Chapter 283: The Laughing God's New Guidance
He knew. He knew that Lucan's hand had somehow already reached into Commorragh.
Lemire did not hesitate for a moment. He immediately went to find Vect. He was now extremely vigilant about anything and everything related to Lucan. An Eldar Craftworld had been destroyed by him; the Craftworld Eldar avoided him like the plague; the Exodites kept to their own little worlds; and the Ynnari, who should have been on the same side as the Harlequins, were now helping the very being prophesied to destroy the Eldar.
The Laughing God's plan, which had been in motion for so many years, had been completely derailed by Lucan's arrival. He had originally thought that Commorragh was still untouched by Lucan's influence. Lemire now realized he had been thinking too simply. How could Lucan's influence be everywhere?
If even Commorragh were to fall, whose power could the Harlequins borrow? Were they really supposed to rely on themselves to destroy Lucan? The Harlequins had so few members.
"Lemire. I would prefer it if you announced yourself when you arrive."
Lemire chose to ignore Vect's tone. He didn't even have time to be annoyed by the Supreme Overlord's sarcasm. His discovery in Commorragh had been so shocking that even the Laughing God could no longer sit still. Lemire had come this time bearing a new oracle. The Laughing God had given him new guidance.
Under Eldrad's influence, the development and direction of the Ynnari had begun to deviate from the path the Laughing God had intended for them. They were slowly becoming an unstable element that could no longer be controlled. They no longer listened to the prophecies of the Harlequins, which meant they no longer obeyed the will of the Laughing God himself.
In the Laughing God's eyes, the actions of Eldrad and the others were fundamentally flawed. Chaos was currently being suppressed by humanity. Attempting to use humanity's power to find the Crone Swords was a fool's dream. He understood human nature better than others; humans would never stand by and watch the resurrection of an Eldar god.
The return of the Primarchs, combined with Lucan's assistance, was gradually leading the human Imperium toward true unification. The Eldar's strength, compared to humanity's, was now at an absolute disadvantage. The Laughing God believed that once those greedy humans had truly unified, they would absolutely not give the Eldar any room to survive.
But he did not know Eldrad's true thoughts. Eldrad's plan was even more extreme than his. Finding the Crone Swords through humanity and resurrecting the God of Death would be for the best. But if that failed, and if he could not stop Lucan, then he would fully submit to him, preserving a single lifeline for the Eldar race.
It could be said that Eldrad was the most clear-sighted of all the Eldar now. His willingness to let go of his Eldar pride was almost unbelievable.
The two gods' predictions for the future of the Eldar had diverged onto opposite paths. And Eldrad's current actions had caused the Laughing God to begin shifting his wager away from the Ynnari.
"Vect," Lemire said, "those powerful xenos rampaging through Commorragh... do you not want to know where they truly came from?"
Lemire's words immediately piqued the interest of both Vect and Tevantias.
"Lemire, do you mean to say you know?" Vect sneered. "Your lifespan is not even as long as mine. Even when the Eldar Empire still existed, I never heard of them. If you are about to tell me they are Tyranids, you can leave. They are similar, but they are fundamentally not the same creature."
"Vect is correct," Tevantias chimed in. "In all my long life, I have never seen such a creature. They do not seem to be a product of nature, but rather something created. A natural creature would never evolve into such a species. Are they from outside the galaxy? If a creature like this already existed within the galaxy, they would have long since become a galaxy-sweeping cataclysm. There are no records of such a creature from the time of the Eldar Empire! Lemire, did you discover something in the Black Library?"
Both Vect and Tevantias were extremely confident in their own knowledge. They had both lived since the time the Eldar Empire still stood. If Lemire knew something they did not, the only possibility they could think of was the Black Library, the mythical repository of all the galaxy's knowledge.
"You are both wrong. But Tevantias, you are partially correct. They are indeed not from this galaxy, and they were indeed artificially created. These bio-weapons are the work of human hands."
"Humans?!" Tevantias was incredulous. "Lemire, do you know what you are saying? Human bio-technology can create something like this? Even the humans of the Golden Age could not have made such a thing! You have no idea what incredible things are encoded in the genes of these xenos."
Having studied the Zerg eggs, Tevantias immediately raised his doubts. He had also observed an incredible phenomenon during his battles with the Zerg. Those xenos could directly transform from one form into a completely different one during battle. The Tyranids, in order to adapt to a battlefield, needed to break down existing Tyranids in a digestion pool to create new strains. But the Zerg could directly load suitable genes into an already-hatched individual and perform an instantaneous mutation. He had never heard of such an ability.
If humans could create and control such a thing, wouldn't that make the bio-techniques of the Haemonculi a joke?!
"It is a fact," Lemire insisted. "I have fought these Zerg before. They were protecting a human. I have even seen the power of the human Emperor on the flesh of some of them. You are both aware of the battle humanity just concluded against Chaos on Cadia. Those same Zerg, under human control, fought against Chaos. An event of that scale cannot be hidden by humanity. It would be very easy for you to verify if what I am saying is true."
Lemire's words silenced both Vect and Tevantias. If what he was saying was true, then what was happening in Commorragh was not an accident at all, but a carefully orchestrated human conspiracy.
Tevantias suddenly thought of the Eldar Corsair who had sold him the Zerg eggs. Of course... if these Zerg were so powerful, how could a mere band of pirates have acquired such a prize? Even the elite forces of Commorragh had been broken by the Zerg. Those half-assed pirates succeeded where they failed? Thinking of this, Tevantias now believed Lemire's words.
Vect, seeing the arrogant Tevantias no longer arguing, also knew that Lemire was likely telling the truth. He would verify what Lemire had said about Cadia. But right now, he was more interested in why Lemire had come to him. He could not have come merely to tell him the origin of the Zerg. The Harlequins always came with a strong purpose. And the fact that this riddler was no longer speaking in riddles proved how seriously they were taking this matter.
"Vect, the only way to solve this Zerg infestation is to kill their source," Lemire said. "The man named Lucan Mongorte, who is now a High Lord of humanity."
"You want me to kill a human High Lord? Those High Lords stay on Terra. It's impossible."
"He is different. He will definitely leave Terra. His power base is in the Koronus Expanse. As the master of the Dark Eldar, the Laughing God has high hopes for you. You must unite the power of the Dark Eldar and eliminate this human the Laughing God wants dead. I and my Harlequins will help you unite all the forces of Commorragh. The Laughing God will endorse you. We will publicly support you. I can even grant you the positions held by the Ynnari!"
"The Ynnari? Have you abandoned them?"
"They have betrayed the Eldar," Lemire said, his voice cold. "They have chosen the wrong path."
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