crisis that year made this hatred almost irreversible. Even the Lord of Macragge himself could not go against the public opinion that had already been boiling over.

Under such circumstances, if Guilliman were to squeeze out 150,000 troops to go north to support Avalon, it would be the limit of what he could do: if he really sent out 200,000, then the Five Hundred Worlds themselves would be in chaos.

Don't forget that the Lord of Macragge also has to support the money-eating beast-like [Six Hundred Worlds] plan.

The cost of large-scale colonization and reclamation of the dark areas outside the territory is not a small number, and the result of abandoning it halfway will only be worse: billions of colonists will be left there to die.

Morgan and Conrad naturally understood such a simple truth.

Moreover, Morgan himself is also responsible for this.

As for the neighboring countries of the Five Hundred Worlds, Avalon in the north is needless to say, Vulkan in the west is a well-known good guy and there is no need to worry about him at all, and Angron in the southwest and Perturabo in the north, under the introduction of Morgan, have already established close relations with Guilliman, and even became quasi-allies who advance and retreat together in a vague way after a long period of exchanges.

In other words, apart from the extraterritorial darkness, the only border of the Five Hundred Worlds that needs to be protected now is a small part in the northwest that borders the White Scars Legion.

Of course, the Lord of Avalon had consciously or unconsciously hoped that Guilliman would be on guard against Perturabo: she was sure her brother had heard these words.

Such a favorable external environment not only gave the residents of Macragge the confidence to pursue isolationism, but also made it unnecessary for the Ultramarines to maintain so many troops.

However, these are all things for later.

For the Spider Queen, getting 150,000 reinforcements from the Five Hundred Worlds was already a surprise enough: this number, combined with the nearly 50,000 Dawnbreakers she would leave behind (including hundreds of new recruits), as well as the power of the Dawn Warriors and the Midnight Lords, was enough to form a garrison corps of around 300,000 people.

Although these [Foreign Legions] certainly don't know Avalon as well as the main force of the Dawnbreakers, the mere 300,000 people combined with Avalon's strong national strength is enough to deter most invaders: unless those who decide to attack the Far Eastern border can mobilize a historic level of troops that can stir up the galaxy.

In fact, this deployment of troops was just Morgan's preparation for the worst-case scenario.

In the Spider Queen's plan, she most likely won't be able to use this [Foreign Legion].

Even if the situation on Terra really developed into the worst case scenario mentioned by Guilliman, that is, Horus decided to go to war with Malcador on the spot, he would need at least a year to gather the army and allies: and leave a considerable number of them to guard their rear.

Moreover, Morgan knew very well that Leman Russ and Dorn would never stand on Horus' side, and the former stood in the way of Horus's path to Terra: it would take the Wolf God at least three to four months to eliminate the Sixth Legion's defense line. If his luck was too bad, Russ might even delay it for half a year.

Then, add Dorne's defenses: the Wolf God will be trapped for at least two years.

Two years is enough time for Morgan to travel back and forth on the Webway.

【…】

However, this is all for the best.

The Spider Queen never expected that events would turn out as she had predicted.

After sending away Guilliman, who seemed to be preoccupied with his worries, and Conrad, who was still not serious, Morgan wandered in the room where she was the only one left. She pondered for a moment, and her blue eyes saw the star map of the Milky Way.

She stood in front of the ever-changing lights and wondered who would be her opponent.

Needless to say, Horus and his supporters.

Although in the Spider Queen's opinion, neither Sanguinius nor Jagatai Khan would go all the way with the Wolf God: after all, the Archangel is not a person who would allow himself to degenerate, and the reason why Khan chose Horus is simply because he believes that Horus is a better option than Terra.

When the corruption of chaos begins to manifest, I believe Khan's clarity of mind will allow him to make the right choice.

But: this is not enough.

Morgan rubbed his chin.

For Chaos, if Horus, Mortarion and the Phoenix are the only ones who eventually side with them, then the four great powers will definitely not be satisfied, not to mention that the three Primarchs are simply not enough to go around: such a thin rebellious force is even less likely to deal a fatal blow to the Emperor's grand cause.

There will definitely be more people turning to chaos.

At least someone will lose his loyalty: when the galaxy is at war, those who are out of control or maliciously neutral can also be considered opponents of the Empire. So, who will it be?
Morgan considered the possible options.

To be fair: there aren’t actually that many candidates.

Needless to say, the Spider Queen still has some confidence in her vision and skills as for those in the Far East: even Corax, who has not been in her sight for many years, is unlikely to eventually fall into the arms of Chaos.

Of course, it's not completely impossible.

The Lord of Avalon's gaze kept groping between the two star regions in the southern part of the Milky Way.

If Corax falls, then together with the already dangerous Mortarion and Lorgar, a Chaos Empire spanning two star regions will emerge in the southern part of the Milky Way. If they can erode and disintegrate the kingdom of Dorne, then the huge size of the two star regions will be enough for the four gods to have an irreversible and far-reaching impact on the real universe.

Another danger comes from Ferrus.

If the Iron Hands fall, they will be able to run rampant in the western part of the galaxy together with the Word Bearers to their south. There is no doubt that the Tenth Legion is powerful. If they hold high the banner of the eight-pointed star and attack the approaching Dark Angels, they may even have enough energy to hold back the First Legion and make it unable to move.

Without Zhuang Sen's restraint, Horus would probably become even more unscrupulous.

And if Ferrus used his iron torrent to join forces with Lorgar's endless army to attack Terra from the already weakly defended west: the consequences would be even more unimaginable.

Not to mention the indescribably powerful secret weapons in the Gorgon Treasury. If the rebels got hold of them, the iron defense line built by Dorn would probably face a real test. Morgan was not optimistic that the Lord of the Imperial Fist could hold up.

After all, the Iron Hands plus the Luna Wolf?
This is indeed a powerful enemy that even the Dark Angels and Dawnbreakers would find difficult to defeat together.

Then again, considering Fulgrim's presence: corrupting Ferrus might be easier than one might think.

【…】

Morgan frowned.

She actually didn't know her brother very well, but she had heard about his strength and close relationship with Fulgrim. Taking these two points into consideration and the special geographical location of the Iron Hands Legion, if Morgan was a powerful being high up in the depths of space, she would definitely find a way to corrupt Ferrus. If done well, it would deal a fatal blow to the Empire.

So, after thinking for a moment, Morgan put Ferrus's name on the red list of people who need to be alert.

Ranked second.

Above him was Luo Jia, who was tacitly regarded by the Spider Queen as a potential rebel.

In addition to the two of them, there is actually another name that Morgan has tacitly included in the red list.

The Spider Queen looked towards the east.

[Perturabo. 】

She whispered the name.

This is also a potential threat.

why?
It’s because of the at least 800,000 Iron Warriors under the Lord of Iron.

Because disturbing rumors were gradually spreading from the land of Olympia.

Because Morgan knew very well that Perturabo's nature had not changed at all.

Just because: From the star map, we can see that Olympia is so close to Avalon.

The shortest straight-line distance to Avalon is from the border of Olympia: that is to say, if the traitor's army could start from here, they only need to win one or two important battles to reach the nominal capital of the entire Far East border. Behind it is the most prosperous area in the east of the galaxy.

Anyone with a little military knowledge can see this intuitively from the star map: if the Fourth Legion attacks to the east, they have a great chance of success and cut the entire Avalon in half. At that time, even the three kingdoms of the Far East will be divided into two parts, with the head and the tail unable to communicate, and their strength will be greatly reduced.

From a military perspective, the possibilities of this plan are too tempting.

And for Morgan, that was enough to put Perturabo's name on the red list.

However, it can only rank third.

Because compared to Lorgar, who is out of reach and has already built up momentum, and Ferrus, who Morgan doesn't know at all and is also out of reach, the Spider Queen's understanding of the Lord of Steel is very impressive: not only that, she also has sufficient countermeasures.

One of them is the [Avalon Faction] rooted in the Iron Warriors: despite the rapid expansion of the Fourth Legion and the dispersion of power caused by Perturabo's dismantling of the legions in various places, these young men who regard the Far Eastern frontier as their spiritual homeland did not usurp all the power of the Fourth Legion as Morgan had imagined, but they still achieved considerable results over the years.

To the east of Olympia, the land bordering the Far Eastern Frontier is basically under the control of the Avalon Faction, and with their early warning, the Iron Warriors will not be able to launch an attack that Morgan cannot predict: and this part of the star region will not be used by Perturabo, but will instead become an obstruction to the Iron Warriors Legion's advance eastwards.

Secondly, the Avalon sector is already home to the most elite troops stationed in the Far Eastern Frontier: even if Morgan will take away the main force of the Dawnbreaker Legion, the hundreds of mortal auxiliary troops gathered here are enough to make any invading enemy suffer.

Not to mention, the Spider Queen had already deployed some secret weapons in this area in advance and built a proud iron line of defense.

If these alone are not enough to defend Avalon from possible future enemies, then Morgan does have a third method.

Now, think about this: the most likely known attackers to attack Avalon from here are the Iron Warriors.

If you want to deal with an enemy, the best way is to send someone who knows him well enough.
Well, the problem is coming.

Who knows the Iron Warriors best?

Who else, while understanding the Iron Warriors, is willing to fight for Avalon and the Empire?
------

"Sir, are you looking for me?"

【Come in, Mr. Dantioch.】

------

Conversation with the Warsmith is always pleasant.

In just a few minutes, Dantioch had grasped the main points of the conversation.

"So, Master Morgan."

The Warsmith hesitated.

"You mean: you are about to lead the main force of the Dawnbreakers on an important expedition."

[Maybe I won’t be back for a while.]

Morgan slowly turned around, and the star map behind her illuminated her long silver hair.

[And the troops I left behind may not be able to cover the entire territory of Avalon.]

"I see."

Dantioch straightened his back, and inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The Warsmith had anticipated all this.

why?
Very simple.

For more than a hundred years, Dantioch has kept in mind every favor that the Spider Queen has bestowed on the Fourteenth Battalion.

Whether it was the de facto long-term protection, the special favor of allowing them to expand their army, or the generosity of giving them the Salamas sector as a reward: all of this could not have been without a price, and even if Morgan did not ask for it, the War Blacksmith would still feel guilty.

Now, he can finally feel at ease.

"Please leave it to us, sir."

Dantioch clenched his fist and placed it on his chest.

"Even if we shed our last drop of blood, we will not allow any enemy to occupy the land of Avalon."

【Your guarantee is always reassuring. 】

The Primarch simply nodded.

[But if I may be frank, what really worries me are some practical factors.]

"……for example?"

【For example, your military strength. 】

Morgan kept smiling, but there was something in that smile that the Warsmith couldn't see through.

[For reasons we all know, you haven't actually reached your military strength limit. ]

"Sir, we..."

【But not anymore.】

The Primarch interrupted Dantioch.

【Lord Dantioch.】

"I'm here."

[I hope you can return to Salamas immediately and do your best to expand your camp. ]

[Recruit as many as you can: I will ask local officials and governors to fully cooperate with you. ]

"..."

Dantioch looked up in great surprise.

A wise man like the War Blacksmith would naturally understand the deep meaning behind this change.

"Sir, could it be that..."

Dantioch did not continue, for he saw that the Lord of Avalon was looking him straight in the eyes.

[Have you heard, Lord Dantioch? ]

"what?"

[I mean…]

Morgan turned away.

She tapped the star map in front of her with her finger, marking an area in red, revealing a blood-like color and illuminating Dantioch's pupils.

The Warsmith froze in place, because he saw which area was shrouded in ominous colors.

------

【According to the latest intelligence. 】

【In Olympia.】

【It seems that something disturbing has happened. 】

(End of this chapter)