Emperor's Bane

Chapter 986 Alpha’s Civil War
“Tell me, Alpha.”

What exactly have you been through all these years?

……

Chagatai Khan was not the first to raise this question to Alpharis.

It's clear to the naked eye that he won't be the last one.

The Marksman, Macardo, Rogdorn, Horus before the Terra Crisis, Sanguiles not long ago, and even Waldor, the head of the Guards long before: As a Hydra with nine heads, Alpharis's network of connections is far more extensive than it appears on the surface.

But this vast network of connections didn't actually bring him much benefit: no one would genuinely like a serpent, whether as tough as Dorne or as magnanimous as Horus; they would only regard the Hydra Lord as a temporary partner. As for a lasting friendship? That was hardly reassuring.

Ultimately: who would be friends with a spy?
Alpharis understands this as well.

Putting himself in others' shoes, as the father of genes, he was unwilling to even believe most of the offspring in the legion: why bother making others believe him?
This is why, when Horus's rebellion shattered the seemingly secure but actually fragile grand order, which was only held together by a delicate balance of power, and rebuilt everything in blood and ashes, the speed and breadth of the collapse of the seemingly vast, secret network that Hydra had maintained before the war, which connected all parties, exceeded even his own expectations.

But all of this was not enough to defeat the Hydra Lord.

The reason why Alpharis appeared so disheveled in front of Chagatai Khan was due to another matter.

Something that truly exceeded his expectations.

It was something he had never expected from beginning to end, and had no ability to control whatsoever.

Although such a description seems strange when applied to the seemingly omnipotent Alpha Reis.

But in this damn galaxy.

No one is omniscient or omnipotent.

Even AlphaRice is no exception.

therefore……

When his twin brother Omega led half of Hydra's army to wage war against him.

Alpharis then realized.

He is facing the biggest crisis to date.

It was also the most brutal challenge yet.

This time, he needs to face, defeat, and kill that person: himself.

------

Alpharis did not know from the beginning that he had a lost brother.

In fact, he strongly suspected that even the Lord of Mankind or the One who holds the Seal probably did not know of Omega's existence.

Because they are so special.

Although they are two people in body, they actually share a soul: back when Alpharis was learning from Macardo, he always had a feeling that he was missing something very important, something he couldn't explain, but something that made him feel incomplete.

Two-thirds of the Great Crusade had passed when Alpharis, in the northern part of the galaxy, followed his instincts and finally encountered Omega in a chaotic downpour. Only then did the emptiness that had lasted for over a century vanish in the instant he embraced his brother: at that moment, he truly became a complete person.

And he finally realized what that emptiness he felt was.

It is the soul.

The soul of Alfa was finally able to become one with Omega.

They became a complete person.

It was precisely this point that led the Hydra Lord to suspect whether the Emperor knew of Omega's existence.

After all, the Emperor had never mentioned to him that he had a twin brother. If this could be understood as the Lord of Man's usual taciturn nature, then he indeed had no reason to divide a soul between two people: such a thing, which would subtly weaken the Primarch's strength, was not something that the Lord of Man, who was willing to use any means to maximize his interests, would do.

Having confirmed this, Alpharez chose to keep Omega's information a secret.

He did not tell the emperor about this.

If the Emperor had known all along, he believed that this little trick would not have disturbed the great cause of the Lord of Mankind.

But if he didn't know that keeping a trump card for himself is definitely not a bad thing.

Just like Morgan said.

To cooperate with the Emperor, even with nine parts sincerity, is for the common dream and future of humanity.

One must also reserve a degree of hypocrisy for oneself.

AlphaRes wholeheartedly agrees with this.

He considered himself a loyal man and was willing to follow the Emperor to accomplish humanity's eternal cause and resist the unspeakable depths of the Warp. But it was precisely because of this that Alpharis understood better than most of his brothers that the Emperor's power was ultimately fragile and insufficient before the gods deep within the High Heavens.

Whether he wants it or not, he cannot effectively guarantee the safety of any of his allies.

Therefore, the more cards you have up your sleeve, the better.

Even if it's just for your own life?

To Alpha's surprise, Omega accepted the arrangement quite smoothly, willingly relinquishing its Primarch identity and acting in Alpha's name. Even within the Hydra Corps, not everyone knew that they actually possessed two Primarchs.

However, looking back now...

Perhaps at that time, his dear Omega brother did not reveal everything to him.

Whenever he thinks about this, a bitter smile appears on Alpharis's lips.

He knew that Omega was hiding something from him: just as he was hiding many things from Omega.

Although the two twin brothers seemed very close on ordinary days, and had sworn to each other several times that they would not hide anything from each other, in fact, Omega had never clearly told him what kind of hundred years of his life had been before they met in the wasteland in the north of the galaxy.
Where exactly was he born?

Was it in the wild, or was it raised by someone?
How long has he been in this world?

Did they only live for a few decades, or did they spend a much longer life in places unknown to them?

What path does he actually believe in?
Like him, she was willing to die for the emperor.

Or... do you have other ideas?
Omega made no mention of any of these things.

Just like Alpharis, who remained silent about his experiences in the Randan War.

On the surface, both sides seem to be completely unaware of each other's deliberate concealment, or at least they never care. But in reality, they have never stopped testing each other in private: whether it is an unintentional question when they are together, or Alpharis sending more spies to the northern part of the galaxy, or Omega's frequent visits to Terra behind the scenes, none of these seem to be secrets to the two brothers.

These rare twins were well aware of the rift between them: as true twins sharing a single soul, Alphareth's connection with Omega was far deeper than that of any Primarch.

They knew the other was hiding something.

They also knew that the other knew they were hiding something.

They also know that the other knows they know that the other is hiding something from them.

In short, it is a landscape of overlapping and intersecting mountains.

This is a characteristic that the Alpha Group has always had.

At that time, Alpharis didn't see anything wrong with this kind of mutual beggar-thy-neighbor mentality.

He had grown accustomed to this way of life, and to the legions and destiny the emperor had assigned to him.

He knew that he and his legion would not be the most dazzling one in the Great Expedition. Although they had made countless sacrifices for the Empire in the War of Randan and countless other wars, shedding as much blood as the Dark Angels, in the end, all their glory would not be remembered by outsiders, and even they themselves might not remember it.

It's not only Dark Angels who are entrusted by the Emperor with those classified missions.

Some of the more sophisticated, complex, and also the dirtier methods are Hydra's forte.

Sometimes, the methods they used were so blasphemous and bloody that even they themselves had to forget them.

At least for Hydra, undergoing memory removal surgery after a mission is a common occurrence.

Even Alpharis himself had been on the operating table several times: there are some things that even the Primarch is not entitled to remember.

As one of the clover species, the sacrifices made by Alpha are actually far greater than what people can see.

Similarly, as the leader of the Legion, no one knew the capabilities of his sons better than Alpharis.

They are not the omnipotent Shadow Lords that the world perceives them to be, seemingly capable of anything with ease.

More often than not, they were simply a group of agents, a group of agents who strived to become smarter and not let their intelligence hold them back. Their most valuable weapons were their spirit of self-sacrifice and clear-headed strategic vision. And the magic weapon that ensured their smooth sailing in the war was nothing more than the loyalty and fearlessness that were common among the Astartes.

To the world, the agents and spies who suddenly appear without any prior warning are actually the result of countless ordinary agents and even Alpha warriors working day and night.

To the world, the army, which appears like a ghost and always reveals itself at the crucial moment to launch a fatal blow, is actually just a consistent silence and sacrifice: those Alpha elites who seem to be able to perform complex operations on the battlefield, lure the enemy in and then turn against them, may actually be different people from different groups.

The previous group had all sacrificed themselves, but the next group took their place without hesitation.

Although they never contacted each other, as sons of Hydra, they naturally shared the same tacit understanding and connection. With just a little information left behind and an observation of the battlefield situation, the newly arrived Alphas knew what their responsibilities were. This led to the situation appearing to outsiders who were unaware of the actual situation as if these Hydra soldiers had never left.

Even the mysterious codes and chaotic organization within the Hydra Corps, which seem unfathomable to the world, are merely intentional single-line communication and group responsibility for the sake of secrecy and mission convenience. The reason why the Hydra Corps appears chaotic is simply because, as a legion that leans towards espionage and special operations, its departments cannot be too closely integrated.

This is the same principle as with Dark Angels.

But the Dark Angel was fortunate. After the Lion of Caliban returned and took command of the Legion, he led this force into countless wars and bloodshed, reforging the Legion's soul in iron and blood, turning the once disorganized army into a unified whole, and bringing back the former First Legion through countless unified operations.

But Hydra didn't have that opportunity.

After Alpha Reis took command of the Legion, he faced more covert operations and espionage missions. Therefore, his actions were the exact opposite of Johnson's: aside from a few large-scale collective operations, the Hydra Legion was mostly met with further fragmentation and increasingly chaotic temporary organizations. This was the truth about the Alpha Legion.

There are no miraculous superhuman methods, nor grand plans or achievements that span thousands of years.

The Hydra's sons, who ruthlessly dominate the scene, only bring about the sacrifice of their many colleagues and subordinates behind them.

To put it more bluntly, the price Alpha Legion paid for this elusiveness went far beyond these costs.

As mentioned before, the internal environment of the Hydra Children is particularly chaotic and divided compared to other brother legions in the Empire: even the Iron Hand or the Emperor's Children, which are also known for their internal divisions, at least have a general set of rules and a clear system and organization under the Primarch.

Rather than chaos, the two legions were more like infighting.

But the Alpha Legion is truly chaotic.

Due to various ad-hoc missions and countless historical issues, there are thousands of officially numbered organizations within the Legion alone. In addition, there are countless temporary groups and secret societies that have disappeared without a trace, as well as action squads and local branches that have spontaneously organized themselves because they have not been in contact with the main Legion forces for too long.

Even compared to the Dark Angels, the conflicts among the Hydra's sons are far more complex. Although Alpharis is better at dealing with these issues than his Caliban brother Johnsen, in reality, Alpharis's control over the First Legion was not so optimistic when Johnsen was able to hold the entire First Legion in his hands.

Again.

In order to be able to deter the galaxy's "omnipresence," Alpharis must sacrifice something.

This includes control over the legion.

For most of the time before, the Hydra Lord had considered this a worthwhile deal.

Although his legions were in fact fragmented, with fleets and units of all sizes scattered in all directions, never forming a unified force, and likewise, he never truly commanded the entire legion, in return, he did fulfill his responsibilities to the Emperor.

Moreover, even though he was scattered in all directions, the overall situation of the legion was still in the hands of him and his confidants.

This includes his most trusted children, and his twin brother Omega, who shares a soul with him.

Throughout the entire Great Crusade, the latter was Alphareth's most capable right-hand man: without him, Hydra would never have achieved its current formidable reputation.

In fact, Alpharez even suspected that he had begun to rely on Omega's help.

He was always so capable and so agreeable. He always knew what he wanted to do. Whenever Alpharis needed Omega's help, he didn't even need to say a word. He could simply look over and see that his twin brother had already taken care of all the troublesome matters for him. However, in return, when Alpharis sensed that Omega wanted him to help with something, he had to give it his all.

The magic of twins sharing a soul is truly amazing.

They always seem to know what the other person wants, or what the other person wants to do.
That's why.

As Omega's behavior gradually slid into decadence.

AlphaRes was also the first to experience it.

------

The seeds of doubt were sown during the Terra crisis.

In that incident, Alpharis and Omega made a rare joint appearance. With their exquisite teamwork, they evaded everyone's eyes and maintained the myth that the Twentieth Legion had only one Primarch in front of the Marker and Horus.

The reason for doing this was that Alpharis wanted to speak separately with the Marksman and the Warmaster, so he had to ensure that someone was impersonating him on the other side. And just like every time before, just as the Hydra Lord had this idea in mind, he received news that Omega's transport plane had landed.

At the time, Alpha didn't think much of it: it was just another instance of their usual brotherly understanding.

Until he saw with his own eyes the cannonball roar out of the shadow of the Vengeful Spirit and hurtle towards the unsuspecting Terra.

……

Horus was certainly innocent.

Alpharis could even guarantee this with half of his own soul.

Over the years, he had planted countless informants within the Shadowmoon Wolves, who could relay the Sons of Horus's voices to him in real time.

As is well known, Horus's methods of governing the army have always been gentle. He is not the kind of person who would command his legions with rigid orders. Before leading his sons to undertake some great undertakings, Horus would patiently stir up public opinion until all the Shadowmoon Wolves said what he wanted to hear.

Only then will he "follow public opinion".

Judging from the attitude and thoughts of the Shadowmoon Wolves before the Terra crisis, bombarding Terra was clearly not something they expected.

In their minds, it would be enough to remove a few sinful high lords from their positions, and then make the Sealholder and the other high lords bow down and hand over the power to oversee the empire to their Gene Father.

Bombard Terra?

That's going too far.

This was also not within Horus's expectations: Alpha was certain of this after several conversations with the Warmaster.

That's when things get weird.

Regardless of who was instigated, the bombardment of Terra did indeed push the Warmaster to a dangerous level. It is no exaggeration to say that this accident ignited the war between Horus and Holy Terra. And the instigator certainly did not know this.

In other words, the person who did this and framed the War Marshal had the aim of instigating a war across the entire galaxy.

That's... way too exaggerated.

According to Alpharis's understanding of his brothers: among all the Primarchs, no one can bear the guilt.

There may be ambition within the Primarchs, and there may be dissatisfaction and complaints about the present, but no one wants a new war.

Guilliman?
He has his grievances and complaints, but he prefers to achieve them through political means and compromise.

Morgan?

If the Emperor is indeed dead, then the Lord of Avalon will have the ambition to march on Holy Terra.

Luo Jia?

No, he won't make a move at this time.

Or was it all orchestrated by Dorne, this loyal subject?
……

He doesn't trust Dorn.

But Rogdorn wouldn't go so far as to do such a thing.

Alphas spent a long time studying each of the genetic prototypes, and finally discovered that none of them matched the suspect's characteristics.

And it seems that no one but the Primarch can do this.

demon?

No, he didn't realize it.

A controlled psionicist?
This is even more ridiculous: such a large-scale psionic activity would make the hairs on everyone's Vengeance Spirit deck stand on end.

It can only be one original.

A powerful and cunning individual who can evade tests unnoticed, or whose acting skills are so exquisite that they can deceive him, and who has a deep-seated motive to instigate this war, or to put it more bluntly: a guy who is leaning towards chaos.

After listing all the information, even Alpharis himself couldn't believe that the first thing that came to mind was his twin brother's face.

strength.

Scheming.

My understanding of him.

And... a mysterious past.

……

And so, on the way back from Terra with the distraught Warmaster Horus, Alphareth's back was soaked with cold sweat for the first time.

Especially when he discovered that Omega, who was supposed to meet him on the lower deck of the Vengeance, had not appeared at the agreed time, and after searching several times, he still had not appeared anywhere on the Vengeance.

If these circumstances were not clear enough, then when Alpharis returned to his territory, he received news that someone had taken over several important fortresses and databases in the legion before him, using his appearance and authority, and that some companies that were already estranged from him had also secretly disappeared under the leadership of the mysterious figure.

That's far too obvious.

The warships left the port.

Soldiers blockaded the fortress.

The aircraft and weapons have disappeared without a trace.

Everything was done behind his back, without his authorization.

When he personally went to investigate.

All he saw were corpses: those of his sons and mortal agents who were absolutely loyal to him.

They seemed to be trying to stop something.

What killed them was absolute power.

A power that only the Primarch can wield.

……

The civil war within the Alpha Legion.

On that day, it officially began.

(End of this chapter)