At the Governor's command, grand and sacred music in honor of the Savior began to play. The dancers in the ceremonial procession also began performing a dance unique to this agricultural sector.
All to welcome the Savior's arrival.
At that moment, the people finally saw what the Chaos daemons were dragging.
It was a colossal Chaos mechanical construct. The great Savior's throne was also atop it, being dragged forward by the Chaos daemons together with the rest.
There was no way around it. The ancient artifact Shadowlight was rather special. It had already become deeply embedded in the Warp, making it difficult to transport through normal means.
So they could only use Chaos daemons as laborers to move it.
The Chaos daemons did not object. They also knew this was saving their lives, so every one of them worked with great effort.
"We've finally reached the exit…"
Eden sat upon the throne and looked toward the Chaos rift's exit in the distance, slightly relieved.
Because of the Sol System's chaotic spatial state, moving the ancient artifact out was not easy. They also had to guard against the influence of the Dark King's leaking warp power.
That was why Eden had to personally oversee the operation, and why they required the aid of the Chaos Gods' warp power.
At that moment, grand music in honor of the Savior came from outside, echoing through the entire passage and stirring the spirit.
The exit had already become a sea of joy. People were singing and dancing, with all kinds of banners and honor flags displayed in festive splendor to welcome the arrival of Eden, the Savior.
"Not bad. The local Governor has implemented the work properly. The reception is very timely."
Seeing this, Eden nodded in satisfaction.
"Your Majesty, all communication facilities remain open. Every time you arrive at a reception zone, the image of your arrival is broadcast to every administrative region."
Taco spoke with deep respect.
"At present, the celebrations, the Savior's Coronation Day, and Victory Day are also being held on schedule in every region. Most Imperial subjects have not fallen into fear because of the Black Calamity's arrival."
"You've done well. Keep it up. We must keep the atmosphere of victory alive."
After hearing this, Eden was even more satisfied and patted Taco on the shoulder.
"Your Majesty shines upon all things like the sun, sheltering the galaxy. That is why the subjects of the Imperium can preserve light in the darkness.
"As for the Black Calamity, it too will be completely driven away beneath your radiance!"
Taco's gaze grew even more reverent. He was nearly ready to kneel and kowtow.
"Hope remains. The darkness will be driven away in the end."
Eden had long since grown accustomed to this trusted deputy's flattery, but he did not allow it to make him lose his vigilance.
He did not have absolute confidence that he could suppress the Dark King. One could say that right now, the fate of the Imperium, humanity, and the Warp was hanging by a thread.
It was more dangerous than the Great Heresy ten thousand years ago.
What humanity faced was a situation even more difficult than what the Aeldari had faced during the birth of Slaanesh. They could fall into the endless abyss at any moment.
At least the Aeldari had still managed to preserve a portion of their people, and they still had Craftworlds to live in. If humanity failed, it would have no choice but to wander homeless or pack up and flee the galaxy.
Even if the escape succeeded, only a very small number of people would survive.
Of course, even in the face of such a dangerous situation, with the Black Calamity spreading everywhere, the Imperium had not entered a state of emergency. Instead, it had become even more festive and grand than usual.
Wherever Eden went, the ceremonies and celebrations continued as before. Every milestone would also be broadcast live across the Imperium in full to celebrate one victory after another.
In short, they were winning—and they had to win.
In truth, this was treating a funeral like a celebration in order to preserve people's confidence in the face of the Black Calamity.
Eden understood deeply that for a government that could still keep operating, nothing was more important than maintaining order and confidence.
Only then could strength be gathered to solve problems, rather than allowing everyone to lose faith collectively and fall into a death spiral of continuous collapse.
The Imperium had already suffered this lesson once. Fortunately, it had relied on faith in the Emperor to barely survive that wave, but it had also accumulated even more crises as a result.
Eden's current approach was equivalent to walking on two legs: appropriate faith and personal worship. As long as humanity still had confidence in him, this living Emperor of the Imperium who often appeared before them in a mighty image, the Imperium would not fall into chaos.
More importantly, the Dark King fed on fear of him. The more everyone feared him, the stronger he became.
Once that crossed a certain threshold, Eden might no longer be able to suppress him at all.
Given the Warp's usual nature, Eden had to make the galaxy and the Warp believe that he could solve the problem. Only then could he gain more power to suppress the Dark King.
From this perspective, he had to be high-profile and grand. He had to give everyone the illusion that the problem would soon be solved.
Bzz—
As Eden thought, he abruptly released his psychic power. In an instant, his whole body was enveloped in golden effects, making him look even more like the sun.
He was even flashier than the Emperor had been back then.
Of course, this had also been learned from the Emperor. Before Eden, the Savior, appeared, no one had been flashier than that old man.
It was just that Eden had now surpassed his teacher.
"Savior!"
"Praise your arrival!"
Outside the rift passage, when the people saw that dazzling golden light and the figure in golden armor within it, their emotions became even more fervent.
They could not help bursting into tears, even raising both hands to offer their reverence.
At that moment, the people cast all their worries about the Black Calamity to the back of their minds. As long as they had the protection of the Savior, His Majesty the Emperor of the Imperium, they feared nothing.
Under the Governor's enthusiastic direction, the atmosphere grew even more heated.
The sacred music of the Savior also grew increasingly triumphant.
It was not only this region. The relevant mechanical devices were all aimed at the Savior and the ceremonial welcome, broadcasting the images across the entire agricultural sector.
On one agri-world after another, people cheered amid celebrations, throwing ears of grain that symbolized harvest and victory into the sky as they offered worship to the Savior.
"Subjects of the Imperium, please allow me, with the most trembling voice, to broadcast this historic moment to you. By the Throne, I see the great Savior himself!
"Look! On that horizon once shrouded in black mist, sacred radiance shines upon us like the sun. It is so dazzling, so blazing.
"This is the most powerful judgment of light against darkness. This is another victory!"
In the pict-broadcast, the host of the local Savior's Gospel Network was also heavily dramatizing this transportation victory.
She further declared that the great Savior, the Emperor of the Imperium, was now one step closer to final victory, and that the Black Calamity would be completely suppressed.
As the host spoke, tears were already streaming down her face, and she nearly fainted.
She was so close to that greatness. His Majesty the Savior had even smiled in this direction. What an honorable experience was this?
She forced herself to continue.
"Tears have blurred my vision, but they cannot obscure that sacred radiance. I have never seen all of this so clearly.
"That is hope. That is the greatness and sanctity we have long awaited.
"From this moment on, we need not worry. We may sleep in peace and happiness.
"Because the great Savior, His Majesty the Emperor of the Imperium, will be with us!"
These celebratory images spread out from this agricultural sector, reaching one sector and Segmentum after another, allowing Imperial subjects in more regions to share in this joy.
Even the sectors struck by the Black Calamity were no exception.
Disaster relief engineering teams arrived quickly, bringing blackstone fortresses capable of suppressing the dark rifts, as well as large quantities of supplies. They swiftly began post-disaster reconstruction and relief work.
Everything proceeded in good order.
The disaster victims moved into warm shelters, drinking hot beverages and eating fresh food.
As they watched the transmitted images of the Savior, tears streamed down their faces. They gave thanks for His Majesty the Savior's protection and believed the disaster would eventually end.
Within the agricultural sector, the celebration continued, while the engineering ships that had long been waiting entered the rift passage one after another.
Those engineering teams needed to prepare the next leg of the route by installing new mechanical facilities and force fields to maintain the ancient artifact's stability.
The Archmagi monitored the relevant data throughout the process, adjusting the machines' operations at any time.
All to prevent unforeseen incidents.
Meanwhile, Eden took advantage of this time to step down from the throne and board a parade float, where he offered greetings and encouragement to the local Governor, administrative officials, and Imperial subjects.
He accepted the regional specialties offered by the locals and gave them words of encouragement.
Woo—
Several Plaguebearers received orders and blew their filthy horns.
That was the signal to stop dragging.
It meant the Chaos daemons had successfully transported the ancient artifact to the new target point. They cheered amid the sacred music of the Savior.
They even received blessings sent down by the Chaos Gods and the Lord of Hell.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—
Local open-topped transport ships brought in one load after another of grox and long-haired mountain goats, numbering in the hundreds of millions.
Armed workers, excited but somewhat fearful, used large-scale equipment to deliver these livestock to the Chaos daemons.
This was a reward for the Chaos "labor haulers."
There was no way around it. Chaos daemons could not remain in the galaxy for long, especially while doing heavy physical labor. Without fresh blood and souls to replenish them, it would be very difficult for them to continue.
But human blood and human flesh were out of the question. Giving them some livestock to supplement themselves a little was acceptable.
It was better than nothing.
"Savior above, these daemons won't eat me, will they?"
A certain young worker swallowed hard as he drove a gigantic heavy forklift, delivering cages packed with living livestock to the daemons.
He could feel the hungry, bloodthirsty gazes of the Chaos daemons, as if they could devour him in the next instant.
Even though this heavy forklift possessed shielding fields designed specifically for special operations involving Chaos, they could not ease the tension in his heart.
The young worker knew that these mountain-sized, savage daemonic beings could tear apart this multimillion-ton heavy hovercraft in an instant.
Yet to his surprise, those savage daemons were all very polite and orderly. They even came over on their own and carefully lifted the cages away.
It was as if they were afraid of damaging his equipment.
"These daemons are actually pretty polite. They're so loyal to His Majesty the Savior. Praise the great Savior!"
That was what the young worker thought.
Once he realized his life was not in danger, he worked even more skillfully. His mood grew increasingly excited, and he even began humming a folk song from his homeworld.
It was not only him. The other workers were also working with great effort and high spirits, wishing they could use every ounce of strength they had.
This was not only because of the victory celebration and seeing His Majesty the Savior.
More importantly, according to the latest decree from the Royal Court's Ministry of Finance, the great Savior, His Majesty the Emperor of the Imperium, had ordered a comprehensive increase in the Imperium's basic wages, affecting many levels of citizens.
Put simply, everyone was getting a raise, and there were more consumer subsidies too.
These workers' incomes and benefits had risen even further. Their lives had improved. Of course they were delighted, and of course they had more strength for work.
Eden did not only want to turn a funeral into a celebration. He wanted to make it a grand celebration, and give the people real, tangible benefits. Only then could strength be gathered more effectively.
This was also why the Imperium could still maintain optimism and vitality even after the Black Calamity descended. The legendary Dark King was terrifying, yes, but the people's lives right in front of them had indeed improved.
Of course, this was also due to the rapid economic development.
Under Eden's governance over the years, the Imperium's foundation had become very thick. It could withstand this large-scale welfare increase and massive spending.
In short, danger was danger, but life still had to continue. The stability of the Imperium had to be preserved as much as possible.
In truth, even if the Imperium had not had this foundation, Eden would still have been prepared to spend massively. After all, if they failed to get past this hurdle, there would be no future to live through anyway.
It would be better to let the subjects of the Imperium enjoy this last bit of happiness and joy, and walk to the end with dignity and smiles.
Eden had actually thought about this before.
Perhaps when the Aeldari faced an irresistible disaster back then, they had held the same mentality. But they had been far more extreme, choosing to abandon themselves completely.
Humanity, under his rule, would unite and struggle, doing everything in its power to survive the crisis.
On the Chaos side, the Chaos daemons, including the Greater Daemons, all restrained their power as much as possible and obediently helped move the livestock, afraid of bumping into or injuring any humans.
They had dragged the ancient artifact for so long that it had been practically like pulling a continent. They were very hungry and thirsty, and they coveted the flesh and souls of humans.
But right now, the Chaos Gods and the Lord of Hell were both watching them. Who would dare damage the unity and friendship between Chaos and humanity at a time like this?
Moreover, maintaining the alliance with humanity was also for the sake of reversing their coming tragic fate.
Amid the joyful, shrill music of the Nurgle daemons, the Chaos daemons happily enjoyed the rare low-quality flesh and souls.
Under the pressure of the Dark King, this counted as a kind of comfort.
They even organized a flesh celebration. Of course, the materials were livestock. They transmitted this scene of victory and joy back into the Warp.
The Chaos Gods and the Lord of Hell also hoped to let the Warp see the advance of victory. Not only did the galaxy need to celebrate; the Warp needed to as well.
This could ease the fear within the Warp and prevent the Dark King from growing stronger too quickly.
Soon, this brief celebration ended. Eden returned to the throne, and after the daemons had devoured the livestock and slightly suppressed their hunger, they continued dragging the ancient artifact toward the next region.
As one celebration after another was held, the ancient artifact finally reached its destination—
The entrance to the Webway region leading to Terra.
Everyone felt the terrifying pressure of the Dark King.
The Chaos daemons looked at the entrance with terror on their faces. Guilliman and the other Primarchs were even more anxious and uneasy.
Now, Holy Terra had been completely covered by the Dark King's warp power. All personnel who had not been devoured had been evacuated, and every monitoring machine and facility had been destroyed.
No one knew what it had become.
Eden felt the dark warp power raging inside the Webway entrance. It was so powerful.
He took a deep breath, his gaze turning sharp.
It was time to press the old Emperor's ass back onto the Golden Throne!
(End of Chapter)
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