The Emperor’s Angel of Death

After a few seconds of silence, Sol spat out three words.

"Let him go."

Soshjan seemed to have anticipated this and wasn't surprised, but he still asked,

"Why?"

"You can't find the location of his consciousness network with this clone, so there's no point in imprisoning it. However, keeping him alive can bring you some important strategic value."

"Oh, you convinced him to betray the Third Legion?"

"He should have said this to you, but no one will believe it. However, there's one thing only you can help him with, something none of his clones can do. Only you. So... consider it a deal. He gives you what you need, and you help him bring someone back."

"Who?"

"Melusine, Fabius's daughter, a forbidden experimental product."

"A monster born in a lab? What's wrong with her?"

"She was originally biological, but after entering Slaanesh's realm, she became a demon. But you have the ability to transform her back, like Amnark."

Soshjan narrowed his eyes, his voice becoming somewhat ethereal.

"You told him about Amnark."

"Slaanesh must know. There's no point in hiding it from him. Melusine is irreplaceable to Fabius, and you are his only hope now."

"Instructor Sol, you just said he would give me what I need, but I don't remember needing anything from him."

Sol turned his head, looked at Soshjan, and said calmly:

"Do you still trust me?"

Soshjan was silent for a moment, then pursed his lips and said softly:

"I'll try, but do you really not care about what he's done? Don't you care that he's the culprit behind the Third Legion's fall?"

When he turned his head, he saw Sol's calm gaze, which made Soshjan feel a little strange. In the past, he had always thought of the other as a warrior driven by revenge.

"There are more important things than hatred now. Trust me as much as possible, you will need it, although I can't tell you what it is right now. Also, I may have to leave with Keisa for a while and need to borrow a frigate."

"Why can't you tell me?"

"It's not appropriate, not yet."

"Not appropriate... not appropriate."

Soshjan finally sighed softly, straightened his back, and turned to leave.

"Then do as you say, Instructor Sol, I just hope we don't regret it."

After taking two steps, Soshjan turned around again, his expression becoming very weak and helpless. He wanted to reach out, but he put his hand down, and asked softly with some expectation:

"Instructor Sol, am I... am I okay?"

Sol nodded calmly.

"You're fine, always have been."

"Will you always help me, right?"

"I'll try."

This answer left him speechless. Soshjan turned around and left alone, somewhat lonely.

Letting Fabius go was a big deal after all, especially since this bastard had also joined forces with Slaanesh warbands to invade the Ragnarsh Ark, causing extremely serious casualties. Although it was just a clone, letting him go without an explanation would definitely make the residents of the Ragnarsh Ark extremely dissatisfied—although only a few prophets in the Ark world knew about this.

For this reason, Soshjan had to return to the royal court in person to explain the pros and cons to the prophets of Ragnarsh. However, they understood, after all, killing a clone was not considered revenge. Although Soshjan wasn't sure if they had foreseen something, it was good that no more trouble arose.

In the end, Sol took Fabius away. He didn't say anything until he left. Soshjan didn't ask the other party what he was going to do, but he felt a little depressed and drank alone in the Phoenix Palace for half a day.

Trust must be regarded as a consumable, even for him now, it is not an easy thing.

Sitting on the throne in the side hall, Soshjan poured himself a drink while recalling the first time he met Sol, and the many subsequent events, those battles, those words, seemed to be still vivid in his mind, but this time Soshjan was examining which part of them was real and which part was fake. In the past, he would never have done this, because he still regarded Sol as his mentor, the person he respected the most, but now he couldn't stop his thoughts.

At this time, he even hated his physique a little. If he could get drunk, wouldn't he stop thinking about these things?

"Dulan, do you think there is really such a thing as unavoidable betrayal in this world?"

As Soshjan raised the exquisite crystal goblet, his gaze turned to the only person in the side hall, Dulan Saint-Flame Blade, the leader of the Phoenix Guard, who was almost inseparable from him in the royal court.

Hearing his lord ask him, Dulan, who was standing at the entrance of the side hall, turned around, bowed slightly, and said:

"My Lord, the foundation of trust is understanding and honesty. If these two are not present, then any betrayal is not an accident. Therefore... I don't think any betrayal is unavoidable, because the first step of betrayal is lying, and then deception, which must be from the heart."

Soshjan silently took a sip of wine, and then slowly asked:

"How did you view the Human Empire in the past?"

"Returning to my Lord, I thought they were both pathetic and ridiculous at that time. What was pathetic was their backwardness, and their unique slave mentality. Although they would fight to the death to resist our plunder, they were willing to be slaves to the nobles on their spires. This is what is ridiculous. They fear Commorragh, but they cannot see that the huge country they are in, called the Empire, is just an enlarged version of Commorragh. What is the difference between those things called servitors and the grotesque dolls made by the Bloodbrides? Fear, torture, and torment are also the ruling methods of their nobles. What is the difference between this and the archons of the Kabals? The huge building complexes called hive cities are full of slaughter and indulgence. What is the difference between this and the Dark City and the arena of Khaine? Perhaps the biggest difference is that in this empire, death is easier than in Commorragh."

Soshjan didn't say anything, just poured another glass of wine.

"Come and sit, no one will come to this place."

Dulan hesitated for a moment, but eventually walked over and sat cautiously on the other side of the chair.

Watching Soshjan drink another glass, Dulan said softly:

"My Lord, if there is anything that troubles you that I can share, please give the order, the Saint-Flame Blades will die without hesitation."

Soshjan put down his glass and waved his hand.

"No, nothing, just a little depressed."

"Do you need me to call musicians and dancers to relieve Your Highness's boredom?"

"No need, I don't have the leisure for that, and I don't want Veronica to know, I don't want her to worry, just the two of us is enough."

Dulan didn't say anything, just held up his glass with both hands and took a light sip. Originally, his principle was to never drink alcohol while on duty, but no principle was more important than his lord.

"Dulan, my life has been full of ups and downs, magnificent, victorious in every battle, invincible in every attack. I thought I had seen countless people, made friends with all kinds of people, and had no shortage of helpful people around me, but at this time, I suddenly discovered... I can't understand people's hearts at all. I always thought that as long as I did well enough, satisfied everyone, they would recognize me as a person. As long as I returned their trust, they would also give me trust, but in fact