Warhammer Divine Throne

Suddenly, Francois thought of something. He first looked up at the red duke’s head hanging on the city wall banner, then at Laine, and finally turned his gaze toward the vampire’s camp.

The Duke’s expression changed drastically: ”Damn! The vampires aren’t retreating, this is a strategic move, they’re seeking revenge, revenge for the Red Duke! Laine, this is bad, the vampire army must be marching toward your territory!!!”

Francois, who cherished Surya deeply, realized that his daughter was in danger, the duke was somewhat flustered, his mouth opened for a while, his expression anxious: ”They must have set out overnight, damn it, your territory’s defenses are empty now, we might not be able to catch up with the undead.”

”Quick! Let’s gather the knights and go immediately to pursue them, you helped me before, now it’s my turn to help you!” Duke Boldro also immediately realized the situation wasn’t right, and quickly turned to his deputy, Sir Houlf, saying: ”Gather all the knights immediately, we’ll march straight to chase after the vampire army!”

”No need.” Laine, however, gestured with his hand to indicate it wasn’t necessary.

”Why??” Julius, worried about his sister, was the first to ask in confusion.

”Let them go.” Laine showed a meaningful expression: ”They won’t reach my territory.”

”They will never reach it, and will never return.”

......

The time reached the afternoon of the next day.

Inside Charon Forest, in the outdoor courtyard of the Forest Creek Valley, the banquet continued. Roasted golden tuna steak, delicious butter beer, fresh cauliflower, these foods common in the Old World were rare delicacies for the Emperor and Kiliman, and the Emperor even said he hadn’t tasted real beef for twenty thousand years.

The open space in the outdoor courtyard was piled with remnants of food, as if several griffins had passed through.

Sunshine filtered through the forest onto the wooden table, the Emperor, Kiliman, and Angerong were discussing matters.

”You say you trusted us, so you handed the Great Crusade over to us, and you wanted to return to Terra to continue your plan, but when we ask what your plan is, you don’t trust us, so you say nothing but use the so-called Imperial Truth to deceive us.” Angerong complained incessantly as he gulped down the butter beer: ”Father, you should take responsibility for Horus’s fall and betrayal.”

Kiliman’s hands trembled slightly, the Primarch of the Ultimate Warrior, the current Imperial Regent was both expectant and fearful as he cast his gaze upon his father, waiting for his response.

The Emperor’s face was cold, like the eternal permafrost of the Far North, yet he still opened his mouth to speak.

”The Genetic Primarchs are life forms I created to serve as my assistants and subordinates. The original purpose of creating you was because I couldn’t handle all the affairs simultaneously, I hoped someone could help me.” After a long silence, the Emperor spoke.

Kiliman and Angerong nodded to show their understanding, all Primarchs shared consensus on this point.

”However, as you know, some unexpected events occurred. When I created you, I used forces related to Subspace, which allowed the plans to be known by the Chaos Four Gods. After you were created, the Chaos Four Gods unleashed a terrible Subspace storm and swept you all away.” The Emperor raised a coffee cup, added milk and a little white sugar, and continued: ”This was one of the reasons I launched the Great Crusade, you are my children, my pride and joy, I had to find you.”

”After the Great Crusade began, I retrieved each of you as you matured, but many Primarchs were deeply corrupted when swept away by the Subspace storm, like Angerong, I tried every possible method to remove the Butcher’s Nail from you, but finally, my apothecary told me that I couldn’t remove the Butcher’s Nail unless I killed you.” The Emperor’s face showed some slight change: ”You became a madman, a complete madman, but I couldn’t bear to kill you, I always believed there might be another way, many Primarchs were like that.”

Angerong and Kiliman’s expressions were gloomy, the events had happened, and they had happened so many years ago.

”What about Horus? Among us, you trusted him the most, liked him the best, you even appointed him as Warmaster, but he ultimately chose the path of betrayal and led half the legions to rebel.” Kiliman continued.

”Horus was once the one I valued most, the Primarch with the most hope to inherit my will.” The Emperor recalled that epic duel back then, a hint of pain flashed across his face: ”But he ultimately couldn’t understand my painstaking efforts, because during that time, the Chaos Four Gods personally intervened, twisting his whole mind, and I still harbored illusions, Horus in some sense did not betray me, but he couldn’t resist the full power of the Chaos Four Gods.”

”I led the World-Devourer Legion and was the first to join Horus’s ranks.” Angerong said self-mockingly: ”At that time I was already insane, all I wanted was to satisfy my bloodthirsty desire and seek revenge.”

Roboute Kiliman was considering more.

The Emperor generously spoke the truth to his sons, shedding new insights for him, previously, he always felt that the father treated the Primarchs as tools, not as subordinates, but as tools, like a craftsman’s rasp.

”You don’t entirely distrust us, nor do you entirely trust us, you only have a limited degree of trust in us, that’s why you can leave us behind on Terra to repair the Net Dao without revealing its secrets, you can fully trust only Demon Pattern Macado, your close comrade.” Kiliman’s words were pointed and accurate.

”That’s because facts ultimately proved you weren’t reliable, the only truly reliable one was Macado, my friend, my closest comrade, my most trusted servant.” The Emperor’s words were also straight to the point: ”The result proved me right, half of the Primarchs chose betrayal, the other half might be worthy of trust after trials, but by then it was too late.”

Kiliman and Angerong placed their gaze on Fugen trapped inside a machine, as the Great Sage Kaur of the Mechanical God Cult was calibrating the machine, Kiliman felt that Kaur was surely eavesdropping on their conversation.

The atmosphere of this conversation made the two Primarchs feel very relaxed, there was a sense of open transparency, making them feel comfortable, like truly sensing some parental bond.

”Now Fugen has returned, who will it be next? Father.” Kiliman didn’t want to discuss this issue anymore.

”Vulcan is wandering outside the Milky Way Galaxy, he has received my order to return, Clarkson was found by me, now undergoing treatment on Terra.” The Emperor’s face returned to that expressionless state: ”He charged into the Eye of Fear alone, luckily, I found him before he was completely dead.”

”Some idiot who doesn’t like to follow traffic rules has been wandering the Net Dao of Black Ada for ten thousand years without finding the exit, his return must wait until we repair the Net Dao, Don’s whereabouts are currently unknown, I’m not sure where he went, but he should still be alive.”

”What about Ruth?” Kiliman was most concerned about the brothers’ whereabouts, and upon hearing Ruth’s name, Angerong turned his head with some disdain and awkwardness to deal with his half-roasted chicken.

”Ruth is right here…” The Emperor was about to continue when an Imperial Guard came to his side: ”Your Majesty, there is an undead army of tens of thousands heading toward here, at their current pace, they will approach here in two hours.”

”???” The Emperor frowned, turning his gaze to Angerong: ”Wasn’t Laine at the front fighting against the vampire army?”

”Hey, my foolish little brother, it’s clear he’s messed things up, seems like it’s time for his big brother to step in, hahaha.” Angerong laughed without concern, eye brimming with eagerness.

Kiliman thought, looking at Angerong, this guy seemed to be impatient to show off his skills.

”It seems someone doesn’t want us to continue this dialogue and banquet.” The Emperor stood up, almost instinctively, Kiliman and Angerong stood up simultaneously.

”Let’s go, let’s solve the problem, Angerong, didn’t you always wish for a chance to fight alongside me?” The Emperor, sheathed in his flaming golden sword, said calmly.

”Of course, Father.”