Chapter 704: Refutation

Just as Duanmu Huai said, Horus would never give up.

The 62nd Expeditionary Fleet was gathering again, but it was almost impossible to find the mysterious fleet in the Istvan system.

Horus now had a hideous look on his face. Although he had made a deal with the invisible beings in the warp, and the other party had promised to blind the light of the Star Torch and isolate them, so that the communication between the fleets would be interrupted, but Horus did not know whether this would work for the fleet.

Corrupted dregs, the lackeys of the evil god.

Horus clenched his fists, and the curses of the other party still echoed in his ears, but this time, Horus was not angry, but confused. Obviously, from the other party's words, they knew very well what those beings in the warp were, and thought they had succumbed to those mysterious guys... No!

Horus suddenly slammed his fist on the table.

He was not a lackey of the evil god, this was just a deal. Erebus said very clearly that they could not affect the real world. They just hoped to maintain the safety of the two worlds and prevent the Emperor from becoming a terrible god. What he did was just to use their abilities. They traded with each other and took what they needed. It can even be said that Horus was using these evil gods to achieve his own goals!

He was not a lackey of the evil gods!

"Dong... Dong... Dong..."

Footsteps sounded, Horus looked up and saw Mortarion walking in.

"The World Eaters are very angry. They demanded to search for the fleet immediately. They vowed to avenge their primarch."

"They will get what they want."

Horus said coldly. Without Angron, the World Eaters had no need to exist in his plan. Those uncontrollable risks were enough once, and he didn't want them to happen again.

"Will they come?"

"This is their only chance."

Horus gritted his teeth. The 62nd Fleet did not suffer heavy losses, but several warships were sunk and a large number of warships were damaged and needed to be repaired. The enemy's firepower was beyond his imagination. Not only that, the gunner also told him that the enemy's firing rate, range and reaction ability were much stronger than his fleet.

This is why the mysterious fleet was able to fight four enemies alone and finally escape unscathed.

By the way, it also took away a large number of loyal fighters.

Emperor's blessing?

Thinking of this, Horus sneered.

No one can bless you, not even that false god.

You have only one way to die.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the fleet of the Inquisition was also solemn.

Loken, Tarvitz and Garro touched their heads, and their expressions were very serious.

"Everyone is frustrated."

Loken was the first to speak, and his face could not hide his fatigue.

"We know that we need to escape from the Istvan system and go to Terra to report Horus's rebellion to the Emperor. But now I am very worried that there will be a second split among us."

Hearing Loken's words, the other two also changed their faces slightly. In the past, the Astartes were as close as brothers, and there would never be an Astarte pointing his weapon at another Astarte. But now, everything has collapsed. The betrayal of Horus and the massacre on the planet Isstvan III have completely shattered the rules that everyone originally relied on.

But the most important thing is their attitude towards the Emperor.

Most of the Space Marines sent to the surface are veterans. Like Tarvitz and Garro, they served in the Legion before the Emperor retrieved the Primarch. They are the most staunch supporters of the Emperor and also regard the Imperial Truth as an absolute creed.

However, now that things have happened, it is clear that the Imperial Truth, which was originally regarded as a belief, is just a lie. Their Warmaster has been changed by the evil power, and their compatriots and brothers have also thrown themselves into the arms of Chaos and become indescribable monsters. In this case, it is obviously a fantasy to ask them to believe in the Imperial Truth again.

Then, for the veterans, another question arises.

If the Imperial Truth is a lie, then is the Emperor still worthy of their trust?

They had no time to think about this problem before. At that time, these Astartes just wanted to survive, trying to protect themselves from the deadly poison and fire, as well as the pursuit of their compatriots. So they fought and fought back without distraction. But now, when they were exhausted and bruised in the silent cabin, they had to start thinking about this problem again.

Is the Emperor still worthy of our trust?

Do we really still have to be loyal to the Emperor?

The Imperial Truth is a lie, so what is the point of everything we have fought for so far? What is the meaning of the Great Crusade?

Loken now found that he understood Horus's thoughts, but he did not choose to give up. Unfortunately, not everyone would make the same choice.

"We need direction."

"So you let that woman preach among them?"

Garro frowned.

"You know what I saw? A mortal stood on a high platform, saying some nonsense such as the Emperor is the true god, and in front of her, hundreds of Astartes knelt on the ground. This scene reminds me of the planets we conquered during the Great Crusade, those preachers and listeners who preached the truth of the Empire! Now that we have lost the truth of the Empire, we must put our faith in illusory gods? "

"Perhaps we should talk to His Excellency the Grand Inquisitor."

Tarvitz spoke at this time.

"Maybe... I think he can point us to a way."

"Do you trust him that much, Tarvitz?"

Loken also looked at Tarvitz.

"To be honest, I suspect that the relationship between this fleet and the empire may be unusual. You have all heard that during the battle, they shouted 'for humanity' and 'for the Tribunal', but they never mentioned a word Speech on 'Empire' or 'Emperor'."

"I know."

Tarvitz nodded.

"But what we have to do now is to find the target. We have seen what the Astartes will do if they lose their target. None of us want it to happen again here."

After making the decision, the three people hurried to the hall again. However, to their surprise, when they entered the hall, they saw Hindman and the woman sitting on chairs, chatting with the Grand Inquisitor.

"Oh, you're here."

Seeing the three Astartes warriors, Duanmuhuai smiled and raised his chin at Hindman and the woman.

"These two people have been trying to convince me that my arrival is part of the emperor's plan. I have to say that their logic is quite self-consistent. It is still logically rigorous when written into a novel, and at least it can be justified."

Hearing Duanmuhuai's words, Loken and Tavitz looked helpless, while Jia Luo frowned. Even if the Imperial Truth is a lie, he doesn't like these blabbering missionaries.

"Because this is the truth, Your Majesty the Grand Inquisitor."

The woman spoke again, her voice soft and calm.

"The Emperor's radiance guided you here to find a new future for us..."

"To be honest, I think I've heard enough."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand.

"I have never gotten high marks in reading in Chinese class, so you don't need to be so far-fetched in giving my actions any sense of justice...and...I suddenly thought of a very interesting thing. "

Staring at the old missionary and the woman in front of him, Duanmuhuai suddenly thought of a joke that was famous among players.

"You said you believe in the Emperor and think he is the true god, right?"

"Yes, Lord Grand Inquisitor, the Emperor is indeed the true god of this universe..."

"I don't object to this, but how can you prove that the emperor you believe in is the emperor?"

"………………?"

It has to be said that Duanmu Huai's inquiry really confused a few people.

"Of course we believe in the Emperor..."

"Emperor is just a title."

Duanmuhuai interrupted the woman's defense.

"A noble title, but there is more than one person in the universe who can be honored as the Emperor."

"……………………"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Loken's expression was a little strange. He clearly remembered that the Luna Wolves captured a civilized galaxy before. The leader of that civilization also called himself the emperor at that time. He even set up a A trap was created to lure the Astartes, but in the end Horus killed him himself.

So for a long time after that, the joke "I was there when Horus killed the Emperor" was indeed very popular among the warriors of the Luna Wolves.

Now it looks more like a prophecy.

"So, you cannot prove that the emperor you believe in is the emperor of Terra."

Duanmu Huai spread his hands and looked at the woman with a half-smile.

"Right?"

"But I felt his power. The light from Terra guided me, dispelled the fog, and predicted the future for me..."

The woman clasped her hands and put them on her chest, but Duanmuhuai remained unmoved.

"Well, I agree with this. As I said just now, the birth of many gods comes from the power of will. If there are enough believers and people in the empire, they believe that the emperor is a true god and will protect mankind forever. Then it is indeed possible for such a true god to appear—a god named the Emperor.”

After saying this, Duanmu Huai chuckled.

"So, you are planning to replace the ruler of the human empire with a god named the Emperor. Well...it's quite interesting, isn't it? From this perspective, you and Horus are also There’s not much difference.”

“…………………!!”

Hearing Duanmu Huai's taunt, the woman's expression changed drastically, the old missionary next to her also started to tremble, and the three Astartes warriors were also stunned.

"No! Lord Grand Inquisitor! The one we believe in is the Emperor of Terra! No one else!"

"You are just his admirers. If it is a fictional god, it will naturally conform to your imagination, because it is your thoughts that created it. But the emperor actually exists. You see, just like those idols and artists who are worshipped, their admirers will also regard these artists as perfect, or even the pinnacle of existence. However, you should be very clear that there is actually a gap between the artists seen by the admirers and the artists in reality. Don't you think so?"

"This............"

The woman stepped back. She wanted to deny Duanmu Huai's words, but she had to admit that Duanmu Huai made sense. She herself is a recorder and has many artist friends around her. She knows that many mortals admire these artists and are even willing to give everything for them. In the eyes of those admirers, these artists are talented, handsome and unrestrained celebrities. But she knows that many times those colleagues are alcoholics and even often give up on themselves......

"No!"

The woman screamed and collapsed to the ground trembling.

"I'm not, I don't mean that............!"

At this moment, she completely lost her usual eloquence. She had never thought about this question. Is the emperor she worships the same person as the one in Terra?

If they are not, then what does everything she has done represent?

"Well, it seems that this is the end."

Duanmu Huai spread his hands.

"Go down and think about your life. Don't talk about boring things in front of me all the time in the future."

Duanmu Huai's question is actually a very famous joke among players. At that time, a very serious player posted a post saying "I read the Holy Words and felt that the emperor in it and the one in Terra are not the same person at all." Then a player replied "Then what do you have to prove that the emperor is the emperor?"

So this became a nesting doll stalk.

You can't prove that the emperor you believe in is the emperor, which means that the emperor in Terra may not be the emperor of the state religion... It's funny.

At most, it can only be said that they have the same name and surname.

So the soul in the skeleton sitting on the golden toilet may not be the emperor of Terra, but the emperor who became the state religion.

This is a cat-for-a-crown replacement. Lorgar spent 10,000 years to successfully usurp the throne. It's a cause for celebration. It's a cause for celebration.

For Duanmu Huai, he just made a joke, but it seemed to be a big blow to Sinderman and the woman. They supported each other and left the hall trembling. The three Astartes looked at them, and they felt a little sympathy in their hearts.

"Okay, the boring things are over."

Duanmu Huai retracted his gaze, patted the little head of Ogis beside him, and looked at the three people.

"So, what do you want to see me for?"