Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 646 The Greedy Macado: I Gave Him So Much, Yet It Still Couldn't Satisfy His Appetite

The first day of the last month of 895.

The Emperor has departed Terra for the Eastern Galactic Region.

At the intersection of the First and Second Avenues surrounding the palace city, in the villa rented by Count Ballard of the Brobey family, dressed in a silk robe, he stood on the second-floor steps, looking down at the guests below.

As the human empire continues to expand, the Great Expedition progresses steadily, the Great Emperor remains more in Terra, and he and the Sealholders begin to voice their opinions, leading to a steady increase in rents for prime real estate.

The rent for the apartment Ballard paid a whopping 1,308,400 Skyhawks per month.

Ballard maintained the high rental costs, partly because he didn't want to be far from the center of power, and partly because the security expenses he saved were a reason for his decision to continue.

In the last decade, nobles have increasingly resorted to crude and direct methods of assassination to resolve political disputes, leading to a rise in the cost of hiring excellent bodyguards.

It is unclear when it began, but after the first nobleman's blood was spilled in the Nest Tower, the retaliation escalated.

Fortunately, no assassination attempts have occurred in the area surrounding the palace so far.

Ballard looked at the bustling crowd in the distance, took a glass of wine from the waiter, and walked up the steps.

His two bodyguards followed.

After descending the steps, Ballard immediately walked toward Viscount Reinierdo, the head of the ancient Rig family.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows of the marble columns.

Ballard paused for a moment, recognizing him from his narrow jaw, typical of European nobles, as Heitlerida, from a fallen aristocratic family.

Ballard frowned slightly. Heitlerida was supposed to be the person he would politely greet as the host later in the banquet, and he should wait patiently.

[Vulgar and rude.]
He held his head high and decided to walk straight past Heitlerida, so that he would understand the etiquette of a noble banquet.

The distance between the two closed rapidly, and he suddenly saw Heitlerida swing his arm violently, splashing expensive wine that he might never be able to drink in his life onto his silk robe.

Just as Ballard was about to rebuke him, a bright light swiftly struck.

Just as the bodyguard realized the danger, the assassin, who had undergone genetic modification surgery at the lunar gene center, had already completed the assassination with a broken glass.

As Ballard's throat gushed blood, he watched in horror as the crystal chandelier above Viscount Reinierdo's head crashed down.

……

After a busy day, Makado took a short five-minute break when he heard hurried footsteps.

As he stood up, the person knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Macado said.

"The seal holders, forty-eight nobles, were attacked by assassins in their homes and all died."

"The assassin's attack took place within five minutes."

Makado paused for a second, then asked, "Have you caught the assassin?"

"Two patrol teams, which were close by, arrived at the cordon within a minute."

"But the assassin detonated the explosives he was carrying before he was surrounded."

The person in charge of the seal quickly reviewed the report, seemingly lost in thought.

A moment later, he looked up at the northern part of the Milky Way and muttered to himself.

Are you declaring your dissatisfaction to me?

"You've already guessed who's behind this?" the attendant asked, his eyes wide. "Who is it?"

He couldn't believe that someone would dare to launch an attack simultaneously, killing the patriarchs of forty-eight families.

After a long silence, the person who held the seal finally spoke.

"Stop the investigation."

"They sent people under the guise of an investigation to take over the family business that had been assassinated."

“The Traore family…” Macado read out 147 families in a row, “They will also be attacked by assassins.”

The attendant understood, "My lord, I understand."

At the same time, at the ancient Pajaco family mansion.

Gao Kangda, the former chief preacher of the 28th Expeditionary Fleet, scrutinized the giant in the black robe in front of him through his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Lord Ninglu means to share the Brobey family's transportation business with me."

“Yes, both of us will benefit from the air route between Terra and Bereria,” the Shadowguard said calmly. “I don’t think you’ll miss this opportunity.”

The Shadow Guard waited quietly for the dignified old woman before him to make a decision. He knew that Skoda was much older than she looked, but she was still the most powerful person in Terra.

The Shadow Guard also knew who stood behind her: the two most powerful people in the Empire—the Sealholder, Macardo, and the Human Emperor himself.

Sconda's voice was regarded as the voice of the Emperor of Mankind himself.

While serving as a bodyguard and accompanying the Othello family navigator to a banquet, Shadow Guard was shocked to hear from an earl that when Sconda was the chief preacher of the "Son of the Emperor," he had directly rebuked Forgrim, causing the proud Purple Phoenix to admit his mistake.

Rumor has it that she once questioned another Primarch with a volatile temper. Sconda pondered for a few seconds, then stood up, raised her aquiline nose, and extended her hand.

"Pleasant to work with."

The shadow guard's large hand clasped the nobleman's small hand. "Pleasure doing business with you."

The first week of December was bloody for the nobles of Terra.

Death, industrial encroachment, restructuring...

Thousands of families disappeared, and tens of thousands of interest groups that depended on them were destroyed.

Countless nobles privately referred to this month as the Bloody Month.

The Bloody Month of Terra was an unlucky month for Flamini.

He obeyed the Black Emperor's orders and put aside other matters.

Flamini chose to come to Numino to personally oversee the port's construction.

He chose this location not only because Numino was part of his planned new district of Colony, which would become the third largest port after Abyss Harbor and Moab, but also because it was requested by Chief Priest Pat.

Pat made deals with the Wiescher and von Valensius families to support their mega-platform projects.

Pat hopes that this unfortunate month will bring him enough good fortune.

The pastor's friendship is the greatest reward.

For the entire standard month, Pat remained in the port area.

Even without carrying a bomb gun to avoid the machine spirit's rage causing accidents, he still encountered many unexpected events, such as the collapse of the gantry and the zipline falling off, causing crates to spill down.

Flamini, thanks to his superhuman reflexes, dodged in time and was not seriously injured.

After a month of constant vigilance, he received the Black Emperor's gift in the final day of the black fog.

Flamini let out a long sigh of relief as he swallowed the shimmering golden liquid.

A moment later, the newly crowned "winner" had a picture flash through his mind.

“My lord, the Lord of Fate is most suitable.”

As the image froze, Flamini's eyes lit up.

……

The 8th month of 896, Shadow Castle.

Pat, holding the scepter, spoke respectfully.

“My lord, all 481 nobles who had blasphemed You and the Legion have been assassinated.”

Arsena Dunn glanced at the fanatical high priest and then spoke.

“My lord, we have taken over most of the businesses of these families in cooperation with the Visher, Othello, and Pajaco families.”

"But someone acted quickly and seized the businesses of 162 families, including the Lebrs family's pharmaceutical business..."

Ning Lu seemed to be deep in thought before asking, "Who is it?"

“The Shadow Guard reports that the people behind those families are the Seals,” the silver-haired Primarch attendant continued.

"Five fleets that were not planned to be formed this year."

[Marcado is more "greedy" than I imagined. I gave him so much through Sconda Pajako, and it still wasn't enough to satisfy his appetite.] Nimrod thought silently.

[Hmm, it seems he's under a lot of pressure.]

As the "Great Expedition" progressed, the pressure on him increased, otherwise he wouldn't have forcibly levied taxes more than a hundred years later, despite the opposition of Horus and others.

Horus could see the signs of rebellion, and so could Macardo, but he was powerless to stop them.
"In order to maintain the empire, he has used many underhanded and shameful methods that even he himself is ashamed of!" Ninglu was referring not only to the present but also to the future.

Without needing to consult the data panel, Alcéna could articulate the conclusions he drew as a "detective" in his own right.

"That's right. At least 125 families were wiped out, and it has nothing to do with us or other nobles."

"Their common characteristic is that they are wealthy, but they are all somewhat uncooperative with the requirements of the person in charge of the seal."

"It is foreseeable that you will bear the infamy for Macardo in the eyes of certain forces."

Anger surged in Pat's eyes, but Ninglu smiled calmly.

"It doesn't matter."

After finishing his report, the Primarch continued.

"After the Emperor retrieved Conrad Coz, the Primarch of the Eighth Legion, from Nostramore, he returned to Terra."

"He has convened the War Council, which will be held at nine o'clock tomorrow, to discuss how to deal with the alien threat on the western border of the Empire."

(End of this chapter)