Emperor's Bane

Chapter 936 The Meeting of the Net Dao

Chapter 936 The Meeting of the Net Dao
Overall, the meeting of the three online expeditionary forces went very smoothly.

Although for various reasons, the World Eaters and Salamanders had to abandon their initial action plan and instead head to the backup network entrance to regroup: the deviation in route and the reallocation of resources naturally caused unexpected delays and consumption, but fortunately, after setting off, they did not encounter any more emergencies, and everything went smoothly.

More than 400,000 Astartes warriors successfully penetrated the abandoned network tunnels. They were prepared for a fierce battle at the entrance, but soon found that they were met only with desolation and savagery.

Although the Eldar self-proclaimed Webpaths are considered the inherent territory of this ancient race and its successors, after the Great Fall, the remaining Eldar forces have long lost the ability to maintain this galactic wonder. Moreover, the Dark Eldar who actually live within the Webpaths, while enjoying its convenience, have never thought of truly maintaining it.

Even among the Eldar, known for their extreme cunning, arrogance, and treachery, the Dark Eldar, who reside in the Comoros, are generally considered, compared to the Ark Eldar and the Savage Eldar, to be a more uncultured and empathetic scourge of the galaxy: while the Savage Eldar's actions in protecting the Soul of the World can be predicted and understood, and the Ark Eldar, as allies when necessary, can be occasionally trusted, the Dark Eldar have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

That's right: they have absolutely no advantages.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of Comoros can confidently assert this statement.

Despite the Dark Eldar's persistent claims that they are the true heirs to the Eldar Empire, and indeed they do deserve this title: they have inherited the largest share of the Eldar Empire's legacy and Comoros, one of the former empire's core regions. Even the Webpath is effectively under their control. Although all Eldar forces can use the Webpath, no other force in the galaxy has ever used it as frequently and skillfully as the Dark Eldar, and has occupied the largest share of the Webpath regions.

Although most of the time it's just a nominal occupation: not even a patrol team is stationed.

Since even occupation is so difficult, there's no need to expect the Lords of Comoros to maintain the Webpath. Although the Webpath is extremely important to the Dark Eldar, they never expend too much energy on this source of life. Apart from the small section right next to the core area of Comoros, the Dark Eldar's attitude towards the main part of the Webpath is one of complete neglect.

They would use it, but if a section of the Web had fallen into disrepair and become unusable, or if a leak had occurred, allowing something more dangerous to infiltrate it, the Dark Eldar would not hesitate to abandon it entirely. Although some Web gates were still functioning properly, no Comorian, except for the bravest or the most desperate of the lower-ranking nobles, would risk stepping into those sections.

In those no longer safe Webs, there may live terrifying monsters born of ancient evils, experimental beasts banished from the Comoros or elsewhere, bloodthirsty executioners trapped in the gaps of time and space, or even worse: demons from the warp may also invade those collapsed Webs.

They would each take the life of a Dark Eldar: and the Dark Eldar valued their own lives very much.

Even across the entire galaxy, there is no race more conscious of life than the Dark Eldar. Although the Bloodlings' technology makes them fearless of death in a sense, there will always be problems in this world that even the Bloodlings cannot solve, and these problems often reside within the Web: when a soul is captured by a demon, even the Bloodlings cannot save you.

It was this fear that made the Dark Eldar forces unwilling to set foot in the abandoned Web Tunnel areas. So when the combined forces of the World Eaters and Salamanders entered through an entrance to a Web Tunnel that had been abandoned by the Dark Eldar, the army did not elicit any reaction from the Comoros.

Angron and Vulcan led their legions on a arduous march through the shattered landscape of the Webpaths. The dead ends and labyrinths posed a far greater threat than any enemy: despite having agreed on a route with Morgan before setting out, and the two Primarchs maintaining intermittent contact with their kin throughout the Webpath advance to report their positions, their progress remained unbearably slow.

Even Vulcan was starting to lose his temper.

Fortunately, before the evil flames in the heart of the Fire Dragon Lord could fill his godlike body, the vanguard, led by the two legion commanders, finally found a way out of the Shattered Zone ahead of the main force: after more than a month of wandering, the World Eaters and Fire Lizards finally found the main road of the Webway, and as long as they followed this busy road that was in use, they would eventually be able to find the location of Comoros.

Of course, this also means that the probability of them being discovered by the Dark Eldar forces is greatly increased.

Therefore, after a brief discussion, the two Primarchs finally came to a conclusion: if they wanted to advance on Comoros while remaining as covert as possible, they should first join up with Morgan's Dawnbreaker Legion: if anyone could conceal the march of three legions from the Dark Eldar patrols, then that person could only be the Spider Queen.

Even within the web, Morgan's psychic vision was enough for her to spot the Comoros patrol 380,000 kilometers away: before these alien scum could find anything, the Spider Queen had plenty of ways to silence them forever.

Morgan clearly thought so too.

But the next problem is that in the vast network that spans the entire galaxy, the hundreds of thousands of Astartes in the three legions are a tiny, insignificant number. To pinpoint each other's location is no easier than finding two drops of water in a vast ocean: even for the powerful Spider Queen, this is an extraordinary test of her psionic abilities and computational power.

Morgan's answer was quite good.

Although it took some time, the Spider Queen managed to ensure the successful rendezvous of the three Webpath Expeditionary Legions before the deadline set by her Gene Fathers: surprisingly, the Eldar Empire was the greatest help Morgan received in the process.

These ambitious individuals constructed countless wonders and cities within the network, some of which were so large they rivaled even the Comoros. Although these cities were either completely destroyed or abandoned by their masters after the Great Fall, becoming desolate ghost towns, these prominent ruins remained excellent landmarks for the Legion.

After thousands of communications and adjustments, the Dawnbreaker expeditionary force finally arrived at an abandoned Eldar city, where the Devourers of Worlds and the Salamanders awaited them. The three brother legions successfully reunited. By this time, six months had passed since the Dawnbreaker legion set out, and the Devourers of Worlds and the Salamanders had been on their way for almost four months.

"It's been much longer than I imagined."

The Lord of Fire Dragons let out a sigh.

Vulcan stood on a strange high platform. The reason it was strange was that the very existence of the platform overturned the Primarch's previous common sense about physics.

The same applies to this city.

The Lord of Fire Dragons looked around.

In this city, Vulcan could not see any boundaries or up, down, left, or right: this abandoned Eldar city presented a 360-degree expanse without blind spots in space. Even the Primarch's eyes could not see through the impossible dimensions within it, not to mention the winding paths that rose and fell and the awe-inspiring towers in the clouds. The Lord of Fire Dragons did not even dare to go in and explore, because he had a feeling that he could not possibly find his way out of those labyrinths.

It's impossible for at least a hundred years.

Although this Eldar city appears to be a world abandoned by its masters for over three thousand years, long since dilapidated and lost its original splendor and wonder, even a small portion still clinging to life is enough to deter the human legions: the former glory and prosperity of the Eldar Empire transcends the dimensions of time, shocking a group of demigods who, millions of years later, yearn to conquer their descendants.

"I just hope Comoros won't be like that."

Vulcan's gaze lingered for a long time on the nearest spiral tower: at first glance, it was just a poorly designed Gothic building, but upon closer inspection, it had transformed into something else entirely. If you stared at it closely, you would witness the changes firsthand, yet your memory would be completely blank. Suddenly, as you stared at it, you began to doubt your own sanity.

The Primarch finally withdrew his gaze: his silent face looked like a sigh.

"You know, Morgan?"

"Vulcan said to his blood relatives who had just arrived."

“I don’t even dare to send my legion deep into the interior of this abandoned city to set up camp.”

“I made them stay outside the city, and even those who stayed inside had to stay within sight of others.”

"that's right."

Angron, who was standing to the side, nodded.

"I deployed three hundred drones inside, but not one of them has come back alive so far."

"They suddenly... fell down."

Do you understand what I mean?

Angron raised a hand.

"The operator told me that the drone they were operating had been sucked into an abyss with its own gravitational field."

"But they have been sucked in for a full thirty days, and they have not yet fallen to the bottom of the abyss."

"It's like..."

[Like being sucked into subspace?]

Despite having spent nearly half a Terran standard year traveling back and forth in the Webpaths, the appearance and demeanor of the Lord of Avalon remained unaffected in the slightest. When Morgan met with her two blood relatives, compared to the numb Angron and the desolate Vulcan who had become listless from the long journey, the Spider Queen's condition could only be described as radiant.

However, the other two Primarchs did not show excessive surprise: it was an open secret among the brothers that the Lord of Avalon liked to use psychic powers to maintain his false, perfect appearance.

It wasn't that the Primarchs' psychic perception had increased: rather, it was a certain Midnight Ghost who wished to remain anonymous, who always seemed unable to control his tendency to leak secrets. "Yes, that's pretty much it."

Angron nodded.

"So I'm curious, Morgan: what exactly is the connection between the Web and the Warp?"

Vulcan, who had been silent to the side, also looked over.

Neither of them were fools: although at the very beginning, the two Primarchs agreed to join the expedition simply because of the Emperor's orders or their hatred for the Comoros, after traveling for so long in these bizarre and fantastical lands far beyond their worldview, even Angron, who usually disliked thinking, had become somewhat aware of the Webpath's peculiarities.

"Or……"

The Lord of Devourers leaned against the wall, but quickly frowned and moved away.

"The Emperor doesn't just want to destroy Comoros, does he?"

Yes, he has grander goals.

Morgan nodded calmly.

Now that things have come to this point, there's no point in continuing to cover it up.

However, it's not really appropriate for her to say it.

The Spider Queen's innate caution prevailed.

Admittedly, given her status and the power the Emperor had promised her as the commander-in-chief of the Comoros campaign, Morgan was certainly entitled to lay everything bare here: since the two Primarchs and their legions were about to die for them anyway, it was only natural for them to die knowing why.

But, that's what I said.

But what if something suddenly happens on the Emperor's side, preventing these two Primarchs from knowing the truth?

【…】

After much thought, I decided to let the emperor speak for himself.

Thinking of this, the Spider Queen changed the subject.

That was a grand plan that no one but him could explain to you.

"..."

The two Primarchs exchanged a glance.

"Ok."

Vulcan nodded.

"I hope we can see the Emperor soon."

It should be soon.

This is something that can be discussed.

Morgan tapped his temple.

I had just finished communicating with him before I came.

The Emperor is very interested in this abandoned Eldar city we've found. He sees it as a potential forward military base for the advance into Comoros, so he'll be coming soon with his fully armed Webpath army.

"This is best."

Vulcan nodded.

“I hope to see my father soon, and I also want to ask him about his attitude toward Horus and the Marker.”

What happened before you set off?

"Nothing serious."

The Lord of Fire Dragons hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Angron, on the other hand, didn't have as many concerns.

"It's just a war about to break out: Horus's anger toward Holy Terra is practically written all over his face."

"I reckon they've already started fighting by now."

[Is that so? Then we have plenty of time.]

Morgan was silently calculating in his mind.

"Do you have enough time?"