Hal's pupils constricted, and a tumultuous storm raged in her heart, unable to calm down for a long time. She was shocked by Emrys' audacity and appalled by his ruthlessness and malice.
To wipe out twenty-four noble families overnight was simply unheard of!
"Madman! Madman! You're simply a madman!" She panted heavily, her chest rising and falling, and the scar running across her eyebrow and lip twisted with her expression, looking somewhat ferocious.
Isn't he a madman?
The bottom line of political struggle lies in both sides adhering to 'rules' and not easily breaking them.
Because once the rules are broken, it means that both sides can completely disregard the bottom line and their families, resorting to any means necessary. It's effective, but the cost is a gradual lowering of the struggle's bottom line, until an outcome that no one can accept occurs.
The struggles of nobles and powerful figures are often based on the pursuit of interests; they seek profit, not a complete breakdown of relations.
This is why rules were born.
The fundamental reason is to reduce the intensity of the struggle, to avoid irreparable losses.
But now, this rule has been broken!
"Your Excellency, I stand by what I said."
Emrys raised an eyebrow slightly, chuckling, "It was a Chaos warband that wiped out twenty-four noble families overnight. There's no evidence—you shouldn't speak carelessly."
"Do you think that just because you did it cleanly and left no evidence, no one will suspect you?!" Hal roared furiously, her gaze fierce.
If not for the Space Marines beside Emrys, and the mysterious forces that had infiltrated the hive city at some unknown time, she would have long since ordered people to come in and blast this audacious 'Rogue Trader'!
She was truly enraged!
"Your Excellency, why be so angry?"
Facing the exasperated governor, Emrys remained unperturbed, still sitting calmly, a half-smile playing on his lips.
"No matter what, at least your most pressing problem has a solution, doesn't it?"
"What are you talking about?!" Hal's anger still hadn't subsided, her eyes looking as if they wanted to kill.
"Twenty-four noble families who opposed me were wiped out overnight. What will the remaining people think? They won't believe such a clumsy excuse; they'll only believe that I assassinated these nobles!"
This blame had already been placed on her, the planetary governor, and the Kussman family!
You say you didn't do it, who can prove it?
Is it evidence? No—only the common people at the bottom will pursue so-called evidence. For these nobles, their suspicion is evidence!
Including the top-tier Jabba family, a total of twenty-four noble families, all of whom had conflicts with her, the planetary governor, were tragically wiped out by a Chaos warband overnight.
Even if it were the truth, no one would believe it.
The principle upheld by nobles is: whoever profits, their suspicion is greatest. So, in this incident, whose interest is greatest?
Undoubtedly, it is her, the Kussman family, as the planetary governor!
Other nobles would only believe that this was a conspiracy orchestrated by her, the planetary governor, to seize the assets of these nobles, and it was a conspiracy that completely crossed the line of rules, utterly reckless!
This was also the reason why Hal, after learning about this matter, not only didn't feel happy but was even very angry!
The deed was done by him, Emrys!
But the blame was placed on her Kussman family, and Khorne, who knows where he is. And this guy still had the nerve to show up at her office, looking like he was seeking credit!
Infuriating!
Simply too infuriating!
This damned Rogue Trader—if she had known, she shouldn't have agreed to let him enter the hive city!
Looking at the furious Hal, Emrys calmly tapped the table and smiled, "Your Excellency, I actually think this is an opportunity."
In her rage, Hal glared at him fiercely.
"Opportunity? What opportunity? Soon, the other families will know about the twenty-four noble families being wiped out last night. At that point, whether I can even stay in this position as planetary governor is an unknown. Is this the outcome you want?!"
As mentioned before.
Those nobles who learn the news will only believe that behind this incident, her Kussman family is pulling the strings, that it was she, Hal Kussman, who ordered the extermination!
Since she, as the planetary governor, had already crossed the bottom line of the political game's rules, the remaining nobles would naturally not choose to sit idly by.
What they would do was already obvious.
With the example of those twenty-four noble families, they would only use even more ruthless and unscrupulous methods to deal with her, the planetary governor!
Assassination, poisoning, or even betrayal of the Imperium!
And precisely, with the large-scale invasion of the Chaos fleet, this was an opportunity for those nobles. Who knows if they would seize this chance to betray the Imperium?
No, based on her understanding of those parasites, when faced with survival and loyalty, they would absolutely choose the former without hesitation!
"Allow me to correct you."
Emrys smiled, but behind this seemingly humble smile, there was a glimmer that made Hal tremble.
"Not twenty-four, but—seventy-eight noble families were unfortunately wiped out last night."
"???"
Hal almost choked.
She felt dizzy, blood rushing to her head, and she collapsed into her chair, her mind blank, muttering in a daze.
"Seventy-two—seventy-two—it's over, completely over!"
If twenty-four noble families were wiped out, she might still have a glimmer of hope to temporarily stabilize the other nobles and find a way to break the deadlock.
But with seventy-two noble families wiped out, her last shred of hope and any solution were utterly crushed.
The remaining nobles would not sit idly by!
They would only use even more brutal methods to retaliate against her, the planetary governor!
"If it weren't for you, how would the situation have become like this?!" Hal clenched her fists, her knuckles white and prominent, her eyes bloodshot, her thoughts chaotic, but soon a sense of powerlessness swept over her.
She had completely fallen into Emrys' trap.
Not to mention whether she could kill Emrys here, even if she did, she couldn't prove her innocence to those nobles.
Once the seed of suspicion is sown, it's impossible to explain it away.
"What exactly do you want to do—" It's hard to imagine that Hal, who was decisive and ruthless on the outside, would now show such a posture.
"Are you—are you trying to watch Chaos break through the Avarcalon hive city?!"
"You misunderstand, I am, of course, loyal to the Emperor." Emrys still maintained that irritating smile on his face.
"As for the reason for doing this, it is naturally to help you, Your Excellency."
"Heh, is this how you help me?" Hal sneered, a mix of self-mockery and despair.
"Don't you know that the Chaos fleet is right above us? You killed those nobles, which can temporarily alleviate the supply and ammunition issues, but it won't be long before the hive city falls into internal strife. What then?"
She closed her eyes in pain, as if she had already foreseen the internal chaos caused by the cowardly nobles of the hive city, leading to the front lines being breached by Chaos and Avarcalon falling.
"I know."
Emrys said calmly, "Of course I know the consequences and costs of this action, but—what if I told you there's someone who can not only stabilize the chaotic situation you mentioned but also repel the Chaos fleet?"
"Who?"
Hal, who had been utterly despondent, suddenly had a flicker of light in her eyes, staring at Emrys with a mix of belief and doubt.
"Lion El'Jonson."
"I don't know him. Who is he?"
"Who is Lyon?"
This question almost made Emrys crash.
He had calculated everything, but he hadn't accounted for this one point. His prepared speech was shoved back down his throat by this question, and he stammered for a long time.
Actually, Hal couldn't be blamed.
The era when the Primarchs walked the world was a story from ten thousand years ago, and it had already been classified as 'mythology'.
Even the legions that once galloped across the galaxy had undergone several splits and reorganizations, evolving into the various warbands of today. How many people could still remember the former names of these warbands and their former Masters?
Names like Horus, Lion, and Sanguinius were already very distant stories for planetary governors in remote star systems, and even for the various nobles; they were figures from myths.
Even the God-Emperor had gradually become a 'symbolic' existence, replaced by the name 'God-Emperor' as stipulated by the state religion.
When Emrys suddenly mentioned this distant and ancient name, Hal naturally found it difficult to recall.
"The Sir of the First Legion, the Father of the Dark Angels, the Emperor's Eldest Son, the Primarch — Lyon, Lion El'Jonson!"
Emrys was full of helplessness and could only rattle off a long list like a menu.
"Now, you should know who it is, right?"
Hal blinked her eyes. After a long pause, she finally dug out the name from the depths of her memory.
Then, her face showed an expression of: 'Are you f*cking kidding me?'
"Don't you think I'm easy to fool?" She laughed in anger, her face full of fury.
"You even use Lyon as an excuse. Do you take me for an idiot?"
Although this reaction was pretty much what Emrys had expected, he still felt very tired and was too lazy to explain. He directly retorted angrily.
"Do you think I'm an idiot? With so many excuses available, why would I specifically choose this one to deceive you?!"
When others doubt or slander you, the most taboo thing is to follow their line of thought and try to defend or explain yourself.
If he were to explain to Hal, it would not only waste time but also a lot of words.
Emrys, of course, wouldn't be so foolish, nor did he want things to become troublesome. A rhetorical question immediately regained the initiative.
"What do you think I'm doing all this for? Is it because I've defected to Chaos and want to help them break through Avakalon? Or am I crazy and just don't like those nobles?"
Hal, whose thoughts were already chaotic, felt even more confused. Her mind was completely blank, and she subconsciously followed his words and asked.
"Yes, why are you doing this?"
Seeing that Hal had already followed his line of thought and fallen into his logical trap, Emrys' tone softened considerably.
"It's very simple, because Lyon needs your strength, he needs Avakalon's army. That's the reason!"
Hal was even more confused, but she also caught a slight flaw in his words.
"Wait—if, as you say, the Lion—the Primarch—has truly returned, then why don't you just bring him to see me directly?"
Are you worthy?
Emrys twitched his mouth, expressionless.
"Very well, let's assume we do as you say. I tell you directly that Lyon has returned and needs your strength and army. Would you believe it?"
"...I, I"
Hal was stunned, then she realized.
Indeed, she wouldn't believe the news that Emrys said Lyon had returned, and might even suspect it was a conspiracy!
He didn't return early, nor did he return late, but precisely when the Chaos fleet invaded. Then a cruiser, bypassing all detection equipment, suddenly appeared outside the hive city and claimed Lyon was on board. Who would believe that?
Even if it were true, out of concern for the hive city's security, she wouldn't let these people in.
"But why would you be—so extreme?" Hal had already believed him seventy to eighty percent, but she was still shocked by his act of annihilating seventy-two noble families overnight.
"Because of time."
Emrys calmly said.
"What Lyon lacks most is time. The Rock Fortress is about to be attacked by the black Crusade led by the Chaos Warmaster. We don't have time to take it slow; we must integrate our forces as quickly as possible to rescue the home of the Dark Angels, 'The Rock Fortress'."
Hal swayed, feeling an extreme bitterness in her mouth, and she understood Emrys' actions.
Emrys didn't have time to slowly earn trust, and Lyon couldn't prove his identity. So, how could he integrate Avakalon's power and army in the shortest possible time?
The answer was simple: push her, the planetary governor, to a dead end, forcing her to seek help from Emrys, and even from Lyon, whose existence was uncertain!
"So, those seventy-two noble families" Hal also guessed a little and looked at Emrys.
"They brought it upon themselves."
Emrys said indifferently.
"These families, more or less, had connections with Chaos in secret. Keeping them, even if Lyon's coming home was real, would inevitably lead to their overt or covert obstruction when integrating Avakalon's forces. Lyon and I don't have time to play boring political games with them, so eliminating them serves both your current needs and the future interests of Lyon in integrating Avakalon."
More or less connected with Chaos?
Hearing this, Hal's eyes showed a hint of sarcasm, as if she was mocking herself.
"As expected, the Rogue Trader excuse is indeed well-chosen."
Among all imperial nobles, who could claim to be completely unrelated to Chaos?
Moreover, what constitutes 'having a relationship with Chaos'?
Does having a few Chaos collectibles count?
Does hunting games count?
Does sexually abusing women count?
Does pursuing extreme art count?
There were simply too many scandals among the nobles, but could these really be an excuse for their slaughter?
Hal clearly understood the deeper meaning implied in Emrys' words: it was very simple, they were in the way!
"I'll take governor's words as a compliment." Emrys naturally heard the sarcasm in her tone, but he didn't care at all.
"Merlin Emrys, have you ever thought that you can use such a despicable excuse to deal with these people today, and in the future—they can do the same to you?" Hal stared into his eyes.
"I'll wait and see."
Emrys smiled.
Hal closed her eyes wearily. With things having developed to this point, she had been pushed to a dead end.
If she still wanted to resist the Chaos fleet, whether it was necessary or not, she needed someone with enough gravitas to suppress the rest of the suspicious noble factions, and Lyon was that person!
The coming home of a Primarch—this news could not only shock the nobles within the hive city but also boost morale on the front lines.
Unless she was willing to defect to Chaos.
Otherwise, this was the only path Emrys had given her.
Hal sighed.
"As you wish, let me meet this legendary Primarch, Lyon."