"You should have let them stay and fight alongside you!"
"I thought your twenty thousand troops were all soldiers, but now it seems they are merely weaklings eking out an existence under your protection."
The aged voice reached Qin Mo's ears. He looked up and saw the Emperor and Malcador entering the hall.
"Those forces are enough to wipe out my people while I am stretched too thin." Qin Mo glanced at the holographic image. "They are not eking out an existence under my protection, but my people are still infants. I need to protect them until they grow strong enough to protect themselves."
"Infants?" Malcador frowned. "Even after growing up under your protection, they will not learn to protect themselves. Believe me, the reason is that you have no idea what you want them to become. You are merely using them as an excuse to wield your great power and enjoy their worship."
Malcador's words struck the Emperor as quite persuasive.
He had wanted to say the same thing.
The Emperor gave Malcador an approving look, while also feeling that this so-called Lord of Flame and Lightning resembled a C'tan even more. The Void Dragon he had imprisoned on Mars back then had been the same way, equally fond of the worship of mortal flesh.
The C'tan were not the Dark Gods of the Warp. Worship and faith served no purpose for them, yet they simply loved it.
"I hope they will grow into people who can not only protect themselves, but who are also rational, fearless, and possess a scientific spirit." Qin Mo answered Malcador without hesitation. "They will become beacons for this species that has fallen into the abyss. They will bring their rationality and scientific spirit to their fellow humans."
Hearing this, the Emperor was moved.