"Actually, I think..." Zeke stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping around the magnificent hall.
"The position of Emperor requires sufficient experience and the ability to withstand pressure. An ordinary person really might not be up to the task. What do you say, Guilliman?"
Guilliman looked at Zeke's murderous eyes and nodded. With that painting in Zeke's hands, could he possibly refuse?
If the Emperor tried to make this request again, he would immediately pack his bags and leave. Then, He could just wait and cry about it.
Zeke didn't dwell on the topic. He picked up the obsidian and, not far from the Golden Throne, built a Webway Nether Portal on the spot.
He was leaving an emergency exit for himself so he could come directly to the Emperor if he had business in the future.
The Imperial bureaucracy was too bloated; processing things required waiting for procedures. It was much better to talk directly to the Emperor and skip all those complicated red-tape measures.
"What is this?" The Emperor looked at the door-frame-shaped object, about the height of a person, that Zeke had constructed.
Guilliman took a step forward and explained on his behalf, a tremor in his voice that even he hadn't noticed:
"This is a device equivalent to a 'portable Webway.' Zeke calls it a Nether Portal. My ability to escape the perils of the Maelstrom and reach Terra so quickly was largely due to the strategic mobility of this object."
What? Webway? Portable?
Either of those two words alone was enough to stir up huge waves in the Emperor's ancient, weary heart. Combined at this moment, they carried the weight of a thousand tons.
It left the Master of Mankind completely stumped.
"I recall that the establishment of the Webway requires the consumption of massive amounts of resources, does it not?"
The Emperor observed the Webway Nether Portal, noticing that Zeke had merely stacked a few blocks, pulled out a flint and steel, clicked it once, and it was done.
It was that simple?!
"Actually, it's very cheap," Zeke spoke up. "I've been using the Webway shard I got from Trazyn last time up until now. It still has about 20% durability left."
The Emperor's expression remained unruffled, but a storm was raging in his heart.
To free humanity from its dependence on the dangerous Warp, He had mobilized the entire power of the Imperium of Man and consumed the wisdom of countless Tech-Priests just to barely construct a Webway Project—which ultimately failed.
"Then it must have some kind of limitation?" The Emperor was somewhat uncertain, his body trembling.
Zeke and Guilliman looked at each other and shook their heads.
Guilliman reviewed the scenes where Zeke had used the Nether Portal; he really hadn't discovered any limitations.
"Don't tell me it can be mass-produced?" The Emperor was like a drowning man trying to grasp the final straw, wanting to prove that his sacrifices hadn't been entirely in vain.
"Of course it can." Zeke counted on his fingers.
"I built at least five or six on Cadia, two or three on mining planets, plus Macragge, and one on the ship heading to Baal..."
With every finger Zeke bent, the Emperor became increasingly silent.
He looked at the Nether Portal, then looked at the Webway beneath his own throne.
If yours is a Webway, then what does that count as, the thing under my throne?
Zeke scratched his head looking at the silent Emperor and comforted him. "Actually, the Golden Throne under you is also a very useful Webway."
For the Emperor to build the Webway, standing in His position, was indeed the only thing He could do for humanity that he was powerless to complete.
If that Webway had been completed, many of the predicaments humanity faced back then could have been easily solved.
Even the Emperor couldn't step outside the framework of the world to think of something as useful as the Nether Portal Webway.
"It's just a pity that when it was halfway done, your unfilial son Magnus blew it up, causing Chaos Daemons to sneak attack Terra directly through the Throne below. Countless humans were sacrificed, and most importantly, you trapped yourself on the Golden Throne, directly cutting off humanity's hope."
Guilliman watched as Zeke frantically rubbed salt into the Emperor's wounds.
The Emperor laughed with a sense of release.
Good thing. This is a good thing. The Emperor took a deep breath internally. I must find a way to scam—ah, no, borrow this technology.
The Emperor began to utilize His super-genius intellect. What He didn't expect was that Zeke's answer would be surprisingly honest.
Magma plus water makes obsidian, then ignite it with a thing called flint and steel. It was that simple.
Zeke didn't hide the method for the portable Webway at all.
He dared to openly display the construction process of the Nether Portal.
Because even if you had obsidian and flint and steel, unless Zeke personally used them, no one could ignite the Nether Portal.
The Nether Portal effectively came with a monopoly patent.
"So that is how it is..." The Emperor understood. This was also a power inherent to this otherworlder, not a technological creation.
After a brief moment of disappointment, the Emperor rejoiced that Zeke's current behavior clearly leaned toward the human faction.
Although his actions were hard to predict and his motives a mystery, everything he had done so far was, by and large, helping the Imperium.
If Zeke chose to join Chaos, this Portal technology alone would be enough for Humanity to suffer greatly.
"If..." Zeke spoke, interrupting the Emperor's thoughts, revealing a standard profiteer's smile. "If I were to charge a fee for this Nether Portal Webway technology, how much would you be willing to pay for it?"
The Emperor had no hesitation, speaking what was in his heart.
"Everything."
A brief pause.
"Everything I have."
Captain-General Trajann raised his head, while Guilliman remained calm, not surprised by this answer in the slightest.
The hall was so quiet one could hear a pin drop, echoing with the Emperor's words.
No eternal friends, only eternal interests. The Emperor wanted to save humanity, and Zeke held the key that might open a new situation.
As long as this fundamental demand didn't change, Zeke didn't have to worry too much about the Emperor becoming an enemy.
On the contrary, they had plenty of room for cooperation.
But cooperation was one thing; vigilance could not be lacking.
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Goal = 1000 (Not Complete)