"Father, Second Brother forced me to do all this. I'm innocent!"
Fulgrim immediately chose to distance himself from Mordred. Whether Second Brother would die or not was unknown, but if he took even one punch with his small frame, his head would probably go flying.
Before the Emperor could say anything, the Phoenix, who had long been plotting, dropped to his knees at once, as though he had rehearsed it countless times. The Emperor was stunned, his gaze lingering on the purple qipao for a moment as he wondered how his child had become like this in less than a year.
He had been perfectly fine before the Emperor sent him here, yet in the blink of an eye he had become a parent. Even the Emperor couldn't accept that!
Confusion, bewilderment, and then an uncontrollable surge in blood pressure made the Golden Giant clench his fists:
"Speak. What have you and that damned dog been doing all this time? Tell me everything, without leaving out a single word."
I can't die, I can't die! I still have to make the Legion great again. I haven't even taken part in the Great Crusade yet, and I haven't collected more pretty dresses. Second Brother, don't blame me!
Fulgrim didn't last even a second before smoothly selling Mordred out completely. Or perhaps this was the true reaction of a primarch facing the Emperor. Someone like Big Mo was the exception.
Fortunately, Mordred had treated his little brother quite well over the past six months. The Phoenix still had some conscience and didn't reveal the little stories he usually made up about the Emperor, while beautifying several of his more obviously treasonous actions.
"Father, that's everything. I've told you everything I know. As for the rest, only Second Brother knows."
After finishing, Fulgrim immediately shut his mouth and sat on the ground like an ostrich. In his mind, he furiously wailed and cursed Vulkan for being such a bastard.
To his surprise, however, the Emperor didn't use the Emperor's Head-Shattering Fist on him as he had on Mordred. Instead, he used telekinesis, tore open space with his peerless Psychic Power, dragged over a group of Adeptus Custodes, and directly sealed off the Hive Laboratory.
The miracle-like scene made Fulgrim question his entire existence, and he couldn't help asking:
"Father, could it be that you really are a god?"
It would have been fine if Fulgrim had obediently played dead. Unfortunately, that one sentence hit the mark perfectly, detonating all the fury that had built up moments ago.
With a roar of "I Am Not a God!" the Emperor's Head-Shattering Fist once again appeared across the galaxy, allowing Fulgrim the Third to experience firsthand the ultimate thrill of breaking through three times the speed of sound with his physical body.
At the same time, the first to strike, Mordred, had already awakened. Looking at the enormous emerald-green planet before him, he felt dizzy, as if his neck had been broken.
"Who am I? Where am I? What was I supposed to do?"
But this wasn't merely a sensation. Fortunately, Mordred's health bar was thick enough. After his physical body broke through the first cosmic speed, he had only fallen into suspended animation. His neck had been stretched two meters at a ninety-degree angle. Anyone else—even a primarch—would have died on the spot.
Unable to touch his own head, Mordred stretched his body. His neck, more than two meters long, allowed him to observe his surroundings in all directions. After thinking for a while, he finally remembered what had happened to him.
"Someone save me! I can't get back."
Then, looking at the All-Risk Cargo Ship growing larger and larger in his field of vision, Mordred, floating in near-Earth orbit, decided to stop thinking.
The Phoenix on the ground said nothing, Big Mo in the sky wanted to go home, and only the Emperor watched the Hive City with delight.
Fortunately, there were still reliable people. Seeing their primarch punched away, the Sons of the Emperor and Atlas immediately began a large-scale search, sending out their respective stretcher teams to rescue him.
Poor Fulgrim had been punched into the Twisted Forest. By the time he was found, his eyes were vacant, and he lay in a crater, unconsciously muttering strange words like "toad, toad."
The surrounding area was filled with shattered remnants of the Twisted Forest. One could vaguely make out the swamp that had once been there, leaving the Sons of the Emperor utterly confused.
Only the Dog-men guide who had come along noticed the clue. The blood drained from his canine face, and the Big Yellow Dog was frightened into becoming Little White.
"Leave, quickly! If we don't go now, it'll be too late. Dead Leg, get moving!"
Thanks to the dog's quick thinking, the already-scarce Sons of the Emperor might otherwise have been wiped out on the spot.
Mordred, however, had much worse luck. Atlas couldn't find his father's whereabouts at all. It wasn't until seven whole days later that they discovered him on the outer deck of a cargo ship docked at Angstrom, a Forge World.
Looking at their primarch lying on the ground with drool hanging from the corner of his mouth, his belly protruding as if he were ten months pregnant, and his eyes rolled back, the Atlas had no idea what to do. Resentment toward the Emperor also rose in their hearts.
It was obvious that their father had been punched into outer space by the Emperor, then had the bad luck to crash onto the cargo ship's deck and spend seven days touring the Warp without the protection of a Geiger field.
"How could His Majesty treat Father like this? He's his own son! How is this any different from those Tech-barbarians on Terra?"
Brian, leader of the Black Knights, wore a grim expression. As one of the first Space Marines of the Imperium, he was a ruthless veteran who had fought through the Unification Wars on Terra and survived. In terms of seniority, few in any Legion could surpass him.
Yet this Terran-descended veteran's words and actions were now highly treasonous. He launched into a furious tirade against the Emperor, cursing him for being no true ruler and no true father, and saying he was even worse than Warmaster Ol' Peson.
But as the saying went, concern bred confusion. Compared with the brainless brute Brian, the more meticulous Goff noticed where the problem lay:
"Wait, that's not right. Listen carefully. Father seems to be muttering something. Is it something about soup?"
"Soup? Could Father want to drink soup?" Brian shoved Goff aside and leaned in to listen carefully. Sure enough, he heard some sounds.
"Soup, soup! This thick soup is delicious! Let go of me, you stingy Old Man! I want soup!"
???
Brian and Goff exchanged a glance. Something was wrong. Where had Father drunk soup? He had been hanging on the cargo ship's deck the whole time. How could there have been soup in the Warp for him to drink?
With no other choice, the two could only return first, planning to go back to Serenity and ask the Emperor to resolve the matter. The Emperor had caused all this, so he had to return their primarch in good health.
Carrying this resentment, the Abomination Exemplar began speeding recklessly through the Warp. Countless unlucky Warp Creatures failed to dodge in time and were smashed to pieces, attracting countless predators to fight over them.
But soon, those predators scattered and fled, because an even more terrifying predator was devouring everything in a frenzy.
Five days later, the hurriedly returning stretcher team carried Mordred toward the Hive City. On the way, they even ran into the primarch Fulgrim.
In only five days, Fulgrim looked as if he had been thoroughly broken. When he heard the explosive roar of the transport shuttle landing, he shuddered, as though it had left him with some kind of psychological trauma.
"Second Brother's been found? You've come back at just the right time. The Emperor is waiting for you in the Hive. Hurry over!"
After receiving the news, the stretcher team charged straight into the Hive Laboratory without hesitation. But once inside, they were dumbfounded. The detestable figures of the Adeptus Custodes were everywhere. Their home had been taken over.
As for the Space Marines, the Emperor wouldn't vent his anger at them over Mordred. He simply gestured for them to carry that Rebellious son of his onto the Operating Table. The stench made him feel nauseated.
However, when Brian pulled away the white cloth, the Golden Giant was still startled.
"Fuck, what kind of monster is this?"
Before you continue