Emperor's Bane

Chapter 969 Convergence and Division

In short.

"We're going to do it now."

"That's something we'll have to accomplish in the future."

"It's about having the mindset of a wild beast."

"Shoot into the heart of the rebels!"

With a powerful roar that silenced all others, the lion of Caliban delivered his first and last political declaration toward the Far Eastern frontier.

For all of Avalon, this was the true opening act left to them by the master of the Dark Angels.

The four giants left behind by the Spider Queen became the first people in the entire Far East to know the truth.

In the silence following the sudden clap of thunder, Morgan's most trusted apostles displayed a completely different attitude.

Bernard and Ahriman were highly regarded by the Spider Queen and often heard the Primarch speak privately about the various events in the galaxy and her Primarch brothers' opinions. Among these opinions were some rather outrageous remarks that, if spoken in public, would be enough to cause a stir.

This is why these two people have a much higher psychological threshold than the average person.

Although Johnson's act of declaring a full-scale war against Warmaster Horus upon his arrival was shocking from any perspective, the two of them were still able to maintain a high degree of composure, except that their suddenly widened pupils revealed their true thoughts: they were far less composed than they appeared.

Compared to these two insiders who at least managed to appear calm on the surface, the war blacksmith sitting on the other side could only be described as dumbfounded: poor Danteok was perhaps the most ignorant of everyone present, his mouth agape in bewilderment, completely unaware of how the topic had suddenly sped up to this extent.

Before the long-wandering son of Peturabo could figure out what was going on, another person's voice took away his chance to speak.

"So: the rebel is the war commander, right?"

The speaker was Rana, the chief of the royal guard.

While Ahriman and Bernard could only maintain a facade of composure, Morgan's Chief of the Guard was truly unmoved: perhaps it was the calmness of being among the first Terra veterans, or perhaps the Spider Queen had already revealed something in private; in any case, Rana seemed completely unsurprised by the information.

"Yes."

Johnson has never been one to pay much attention to the psychological state of his audience.

Once he was no longer so surprised to see the four people in front of him who could represent Avalon, the lion continued to speak.

"That's not my opinion."

"It was Morgan who told me that."

"At the same time, this is also the will of the emperor."

"Can you assure that, sir?"

Bernard instinctively asked a question: until he realized that the Caliban's cold gaze was fixed on him.

The Dawnbreaker instinctively raised its hands to its chest.

"I'm sorry: I wasn't questioning what you said."

"I just want to be sure: after all, this involves the lives and deaths of billions of people in Avalon, and even the fate of the entire human empire. We can't decide it based on... something vague and unreal."

"..."

The Lion King did not respond immediately.

He remained silent, expressionless, staring intently at Bernard until the Dawnbreaker's cold sweat trickled down his back and soaked his clothes, until the others looked over with worry. Then, the Caliban suddenly nodded, his tone sincere.

"This is a reasonable concern."

“You’re absolutely right, Bernard.”

"That's good, sir..."

Just as Bernard shivered from the cold sweat trickling down his spine, Arachios, standing at the door, exchanged a helpless glance with his fighting comrades: the others might not know, but the Dark Angels were well aware that Johnson's actions just now were not out of anger.

He was simply pondering whether Bernard's words made any sense.

As for why you should stare intently at the other person while thinking?

Perhaps it's because Zhuang Sen's simple mind couldn't handle both thinking and turning his head at the same time.

"Gentlemen."

Amidst the helplessness of the Dark Angels, their Gene Father was brimming with confidence and intended to persuade his people.

With his hands behind his back, he paced around the wide round table, his gaze sweeping among the group of people.

“This is not the first time we have met and collaborated.”

"I think everyone here already knows me very well."

"Including you, Ahriman."

The Lion King nodded to Qianzi.

Then he looked at Danteok.

"As for War Blacksmith, I think Morgan and the Dawnbreaker have both told you the story of our battles side by side."

"Your name is renowned even in the easternmost frontier of the Milky Way, sir."

By this time, Danteok had recovered from the shock of Johnson's initial speech.

He glanced at the expressions of those around him, then at Zhuang Sen, who was staring intently at him.

Ultimately, I chose to agree.

It wasn't a compromise forced by circumstances: Danteok has always been a person with strong principles and principles.

He cannot feign repentance and then regret his actions.

For the War Blacksmith, he had no interest in the intrigues and power struggles at the center of the galaxy, but Horus’s rebellion against the Holy Terra made him feel particularly uneasy: no matter how justified his reasons were, the Wolf God was tearing the entire galaxy apart with his claws, abandoning the peaceful era bought with the blood of countless people.

Now that things have come to this, even Zhuang Sen, who is known for his loyalty and rigidity, has openly opposed Horus and even declared that he would behead him: then perhaps the Wolf God really is the one who has made a mistake.

Danteok convinced himself with this reasoning.

Zhuang Sen also intended to use the same reasoning to persuade the other three people in the room: after the War Blacksmith nodded, the Lion King's gaze returned to the Dawnbreakers.

You may not believe what I'm saying now.

"They might even doubt my abilities."

"This is quite normal, after all, this matter is indeed significant: and it's not like I haven't made mistakes before."

"But, everyone."

The Lion King suddenly changed the subject.

“I think none of you here would question my loyalty to the Emperor and the Empire.”

"I will not question the bond between me and Morgan."

"Furthermore, we will not question Morgan's own position."

The Primarch stopped in his tracks, placing one hand on the table while pressing the other against his heart.

"Therefore, I pledge my loyalty."

"Horus's rebellion was confirmed by the Emperor himself."

"And this was also said by Morgan himself."

"I am also quite certain that the figure who relayed all of the above to me was Morgan's own will."

"Now, by my loyalty."

“I have told you about them again.”

"Then, please answer me."

"Avalon, what choice will you make now?"

"..."

Silence lasted for some time.

But it didn't last long.

When Rana stood up, his three comrades-in-arms beside him clearly agreed with this statement.

So he looked at the Lion King.

To be on the same level as this Primarch in spirit.

"What do you need us to do, sir?"

------

"If we only consider the number of psionicists..."

"The Far East has a fairly large reserve of psionicists."

Ahriman adjusted his glasses: a habit he had developed while teaching. Holding a thick document almost as wide as his forearm, Chiko needed to explain all the important information to the uneasy Lord of Caliban in the simplest terms.

It's not simple.

But Ahriman quickly found a trick.

He found that the Caliban were more receptive to vague or precise figures than to detailed accounts of all the complex internal workings and nuances, especially when they symbolized living fighting power.

"The total strength of the Dawnbreaker Legion after the outbreak of the Terra crisis was 166,000: among them, about 2,000 warriors were think tanks that had undergone systematic training."

"Barely over one percent?"

"That does fit Morgan's character."

Johnson sat in his chair: this exquisite chair, positioned directly north of the round table, was once considered a privilege reserved for the Lord of Avalon, but now the Dawnbreakers tolerated the arrival of their second master.

The lion, with his eyes closed, appeared to be listening to Ahriman's report with an air of ease, but his mind was actually racing.

For Zhuang Sen, taking over all the major and minor affairs of the Far East frontier was by no means an easy task.

He has to work hard to adapt to all of this.

Otherwise, he lacked confidence that he could unleash the full power of this Far Eastern sword.

"How many of these think tanks remained in Avalon?"

"Almost all, sir."

Ahriman's answer made the lion open his eyes, and he looked at the other with some suspicion.

"Are you sure?"

"Mr. Morgan arranged this specifically."

Chiko nodded.

"In preparing for the expedition to the Webpath, Lady Morgan specifically drew upon all the Legion's think tanks: she believed that allowing too many psionicists into the Webpath was not a good thing."

"That is to say, among the 46,000 Dawnbreakers who remain on the Far East border, 2,000 are think tanks."

"Yes, my lord."

This time, it was Rana who answered him.

"In addition, given that we have been training very few new Dawnbreaker think tanks for about ten years, these two thousand think tank members have a relatively solid foundation and rich theoretical and practical experience: they are ready to be deployed into battle at any time."

"very good."

Zhuang Sen nodded in satisfaction.

"So how many of the remaining 44,000 Dawnbreakers are new recruits, Rana: I don't believe Morgan would bring untrained warriors into the Netway."

"Approximately six thousand people."

"In other words, I can quickly mobilize 40,000 Dawnbreakers, including 2,000 think tanks."

Zhuang Sen paused for a moment, slowly processing the numbers in silence, then looked at Danteok.

"And what about you, War Blacksmith?"

Danteok slowly stood up; the document board in front of him was as hard as steel.

"As for think tanks, we can provide three thousand people."

"But only about 2,200 of them are experienced."

"As for immediate combat capability, as I just said: it can quickly mobilize 160,000 people, including think tanks."

"That's it..."

Zhuang Sen seemed to have thought of something.

“I remember Morgan telling me that she lifted your conscription restrictions just before you left, right?”

"Yes, sir..."

The war blacksmith shuddered slightly: he still felt these things were not appropriate to say in public.

"So, in the two or three months while Morgan was away, you expanded your forces by at least 70,000?"

"No, that's not the case."

The war blacksmith quickly shook his head.

"160,000 is actually a record from a long time ago."

"As for the number 233,000: we have only expanded by a little over 10,000 in the past few months."

"What about the other 60,000?"

Zhuang Sen stared intently at Danteok.

Having just arrived, he didn't want to put too much pressure on the war blacksmith, but he had to get to the bottom of these crucial questions concerning troop strength and the war.

"We are only……"

The blacksmith's Adam's apple bobbed laboriously.

"Recently, I've had the time... the opportunity... or rather, the courage to actually take a headcount."

"Before this, we actually had no idea how many people we had under our command."

"..."

Zhuang Sen narrowed his eyes and remained silent for a while.

"Dantioch."

"I am here, sir."

"You just said that your troops have recruited at least 10,000 men in the past two or three months?"

"Yes."

"So……"

The lion's body leans forward.

"If I were to formally open up all restrictions on your entire Far Eastern frontier, including conscription areas and weaponry, could you expand your total military strength to 300,000 men within the next year?"

"Moreover, at least 200,000 of them should be ready to fight immediately."

This sentence left Danteok speechless.

His first reaction wasn't to consider the difficulty, but rather to subconsciously look at Rana beside him.

Watching the war blacksmith's movements, the Caliban realized he had overlooked something: he still hadn't fully adapted to the fact that this was no longer his First Legion.

"I'm sorry, Rana."

Zhuang Sen quickly nodded to the Dawnbreaker.

"I have that right, right?"

"You are the First Ruler, Your Excellency."

The chief of the Imperial Guards replied in this way.

So the Lion King looked back at Danteok.

"And what is your answer, Warsmith?"

Danteok took a deep breath.

"I will try my best, sir: I will do everything in my power to achieve this."

"Is this a promise?"

Johnson frowned. "You know, I don't like promises: they seem very unstable to me."

"No...this is just..."

Just as Danteok was about to explain, a gentle smile suddenly appeared on Zhuang Sen's face.

"However, the situation is special now, War Blacksmith."

"I think it's necessary for us to understand each other."

“I can grant your promise: the promise of the son of Petulabe is of great value to me.”

"Please do not let it down, Lord Danteok."

Recently, the original text has even been given honorifics.

This nearly stopped the war blacksmith from breathing.

"I will, sir."

"very good."

Zhuang Sen crossed his arms and placed them on the table.

"In other words, if all goes well, we will have 340,000 Astartes warriors in a year."

"And I also brought 30,000 people with me."

"Although there are fewer than 300 people in the think tank, they are all veterans who have been through many battles."

"In the coming year, I will use this 30,000-strong veteran force as the backbone to rebuild a 200,000-strong Dark Angels force."

"If we want to leave the Far East and head to the center of the galaxy to end Horus's rebellion, we will need at least half a million warriors: and that is just a minimum number."

"This is also our most important goal for the next stage."

“I think you’ve overlooked something, sir.”

Bernard raised his hand at that moment.

"Before Lady Morgan left, she actually helped Avalon to bring in a formidable reinforcement."

"Lord Guilliman's 100,000 Ultramarines are now heading to the Far East frontier in batches: the first batch of 20,000 will arrive soon."

"We can certainly include their strength as well."

"..."

When his Macurag brothers were mentioned, a very strange expression appeared on Johnsen's face: one that could not be described in any words.

After a long pause, the Primarch shook his head.

"No, don't do that yet."

"Ultraman..."

"I would see them as... a force to be expected."

This statement caused the people present to exchange bewildered glances, but no one delved further into the matter.

Zhuang Sen mentally ticked a box: he had at least effectively solved one problem.

Well... the Primarch glanced at the time.

"Very good: we still have a few hours."

Then, he tore off the first page in front of him, revealing the contents of the second page.

"Now that the problem of Astartes has been solved..."

"Next, let's talk about the armies of mortals."

"How are the preparations of the mortal auxiliary troops?"

------

“Excellent, sir.”

"We can launch a new full-scale offensive at any time."

"Whether facing Terra or Betangamon: the enemy's resistance is pitifully weak."

"Once the fleet leaves the port, no force can stop us from entering the solar system."

In front of his genetic father.

Karas-Tifon is confident in its guarantee.

However, not far ahead, Mortalian, as the Primarch, did not seem to have such confidence.

"That certainly seems to be the case..."

After a long silence, the Lord of Death finally muttered a sentence in a low voice from within his heavy armor: "So thick it feels like my throat is full of phlegm."

"But... what about Sigismund?"

Mortarion mentioned the name: a name that the entire Deathguard Legion hated with a passion.

“We haven’t captured him yet, and he and his remaining guerrilla fleet are still a threat.”

“But we have already defeated him, sir.”

Typhon's views differ.

"We have already annihilated Sigismund's main force in the naval battle of the Geralrus system."

"Especially the Black Templars: while their performance in battle was indeed impressive, the Death Guard proved to be the more powerful warriors."

"Even if he still has a few thousand remnants of his army, they won't interfere with the overall battle situation."

"But he still did not lose faith."

Mortarian shook his head in denial.
"He is still leading his fleet to ambush us. Although he is no longer engaging our main force, the frequency of attacks on the reconnaissance fleets and the supply fleets sent out have increased sevenfold in the past few months. I no longer dare to send out small and medium-sized fleets with only a few dozen ships to operate alone. This is not a solution."

“If we continue forward, we will be exposing our vulnerable rear to Sigismund’s fleet.”

"But if we continue to linger here, Horus will be furious."

“Those two useless bastards, Forgrim and Chagatai Khan, are completely incompetent: the Warlord needs our help.”

It's as if you can be of help.

Typhon smiled contemptuously to himself.

However, he remained silent on the surface.

Once again, Mortarion was muttering to himself about his current situation, and Typhon, the only person in the room besides the Primarch, did not offer any advice or dissuasion at this time: not because he didn't have the guts to do so, but because the company commander of the Death Guard was also thinking about his own little scheme.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard these complaints.

However, unlike his initial frustration, Typhon now has some other thoughts in his mind.

He realized that this might be an opportunity.

An opportunity to break free from the original.

Staying on the Resilience and seizing control of the central command is certainly a good thing.

But if one could lead an army out on one's own, there would surely be a new and boundless horizon in this increasingly chaotic galaxy.

"grown ups."

After careful consideration, Typhon spoke up.

He was clutching a document tightly in his hand: a document that was enough to confuse Mortalian.

This is not a lie, nor is it even a product of Typhon's own handiwork.

In fact, this document came from a "friend" that gave Typhon the creeps.

The company commander didn't know who he was either: one night he mysteriously appeared in Typhon's room, easily restrained his struggles, and clearly articulated Typhon's resentment and desires. Then, this mysterious man made an offer that no one could refuse, and then disappeared into the night.

He didn't know when that person appeared, nor when he disappeared.

But the opinion and the gift were vividly present in his mind and by his bedside: irresistible.

Moreover, Typhon has not forgotten either.

The glimpse of the mysterious figure revealed was exactly the same as that of the legendary Alpharis.

But he was certain that it wasn't AlphaRes.

There's no reason: it's just intuitive keenness.

Typhon had no idea what the imposter Primarch was up to.

But for his own benefit, he was willing to go with the flow.

"Actually, my psionicists intercepted some rather valuable intelligence in the warp."

"A psionicist?"

Mortarian instinctively frowned.

“Karas…you…”

The Primarch seemed to want to say something, but then shook his head.

"Never mind: what kind of intelligence is it?"

"What they intercepted was a secret letter that the Imperial Fist members used to communicate with each other, which remained in the Storm Starfield."

Typhon handed over the intelligence.

As Mortalian began to slowly browse, Typhon felt his heart leap into his throat; he hadn't been this nervous in a long time.

Fortunately, the Lord of Death simply nodded.

He's still so easily fooled.

Or rather: he was willing to trust his first friend.

"That is to say..."

Mortarian muttered to himself.

"They've determined that the remaining Imperial Fist resistance has a stable rear base?"

"And on an extremely large scale?"

"Yes."

Typhon quickly went to the map.

"In fact, if we can summarize the number and frequency of Sismond's attacks during this period, we can indeed plan a general range."

"And at the heart of this range is indeed a rather important hub world within the territory of the Imperial Fist."

Therefore, the intelligence is very likely accurate.

"The Imperial Fist fleet that attacked us is based in this hub world."

Mortarian pondered for a moment, his gaze fixed on the place name that Titigon had pointed out.

"You mean..."

"Taran?"

"Yes, my lord."

Typhon nodded.

"It is important enough to connect multiple routes."

“But from our country, Taran is not the only way to reach the Holy Terra.”

"Therefore, we have been ignoring it."

"However, now that I think about it, if the Imperial Fist forces use Taran as their logistical base, then they can indeed affect our flight path: although Taran is not on our route of advance, to be honest, it is not particularly far from our route. If we are lucky, it will be no more than a dozen days' journey."

“I understand what you mean, Typhon.”

Mortarion nodded.

He measured the straight-line distance between the main force of the Death Guard Legion and Taran.

"It's not close to us, but it's not far either."

"Launching an attack is not impossible."

"The problem is that mobilizing the main force of the legion is a bit of an overreaction; and it will disrupt the overall rhythm."

“That’s exactly what I think, sir.”

Typhon nodded quickly.

"So my suggestion is..."

Why don't we scramble a task force?

"Since the outbreak of the war, the Ravenguard and the Word Bearers have been unusually calm: they are unlikely to intervene."

"Moreover, the new round of conscription in the country has ended, and these new recruits can rotate with the veterans who remain in the area."

"Therefore, we will draw some veterans from the rear and some troops from the main force of the legion to form a task force to take down the stronghold of Taran. This move will not only attract and eliminate the remaining forces of the Imperial Fist, but will also not delay the main force of the legion from continuing its march toward the sun."

"Moreover, the fall of Taran can completely sever any possible connection between Holy Terra and the Raven Guard."

"Um……"

Mortarian narrowed his eyes.

"So, who do you think is the right person to lead this Taran fleet?"

coming!

Callas did her best to suppress her smile.

He cleared his throat, carefully choosing his tone.

One should neither be too complacent nor too indifferent: one should have the confidence a subordinate has in their superior, as well as the amiability of a friend.

“Isn’t the answer simple?”

Typhon looked into Mortarion's eyes: he seemed like a warrior brimming with confidence in his abilities, and also like a close friend willing to go to great lengths for his friends.

"Isn't that person right in front of you?"

"Are you going in person, Karas?"

Mortarian fell silent; he seemed rather displeased.

"This is crucial to the outcome of the battle, Mortarian."

Typhon, on the other hand, took a step forward, using his words to gradually break down the already weak defenses of the Lord of Death.

"And for our common cause."

"trust me."

"I will fight with all my might to conquer Taran, and then lead my army to join forces with you in time."

"I will share this glory with you when we march on Terra."

These words made the Lord of Death laugh.

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