The Fallen Horus's Conspiracy

Nimrod his fingers lightly on the back of the chair and asked, "What kind of rumors?"

"My lord, please forgive my sins," Tierney continued after apologizing.

"The rumor originated in the library, a library in Treon."

"A book called the Book of Revelation has been discovered, which recounts the terrible Catastrophe of the ancient Long Night."

"Its prologue depicts the misuse of Mystery arts as the trigger, while the subsequent content describes the entire civilization's unrestrained use of powerful arcane magic, ultimately plunging humanity into a long period of Evernight."

Tierney's face showed confusion as he said this.

"At first, this was merely seen as a warning from the Old Night, and had nothing to do with you or the Eleventh Legion."

"But suddenly, for some unknown reason, the situation changed, as if someone was manipulating everything from the shadows."

Tierney expressed his confusion, yet forced himself to state the facts to avoid influencing the Black Emperor's judgment.

"In the cafes on the upper levels of the Hive City, in the bars on the Lower Hive..."

"Scholars, Imperium staff, and workers alike began to speak of the 'Shadow of Order' possessing malevolent sorcery that would bring destruction to the Imperium."

"The Imperium's Adeptus Arbites has been ruthless in its crackdown on those who spread rumors. No one talks about it openly now, but in the shadows, in the dark corners, it's still mentioned."

Tierney took out Data Slate and handed it to Primarch's Attendants, Arsena Dunn.

"The members of the Treasure Hunting Squad walked in the shadows, occasionally encountering those who spread rumors."

"They arrested five of them and tortured them. In their confessions, all five mentioned that they were given the Revelation by a man dressed in the standard library dust-proof robe with a hood covering his face, resembling a monk."

"My men, based on the confession, sketched out a portrait of that man."

The Primarch's Attendants connected the Data Slate to the interface, revealing a simulated portrait of the Master.

Nimrod looked at the simulated portrait; the person depicted in the portrait had rounded features and almost no sharp angles.

Wrapped in a milky-white robe, she resembled an obese person who had suddenly lost weight in a short period of time; her once bloated body had become loose and limp.

His figure was like a ghost.

Nimrod stared at the composite sketch, lost in thought.

[Library, Revelation, Mystery magic, accusations of witchcraft in the Shadow of Order, rounded, suddenly weight-lossed, ghostly body.]

A thought flashed through his mind, and he asked, "Besides the Shadow of Order, are there also rumors about the Fifteenth Legion?"

"Your Excellency is wise," Tierney said, looking at the Black Emperor with reverence.

He personally led a large army to conquer the "Wheel of Fire" and went to Medusa, which was countless light-years away from Terra, yet he was able to know about the situation in Terra.

"Since nine months ago, rumors have spread to the Fifteenth Legion, accusing both legions of being evil spirits wielding witchcraft."

Upon hearing this, Nimrod had already guessed the mastermind behind it all—the Fallen Horus.

He remembered that after Horus fell, he sought to eliminate the greatest threat in his heart— the Thousand Sons who wielded Psionic Energy power.

Psionic Energy are the bane of Chaos Daemons. Upon discovering this, Guilliman and other loyal Primarch unanimously revoked the Emperor's "Nikaea Edict."

The Thousand Sons, as the legion with the most Psyker, are the greatest weapon against the attacks of Chaos, Horus considers them the primary threat.

Nimrod recalled that, in order to eliminate the greatest threat, the Fallen Horus used the instability of Warp time and space to travel back hundreds of years and begin plotting his conspiracy.

He spread the image of the Thousand Sons as terrifying wizards throughout the Imperium, reinforcing the image of the Space Wolves the Executioner.

He also possessed Per Ansbach Hauser and traveled to Fenris, misleading Leman Russ and the Space Wolves into believing that it was the work of Magnus's Primarch's Attendants, Amon, thus further deepening the rift between the two legions.

Finally, Russ's final warning to "Amon" naturally did not reach Magnus.

Nimrod believes that, setting aside any biases, this was a brilliant conspiracy orchestrated by Horus over centuries.

The Fallen Horus achieved his goal, eliminating the most threatening Thousand Sons and inflicting heavy losses on the Space Wolves in battle.

While Magnus's sabotage of the Webway and Tzeentch's manipulation behind the scenes were contributing factors, Horus's strategic planning was also indispensable.

Nimrod never expected that the conspiracy would now be directed at him, Horus seemed to see him and his legions as an even greater threat.

Because my legion possesses a large number of Beyonder, and the "Sun" Pathway can inflict powerful damage on Devil?

From the perspective of the Fallen Horus, Beyonder of the Eleventh Legion are Psyker.

The number of "Shadow of Order" exceeds that of "Thousand Sons," and the combined number of Beyonder and Psyker may also surpass the latter, making them the greatest threat.

Thinking of this, Nimrod turned his gaze to the "Swindler" and spoke.

"I understand. I will handle this matter; you don't need to follow up further."

The Treasure Hunting Squad was not suited to handle this kind of matter, Nimrod decided to let the assassins led by Maria Kournikova take over.

The fallen Horus had only just begun his scheming; he dared not reveal himself and instead engaged in a bloody massacre.

[I've just collected all the potions for "Instigator." I hadn't yet decided where to use them after Maria and the others advanced, but now it's the perfect time for them to wipe out the organization Horus has developed.]

"Yes, my lord." Tierney accepted the order and then secretly left the Shadow of the Throne.

While Tierney ordered his men to build the altar, Nimrod returned to the surface of Terra to continue cooperating with Malcador's propaganda campaign.

On the sixth day after Nimrod arrived in Terra, the Primarch's Attendants received a request for a meeting from Violet, the Great Mother of House Visscher, the Navigator's family.

That evening, Nimrod met with Violet Visher at the villa.

The House Visscher's representative colors are blue and crimson. Violet wore a blue silk robe with crimson silk threads embroidered on the collar and cuffs.

Violet wore a famous and expensive jewel on her forehead to cover her third gifted eye.

After taking his seat, Nimrod looked at Violet, who was young and showed no signs of mutation.

She had fiery red hair, a long and slender figure, and a neck as elegant as a swan's.

Nimrod knew that because of their unstable genetic structure and reliance on inbreeding, every Navigator was Mutant.

The rate and order of mutation vary from family to family and individual to individual, but the accumulated mutations eventually transform them into toad-like creatures, who are called elders.

The elders' altered appearances were not suitable for public display, so they chose either the Great Clan Chief or the Great Clan Chief as their public representatives.

The Grand Patriarch and Grand Mother are selected and carefully examined from the embryonic stage to ensure there are no signs of mutation, unless the mutation is in a positive direction, such as being exceptionally beautiful or elegant.

"What important matter brings you to see me, Madam?"

Violet smiled elegantly and parted her red lips slightly.

"Lord Nimrod, the House Visscher wishes to ally with the Eleventh Legion to serve you."