Imperial Palace's long corridor extends into the distant darkness.
The ceiling is like an upside-down wilderness, inlaid with countless carvings and reliefs. The stone carvings outlining the achievements of Imperium cast interlaced shadows in the candlelight and electric light, as if silent history is slowly flowing on the wall.
Dorn's soles stepped on polished stone bricks, one step at a time, leaving a rhythmic hammering sound on the ground like a moving siege machine.
His back was straight, and the word "prepare for war" was burning in his mind.
Utio, Mars, Adeptus Mechanicus, those names were biting and turning in his mind like gears, thinking about how to mobilize troops as quickly as possible, seal the waterway, and blockade Starport.
And at some point, a gray shadow appeared silently behind him, as if seeping out from the cracks in the floor tiles.
Malcador followed leisurely, the pace was neither urgent nor slow, and the edge of the robe almost never made waves.
He looked like an old man walking in the courtyard, and he was incompatible with the Imperial Palace that was preparing for war.
But the hot breath exuding from the Staff in his hand made it impossible for people to regard him as an ordinary old man.
Dorn noticed Malcador following behind him.
He adjusted his pace, turned his head, and looked at the gray figure from above.
His voice was low and steady, without any unnecessary warmth. "Malcador, shouldn't you be staying at Throne Room at this time?"
Malcador raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes that have been sharpened by time from under his hood.
He quickened his pace slightly and walked to a position side by side with Dorn. His voice was hoarse like the friction between old branches. "I came out to prepare something, Dorn."
He raised the Staff in his hand, and the flame at the end of the stick danced in the air, emitting a warm yellow halo, illuminating half of his wrinkled face.
"I am going to dispatch a group of Officio Assassinorum personnel to assist you." Malcador said.
When those words fell into the air in the corridor, the surrounding candlelights seemed to tremble slightly.
"Officio Assassinorum?" Dorn had a look of confusion on his face.
He turned his head and his eyes fell on the old but sober face of Malcador.
Officio Assassinorum is one of Imperium's most concealed weapons. They are not used on the battlefield or in frontal conflicts, but are used for assassination, Infiltration, subversion and cleaning.
They lurk in the shadows, like a Dagger knife without a hilt, which will not be pulled out after piercing the target.
Dorn is not unaware of the name of this organization, but in all the military operations he commanded in the past, it was rarely necessary to mobilize such personnel.
Malcador seems to have anticipated Dorn's doubts.
He did not explain immediately, but moved forward while casting his gaze on the deep corridor ahead.
"Mars is, after all, the base camp of Adeptus Mechanicus and the industrial center of Segmentum Solar. If a large-scale war breaks out in Mars, it will be a devastating blow to the Imperium industry."
"No one wants their factory to explode first before a war breaks out."
Dorn was silent.
He thought for a moment and then spoke slowly, "So, you plan to keep this battle to a minimum?"
He already understood the intention of Malcador. Adeptus Custodes cooperated with Officio Assassinorum and added Dark Age of Technology's secret weapon to directly kill Utio. After beheading the traitor's top brass, he secretly dealt with the other traitor Archmagos.
For Imperium, it was not a war, but an operation.
The goal of an operation that is accurate to the millimeter is to remove the lesion without causing massive bleeding to the entire body.
"Yes, Dorn." Malcador nodded. His voice was not high, but every word was like a piece of iron falling to the ground, crisp and heavy.
"Our goal is not to win, but to minimize losses."
"Understood, Malcador." Dorn's answer was concise and clear, and he focused his gaze forward again.
The pace of his feet did not slow down, but his mind had already begun to re-plan the scheduling plan.
The cooperation of Officio Assassinorum and Adeptus Custodes, coupled with the pre-deployed raid path.
If he can kill Utio before it completes its full deployment, then the Adeptus Mechanicus troops on Mars will stop resisting without a leader.
That is the only way to prevent Mars from falling into a sea of fire.
Looking at Dorn's answer, Malcador smiled.
That smile was very faint and fleeting.
He did not continue to move forward, but adjusted the angle of Staff's grip so that the light of the flame cast a swaying shadow in the corridor.
Then, Malcador suddenly changed the subject. His voice was much softer, but with a spine-chilling clarity. "Do you think it is right for Horus to rebel, Dorn?"
He did not stop or look at Dorn.
Dorn's pace stagnated slightly, then resumed.
He didn't answer immediately, and his gray-blue eyes flickered in the candlelight.
"Maybe Imperium or Emperor did something wrong, and Horus was correct. Many people will agree that Horus is rebellious." Malcador continued.
Dorn frowned.
He stopped and turned to face Malcador.
He was much taller than the latter. When he looked down at the old face, his voice was as low as the collision of stones. "I am the high wall of Imperium and the guardian of Terra." He was not excited, but every word was like nails being driven into the board.
"Whether Horus is right or not, as long as he dares to invade Terra, I will let him hit his head on the high wall and die."
"Hehehe..." Malcador laughed.
The laughter was not loud, with the hoarseness and lightness of an elderly person. He did not respond, just shook his head gently and continued to walk forward.
His back gradually blurred in the shadow of the corridor, like a dissipating gray shadow.
In the dark, Officio Assassinorum members and Adeptus Custodes hiding in the shadows took back the traps and weapons they had prepared.
The machinery relaxed silently, the gun barrels hidden behind the columns were resheathed, and the Sniper in the ventilation ducts looked away from the scope.
The whole process was like a silent tide receding without any unnecessary movement or sound.
For Malcador, this is just an insignificant trial.
He needs to confirm that Dorn is still the wall that he needs to worry about least at this time.
He placed Officio Assassinorum in every shadow of the corridor, just to observe how Dorn would react when his evaluation of Horus was thrown out.
If Dorn hesitates, if Dorn shows even a trace of wavering, those weapons hidden in the dark will remain permanently in the position they have been aimed at.
Now Malcador only trusts Emperor and Lorgar.
Don't trust anyone other than these two people. After all, Horus's rebellion shattered everyone's trust in each other.
He walked in the shadow of the long corridor, Staff flames dancing in the wind, like a sober eye, watching every inch of darkness in this huge Imperial Palace.