Warhammer: Just unified the Empire, you said it was 40K

Chapter 256 The Human Empire Purifies its Origins
Navigator family representative: Nasir Walker.

The Navigators' genetic mutations make them crucial for warp navigation, but their power and corruption are often controversial. On the eve of the Great Rift, the Navigator family demanded more privileges due to the instability of the warp, sparking discontent.

Representative of the Mechanicus: Orik Trask

The Mechanicus monopolizes the Empire's technology, but is severely divided by internal factions. On the eve of the Great Rift, Mars is in crisis due to a Chaos invasion, and representatives of the Mechanicus are busy reclaiming the Forgeworld.

Pope of the State Church: Sabatil IV

On the eve of the Great Rift, the state religion became radicalized due to psychic awakening and the corruption of chaos. The Pope needs to balance religious fanaticism with pragmatism, while dealing with the emergence of saints and cultists.

Director General of the Interior: Ryan Hart
The Ministry of the Interior is the core of the Empire’s bloated bureaucracy. On the eve of the Great Rift, it was on the verge of collapse due to resource shortages and communication disruptions. The General Manager often competes with other High Lords for priority access to resources.

Marshal of the Royal Guard: Trajan Valloris
The Imperial Guards remained hidden behind the scenes for a long time. Even when the outside world was in complete chaos, they would not take any action as long as the chaos did not penetrate the palace.

Court Representative: (Shadow)
The Inquisition typically operates in a shadowy capacity, and its internal factional struggles are intense. Representatives are tasked with ensuring that the High Lords' decisions do not deviate from the Emperor's will, while simultaneously concealing the true threats facing the Empire.

Representative of the Astartes: Springer

Because of the high degree of independence of the Astartes, this position is usually held by senior chapter commanders. On the eve of the Great Rift, the Space Marines were busy dealing with the rise of the Chaos Legion, but the High Lords had doubts about their loyalty.

Merchant Fleet Governor
There are twelve High Lords in total, who together form the High Lord Council of the Human Empire and oversee all affairs of the empire.

The High Lords Council is essentially the representative of the interests of the 12 highest power groups in the Empire. Each member represents the demands of a different institution, and their existence is inherently mutually opposed and mutually restraining.

The military and civilian factions were at odds with each other; the State Religion and the Ministry of Justice were suspicious of each other; the Mechanicus monopolized resources and imposed technological blockades; the Astral Court and the Navigators plundered each other's interests, threatening the Empire to gain higher profits; the Assassin's Court turned its daggers on its own people, using assassination as a political bargaining chip and a tool for transactions; the Inquisition also eliminated its competitors by arresting and hunting down 'heretical suspects'; on the eve of the Great Rift, a large number of officials were secretly executed by the Inquisition, leading to administrative paralysis and complete chaos in the Ministry of the Interior.

And when large fissures appear.

These high lords realized the trouble they had caused.

Thus began a frantic exchange of blame and responsibility.

The Starspeaker blamed the Inquisition for failing to clean up the warp contamination, while the Inquisition accused the Mechanicus of concealing the Star Torch's malfunction. The Mechanicus, in turn, claimed that the Ministry of the Interior had withheld maintenance resources. The Ministry of the Interior, in turn, accused the Assassin's Court of arbitrary executions for its own benefit. The Assassin's Court, in turn, accused someone of not wanting Macardo's return.
The entire Highlord Council has become a forum for the Empire to argue.

These high-ranking lords, who have used immortality technology to extend their lives for countless years, replaced countless organs, and existed for countless hours, are now using their rhetoric and authority to shirk all their responsibilities.

And it brings up the power they want to seize.

"Your Inquisition only knows how to kill your own people. If you had been able to clean up the contamination of the warp earlier, how could Chaos have gone to such an extent? Half of the Empire's borders have disappeared from our control. It is because of your unrestrained infighting and your hindrance that the Empire is in its current state. It is also because of your hindrance that Chaos has invaded and the Empire is now facing an unprecedented crisis."

"Don't try to absolve yourself of all responsibility. Why didn't you inform us when the Chaos invaded your Star Court? It's because you were vying for power with the Navigator Representatives. Even when the Star Torch broke, no one reported it in advance for repair. The entire empire's central hub depends on you, and you are so negligent. How can the empire's security be entrusted to you?"

"You make it sound like your Ministry of Internal Affairs is completely clean. Your Ministry of Internal Affairs has been prohibiting the deployment of troops to the Misty Starfield for tax reasons. Isn't it precisely because you didn't deploy troops that all of this happened? If you had deployed troops earlier, would this have happened?"

"Our Ministry of the Interior has done its best in terms of taxation. You Assassin's Court and Tribunal have been using us as scapegoats. Before this problem arose, how many of our officials were assassinated? Can you guarantee that all of them were heretics? There aren't that many heretics. It's all just infighting among you. Our Ministry of the Interior manages so many things, yet you don't target the enemy but instead turn on your own people. Isn't that because you're afraid? If you're so capable, go hunt down those Chaos and Aliens. What's the point of using us as scapegoats!"

"Are you even speaking human language?"

"If your internal affairs department is truly clean..."

"Your mechanical cult is the root cause of everything."

"You Assassin's Court should at least show us your own list."

"You governors are nothing but parasites lying on the empire."

"."

"."

In the Highlords' council, almost everyone was shifting the blame for the Great Rift onto the other side.

No one wants to take responsibility, not even the slightest bit, because it would severely damage their interests.

If there is any responsibility, then everyone should probably bear it.
However, this responsibility also involves Makado.

"Macado"

Suddenly, during the argument, someone uttered a sentence that instantly made the entire Highlord Council's argument turn strange.

Everyone was looking at each other, seemingly trying to glean something from each other's eyes, but unfortunately, all they saw in each other's eyes was an attitude of 'it's none of my business'.

These seasoned veterans, while any of them might have been capable of destroying Kadia, none of them were willing to admit it. At least, most of the High Lords would have preferred to bury Macado directly on that battlefield.

This is no longer the era of emperors walking among mortals.

It was not the era when Macardo was the regent of humanity.

However, Macardo's arrival is still significant. For example, Macardo's arrival is very likely to limit the power of the State Religion. Although the current State Religion has been greatly weakened due to the Apostolic Rebellion, with the Empire's spiritual pillar now completely transformed into faith in the Emperor, the power of the State Religion within the Empire has long since been revived and has even become more rampant, surpassing other forces among the High Lords.

In many worlds, the commands of the State Church have far surpassed the power that other ministries of the Interior and the Military can demonstrate.

In Makado's era, the state religion was the power the empire least wanted to have, and was even a power that the empire openly suppressed. Makado's return would seriously affect their power.

At the same time, there was also the Astartes.

The Order of Astartes holds power and is a member of the High Lords Council. However, while the monks of the Order of Astartes have a certain degree of positive response to Macardo's return, they also have a certain degree of resistance. There are also many internal conflicts. Even though Macardo was the former regent, he is, after all, a human, not an Astarte.

For some Astartes, they have separated themselves from the realm of humanity. They no longer consider themselves human, nor do they believe that Astartes should be subject to human control, especially the management of the High Lords.

There are also the Mechanical Church, the Inquisition, and the Assassin's Court.

Even the Tribunal and the Assassins founded by Macardo may not necessarily want Macardo's true return.

After all, Macado's return is a good thing for the Empire, but on the other hand, it will greatly limit the power they currently possess.

Power is the most intoxicating thing.

"How's the situation in Kadia?"

"It's unclear. The Star Language Court is temporarily unable to repair the Star Torch. If it needs to be repaired, it will depend on the Mechanical Church."

"."

The Star Torch is the cornerstone of the Empire.

No one wants to take Star Torch offline unless absolutely necessary, especially Star Court and the Navigator family.

Both of these factions depend on the Starfire; their interests can only be guaranteed if the Starfire exists.

"However, we have received information that Macado is not dead. Some people died in Kadia, but tens of thousands of people still escaped from Kadia."

"."

Billions were lost, but only tens of thousands survived. This is considered lucky for Kadia.

These people are filled with contradictions.

They hoped the empire could maintain this status quo, but currently, due to the actions of some of them and the tacit approval of others, everything has spiraled out of control.

Macado is bound to return.

However, if he were to return, it would likely lead to a large-scale internal power struggle and executions within the empire.

The ultimate result of this is very likely to be the empire splitting apart once again.

They did not want the empire to perish so quickly.

This doesn't mean that just because a new dynasty is established, these families can continue to lord it over the next one.

These people will die.

They will be wiped out by those guys.

They wanted to retain their power after Macardo's return, ensuring that their authority would not be infringed upon. However, they were well aware that Macardo's arrival would inevitably suppress the power they had gained, and the High Lords Council might even be abolished altogether.

This is absolutely unacceptable to them.

"The meeting is dismissed!"

As one high lord disappeared from the virtual projection in the council, the other high lords also vanished silently, each secretly plotting something.

At the very least, they need to gain enough power in Macado's return.

Of course, it's certain that someone will continue to assassinate Makado.

Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, someone will do it.

Meanwhile, Macado, who had packed everything up in Cadia and was preparing to return, had made up his mind.

The root cause must be eradicated.

(End of this chapter)