Emperor's Bane

Chapter 922 Operation Sunrise

Chapter 922 Operation Sunrise (22)

What exactly is this so-called "Operation Tomorrow"?
The Twisted One likes to use a single term to describe the plan he personally helped to develop and implement.

The Crimson Road.

The so-called "Operation Sunrise" was to pave a crimson path for Warmaster Horus to be crowned in Holy Terra.

To achieve this goal, they began their early planning as early as thirty years ago.

It was at a very special point in time after the Great Crusade ended: twenty years was enough time for the Primarchs and Holy Terra to consolidate their newly acquired territories, establish relatively stable rule, and have enough spare capacity to look outward and expand into new interests; at the same time, twenty years was also enough time for the Warmasters to maneuver and initially integrate the Great Crusade group that had gradually spread after the Emperor's departure.

Around that time, the conflict between Holy Terra and Horus began to surface: the tithes levied by the High Lords gradually transformed from a heavy burden into an unbearable act of cruel tyranny, while Horus increasingly took on the role of speaking up for the various worlds and kingdoms oppressed by Terra. This antagonism in roles quickly eroded the already limited peace between the two sides and, in turn, propelled the situation to deteriorate further.

The Highlords' attempts to collect taxes in Holy Terra were gradually thwarted by the frequent interference of the Wolf Gods. In order to meet the Emperor's ever-expanding tax demands, the Highlords had no choice but to impose more pressure on the remaining tax-collecting territories. They even began to take risks and set their sights on the Primarchs, which in turn gave Horus more opportunities to intervene and forced them to bear more and more hostility from Terra.

At the same time, the long silence of the Lord of Man on Holy Terra was noticed for the first time, and it quickly became the second argument by the Wolf Gods against the High Lords: the various sharp contradictions gradually converged into the smell of gunpowder floating over the entire human empire, and the border between the Shadowmoon Wolves and Holy Terra became one of the most dangerous regions in the entire galaxy for the next thirty years.

Both sides began simultaneously reinforcing their forces in those unsettling frontier regions. Looking at the densely packed army numbers and fleets on the star charts, any rational person would live in fear of civil war. Therefore, although a compromise was later reached, and most of the troops were withdrawn from the border areas, this dangerous memory remained deeply etched in their minds.

So it was at that time that Horus first conceived the idea that he might one day be at war with the High Lords of Holy Terra: and this delusion, fueled by countless conflicts and hostility, and accompanied by the tragic outcome of the Terra crisis, has now become the raging fire that is about to engulf the entire galaxy.

Shepherd Wolf God never imagined this day would come.

But unlike his genetic father, Malohrist had foreseen the current situation.

As the [Holder of the Warmaster]: This title was even given by Makado himself. The Twisted One is far more ruthless and realistic than his Gene Father. While Horus was still following his idealism and tending to resolve crises through peaceful dialogue, Malohrist had already seen through the mind of the Holy Terra.

Thirty years ago, he knew that a war between Terra and the Warlords was inevitable.

Therefore, when Horus listed his servant as one of the leaders of the "Sunrise Plan," the Twisted One poured all his wisdom and malice into it. He not only drastically changed the Warmaster's original intentions and encouraged the hesitant Horus to expand the plan, but also devised an extremely radical all-out offensive plan as early as when the conflict with the High Lords first began to emerge.

The radicalism of this plan was so extreme that even Abaddon, who later learned about the Sunrise Plan, thought it was too reckless.

But Malochist remained unmoved.

Over the past thirty years, his greatest achievement has been transforming the Sunrise Project from a temporary memorandum in the mind of the Warmaster as merely a precautionary measure into a total war mobilization that spans across the star system and sets the entire galaxy ablaze. Under the Twisted One's management, the scale and scope of this grand plan have expanded more than a hundredfold, and its objective has changed from initially seizing a few frontier sectors to deter Terra to striking directly at the heart of the Imperium of Man.

Meanwhile, in order to better implement Operation Sunrise, Malohrist even secretly acted behind the backs of his Gene Father: many planetary governors or officers who appeared to be surrendering to Horus were actually the result of the Twisted One's long-term hard work behind the scenes, including, but not limited to, bribery, threats, and assassination: in order to achieve the great path of his Gene Father, the Twisted One willingly committed the most despicable evil deeds.

From this perspective, he truly deserves the title of "the one who holds the seal of the War General".

Despite achieving so much, Malohrist never became proud.

Because he knew that the core reason why he was able to expand this operation to such an extent over the past thirty years did not actually lie with him.

But it lies with his genetic father.

It is Horus.

The core reason why Operation Sunrise was able to evolve from a border conflict into a true total war lies in the change of Horus's own mind: as time passed and the contradictions with Holy Terra deepened, as well as his growing anxiety about the Emperor's whereabouts, and the Twisted One's occasional persuasion and hints, Horus's original desire for peace finally turned into anger that was enough to ignite the flames of war.

Of course, it is worth noting that another force also played a significant role in this process, namely the increasingly frenzied and warlike Wolf Kingdom itself: just as Guilliman was swept up by his five hundred worlds and pushed in the opposite direction from Holy Terra, the Warmaster's mind was gradually tainted with the fervor and ambition of the Wolf Kingdom in the daily process of ruling and fighting side by side.

If Horus had considered the possibility of waging war against Terra thirty years ago, then about fifteen or sixteen years ago, the Warmaster had already resolved to be an enemy of Holy Terra. And seven or eight years ago, this resolve had become an unyielding obsession, an urgent desire to destroy Terra: this also spurred the final unfolding of Operation Sunrise.

And now, what is presented to them is what can be called the ultimate form of the Crimson Path.

Actually, the name was chosen by Abaddon, but the Twisted One thought it was a surprisingly fitting name, so he used it himself.

It must be admitted that the company commander of the Shadowmoon Wolf Legion is indeed quite cultured, without even realizing it.

Thinking of this, Malohrist's gaze involuntarily fell on Horus: no matter how loyal or capable Abaddon was, the Wolf God had not allowed his company commander to know the full picture of Operation Sunrise. Not only Abaddon, but in fact, only three people in the entire Wolf Kingdom knew about the entire war that was about to begin. The War General had done a very good job of keeping secrets.

Marohurst, Cyranus, himself.

They are all people you can absolutely trust.

At the same time, they also play an indispensable role in this plan: Cyyanus and Loken are the chief stewards in charge of the rear of the Wolf Kingdom. This is partly due to their abilities and expertise, and partly because the Wolf God is aware of the pacifist tendencies of these two offspring and does not want to involve them in the war.

This is both a form of care and a precaution.

But recently, Horus has been considering whether to adjust this structure: he hopes to transfer Loken to the front lines. Although the tenth company commander is not interested in participating in the Imperial Civil War, Loken would probably not refuse if he were to be in charge of the cleanup work of the conquered worlds.

At the same time, Zhan Shuai also had some personal motives.

Let his Gavial see for himself what those worlds have become after being exploited by the Holy Terra.

He will understand the Wolf God's predicament.

The Twisted Ones naturally understood this subtle thought.

As the person who stayed with the Wolf God and was truly responsible for the formulation and execution of the plan, Malohrus had many heart-to-heart talks with his Father of Genes over the years. Horus had discussed many of his secrets and thoughts with his servants, either directly or indirectly. At the same time, the Twisted One also silently noted down some of the Warmaster's little hobbies.

For example, now.

Malohrist knew very well that Horus's next move was almost predetermined once he placed his hand on the star map projector in front of him.

As expected: after millions of red curves converged on the fingertips of the Wolf God like a swarm of bees, Horus revealed a barely perceptible smile. He slowly dragged his arm, from Konya to Fenris, and then to Holy Terra, bit by bit, piercing the blood-red line into the heart of the human empire, into the holy land of power of the Markers and High Lords.

Like a scarlet bleeding wound, it tore the flawless natural star map in two. From the Crimson Eye of the Wolf God to the core of the Empire, a bright red straight line outlined the Wolf God's advance. And beneath this straight and unwavering general route were millions of claws that stretched towards countless star sectors and worlds. They were the necessary price to push this road toward Holy Terra.

This is the Crimson Path, this is Operation Sunrise.

From Fenris to Terra.

All enemies who stand in their way will be crushed by the War General and the Shadow Moon Wolf Legion.

As the crimson light illuminated the pupils of Malohrist and his Primarch, as they stood in the madness enveloped by this bewitching light, the Twisted One screamed with ecstasy within himself. He screamed, his voice befitting his infamous reputation, a fanaticism and morbidity found only in hell.

For a ruler who has sworn to dedicate everything to his emperor, what could be more exhilarating than seeing his emperor ascend the throne and take up the scepter of destiny under his own scheme? All the glory that the ruler of Terra experienced in the Great Crusade, the Warmaster's ruler will relive: only Malochist can understand Macardo's happiness.

He looked forward to the day they would meet.

He also looked forward to the Primarch's next questions.

That will be a test, but also an answer, a demonstration of the fruits of their long and arduous work.

"How are the preparations going, Marohurst?"

When Horus's pupils were illuminated by the crimson light of the Crimson Path, his voice changed as well.

He hardened, he grew cold: he became the way Malohrist liked to be in private.

"Everything is as you wished, War General!"

He stepped forward, his voice booming.

"All personnel are in place: the first phase of the operation will be fully implemented within three days."

"So, it took a total of ten days?"

Horus nodded.

"Very good: as expected."

"What's the situation with Ruth?"

"all the best."

The Twisted One chuckled softly.

"To date, all sixteen preliminary projects have been completed; and the Sixth Army has not yet detected our whereabouts."

"Are you sure?"

"determine."

The Twisted One answered without hesitation.

"I have absolute confidence in this: of the twenty-six sentry worlds that the Wolf King has deployed along his borders, twenty-one have already chosen to surrender to us. Fifteen of these worlds did not encounter any resistance, while the remaining six worlds were seized by the opposition faction supported by us. The remaining five stubborn worlds cannot form a continuous defense network, and we can completely bypass their surveillance range."

"Just do it."

Shepherd Wolf nodded.

"Bypass it, ask them later."

"If they remain obstinate, then annihilate all their void power and leave them to fend for themselves."

"Remember our mission, Malhohurst."

"Minimize bleeding."

The Twisted One lowered its head.

“I will always remember this, sir.”

"very good."

Zhan Shuai seemed to smile, but then again, he didn't.

"It now seems that Ruth has abandoned these sentinel worlds: it was just a smokescreen for him."

"However, it's nothing serious."

"How's Fenris doing?"

The Twisted One blinked, his brain racing as he searched for the answer.

"We have activated all the hidden sentries that were previously planted within the Governor's mansion in Fenris."

"Over 97 percent of the infiltrators have chosen to answer your call, and among the remaining 3 percent, no informants have yet emerged: they will proceed according to the pre-arranged plan, fundamentally undermining the Space Wolves Legion's ability to sustain combat."

"While Fenris himself is unshakeable, the Wolf King's control over other territories is not as strong."

"We have infiltrated the upper echelons of the Space Wolf Legion's main fleet. When the war begins, we can take the opportunity to sever the communication and mutual reinforcement channels between the Sixth Legion's major bases, ensuring that some Space Wolves will not appear on the battlefield: the Wolf King will no longer be able to gather his entire legion."

"Don't be so absolute in your statements."

Zhan Shuai shook his head.

“You don’t know Ruth. He’s smarter and tougher than you think.”

"His only flaw is... his soft heart."

Even Shepherd himself laughed at this point.

"What about the Belisian corona region? What's the situation there?"

"A great success, Commander!"

The Twisters became particularly excited at this point.

“Our allies at the Belize Coronary Base achieved a resounding success three days ago.”

"They have the entire naval base and almost the entire fleet under their control, and at a negligible cost. Fenris is unaware of the change of allegiance in the Belis Crown District, which will give us a huge advantage: there is no doubt that Vice Admiral Pickman is a trustworthy long-term ally who has proven his competence and reliability."

“Pickman”.

Zhan Shuai nodded.

“I’ve remembered this name: I want to meet him.”

"I'll arrange it."

The Twisted One answered calmly.

"In addition, Horus Jr. is leading his fleet toward the Belis Coronal Sector base. He will join forces with the six hundred warships under Vice Admiral Pickman. Then, while we are engaged in direct combat with the Space Wolves Legion, they will flank and seize the entire Fenris Sector. With ample troops and the Tyrant from the Glory Queen, we can expect a glorious victory from Horus Jr.."

"The glorious Queen..."

Zhan Shuai sighed.

"I lost the Soul of Vengeance on Terra, but fortunately I received timely reinforcements."

Are they ready?

"The Joint Force has reached its designated operational position."

"And the [Glory Sovereignty] is standing by as the flagship of the reserve fleet." The Twisted One smiled contentedly as he said this.

“Holy Terra could never have imagined that we would have four Glory Queens.”

"Don't be so careless, Marohurst."

The Wolf God corrected his son.

"Neither the United Force nor the Glorious Sovereign has experienced the baptism of war, and their actual value is certainly far less than that of the Vengeful Spirit: especially the hastily constructed Glorious Sovereign, we can only use it as an existing fleet, rather than actually putting it into the space battlefield to fight."

"You're right."

The Twisted One humbly lowered its head.

"But despite this, these two Glory Queens cannot actually change the course of the battle."

"The difference in strength is too great. We are destined to defeat the Sixth Army in the naval battle."

"There's nothing to be proud of: Ruth and his sons were never known for their prowess in naval warfare."

"The real problem is after the victory."

"What we really need is not to pursue another victory after winning one."

"What we need to do is make sure that the Space Wolf never gets up again after one failure."

Horus extended two fingers and made a magnifying gesture on the star map in front of him.

As the star map shifted, numerous cosmic domains centered on Fenris appeared before the War General. Among the hundreds of worlds and fortresses, a considerable number had already been painted red, symbolizing the Wolf God: they precisely cut through the already fragmented territory of the Wolf Pack, as if slowly strangling the trachea of the space wolves.

"Please don't worry about that."

The Twisted One raised his head.

"More than a third of the fortress worlds and supply worlds under the Sixth Legion's rule are willing to express goodwill to us in the upcoming battles: although not many of them are willing to directly revolt, most have promised to deliver the entire world to you intact if you can defeat the Space Wolves in battle."

Is this promise reliable?

"If we win, then this promise will be the closest promise in the world?"

"Reasonable."

Horus was amused by this remark.

"And what about the fleet?"

"We began infiltrating the Space Wolves' main fleet thirty years ago, focusing our efforts on the mortal captains and senior officers. So far, the results have been quite encouraging: at the start of the battle, our friends in the Space Wolves will help us delay at least one-fifth of the Wolves' fleet, and they will also ensure that Ruth's legion walks into our trap."

At this point, the Twisted One paused for a moment.

"What's wrong, Marohurst?"

"Excuse my bluntness, sir."

The Twisted One took a deep breath.

“Your [Omiru] ally played a significant role in this plan.”

"It's not just this part."

Zhan Shuai shook his head.

“Without Omiru’s help, we wouldn’t have been able to do all this in thirty years.”

"That's true, but he..."

The twister hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

The War General smiled.

"But isn't he too dangerous? After all, he's not our friend."

"Yes."

“I know that, Malochist.”

"I haven't forgotten."

Horus casually flicked his finger, dragging the star map little by little toward Terra.

"Therefore, I did not place my real trump card and hope on Omi."

"This is very wise."

The Twisted One's voice was resolute.

"Our biggest trump card, which is also the one Terra can never counter."

"Yes."

Zhan Shuai turned around: It was obvious that he valued this part of the plan the most.

Tell me: How did it go?

"The publicity campaign is going very well, sir."

The Twisted One nodded.

“We have fully implemented your ideas: the entire solar system is now aware of our position.”

------

"When the fleet of the Wolf God marched toward Terra."

"All the worlds he liberates will permanently abolish all eleven taxes that have been added to Holy Terra since the Battle of Urano. The new taxes will be based on the Emperor's standards during the Great Crusade, with slight improvements made to suit the specific circumstances of each world. This new provision will be written into the new Imperial Constitution drafted by the Warmaster."

"at the same time."

"Any world that is willing to raise its arms in rebellion and respond to the sacred march of the Wolf God will be exempted from all taxes for one generation from the moment it is liberated: the specific time ranges from fifty to one hundred years. At the same time, if this world has committed any crimes in the past, then their past crimes and punishments will be wiped clean."

"Any world that chooses to remain neutral and not to be an enemy of the Shepherd God's holy march will be exempt from taxes for fifteen to twenty-five years from the moment it is liberated by the Shadowmoon Wolf Legion; and their past crimes will also be reduced."

"Those worlds that were forced by Terra to issue a declaration of war against the Wolf God, but did not actually put up any resistance, will also be considered to have taken a neutral stance: the Wolf God is willing to take into account the actual situation and difficulties of each world, but the tax reduction they will grant will only last for ten to twenty years."

"Finally, those worlds that once opposed the Wolf God but did not choose to fight to the death in battle will be pardoned by the War General, unless they committed serious war crimes during the war. Although the Wolf God cannot reduce the taxes of these worlds, he will give certain consideration based on the actual situation and may grant them a tax exemption for up to three years."

"And those stubborn people who stand firmly on the side of the Terra rebels and refuse to turn to justice until their dying breath."

"In the name of the emperor, the people, the empire, and justice."

"They will disappear forever, and their people will curse the folly of their rulers."

"And their land and wealth will reward those who are willing to join this sacred cause."

"But if the people of these worlds are willing to overthrow their foolish rulers and join the Shadowmoon Wolves Legion and their sacred cause, then the merciful Warmaster will forgive all their actions."

"Please believe in the mercy of the Wolf God."

"Please believe that he is fighting only for the fate of the empire, the happiness of the people, and the justice of the world."

------

There's something I just can't understand.

Why are you so generous to those who were once our enemies?

The Twisters, in particular, do not understand this.

"why?"

His genetic father laughed.

"why not?"

"Think about it, Malhohurst."

"If my mercy could make a world that was originally determined to resist lay down its arms, it might save the lives of thousands of my followers."

"Similarly, this will reduce one enemy who is willing to fight me this time, and increase one friend, even if it is just a friend who is extremely weak and useless."

"But like I said."

"If we want to defeat Terra, then even just having one more friend is worth fighting for."

"If speaking kindly can turn my enemy into my friend, then why not?"

"More friends, fewer enemies."

"The essence of war is nothing more than fighting with superior numbers."

"Just like this."

The war commander looked at the star map and looked with satisfaction at Fenris, who was surrounded by red circles.

"You're in charge of this, Malohrist."

“Tell me: what have been the consequences of my mercy and my propaganda in Fenris and Terra?”

"I'm still not sure about Terra."

The Twisted One sighed.

“But Fenris… let me put it this way.”

"If the Wolf King loses one battle, he will lose the whole war."

"For the previous half-century, Lemanrus had steadfastly enforced Terra's tax rates, which was the main reason why his rule was so poor: even though the high lords had urgently halted the collection of tithes in the previous months, their credibility in these worlds had long been bankrupt."

"Thanks to our efforts, almost the entire Solar System knows about your declaration on tax cuts. Even though the governors who are loyal to Holy Terra are trying their best to cover it up, they can't stop their people from spreading the word: these rumors are spreading among the lower classes through merchant ships and sailors, much faster than we initially expected."

"The people are more willing to believe you, Commander-in-Chief."

"And this is what I want."

Horus nodded in satisfaction.

"It will be my true winning formula."

After speaking, the Wolf God stared silently at the star map, focusing on Fenris and its master.

The brother who would become his enemy.

……

"I'm sorry, Ruth."

"Although I also want to have a proper fight with you."

"But the situation forced us to act."

"I suggest you... just leave the game, brother."

------