The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"You won't become the next Huron."

Regarding Asterion's response, Sochoyan simply smiled knowingly and asked:

"How so?"

"I must admit, you are much more cunning and ambitious than him. You are not the kind of person who is content with a corner. You also have allies in Terra, right? The Fabricator General? The Ecclesiarch? Or someone else? There always seems to be one or two High Lords who support your voice. You are very good at playing political games. If I had to make a comparison, perhaps you are more likely to be the one who triggers the Age of Apostasy."

"So, it's still the same question. If one day, the power you obey releases you and allows you to seek the reason for your battles, will you still obey?"

Asterion snorted softly.

"Hypotheticals are meaningless. Let's talk when it happens."

Sochoyan smiled and turned around.

"Although our views and opinions differ greatly, I must say that your bravery and tenacity are no less than any other Chapter. It is not fair to regard you as slaves of power. This is also the reason why I built this monument... The sacrificed Minotaur warriors deserve to be remembered, deserve to be eternally engraved on this land for which they sacrificed."

"Buying people's hearts..."

Asterion muttered, also turning to look at the monument. Sochoyan then laughed:

"I wouldn't dare to buy the hearts of the High Lords, or rather, the darlings of the Master of the Administratum, but I believe that the Minotaurs trapped in the labyrinth of power are definitely not the strongest. I look forward to this power being unleashed in the future."

"Then you have to be careful, maybe the target will be you."

After saying that, Asterion paused, then lowered his voice and said something that surprised Sochoyan.

"I met with an envoy from Terra."

"An envoy from Terra..."

"They have received the Inquisition's report and the analysis of Orpheus's future is not optimistic. The subsequent pressure and investment in defense are too great, so they may plan to transfer troops to more important battlefields, and the population will be relocated to neighboring sectors. Important facilities also need to be transferred."

Sochoyan turned his head in astonishment.

"Doesn't this mean abandoning Orpheus?"

"Just know it in your heart. But perhaps it's more serious, like an Exterminatus."

"A sector-level Exterminatus!? Who will execute it?"

After saying that, Sochoyan immediately realized, and then narrowed his eyes.

"So it's me... Letting me execute it, a sector defended with so much blood and ships, yet I am to personally carry out the Exterminatus. What a vicious scheme, to destroy my efforts and my reputation together. The soldiers and civilians of Orpheus will also resent me. Truly a typical decision of the High Lords."

"This is just a possibility."

Asterion still spoke softly in a slow and unhurried voice.

"The withdrawal of troops is certain. We will also be leaving soon, but as I said, you must have very resourceful allies in Terra. The envoy also said that everything is subject to the final astropathic signal. In other words... this matter is still in the bargaining stage."

Clearly, the envoy Asterion spoke of was not an envoy of the High Lords, but an envoy of the Master of the Administratum.

Sochoyan nodded thoughtfully. The Master of the Administratum definitely wanted to restrict and打击 him, even if it would sacrifice most of the sector, but what about the others...

"Thank you for the advance notice, otherwise I might be caught off guard."

The other party raised his hand, took off his helmet, and then turned to look at him, the firelight illuminating his scarred face, giving it a marble-like texture.

"Sochoyan, what exactly do you want to do?"

"I just want to make everything better."

"Then you will need immense power. A slight misstep and you will become a traitor condemned by thousands."

"You've seen the state of the Imperium. Someone has to stand up."

The other party didn't say anything more, just put his helmet back on and turned to walk out of the square.

"Asterion, what will you tell them?"

Hearing the voice coming from far behind him, Asterion, who had already walked hundreds of steps, stopped. After a few seconds, he gave his answer.

"...I will tell them that I saw a fool trapped in a chair called idealism."

However, Sochoyan had not yet received the news from Terra when a message came from Menak. A reconnaissance fleet of the royal court discovered a destroyed Necron flyer at the edge of the Amarah system. When they boarded it, they found a damaged Canoptek machine carrying a publicly broadcast audio message, which was immediately brought to Sochoyan.

The source of this audio message could not be traced, but Sochoyan guessed it was Lana, because it brought the specific location of the Menak Dynasty, located in the Dark Expanse, dozens of light-years outside of Orpheus, in an area not marked by the Imperium, or rather, already lost. However, Sochoyan quickly discovered something was wrong.

According to the damaged state of the flyer, it was obvious that the communicator, Lana, had an accident. If it was the Menak Dynasty's interceptors, there was no reason to leave this behind.

Then there were only two possibilities.

This message was not sent by Lana, or the message was sent by Lana, but it was sent to Sochoyan by another force.

Moreover, there was a very short video clip afterwards, somewhat blurry, but it roughly showed two huge Necron fleets fighting in the void, which made Sochoyan have some guesses.

The information should have been recorded by Lana, but she may have had an accident before she could send it, or she was discovered by the Menak people.

In this process, Lana may have been hunted down, or even captured, but during this time someone suddenly intervened, preventing the Menak pursuers from searching and destroying the flyer, and taking it away.

During, or after, the Menak Dynasty was attacked, the attacker being another Necron Dynasty.

According to the De骸異錄, Menak was already one of the top super dynasties among the Necron dynasties. There were very few dynasties that dared to challenge them, and combined with Lana's unique identity...

Then the answer was obvious...

Sautekh, only Sautekh would launch a surprise attack on Menak at this time, which also explained why Menak dared not go all out from the beginning. On the one hand, it may have stemmed from their arrogance, and on the other hand, they needed to have the strength to guard against their old rivals. As for whether the Sautekh would be afraid of the Silent King, the answer has now been given——

Stormlord Imotekh clearly did not intend to recognize the authority of the old days, let alone the leadership of the Triarch Council over the Necron race.

"Moreover, I think, in addition to the Stormlord, there should be a second force within the Necrons that opposes the Silent King, such as the one who sent the message for Lana."

In the vast and magnificent crystal palace, Sochoyan's presence was as eye-catching as ever. He spoke about the affairs of Menak, while his eyes constantly scanned the reports and briefings from the Conclave, the Phoenix Guard, and the Spirit Tree Council, occasionally pointing out the problems and doubts in them.

He was now located in Tlaloq, on the northern edge of Orpheus, or rather, in the wild kingdom of the Hrol kingdom in the Aeldari language, and the palace he was in was the supreme Ice Feather Divine Palace of the kingdom.