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

Page 303

If only the Empire were to participate in this meeting, things would be much simpler.

In fact, Tzeentch also left traces at the Nicaea Conference.

First, there's Magnus's side. During the brief lull in the debate, similar to a halftime break, Magnus experienced a powerful prophecy that he didn't initiate himself—

He foresaw Horus's fall.

Hades did not understand why Magnus's first step in foreseeing this story was to return to Prospero instead of telling the emperor at the Council of Nicaea.

Perhaps he realized there was something wrong with the eye that had disappeared, or perhaps he had done something the Emperor forbade, which is why he dared not face the Emperor.

But perhaps another possibility is that the Emperor didn't give Magnus a chance to speak with him at all. The Emperor simply summoned Magnus and ruthlessly announced his fate, because behind the curtain, something else happened—

The incident involving extraterrestrial visitors.

Simply put, Hauser, an extraterrestrial visitor, was originally a mortal bard of space wolves, using language and poetry to tell the wolves their history that was not recorded on paper.

But the wolves had already discovered that the extraterrestrial visitor's origins were not simple. In fact, the extraterrestrial visitor's memories of his past were distorted—he was a spy used by Chiko to spy on the wolves.

The Thousand Sons use psychic powers to distort the memories and personalities of mortals, and then use these people to accomplish the tasks they want them to accomplish.

This is irrefutable evidence that the Thousand Sons have overstepped their bounds. Once this is confirmed, Magnus will have no chance of turning the tables at the Nicaea Conference.

So after Wolf King Lemanrus brought the extraterrestrials to the stage, he hoped that, with the witnesses of Fugen, Waldo, the leader of the Imperial Guard, Karas, the first company commander of the Death Guard (Hades was unsure who Mortalian sent this time), and Sister Silent, Magnus and the Thousand Sons would be proven guilty of heinous crimes.

But as expected, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

While everyone went to the front to argue with Magnus, Amon, the guard of Hauser, the extraterrestrial visitor, was taken control of by Amon, who claimed to be a servant of the Thousand Sons Primarch.

Language has its own magic. The first name of the guard was Ammon, and the original servant of the Thousand Sons was also named Ammon. The overlap of names gave him the ability to temporarily control the guard.

Then, Thousand Sons Ammon spouted nonsense to the extraterrestrial visitor Hauser, fought with the wild wolves and bears who discovered the matter, and then the guards he possessed fainted, while he successfully escaped from the guards' pursuit.

First, Hades didn't understand why the Custodians could be controlled; second, he didn't understand why the Custodians allowed Amon to escape. This whole affair was rife with insults directed at the Custodians, and Hades claimed he knew nothing about it.

But what if the one possessing the Imperial Guard Amon wasn't Thousand Sons Amon? But rather... the Demon Tzeentch.

Yes, Tzeentch struck again, and Senko was truly wronged this time.

Upon learning that the Custodians had been possessed by the Thousand Sons, the Emperor was furious. He ultimately chose to publicly refute Magnus (who had by this time foreseen Horus's fall with the help of Tzeentch) and announced the banning of the think tank.

So, here's the question.

Hades sighed.

What exactly is Tzeentch's purpose in appearing in Nicaea?

The whole thing is incredibly ironic, not to mention that Tzeentch was causing trouble right under the Emperor's nose, and the Emperor didn't even realize it was Tzeentch.

Magnus foresaw Horus's fall before the Emperor, but the Emperor was enraged by the possession of the "Thousand Sons" by the Imperial Guard. Ultimately, Magnus was given a severe warning by the Emperor, who hoped he would stay away from psychic powers.

Magnus did not choose to heed the Emperor's warning. After returning to Prospero, he chose to make another prophecy to see if the fall of Horus he had seen was real. After realizing that it was real, he made the psionic phone call that could be said to have started the whole story.

Web channel, boom!

Why couldn't they have told the Emperor directly at the Nicaea Conference?! Why wait until they returned to Prospero to try and make a phone call?!

Oh, right, the Emperor probably couldn't trust Magnus back then because of the Jaberids' situation.

So why was the Imperial Guard unexpectedly possessed by Tzeentch? Emperor, you yourself couldn't tell it was Tzeentch!

...The Emperor, this psychic behemoth, wasn't as omnipotent as Hades imagined, or...the Thousand Sons' psychic abilities were too similar to Tzeentch's, so the Emperor couldn't tell them apart?

In any case, Hades could picture Tzeentch laughing so hard he was almost out of breath, even though Tzeentch might not have lungs.

And, one last question.

How much does the current emperor know, and what can Hades do at this meeting?

And given that Hades has gone to Nicaea, will Tzeentch still appear?

This chapter is free; it's all a summary. Please take a quick look. There may be omissions, so I've added the Nicaea Conference as a supplement.

To be honest, the Nicaea Conference was pretty ridiculous. I don't understand it at all.

Chapter 365 The Beginning of the Nicaea Conference

Above Nicaea orbit

“Get ready, Angron,”

Hades took a deep breath.

"We should land in Nicaea."

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[Nicaea Landing Point]

The Deathguard's Stormbird landing craft landed amidst a gloomy abyss of ashes. The Lord of Death concealed himself beneath his hood and poisonous gas, his deep eyes sweeping rapidly across the land. As he expected, he saw ostentatious and useless grand structures built atop a volcano.

Nicaea is a still active planet with frequent geological activity. Its magnetic field is broken, which means that most instruments that use the Earth's magnetic field cannot function properly, and also means that the psionic field here is not very stable.

Mortarion silently noted this down, and strode toward the circular volcano theater built by the emperor, with his silent offspring and the Kirkland sages following behind him.

--------

[Nicaea Theater Main Hall]

Mortalian was the first Primarch to arrive. He stood below the stage of light, lost in thought. In front of the stage, thousands of seats were divided into two sides, extending in layers into the darkness. Bureaucrats, lords, naval admirals, mechanical sages, and mortals thronged together, chattering amongst themselves.

This trial is not just a story of the Primarchs and Legions; mortals also have their rights. In a more secluded and elevated private room, the leader of the Star Court, the Mars Forging General, the Navy Commander, and other high-ranking officials have also arrived.

They were even granted the right to keep their identities a secret.

But without exception, these mortals remained deathly silent when the Lord of Death entered, which pleased Mortarion.

Behind the stage, darkness surged up to the highest point, where a glittering light shone. The Lord of Man sat quietly and majestically on his golden throne. It was so bright that Mortarion squinted at him, a faint tear sliding down his cheek.

A puff of poisonous gas escaped from beneath the mask of the Lord of Death. Mortarion took a step forward and bowed slightly to his father, thus completing his formality. Macardo, standing beside the Emperor, nodded to him, and Mortarion, without hesitation, led his sons to sit down in the position of the Death Guard.

The seats surrounding the very front of the stage were completely empty, divided into several sections, each marked with the Legion's insignia. The Death Guard was assigned to the right side of the stage in the center.

Mortarian looked around, his gaze lingering on the area directly in front of the stage. There were no signs there, but around the main seat stood a Silent Sister and a Mechanical Sage.

They were all acquaintances, Black Law and Gold.

As if sensing the gaze of the Lord of Death, Jin's massive body turned around. He looked at Mortalian, or perhaps at Kirkland beside Mortalian, and gave him a smile.

"Good day, my lord:)"

Mortalian heard Kirkland short-circuit, but that didn't matter; it only meant one thing: Hades was here.

This filled him with joy, the joy of having victory in his grasp. Hades' presence could only mean one thing: he absolutely could not lose.

Mortarian raised his hand, signaling Kirkland to calm down. He looked at the seat and frowned slightly; it was too big, looking like it was meant for a Primarch.

Mortarion cursed the Emperor and Macardo in his heart for a second, but then the second Primarch arrived, the door was kicked open, and he burst in with a hearty laugh.

The wolf king Lemanrus roared gruffly.

【Alright, little ones!】

He swaggered in, leading his wolf cubs through the door set up at the back of the theater, behind the seats for ordinary people, and down the aisle that separated the seats.

The mortals were startled, and a wave of exclamations, cheers, and applause mingled together. The silence that had been broken by Mortalian's entrance was instantly shattered, and the crowd became chaotic and noisy.

Lemanrus swaggered to the front of the stage. The wolf king instantly became serious. He breathed steadily, plunged his sword into the ground, and with a thud, Lemanrus knelt down. His wolf cubs also knelt down.

[My highest greetings to you, Father.]

At this point, he stopped slurring his words, and Mortarian disdainfully looked away from him.

The Emperor tilted his head slightly, and Macado tapped his scepter, making a banging sound. Lemanrus stood up and grinned.

Wolf King? Just a dog wagging its tail at the Emperor, Mortarion muttered to himself, but he still stood up because the Wolf King was walking towards him.

"Great, my brother!"

Ruth sniffed roughly as he spoke. His teeth were constantly bared, as if in threat.

I still prefer you on the communication channel; you smell terrible.

Motarian didn't even blink; he calmly stared at Russ and extended a hand.

Same to you.

Ruth burst into laughter, then grabbed Mortalian's hand and swung it up and down with enough force to break a Space Marine's bones.

I didn't expect you to be so civilized.

The wolf king laughed loudly, then he stopped, sniffed the air sharply, and howled like a wolf.

【woman!】

Mortarian was startled, but quickly realized what the Wolf King was talking about. A group of Silent Sisters walked towards them, led by an exceptionally tall member of the Royal Guard, with King following beside them.

The wolf king reached behind him and pulled out a mortal man as if he were a chick. He roared gruffly at the poor man.

Hauser, you're going with them later. Wild Bear will follow you. Don't worry, just go with them and tell them everything you know. If they want to investigate your back door, you'd better stick your ass out.

"grown ups."

Waldo, the leader of the Imperial Guards, spoke calmly, attempting to stop the Wolf King's joke.

The wolf king turned its eyes and stared intently at the imperial guards.

[You little golden brat, didn't anyone teach you not to interrupt the Primarch? Do you want me to rip your mouth off right now and shove it into my brother's gas tube?]

Before Waldo could speak, Mortarian spoke.

【I reject. 】

Ruth looked at Mortarian in surprise, but then he burst into laughter. He put the trembling mortal down and patted Hauser on the shoulder, who felt like he was about to fall over.

Go forth, poet!

Hauser stood there hesitantly. The Wolf King whistled, and a wolf stepped out of the ranks and followed Hauser like a wolf. Mortarian thought that was probably the wild bear the Wolf King had mentioned.

Mortarian raised his hand, and his company commander, Vox, silently stepped out, the vials of medicine and the full load of ammunition clanging as he walked.

Kirkland also came out. Mortarian didn't even need to look at him to know that the Great Sage had probably activated some kind of forced calming mechanism again.

Waldo, the leader of the Imperial Guard who had escaped from the Wolf King's clutches, looked at Mortarian with suspicion. Just now, the Wolf King had patted the Imperial Guard's shoulder armor, and Mortarian had clearly seen a noticeable dent on it.

[High Sage Kirkland, a sage accompanying the Death Guard, primarily researches psionic and anti-psionic powers, and may provide assistance in the upcoming proof.]

Motalian said calmly, his gaze shifting to King, who was now three Kirkland-sized.

Perhaps your sages can testify for the Death Guard.

Jin lifted his red robe and bowed to Mortarian. His display screen still showed the standard smiling face, but when the sage looked at the Imperial Guard, many garbled light spots flashed across it instantly.

So Waldo turned around and nodded to Mortarian.

We will take him there.

Mortarian exhaled a puff of poison gas from beneath his mask, as if tacitly approving. He coldly watched the Wolf King stretching, listening to the sounds of the Silent Sisters, the Royal Guard, and Hauser's troops receding into the distance.

Mortarian sat back down in his seat. There was no need to waste time with the Wolf King. The Wolf King yawned, and Mortarian was certain that the smell emanating from his mouth was worse than his poison gas.

As if knowing it would be pointless to go looking for trouble, the wolf king noisily led his pack back to their seats, propped his cheeks up with boredom, and loudly ordered his servants to bring him wine.

Just as the wolf king returned to his seat and his last wolf cub settled in, another legion arrived. A faint scent of incense instantly filled the space, and people quieted down, then—began to stand up.

Fugen walked slowly and gracefully down the steps, his phoenix guards in purple-gold armor following behind his father. In the darkness, the light from their hair or armor was as smooth as starlight.

People began to applaud, and Mortarian heard the wolf king's disgruntled snorts.

Fugen walked to the front of the stage, neatly and gracefully tucking his silver hair behind his ear as if lifting the hem of a skirt. Then, he placed one hand on his chest, exaggeratedly knelt on one knee, and strands of silver hair slid down, hanging beside his handsome nose.

Your proud son pays you his highest respects!

“My lord is pleased with your presence.”

Makado opened his mouth.

Fugen rose smoothly and smiled happily at the Emperor—a perfect smile, Mortarian thought. If possible, Fugen would have shoved his lipstick-covered face in front of the Emperor, displaying his own face as if it were a perfect vase.

After completing the rituals for the emperor, Fugen turned to the mortals, flashing his perfect smile once more. He bowed slightly and spoke in a loud voice,

It's a pleasure to have us gathered here together to discuss the affairs of the Empire.

It was a charade, Mortalian realized without hesitation. This damned guy was campaigning, even before the meeting started. Damn it, couldn't the Emperor do something about this guy and stop him from using his face to rape the minds of mortals?

Fortunately, Russ barked, and the wolf king excitedly spilled the wine in his hand onto his fur. He slapped the armrest of his seat loudly.