Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes, You Wouldn't Want the Emperor to Know (7k)
Qin Yun had anticipated the young players' outburst.
No matter who you are, you will be amazed by the scene when you enter the Throne Room for the first time.
The mountain-like machine, buried deep underground, roared so loudly that the ground trembled.
The giant pistons, ceaselessly revolving, produced a deafening roar.
The towering, massive matrix of crystal pillars crackled and popped, with dazzling electrical currents pulsating between them.
The tangled, materialized orbs of charged light within the flask of a unique arcane rune device twisted violently as if alive.
Thousands of Tech-Priests in red robes, accompanied by servants, maintained these machines.
Occasionally, these machines would make a loud bang and emit several sparks.
The priests and Servitor who maintained the machine were already used to this situation.
They replaced the broken parts with new ones while praying.
In the center of these machines stands a magnificent golden platform.
It stands several kilometers tall and is made entirely of a special golden material, resembling a real giant mountain.
The golden platform continuously draws energy from those magnificent machines.
Around the golden platform stood a golden gate that was currently closed.
At the very top of the platform stood Golden Throne.
Seated atop it was the strongest Perpetuals of the human race.
The supreme ruler of the Imperium of Man
An ancient king burdened with the fate of his race,
A man who protects humanity with a heart full of love.
At the same time, He is also the Fifth Chaos God in the Warp.
The Black Sun that terrifies countless demons
The Cursed One, hated by the minions of the gods.
The Dark King, whose holy number is 5.
The golden light was dazzling, and the Emperor sitting on the throne was like a sun.
The players gasped in amazement.
I marvel at the grandeur of the Golden Throne and the Emperor's immense sacrifice.
But they also knew that the Golden Throne was not a miraculous creation, but merely the remnants of humanity's dream.
Magnus's folly forced the Emperor to sit on the Golden Throne and maintain the seal on the Webway.
"Look, there are patches near the Golden Platform."
The Old Bird has had multiple visual implants, making its vision extremely sharp.
Even from a great distance, you can see that the golden platform is covered with patches.
"It must have been Magnus's foolishness that broke the seal on the Webway, causing the machine to malfunction,"
"Although emergency repairs were carried out, the Emperor did not have time to forge a new throne to replace it, and could only make do with patching it up."
Ten-Timer's words were accepted by most players.
They were all Warhammer fans, so they were naturally very familiar with that period of history.
After Horus's betrayal, Magnus used Tzeentch's power to send a message, and with a single psionic spell, he destroyed the Webway seal.
Then they rushed into the Throne Room, nearly destroying the entire machine.
Then came the War of the Webway, and after that, Horus invaded Terra.
The technology for the Golden Throne was held solely by the Emperor.
The Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus had no idea how the Golden Throne worked; they could only patch it up.
If all else fails, they will replace parts to keep the Golden Throne running.
However, most of the new and repaired parts are far less functional than the original parts for the Golden Throne.
To solve this problem, the Adeptus Mechanicus only barely achieve the functionality of the original part by adding a compensating device.
This has led to the Golden Throne becoming increasingly bloated and inefficient.
999·M41, the overall dysfunction of the Golden Throne is becoming increasingly apparent, and even with the addition of more compensation devices, it is difficult to continue.
To solve this problem, the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Astronomican Court did something foolish.
That was a deal with the Dark Eldar of Commorragh, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of billions of people and nearly led to the theft of the Emperor's genetic sample.
Two rows of Adeptus Custodes stood on either side of the steps leading to the top.
They watched the Living Saint and God Chosen enter with wary eyes, silently gripping their battle halberds.
If anything seems amiss, they will act decisively.
Regardless of who the intruders are, they will kill them on sight.
Anyone who has objections should discuss it with the Custodes Exemption Statute.
Everything was done to protect the Emperor.
"Living Saint, where are your spare parts?" a Magos stepped forward and asked.
"Spare parts? What spare parts?" Qin Yun looked at the other party.
"My Living Saint, you must be joking." Trajan walked up to Qin Yun, though he was a head shorter than Qin Yun. "Without spare parts, how can we repair the Golden Throne?"
Qin Yun turned to look at Trajan, giving him a look that said, "Are you kidding me?"
"The Golden Throne is the culmination of the Emperor's highest wisdom. I don't have the blueprints, so how can I forge spare parts?"
Qin Yun's words almost broke Trajan's defenses.
No!
Without looking at the blueprints or having spare parts, how dare you claim you can repair the Golden Throne?
Although His Majesty is a Living Saint, it is a bit too much to play Adeptus Custodes like this time and time again.
The Adeptus Custodes simply stayed in the Imperial Palace and were unwilling to go out and show themselves; they were not spineless, lifeless people.
Trajan once wondered whether the other party was truly a 'Living Saint,' or perhaps a demon or Xenos disguised as a Living Saint.
But thinking about it carefully, if the other party's stealth capabilities are so strong that they wouldn't recognize them even if they were standing right in front of them,
The existence of the Adeptus Custodes was no longer necessary, and the entire Imperium had long been infiltrated and destroyed by the enemy.
Trajan took another deep breath, suppressing his anger.
"So how do you plan to fix it?"
Several Magos also showed expressions of doubt.
They felt like they had been tricked.
"Why make it so complicated when we can just use the original parts?"
Upon hearing Qin Yun's words, Trajan and the Magos in charge of maintenance were speechless.
If the original parts were usable, would they still be in such a predicament?
Ignoring their questions, Qin Yun retrieved the Infinity Key from the Dimensional Space.
He and Xi Ling are closely bound together.
Therefore, what he had, Xi Ling could use.
Xi Ling has, he can also use.
Dimensional Space manipulation is Xi Ling's special ability, and Qin Yun can also use it.
He used the Dimensional Space as a warehouse to store important items and treasures.
The current Infinity Key, although it is only at level 1, can still reverse time within a certain range.
"This is?"
The Magos had just questioned Qin Yun saw the Infinity Key appear the moment...
The implanted mechanical eye instantly lit up, rapidly analyzing the data of the Infinity Key.
When it was realized that there was Time Field near this special crystal...
Greed was evident on those metallic faces, which still bore traces of flesh and blood.
This unique technological creation clearly contained unimaginable truths and knowledge, which greatly excited them.
If we can get our hands on it, we'll definitely be able to develop many new technologies.
"Living Saint."
"Living Saint."
The Magos bowed humbly, their earlier annoyance and contempt completely vanished.
Who would have thought that the Living Saint possessed a cutting-edge technological creation that could be used to tell time?
Trajan, as a member of the Adeptus Custodes, originally intended to question the Infinity Key.
But when he saw the surface of that mysterious crystal shimmering with the same golden light as the Golden Throne, he wisely fell silent.
This special technological creation has already received the Emperor's blessing.
If I were to question it myself, I'm afraid I would only make myself a laughingstock.
"Let's get to work now," Qin Yun said to the Magos. "Mark the areas where I'm disabled."
"Living Saint, this way."
"Watch out for the cables on the ground."
"..."
The Magos' attitudes underwent a complete 180-degree change.
Each of them wore a fawning expression.
Trajan was speechless. Where was your usual aloofness, you Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus? Why are you all acting like sycophants now?!
Anyone who didn't know better would think the other person had mind control!
The Magos led Qin Yun toward the Golden Throne.
The Adeptus Custodes silently made way for them.
Before long, they reached the first area of disability.
"It's really ugly."
Qin Yun stared speechlessly at the patched-up device in front of him.
The Golden Throne has been in operation for tens of thousands of years, and many of its components have become less functional due to their age.
To compensate for the insufficient power of the original parts, the Adeptus Mechanicus had to add some devices to the existing components.
This makes the overall design look bloated and inefficient.
Qin Yun activated the Infinity Key, guiding the power of time to cover the core components.
Use its power to reverse the time of the device.
Reset it to its factory settings.
As the indicator light illuminates, the Adeptus Mechanicus unit is automatically disconnected, and the disabled area is restored to a working state.
"It's back to normal already?"
The Magos following behind Qin Yun exclaimed in surprise.
"This is truly the power of time."
"A time-manipulating artifact that can be used at will."
"It must be the power of Omnissiah."
"I felt as if I were seeing the light of wisdom in the Hall of Truth."
"..."
The Magos were generous with their praise.
Trajan was also stunned by what he saw.
This works?
"Next." Qin Yun ignored their emotions and calmly urged the Magos to lead him to the next area of disability.
Players also followed the Guide and others to get a close look at the Golden Throne.
Suddenly, a ding sounded.
The players turned to look and saw a notification pop up in the corner of the golden platform, the light changing from green to red.
Before long, several servants pushed a black anti-gravity coffin to the corner where the notification sound had come from.
There was originally a black coffin connected to the Golden Throne in that corner.
The servants disconnected the cables from the original black coffin and dragged it away.
The new coffin was then placed on top. The tubing for delivering nutrients and other purposes was then installed and secured in an orderly manner.
The indicator light then changed from red back to green.
The coffin contained the body of a man with his head shaved.
He awoke as the coffin and the Golden Throne were connected, his face contorted in agony.
He opened his mouth and let out a scream.
But the soundproofing material used in the coffin blocked his screams.
Inside the replaced coffin was a charred corpse, as black as charcoal.
"Are those all Psyker who are to be burned?"
"It's changed every day??"
"How many do you burn a day now?"
"..."
The players began to whisper among themselves.
They clearly knew what it was.
Qin Yun ignored the little incident and continued repairing the disabled area with the Magos.
After the damaged area is repaired,
He also used his special ability to communicate with Machine Spirit,
They also identified the hidden dangers of the Golden Throne and used the Infinity Key to repair them.
With the hidden dangers of the Golden Throne resolved one by one, the symphony of numerous machines once again became perfect.
The energy expenditure of Psyker was reduced dramatically.
The frequency of explosions and sparks has decreased significantly.
The Golden Throne was restored to its original, normal functioning state.
Unfortunately, this situation couldn't last long.
The power to reverse time has limitations.
Once the power of time is weakened by psionic energy, the components will break down at a faster rate.
The Infinity Key can only delay the collapse of the Golden Throne; it's merely Slake.
Ultimately, we need to find a way to understand how the Golden Throne works in order to completely solve the problem.
"Done."
Qin Yun put away the Infinity Key.
At this moment, a golden light screen appeared.
[Mission: Use the Infinity Key to maintain the operation of the Golden Throne (Completed)]
[Rewards are being distributed.]
Following the prompts on the light screen
The roar of machines in the Throne Room suddenly intensified, as if countless machines were singing in unison.
The room was filled with light.
Trajan and the Magos men stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief.
What's going on?
"What happened?"
Under their astonished gazes, a hole of light opened.
A resounding hymn emanated from the cave of light, ancient and sacred, possessing incredible power that could cleanse the soul and expel evil forces.
Throughout the Sol System, devout believers sensed the Emperor's divine intervention, and their prayers grew ever louder.
Several Cherub, with implanted metal prosthetics, flew out of the cave of light.
Their appearance had changed drastically since Qin Yun first saw them on the Imperial Glory.
What was extremely creepy became less creepy, and my skin even had a glow.
In a horror movie, he wouldn't be fit to be the main villain anymore.
"It seems my previous guess was correct; the appearance of the Cherub is indeed related to the state of the Imperium and the Emperor."
With his own reforms and Guilliman's efforts
Science and reason are gradually returning to the Imperium.
Given time, the Imperium will surely transform into a normal interstellar civilization.
These Cherub will also change their appearance as the Imperium improves, becoming true child angels.
The Cherub together carried a large chest engraved with countless fire runes and a golden Double-Headed Eagle, and flew to Qin Yun's front.
"Is this the Emperor manifesting his divine power?"
"Praise be to Omnissiah."
"..."
The Magos bowed and performed the Rite of the Cog, and a binary hymn praising Omnissiah emanated from the generator.
The Adeptus Custodes were dumbfounded and dared not make a move.
Heracleon swallow hard.
He had been an Adeptus Custodes for hundreds of years, but he had never received any enlightenment from the Emperor.
But the Living Saint before them was once again favored by the Emperor.
A sense of annoyance rose in his heart.
The act of stopping and questioning the Living Saint just now was utterly stupid beyond redemption.
The Emperor had sat silently on his Golden Throne for millennia, never uttering a word to them.
No matter who it is, they can only rely on the Tarot cards to interpret His intentions.
The Living Saint is the only being in the Imperium who can communicate and interact with the Emperor.
He actually went and made things difficult for the other party!
Trajan, standing to the side, appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, his heart was in turmoil.
He's manifested his divine power again!!
Last time, I could comfort them by saying it was because of the Primarch.
Even though the Primarch is gone, the Emperor can still manifest his divine power.
Well, now we have to admit something that saddens the entire Adeptus Custodes.
Their master doted on only one person: the 'Living Saint'.
"Keep up the good work, my lord is very pleased with your performance," said the Cherub.
"Okay, okay, you should go back now, we're busy here." Qin Yun waved his hand casually, signaling the Cherub to go back.
Trajan: "..."
At that moment, he finally understood an old saying from Terra.
What you can't have always stirs your heart, while those who are favored are always complacent.
Even a slight guidance from the Emperor obtained through Tarot cards would cause the Adeptus Custodes to become so excited that they could hardly control their emotions.
Now, the Emperor's messenger has personally delivered the message, but this guy looks impatient.
Heavens above!
Oh, Earth!
Your Emperor!
Why did you choose this guy as the Living Saint? Which Adeptus Custodes wasn't more loyal than him?
"Oh, right, there's something I need to mention," Qin Yun called out to the Cherub was flying towards the Cave of Light, "It's about the Adeptus Custodes!!"
Upon hearing this, the hearts of the Adeptus Custodes present skipped a beat, and their eyes widened in unison.
"Oh no! Is this guy going to tattle?"
"I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, please forgive me!!"
Trajan and the Adeptus Custodes were all on tenterhooks.
If the Emperor himself were to deny the contributions of the Adeptus Custodes, it would be a heavy blow to them.
Who knows, even Trajan's position as Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes might be replaced.
The Cherub stopped in his tracks. "Tell me, and I will relay your message to my master."
Qin Yun glanced at Trajan and then continued speaking.
"The Adeptus Custodes are excellent in both combat and strategy. They should not be confined to the Imperial Palace. Guilliman and I have reached an agreement to completely liberate the Adeptus Custodes, restore them to their former Ten Thousand, and send them back to the Milky Way battlefield."
"They are the God-Emperor's personal guards, and I think it is necessary to formally inform them of this."
The Cherub nodded. "I will convey your words, Chosen One."
"I think He most likely won't refuse."
Qin Yun nodded. "Then I'll have to trouble you."
"Everything we have is dedicated to Him," said the Cherub. "There is no trouble here."
The Cherub left, and everything returned to calm.
The high-pitched machine returned to calm, and the light faded like the tide.
Qin Yun put the box back into his Dimensional Space, planning to check what equipment it contained when he had time.
"Thank you." Trajan walked up to Qin Yun and sincerely thanked him.
Qin Yun looked completely bewildered. "What are you thanking me for?"
"I thought you would complain to the Emperor about the inaction and rigidity of the Adeptus Custodes," Trajan said.
Qin Yun made an exaggerated expression. "You mean, as Living Saint, I'm someone who likes to tattle and spread rumors?"
"No...no," Trajan said hastily. "When the Adeptus Custodes tried to stop you before, you threatened them, which is why I thought that way. But now I realize that you are a person of high moral character..."
"You're mistaken," Qin Yun said.
"Yes, we were indeed wrong. You are a noble person," Trajan said sincerely.
"No!" Qin Yun interrupted Trajan again. "I mean, you're mistaken. I'm not a noble person. I'm just a despicable, shameless scoundrel who loves to stir up trouble. The reason I don't say it is because some things are useless once they're said."
"Trajan, as the commander-in-chief of the Adeptus Custodes, you wouldn't want the Emperor to know what you've done, would you?"
Trajan: "..."
He successfully threatened Trajan and his Adeptus Custodes, making them behave.
Stop acting so arrogant.
Qin Yun then left the Imperial Palace and headed to the helipad.
On the way, he thought about how he had now secured the Golden Throne and the Adeptus Custodes.
The next major target should be Mars.
During the Great Crusade, the Emperor signed the Olympia Treaty with the Tech-Priests.
Strictly speaking, Mars is not a subordinate agency of Terra, but an ally.
Therefore, he cannot be treated the same way as other departments.
With its Machine God Avatar and special skills related to Machine Spirit, controlling Mars shouldn't be too difficult.
It would be beneath him to suddenly perform a miracle for no reason.
Let the God Chosen stir things up first, then I'll step in and clean up the mess.
In this way, it maintains its mystery while subtly revealing its strength to Mars.
Qin Yun summoned the Old Bird and Reckless General, who had entered the Imperial Palace together.
"Guide".
"Guide".
The two young players walked up to Qin Yun.
"I have a task for you. If you complete it well, you may receive an Aquila Medal."
Qin Yun's words immediately brought joy to the two players' faces.
The Aquila Medal is currently the highest achievement for players, obtainable only by making contributions that greatly benefit the Imperium and humanity, or by changing the current state of the game.
The Warmaster discovered the C'tan, which led to the C'tan's birth.
Scalp obtained intelligence on the Calixis rebels and also discovered the Star Gate.
MC Dynasty introduced the gameplay of taming beasts and mounts.
The Emperor's Cattle Warband discovered Toaster capable of converting energy into matter.
These things profoundly changed the Imperium of Man, or the course of the game, in order to obtain the Aquila Medal.
Now, the Guide is saying there's a mission that can get them the Aquila Medal.
It must have been their diligent and earnest attitude that impressed the Guide, which led him to issue such a task.
"The Eastern University Research Institute will not let you down, Guide. Please give us your full guidance."
"For the Imperium, for the people, for our Guide, we are willing to die ten thousand times."
Both the Old Bird and the Reckless General straightened their backs and bowed to Qin Yun.
Qin Yun nodded in satisfaction.
This is typical of small-time players; if the reward is big enough, they're willing to do anything.
"I want you to go to Mars to find the Akashic Reader."
Akashic Reader?
The Old Bird's eyes widened. As a Warhammer fan, he naturally knew what this was.
That's a device that can be driven and received by Psyker, capable of continuously extracting knowledge from the Warp.
"Is there a problem?" Qin Yun asked. "I suspect the remains of this thing should still be in Lava City. I need you to go there."
Qin Yun did not try to hide his voice.
He knew that he was being watched by at least a hundred pairs of eyes.
Those agents could perfectly repeat his words from the changes in his lips and the waveform of his voice.
In other words, information about sending God Chosen to find the Akashic Reader would appear on the tables of the major powers within seconds.
But this was something Qin Yun did intentionally.
He wants to seize the opportunity to intervene on Mars, find a chance to showcase his Machine God Avatar, and gain Mars support.
With the support of the Adeptus Custodes and the Mars Department, Qin Yun was not afraid of the remaining High Lord and could even easily eliminate them all.
"No problem."
The Old Bird and Reckless General bowed together, their voices strong and confident.
This trip to Mars might not only lead to the search for the Akashic Reader, but also perhaps other technological artifacts.
You know, Mars has so many amazing things. If we could find even one or two that could be used on Earth, wouldn't that be a huge windfall?
Warmaster and the others, who witnessed the whole scene, felt a pang of jealousy and started complaining in the World Chat Channel.
Warmaster: "I'm jealous. Old Bird is like the Warhammer version of Taiyi Zhenren, enjoying the Guide's favor alone."
Ten-Timer: "For others to get the Aquila Medal, they have to explore everywhere and fight to the death. But for the Old Bird, it's just, 'If you do this well, the medal is yours.'"
Warmaster: "It's a conspiracy, absolutely a conspiracy."
The Emperor's Bull and Horse Chapter's complaints immediately made the world chat channel lively.
Little Alpaca: "A miracle! The Guide's Little Warmaster actually complained that the game is rigged."
Brother Zhong: "You are the biggest culprit in this game, and you still have the nerve to criticize others. If this game didn't have in-app purchases or charges, I wouldn't dare to speak loudly while playing a free game. Otherwise, I would have complained about the operation being biased long ago."
"The favorability we struggle to build up is maxed out right away, and you're getting all sorts of Relic quests until your hands are sore."
Little Fatty: "Brother Zhong spoke my mind. I'm so angry and cold. I'm still trying to increase my favorability with Cawl so he can upgrade my mecha with some advanced technology."
"It turns out this guy is incredibly cunning. He installed all those heretical technologies, clearly intending for me to take the blame for his heretical technology. Damn it."
"Warmaster, you are the biggest culprit in the game."
"..."
Players of the Emperor's Cattle Warband complained, but instead of receiving empathy, they became the targets of criticism.
Upon seeing the message in the World Chat Channel, Warmaster, Ten-Timer, and the others were speechless.
It feels like all the firepower is being directed at them!
How does hard work become a scandal?
Qin Yun ignored the petty squabbles between the players. After instructing the Old Bird and the Reckless General on their tasks, he boarded the gunboat, whose engine was already running, and had the driver take him back to his office to check what rewards the Emperor had given him.
Back in his office, after dismissing everyone else and closing the door, Qin Yun retrieved a box from his Dimensional Space.
Place your hands on the surface of the box as usual.
As a surge of power entered, bright rays of light appeared on the patterns on the surface of the box.
Then the box slowly opened, revealing the legendary equipment inside.
"Is the reward this time a spear? It looks pretty good."
"Could it be Leman Russ Russ's signature weapon— the Dionysian Spear?"
"Still Constantine Constantin Valdor's Apollonian Spear."
P. S.: I was aiming to finish writing the story of The Golden Throne in one go, so it took me a little longer.
I checked it twice, but there might still be typos or something. It's just too long; I really can't read it all.
After it's published, I'll read it several more times to correct typos and grammatical errors.
Below are the routes of advance for the First, Second, and Third Fleet of the Indomitus Crusade.
I searched for more than half an hour before finally finding it in the translation of "Sea of Souls" from the Dawn of Fire series.