Chapter 66 - Chapter 250

The young Tech-priest had somewhat resigned himself to his fate, occupying a similar position in Chaos as the Emperor.

However, Apacha's sudden request for Gamma to 'transform' him was still a bit much for Gamma to accept.

After all, he had heard that the Emperor had 'transformed' some people with his own power during the Great Crusade.

The term 'transform' was actually similar in meaning to 'daemonhood' or 'corruption,' both referring to using one's power to turn the other party into an unresisting slave.

As mentioned earlier, daemons belonging to The Four Gods are incarnations of their own power; while their thoughts might not be fully controlled, their loyalty is absolutely guaranteed.

"Ahem, Apacha, what do you mean by that?"

"Lord Gamma, it would be effortless for your power to transform me into your servant," the daemon humbly said.

But this did not satisfy the young Tech-priest, who firmly denied being of the same kind as The Four Gods, and so he said with a resolute attitude: "I don't want to enslave you, nor do I want to change you. While I can understand your desire to live, I still believe that dying freely is better than living ignobly!"

The daemon replied, "That is precisely why I am willing to submit to you. I do not wish to lose my freedom, but Lord, I cannot resist this world, yet you can. You wish to change this world, and I am willing to give up my only remaining, and most precious, possession for it!"

..."Lord, I am indeed afraid of death, but your ideas have truly moved me. I want to see the world you speak of, even if I fall on the path to achieving it."

Gamma was somewhat persuaded by Apacha, but he truly didn't know if he could do it. He had never done such a thing, and doing so would also mean admitting that he was of the same kind as The Four Gods. One day in the future, he might also become as repulsive as them.

"Apacha, I don't want to become like them—"

The daemon hadn't expected to hear such a reply from a candidate. Apacha's heart was complex; he was happy, believing he hadn't chosen wrongly, yet he also had an urgent impulse to push Gamma to ascend. The master he had chosen would surely bring about great changes to the Sea of Souls in the future.

"Lord Gamma, although I find your thoughts somewhat difficult to comprehend, just as I was born a daemon in the mouths of mortals, you had no retreat when you gained your qualification."

'...'

No retreat? Why me? Gamma felt his head spin, as if a shameful secret had been exposed.

After a long daze, the young Tech-priest spoke again: "Alright, perhaps it's as you say. If I am destined to become like them one day, then at least I should make my past self not hate my future self so much."

"I haven't tried it, so I don't know what the result will be. Are you sure you want to be this test subject?"

"I, Apacha Elliot Porzingis, am willing," the daemon spoke his true name.

How important a true name is to a daemon is not merely about weakening or enslaving them.

True death, the destruction of a daemon's essence rather than merely banishing it back to the Warp, has only been known to occur in a few instances: those slain by the Emperor and Gamma, and a handful of others:

Argobol was destroyed by Vulkan and the Seven Hammers amulet carried by the Primarch.

Calvoros was slain by Kaldor Draigo in the Warp.

M'kar was killed on Thalas by Calgar and Ventris. Ventris called out the daemon's true name, and Calgar utterly destroyed M'kar with a fragment of Erebus.

A powerful weapon, a name, can eliminate a mighty Daemon Prince, let alone a lesser daemon like Apacha. The importance of a true name to a daemon is thus evident.

Gamma felt the presence of Apacha the moment he uttered his true name, a feeling akin to his connection with his own creations, the power to decide life or death with a single thought. The young Tech-priest didn't hesitate, instinctively injecting his power into Apacha.

And with the sudden surge of power, Apacha emitted painful groans and began to change. Daemons actually have no fixed form; their appearance comes from the subconscious or collective consciousness of those who perceive them. For example, what you think they should look like, or what everyone thinks they should look like. Strictly speaking, they are merely self-aware forces.

The appearance of the daemons Gamma had previously seen all came from his subconscious: disgusting, evil, and ugly. This time, however, was different. He saw a 'canvas' that he could freely paint on, but Gamma didn't make too many modifications, only removing the parts he found displeasing.

Then, a rather upright daemon appeared before him. Unlike Apacha's original chaotic form, his current appearance gave a sense of 'propriety.' His formerly mismatched eyes, asymmetrical horns, jagged fangs, crooked mouth, hunched body, superfluous hands and feet, and limbs of varying lengths and thicknesses all became symmetrical and neat, giving a sense of 'Order.'

But the only thing that remained unchanged was 'evil'; one glance was enough to understand that he existed to cause people to fall and suffer torment.

"How do you feel?" Gamma asked.

"Praise my Lord, I have never felt so good, as if this is how I was always meant to be," Apacha replied.

At the same time, Gamma felt himself weaken slightly. Although it was only a tiny bit, he did feel it. This was the first time; he had never felt this way before, no matter how he used his power. And despite consuming so many daemons and souls, Gamma had never felt himself grow stronger.

If daemons are fragments of The Four Gods' power, Apacha is now a fragment of my power. This feeling is normal, Gamma thought, understanding what was happening. Then, he suddenly froze, because he thought of a possible bug:

As long as I keep converting daemons, I won't become more and more like the four of them as my power grows!

Thinking of this, the young Tech-priest's eyes lit up. This way, his biggest worry and fear would no longer be an issue. However, he immediately thought of the difficulties involved: he couldn't create daemons, at least not yet. But by the time he could, he might already have become like The Four Gods.

"Apacha, is a willing heart a prerequisite for conversion?"

"Yes, that's also why The Four Gods' Daemon Princes are all their followers. Chaos itself is unconscious; as long as you make sacrifices to it, it will give rewards, but whether one can bear it depends on oneself," replied the daemon, whose true name now included "Gamma."

"Oh—" The young Tech-priest was a bit disappointed.

Apacha, now 'a part' of Gamma, sensed Gamma's thoughts. He said, "My Lord need not worry too much.

Daemons like me, born from Chaos, though few in number, are enough for my Lord to use for a very, very long time, especially compared to daemons belonging to The Four Gods. By then, my Lord might have already restored the Sea of Souls to its original state."

"Oh right, Apacha, that's a good reminder. But you also just said it has to be voluntary, so let's not be too optimistic."

"Yes, my Lord, rest assured, I will persuade more daemons to join your ranks," Apacha said very solemnly and earnestly, as if he had set himself a mission.

"Hahaha, then I'll trouble you. Let's transform this world into what we want it to be together!"

"As you command!"

In any case, Gamma had now found a temporary solution. With Apacha as an insider, the young Tech-priest suddenly wasn't so eager to capture the Webway hub. The daemons inside were all his potential subordinates, and if he scared them away, where would he find them?

But too much loss of strength was also a danger. Gamma knew he had to find a balance between the two.

After discussing with Apacha for a long time and settling on a plan, the daemon left Gamma's Egg and returned to the Webway.

Standing before the Webway gate, Apacha recalled his experiences, looked at his changes, and felt the power bestowed by his master. He couldn't help but feel fortunate. Who would have thought he would meet such a miraculous and great master, and become a part of him? Apacha could feel that his master truly wished to change this world, which was what his past self, and his present self, had hoped for.

Apacha did not leave immediately. The first thing he did was use his limited psychic knowledge to conceal and seal off the leaking real-space aura, and only then did he leave for the most concentrated daemon areas.

"Friend daemon ahead, please wait. I am Apacha, and I have something to discuss with you."

IIII

"I didn't expect you, friend daemon, to be having such a difficult time. Don't look at me now; I actually came from where you are, step by step."

"Indeed, but our strength is weak, and our voices are small. But friend daemon, have you ever considered that perhaps the world shouldn't be like this!"

As Apacha fully immersed himself in spreading—ah, no!—finding like-minded comrades, Gamma returned to the Ulthwé Craftworld.

Upon seeing the returning young Tech-priest, the Aeldari handmaidens embraced him tightly, crying tears that drenched their faces. They insisted on living and dying with their beloved Lord Gamma. No, rather, they insisted that enemies would have to step over their corpses to reach their Lord.

After enjoying some meticulous service, nothing the young Tech-priest said worked. In the end, he had to tell them that they were too weak to help, promising that once their strength earned his approval, he would take them with him, and so on.

Gamma also took the opportunity to test if he could ascend mortals to daemonhood. The result was no; at least, he couldn't yet. This made the young Tech-priest secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, he left again, carrying a large pile of artifacts sealing daemons. This time, he didn't leave abruptly with a decisive statement, as if he were never to return. Instead, he told the handmaidens to practice their skills while helping him cover his tracks, and to jot down any important matters.

Besides that, he did two other things. The first was to write a handwritten letter to his good brother, Little White, in a way he could understand.

The content was nothing more than a sincere apology to Little White and his sons, confessing that he had created a batch of 'smart heads,' and hoping to receive their forgiveness.

Along with this letter, a letter of condolence for Gamma's warriors and the Aeldari warriors was sent to Guilliman. He wanted to cut off any possibility of The Four Gods making him into a 'Horus 1.5.' Of course, this also included a letter criticizing the Supreme Seer Eldrad, who had messed things up.

While doing these things, Gamma also continued to ponder a question: Since his situation was similar to the Emperor's, why didn't the Emperor figure out a way to convert daemons back then?

The young Tech-priest pondered over and over, finally arriving at what he believed to be the most reasonable conclusion: the Emperor's standing was not ideal.

According to what Gamma learned from Eldrad, the eight great domains of Chaos are, respectively:

Center: Primordial Destroyer (a collective term for demons).

North: Corrosive Annihilation.

The purest form of Chaos, a terror that robs most of their sanity, it craves only destruction and guides all mortals to their destined end—to turn to dust and be forgotten.

For this end, it advances mercilessly, ignoring the divisions among demon races, driven by this nightmarish goal.

Northeast: Infernal Storm.

Certain demons are accompanied by vortices of raw Warp matter, manifesting Warp energy as pure elemental power.

Prismatic bonfires rage around these entities, the air crackles with illusory lightning, and the earth twists into glittering crystal shards.

For these demons, there is no higher purpose than spreading this power and wielding it wantonly on the battlefields of the material realm.

East: Malicious Artifice.

Just as Chaos reflects a twisted mockery of every aspect of humanity, in the Warp, the impulse to create is warped into malevolent and destructive forces in the immaterial world.

These demons are summoned into reality, using mortal creations as conduits for destruction; their terrifying machine-entities mimic both flesh and artifice, and their every action proclaims their superiority over mortals and all they design.

Southeast: Ecstatic Perception.

An maddening shriek, containing both pleasure and wild impulse.

For some among the countless tides of Chaos, the violent outcome is not important; what matters is participating in and experiencing its transformation, inflicting overwhelming pain, and devouring the fear of mortals.

These demons revel in the sensory feast of war, leaping across battlefields torn by shells, bringing blissful death to their victims in every dazzling flash and every deafening explosion.

South: Voracious Dissolution.

It is an all-encompassing hatred swirling in the Warp, consuming even itself, like the Ouroboros devouring its own tail.

It is foolish to expect Logic and reason from such a creature, for Chaos is both its name and its essence.

Yet, in its self-destructive hatred, there are no allies save a new, even more unpredictable foe.

Southwest: Corrupting Erosion.

Slow corruption, rotting body and soul, eternal torment.

Among the armies of Chaos, there are some who care not for victory or defeat, but only for more to suffer.

These creatures are drawn into the material world amidst miasmas of disease and filth, content to spread their vile gifts to the mortal realm.

West: Formless Distortion.

Though demons appear as obscene parodies of mortal forms, the true nature of Chaos is endless change and unknowability, twisting, altering, and transforming everything it touches.

Some demons that pass through the veil into reality take this ceaseless distortion to its extreme, molding themselves into churning masses of immaterial flesh and bone; for them, death is merely one part of the eternal deformation they will inflict upon the material world.

Northwest: Mindless Slaughter.

The dark rage brought by battle and a crimson joy in the end of life.

For some in the Warp, the only goal is battle and death—as long as blood flows, nothing else matters.

These vile entities don the raiment of Conquerors and executioners, caring only for the heads and deaths they might plunder from the mortal world; questions of "friend" or "foe" are no longer considered.

Among them, Mindless Slaughter corresponds to Khorne, Infernal Storm to Tzeentch, Ecstatic Perception to Slaanesh, and Corrupting Erosion to Nurgle.

However, all of this was told to the young Tech-priest by Eldrad, and it contained too many Eldar-specific metaphors and expressions, which Gamma didn't quite understand. When he pressed for details, Eldrad didn't really understand either.

These are all mortal understandings of Chaos, very one-sided and tinged with strong subjective emotions.

But no matter what, the Emperor's standing on the "Corrosive Annihilation" position was undeniable, because he was the one who killed demons the most easily, and demons feared him the most.

The Dark King represented the purest destruction. Based on his feelings when he transformed Apacha, Gamma believed that the ultimate outcome of the Emperor injecting his power into a demon's body was to kill that demon.

Considering that the Emperor seemed to have once created a Primarch of zero who only knew how to kill, kill, kill, Gamma thought the Emperor must know this method. However, the Dark King's power was clearly not suitable for such work; what would be separated would only be uncontrollable madmen who wanted to destroy everything.

Of course, this doesn't rule out the possibility that the Emperor simply wanted to kill all demons.

"Suddenly, I somewhat understand why the Emperor, apart from guiding humanity as a leader in ancient times, mostly hid himself behind the scenes, acting as a transparent person. His relationship with humanity was so close; without this, during the Golden Age, the peak of humanity, the Dark King might not have been suppressed."

"However, even so, there were always times when the Dark King couldn't be suppressed. The establishment of the Imperium and the launch of the Great Crusade were very likely related to this aspect."

"If I were the Emperor, how would I divide the Dark King's power?" Gamma muttered to himself, munching on a demon and stroking his chin.

If Eldrad, that old man, saw the young Tech-priest actively munching on demons, he would surely be moved to tears. Gamma had no choice; he had to replenish the power he had given up. He couldn't just let the people Apacha brought wait indefinitely, and what if they changed their minds?

Now, before "casting a spell," Gamma would also ask one more question:

Brother, where did you used to hang out?

No affiliation, huh? No affiliation is good! I have a big project here; would you like to learn about it before you die?

Hmm! No affiliation with The Four Gods! Then just die!

Gamma racked his brains and came up with a conclusion that was both rational and absurd: the Emperor sold his ass when he made a deal with The Four Gods!

The only thing the young Tech-priest knew about the Emperor's deal with The Four Gods was that Huang Pizi had tricked the four of them and exchanged something from them that was needed to create the Primarchs.

They were all foxes who had lived for tens of thousands of years; it certainly wasn't that simple for the Emperor to trick them. As is well known, the prerequisite for deceiving someone is to make them believe that the deceiver won't run away with the money. The most direct and effective method is to "mortgage," mortgaging a "gold bar" to get half a gold bar!

Of course, since it was a deception, the "gold bar" certainly couldn't be real.

"The God of the Future offered the Gods a treasure that only the God of the Future possessed. The Emperor's calculations were excellent!"

(Emperor: Hahahaha, nephew, you flatter me. Don't you think your uncle has been doing well lately? Shouldn't you reward your uncle now!)

Gamma finally understood what the Emperor had mortgaged to The Four Gods back then: he mortgaged a portion of the "Dark King's" power that he didn't want!

No wonder The Four Gods so confidently entrusted the essence of the Primarchs to the Emperor. The young Tech-priest even imagined the Emperor's "bowing and scraping, allowing himself to be picked" appearance before The Four Gods back then.

Emperor: Four brothers, oh, and sister, I have a "small idea." I wonder if the four of you would be interested in hearing it?

Slaanesh: Such a handsome little brother, come sit with sister!

Emperor: Coming, sister, you're so beautiful!

Slaanesh: Brother's glutes are also very perky, oh ho ho ho.

Emperor: My idea is this: brothers and sisters, you're tired of playing in the Warp, so how about moving the game board to the present world?

Hmm! Khorne brother, what is this?!

Khorne: A real man should do what a man should do!

Emperor: Khorne brother is mighty! Khorne brother is domineering! What do you think of my proposal?

Tzeentch: It's not bad, not bad, but we don't trust you! Quickly, change your posture. What's the fun in being unchanging, like a dead fish?

Emperor: Tzeentch brother, watch closely, is this posture varied enough?

Tzeentch: Hmm, not bad!

Emperor: And what about this one?

Tzeentch: Hmm! This is?! Since brother is willing to produce such a treasure, if I, your elder brother, don't agree, it would seem a bit petty! Very well, I agree. Fat man, aren't you going to try?

Nurgle: I have a wife.

Slaanesh: Hmph! Good brother, come, sister will teach you things.

Emperor: Coming, brother. I have admired the Eldar's countless years of artistry for a long time, and today I shall seek guidance from sister.

Tzeentch: I see no one objects, so it's settled. The number will be 20, four for each of us, perfectly fair. As for the outcome later,

How are everyone's methods?

The other Four Gods: Good!

This explanation clarified why the Emperor's feelings for the Primarchs were so complex. Considering that each Primarch possessed the Emperor's characteristics, Gamma suspected that Huang Pizi had also distributed a portion of the "Dark King's" power to the Primarchs.

However, the Emperor probably didn't anticipate that The Four Gods, having lived for so long, would still be as "impulsive" as youngsters, choosing not to cut their losses in time. Instead, they were willing to forgo the "collateral" just to teach this deceiver who dared to trick them a lesson—they shoved the portion of the "Dark King" they held into Horus's body and each added a part of their own power.

The Four Gods: Heh heh, you want to flip the table—no, you want to tear down the house!

You don't want to become a god, do you?

Come, look at this. What is it?

You don't want to, but your good son does. Will you kill him and become a god, and we continue to play?

Or will you let him kill you, and we play with your son?

"Emperor, why are you so greedy! But don't worry, I've noted this grudge for you."

(Emperor: What good is it to just note it down!)

The young Tech-priest, using a handkerchief as a barrier, patted his handwritten copy of the "Lectures of the Emperor." There was nothing he could do; ever since he imagined that scene, Gamma didn't want to directly touch anything related to the Emperor with his bare hands.

As for why he picked up this toilet paper again?

It was because the young Tech-priest was worried that The Four Gods would give him a hard time, so Gamma wanted to ease his relationship with the Emperor. He had already planned it: after the Webway matter was resolved, he would hold a special welcome banquet for Constantin Valdor and the other Custodians.

This was indeed his oversight, but he, Magos Gamma, bore the heavy responsibility of saving the Imperium Nihilus and humanity. He believed that the well-read, understanding, and elderly Custodians would sympathize with him, Archmagos Gamma (His Highness)!

Apacha and his group were recruiting people so quickly that the Tech-priest had grown somewhat nauseated from fighting demons lately, especially after the establishment of the 'Beautiful Warp Mutual Aid Society'—or 'BWMA' for short—when demons eager to become Gamma's subordinates swarmed in like fish crossing a river.

The Tech-priest turned to look at his chief Arch-demon and the group of demons behind him, all exuding the aura of multi-level marketing elites. He somewhat regretted telling Apacha about the 'direct sales lessons' he had attended in his previous life. The 2K human wisdom, when applied to demons, gave one a feeling of being even better than the original.

"Apacha, are you all perhaps working a bit too hard lately?"

"What makes your Highness say that?" Apacha, who had already acquired a certain air of a cultured scoundrel, asked in puzzlement.

A flicker of awkwardness crossed the Tech-priest's face. Should he tell them, 'You don't need to work so hard'? Was that something an employer, a capitalist, a black-hearted Tech-priest should say?

No way!

But Gamma, who had been living a life of luxury for so many years, truly couldn't take it anymore, so he expressed his meaning subtly:

"Ahem, it's nothing. You've all done well. It's I who should try harder."

"Your Highness is the one who truly toils; we merely move our mouths."

Unfortunately, Apacha, with a look that clearly said, "Not at all, I'll work even harder," didn't grasp the Tech-priest's hint. The Tech-priest could only adopt the demeanor of a great savior for the lower-tier demons, waving his hand with extreme sanctimony, indicating that what he did was not worth mentioning, and then said with a touch of melancholy:

"Everyone suffered too much in the past; they simply yearned too much for the beautiful vision of the 'Beautiful Warp'."

The upright demons were deeply moved by what they heard. With the arrival of His Highness Gamma, they had hope! With the arrival of His Highness Gamma, the dawn would break in the Warp!

"Your Highness is merciful!" x N

"Hmm, Apacha, come with me."

"Yes." Apacha's eyes signaled to the demons behind him: "Brace yourselves, good times are still ahead!"

The demons understood tacitly, as excited as if they'd been injected with stimulants. The reason was simple: His Highness Gamma was about to give them their 'wages'!

Apacha bowed to the Tech-priest, then knelt on one knee and offered his forehead to Gamma's hand, disappearing from sight under everyone's gaze.

The demons showed no surprise at this, merely saying in unison, "Farewell, Your Highness!"

"Hmm, carry on with your work."

With that, the Tech-priest walked towards the Webway gate. Although the style of "Webway War 1.5" had become peculiar, Gamma had indeed "broken into" a portion of the Webway hub. He had now fully occupied the branch containing the Webway gate and was infiltrating other areas.

Only after Gamma's figure disappeared into the Webway gate did the upright demons shift their gaze and collectively depart from this temporary office built of spirit bone.

Stepping out of the 'BWMA' 'headquarters,' one would find many more upright demons in this Webway. Some were training with weapons, some were practicing shaping with spirit bone, while others gathered to discuss profound psychic magic.

"I never imagined such a scene would unfold among us demons," one demon exclaimed.

The other demons nodded in agreement, and one of them spoke, "Perhaps this is what we were meant to be, to create a glorious civilization of our own, just like the Old Ones His Highness speaks of."

"And not like now, reduced to slaves of emotion and power."

At this point, another demon also said, "'Slaves of emotion and power'—what an ironic description. Our greatest pride as unaligned demons is not being slaves to The Four Gods, yet in the end, we are still slaves. We thank His Highness for enlightening us and showing us the way."

"Praise Gamma!" the other demons echoed.

They said no more, separating and heading in different directions. The demon who walked towards the training camp was immediately surrounded by many upright demons holding weapons as soon as he appeared.

"Team leader, is the meeting over?"

"It's over."

"Then when does His Highness plan to deploy us?"

"Alas, he didn't say. It seems we won't be needed for a while."

"Ah!?"

"'Ah' what? Continue to hone your martial arts. You all know what the situation outside is like; are you still afraid there won't be any battles to fight?"

"We're just eager to contribute to His Highness as soon as possible."

"Stop talking nonsense. Come and spar with me; let me see if you've improved."

Besides those who went to the training camp, there were also those who headed to the spirit bone Academy. The demons there were all focused on their inspirations, unaware that their team leader was already standing behind them.

"The psychic energy here needs to be more refined."

"Hmm? Team leader, you're back!"

"Yes, focus on your work."

"Yes, team leader. Does His Highness have a new mission for us?"

"Don't you know your own capabilities? Don't assume you're so extraordinary just because you've inherited some talent from His Highness. Even those in the training camp who dislike using their brains have it!"

"Uh—isn't their talent for communicating with weapons and equipment?"

The demon who knew he had misspoken shrank his head but still couldn't dodge the slap his team leader aimed at the back of his head.

"You, you're so capable, don't I know it? Come, show me your 'masterpiece' and let me see how much of the 'forging' and 'building' talents bestowed by His Highness you've utilized!"

"Team leader, I was only converted a few days ago—"

"You know it! You know it!" The old demon chased the young demon, who scurried away, clutching his head.

Unlike the previous two places, the Psychic Energy Research Institute didn't have such clear hierarchies. There were fewer demons here, but they argued the most fiercely. Before their conversion, they were among the smartest of the unaligned demons. After conversion, they inherited Gamma's talent for "invention and creation."

"You're back?"

"Yes, what were you arguing about just now?"

"Still arguing about why the same spell has such different effects on different demons or mortals."

"Oh, that's indeed an interesting point. What's your view?"

"I think it's because most of the authority over psychic spells lies in the hands of the Lord of Change."

"Makes sense. What about the others?"

"Some say it's personal strength, some say it's the owner's emotions, and others say it's talent. But setting that aside, does His Highness have a new mission?"

"Yes!"

"Oho, tell us quickly."

The other demons also gathered around. The demon who had just returned from the meeting didn't keep them in suspense and directly said, "His Highness has given us a long-term research topic."

"What topic?" the demons asked curiously.

"Researching how to separate Warp energy into emotional energy!"

"Hiss!"

"His Highness means that Warp energy is formed when emotional energy mixes with dissipated souls. If we can reverse this process, demons like us will no longer need to extract extreme emotions from mortal souls."

"On a small scale, this solves our 'eating' problem. On a larger scale, it resolves the fundamental conflict between the Warp and the material realm, and it's an important step towards restoring peace to the Warp!"

"The prosperity of the material realm will also promote the prosperity of the Warp, and a prosperous Warp will in turn protect the prosperity of the material realm. Under such mutual reinforcement,

what a glorious picture that would be!"

"Hahaha, just imagining such a scene makes my demonic chest swell with emotion. Praise our Lord! The scope of The Four Gods pales in comparison to our Lord's; it's practically insignificant."

"Indeed, praise our Lord!" the demons praised in unison. "Ahem, however, our Lord also said that this is not a problem that can be easily solved, or it might even have no answer. Therefore, our focus is still on developing our strength; we must not become blind because of a grand goal!"

"Yes!" xN

The Martial Arts Training Camp, the spirit bone Academy, and the Psychic Energy Research Institute were the Tech-priest's greatest achievements during this period. They were not only institutions for Gamma to cultivate his subordinate demons but also the foundation for ensuring his plan progressed smoothly.

Otherwise, these demons, attracted by Gamma's ideals and transformed by his power, if left idle for too long, their ambition, fueled by the Tech-priest's promises, would eventually be worn away. Only by keeping them busy, letting them know they are striving for their cherished "Beautiful Warp," can their drive and ambition be sustained.

The Tech-priest's past entrepreneurial experiences taught him a truth: a startup 'small company' with little capital and only ideals will fall apart if it doesn't stay motivated. He'd experienced this painful lesson twice in his two lives, and he didn't want to go through it again.

Having the three motivational—demon talent training institutions was not enough, of course. You also needed to let the demons know that their endeavor was on the rise.

This was the only way to maintain morale. In a situation where expanding territory was temporarily impossible, recruiting people—ahem!—expanding the team was undoubtedly the lowest-cost method.

However, while expanding the team was low-cost, it still had costs. In the world under the Tech-priest's dominion, because everyone wore AI auxiliary bracelets, the people who 'deserved' to die were either already dead or never had the chance to do evil. This left Gamma temporarily unable to produce 'sinful souls' to motivate Apacha and his group.

Thus, the Tech-priest had no choice but to opt for a no-cost method of recruitment—multi-level marketing!

The Tech-priest: Thank the Warp for making demons who can survive for a long time without needing to 'eat'!

This was also why the Tech-priest had Apacha establish the 'Beautiful Warp Mutual Aid Society.' Excellent students from each training institution had the opportunity to gain practical experience, contributing their strength to the beautiful vision of the 'Beautiful Warp,' adding bricks and tiles to its construction.

What could be more satisfying for these 'idealistic demons' than seeing their team grow with their own eyes and personally recruiting others to expand it?

The part of this Webway closest to the Webway hub was the place where they put their dreams into practice.

The originally vast Webway had now been divided into numerous auditoriums. Although these auditoriums were rudimentary, they had everything necessary. The interconnected auditoriums also separated the Webway from the hub, preventing the demons within the hub from peering into the situation inside the Webway.

"Greetings, fellow demons, it's a pleasure to meet you all again." The prim and proper demon on the podium said with a smile.

The demons below stood up and said in an uneven chorus, "Good day, lecturer."

Some demons spoke very seriously, some sounded listless, and others' tones were full of mockery and sarcasm, but they all spoke. This was because countless demons had already proven with their bodies that refusing to speak would result in being kicked out. Resisting would lead to being beaten half to death, then hung on a flagpole outside for public display, and finally locked in a dark room for "repentance," emerging as a prim and proper good demon.

For example, the row of prim and proper demons standing at the back of the auditorium, glaring at them, were mostly demons who had been locked in the dark room for repentance.

If it weren't for these prim and proper demons who suddenly appeared from who-knows-where, only ever targeting those who provoked them and attempted violent resistance, the lawless demons sitting in the auditorium wouldn't dare to come here, not even for the free trinkets.

"I see many new faces and new friends this time, which makes me very happy. It reminds me of my first time coming to the auditorium."

"Don't laugh, but my thought at the time was, 'That hypocritical fellow up there is so long-winded. Why do we have to wait until after the lecture to get the free gifts?'"

"Hahahaha." The motley collection of demons below burst into laughter, as most of them had thought the same thing.

"Haha, it is quite funny. But aren't you curious what made me change my mind?"

"What could it be? Just some bigshot taking a liking to you." A disdainful voice rang out in the auditorium.

Many demons echoed this, their tones containing both envy and disdain for choosing to become a servant. But the demon on the stage and the demons standing at the back maintaining Order said or did nothing, merely waiting patiently for these demons to vent their resentment, dissatisfaction, contempt,

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and jealousy.

Once the auditorium quieted down, the prim and proper demon on the stage finally spoke:

"I once said similar things to my own lecturer, so I have no right to be angry. But I must clarify one thing: we never force anyone. Even my companions standing behind you, after making mistakes like you and undergoing punishment and re-education, were released if they chose not to join us."

"You all know this very well, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"I can confirm that. I was locked in the dark room, but at the time, I was blinded by anger and refused. After I came out and cooled down, I realized that what the teacher who lectured me said was right, so I came back here." A demon spoke up.

Now, the demons who were here for the first time grew curious about what these prim and proper demons would say. They had all observed for a long time, making sure these prim and proper demons wouldn't harm them before daring to come and take advantage. Some also wanted to see which great demon was interested in pathetic, lawless creatures like them. If possible, they wouldn't mind giving up their freedom.

"Ahem, we will not force a free demon, nor will we refuse a like-minded comrade!"

The prim and proper demon on the stage paused, then continued, "I was once one of you, and I deeply understand the difficult situation of demons who believe in the Way of Chaos. Every day, we hide, fearing being taken as slaves. Even if we want to abandon our dignity and freedom to become servants of The Four Gods and other lesser gods, they do not accept us."

"Converting us is not as good as directly creating a demon of their own."

"Converting us is not as good as directly converting mortals who believe in them."

"So, everyone, have you considered where your future lies? Or have you long since become numb, believing that eternal suffering is the fate of us unaligned demons!"

"What good is it to not accept our fate? To run into the guns of the accursed?" The demon's murmur sounded particularly harsh in the quiet auditorium.

Silence at such a time was a form of acquiescence. They had no master; they could not, like the demons subservient to The Four Gods, gain psychological satisfaction and an increase in power by practicing the ideals of The Four Gods. Even if they wanted to please The Four Gods through practice, they could not go to the present world on their own. As for joining the great games of the gods and attracting the attention of the Chaos Gods, it was possible, but no unaligned Chaos demon had ever succeeded. Which demon with such power would choose to be a slave?

"Yes, humans are foolish, but there is one thing they say that is very true: death is a blessing, especially for immortal demons like us."

... "I also once accepted my fate, but I was unwilling, so I gave up my freedom and became what I am now. Because only this way do I have the right to change this world that torments me. Now, allow me to introduce to you a great plan that concerns every one of us unaligned demons: The Beautiful Warp!"

The method of recruiting people is essentially a routine: first, draw a theoretically feasible grand vision, then cast a net to identify specific groups, then strike at the anxiety points of those specific groups, create anxiety, make them take the first step, and leave the rest to "sunk costs"—that magical thing that allows one to deceive oneself.

The reason why "The Beautiful Warp" has progressed so rapidly, with so many demons shouting and wanting to join the mutual aid society and become prim and proper demons, is not because the little Tech-priest is so good at deceiving demons, but because the magical Warp makes the anxieties of the unaligned demons almost identical, and it also gathers them all together.

This led to demons who originally only wanted to take advantage being almost "brainwashed" after attending a few classes. Because the effect was so good, the sheer number of people made the little Tech-priest a bit overwhelmed. He had to change the "earlier people earn later people's money" model to "whoever recruits more people gets converted first," and this was also introduced into "The Beautiful Warp."

As the saying goes, the easier something is to obtain, the less demons cherish it; the harder it is, the more demons believe. Even "shit" gets snatched up with scarcity marketing.

So, don't just look at Gamma merely having "taken down" a Webway; in fact, the entire Webway hub is full of demons looking for "demon friends" to attend classes.

Now, the little Tech-priest himself is delaying the progress of "Webway War 1.5." If he could manage to convert demons even in his sleep, this Webway hub might have already been taken by him.

"If I can't do it, I can't do it. Is there any justice or law in forcing the boss to work overtime?" Gamma whined, speaking words his handmaidens didn't understand.

Yvraine and Ventris, who had been there for a while without speaking, finally couldn't hold back.

Gamma Warriors Legion Commander: "Gamma, you haven't moved a single finger since the beginning. Even when you move, they carry you!"

Harbinger of Death: "You do nothing but eat and play every day. Do you even know how long it's been since you presided over a court assembly?"

"Exactly! We are the only two people who have seen you during this entire period, and before we could even speak, you're saying we're forcing you to work overtime. Is that reasonable?"

"Hmph, do you know what I'm doing? One of you is leading troops in battle outside, and the other is an external minister. Why are you meddling in court affairs?" The little Tech-priest, feeling a belly full of grievances with nowhere to vent and misunderstood, turned his face away, ignoring Ventris and Yvraine.

Only the handmaidens, who knew that Gamma had not been in the palace this entire time, understood that their Highness was being wronged. They immediately transformed into protective lionesses, glaring angrily at the two. The head handmaiden even spoke directly:

"My Lords, if there is nothing else, please leave!"

Ventris also glared at the xenos in front of him. He felt that these xenos had spoiled Gamma. Yvraine had similar thoughts.

Although she had learned from elsewhere that this was Ulthwé Craftworld's attempt to stabilize Gamma's humanity, the Harbinger of Death felt it was a bit overdone. If this continued, the little Tech-priest would truly become a willful "child," and a big problem was bound to arise!

"Gamma, you must remember your identity as a leader!" Yvraine said earnestly.

The little Tech-priest, still in a huff, grumbled, "None of your business."

...At this, Ventris ignored the angry xenos handmaidens, came and sat in front of Gamma, and said seriously, "Gamma, we are worried about you. You haven't overseen the expedition or state affairs for too long!"

"Has anything gone wrong?" Gamma retorted defiantly.

"..."

'Nothing has gone wrong. Isn't it fine for everything to proceed as planned? Do I really have to oversee every single thing?'

Ventris opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. The three were silent for a while before the little Tech-priest impatiently asked, "Why did you suddenly come looking for me?"

"Why are you conscripting serious criminals from newly reclaimed worlds? Why are you loosening management on various worlds and condoning the occurrence of crime?" Ventris stated the most important purpose of his and Yvraine's visit.

The little Tech-priest raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and still chose to conceal the existence of Apacha and his group. As long as he didn't clarify his relationship with Apacha and them, it was equivalent to Gamma having driven a nail into Chaos, allowing him to always have first-hand intelligence within the Warp.

"Is that all? They are useful to me. Anyway, they are all scum who deserve to die. Why do you care about them?"

"We are not concerned about them; we are concerned about you. You have never done anything like this before!"

"You doubt me!" Gamma shot up and exclaimed.

If Gamma was just sulking when he was wronged earlier, now he was genuinely angry. Ventris and Yvraine coming to him about this meant that the humans and Aeldari standing behind them believed the little Tech-priest would turn bad!

He had done so many good deeds, and now he merely wanted to use a group of despicable scumbags who deserved to die to save more people, and they suspected if he had changed!

"Am I really so untrusted by you? What's wrong with a bunch of scumbags?"

"In the future, this will be the norm. I will make full use of all scumbags!"

"And what's wrong with loosening controls? Even so, it's a thousand, ten thousand times better than the Imperium's public Order!"

"Are you going to let humanity live under the control of AI forever?"

"What possibility of progress would humanity have then?"

The meeting between Gamma and Ventris ended on a sour note.

As for an explanation?

None. Gamma, with an extremely firm attitude, told them: This is his will, and in his dominion, no one can object! Only unconditional obedience!

Even knowing that this would give Chaos an opportunity, the "Webway War" was too important to Gamma. Although it had become somewhat strange now, one should not forget that this time, the little Tech-priest had truly gambled his life to secure a better future for humanity and the Eldar!

Moreover, how could he explain Apacha and the others?

Even if Gamma gave up the chance to plant a spy within Chaos and told Ventris and his companions: I've taken in many, many demons as subordinates.

Do you think they would choose to accept it, or would they become even more worried?

The outcome was obvious. A Living Saint, a Cursed Legion, a Primarch—which of them had ever been doubted?

The little Tech-priest made no attempt to hide the conscription of heavy criminals; instead, he did it ostentatiously. He didn't build specialized prisons elsewhere but constructed a tall tower directly within his palace.

This tallest black tower on the Ulthwé Craftworld was like a monster that devoured lives. Ship after ship of scum, villains, cultists, and other damned individuals were sent into it, but the "monster's" stomach seemed never to be full; no matter how many lives, it would always be satisfied.

The ugly "monster" also stained the beautiful Omega City, the Ulthwé Craftworld, and all worlds under Gamma's rule with a different color.

Everyone, human or Eldar, who saw or knew of this black tower, would have a distinct color in their eyes—fear.

"Order."

"My Lord, please command."

"Have you found any suspicious situations?"

"No. Although some officials have held secret private meetings, they have not made any moves that might incite rebellion. Do they need to be purged to prevent future troubles and deter those with dissenting hearts?"

"Hmph, no need."

"Yes."

"How is the story about devils tormenting guilty souls spreading?"

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"It has been spread to every human world through rumors, hints, hypnosis, and dream manipulation. For the Eldar, due to their sparse and concentrated population, rash dissemination is easy to expose, so there has been no action for now."

"Hmm, you've handled the Eldar matter very well. They are experts in psychic abilities; such a story appearing suddenly would alert them. You may continue your work."

"As you command."

The results of the large-scale loyalty and obedience test left the little Tech-priest quite satisfied. He felt that his late-game type of authority was stronger than the Emperor's combat-oriented authority. Although the Emperor was extremely skilled at killing demons, he had too few people he could absolutely trust.

The little Tech-priest was different. He had absolute control over the Iron Men, the now-renamed "Devil" demons, the strong artificial intelligence, and his creations. Even the Gamma Warriors and the Eldar could not make waves in front of Gamma.

The most ironic thing was that the most unstable factor among Gamma's subordinates were the humans he wholeheartedly wanted to protect. Those who met privately were all human officials, not a single Eldar. The Eldar—or more precisely, the Ulysses Eldar—had a very direct attitude: no matter the future outcome, they chose to follow Gamma to the very end.

What stimulated the other Craftworld Eldar was the little Tech-priest's sudden massacre. Perhaps Gamma had always appeared gentle over the years, so gentle that they searched and searched but found no evidence of Gamma personally taking a life. If a "kill list" were made for all intelligent beings of some standing in the galaxy, the little Tech-priest's position as last place would be unshakable, with the second-to-last place leading him by an unknown margin.

The other Craftworld Eldar had almost classified Gamma as a deity like Isha, but to their surprise, the little Tech-priest's style changed in an instant. If he didn't kill, it was a production-line slaughter when he did.

As for who Gamma killed, it made no difference in the eyes of the Eldar; they were all just hairy monkeys.

However, a large part of the blame for the Eldar's alertness and concern lay with the Emperor, after all. The current living god's accumulated slaughter was so heavy it could be smelled from the other end of the galaxy. If Gamma also became like the Emperor, the other Craftworld Eldar would have to pack up and leave the galaxy.

Otherwise, there would only be death.

The humans' worry, however, was the little Tech-priest's own fault. He had absorbed many former Imperial officials from the Inquisition, the Assassin Court, the Department of Internal Affairs, and the Department of Internal Affairs. The Imperium was indeed a pile of dung, but one had to admit that those who could make a name for themselves in such an environment and hadn't been found by Gamma to have any anti-human skeletons in their closet were all top-notch talents, far superior to ordinary people in intellect and ability.

Whether they were loyal to Gamma or more loyal to the Imperium made little difference to the little Tech-priest. It was enough that they were capable, loyal to humanity, and could be used by him.

Strolling along, Gamma arrived at the eerie black tower and found Apacha, who was leading the demons in harvesting souls. The demons were able to be here because the black tower was built with blackstone. Blackstone is a miraculous material; when polarized using different methods, it exhibits completely opposite properties—anti-psychic and psychic amplification.

"My Lord, you have come!"

Apacha led the devils in kneeling before Gamma, his tone filled with fervent zeal. The other devils were much the same. With continuous "funding" pouring in, the little Tech-priest's nascent "small company" had already taken on the appearance of an industry unicorn. The already highly motivated demons in the team directly transformed into nuclear-powered donkeys, all eager to turn the Warp upside down.

Apacha's current appearance had changed significantly from his original form; he was more upright and more imposing. Anyone who saw him would exclaim, "What a mighty Greater Demon!"

The little Tech-priest had invested heavily in him, pouring one-fifth of his own power into Apacha. As for why he did this?

It goes back to the time Ventris and Yvraine came to him. After Gamma decided to keep the demons a secret, he had been thinking about how to ensure the secret would not be discovered to the greatest extent possible. After much thought, only by severing ties with the demons could he deceive everyone.

But then the demons would need a visible leader whose strength could not be inferior to that of an average Greater Demon and Daemon Prince; otherwise, he would be unable to lead the demons to gain a foothold in Chaos.

Thus, the Greater Demon Apacha appeared. Since then, Gamma had never again appeared in the Webway hub. Any demons needing conversion were brought to him by Apacha using sealed artifacts.

"How is the situation at the hub?" Gamma asked.

"My Lord, everything is normal. We have largely taken control there and are investigating the Webway connected to the hub and the situation behind the Webway gates. However, the situation in most Webways is not optimistic; they are either damaged, completely broken, or sealed."

"The situation behind the Webway gates is much better; most can be used normally and are evenly distributed throughout the galaxy, on both sides of the Great Rift. However, some lead to the Eye of Terror, and a few worlds have already become Daemon Worlds."

Gamma nodded after hearing this, increasingly convinced that accepting Apacha and his companions was the right decision. Otherwise, just exploring the Webway and the connected worlds would undoubtedly lead to countless problems.

"Well done. You weren't without ability; you just lacked opportunity."

Hearing the little Tech-priest's praise, the devils all showed expressions of pride and honor, saying one after another:

"It is all Your Highness's grace."

"Alright, don't be hypocritical; your mouths are practically reaching your ears."

"Your Highness's admonition is correct, hahaha."

But happy times always have unhappy occurrences. Because Gamma had suddenly arrived, the devils, who were originally harvesting souls on an assembly line, stopped their work. A small oversight caused a loud-mouthed sinner to let out an earth-shattering scream.

Gamma, vaguely hearing the scream, frowned. Apacha knew Gamma disliked bloody and cruel things, so he quickly said:

"Your Highness, I have an idea I'd like to report to you."

"Hmm."

"Your Highness, please follow me."

Gamma said nothing and followed Apacha into a secret room. He initially thought the other party was just looking for an excuse to divert his attention, but to his surprise, there was indeed something to it.

He wanted to use the devils to plant spies within Chaos, and Apacha wanted to use undivided demons to plant spies within the various factions of Chaos. It must be said that if this plan succeeded, he would be able to know immediately whenever any somewhat powerful Chaos faction made a major move.

"Why did you have such an idea?"

Apacha replied, "Your Highness, after our conversion, it's immediately obvious that we have a master. Other demons will be wary of us."

"However, masterless undivided demons are different. They are weak, have no master, and have always been objects of oppression and neglect." "Hmm, that makes sense. But how can loyalty be guaranteed? You also know our actual situation; whether in terms of numbers or average strength, we are too far behind them. You are the only one we can put forward." Gamma said.

"Your Highness, you may not know, but with the spread of 'Beautiful Warp,' demons who choose not to convert but instead spread this philosophy are beginning to appear among the undivided demons."

What?

This news truly startled the little Tech-priest. He knew that undivided demons were quite similar to mortals, but this was perhaps too similar. In their confusion and anxiety, they had even begun to seek faith?!

"Uh... Apacha, are these demons okay?"

"I know it's indeed strange, but upon closer thought, it's not strange at all. Undivided demons inherently believe in Chaos itself, and the reason Chaos is called 'Chaos' is because it has no characteristics. Whatever you think it is, that's what it is."

"The beautiful Warp is what undivided demons yearn for, so it's not surprising that some demons would act this way."

Don't tell me, the explanation is quite reasonable—what the hell! The little Tech-priest now felt that this world was becoming increasingly strange. Chaos, the birthplace of cults, was now also beginning to have "cults."

Gamma: I will never admit that this has anything to do with me!

After discussing for a while with Apacha, Gamma agreed to his proposal and gave instructions:

First, fund them but do not interfere with them. (The Tech-priest was a bit curious to see what major things they could achieve.)

Second, the condition for accepting funding was to swear by their true names that they would never reveal the relationship between the Devil and them.

Third, they could not obstruct unaligned demons willing to join the Devil. If there were suitable demons or useful information, they could send them to Apacha, who would, in turn, pay them with 'souls' as compensation and reward.

"Apacha, you must remember that relying solely on 'love to generate power' is unreliable. Only binding by interests is the most reliable. Only by letting these unaligned demons, whom no one cares about, know that as long as we exist, they will have food, and their ideals will have a chance to be realized, will they not betray us!"

"Your Highness is right. There is no perfect contract without loopholes, but the opponent of interest is only greater interest, and besides us,

no one will give them even a tiny bit of benefit."

"They are all intelligent demons. They will distinguish between a full meal and continuous meals. However, we still need people from the Psykana Research Institute to formulate a contract that they can accept but is as complete as possible. Now is not the time for you to expose yourselves to the demons."

"Yes!" Apacha responded.

At this moment, Gamma felt that the time was right, so he stated the purpose of his visit to Apacha and the others:

"Stories about the Devil have begun to spread. Do you think this can enhance your strength? Do you feel anything?"

Apacha closed his eyes, carefully experienced it for a moment, and then said happily:

"Although it's very faint, it is indeed there. Your Highness bestowed the name 'Devil' upon us. All fear, worship,

and the desire for us to avenge them, directed at this title, will point to us."

"Hmm, but will this have any impact on you?" Gamma asked, expressing his concern.

"Yes, but this title points to all of us and is borne by all of us, so the impact is not significant. Over time, at most, it will make us more partial to the souls of sinners, just like in the stories."

Gamma nodded after hearing this and asked again, "Will it also have such an impact on me?"

"Uh, I'm not sure about that. It shouldn't. Although we become a part of Your Highness after conversion, mortals don't know our connection to Your Highness. This kind of generalized emotional direction is not as clear as religion."

"And we can also act as an interception and filter. As long as Your Highness does not reabsorb us, there will be no impact."

"Okay, I understand. You go busy yourself."

After Apacha left, Gamma also closed his eyes. After a while, he left the secret room with a relaxed expression, swaying as he went to play with the Eldar Miss. He had just done a psychological assessment of himself and found no abnormalities; he was still as "pure and flawless" as the Gamma fresh out of the factory.

The function of the "eggshell" was even more powerful than he imagined, blocking all bad things outside.

While the Tech-priest was overjoyed by his "mental fortitude," Regent Guilliman, on the other side of the galaxy, was in the opposite mood. He found that Gamma and the Emperor were becoming more and more alike, doing similar things.

The Emperor had the Great Crusade, and he had his Great Crusade, both under the banner of "saving humanity and making humanity great again."

The Emperor needed sacrifices, and Gamma also needed sacrifices; one needed psykers, the other needed criminals.

"Gamma doesn't have a device similar to the Golden Throne, does he?" Lord Regent Guilliman asked, rubbing his brow.

Yvraine, across from him, rolled her eyes and said, "How bold do I have to be to dare to probe the secrets within his palace?"

"Are all the people around him from your Eldar race?"

"Don't mention them to me! They have been completely changed by Gamma's abilities. Even if Gamma ordered them to destroy the Eldar, they would execute it without hesitation!" Yvraine said angrily.

"Gamma brainwashed them?" Guilliman asked with a somewhat grim expression, as he still had descendants with the Tech-priest.

"You ask me? Haven't you seen the Emperor with your own eyes? Is there anyone who knows what a present-day god looks like better than you?"

.

,

Guilliman sighed. He and Lion were the ones in the Imperium who knew best what the Emperor looked like. That divine appearance, which made people worship him from the bottom of their hearts with just one glance, was something even he, as a Primarch, could not avoid. If Gamma was also like that, it would not be surprising for the Eldar who spent every day with him to become as Yvraine described.

"What is your view on his actions?"

"I don't know, no one knows!"

"Yvraine, shouldn't you be more honest with me!" Guilliman said, looking directly at Yvraine.

The Harbinger of Death sighed and then said, "We truly don't know. You, on the other hand, should know better. He is of the same kind as your Emperor. This is our first contact with beings like them."

The Emperor was so mysterious back then, who knew how many secrets he hid—Guilliman suddenly thought that if anyone understood the Emperor best, it would be the Custodes. Only from—

The Regent felt a chill down his neck. This familiar feeling reminded him of someone, and it also made him abandon the idea of finding a breakthrough through the Custodes.

"Help me deliver a letter to Keken."

"That Tribune?"

"Yes."

Fine food, beautiful women dancing, esteemed guests—well, no esteemed guests, only the Tech-priest drinking juice and a few Custodes. Gamma finally remembered that he needed to improve his relationship with the Emperor, so this "welcome banquet," years overdue, came to be.

But while the banquet was held, and the specifications were high, Gamma was a bit thin-skinned and couldn't bring himself to talk about improving relations. After all, he had left Keken and the others hanging for so many years; suddenly doing this seemed a bit ridiculously obsequious.

The Tech-priest was not a thick-skinned politician like Guilliman. Looking at the silent Custodes who barely touched their chopsticks, he somewhat regretted inviting them.

Hmph, you're so old, and you're still serving in the Imperial Palace. You have no political awareness at all. Isn't the goodwill I'm showing obvious enough? You're not giving me any face at all… Gamma grumbled inwardly.

Though Keken and the others appeared cold and calm on the surface, the Custodes were actually a bit nervous. The reason was simple: they had just received Guilliman's letter inquiring about Gamma, and then the Tech-priest invited them to dinner, ostensibly to welcome them. Anyone would think it was a banquet with ill intentions.

Considering the omnipresent AI and Gamma's incredible methods, even if the Tech-priest smashed a cup and then five hundred Iron Men axemen teleported into the hall, Keken and the others wouldn't be surprised at all.

In such circumstances, even the Custodes would be somewhat nervous, because dying for an ambiguous letter from Guilliman was unacceptable to the Custodes, who were already quite displeased with the Primarchs and Astartes.

It wasn't a solution to keep things so awkward. As the leader, Tribune Keken, bit the bullet and said with perfect etiquette:

"Your Highness Gamma, thank you for this banquet you specially prepared for us."

Seeing this, the Tech-priest immediately felt that the Custodes were not bad. After being cooped up in the Imperial Palace for so many years, not losing their ability to speak was already a miracle of the Emperor's bio-alchemy. He shouldn't be too harsh. His originally cold face softened into a smile, and he replied:

"It's nothing. You've helped me a lot over the years. Although there was a bit of a misunderstanding back then, I never really took it to heart. It just suddenly occurred to me that you hadn't completed the welcome process yet, so I wanted to make it up to you. Please forgive me."

Phew, it seems we were overthinking it. He wants to mend relations with us, but what happened to make him suddenly change so much?

Keken responded politely on the surface, while his mind raced through possible scenarios.

After a few pointless pleasantries, Gamma steered the conversation to the Emperor, showering him with flattery, as if he had forgotten how he had openly dissed the Emperor in front of the Custodes, and forgotten the unofficial history he had imagined of the Emperor selling himself.

The reactions of the few Custodes were mostly silence, except for Keken, who could chat a bit with the Tech-priest, because only he had seen the Emperor with his own eyes.

From their physical functions, one could see how much the Emperor favored the Custodes. Although Primarchs lived long lives, Lion had already proven that Primarchs would age, but Custodes would not.

There was once a Tech-priest who observed the changes in Custodes cells for his entire life, and until his death, he found no changes in their cells. One must know that he was a Tech-priest who could enter and exit the Imperial Palace, and living one or two thousand years was normal for them.

"Alas, I'll be honest with you. Although I've said many bad things about the Emperor, I actually still admire him a lot. He was the closest person to success, but also the craziest. So I'm a little afraid of him, afraid that he'll use me to plug the leaky old ship that is the Imperium," Gamma said frankly.

Keken also said frankly, "That's indeed something he would do. He's always like that, asking for our opinions while ignoring them. I once complained to His Majesty's face that no matter what we said, no matter how reasonable, he would still do as he pleased."

These words made Gamma fall silent, reminding him of recent events. After a long while, the Tech-priest said faintly, "Perhaps he asked you just to tell himself: 'Look, humanity is still full of hope. Without you, countless others among them would still make the right choices.'"

"As for why he didn't listen to you, I imagine he must have his reasons—"

Keken and the others naturally knew about Gamma's highly publicized slaughter of criminals. The undercurrents hidden beneath the calm had not left the Custodes untouched, and many "former" Inquisitors were trying to contact them, sending them subtle hints.

"Do you know why the Emperor valued 'loyalty' the most?" Keken asked.

"Because only loyalty that can be described as 'blind loyalty' can ensure his plans are carried out, right?" the Tech-priest said, swirling the juice in his hand, his tone carrying a hint of "drunk without wine" intoxication.

Keken gave a self-deprecating laugh and then said, "You're right, so sometimes I envy Ogryn, hahaha."

The Tech-priest also laughed heartily, because he remembered the "Three Brothers of the Imperial Palace" from warhammer unofficial history, and now Keken had said something similar—giving up thinking—which was so fitting.

After the banquet, Keken and the others naturally gathered to discuss what the little Tech-priest was up to. After some analysis, Keken set the tone for the discussion at this Custodian meeting:

"He is showing goodwill, not to us, but to His Majesty. This is good for our mission."

The Custodian sitting opposite him nodded in agreement and replied, "He must have encountered a thorny problem. Otherwise, given his past attitude towards His Majesty, he would never do such a thing. But what could be so difficult that even he finds it troublesome?"

"I guess it's related to Chaos. We all know how much power Gamma holds. Without releasing those dangerous items sealed by the Emperor in the 'Shadow Prison,' even the Imperium led by Lord Regent Guilliman cannot threaten him. Although Gamma seems to have mastered Necrons technology, from the current situation, the Necrons have not shown hostility towards him."

"Hmm, Gamma also intentionally avoids conflict with the Necrons. He has expressed his reverence for the Necrons many times in public.

He understands the Necrons much better than we do!"

Keken understood his brother's hidden meaning. He asked, "Do you think Gamma might have existed earlier than we estimated?"

The Custodian hesitated for a moment, then said, "Have you noticed the content the Ulthwé Eldar are propagating to the common people?"

"Which part?"

"The part about Gamma's identity."

Everyone, including Keken, said no. Gamma guards the Ulthwé Craftworld, his 'reserved territory,' very strictly. Besides a very few who come to report work to Gamma and human officials responsible for liaison, only Eldar live here. The little Tech-priest intentionally cut off communication between the Eldar under his command and humans.

Apart from fighting to the death in court, there was almost no other interaction between the two sides.

"When I first arrived here, I visited the temples the Eldar built for him. In the myths and legends the Eldar created for Gamma, he once ruled the Eldar in ancient times and taught them technology. At the time, I didn't think much of it, just considering it a means to demonstrate Gamma's legitimacy. But his mastery of Eldar and Necrons technology corroborates this legend; otherwise, it cannot be explained."

These words plunged several Custodians into thought, but the most fatal flaw of this hypothesis was that Gamma had insisted from the beginning that he was human.

"Let's put this issue aside for now. Do you think we need to carry out Lord Regent Guilliman's mission?" Keken asked.

"I object. This will infuriate him and completely worsen the situation that has finally eased. Don't forget our initial goal was to see if he truly had the ability to repair the Golden Throne, and that has been confirmed. Now our mission is to make him willing to help."

"I also object. Although sacrificing prisoners is inconsistent with his past behavior, Gamma only wants heavy criminals with conclusive evidence. These scumbags would have been executed anyway, which means his Logic has not changed. I think that female Eldar must have exaggerated the facts in front of Lord Regent Guilliman, which is why Lord Regent Guilliman takes it so seriously."

"Me too. I don't think Gamma is unaware of his subordinates' small actions. He hasn't done anything, which means he wants to see what these people will do. We all understand that 'loyalty' is more important than anything!"

"Hmm, I will write a reply to Lord Regent Guilliman explaining the situation. He is getting too close to xenos!" the Tribune said in a deep voice.

Who knew Lord Regent Guilliman's feelings when he received the Custodian's letter telling him not to trust the Eldar too much, but he really wanted to write back and tell the Custodians to open their eyes and see clearly that there was a little Tech-priest steeped in xenos right next to them.

However, Lord Regent Guilliman still held back, because the current war was more important to him. Now, the "Great Galactic Melee" had another contender—the Tyranid.

Not long ago, dozens of Tyranid bio-ships suddenly appeared outside the star system, resolutely launching a death charge. Lord Regent Guilliman's heart went cold at the time, because neither he nor Conquest's calculations indicated they could stop the charge of these massive Tyranid ships wrapped in thick spore clouds. Once these bio-ships disrupted their deployment, the plan to blockade Chaos would likely fail.

But what Lord Regent Guilliman didn't expect was that these Tyranid ignored them, or rather, didn't consider them opponents. They didn't retaliate even when attacked, rushing to the planet's orbit and beginning to deploy Tyranid war beasts, targeting Chaos.

The Kronos Hive Fleet—after the Great Rift opened, the Hive Mind felt that if Chaos continued to play around like this, its "dining table" would be smashed. Thus, the "Kronos Hive Fleet," specifically designed to deal with Chaos forces, was born.

Since Chaos matter cannot provide sustenance for the Hive Fleet, other Hive Fleets will try their best to bypass areas ravaged by Warp storms or attacked by daemons.

The Kronos Hive Fleet, however, is different. It actively crashes into the most active Chaos areas, targeting daemons and all psychic-related beings, utterly destroying them, like maggots eating the putrid flesh of a wound.

Because Kronos only appears in Chaos-ravaged areas, and the Imperial forces in these regions are often completely destroyed, the Imperium knows very little about it. Apart from sporadic records, there is almost no intelligence on it.

Fortunately, Lord Regent Guilliman was here this time. Only he had the ability and prestige to, after discovering that the Tyranid's main target was Chaos, override all objections to the Tyranid, order a halt to attacks on Kronos, and actively change deployments to avoid the positions of the Tyranid bio-ships.

The strongest reactions to this came from none other than Perturabo and Mortarion. They cursed Lord Regent Guilliman over the broadcast, calling him a coward and a "Heretics" who relied on xenos power.

It's actually easy to understand why the two of them reacted so strongly, because Kronos, specially tailored by the Hive Mind to target Chaos, truly hurt them.

In particular, the Kronos Hive Fleet possesses a stronger Warp Shadow than typical Hive Fleets, strong enough to rival the Necrons' Dolmen Gates, sufficient to make even strong-willed mortals feel suffocated. Even a Primarch-level psychic blank like Lord Regent Guilliman would feel uncomfortable under this shadow, let alone those traitors blessed by Chaos.

Planets that were originally half-swallowed by the Warp were regurgitated by two-thirds under the influence of the Tyranid Warp Shadow, and the Chaos daemonic legions, which were previously roaring, became like eggplants hit by frost—limp.

The situation could be said to be excellent for the Imperium, but the Imperium also gained not just benefits, but also many drawbacks. The most serious were the near-total annihilation of the fleet's psykers and Astropaths. The Eldar sent by the Omega Faction as reinforcements were deeply affected and their combat power greatly reduced. Ordinary Astra Militarum soldiers, under the dual effects of the hellish battlefield and the Hive Shadow, also became extremely unstable, with suicides and madness being rampant.

At the same time, Kronos is not immune to attacking humans either. It also needs to replenish biomass, and humans and Orks are both its prey for acquiring biomass.

Therefore, even though the Imperium has gained a strategic advantage, it is actually suffering greatly.

If a "satisfaction survey" were conducted now among all parties participating in this Great Galactic Melee, Chaos would be last, the Imperium second to last, the Tyranid in the middle, and the Orks and Necrons tied for first.

Hmm—such an intense Great Galactic Melee, with the long-lost Iron Men participating, as a renowned galactic collector—Trazyn naturally couldn't miss it.

For example, he is now contentedly examining the "microscopic bonsai" in his hand—Tyranid war beasts leaping towards daemons, Iron Men using Orks as warhammers to smash Chaos Astartes, Gamma warriors with cold, expressionless faces and eyes revealing icy Logic fighting Khorne daemons, Eldar warriors raising their hands to knock away the staves of Chaos sorcerers attempting to cast spells, and cultists rushing towards Space Marines with melta bombs. "Perfect, simply perfect!" the metallic skeleton praised. Trazyn believed this collection had the potential to become a museum's most prized possession, but it was a pity that Necrons and Tau were still missing, otherwise the King of Figurines would definitely place it in the most prominent position in the museum.

"Hmm, imperfection is also a kind of beauty. Isn't that the meaning of collecting? It inspires me to search for the next item."

"Ugh, so annoying, they're getting closer and closer."

"But it's time to leave. My true big treasure, here I come!"

With that, Trazyn stepped into a dimensional rift. Minutes after he left, several drones flew to the location, meticulously scanning every corner of the cave. After finding nothing, they flew away again.

At the same time, Lord Regent Guilliman, who was comforting the heavily depleted and battle-scarred Ultramarines, received a report from Conquest:

"Currently, more than a dozen incidents of our personnel inexplicably disappearing have been discovered. The locations are completely random, and no clues have been found.

It is presumed to be the work of Trazyn the Infinite, Overlord of the Nihilakh Dynasty."

"..."

Lord Regent Guilliman knew about this "Galactic Thief Saint" who stole things everywhere in the name of collecting. Precisely because he knew, he understood how troublesome this "thief" was. But none of that mattered. The most important thing now was to warn the most dangerous target to raise his guard!

"Quickly go and call Eldrad, tell him to return to Ulthwé Craftworld as fast as possible. Gamma is in danger!"

Looking at Eldrad, who had rushed back covered in dust, the little Tech-priest was quite touched, especially in this situation where he was misunderstood, yet Eldrad still steadfastly chose to stand by him.

Tyrannical rulers like two kinds of ministers: sycophants and blindly loyal subjects. Coincidentally, Eldrad was both.

"Your Highness, this is?" Eldrad, who had just arrived at Gamma's palace, asked, pointing at the "bas-relief" on the wall.

Gamma shrugged, propped his chin with one hand, and with the other, controlled fruit to smash against the "bas-relief's" face, saying irritably, "He is the Trazyn you spoke of."

"Your Highness's divine power!" the Supreme Seer offered a compliment.

"Nothing, just a clone."

At this moment, the "bas-relief" on the wall spoke, saying, "Alright, I admit my actions were very offensive. I can pay a ransom. I still quite like this body."

"Heh, I think you stole someone else's body and are afraid of the original owner finding you and causing trouble. Truly worthy of being the Galactic Thief Saint, stealing an Overlord's body just like that."

Trazyn showed no trace of embarrassment at being exposed by Gamma, and said with a double meaning, "We're both the same."

The little Tech-priest knew this was a jab at him for also stealing Necrons technology, but Gamma wouldn't let this guy who dared to throw a "green Poké Ball" at him off so easily.

Don't forget the "Eat, Drink, Gamble" quartet had been in his hands for a long time, and the little Tech-priest had spent no small amount of time researching Necrons consciousness transfer.

However, the Trazyn before him was just a clone, more like a puppet controlled by his main body from who-knows-where. It wasn't worth exposing the killer moves he had prepared for the Necrons on him.

Waving his hand to release Trazyn, Gamma gestured for him to come and sit. The Necrons shook off the gravel stuck in the gaps of his metallic skeleton, then, as if entering his own home, plopped down on the sofa opposite Gamma, and even huffed at his old, down-on-his-luck opponent.

This angered Eldrad, causing him to unconsciously tighten his grip on his staff.

"This is incredible. I originally thought he was the only one." Trazyn said with emotion, while "admiring" the little Tech-priest.

"If you keep looking at me with that kind of gaze, I'll remove all the sensory components from this body of yours."

"Haha, my apologies, my apologies. To use an ancient human idiom, this is an occupational hazard for me, please forgive me."

Although he said so, Trazyn had already maximized the sensory functions of this body. When Gamma tinkered for a few moments and emerged from the dimensional prison, Trazyn understood that he wouldn't be able to collect this "big treasure." If he couldn't have the physical object, then he would just collect audio and video. In any case, he couldn't leave empty-handed.

"You didn't do the same thing to the Emperor, did you?" Gamma asked. "—" This was also something that saddened and filled Trazyn with regret, so he was unwilling to recall it.

"Alright, give me a complete set of Dolmen Gates, and I'll pretend this never happened."

Upon hearing this, Trazyn immediately said with a scornful tone, "Do you think I'm blind, that I would give you our most important means of transportation?!"

"How I remember that was invented by the Burners. How did it become yours? And besides, apart from using it to destroy the Webway, how many dynasties use it to deploy troops? Don't think I don't know the risks of the Dolmen Gates. If that thing collapses, it's a Warp Rift!"

"If you understand that, why do you still want it?" Trazyn retorted.

Gamma replied, "Can't I study it? I'm just curious how to achieve an effect similar to the Old Ones' Webway using purely physical means." "Another little madman obsessed with technology." The Necrons muttered softly.

"I'll take that as a yes. Oh, right, you also have to release all the people you kidnapped."

"No! Don't even think about it! I don't want this body anymore. I, your granddaddy, have stolen—no! borrowed so many bodies, and none of them ever made me return them." Who knew the little Tech-priest just said something faintly that made the jumping Trazyn sound like a hen with its neck caught, unable to make a sound.

"You even dared to steal Szarekh's spare body. You truly live up to your reputation as the 'Galactic Thief Saint'!"

Trazyn: What's there to be afraid of? I'm still eyeing the staff in the Storm King's hand!