Warhammer, I really didn't intend to form a second empire!

The Emperor's psychic perception had already extended outwards by the time the fleet entered the edge of the star system, covering the entire star system.

After a moment, he withdrew his psionic energy and spoke calmly.

"He is on the surface of the third planet, where the main settlement of Chermos is located. The locals call him 'Phoenix' because he united the local people there and led them out of the darkness."

Zhao Zheng knew about Fogrim. It was a real pity about this brother. He had become obsessed with pursuing perfection and his mind had been secretly affected by that stabbing sword. He didn't know if he could save him.

At this time, the phoenix was the face of the empire. If the empire did not take two sons of the emperor with it when making diplomatic decisions, it would feel like it was losing face.

Of course, this was after Forgrim returned and rebuilt the Legion.

Otherwise, given their current state, where almost every legion is afflicted with the wilt disease, the Emperor almost considered humanely annihilating the legion so that Forgrim could rebuild a new one.

If it weren't for Fogrem's soft heart, people like Akulduna, Vespasian, and the old Chinese medicine doctor probably wouldn't have survived at all.

In fact, Zhao Zheng couldn't understand why an ordinary Chaos Sword could corrode Fugrim. Logically speaking, the Primarch shouldn't be so fragile.

Magnus was forced into it, Horus was corrupted on the verge of death, the Butcher's Nail of Angron had long been implanted in his brain, Perturabo's resentment had accumulated over the years, Mortarion was betrayed by his offspring, and Loka was a cult leader from childhood, brainwashed by two beasts, and had been influenced by the Emperor and other factors...

Why was Fugrim doing this? Zhao Zheng never understood.

Why was such an outstanding brother so easily corrupted back then?

Was it really just because of a morbid pursuit of perfection? Wasn't the emperor the perfect image in his mind?

In short, the betrayal was inexplicable. Forgrim was the least righteous and least motivated traitor among all the traitors.

All Zhao Zheng could think of was Forgrim's obsessive pursuit of perfection and his unwillingness to admit his own failures, which allowed Chaos to take advantage of his vulnerability.

After that, Fugrim became completely engrossed in a twisted pursuit of perfection.

Zhao Zheng couldn't understand why a primordial being praised by the emperor and called a phoenix would completely fall into depravity because of a minor demon and the pursuit of perfection.

The third planet in the Chermos system slowly rotated outside the observation porthole of the Imperial Dream, its surface covered with atmospheric purification devices and farmland grids appearing in patches of varying shades under the starlight.

Unlike the snowstorms of Fenris and the dark rock formations of Medusa, the surface of this planet presents a sense of meticulously maintained order, as if someone had smoothed over the scars left by war over the long years.

Zhao Zheng did not go down with the emperor.

He stood at the porthole of the Imperial Dream's bridge, watching the golden light pierce through the clouds and fall on the central square of the city.

Then, in his psionic vision, the figure of Forgrim appeared. The well-proportioned, handsome young man was staring blankly at the tall, golden-armored giant in front of him.

He was completely captivated. Zhao Zheng was certain that Forgrim must have developed a genuine and heartfelt adoration for the Emperor at this point.

He didn't need to listen to the following dialogue, because he had heard the emperor's lines many times before.

“I am here to take you back, my son. I am the Emperor of Man, and your name is Forgrim. We…”

Zhao Zheng leaned against the window frame, watching Forgrim straighten up after the Emperor finished speaking. His gaze lingered on the Emperor's disguised face for a moment before he nodded slightly.

His handsome face was filled with fervor, but combined with his somewhat eerie good looks, no one found it strange at the moment.

He did not feel challenged like Ruth, nor did he demand a duel like Feralus, nor did he raise any questions.

He simply accepted his imperial status quietly, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time and had finally met the person who was meant to come.

Then, Fogrem's gaze pierced through the crowd in the square and looked toward the Imperial Dream, as if he could sense Zhao Zheng's gaze from behind the porthole, even from tens of thousands of kilometers away.

Zhao Zheng did not look away, but remained leaning against the window frame, watching as that gaze lingered in the void for a moment before returning to the direction of the Emperor.

Forgrim then respectfully invited the Emperor, and the two walked toward the silver chrome car that was already waiting at the end of the street, and then drove together toward the city-state in front of them.

After a while, the Emperor's figure appeared on the Emperor Dream.

Zhao Zheng did not turn around. When he heard the emperor's footsteps behind him, he simply asked a question.

"how do you feel?"

"It went more smoothly than expected."

The Emperor walked to his side and stood still, his gaze also falling on the outline of the surface of Chemos.

“He established a stable society here, and he has a natural affinity for order itself, so he accepted it very quickly.”

"So what are your plans for him next?"

"Go back to Terra first, complete the return ceremony, and then let him take over the Third Legion."

The emperor paused for a moment, as if considering his words.

"The situation of the Third Legion is rather complicated. There were some... special problems before the expedition, which required him, the Primarch, to reintegrate and adjust it."

After hearing those words, Zhao Zheng did not respond immediately. He turned his head to look at the emperor and did not ask any further questions.

"What about the seventeen treasures you promised me? And what about the ones I told you about before? My Great Qin is currently in dire need of rebuilding, and money is needed everywhere. There's also the logistical pressure on Horus..."

He brought up the old matter again, his tone so practiced that there was no hesitation whatsoever.

The emperor's eyelids twitched slightly; he was already used to Zhao Zheng's relentless persistence.

"Once we get back to Terra, I'll have Makado take you in."

"Then I'll just pick whatever I want. Apart from the Abomination of Intelligence, I'll take whatever I see. You promised me that."

The emperor did not answer, but Zhao Zheng had already taken that silence as tacit consent.

Forgrim was assigned a private cabin on the Imperial Dream. During the rest of the voyage, he would occasionally leave his cabin and walk in the corridor, sometimes stopping at the porthole to gaze at the starry sky outside in silence for a while.

He would pause at the entrance when passing the bridge, glancing at the officers operating the equipment and the data streams on the screens, but he would not go in to interrupt their work.

Zhao Zheng saw Fogrem again on the third night of the voyage.

He was walking out of the lounge at the end of the corridor, holding a freshly poured cup of hot tea, when he looked up and saw Fogrem standing in front of the porthole on the side of the corridor, his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze fixed on the slowly receding silhouette of a planet outside the window.

Upon hearing footsteps, Forgrim turned his head slightly, and after recognizing the person, he spoke.

"You're the one who sensed me with psychic powers on the orbit, aren't you? Father said you're my brother, my second brother."

Zhao Zheng stopped a few steps away, holding a teacup, and stood against the wall on the side of the corridor.

"Zhao Zheng, Second Primitive Body, Commander of the Imperial Dragon Legion."

Zhao Zheng paused for a moment, then continued.

"Emperor of the Great Qin Empire, if you need any help from me, please don't hesitate to ask."

When Fugrim heard the name of the Emperor of the Great Qin Empire, her beautiful eyes swept over Zhao Zheng.

"Emperor?"

Is there a problem?

Forgrim was a little irritated by the word because he felt that the title was only fit for a perfect person like the Emperor, and no one else was worthy of it!

“I think you should change how you address him. I feel you’re being disrespectful to our father, brother.”

"The Emperor hasn't said anything, and neither have your other brothers. Why are you so concerned about this?"

"I just feel that as a son, one should have the most basic respect for one's father."

"I don't respect him? Why don't you ask him how many resources he takes from my Great Qin every month? If I didn't respect him, I wouldn't give him a single hair!"

Fogrim's face, which looked as white as if it had been plastered with putty, instantly turned slightly pink, and his eyes flashed with anger.

"This is simply the duty that we, as descendants, should fulfill..."

"What obligation? It means he can only take resources from us, but I can't get anything from the Empire? What kind of ridiculous logic is that?"

"Blasphemy! How can offspring demand anything from their father? How can you ask the emperor for favors, he..."

"So what if he's an emperor? Who says everyone has to give to him unconditionally? Brother, don't impose your thinking on others."

"Your respect for him doesn't conflict with my respect for him. And don't overestimate the Emperor's abilities; he's not as perfect as you imagine. Just think of him as a vanguard savior of humanity in the galaxy. And also..."

"Shut up! I won't allow you to speak of my father like that, you blasphemer! And who's your brother? I, Fulgrim, the Phoenix of the Empire! I will never be brothers with any blasphemer!"

Wow, quite the temper.

Zhao Zheng leaned against the corridor wall, holding a teacup in his hand, his gaze lingering for a moment on Fogrim's face, which was slightly flushed with anger.

He certainly knew why Forgrim was acting this way.

He united the city-states that had been fighting each other through his personal charisma and rebuilt order with his own hands.

He staked everything on a perfect ideal, and in his eyes, the emperor was precisely the ultimate embodiment of that ideal.

Now that someone is telling him that the Emperor is imperfect, or even implying that the Emperor is not the supreme being he imagines him to be, this behavior is tantamount to denying the very foundation of his existence.

Because if the Emperor is not perfect, then what is the kind of perfection that Forgrim pursues?

"You're not even willing to call me by my name anymore? I think I just heard you say that you don't want to acknowledge me as your brother anymore?"

Zhao Zheng's tone showed no sign of anger, but rather an almost calm composure. He even took a sip of tea, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

“I can understand why you’re so excited. You’ve built everything you wanted in Chemos, and it’s taken you a long time to shape it into the society you envisioned.”

“Now you have met someone who is more powerful and more perfect than you, so you naturally project that ideal onto him. You think he is perfect, and any voice that questions him is questioning your faith itself.”

“You don’t need to use anger to cover up your wavering, Fugrim, nor do you need to prove your steadfastness by whether or not you acknowledge me as your brother.”

“Worship and respect are two different things. You can worship emperors, that’s your freedom, but don’t expect others to do the same just because you worship them.”

Fugrim's eyes remained angry; clearly, Zhao Zheng's few words were useless to someone so deeply swayed by psionic charm.

"Actually, you can't really say you're wrong. After all, this is the current trend in the Empire. The Emperor himself hates religious beliefs, but as long as he is present, he becomes the very embodiment of religious belief, even though he has been trying his best to avoid it."

The anger in Forgrim's eyes gradually subsided. It seemed that there were very few arrogant and rebellious people like Zhao Zheng in the Empire.

That's more like it. How could anyone not admire or respect such a perfect person as my father?

"So I've always looked down on him in this respect."

But then, Zhao Zheng's words caused Fogrem to turn red again.

"He's a man who says one thing but does another. He forbids religion, yet he himself is religion. He forbids others from calling him a god and promotes imperial truth to the galaxy, but every time he appears, he uses his powerful psychic energy to bewitch people."

"This is not allowed, that is not allowed, but he secretly does everything, even the Abomination Intelligence which is explicitly forbidden by the Empire and himself, he secretly keeps."

"I'll say it again, brother, he's not as perfect as you think. He only has three admirable qualities that deserve your respect."

"One is his determination to save humanity, another is his terrifying strength, and yet another is his unparalleled power in scientific research, currently standing out among the empires."

"That's all the good things about him. I can't think of anything else, and I can't find anything else either."

Fugrim clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides.

He stared at Zhao Zheng's expressionless face, his teeth clenched so tightly that they clicked, his beautiful eyes filled with a mixture of anger, confusion, and a hint of wavering that he himself was unaware of.

"You...how dare you..."

"There's nothing I'm afraid of."

Zhao Zheng held his teacup, his tone remaining calm.

"Have you ever seen the Emperor in battle? Have you ever seen his decisiveness and ruthlessness when facing enemies? Have you ever seen him make decisions that concern the lives of millions without even blinking an eye?"

“He is indeed perfect in your eyes, and I have never denied that. His strength, will, and vision are beyond the limits that all of you can reach.”

"But precisely because of this, he also has his flaws. He is too lonely and too used to bearing everything alone. He doesn't know how to share with others, nor does he know how to trust anyone other than himself."

"Why do you think he created us Primarchs? To share his burdens?"

"He cannot accomplish the task of saving all mankind by himself alone, so he needs tools, and we are those tools, Fugrim."

Forgrim's eye twitched, but he did not refute it.

He had never seen the more complex aspects of the emperor; all he saw was a golden giant descending upon the square, telling him in a gentle yet irresistible voice: You are my child, come with me.

That image was too perfect, so perfect that he didn't need any further proof.

Do you know why the Emperor didn't want you to see those things?

Zhao Zheng continued.

"Because he knows that once you see it, your faith will crumble, and you are the kind of person who needs faith to survive."

"Chemos' success gave you a vague goal, and the Emperor's appearance gave you an even higher goal. Your life is a constant search for a faith that you can devote yourself to without reservation."

“This is nothing to be ashamed of. I just want to tell you that you have mistaken a mortal for a god.”

Zhao Zheng felt that Fugrim was too deeply mired in this, and in this respect, he was even more terrifying than Luo Jia.

Because the emperor in Luo Jia's eyes was the emperor of his imagination, he naively believed that the emperor should be exactly as he imagined in his mind.

But Forgrim was different. He truly treated the Emperor as a god. Feralus felt that the Emperor was so perfect that he might never be able to surpass him in his lifetime, but Forgrim was different. He truly wanted to surpass the gods.

But he discovered that he had no way to surpass the emperor, which was the most desperate thing.