Emperor's Bane

Chapter 934 Shit!
"What trouble did the fire lizards encounter?"

It's really nothing.

[It's just that the entire planet Nocturne has become a giant landfill.]

The delegation sent by Holy Terra almost thought they had taken the wrong turn and wandered into some hive world.

"……what?"

Bayar tilted his head.

Did he mishear? Or is there some kind of error in his brain?
This is not uncommon.

Since joining the Primarch's side, Bayar has rarely felt that his brain is not working properly.

As for why it's "since"?
That is, of course, because: as one of the most senior and powerful Astartes warriors, Bayar had already appeared in the Emperor's army during the siege of Samarkand in the middle of the unification war. Considering that the Lord of Man's directly controlled troops were not many at that time, and Bayar himself was indeed outstanding, he quickly became an elite force that could be directly dispatched by the Emperor.

This is not surprising.

During the War of Unification, the Emperor's power was the complete opposite of the glorious human empire of today: the so-called Imperial Guard only numbered a few hundred men, the Astartes were just an elite force of a thousand men, and even the Thunder Warriors, who were the main force in the War of Unification, never had a total strength of more than 100,000 men. The Lord of Terra could easily remember the name of every elite under his command.

It was under these circumstances that Bayar served the Emperor for decades, and for a time, he was a royal guard who only obeyed the Emperor's orders. Such an honor left Bayar with more than just pleasant memories. During the years he fought alongside the Emperor, Bayar not only deeply remembered the Lord of Man's formidable strength, but also his almost unbearable speaking style.

Perhaps due to a lack of trust in Bayar, the Emperor never clearly explained anything to this Astartes. His orders were always fragmented or contradictory, and any long-term instructions were almost always mixed with vague language, requiring you to rack your brains to decipher them. The purpose of doing so was probably to make you play the role of a self-serving pawn in his grander plan.

Of course, this problem is merely distressing and does not pose any life-threatening danger, but when Bayar serves another noble as the champion swordsman more than a hundred years after the war to unify Terra, he cannot help but compare his former and current masters, especially considering that they are a close father and daughter.

how to say.

At least the Spider Queen's orders were always very clear.

Putting aside other things, the Spider Queen also likes to include many people in a big plan at the same time. Only she knows the whole picture of the plan, and each character in it can only get a part of the truth from her. But unlike the Emperor, Morgan is used to making this clear when issuing tasks, letting her subordinates know that they are also one of many cogs in the machine.

As for the reason?

Perhaps Morgan disliked her subordinates speculating about things behind her back more than the possibility of leaks.

Rather than letting them figure it out themselves, it's better to clearly state the rules and regulations. Even if this causes some resentment or dark feelings, Morgan is always able to sense it in time and soothe the psychological trauma of his subordinates with unimaginably generous compensation: this is something that Bayar rarely sees in the Lord of Mankind.

Of course, this is not to say that emperors were not generous.

Rather, he's not very good at...being generous on his own initiative.

However, apart from that, as father and daughter, the Spider Queen is very similar to her genetic father in many ways: although Bayar would never say this.

But he knew he wasn't the only one thinking that way.

In fact, the Dawnbreakers, including Rana, Marshall, and the Old Guard or Knights of Lefebvre who had participated in almost the entire War of Unification and the Great Crusade and served under Queen Avalon, the Lord of Mankind, all shared the view that their Primarchs often bore a striking resemblance to the Emperor.

Although in private, Morgan never hid her aversion to the emperor from her children.

However, this is harmless. There are Primarchs who like to criticize the Emperor in public, and there are also several Primarchs who speak sarcastically to the Lord of Man in less private settings. As for those who are outwardly obedient but actually contradict the Emperor, there are at least three names that can be listed. Compared to them, Morgan's private complaints pose no threat whatsoever.

At least every time the Emperor summons her, the Spider Queen will obediently go and finish the job.

This is far superior to her brothers, so the Terran Dawnbreakers naturally don't need to worry about the trouble of choosing between the Emperor and the Primarch.

As for Bayar, since he doesn't need to consider the so-called issue of loyalty, nor does he need to spend too much time thinking when carrying out missions: as a champion swordsman, he can simply output force, and the Primarch won't assign him any particularly complicated tasks, which means that his brain is always well-preserved.

It was smooth and glossy, without a single wrinkle.

But when you need to use it, it's not enough.

For example, now.

Bayar maintained his composed demeanor, frowning and pondering for several minutes, but he couldn't figure out what Nocturne Star had to do with the landfill.

Isn't that a world of lava? What kind of trash can thrive in such a place?

Magnus has been under house arrest for a long time.

Bayar tapped his head and then realized that he was indeed not very good at using his brain.

If only Rana were here: or Bernard would be fine too.

The champion swordsman sighed, then realized that his Primarch had already finished reading the document in his hand.

The Spider Queen's expression is... abstract?
Bayar hadn't seen such a complex expression on his Mother of Genes' face in a long time: the last time he'd seen it was when several Primarchs visited Avalon and went to the movies together that night.

Logically, it was a rare and heartwarming Primarch family gathering, with Primarchs Morgan, Conrad, Sanguillès, Guilliman, Johnsen, and Angron all together—a sight rarely seen even during the Great Crusade. However, in deciding to watch classic films together all night, they made an unforgivable and enormous mistake.

They put Conrad in charge of selecting the films.

Conrad lived up to expectations, showing a total of four movies that night.

Tarzan, Oedipus Rex, Interview with the Vampire, and Spartacus.

Then?

Then Bayar didn't see Conrad for half a month.

"cough……"

Thinking of this, the champion swordsman coughed.

"Has something happened, sir?"

【Um……】

Morgan pursed her lips, gazing at the thin sheet of paper before her with an unimaginable sympathy.

[Bayar.]

"I'm here."

Do you remember why the Salamander Legion refused to let us escort them into the Netpath?

"Of course I remember."

Bayar nodded.

"Because the Salamander Legion's homeworld, Nocturne, already has several Webway entrances, and these Webway entrances lead directly to the dark city of Comoros: In the past, the Dark Eldar would use these Webway entrances to enter and exit, regularly plundering the population of Nocturne as slaves of Comoros, until Vulcan descended upon Nocturne and thwarted the Dark Eldar's plundering, and subsequently attempted to launch a counterattack against Comoros."

"Although Lord Vulcan's counterattack against the Comoros ultimately ended in his retreat, he swiftly destroyed all the Webway entrances upon returning to Nocturne to ensure that the Dark Eldar would not attack again. But times have changed, and now we need those Webway entrances, and Lord Vulcan is quite confident that he can repair them so that the Salamander army can advance directly into the heart of the Comoros."

That's exactly what convinced me.

Morgan held his forehead.

And he did indeed repair those devices.

However, this is precisely where the problem lies.

Vulcan clearly hadn't considered what the Dark Eldar would do with these broken devices.

"so?"

【so……】

------

"boom!"

"We made it!"

As the strange, decaying, and enormous Eldar structures hissed in the air and emitted a pale blue light in the distorted time, Artes could hardly contain the joy on his face.

He raised his head, gazing once more at the very source of the suffering that had brought so much to Nocturne. The Eldar architecture's bizarre appearance presented a paradoxical contrast to traditional human aesthetics, a similarity that was both similar and contradictory. Yet, the Salamanders had to acknowledge its inherent beauty: even after countless years, even after enduring the wrath of Primarch Vulcan himself, these towering, gate-like structures, large enough for Titans to pass through, could still radiate life once more after millennia. Of course, Atels believed the primary credit belonged to their Primarch: the wisdom of the great Vulcan, and the hammer in his hand.

As a company commander in the legion, Artes watched as his genetic father spent just a few months restoring this alien wonder, which he had almost destroyed with his own hands, to a point where it was safe for the legion to use. This was even though Vulcan knew almost nothing about Eldar technology; he relied almost entirely on his own exploration and innate knowledge to gradually confirm the function and origin of each building component.

This is simply an architectural marvel.

And it will underpin a miracle in military history.

"We did it, sir!"

The Salamander's platoon leader rushed to the Primarch's side. On Vulcan's dark face, Arters saw a long-lost joy and excitement. Unfortunately, there would be few more people here to share his emotions and miracles with the Primarch: there weren't many people gathered around the Webpath Gate, only a few hundred scattered around.

The Lord of Fire was never a power-hungry man who enjoyed being surrounded by followers. On the contrary, although he had no aversion to dealing with others, as a pure blacksmith and researcher, Vulcan actually preferred a simple and quiet atmosphere: during the time the Primarch was in charge of repairing the Webway Gate, apart from necessary staff and a dozen or so Salamander warriors, the Primarch did not allow anyone to stay by his side.

And it was these people who witnessed the reopening of the Internet Gate after many years.

"Yes, we succeeded, Numeang."

Listening to the cheers around him, the Primarch, who hadn't closed his eyes for days, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"We finally succeeded: Luckily we made it in time."

"I don't want to break my promise to my brothers."

“Then, let’s immediately assemble the legion: our brothers in arms have been preparing for a long time.”

Atelius seized the opportunity to offer his advice.

"Let me think about it..."

Vulcan shook his head.

"That's not appropriate. We're still unsure what's going on on the other side of the Internet Gate."

“I think we should test the waters first: open the gates of the internet, and I’ll take some people in to see what’s going on.”

"indeed."

The company commander nodded, then watched as his Primarch personally opened the restrictions of the Webway Gate: accompanied by a deep blue light that obscured everyone's vision, a rumbling sound powerful enough to shake mountains, like the roar of an earthquake, made Artes almost lose his footing.

"Is this normal, sir?"

The company commander shouted at his Primarch: Of all these people present, only Vulcan is a survivor who witnessed firsthand how the Webgate worked.

“I’m not so sure… but I remember that it didn’t seem to be like this when the Eldar activated it.”

The Primarch's voice sent a chill down Arters's broad back.

Because it heard another sound: the sound of a colossal creature, as large as a mountain range, rushing about at breakneck speed.

Was it a flood or a landslide?
It's inside... the net channel?
The fire lizard looked over blankly.

Just as he turned his head, Artels saw with his own eyes that in the center of the distorted yet sacred pale blue halo of the Webgate, something seemed to have just been released from its restraints and was about to pounce on the world: the Salamander looked at his Primarch in horror and saw Vulcan trying to close the Webgate again.

With a rumbling sound, a torrent of deep black, foul-smelling liquid gushed out from the net channel.

Atels' eyes widened.

He stood there, stunned, and shouted out the word he would never have said in his life.

"shit!"

Before he could finish speaking, more and more indescribable things were caught by gravity and poured out of the net gate in a frenzy: Atels was horrified to see the incomplete corpses, their hideous appearance enough to keep Astartes awake at night. He saw those twisted, worm-like monsters, their fierce breaths proving that they were still alive, but there were more liquids and gases of unknown color. Just smelling them was enough to make Atels almost faint from poison.

More and more filth, more and more madness, they surged forth like an unstoppable flood, reaching the salamanders in the blink of an eye. Artels instinctively wanted to rush toward his Primarch to protect him, or even to protect any unarmed mortal beside him, but the torrent was simply too fast. Before the company commander's body could react, he, like the Primarch present and the hundreds of people around him, was irresistibly swept into this mad flood.

They swept him away.

It rushed towards the entire Nocturne Star.

------

"Wait...you mean..."

[That's right: just as you thought.]

Morgan nodded, confirming Bayar's unspoken premonition.

How could he possibly say it?

Just thinking about this invincible champion swordsman who had never feared anyone made me feel cold sweat all over my body.

too frightening.

Too brutal.

How could such a blasphemous crime exist in the Milky Way?
Not far away, the Primarch simply sighed, her voice continuing.

[Vulcan clearly hadn't anticipated that since he landed on Nocturne and utterly thwarted the Dark Eldar's plan to plunder populations with his giant hammer, these network entrances leading directly to Nocturne had become useless to the entire Comoros, especially after Vulcan had completely blocked the path from his direction.]

[So, ever since then, Comoros has used these clogged irrigation canals as... a dumping ground.]

[Large amounts of domestic waste, corpses of those who died in the Comoros's brutality and conspiracies, experimental residues, lethal poison gas and experimental wastewater: anything you can imagine was irresponsibly dumped here, piling up for nearly two hundred years, the waste of the entire Comoros converging here.]

Then Vulcan opened the door again.

He and his research team were immediately overwhelmed by the Comoros's garbage deluge: it's said that the garbage piled up inside that net-like portal poured relentlessly onto the entire planet Nocturne for weeks until the Salamander Legion's suicide squads completely destroyed it, finally stopping the influx of more garbage into Nocturne.

"Why didn't they do this sooner?"

[Because the amount of garbage is so great that it could even block the lava fields and volcanoes on Nocturne.]

Simply surviving in the face of such trash, and the lives of ordinary people, is already incredibly difficult.

Only after most of the people had been evacuated could the salamanders free up their hands to search for the net tunnel entrance, which had long been submerged under thousands of meters of garbage.

They searched almost physically, as these Comorian wastes contained strong radiation and unknown technologies that could even interfere with oracles.

【…】

At this point, Morgan covered her face: even she couldn't continue.

In short, almost half of Nocturne is now filled with all sorts of garbage and toxins. A basic investigation suggests that Nocturne is essentially no longer suitable for human habitation. If the toxic substances originating from the Comoros are not removed, they will completely destroy Nocturne's fragile soil and biosphere within months, not to mention the web-dwelling creatures that grow by feeding on this garbage; they are capable of tearing mortals to shreds.

"That's...terrifying."

Bayar could only manage to utter this one sentence.

So: the fire salamander isn't coming?

No, quite the opposite.

The Spider Queen shook her head.

Vulcan and his legion entrusted the task of clearing away the rubble entirely to a small garrison and a small army of ordinary soldiers.

And the vast majority of their power.

We will join the fight against Comoros with a more resolute attitude and higher morale.

"..."

"Understandable."

(End of this chapter)