I'm in Warhammer, I just want to grow mushrooms

Chapter 297 The Empire Is About to Collapse

Terra Palace.

Ten minutes before the Void Whale bit the "dog's tail".

The area beneath the Golden Throne was more bustling than usual.

The emperor emanated psionic energy, and behind him stood Chancellor Makado, members of the Court of Truth, and a contingent of the Imperial Guard.

When Conrad Coz fought Lorca last time, he was seriously injured, and his men also suffered heavy casualties.

Thanks to the medical technology of Terra Palace and the Emperor's psychic powers, Koz recovered, and the fallen Black Armor Warriors were resurrected in another life form to continue serving the Emperor.

The Emperor's psionic fluctuations became even stronger.

Macardo cast his gaze into the warp and saw a starlight far more intense than ever before.

In an extremely short time, the light of the Star Torch pierced through the warp storm, forcefully calming the restless warp energy and illuminating the entire human empire, with the extended regions at the edge of the galaxy also bathed in its radiance.

At this moment, all the Star Speakers and Navigators throughout the nation felt the divine will and supreme power emanating from Terra.

It was a blessing that could grant humanity boundless courage, a vast power capable of crushing all kinds of aliens.

People outside the palace thought that Star Torch Court had developed new Star Torch technology, but only those at the foot of the throne knew that this was the divine power of the emperor.

At this moment, the emperor was a god in human skin; otherwise, how could he have spread the light of the starlight throughout the world all by himself?

"That Void Whale is about to enter the real universe."

The emperor spoke while maintaining his psychic powers; his voice was cold and devoid of emotion, as if he had already transcended the desires of mortals.
"Koz, prepare yourself. When Horus and Magnus are imprisoned, you will lead the warriors of the Court of Truth into battle. My psionic powers will act on you as a beacon, targeting the 'dog-tail' Ulanor orcs and the demons within the Void Whale. Use my psionic powers wisely to subdue Horus and Magnus."

“Yes, Father,” Koz replied in a deep voice.

The emperor pointed his fingertip at the empty space.

A holographic image created by psionic energy appeared, showing the Void Whale's movements to everyone present.

This was the first time Koz had ever seen a Void Whale.

When the Void Whale traversed the warp, Koz couldn't tell exactly how big it was.

But when the Void Whale entered the real universe and was surrounded by many celestial bodies, Koz's heart couldn't help but race.

This subspace creature is truly astonishing in size.

"Dog Tail" is a megalithic orc space fortress, transformed from a naturally formed terrestrial planet, with a diameter of approximately 10,000 kilometers.

Visually, the Void Whale's head diameter is about the same as a dog's tail, and its body length is more than twice the diameter of a dog's tail.

Such a colossal creature is actually able to traverse subspace!

It's hard to imagine how much it would cost the human empire to kill it if they were to confront it head-on.

Oh, and demons too!
The Void Whale contains tens of millions of demons.

What follows will definitely be a tough battle, but thankfully my father is secretly helping me.

With his father's psychic power, he was certain he could wipe out the Ulanor orcs and demons like autumn leaves in the wind.

Koz's thoughts raced, his heart pounded, and he couldn't wait to unleash a massacre, take revenge on Chaos, and uphold the justice in his heart.

At this moment, the Void Whale in the holographic image opened its mouth wide and lunged at the "dog's tail," its mouth pointing directly at the hole in the "dog's tail."

Although he couldn't hear the sounds from the scene, Koz still imagined the deafening roar of the Void Whale colliding with the "dog's tail".

Boom————

The shockwave, visible to the naked eye, spread out, hurling the buildings on the surface of "Dog Tail" into the void.

Coz gripped his weapon tightly, took a half step forward with his left foot, and assumed a charging stance.

The Emperor waved his right hand, casting a beam of light to the other side, opening a portal to the interior of the "dog's tail":

"Go, Koz, and proclaim the arrival of Imperial truth with a devastating offensive. The Imperial Guard will assist you in your actions, so that every Space Marine who encounters you will know that he is facing my will."

“Yes, Father.” Koz nodded forcefully and growled into the internal communication channel:
"set off!"

Koz transformed into a black whirlwind and rushed into the portal, followed closely by the black-armored warriors and Imperial Guards.

The portal did not close immediately after everyone left.

The Emperor extended his right hand toward the portal and fired a golden beam of light.

The light traveled tens of thousands of light-years and struck Koz, instantly turning his black armor gold.

Koz's body is made of single-crystal biomimetic material and is not affected by psionic energy, but his armor can be modified by psionic energy.

The golden armor shone like a blazing torch, each ray of light containing terrifying destructive power.

Those Ulanor orcs and demons who inadvertently stepped into the light's range were instantly refined by the golden light, their bodies spreading across the ground like molten wax.

Encountering orcs, slay orcs; encountering demons, slay demons; invincible and utterly devastating.

Koz's forces transformed into dump trucks, rampaging across the battlefield until they encountered the Primarchs and the Beast Kings locked in combat, at which point they finally came to a stop.

Horus was accompanied by the "Four Kings" and fought against the Beast King Ulgr and his royal guards.

A group of unidentified Legion think tanks are locked in combat with Fulgrim.

Nearby, Magnus was pinned to the wall with a sharp blade through his heart, unable to move.

Kahn, the commander of the Eighth Company of the World Eaters, was almost unrecognizable after being corrupted by Chaos.

Its mouth was sealed with wire, so it couldn't open its mouth and could only squeeze out angry shouts from its throat.

Upon seeing Koz, Kahn brandished his giant axe and led countless orcs and demons in a massive charge.

Koz was both angry and contemptuous of these scum who betrayed the Empire and joined the Chaos camp.

He laughed contemptuously, raised his blade, and charged forward, showing no fear whatsoever for the towering demon beside Kahn:
"Kahn! Today is your death day! I will use blood and death to tell you that the only consequence of betraying the Empire is annihilation!"

"Ughhhh!" Kahn responded with a muffled roar.

The distance between the two sides was rapidly shortening.

Just as the golden light emanating from Koz was about to fall on Kahn, a strange and eerie psionic energy surged out from the Void Whale's body.

Light blue, dark blue, deep blue.

Blue light swept in like a tidal wave.

This sudden burst of intense blue light is both Tzeentch's magical wind and a conspiracy spanning two universes.

The Emperor's portal was swept by blue light and closed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The golden beam of light cast upon Koz was severed by the blue light, leaving no trace.

Kahn's axe struck Koz's armor, sending metal fragments flying. Koz was thrown back by the force of the blow, colliding with the black-armored warrior behind him.

Before Koz could figure out the origin of the blue light, a terrifying tremor suddenly struck.

The ceiling above was sliced ​​through by mountain-like sharp teeth, and the surrounding walls were crushed by hard upper and lower jaws.

The Void Whale's giant mouth is closing!
And we were right inside its mouth!
Clang! Rumble—

The Void Whale's silence caused an earthquake.

Countless pebbles and dust mingled with the people from Terra Palace.

They swayed and rolled inside the mouth of the Void Whale, struggling to gain their footing in the deep, rugged texture of its tongue.

More than ten minutes later, the dust settled inside the Void Whale's mouth, and the violent tremors subsided.

Koz completed the assembly in the shortest possible time.

During the process of regrouping the group, he also contacted other Imperial members who were also trapped inside the mouth of the Void Whale.

Horus and his "Four Kings," Magnus and his assembled rescue force, came to join Coz out of respect for the Custodes.

The group was buzzing with discussion on the internal communication channel, creating a noisy environment.

"Where are we now?"

"It seems to be inside the mouth of a gigantic void creature."

Why did this void creature suddenly appear? Where is it taking us?

“Magnus, can you and your think tank contact people outside through subspace? Our sonic array can't receive any signals from the outside world at all.”

"Damn it, is my oracles broken? It's showing that we've already escaped the real universe."

The internal communication channels were filled with a noisy commotion.

Koz had no interest in responding to the crowd's questions.

He was frantically trying to contact the Emperor, desperately trying to open the portal.

What he didn't know was that there was someone in the world who was even more anxious than him.

That's right, this person is the Emperor.

Beneath the golden throne in Terra's palace, the Emperor looked utterly astonished. He remained in that state for several seconds, a very rare occurrence.

In the Warhammer canon, there are very few events that could cause the Emperor to lose his composure; there are only two.

First, he faced Draconion, the god of murder, and second, he dueled Horus during the Siege of Terra.

Now, in this unconventional Warhammer world, there's one more thing that can make the Emperor lose his composure.

Just now, when he used psionic energy to enhance Koz, Tzeentch sent an unparalleled psionic energy fluctuation from another dimension.

Tzeentch used magic to sever the connection between the Emperor and Koz, and suppressed the light of the Star Torch for a short time, helping the berserk Void Whale escape into the warp and leave the Rebellion sub-universe.

Tzeentch couldn't possibly possess such powerful psionic abilities, yet he did!

The only plausible explanation is that Tzeentch held an unprecedented sacrificial ceremony in the Apostate Era subverse.

This ritual, at the cost of the lives and souls of countless beings, greatly enhanced Tzeentch's psychic power, enabling him to penetrate the barrier between the two universes and completely overwhelm the Emperor's power, which led to the scene just now.

Macado, leaning on his staff, whispered a reminder:
"Your Majesty, please stop the Void Whale's warp travel as soon as possible."

The emperor slowly turned his head to look at the prime minister, and the astonishment on his face lingered for a long time.

The Void Whale has now returned to the Apostolic Age sub-universe, forever outside the Emperor's sphere of influence, and the Emperor has no way to bring it back—unless he performs an unprecedented sacrifice to enhance his own psionic power.

Not only did the Void Whale leave the Age of Rebellion subverse, but Horus, Magnus, Koz, Loka, Forgrim, the Orc Emperor Ulgr, and Karn, who were inside the Void Whale, also left the Age of Rebellion subverse and became Tzeentch's playthings.

For the Emperor, this was an incredibly painful blow; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it directly thwarted his plan to save all the Primarchs.

"Your Majesty?" Macardo called softly again, his voice filled with concern for the Emperor's condition.
"Your Majesty, please stop the Void Whale as soon as possible, or we may lose contact with Horus and the others..."

“No, Macardo…” The Emperor grabbed Macardo’s wrist, his voice trembling slightly:

"We...we...we failed."

“Failure? Why do you say that?” Makado asked, puzzled.

The emperor began to breathe heavily, his voice trembling even more, but no matter how many times he opened his mouth, he couldn't utter a word.

He didn't know how to explain all this to his old friend.

His plans were ruined because Tzeentch performed a cruel sacrificial ritual in another universe.

The emperor believed he could gain power in the same way, but he could not and was unwilling to do so.

So, he failed.

In this contest between true gods, whoever cares more about humanity is destined to lose.

This is true in the normal Warhammer lore, and it is also true in this world divided into three universes.

“Macado, I need to rest for a while. I’ll leave the affairs inside and outside the palace to you for now.”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The emperor walked unsteadily toward his bedchamber.

Macardo watched the Emperor's retreating figure, his eyes filled with worry.

If he still doesn't understand what's happening by now, then all those years as prime minister have been for nothing.

Suppressing his inner turmoil and grief, Makado mustered his strength and went to handle official business.

...

...

The Black Library, the Obsidian Archives.

Elena was reviewing data at her writing desk.

The crystal books on the obsidian reading shelf shimmered with iridescent light.

Alarmed by the strange occurrence in the Book of Destiny, Elena went to the bookshelf to examine its contents.

On the pages about her, several lines of text had been added, which Elena read aloud softly:

"The emperor's folly and stubbornness destroyed him and his empire."

Human suffering cannot disappear, it can only be transferred.

"If the emperor is wise enough, he should transfer all of humanity's suffering to a few specific generations in order to create happiness for future generations."

"But his overly emotional thinking caused him to miss the opportunity to turn the tide, and it was the most important and crucial opportunity."

"He will feel regret, self-blame, and resentment, wallowing in sadness and despair, and failing to live up to his potential for a long time afterward."

"We need to exert pressure on him, forcing his emotions and thoughts toward 'destruction,' and stimulating the power within him that comes from the Dark Lord."

"When he is sufficiently grief-stricken and desperate, and desperately wants to turn the tide, our chance to seal the Dark Lord will arrive..."

Elena looked at the next paragraph, her pupils, hidden beneath the mask, slightly contracting.

The Book of Destiny has assigned her a task that will plunge the Monkey Empire into turmoil and cause the deaths of trillions of monkeys.

Elena closed the crystal book, rested her right hand on the cover, lowered her head, and fell into deep thought.

To fulfill the prophecy and protect the Spirit Race, she must act according to the book's contents, even though the process will be bloody. The outcome, achieved by sacrificing the monkey's life, will perfectly seal away a Chaos God.

This is the mission of the Spirit Race, and also the mission of the Spirit Race gods.

Elena tidied up the books on the writing desk, opened the portal, and left the archives.

...

...

The scene of the battle at the Netway Graveyard in the Paru Empire.

Li Nuo switched his consciousness from Big Black Tooth back to space, his eyes filled with deep unease and contemplation.

The beast noticed the change in its leader and quickly asked:

"Boss, something's happened?"

"Yes, it's a terrible situation." Li Nuo glanced at Paidi, who looked curious, and without avoiding the scrawny figure from the sub-universe of the Apostate Era, said in a deep voice:
"The High Priest just received a message from Brother Mao, saying that the five genetic prototypes of the Shrimp Empire have been abducted by the Blue-haired Big Bird to the Apostate Era Sub-universe."

"Holy crap?! This is amazing?!" the beast exclaimed in surprise.

Paidi has learned about the concept of "sub-universe" in the past few days and has reacted strongly to what was said about space:

"Wow, isn't that blue-feathered bird about to take off? Back in the Apostate Era sub-universe, I didn't think it was that powerful. How did it get the ability to abduct the Primarch?"

Paidi's question was exactly what Li Nuo had been thinking about.

Tzeentch's act of using the Void Whale to abduct the Primarch was an exceptionally extraordinary feat, and the price he paid was certainly not small.

The price paid by the Chaos God is often the lives and souls of beings in the Milky Way, rather than the Chaos God himself.

The more powerful Tzeentch was before, the more suffering the beings of the Apostate Era sub-universe endured.

Having learned from this success, Tzeentch may employ the same strategy to harass and attack human empires and emperors during the Rebellion era.

If this continues, instability in the Milky Way is inevitable.

With a terrible external environment looming overhead, even though the Paru Empire is rooted in the Internet, it is not immune to being affected.

"We still need to grow mushrooms."

Li Nuo sighed inwardly, pondering to himself.

In the past period, the Paru Empire has followed an elite route, focusing more on quality than quantity when building up its army.

In the foreseeable future, the Paru Empire must possess sufficient military strength to cope with the numerous crises.

"Fortunately, I had made a contingency plan for a large-scale troop buildup. It's not too late to start building troops now."

Li Nuo steadied himself and instructed the beast:
"I'm going to use the Netway Graveyard to train kids who specialize in fighting junk. I'll send you spores and 'growth spirits,' so use less ship cannons and more mushrooms. As for the Heart of Fire, the Priest said he won't give it to us for now; he wants to use it to transport planets from outside and increase the strategic reserves for the Palu Homeland."

“Yeah, I get it.” The beast nodded.

Paidi blinked curiously:

"Hey, Space Boss, what's this 'Heart of Fire' you guys are talking about? It sounds really powerful."

Li Nuo crossed his arms, rubbed his chin, and stared at Pai Di for a few seconds.

I wonder if the Necromancer in space can understand the structure of the Heart of Fire.

If Paidi can create the blueprints for the Heart of Fire, wouldn't I be able to mass-produce it in the future?
Li Nuosi pondered and said:

"The Heart of Fire is a treasure we seized from the Comoros. Here's what we'll do, Paidi, I'll talk to the High Priest and arrange for you to visit the Heart of Fire. If you have any good ideas during the visit, remember to tell the boy who's accompanying you."

"Hey, okay."

Li Nuo plans to switch his consciousness to the witch priest boy, Sak, and arrange for Paidi to visit the Heart of Fire.

At this point, the archive briefing pops up.

(End of this chapter)