The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"Soshjan, regarding the Necrons, you need to remember one thing: these ancient mechanical undead are not a monolithic entity. Szarekh's series of wrong decisions back then cost him the support of many, and he no longer possesses the command protocols. Not all dynasties obey his orders, and there are even forces within the Necrons that oppose him. You can make good use of this, but never underestimate the Silent King. His terror lies not in his power, but in his wisdom, coupled with some very formidable assets. He has always regarded the galaxy as the Necrons' private property and garden. He couldn't defeat Asuryan before and fled beyond the galaxy, but after Asuryan and Eldar's fall, he began to stir, hoping to give the Necrons the galactic hegemony they never had. He will find ways to eliminate anything that stands in the way of his path to hegemony. Xerxes is not his only plan, not just Xerxes."

Soshjan frowned.

"Who else? Who else has he harmed?"

"Sanguinius."

"What!?"

Soshjan exclaimed in surprise.

"What did he do?"

"He helped Sanguinius return to Terra, which was under attack by Horus's traitor legions."

"This—"

Soshjan didn't react at first and wanted to say that wasn't that helping the Imperium, but he quickly realized the reason the Deceiver said these things.

". Indeed, if Sanguinius hadn't returned to Terra then, he wouldn't have died, and Szarekh's help indirectly led to Sanguinius's death on the Vengeful Spirit. He didn't directly act, just as he didn't directly kill Xerxes. Sanguinius died at Horus's hands, Xerxes died at Russ's hands... A good Szarekh, a good Silent King, killing without drawing blood! Destroying the Imperium's two most outstanding Primarchs without using any force, and even possibly earning their gratitude."

Although this statement was somewhat malicious, Soshjan knew that it was impossible to be too malicious when speculating about those mechanical undead.

"Remember, Soshjan, perhaps he will try to cooperate with you. He will face you with a very sincere attitude, but... in his heart, the highest interest is only the Necrons' hegemony and resurrection. Everything else is an object for him to use, not to mention the humans who now occupy the galactic hegemony. And the only thing he might be wary of is the thing inside you. If you make good use of this, you might be able to deal with him."

After listening, Soshjan nodded, then thought of something, hesitated for a moment, and spat out a few words between his teeth.

"What about Asuryan?"

The Deceiver held the cup, was silent for a moment, and then shook his head.

"I don't know... This ancient god and Awakened One entered Nalanda Sangharama, which means he may have gained true wisdom. He has also calculated countless times in the past, but still cannot figure out his true plan, and can only delay the other party's plan by cutting off possibilities one by one."

Including killing his ancestor Orodeth?

Soshjan almost blurted out this sentence, but he held back, for the same reason—it would be awkward for everyone if these things were made clear.

Seeming to perceive his thoughts, the Deceiver said faintly:

"For him, good and evil have no meaning. What he wants is the benefit of the entire race... But ten thousand years later, I still discovered something."

"Discovered what?"

"In ancient Terra, there used to be a strange kind of bird that never hatched its own eggs, but only laid its eggs in the nests of other birds, and let other birds hatch and raise their offspring for it."

"There are such cunning birds."

Then Soshjan realized something, his mouth opened slightly and he looked at the Deceiver in surprise.

"You mean—"

"Asuryan is a cunning old bird, maybe humanity is the bird's nest it chose."

"Deceiver, what do you want me to do?"

The Deceiver stared straight at Soshjan through the mask, and then sighed softly.

"I said it a long time ago, Soshjan, you can decide what to do yourself. You are a free man with your own independent will. Just do what you think is right. You have completed what Brother Cyd said, and Brother Cyd has also completed his own mission... Soshjan, you know, after seeing this all the way, I think your greatest advantage is that you can empathize and understand others. It is not easy to do this in this galaxy that advocates power. Keep this in mind, and you will be able to walk on the right path."

After listening to the Deceiver's words, Soshjan's heart, which had been disturbed by Eldar's remarks, gradually calmed down. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"Brother Cyd, thank you for your teachings all along, although I don't know if your choice of me is my luck or misfortune... Regarding Li, do you have anything else to tell me?"

"Be more careful. No one knows how many small actions he has taken in the past ten thousand years, not even the mortals."

"But he doesn't seem to have very strong power, and his body even looks a little weak?"

"That still requires caution, because since he chose to appear in front of you, it means he knows that his affairs cannot be hidden... He..."

The Deceiver's voice was rarely hesitant, and finally shook his head.

"Forget it, there's no point in saying those things anymore. You just need to be extremely vigilant about this person."

Soshjan knew that the Deceiver must still be hiding something from him, but he couldn't do anything if the other party didn't say it, so he could only nod.

"I understand."

"Well, before leaving, there is one last sentence, no matter what you want to do, you must hurry up, time waits for no one."

Before he could figure out what the Deceiver's words meant, Soshjan woke up from his dream with a jolt. The porcelain cup in his fingers slipped to the ground, but he reacted in time and quickly picked it up.

"This—"

But Soshjan was surprised to find that the porcelain cup was covered with cracks, as if it would shatter if he squeezed it slightly.

In fact, he still had many questions to ask the Deceiver, but even if he didn't say some things, he knew that they would not be answered. However, what he was most concerned about was the "demon" that Master Shi spoke of. He always felt that this thing was the ultimate goal closely related to the entire Grey髓 plan, but he couldn't say what it would be like. After all, as far as he knew, there were currently only three people who knew about this thing: Master Shi, the Emperor, and Eldar.

However, at least it was clear that Dorn was Cyd, so the internal situation of the White Templars needed special attention. Although Dorn had disappeared for many years, it was impossible to guarantee that there were still secret societies within the chapter.

Thinking, Soshjan put the porcelain cup aside, summoned a few holographic panels, began to outline patterns on them with his fingers, and conceived the next plan in his mind.

Eldar has become a variable. This mother of the Primarchs is really difficult and incomprehensible. All her actions are for her son Xerxes. If it was just like this, it would be fine, but she even thinks that his wife and children should be Xerxes's, which makes Soshjan unbearable, even if she explains that the two can actually be "one."