At the same time, inside the Warmaster's command headquarters—
Horus was being driven to the brink by the steady stream of reports coming in. She had never imagined that, ever since she fell into a coma, the Great Crusade's progress would deteriorate so badly.
Almost every Legion had slowed its advance.
Horus was utterly baffled. She had only been unconscious for a few months—so why had everyone started slacking off?!
Worse still, several Legions were completely out of contact, which only made things even more infuriating.
"My Isstvan plan..." Horus clawed at her own hair until she was practically yanking it out.
The situation now was that if she assembled the Legions to launch the Isstvan operation, the progress of the other Crusade fronts would inevitably stall. The two simply could not be balanced.
And on top of that, both the Terran Council and Malcador kept pressuring her to speed things up.
Add in the heavy taxation and the unrest on many worlds, and Horus now found herself trapped on both fronts, unable to satisfy either side.
"Aximand!!!"
When Horus learned that her "good son," Little Horus, had failed his expedition and left a mountain of trouble behind, she finally snapped.
She pointed at the report and roared furiously, "I gave you the best company, the best fleet, and you still couldn't conquer a single xenos civilization?!"
"What exactly have you been doing?!"
At this point, she had no choice but to send Loken to clean up the mess. Abaddon had to remain by her side, while Torgaddon had already gone to assist Bruce.
Only then did Horus realize that she actually had no one left around her who could be relied upon—or rather, only a pitiful handful.
Fortunately, the Isstvan plan was proceeding smoothly, and that was the only thing giving Horus any comfort. Otherwise, she would have lost her mind by now.
Basically, all the Astartes Legions that could be gathered had already arrived—except for the Alpha Legion and the Iron Warriors.
The former had refused her orders for reasons unknown, while the latter had simply gone dark. No one could reach Perturabo, and no one knew what he was doing.
The Word Bearers, the Emperor's Children, and the Death Guard were enough. At this stage, taking those three down first would suffice.
Once those three Legions were dealt with, the remaining two would be easy enough to handle.
So overall, things were moving in a good direction. The only real regret was that the progress of the Great Crusade had slowed to a crawl—but Horus had no other choice and could only let it remain as it was for now.
"Ugh... Aximand, you've truly disappointed me," Horus sighed helplessly.
"Seeing you so troubled makes me feel bad about eating dessert~" Curze remarked from the side, playing the role of spectator. "When children fail to live up to expectations and force their parents to worry, there's just nothing to be done."
"After all, compared to us, they're still too weak."
"My little one is much better behaved~"
At that point, Curze began chanting in Horus's face again, "My Bruce is diligent and capable. He's handling an entire front practically by himself, saving me no end of trouble."
"Your children really ought to learn from him."
Though it was extremely rude to needle her like this, Curze could not have cared less, because this felt far too good.
Yes, yes, yes—your sons simply can't compare to mine. And mine is even younger than yours. Since both of them are the youngest sons, what's the problem?!
"Alright, alright, alright! I know!" Horus snapped back in irritation. "Yes, yes, yes, your son is the best, happy now?!"
Damn it. Horus had more than once wanted to storm back to Holy Terra, seize the local recruitment officer by the collar, and demand why—why they had handed over a recruit as talented as Bruce to the Night Lords.
You robbed me of an outstanding son!
"Hmph~" Curze continued calmly eating her cake, thoroughly enjoying everything happening now.
Legion affairs were being handled by others, the busywork had people assigned to take care of it, and all she had to do was watch from the sidelines. She could even enjoy a perfect afternoon tea every day.
Compared to the chaotic Eighth Legion she had seen in prophecy, her current life felt downright divine.
Just as the Warmaster's headquarters was slipping into this strange two-polar atmosphere, an incoming psychic communication suddenly interrupted both of them.
"Warmaster! Lady Magnus has initiated an astropathic communication! She requests that we use the visual communicator to speak with her—timestamped one day ago!"
"What?!" Horus immediately shoved aside the work in her hands and urgently asked, "Why Magnus?"
"Isn't she supposed to be on Prospero? Has something gone wrong again?"
"No! Her current location is Nuceria."
Nuceria?!
The moment she heard that name, Horus nearly blacked out.
"Why are you still standing there?! Connect me to Magnus! Now!"
If she remembered correctly, Bruce and Angron were both on Nuceria. She had no idea how things were progressing there, but if even Magnus had gotten involved, then nothing good could possibly be happening.
Very quickly, the visual communicator was set up. On the other side, Magnus was calmly skewering meat at a barbecue party with her sons. Seeing the line connect, she raised her wine glass in greeting.
Behind her were lively magical girls everywhere—some competing over whose beam attack shone brighter, some comparing who could shape the biggest dragon out of fire, others just drinking.
"Magnus! Why did you leave Prospero? Didn't Father order you to remain on your own world?" Horus demanded at once.
"I'm only fulfilling a task Bruce asked of me. I owe him a favor, so naturally I have to pay it back," Magnus replied with perfect confidence.
"Bruce? And Nuceria? You... what exactly is going on?" Horus asked grimly.
"Well, the situation is simple..." Magnus said between bites of meat, and then began recounting the entire chain of events.
The whole thing boiled down to this: Bruce wanted to use the souls of Angron's former comrades to persuade him to abandon revenge, and on top of that, he had arranged a thirty-one-hour agreement.
The entire plan was so meticulous it was almost absurd. Every angle had been considered. If it worked, then at worst Angron could at least stay neutral during the Isstvan plan, and at best he might actually be saved, his bloodthirsty and war-crazed impulses brought to an end entirely.
Throughout the explanation, Curze kept humming softly, wearing the expression of a proud parent listening to a relative praise her child.
Yes, yes, yes—exactly like that.
But when Magnus got to the part where Angron and Bruce were now organizing an uprising on Nuceria and preparing to overthrow the local regime and its aristocrats, both Curze and Horus froze.
No. No. No. This was absolutely not right.
"What the hell is he doing?!" Horus exclaimed. "Why would Bruce do something like that? What possible help is that to our plan?"
"He'd have been better off just starting a war outright!"
The Imperium had promised to preserve Nuceria's system of rule. And yet he had gone and started an uprising to overthrow it? Wasn't that just a slap in the face to the Imperium itself—and to the Emperor?
What exactly was he trying to achieve with something so outrageously defiant?
"He probably empathized with Angron," Curze said, being the one who understood Bruce best. "But... Horus, your concern is unnecessary."
Magnus shrugged. "He's acting in his own name, alongside Angron. He hasn't used any official force at all—neither the Justice League fleet nor the World Eaters."
"Right now, the two of them are running their little rebellion with great enthusiasm. That's why I contacted you specially about this."
"What's the attitude of Nuceria's nobles?" Horus asked after a moment of cold analysis.
"They sent pleas for help to you and to Holy Terra, asking whether Bruce's actions represent the stance of the Imperium. But I intercepted their communications, which is why I contacted you first."
Horus fell silent.
It was a multiple-choice problem.
The safest solution would be to order Bruce to come back immediately and stop causing trouble. That was the cleanest outcome for everyone.
And yet, on some level, Horus felt that if Bruce was doing this, then he must have a reason. She could not interfere too rashly. Even stalling would count as helping.
"Sigh. Children are foolish. He's just playing at rebellion," Curze said sideways, glancing at Horus. "Our great Warmaster isn't really going to punish him, is she?"
"What he's doing is no different from Angron destroying Nuceria!" Horus insisted.
"But he's targeting the ruling class. As long as the majority of the population doesn't object, what's the problem? It's not as if Nuceria's nobles were born to rule."
After thinking it over for a long moment, Horus finally answered clearly, "The Warmaster's command will investigate the matter carefully. But until then, Bruce remains my envoy and therefore still represents the Imperium."
"So... drag things out?" Magnus asked.
"We can only hope he handles it properly. I'll deal with the political consequences—he can just focus on what he's doing. Of course, if he's doing all this just for fun, then I'll make him pay for it!"
"Understood!" Magnus nodded.
If even the Warmaster was allowing Bruce to carry on like this, then Magnus had nothing more to say.
"The real question is whether what Bruce asked you to do is actually working. Tell me from your perspective," Curze asked Magnus.
"No idea. He asked me to do it, and I did it. The rest depends on how he handles things."
"Still, one thing is certain: the World Eaters won't be able to interfere with the Isstvan plan in the short term. Horus, you need to move fast."
What had originally required dealing with at least four Legions had now been reduced to just three. The difficulty had dropped enormously.
What to do next hardly needed explaining.
"I will," Horus said with a nod.
"Then if anything comes up, we'll speak again. Bruce and Angron are likely to keep causing trouble for quite some time. In a way, that also counts as tying the World Eaters down."
From Magnus's point of view, what Bruce was doing was every bit as unhinged as Angron. But somehow Angron had ended up perfectly resonating with his wavelength.
So now one lunatic and one man with half a brain missing were happily playing at rebellion together. No one could say how it would all end.
If things really did spiral out of control, Magnus would naturally step in and cover for Bruce. That was one of the things she had promised him.
After all, the most dangerous thing about Nuceria had never been the slavers or the high riders.
It was their terrifyingly potent narcotics.
And that was precisely where a psyker's usefulness came in. Magnus would serve as an insurance policy.
She would be there to rescue Bruce if things turned critical—and also to guard against Lorgar, who might show up at any moment to forcibly drag Angron into corruption.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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