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

Page 260

"If you are afraid of making choices, you can call me Neos."

Hades finally couldn't hold back any longer. He helplessly spread his arms, making a gesture that resembled surrender.

"Thank you for your choice, Neos. I do have a slight fear of making choices."

The Emperor smiled upon hearing Hades' words.

Yes, is there?

Chapter 310 God Emperor

Hades smiled politely, though his smile concealed more helplessness than anything else.

He originally thought that the emperor... at least... would maintain a certain distance from him, or rather, a sense of mystery.

Just like that letter from the past.

Hades anticipated that the Emperor would favor a monarch rather than... cough cough.

Based on the Emperor's series of smooth social maneuvers, Hades suddenly had a bad feeling.

The Emperor, Neos, seemed to genuinely hope to simply talk to Hades—on a near-equal footing (Hades would hardly call it complete equality).

From his repeated corrections of Hades's way of addressing him to his proactive request for honesty, the Emperor seemed to be genuinely trying to communicate with Hades.

Hades blinked heavily. Before this, he had mainly respected and admired the Lord of Mankind—not as he had treated the Primarch.

but now……

Hades took a deep breath and spoke first.

“Nyos… I have entrusted you with my loyalty and frankness, so… I want to ask, why me? Why do you trust me?”

The Emperor smiled, as if Hades had finally asked the question.

"Then why do you trust me?"

Hades swallowed hard; he decided to test the waters.

“We just agreed to be frank, Neos. Due to my own cultural background, I cannot fully understand rhetorical questions, metaphors, similes, parallel sentences, allusions, and other language that require a high level of comprehension.”

The emperor's smile deepened.

I appreciate your sense of humor.

Hades nodded.

"Thank you for your appreciation, but I also think changing the subject is unnecessary."

The emperor's smile froze for a moment. He paused, seemingly unaccustomed to this, but he still spoke.

"I choose you because I know you will only choose humans, just as you know I will only choose humans."

"We can neither accept nor tolerate anything other than humanity and the Empire."

Although Hades was saddened by the news of the Emperor's entry into Warhammer, it was indeed a fact, and Hades could only acknowledge the Emperor's presence with silence.

The Emperor continued, pondering how to avoid using metaphors, which might be a minor challenge, but it meant more words and explanations.

“You weren’t part of my original plan, but your growth and abilities have proven yourself, so I’ve decided to change my plans.”

Hades stared at the Emperor and said softly,

What was your initial main plan?

"The Way of the Internet, the Truth of the Empire."

The emperor spoke calmly, his expression turning serious again.

"what about now?"

"The internet is the national religion."

Even though he had prepared himself mentally beforehand, Hades still felt a chill run down his spine when the middle-aged man, the emperor, spoke to him in person about the state religion.

Hades spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words.

"So... on this trip to the City of Perfection, you hope to... establish a state religion?"

"Yes and no."

The emperor spoke naturally.

"The national religion has always been among our many backup plans, but for various reasons, we have temporarily abandoned it."

"And then you enabled it again, because of me? Why?"

The Emperor paused for a moment, rose from the end of the conference table, walked to the opposite side of Hades, and then sat down again.

He stared intently at Hades, his arms crossed, the olive wreath gleaming in his dark hair.

"I envy you, outsider. The laws of physics are the fundamental laws of the world you live in."

"But here, in my homeland, the subspace and the physical universe are intertwined, together giving birth to life."

"Imperial truths have confused you because they resemble your old habits, haven't they?"

Hades coughed. He had been modified to not cough, and the Emperor was unsure whether it was because he had hit a nerve with Hades or because he had just violated the rule by using a rhetorical question.

But according to his usual speaking habits, he should continue speaking now, instead of pausing.

"The Great Crusade was accompanied by heavy and immense negative emotions, which continued to tear at the veil and catalyze the erosion of the physical world by the warp."

"The implementation of Imperial Truth delayed this process, allowing the expedition to gain the last grains of sand in the hourglass."

"Do you understand, Hades?"

Hades did not cough this time, so the Emperor categorized Hades' cough as the first hypothesis and classified Hades as a less rigorous category of people.

"I understand,"

Hades' voice was somewhat low.

"As long as the Great Expedition gathers enough resources and establishes the network, humanity will have a space to temporarily avoid the invasion of the warp."

“But if my memory is true, you have failed on the path of Imperial Truth and the Web.”

The emperor smiled casually and shook his head; the double-headed eagle emblem on the wall behind him seemed even more dazzling.

"You only remember one ending? I thought you knew enough routes, all of which were real."

"Even on the path of failure that you firmly believe in, I have held the blade of victory."

Hades blinked. He was indeed pondering, but thinking about the old path seemed rather uninteresting now, since they all knew that the Empire had found a new and completely different path.

"Nios, since you knew the original plan could have succeeded, why did you change it?"

A blazing golden flame burned in his dark eyes as the Emperor stared into Hades's pitch-black pupils.

"This path has a higher success rate."

The Emperor said,

"That's all, Hades."

Hades understood why Macardo and the others were willing to follow the Emperor so readily. When it came to matters of the Empire and humanity, the Emperor possessed an astonishing, dazzling confidence—he truly seemed certain of success.

If you add that shimmering psionic aura to it... Hades couldn't imagine whether there was a human in this world who could refuse an emperor.

The good news is that Hades is immune to the Emperor's psionic aura... At the same time, he felt that these words sounded like the empty promises his bankrupt boss made to him before running away.

Hades has now updated the Emperor's image to that of a boss who takes the subway.

Hades thought for a moment. If things continued like this, he would have to listen to a speech, which he knew all too well—the kind that was full of empty promises. So he decisively changed his questioning approach and started asking questions about the details.

“I think I understand, Neos, but I still want to know, why did you choose to burn the City of Perfection in your main plan, and at the same time… not talk to your son, Luo Jia?”

Hades was pleased to see that the Emperor's pyramid-scheme-like passion had faded, and that he was no longer just making empty promises, but taking concrete actions himself.

“Those who cherish words…”

The emperor paused.

“They gain strength through thought and faith, but their faith also backfires.”

Hades pondered, realizing what the Emperor meant.

"Their beliefs have warped you, Neos? They think you're solemn and ruthless, so you've really started to become indifferent? Faith gives you power, but at the same time, it makes you no longer yourself?"

The emperor nodded slightly.

"Not only that,"

He says,

"Among the many mortals under the command of the Word Bearer, their faith has also distorted the faith of the Loka and the Word Bearer. They have begun to forget the Legion's original mission and instead become addicted to their own religious world."

"As a concrete representation of faith, the City of Perfection needs to be burned down, otherwise the Word Bearers, whose faith has been distorted, will eventually be expelled."

Hades blinked, and said in a low, uncertain voice,

"Why not just remove Huaiyan from the list?"

On the emotional side, if Hades were the decision-maker, he would firmly believe that all rebels should be shot before the major rebellion, or at the very least, their legions should be reduced in size.

...Although this would likely lead to a change in leadership within the rebel faction.

The emperor remained silent, but he eventually broke the silence.

“I created Number Seventeen. He was the Primarch who was most obedient to me. He was the candidate prepared for the State Religion. In that hypothetical scenario that no longer exists, I believe he has the ability to change himself. He will be reborn from the ashes and lay the foundation for the establishment of the State Religion in the future.”

“I knew that every Primarch had the potential to fall into the abyss, and I could see the turbulence of the future, but I never imagined they would choose my most docile offspring as the first. Strategically, for the Four Gods at that time, Word Bearer and Loka were not the best choices. I thought they would choose…”

The emperor's voice lowered.

"In retrospect, this was nothing more than a blatant mockery."

The Emperor casually remarked that even without his psychic vision, he could sense Hades was deep in thought. He remained silent until Hades' somewhat relieved voice broke the silence, but Hades' words seemed more like an attempt to ease the tension than a sign that he had finally ended his contemplation.

"I never imagined you had so many feelings for the Primarch?"

The Emperor calmly looked at Hades; he clearly disagreed with Hades's statement.

"I created the Primarchs, firstly to ensure the success of the Great Crusade, and secondly, to allow them to call me Father."

"Number 17, Luojia, the Word Bearer, as long as they haven't fallen into the abyss, I'm happy to use them, even if they need to be warned."

Hades pondered, if he were to analyze the situation according to the Emperor's logic... the current path is the Internet Path and the State Religion, which means—

"The Perfect City won't be burned down, Neos?"

"No,"

The emperor shook his head.

“They still need to be corrected. If Number Seventeen still can’t see clearly, then I will send the First Legion. Ryan will faithfully carry out his duty.”

“I will show you the Empire’s current plans, Hades, and you will have no more questions.”

"first step,"

The emperor shifted his gaze, lowered his eyes, and stared at his reflection on the desk. His black hair fell down, and he saw the reflection of an ordinary middle-aged man.

"I will tell Number Seventeen from the ashes of the Perfect City that I am God."

Hades gasped.

Damn it, the conversation with the Emperor has touched on the core plot, and they've been talking for ages and still aren't done. Why the hell are they talking so much?

None today

Chapter 311 Be Normal, I'm Scared

Hades admitted that his mind went blank for a moment.

Overwhelmed by the massive information overload, Hades' instincts kicked in and he began to scream.

He spent a moment thinking about how to escape from here and then notify Mortalian and Guilliman. After realizing that it was impossible, he began to think about how to destroy the Emperor—but he also realized that he could not deal with the Emperor now, even if he self-destructed.

After a brief loss of control over his logic, Hades returned to reason. He carefully and subtly maintained his previous actions and expressions, but he could feel his heart beating faster.

As things stand, aside from his shocking remarks, the Emperor before him was otherwise within Hades' comprehension, and the Emperor... did not exhibit any obvious antisocial tendencies.

Hades began to pray frantically, "No, no, no, and no other, more terrifying false scripture." He would rather most of the Primarchs be insane than see the Emperor go mad.