Chapter 453: Wheat Has Ripened Ten Thousand Times, Humanity's First Freedom!
"There's actually such a thing?"
Guilliman was quite surprised. From the information Paul revealed, he learned that the C'tan shard sealed beneath Mars seemed to be the Void Dragon.
Among the C'tan, the Void Dragon represented technology and machinery. It could manipulate machines and distort physical laws, and was therefore also called the God of Technology.
Within the C'tan race, the Void Dragon could be considered the one in charge of technology.
And after the Emperor defeated the Void Dragon and sealed it beneath Mars, he had, in a sense, promoted the birth of the Cult Mechanicus on Mars.
Because the Void Dragon constantly radiated a kind of mechanical divinity, it subtly influenced the humans on Mars. This was why those "oilheads" were so fanatically devoted to worshiping the Machine God.
In addition, the Void Dragon had always been one of the Emperor's trump cards in resisting the entities of the Warp, because the C'tan were purely material beings, unaffected by the Warp.
"As for the matter of the C'tan shard, we'll be negotiating directly with the Emperor soon. Whatever the outcome, I'll inform you immediately."
Paul looked at Guilliman with a firm tone. The shard was something they absolutely had to obtain. Whether through trade or coercion, only in the hands of the Universal Megacorp could it reach its fullest potential.
"Very well, then I'll return and wait."
Guilliman nodded. Although he didn't know exactly how the shard was useful to the Megacorp, he hoped to use it as a way to secure deeper strategic cooperation with them.
Even if it meant fully adopting their system, he would not hesitate.
"This matter must be kept strictly confidential. No one else can know. The Void Dragon beneath Mars is extremely dangerous. Only a specialized scientific expedition team can safely go in to explore."
"If you act rashly, it will only worsen the situation."
Paul deliberately reminded Guilliman. Even the Emperor had only barely managed to seal the Void Dragon with his immense psychic power. Now that Magnus was imprisoned, there wasn't a second powerful psyker on Terra.
If Guilliman were to act on his own and accidentally release the Void Dragon, the consequences would be catastrophic.
To prevent such an unnecessary blunder, Paul gave Guilliman this reminder.
"Don't worry, I know what to do." Guilliman was no reckless fool. With things he wasn't familiar with, he would never touch them lightly.
Since the Emperor hadn't told the Primarchs anything about the C'tan, there had to be a reason.
As long as the Megacorp received the Emperor's permission, Guilliman wouldn't obstruct them from sending an expedition team to Mars to subdue the Void Dragon.
Very soon, after bidding Guilliman farewell, Paul immediately reported the situation to the Universal Megacorp headquarters and requested personnel be sent to negotiate with the Emperor.
At the same time, Xu Shiming had already received the message from HQ and knew that he was next to discuss the transaction with the Emperor.
The Emperor, at this moment, was still following Lucy, learning about the Megacorp's political system, the operations of its departments, and, in passing, reviewing its development history.
The Emperor possessed an eidetic memory—anything he saw once would remain with him perfectly. Yet, when reflecting, he still often paused for a long while.
This was mainly because the social environment of the Megacorp and the Imperium of Man were worlds apart.
For example, thanks to extreme material abundance, many people of the Megacorp no longer considered traditional marriage or partnership as a necessity, but instead pursued absolute individual independence.
AI-customized girlfriends or wives, or marrying the wife of a neighbor, then divorcing and marrying another neighbor's wife—in such matters, no one condemned the man morally.
So long as one could ensure personal safety and not cause trouble for others, these shocking acts of promiscuity were considered perfectly reasonable and legal.
The traditional family model was no longer the only choice.
Bold adventurers voyaged through the multiverse aboard Megacorp starships; cowards wasted away in the Matrix; fickle libertines drifted between dreamworlds, AIs, and lovers without ever finding a home.
Withdrawn, reclusive gamers lay on the snowy white thighs of their two-dimensional AI wives, immersed all day in the online game Oasis.
What to the Emperor seemed utterly decadent and self-destructive was commonplace in the Megacorp, something he could not comprehend.
"Every person has the right to choose their own life. Yet slave society, feudal society, semi-colonial semi-feudal society, capitalist society—none ever gave humanity such a choice until today."
"Wheat has ripened ten thousand times, and yet this is humanity's first freedom."
Lucy's explanation was simple yet profound. Although the Megacorp outwardly appeared to be capitalism fused with extreme centralization, Li Ang 's actions embodied the phrase "the world belongs to all."
Within this seemingly contradictory yet profoundly harmonious system, a movement called Conglomeratism had taken root across human civilization.
And the core theory of Conglomeratism revolved entirely around one concept: "Equivalent Exchange."
With Lucy's help, the Emperor was beginning to understand the Megacorp's system and its historical development.
Learning all that Li Ang had done, the Emperor was eager to meet this leader who could be called a great man.
Just as he was about to ask Lucy for an early audience with Li Ang , Xu Shiming arrived with his assignment and explained the terms of the deal.
"You're interested in the Void Dragon shard? I didn't expect even that to be known to you." The Emperor was truly surprised.
Only he and Malcador knew about sealing the Void Dragon beneath Mars. By all rights, this secret should have been impossible to leak.
Yet the Megacorp knew. Astonishing—but then again, there were many astonishing things about them. They even knew the details of Magnus's corruption.
"Yes." Xu Shiming answered frankly. "Horus has already handed the regency to Primarch Guilliman, but Guilliman hopes to optimize the Imperium's governing processes, so he sought our help.
And the C'tan shard on Mars is the content of our transaction. Whether this deal succeeds, however, depends entirely on your attitude."
Xu Shiming's candidness made the Emperor raise his brows. It wasn't that he minded the Megacorp seeking the shard, but he hadn't expected Horus to simply dump his duties on Guilliman.
Running off to act like a hands-off regent.
The Emperor had thought Horus would hold on until his own return, and then pass the thorny authority back to Malcador. It seemed he had overestimated Horus's resolve.
Horus had only wanted to enjoy a moment of glory. Once he actually sat upon the throne of thorns, the pain made him leap away—utterly devoid of responsibility.
"Forget it…"
The Emperor sighed and shook his head. He had already considered that Horus might not withstand the weight of Imperial governance. To ease that burden, he had even planned to send Malcador back today to assist Horus.
But Horus, useless as he was, had already shoved the Imperium off onto his brother Guilliman. Was Imperial authority really so easily discarded?
'Guilliman… this boy at least has the heart. To think of turning to the Megacorp to solve problems.' The Emperor pictured Guilliman. This young Primarch's political insight was indeed remarkable.
Giving him the position of Regent of the Imperium might actually yield extraordinary results.
"If you are willing to hand us the Void Dragon shard, the Megacorp can help optimize and even take on part of the Imperium's governance, easing Terra's burden.
Or we can completely upgrade Terra's administrative processing system. At the fastest, it would take three to five years; at the slowest, twenty. I guarantee the Imperium's bureaucracy will become as simple and efficient as ours."
Xu Shiming promised the Emperor.
"I can agree to this deal. But I must warn you—even a shard of the Void Dragon still possesses unimaginable power.
Do you have the technological means to restrain it?"
The Emperor no longer cared much about the shard. Over all these years, the Void Dragon beneath Mars had already lost most of its former value.
Trading it for political clarity in the Imperium, along with a deeper partnership with the Megacorp, was certainly worth it.
Still, the Emperor worried the Void Dragon shard might seize the chance to break free. After all, even he had spent considerable effort subduing it, and the Megacorp didn't necessarily have psykers of his caliber.
"If you mishandle this and the Void Dragon escapes its prison—if it manages to merge with other C'tan shards—then even with all my strength, I may not be able to bring it down."
The Emperor knew the origin of the C'tan, and he knew how terrifying the Void Dragon had been at its peak. The Necrons' ultimate weapons had long been lost. If this ancient god ever ran loose again, no one might be able to deal with it.
"Don't worry. We'll take it to another universe. It won't be able to stir up any waves there." Xu Shiming answered calmly with a smile.
In the Warhammer universe, the Void Dragon might still have a chance to develop—but within the Megacorp's designated containment zones, even a peak-era Void Dragon would have no hope of escape.
Thanks to the spacetime technology supplied by the Golden Age Iron Men fleets, the Megacorp's research division had merged warp-suppression fields with temporal engineering, creating a system capable of star-system–wide spacetime rollback.
Inside this specialized field, the Megacorp could restrict the speed of light itself, or reshape the flow of time at will—accelerating it, or even rewinding it.
The device was ruinously expensive, devouring resources and energy every second it was active. But for the Megacorp today, the cost was bearable.
With this technology, the Void Dragon could never slip free of their grasp.
"Very well. When do we leave?" the Emperor asked.
"Best to go now. As for visiting Ideal City, we have plenty of time to handle that later. But the Void Dragon shard must be moved to another universe as soon as possible."
Xu Shiming didn't bother with formalities, urging the Emperor to come along immediately, to Mars in the Warhammer universe, to extract the shard.
"Hm. It's just as well—I haven't been back for some time. I'll take a look at what my Primarchs have been getting up to behind my back… heh."
The Emperor's smile didn't reach his eyes. Beside him, Malcador could see it plain as day: some of the Primarchs were about to suffer.
…
At that moment, the Vengeful Spirit, docked at Mars Port, had already departed. Horus was leading his Luna Wolves back toward Cthonia at full speed.
All of them felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted. Terra was no place for anyone to live; their own den was far more comfortable.
To celebrate escaping from their ordeal, the Luna Wolves held a grand feast of their own accord, squandering fleet stores in riotous eating and drinking, as if they could wash away the gloom of the past days.
But their joy did not last long. In the midst of their drunken revelry, Abaddon arrived before Horus, bearing orders from Terra.
"My lord, we've received a command from the Imperial Regent. He orders us to return immediately and dock at Mars Port!"
Abaddon looked tense, as if something dreadful had happened.
"Ignore him. Tell them we've already returned to Cthonia. The ships are under repair and won't be ready for some time."
Horus assumed Guilliman had second thoughts, trying to drag him back into the role of Regent. But there was no way he was ever going back to that prison.
"No, my lord—it's the Emperor. He has returned. This order came from the Regent, but issued in the Emperor's name. We must return at once!"
At those words, silence crashed down over the great hall. The warriors who had been drinking turned to Horus, their faces filled with doubt and unease.
Horus himself shot to his feet from the throne, his mind buzzing. He had thought the Emperor would need at least a year or two before returning.
How could it be that the moment he left, the old man arrived? The timing was far too exact, as if the Emperor had done it deliberately to rattle him!
Abaddon repeated the content of the order. The Emperor had not insulted him, nor used harsh words. But everyone knew—
When orders contained curses, the matter was usually not so grave. The most serious cases were always worded briefly and clearly.
This order, written in such calm and restrained language, could only mean the punishment ahead would be heavy indeed.
Horus quickly read the order himself, confirming that it matched exactly what Abaddon had said. His expression darkened instantly.
It's over…
All at once, his body felt weak and hollow. But he dared not let even a flicker of panic show—if his Astartes saw him afraid, their respect for him would crumble.
After a long pause, Abaddon carefully asked, "My lord, do we set course for Terra now? At full speed, we can arrive in two days."
Abaddon himself had no desire to return. But with the language of this order, if they disobeyed—if they openly defied the Emperor—his wrath would be certain.
And then, Cthonia itself might share the fate of Prospero.
"Turn us around. Set course for Terra. I'll beg Father's forgiveness in person."
Horus knew well that now was the time to mend the pen before it was too late. If he pretended not to have seen the order, delaying on purpose, the punishment would be a thousand times worse.
"Yes, my lord!"
At his words, the Luna Wolves rushed back to their stations. The Vengeful Spirit swung about, retracing its path toward Terra.
With the new warp routes complete, Imperial transport was much smoother now. The return trip took only two days before the Vengeful Spirit reappeared within the Sol System.
Soon after, Horus received a comms request from Terra. When the holoscreen connected, the image of Malcador appeared.
[Regent Horus. I see you're well. It seems Terra's affairs were too stifling, so you took the Luna Wolves for a little outing.]
At the sight of Malcador's projection, Horus nearly burst with rage. If not for this old man deliberately baiting him, he would never have fallen into this trap.
"Malcador, weren't you supposed to be off with Father visiting Ideal City? Why have you returned so soon? Was it not to your liking over there?"
Horus forced himself to contain his fury. Berating Malcador would do no good. Better to probe him for information—perhaps there was still some way to salvage the situation.
[The Emperor never stopped watching Terra. This sudden return was for other duties. But your decision to hand over Imperial governance to Guilliman—that has displeased Him greatly.]
Though Malcador's voice was utterly neutral, everyone could hear the note of schadenfreude beneath it.
And no wonder. His feud with Horus was old and bitter, rooted not only in personal dislike but in the deeper conflict between two power blocs: the mortal bureaucrats, led by Malcador, and the Primarchs, led by Horus.
Malcador was Master of the High Lords. Horus was the foremost of the Primarchs. They embodied two camps whose interests clashed at the core.
Now, Malcador had engineered a humiliation for Horus, laying bare the rift between Primarchs and mortals for all to see.
But Malcador didn't care anymore. He was close to retirement. While he still had the chance, he would savor vexing Horus to the utmost.
Seeing that Malcador seemed intent on needling him, Horus gave a cold snort. He didn't curse him outright, but forced himself to keep asking, patiently:
"Tell me the truth, Malcador. What does Father intend to do with me?"
Horus didn't fear punishment for himself. But he knew well the principle of "punish the small, spare the great." If the Emperor flew into one of His rages and decided to treat the Luna Wolves as He had the Thousand Sons—
Then Horus would rather defy the whole Imperium than submit to that judgment.
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