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

Page 549

“Alright,” Hades raised a hand, emerald lightning flashing at his fingertips, “then I won’t stand on ceremony.”

A few dozen seconds later, a silver metal sofa the size of Hades appeared.

Hades sat down and looked at the Emperor and Macado. "Looks like I can't expect to get anything to drink?"

Makado chuckled first.

“After that, I can treat you to a meal, ghost, but now… your demands are a bit too high.”

The old man's eyes shone brightly. He and the Emperor had both witnessed Hades unleashing the power of the Void Dragon. He was right; Hades, who had defeated the Deceiver, must have already begun to master the abilities of the Star God.

Its value is too great... it cannot be easily given up.

Makado started mocking himself again for his recent wavering.

This is the sharpest and most immortal black scythe in the treasure trove of the Lord of Mankind.

Hades raised his hand, wiped the lower half of his face, and a metal mask appeared. He swallowed hard and said in a muffled voice,

“I look forward to your hospitality, Old Ma, but you… don’t need to come with me.”

Old, Horse.

Macardo took a breath and sipped his tea.

"Why not?"

Hadeston stopped, unsure whether he should recount the story of what happened in the illusion years ago, but he needed the Emperor and Macardo to know about his current situation.

“Excuse me, old man, but for my personal reasons… you look…” Hades’ voice trailed off, becoming barely audible, “tasty? I didn’t expect you to be with the food, sorry, but…”

A chuckle.

From the Lord of Mankind.

Macardo ignored the Emperor's provocation, realizing that perhaps the pain came not only from Hades's essence, but also from his non-existent soul.

"...Has your condition worsened?"

But this is... a necessary compromise.

“A wandering spirit,” Macado sighed, “your last meeting ten thousand years ago, your situation is not optimistic.”

"Is the Empire aware of my current situation?"

Hades asked in surprise, but Makado shook his head.

“Any living being looking at you from a warp perspective will realize that something is wrong with you.”

Macado poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip.

"And now, your condition seems even more abnormal—but you still seem to be in control... only a bit larger."

A few billion.

He noticed Hades' expression turn serious. Hades paused for a moment, then looked at the Emperor and Macado and began to explain.

He didn't suspect Macardo, who smiled behind his teacup.

……

“…That’s how it is,” Hades sighed, glancing at the honest red stone at his waist. “I almost swallowed the fragments of Magnus several times, and then I encountered the Star God Deceiver…”

He swallowed hard, glancing guiltily at Makado.

Macado remained silent, continuing to sip his tea.

"Luckily, I stopped in time. I have to thank Old Ma for this. You may not know this, but ten thousand years ago, when Old Ma came to save me... I saw him in the illusion."

Hades paused, then turned to look at Macado, his expression turning serious.

"Old Ma, I'm really grateful to you."

Is this your scheme, [Emperor]?

The Lord of Mankind remained silent, seated on his golden throne, using fragments of your past, now dead, to gain the trust of his former best friend.

He felt a touch of sadness, yet he was also moved by the emperor's courage in choosing to suppress his instincts and negotiate with Hades.

Back then, Makado also led Hades through layers of warp space in the same way, conducting warp space travel.

Perhaps Hades could be temporarily entrusted to Makado... He should trust Hades' wisdom; Hades would hinder Makado's plans and continuously drain Makado's energy and strength.

However, Macado, entangled by power and a bit of obsession, will not easily give up on Hades as his goal.

The Lord of Mankind remained unmoved. His current faith was being diverted by Macado, who was deliberately seizing his power, which meant that there was some information sharing between them.

...The Lord of Mankind admitted that it might be somewhat tricky for him to govern Hades now.

Hades will divert a portion of his will and power, an unnecessary sacrifice as he prepares to negotiate with the Lord of Change. He can give this sacrifice to disloyal ministers, but it would be better to give it to reliable offspring... When will Mortarion return?

The Lord of Mankind probed with psychic energy but returned empty-handed. The Pale Lord rejected the Lord of Mankind's blessing, and after the shattering of Saint Gilles, Mortarion became even more resistant to the Emperor's power.

The Emperor hoped Mortarion would return soon, but there might be spies of Macardo among the Eldar forces in the garden—Macardo certainly didn't want the Pale Lord to return and occupy Hades' attention.

Makado... he's too persistent.

Besides his plans, his past obsessions and desires also shaped Macardo. The power from the Warp made him obsessed with [control] and [collection], which are essential powers for a [king] in the Warp.

The Emperor pondered, then saw Macardo put down his teacup, and the old man sat up straight, also looking solemnly at Hades.

“I know what you want to say, I know what you’ve been through, you lost soul… because… I’ve been through it too…”

Macardo spoke softly, while the Emperor watched coldly. The flames of the Ministry of the Interior burned fiercely, but there were no more screams; only the fire burned languidly.

These were simply to prevent the Emperor from blocking Macado's path.

...He might not have to be so extreme.

The Lord of Mankind has done far too many things—traveling together only to betray each other along the way. Their cooperation hasn't even begun yet, so Makado could easily go ahead with him for a while…

...Perhaps this is also Macado's obsession.

At the very beginning of the millennium, he was still actively reforming the imperial system...

“I know, Hades…”

Hades held his breath, waiting for Makado to speak.

Rice cooker.

Makado watched calmly as Hades coughed and collapsed in front of him.

Yay, it's gone!

Chapter 610 Everyone has their own agenda

Macardo sipped his tea, calmly watching Hades sit up. Hades' pupils trembled violently as he stared at Macardo in disbelief.

"Old Ma, Old Ma... In the past ten thousand years, when... when have you been so humorous?"

Makado heard the Lord of Mankind scoff at him from within the warp, but the former regent of the empire merely smiled superficially.

"Ten thousand years have passed, souls of the dead, we have all changed so much."

First comes the reminiscence, then the foreshadowing of the differences between the past and present—this was Macado's deliberate approach.

The first scene Hades saw was him sitting with the Lord of Man, which was also intentional on Macado's part.

It's just for... trust.

Hades gave a wry smile after hearing Makado's words.

“Much has indeed changed in the last ten thousand years—but at least we are still…” He glanced at the silent human lord seated on the golden throne. Was it his imagination? Why did the emperor's expression seem even worse?

Hades carefully chose his words.

"intact."

"How is the situation in Terra now? I heard there's been internal strife at the Ministry of the Interior?"

“It is the Lord of Change,” Macado said calmly, “just a failed plan… He thought I had no backup plan, but He was wrong.”

The azure patterns on Makado's arm were slowly fading away. He wasn't worried about Hades discovering them, because his own psychic energy was already heavily mixed with them.

By attributing these events to the ever-changing ruler, Hades is given the false impression that he remains aligned with the Empire.

Then, logically, the Ministry of the Interior would be restructured using the filed data, allowing him to ostensibly and completely control the Empire's affairs. There would be no more Robert Guilliman, no more Mortalian, no more Inquisitors who sensed something was amiss and tried to uncover the truth, and no more Imperial Guards who attempted to interrupt his expansion of power.

The Lord of Humanity has no choice but to compromise.

Makado's battlefield was in politics, and now he has won.

Even Hades, when it comes to political affairs, is at a disadvantage compared to him.

Besides Terra, Makado also has spies in countless human worlds.

Now, humanity has no choice but to compromise.

As Makado pondered, he suddenly felt a chill.

Something was watching him.

Following his gaze... Macado saw Hades staring at him.

When Hades saw Makado looking at him, he paused, then scratched his head sheepishly.

"Old Ma, sorry, I'm a little hungry—I did sense Tzeentch's psychic energy, but I've already eliminated all the chaotic psychic energy I could sense."

Hades spoke again, this time in a serious tone.

"Do you urgently need my help now? I can act immediately."

Makado shook his head.

"The matter with the Ministry of the Interior has been resolved, and the Imperial Guards are currently on guard."

Hades glanced at Macado, then at the Lord of Mankind; the Emperor remained as enigmatic as ever.

Hades remained silent for a moment. The King of the Underworld was speechless, and the other beings were completely unable to fathom what he was thinking.

This is the drawback of relying on psychic powers to read minds.

"That--"

Hades drawled, "Then what will happen to the empire's administration?"

“Rebuild,” Macado said wearily, propping his head up. “I’ve preserved all the data. I’m now a semi-subspace entity myself, and I can use my power to help the Empire rebuild its bureaucratic system.”

Hades blinked.

“Old Ma, won’t this be too tiring for you? I just happened to bring the Extreme Warriors of the Thirteenth Legion with me, and the Son of Hades can also share some of the administrative duties.”

"You want... Ultramarines to rule?"

Hades nodded.

In the original timeline, the Empire did not allow Space Marines to interfere in politics. However, now, due to Guilliman's millennium of rule and Booz's power grab, Space Marines' interference in politics is more of a gray area than a clear red line in the current timeline.

"But it depends on the Emperor's decision,"

Hades looked at the Emperor. The Lord of Mankind had already set his sights on AI-like beings. Compared to that, Space Marines interfering in politics was no problem at all.

The Emperor looked at Hades.

"I permit what you do, you ghost."

"Space Marines interfering in politics?!"

Makado's voice suddenly rose, and he said sarcastically,

"Wandering Soul, will the Ultra Warriors really build an empire like they built the Five Hundred Worlds? Or will they use it for personal gain?"

Hades once again adopted a pensive, blank expression, making Makado wonder if the guy was genuinely thinking or just pretending to be.

“I believe the Ultramarines, like their Primarch Robert Guilliman, are upright and just people,”

Hades said confidently, "Besides, they really do govern very well, old man, you have to admit it—"

"Over the course of ten thousand years, the Ultramarines of the Thirteenth Legion, through various clever pretexts, separated the Five Hundred Worlds from the Empire and established a separate central authority."

Makado ruthlessly interrupted Hades.

"They may be loyal, but only to the people of Otlamah."

"I think we need to be cautious in this regard."