Flames...
Dry sand slapped against the side of his face, and in the distance the towering red pyramid collapsed with a loud bang. He was about to move forward with his knife, but the winter wind suddenly grabbed his cloak and the wolf's whimpering echoed softly.
The Emperor opened his eyes, and he watched calmly as Malcador entered the room.
"My Lord, we will be there soon, and the legions are ready."
The emperor lowered his eyes, and the golden flames burned fiercely.
"Tell Hades that if he can get the Red Sinner to give a speech ordering the Thousand Sons to surrender, then the Empire will treat the remaining people on Prospero well."
Malcador looked at the Emperor in silence.
"My Lord, what if Hades is unsure?"
"Then I will use my psychic powers to forge Magnus' orders."
———
[Only a fool would go into battle for the satisfaction of defeating someone.]
[War is never the goal. The goal of war is the people behind it, as well as the civilization and wisdom they carry—]
"So this is why you abandoned the Space Wolves on the battlefield and took the Thousand Sons alone to protect the Xenos Library?"
Magnus made a loud noise of annoyance. The Red Sinner was sitting cross-legged. He slapped his knee angrily.
[The Wolf King—Leman Russ is just a dog! He doesn't understand how valuable an entire intact library is. He only knows how to lead his pups to bite each other! ]
"But I heard that the Space Wolves suffered heavy losses in that joint operation due to the sudden retreat of the Thousand Sons?"
Magnus gritted his teeth and said nothing. After a long time, he struggled to say that this was Rus's own tactical mistake.
"And what about that collaboration with Conrad Kurtz?"
But the other side kept chasing.
Hades blinked and asked naturally,
"I heard that you and he almost had a fight because Curze was determined to burn down a library and you objected?"
[You would rather believe a mad man who believes in prophecies and a dog than me? ! ]
Hades coughed, and then he watched Magnus wilted immediately.
"I wasn't the one who brought it up first this time."
[…Yes, yes.]
Magnus was distraught again. The reality that he might suddenly become a prisoner made him sentimental.
However, Magnus himself knew exactly what he had done. The Red Sinner also hoped to find a corner to escape the cruel reality, just like he did in the original book.
Magnus felt extremely guilty for knowing that he had blown up the Webway. He personally severed contact with the Thousand Sons, locked himself in the library, and left the Thousand Sons to face the judgment from the Wild Wolves alone.
Hades's evaluation is that the Emperor's bloodline is extremely powerful, and betraying his son is a family tradition.
Of course, it’s also a rip-off.
[… Hades, will they use the extermination order against Prospero? ]
Magnus suddenly asked,
Hades raised his eyebrows.
"And what do you want them to do with Prospero?"
He looked at Magnus and hesitated for a long time, but in the end he couldn't say anything.
After all, Magnus himself knows the situation on the Thousand Sons Mother Planet best.
In the restaurant, people use psychic power to order food, psychic medical care is free for everyone, and basically everyone in the restaurant is a psychic. Summoning arrays are spread across every corner for easy summoning, and in front of the Fire Phoenix School's pyramid, there is a war machine that can only be controlled by psychic power.
Everything looks good—if you ignore psionics.
Hades was curious about what the Emperor showed Magnus
Hades guessed that it might be Tzeentch or the truth about Chaos, otherwise Magnus would not be so distraught. He was fully aware that he was wrong, and even refutation would make Magnus feel ashamed.
"Think positively,"
Hades said that he realized that Magnus was about to fall into the ocean of self-blame again, and he was afraid that this guy would drown himself.
"At least a part of your descendants will remain. They will inherit your good spirit and continue to contribute to the empire and mankind."
"And as long as you stay well and don't cause trouble, if the Imperium is able to get rid of the warp garbage one day, when the Emperor has some free time, I think he will beat you up and then release you, instead of keeping you locked up all the time."
Magnus seemed to think about what Hades said, then he shook his head in a pale and fearful manner.
[I would rather the Emperor never think of me.]
Magnus said sullenly,
I don’t want to face him again.
"What did he do to you—"
Magnus suddenly cried out,
[No, don't mention it! ]
"Okay, okay! Change it!"
Hades hurriedly interrupted Magnus's yelling,
"So what do you know?"
[I know everything.]
Magnus buried his face in his hands. He could not see anything now. His broad palms rubbed his face roughly. Magnus said sullenly,
[Everything—all the unacceptable reality, the absurd past, the distorted future, those blasphemous and evil things, no... no no...]
"And you got tangled up in one of them."
[Don't talk about it!]
Magnus screamed in horror again.
[The subspace can sense language and thoughts! You will be watched as long as you mention it! ]
It's a pity that he didn't meet Magnus earlier and know about this matter, otherwise Hades would definitely not have given the entire Death Guard a big spoiler buff at that time, making Mortarion nervous every day now.
“But I am soulless.”
Hades said calmly,
"Otherwise, guess why he asked me to look after you."
Magnus was stunned, and then he recalled Hades' identity again. Unfortunately, every time he communicated with Hades, he would forget the fact that this guy was a damn soulless person.
Magnus took a deep breath and said tiredly,
[Will you keep watching over me? If it's you... at least you can block the connection between the Vast Ocean and me.]
Magnus sighed. He was rudely stuffed with endless knowledge by the Emperor. He knew that it was not... it was not something he should touch. When he thought of the fact that there was still a mark of it branded on his soul -
Magnus trembled imperceptibly, and he suddenly felt that having the soulless man's shield was a good thing.
Hades briefly recalled what Malcador had said to him about PUA.
"It's likely that I will only be watching over you for this trip, and then someone else will take over. I guess it will be Malcador."
Magnus wailed loudly, and he didn't seem to like Malcador either. Hades said comfortingly,
"It's alright. I hate Malcador too. He has no respect for the elderly or the young—"
“Bang!”
There was a huge scepter bridge knocking on the ground, and Hades turned his head slowly.
"Hey, Old Ma, all right, all right."
Hades sneered, and Magnus swore that he had never seen anyone change his expression so quickly. Although he couldn't see it, the attitude in Hades' tone changed instantly.
Makado stood there expressionlessly.
"Hello, Hades."
The old man gnashed his teeth and said, the scepter in his hand trembled slightly.
"You should be thankful that you have a mission now."
"Ahahaha, hahahaha, look, isn't this a coincidence—"
Magnus had never heard the gloomy Malcador speak like this, and no one had ever dared to speak to the Imperial Regent like this. Magnus once again marked in his mind that Hades was not an ordinary person.
After a few friction sounds, everything fell silent. Magnus sat in the darkness calmly and uncomfortably, and the Red Sinner was also worried about why Malcador came here suddenly.
Is it to punish him
Magnus thought, but then he smiled bitterly in his heart, as if he was laughing at his own naivety.
On the other side, Malcador used sign language to communicate with Hades twice, then the old man coughed and left again.
Magnus naturally didn't see that Hades' expression became serious.
Hardy paused, his voice serious.
"Malcador has given me a mission, Magnus."
[Tell me, what else could it be? I can imagine all kinds of torture.]
Magnus said lightly, but his tense muscles betrayed him.
Hades was silent for a while, and absolute silence - the kind of silence that Magnus once longed for pressed down on him. Magnus suddenly felt suffocated and panicked, and he was enveloped by the absolute silence and darkness.
He even wanted to shout to see if his watcher was still there.
"Let's not talk about what Malcador gave me."
Hades said, holding his sickle, always on the alert,
"I've always been curious about one thing, Magnus. Why did you... why did you give your other eye to the Emperor?"
Magnus shuddered.
(End of this chapter)