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

Page 319

"The mutations in the flesh and blood of the Thousand Sons have not been resolved. With Prospero burning and Magnus imprisoned, these mutations could recur at any time."

Macado's voice was normal.

"I will try to obtain some gene seeds from other legions to neutralize them, but the seeds of the Thousand Sons will still be the main component."

Hades spoke sullenly.

"What about mutations in flesh and blood?"

Makado glanced at him.

"Before that, it's enough to be able to fight. The Empire needs their fighting power, and unstable bombs are far more valuable than stable rocks."

Hades sighed.

"Are you sure these thousand soldiers will fight for the Empire, Makado? Do you need me—"

"Leave the matters of the psionicists to the psionicists, Hades."

Makado immediately interrupted Hades.

"Psionicists corrupted by the Dark Domain will likely never be able to unleash their soul flames with the same brilliance as before—Hades, don't leave any more psychological scars on innocent psionicists!"

After Makado finished speaking, he noticed Hades staring intently at him, his mouth agape as if he wanted to say something.

Macardo immediately interrupted Hades's unrealistic and foolish fantasies.

“Apart from me, my psionic power was above yours at the time.”

"That's good."

Hades smiled and began to drink his tea, the cup being given to him being an extra-large size.

The emperor's hesitant voice rang out.

"Hades, are you willing...?"

The unusually questioning tone and hesitant manner of the question nearly made Hades spit out his tea. He quickly put down his tea and stared intently at the Emperor.

"Would you be willing to follow the Sixteenth Legion, Shadowmoon Wolf?"

"Something happened to Horus?"

Hades asked nervously,

So fast?

Then he saw the Emperor shake his head, a reaction that clearly exceeded Hades' expectations. Hades looked at Macado, but the old man concealed his face in his hood and the rising steam from the tea.

Macardo recalled the question he had once asked the Emperor: "The Lord of Mankind will ultimately be like this."

Hades,

The emperor spoke calmly, his eyes gleaming with golden light.

"This is a request."

"I hope you can stay by the Warmaster's side and keep him from being corrupted by the chaos. When I return to Terra, as long as the Warmaster's leadership remains intact and Horus retains his rationality, the war situation in the Empire will remain clear."

The emperor paused.

“I know you want to return to Deathguard, and that will be your choice.”

Hades fell silent, then cautiously asked,

"Can't you use your psychic powers to predict the future, Neos? Or can you use logic to figure out where I'm best positioned?"

The emperor recalled seeing Horus's empty shell, while Magnus, whom he cared about most, secretly traded his soul with the Shapeshifter.

"You are inherently unpredictable... Hades, the omens about you can only be glimpsed through the aspects of fate that you influence."

"But according to the logic of the physical world, you are suited to go to Horus's side, and Lupecal needs someone who can prevent him from being disturbed by the warp."

Hades stared at the Emperor, who... fell silent.

Neos picked up his tea and sipped it calmly.

Hades pondered. He could at least ensure that one Primarch who followed him would not fall... which meant that the Emperor would definitely prioritize deploying him alongside Primarchs of higher rank—which would certainly be Horus, or Guilliman with his large army.

But this is a request... it's more like... a request mixed with personal emotions.

Hades gave a wry smile.

"Logically, I should be with Horus."

"Moreover... I believe that Mortalian and the Death Guard will be the Primarchs who hold the most steadfast positions."

The emperor seemed to breathe a sigh of relief—

"but!"

Hades shouted loudly,

"I demand new gear for Death Guard! You're not allowed to object!"

The emperor smiled.

"This is your freedom."

But his smile was quickly masked by exhaustion.

"Time is running out,"

The Emperor said,

"I need to return to Terra in time. The Netway Experiment has entered a critical stage, and it is about to close its subspace passage on Terra."

The Emperor reached out, and a map of the galaxy appeared on the table, where Hades could see countless symbols marking the legions flashing.

"Let me tell you about the current situation, Hades."

Beep beep beep beep beep beep

Chapter 386 Chess Game

Hades held his cup and leaned forward to look at the map of the entire empire on the reception table, which was shimmering slightly.

The emperor's hand trembled slightly, and a chess piece appeared in his hand. The deep-set knight held a sharp sword, and beneath his helmet, a wild, savage aura gleamed.

Hades muttered something under his breath.

“I’m a psionic Muggle, so don’t hint at it, Neos.”

"I will."

The emperor smiled and gently raised his hand, dividing the map on the table into four sections.

The Misty Starfield to the North, the Stormy Starfield to the South, the Extreme Starfield to the East, and the Peaceful Starfield to the West.

The Extreme Starfield is the largest, the Peaceful Starfield is the smallest, the Hazy Starfield is still an area that the Great Expedition has not yet explored, and the Stormy Starfield is calm and undisturbed.

The Emperor raised his hand and placed the knight in the northeastern edge of the Extreme Starfield.

"First, the Limitless Starfield."

"The First Legion's Dark Angels are heading to the Ghoul Cluster, both as an expedition and as a warning."

"What should we be wary of?"

Hades spoke, but then he realized what was happening. The Emperor raised his hand, and a hunched vampire chess piece appeared in his palm. He placed it to the lower right of the knight.

"The Eighth Legion's Night Lords' Atonement Expedition has ended, and the entire legion is recuperating on Conrad Coz's homeworld—the Lions went there to test whether they are capable of repeating their glory."

Nostrama, the homeworld of Conrad Coz, is located at the northernmost edge of the Extreme Starfield.

"Sending the First Legion so far away?"

Hades spoke quietly, and the Emperor smiled.

"Hades, don't be impatient. A knight's position is enough to intimidate several legions."

The Emperor thoughtfully stroked a piece, larger than the previous two. The platinum Centaur held his scepter high, head held high.

"The Sixteenth Legion's Shadowmoon Wolves are currently operating in the upper-central part of the Extreme Starfield."

The Emperor placed the Centaur slightly below the Knight.

What was Horus doing there?

Hades asked,

The emperor raised an eyebrow, and a crimson light, like blood, emanated from his fingertips. His wings unfurled, and the archangel stood there, eyes lowered in deep thought.

"He should have just finished his trip to Baltimore."

The Emperor's voice softened slightly. "Baal, the home planet of Saint Gilles, is located in the center of the extreme star field, slightly to the east."

"The Nicaia Conference seems to have given my offspring something to think about. After the conference, Sanguires began requesting to return to his home planet to recuperate. I had Horus handle the matter—their relationship has always been good."

The Emperor placed the angelic chess pieces on the home planet of Baal, and now Sagittarius looks just like the home planet of the Blood Angels of the Ninth Legion.

Hades pondered for a moment. The upper part of the Limit Starfield was now very crowded, with four legions, two of which had returned to their home planet, and the activity range of the other two was yet to be determined.

Dark Angel, Midnight Lord, Shadowmoon Wolf, Holy Blood Angel.

Hades silently memorized it.

"and then?"

Hades asked, looking at the two pieces that suddenly appeared in the Emperor's hand. One piece was a brilliant blue with fine gold thread inlay, and it was flawless. The other piece looked like it had been broken and then roughly sewn back together with black thread, but its dark red luster revealed a lustrous jade-like light.

The Emperor casually placed his two sons at the very bottom of the Extreme Starfield. The sapphire blue monarch was placed in the remote eastern region at the very bottom, while the crimson gladiator was placed slightly closer to the Storm Starfield.

"The Ultramarines of the Thirteenth Legion have requested to return to Macragge 500 for rest and recuperation; this request has been approved. The World Eaters of the Twelfth Legion have requested to search for a recruitment planet; this request has been approved."

Hades suddenly realized that something felt off.

"Wait—so fast? I feel like Nicaea just passed by not long ago?"

“You need to calculate the travel time in subspace. Don’t you think our fleet took a very long time to reach Prospero this time?”

Hades sighed loudly.

“I just—well, I haven’t told Angron yet.”

The emperor blinked.

"They will take good care of themselves."

The hunched-over Macardo swayed slightly, and Hades looked at him in confusion. The Lord of the Silent Order would never know the question Macardo had asked the Emperor.

Hades stared at the map. Although they were both in the Extreme Star Region, the Extreme Star Region was so vast that its upper and lower ends spanned the entire Empire. Therefore, it was not very realistic to expect the lower end to immediately support the upper end.

Although he outwardly appeared indifferent and allowed the two legions to travel to remote star systems, the Emperor was in fact giving them the option of not participating in the conflict.

In other words, unless specifically targeted, these two legions, especially Robert Guilliman's Five Hundred Worlds, will become the most important reserve resources during the Great Rebellion.

Hades seemed lost in thought, wondering if the Ultra Warriors would be able to make it to the final battle this time.

"These legions currently constitute the Limit Starfield."

The Emperor said, and with a wave of his hand, the easternmost star field immediately dimmed, and the chess pieces along with it disappeared into the darkness.

"Then comes the Hazy Starfield."

Hades took a deep breath. The Misty Starfield in the due north is the most unstable starfield in the subspace and is also the starfield that was still being fought in the later stages of the Great Crusade. The recently concluded Battle of Ulanno took place in the Misty Starfield, and Ran Dan's home planet is also in the northernmost part of the Misty Starfield.

In the emperor's hand, a cold, gleaming light shone from the steel.

In his palm lay two remarkably similar chess pieces, seemingly made of miniature steel bars and twisted nails. The only difference was that one of them, which was silvery-white, was a severed hand, while the other, which was iron-black, had cables extending from its tip.

"The Iron Warriors of the Fourth Legion and the Iron Hands of the Tenth Legion are currently mopping up the remaining Ulanor troops. They must have just ended their cooperation, or they have only just begun."

The Emperor placed the two Iron Generals slightly to the right of the bottom of the hazy star field.

"...Aren't you sure about the progress of their war?"

Hades asked hesitantly.

"Very common,"

The emperor said calmly,

“On a map where the speed of light can take hundreds of years to travel, you can’t expect intelligence to be reported daily like the weather forecast used to be. Originally, we could rely on the Star Court to know their general movements—but as you know, the subspace routes in the Misty Starfield are not stable.”

"……it is good."