Chapter 506 (4K) Emperor: As long as you are happy
tool!
This word came out of the Emperor's mouth without a trace of emotion, like a piece of ice that had been frozen for tens of thousands of years, falling into Horus's ears, making Horus shiver all over.
tool? tool!
What exactly is the Primarch to the Emperor? Horus has actually always had this question, but he has not thought about it carefully.
After Prospero was issued the order of extermination, he felt that there was an invisible barrier between himself and the emperor. He had never figured out why, but now he understood.
It was because he had a deeper understanding of the relationship between the Primarch and the Emperor.
Are they in a father-son relationship with the Emperor?
Genetically and birth-wise yes, but the Emperor never showed a paternal side to any of them, only "allowing" them to call him father.
The Emperor rarely spoke to them emotionally.
Only when you can use them will you show your human side to them.
In this objective reality, what was the Primarch to the Emperor?
At this moment, Horus' own answer seemed to be ready to be revealed.
tool!
That’s right, it’s a tool.
Humans make and use tools, and repair tools when they break down.
Such was the birth of the Primarch and the teachings of the Emperor.
If the tool malfunction is too serious to be repaired or repair is not necessary, throw away or destroy the tool.
Isn't this what the Emperor did to the Primarch?
When Magnus fell, the Emperor issued an extermination order on Magnus's home planet of Prospero, annihilated the Thousand Sons Legion, and brought Magnus back to Terra to be imprisoned.
The Primarch was the Emperor's instrument.
Horus looked up at the Emperor on the throne stiffly. At this moment, he felt that what was flowing in his veins was not blood, but heavy lead.
The emperor's face was covered with a vague halo.
This halo made the emperor look extremely divine, not like a stranger, but like a sculpture exuding divinity.
Holiness, reason, love.
There is no humanity, no sensibility, and no little love for individuals.
If we make a mistake, He will not forgive us, but will inflict divine punishment without hesitation; if humans no longer need us, He will erase us without a second thought.
In an instant, fear enveloped Horus's body and mind.
The Emperor is not a man, but a god among men.
We are not the Emperor's children, but are the Emperor's tools to protect humanity.
We are just tools.
The violent fluctuations in his heart made Horus feel physically suffocated. His usual calmness and elegance were gone. He just wanted to escape from the emperor's sight and take the Moon Wolf far away from the solar system.
Warmaster?
It’s just the most useful tool, whoever wants to be one can be it!
However, he could not move his feet at all.
An invisible force imprisoned him, and he seemed to be fighting against the entire land of Terra.
"Why?" Horus asked tremblingly.
He didn't understand that he had done anything wrong to deserve the Emperor calling him all the way back to Terra to reveal the terrible truth to his face.
Why?
Could it be that he, like that idiot Magnus, had inadvertently become a tool to be destroyed?
At this time, Horus had forgotten about the Warmaster.
There is no atmosphere in the solar system for him to be made Warmaster. Considering the current situation, if he still believes that the Emperor called him back so that he can be made Warmaster on Terra, he may have a group of WAAAGH people living in his head. Green orcs.
"What did I do wrong?" He gritted his teeth. "Am I not good enough at making tools?"
Horus was going crazy inside.
He couldn't believe that he and his brothers were just tools in the Emperor's heart, but the Emperor made it clear to his face, which gave him no chance to paralyze and deceive himself.
The Emperor looked down at Horus, silent.
He sighed to himself.
Horus's problem was not small. He just said one sentence and exploded Horus.
Fortunately, he was reminded by the coalition government that he was the one who exploded Horus today. If he let the four subspace gods explode Horus and instill some evil ideas into Horus, he would definitely not be able to get Horus back. .
He stared into the angry face of Horus.
He could feel that Horus was eager for his response, but he was not planning to talk to Horus yet. He wanted to hear more of Horus' inner thoughts and see what Horus really thought.
"My brothers and I have worked so hard for humanity, made so many sacrifices, won so many victories, and in the end are just useful tools in your opinion!"
Horus said angrily.
"Hahaha!"
"We have been fighting outside for two hundred years, and we have never had a peaceful day. In the end, the people who enjoy the results of the victory are not us, but those hateful mortals!"
Horus believed that he was in danger, so he simply abandoned his own considerations and spoke freely.
"How are mortals better than us?!" he roared.
Snapped!
Horus' anger and resentment were extremely strong, and the surging sound shattered a flower pot not far away.
Malcador is still in the hall.
He listened to the roar of Horus with an expressionless face, looking at his nose and heart, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
"In terms of strength, my Shadow Moon Wolves can easily slaughter an entire planet of mortals. In terms of loyalty, we are heirs related to you by blood!"
Horus couldn't figure it out.
Compared with mortals, the advantages of the Primarch and the Astartes are countless. Why does the Emperor regard mortals as treasures and treat them as tools.
"Those mortals will only eat food for free! Corruption and corruption! They work hard and violate the law!"
Horus gritted his teeth as he said this.
The incompetent bureaucrats and corrupt nobles he had seen could circle Terra three times hand in hand. Those faces and deeds became the fuel of his anger at this moment, making his anger burn brightly in the palace.
"Why?"
"Why do they deserve your love?"
Horus's heart was extremely unbalanced.
Seeing that the emperor was still silent, he broke the jar and vented his dissatisfaction even louder.
Time passes minute by minute.
After about half an hour, Horus had finished saying what was on his mind. He also complained that he was tired, and his volume gradually dropped.
He breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling.
"I understand why you asked me to return to Terra."
"Because I will immediately understand our relationship with you. When the time comes and I raise my arms, the other brothers will respond to me, and the human empire you have finally built will be over."
"So you're going to lock me up with that idiot Magnus."
"Come on, I have nothing to say!"
"It's just that I didn't see this clearly earlier. I respect you from the bottom of my heart, but I never thought that you just treat us as tools!"
Horus held his neck high, as if he was ready to be slaughtered.
There is no greater sorrow than the death of your heart.
Horus did not intend to resist, partly because he was too sad and not in the mood to fight; partly because he knew that he was no match for the Emperor and would not be able to gain any advantage in a fight.
At this moment, the Emperor finally spoke.
"Silly boy"
Three short words, but full of regret, pity, helplessness and many other emotions. Horus was stunned as soon as the words came out.
Horus had never heard the Emperor's voice sound so emotional.
"I have never treated you as a tool." The emperor asked seriously, "You are my heirs and the people closest to me. How could I treat you as a tool?"
ah? Horus was dumbfounded.
The emperor opened his mouth, but what he said was completely different from what he expected!
This is wrong!
The Emperor should scold him angrily and then imprison him. Why does he look so heartbroken?
Horus stared directly at the Emperor's face with confusion, trying to discern a little bit of guilt on the Emperor's face, but he failed. Not only could he not see guilt, he also saw full of guilt. sincere!
How is this going?
Horus was completely stunned.
On the throne, the emperor looked calm, and his words seemed to come completely from the heart.
"Horus!"
"I have never used my dear child as a tool for a moment. I didn't expect that you would misunderstand me so deeply. Could it be that we have been apart for too long and you can no longer feel my love for you?"
The emperor's face was full of loss and sadness.
"Your words are sharper than your enemy's sword. Why do you want to hurt the person who loves you most in this world?"
ah?
Horus and the Emperor looked at each other, and during the eye contact, he suddenly felt an electric shock all over his body, and his whole body was numb.
The emperor loves me the most in the world
Are we not tools?
I misunderstood?
Horus stared blankly at the Emperor, with clear stupidity in his eyes.
Malcador quietly rubbed his neck.
At some point, this seal bearer moved himself out of Horus's sight. He relied on his powerful psychic talent to weaken his own presence and frequently made small moves behind Horus' back.
As I get older, standing for long periods of time will make me tired.
He whispered in his heart: Neos is so patient. He let Horus chatter for so long before he started to fool me, but it broke my old bones.
Malcador was the person who knew the Emperor best, and he had been angry with the Emperor for a long time.
He knew that the Emperor was full of lies at this moment, and the reason why Horus could not see it was not because the Emperor was involved in the drama, but because the Emperor's acting skills were superior to Horus's ability to discern.
The Emperor is a veteran actor who has been around for thousands of years.
Compared with the Emperor, Horus was like a baby still in its infancy. Once the Emperor became serious, deceiving Horus was as easy as eating and drinking.
The person who loves the Primarch the most in the world. Bah!
The corner of Malcador's mouth twitched.
Nios's heart is too dark and he tells lies with open eyes. I have to be more careful in the future.
Malcador understood the Emperor's thoughts.
The Emperor treated the Primarchs as tools, but because he considered that Horus might betray him in the future, he now comforted Horus through verbal therapy and allowed Horus to continue to be a good tool.
However, this kid Horus is too innocent.
He believed whatever Nios said, so he kept talking about Niches for so long, but Nios just said a few words and he was shaken.
No wonder Horus can be chosen by the four gods, he is so honest and easy to deceive!
On the other hand, it also shows the importance of details. If Neos had paid attention to the spiritual construction of the original bodies earlier and pretended like he did today, Horus would not have been able to hold back the resentment in his heart that could rage for half an hour. .
"You don't treat us as tools?"
Horus's lips and teeth were dry, and his heart was beating fast when he spoke. He was extremely nervous, because if there was really a misunderstanding, what was he doing in the half hour just now?
Hurt the person who loves him most in the world?
"Of course not. Tiger poison cannot eat its seeds. You are all my sons. I am proud of you!" the emperor said firmly. "You said that I value mortals more than you. This is even more nonsense!"
"Do you think I don't value you by letting mortals manage government affairs instead of you?"
The Emperor looked directly into Horus's eyes, and Horus unconsciously avoided the Emperor's gaze.
Horus whispered: "Yes."
No Primarch likes mortal officials, because mortal officials always have various reasons to refuse to provide sufficient fuel and supplies to the fleet, or do other tricks, in short, they just do not make the Primarchs happy.
Not only that, mortal officials could also decide where the Primarchs would fight, but the Primarchs themselves could not decide.
"What a big mistake!" the Emperor scolded, "Don't you know how important the Great Crusade you are leading is to the Empire?"
"It is precisely because of the Great Crusade that the current human empire exists!"
"Then who did I entrust the Great Crusade to? Didn't I entrust it to your brothers?"
"I also ask the mortals to meet all your reasonable demands and let everything in the empire serve you. Isn't this a reflection that I value you more than mere mortals?"
The Emperor hurled a barrage of words that made Horus dizzy.
Horus discovered that things were very different from what he had imagined. The Emperor was actually educating him, instead of criticizing him, and did not immediately imprison him.
But this is just the beginning.
"Compared with internal affairs, war is the most important thing. Besides, is managing internal affairs interesting?"
The emperor showed an expression of hatred for steel.
"Horus, I trust you so much that I even decided to let you serve as Warmaster to help your brothers achieve a greater victory, but you can't even think of such a simple thing."
"Why don't I let you run the empire?"
"It's not that I don't trust you, nor that I despise you, but it's because managing the empire is boring and boring, and you can't use all your talents at all."
"Can you imagine Mortarion sitting in his office thinking about how many waterwheels to repair this year? Can you imagine Sanguinius running across the galaxy to collect taxes for the Empire? Can you imagine yourself watching from your desk every day? Any reports on properties in various places?”
The emperor gave three examples in one breath.
"Being in charge of government affairs seems to be like entering the palace of power, but in fact it is like entering a gorgeous birdcage!"
"Being a caged bird for the rest of your life, is this what you want?"
"Horus, answer me!"
"If you want to be a bird in a cage, I will satisfy you. I will not force you to be the warmaster. I can let you take Malcador's place."
"As long as you are happy." (End of Chapter)