Emperor, Nicaea, Come Quickly!

"That being said, what should we do next?"

Holding the somewhat cold Nemesis Blade in his hand, Magnus looked at the dagger that exuded an evil aura and spoke.

He tried to infuse it with Psychic Power energy, attempting to destroy it on the spot, but it didn't work.

For some unknown reason, the Nemesis Blade seemed to be protected by some mysterious force, making it indestructible.

Even the Psychic Power master Magnus couldn't do that.

But does this also mean that this dagger possesses a power that even he cannot imagine, if it could be deciphered?

His little head was spinning again.

"Take it back and study it carefully first, and then bring it out to confront the Interes people later."

Let's do it this way.

Having made up his mind, he tucked the blade into his robes and, stealthily, followed the coordinates given by the Spirit of the Two-Headed Eagle to complete the teleportation with Ahriman beside him.

Hopefully this will help Fulgrim and Kasgar.

Magnus thought so.

Negotiations between the Imperium of Man and the Interes Federation were overturned after the tax officials intervened at an inopportune time, jeopardizing the mutual trust that had been established.

The Interes were filled with dread when faced with that heavy Tithe.

The next round of negotiations was scheduled to take place aboard the flagship Pride of the Emperor, in Fulgrim, with the talks taking place back and forth between the two sides' territories.

During these negotiations, Interes found it difficult to accept the Imperium of Man's demand for increased taxes.

Moreover, compared to the extremely xenophobic Imperium of Man, the Interes wanted humanity to understand the value of unity, cooperation, and peaceful coexistence, rather than viewing every Xenos as a potential or existing enemy.

As people born in mythical legends, the Interes have an absolute affinity for the Terra —their ancestral land from which the Interes set sail, using rudimentary warp equipment and ships, to reach this harmonious and friendly land, where they live in harmony with the Cainblach and Eldar.

In the peaceful years enveloped by the Warp Storm, the Interes were terrified by the belligerence and aggression displayed by the Imperium of Man —these warriors Astartes were products of killing machines, and it was questionable whether they could truly maintain peace with the Interes, rather than being gradually devoured after being disarmed.

In particular, the taxes under negotiation suddenly became zero, which is now in line with the original agreement on countless mineral, energy and food resources on various planets.

Seated aboard the Pride of the Emperor, the envoy representing Interes looked extremely displeased.

Based on what he had learned over the past few days, he knew that the person he was negotiating with was the military leader of the Imperium of Man — the Warmaster, Primarch Fulgrim.

The Great Crusade currently underway by the Imperium of Man does not offer a peaceful alternative.

You either join the Imperium of Man, or join Imperium of Man with the "help" of the Astartes.

There is no third option.

"To be honest, if there were no Tithe, your demands might actually get a lot of Interes' approval."

The homesickness from ancient mythology makes them want to one day set foot back in their homeland Terra, to touch the land that once supported them after thousands of years.

However, even if that time really comes, none of them will be willing to admit that the barren, waterless, ugly planet is the Earth they have been longing for.

"But now, we may really have unavoidable disagreements."

"Do we really have to go that far?"

"Fulgrim said with equal bitterness."

After so many days of negotiations, all of them came to naught, forcing them to fight against their own compatriots.

Is the future envisioned by the Emperor truly correct?

If she weren't in the position of Warmaster, she would even be more inclined to believe that the other party's statement was the one that was just.

But just as she was about to waver, an unexpected visitor appeared in the cabin of the Pride of the Emperor.

That was the light of Psychic Power.

"Of course, we will have a battle! You Chaos lackeys from Interes!"

As the Psychic Power light dissipated, a large, red figure in strange armor appeared in everyone's view— Magnus. He and his Space Marine Amon and Ahriman, teleported directly to the meeting place.

"Magnus? What are you doing here?"

"What for? Of course, I'm reminding you to be careful of these Fulgrim sisters. They certainly won't be on our side; they've already offered their souls to some mysterious evil being!"

Magnus stood up and pointed angrily at the Interes envoy.

"What does this mean?! You are clearly closer to Chaos in both your belligerence and your words and actions!"

"While we developed the Aria, allowing all races within the Federation to develop in harmony and freedom, you were using the pretext of eliminating Xenos to wantonly kill and levy exorbitant taxes in the universe!"

"It is you, not me, who will bring more pain and destruction to this world!!!"

That made the solar term's face turn red with anger, and he was very angry at Magnus's accusations.

It's clear that this meeting won't go through.

For an Interes, calling him Chaos is the ultimate insult, the worst kind.

"Us? Hmph, you're quick to turn the tables."

"You guys, do you even know why we're eliminating those Xenos?"

Magnus sneered, and like a detective in a play who exposes the truth to the ignorant masses, he drew his cold blade.

"Look at this! That bizarre creation of the Cainblach, I can feel the evil aura emanating from it!"

As Magnus spoke, he raised it high in front of him and angrily rebuked the delegation.

"This is... the Nemesis Blade! Why is it in your hands?"

"Answer my question, you wicked beasts! Why do you ally with the Xenos who created such vile creatures?"

"That's all in the past!" The envoy glanced at the rather unpleasant-looking Cainblach beside him, his tone noticeably less assertive than before. "The Cainblach have abandoned this blasphemous belief in witchcraft, and our blades are long gone, relegated to museums and never used again!"

"You can't? How do I know you can't?"

Magnus was still sneering.

Thanks to that magical Imperial Two-Headed Eagle.

Under its guidance, I was able to discover the Xenos sorcerous artifacts hidden within the Interes Federation and their sinister intentions towards the Warmaster!

Just then, the Phoenix Guard from the Imperium of Man rushed forward, wielding their Phoenix spear, and tried to stop the delegation.

Upon seeing this, the Interes also drew their bows and arrows and aimed them at the enemy.

In an instant, the atmosphere at the Pride of the Emperor became extremely tense.

"Stop fighting! Put down all your weapons! You've all made a mistake."

"It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" Fulgrim roared, her voice hoarse with despair.

"No, Warmaster, this is not a misunderstanding."

"I can demonstrate it to you right now."

As he spoke, Magnus sheathed his Nemesis Blade and pointed at the Cainblach in the Interes delegation.

The spirit of the eagle not only provided him with evidence of the Interes' use of evil magic to murder the Warmaster, but it also pointed Magnus to the exact perpetrators.

As long as he can recite that incantation, the other party will instantly reveal their true form and evil nature.

"That's it! Show yourself your true form, you evil beast!"

At that very moment, when the light gathered in Magnus's hand.

The envoy stared in horror at the faint, blue, two-headed bird-like phantom that appeared and disappeared behind him.

"Quack!"

It seems to be chuckling sinisterly at the stupidity of others.

It's not just about laughing at Magnus's foolishness, but also at the Cainblach.

The envoy... He had seen this evil being in a book, right when the Craftworld Aeldari taught them Chaos Daemons looked like. He clearly remembered the appearance of the Daemon Prince of Tzeentch, who had only distinctive features.

He was controlled by it, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, although he reached out to accuse the Interes, in fact, he himself became a pawn of Chaos.

The feeling of despair was like poison, spreading through his entire body in an instant.

"Carlo—"

The next moment, the Cainblach beside the envoy emitted a strange and mysterious fluctuation.

He was changing, his face filled with terror, but in the next second even his own face changed.

In the midst of endless changes, he didn't even leave behind a face.

"Look! That Xenos has revealed its true form!?"

Magnus was right.

Or rather, the information from the Chaos Gods is always half true and half false.

They will selectively tell you what they want you to know, and use various means to guide your thinking in the direction they expect.

The Cainblach were indeed corrupted by Chaos.

Before they encountered humans and received guidance from the Craftworld Aeldari, they were indeed fascinated by this evil belief.

However, after learning about the dangers of Chaos and appreciating the beauty of arias in enabling peaceful coexistence among various races, the Cainblach chose to forge swords into plowshares, forever abandoning this evil sorcery and magic, and drawing a line between themselves and the demons.

They abandoned Chaos, but... will Chaos let them go?

In a land where the existence of demons is already known, can anyone truly guarantee that they won't develop a yearning for such demonic power out of curiosity, even if it's just a little bit?

Are they really so confident that they can resist the invasion of Chaos with their shallow knowledge and weak will?

Impossible, my friend.

Perhaps it was due to some oversight that the Cainblach was corrupted, or perhaps the whole plan was already destined countless years ago, when the Cainblach first came into contact with the power of Chaos.

Ultimately, it's impossible for everyone to resist such constant temptation.

Even the most meticulous plans can have flaws, and even though everyone in the Interes Federation knows about and repeatedly emphasizes the dangers of Chaos.

But in this vast interstellar Imperium spanning thirty star systems, it's impossible to find not even a slightly curious individual.

And if anyone has ever been even slightly tainted by it, a glaring stain will be left on the web of fate they have woven.

Looking at the monstrous creature that was still writhing and radiating an evil aura, Magnus felt a chill of fear.

Fulgrim was extremely agitated.

"Chaos!"

"Shut up, you're the Chaos!"

The mutual accusations from the Interes Federation and the Imperium of Man continued unabated.

Perhaps they are all Chaos, or perhaps they are none of them.

But this is the infinitely cunning power of the Dark Gods —his lies are all true, and his truth is full of deception.

You can never tell who is right.

Whether it's the Imperium of Man or the Interes Federation.

He can cause internal strife and division, even if both sides want to expel the evil Chaos.

But under His command, even those moving toward the same goal are destined to attack each other.

Tzeentch has too many cards.

"I don't have time to argue with you anymore," Magnus said, his Psychic Lightning crackling. "Now, die with your filthy Xenos beasts!"

Lightning flashed out instantly, striking the delegation that was surrounded by numerous Phoenix Guards.

"Gentlemen, please listen to me—"

They wanted to defend themselves, but the evidence of the monster that the Cainblach had transformed into was irrefutable, so what was the point of saying anything more?

Moreover, with the Psychic Lightning about to strike him, he would be silenced forever and unable to say anything more.

Considering that they were currently aboard the Sons of the Emperor's flagship, Magnus's Psychic Lightning was not particularly powerful.

But burning these mortal humans and filthy Xenos to ashes is absolutely no problem.

Negotiations are pointless. Let's take this opportunity to wipe out those damned Xenos and Federation guys and restore peace to the world.

At that very moment, flames quietly engulfed the entire hall.

Just as the Psychic Lightning was about to strike, a golden-red flame formed a wall of fire, blocking and absorbing the Psychic Power energy from the opponent.

"What are you doing!"

Kasgar, still shaken, rushed from the center of the Pride of the Emperor's cabin to the bow conference room and stopped Magnus.

"Kasgar! You've finally arrived."

When Fulgrim saw Kasgar arrive while he was trying to keep the two sides from fighting, he couldn't help but smile with relief.

Perhaps Fulgrim is the true Warmaster, but she has no idea about these bizarre Psychic Power and sorcerous magics, or the existence of evil demons.

All of this requires Kasgar's judgment.

—Perhaps part of the reason the Emperor appointed her as Warmaster was because of Kasgar, who could often make up for Fulgrim's shortcomings and deficiencies.

Especially when she can't calm down.

What are they doing?

Withdrawing his Psychic Flame, Kasgar frowned as he looked at the writhing monster in the delegation, then at the two opposing camps locked in a tense standoff. He felt a headache coming on.

Due to the numerous affairs at hand, while Fulgrim presided over the negotiations, Kasgar usually stayed in his office helping the new Warmaster handle various domestic matters, both large and small.

Normally, during negotiations, Kasgar would stand guard by Fulgrim's side. However, this time, because the location was chosen on the Pride of the Emperor, with the absolute Phoenix Guard protecting them, Kasgar felt at ease to handle his internal affairs, leaving Fulgrim to complete the negotiations alone.

(Appointed to the young regent)

During this very negotiation while he was away, Magnus happened to arrive at just the right moment, using Psychic Power to disrupt things.

"I'm here to help you."

Magnus's expression was sincere.

But Kasgar didn't believe it at all.

He says that every time, but he always manages to mess things up.

—He can be considered a talented person.

"You can see that Khaine Xenos!" Magnus, perhaps realizing that Kasgar had absolutely no trust in him, argued loudly, "Look at its true form! Creepy and disgusting, still wriggling there!"

He's right.

Even though the little horse is abstract, can Kasgar say that Magnus is wrong?

No, it's not possible.

The Cainblach were indeed tainted by Chaos, and indeed harbored calamities.

It remains to be seen when these Xenos creatures' time bombs will explode, becoming Portal for Warp Entity to flood into the world.

His accusations are actually correct.

But Magnus probably never imagined that at the Council of Nicaea in another timeline, the demon disguised as Amon would use the same method to raid the Adeptus Custodes, making the decisive decision for the Emperor to completely ban the Librarian and Psychic Power.

An eye for an eye

"Perhaps you are right."

Kasgar's flames surged once more, burning the Cainblach had become Chaos Egg to ashes—a being whose very soul had been thoroughly corrupted by Chaos, and even Psychic Flame could not restore him.

"But there's one more thing I want to ask you—what exactly is it?"

Kasgar pointed at the small dagger in Magnus's hand and asked through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.

What the heck is this?!

How did you take it out?

I'm so impressed!!

This was the knife meant to stab the Warmaster, the very thing they intended to destroy. How did it end up in Magnus's hands?!

You want to be Erebus too, kid?!

"That's right!"

"Kasgar, this is the evidence of the Cainblach's crimes; they used it—"

It seems that Kasgar was furious about this, believing that he had grasped the lifeline of the Cainblach's collusion with evil Chaos.

"Enough! Enough!"

For once, Kasgar wanted to throw Magnus off the flagship.

I don't want to have anything to do with this guy anymore!

"Fulgrim, tell me what just happened."

Through Fulgrim's soft explanation, Kasgar roughly understood the nature of the conflict.

They actually have no problems.

But under the guidance of that evil god, with just the slightest cause of distrust, the Imperium of Man and the federation are destined to fight to the death.

And it is quite obvious that the Cainblach from before was a time bomb planted by that evil god.

"Tzeentch. What insidious methods!"

Before Kasgar, our understanding of this unpredictable evil god was limited by the author's skill level, so we could only keep repeating "this is part of the plan," stubbornly insisting on continuing to play our grand scheme.

Only when one truly encounters their half-truth, so-called "truth" can one feel the malice of the god of change and deception.

However, despite the emphasis on Tzeentch's cunning, this does not change the fact that Magnus is a bettor.

"So, delegation from the Interes Federation, what would you like to say?"

Kasgar turned his gaze to the still-shaken delegation.

"That's a card."

"What?"

"Carlos! This guy has been controlled by Carlos! He's a minion of Chaos!"

"Friend, calm down. Primarch possess intelligence that is beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and their resistance to evil creatures in the Warp is innate."

"To say that Carlos can control him is really an exaggeration."

While it's true that the other party knows having Carlos is a good thing, saying it like that is going a bit too far.

Kasgar replied with a smile.

"What Carlos!"

Magnus's rebuttal came from behind Kasgar.

"What do you know? That is the Spirit of the Two-Headed Eagle of our Imperium of Man!"

With a click.

Kasgar's smile vanished.

"Roll!!!"

"Friend, why are you so angry? Could it be—"

"Shut up!"

"Right now, get out of the Pride of the Emperor immediately!!!"

Kasgar no longer cared about Primarch etiquette.

If he had the means, he would have twisted the head off this pony right now to see what was inside.

"Get out! Get out now!"

Seeing Kasgar suddenly erupt in such intense anger, Magnus felt somewhat aggrieved and prepared to turn back and leave the Pride of the Emperor.

"Wait!"

We can't just let Magnus go back now; if they really leave, it will only cause endless trouble in the future!

Kasgar clutched his throbbing temples, feeling his blood pressure spike to a level even Space Marine would find unbearable.

I miss you, Leman Russ.

"Don't go yet, come with me to a place! With the people of the Interes Federation!"

"I need to figure out a way to get rid of that damn Imperial Two-Headed Eagle."

"Expel them forever!!!"

"(A universally understood single-word swear word)!"

Where are we going?

The Interes envoy said somewhat nervously.

He was very grateful for Kasgar's trust in Interes —after all, the Cainblach had turned into Chaos Egg right in front of him, and the fact that the other party still believed the Interes was innocent under such circumstances made him feel much more favorably toward Kasgar.

But the problem remains unresolved.

The tall, red figure was still under the control of the demon Carlos, and he remained deeply wary of it.

"Let's go to the Phoenix Grand Theater."

In response to the envoy's question, Kasgar replied.

"I'd like to invite you all to see a play."

Interes delegation. "?"

"It's a drama, but it's a crucial moment between our two sides, so how could it be—"

"Please sit down and relax. You don't need to worry about the rest."

Kasgar's tone became somewhat aggressive.

After dealing with nearly a day of government affairs, a pony that I must keep suddenly appeared, brandishing a dagger and showing off, saying that this wasn't Carlos, but the Imperial Two-Headed Eagle.

Hiss.

Kasgar felt a headache coming on.

After gritting his teeth and leading everyone to the spacious seats in the Phoenix Grand Theater, Kasgar turned towards Magnus.

"Magnus, I have a few more questions for you. Answer me right here and don't lie."

Although Kasgar is not the Primarch, his aura at this moment is definitely superior to Magnus's.

Magnus felt the same way as his Emperor father.

He was still the kind of Emperor who was in a state of absolute rage.

"When you first came here, you said the Centaur Spirit would guide you, but who was actually calling you to Interes?"

"Uh, it's that Spirit of the Imperial Aquila, but there's a reason for that, listen to me—"

"That's enough, no need to say more."

Kasgar interrupted him, "Then what else did he make you do? Nothing besides stealing the dagger?"

"No, friend, what's going on? Are you implying that the Imperium's Aquila is actually a bad thing?"

Kasgar: "."

"I don't want to say much, Magnus."

"If you ever see this blue two-headed bird in the future, just attack it with your maximum Psychic Power, okay?"

"But it—"

"But you (a very vulgar Old Terra profanity)! Does it have 'I'm a big bad guy' written on its forehead?! Ah!!"

Kasgar really couldn't take it anymore.

I really, really can't take it anymore.

"Is your brain completely (Old Terra words)?"

"You (very filthy Old Terra profanity), do you mean that (very filthy Old Terra profanity) Chaos Warp Entity, when (very filthy Old Terra profanity) were present, would still give—"

"Stop it, friend." It was Ahriman who stepped in and stopped Kasgar from continuing to berate Magnus.

"All of this is new to us, and we are able to know from the beginning which Warp spirits are accessible, such as the Centaur Spirit."

"And those, like that blue Aquila, are malevolent beings."

"If our actions have caused terrible consequences, please allow me to apologize to you on behalf of the Primarch."

He bowed in the direction of Kasgar.

Although he didn't understand why pointing out that the other party had used witchcraft and could transform into evil wriggling creatures would provoke Kasgar's intense anger.

"Okay, I lost control of my emotions just now."

Kasgar held his breath, just as the [Centaur gold ring] was about to unfold.

"Now, please look forward to the arrival of true Warp allies."

He said helplessly.

He made up his mind.

Even if I don't use Psychic Flame anymore, I still have to inform the Emperor about this.

That's terrifying!

How could someone mistake Carlos for the Imperial Two-Headed Eagle?

Holding his breath and concentrating, Kasgar used his Psychic Power to sense the world.

Oh, no, that's not right.

I forgot the Emperor is repairing the Webway; I can't get through on the phone.

I almost made a phone call that blew up Old Huang's internet.

That would be amazing.

"Send a Phoenix Guard over there."

"Go and call over Ms. Pike, the Chief Imperial Truth Preacher. Tell her I need to speak with her, and I'll explain the details to her in person."

O Emperor, Nikaea, come quickly.