Emperor's Bane

Chapter 900 You are not allowed to participate in the expedition

"do you know?"

Among the legion commanders, high-ranking company commanders, and ancient warriors who were heading to the conference room, the figure of the 11th Company Commander still stood out.

But when he spoke, even his brothers-in-arms who had fought alongside him found it difficult to confirm, just by his voice, that the person before them was indeed Hector.

His voice was so old and mature, especially when he expressed his feelings.

"I have never seen a scene of 400,000 ships setting sail at the same time in my life."

"This feeling... is so unreal."

Hector lowered his head, staring intently at the densely packed documents before him. The desktop-sized electronic screen rapidly reviewed and recorded the names of thousands of fleets, all of which had begun operating at full capacity due to a single order from the Lord of Avalon. Behind each name were hundreds of colossal beasts capable of soaring through the void, and tens of thousands of vibrant lives.

Nothing gives you a greater sense of power than holding these significant names in your hands.

At least that's what Hector thought.

"Yes I know."

Char thought the same thing.

“I’ve never seen them either. I didn’t even know we had so many ships: including Starfort.”

"Star Fortress? What Star Fortress?"

Hector was somewhat curious: he was never the type of person who would pay excessive attention to external things.

From the very beginning, Hector saw himself as a vanguard and a striker on the battlefield: he never aspired to the glory of independently commanding an army, so there was no need for him to rack his brains over such extra things.

It's good to live happily: as for equipment and such, there will always be someone to take care of it for him.

"Ramires-class Starfortress: The Primarch intends to deploy at least forty, or fifty, units on the northwestern front."

As the leader of the Lefebvre Knights, and the man who is always ready to take over the position under Lana's butt, Char is naturally the opposite of Hector.

Even within the entire Dawnbreaker Legion, this Knight Lefebvre was considered to be well-informed.

"Isn't there a definite number?"

As a Dawnbreaker officer who needs to be meticulous in his calculations, Hector hates any uncertain numbers: anything!

"That depends on how many treasures our dear allies in the foundry world are still hiding in secret."

Xia shook his head: Clearly, he had already inquired about it beforehand.

"Can you believe it? The Forgeworld of Tigris alone can produce four Ramirez Star Fortresses."

Char first held up one finger, then a second, then a third: one by one, as if counting his own treasures.

"In addition, we captured five units when we wiped out the rebels in the Tri-Starfield, and recovered and repaired two more when we defeated Ulanhuda. Over the years, Riza has supplied us with three more units, and Gurgorad recently offered to contribute two more. Small places like Collins, Belus, Kagalak, or Locksal have also offered to contribute a Ramirez-class unit."

"These worlds of casting..."

Hector chuckled; he had no doubt that Char's statement contained any exaggeration.

"Their alliance with us has lasted for over a hundred years, and they have all made a fortune by relying on the Primarchs. I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled out twice as many cards: not to mention, just Tigres and Gulgrad alone, their size has increased at least three to five times in this century."

"They can't do this without the Primarch."

"They are well aware of this, so they are very generous in contributing their efforts."

"But the most generous one has to be Riza: our old ally remains as loyal and reliable as ever."

"Their technical pope, who is also the forging general who rules the entire forging world, personally led a delegation to the Dawn Goddess to meet the Primarch and left not long ago. I was there when my mother received them. The way those generals and great sages of Riza bowed to my mother was exactly how subjects treated their monarch."

"They promised to obey any command of our Mother of Genes in the upcoming war."

"That sounds really good."

Hector nodded absentmindedly, but a word from Char's mouth jolted him awake.

"However: war?"

He moved closer until the enormous shadow enveloped the Knight Lefève entirely.

"Is it confirmed: Is war really going to break out?"

"What do you think?"

Char smiled.

"Didn't you see Rana's icy face when he came back: Terra messed things up."

"So, the War General really intends to go to war with Terra?"

Hector's current confusion reflects the attitude of many people on the Far Eastern frontier: although they are all doing their best to contribute to the Spider Queen's mobilization plan, and although they have long since realized that such a large-scale plan is certainly not for a mere expedition or military reshuffle, but for a greater cause.

But no one could believe that all of this was connected to a civil war that was about to tear the galaxy apart.

Aside from the most well-informed people.

"The entire western part of the galaxy has been mobilizing troops intensively over the past six months."

Char pulled out a cigar from somewhere, flicked his finger, and after a burst of pale psionic flame, leisurely puffed out smoke: even for a true Astartes, the sensory stimulation from tobacco was no different from plain water, but the soldiers of the Dawnbreaker would inevitably pick up some mortal habits.

"The Wolf God is recalling his most elite legions and fleets from the northern frontier of the galaxy, contacting the Titan legions and knightly families who have long been loyal to him, and issuing a general mobilization order throughout the Wolf Kingdom: it is said that the first step was to recruit hundreds of millions of auxiliary troops, some of whom are not even so...pure."

"Dorn is expanding his army on Terra, the number of Imperial Fists is growing rapidly, he has also activated those ancient fortresses in the Sun Sector that have been dormant for a long time, and there are witnesses that the Mountain Array has left Terra's near-Earth orbit and its destination is unknown; at the same time, Sigismund has not appeared on Terra for a long time."

"The High Lords have decided to fully support Dorne, and they are constantly strengthening their forces. Millions of Sun Auxiliary soldiers have been demobilized, and new ships are being launched daily in shipyards on Holy Terra and Jupiter. I have heard that the High Lords have agreed to the Imperial Fist Primarch's plan to fortify the entire Holy Terra."

"And then there are the Space Wolves, the White Scars, the Emperor's Sons, and the Death Guard. Their Primarchs have all issued orders for general mobilization in their own territories, conscripting soldiers and civilian ships at all costs: skirmishes and small-scale battles are happening on the border every day, and to date, no fewer than a million people have been killed or wounded."

"The warriors of Forgrim and Chagatai Khan have formed an allied force, which is gradually sweeping through the fortresses loyal to Terra at the westernmost edge of the Maelstrom and approaching the Sunfield, while Mortarion's legions have also moved north, threatening at least several hundred Imperial Fist outposts and fortresses: but the real focus is always on the northern front."

"It is said that the Warmaster has amassed a massive fleet along his border with Lemanrus, and new forces are constantly pouring into it every day, gradually accumulating to a desperate level: some say that Horus will order a full-scale attack within six months at most, at which point the entire war will be unavoidable."

"..."

Hector nodded somewhat heavily.

Although the information Char provided did not exceed his original expectations, and Hector had privately considered that things might develop in this way, the Dawnbreaker still felt somewhat disappointed when it was actually confirmed.

He was, after all, an Astartes warrior.

For Astartes, the physical strength that sustained him through his campaigns came from the augmentation surgery, while the mental strength that allowed him to endure the long nights was his loyalty to the Emperor, his reverence for the Primarch, and his brotherhood: now, two of the three great stones have collapsed.

The standoff above Holy Terra ended in the most tragic farce. Regardless of whether the military leaders and marshals of all ranks in the galaxy supported the orthodox Holy Terra or sympathized with the Wolf God, there was one thing that even the most conservative general had to admit.

Things have escalated to this point: Terra has been bombarded. The Highlord has been forced to abdicate, and the Spirit of Vengeance has been destroyed. Any one of these events would be enough to shake the entire galaxy and even be recorded in history books. But even so, the Lord of Mankind has not yet appeared. He remains in seclusion in the palace, letting the situation spiral into its most decadent state.

At this point, no one would doubt the question that Zhan Shuai raised before going to Luoyang.

Emperor: Is he really safe and sound?

Is he really... still alive?
Seeing the farce unfolding on Terra, anyone would secretly wonder about this issue.

From this perspective, Horus's conquest of Upper Nar did indeed achieve one of his initial goals.

He has indeed caused many people to begin to waver in their belief in the justice and legitimacy of the Terra government.

Hector was no exception.

But he was more saddened: saddened that the emperor's disappearance made his loyalty impossible to trace.

The fact that the Astartes were about to turn against each other made his brotherhood seem like a joke.

The only thing that can sustain his mental world now is his reverence for the Primarch: this is also the only lifeline left for almost all Astartes warriors.

Of course, Terra veterans like Char Aznable are more resilient. At least the fact that their brothers are about to fight each other cannot shake their resolve: they have seen similar things before, and all they can say is that there is nothing new under the sun.

"So, none of these are the most important things."

Char has already smoked half of his cigar.

"Most importantly, both sides are now doing everything they can to win over new allies. You know, although it looks like the whole galaxy is on the verge of war, actually not that many legions have actually joined: less than half of the Primarchs have chosen their own side, while more than half of the rest are still waiting for the best offer."

Does that include us?

"Has Mother already made her choice?"

Hector smiled: he knew he was just joking.

The reason is simple: neither Warlord nor Terra had any leverage to sway Morgan.

However, relatively speaking, Horus's final offer might be more satisfactory to the Far East: after all, no one likes Holy Terra, right?
"This is not a problem we should be concerned about."

Xia shook his head.

"But it's already quite clear that our Primarch should want to step into this clash of giants."

"Wasn't she saying she was preparing to lead an army on a distant expedition?"

"An expedition is an expedition."

Char waved casually.

"Besides, what kind of expedition have you ever seen that could mobilize all the military forces from the entire Far East?"

"Do you know how many fleets and legions the Primarch's authority has mobilized in the past six months?"

"I really don't know that."

Hector readily admitted it.

"I didn't even know we had 400,000 ships."

"Could this number... be true?"

"The total number is definitely there."

Char lowered his voice.

"Don't forget what a massive military force we've mobilized in the last six months."

"120,000 Astartes".

"A billion mortal auxiliary troops."

"At least a thousand Titans."

"There are also more than three hundred Grand Sages, and their respective legions of protectors."

"As for the knightly families: I saw at least fifty different banners in the Cloud Banquet Hall."

"..."

"Now you understand, right?"

Char threw away the cigar that was now just at the end.

"The Primarch has already determined that the future war will inevitably come from the western side of Avalon. Therefore, we must begin now to concentrate the vast majority of our military forces from all over the world to the western front, so that we can withstand the invading enemy and strike them hard in the future war: this is the military force that concentrates the essence of the entire Avalon."

"Our limit is more than a billion people, isn't it?"

"Conscripting a billion people and providing adequate support for a billion people on the front lines are two different things."

Char exhaled the last puff of smoke: Hector, frowning, silently shuffled to the side.

"From the simplest food, water, medicine, and clothing, to entertainment to relieve mental fatigue, as well as essential bullets and shells, and spare parts for armored units, and brand-new vehicles, aircraft, and artillery, not to mention that if a new offensive is to be launched, the logistical pressure will increase tenfold."

"For safety reasons, the industrial world and foundry world that produce these consumer goods are definitely in the rear, while the warehousing world may be further forward, but it is ultimately just a transit point: to get these things safely and securely into the hands of the soldiers on the front lines, the losses incurred during transportation may even exceed the materials themselves."

"Therefore, on the real front lines, it's not about blindly piling up as many troops as possible." "Instead of haphazardly amassing five billion people, it's better to carefully arm one billion experienced veterans with the same transport capacity."

"That's the truth."

Hector nodded.

Char then continued.

"Furthermore, 400,000 ships is not an exaggerated number to achieve such a large-scale deployment."

"You don't think these are all warships and large ships, do you?"

"...That's what I originally thought."

"What are you thinking about!"

Char laughed.

"The total is 400,000, but only about 8,000 to 10,000 of them are combat ships that can be immediately deployed to the front lines. Another 30,000 to 40,000 are large transport ships, and another 10,000 to 20,000 are fast ships and supply ships with special functions. The rest are mostly small ships that operate in star sectors and star systems: although they also have the ability to travel in subspace, the Primarch does not intend to let them go too far from their functional areas."

"This will cause overall imbalance."

"After all, we can't put all our ships into large-scale transport missions. The Far East frontier still needs to maintain its daily operations. So the Primarch requires more than 300,000 small ships that only need to transport their cargo from the target planet to the unified unloading area of ​​that system or sector."

"Those large ships will be waiting there. They will be loaded with supplies from several star sectors, forming a large fleet, and heading to the front line under the strict protection of the patrol fleet, to support the various combat ships and special ships currently deployed at the front: 400,000 is the total number to maintain this huge transportation plan, which is not an exaggeration for the production capacity of the Far East."

"Believe me, this is not much."

"To accomplish this plan, the Primarch summoned thousands of representatives from the Forgeworld, merchant captains, wandering merchants, and sector governors: 'Thank you for the political credibility and prestige we have accumulated over the past century. Now it is time to pay off all of this. So far, no one has dared to provoke the Primarch's wrath.'"

"The Ministry of the Interior was even somewhat disappointed."

"Okay, that sounds great."

Hector nodded.

"Can I interpret this as: May everything go smoothly?"

"almost."

Char smiled.

"Believe me."

"Regardless of which faction is in the Primarch's plan to launch a war against us from the center of the galaxy."

"Before they begin."

"We will be fully prepared."

"And now: there is really only one problem left that we need to worry about."

"What is it?"

------

Is everyone here?

"The 74th Company and the 155th Company may arrive a little later: the rest have arrived."

"A total of 126,000 men, comprising 252 companies: the legion has never deployed such a massive force before."

Records are meant to be broken.

As she spoke, the Spider Queen finished signing the last document piled up in front of her.

Wow, that's quite an achievement.

Morgan felt a small sense of satisfaction.

But when she looked up, her previously cheerful mood vanished instantly.

The Primarch frowned.

What's wrong, Rana?

Her head guard looked very strange.

"No...it's nothing, sir."

Rana looked terrible, but that's how he'd been ever since he returned from Terra, which is understandable: although Rana was also a veteran of Terra and his mind was already hardened, witnessing firsthand how the empire he had served for his entire life crumbled before his eyes was a shadow that no one could easily escape.

Morgan naturally understood this.

But she keenly sensed that this was not the only reason for Rana's current distress.

As for the reason: there is no reason.

Mothers are always exceptionally gifted when it comes to children.

【why? 】

Morgan chuckled and set the file aside.

I don't recall ever instructing you to deceive your genetic mother, my dear Rana.

"..."

The chief guard lowered his head and remained silent.

For no apparent reason, the Spider Queen seemed to sense a trace of... resentment in Rana's silence?

Or rather: feeling wronged?
Say what you want to say, my child.

Morgan stood up seriously, the playful look that had been in his blue eyes vanishing.

well.

Her most trusted offspring now harbor resentment: this is a problem that deserves serious attention.

Morgan walked around his desk and slowly strolled over to Rana, who was looking down. This was both an encouragement and a form of coercion: when the Mother of Genes’ gaze moved from his profile to the tip of his nose, even the resolute Chief of the Guard could not keep his mouth shut.

"Mainly...the adults..."

Call me Mother.

"Mother."

Okay then.

Morgan rubbed his temples.

"I heard……"

Rana's lips were so dry they were almost cracked, and he stood there stammering, unable to utter a single word.

"You plan to lead the main force of the Dawnbreaker Legion into the Web Path for a special expedition?"

[That's right: this concerns the fate of the empire.]

Morgan nodded: she certainly wouldn't hide this plan from her high-ranking company commanders and confidants.

Hiding everything will only harm you.

What's wrong?

"I……"

Rana's throat bobbed up and down.

“I checked the list on your orders, and I noticed that it included the names of Bayar, Hector, Char, Diarmuid, and Davout, and even Cú Chulainn, as well as the vast majority of the old guard and Knights Lefebvre: almost all the elite forces of the legion you brought with you have been left behind, with only some veterans and new recruits.”

Trust me, this is necessary.

She nodded.

She believes that Rana may be worried about the lack of adequate defenses on the Far Eastern frontier.

[Okay, perhaps doing so is indeed irresponsible to Avalon and the entire Far East, but we must realize that the Empire's importance lies above the Far East: at this point, we must make the right choices.]

“I understand this.”

Rana quickly nodded.

"I just don't understand. Uh."

"It wasn't just me: the entire First Company, including myself, and some of the non-conscripted soldiers couldn't understand it."

"Why won't you take us with you?"

【…】

Morgan paused for a moment.

Then she laughed.

[Especially since I didn't bring you, right?]

"No...I didn't mean that..."

Rana was still trying to deny it, but he stammered and couldn't come up with a conclusion. Meanwhile, Morgan already knew the truth.

But then she hesitated.

What should she do?

Based on her understanding of the Royal Guard Commander and Rana's current state, Morgan could easily give him a perfunctory reply and let him leave without worrying about any problems. Since she had entrusted Avalon to Rana, even if he harbored resentment and knew nothing of the truth, the Royal Guard Commander would still bleed to the last drop in this position.

In Morgan's eyes, he was like Dorn, like Ruth, but more importantly, he was the one and only Lana.

But...then again.

If it really is Dorne or Ruth, then they deserve to know the truth, don't they?
Perhaps the emperor wouldn't do that?
But she is not an emperor.

and so……

Morgan shook her head: but she was certain that her sigh this time was not out of sorrow.

Sit down, my child.

Hearing the voice, Rana looked up and saw that his genetic mother was pointing to the seat next to him.

The Grand Master of the Guard blinked, a hint of excitement appearing on his face. He knew what the Mother of Genes meant by this gesture: after so many years of being together, not only did Morgan understand Rana, but Rana also understood Morgan.

He quickly rubbed his face, and Dawnbreaker did as he was told.

I didn't originally intend to tell you this because it's a rather long and tedious story.

But now I think, if I were to entrust the entire Far Eastern frontier to you, you have the right to know the truth.

So, prepare to listen to all the facts.

As Rana settled down, his genetic mother slowly walked to her wine rack.

Morgan took the two glasses and then searched her collection for the finest wine best suited for the mother-son conversation at that moment.

Then, she filled the cup, handed it to the chief guard, and the mother and son clinked glasses and smiled at each other.

The only sound in the air was Morgan's muttering.

So, where should we begin?

(End of this chapter)