The Emperor’s Angel of Death

“Li's Eleventh Legion”

Veronica's guess was a bit far-fetched, but Soshjan caught the possibility within. →

“Now that you mention it, it seems possible. Otherwise, there's no way to explain Li secretly pushing their fanatical faith in the Legion.”

“Yes, that's the most suspicious part. If we extend the entire conspiracy and its follow-up plans based on this, then Li's scheme may be very evil and huge. Since he wants to rebuild the Legion, relying on just the Venom Thorns certainly won't work. He definitely needs more of the Eleventh Legion's bloodline, and a complete Chapter is difficult to control. That's why he crippled the Venom Thorns. He may have done similar things to other Chapters of the Eleventh Legion's bloodline. Perhaps the Venom Thorns are the only successful one, or perhaps there are more crippled Chapters hidden elsewhere, or maybe he just started and was suddenly interrupted by some force, like Macardo's people.”

Realizing that more of the Eleventh Legion's blood relatives might have been harmed by Li's schemes, Soshjan couldn't help but feel angry. He narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice:

“If he can't give me a satisfactory explanation, then I will definitely kill him, even if he is the child of Eldar and the Emperor.”

“This is just a guess, but in any case, it's always right to be wary of him. Anyway, it's better for these warriors to appear than to be hidden all the time. The sooner they are discovered, the sooner they can be dealt with. However, I feel that their mental spark is very different from the warriors of the current Chapter. If we want to absorb them, we need to do some work. →”

Soshjan looked at Veronica and blinked.

“You sensed their mental spark?”

Veronica raised her chin slightly.

“This doesn't require any power. It's like breathing air. Their mental spark is very strong, even no less than those traitors in the Blackstone Fortress, just without the stench of Chaos.”

Soshjan pursed his lips and shook his head.

“They have been wanderers for hundreds of years, and it will take some time to integrate into a group. But their fierce style is also a supplement to the Chapter.”

“I think there is one person you must pay attention to. He may not be strong in power, but this person's thinking and analytical ability is quite remarkable. The current situation is so chaotic, there may be lurking threats inside and outside the Legion. It is almost impossible to find and identify these people relying on the people you can trust now.”

“You're talking about...”

“Occam.”

“Him?”

Soshjan frowned. Since the end of the Maelstrom Expedition, this intelligence officer, whom he once trusted very much, had been detained for a long time. Because he almost ended the results of the entire expedition, Soshjan still couldn't build trust in this person, so he naturally didn't bother with him.

Now that Veronica suddenly mentioned him, Soshjan was a little confused.

“I know you're still angry about him letting Huron go, but it's because of this behavior that I think he's definitely not with the others. And to be honest with you, Talos told me on the way back that Occam is trustworthy. I didn't tell you about this before because you were always busy.”

“Talos?”

Since Veronica mentioned Talos, Soshjan had to take it seriously.

“But I'm not sure about Occam's position.”

“That means he has hidden himself very well. Actually, we only need to know that he is not on Macardo's side. His position can be understood in the future by various means. After all, we need to use him to crack and defend against conspiracies or traps launched by those with ill intentions. There is no one more suitable than him around you now.”

Soshjan thought for a while and nodded.

“Okay, I'll have a good talk with him when I get back.”

After speaking, the two fell into a brief silence. Veronica lay on Soshjan's chest, wondering what she was thinking, while Soshjan stroked her hair with his palm, looking at the rotating planet, seemingly also thinking.

After a few minutes of such quiet tenderness passed, Veronica suddenly said softly:

“Just now, when you mentioned the Necrons, I suddenly remembered something.”

“What?”

“When I first joined the Path of the Seer, Usviel once destroyed a small Necron dynasty that threatened the Maiden World of Naron. After completely burying those soulless metals, the mentor sighed in the ruins and said, 'I hope the leaders of these great enemies will never return.' At that time, I curiously asked him, 'Aren't these Necrons already fragmented? Will there still be leaders?' The mentor told me about some things about the ancient wars, and among them, he mentioned that the Necrons once had a unified leadership organization called the Triarch Council, composed of three mysterious Necron leaders. At the end of that ancient war, the Triarch Council had been devastatingly hit, with only one survivor. It was it that made all the Necrons hide in those deep tombs. After that, this only remaining Triarch disappeared...”

“There's such a thing? It's been tens of millions of years, right? I think it's impossible for it to exist.”

“That's what I thought too, but these Necrons have also existed in the tombs for tens of millions of years. The fact proves that time has no obvious effect on them. The mentor told me that it has always existed and may be weaving a huge plan to revive their broken and hopeless race.”

“Plan… I'm starting to be afraid of this word now.”

“I asked the mentor, what would that plan be? The mentor said that he wasn't sure either, but it might be an opportunity for this race to re-choose its path.”

“Re-choose its path? That's really the Eldar's usual language habit.”

“Soshjan, do you know why I remembered this? The gray marrow has always shown strong abilities, including controlling metal and reading memories, seemingly invincible. But now, that kind of mind-locking scarab shows that they can control the Astartes implanted with gray marrow. This is a very terrible 'backdoor,' and it may even threaten the Legion you have established in the future. In addition, since the Necrons can make this kind of 'backdoor,' it means that they must have some plans for the gray marrow. So, let me make an assumption: the Necrons have lost their bodies and souls, which has caused them to lose their future. If they want to re-choose their path, the best way is to transform the metal back into flesh, right?”

Soshjan nodded, but then asked:

“But they transformed into metal in the past. I remember you said it was because their bodies had defects?”

“Yes, so let's imagine ourselves in their shoes. If you were a Necron and wanted to transform back into a life form with a body, what would you choose? Would you choose to return to the original weak and defective body?”

“Definitely not. If you want to choose again, you must choose the most perfect body.”

“So, what is perfect? This kind of body must first be very strong, and all functions must exceed the level of existing galactic creatures. Secondly, it must have eternal or even immortal life. Originally, their lifespan was very short. Furthermore, the Necrons suffered a lot in the war because they did not have psychic talents in the past. Since they are re-choosing, they naturally desire to have powerful psychic power or anti-psychic power, preferably both. Finally, and very importantly, it must be able to reproduce or proliferate offspring.”

After speaking, the two stared at each other, both seeing surprise and a little fear in each other's eyes.