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

Chapter 938 Treachery's Plan

In a rare display of genuine emotion from the Lord of Change, the four Chaos Gods, who had been locked in eternal conflict, surprisingly reached a highly cooperative alliance at this moment.

Cooperation and covenants are concepts that are inherently contrary to the chaotic nature they symbolize and cannot be confused with each other.

However, under the influence of Tzeentch's "beyond the throne" theory, the four Chaos Gods also underwent changes.

It should be noted that even when they joined forces to corrupt Horus, they were never this united. At most, they could only be said to have the same goal and temporarily avoid hindering each other.

Tzeentch was extremely satisfied with this scene; He had achieved a certain degree of unity among the gods, undoubtedly taking a qualitative step forward.

As the ruler of the Throne of Hellstorm, Tzeentch's core power lies in the concept of change.

He had to consider a cruel question: if His proud concept of change actually stemmed from the bestowal of the throne of change, was it a change or a deeper, unchanging principle?

This paradoxical contradiction has troubled Tzeentch for a long time. He once threw Carlos into the Well of Eternity, which was also a way of trying to find the answer to this question.

Among the various Chaos Gods, Tzeentch was once the most powerful.

Although He destroyed the Staff of Destiny, which possessed near-omniscience and omnipotence, to avoid being targeted and killed by His three brothers and sisters, He fell from His position as the strongest.

But this does not mean that He has lost his ambition. Tzeentch is the Chaos God who is least able to accept unchanging things. What He has been planning from beginning to end is change in the true sense.

But in His heart, was summoning the gods to make a covenant truly just to break humanity's backbone and thus completely devour the universe...?

Everything is going according to plan.

"What conspiracy are you plotting now? I can smell the filth and decay in your eyes."

Khorne watched as Tzeentch's avatar seemed to fall into some kind of contemplation for a brief moment, and his own vigilant nerve tightened once more.

He is the Chaos God who understands Tzeentch best. This understanding has transformed into a deep-seated instinct. Whenever Tzeentch tries to trick someone again, His instinct will warn Him and intuitively expose Tzeentch's plot.

"I'm trying very hard to control myself and not let my sword cut off your head."

“I remind you that we have all made covenants with our thrones and authority, and if we break them, even we will be punished by the Most High.”

Under the constraints of the covenant, even Khorne stopped constantly talking about killing and started reasoning with Tzeentch.

"I... of course I'm thinking about how to scheme against those humans."

"Although we have united, it is still not an easy task to completely overwhelm humanity through the veil."

"Sometimes a brilliant idea is enough to amplify the power we have and achieve unexpected results."

As Tzeentch began boasting about His plot again, Khorne gave a disdainful sneer and exhaled a breath filled with the smell of sulfur and brass.

"Unexpected? You mean it always ends up going wrong because of all sorts of unimaginable, unforeseen consequences?"

Slaanesh chuckled wickedly, watching his two brothers and sisters bicker and argue with amusement.

This is a situation that only occurs once in countless years in the subspace. The Blood God and the Lord of Change did not fight, but instead sat down and argued.

"The plan, everything is my plan."

"And now, I've figured out how to target humanity."

"All you need to do is cooperate with me, and we will achieve final victory."

Tzeentch's arrogant words immediately displeased the other three gods, but they reluctantly endured it.

"I know you want to disagree, but hold on."

"Our biggest advantage this time is that the four of us have reached a consensus and are taking action against humanity in the real universe at the same time."

"Although that damned veil will weaken our strength, we can always reduce that weakening to a sufficiently low level if we are willing to pay the price."

Khorne growled impatiently, "Just tell us what to do! How much power to use! Where to strike!"

Tzeentch paid no heed to Khorne's rage; that was just how his brother was, it was his nature, and it could not be changed.

On the contrary, the more furious Khorne is, the better it is for His grand plan.

"Be patient, Blood God. Patience is a precious quality."

"First and foremost, the core battlefield is undoubtedly the Eye of Fear itself."

"We must intertwine our essential powers to maintain the stability of this warp storm. Once the warp storm recedes, the shrinking of the Eye of Fear will inevitably reappear."

“This means we will have to continue to pay a huge price in terms of power.” Nurgle gurgled, as if thick pus was churning.

"With continued effort, my garden needs nourishment, and my children need to grow..."

Nurgle was somewhat reluctant; His garden had been burned once before and had not yet fully recovered.

Now, that cold, golden sun has once again attacked with its retinue, indiscriminately assaulting the domains of the four Chaos Gods.

Nurgle was heartbroken by this; the God-Emperor's counterattack was like pouring concentrated sulfuric acid on His wounds, stirring up His still-painful memories.

“The brief silence of winter is for the new life of spring, my brother,” Tzeentch replied immediately.

"Imagine, once we win, the entire universe will become your breeding ground, and inexhaustible despair and pain will become your favorite nourishment, and your garden will grow even more vigorously."

"All the costs are worthwhile. Only in this way can we offset the weakening effect of that damned veil. The universe is resisting us, and its original consciousness will surely help those humans."

"Even if we can't make the Eye of Fear push back the real universe, we must maintain the stalemate! As long as we can do that, the human who has mastered the power of the Star God will be firmly nailed to the battlefield of the rule confrontation, and will have no time to do anything else."

"In this human action, the cursed one is not even the most important one. He is the core of the human action. To trap him is to disable the sharpest spear of mankind."

“If we have the chance, we can try to pull that human named Loshi into the warp and make him lost there forever. One cursed being alone cannot change the situation in the real universe and the warp.”

Tzeentch is now somewhat regretting letting Loshi grow up so slowly.

As an observer of fate, Tzeentch knew that Roche was unpredictable, but by observing the fates of those around Roche, he could indirectly perceive changes in Roche's destiny.

He knew of Roche's importance long ago.

But Tzeentch chose to observe from a higher dimension, his instincts yearning for Roche to bring about more change.

Now, what He initially hoped for has indeed come true.

Loshi has grown from an ordinary immortal to a terrifying being who wields both the power of the Om Messiah Authority and the true power of the Void Dragon.

Even the Primarch of Genes, who had fully unleashed his essence, was not so extraordinary in his presence.

If Loxi were to truly choose to go a step further and completely ascend the throne of [Vicious Arts] to become another God of Chaos, then he would be completely on par with the Lord of Change.

However, Tzeentch knew very well that this human and the cursed were exactly the same kind of paranoid.

They would rather remain forever stuck on the threshold of godhood than become great gods of chaos, and instead persist in fighting against chaos to the very end.

Why, why are these two... so attached to their human form?
“The second step,” Tzeentch continued, “is that we must send out our entire force!”

"I demand that the four of us transfer the vast majority of our demonic forces from our respective divine realms to the front lines of the Land of Terror!"

"Ignore those cursed legions harassing our territory deep in the warp. It doesn't matter if they temporarily occupy some corners of our home!"

"If we choose to divide our forces for defense, we'll be playing right into the humans' hands! They want to use their invincible cursed legions to tie down our power. We must concentrate all our forces and attack one point—that is, Kadia!"

"That damned planet, covered in black stone spikes, is the core of reality, the fulcrum supporting humanity's restoration efforts."

"If we destroy Kadia, or even better, reverse the polarity of those black stone obelisks, turning them from reality stabilizers into mediums amplifying our power... then the entire battle will be instantly reversed!"

Tzeentch presented a scene: an endless torrent of demons, like a destructive tsunami, surged toward Kadia. From the star system where this planet was located to the vast expanse of space around the Eye of Terror, the figures of warp demons were everywhere.

Defending Kadia are the Dark Angels, the Iron Hands, the Space Wolves, and a massive Salamander army led by Vulcan, along with its vassal orc forces, who are rushing to the rescue.

"This will be the most brutal war of attrition, the most extreme stage of slaughter!" Tzeentch's voice was full of incitement. "I hereby promise to stake all my demon legions, and my great demon!"

"I hope you all can do the same. Only absolute quantity and quality can crush humanity's defenses. Any reservations could lead to failure!"

"My legions always attack in full force, never holding back," Khorne said proudly. "But you, Tzeentch, your demons love to play tricks on the battlefield, deserting and stabbing in the back countless times!"

Nurgle slowly chimed in, "Yes, Sin Liezhi, your children's reliability has always been...very problematic."

Tzeentch's avatar flickered, seemingly somewhat annoyed.

"Under the witness of the Covenant of the High Heavens, I pledge that my legions will fight to the very end. This battle concerns our future, and any internal obstruction is unacceptable!"

“Finally,” Tzeentch said, referring to the Chaos rebels who were barely surviving within the Eye of Terror, “we must also give those followers who are still hesitating about whether to follow Abaddon and escape this universe a choice.”

The Lord of All Changes appeared to be incredibly tolerant and magnanimous, talking about opportunities for choice.

However, the other three Chaos Gods all knew that Tzeentch was actually the most vicious of them all.

Tzeentch always offers the most tempting, the best, the most flawless choices, but beneath the beauty lies a deadly poison.

Just as Magnus once sought a solution from Tzeentch to the Fifteenth Legion's flesh mutation, Tzeentch enthusiastically helped him, "curing" the Son of a Thousand Sores at the cost of one of his eyes.

However, this was only the beginning of the corruption. When Magnus handed his eyes to Tzeentch, he had already fallen into the trap set by the Master of Changes. In fact, Tzeentch's plan had already begun much earlier, since the source of the Thousand Sons' flesh mutation was psychic energy, which was within Tzeentch's sphere of influence.

Tzeentch's voice carried a faint smile, making people instinctively want to trust and rely on him, but of course, the other Chaos Gods didn't buy into it at all.

"A declaration to all human traitors: those who choose to stay, fight alongside us against the human empire, will receive a generous blessing from the High Heavens!"

"The threshold for bestowing blessings is no longer stringent. Whether it is power, lifespan, magic, or ultimate pleasure, it will all be equated with the quantity and quality of humans killed."

"Those who perform exceptionally well will be immediately promoted to Demon Princes, granted eternal life and a high status in the Warp."

"Let them see hope in despair, and seek sublimation in betrayal. These traitors are familiar with human tactics and are full of hatred for the human empire. They are the perfect cannon fodder and spoilers."

"Those who are willing to go with Abaddon, let them go to the unknown universe to fend for themselves; those who are willing to stay, let them use their lives and souls to burn out their last value for us!"

Even the other Chaos Gods were horrified by the absolute cruelty and malice displayed by Tzeentch.

He did not truly regard those human traitors who pledged allegiance to the Warp and offered their loyalty to Chaos as his own people.

Or rather, in Tzeentch's eyes, no one other than himself can be called "one of his own".

Whether it's a human traitor or His ever-changing demon lord, they are merely pawns to be used, only the effects of these pawns vary in magnitude.

Even Khorne treats all powerful warriors who have risen from among humans equally; as long as they are willing to offer their blood and skulls, they will receive the blessing of the Blood God.

Nurgle, on the other hand, regards all his followers as his own children, making him arguably the most indiscriminate of the four Chaos Gods.

Slaanesh welcomes all those who indulge in sensual pleasures, but He selectively favors only the most talented among them.

Tzeentch, however, only sees the pleasure of change and is obsessed with manipulating people's hearts. He doesn't mind paying any price as long as it helps his plans.

……

As the four gods reached a consensus, their will was precisely implanted into the minds of every chaotic traitor who was barely surviving within the Eye of Fear.

In such a harsh environment as the Eye of Fear, almost no traitor would dare to claim that they were completely untainted.

Once contaminated, it will naturally connect with the Chaos Gods.

However, most of the time, only those lucky ones who pleased the gods with their actions would receive attention and revelation from the four gods.

Such a widespread revelation is almost unheard of.

For those fallen ones who had already pledged their souls to the dark gods, this revelation was like rain after a long drought, or the ultimate comfort offered to them when they were suffering from drug addiction.

The Vengeful Spirit.

Since Abaddon issued the final 72-hour deadline, the Chaos rebels, each with their own agendas, had to give an answer before the deadline arrived.

Typhons was still hesitant, still weighing the pros and cons.

Abaddon's escape plan brought too many variables, and this sense of uncertainty was naturally disliked by the Nurgle children.

A new universe? An unknown realm? Will there be the fragrance of a loving father there? Will there be the familiar, decaying stench that brings him both pain and comfort?
Is all of this just a pipe dream, or is it all a hoax set up by Abaddon?

The billions of microorganisms within his body seemed to be restless, every bursting of a boil, every whisper of the plague, all interfering with Typhon's thinking and preventing him from making a decision.

If things had proceeded in the normal order, Typhon would most likely have been taken away by Abaddon while he was still hesitating, and by then it would have been too late for him to back out.

But as the will of the four Chaos Gods echoed in his mind, Typhons saw the figure of the benevolent father Nurgle, filled with boundless love, gazing at him with expectant eyes.

An emotion mixed with ecstasy, fear, and intense longing erupted within Typhon's body like an out-of-control plague.

He could feel that the faint connection he had with his loving father was being rebuilt with unprecedented strength.

“Escape…is…betrayal!” Typhon’s voice began to rise with emotion, and the decaying flesh inside his armor trembled violently from the intense emotional turmoil.

"Our loving father never truly abandoned us; He was testing our loyalty!"

"Yes, that's it, I can't leave!"

Typhons' mind was filled with countless beautiful images of Plague Gardens. Overwhelmed by these warm images, his idea of ​​following Abaddon and leaving the Warhammer universe vanished in an instant.

He must stay! He will use the most vile plague and the most utter rot to trample the imperial order into mud!

He wanted to prove to his loving father that he, Typhons, was Nurgle's most loyal and capable son, and he wanted to reclaim the lost favor!

"Turn around!" He roared with all his might into the mushroom-covered communicator, his voice filled with a morbid excitement.

"All Death Guards, evacuate the Vengeful Spirit! Our destination is Kadia! Anyone who stands in our way is our enemy!"

"Warrior, should we stop them? Typhons is taking away those who follow us; this is a divisive act!" Abaddon's most trusted Thousand Wizard, Cayan, asked somewhat urgently.

"Let them go!" However, Abaddon made no attempt to stop them.

"I only need completely loyal companions by my side. Anyone who harbors disloyal thoughts is a threat!"

"Tell them that anyone else who wants to leave should say so immediately, and I will let them go."

With Abaddon's tacit approval, the Death Guard fleet, which had been following behind the main force, began to slowly and steadily break away from Abaddon's main formation and head towards the star field destined to be shrouded in death.

For Typhon, this was naturally the best outcome.

Meanwhile, the great thinker Luo Jia Aurelion also fell into deeper mental torment.

He couldn't bear to leave in such a disgraceful manner, leaving Guilliman and his nonsense about "reason" and "truth" to continue to tarnish the future of humanity.

Every time he closed his eyes, he seemed to see Guilliman looking down at him with that condescending, pitying gaze, as if saying, "Look, Luojia, you and what you believe in will eventually perish."

This had almost become a demon in his heart, one that he could not shake off for a long time.

When Jianqi's announcement rang in his ears, Luo Jia suddenly raised his head, his eyes burning with an almost manic flame.

"Did you hear that?! My brothers! Did you all hear that?!"

He roared at the empty prayer room, his voice crashing and echoing between the walls covered with scriptures.

"This is divine revelation! It is an opportunity given to us by the gods to wash away our shame!"

He could almost see himself, Loka Aurelion, the great prophet of the Word Bearers, amidst the endless horde of demons, personally leading his loyal followers to tear through the Empire's defenses and bring war and despair to the stubborn.

They might not be able to accomplish this on their own, but with the full support of the four Chaos Gods, the advantage lies with them!

Since converting to the Dark Lord, Luo Jia has abandoned his fanatical worship of the Four Gods. However, in his theory, the Four Chaos Gods are also powerful deities and members of the Pantheon system.

They are not as powerful as the Lord of Darkness, but they also have divine blood flowing through their veins and possess divinity.

Luo Jia's voice trembled with extreme excitement.

"Turn around! All Word Bearers fleets, follow the oracle! We will make Cadia the graveyard of any foolish and faithless!"

The Fleet of the Word Bearers, with a martyr's fervor and a thirst for revenge, resolutely sailed into the vortex of war.

However, just as he had treated the Death Guard, Abaddon allowed Loka to leave with the Word Bearers.

Similar struggles and choices were playing out throughout Abaddon's Combined Fleet.

Some smaller warbands and chaos lords, blinded by the promises of ascension to the demon prince made by the gods, and dreaming of becoming great beings in the warp, also chose to betray Abaddon.

Some people, still concerned about the warlord's reputation, offered several flimsy excuses to Abaddon.

Many more people didn't care about these superficial matters at all, and some even quietly split up and left with the equipment and supplies that Abaddon had given them.

Abaddon stood alone on the bridge of the Vengeance Souls, watching through the observation window as numerous points of light on the holographic projection detached themselves as if attracted by a magnet, converging towards the Cardia star system that was being frantically infused with chaotic power.

He gripped Draconian tightly, his knuckles cracking under the immense pressure, his weathered face a mixture of anger, disappointment, and a hint of weariness he had long anticipated.

“A bunch of fools blinded by fleeting desires…” he muttered hoarsely. “You think Tzeentch’s rewards are so easy to obtain? You’re nothing but the latest batch of expendable pawns on His chessboard!”

"When the stingy gods give something, they should first consider what they want to take away."

"Perhaps they still fantasize about eating the sugar coating of the gods and then spitting out the poison inside."

"There are just too many clever people like this. Too many people fantasize that they can make fair deals with the warp, or think that they can use the power of the warp without being affected in the slightest."

He understood these people's choices; in the chaotic High Heavens, the allure of power and recognition was enough to shake even the most steadfast will.

But he knew even more clearly that in the eyes of the Four Gods, especially Tzeentch, these traitors who chose to stay were merely cannon fodder.

They will be consumed in the meat grinder of Cadia, and perhaps only one in ten thousand will survive and truly receive the blessing.

"War Master, should we..." Kayan walked to Abaddon's side, his voice hesitant. Too many people had left, and their strength had been severely weakened.

"Ignore them!" Abaddon interrupted decisively, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"Gather all those who are still willing to follow us! Time is running out; we must get out of here before this universe goes completely mad!"

(End of this chapter)