Emperor's Bane

Chapter 912 Mad Mountains
You mean Hector and his team unearthed a bunch of strange ancient creatures in an ancient cave?

"Yes, my lord."

[Then those creatures came back to life and immediately launched an attack on Hector and his company?]

"Company Commander Davu, who was also present, tried to dissuade Company Commander Hector from thawing these ancient creature specimens because they looked obviously aggressive. However, after a democratic vote by all the members present, the majority of votes were in favor of Company Commander Hector thawing the specimens: most people were very curious about these unknown ancient creatures."

Ah... then there's no problem.

Morgan nodded.

The Dawn Breaker's intriguing curiosity is both endearing and frustrating.

It is precisely because of this that the Legion's casualties since its inception have increased by a quarter out of nowhere.

But it is also because of this that they are able to assemble a secret arsenal second only to the Dark Angels.

After weighing the pros and cons, the Lord of Avalon ultimately decided to respect this ancient tradition: after all, when she first took over the Legion, the Dawnbreaker Legion had been divided for nearly half a century, and archaeological culture, as one of the few traditions that was popular in various fleets, was inherently necessary to preserve.

Even if it's for the sake of unity.

Later on, once the Dawnbreakers were far from the danger of another split, this archaeological activity had become part of their daily lives: even on the battlefield where life and death were at stake, as long as the conditions were right, the Sons of Morgan could not resist the urge to explore when they saw interesting ruins.

Needless to say, they are currently taking a break.

So this is not surprising at all.

The Spider Queen nodded, no longer paying attention to the unexpected events of the journey: now, she had something more important to focus on.

However, just to be on the safe side, Morgan was still concerned about how things would develop.

And then? Were there any casualties?

"There were no casualties. Although these resurrected aliens were powerful and ferocious, they were unarmed and lacked numerical superiority. Company Commanders Hector and Davu quickly eliminated them. Only a few soldiers suffered minor injuries during the battle, and their wounds will heal automatically after resting on the spot for a while."

【very good. 】

The Primarch squinted its eyes in enjoyment.

The Dawnbreaker's amazing vitality.

Perhaps to compensate for the unsustainability caused by their mottled genetic seed, Morgan's descendants are also exceptionally strong in this biological advantage: whether it is their calm mindset in the face of danger or their endangered physique that is enough to give the middle finger to death, they have never disappointed in the more than 100 years of war.

The Primarch even had statistics compiled, suggesting that without their vigorous vitality and near-death abilities, the expected number of casualties for the Dawnbreaker Legion during the Great Crusade would have been at least three to five times higher than they actually experienced, or even more: this would have been enough to completely sever the Legion's lifeline and would have forever rewritten the structure and destiny of the Sons of Morgan.

It's important to know that even someone as powerful as Bayar had faced near-death crises three times. The champion warrior of the Dawnbreakers was indeed invincible in the arena and on the battlefield, but war is never a game for one person. When he faced an entire enemy legion and overwhelming firepower, Morgan would not have seen his strongest swordsman if it weren't for his strong vitality that allowed him to hold out until his allies arrived.

No matter how powerful Astartes is, he can't possibly be a match for someone of the Knight or Titan's caliber.

Lana, known as the Phoenix, and Hector, who was a visible heavy target on the battlefield and received special attention almost every time, were also the biggest beneficiaries of this vigorous vitality: in fact, the veterans of the Dawnbreakers relied on their near-death physique far more than the seemingly fragile new recruits.

There are many reasons for this.

For example, the stronger the veteran, the more dangerous the mission and the more cunning the opponent. Their rich experience and proud historical achievements also give them the capital to act recklessly on the battlefield: while the new recruits obediently squat in the blind spot under the guidance of their mentors, those soldiers who have served for more than two hundred years will confidently shuttle through the hell of flying bullets.

Of course, it won't be successful every time.

Excessive courage always leads to disaster.

Just like this time: if a rookie company commander were in Hector's position, he would most likely not risk his company, but would obediently let the report be relayed all the way to the Primarch.

Meanwhile, Hector led his company into the ancient laboratory, whose future was uncertain.

Before receiving further permission from the Primarch, he was already prepared to explore even deeper: the aliens that were not recorded in the Imperial archives, the strange halls that had hollowed out entire mountains, and the experimental equipment and weapon wreckage scattered everywhere in the halls, none of them could deter this experienced Dawnbreaker.

Just as he expected: the Mother of Genes did not fly into a rage because of his unauthorized actions.

[Notify Hector.]

With a blink, Morgan made his decision.

I allowed him to continue deeper into the ruins to investigate any valuable intelligence that might be hidden there, but he and his company must report their safety every five minutes and are not permitted to venture too far from the exit. I will notify him an hour before the decision to depart; I don't want him to slow down the overall progress.

"I'll do it right away."

The fully armed Knight Lefebvre nodded, his heavy footsteps echoing on the ancient floor.

After he closed the door, the only sounds in the empty room were the incessant scribbling of the Primarch and the almost breathless, icy will of the sixteen Knights of the Round Table and the Knights of Lefebvre guarding him.

It was now the twenty-second day since the Dawnbreaker Legion had penetrated deep into the northern wastelands of Avalon.

Four days ago, Morgan finally led her expedition out of the boundless snowstorm: although records and data suggest that they had actually traversed a distance that spanned an entire continent, the reality was that they had only penetrated one-third of the cold plains, yet they had already gone further than any of the previous adventuring teams.

In other words, over the past eighteen days, Morgan and her entire expeditionary force have not been advancing effectively in a straight line. They may have taken a long and winding route across the boundless snowfields, or they may have been trapped in a genuine illusion for a period of time until the Primarch saw through the ancient and secret means and found the only correct answer among thousands of fallacies.

Regardless, the Spider Queen managed to bring her 120,000-strong expeditionary force out of the snowy wilderness intact, without any unnecessary losses. Even the supply convoys were brought out unharmed. The endless blizzard that enveloped the cold plains was indeed a powerful illusion, but it had no way to harm Morgan's army in the face of the Primarch's powerful agility.

Not to mention, according to the Spider Queen's research, this kind of snow falling from the sky without any reason and completely contrary to any natural laws and scientific quantification may have a history that is much older than they imagined: it may have been raging for tens of millions of years without rest, and it is hard to imagine how powerful its original creators must have been.

But in any case, they all abandoned this place.

Perhaps because this place has become meaningless.

Or perhaps it's their own depravity.

After emerging from the swirling snow and arriving at the true heart of the Cold Plains, Morgan believed that the real reason was most likely the latter.

The intermittent, howling blizzard that rushed past their ears was like water in a fish tank. When the Primarch led her offspring across the wall, all the madness was instantly left behind: the edge of the swirling snow was a straight, invisible wall, and on the other side of the wall was a vast, desolate gray sky.

On one side, snowflakes danced in the air, while on the other, dry cold prevailed. Separated by a straight line, they maintained an astonishingly perfect balance, with not a single snowflake crossing this invisible boundary, no matter how fierce the wind whipping up the snow.

Even the warriors of Astartes felt a chill run down their spines when they carefully observed this miracle.

What awaited them ahead was also an unpredictable and abandoned land.

The massive, chaotic black mountain range stretches for at least several thousand kilometers, like a group of silent giants walking amidst churning, swirling clouds, its pitch-black roots extending infinitely to the horizon. The bare mountainside and the nightmarish lines in the shadows will haunt the dreams of anyone unfortunate enough to witness this sight from this day forward.

But the most terrifying thing was the ceaseless sound of the wind, which came from the vast and ancient valley, as if the indistinct lips were blowing away the bagpipes, and a strange sense of desolation gripped your heart: although you could not see the source, you could clearly feel that such a strange wind could not come from the natural mountains, and the place that could give birth to it could only be a more vicious dead city.

And the facts prove this.

After all 120,000 Dawnbreaker warriors emerged from the blizzard, they quickly rearranged their ranks and adjusted their mindset before embarking on their journey deeper into the Cold Plains. Since leaving the awe-inspiring ancient illusion defenses, the Spider Queen's senses had never been so sharp; she had already vaguely discerned with her third eye where the gate they craved lay.

This time, the expeditionary force carved a straight path through the dark mountains.

Soon, they ventured deep into the true treasure trove hidden within this irregular black silk.

Here, they discovered traces of civilization.

First, there were a few inconspicuous traces, some scattered remains, and fossils. Although dilapidated, they were by no means products of a natural environment: gray gears and calcified structures stood out starkly against the pitch-black mountains. Following their guidance, more panic lurked ahead.

On their second day deep inside the area, the Dawnbreakers discovered an ancient battlefield.

Here they found the human legions of the Dark Ages, those terrifying creations that existed only in legends, lying dead in a continuous stream in a mountain range. The bones of the Golden and Iron Men, like those gnawed by wild beasts, were carelessly discarded. Even the real humans, and the weapons in their hands that were far more advanced than those of Astartes, were piled up into small hills in those inconspicuous corners.

There is more than one type of culprit responsible for all of this.

They witnessed the Eldar's fierce blades cleaving the Iron Man's tough hide in two; they saw how the Gaussian rays of some ancient metal races slaughtered swathes of arrogant human soldiers. But even greater casualties came from human conflict itself. From some unknown point in time, all the alien races were wiped out, and the two sides of the war became the defenders and the new invaders of humanity.

Their struggle has lasted for thousands of years, with at least dozens of human groups fighting on this land, each leaving its own mark: however, in an era that almost overlapped with the Age of Conflict, all the battles filled with dark technology and blasphemous spirits came to an abrupt end, replaced by a precipitous decline in weaponry.

However, several hundred years later, the weapons left on the battlefield were not even as good as those in Astartes' possession.

Further on, the two armies from the last battlefield froze to death here: after that, no one ever set foot on this land again.

Even the killing machines that roamed the mountains lost their power in the face of endless time.

Morgan and her legion had expected a fierce battle on this land, where they would have to eliminate the ancient guardians in order to find the entrance to the Webway they so desperately wanted. But in reality, all that was left for them was ruins, utter ruins devoid of any sign of life.

The only good news is that this means that ancient wisdom has been preserved to the greatest extent possible.

On their twenty-first day deep in the cold plains, the Spider Queen finally found what she was looking for in this land.

The Dawnbreakers blasted through the rock layers, destroyed the barely functioning security systems, and unearthed one laboratory after another hidden deep in the mountains. Some stood proudly atop the peaks, like dreamlike fantasy kingdoms that were hard to leave behind, while others lurked in the unbearable depths of the earth, behind ancient doors emanating an indescribable aura of evil.

Faced with these priceless treasures, the Queen of Avalon commanded her army to halt its advance.

They set up camp in the safest location Morgan could find, and from there began to explore the laboratory ruins as much as possible, searching for any information and data that could help them; while the Primarch himself followed his own inner guidance, searching for the greatest source of wisdom in the land.

At the foot of a towering mountain whose interior had been completely hollowed out, the Primarch destroyed the living labyrinth built of square megaliths and the unknown creatures that roamed the mad vision. Then, she plunged into the oldest ruin in all of Avalon: the research outpost left here by the Adalin in their heyday.

She believed that once she deciphered the wisdom here, she would be able to grasp the secrets of the Internet.

And indeed, things turned out just as she thought.

Using his fluent Eldar language, the Primarch easily deciphered the secrets in the Xenomorph data. Back then, the Eldar Empire did indeed have the task of guarding and studying the Webway entrance at its stronghold in Avalon, and they left behind a wealth of research records and experimental data, including a Webway map marked with as much detail as possible.

Comoros's name was prominently listed.

In addition, the research results piled up on bookshelves that were a thousand meters high also made the Primarch decide to stay here for a few more days: long before setting off, the Spider Queen had made an appointment with her Father of Genes, and she knew that she had plenty of time left, enough for her to fully understand the most essential part of this place.

As for the Dawnbreaker Legion, they naturally entered a period of free-range development.

The company commanders didn't complain much.

Please, they're right in the middle of a bunch of ruins that are thousands to tens of millions of years old!

The moment Morgan ordered a rest in place, at least sixty spontaneously formed archaeological teams set off with great enthusiasm toward his goal.

Whether it's the laboratory ruins, the ancient battlefields that retain a large number of precious weapons, or even just the fossils that have survived to this day, they are all treasures of great archaeological research value. For example, if we could compare the differences between the remains of the Eldar from tens of millions of years ago and those from today, the results would be enough to produce several academic papers.

……

At least that's what Hector thought.

Unfortunately, after they painstakingly eliminated all the defenders and protective measures, Company Commander Hector realized that he seemed to have come to the wrong place.

"This place doesn't look like a place for the Spirit Clan at all."

Standing before the dark gate, both company commanders, Hector and Davout, fell silent.

"Do we really want to go in?"

After a while, the scalp-shiny Du Dawu, the company commander, finally spoke with great reluctance.

"This place sounds... dangerous."

Davout's words left Hector speechless.

After all, he heard the sound too.

The sound came from deep within the cave entrance, and the moment they blasted away the pile of stones blocking the gate, it eagerly rushed into everyone's ears: it was like the furious roar of thunder in a stormy night, or like a crazy note that only exists on the edge of human cognition. When that vicious tone kept wailing in their ears, even the Astartes warriors felt a slight fear.

They instinctively realized that something very dangerous seemed to be lurking deep within the cave.

"The Primarch does not object to our continued exploration."

Hector muttered to himself, unsure whether he was trying to convince Davout or himself.

"Then we should at least do some reconnaissance first."

Dawu shivered; he felt that the sound of the wind that had just brushed past his ear was particularly eerie.

"I bet this sound is abnormal."

"It's not even... a kind of?"

"I feel it too."

Hector nodded, then took the recorder from the soldier behind him. He carefully recorded the strange wind sounds over the next few minutes, and then transmitted it to the technical sergeant behind him.

"Please help me analyze the source."

Hector gave a brief order, then gave Davout a forced smile.

"Now, we just need to wait a few minutes."

"It could not be better."

Dawu glanced at his communicator.

“Let’s do something else first: my men found some interesting documents in the next room.”

"Walk."

Hector nodded.

A few minutes later, they entered the same unsettling room, which seemed to have never been visited by any living creature. Although it was pitch black, there were always occasional flashes of light, like lightning in the night, of an eerie and unknown origin. The Astartes warriors in the room were all in a state of complete concentration.

“You should take a look at this, sir.”

One of them pointed to the deepest part of the desktop. "According to our research, these human documents are at least nearly 20,000 years old."

"They are very likely the records left by the earliest people to come into this world."

"Really?"

Hector became interested and carefully examined the electronic screen, which looked to be on the verge of being scrapped.

"I don't recognize many of the characters."

The company commander frowned.

"It sounds like a dialect from Terra."

Dawu nodded and then pointed to a few of the passages.

"But these paragraphs are still clear in meaning."

"let me see……"

Hector narrowed his eyes.

------

I... arrived here... discovered... occupied... and destroyed the remaining aliens...

This world... is similar to Earth... and I've conceived a grand... plan?
Eldar... Undead... Annihilation... Research...

Their architecture... waste utilization... those forbidden experiments... reboot...

Subspace...exists...

god……

Blessings...

Child...soul...detached...nothingness...God...

------

When he read one of the passages, Company Commander Hector couldn't help but take a deep breath: although only a few paragraphs could be analyzed, the mere combination of certain words was enough to conjure up some very bad ideas.

Especially considering that the person who wrote this text comes from a notorious dark age of technology.

And it seems he was an exiled criminal.

"How serious do you think the crimes were that could be punishable by exile at that time?"

Dawu, who was standing next to him, also noticed this.

"I do not know."

Hector shook his head.

"I dare not think about it, maybe..."

His voice trailed off until the technical sergeant's communicator picked up the conversation between the two.

"Company commander."

The technical sergeant's voice sounded heavy, a completely different thing from just a few minutes ago.

Hector could naturally tell.

"The sound analysis is done? Is that bad?"

"I'm afraid it can't be described as a very bad thing."

The technical sergeant seemed to be smiling, but with a bitter expression.

"how to say……"

"This rumor has at least thirty-four different categories and individuals."

"I selected the one that is closest to our understanding for testing: the most [rational] one."

"The results of it?"

Hector lowered his voice.

"That is……"

The technical sergeant took a deep breath.

"That's a child's voice."

"……what?"

“Children, thousands upon thousands of children: their biological age is no more than ten years old.”

"This sound is the remnant of the last scream of thousands of children under the age of ten who were being ripped out alive."

"I'm not sure what this is, I'm not even sure if the soul exists. I can only describe the concept in my own words: it's like binding countless children to instruments of torture, slowly extracting their life, will, or soul, or whatever can sustain their existence, and recording their screams in a moment of extreme terror as they lose their lives or suffer eternal torment."

"A cacophony of screams—is this the sound you're sending back to me?"

"And...it's alive..."

"Either a living being is emitting it, or it comes from something that is happening."

"But I'm pretty sure the owner of that voice is dead."

"I'm not sure how it managed to remain alive while dying... I don't dare to think about it..."

"Moreover, this is just the one that is easiest for us to understand of all the voices: who knows what the rest are."

"..."

Hector fell silent.

He turned his head and found that Dawu beside him had an expression that was remarkably similar to his own.

They both simply nodded.

"We should seal that hole again."

That's right: Let's do it now.

"Whatever is inside: it's best for it to stay inside forever."

------

"But...you said..."

"After so many terrible things happening, is this world really that safe?"

------

【It’s not important.】

On the thirty-third day deep in the cold plains, Morgan finally uttered these words with a sigh.

Her finger hovered over a document containing countless valuable records and historical information in the Eldar language. It was a treasure worth fighting for with overwhelming force, no matter the time.

but not now.

It doesn't matter now.

The Primarch said to itself.

He can't solve our immediate problem; we shouldn't waste any more time on this.

The Primarch withdrew his hand while muttering to himself.

She has been here for twelve days, from the twenty-first day to the thirty-third day since she ventured deep into the cold plains.

There's no need to go into the details of what happened: In short, the Dawnbreaker Legion safely occupied this land for twelve days. While Morgan's offspring searched for the relics that captivated them in various laboratories and ancient battlefields, Morgan himself was intensifying his search for the information he needed most.

As it turned out, this was a massive undertaking.

Even with the Primarch's abilities, and even with Morgan mobilizing the most elite Dawnbreakers to assist her, it still took her a full twelve days to find and decipher all the Eldar's information about the Web Path: these documents spanned tens of millions of years, and a significant portion of them were completely beyond Morgan's deciphering capabilities.

Because the ancient Spirit Clan script is completely different from the Spirit Clan script that the original body currently possesses.

Even the Aidalings have been losing their ancient wisdom and civilization.

But now is not the time for sentimentality: as the race that understands the network best after the Old Ones, the data left by the Adalings, even if not all of it can be deciphered, has been of great help to the Spider Queen. This is the first time that the Lord of Avalon has come to understand this ancient galactic wonder so well, and at the same time, he has imprinted the map that summarizes part of the network's structure in his mind.

Most importantly, although most of the Cold Plains region remains unexplored, and although countless illusions and replaced equipment still exist ahead, through the analysis of the remaining Eldar data, and through massive amounts of precise data collection and continuous elimination, the Spider Queen has determined the exact location of the Web Path Gate.

However, just to be on the safe side, before summoning all the Dawnbreakers and leading the army out, the Lord of Avalon decided to personally confirm the existence of the gate.

She summoned all her guards, and after confirming that the remaining data would be packed up and taken away, and that her soul's departure from her body would not be disturbed, the soul of the Lord of Avalon left her body amidst the tense anticipation of hundreds of elite Dawnbreakers, and once again walked on this homeland that felt unfamiliar to her.

As it turned out, neither the defensive measures left by the Aedaling, nor the advanced technology of the Necromancers, nor the lingering poison of humanity from the Mad Age could stop the soul probe of a powerful Primarch: the Spider Queen's third eye easily rose to an unimaginable height, allowing her to overlook almost half of the snowfield, and thus she quickly found the Webway gate that emitted an ominous light.

It was so huge and so bright that it could be seen clearly even from half a continent away.

How come they didn't notice it before?

Morgan shook her head, finding it absurd, but she still immediately moved closer.

In the blink of an eye, she arrived at her destination.

To be honest, the gate to the network was somewhat disappointing compared to what the Primarch had predicted: it was not a magnificent ancient wonder with carved beams and painted rafters. Although the black stone buildings and the mirror-like teleportation material had their own exquisite features, it was obvious that it had not been properly maintained for a long time.

Is this door still usable?

Morgan couldn't help but have doubts.

Just to be on the safe side, after hesitating for a while, the Primarch's third eye finally floated in.

She heard a sharp, piercing shriek erupt from the dimensional gate, and the gray mist before her turned into golden light, as if a sealed wave of paradise was sweeping in: when Morgan's third eye adjusted to the situation again, she found herself in the greatest world ever created, a new world entirely by human hands.

Great, it works.

Moreover, it was so spacious that she had no doubt that even an entire Titan legion could easily fit inside.

No wonder, no wonder her father had to whip the entire galaxy to build such a miracle.

For a moment, the Spider Queen was filled with emotion.

But her reflections didn't last long. Once she was certain that the entrance to the Webway was safe and that no dangerous creatures were active nearby, the Primarch's psionic will decided to leave. Although there was still some time before her appointment with the Emperor, Morgan wanted to arrive a little earlier if possible.

Just as she was about to turn around...

The Lord of Avalon suddenly caught a blurry movement in the corner of his eye.

There's something in the distance!
They are moving!

Morgan's vigilance immediately reached its peak.

She summoned her psychic powers, completely disregarding the fact that this might reveal her presence, and then cautiously approached the potential dangers.

But when she got any closer, the Lord of Avalon was involuntarily stunned.

What did she see?
She saw it...

That is……

Silver armor?
Astartes'...armor?
【…】

Just as the Primarch hesitated, those figures who were struggling to move forward seemed to sense something as well.

The leading psychic raised his head.

He wore an ancient helmet, the kind used only in wars of unification, and it depicted the former emblem of the Second Legion: the fanged angel.

He spoke in a tone that was a mixture of excitement, trembling, disbelief, and even a little crazy, his dry voice strained.

------

"The original body..."

"Is that you?"

(End of this chapter)