hotmtlnovel Chapter 79: It seems like it doesn't matter whether Istvan 5 fights or not.
Chapter 79: It seems like it doesn't matter whether Istvan 5 fights or not.
Chapter 80: It seems like it doesn't matter whether Istv 5 is attacked or not.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could such a massive Queen Glory-class battleship escape despite your heavy encirclement?!"
Mortalian, back on his flagship Endurance, felt his intelligence and common sense had been insulted.
He had the Death Guard's fleet ambush Mandeville Point in order to cut off any possibility of the Great Tyrant escaping.
But what about performing a subspace jump without going through the Mandeville point?
This made the meticulously planned Mortarian feel like a clown.
In his meticulous calculations, the Great Tyrant would either struggle to break through under the cover of the World Eater fleet and fall into his hands, or, in a desperate situation, perish together with the ships of the Sons of Horus, causing some damage.
Either outcome would elevate the Death Guard's status within the rebels, but in the current situation...
"Whether you admit it or not, this is an indisputable fact, and this oversight could have been completely avoided if you had followed my orders and had the Death Guard concentrate their firepower to take down the Tyrant, my brother."
Horus's voice was cold and somber, but Mortarion, who had disobeyed orders first, had no way to refute it.
"No need for further explanation. I will take responsibility and eliminate them. My legion is near Mandeville point, and we can still catch up if we perform a warp jump now—"
—
"There's no need for that."
However, Horus rudely interrupted Mortarian's offer to volunteer.
"Even if a temporary rift between the warp and the mortal realm is created in other ways, this forced jump has an extremely high failure rate... and their lives are actually not important. They are destined not to reach Terra during the warp storm. Once we have complete control of the galaxy, they are just remnants of the rebels and are not worth worrying about."
Mortarian frowned. Horus hadn't said that when he was so determined to destroy the enemy.
"And you have an even more important task—a task that is very suitable for you."
At this point, Horus looked at Mortarion meaningfully.
"You don't seem satisfied with just commanding the Fourteenth Army, do you, my brother?"
Upon hearing Horus's words, Mortarian's heart skipped a beat. He was somewhat relieved that the breathing mask had concealed most of his expression.
He was well aware that his act of deliberately leaking information to the World Devourers was, to put it mildly, presumptuous and overstepping his bounds.
To put it more broadly, it was a challenge to Horus's authority as commander of the rebel army, so it wouldn't be surprising if it were considered a betrayal.
In any case, it's not advisable to break ties with Horus now. Just as Mortarion was thinking about how to explain, "Then I will grant your wish. From now on, you will be in charge of the Twelfth Legion and lead them in the fight to overthrow the tyranny of Terra."
Mortarian was taken aback for a moment, then he was thankful that the breathing mask could hide his expression.
This way, his current excitement, which could be described as out of control, won't be exposed!
It is not uncommon for Primarchs to gain command of other Legions. For example, in the early to mid-stages of the Great Crusade, when Primarchs were first reunited, the Emperor would often assign newly returned Primarchs to train under the experienced Mordekaiser.
For example, Koz had been taught by Forgrim, and Mortarion had also studied at Shadowmoon Wolves for a period of time; during this time, the Primarch, as mentor, would naturally also be commanding another Legion.
Those who usually receive this honor are outstanding imperial offspring who are regarded as role models, such as Horus or Forgrim. Their experience in commanding other legions also gives them high prestige not only within their own legions but also among all Space Marines.
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Although Mortarian convinced himself he never needed these things, he undeniably longed to prove that he was merely unfortunate to have returned later in the order of arrival, and that given the chance, he could be just as excellent as them.
Horus has now given him this opportunity.
He understands me.
He knows my capabilities.
In that instant, Mortarion recalled his past with Horus and began to reflect on whether he had been too suspicious of the Warmaster.
Although Horus appears to be corrupted by warp magic, he is still fundamentally different from his tyrannical father.
"Hmph, you've given me a troublesome task, Horus..."
'
Motarian tried to lower his voice as much as possible to appear more composed.
"But I will train them properly in place of Angron, sharpening them into even sharper blades, if they can withstand it."
"I have no doubt that you can do it, Mortarian."
Mortarion, who was contemplating how to get the World Eater to switch allegiance, failed to notice Horus's casual indifference.
"However, this battle also exposed the fact that insufficient communication between different legions could lead to command contradictions and conflicts. In order not to affect the more important plans on the Istfan V, I think we should find a way to solve this problem."
"Uh...that's true. What insights do you have, War General?"
Having just been entrusted with an important mission by Horus, and still feeling somewhat guilty about disrupting the Warmaster's plans, Mortarian naturally supported Horus unconditionally.
"Therefore, I propose that one of your sons, whom you can trust, serve in my legion as a bridge for communication and coordination between our legions."
"For example, what about Taifeng?"
"What's wrong, Malorst? Is there something you want to say?"
After ending his communication with Mortarion, Horus looked at Malochist beside him, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
"Don't worry, I trust my Primarch brother completely."
"Well, in that case..."
'
Even the warrior's attendants, who usually obeyed the Wolf God's decisions without question, couldn't help but whisper at this moment.
"Why didn't you tell Lord Mortarion first about the current situation of the World Eater Legion?"
"I told you, I trust Mortalian completely—given his character, even after taking over the World Eater army, he discovered that almost everyone in the army had become useless..."
Horus's smile held only cold mockery.
"He'll probably just swallow his anger and continue carrying out the mission while suppressing his dissatisfaction."
Malohrist wore a bitter expression. He had already checked the current state of the World Eater Legion. For some reason, all of their Butcher's Nails had overloaded and self-destructed, and almost all of them were in a coma with brain damage.
But he certainly didn't pity the World Eaters or want to take care of these cumbersome Death Guards; what he was more worried about was...
"But if this happens, the original strategic deployment on Istfan 5 will be disrupted."
"Don't worry, I was prepared for this."
Hearing Horus's words, Malohrist felt slightly relieved.
Indeed, with the commander's exceptional talent and strategic vision, even a slight change in the plan could be easily handled.
"Once Taifeng joins us, we'll prepare to leave the Eastfan system and head to Morocco."
However, Horus's next words left his servants speechless.
"It doesn't really matter whether we fight Istvan V or not—let Mortarian stay here and distract the loyalists."
Horus closed his eyes, as if he could already see the one-sided massacre that would unfold on Istvan V...
But it's completely different from what we calculated a few days ago.
This would be a one-sided annihilation of the rebels by the loyalists.
Moreover, he knew that this was not a calculation, but a fact that would happen in the future.
But a voice in Horus’s mind told him that the war should have had a completely different ending.
Where exactly did the problem occur?
Was it because they lost the Tyrant, Abaddon, and Angron?
Was it because Istv III failed to eliminate the loyalists in the end that morale declined?
Or is it...?
At an earlier point in time, when Galo was piloting the Eisenstein back to Terra to deliver a message, someone asked him to pass on some intelligence that was even more deadly to the rebels than the Horus Rebellion.
But Horus wore a strange smile.
Perhaps he could find a way to minimize the casualties among the rebels... but there's no need for that.
Because he discovered that these so-called wars were merely part of a larger game.
What he wanted to become was a chess player.
"I'm already studying our adversaries in the warp."
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