A golden phantom of Sanguinius emerged from behind the Emperor, the archangel spreading his wings, looking both proud and slightly shy. "Sulia, Ryan, I'm sorry. I've caused you so much trouble during this time. My apologies."
"No need to apologize. We're brothers, after all," Ryan said to Sanguinius' phantom.
"Yes, we are brothers. So, please, accept my gift," Sanguinius said, turning toward Sulia.
A beam of golden light shot out from the soul of the Primarch of the Blood Angels, directly pouring into Sulia's chest. "Take it, my sister-in-law. Fight with my strength."
The power of Sanguinius was gentle and filled with emotion, his soul's light enveloping Sulia completely.
Gradually, a pair of pure white wings, bathed in golden and crimson light, appeared behind Sulia.
"This is my blessing—angelic wings," Sanguinius said with satisfaction. "It seems this suits you very well."
What?! Is this birdman turning my wife into a birdwoman too? Ryan stood there dumbfounded.
"I bestow my strength upon you," Sanguinius continued, seeing Sulia quickly master his power. "When needed, you can use my wings to fight. As for greater power, you'll have to explore that on your own."
Sulia unfolded her wings, the knightess feeling the angelic power flowing through her. The pure and holy wings added an even more divine and noble aura to her presence.
"Oh, by the way," Sanguinius added with a sudden chuckle, "manifesting the wings physically consumes psychic energy. Since you obviously can't generate psychic energy yourself, feel free to take it from Ryan. After all, Ryan has plenty to spare, so giving you some won't hurt."
Ryan: "???????"
So using your birdman power costs my psychic energy?
Do all you fathers and elder brothers enjoy tricking me like this?
But the Emperor didn't care about Ryan's thoughts. The Master of Mankind turned to Sanguinius and said, "As for Mortarion, we'll leave him alone for now. He's been swept into the warp storm. He won't appear in the material universe for at least 300 years."
"Leave him alone, or don't want to deal with him, Father?" Sanguinius asked with a smile.
"Mortarion is overambitious, opportunistic, incompetent, and always full of complaints," the Emperor replied, not refuting Sanguinius but instead expanding on his statement. "He only ruins carefully cultivated situations. He always measures everything with his double standards. Working with someone like him is exhausting. For now... I haven't thought of a good place to put him."
Sitting nearby, Angron couldn't help but bare his teeth. Angron was also an angel—albeit a Red Angel.
"But Mortarion is still better than this mindless lunatic and butcher," the Emperor said coldly, casting a frosty glance at Angron. "An unruly axe is not even worth as much as the scribes and poets under Malcador's command. I keep you here not out of kindness, but because I don't want you to be manipulated by my nemesis a second time. Do not forget my warnings, or I won't care if history repeats itself for a third time."
"This place has everything I want, Father," Angron replied indifferently, shaking his head. "What happens next is none of my concern."
With a little time left, the Emperor gave Ryan, Lilith, and the others a brief explanation: the Chaos Gods were fully preparing for the arrival of the next Everchosen of Chaos. This would be the final Everchosen, different from Archaon, who still had doubts and retained a sliver of humanity. This new Everchosen would be unprecedentedly powerful and resolute—the ultimate champion of Chaos.
But that wasn't the real issue. No matter how strong the Everchosen might be, it would be nearly impossible for him to contend with four Primarchs simultaneously.
The real problem was that the Chaos Gods of the material universe had already begun secretly sending their elite Chaos legions, Greater Daemons, and Daemon Princes to infiltrate this world, paving the way for the new Everchosen.
Just as the Emperor had laid out his plans, the Chaos Gods were also quietly setting traps for the apocalypse. Many of these moves were so hidden that not even the Emperor could fully grasp what the Four Gods had prepared.
Fulgrim's forces had suffered heavy losses, with many outstanding officers killed in action, and rebuilding would take time.
Russ had ventured to the southern lands in search of ancient Old One ruins, so he was temporarily unavailable to assist Ryan.
Ultimately, Ryan had no choice but to rely on himself.
"Be wary of the undead and the greenskins," the Emperor gave his final warning. "While your focus is on battling Chaos—and other Chaos forces hiding in the shadows—they're continuing their sinister plans."
Meanwhile, Guilliman's grand expedition was proceeding at full speed, and the Emperor had to return to continue working on the Webway. Otherwise, it would remain an endless, unfinished project. This world was the chessboard of the Emperor and the Chaos Gods, not an arena for direct confrontation. After giving these instructions and finally taking Sanguinius' soul with him, the Emperor departed.
After witnessing the departure of the Master of Mankind, Ryan couldn't help but grab his son, little Devonshire, who was peeking curiously. "Ugh, Grandpa's gone again."
"You little rascal, good job!" Ryan couldn't help but pick up his son and give him a kiss on the cheek. "Learning so quickly, huh?"
"Heehee!" The little guy couldn't resist showing off in front of Sulia and Lilith, who had walked over. Waving his tiny fists, he said, "Dad told me a bedtime story once, where the grandson said, 'Grandpa Emperor, you're my number one Batulu! Number one Batulu!' I remembered it all!"
This was from one of little Devonshire's favorite bedtime stories, originating from a drama Ryan had seen in his past life in China. When he had free time, he would tell it to his son.
It had to come from the grandson—otherwise, it would seem insincere and flattering. Only when spoken by a genuine grandson did it feel heartfelt, making the grandfather proud and immensely happy.
"Hahaha! You little rascal." Ryan patted his son on the bottom. Little Devonshire was incredibly intelligent, quick to learn and adapt—very much like Sulia in that regard. He had sharp wits, unlike Ryan himself, who, as the Emperor had criticized, often seemed overly cautious and rule-abiding out of fear of making mistakes.
With the Emperor gone, everyone began preparing to spend the night at the woodland cottage. Little Devonshire went off to play with the panda, while Ryan and the others sat around the long table in the courtyard.
"The undead and the greenskins, huh?" Ryan frowned. He could vaguely sense that he was overlooking something.
What was it?
In any case, Bretonnia had now achieved unification and eradicated all internal and external threats. For the time being, there should be a few years of peace. Ryan thought carefully but couldn't come to a conclusion. He had too many pressing matters to handle. Several grand expeditions had already consumed much of the Primarch's attention. When he focused on the undead, he realized that after his last encounter with Neferata, the only vampire left unaccounted for was Hal Harris, who might be lurking under Manfred's command or Neferata's.
Which raised the question: what were Manfred and Neferata up to lately? And what about the Lich King, Arkhan?
Ryan shared the current intelligence with the group, and everyone took it seriously.
"We could have Aurora's Section Seven send people to investigate," Sulia suggested. The Queen of the Knights, still adjusting to her newly gained powers, added, "Additionally, we could use trade guilds and other channels to try to track the vampires' movements."
"It won't be easy," Ryan shook his head. "If vampires were so easy to find, humanity wouldn't have been shrouded in their shadow for over a thousand years. Manfred is said to have more than twenty legitimate identities within human society. Even the cardinals of the Church of Justice have difficulty seeing through his disguises."
"But you're different, dear," Veronica said, becoming livelier now that the Emperor had left. She loosened the elven hairpin holding her hair, letting it fall into comfortable, flowing waves as she crossed her arms. "If Manfred appears in front of you, there's no way he could fool you."
"He's suffered at my hands twice already. Known for his cunning, Manfred wouldn't show himself to me again unless absolutely necessary," Ryan replied, still frowning.
"And Lilith, what about the elves? Any rumors?" Ryan turned to the Lady of the Lake. "Is there really no way to stop the civil war among the three elven factions?"
"Endless hatred and repeatedly broken relationships," the Lady of the Lake shook her head helplessly. "How could a sea of grudges and hatred be resolved with mere diplomacy or mediation? Back then, both you and Fulgrim tried to dissuade Tyrion. What was the result? While I can control Teclis, as for Imrik and the others… Besides, if Finubar proposed peace with the Dark Elves, the entirety of Ulthuan would erupt on the spot. The princes would immediately launch an impeachment case against Finubar, demanding his public trial."
"Hmm." The Dark Elves were twisted and perverse, the High Elves arrogant and stubborn, and the Wood Elves reclusive and eccentric. Despite their immense power, the three factions could never unite.
Amusingly, both the High Elves and Wood Elves staunchly opposed unification. Unless faced with an overwhelming threat, their so-called "democratic systems" effectively prevented unification from occurring.
"Let's start with the Wood Elves," Ryan finally decided. "At least Athel Loren is right next to us. We don't need to involve ourselves in the death struggle between the High Elves and Dark Elves, but we should ensure the Wood Elves maintain enough strength and don't overextend themselves in their war."
"Send an envoy to the Wood Elves. I want a meeting with King Orion."
"Understood. I'll send someone, but it's already winter. A meeting with Orion will have to wait until spring," Sulia noted, signaling to Sylvia to take note of the instructions.
"Second, increase our search efforts. Contact Karl Franz and launch an investigation into the number of vampires hidden in various regions," Ryan continued with his orders. "Also, demand that Ostermark and Erengrad strengthen their investigations. I'll also try reaching out to Hal Harris to see if there's any new intelligence."
"Veronica!" Ryan called out.
"Yes, dear," Veronica responded quickly.
"Stay with me during this time," Ryan nodded. "I'll need your help."
"Of course, dear. However you need me, I'm at your service!" Veronica teased, throwing a playful wink at Ryan. Sulia glanced at her but said nothing, though Olica couldn't resist licking her lips. The Dark Elf thought to herself, Looks like you'll be the next one to undergo my training.
"And Sylvia, you…" Ryan turned to his head maid, intending to appoint her as an assistant. But just then, he noticed something odd. When one of the household guards handed Sylvia some grilled food, she immediately looked uncomfortable, covering her nose and making a gagging motion.
Wait a minute!
Could it be…?
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