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

Chapter 926 Szalak, A Reciprocal Gift

When Lothie started berating the Silent King right in front of them, Tarasin and Orikan froze, completely dumbfounded, standing there awkwardly.

Taracin was alright, but Eurican was genuinely regretting not leaving sooner.

If he hears a human insulting their supreme Silent King, should he pretend not to hear it, or immediately refute it sternly, or even punish him?

If it's the latter, putting aside whether he can defeat this human who defeated the Void Dragon, the Primarchs and the Emperor of Man are right in front of him.

To attack Losi in front of them?

Without even thinking, Eurycan knew that this was an absolutely stupid idea.

This is an evil god who can move freely in the real universe. Unless the space necromancer really pulls out its trump card, it really has no way to deal with the Emperor.

Their only means of threatening the other side is to use the entire human race of the empire as leverage.

No matter how powerful the Emperor is, he cannot protect the safety of millions of human worlds across the entire galaxy from a full-scale attack by the Necrons of Space.

If we pretend we can't hear it, what if that bastard Tarasin whispers something in the ear of the Silent King?
Oh, right, Tarasin heard it too.

In his haste, Eurycan even forgot that Tarasim was also nearby and had heard the human's disrespectful words.

Why are you in such a hurry? If you were the only one who fell into the pit, then of course you should be anxious. But if two people have fallen into the pit, then you should just watch the show first.

He wanted to see what Tarasin had to say; if he couldn't resolve the situation, he shouldn't blame him for complaining to the Silent King.

Orikan, having quickly completed his thought process within his own mental framework, stared intently at Tarasin, who, in turn, reacted similarly, keeping his eyes fixed on the astrologer before him.

"You speak first!"

"You speak first!"

The two space necromancers were sending each other frantic hints through private channels, but neither could do anything about the other, and neither wanted to give the other any leverage.

The Endless One and the Astrologer cursed the despicable fellow in their hearts.

"You're supposed to be able to predict the future, so why didn't you foresee this?" Tarasin cursed.

"Prophecy, don't you know what my prophecy is all about?"

"This is Terra, and right before us stands the human emperor. How can I possibly predict the future?"

After exchanging a few insults, the two adversaries tacitly chose to shut up.

Since they can't answer this question, they might as well pretend they didn't see it. Besides, they can use this as leverage. If the other party is unreasonable, then they won't be reasonable either.

Seeing that the two guys were pretending nothing had happened, Rosie felt a little disappointed.

Taraxin is alright; this guy's relationship with humans is so close they're practically inseparable.

And with this astrologer, Orikan, Rosie really wanted to take her anger out on him.

That old bastard Szalak tricked them and then just walked away. How could they swallow this insult?

To be fair, Loxi genuinely wanted to coexist peacefully with the space undead. Both races were far too powerful, and a confrontation would inevitably lead to dire consequences, potentially causing the galaxy, which had just begun to recover, to deteriorate again.

Although he did have the idea of ​​supporting Tarasin to take the throne and kicking out the old man Szalak, it was just an idea and hadn't been realized yet.

Since the Silent King is unkind, then we cannot blame him for being unjust.

"Tarasin, first, follow the Silent King's orders and send all the Void Dragon fragments except for the one from the Sothek Dynasty to Terra."

"As for that fragment that you have no control over, let us figure it out ourselves."

Seeing that Rosie had steered the conversation away from the topic, Tarasin breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as they stop cursing the Silent King in front of them, it's none of their business.

Tarasin knew perfectly well that the Silent King was plotting against humanity. He was still uneasy about letting humans master the complete essence of the Void Dragon, as it posed too great a threat to the Necromancers of the Space.

Even if humans don't use the power of the Void Dragons to fight the Necromancers, if they directly use the essence of the Void Dragons to advance their technology, the result will be unacceptable to the Necromancers.

After all, the Necromancers of the Space were able to ride on the coattails of the Star Gods to achieve their current unparalleled technological prowess and technological power that surpasses even magic itself.

If humans also gained this power, and could also use psionic energy, then the space necromancers would be out of the question and might as well just surrender.

Tarachin actually wanted to side with humanity, after all, he had promised this when Loshi helped him restore his soul and come back to life.

But promises are promises, and this is a little secret between him and humans...

The reason a secret is called a secret is because it cannot be exposed to the light of day.

If the King of Silence were to find out what Tarasin had done and the promises he had made, even if the French emperor of the Nihirah dynasty favored him greatly, it would be difficult to save Tarasin's life from the King of Silence.

Strictly speaking, Tarasim had already "betrayed" his own race when he made that promise.

Loshi didn't want to make things difficult for Tarasin, after all, this guy might be of great use in the future.

Tarasin, the Silent King?

Before it comes true, who knows it's impossible?
Moreover, Loshi wasn't worried that Szalak would just abandon the project. As long as he found out through actual experimentation that even with the exact same technology and methods as humans, he couldn't distort the will of the Star God fragments, he would obediently return to continue cooperating.

The initiative has always been in human hands.

Szalak dug a pit for humanity, didn't Roshi dig a pit for the undead in space?
Both sides are evenly matched; it's just a matter of who has the more skillful methods.

It's all for the supreme interests of the race; no one should blame anyone for being despicable and cunning.

Moreover, Roxi does have ways to counter it.

A thought struck Rosie, and she immediately called out to Tarasin.

"By the way, hasn't your Silent King given you an answer?"

"When will you finally allow more of your kind to accept the power of the AllSpark and be reborn with souls?"

Rosie asked a fatal question, but the Necromancers of Space never gave a clear answer.

As early as when Lothie had just returned to the Warhammer universe, the Silent King already knew about the changes that had occurred to Talrazin, the overlord of Solemnath, who became the first Necromancer in space to regain his soul.

However, in the subsequent process, Szalak sternly warned Tarasin that he must not reveal his restoration of his soul and the source of fire to anyone other than the high-ranking viziers of the Nihirak dynasty.

Therefore, for most space undead, the existence of a way to restore their souls remains a top secret.

The Silent King declared that if this news were to spread, an internal war might break out before the entire Space Necromancer race could even begin to recover its souls.

Because of the information gap between humans and space undead, humans tend to assume that space undead are also a unified whole like humans.

This statement would indeed hold true before the Silent King destroyed and deactivated the master control agreement and left the galaxy aboard his flagship, the Song of Oblivion. However, afterward, the Necromancers of Space had essentially split into countless dynasties.

The Silent King did indeed hold the highest position, but without the suppression of the overall control agreement, even if the powerful dynasties below him outwardly complied with his orders but inwardly defied them, the Silent King had little recourse.

Would Szalak really send the army of the Szalakan dynasty to force the subordinate dynasties to submit for such a trivial matter?

The Silent King already regretted the wrong decisions he had made, which is why he lifted the General Control Agreement and granted the other dynasties their final freedom.

Many of the necromantic dynasties harbor deep resentment towards Szalak, for he caused the Fearful Ones to lose their souls and bodies, turning them into puppets trapped in metal bodies that could be ignited by a single spark.

The internal conflicts among the space necromancers go far beyond these. While some space necromancers regret their transformation into living beings, others are quite satisfied with the outcome.

They had long grown tired of frail and mortal bodies, intoxicated by the power and immortality brought by metallic bodies, and even more obsessed with the absolute control that the higher levels had over the lower levels, derived from protocols and code.

This social system of the Necromancers is undoubtedly great news for the tyrant.

There is no need to worry that tyranny will lead to rebellion among the lower classes, nor is there any need to worry that continuous wars will result in insufficient troops, because the soldiers under their command can be resurrected through the resurrection protocol, changing to a new body and returning again, and will always be diligent and conscientious without complaint.

The most famous representative of these is undoubtedly Imotek, the Storm King, a powerful commander who rose from a crowned general to the throne of the French emperor through his wisdom and military prowess.

Upon hearing Rosi's question, Tarasin was speechless.

If the Silent King doesn't speak, can he point at the Silent King's nose and ask when more space dead can regain their souls?

"Logically speaking, we humans possess the artifact that can give birth to souls for you space undead, so you should be begging us to share the power of the AllSpark."

"How come we've ended up in such a passive position?"

"Since Szalak is so hesitant, I might as well tell this news directly to the other space necromantic dynasties and let them make their own choices."

Seeing that Tarasin didn't know how to answer, Loshi directly stated his own plan.

Upon hearing Loxi's plan, Tarasin's expression changed drastically, and the flame on his chest flickered with an uncertain light.

“If you do that, I’m definitely going to die. The Silent King hates subordinates who don’t obey his orders. Unless I escape to another multiverse with you, I don’t know how I’ll survive.”

Seeing Tarachin's flustered appearance, a smile appeared on Loshi's lips.

"Don't worry, this information was released by us humans. What does it have to do with you, the ambassador to Terra?"

“We have the ability to contact those space necromantic dynasties that have already awakened, and even those that are still dormant, we are not unable to provide awakening services.”

Having harnessed the power of the Void Dragon Fragment, Lothie now knew exactly how those space necromancers set the alarm for their Great Hibernation.

Even the sophisticated machinery of space necromancers, when subjected to the erosion of millions of years, can hardly guarantee that it will not develop any problems.

Therefore, the most common method used by space necromancers is to use a star within a certain range of the tomb world as their alarm clock.

Before going into hibernation, they would use their technological prowess to manipulate the evolutionary cycle of stars, causing them to evolve into supernovae at the appropriate time. Then, relying on the immense commotion of the supernova explosion, they would awaken the slumbering subjects of their dynasty. This extravagant alarm clock, in a way, was effective most of the time.

After all, most races in the universe wouldn't care about a star that might explode as a supernova, as it would be too dangerous.

Since the Silent King dared to shift the blame to the Storm King, let the humans demand an explanation from the Storm King.

Naroxi reciprocated by bypassing the Silent King and directly courting the Necromancer Kingdom of Space, who were extremely eager to regain their souls.

It wouldn't be difficult for him to split the space undead, which were not a monolithic entity to begin with.

He could use the source of the fire as bait to obtain the star god fragments he needed from these undead dynasties.

After all, the Silent King said he couldn't control the dynasties under his command anymore, so if Loxi directly connected with those dynasties, he wouldn't be afraid of Szalak getting angry.

Tarasin gasped, realizing that if Loshi really did that, it could instantly escalate the internal conflicts and divisions within the Necromancers.

He knew that many of the Necropolis dynasties still harbored resentment towards the Silent King, but Szalak's decision to abandon the General Control Agreement and then exile himself to search beyond the galaxy for a way to save the Necropolis somewhat appeased their anger.

But once they learn that the salvation they've been longing for is right before their eyes, yet it's been kept secret and isolated because of Szalak's orders, the consequences...

Szalak's morale will collapse even more completely. It was one thing for him to lead the entire race down the wrong path of mechanical ascension in order to defeat the Old Saints, but now that there is a solution, he is hiding it. What are his true intentions?
“No, it’s not that time yet, Loshi,” Tarasin said. He absolutely did not want to see a civil war break out between races.

He witnessed the entire Horus Rebellion firsthand and was deeply involved in it.

Tarasin was well aware of how terrible civil war could be for a race; the more powerful the race, the more incalculable the destructive power of civil war.

The first Silent King, realizing that the internal conflicts within his race were uncontrollable and that civil war could break out at any moment, had no choice but to wage war against the Ancients in order to unite the entire race by diverting the conflict.

“We can think of another way, at least try to get that Void Dragon fragment from Storm King.”

"While it's unlikely, it's not impossible. We have an old acquaintance of Imotek here who can help us."

Tarachin pointed his Staff of Annihilation at the silent astrologer Orikan, the prophet of the cosmic necromancy, who was stunned for a moment before pointing it at himself in disbelief.

"Ah I?"

"Should I go and persuade Imotek?"

"Yes, it's you!" Tarasin suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Orikan's hands.

“Old friend, are you going to just stand by and watch our race break out into civil war? You should be able to foresee how terrifying that damn possibility is; the entire galaxy will be completely shattered in the war.”

Orikan's face was different from Tarasin's; his long, horse-like face had only one pale green eye, and his unusually long chin extended all the way to his chest and abdomen.

But this mechanical face, which is not suited to making expressions, managed to convey astonishment and bewilderment.

"Tarasin! Are you out of your mind? You want me to persuade Imotek? That...that treacherous warmonger?!"

The astrologer's voice had a distinct metallic tremor, clearly indicating extreme emotional excitement.

"Old man, calm down, calm down!" Tarachin gripped Orikan's metal hands tightly, his tone almost exaggeratedly sincere.

"Looking at the entire race, who knows the Sotek Dynasty better than you? Who is more familiar with the Imotek's... uh, style of doing things?"
You were a genius who rose from an apprentice in the Sothek Dynasty to become the Silent King's chief astrologer! The Silent King valued you as much as the Storm King, and you have deep connections on both sides.

"Your pride is very valuable, isn't it?"

Orikan tried to pull his hand back, but found that Tarasin was holding on very tightly. This shameless guy was really difficult to deal with.

"So what? Imotek is a complete tyrant, and he is very likely a schemer."

"The former Emperor of Sotek died unexpectedly during his Great Hibernation. Humph! Almost no one in the core of the dynasty was injured or killed, except for the Emperor and his most loyal guards who were trapped in a deep logical paradox that could not be awakened."

“What kind of coincidence could there be in this world? I suspect he secretly sabotaged it, but he did it so cleanly that I can’t find any evidence! And…”

Eurycan's one eye glanced in the direction of Rosie and the Emperor, and lowered his voice, even though their communication channel was private.

"Moreover, I have already made it clear that I will not pledge allegiance to him, but will only maintain my technical cooperation status as the chief astrologer."

If I go back to him now, wouldn't I be walking into a trap? He's just looking for an opportunity to get his hands on me, a remnant of the previous dynasty!

Tarasin quickly interjected, speaking at breakneck speed: "Listen, Orikan, we don't need you to go on an adventure to the Crown World of the Sothek Dynasty, like stealing Star God fragments or anything."

"We can use information asymmetry to peacefully achieve our goals."

Tarasin's eyes gleamed with calculation: "Imotek is unaware that humanity has successfully harnessed the Void Dragon fragments of Mars, nor does he know that the Silent King has reached an agreement with humanity and even obtained the technical details."

"He only knows that humans are interested in Star God fragments, and we can use that as a starting point."

“You mean…” Eurican’s one eye narrowed slightly, as if he had been piqued, but he was still wary of Tarasin. If this guy could take advantage of the situation to trick him, he would definitely not let the opportunity pass.

“We can offer to exchange the Void Dragon fragment in his possession, which he may not find very useful, for other Star God fragments that are more practically useful to Imotek,” Tarasin explained.

"For example... a fragment of the Burner? Imotek is passionate about war and conquest, and a fragment that is better at providing near-limitless energy could greatly enhance the power of fleets and war machines."

"For him, the Burner Shard may be far more appealing than a 'craftsman-type' Star God Shard that he cannot fully understand and which is primarily used for creation."

“That’s just your guess!” Orikan retorted. “Imotek isn’t stupid. He has a top-notch team of scientists under his command. Don’t they see the value of the Void Dragon fragments?”

“So they need an authoritative, neutral astrologer to mislead them.” Tarasin’s smile was sly.

"For example, you could unintentionally reveal some prophetic results, indicating that the Void Dragon fragment is extremely unstable and has a very high risk of backlash from the residual internal will, making it far less efficient than a Burner fragment with a violent and direct energy output."

"You should make good use of your reputation. At least both the Silent King and the Storm King have great faith in your prophecies and judgments. This has nothing to do with their stance, but is simply an affirmation of your abilities."

"Reputation? Heh, my reputation is naturally solid, unlike someone whose reputation has long become a bottomless black hole, unable to even lend out a power bank."

Orikan retorted sarcastically, his single eye flashing rapidly with data streams, clearly performing complex calculations and risk assessments.

Loshi listened quietly to the side. Although he felt that Tarasin's plan was a bit risky, it was indeed worth trying.

If we can obtain the last crucial fragment without bloodshed, that would undoubtedly be the best outcome.

“Lord Eurican,” Loshi began, “if this succeeds, humanity will remember your contribution. And we have always been generous to our friends.”

Eurycan's one eye turned toward Rosie.

Seeing this, Tarachin immediately pressed his advantage, leaning closer to Orikan and using an even lower voice to directly tap into the other's deepest desires.

"Old friend, think about your dreams, what have you been pursuing all your life?"
Like those star gods, they transcend the limitations of this metallic shell, truly and freely peering into the river of time, and grasping the threads of destiny.

Eurycan's body trembled almost imperceptibly.

Tarachin was indeed his nemesis, but also the person who understood him best in the entire galaxy, and his words struck precisely at the deepest desires of his soul.

“Look at what’s in front of us!” Tarasin pointed at Loshi. “Humanity has proven that it is not impossible to wield the power of the Star Gods.”

"They possess the spark that can restore your soul, and they also have the technology to control the fragments of the Star God. If you help them, you will be one of humanity's most honorable allies."

"Perhaps in the future, humanity will help you obtain a pure fragment of a star god that belongs to you? For example, a fragment related to 'time' or 'prophecy'?"

"At that time, you, Eurykan, may become the first being since the Star God to truly travel freely through timelines and understand the past and future!"

Instead of being trapped in the present, relying on technological equipment and mathematical models to predict the future, and then having to travel back in time to artificially alter the timeline when the predictions fail.

These words, like the sweetest poison, were injected into Eurycan's core logic.

The astrologer knew that Tarachin's words could not be entirely trusted, and that he was most likely being misled, but in his unique eye, greed, desire, and reason were still fiercely battling.

To become a being akin to a star god, to truly dominate time and knowledge... this was the ultimate temptation he could not resist.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Eurycan's long, metallic fingers slowly closed, finally forming a fist.

He raised his head, and the light in his single eye became firm and fervent.

“Tarasin… your damn mouth will get us all into big trouble one day.” He muttered a curse under his breath, but his tone was different now.

He turned toward Roxi and the Emperor, nodded slightly, and made an ancient gesture of agreement.

"I will try to contact the Sotek dynasty. I will do my best to test Imotek with the plan proposed by Tarasin."

But I cannot guarantee success; that warmonger's thinking cannot be fathomed by common sense.

“That’s enough, Lord Orikan.” Loshi nodded. “Humanity awaits your good news.”

Tarasin breathed a sigh of relief and patted Eurican on the shoulder, only to be met with a disgusted dodge from Eurican.

“Excellent! I knew you were the most sensible one, for the future of the race… uh, and for our glorious personal prospects!”

"You've really dragged me down with you, Tarasin. You old bastard, you fell into the water yourself and dragged me down with you."

Eurycan was well aware that from the moment he agreed to humanity's request, his stance had become blurred and wavering.

He, the most trusted time mage by the Silent King's side, and the chief astrologer whom the Storm King valued and recruited, has already begun to have ambiguous relationships with humans.

Is this considered an internal traitor? A betrayer?

No, Euricane immediately rejected those unpleasant words in his mind.

They are the saviors of the space necromancers, working tirelessly to prevent a civil war and doing everything in their power to maintain stability.

However, in the process, they each received a small benefit.

(End of this chapter)