Compared to the Imperial Legions, which were high-spirited and enthusiastic, the Chaos side fell into disarray.
If they hadn't seen wrong, the banners held high by that "Titan," including its several Guardian Macro-Branches and Knight Families, seemed to be from 'Vigilus,' right?
Wait, Vigilus?!
Darren, the Grand governor of the world Eaters' right-wing legion, widened his eyes and let out a furious roar, mixed with spittle, splattering the Dark Mechanicum Priest in front of him.
"You damn well explain to me, how did the Stygies VIII Mechanicum Titan Legion, stationed on Vigilus, appear here?!"
The Dark Mechanicum Priest also looked utterly bewildered at this moment.
By the Machine God, he also wanted to know how Vigilus, which was a hundred and eight thousand li away from Draconys, managed to send its Titan Legion here?!
Chaos wasn't the only one perplexed.
Even Lion El'Jonson himself was in shock.
According to the vast star territory divisions of the Imperium, Vigilus was located in the Murky Starfield on the Imperium's front, but Draconys was in the damn Ultima Segmentum!
Not to mention how Vigilus's Titan Legion managed to cross billions of light-years and that "Cursed Scar" that stretched across the real universe, dividing the Imperium in two, Lion El'Jonson was more curious about how Emrys, merely as a Rogue Trader, managed to convince the Archmagos Dominus of the Stygies VIII Mechanicum to get involved in the mess of Draconys?
Although he had been asleep for ten thousand years, he wasn't unfamiliar with the fanatics of the Mechanicum.
The Mechanicum were like vultures; they only appeared on battlefields where there was profit, such as defending STC templates or assets of Forge Worlds.
To get these knowledge-seeking vultures to participate in a massive campaign like Draconys, where there was no visible profit or return, and without an order from the Imperial Administratum—how on earth did Emrys manage it?
Considering Emrys' ruthless methods and his past behavior of coercing nobles, Lion El'Jonson couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
This is bad!
This kid, he couldn't have used all the dirty tricks he pulled on those nobles on Avalcaron on the Archmagos Fabricator and Archmagos Dominus of Vigilus's Stygies VIII Mechanicum, could he?!
These weren't Imperial nobles!
No matter how many Imperial nobles he killed, as a Primarch, he could still barely cover for Emrys, but killing Mechanicum Archmagos? That's a different story.
This brings us to the Imperium and the Mechanicum; the two are not in a subordinate relationship, but rather, more accurately, one of cooperation and equal status!
The Emperor craved Martian technology, and so he established an equal cooperative relationship with the Martian Mechanicum, which then led to the birth of the complete Imperium, symbolized by the 'double-headed Aquila' on the Imperial flag.
Although the rise of the Ecclesiarchy took away some of the Mechanicum's power, it is undeniable that, no matter what, the Mechanicum held extremely high autonomy and self-governance within the Imperium!
It was precisely for this reason that Lion El'Jonson felt deep concern for Emrys. He was afraid that this kid's political methods were too ruthless, offending these madmen of the Mechanicum!
Imperial nobles would back down for a simple reason: they rarely possessed the power to overthrow the Imperium. But the Mechanicum was different; if pushed too far, they truly could overthrow the Imperium!
"Contact Emrys immediately!"
Lion El'Jonson was troubled, feeling uneasy, and hastily asked Krast to try to contact Emrys via the comms channel.
He needed to understand the situation.
If, as he suspected, Emrys had, out of necessity to save Draconys, used methods beyond the conventional and trampled on political bottom lines, he would also be able to contact Guilliman in advance to prepare.
But just then, a low, mechanical, hoarse voice came through the Dark Angels and Blood Angels command comms channel.
"Noble Primarch, First Son of the Emperor, Lord Commander of the First Legion, Lion El'Jonson, I am Archmagos Dominus Drayne of the Stygies VIII Mechanicum."
"By order of the Imperial Regent, the Administratum, and the Departmento Munitorum, I lead Vigilus Titan Legion to support the Draconys campaign. May the Emperor's glory shine upon you, and may the Imperium's radiance purify the evil Chaos!"
"Noble Primarch, this is Vigilus Imperial Noble Joint Council, representative of the Agamemnon family, along with one point seven million Astra Militarum, three million PDF, including a Stormtrooper detachment, requesting to join the battlefield command sequence, willing to obey your command."
"???"
Lion El'Jonson was a bit bewildered.
How did even Vigilus nobles show up?!
But that wasn't the only thing that shocked him; soon, the comms channel was filled with dense communication requests,
filling up the requests to join the battlefield command sequence!
"Charles Supreme Knight family, stationed on Vigilus by order, leading a total of thirty-two Titan Knight Mech Legions, willing to join the Primarch's command sequence!"
"Brass Claws Chapter, stationed on Vigilus, ordered to join the Primarch's command sequence!"
"This is Iron Hands, I am Kardan Stronos, ordered to join the Primarch's command sequence!"
"Space Wolves, Blackmane Great Company, ordered to join the command sequence!"
"Eternal Vigilance Convent!"
"Final Prayer Convent!"
"Iron Creed Convent!"
"Unbreakable Scythe Convent!"
"Above, Vigilus Ecclesiarchy Branch, four Battle sister Convents, in the name of the Holy Emperor, request to join the Primarch's command sequence, may the God-Emperor's wrath purify the heretics!"
At this moment, Lion El'Jonson was no longer merely bewildered, but rather a bit afraid if he could bear such a huge burden!
How many people had Emrys offended?!
The Mechanicum, local nobles, Knight Families, Ecclesiarchy priests, Iron Warriors, and Space Wolves; the energy unleashed by the combined forces of these powers, let alone a recently awakened Primarch like him, even if Guilliman came,
he would have to weigh the consequences, wouldn't he?
Then, amidst Lion El'Jonson's uneasy thoughts, Emrys' voice came through the comms channel.
"Hello, hello, Lion El'Jonson, is this enough people? If not, I'll figure out a way to get more!"
...Lion El'Jonson twitched his mouth, lowered his voice, and asked in an extremely cautious tone.
"Tell me honestly, how much trouble have you caused this time?!"
"???"
Emrys was also confused.
What did he mean, did Lion El'Jonson really think of him as the type who only caused trouble?!
"Kid, listen carefully!" Lion El'Jonson's tone suddenly became much more serious.
"Speak now, and I still have a way to mediate for you. As long as you didn't go too far—killing an Archmagos Fabricator, a few Ecclesiarchy cardinals,
slaughtering dozens of Imperial nobles—at worst, I'll go to Guilliman, and I can always ensure your safety. But the premise is, you have to tell me what you did!"
Understood... Emrys was utterly speechless.
"I said these people all came voluntarily. I didn't kill anyone, nor did I kill an Archmagos Fabricator, nor did I coerce them. Do you believe me?"
"No."
Considering his past performance, Lion El'Jonson didn't believe him one bit.
Emrys painstakingly used his words to finally convince Lyon that he really hadn't killed anyone this time, nor had he caused any great disaster.
However, these words were also heard by Drayne, who was responsible for commanding the guard army and ensuring the safety of the 'Dominus Overlord'.
After all, this 'Titan' was not mobilized in the name of the Forge World Metalica Mechanicum, but in his personal name.
If it were to be destroyed, he could say goodbye to his position as Dominus Archmagos in advance, and incidentally, take off his head and conscientiously make it into a servitor skull to send to the Forge World Metalica Forge Archmagos, which would save them the trouble of sending someone over.
"Heh heh." Drayne glanced sideways at the somewhat stiff Emrys and said faintly, "As expected of the legendary Primarch, he really understands your character, but unfortunately—if complaining worked, I would have gone to the Forge Archmagos long ago."
"Archmagos, that statement makes me a little sad—" Emrys eyed him, smiling, "Aren't we the best allies? Besides, you agreed to this loan of troops, didn't you?"
At this, Drayne' mechanical jaw clenched tightly, emitting a clicking sound of gears grinding, and he stared at him with an extremely resentful gaze.
"You call leading people into my forge, holding a plasma gun to my head, and then making me dispatch the 'Dominus Overlord' class Titan a 'loan'?"
"Esteemed Archmagos Drayne, there is an ancient saying on Terra: 'Desperate times call for desperate measures,' meaning that when things are very urgent, one must be flexible and not adhere to rigid rules."
Emrys didn't feel there was any problem at all; he even patted his shoulder and lectured, "Besides, wasn't one of the contents of our original 'deal' that I could mobilize the 'Dominus Overlord' when necessary?"
"Ah—"
Drayne sneered, "You'd best pray that the 'Dominus Overlord' doesn't run into trouble, otherwise—"
"Even a Primarch probably couldn't protect you."
He also bore a huge risk in this matter.
But he couldn't refuse; Emrys had led people directly into his forge, held a plasma gun to his head, and then leisurely gave him two choices.
Either agree to Emrys' request, secretly mobilize the 'Dominus Overlord' from the Forge World Metalica Forge world, and participate in the Draconys Star campaign.
Or he would immediately hand over the evidence of his research into 'Iron Men' and possession of an 'Iron Man' directly to the Inquisition.
What?
You mean this 'Iron Man' was personally given to you by Emrys, and he not only researches Iron Men but also possesses an entire army of them?!
Sorry, where's the evidence?
It's not like the Inquisition has been trying to catch Emrys for a day or two; his name is even in the top three on the Inquisition's surveillance list!
But the problem is, the Inquisition can't arrest someone without the Regent or the High Lords of Holy Terra!
If these two parties don't agree, and your Inquisition doesn't have substantive evidence, then you can't openly make an arrest!
To put it bluntly, Emrys has a deep background and isn't afraid of your reports at all.
But he was different.
Drayne had only managed to climb to his current position after more than a hundred years, and he didn't have such deep-seated power behind him; he could be said to be an easy target.
Forge World Metalica would not protect him; in fact, they might even kick him while he was down and seize all his research results.
Based on all these complex reasons, Drayne, who was forced onto the warship, could only nod in agreement to Emrys' bold plan.
"Don't look so bitter, Archmagos Drayne."
Seeing his indignant expression, Emrys chuckled, "I never let my allies suffer losses. As you said—defying the Forge World Metalica Forge world and privately mobilizing a 'God-Machine' carries great risks, but I have also given you corresponding 'compensation'…haven't I?"
Emrys certainly knew that such coercion might make an Archmagos yield, but it was by no means a long-term solution.
To make someone willingly tied to a warship, one must pay a "price"!
The exchange of benefits is the most important thing.
"An entire Forge world—" Emrys' voice, like a daemon's, drilled into Drayne' ears.
"Think about it, following the Forge World Metalica Forge world for over a hundred years, you are only a High Archmagos now. But now—I am willing to pay you an entire Forge world as compensation, with abundant resources, minerals, and manpower. You won't have to worry about the Inquisition or other Archmagos, and you can research 'Iron Man' technology without restraint. Isn't this what you've always dreamed of?"
Drayne fell silent.
His agreement to Emrys' 'coercion' was largely not because of the Inquisition, nor his own safety, but because the conditions Emrys offered were a fatal temptation for any frustrated Mechanicum Archmagos!
A complete Forge world, no need to worry about research results being questioned, and a large amount of research material—this was simply a Mechanicum Archmagos' paradise!
"So, what are you still hesitating for?"
Emrys came to his side, his voice soft but imbued with a trace of psychic power, penetrating Drayne' cogitator arrays.
"You have already, in action, substantially betrayed 'Forge World Metalica'. You wouldn't think—they don't know, would you? Since you've decided, then see it through. What I can give you—far surpasses Forge World Metalica, or even the Martian Mechanicum. You are a smart man; surely you know what to do, right?"
He wanted to, step by step, drag Drayne completely into his camp, making him entirely his own!
"You're right—"
A flicker of madness appeared in Drayne' mechanical eye, and his voice was no longer calm.
"I have already betrayed Forge World Metalica. The deployment of the 'Dominus Overlord' cannot possibly be hidden from them—since it's already done, let's go all the way. What else do you need me to do for you?"
There was no need for bone-chilling temptation.
Just lay out the conditions and the current situation before Drayne, and he would naturally know how to choose!
Now, he had made his choice!
"Esteemed Archmagos Drayne, at this point, are you still unwilling to call me 'Lord'?"
Emrys' gaze was deep, his tone low, as he stared at the Archmagos who had already shown submission. But—this was not enough; what he wanted was loyalty.
Drayne looked directly into those eyes, feeling an invisible pressure from them.
Finally, he slowly bowed his head.
"Lord Emrys, what else do you need me to do for you, your humble servant, Drayne."
"Very good. From this moment on, you are no longer an Archmagos, but—the Forge Archmagos of world B_258 of the Transformers, Archmagos Drayne."
Emrys showed a gentle smile.
"Now, I need your Forge Ark to provide comprehensive technical assistance to the Blood Angels and Dark Angels in Draconys Star's orbital space. If necessary—it can be sacrificed. Do you understand what I mean?"
"As you wish, Lord Emrys."
Having made his decision and sided with Emrys, Drayne was also very straightforward, without any hesitation.
Forge Ark?
Sorry, that's Forge World Metalica's property. If it's destroyed, it's destroyed. What does it have to do with him?