“Your Highness the Prince!”
Huron didn’t understand that Said, who had previously supported him, suddenly changed his mind. Could it be that he was bewitched by Guilliman?
At this time Said said: “Huron, please go out first. I will find you later. Now I have something to say to Guilliman.”
Huron suppressed his anger: “Okay, I’ll wait for your explanation!”
After Huron left, Said could not suppress his anger and said angrily:
“Guilliman, what are you doing!? Can you tell me that you are talking to the Eldar in secret? And you are telling a war sect!”
“It was you who reminded me to keep it strictly confidential. What have you done now! Are you interfering with the army for this? Who gave you the power?”
Said made the Internal Affairs Council fully responsible for internal affairs. In exchange, the members of the Internal Affairs Council gave up their command of the army.
Just now Guilliman asked Huron to cease fighting, which was neither reasonable nor legal.
As the most political Primarch, it was hard for Guilliman to imagine making such a mistake, so Said decided to listen to his explanation first.
Guilliman humbly admitted: “What I did was indeed wrong. Your Highness, I am willing to bear all the consequences, but compared with the benefits, it is all worth it!”
Said frowned: “Profit? What benefit? Have the pirates of the Extreme Star Territory disappeared? This is not enough at all!”
Guilliman shook his head: “Of course it’s more than that. The Eldar revealed an important piece of information. Abaddon is repairing the damaged Blackstone Fortress!”
Said was stunned, and instantly remembered the remains of the Blackstone Fortress that had been swept away by the subspace in the Taiping Star Territory, and couldn’t help but ask:
“The fortress is already damaged, and even the Eldar can’t do it. Where can the Black Legion get the technology to do it?”
Guilliman said seriously: “Is there anything impossible in the subspace? What’s more, that fortress has long been contaminated by the subspace, so it is not difficult to repair it.”
Said lowered his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, “Is it just this? It’s still not enough!”
It is true that the Blackstone Fortress is very strong. The Black Legion has one, which can cause greater damage to the empire, but the empire has six, and the comparison of the combat power between the enemy and ourselves has not changed.
The value of intelligence simply could not make up for the risks Guilliman took.
Guilliman said: “Of course not only that, the Death Army promised us that they will be responsible for destroying the Blackstone Fortress!”
Said was stunned. The Black Stone Fortress was the Black Army’s biggest support in the Thirteenth Black Expedition. Although its combat power was not as good as that of the Empire, it could still cause huge damage to the Empire with its strong stability and attack power.
Not to mention anything else, if they use guerrilla warfare to attack the empire world one by one, the empire will have to run exhausted and pay a considerable price.
Originally the 13th Black Crusade in history, Blackstone Fortress was Abaddon’s magic weapon. If the Eldar destroyed it at the beginning of the war, the Empire would undoubtedly win without a fight.
Said thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: “What guarantee does the Death Army provide?”
Guilliman replied: “There is no guarantee, but I think it is worth believing. First of all, the Blackstone Fortress is a creation of the Eldar, and they know the best; secondly, the virgin world cannot escape and will be enveloped by the Extermination Order at any time!”
“If the Eldar breach the contract, the Empire can destroy these worlds at any time. The Eldar understand this, so they will not lie.”
Said nodded, agreeing with this explanation, but there was one last question. He asked coldly:
“Such a big thing happened, why didn’t you come to me first, but went directly to Huron to cease fire? What do you mean? Don’t you respect the war council?”
Guilliman shook his head: “I have no choice, Your Highness, the Eldar have also promised to open multiple webways from Terra to the four star regions, and the condition is that the attack will stop within two days!”
“The empire will then be able to travel large distances without having to travel through subspace, which will greatly enhance the efficiency of all aspects of work.”
“If we discuss it with His Highness the Prince, we may not be able to cease the war immediately and lose this great benefit. Therefore, I want Huron to cease the war and communicate with you again.”
Said gritted his teeth: “This woman Efreni has planned everything!”
What is the difference between Guilliman and Said?
The two are in different positions and have different starting points for thinking.
Guilliman is keeping an eye on the internal affairs of the empire. Opening the Internet Channel is a great benefit to the economy and transportation.
But Said not only considers internal affairs, but also needs to balance the factions within the empire, calculate the reaction of the warp gods, and the consequences of military expansion…
Therefore, in the eyes of Efreni, Said is unpredictable, but Guilliman is much more predictable. As long as the proposal is conducive to the development of the empire’s internal affairs, he and Guilliman can reach an agreement.
Had Said been found instead of Guilliman, the Eldar would have likely had to shed more blood to satisfy Said’s appetite.
But the work was done, and in fending off the Thirteenth Black Crusade, the Imperium needed Eldar help worth far more than dozens of virgin worlds.
After weighing it, Said accepted Guilliman’s explanation, but he still warned:
“It won’t happen again, you know! And the consequences of a rash ceasefire must be borne by you!”
Guilliman wondered: “What are the consequences of the armistice…?”
Said complained in his mind that Guilliman was slow to react, and then explained:
“The war-hungry war faction will be dissatisfied, thinking that you colluded with the aliens, betrayed the God-Emperor, and are guilty of treason. All these need to be resolved!”
“And the representative figure among them is Huron!”
Guilliman didn’t understand: “For the benefit of the empire, they should distinguish between pros and cons. A white cat and a black cat are good cats if they catch mice!”
Said sighed: “But how do you catch a mouse? How many mice are caught? How to measure the cost? In the final analysis, the routes are all different!”
“I forgive you for being hasty, but that doesn’t mean that the war party forgives you, and it doesn’t mean that Huron forgives you. Do you understand?”
After saying that, Said controlled the puppet and stood up to talk to Huron. Before leaving the house, he said calmly:
“If there is unrest among the main war faction, I hope you can bear the consequences, you know? Guilliman!”
Then Guilliman, who was deep in thought, went to the headquarters and asked, “How is the battle going now, Huron!”
Huron had a gloomy face, stared at the map, and said solemnly: “There are still two days left, we are attacking at all costs, trying to kill more aliens before withdrawing!”
At this time, the Eldar Ark fleet was approaching Ridrell, competing with the Imperial fleet for space control. In a short period of time, the ground forces lost orbital strike reinforcements.
This further slowed down the advance, making it impossible to hit the planet within two days.
Said said: “You have already pressed two legions. It is impossible for the empire to send you more reinforcements…”
Huron’s eyes were gloomy: “Are you here to order me to withdraw my troops? You supported me at the beginning! You knew that my father was colluding with the aliens, but not only did you not stop it, you even cooperated with it!”
“I know. I’m just a legion commander. My father is the original body and an oligarch of the empire. If you have to choose one to offend, of course you have to offend me!”
Said had a headache. This child was in trouble and persuaded:
“Huron, things are more complicated than you think. We all want to protect the empire and humanity, but the methods and routes are different!”
Huron asked back: “Is there a way to collude with the aliens? Is there a way to not eliminate the aliens after seeing them? Is there a way to engage in diplomacy with the aliens? Aren’t the lessons of mankind in the golden age enough?”
Huron asked a series of questions, and Said answered in the affirmative, but he could not say these things, so he replied:
“The word collusion is not accurate. The empire still wants to eliminate all aliens, but not now. Letting them go now is to eliminate more of the three evils in the future!”
Huron sneered: “The logic of letting the aliens go in order to kill them is really impeccable!”
“As loyal warriors of the God Emperor, it is our duty to eliminate all three evils we see. Now you are asking us to violate our duties. I’m sorry, but I cannot agree with this order!”
Said’s voice was cold:
“The truth has been made very clear. The military is subordinate to politics. You cannot put your honor above the interests of the empire. If you disobey, I can only remove you from office on the spot!”
“Now that the piracy issue has been resolved in stages, your expedition has lost its legitimacy. If you continue, you will soon face more questions.”
Huron was like a deflated rubber ball. He was silent for a long time and replied in a heavy voice: “I know, I will withdraw my troops immediately, but I won’t just let it go!”
“What do you want to do?” Said wondered.
Huron said nothing, staring at the rapidly evacuating army and the Eldar who were not pursuing them. He did not utter two words until the evacuation was complete:
“emission!”
As soon as he finished speaking, virus bombs rained down on the surface, melting all life on the planet into mud, releasing massive amounts of flammable gas, and exploded under the light of the fire.
In an instant, the surface of the planet turned into a sea of fire, a large number of Ark Eldar were wiped out, and the originally vibrant virgin world turned into a scorched earth.
Guilliman pushed open the door and said angrily: “What are you doing? Huron! Didn’t you receive the ceasefire order?”
Huron sneered: “Father, the order I received is to cease fighting within two days. Before that, I have the right to carry out all means of war!”
Said nodded and said: “Huron did the right thing. Evelene used a truce and retreat as a condition. As long as she withdraws, she will fulfill her promise. There is no need to ensure that the planet is intact!”
Guilliman was dissatisfied with the choice of words and couldn’t help but said: “If they…”
Said waved his hand: “If they refuse to pay, they will continue to attack the remaining virgin worlds. The initiative is in our hands, not the Eldar!”
Huron looked hopeful, but Guilliman said: “Your Highness, I hope to transfer Huron to serve on the Internal Affairs Committee. Can the War Committee release him?”
Huron’s face changed greatly and he looked at Said pleadingly. Said shrugged and said indifferently: “This is a matter between you and your son. I will not get involved!”
In fact, he fully agreed in his heart. With Huron’s current cynical state, Said could not rest assured, so he simply lifted the military power and went to deal with internal affairs.
But he didn’t want to be the villain himself, so it would be best to have Guilliman come forward.
The puppet then left the headquarters, and his conversation with the father and son is unknown, but in the end the two broke up on bad terms, and Huron agreed to serve on the House Committee.
Within a year, he will complete the handover of work, enter the internal affairs system, and be isolated from the army. This is Keely’s solution to his rash move.
If successful, the Hurons would never have the chance to rebel again.
Said thought to himself: “I hope everything goes well!”
Then he put it behind him and faced the Eldar’s questions with Guilliman.
The result was as expected. When Said threatened the remaining virgin world, Efreni relented, changed her mind, put down her hatred, and continued to move forward.
After this battle, humanity gained the promise of instantly killing the Corrupted Blackstone Fortress and the right to use part of the Webway.
The former is hard to say, but the latter has immediate benefits!
Due to the instability of subspace, there is a damage rate for imperial merchant ships every year. If the network channel can be used, the damage rate can be reduced and bring huge economic benefits.
Under the leadership of the Internal Affairs Committee, the speed of empire construction continued to accelerate, production capacity and resources continued to expand, and a massive material foundation was accumulated for future wars.
Just when everything was going well, an unharmonious accident happened. The Piercers who were going to replace Huron were ambushed by pirates and wiped out!
The Piercers had participated in the Exploration Expedition and made contributions in the fight against the Tau Empire. They were pardoned in advance and promoted to the head of the legion to replace Huron.
The Ghoul Star Cluster is located on the edge of the Star Torch. The Piercers from the Exploration Expedition are just right, but they were ambushed and annihilated by pirates at this time, and Sayid’s plan came to nothing.
Sayid was furious and immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the matter, because in the past, no pirates could destroy a full-strength regiment!
Through the puppet’s perspective, although the attackers were wearing power armor from the Great Crusade, their tactical coordination had obvious regiment colors.
And only people inside the empire knew the fleet jump point, so the attackers must have come from inside the empire.
“Is it you? Huron!”
Sayid stared at the northeast corner of the star map, staring at the position of the Ghoul Star Cluster. If the guess was true, Huron had already raised the banner of rebellion.
So, Sayid immediately ordered the local prince’s corps to gather and be on guard, and sent the second regiment to take up the post, and also specially dispatched a fleet from the Great Whirlpool to escort.
During the voyage, Sayid asked the regiment to take up the post to go forward, and the escort fleet was far behind. Sure enough, the pirates attacked again.
The escort fleet immediately rushed out and quickly defeated the pirates. It was found that the attackers came from the Star Claws Regiment and three Exploration Expedition Regiments. The latter had a very good relationship with Huron and was an important supporter of the expedition plan.
This shows that Huron has rebelled!
This incident also alarmed Guilliman, which made him feel very guilty. He said: “I am responsible for this. If I had been more tactful at the time, Huron might not have rebelled.” Sayid waved his hand and said coldly: “But there is no if in the world. Tell me what you want to do?” Guilliman said seriously: “Your Highness, although I don’t regret my actions, the Huron rebellion was caused by me after all. I hope I will be responsible for suppressing it!” Sayid asked; “Do you want to join the War Committee? Command the Imperial Legion to suppress the rebellion?” Guilliman shook his head: “No, the cost of suppressing the rebellion caused by me should not be borne by the Empire. I hope to dispatch the Oklamar Legion to suppress the Huron Rebellion!” The Oklamar Legion is Guilliman’s private army, with 200,000 Ultramarine and a huge space fleet, as well as countless auxiliary troops. Its size is equivalent to more than a dozen mixed empire legions. Under Guilliman’s excellent farming, the Ultramar Legion is the largest oligarch private army except for the Prince’s Legion. On the other hand, if Huron rebelled, the only troops he could directly command were the Star Claws, and at most a few Exploration Expeditions, with only a few thousand Space Marines.
Not to mention that the Ghoul Star Cluster also had a Prince Legion, as well as loyalists within the Huron Legion.
Adding to the huge Ultramar Legion, Huron had no chance of winning.
So Sayid nodded and said, “Then go ahead, solve it as soon as possible, and minimize the impact!”
Huron… still rebelled, it can only be said that he was born at the wrong time, and the general environment did not support his ideals…
