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

Chapter 309 Taking the Weasel's Back Door

Once upon a time, Li Nuo, in his human form, received a personal letter from Horus, who offered a hefty price in exchange for the advance purchase of the formula for a new type of synthetic starch.

Fearing being implicated in the rebellion, he was hesitant and tried his best to keep his distance from Horus without affecting their trade and friendship.

Now, Horus owes him a favor, and he no longer needs to worry about being powerless to fight against Horus's rebellion.

Life is truly unpredictable; the greater Chang encompasses the lesser Chang.

Having confirmed that Horus's injuries were under control and that the forbidden blue spell was being paused, Li Nuo left the operating room.

He arranged the voyage plan on the bridge, switched his consciousness to the Blood Raven leader, Kron, and headed to the Rebellion to find Macado.

A moment later, in the reception room of Terra Palace.

After listening to Li Nuo's story, Makado felt both excited and regretful.

Magnus's fate is unknown, but his corruption by Tzeentch is a foregone conclusion, which means he did not escape his original destiny.

Fortunately, Horus escaped successfully, and the human empire of the Apostate Era finally turned the tide.

Li Nuo asked:
“Macado, what do you think the God Emperor will do with Altramar?”

Makado's smile faded, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"His Majesty instructed me to prepare for the purification work. The Empire's attitude toward heretics has always been 'better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.'"

Li Nuo paused for a moment, feeling a surge of frustration, but unsure where to begin.

How come the God Emperor is about to become a god, yet he's still carrying out this massacre and purge?

Isn't he afraid that when Alteramar is purged, the warp will turn into a super-powerful powder keg and blow up the entire Imperium of Man, making it unrecognizable?!

Li Nuo asked in a deep voice:

“Macado, is there no other way? Ultramar is no small place. Even in the Apostate Era, when the Ultramarines' influence has diminished, there are still no fewer than five hundred Imperial Worlds there. Considering the hundreds of billions of people in the Nest World and the tens of billions in the Agricultural World, the total population of Ultramar is no less than two hundred and fifty trillion! Does the God-Emperor intend to kill them all?!”

Li Nuo's question struck a chord with Makado.

The Imperial Chancellor stood there, stunned for a long time, and could only sigh sadly in the end:
“Li Nuo, war, especially wars involving faith and heresy, inevitably results in large-scale casualties. You should understand the nature of the Warp. The power of heretical faith is poisonous. We must ensure that every believer of the God-Emperor possesses a pure heart and soul. Even the slightest hint of heretical faith mixed in could lead to utter disaster.”

Li Nuo fell silent for a moment, unable to refute.

Makado's reasoning is very convincing.

Yes, this is the Warhammer world.

False, impure, or distorted beliefs will inevitably stir up evil ripples in the subspace.

The God-Emperor embodies the faith of countless mortals. If heretical beliefs are mixed in, they will not be diluted like "a drop of sewage in the ocean," but rather there is a possibility that "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch."

There are examples of this in the official Warhammer animation.

Tzeentch's followers, disguised as Imperial monks, secretly altered scriptures and misled preachers to spread false beliefs, ultimately plunging the entire planet into the abyss.

Ottaramar is so large that even a few heretics could wreak havoc on other parts of the Empire.

Kill them all to prevent future troubles. It is the wisest choice, though cruel. But that is Warhammer. Death is never lacking, as it has been in the past and will be in the future.

“Okay, I understand. You have your reasons for doing this. I can’t stop you. But, Makado, you have to help me think of a solution.”

Lino recounted the promise he had made to Guilliman.

Only then did Macardo realize that there was such a part in Horus's rescue process.

Without Lino's prior promise, Guilliman would not have allowed Horus to leave, and the human empire of the Apostate era would not have been able to turn the tide.

In a sense, Guilliman did not believe that Alphamega could fulfill its promise; he was actually placing his hopes on his father's great mercy. This was a kind of aspiration and expectation of a son for his father.

The role of a father is always demanding; if he can be lenient with his offspring, they will naturally be overjoyed.

Unfortunately, the God Emperor may have water in his brain, but he never lets it go.

"I understand how you feel, Li Nuo."

Makado raised his hand and patted the orc's arm armor:
“You will not bear any responsibility for your promise. I will play the villain and break the promise on your behalf. When His Majesty issues the purification order, I will step forward to oversee the purification work. I will help you respond to Guilliman and tell him why you failed to keep your promise. This is His Majesty's order. You tried your best, but you could not change it. The responsibility is not yours.”

Li Nuo was shocked by Makado's decision:
"You want to take the blame for me?"

“Yes.” Macado smiled helplessly.

"The position of Imperial Chancellor was created specifically to relieve His Majesty's worries and troubles. To put it bluntly, it's about taking the blame. I'll do the things that His Majesty is inconvenient to do. I'll bear the blame that His Majesty has to bear. You don't need to comfort me; I've gotten used to it over the years."

Li Nuo was speechless.

That weasel should really kowtow to Old Ma!
"Li Nuo, have you figured out how to get Horus into the palace?"

Makado asked.

Li Nuo responded:

“I have some leads. Sebastian Thor’s Holy Light Alliance has connections with some of the High Lords in the Terra Senate. I plan to use Sebastian’s connections to make contact with the High Lords. I’ll meet them first to learn about the current state of the human empire during the Apostate Era, and then find an opportunity to bring Horus into the picture. With Horus’s intelligence, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to persuade the High Lords.”

After a moment's thought, Macado nodded, then shook his head slightly:

“Your idea is fine, but I think you will encounter considerable resistance when implementing this plan.”

“Resistance? Hmm…you mean, will Tzeentch interfere?” Li Nuo asked.

Macado waved his hand:

"No. The resistance I'm referring to mainly comes from within the empire during the Apostate era. I haven't been to the Apostate era, so my conclusions are bound to be somewhat biased. You can communicate more with Sebastian to verify my guesses."

Makado's words were vague, but Li Nuo sensed some unspeakable difficulties in them.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to helping the God-Emperor awaken from the Apostate era is not saving the Primarch, but getting the Empire to accept a living Primarch.

With this speculation in mind, Li Nuo made contact with Sebastian through the Black Knight the next day.

The military space station where the Black Knight was stationed repelled several attacks by the Chaos Orcs.

After the death of their war leader, the Chaos Orcs gradually became embroiled in internal strife, and their attacks on the space station became weaker with each passing attack. Li Nuo, possessing the Black Knight, briefly communicated with Stein, the commander of Blitzkrieg Fleet 30, and learned that the small star system where the Chaos Orcs were located had fallen into chaos.

It is estimated that the Chaos Orcs will have no time to attend to the Holy Light Alliance until the next leader of the war emerges.

Taking the opportunity, Lino suggested discussing the matter in person with Sebastian, and Stein readily agreed, dispatching a cruiser to escort Lino to Dimamo, the capital of the Holy Light Federation.

This place was originally a religious world and the birthplace of Sebastian.

Before Sebastian founded the Holy Light Union, everything Dimamo did was in service of the state church.

They raised cattle and sheep, skinned and butchered them, made sheepskin scrolls, wrote scriptures, copied classics, and promoted the good name of the state religion.

These tedious tasks brought poverty to the local residents, not prosperity.

The state religion took away most of the resources produced in Dimamo, giving them only enough food to barely survive and more job quotas in return.

After Van Diehl took control of the Imperial Senate, the Ministry of the Interior, and the State Religion, he intensified his exploitation of Dimamer.

Finally, one day, Sebastian could no longer tolerate it and could no longer endure it.

He threw away the sermon scriptures at his waist, tore off the rosary that symbolized the preacher of the state religion from his chest, and rose up in rebellion in Dimamo, declaring that throughout the entire empire, only the God-Emperor himself was the object of faith.

By bypassing the state religion as an intermediary and serving the divine emperor directly, one naturally avoids paying heavy taxes to the state religion.

In the same year that the Holy Light Federation was founded, the residents of Dimamo were pleasantly surprised to discover something:

The supplies produced this year alone are enough to arm several warships and support a decent army.

In other words, for many years, Dimamo has been foolish and pathetic to support the state religion's army with supplies and help the state religion exploit itself.

This discovery quickly spread to the Imperial worlds surrounding Dimamer through bustling interstellar trade.

One world after another has declared that the state religion is a false faith, and that only the God-Emperor is worthy of worship.

One after another, overwhelmed worlds joined the Holy Light Federation, cobbling together troops to resist the state religion's repressive actions.

In recent years, the state religion has spent its money on building super luxurious palaces, while investing very little in the armed forces.

The suppression forces it sent out were driven back by the Holy Light Alliance before they even saw Dimamo.

Thus, the reputation of the state religion plummeted in the northeastern corner of the Misty Starfield, and the Holy Light Alliance became the orthodox religion.

Do you think that the Holy Light Alliance can become the next state religion as soon as it takes over Terra?
No, that's not the case.

The degree of religious division during the Apostate era was beyond Li Nuo's imagination, and the regional barriers caused by religious differences were also chilling.

Including Li Nuo, most Cloud Hammers believed that there was only one "Holy Light Alliance" during the Apostate Era.

However, the Holy Light Federation is far from the only imperial power that has explicitly opposed the state religion, openly established its own independent entity, and enjoys a high degree of autonomy.

There are as many as six organizations like the Holy Light Alliance that have clashed with the state religion on multiple occasions and proclaimed themselves as the orthodox faith of the empire!
"Lord Speth, please take a look at this star map."

Sebastian, dressed in a coarse cloth robe, pointed to the holographic map on the command platform.

As the leader of the Holy Light Federation, he has been so busy in recent years that he has become unkempt with a stubble beard and messy hair.

The holographic map he was pointing to was a planar view of the Milky Way galaxy, with six regions marked by colored patterns.

These regions are located in the northeast corner of the Misty Starfield, the northernmost point of the Far East Starfield, the southernmost point of the Storm Starfield, the northernmost point of the Pacific Starfield, and the southwest of Terra.

The six colored areas correspond to six forces that can rival the State Religion, each of which has repelled the State Religion's fleet multiple times.

Especially the faction in the southwest of Terra.

Located in the southwest corner of the solar system, it is closest to Terra and bears the greatest direct pressure, yet it remains healthy and its sphere of influence continues to expand.

“That’s the territory of Cardinal Bucharis.”

Sebastian pointed to the apostate forces in the southwest of Terra and said:

"Boogalis gained the support of the Imperial Navy and the Astronautical Army, with an Imperial Navy admiral and an Astronautical Army colonel publicly endorsing him. Bougalis declared that the state religion was indeed orthodox, but its exploitation of mortals was far from meeting the Emperor's requirements. He believed that the state religion's taxes should be increased by at least 100%, with all the additional tax revenue used to build up the army and construct palaces."

Sebastian then introduced the other four apostate factions, concluding with a resolute tone:
"Lord Speth, the biggest obstacle to your sending Lord Horus to Terra Palace is this group of scoundrels who exploit the Emperor's name for personal gain. Following the disappearance of several Primarchs, including Rog Dorn, Lane Johnson, and Chagatai Khan, the Space Marines have been excluded from the Imperium's administrative system due to the Astartes Code. The entire Imperium has become an arena for the power struggles between the nobility and cardinals."

"It will be very difficult for Lord Horus to return to the public eye."

"On the one hand, his actions during the rebellion have tarnished his reputation with an indelible stain."

"On the other hand, the mortal nobles of the Empire do not want a living Primarch to compete with them for their interests, especially since this Primarch's reputation far surpasses that of other Primarchs."

Before transmigrating, Li Nuo was a test-taker who did research, and he wasn't very perceptive about factional struggles.

Sebastian's few words still made Li Nuo realize the seriousness of the problem.

He looked at the distribution of power on the holographic map and asked thoughtfully:

"Sebastian, let's set aside the reactions of mortal nobles to Horus's return for now. I just want to ask, if I simply want to get Horus into the Terran palace, do you have a good way to do that?"

Sebastian shook his head:
"Lord Speth, I regret to inform you that I do not have a quick and safe way. You are unaware that the Terra Palace has long been under lockdown. The palace is shrouded in a void shield, with its doors and windows tightly shut. No one is seen coming in or going out, and even the Royal Guard has not shown up for over a thousand years. Every year during the Ascension Day festival, both mortal believers and cardinals can only stand tens of kilometers away at the foot of the highest peak in Terra, bowing in the direction of the palace."

Sebastian paused, then, as if struck by a thought, his expression turned somewhat strange.
"Lord Spess, I know you command a formidable army and have His Majesty the Emperor's backing. But from my perspective, I advise you not to take drastic measures against the Terra Palace. While such measures might force the Royal Guard to appear, they would also create obstacles for Lord Horus's return."

Li Nuo chuckled softly but did not reply.

Sebastian was right. Li Nuo was just wondering whether he should forcefully parachute into the Terra Palace.

Regardless of the consequences, just tell me whether Horus was sent in or not.

But then I thought about it.

If you simply want to enter the palace, you don't necessarily have to go through the ground.

There's a huge hole right under the golden throne!
The hole was caused by Horus's rebellion and is filled with Webpath demons.

The weasel sits on its golden throne, constantly suppressing the demons within the net.

If I can find a way to reach the net-path city beneath the Golden Throne, I will naturally be able to break through the net-path demons' blockade and directly reach the Golden Throne!
Isn't this the back door that the weasel left for us?
(End of this chapter)