Emperor's Bane

Chapter 896 Don't Break the Fourth Wall (Part 2)

"You mean to say that those humans who survived to the end were all killed by your own hands?"

"It's not just them."

"In fact, during what humanity calls the dark age of technology, I was ordered by the Revival Council to selectively kill some of the most dangerous scientists among them: some had gone into areas they shouldn't have, while others had harmed our interests."

King Djoser spoke as if he were discussing the recent loss of his favorite insect specimen.

"And it must be admitted that, in this kind of problem, deploying the Death Seal is always a tried and true solution."

(Note: Death Mark, an elite sniper in the Necromancer army, whose status is roughly equivalent to the Assassin's Court of the Empire. It is so powerful that it is forbidden to use it in the Necromancer Civil War, because there was a case in which two Necromancer dynasties simultaneously sent people to use Death Mark to behead the other, resulting in the mutual destruction of both sides.)
"why?"

Emperor Kames was somewhat confused.

"Don't you enjoy observing these young men the most?"

"Two reasons."

Zoser cleared his throat in a mocking manner.

"One reason is that it's a requirement of the Revival Council."

"And another reason is that I don't see a future in those researchers of the Golden Man."

"Especially those who have embarked on the path of the Enlighteners."

"Their resources are generally insufficient."

"Is Peturabo sufficient?"

“Oh, my dear Camus: you’ve certainly asked the right question!”

Djoser's hand was half-clenched in the air, looking quite uncomfortable.

"Although it sounds incredible, the current human empire is indeed the first completely unified regime in the entire history of human civilization: the previous exploration era and the dark technology era may sound wonderful, but they never achieved even nominal unity, nor did they ever have true internal solidarity."

Do you know why so many French emperors and overlords are so interested in this so-called emperor?

"Because for their race, he was truly remarkable: he achieved unprecedented unity, and his descendants and vassals actually possessed far more resources and safer experimental spaces than their predecessors: those so-called rulers of the Dark Ages did not necessarily have better conditions than these Primarchs."

“Like this Peturabo, he has the resources and supplies of tens of thousands of worlds at his disposal: there are also such technological overlords among the Golden Men, but they have to spend most of their energy on their crazy and twisted desires and the constant wars and feuds between them. They can’t devote themselves to this wholeheartedly.”

"Moreover, there is a time difference in this process."

"During the Age of Exploration and the early to middle period of the Dark Age, the technology of the Golden People was not so advanced. Although many people were aware of the existence of the Path of the Enlightened, they could not get any closer to it in their entire lives: so they were not a threat to our race."

"Those golden people who were lucky enough to live a long time and were able to advance on the path of the Enlightened were concentrated in the late Dark Age of Technology: you know what happened back then. The people living in that era were less scientists and more a bunch of complete madmen. Letting them venture into a new world is not a good thing."

"Therefore, erasure is necessary."

"The Recovery Council also thinks so."

Thutmose nodded.

"But recently, their thinking has changed."

"why?"

"King Kames asked."

"Because of the Age of Conflict as described by humankind."

Emperor Thutmose seemed quite indifferent.

"The Resurrection Council realized that humanity is not a fundamentally threatening species: few civilizations have been able to destroy themselves in such a short time. Even the Eldar took a long time to fall, while humanity did not even last for 100,000 years. Their peak lasted only 10,000 to 20,000 years."

"But they've risen again."

"It's just that we've climbed out of the valley."

Zoser gave a mocking laugh.

"They lost too much because of the Age of Strife, including their past courage and pioneering spirit, as well as a considerable amount of important industry and technology: although the Empire achieved unprecedented unification, if they did not have the courage to reclaim their old stone and iron figures, their potential would never have reached the standards of the Dark Ages."

"For them, it is a miracle that they were able to recover and even achieve reunification."

“Fate cannot continue to favor this pitiful race: now, there are less than ten thousand years left until the Great Awakening planned by the Resurrection Council, and in such a short time, the human empire cannot possibly develop to the point where it can threaten the entire space undead civilization.”

"When our empire returns, the only role these new races will play is to add a necessary sense of ritual to our process of regaining control of the galaxy: many emperors and crowned generals would certainly be bored if we were just colonizing a bunch of wastelands."

"We need to bleed a little."

"Just like their great expedition."

"But this time, they will be the ones sent on the expedition."

"Is that so, Thutmose?"

Emperor Camus looked at the executioner of the Revival Council.

"Does the Revival Council think the same way?"

"Generally speaking, that's correct."

Thutmose only kept his eyes on Djoser.

"But there is a misconception."

"That's why I came."

He stood up, one hand already gripping the infamous execution scythe.

The flickering of the particles made Camus shrink back.

"Pharaoh Djoser."

Thutmose raised his head slightly.

"The Council of Resurrection suspects that you, along with the other twenty-three Emperors and Overlords, have been secretly instilling the unique technology of the Deathbringers into this Primarch named Peturabo, causing him to make unprecedented leaps in his research on the Path of the Enlightened: this has greatly jeopardized the interests of the Empire itself."

(Note: Some space necromancers may view their civilization as a unified empire.)
Hearing this, Camus chuckled softly.

Still so hypocritical: Thutmose just now pretended not to know anything about the Path of the Enlightened.

These bored executioners always liked to resort to old methods of torture to extract confessions.

But Thutmose's voice still echoed.

"According to imperial law, if the charge of leaking imperial secrets is true, it is a serious crime. Depending on the severity of the circumstances, the punishment can be deprivation of the dynasty's military power, forced abdication, exile, or even death."

Thutmose kept a close eye on his friend.

"But before that, you have one more chance to defend your actions."

"You can explain the legitimacy of your actions, or prove that they do not meet the standards of being illegal."

"And if you can't convince me, then you'll have to go to the court of the Revival Council."

"..."

Empress Cames remained silent; she simply looked at Djoser quietly alongside Thutmose.

At the same time, she was also thinking: if a conflict really broke out here, who should she support?
"what……"

After a long silence, Emperor Zoserfa, who had been absentmindedly adjusting the projection, finally spoke slowly.

"So, you don't intend to convict me immediately?"

"No one wants to offend a powerful dynasty."

Thutmose's voice sounded somewhat defeated.

"Otherwise, why do those two bastards, Tarasin and Orikan, always get away with it?"

“One Nishirak, one Sotek: they can at least find themselves powerful backers.”

Empress Kames burrowed deeper into her chair; she knew, of course, where Thutmose's discontent stemmed from.

The Nihilak dynasty was the wealthiest of all the Necromancer dynasties, and considering that its inexhaustible treasury mostly came from the plunder of foreign wars, its strength was self-evident. As for the Sotek dynasty, apart from the Szalak dynasty to which the Silent King himself belonged, no dynasty was more powerful than Sotek.

They are the kind of powerful forces that can make the Resurgence Council bow down and back down on their own.

As for Emperor Djoserfa's dynasty, although it cannot do this at present, if it wants to resist, the Revival Council will have to break half of its teeth.

This is why Thutmose was so easy to talk to.

"Ok."

Emperor Djoser spread his hands.

Let's start from the beginning.

……

"Actually, at the very beginning, I didn't immediately notice this human named Peturabo."

"The first to notice him were the Recovery Council."

“As you know, the Resurrection Council has a special galactic detection instrument. Once a race’s technology develops to a worrying point, the instrument will issue a warning. So, when Peturabo first made his move, the Resurrection Council had already noticed him.”

"Then they sent me over."

“I inquired, and the Resurgence Council assured me that there was no need for a fight to the death this time; surveillance would suffice.”

"After all, modern humans aren't golden men."

Kames expressed his understanding.

"They are safer."

"The Resurrection Council even tacitly allowed those ignorant humans to preserve the precious Blackrock Fortress for us."

"You mean those areas in the former territory of the Sotek dynasty?"

"Yes, a human kingdom called Avalon."

“I grieve for them, their territory largely overlaps with that of the Sotek dynasty.”

"Although the Sotek have lost many centuries, their remaining strength is still formidable."

"Moreover, if a Primarch goes missing, they will truly fight us to the death."

"But that's beside the point."

Djoser interrupted her.

"The key point is: I observed this prototype for dozens of standard years from the shadows using a long-range perspective."

"Of course: it's their standard year."

"Well, Perturabo's character and personality are not satisfactory. Even if we don't judge him by the noble standards of us space necromancers, but by the lowly standards of humans and other younger races, he is not a person with a commendable character. However, his talent is truly unique and powerful."

"It's so rare."

Camis laughed.

"The most talented scientist among all the French emperors back then would praise a young barbarian in such a way."

“I’m not bragging.”

Zoser shook his head.

“His talent is truly exceptional: he possesses an innate ability to know certain things from birth.”

"The Path of the Enlightened Ones, also known as the Third Space as Peturabo mentioned, was something I studied before. Although I didn't make it to the end due to time constraints, I still spent a thousand standard years correcting my mistakes and finding the right path: that's already a very good achievement."

"Over the years, I have also observed every subsequent race that has embarked on this path, and they have spent anywhere from hundreds of years to their extinction without finding the true path. But in any case, when they first begin to study the path of the Enlightened, even if the entire race devotes all its efforts, they must linger in ignorance and error for quite some time."

"Of course: it's been a good long time for those who fear death."

"But this Peturabo, relying on his instincts and a certain intuition, found the right path right at the beginning of the experiment: he didn't take any detours, and he found the right path that I had spent a thousand years trying and failing to find."

"It was all thanks to his own efforts."

"Was it a fluke?" Cames offered the obvious assumption.

“I initially thought so too, until I went through all his previous research records.”

"If I had to say it was just once, it was definitely a lucky accident."

"But what if it happens every time?"

"..."

Camis remained silent for a moment.

"What exactly did that emperor bring back from the warp?"

"The Resuscitation Council also wants to know."

Thutmose responded irritably, then continued to stare intently at Djoser.

"So, that's why you decided to secretly fund Peturabo's research?"

"Actually, I didn't start it."

Zoser shrugged.

"After I figured out what he was doing and how talented he was: you know, to solve the eternal boredom, I had been secretly monitoring him. I even used some methods to confuse my surveillance with the surveillance of the warp, making him mistakenly believe that all the malice came from the Eye of Fear."

"And as you know, watching a movie alone is very boring."

"So I called a few more people, and then they each called their friends and acquaintances: in total, there were twenty or thirty sovereigns and overlords."

"After that: with more people, new ideas will naturally emerge."

"So someone suggested that we should secretly help this young man, for example, by manipulating some of his assistants to directly input the correct logic and key data when he is calculating. Although he can calculate most of these on his own, it will take a very long time."

"We don't want to wait for a repeat of the same plot; we'd rather know what the final result will be."

"Then that computing power behemoth..."

“That’s none of our business; we could never build such a rudimentary structure. But it’s already very valuable to humankind.”

"However, we did do some extra work."

"For example, we ensured that the warp channels in this star system under Peturabo's control remained open, so that those warp creatures wouldn't disturb our interests."

"We also secretly transferred a number of resource-rich mineral worlds from other star sectors, so that he wouldn't be held hostage by resources."

"Moreover, there was also a bit of my own selfish motive involved."

Emperor Djoser shook his head.

"The Restoration Council restricts the dynasty's actions, preventing us from large-scale expansion or reclaiming of territory. Although I also intend to follow the path of the Enlightened Ones, the resources I have are simply insufficient to support me in completing all the research. I also want to see just how far this Peturabo can go. If I'm lucky, he might open my eyes to something truly remarkable."

"Of course, most of us in this investment group are still curious to see how he will ultimately ruin himself."

"Will they be overthrown after exhausting all resources, or will they be arrested by the human empire that has caught up with the situation?"

"Or perhaps his metal creations, his increasingly mad followers, or even just a tiny glitch in the vast computing network, or a rash leap toward the final step on the path to enlightenment: ahead of him lie millions of dangers."

"He is unlikely to have a good ending: like those scientists who created the golden statues."

"What lies behind the Path of the Enlightened is something that these younger races cannot grasp."

Djoser shook his head, unsure whether he was lamenting Peturabo's tragic future or simply mocking the past civilization of the Death-Fearers.

"Aren't you worried that this kind of leak will allow the human empire's power to expand to an uncontrollable level?"

Emperor Thutmose clearly had little interest in listening to Emperor Djoser's reflections on life.

"What if he really does complete the Path of the Enlightened One?"

"What if they actually make a breakthrough?"

"so what?"

A sneer of contempt escaped from Emperor Djoser's vocal cords.

"You don't really think everything's fine just because Perturabo has detected the third space, do you?"

"How to say?"

"Give me an example."

Emperor Djoser raised one hand.

"The path of the enlighteners is like a route from the old world to the new world."

“What Peturabo is doing now is proving the existence of the new world to the old world.”

“Besides that, there’s nothing he can do.”

"He can only point the way and verify the facts; but these results cannot bring about immediate change."

"In other words, he was just an expedition ship captain who believed that a new world really existed."

"He wanted to prove that this was a promised land, uncultivated and fertile enough to sustain an entire civilization."

"But for human civilization, if they want to use this new world to completely get rid of the warp, then simply discovering it is far from enough. They must also relocate most, or even all, of their population to the new world."

"Think about it, just sending out an exploration ship to confirm the existence of the new world already requires so many resources, and how difficult it would be to relocate the entire population of the old world to the new world: this is truly an impossible task."

"The mere need to maintain the computing network and consciousness transmission project during this period would be enough to break them down."

"At that time, their most likely solution will be to consume the vast majority of the population in exchange for a small number of elites to go to the New World, but even so, it will take long enough to sustain the entire army of the Empire of the Dead until they have all returned from their awakening: perhaps even the Silent King will return from his ridiculous exile."

"..."

Thutmose pretended not to hear the last sentence.

That's right: he didn't like the Silent King either.

As the Holy Emperor, his dynasty was inherited and protected by thousands of generations of bloodlines, but the Silent King destroyed everything with just a simple military order: a military order that, because of the damned General Control Agreement, he could not even object to or raise any objections to.

"So, in your view, secretly assisting Peturabo is harmless to the interests of the Empire of the Dead, is that right?"

"Anyway, he can't do anything practical."

"That's not quite right either. Sometimes the exploration itself is the greatest value."

"There are only two difficulties that hinder the development of civilization: one is not being able to find a direction to move forward, and the other is encountering difficulties that existing technology cannot solve. Solving the former is much more difficult than solving the latter, and a shift in thinking is far more important than a technological breakthrough."

"That's what I said."

"But ultimately, they can't do it."

Emperor Thutmose leaned back on his throne and shook his head, which had a multi-part chin.

"Even the most powerful nation during the dark ages of technology could not support the entire human civilization on the path to enlightenment."

"For humanity, this is destined to be a utopia that only a select few elites can reach."

"Or perhaps it's a refuge where the last embers of hope can be preserved?"

"That does sound true."

Emperor Camus muttered under his breath.

"Then, what about Tarasin?"

"Believe me, my affairs have nothing to do with him."

Emperor Djoser opened his hands.

"I didn't invite him; he just happened to be paying attention to the same young man as us."

"If I discover his whereabouts and any ill intentions, I will report him to the Recovery Council."

"not needed for now."

Thutmose shook his head.

"In fact, the hegemon Tarachin submitted a proposal to the Recovery Council some time ago."

"The Recovery Council found the bill very interesting."

"Is it?"

Emperor Camus was somewhat incredulous.

"They actually listened to Tarasim instead of just letting you dismember him."

"They did choose the latter, but after he sent three stunt doubles in a row, they gave up."

"Damn [Endless One]: This title really suits Tarasin."

"I'm more curious about something else."

Emperor Djoser turned off his projection.

"What benefits does Tarasin have that make the Revival Council still believe his nonsense? The last king who listened to him, Amanhotep III, must have been dead in the Ark of Usvi for centuries: hopefully his treasure trove of art has not been discovered."

"He did say something of value."

Emperor Thutmose hesitated.

"It mainly concerns: the Kingdom of Derazak's Bones."

"Walgur and his gang of skinning lunatics?"

Emperor Kames screamed.

"Then there's no need to say anything: we don't want to know."

"Alright, as for you, Zocel..."

Emperor Thutmose I stood up.

"I will relay your words verbatim to the judges of the Resuscitation Council."

"They will make a decision as quickly as possible on whether to summon you to the court of the Resuscitation Council."

"What's the fastest you can go?"

"Within ten years."

"Oh my God."

Emperor Camus sighed softly.

"Outrageously fast: I thought this kind of lightning-fast justice only existed in dramas."

"You don't need to belittle the Revival Council in front of me. You can say that after I leave."

"I'm just lamenting: when I last complained about the Zarabul hegemon's violation of my territory, it took you a full sixty centuries to respond."

"..."

Emperor Thutmose the Viscount remained silent.

After a while, he coughed, and eerie green flames began to burn on his body.

Anyway, good luck, Djoser.

Emperor Thusimos nodded, and then disappeared in another blinding flash of light.

For a moment, only the two emperors remained in Li's Hall of the Dead, speechless, with the guards behind them who had not uttered a sound from beginning to end, standing silently as if they did not exist, and the Death Mark, whose figure had quietly disappeared into the dark green shadows.

The two French emperors remained silent for a long time, until Djoser suddenly pulled his hand behind his back.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, and I grabbed it...

"Put that thing down right now!"

(End of this chapter)