Warhammer: I don't want to become a stinky can!

Page 707

Because he needs your sacrifice.

You can't very well curse him, because when you look back, you'll find that he's already on the list of those who were sacrificed.

"And that's precisely why he always managed to escape trial."

Makado's face was grim.

"People will always let go of the sincere person who tells people the truth, but that should not be a reason for people to let him go."

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The pale yellow nectar sloshed in a stemmed glass, its surface frosted with water, the tiny bubbles crackling and reflecting in a gloomy eye.

Makado realized something was wrong.

He listened impatiently to Neos's self-narration, but the words sounded increasingly familiar, as if the Lord of Mankind had told him this story many times before.

It must be said that Macardo's performance was excellent on the first listen.

The problem is that most of the Primarchs present have never heard Neos speak so sincerely.

Macardo's face visibly darkened, but few paid him any attention; people spontaneously immersed themselves in a grander theme—after all, the truth the Emperor had articulated was so sinister.

Before this, before the fall of Slaanesh, the fate of the Empire was far more precarious than the Primarchs realized. One wrong move, and it would either slowly slide into the abyss or lose everything.

Nyor simply stated, calmly stated, that he told the Primarchs how difficult the Legion's beginnings had been in the early stages of the Great Crusade.

He told them he had to sacrifice himself, that on Terra, Thunder, who had fought alongside the Emperor for many years, had fallen.

He told them he had to compromise, and that on Mars, the Emperor himself would don the robes of a god and descend to earth in place of Ohm Messiah.

He told them he had to give up, and the Second and Eleventh Legions within Randan were thus annihilated.

The individual named Neos has too much reluctance and helplessness, while the individual named Emperor merely carries out orders. Beneath the grand scale, individuals have to give up too much; no one is indispensable, and no planet is irreplaceable.

"Of course I want to create a utopia."

"Nios said calmly, his dark brown eyes like the surface of a deep and tranquil lake."

“I wish for the glory of mankind to endure, I wish for the warp to disappear, I wish for mankind to ascend to a more glorious ladder, I wish I didn’t have to stand up—but this galaxy clearly doesn’t allow for too much hope.”

The Lord of Humanity's lips curled into a bitter smile. He gripped his coffee cup with both hands, the rising steam blurring his face.

"Let me tell you some more truths."

"Pluto should not exist in this world—this is almost impossible. Any superfluous existence will be eliminated; this is an eternal truth."

Neos looked at Hades, who raised an eyebrow, signaling the Emperor to continue.

"But Hades encountered my fourteenth son—Nurgle—who was so eager to acquire Mortarion that he initially deliberately ignored Hades."

"at the same time,"

"Nios said calmly, winking mischievously,"

“I reached some kind of agreement with Tzeentch. The Lord of Changes wanted to see His nemesis injured, and I needed Hades—so we acted at the same time, protecting the original you, Hades, before Nurgle could unleash his power.”

"I really should thank you for that."

Hadestan said that this was indeed the case; on his own, he probably wouldn't survive past the Netherworld beginner village.

This is what you deserve.

Mortarion interrupted mercilessly, "The old man keeps emphasizing that Hades fell into Nurgle's territory—that's Mortarion's territory! Barbaros is his! His!"

Even if the Emperor hadn't joined Tzeentch in stopping Nurgle in the Warp, Mortarion believed he would have done so anyway. Nyor's actions were a questioning of the Pale Lord's abilities.

No need to thank him—it's the emperor who should thank you.

"Of course I thank Hades,"

Neos readily agreed, and he spread his hands.

"I simply want to state that I am not a tyrant—and at the same time tell you the whole story."

"I am not omniscient or omnipotent,"

Neos said, his expression serene.

"But I have done my best to fulfill the mission of protecting humanity. Over the years, among so many immortals, psionicists, and kings—only I have succeeded."

"The Great Crusade is fraught with peril, and your brother Leon is not present. Otherwise, I would be happy to tell you the story of Randan, but since he is not here, let's skip this part."

It was indeed a very dangerous story, as two legions were lost forever. Neos sighed as he recalled the faces of the two vanished Primarchs, but thankfully he still had so many offspring.

“I regret what happened with Magnus back then, but I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

Neos looked at Magnus, whose face flushed even more. The Crimson Primarch stared blankly, his voice bitter.

This is indeed my problem, Father.

If the Emperor hadn't discovered Magnus's collaboration with Tzeentch back then... Magnus felt a chill run down his spine. He knew what might have happened, and the thought sent a chill down his spine.

Neos nodded.

"But you made amends for your mistake afterward, Magnus. The Empire will forever remember and thank you, and I am proud of you as well."

"I...it's what I should do."

Magnus said that his slightly awkward movements told Neos to skip him, since Magnus obviously didn't have much decision-making power either, so Neos also skipped over him.

"Then came the great rebellion."

Neos said the words casually, but all the Primarchs present were momentarily stunned.

“I think I should emphasize this to you, my child.”

Nios looked at Saint Gilles, but Saint Gilles only smiled, his expression keeping everyone at arm's length.

I will heed your words.

"The internet must be established; for humanity, this means a safe haven for the soul—"

Chaos is constantly expanding. If humanity remains unprotected in the warp, the true cataclysmic point will swiftly arrive. At that time, chaos will unrestrainedly manipulate and devour the souls of all humanity, and the human race will be rapidly destroyed.

"The network means a safe haven, a transportation route that is truly undisturbed by chaos. You have all experienced the Great Mutiny and know how terrifyingly low the arrival rate of ships can drop if chaos interferes with shipping lanes."

It's even worse than one in ten surviving; often, when a fleet of a hundred ships sets sail, only a handful actually reach their destination.

But as far as I know, the current empire does not rely on the internet.

Saint Gilles said with a smile,

[Human souls were not widely corrupted, and bullets and bows appeared on the road.]

Neos stared at Saint Gilles, his eyes unblinking.

“Because other shelters besides the Netway have been established, my children—that is you.”

The archangel's smile froze, so Neos continued.

"There are roughly three feasible solutions that would allow the human soul to escape the corruption of chaos,"

"First, there's the Webway—that's why I rushed to leave the Great Crusade. The Chaos are about to launch a contamination campaign against humanity, and I have to rush to complete the Webway."

"Secondly, it's you and me."

Neos remained silent for a moment, while the Primarchs displayed various expressions.

"The second way to prevent the human soul from being corrupted by chaos is to allow the human race to have its own guardian deity, so that the originally [unclaimed] souls will automatically [belong], just as Tzeentch was unable to corrupt a Blood Demon, and to establish a divine kingdom that belongs to the human race."

Neos blinked.

"After the Netway Project nearly failed, I chose the second path—this is your prophecy, your dream, Saint Gilles. I am sorry for this, but I had no other choice."

Saint Gilles wanted to say something, but the words lingered between his fangs; his throat tightened, and he could not utter a sound.

[Establishing a divine kingdom... I can think of it... no... I have thought of it—it's in my imagination.]

The archangel's claws struck the goblet, again and again.

I know you desperately need power and faith, so I established the Kingdom of God, and I do not regret it, but for the Empire, not for you.

Neos nodded.

“I allow you to resent me, and I deserve it—let’s get back to the topic, the truth is actually a bit more complicated.”

"The third way for humanity to escape chaos is to severely damage chaos."

At this point, the Emperor couldn't help but smile genuinely; he looked like he was about to give Hades a thumbs up.

"Actually, I made a misjudgment during the great rebellion,"

Neos said sincerely,

"That is because I did not realize that Hades' combat power was far beyond my imagination, so I chose a more conservative path, the Net Path."

Hades coughed, and the Primarchs' gazes swept over him. Hey, that's a bit embarrassing, he's just a Chaos.

"Yes, you could easily tell me that I could have completely abandoned the Net Path at first and joined Hades in eradicating chaos, but I chose a more conservative path—"

I cannot entrust the future of the empire to a single plan; in fact, the three plans mentioned above are being implemented in parallel.

"Finally, based on my assessment of the future, I chose the path I'm on now—"

I exhausted the power of faith for the next ten thousand years, standing on the front lines in my divine form at the last moment, severely damaging Chaos alongside Hades, thus leaving a precious window of chaos for the Empire and humanity.

"But I know the Chaos will awaken before us."

The emperor said calmly.

"Because they are the true gods—and I?"

He chuckled, picked up his coffee, and took a sip.

"It's just a fake; I'm a human being."

“We are leaving, but the empire still needs leaders. Therefore, I have given you this enlightenment, hoping that you will continue to govern the empire and await and guard against the return of chaos.”

Neos paused for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh.

“I want to reiterate that I am not omniscient or omnipotent—I made a misjudgment during this time, and the backlash from the warp also affected me. At that time, I had to restrain myself from getting up, which was somewhat difficult for me.”

In reality, the situation was far more difficult. Countless times, Neos was only a step away from becoming the Lord of Darkness. Restraining his desires was much harder than he imagined.

It's like letting someone press a button, and then they can gain unlimited money, power, and freedom.

You cannot ask a traveler on the verge of dying of thirst in the desert not to drink from a sweet spring, nor can you ask a child shivering in the cold winter snow not to go near a fire. The desires and impulses that people unleash when they are on the verge of their limits are beyond your imagination.

Just half a step, just half a step and you can become the god of an entire race; just half a step and you can become the most powerful being; just half a step and you can do whatever you want—

Why are you so hesitant to take that first step?!

What are you holding back?! What are you hesitating about?! Are you really going to remain stuck like this, watching your race suffer, facing the ruins of your unruly children's empire, and listening to their curses against you? There's absolutely no need for that. You might as well take that half-step.

Just half a step, and you can live a carefree life forever! Never to have any worries!

But you remained stuck in a half-squatting position for a long time.

Because Neos is human.

For the Primarchs, their greatest contribution to the Empire was action; for the Emperor, his greatest contribution to the Empire was inaction.

I have a question.

Saint Gilles suddenly spoke, staring thoughtfully at Neos. Saint Gilles lingered at the door of truth, unwilling to knock.

He didn't know if he could accept a truth that was cruel enough.

Back then, did you want me to establish a religion solely based on you as the deity, or a dualistic system of religions?

Nios's eyes sparkled with starlight.

There is no real answer to this question, but if you insist on asking, then—

“Nios wanted someone to share his debts, while the Emperor wanted to establish a pure religion.”

Saint Gilles' mouth opened and closed again; he lowered his head and uttered a muffled whisper.

This isn't exactly an answer... but... okay...

The archangel raised his head, his expression cold, revealing his fangs.

I understand your answer.

"A ruler of a country cannot show pity or sympathy."

Neos said seriously,