Chapter 34: The Emperor's Assistance
Wayne flew through the air, leading tens of thousands of nanomachine bats toward the epicenter, wanting to discover what Tzeentch was plotting.
Suddenly, he felt a power of light, the same power he'd experienced when the Emperor had once invaded his dreams.
"Are you going to face it alone this time?" The Emperor's voice echoed in Wayne's heart once more. Indeed, an invasion of this scale would catch the Emperor's attention.
Wayne's nanomachine swarm continued forward. Wayne said nothing in response, merely heading silently toward the epicenter.
After all, Wayne knew that if he answered a question at this moment, it would mean he was inferior and suppressed, only able to wait for the Emperor to respond.
The Emperor waited for a long time, but did not hear Wayne ask for help.
"Do you know, Wayne? The enemy wants you and Konrad. I suggest you disregard casualties and solve the problem directly."
Wayne replied mercilessly. "Emperor, you truly are a bastard. Are you only helping now and expect gratitude from me? Is this your solution? For me to destroy this everything."
"Yes, solve the problem with orbital strikes. After all, Nostramo's value is far less than yours and Konrad's. We must think about this from a broader human perspective."
The bats banked sharply around debris. "Shut up! You imbecile. Your suggestion has no emotional intelligence whatsoever. Who even made you an emperor of mankind?"
Wayne felt the surrounding time and space slow down, as if the Emperor was forcibly extending his and Wayne's own time. Did this man not want him to take risks?
The swarm of bats flew high, making sounds of air being torn apart, and the whirring of machinery instantly became the dominant sound.
The two fell silent.
"Although you have a nano-army composed of Untouchables aspects, ultimately our enemy will find a way to break it. After all, Chaos is not as simple as it seems."
Wayne opened his mouth to retort. "If you know something, say it! Don't hide it here, just like you prepared for the Astartes after the Great Crusade and told no one. And what will be the result? Half of the legions betrayed you, and you couldn't do anything except hold on to your golden throne, like a child running to his mother!"
The Emperor of Mankind could tell that Wayne meant him to say whatever he knew, rather than waiting for Wayne to die before regretting it afterwards.
He had never encountered such a human. The moment the Emperor of Mankind stood forth, no human would ever speak to him like that.
Only Wayne always found fault with him, just like Ollanius Persson in the past, or rather, like other Perpetuals in the past, treating the Emperor as another human.
While Wayne checked his armor's tactical display, the Emperor fell silent for a moment, then thought for a while before continuing. "I did it for their own good. I was just worried they would become the next Thunder Warriors."
Every time Wayne saw the Emperor, he felt anger. He didn't believe that the Emperor had not discovered Nostramo's problems in the past nine years.
Now the enemy was on the doorsteps; he had activated all his war weapons and contingencies, and NOW the Emperor came over to discuss cooperation with him.
This made Wayne feel that the Emperor was like a hypocrite, waiting for him to expose his military strength, and then, after the Emperor's assessment, coming to discuss solutions.
This was also why Wayne doesn't want to meet the Emperor now. If he could, he would definitely prepare the Emperor's Tower of Babel plan, just like Ollanius Perssonthousands of years ago, giving the Emperor a sword to his kidney.
Wayne continued, "Honestly, there are alien species in the Webway comparable in size to the galaxy, and also these Dark Eldar. Then you plan to gain control of the galaxy through the Webway. You will definitely launch a new Great Crusade in the Webway in the end. Tell this earlier, and most Astartes who are Great Crusade-ists will definitely be more satisfied than nothing."
The Emperor could only respond. "I remember, we are discussing you right now, not me."
"What is there to discuss about me?" Wayne retorted without hesitation. "I am about to face Tzeentch, possibly to my death. I have no idea how many Greater Daemons or enemies the opponent has deployed, and if you are not going to be of help, what use are you?"
The Emperor did not sound anxious, as he felt the current situation was under control.
Even the Emperor didn't know how Tzeentch had appeared on Nostramo so irregularly, as if bypassing the Warp tides and directly invading this world.
Normally, Chaos invasions would be detected through prophecies or Warp tides, which was why the Emperor reacted so slowly; he initially did not know Chaos's movements.
Now, the enemy had invaded, and corruption had not covered this world, so the Emperor thought it was probably a normal Greater Daemon-level threat.
At this moment, the Emperor was not yet a god. He was ignorant of many things, just as he only reacted when Horus's betrayal ignited the entire galaxy in certain timelines.
"My power cannot act upon your soul, just as Chaos cannot act upon you. This talent is a double-edged sword, after all—"
Wayne didn't want to hear the Emperor babble on. This world was suffering, and he absolutely could not abandon it.
It was best to make things clear now.
"Why are you saying this again? Where is your indomitable psychic power? Where are your non-Warp methods? Don't tell me there's no way to help me now. You are a psychic master who has lived for millennia. Are you telling me there's no way now!"
The Emperor felt that this man was manipulating him, but he was also manipulating Wayne. Still, even in this moment when Wayne should be in a losing position, the Emperor feels he seems to be more desperate than Wayne, facing the chaos god as a mortal.
The two tormented each other like enemies.
Wayne also knew that the Emperor wanted him to compromise, and he indeed needed all the power against Chaos now. The Emperor wanted to do him a favor, so he could later pull him into the Imperium of Man.
Finally, Emperor, "I have, if you can give me control of your body—"
"Nope, another one."
"Dont be stgubbron thi sis not a grocery sale, you can bargain for."
"Nope, give me another one. Oh, look, I am almost there. You'd better hurry; who knows what will happen if Tzeentch has control over me?"
The epicenter drew closer on his HUD.
"I can create a psychic clone to help you," the Emperor said, as if he had just remembered. "It's just that the effect isn't very good."
"Send one. I don't understand the Warp as well as you do. Providing some advice would also be fine."
The Emperor's voice carried a hint of doubt. "Is advice all you want?"
Wayne was speechless for a moment. The advice he wanted was merely the Emperor's lowest output, not what he needed. He directly complained about it.
"If you think your power is only at this level, then it's just advice. I know you are just a particularly powerful mortal now, but you still possess the power to fight Chaos! So, how much power you can exert is decided by you, not me."
"I can help you deal with some enemies."
"It would have been much better if you had said that earlier."
Wayne felt the Emperor's distrust. This man was still afraid that Wayne would once again spread the artificial intelligence disaster across the entire galaxy.
But Wayne also felt the Emperor was unreliable. The two once again glared at each other. Neither would yield, but the problem was that Chaos had attacked, so they could only cooperate.
The Emperor's phantom had crossed half the galaxy and faced the power of Chaos itself. Creating a simple manifestation now was trivial compared to those feats, much like when he had aided Guilliman in certain timelines.
Besides, the Emperor typically displayed his power in ways suited to the moment. Since Wayne had only a working relationship with this woman, presenting a gentler demeanor would be psychologically advantageous for future cooperation.
In an instant, a young woman appeared beside Wayne, hovering in the air. She had long, flowing black hair adorned with a golden laurel wreath, warm amber eyes, and wore elegant white and crimson robes with an ornate brooch at her chest.
"How about this form?" she asked.
Wayne glanced at the phantom beside him and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" He looked her up and down. "I thought you'd manifest as some golden, unstoppable giant to end all this."
"Would you have preferred that?"
"Then what did you think I wanted?"
[End of Chapter]