Malcador drank his tea and calmly watched Hades sit up. Hades' pupils were trembling violently, and he looked at Malcador in disbelief.
"Old Ma, Old Ma... In all these ten thousand years, when... when have you been so humorous?"
Malcador heard the Lord of Mankind in the Warp sneering at him, but the former Imperial Regent only smiled superficially.
"It's been ten thousand years, Revenant. We have all changed a lot."
First it is a reminiscence, then it sets the stage for the difference between the present and the past; Machado did this intentionally.
The first scene Hades saw was him sitting with the Lord of Mankind, which was also intentional by Malcador.
Just for... trust.
After hearing what Malcador said, Hades smiled bitterly.
"A lot has indeed changed in the past ten thousand years - but at least we are still," he glanced at the Lord of Mankind who was sitting on the golden throne, not saying a word. Was it his illusion? Why did the Emperor look even worse
Hades chose his words carefully.
"intact."
"What's the current situation in Terra? I heard there was civil unrest in the Ministry of the Interior?"
"It was the Lord of Change," Malcador said calmly. "It was a failed plan... He thought I had no plans. He was wrong."
The azure pattern on Malcador's arm was slowly fading away. He was not worried that Hades would find out, because his own psychic energy was already mixed with too much of it.
Push these to the Lord of Change, and create the illusion for Hades that he is still on the same side as the Empire.
Then he would use the archived data to rebuild the Ministry of the Interior and take full control of the Empire's political affairs. There would be no more Robert Guilliman, no more Mortarion, no more Inquisitors who noticed something was wrong and tried to find out the truth, and no more Guards who tried to interrupt his extension of power.
The Lord of Mankind can only compromise.
Malcador's battleground was over politics, and now, he had won.
Even Hades would be one step behind him in government affairs.
In addition to Terra, there are also Malcador's spies in countless human worlds.
Now, humans can only compromise.
Malcador was thinking, but suddenly he felt a chill.
Something was watching him.
Following his gaze... Malcador saw Hades staring at him.
Seeing Malcador looking at him, Hades was stunned. He scratched his head embarrassedly.
"Old Ma, Old Ma, I'm sorry, I'm a little hungry - I do feel the psychic energy of Tzeentch, but I have already preliminarily eliminated all the chaotic psychic energy I can feel."
Hades spoke again seriously,
"Do you need my help right now? I can help you right now."
Malcador shook his head.
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs has concluded its operations and is currently under guard by the Imperial Guards."
Hades looked at Malcador, then at the Lord of Mankind. The Emperor was still as unfathomable as ever.
Hades was silent for a moment, the King of Hell remained silent, but the other beings had no idea what he was thinking.
This is the disadvantage of using psychic power and relying on psychic power to read minds.
"That-"
Hades drew out his tone, "What about the empire's political affairs after that?"
"Reconstruction," Makado propped up his head a little tiredly, "I have saved all the information, Revenant. I am now a semi-warp entity. I can use my power to help the Empire rebuild its bureaucratic system."
Hades winked.
"Old Ma, aren't you too tired? I just happened to bring the 13th Legion of Ultramarines here, and the Son of Pluto can also share some of the government affairs."
"You want... the Ultramarines to rule?"
Hades nodded.
In the original timeline, the Empire did not allow Space Marines to interfere in politics, but now, due to Guilliman's thousand-year rule and Buzz's seizure of power, in the current timeline, Space Marines' interference in politics is more like a gray area rather than a complete red line.
"But that depends on the Emperor's opinion."
Hades looked towards the Emperor. The Lord of Mankind had already set his sights on targeting the AI-like creatures. Compared to this, the Space Marines' interference in politics was not a problem at all.
The Emperor looked towards Hades.
"I allow you to do that, Revenant."
"Space Marines interfering in politics?!"
Malcador's voice suddenly rose and he said sarcastically,
"Revenant, will the Ultramarines really build an empire like they built the Five Hundred Worlds? Rather than using public power for personal gain?"
Hades once again showed a blank expression as if he was thinking. Malcador really doubted whether this guy was really thinking or just pretending to be thinking?!
"I believe the Ultramarines are men of integrity and justice, like their Primarch Robouti Guilliman,"
Hades said solemnly, "Besides, they do govern very well, Old Ma, you need to admit—"
"During these ten thousand years, the Ultramarines of the Thirteenth Legion used various pretexts to separate the five hundred worlds from the empire and set up a new center."
Malcador ruthlessly interrupted Hades,
"They may be loyal, but only to the Ultramar."
“I think we need to be careful in this regard.”
"But now we have no better choice,"
Hades frowned and said,
"The entire Ministry of the Interior has been reduced to a sea of fire. Terra is in urgent need of political talent, Old Ma, although I believe in you... I don't want you to work too hard."
… …
Curze's hand holding the boning knife froze, and the Primarch looked thoughtfully at the dying Fallen Angel in front of him.
[What's going on?] Koz said, the jewels on his body almost bursting with light, [Why is the old man so angry today? Who has offended him?]
… …
Malcador took a deep breath.
“The Ultramarines may come,” he said calmly, “but only for low- and medium-clearance documents.”
"Is it okay?" Hades looked at the Lord of Mankind. The Emperor nodded with a smile on his lips.
"Since everyone agrees, then it's settled," Hades said decisively. He paused for a moment, "If Old Ma is worried about the Ultramarines... then we will wake up Guilliman as soon as possible."
Hades looked towards the Emperor, as if seeking the Lord of Mankind's opinion.
"Robert Guilliman has been the regent for a thousand years. If he wakes up, it will be a great help to the politics of the empire, but..."
Hades slowed down his tone.
"Why did Guilliman suddenly leave the Empire? I have heard some rumors, but I still need to verify them."
… … …
Silk was soaked in blood, beads burst, and struggling hands scratched the ground again and again.
[Gurgle…Gurgle…] Koz collapsed to the ground, with golden and silver threads strangling his bones and blood. [Old man… is… you… seeing a ghost?]
… … …
Robert Guilliman.
It was Roboute Guilliman again.
Malcador thought calmly, it has been thousands of years, and until now, this former imperial regent is still blocking his plans.
Malcador's plan would have gone much more smoothly, but a thousand years ago, with his damn sense of responsibility, Guilliman had changed the trajectory of countless established policies -
Malcador, who was still recovering, was forced to devote more energy to dealing with the Primarch, causing him to miss the opportunity to capture the lion.
Even Guilliman did not realize at the time that behind these millions of irrelevant documents, there was an entity from the Warp watching him maliciously.
Of course he respected Robert, respected, hated, envied, and wanted to use him for his own benefit...
But in the end Malcador failed. He only defeated the Primarch, killed him and put him to sleep, but did not recruit Guilliman as his own.
And now…
"Nothing else, number 13 was crushed,"
The Emperor said, as if stating something that had nothing to do with him.
"He was not yet capable of handling the huge affairs of the empire. A thousand years was the limit. I was also unable to offer them my suggestions at the time... But I am still proud of him."
"Then..." Hades said hesitantly, "You mean Guilliman is still unable to get up and work now?"
The Emperor looked at Malcador, silent.
Malcador just sneered.
Hades sighed, "Even you say so, then it's no good - do you really want to tire me and Old Ma to death, Neos?"
Neos remained silent, still looking calm.
Malcador sneered.
"That means I will have to endure some hardship on my old bones again,"
"Be busy," Hades suddenly interrupted, "Old Horse, it's been thousands of years since we can still be energetic enough to be horses and oxen. That's a good thing, a good thing!"
Malcador coughed violently. He seemed very angry, but he swallowed his anger.
So far, his plans had gone smoothly, save for the little incident with the Ultramarines, so why was Malcador angry
Hades trusted him and was willing to do things for him... but why was he angry about being fooled
Makado sipped his tea, suppressing his churning emotions.
Hades still stared at the Lord of Mankind, as if hoping that the Emperor would speak, but the Lord of Mankind was still the same as he was ten thousand years ago, not speaking unless necessary.
"Neos," Hades said, "You are not in good condition? Can you continue the conversation?"
"Yes," said the Emperor, "but it is not necessary, Revenant."
The flesh-and-blood black-haired man on the throne looked toward Hades.
"Even I feel helpless in the current situation."
The Lord of Mankind said peacefully,
"But I believe you can solve these problems, Hades, even if only partially - it will be enough."
"When will you be able to stand up?"
Hades asked,
The emperor just shook his head with sadness in his eyes.
"The Webway remains unhealed, but you will not have to worry about the Lord of Change."
Thus says the Lord of Mankind,
The reason why the webway is still broken is not just because of Tzeentch, but also because of one of the three of them now.
No, maybe two.
Everyone present here has an unshirkable responsibility in this matter.
"I cannot rise, Revenant. The power the Ecclesiarchy has given me is too harsh. I know your plan, but you cannot bear too much, Revenant."
Behind the golden throne, the pipes extending into the endless sky were humming.
"… "
"I have no solution for your current situation."
Hades smiled awkwardly and waved his hand, "It's okay. If I feel like I can't control myself anymore, Neos, just give me the coordinates and I'll kill Tzeentch first."
Hades thought he seemed to hear a shrill curse, but he was not sure, so he listened again.
The Emperor smiled, while Malcador seemed to be lost in thought again.
"It's not a good deal," the Emperor said. "If that day comes, I will introduce at least two Warp beings to you, Pluto."
As for who it is... The Warp projection of the Lord of Mankind burned calmly in the Supreme Heaven. Depending on his mood, he expressed his attitude to Chaos.
Hades clapped his hands and laughed. He spoke briskly,
"That's good news. I'll listen to you and bomb whoever you point at. I'll bomb whoever you point at."
After waking up, Hades had a vague feeling of his current strength, but he had been troubled by not being able to meet Chaos. Now that the Emperor has confirmed it, he can kill both of them by self-destructing.
Perhaps he would be hesitant and submissive when facing the Star God, but when facing Chaos, Hades would strike hard if Chaos invaded, provided that Neos assured him that he did not have to worry about the Lord of Change.
With that in mind... Hades glanced at Malcador again.
Malcador... something is wrong...
Hades was certain that there was something wrong with at least one of the three of them besides him, either Malcador or Neos.
During the conversation, Hades tried to relax several times, but alarm bells were ringing in his mind and he was keenly aware that something was wrong.
… This was unlike their previous conversations, where Neos had remained silent many times when he could have spoken, leaving it to Malcador to explain things instead.
Hades deliberately released the news that Guilliman was "asleep", but neither of them refuted it.
In other words, the psychic-shielding coffin of Lord Macragge... was most likely intended to protect against one of them.
If Guilliman wished to guard against Chaos, he could have sought help from the Lord of Mankind or Malcador while he was still on Terra.
The only possibility was that Guilliman did not trust them at the time.
Hades hopes it's just one of them, not "all".
Guilliman, Malcador, the Emperor, there's something wrong with at least one of these three.
But given the information provided by Vorcus, Mortarion trusts Guilliman, which means that whoever has a different stance from Guilliman is likely to be the one Hades wants to guard against.
Emperor... Malcador is playing such a big game??? Or is he wrong
Hades tried to sense with the Black Domain, but in fact, he couldn't find out who was wrong with the Black Domain. Neos's psychic power was covered by countless beliefs, some good and some bad, and it was difficult to separate them; Malcador's psychic power was noisy and chaotic, like a flashing colorful crystal.
There's even a psychic connection between the two of them... they're not completely separate entities.
After a simple test with words, Hades thought it was Malcador.
Although there is still something wrong with Neos, Hades also needs to remain vigilant.
But this may be related to the fact that Neos has never spoken human language in the past.
The only thing that confused Hades was that he heard the discord between Malcador and the Emperor, so why were the two of them sitting here together and chatting with Hades
Unless they still need to cooperate and are still grasshoppers on the same rope.
The more Hades thought about it, the more confused he became. Malcador now hoped to rebuild the imperial bureaucracy, while Neos told him to just go for it. It sounded like both of them were doing it for the sake of the human empire.
If the Black Domain were to eliminate Malcador now... Hades checked again and found that not all of Malcador's subspace projections were here. He had only sent down part of his psychic power.
Cleaning up Neos is... more difficult.
Hades thought about it and decided that since neither of them would speak to him like a human and were playing Riddler, he would just do what he had to do first.
No matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches the mouse, it is a good cat.
First, catch him and work with him... Then see what Malcador is thinking.
At least if he wants to achieve something... he will definitely reveal some clues.
Hades began to miss Mortarion, who was good at numerology.
… … … …
He would not let me go...
Mortarion sighed as he spoke. In the garden, the heads of the Dark Eldar collapsed at his feet.
[He is so obsessed with the commander of the Death Guard? ]
Mortarion said provocatively, muttering to himself as he walked towards the woods where the Goddess of Life was hiding. White mist had already enveloped the area, and only the low sobbing of Nurgle could be heard.
And the waaagh in the distance.
[Come out,] the Death said. [I am in a hurry. The Death Guard will give you one last chance, Eldar—or I will break all your bones and throw you into the crucible of the Stagfal.]
(End of this chapter)