The Creators: From Night City

Page 495

Chapter 1004 The Perilous State of the Empire

The Emperor has awakened, and the human empire is saved! The Emperor has awakened, and the government is efficient! The Emperor has awakened, and the people are saved! The Emperor has awakened, and the galaxy is at peace... just kidding.

In a sense, the emperor's awakening was almost the same as not being awake at all; it could only be described as a state of being awake.

But his awakening still gave this dying empire a powerful boost.

Before the emperor awoke, he and Jiang Bing had already decided on their next course of action and the roles they would each play.

Although the emperor is still the nominal ruler of the empire, the reality is cruel. The empire has been out of his control for ten thousand years, and his subordinates, through their scheming and intrigue over such a long period, have divided up most of the empire's power.

Of course, if the emperor were to personally intervene, it wouldn't be long before he could reclaim power from these bloated maggots, but the reality clearly doesn't allow him to do so.

The Emperor's awakening is an absolutely momentous event for the human empire, an event that could change the political landscape of the entire galaxy. However, such an event cannot be publicized, nor can it be known to anyone outside the current hall.

Otherwise, the four Chaos Gods would almost certainly launch an attack on Terra, unleashing a massive apocalyptic war.

This also contradicts the strategic policy of the two old foxes to develop stealthily and avoid recklessness.

Therefore, those worlds mired in despair could not rely on this news to uplift their spirits, and the empire's bloated political system and numerous corrupt bureaucrats could not be cleansed immediately. The state religion, which had gone astray, could not be reformed and its doctrines rewritten, and the empire's massive and sluggish military system could not be reformed.

However, without the emperor's personal intervention, no one in the current human empire has the prestige and ability to subdue the existing vested interests and complete the necessary reforms without causing serious damage.

Thus, a brilliant plan was born.

To put it simply, the plan can be summarized as follows: the Emperor takes charge of internal affairs, while Jiang Bing takes charge of external affairs. The Emperor reorganizes Terra and regains control of the Imperial administration, while Jiang Bing descends upon Mars and takes over the Mechanicus.

As for whether the Emperor can secretly and discreetly control the entire administrative structure of Terra, that remains to be seen.

It can be said that even without the use of force, the Emperor was the most outstanding politician among mankind. Moreover, although he could not move, he still had a golden army of ten thousand men and a gray knight by his side.

For him, smoothing things over quietly was not difficult at all; the challenge was how to avoid alerting the spies from various factions lurking in Terra.

After all, even an emperor doesn't need to investigate to know that a large number of officials in the human elite have been corrupted by chaos.

Jiang Bing's appointment as 'Om Messiah' was a smokescreen planned by the two to divert attention, and of course, it was a reasonable choice based on the overall situation.

In fact, when Jiang Bing first learned that the Emperor wanted him to serve as Om Messiah, he actually refused. He felt that you can't just ask me to be one and expect me to be one right away. This position would most likely involve a lot of hard work, and it would be tiring and require a lot of running around. He wouldn't do it.

But he eventually accepted the position because the human faction needed someone to control the Mechanicus, thus bringing the seal and the purse back under the Emperor's control.

Of course, the most important factor—the gun—was not overlooked either, and it was certainly included in the emperor's plans.

The Emperor had long planned who would take on this responsibility.

Robert Guilliman, Primarch of the XIII Legion of Astartes, ruler of the five hundred worlds of Alteramar, rightful regent of the Empire, the only 'living' Primarch, and also the 'successor' in the Emperor's original plan.

There are many reasons for choosing him. For example, compared to other Primarchs, he is rational, pragmatic, visionary, good at politics and construction, opposes personality cults, is a natural strategist, and the very solid resources of the five hundred worlds led by Macurag are suitable as 'start-up capital', etc. However, the most important reason is that the Emperor himself admitted to Jiang Bing that 'this child is like me'.

I don't mean that Guilliman is similar to the Emperor in personality, strength, tactics, or even appearance. Rather, his plans and understanding of the future of the human empire are essentially the closest to the Emperor's.

In his past exchanges with the Emperor, this Primarch clearly expressed his 'views' on the Empire.

He believed that humanity needed to replace superstition and rigidity with logic, science, and efficient management; to regard technology as the primary driving force of progress, rather than mysterious psychic magic; that human society should be built on rationality and shared humanity, rather than religious fanaticism; and that the purpose of empires was to safeguard human prosperity and progress, not merely to ensure human survival.

One thing is clear from this content—Robert Guilliman was a 'good man' and a 'benevolent ruler'.

This is all thanks to his happy upbringing, which, compared to the tragic childhoods of other Primarchs, made him the most stable in character, calm in emotion, and patient.

He was undoubtedly the most suitable of all the loyal Primarchs for the position of 'Regent'.

In comparison, Leon the Lion King is too suspicious and secretive; Logue Dorn, Lord of the Fortress, is too stubborn and inflexible; Chagatai Khan, Lord of the White Scars, despises bureaucracy and its constraints; Vulcan, Lord of the Dragons, is too kind and indecisive; Leman Ruth, Lord of the Wolf King, is neither suitable nor willing; Fellus Manus, Lord of the Steel Hand, worships the absoluteness of power, despises humanity, and is already dead; and Corax, Lord of the Ravens, is purely like an assassin living in the shadows, unable even to manage his own warband.

Archangel Saint Gilles was charming and compassionate, but he had already died in battle. Even if he were still alive, his overly idealistic and kind nature made it difficult for him to handle the cruel realities and dirty politics of the empire's lower levels.

Only Robert Guilliman, the Lord of Ottara, was born to be an emperor.

However, he too disappeared from the galaxy for decades after the Great Rebellion.

Towards the end of the Great Rebellion, Guilliman's fleet encountered the fleet of the traitorous Primarch Vograim in the Lamas system.

The battle between the two sides spread from orbit all the way to the planet's surface. On the battlefield, Guilliman fought a desperate battle with the demonic Primarch Forgrim, who had been elevated to demonic status. In the end, Guilliman was pierced through the body by the poisonous blade blessed by Slaanesh.

The loyal Ultramarines launched a desperate charge, rescuing Guilliman from Vorgrim and quickly withdrawing from the battlefield.

But Guilliman, corrupted by chaotic energy and deadly poison, was inevitably heading towards death. To save his life, the Ultramarines' chemists placed him in a special stasis field, freezing time.

In the perspective, Guilliman's injury is frozen at the moment of the devastating blow, neither worsening nor healing, thus becoming 'Emperor II'.

Now, he lies asleep on Macurag, like a 'Sleeping Beauty,' waiting for the 'Prince' to awaken him.

In fact, the emperor had long planned for the 'future' of this outstanding son. In a dark future he foresaw, he needed the other's power and had already made preparations.

But Jiang Bing's appearance brought about new changes to the future, and everything naturally had to be replanned.

However, the Emperor's pace of rebuilding the empire will not be slowed down by even a second.

This is because at the end of the forty-first millennium, a terrible and massive war is about to begin, and although this war has not yet taken place, it has already caused a violent echo in the subspace from the distant future.

Abaddon, the most loyal henchman of Chaos and successor to Horus, has assembled the largest Chaos army in history and is about to launch another Black Crusade to conquer the galaxy.

This time, the human empire is teetering on the brink of collapse.

Chapter 1005 Belisarius Caul

Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, is a close neighbor of Holy Terra and the stronghold of the Cult of Mechanism.

The surface here is covered with towering factories, huge refineries, communication arrays that pierce the sky, and bottomless mines. Countless docks, space stations, and defense platforms orbit the planet. Thick smoke and pollution blot out the sun, filling the artificial atmosphere. Although it is breathable, the air quality is extremely poor.

Mars is the largest forging world of the human empire, and the template for all forging worlds.

The level of 'mechanization' here can be described as the highest in the empire, but as the old saying goes, where there are people, there is a world of its own. Even the most rudimentary motorists have complex factional struggles within their ranks.

Conservatives, gradualists (innovators), radicals, heretics... internal strife is equally severe.

Many technical priests are willing to sell everything in order to advance their careers, accumulating knowledge and achievements to improve their status and the degree of mechanization.

Many wise men work tirelessly year-round, striving to achieve success and promotion in a particular field.

The great sages belonging to various factions often schemed against each other, engaging in open and covert struggles.

The Martian administrative system is not an efficient and rational bureaucracy, but a unique feudal system based on knowledge.

Here, power is directly linked to the knowledge possessed by an individual or faction. A sage who possesses key STC fragments and other powerful knowledge may wield actual power far exceeding his official title.

However, it is also a feudal cage bound by dogma and ritual, and the administrative system that has been accumulated over tens of thousands of years cannot be shaken by just anyone.

Unless the omniscient 'Om Messiah' descends to earth.

The atmosphere on Mars has been very strange lately.

This perception wasn't limited to the vast number of technical priests, forging sages, gene sages, logic sages, and the overseer. In fact, from the forging commanders down to the priests and craftsmen, and even the technical sergeants sent to Mars by the various Astartes legions, everyone noticed that the internal situation on Mars seemed to be undergoing a subtle change.

The Grand Sage Usaka C. Far has been appearing in public far too often, and the previously rigid internal situation on Mars has shown signs of a subtle thaw, with the factional struggles not as intense and brutal as before.

It was as if an invisible force had been introduced, acting as a buffer.

In this environment, a massive ark-like spaceship approached the solar system, carrying a great sage back to Mars.

When Belisarius Caul's massive body once again set foot on Mars, nearly a thousand years had passed.

In fact, if it weren't for this inevitable 'religious trial,' Kaul might still be drifting through the stars in his Ark, lingering at Riza, Macurag, or any other scientific archaeological site, instead of wasting time and energy on this lifeless Mars.

Fortunately, the computing resources currently occupied by this personality thread are still within the limits allowed by the Caul Project.

"It's still the same here, seemingly prosperous, but actually empty, stubbornly conservative, and increasingly rotten." When Caul's huge body moved, it was like a steel crab crawling, which looked terrifying.

"Watch your words, my boss. This is the sacred Mars, not a tomb world teeming with space dead," the cloned friend and assistant's personality advised from the side.

“The Om Messiah filled the galaxy with infinite mysteries so that we could learn from them and gradually become his perfect creations, but these Oglins ignored them and forbade anyone to come into contact with these mysteries. Isn’t this a heresy, Friedrich?”

The accompanying servo skull remained silent.

However, this great sage, who had been on standby for tens of thousands of years, was still not satisfied and bombarded his cloned friend with complaints in binary form.

"My colleagues are limited in their abilities, and their faith has become a dogma they dare not challenge. Sadly, they dare not admit it. The doctrines of the Mechanicus are even more bound by them than they were ten thousand years ago. How absurd!" This great sage's humanity was more abundant and more incessant than one might imagine.

Fortunately, thanks to its high vantage point, the floating servo skull managed to stop its boss's biting sarcasm with a single sentence.

"If my optical scanner hasn't malfunctioned, boss, it seems your nemesis, Faussius, has arrived."

"It looks like he just arrived, or maybe this Oglin was waiting for you here."

Enemies meeting are bound to be furious, and this successfully silenced Caul.

“You will receive a fair trial, Dominius Belissau Caul, you blasphemer who recklessly manipulates heretical technology. I cannot wait to see you convicted in the Order of Judgment.”

Kaul had nothing to say to this most stubborn old conservative. If he really wanted a response, he would like to have a good chat with him using the axe and staff with the disintegrating force field gear.

Unfortunately, this is Mars, and no matter how fierce the infighting is behind the scenes, he still cannot take direct action on the surface.

So he had nothing to say.

Fastschuv received no response and could only leave in frustration. His purpose was to definitively confirm the other party's status as a technological heretic and expose their unforgivable misuse of heretical technology. Verbal disputes could not resolve the outcome.

“Boss, I think we can just play along and find some excuse like being lost in the warp to drag this trial out for hundreds of years. There’s absolutely no need for us to come here and suffer.”

The cloned servo skull's consciousness threads were designed to be highly active, which suited Caul's talkative body perfectly.

“We don’t need to pay them any attention. After all, your base isn’t really on Mars, so there’s no conflict of interest.” The servo skull floated up and down around the mountain-like Kaul.

“Disaster is looming, and we must race against time. The resources needed for the plan are astronomical. While we can’t win over the conservatives, we have quite a few people we can work with from the gradualists. They might be able to provide some of the urgently needed resources.” Caul discussed the road ahead with his best friend.

Thousands of friars escorted Caul as he descended from the vast atmosphere of space onto the Martian surface.

The bustling spaceport was filled with tireless slave laborers, machine servants, and apprentice technicians who were even worse off than slaves.

Kaul watched as the two apprentice technicians struggled to drag two heavy boxes of parts under the direction of a cyborg priest. At the priest's insistence, the two poor apprentices had to recite prayers for Om Messiah while making their way forward, and Kaul couldn't help but sigh.

He thought back to his apprenticeship in the Trisoria system ten thousand years ago, when he was a beast of burden. Now, the world has not progressed; on the contrary, it has deteriorated further.

"How can we save the empire while dealing with these insects!"

Just as this great sage was feeling melancholy about the passing of spring and autumn, a 'beautiful' messenger found his party.

"The Sage of Dominion requests your presence, Great Sage Dominius Belisarius Caul," the messenger said, its wings fluttering, its body actually suspended in mid-air by an anti-gravity device.

"He hopes you will keep your appointment as soon as possible, Great Sage," the infant angel emphasized again.

Chapter 1006 Persuasion

The Temple of Om Messiah was built in a very grand and imposing manner, towering into the clouds. It was magnificent, solidly constructed, and ingeniously crafted. Apart from not quite resembling a temple, it had no flaws.

Anyway, Kaul didn't recognize it as a temple.

Led by the infant angel, he entered the spacious front hall corridor of the temple.

Soft light shone through the gear-shaped glass window, illuminating the ground and casting a holy gear emblem. The sacred Sage of Domination, Usaka C. Far, stood at the door to greet him, holding a golden data tablet.

"Rule of the wise, may the truth of Om Messiah shine upon you."

Usaka's expression was a little strange, and what he said was even stranger.

“Great Sage Caul, the truth has already shone upon me, and now you have the same opportunity.”

"Opportunity?" Compared to the wise ruler who values ​​life, the voice of the great wise man was practically a complete loss of quality.

"The opportunity to meet Om Messiah."

These words almost made Kaul lose his composure, and his servo skull instantly switched to combat mode.

"What do you mean? Has the church now degenerated to the point where a great sage can be subjected to vigilante justice without trial?"

The kinetic field on the gear-axe crackled and popped.

“Insolence, Great Sage Kaul! This is the sanctuary of the Om Messiah, where war is not permitted.”

The Sage of Domination gracefully made way for the entrance, saying, "The holy Om Messiah resides in this mortal place, and He wishes to see you."

His earnest explanation was met with silent stares, while the detectors in Usaka keenly detected a large amount of scanning spectrum rolling across his body.

“Revered Sage, if my test report hadn’t been completely normal, I would have even suspected that you had been corrupted by Chaos.” Kaul finally became serious.

"All the sacred are contained within it."

Usaka remained silent and stood quietly at the doorway.

The meaning is quite clear.

Choose for yourself!

Motor enthusiasts are 1000 times more curious than cats, let alone a Kowl who is on the front lines of 'heresy'.