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Page 471
"So, what are your plans next?"
After a moment of silence, Fugrim continued, "If we continue down this path, when will we finally find peace?"
"I......"
Casca had no answer.
Although he had come a long way and the human empire was now thriving, he could not let his guard down.
Just like when he suddenly awoke from the illusion influenced by Slaanesh: even if only one Chaos God remained, he could not let his guard down for even a moment.
If we relax our vigilance even slightly in the face of Slaanesh, we will give him an opportunity to corrupt us, and all our previous efforts could be in vain.
"This can't go on forever."
As long as one is human, there will be a day when one gets tired—even Guilliman, the workaholic Ultra Warrior, can only reach the limit of seven thousand years.
Even if Kasgar had great self-control, he couldn't possibly choose to let Slaanesh infiltrate the human empire and keep a close watch on him every moment.
He is still human (Casca: I am not a god), and he does not have the power to work like a machine forever on his own.
We must find a way to take the initiative.
"Let me think—"
"Why not contact the Imperial Guard and ask if we can find a new opportunity to go to the Golden Throne and seek his help?"
Yes.
Why not ask the Magic Emperor what to do?
......
"Sun Lord, War General. This way, please."
The Imperial Guards' welcome this time was more respectful than in the past.
For them, his achievement of obtaining the Net-Tunneling Tunneling Machine—the Harmonious Engine—from the subspace was enough to make him a guest of honor for all the Imperial Guards.
In the Pyrrhic victory of the Internet Wars, the original 10,000-strong army was reduced to less than one-tenth, all in order to realize the Emperor's final vision of connecting to the Internet.
Although the city of Karata in the Webpath was indeed saved, preserving the possibility of the Webpath's future reopening, the Folly of Loka, amplified by the evil power of the Chaos God, also struck the Golden Throne atop Holy Terra, damaging it and requiring the Emperor to constantly suppress it with his spiritual power.
Therefore, even if the Netway City is defended, and even if the Harmonyless Engine is brought in, the Netway portal cannot be successfully opened from this side as long as the Golden Throne is not repaired.
It was not yet successful, but the Imperial Guards had never been so close to success.
Secondly, the Emperor's situation improved dramatically—just after Kasgar successfully defeated Nurgle, Khorne, and Tzeentch, the fragments of the Emperor that had been separated from them were successfully collected by the mysterious centaur spirits and returned to the Golden Throne.
With the return of these soul fragments, the Emperor's condition gradually improved from being a desiccated skeleton to being reborn as if his flesh and blood were growing back. Although he still did not regain the robust physique he had before, according to the excited Imperial Guards, the Emperor could stand up again at any time!
The Emperor is coming back! The Emperor will be back soon!
Casca was right, he could indeed help the Emperor!
Seeing the hope of the Emperor rising again, the Imperial Guards were all extremely excited, wishing they could kneel down and beg Casca to let the Emperor heal him again in the next second.
Especially now that the other party has taken the initiative to express their desire to meet the Emperor again before the Golden Throne.
"Please. The throne room is just ahead, Lord Sun."
The Imperial Guard stood solemnly before the heavy gate, watching as Kasgar and Vograim behind him quietly pushed the gate open and entered.
"haven't seen you for a long time."
"Casca said as he pushed open the door."
What appeared before his eyes was a huge golden throne—still wrapped in the life support devices and cables left by the mechanical sage, just as before. However, the being sitting on that throne did seem to have regained his fullness in his body, just as the Imperial Guard had said. He looked like an ordinary, albeit somewhat weak, middle-aged man.
Long time no see, Casca!
[You did a great job. With the harmonic-free engine, we will soon be able to open up new network nodes again.]
I've also heard about the lunar portal—thank you for everything you've done for me and for all of humanity, my friend.
Although he still couldn't respond to Kasgar with words, this psionic communication had become less divine and more human than usual.
"Thank you for your kind words, I am very grateful."
"I also want to retrieve the fragments from all the realms of the Chaos Gods as soon as possible, so as to end this farce."
"But as you can see, there is still a Chaos God, Salis, who is lurking in the shadows."
Kasgar said helplessly, "Not only that, I can even feel their gaze now staring directly at me—in order to ensure I am not corrupted, I need to enter the Slaanesh sixth ring and find a way to completely eliminate this last threat."
[The final threat...?]
Kasgar could even sense the other person's laughter through his psionic energy.
No, no, no, never say that. Threats can strike from anywhere in the world at any time, and you must be prepared.
“I know! But…” Kasgar retorted, he hadn’t come here to hear the Emperor’s道理 (reasoning/principles).
"I, and all of us, must deal with this threat as soon as possible so that you can obtain the last fragment of your soul, and then let humanity be freed from the threat of chaos, right?"
That being said...
But are you truly ready to face Him, to face Salissa, my friend?
“Of course,” Kasgar replied decisively. “I have been fighting to prevent him from corrupting my Fugrim since the time of Chemos, and I still do today.”
Compared to other Chaos Gods, he was actually the first to prepare to confront Slaanesh.
Perhaps... you have indeed made sufficient preparations to face a powerful Chaos God.
You possess a powerful physique, unfathomable psychic energy, and weapons that even I fear, but...
You're not ready to face yourself yet...
Your heart isn't ready yet...
The emperor's words were still as puzzling as ever.
"What does it mean?"
[Casgar, haven't you been searching for the final whereabouts of Slaanesh's sixth ring all along...?]
"Yes."
The Sixth Ring... it is not in any corner of the subspace, much less in the real universe.
It resides within your heart...
Heart...?
Kasgar was intently focused, trying to understand the Emperor's words. But as if a series of swirling currents had suddenly appeared within him, constantly surging towards the center, the area around his consciousness began to shift, gradually changing from the light of the golden throne...
"Father!"
Upon seeing the abnormality in Kasgar, Fugrim immediately shouted, "Help him! Something's wrong with him, this isn't..."
He has to face all of this himself, Fugrim.
I believe he can definitely do it...
......
Kasgar felt as if his consciousness was drifting in a boundless ocean.
"Let us welcome...the newest member...the glorious Son of the Emperor...congratulations..."
Amidst the crashing waves, he seemed to hear some intermittent noises.
"This is a welcome banquet we have prepared for the new recruits. The Great Expedition has ended, the Great Rebellion has been quelled, and the Human Empire has won the victory."
The sound became clearer and clearer, followed by sight, smell, and other senses, returning to Casca's body.
No, he's not Casca now, he's a—
Son of the Emperor...
He looked around at the decorations and displays, as well as at his own reconnaissance uniform.
The Emperor's Son, a new recruit.
Despite his still somewhat confused state of mind, he could easily identify the affiliation of the people present by their purple-gold armor.
That purple-gold color of the Emperor's Son was arguably Casca's favorite color—the first thing he did after becoming the acting legion commander was to ban the legion from being painted in that damn pink that made him look ugly to death.
If those people hadn't all fallen so low as to be beyond redemption, Casca might have continued with that elegant purple and gold color scheme.
—Seriously, those insects have ruined it all.
But... why is he here?
What exactly was he looking at?
Casca slowly closed his eyes, using his heart to feel everything presented from this perspective.
In his memory, he was an ordinary Astartes monk, the son of an emperor—from a young age, he had heard of angels ascending into the sky in the bustling town of Chemos.
They are powerful, kind, noble, and responsible, bravely fighting against all evil and darkness in the world for the sake of the people living on Chemos.
How great were the monks Astartes, son of the Emperor!
Not long after, when his teachers asked them about their future aspirations, he said his dream was to become a monk of Astartes, the son of an emperor, and to protect many, many more people.
He paid a heavy price for this.
He was admitted to a top military academy with outstanding grades, and then defeated thousands of other contestants in the subsequent assessment, becoming one of the world's most promising candidates to be the son of an emperor.
This is the result of his long-term efforts.
Despite hearing rumors that some guys used connections during the assessment, he could confidently declare that he became the Emperor's Son entirely through his own efforts.
He is proud of it.
......
After undergoing a successful first Space Marine surgery, he became a recruit of the Emperor's Son.
In his spare time, he enjoyed wandering around the monastery.
Everything in the monastery was decorated with gold, with countless glittering gold ingots and coins; marble walls separated the space, and the walls and statues everywhere were inlaid with rainbow-colored gems, shimmering with magnificent and dazzling light.
He looked at these beautiful treasures, unmoved.
These jewels and gold, though beautiful, were not enough to sway the unwavering will of a determined imperial son recruit to persevere in his training and protect the weak.
Now, having passed all the tests of the emperor's sons, he attends this sumptuous banquet.
The wealthy sons of emperors filled an entire vast wine cellar, dotted with islands connected by a network of bridges.
On each island there is a table, and each table creaks with the feast laid out on it, each dish more delicious than the last.
He looked at the sumptuous feast, but only took a few bites.
While delicious food and fine wine can be intoxicating, for Astartes, sons of emperors, their duty is to defend their homeland and fight against evil in the world; such culinary desires are not of utmost importance.
Next, after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the second half of the banquet began.
The once solemn and majestic Astartes Monastery had become a place of debauchery and sexual pleasure. Graceful young women and beautiful young men moved through the monastery's halls, their faces and voluptuous figures more perfect and beautiful than anyone he had ever seen.
He looked at these sexy lovers and backed away one after another.
He didn't know why, but some kind of innate radar told him that if he encountered them, a giant woman over 3 meters tall would fall from the sky.
Astartes, monks!
What kind of behavior is this, handling all these silver handkerchiefs? Is this even what a cultivator does?!
He continued onward.
......
As time went by, he gradually distinguished himself among the emperor's sons through his own strength and talent.
He listened to these flattering cheers with suspicion.
Now, as a company commander of the Emperor's son, he faces a vast army standing on the boundless plains of Chemos, eagerly awaiting his command to conquer. Moreover, his exceptional talent ensures that his debates and governance are met with cheers and applause from both the Emperor's son and the people.
As the son of a great emperor, he naturally earned the respect of the people every moment he appeared on Chemos.
However, these praises from the outside world don't count.
Ultimately, it is up to us to examine ourselves.
And whenever he looked in the mirror in the room, he felt a sense of pride and pleasure—he was simply too successful; everyone loved him, everyone adored him. As the son of an emperor, he had done enough, far too well…