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

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"I am disappointed."

The Emperor said,

“Fabricating lies, manipulating right and wrong, overstepping boundaries, peering into the darkness, and dragging others into the fray—the hidden dangers have long been sown, yet the arrogant still revel in their self-satisfaction, failing to see that they are already standing on the edge of an icy abyss, teetering on the brink of collapse.”

"The words of the blind and arrogant should not be readily believed; the words of the deeply sinful should be carefully discerned. I listen to the arguments of Magnus, the Crimson Sinner, who has fallen into the abyss of false power, trampling on the limits of the Empire's tolerance, and selling himself and his legions to his own desires."

"Their crimes are heinous."

The Emperor delivered his verdict, and from the moment the name of the Crimson Sinner was uttered, the Primarchs knew the final outcome.

"The sins of a common man can be atoned for by cutting off his head and dying; but the sins of the leader cannot be atoned for by a single death. Ten thousand people are enslaved by his foolish ideas, and hundreds of millions are misled by his false teachings. If we repay the same sins, even hundreds of millions of deaths cannot wash away his guilt."

Fugen felt his heart pounding violently as he witnessed a punishment far more cruel than the death penalty: a father wielding a knife against his son—no, no, no—this moment reminded Fugen that Emperor Fugen should first be a ruler, then a father.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the other Primarchs. Their expressions varied, but without exception, they all looked unwell. Even with Mortalian, Fugen could see him panting beneath his hood.

The wrath of an emperor is not something an ordinary person can bear. Fugen could hardly imagine what Magnus had gone through... Just a month ago, this proud brother was still boasting to him about classical texts... Why would Magnus...?

Phoenix was convinced that no brother would willingly harm the Empire's might, unless... unless... Fugen almost covered his mouth and screamed. Magnus's arrogance had ruined him!

He even implicated his descendants!

The phoenix, with its overly strong empathy, felt a buzzing in its ears, but the emperor's words still cruelly penetrated the hearts of each of them.

"Hereinafter, I pronounce judgment upon Magnus, the Crimson Sinner."

“Magnus, playing with witchcraft, implicates legions, and even the shadow of death and curse entangles the Thousand Sons, inseparable.”

"The Fifteenth Legion, the Thousand Sons, is hereby disbanded."

Fugen felt like he was about to faint. The archangel looked terrible, and even Angron's eyes widened. Of the remaining Primarchs, besides the executioner, who would want to see this scene?!

"Those in the Thousand Sons Legion who conspired with Magnus will be taken to the Terra dungeons to await their punishment; the innocent who were implicated, and those who obstructed Magnus with good intentions, will have their cursed spirits healed by the Empire, and a way of life and glory will be sought for them."

"Magnus himself was taken to the Terra dungeons."

Fugen gasped for breath—this proved Magnus wasn't dead, but what awaited him? The Empire had punishments far worse than death, and Fugen felt a chill run down his spine. Legion disbanded, he imprisoned in the dungeon… Could the arrogant Magnus truly accept all of this?!

"Space Wolf, Death Guard, come with me to Prospero and clean up the remnants."

Lemanrus stepped forward, slamming down his giant axe and his knee. The wolf king bowed his head deeply, offering his vulnerable neck to the emperor on the high platform.

Lemanrus obeys.

Mortarian was a step too late for the Wolf King. The Lord of Death swayed, and finally slowly knelt down, gripping his withered scythe, his knees lightly touching the ground.

【Motalian obeys.】

The Emperor raised his hand, signaling the two Primarchs to stand up. The Lord of Death and the Lord of Winter stood up, a cold glint flashing across their blades.

The emperor remained expressionless.

"The sinners have been executed, but the twisted and blasphemous marks on them have made me realize that some of you have gone too far. My trust in you is not an overreach. The purpose of this meeting is to make you recognize the boundaries and never cross the red line—you should not meddle behind the curtain. The crimson sinners will forever remind you."

The emperor remained silent for a moment, and the people waited anxiously for his next words.

“I should have shut down all think tank units and stopped sorcery from corrupting the ranks of the Space Marines. The flashes of psionic energy should not be seen.”

The think tank representatives looked extremely grim, and the Primarchs of the other legions who retained think tank units also had somber expressions.

“But Hades, the lord of the Order of Silence, found me,”

The Emperor said that his calm, golden eyes revealed a startled expression as he looked down upon the Primarchs below.

"He suggested that each legion maintain a minimum level of intelligence to ensure that it is alerted to potential witchcraft threats at the first moment, and to retain the strength to fight against psionic beings."

"I accept it."

The emperor spoke.

"The Legion is permitted to retain a minimum of think tanks for vigilance."

After the emperor finished speaking his last words, he sat back on his throne, letting Macardo tap the ground with his scepter, and the old man hoarsely announced the adjournment of the meeting.

He saw the survivors trembling, looking at each other blankly, as if they had no idea what was about to happen.

Oh dear, by directly depicting the emperor, I'm really putting unnecessary pressure on myself.

Chapter 376 Tzeentch Always Has a Plan

On the Imperial Dream, in a secluded corner where no one could find it...

A burst of excitement—

The sound of the lunchbox being opened rang out, and Hades, looking bored, silently picked up his spoon, ready to eat.

To support the Emperor, he had gone nine days and nine nights without food or drink. Although this was not a problem at all, Hades still deeply regretted wasting the opportunity to enjoy nine days of free food.

He has to get his revenge.

Makado, on the other hand, had been starving for nine days and nine nights. Given the old man's physique, Hades thought that he was afraid Makado would try to extort money from him.

Hades quickly finished his meal, and with a spoon in his mouth, he rested his chin on his hand and gazed at the person opposite him—which was why he was there.

Layers of runes were carved on the iron fence, and black stone chains were wrapped around it, resonating slightly with Hades' dark domain. Outside the room, countless soulless beings stood in a guard line.

His hair stood on end, and the originally tall decorative horns on his armor were brutally broken off, revealing the damaged sections. Magnus was one of the three largest and most robust Primarchs, with only Vulcan able to rival him.

But now, after just nine days and nine nights, plus three days of imprisonment on the Imperial Dream, Magnus is already emaciated. He looks like a dried-up fish, on the verge of death, and almost as thin as Mortarian.

Well, even if Magnus were just skin and bones, he wouldn't be as thin as Mortarion.

Hades stared at Magnus with boredom. He was now a kind of jailer, and he wasn't afraid that Magnus would see his casual posture—a white cloth was simply tied over Magnus's eyes, and dried blood dripped from where the single eye used to be.

Magnus had clearly not touched psionic energy since being reprimanded by the Emperor, so Hades was not afraid that Magnus would use psionic energy to detect him.

Next, the Emperor will travel to Prospero with the Deathguard and Space Wolves to ascertain the extent of Tzeentch's corruption, while Hades and Magnus will also travel there aboard the Imperial Dream.

But Hades will act as Magnus's guardian, not Prospero's burner, and he will need to ensure that Magnus doesn't suddenly play tricks.

Although the Emperor verbally promised Hades that Macardo would work shifts with him, it was clear that Macardo intended for Hades to complete the full shift. The old man looked at Hades and spoke ambiguously.

"...You can try to communicate with him."

Hades blinked innocently and spread his hands.

"I don't usually talk to dead people."

Macardo slammed his scepter into the ground, but it struck Hades's boots instead. Hades dodged hastily, unsure if he had said something wrong again.

Makado gritted his teeth and spoke.

“Magnus is still useful, which is why our lord kept him.”

Hades swallowed hard.

"You're going to stuff him onto the horse—I mean the golden throne—to serve as a giant power bank?"

Macado frowned. Hades always felt that the old man was favoring Magnus. Was it because they both had the surname Ma and were both psionicists?

As if knowing that Hades' silence meant something bad was brewing, the old man spoke up, interrupting Hades' free-flowing thoughts.

"You're oversimplifying things, Hades."

Makado whispered.

“We are different from you—I mean, psionicists are different from you, Hades. You only analyze problems based on logic and reality.”

Hades blinked.

"Uh... so psychics don't use their brains to analyze problems?"

Makado struck Hades with his club, silencing him completely. The Regent could then resume his topic, explaining psionic power to this top-tier psionic Muggle in the galaxy.

"My Lord, like myself and other excellent psionicists, we do not only look at the logic of reality. There is a warp in this world, and psionicists can judge the future by observing its ripples—and this is usually far more accurate than reasoning in reality."

Hades glanced indifferently at Makado, treating it like palm reading or fortune telling, but given its effectiveness, he decided not to provoke Makado.

"So what is the conclusion of your reasoning?"

Hades said,

“I remember… Magnus didn’t put his soul with…”

Hades' voice gradually faded, and his words became indistinct.

"Yes,"

Makado said calmly,

"He made a deal with the malice behind the curtain—by ​​sacrificing a part of his soul."

Hades remained silent, then looked at Macado and said,

"Then shouldn't this be—"

He made a line in the air across his neck with his hand.

Macardo frowned.

"But this also means that a large part of his soul is still under his control."

"Can't we separate?"

Hades spoke, as if asking a stupid question, and Makado suddenly raised his voice, like a parrot that had finally burst out.

"You think psionic energy is such a simple thing?! He is bound to the Shapeshifter, and my lord can only guarantee that it won't suddenly erupt."

And so the matter returned to its starting point. Hades blinked and spoke.

"Then why can't we just kill him?"

Hades sensed the old man was about to convulse with anger, so he quickly added,

"I just want to know why you took such a big risk to keep him here. What makes you insist on keeping a bomb that could explode at any time?"

Makado opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but then he grew tired again.

He said weakly,

"My Lord is gambling."

"What?"

Hades said that Makado had to explain this frustrating reality to him.

“Magnus’s fate is not fixed. Even though he is already tied to a ship, the river still has many branches, and he still has other possibilities. In the branches where mankind triumphs, Magnus is indispensable—at least in the prophecy of my lord, the figure of the Crimson Sinner has never been absent.”

Hades took a light breath.

"I understand,"

He says,

"In other words, that guy didn't completely fix Magnus's fate. It did it on purpose. He wanted the Emperor to... uh, play a game with him? Or did he make a revolver out of Magnus, stuff a few bullets in it, and have the Emperor take turns shooting at him, right?"

Macado nodded.

"It's a simple analogy, but you've at least grasped a point."

Hades suddenly spoke.

"I mean, could I use the Dark Domain to alter and block this section of the river?"

Makado shook his head.

"This is the main road of humanity's destiny. Perhaps you can achieve it in the future... but right now..."

Makado sized up Hades.

"You might as well catch a few more unlucky foundry worlds and pray to you."

Hades spread his arms, believing that King and Kirkland were already terrifying enough.

"Aren't you afraid it will trip you up? It controls a part of Magnus's soul, and it's the one who set this up."

Makado remained silent for a long time, then the old man spoke slowly and wearily.

"This also means that Magnus still dominates most of his soul, and he can still struggle."

"Moreover... its power is still insufficient to reverse the already surging trend, and our lord is also observing the river's course. He would not do this without the certainty of victory."

Macado sighed.

"Hades, you can rest assured... My lord will never believe him, and even if it is in accordance with the prophecy, he will take forceful measures to imprison Magnus. He will not be freed, so you don't need to worry so much."