Warhammer [507-508] (Patreon)

Chapter 507: The Emperor and Malcador, Rhodes's New Plan

For 10,000 years—his old friend had been gone for a full 10,000 years—now, seeing his old friend the Emperor again, he felt a unique, indescribable emotion.

Over 10,000 years ago, he himself had no intention of ruling humanity, nor to become the human master—the Emperor.

Throughout the long river of human history, he only guided humans in the early days, never intending to be an eternal ruler. He preferred to play an ordinary role in history, quietly watching humanity's story unfold.

It was Malcador who persuaded him to step forward and save humanity, which was then on the brink of extinction.

"Emperor! Is that you? I—I thought I was dead? Why am I still alive? And what… what happened to you?" Malcador looked at the Emperor on the Golden Throne, so emaciated he was little more than skin and bones, almost a mummy, and spoke in shock.

As a powerful immortal, the Emperor should never be in such a weakened state.

"My old friend, it's been a full 10,000 years. You left this world, the Imperium, 10,000 years ago. The Golden Throne's energies killed you, drained even your soul," the Emperor said.

"What did you do? Did you use some strange technology—or did you make a deal with those four bastards? I warned you never to trust them!" Malcador seemed to realize something and immediately questioned the Emperor loudly.

Resurrecting the dead was beyond even the Emperor's power; only the four Chaos Gods of the Warp could do that.

Back then, he was truly, utterly dead.

So, if he'd suddenly come back to life now, it probably meant the Emperor had made a deal with the Chaos Gods! That was terrifying—he didn't want the human master he admired to stoop so low, even to deal with those evil Warp entities. Though he had once done so himself, that time he had tricked the four Gods.

"Don't worry, my old friend. I haven't made any deals with those evil beings of the Warp. I've made no compromises. I'm still the Emperor you remember—I always have been," the Emperor said with a smile.

"Then why do you look like this? You're immortal—even if you were atomized, you could reconstruct yourself."

Malcador looked deeply skeptical.

No one knew the Emperor better than he did. Before they'd even met, the Emperor had the power to compress a star into an energy source and gift it to Sanguinius; back in the 5th century, he had the strength to battle the Void Dragon itself, which even as fragments could easily destroy dozens of Necron Tomb Worlds.

Because the Void Dragon was sealed on Mars, humanity could master mechanical forces; the Martian Mechanicum, and even the basis for human science, could develop because of this.

"A millennium has passed. I sat on the Golden Throne, sealing the whole Webway with my psychic might! But the Golden Throne has tortured me endlessly—my soul, my flesh. It's turned me into something neither alive nor dead, spawning countless negative and dark personalities, almost causing me to lose myself completely. I'm much better now—before, I was just a corpse, unable even to speak," the Emperor said.

His condition was much better now! Before Malcador awoke, before Rhodes arrived, before Magnus returned, before the Goddess of Life used her power on him, the Emperor was basically a dead man—or something between life and death.

"So, how did you resurrect me? Did you use some special method?" Malcador asked.

"A lot has happened—I'll explain slowly. But you should know, humanity has new hope. A new savior, stronger than me, has appeared," the Emperor said, looking at Rhodes.

Malcador followed his gaze and saw a man two meters tall, not particularly remarkable at first glance.

Could he be a new immortal born after his own death? Malcador could sense a powerful life force from Rhodes, comparable to the Emperor in his prime.

At this moment, Rhodes was not displaying any super lifeform abilities or revealing his cosmic phantom beast, yet his very presence shocked Malcador.

"Chancellor Malcador, I am the Empire's new Primarch—but not created by the Emperor. I fused with a mysterious creature: a cosmic phantom beast. This being can fuse with ordinary humans, turning them into super lifeforms, with lifespans of tens of thousands of years or even eternity. Physically, this evolves to a level even stronger than Primarchs, and can even produce their own gene-seeds," Rhodes greeted Malcador warmly.

Rhodes had a good impression of this former Imperial hero.

"Hello, new Primarch. It seems I've missed much these years… So can you tell me how I was revived?" Malcador asked.

His old friend, the Emperor, would never act without cause. As a sly old fox who had lived thousands of years, Malcador keenly guessed his resurrection must be connected to this man.

"In ancient Eldar legend, there is a Death God who will end Slaanesh. I obtained this Death God's power in a certain way. I created a very special lifeform, which has one resurrection opportunity—it can choose to revive any dead being, ignoring all conditions and rules," Rhodes explained.

"I see. It's really unbelievable," Malcador said.

A perfect resurrection opportunity—Old friend, you shouldn't have wasted that on an old man like me; at best, I'm just a more powerful psyker.

What you should have done is revive Ferrus Manus!

"Don't worry. Ferrus Manus will return soon—I now have the power to repair his soul," the Emperor smiled, seemingly reading his old friend's mind.

"It's been 10,000 years, Chancellor Malcador. You must have much to discuss with the Emperor. I won't disturb you," Rhodes said, smiling at them both, then left the Imperial Palace.

Following him was Guilliman. The Emperor's relationship with Malcador was even deeper than that with the Primarchs, so he would not intrude on their reunion.

"When do you plan to return to your territory?" Guilliman asked.

"I'll leave tomorrow—the sooner the better. I doubt I'll get much rest; those Chaos bastards won't let me be idle," Rhodes replied.

Having accumulated over 100 million system coins, Rhodes planned to boost his power significantly: first upgrading the advanced system shop, then empowering his top generals, and if there were any left, doing another hundred draws.

He wanted to strengthen his territory's defenses—he had a sense his land would become the center of this war. This time, Nurgle's attack likely wouldn't target Macragge, as in the original timeline.

"Understood! I'll keep a close watch on Chaos. The second phase of the Indomitus Crusade still needs your leadership—you probably won't get much rest," Guilliman said.

"Got it!" Rhodes waved, smiled at Guilliman, and walked off.

In the second phase of the Indomitus Crusade, Rhodes had to lead the human fleet to explore and expand humanity's territory, saving more worlds.

It was a great chance to gain prestige, on par with the Emperor's Great Crusade. But he couldn't leave his homeland unguarded, so this time, Rhodes had another plan.

Previously, Barbarue had already gone to Space 40. Rhodes planned to summon another Barbarue, or perhaps a Alien Zarab.

He'd have them take on the forms of himself and Elena, leading the Crusade while he provided remote command.

After decades of war, could he not enjoy some warmth at home, with wife and children for once?

That night, Rhodes told Elena his plan.

"You mean, have your two subordinates impersonate us to lead the fleet while we return to the Phantom Beast Planet?" Elena looked at Rhodes in confusion.

It seemed a bit odd to her. The Empire needed him badly.

"Don't worry. We can still control things remotely, and those two can perfectly mimic us. No one will notice. And if anything urgent happens, we can teleport instantly—distance is meaningless with Tartarus," Rhodes said.

With the golden boy around, life was easy!

"Well, when you put it like that, it could work. Should we tell the Emperor and Guilliman?"

"No, not at all! This is our honeymoon—just us, Yvraine, Lelith, and the goddess. Nothing will go wrong. We can defend against Chaos attacks more effectively, hiding in the shadows," Rhodes assured.

Actually, Rhodes wanted to set bait: his real self would hide, while his two subordinates drew Chaos's attention.

"So you're setting a trap!"

Chapter 508: Doppelgangers, Death Guard Chapter Master Typhus?

Elena immediately understood. She knew Rhodes would never abandon the fleet for a quiet life—he was the new Imperial Warmaster, and he'd never back down from a fight.

Since she'd met him, Rhodes had never retreated, not even against the terrifying Tyranids, when he was still very weak.

This wasn't laziness, but a chance to deal with Chaos: by sending out these doppelgangers, he could draw the enemy's eye.

"You could say that—this method will certainly attract Chaos," Rhodes said with a smile.

Alien Barbarue and Alien Zarab were both super lifeforms—bound to get Chaos's attention. The enemy would never guess they were fake, and Rhodes and Elena could hide safely.

"It's a good idea—let them handle the Crusade's second phase. Most battles don't need us anyway; just send out the gene-sons," Elena said.

She and Rhodes rarely fought personally on the Crusade. Usually, wherever their fleet went, they just showed up, and the Sisters of Battle and Space Marines would be inspired to rush into battle, shouting that the Gene-Father and Gene-Mother were watching, and that only victory could repay them.

"What about the two kids?" Elena asked.

"Stark stays on Holy Terra for the next ten years, training with the new Space Marine recruits and his gene-sons. No need for him to leave. As for Sterne, he'll stay with us—he's too young to join any war," Rhodes said.

It was easy: the older son would stay in the Empire, training troops, and by the time the Plague War ended, it would be safe. The younger son was just a kid and wouldn't take part in any fighting.

Elena nodded; as a mother, she naturally didn't want her son involved in war.

"Should we tell the Emperor and Guilliman? Maybe they should know too," Elena asked.

"No, absolutely not! This is a secret mission. If we can't fool our own people, how can we fool the enemy?" Rhodes replied.

He was determined to go against the grain and give Chaos a harsh lesson.

"Understood. Tomorrow we'll take Sterne to the Phantom Beast Planet. When are your subordinates coming? Can they really impersonate us?" Elena asked.

"Relax! Our gene-sons respect us deeply, and we can command remotely. Don't forget my special power—I can perfectly control all summoned monsters," Rhodes said.

Elena nodded, and that night began making arrangements for their sons.

After settling everything, Rhodes entered his secret lab and summoned a Barbarue and a Zarab, spending tens of thousands of system coins to max out their power.

"Greetings, great master!" the two aliens knelt before Rhodes.

"Rise. I have an important task for you. Barbarue, you will take my form, commanding my army in battle. I'll communicate with you remotely—you must win, and no one can discover your identity. Can you do it?" Rhodes asked.

"At your service, great master! Leave it to me—I'll destroy all your enemies," the Barbarue replied confidently.

After the upgrades, its power was almost on par with the previous Barbarue, maybe even stronger.

"Zarab, your task is simpler—you'll pose as my wife Elena. You don't need to fight, just assist the Barbarue," Rhodes said.

Honestly, having such an ugly creature become his wife was a bit disturbing, but Alien Barbarue were expensive, so he had to settle. Anyway, Elena and he rarely fought in person; even if they did, ordinary foes couldn't see through these disguises, as they were at the Primarch level.

"Understood, master! We're part of the Evil Alliance after all—let us complete your mission," the Zarab pledged.

Rhodes nodded in satisfaction and called Elena to see the Zarab's impersonation.

The Barbarue's Rhodes was flawless, but the Zarab's Elena was less convincing—like a fake Ultraman. On close inspection, she seemed a bit sinister, boots turned pointy, and her markings a bit off.

"Hey, what's with you? We have to complete the master's mission. How can you act like this?" the Barbarue grumbled at the Zarab.

Was this really the so-called shapeshifting Zarab? Compared to Alien Barbarue, their ability was lacking.

"Uh, sorry, master. I can only do this much. We Alien Zarab are called mimics, but our copies are always a little off—I can't do better," the Zarab apologized.

"Let me power you up!" Rhodes opened the system shop and spent more system coins to boost the Zarab's mimicry.

With that, the disguise became almost perfect—only the closest people might notice any difference, which was enough to fool the fleet's Sisters and Space Marines.

Rhodes was very satisfied and handed over the fleet's command to the two, letting them impersonate himself and Elena, flying off to lead the Crusade's second phase.

Meanwhile, Rhodes and Elena had Tartarus teleport them straight to the Phantom Beast Planet.

In this way, Rhodes secretly swapped himself and Elena for their doppelgangers, who went to lead the Indomitus Crusade's second phase.

While Rhodes headed to the Phantom Beast Planet, the forces of Chaos were not idle. The Plague Legion was at full strength: all the Daemon Princes, Greater Daemons, and even Chaos Champions had powered up.

Even ordinary Chaos Space Marines, thanks to the things gained from Macragge, had upgraded too.

A full-scale Plague War against the Imperium was about to begin, led by the great Death Guard Chapter Master—Typhus.

Typhus, chosen by Nurgle, gained the full recognition of the Death Guard over 10,000 years, surpassing even their Primarch in prestige.

As for his attitude toward his Primarch, Typhus held only contempt, believing Mortarion to be a worthless fool who owed everything to his birthright as a Primarch—their Gene-Father—but otherwise was good for nothing.

This time, Nurgle himself chose Typhus to lead, using monster corpses from the Imperium to upgrade his body, making him even more powerful.

So, after 10,000 years as a shut-in, when Mortarion returned to his Legion, the first thing he faced was his gene-sons' disobedience.

"Typhus, it seems you've done a good job building up my Legion over these 10,000 years," Mortarion said to his former Captain—if not for him, he'd never have joined Nurgle.

"Don't flatter yourself, Mortarion. You were a failure then; you're a failure now. I've surpassed you. From now on, I am the true Chapter Master of the Death Guard. As for you, if you want, you can start over as a grunt," Typhus said with a mocking sneer.

Mortarion's face darkened.

"Lord Typhus! You should at least show some respect to our Primarch—"