Terra, the Golden Palace.
Nareth's psychic projection crossed the void. He immediately felt a gaze upon him.
The moment he sat, he glanced almost imperceptibly in that direction. He saw Konrad Curze, his body hunched like a vulture.
'He seems to have foreseen something.'
As he thought, he noticed the last seat on his side was empty. Angron was not present. He was the only Primarch missing.
Horus Lupercal, noticing his gaze, spoke.
"Angron refuses to use psychic powers. I think he will be absent from the war council for a long time."
Nareth nodded, thinking to himself.
'His rejection of psychic powers is obvious. More impatient than Mortarion and Russ.'
'He rejects not only psychic powers, but the Imperium as well.'
'Hmm, the Emperor probably doesn't want him at the council, ruining the atmosphere.'
"Sorcery is untrustworthy," Russ said with disgust. "I hope one day we will no longer use such methods."
"But you rely on it now," Jaghatai Khan's voice was soft, yet sharp. "Not only that, you rely on it for communication and travel."
"So, you should acknowledge the usefulness of psychic powers and utilize them."
"I will never rely on it. The Wolves do not use sorcery." Russ crossed his arms, saying coldly. He looked at Magnus mockingly.
"You say psychic powers are useful, yet the Thousand Sons suffered heavy casualties at Kamenka, losing an entire cult."
Magnus's pupils were crimson. He said coldly.
"The Thousand Sons fought a two-year, hard-fought campaign. I used the power of the aether to bring down the giant war machine the Orks called the King of the Wolves."
"That was just an empty Wolf King. Your sorcery is useless against me." Russ taunted.
"Your Rune Priests use psychic powers too." Rogal Dorn's voice was like stone.
"Besides, your Wolves lost over a quarter of their strength at the Wheel of Flame. Their achievements did not match Nareth's."
"But you are right about one thing. Psychic powers are a double-edged sword."
Dorn was blunt. He called out Russ's hypocrisy towards psychic powers, yet opposed their use.
As they spoke, the palace doors opened. The Emperor entered with Malcador and the Fabricator-General of Mars.
After the salutes, the Emperor looked around and spoke gravely.
"Today, Fornax Aleph has erupted in rebellion. It lies at a key Warp route. It must be dealt with immediately."
Nareth recalled what he knew of Fornax Aleph.
'Originally, the Iron Warriors' 3rd and 118th Grand Companies were sent to put down the rebellion. They suffered nearly two-thirds casualties.'
'But Perturabo was sent to the edge of Segmentum Pacificus. He would not be available.'
As he thought, he felt the Emperor's probing gaze on him.
"Nareth, what campaigns has your Legion been fighting?"
'Hmm, he's lost track of me again, can't return the Dionysian Spear?' He was not alarmed. The Emperor had only ordered him to rest at Vostroya, not confined him.
Thinking of his plan to inflate casualties and hide his strength, he spoke.
"My territories were invaded by the Hrud. In a fourteen-year war against billions of xenos, Shadows of Order has lost one hundred six thousand men."
He directly added eighty thousand to the actual twenty-six thousand eight hundred ninety.
This inflated number was not unrealistic.
In fact, he estimated that without the stasis device and the rituals using the "Red Priest's" uniqueness, cleansing the entire Sak'trada Deeps would have cost at least a hundred thousand lives.
After all, the Iron Warriors had lost nearly thirty thousand just to drive the Hrud from the Gugann system.
He was not worried about his casualty figures being discovered. Any inference would require information, and Sak'trada Deeps was far from anyone's view.
The Kingdom of Disorder and the "Red Priest's" uniqueness would interfere with even the Emperor and Magnus's foresight, preventing them from seeing the truth.
Foresight was not omnipotent. No one, not even a god, could foresee everything.
Lion El'Jonson and Jaghatai Khan looked surprised. They had fought alongside Shadows of Order. It was hard to imagine xenos inflicting such heavy losses.
Guilliman's expression was grave. He had no doubt the loyal Nareth was telling the truth. He mourned the heavy losses suffered by Shadows of Order.
Omegon pondered silently. He believed Nareth would not lie to the Emperor at the war council, yet doubted the number. He decided to gather intelligence.
Russ and Mortarion were stunned. Then they realized such heavy casualties would be a blow to the pro-psyker faction.
Images of countless black-armored warriors falling in blood flashed through Horus's mind. A wave of sorrow washed over him.
Simultaneously, the tension in his nerves eased.
He caught his thought, then felt ashamed.
As thoughts churned among them, Nareth continued.
"Fortunately, Perturabo assisted me. He built a stasis device, allowing me to win."
The Emperor and the Primarchs looked at the silent Perturabo. His ice-blue eyes flickered as he extrapolated from experimental results.
"The Hrud's distortion effect increases exponentially with their numbers."
"The temporal current can age Astartes and corrode weapons. Only a stasis field can counter their distortion."
"But the stasis device must be activated at the Hrud's center. It will draw fierce attacks due to conflict with their biological fields."
His words painted a picture of a powerful, distorted enemy.
The Emperor looked around. His gaze settled on the Lion.
"Since your Legion has suffered heavy losses, the pacification of Fornax Aleph will be handled by the Dark Angels."
"My Lord, the Dark Angels' blade will cut down all enemies of the Imperium." The Lion replied.
The Emperor's gaze fell on the empty seat across from him, where Lorgar should have been.
"Lorgar, you returned to the Imperium nearly fifty years ago. The 'Word Bearers' now number over a hundred thousand, among the largest Legions. Yet your achievements remain few."
"You waste time building cities to worship me."
"I have told you repeatedly, I am not a god." His voice was low, cold.
A flicker of shame crossed Lorgar's face. "The people of Kor need faith..."
"No," the Emperor cut off Lorgar's impending oration. "They need only the Imperial Truth."
"You must accelerate your pace. Like Horus, Nareth, and Guilliman, bring more worlds into compliance."
Lorgar watched his father turn his gaze to another brother. He decided to write a book expounding on the necessity of faith, as a guide for the Imperium's people.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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