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Chapter 236: The Corrupt High Lords
🕑 Added 2025-08-21 15:19:57 +0000 UTCChapter 236: The Corrupt High Lords
Countless astropathic messages were sent from Macragge. From Terra to the frontiers of the Imperium, to every sector capital, to every Astartes Chapter and their homeworlds.
The return of the Ultramarines' Primarch sent shockwaves through the galaxy. Countless Chapters sent personnel to verify the news, especially the successor Chapters of the Ultramarines. The Imperium had endured too much suffering over the past ten thousand years. Humanity was in desperate need of a person with sufficient prestige and ability. And Guilliman, who had once been the Lord Commander of the Imperium, was the perfect candidate.
As the surrounding Segmentums confirmed with the Ultramarines that the news was true, a considerable number of fleets began to assemble at the location Guilliman had indicated—the Webway gate near Macragge. But at the same time, many others remained in a wait-and-see state. They did not respond to the summons but waited for further developments.
The names of the Primarchs had never disappeared from the Imperium. Statues of the loyalist Primarchs still stood on Terra. But nearly ten thousand years was too long for mortals. Not to mention natural aging and death, with the low average lifespan in the Imperium, most people had only heard the legends of the Primarchs. Some might even have truly regarded them as just legends. It had been too long since the Primarchs had appeared within the borders of the Imperium. For many, only a vague concept of the Primarchs remained.
At this moment on Terra, the message was also received. The astropaths of the Terran Astropathic Choir even thought they had misheard. They immediately reported to the Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. And the Master, upon receiving the news, immediately sent a request to all the High Lords on Terra to convene a meeting.
At this moment, the High Lords, for a rare occasion, put aside all their work. Even the Fabricator-General of Mars rushed over. The seats of the High Lords that did not have a fixed individual but only a specific department also sent their own representatives.
The High Lords had rarely gathered together.
"Everyone, my astropaths have received an urgent message from the Ultima Segmentum," the representative of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, Zlata, said, looking around at the crowd.
"An urgent message? Is it worthy of summoning us all together? Is there anything more urgent than Cadia right now?"
The longer Cadia held out, the more information was transmitted back to Terra. An unprecedentedly bloody battle was taking place there. Terra had also sent a large number of personnel to investigate the situation. The High Lords were not doing nothing. The turbulent warp storms were blocking the fleets from reinforcing Cadia, but they also knew the importance of the fortress world.
"The Ultramarines say that their homeworld, Macragge, was attacked by the Chaos warband, the Red Corsairs. They successfully repelled the enemy and captured a Blackstone Fortress. They have completely destroyed the so-called Lord of the Soul Forges, Vashtorr."
"Completely destroyed? A Blackstone Fortress? That can indeed be called a great victory. How did the Ultramarines completely purify a powerful Chaos daemon? Perhaps I should send an Inquisitor to investigate and learn from it. But I have more important things to do. If this is your so-called urgent message, then I will leave first. That battle is already over. A victory report is not necessary to summon us all together. The Inquisition's work of purifying heretics is never-ending."
The Inquisitorial Representative, Veth, had already stood up and was preparing to leave. On the contrary, the Fabricator-General from the Adeptus Mechanicus was particularly curious about this news. After all, the Dark Mechanicum hereteks were also an object that the Mechanicus had always wanted to clear out, and they also knew how difficult Vashtorr was to deal with.
"It is not just that. The Ultramarines claim that with the help of the Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Belisarius Cawl, and the master of the Mongorte Dynasty, the Living Saint, Lucan Drex Aurelian, the great gene-father, Roboute Guilliman, has awakened. The Imperium will once again have a son of the Emperor!"
Zlata's words instantly plunged the entire council chamber into silence. Veth, who had just stood up, also stopped in his tracks and looked at Zlata. This matter was indeed sufficient to convene this meeting.
They knew Cawl. But who was this Lucan? The previous reports about Lucan sent to Terra were not qualified to be sent to the High Lords.
Everyone looked at the speaker for the Rogue Traders in the council, Kaniya Dhanda. And Kaniya also shook her head at the crowd, indicating that she did not know of the existence of this Rogue Trader, Lucan. She knew all the powerful Rogue Traders within the Imperium, but she had no memory of this dynasty's name. There were too many Rogue Trader dynasties within the Imperium; even once-glorious dynasties would disappear into history.
"The great gene-primarch is summoning the fleets of the various departments of the Imperium to go and support Cadia. Everyone, should we issue the order to the fleets and Astra Militarum belonging to the Imperium?"
After Zlata finished speaking, the High Lords looked at each other. For a moment, not a single person spoke.
Among the High Lords, some were happy to see the return of the gene-primarch. But for others, their thoughts were not so. The people present had all dedicated their entire lives to the Imperium of Man, but at the same time, some of them could no longer part with the power in their hands. In the time the Primarchs were gone, they had held the highest power in the Imperium, and power could sometimes make people lose themselves in it.
And most importantly, some of the High Lords were well aware of the secret things they had been doing. They were now in the highest position in the Imperium and could use their status and the excuse of "for the Imperium" to cover up their crimes. But they all knew very well that the things they had done were enough to sentence them to death.
Corrupt bureaucrats, using their power to seek benefits for the families behind them, using heretics and even Chaos cultists or unsanctioned psykers to strike at political enemies, and the lazy governance and feigned compliance caused by selfishness. Many of the decisions made on Terra that were considered insignificant could determine the life and death of billions of lives on other planets.
If they were to truly follow the laws of the Imperium, every single High Lord present could be sent to the pyre. They were indeed dedicated, but they were also the vermin of the Imperium.
The power of the High Lords came from the Emperor. And according to the Emperor's request, the authority to rule the Imperium was given to them, these mortals. Therefore, the Astartes also had to be under their jurisdiction and had no right to judge them. But the gene-primarchs, as the sons of a god, were not bound by this restriction. The status of a primarch was enough to be above them and to have the right to judge them. This was what some of the High Lords were worried about.
Everyone's mind began to spin wildly, thinking about how to deal with the return of the primarch.
"We need to send people to verify its authenticity. This could also be a conspiracy from Chaos!" the Master of the Administratum, Irthu, said, looking around at the crowd. Among all the High Lords, Irthu was definitely one of the most panicked. He knew very well what the Imperial bureaucrats under his command had done, and he was involved in many of those things.
"Are you questioning my astropaths? I do not deny that such a situation could exist in normal times, but these messages were received by my most elite astropaths! And the communication with the Ultramarines was also done in the safest way! I myself have also verified the authenticity of the information and have not found any anomalies! Do you think those Astartes would lie about the matter of their gene-primarch?"
"Calm down, Master Zlata! I did not mean that. It is just that this matter is of great importance! We have to be careful. Can anyone present confirm its authenticity one hundred percent? And do you know how much of an impact mobilizing these troops according to the astropathic message would have? Personnel, supplies—each requires a great deal of energy from the officials of my Administratum. Do you know how many people die at their posts every year, or even every day, from exhaustion from this kind of thing? We can't even count the numbers! It might even take a few days before their bodies are found in their small rooms!"
The argument between the two grew more and more intense.
At that moment, the Captain-General of the Custodes, Trajann, who had not responded to this summons, strode through the great doors and walked in.
