()Loyalty and Betrayal
More than ten days have passed in a blink of an eye...
Since a new round of storms has set off in the subspace, interstellar communication has become very difficult again. However, somewhat surprisingly, at this stall, in the Lupekar Chamber of the Vengeful Spirit
, Warmaster Horus actually received an order notification from Terra at this critical moment?
The notice said this: The Emperor ordered the Wolf King Leman Russ to go to Prospero and capture the Primarch of the Fifteenth Legion, Magnus, and asked the Wolf King Leman Russ to surrender the horse.
Gnus is taking Terra back?
And now, judging by the time when the order was issued, Wolf King Leman Russ must have assembled his entire legion in Tel Cala, and should be on his way to Prospero now.
"..."
After reading the information silently, Warmaster Horus did not rush to express his opinion, but handed it to the hands of Erebus, the chief priest of the Word Bearers.
"this!"
"The Emperor is going to send the Wolf King to capture that guy Magnus?"
Just looking at the somewhat inexplicable report, Erebus, the chief priest of the Word Bearers, felt a little surprised. He had never figured out why the emperor who was far away in Terra suddenly did what he did.
"But, what on earth is going on?"
"What did Magnus do?"
Then, he couldn't figure out the key or reason, so he had to put down the order and turned to look at Horus.
Come to think of it!
These believers in Chaos have not yet begun to formally raise the banner of rebellion against the Empire and the false emperor, but now, the Emperor actually took the initiative to attack Magnus and the opponent's 15th Legion. What the hell is going on?
What's going on?
If he remembered correctly, Magnus didn't seem to be one of their own, right?
"I'm not very clear about this either..."
"but……"
After frowning and thinking for a while, the Warmaster told what he knew:
"My people in Terra told me that it seems that Magnus used some kind of powerful psychic spell, which actually penetrated the underground of the Terra Palace and opened up the subspace, allowing
A large number of warp daemons pouring out of the gap?"
"That situation made the emperor very angry. Now the Imperial Guards are busy sealing the gap. It must be because of that, right?"
"It makes me feel a little unbelievable to say the least!"
"Magnus's spiritual energy is so powerful that now there is a subspace storm in the entire universe. With communications being affected, he can actually use spells to reach the palace of Terra..."
"I don't know if he told the emperor something at that time?"
Thinking of Magnus and his advice when he met him in the subspace, Horus couldn't help but look a little ugly.
There is no doubt that Magnus knew about his contract with Chaos and the so-called 'corruption', and the reason why the other party did this must be to warn their father and expose him, but the other party seemed not to
Did you just mess it up?
"!!"
"That is to say..."
"Now the Emperor knows about us?"
After hearing this and only briefly analyzing it, Erebus, the chief priest of the Word Bearers, was immediately frightened, and then he couldn't help but exclaimed and felt a little worried about gains and losses.
"Not sure."
"Maybe..."
First, he glanced at Erebus with some dissatisfaction, and then thought about it for a while. In the end, Horus didn't dare to be sure, so he started to analyze:
"But since this order can still be conveyed to me, and the emperor has not completely relieved me of my duties, let alone announced that the other legions will deal with me, then I think there is a high probability that it is not known yet?"
"Of course, I can't guarantee it!"
"Maybe the current subspace storm has caused a delay in the transmission of information. Maybe the Emperor himself is not sure, so he wants to ask Magnus in person?"
"Or maybe it's because that 'father' has other ideas?"
Come to think of it, Horus is the Warmaster of the Great Crusade Fleet, the commander-in-chief of the entire Great Crusade Fleet and all the Astartes Space Marines!
Now Magnus casually used psychic powers and penetrated a certain facility in the palace, and then kept saying that his Warmaster Horus was going to rebel and commit rebellion. That kind of thing, even if it were him, Horus, who was the Emperor,
I’m afraid you won’t believe it easily, right?
After all, after a series of deliberations, the Emperor issued an edict that all Astartes warriors should never use or study psychic energy again, otherwise they would be destroyed by the Emperor himself?
Although some legions did not implement the ban thoroughly, some people still couldn't help but use it secretly. The Thousand Sons Legion, which had evacuated from the Great Crusade and returned to its home world of Prospero, had been studying the subspace.
No one will really pursue it.
But now it's better. Magnus, who disobeyed the Emperor's orders, used his psychic powers to destroy one of the Emperor's secret projects and caused a large number of warp demons to pour out. Then he wanted to slander the Emperor and call him Horus.
The emperor's most trusted son was going to betray him. That kind of thing would sound far-fetched to anyone, and they would certainly not believe it easily.
Therefore, the Emperor planned to take a necessary and relatively prudent attitude and prepare to first capture the person involved, that is, Magnus's disobedient brother, back to Terra for questioning. This became the best and only option at the moment.
"But no matter what!"
"We are all in danger of being exposed in advance!"
Although Horus still acted like the old god was taking his time, Erebus didn't think so.
"We must think of a way!"
With that said, Erebus himself began to rack his brains and think of countermeasures.
You know, their career has just begun now, not to mention recruiting corrupted legions to join, and even the Sixteenth Legion and the 'Sons of Horus' and other Asta in the Sixty-third Fleet
The special space warriors have not unified their thoughts and completely completed the corruption. In this case, if the emperor discovers and reacts, I am afraid that the end of these people will definitely be miserable!
From what he knew about the Emperor, once the Emperor confirmed it was true, what awaited them would be the Emperor's thunderous wrath!
If the other party gives the order and the other Astartes legions to destroy them, they will definitely not show any mercy.
"What to do?"
"Think of a solution quickly!"
However, what can be done for a while? Therefore, Erebus, the chief priest of the Word Bearers, was really panicked for a while.
"Why are you panicking?"
Shaking his head, unlike Erebus' panic, Horus didn't seem to take it to heart.
"??"
"The Warmaster isn't worried at all?"
"That….."
"What are you going to do?"
Seeing Horus's appearance, Erebus, who managed to calm down slowly, couldn't help but be curious, wanting to see how the other party could break the situation at this time.
"snort!"
"Since this order can be conveyed to me, and since subspace communication continues to be affected, we have more room for maneuver."
"Don't worry, there is still room for change."
With a sneer, Warmaster Horus thought of a way to deal with it almost instantly, and slowly said his way under the surprised and uneasy eyes of Erebus:
“It’s actually very simple!”
"Since our 'father' does not fully believe in Magnus, and since I am still the Warmaster, I will issue the Emperor's new order to Wolf King Leman Russ and his Sixth Legion later.
Just change the original 'arrest warrant' for Magnus into an 'erasure order'."
"That's no big deal."
"Since we can take advantage of the opportunity and use the hands of the Emperor and the Wolf King to eliminate Magnus and the psychic warriors of the Fifteenth Legion under his command, who are a great threat to us, then why not do it?
?”
Yes!
This is what Horus thought of. In his opinion, although it was indeed a huge crisis for them, it was also an opportunity for them, that is, to separate the nosy guy Magnus and the difficult Qian under his command.
The sub-legion is a perfect opportunity to completely eliminate the guy who may become their strong enemy in the future!
Then, in doing so, you can also take the opportunity to weaken the strength of Wolf King Leman Russ, the executioner under the Emperor's command, undermine the Emperor's prestige, and make other Astartes Space Marine Legions and their Primarchs worried. That is simply
Killing two birds with one stone, there is simply no better way to deal with it.
"!!"
“Great idea!”
"As expected of a war commander, he can think of such a method!"
After hearing this, Chief Priest Erebus first exclaimed, then hurriedly flattered him, trying his best to express his admiration for the foresight and quick wit of Warmaster Horus at this moment.
"Okay!"
After waving his hand to signal Erebus not to say such boring words, Horus frowned and continued his analysis:
"However, this time it can be considered as a wake-up call for us..."
"Taking advantage of this opportunity, we must quickly make some preparations and at the same time push away or eliminate some threats as much as possible?"
As he said that, Horus began to lower his head, frown and ponder, and quickly walked to the huge Milky Way star map in his Lupekar meeting hall, and then began to look at the names of the star clusters and the locations of the legions and fleets above.
I don't know what I am thinking about.
"..."
After waiting for a long time and finding that Warmaster Horus still had no response, Erebus finally couldn't help but walk behind him and asked carefully:
"Warmaster!"
"What are you going to do?"
"Do you want to continue to pass on fake orders and let those legions kill each other?"
Yes, that's what Erebus thought.
Since Horus is still the Warmaster, since the Warp Storm prevents information from being conveyed smoothly, since the Emperor's orders sometimes cannot reach each legion directly, and since the Wolf King's orders can be changed, then this naturally gives them enough
Lots of operating space.
"idiot!"
"Do you think we were exposed quickly enough?"
However, it would have been better if Erebus didn't say anything. As soon as he said that, he was scolded by Horus who suddenly turned his head.
"..."
Seeing this, although he felt a little dissatisfied and aggrieved, Erebus still had to retreat in embarrassment and some resentment.
After all, he himself knew that he, the chief priest of the Word Bearers, was really good at spreading chaos and engaging in conspiracy, otherwise he would not have been sent to the Sixteenth Legion and successfully instigated rebellion and corrupted the war in front of him.
Horus is very handsome, but if it comes to strategic arrangements and arrangements, it is indeed not what he is good at.
"Listen!"
"No matter whether our affairs are suspected by the Emperor, or whether other legions have received the news, whatever we can do now must be in line with my character and identity as a loyal 'Warmaster'!"
"so……"
"Please record it!"
"Order: Sanguinius of the Blood Angels and his entire Ninth Legion immediately proceed to the Signus Cluster of the Northern Cross to liberate the area from the claws of the Nephilim; let the Dark Angels Chapter
Llane El'Jonson and his First Order head to the Shield World!"
"Other!"
"Have Robert Guilliman and his XIII Legion 'Ultramarines' take the fleet from Saturn to the Viridian system to prepare for battle with the invading Green Orcs!"
"besides!"
"..."
In this way, Warmaster Horus began to issue vicious orders one after another in the Luperkar Chamber of his flagship Vengeful Spirit, under the flattering and excited gaze of the Word Bearers' chief priest Erebus.
An order designed to distract or weaken the power of the Loyalist Astartes Legions loyal to the Emperor.
"Huh huh huh..."
After a long time, Horus couldn't help but sneered a little proudly.
That’s right!
He just wants those loyal Astartes legions to either be transferred to distant wild worlds, or have them have to follow his orders as the Warmaster to fight against the extremely powerful, even the Asta
Special Space Marines may also be consumed by the enemy in combat at great cost.
In this way, when they are ready and go to Terra, those legions will either be too far away to come back, or they will be completely unaware and unable to receive the news, or they will suffer heavy losses and be unable to return reinforcements, etc.
By then, it would be much easier for them to capture Terra and capture the Emperor.
And when they occupied Terra, when Horus ascended the throne of the Lord of Humanity, when everything was settled, he believed that his brothers would be forced by reality to admit and obey.
his.
"Right!"
"How are things going in the Oretian Technological State?"
"No problem?"
After issuing a series of vicious orders, Horus paused and suddenly asked Erebus about the progress of another matter.
"Report to the Warmaster!"
"I've already arranged it!"
"In a few days, I will invite their foundry consul to the Vengeful Spirit. If we cannot 'persuade' him to join us, we will kill him directly!"
"When the time comes..."
"Let's just start a war against that technological country on the pretext that he wants to assassinate you, and then seize the opponent's STC in one fell swoop!"
"Then we won't have to worry about our future equipment."
Faced with the question from Warmaster Horus, Erebus was obviously well prepared and immediately revealed his evil idea.
The STC he refers to as the 'Standard Construction Template' system is a complex analysis and processing program, a type of artificial intelligence created in the dark age of technology.
It is said that it contains all human technology?
After the end of the Dark Ages, complete STCs became increasingly rare until they disappeared completely, and in the current empire, some ancient technologies are only possible by relying on certain hard copies of found STC data.
It can be said that the "Dark Age of Technology" witnessed the initial development of the technology that the current empire relies on, and those complete and vast technologies are preserved in the STC system.
With the emergence of the subspace engine and the human mutant 'Navigator', the reason why humans have been able to expand beyond the solar system and conquer various planets, those STC systems can be said to have played a major role!
Under normal circumstances, STC can provide colonists with various construction details, allowing them to use all available local materials to build efficient shelters, generators, and transportation vehicles without any relevant knowledge. For example, the user only needs to
Simply ask how houses and tractors are built, and STC will provide all the necessary plans and solutions.
Moreover, STC can also allow different human colonists to maintain a standard technological level.
But unfortunately, most of the ancient STCs have been damaged or lost. A complete and fully functional STC system is almost a high-tech computer and is hard to come by. This is why the technological level of various worlds and colonies varies.
In short, STC is equivalent to the carrier of all scientific and technological knowledge. With it, Horus, who launched the rebellion, and the various rebel legions under his command will be able to continuously produce various advanced weapons and equipment, and even warships?
Therefore, the Oretian Technology Nation, which possesses that kind of thing, naturally became one of the targets of their planning. This is the case where a common man is guilty of carrying a treasure.
"very good!"
"Remember, this must be done as soon as possible!"
"That Oritian Technology Nation is probably not going to be easy to deal with, plus we need to get that thing intact, so it can be expected that a war is inevitable..."
"But I don't care about that. I just want you to capture them as soon as possible and then get their STC. Do you understand?"
After speaking and seeing that there was nothing else that needed special explanation or attention, Horus slowly walked back to his desk and sat down.
"Please rest assured!"
"Everything is within my subordinate's plan..."
"It won't be any problem."
It can be seen that Erebus really doesn't pay much attention to the mere technological nation of Oretian.
To be honest, if it weren't for the purpose of seizing the opponent's STC, it would be enough for their fleet to directly launch an orbital bombardment. Why would they need to go to all the trouble to plan?
"very good!"
"By the way, how is the culture of brotherhood and association among soldiers promoted?"
Then, after sitting down for a while, Horus suddenly asked.
Associations and the like are actually copied from Lorgar's Word Bearers Legion. It is nothing more than encouraging the Astartes Space Marines in the legion to form small groups in small groups, and then as long as one of them is Chaos
Believers, the entire association will soon be incited, distorted, contaminated and corrupted, and then small groups will cross-infect each other, which can spread to the entire legion in a very short period of time like a fission reaction.
That is an excellent plan that has been proven effective by the Word Bearers Legion. It can be spread quietly within the legion. It is much easier to use than the little tricks Erebus did on the bottom of the Vengeful Spirit. Therefore, now
Horus also used it and paid close attention to its progress.
"Don't worry, War Commander, everything is going well!"
"The progress should be about ten percent now, right?"
"but……"
"There are still many staunch supporters of the Imperial Truth in the Sixty-third Fleet. Many of them are Terran veterans who followed the Emperor in the Great Crusade two hundred years ago. It is not easy to corrupt them."
"We need more time to slowly instil and instigate them without alerting them..."
"Besides, there's no guarantee of success?"
Seeing Horus' inquiry, Erebus did not dare to neglect, and directly told the progress of his complicated plan to corrupt the entire 16th Legion, and even the entire 63rd Fleet.
"Okay!"
"No need to say more!"
Before Erebus could continue, Horus reached out and interrupted him arrogantly.
"That kind of method is useless against those veterans!"
"Those people, as early as in the era when our Primarchs have not returned, they have already used their lives to implement the will of the Lord of Humanity. Those veterans represent the original loyalty and glory of each legion. They will never
Accept any betrayal of the Emperor!"
"Besides, we don't have time..."
"so……"
"While the subspace storm is now spreading and raging and effectively hindering the spread of astrology, we must formulate a plan as soon as possible to completely eliminate all loyalists in those troops!"
"The focus is on the Astartes Space Marines of each legion!"
Yes, Horus simply could not imagine the terrible situation they would face when the warp storm subsided or when the Emperor found a reliable way to disseminate information and spread the news and a certain order.
By then, legion chaos and civil war will be considered minor!
Therefore, he must speed up the progress, must clear away all unstable factors, and truly make all Astartes Space Marines and fleets only obey him before one of his plans is officially implemented.
Order.
As for the mortal auxiliary troops, those Imperial Army soldiers who had been updated for unknown generations and recruited from unknown colonial worlds, were not taken seriously by him.
Because, in Horus's view, even if he does not corrupt them, after he controls the vast majority of the Astartes Space Marines under his command, those mortals will never have any more choice but to obey orders honestly.
.
"yes……"
"Please rest assured, Warmaster, I will speed up!"
"Don't worry..."
"I will carefully identify and isolate those die-hards..."
As he said that, he saw that Horus seemed a little tired and waved towards him. Erebus didn't dare to say anything until the other person meant it, so he hurriedly smiled flatteringly and sinisterly and retreated.
"."
As Erebus left, as the office door was closed, and as the star map not far away began to flash, I sat in the quiet office and listened to the sound from subspace that kept echoing in my ears.
Whispering, Horus closed his eyes and sank deeply into the back of his chair.
"Father."
"We will meet again soon."
——————————
Chapter completed!