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"Their ruling authority has not yet been fully legitimized. This plan is far too hasty."
"His Majesty insists on this."
The tax official repeated.
—That's exactly the kind of conversation that Fugrim had with the tax collector.
"These are the terms I finally negotiated..."
What reason should Fugrim give to explain the Empire's new policies to the people of Interles?
Facing Casca in front of her, she let out a painful wail.
......
Just as Fugrim was struggling with how to bring up the matter, a shuttle from the other flagship of the expeditionary fleet, the Radiant Light, quietly landed in the Interles outpost world.
Due to Casca's strong demands, Magnus was unable to participate in the negotiations with the Interles Federation during the previous talks.
During this time, he was constantly reading the lost books that had been sent from Interles to the Thousand Sons flagship.
A History of Extreme Evil: Advice on Humanity's Misuse of Witchcraft and Blind Faith in Demons
It depicts the images of devils and ghosts, angels and the Holy Infant, and revelation about how humanity abused witchcraft and paid an incredibly heavy price for it.
Magnus was terrified.
Fortunately, Magnus had long since moved beyond the base pleasures of witchcraft and instead chose to communicate with and listen to the guidance of elves like the Imperial Two-Headed Eagle.
Luckily, I didn't do it.
— Magnus consoled himself in this way.
Even though he wanted to help with diplomatic negotiations, he was still rejected by Fugrim.
Furthermore, Fugrim informed him that the people of Interles disliked witchcraft (as evidenced by these books), so Magnus would be better off not showing himself to avoid unnecessary trouble.
He couldn't say anything more about it.
Only one waited in its flagship, reading and meditating, searching for a new moment to repay their kindness.
Until recently, the Imperial Double-Headed Eagle approached him.
The territory of the Interles Federation spans more than 30 star systems, and its core world is about 40 weeks' journey from the front lines of the Empire's sphere of influence.
This is merely a peripheral port area for the other side.
"But it is still beautiful."
"Just like any garden world we've ever been to."
After landing, Magnus looked around and exclaimed.
Using his psychic powers, he transformed himself into the form of an ordinary Space Marine before landing.
"But I think it probably won't last long, not long after the tax officer came by."
Ahriman, standing next to Magnus, said sarcastically.
"It will either become a wasteland because of war, or a living hell because of the inability to pay taxes."
It seems that after encountering the human empire, death is inevitable no matter what.
—The emperor's move was too ruthless.
Not only in this country, but other Primarchies also have their complaints about this – this brutal and unreasonable expropriation is essentially cutting off their path to unification through peaceful means.
“I don’t understand what Father did either…” Magnus sighed heavily. “But let’s go find the pollution that the spirit of the two-headed eagle mentioned first.”
He didn't really believe the Empire's claim that the Interles Federation had been corrupted by some kind of evil "chaos."
After all, judging from the current situation, this place is peaceful and beautiful. The tranquility under the night sky, accompanied by the sea breeze and arias, captivated Magnus. Here, even humans and aliens can coexist peacefully. It doesn't seem as treacherous as described in the books, full of indescribable and terrifying demons.
"Try to investigate that place without revealing our whereabouts."
"If the intelligence is correct, it's nearby."
Guided by the spirit of the Imperial Twin-Headed Eagle, the two sneaky fellows headed towards a building called the "Equipment Hall".
The entire hall is ancient and majestic, like a giant museum.
This place clearly holds significant military importance for the Interles Federation. The entire hall is built on a steep bay slope, and inside there are numerous rooms, each two or three stories high.
The massive exhibition dome slops downwards, and even the outer walls display a dazzling array of weapons, from ancient forests of swords and spears to modern mobile artillery, all of which are concealed within a pale blue energy field that protects them.
Outside the equipment hall, several armored officers dressed in silver armor and red chain cloaks stood straight in front of the hall entrance, their sharp eyes scanning the surroundings, checking for any possible oversights.
"The Interles are heavily fortified, and this is probably where they are."
“But…would they really put a mysterious weapon in this weapons museum?” Ariman questioned. “So careless? It’s like putting your most precious books in some unknown frontier city’s small museum instead of in Tisca (Prospero’s capital).
"..."
Magnus did not reply for a long time.
"I do not know."
(Yes, why? Why would such a divine weapon as the Rival Blade be casually placed in a museum in the Outpost world?)
But this doesn't seem to be the time to force our way in.
Although the guards waiting outside were easily defeated, it was not advisable to formally break ties with the Interles Federation before there was any evidence.
"The spirit of the Imperial Twin-Headed Eagle said he possesses great power and can lead us to complete a teleportation without leaving any trace."
"But... is that thing really trustworthy, sir?"
Ahriman hesitated.
The diagram of the two-headed eagle spirit seemed a little too obvious, so much so that Ahriman felt something was amiss.
"Perhaps... such a possibility exists."
Magnus did not deny Ahriman's proposal: "But we can make a judgment based on the actual situation at that time."
As a master of psionic research, he could sense that the teleportation array constructed by the spirit of the two-headed eagle was indeed only a teleportation array for an extremely short distance.
They can do nothing but trick the guards into sneaking into the equipment hall.
With that, and with the help of the warp creatures, Magnus quickly completed the spell.
The two of them disappeared from the spot in an instant without even making a sound.
"Who?!"
"Who's there?!"
The guard only felt an inexplicable sense of unease, but after finding that there was still no one around, he returned to his original position full of doubt.
He seemed to sense the legendary chaotic aura, but he wasn't sure if it was real.
"...Is it just my imagination?"
......
Magnus looked around after the teleportation was complete.
This exhibit displays a large number of Kaneblach's weapons—although those things don't look like weapons at all, but rather like boxes, strange trinkets, rings, or iron hoops.
This place displays all the weapons used by the Cairnblach people in their battles with humans. These weapons were placed here after a formal reconciliation was reached between the two sides, so that future generations could visit and learn about the horrors of war.
(This seems to be of little use to the current human empire.)
Just as the two-headed eagle had said, they were teleported into this equipment hall.
"As expected... that Imperial double-headed eagle was friendly; it didn't deceive us."
Magnus grew increasingly fond of the little sprite that often brought him surprises.
He sent a psionic message to Ahriman beside him, filled with surprise, and Ahriman nodded slightly to Magnus.
“Let’s hurry and find evidence. According to the spirit of the two-headed eagle, the thing is very likely—”
Right there.
It's actually not hard to find.
Throughout the hall, there were Kaneblade weapons that resembled weapons: several oddly shaped daggers and swords.
Among them, one seemed particularly outstanding, emitting a faint, ethereal glow—although the glow could not be perceived visually, Magnus's psychic perception could clearly sense that energy.
"This is simply a sword, isn't it, sir?"
Ahriman asked doubtfully, "How could these weapons be as deadly and dangerous as that double-headed eagle said, to the point that we have to destroy the Interles Federation?"
"Look here, the Interlesian explanation notes below."
This is a piece created by the Kaneblach people, imbued with the style of the dark ages of evil.
Indeed, the Cainblach people's past is not exactly glorious; they were once believers in a mysterious force called Chaos.
It wasn't until recently that Kaneblach realized the dangers of Chaos, abandoned his sorcery beliefs, and formed an alliance with humanity.
They were specially crafted weapons, forged from intelligent metals created by metallurgists in Kaneblach, a technology that is now completely banned.
People call it anathames, the nemesis blade.
When such a sword is used against a specific target, it becomes a nemesis to that target, determined to kill the chosen one.
A terrifying creation of witchcraft.
"Ahem... But that's not the focus of our discussion right now."
Magnus suppressed his previously explosive thirst for knowledge, which had almost led him to snatch the item and study it on the spot.
He could sense this weapon the instant before or after contact.
hiss......
Magnus felt fragments of psionic visions flooding into his mind.
That is an evil blade, used to pierce the bodies of the innocent.
Soon after, it will be possessed by an entity used to assassinate Magnus's Primarch brothers.
He could feel the fear of an impending crisis, a fear so intense that he forgot to breathe.
At that very moment, the blade fell.
"Horus!!!"
That was the shout from Abaddon, the company commander of the Shadowmoon Wolf Company.
Under the influence of this evil artifact, the Wolf God collapsed to the ground and could not get up.
"Do not!!!"
The company commander picked up the demigod, who was lying on the ground in moon-white armor, and cried out in anguish.
And this wasn't the only time.
It seems that Horus may be harmed by this blade again in the future.
That was a treacherous fellow; though his presence was obscured, Magnus could still discern his despicable tricks—
Unable to defeat Horus in direct combat, he disguised himself as a seducer to lure Horus and gain his trust.
Finally, just when Horus thought he had won, he revealed his true form, full of fangs, and killed his opponent with the dagger in his hand.
...Something looks off.
......
The scene then shifts and changes, and this time it seems that someone else has been affected.
Warmaster Fugrim—while fighting another figure entirely in black, whose exact form was obscured, she was caught off guard when a sudden, evil dagger slit her throat.
At this point, Magnus did not know who her opponent was.
But involuntarily, the word "karma" came to mind.
Then it seems to be Casgar...
He was fighting another massive and insane being... He couldn't see who Kasgar's opponent was in the prophecy; it was as if that image had been suddenly erased from his mind.
But Magnus could see the fine, golden-red cracks on his body, like an eggshell about to shatter, bursting with unimaginable flames and light.
But it still couldn't escape its inevitable fate.