Warhammer: Don't Call Me the God of All Machines

Chapter 861 Abaddon: If they don't want me here, there are plenty of other places that will.

Deep in subspace.

The relentless surge of etheric energy intertwines across this world, creating the bizarre and wondrous spectacle of the highest heavens.

Time and space are meaningless here; the rules of the physical universe do not apply. Instead, the spirit and soul are more adapted to the bizarre environment of the subspace.

It looks lifeless, but in fact, there is far more life in the warp than you might imagine.

A colossal Void Whale roamed freely in the Warp Sea. Its length exceeded a terrifying 20,000 kilometers. If placed in the real universe, this Void Whale would be much longer than Holy Terra.

Even in the perilous warp, the Void Whale is considered a relatively powerful species.

What's even more frightening is that these enormous Void Whales don't act alone, but rather in groups, hunting and searching for food along the warp tides.

The Void Whale's enormous size has given rise to a complete ecosystem within its complex interior, inhabited by all sorts of warp creatures, much like the fish that live among the coral reefs in the ancient Terran ocean.

However, the ever-changing nature of the subspace is never something that can be predicted.

The leader of the Void Whales suddenly let out a high-pitched low cry, the ultra-low frequency pulse warning the clan behind him of impending danger.

The moment the Void Whale roared, a sudden warp storm exploded within the Void Whale pod, instantly tearing several smaller Void Whales to shreds.

The Void Whale leader was overcome with grief, but it was unwilling to stay with its kin any longer and led the remaining members of its tribe to flee this dangerous place.

The subspace is like that; it's very possible that one second everything is calm and peaceful, and the next second a natural disaster or danger from who-knows-where could destroy everything.

However, what the Void Whale leader did not realize was that along with this warp storm came some extremely small humans who were virtually undetectable.

"We're finally back."

"We were so close, so very close, that we were about to be reduced to ashes by the Emperor's wrath."

“He wanted to kill us, to completely obliterate us, without leaving a trace.”

Those who were sent to the Void Whale by the warp storm were naturally Omega and Loka, who had narrowly escaped death from the Terra Palace.

Black King's desperate struggle ultimately snatched a sliver of life from the Emperor's grasp; otherwise, even ten lives wouldn't have been enough for the Emperor to wipe them out.

However, although the two Primarchs returned, the Astartes Legion under their command suffered another heavy blow.

Their original plan was to travel to Terra to help Pope Elfreda resist the siege of Kil'jaeden and the Empire, and to make contact with the Dark Lord.

But they arrived too late. By the time they reached Terra, everything had already been settled, and their arrival only made them targets for the Emperor's wrath.

If they had arrived in Terra earlier and cooperated with Elfreda, they might have had a chance to stop Macardo, Lothie, Waldor, and several Primarchs outside the Throne Room, thus interrupting the formation of the Trinity system.

The deed is done, and no one can change it.

Omega took stock of the legion's losses. Although it was crippling, at least some seeds had been left, which could be replenished with time and resources.

Hydra looked at the distraught Luo Jia and couldn't help but frown.

If he had a choice, he really wouldn't want to become an ally of Luo Jia.

This guy always backs down when he should be firm, and remains stubborn when he should back down, to the point that he's unreliable most of the time.

But now he has very few choices, and Luo Jia is already the best one among them.

Both Angron and Forgrim were manipulated and controlled by the Chaos God; they were not qualified partners.

"Luojia, I hope to see you cheer up."

"Now that you have chosen to worship the Lord of Darkness again, you should resolutely continue on this path, no matter how many difficulties and obstacles you encounter along the way."

Listening to his brother's advice, Da Huaiyan, with his broken body, came to Omega and tried to straighten his back.

The Emperor's powerful spiritual energy attack caused extremely serious damage to his body, and the fact that he can stand up again is a testament to his strong recovery ability.

“I understand, you don’t need to worry about me.” Luo Jia searched around for the target and finally found Abaddon and the Black Legion’s trail.

"The situation isn't at its worst yet. We still have each other to rely on, and we still have Abaddon, our 'war commander,' to command."

Two Primarchs, accompanied by their offspring, arrived before the Great Raiders.

Abaddon held Draconion in one hand and the Claw of Horus in the other. Surrounding him were the surviving high command of the Black Legion, all looking at their warmaster with worry.

Everyone could see that Abaddon's morale was truly damaged this time. His confident infiltration and assassination operation had the opposite effect.

This was a blow to him far beyond what he had imagined.

The Emperor's resurgence and his departure from the Golden Throne have given the already powerful human empire a crucial new backbone, and now nothing can stop humanity's ascent.

It can be said that their desire to rebel against the empire and complete Horus's unfinished work has been completely shattered.

Their future is reduced to a life of lingering on in the eyes of fear, and eventual demise.

In this desperate situation, they desperately hoped to gain confidence and find a goal to strive for next.

"Commander, you are our leader, you must not be so despondent!"

Beside Abaddon, the Thousand Sons Wizard Cayan offered his heartfelt advice.

"Even if our legions are wiped out, we can rebuild them. Even if the Empire can't defeat us by force, we can outsmart it. As long as we persevere, there is always hope!"

"But if you fall, who will command us? Who will unite all the Emperor's enemies into one force?"

However, Zhan Shuai remained motionless in place, like a clay statue, even his expression stiffened.

Omega sighed. Even a Primarch like him felt lost and pessimistic about his future, let alone Abaddon.

Just as Omega was about to speak to Abaddon, the petrified warlord suddenly seemed to come back to life, his body once again radiating a firm conviction.

That indomitable and unyielding fighting spirit seemed to have returned to him once again.

“You’re right, we still have hope, we still have a chance of winning. If we choose to give up, then there will truly be no hope.”

Abaddon looked sadly at the sparse Black Legion high command around him. To be on the safe side, he had only brought his confidants and capable subordinates to Terra.

Now, most of these people have been lost, and the entire Black Legion has suffered heavy losses.

Even now, it remains to be seen whether Abaddon can maintain enough prestige to keep other warbands and individuals affiliated with the Black Legion under his control.

After all, for Chaos Space Marines, they follow the naked law of the jungle: the strong prey on the weak, and survival of the fittest.

The weak leader will only have his last piece of flesh devoured before dying a miserable death.

Even so, the son of Horus rallied, and Omega, observing Abaddon, was astonished to find that the fellow seemed to be recovering even faster than Loka.

Alas, Luojia...

"Let's not forget our initial mission objective: to seize Draconion. And now, I have obtained this demonic sword, and it is the very sword that slew a false emperor once."

"Don't worry about unnecessary influencing factors, don't worry about your own losses. As long as we achieve our expected goals, that's a victory!"

Although Abaddon's approach of "setting expectations low enough to make every action a victory" seemed a bit opportunistic, Omega was still pleased with his resilience.

Not everyone can be this shameless.

For a leader, having an indomitable fighting spirit is the most important quality.

A lack of ability can be made up for in other ways, but once the fighting spirit is gone, it's truly gone.

"I will continue to rebuild the Black Legion, gather any allies willing to oppose the Human Empire, and continuously launch Black Expeditions against the Empire."

"As long as we achieve some objective with each expedition, we will surely be able to gradually erode the empire!"

Abaddon's impassioned declaration helped the remaining Black Legion gradually recover from their devastating defeat on Terra.

However, not everyone is willing to pay for Abaddon's vision.

“Abaddon, your vision is good, but I have a better suggestion.”

Omega, holding the Pale Spear, spoke before Abaddon.

"Please speak." The Great Raider was very polite to the Hydra Primarch, as he only now learned of Omega's true stance.

Although Omega's stance is not entirely aligned with his, as long as they are both enemies of the Emperor, they can cooperate.

The empire is about to take off, and if these forces in the Chaos faction continue to split, they will truly be doomed.

“I once tricked Carlos the Weaver of Fate in Nostramore and got some interesting information from the chief archduke of the Lord of Change.”

"The reason why the human empire is so vibrant and thriving is not actually due to Makado, Waldo, or Guilliman."

"You have been overlooking the truly important person, the one who is present in all events but never shows off."

“Loxi”.

Omega uttered the name in a serious tone, while Abaddon and the others frowned, the image of the mysterious mortal flashing through their minds as they silently awaited Hydra's next analysis.

"He disappeared for a century after the Great Rebellion ended. I once thought he was like Macado and Waldo, carrying out a secret mission somewhere."

“Until recently, I finally figured out one thing—that the place this Roxi went to was much farther away than we thought.”

"He left our universe—not simply from the real universe to the subspace, but a true voyage from our universe to a completely new multiverse."

"And that Roxi obtained the power to deny the universe itself from outside the universe."

"Without him, the empire would not be what it is today."

"do you understand?"

Upon hearing Omega's words, Abaddon suddenly froze.

He was like a computer injected with an unparseable file format, struggling to digest the information in the Hydra Lord's words.

"Outside the universe?"

"The power of negation..."

A look of bewildered ecstasy flashed across Abaddon's face—the joy of breaking free from his previous limited thinking and embracing more possibilities.

In the Warmaster's original plan, they had managed to escape back to the warp this time, and their next task was to continuously accumulate strength and, with the support of Omega, Loka, Vashtor, and others, rebuild a legion strong enough to threaten the Empire.

At that time, they will use the Eye of Fear as a starting point to launch continuous expeditions against the Empire.

If once doesn't work, try ten times; if ten times doesn't work, try a hundred times. As long as they persist, sooner or later they will seize the empire's weakness and deliver a fatal blow.

However, any rational person who carefully considers the flaws in Abaddon's grand vision will find that it is nothing more than a beautiful fantasy.

The Empire now possesses new technologies that allow it to evade the Warp, and with the Emperor as its absolute human leader, a bright future for humanity is slowly unfolding.

As for them, they were already barely surviving in the Eye of Terror and the Warp, and now they are even more severely weakened. Even if they have the support of Vashtor, can they compete with the Empire in terms of development speed?
The longer the timeline extends, the greater the advantage for the empire.

Therefore, if they want to achieve final victory, they can only resort to unconventional methods and take a risky approach.

"I understand what you mean, Omega. You want us to replicate this path so that we can also find a way to deal with the False Emperor from outside the world?"

"There's no reason why they could find a way to travel faster than light without the aid of subspace in other universes, or find a miraculous medicine to revive the decaying human empire, while we get nothing, right?"

Abaddon became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he could already see the beautiful scene he had envisioned.

"The opportunities this universe offers us are dwindling. The human empire, like a giant fish, will devour all its smaller rivals, leaving only itself in the end." "I have a strong feeling that whether it's the Eldar, the Orks, or even those undead who once slew gods, they will ultimately be no match for humanity. We must evacuate to other universes that are more advantageous to us before that happens."

"Once we've accumulated enough power in other universes, we'll naturally be able to challenge the Empire to a decisive battle!"

Omega's words were a wake-up call for Abaddon, who realized that he had been too narrow-minded and had always kept himself in a small, fearful world.

A small pond cannot nurture a raging shark; to overthrow the behemoth that is the empire, they need a much larger world.

“We must leave this universe, and the ‘we’ here refers not only to those of you present here.”

Abaddon surveyed his surroundings, his eyes reflecting a domineering ambition.

"Angoltai and Kahn's Chaos Legion, Fabius's Sons of the Emperor, Typhon's Death Guard, and the Thousand Sons Warband controlled by Prodigal Ariman..."

"All forces that can be united are allies we should strive to win over, while those stubborn fools can remain in this universe and be wiped out by the Empire bit by bit!"

"And you are their leader!"

Omega handed the initiative to Abaddon.

Hydra knew very well that although they and Luo Jia were stronger than this Great Raider, they had devoted far less energy and focus to the great cause of overthrowing the Empire than Abaddon.

In other words, Omega and Loka were too self-serving. They could lead their own legions, but they could not become the second Warmaster after Horus, like Abaddon.

"In that case, let's part ways here."

“I will return to the Eye of Fear, gather all my men and take them with me. I will also personally visit Angeltai, Fabius, and Ahriman to try to persuade them to leave with us.”

"Once everything is ready, we will set off together to find the secret passage and path to leave this universe."

Abaddon was also extremely decisive; he didn't even continue to think about how much difficulty he would face or how much he would have to pay to leave this universe.

These are not issues he should be considering; the only thing he needs to care about is whether to do it or not.

……

Meanwhile, in the throne room of Holy Terra, the fervent atmosphere was rapidly climbing to an unprecedented peak.

Although the Emperor did not leave behind those Chaos traitors who dared to set foot on Terra, compared to the news of the return of the Lord of Man, all of this was merely a negligible episode.

Even if Horus were to be resurrected and launch a second rebellion with all the Primarchs, the Emperor would be able to quell the rebellion swiftly with only the Imperial Guard and the Sisters of Silence.

The Lord of Humanity felt only a slight regret before putting everything behind him.

Forget about those unpleasant little incidents; there are too many important things to deal with right now.

"My comrades, your efficiency is much faster than I expected."

"In just one century, you have accomplished the task I entrusted to you: found Draconian who could kill me, retrieved my scattered true name, and brought back from other multiverses a space bridge that allows faster-than-light travel without the need for warp."

The emperor showed no signs of fatigue, as if he were not the one who had been entangled with the Dark Lord for so long.

"Don't you need to rest for a while?" Rose asked tentatively.

After ending the war on the Ghoul Stars, they immediately intervened in the civil war between the State of Terra and the Alliance of Light. Then, they took the opportunity to pass on Draconion's information to traitors such as Abaddon, thus achieving the ultimate goal of liberating the Emperor.

After all this, Rose was already exhausted.

In fact, it wasn't just Rose, but also Macado and others.

"Rest?" The Emperor's eyes widened as he stared at everyone. "I have rested long enough. The great goal of human revival is right before our eyes. How could I possibly rest at a time like this?"

"Look at the situation now, it's a hundred times better than when the Great Expedition just ended."

"Not half of the Legions and Primarchs chose to side with Chaos, and not a single Warmaster I trusted led a rebel army straight to Terra to demand an explanation."

"The rising Orcish threat has not yet truly gained momentum, and with the ghoul stars heading towards extinction, it will not develop into a troublesome threat like the Ulanor of the past."

"I already know that Loxi obtained the invaluable Net Dao technology from the Ancient Saints. These are things that I used to dream of obtaining."

Unfortunately, when we implemented the Netway project, all we could utilize were extremely rudimentary and stripped-down versions of Netway technology.

"There's also the space bridge technology that Roche brought back from other universes, which can fully complement the Web and evolve into it."

The emperor reviewed the current situation of the empire one by one. In his view, this was exactly the perfect start he had always dreamed of.

"As for the internal strife that has occurred in the Empire, it is really not worth mentioning. The Empire as a whole remains intact, and the vassal states of the various Primarchies are still guarding the Empire's rule from all sides."

"Since the High Lords Council has proven that they are incapable of effectively managing the Empire, there is no reason for them to continue existing."

"The same way that Makado and I brought about the birth of the High Lords Council, we can now push them toward their demise."

"Qile and Sol are able to resolve the issues on the state religion's side and steer this great ship of thought and faith back onto the right path."

"Everything has been arranged, so what is there to worry about?"

The emperor spoke at length, as if he wanted to say everything he had owed during the more than one hundred years he had slept on the golden throne.

Rosie and Macado looked at each other, and they suddenly felt that the joy of the emperor's return had been somewhat diminished.

Good news: The Emperor is back.

Bad news: The Emperor has just returned and intends to indiscriminately exploit everyone, continuing to serve the great cause of human rejuvenation.

"Why have you stopped laughing? Are you still worried about some potential hidden dangers?"

The emperor looked slightly puzzled, then turned to look at the golden throne, where a dazzling pillar of light was intertwining and clashing with another deep, dark pillar of light.

"Theoretically speaking, the three-in-one balance method I created will not have any major problems. Humanity's greatest threat—the Dark Lord—will remain dormant forever, and the day he awakens will be postponed indefinitely."

The emperor's gaze swept across the throne room, dispelling the last trace of gloom.

"In that case, let me assign tasks in order to restore order to the empire in the shortest possible time and restart the failed benevolent path plan."

The Lord of Mankind turned his head and gazed at the trusted Marshal of the Imperial Guard.

“Valdo,” the Emperor said calmly, “the first step to restoring order is to purge the entire Terra.”

“The remnants of the civil war of the state religion, those ‘devout believers’ who are blinded by fanatical faith and whose hands are stained with the blood of their compatriots, must be left without exception.”

"Pope Alfreda is dead, but those under her command who have been corrupted by the Dark Lord still exist."

"The Tribunal will cooperate fully, with the Imperial Fist assisting in the execution. The purge must be thorough and swift, restoring order to the air of Terra."

The giant, clad in gleaming golden armor, nodded, responding with a deep, rock-like tone.

"As you command, my lord."

No further words were needed; the Emperor's orders were the highest command to the Marshal of the Imperial Guard.

Waldo was disappointed by the performance of the Imperial Guard over the past century.

The Custodian Guard, led by Diocletian, was deceived by the Black King's retinue, allowing Alfreda's influence to spread and causing the state religion to degenerate, nearly leading to a major disaster.

Waldo kept these humiliations in his heart. What he had to do was restore the prestige of the Ten Thousand Men and make it once again the sharpest and most reliable blade in the Emperor's hands.

The Emperor then turned his attention to Macado.

"The empire's massive political machine has been running for a century without my and Makado's involvement."

"It has already exposed some hidden dangers: stagnant development, internal friction, and even internal turmoil due to the emergence of an overly powerful high lord."

"Now that we have seen these hidden dangers, it is impossible to let these branches continue to draw life from the empire. It is time for the High Lord Council to prune them."

Macardo had anticipated this outcome. The emperor had a strong faith in mortals, believing that they could govern themselves as well as their predecessors in the Golden Age.

But times have changed, and the people of the Golden Age are not the same as the people of today.

The high lords' dismal performance meant that even with the emperor's favoritism towards mortals, the system could no longer be sustained.

"The High Lords may continue to exist, but they will no longer be the holders of supreme power in the Empire. I will reclaim power and give the Empire a central authority that can be fully trusted."

The Emperor's meaning was clear: he wanted the empire to return to an efficiency model dominated by superhuman politics.

The supreme power is assumed by a high lord as an assistant, plus a "seal holder" or "regent".

However, the Emperor's most trusted and reliable confidant, the Seal Bearer, clearly had other ideas.

Having tasted the bitterness of retirement, Makado felt a chill run down his spine and a general sense of unease at the thought of returning to that power seat that had exploited and drained all outstanding leaders.

“My lord, I am old and weary from handling those affairs of state.”

Makado bowed slightly, his aged face etched with wrinkles, looking somewhat sorrowful.

“I think Guilliman is much more suitable than me. He has managed the empire very well during his hundred years of rule on Terra. If the state religion of Terra had not sided with the Black King, he would have done even better.”

"If you're going to reinstate the Seal Holder or the Regent, I recommend Guilliman as the candidate."

The Macuraq people, who were still basking in the joy of their father's return, were suddenly horrified.

Even Peturabo had never seen Guilliman so panicked, like a hamster watching its hard-earned acorns being swept away.

"No! Father, I..."

Guilliman was about to refuse outright, but the Emperor had already made his choice.

“My most reliable squire, the future of the empire still depends on your contributions, I cannot approve your retirement application.”

“However, considering your physical condition, I can assign you to Guilliman’s sidekick, so that the two of you can help each other and work together to solve problems.”

Macado's face stiffened instantly; it was clear the Emperor still wasn't willing to let him go.

But he also knew where the Lord of Man's bottom line was. Although he hadn't achieved his ultimate goal, he had at least dragged Guilliman into the mess.

"Deputy?"

"Since I'm the deputy, most of the work should be handled by Guilliman."

Watching Makado and Guilliman fiercely competing behind his back, Rosie couldn't help but put on a tense expression.

"And you, Rosie, our work is the most important part."

When Rosie was mentioned, her expression froze.

The emperor clearly had no intention of letting go of any usable candidates, he said passionately.

"The Space Bridge project is behind schedule. I need you to allocate the productivity of the Mechanicus and the Advanced Technology Community to deploy the Space Bridge throughout the galaxy as quickly as possible."

"At the very least, we must ensure that we have direct space bridges available from Holy Terra to the four vast star systems."

"Finally, we need to resolve the issues related to the internet."

The Lord of Mankind finally turned his gaze to the Golden Throne, an artifact created during the Dark Ages of Mankind that, not long ago, was the key creation for maintaining humanity's survival.

But now, the emperor no longer needs it.

The broken mesh beneath the Golden Throne, the mistake made by Magnus himself, needs to be repaired and corrected.

(End of this chapter)