The Peculiar Planet

After briefing Waldo, Raven flapped its wings and returned to the Emperor's side.

The Emperor glanced at Raven and then ignored it.

He took Horus's hand, speaking earnestly like a father.

"You were born to be extraordinary, Horus."

"In the original plan, you would have learned and grown by my side. When you were capable of standing on your own, you could have led the Sixteenth Legion to achieve great deeds and save humanity."

"But you were taken away by those people and sent to Kossonia."

"I don't know what you went through, nor how you grew up."

"I am happy to have found you, but I cannot rashly hand over the Sixteenth Legion to you."

"That would be too dangerous, an abdication of responsibility to the Imperium and to humanity."

"You must go and learn, experience the joys and sorrows of ordinary people, understand what you are fighting for, until you prove yourself."

"If you are unwilling, you can also choose to abandon this mission."

After acquiring various technologies from other universes, the Emperor gained confidence.

If the Primarchs did not wish to fulfill such a mission, he would choose to let them leave and live as ordinary people.

A hint of disappointment welled up in Horus's heart.

He suddenly felt a pang of hatred for those who had taken him from his father's side.

He suppressed his emotions with effort. "I will prove my character and abilities to you, Father."

The Emperor nodded. "I look forward to that day, Horus. I look forward to you fighting alongside me, sharing my burdens, confronting powerful enemies, and rebuilding humanity's former glory."

Influenced by Raven, the Emperor did not personally tutor Horus.

Instead, he arranged for him to study at the academies of the expeditionary fleets.

The expeditionary forces were vast and spent long periods in space.

Young men and women, confined in closed environments, easily developed feelings and the seeds of love.

For the sake of these children, every expeditionary fleet established an academy.

They arranged for the children to study various specialized knowledge and guided them to dedicate their loyalty to the Imperium.

As a Primarch, Horus possessed a terrifying learning capacity.

What took others years to complete, he could finish in mere days.

His exceptional learning ability and personal charisma made him renowned within the academies, gaining him a large following.

Horus's return was an interlude.

The unification of the galaxy and major infrastructure projects were the main themes of the Imperium at the time.

The Imperium's territory expanded rapidly, with vast resources being sent to the Solar System.

Meanwhile, on Terra, Malcador was pushing forward the progress of grand projects such as the celestial computer and the Imperial communication network.

Upon his return, the Emperor immediately sent the technology for the quantum-sensitive communication array back to Terra.

He instructed Malcador to assign personnel to build communication towers in various star systems, establishing an interstellar Imperial communication network.

After arranging his affairs, the Emperor led the expeditionary fleet away from the conquered world.

While navigating the Warp, they encountered a Warp storm.

The fleet was forced to change course and warp to an unfamiliar star system.

The expeditionary fleet tore through the fabric of reality at a Mandeville Point.

The strange light of the Warp surged into the real universe like a breached dam.

"Raise the shields, gather intelligence."

"All systems self-check complete. Converter in Sector B is overloaded, requesting repairs."

"Deploy wide-area divination scan, range 160,000 kilometers."

"..."

Noisy voices echoed through the secondary systems of the Emperor's Grand Plan.

"Confirming fleet is at the edge of a star system. Detecting electromagnetic waves, confirming the presence of civilization in this star system."

"According to star chart comparison, this star system is named Auctis."

"Monitoring significant life signs, located on Auctis III."

"..."

A report was delivered to the Emperor.

After reading the report, the Emperor frowned.

"The Auctis Star System contains multiple colonies, but most of these colonies have regressed to the feudal or early industrial eras."

"Only the third planet retains a very high level of technological advancement."

"There are numerous space platforms and orbital stations operating in orbit, indicating this civilization still possesses interstellar travel capabilities."

"The problem is, they haven't dispatched any spacecraft to explore space. This is highly suspicious at first glance."

"We can go down to the surface and take a look," Raven said. "Perhaps there's a special situation."

The expeditionary fleet easily conquered all human colonies except Auctis III.

They were incorporated into the Imperium's rule.

After completing this, the expeditionary fleet set sail for Auctis III.

The expeditionary force did not rashly attack but attempted dialogue, seeking a peaceful resolution.

The diplomats explained the origins of the Imperium and its grand vision to unite the galaxy and restore its former glory.

A mechanical voice responded to the Imperium's lengthy discourse.

"You are trespassing on the private residence of Citizen 13145209527. Please leave immediately, or we will initiate an attack according to Law Article 1 - Private Property is Sacred and Inviolable."

"We come in peace," the diplomat said patiently.

"You are trespassing on the private residence of Citizen 13145209527. Please leave immediately, or we will initiate an attack according to Law Article 1 - Private Property is Sacred and Inviolable."

"We wish to speak with your decision-making leader, or with actual humans."

"You are trespassing on the private residence of Citizen 13145209527. Please leave immediately, or we will initiate an attack according to Law Article 1 - Private Property is Sacred and Inviolable."

No matter what the Imperium's diplomatic members said, Auctis Planet's response was always the same mechanical reply.

A highly developed planet that ignored the Imperium's fleet.

The ruler had yet to show themselves.

The entire exchange was conducted through a cold, mechanical voice and the Imperium.

If not for detecting a large human population on the ground, the Imperium would have suspected the planet had fallen to a machine paradise.

"Big guy, maybe we should go down and see," Raven suggested. "We might find the answer."

"You're right," the Emperor said. "We need to know what happened on this planet below."

Utilizing the expeditionary fleet's teleportation capabilities and his own powerful psychic abilities.

The Emperor, along with the Adeptus Custodes, easily arrived on the surface in a city.

They discovered that everyone in the city was wearing breathing helmets resembling transparent bathtubs.

The planet's air quality was quite good; even without the helmets, there would be no issues.

"Are they Celestial Dragons? Why are they all wearing breathing helmets?" Raven observed them with curiosity.

Before they could find an answer, they heard a beeping alarm.

Dozens of spherical drones, the size of fists, flew in from all directions.

The people on the street seemed terrified of these spherical drones and fled in a hurry.

[Warning, you are stealing the private property of Citizen 13145209527. Please cease immediately.]

[Warning, you are stealing the private property of Citizen 13145209527. Please cease immediately.]

The drones swooped in, surrounding the Emperor and the Adeptus Custodes, shouting at them.

A group of smooth, gleaming robots also quickly arrived from a distance, shouting the same words as the drones.

[Warning, you are stealing the private property of Citizen 13145209527. Please cease immediately.]