The cry of "Prepare for battle!" stuck in Benitez's throat.
If it had been ordinary pirate ships, they could have defeated the enemy on their own.
Although the Consul's Porter was a freighter, not equipped with expensive and bulky void shield arrays,
With its macro-cannon arrays, it could still easily eliminate small pirate ships only about a kilometer long.
But when Benitez looked at the auspex, he fell silent.
Hundreds, thousands of red warning runes were continuously jumping into the system. This wasn't a pirate ship.
It was a large-scale naval fleet.
'One against a thousand? Me? Really?'
"Father, what do we do?" The adjutant trembled with fear. He had never seen such a sight.
"Reduce engine power by 90%. Maintain speed at 10%. Send a full-frequency broadcast to them."
Benitez had never seen such a sight either, but he still gave the correct orders based on his extensive experience.
They were already within the fleet's firing range. Even with void shield protection, facing the concentrated fire of a fleet a thousand times their size, the probability of survival approached zero.
The only way to survive would be if everyone in that fleet was blind and couldn't hit a single shot.
Since they couldn't escape, they had to try peaceful negotiation. If negotiation failed, surrender.
The option of resistance never existed from the start. They wouldn't even have a chance to open fire.
The adjutant: "Father, we've received a full-frequency broadcast from the enemy!"
Augur Master said, "Captain, they've activated their void shields. All weapon arrays are online, but they haven't locked onto us."
Blue particles slowly coalesced into a young man in purple attire.
Benitez adjusted his collar with his fingers, trying to project the bearing expected of a captain.
"I am Benitez, captain of the Consul's Porter, affiliated with the Macragge government."
The young man did not respond, only static crackled. Benitez waited patiently.
The Age of Strife had lasted for millennia. Various colonies had developed vastly different languages and cultures over the long years.
When Macragge first encountered other human worlds, misunderstandings caused by language barriers were common.
He had to wait patiently and pray that the giant was also patient enough.
The young man looked at him, his voice gentle: "I am Angron, Master of the Twelfth Legion, commanding the combined expeditionary fleet of the Thirteenth and Twelfth Fleets. We come from the Imperium of Man. We come in peace."
The young man's voice seemed to hold a certain magic. Benitez and the other crew felt their tense nerves loosen slightly.
Benitez tried to keep his tone restrained and friendly. "Welcome to you, Master of the Twelfth Legion."
"We Macraggians have always been dedicated to maintaining peace in this sector. I believe you and our rulers will have many common topics."
Angron asked, "Captain Benitez, who rules Macragge?"
Benitez asnwered, "Macragge is governed jointly by the Senate and two Consuls, Konnor and Gallan."
"Coordinates confirmed, my lord."
The Augur Master had used triangulation to repeatedly confirm. They were at the correct coordinates. This was the homeworld of a Primarch.
In Angron's memory, Macragge was indeed the homeworld of his brother Roboute Guilliman.
But Benitez's heart sank. 'Coordinates confirmed, were they here for Macragge?'
'Had Macragge offended someone?'
"Captain Benitez, please inform the Macragge government of our visit and explain our purpose. We have come for the Primarch."
"At your service, my lord." Benitez bowed his head respectfully.
He did so willingly, because he dared not refuse.
…...
The speed of radio waves in a vacuum equals the speed of light in a vacuum.
By the time the Consul's Porter's communication reached Macragge, the Imperial fleet, traveling at 70% light speed, was only nine hours from Macragge.
All of Macragge was in an uproar. The five hundred senators and the two Consuls had all urgently attended the Senate, which was filled to capacity.
Consul Gallan spoke first: "The situation is urgent. There's no time for debate. I propose that Konnor be given full authority over diplomatic affairs with the Imperium!"
"Second!"
"Second!"
"Second!"
A chorus of seconds echoed through the chamber. The five hundred senators passed the resolution unanimously.
This was not the time for power struggles, nor was negotiating with the unknown Imperium a desirable task.
Doing it well was expected; doing it poorly would make you the scapegoat.
Konnor knew exactly what they were afraid of, but he wasn't, because he had anticipated this.
Gallan wasn't entirely ignorant either. Caelan had already told them that the Imperium would eventually visit Macragge.
His statement wasn't a political attack. It seemed he had truly let it go.
Konnor said, "I will send my adopted son to negotiate with the Imperium on my behalf. During this time, Macragge must deactivate all planetary defenses!"
The senators erupted in uproar. Even Gallan frowned. "Konnor, isn't that too radical?"
Even if the Imperium was not hostile to Macragge, disabling all defenses would leave them completely at the mercy of others. That was insane!
Konnor couldn't possibly not understand the principle of guarding against others!
"Everyone!" Konnor asked loudly. "Think carefully. Even if we fought the Imperium to the death, could we win?"
The senators fell silent. They were old, not senile.
Although the Senate was conservative, it wouldn't keep a senile senator in his seat.
Against that vast fleet, Macragge had no chance of victory.
Even if they wanted to go down fighting, they would need the Imperium to give them the chance.
"They could destroy Macragge's planetary defenses with a single volley. Whether we deactivate them or not makes no difference to them. We would be ensuring our own safety!"
"The Imperium claims to come in peace. They haven't fired on our ship yet."
"But if someone opens fire on the Imperium during negotiations, all of Macragge will face annihilation!"
Gallan asked, "You're worried there are traitors among us?"
Konnor's gaze swept over Olus among the senators, his concern undisguised. "Just preparing for the worst. Or you could try to fight the Imperium to the death."
He only had a superficial understanding of Warp corruption. Caelan and Guilliman hadn't revealed much to him.
But people like Olus were ticking time bombs. They could bring disaster to Macragge at any moment.
…....
"Father, we have arrived!"
Marius Gage stood before the observation deck of the Sceptre of Thunder, gazing at the rotating blue-green planet, his heart surging with emotion.
The War-born had waited for this day for far too long!
He had waited so long for today, dreamed so long for the dream to come true!
Day after day, they witnessed other Legions welcoming back their gene-fathers, while their own Primarch remained shrouded in mystery.
"Who can truly understand this torment?"
"Only the First Legion, perhaps," a warrior replied.
Marius turned to look at this grizzled veteran. He was the First Company's Champion, far taller than the average Space Marine.
He had fought for the Emperor since the Unification Wars. His service record was almost as long as the Legion's history. Marius had joined the Legion several years after him.
But due to his lack of command talent, he had never been promoted.
Marius nodded to him. "Brother Exedra, three Legions still haven't found their Primarchs. Why do you only mention the First?"
Exedra said, "The Fifteenth Legion suffers from genetic mutations. It's debatable whether they even still exist."
"As for the Twentieth Legion, we know nothing of their secrets. Perhaps their Primarch has already returned secretly."
Marius thought it wasn't without reason.
To date, only four Primarchs remained unaccounted for.
The Thirteenth Legion, the First Legion, the Fifteenth Legion, and the Twentieth Legion.
But the latter two were abnormal.
The Fifteenth Legion was rumored to suffer from severe genetic mutation. The Emperor had halted their recruitment decades ago, at the very start of the Great Crusade.
To this day, Marius had never heard of the Fifteenth Legion actively serving on the front lines. They had vanished, like they never existed.
The Twentieth Legion was similar to the Fifteenth. Records of them were also extremely scarce, but for completely different reasons.
The Twentieth Legion was founded and developed under the Emperor's secret orders, completely isolated from other Legions, its purpose highly classified.
Space Marine Legions more or less fought alongside other Legions. In the earliest years of the Great Crusade, before the Fifteenth Legion's genetic flaws erupted, they had also participated with other Legions.
But there were no records of any Legion fighting alongside the Twentieth Legion.
Although some reports of Alpha Squads performing special missions on the Great Crusade's front lines did exist, the Twentieth Legion's records had almost completely disappeared from Imperial archives.
Even the size of the Twentieth Legion was a closely guarded secret. The outside world had only baseless guesses.
Rumors said the Emperor had refused to approve the rapid expansion of the Twentieth Legion's gene-seed, limiting them to perhaps 1,000-2,000 Space Marines.
All that remained of them in the Imperium was a name: the Alpha Legion.
Marius said, "Our cousins are indeed mysterious, but I don't think their Primarch has returned."
Exedra asked: "Why?"
"Because the Emperor hasn't announced it."
"What if the Emperor is deliberately hiding it?"
Marius warned him sternly. "Regardless of the truth, we should not speculate about the Master of Mankind's intentions!"
"Perhaps you're right." Exedra smiled gently and didn't argue.
Marius said, "You don't seem excited about our gene-father's return?"
Exedra retorted, "How can you tell I'm not excited, just from my expression? Not everyone wears their emotions on their face."
Marius frowned. He wouldn't hold Exedra's implied disrespect against him.
Although some people were deeply calculating and didn't easily show their emotions,
With their gene-father about to return, how could they have no reaction at all?
Marius wouldn't maliciously speculate about his brother. Maybe Exedra was just more reserved.
"Brother Marius Gage, please report to the Triumph Hall of the Conqueror immediately."
The communicator carried the voice of Legion Master Vosotho, barely able to contain his excitement.
Although the Legion Master was the master of the Legion, his status was still below the Primarch's.
Now, with two Legions on a joint expedition, Primarch Angron was their overall commander.
The Primarch had personally led them to find their gene-father. This was an immense favor.
All the War-born were filled with gratitude towards the Primarch. Even Vosotho could not command out of turn at this moment.
If even he could barely contain his excitement, it could only be related to the Primarch.
Since their gene-father was on Macragge, their interactions with Macragge had to be primarily peaceful.
A large-scale Legion descent was impossible. Therefore, only a very small group would form a diplomatic mission to the surface.
The Legion Master's excitement indicated that the Primarch was likely gathering the Thirteenth Legion's officers. They would go to the surface to meet the Primarch.
Being asked to report to the bridge meant he was one of the chosen!
Marius felt a surge of pride and honor. He had earned this chance himself on the Phalanx!
He had fought alongside two Primarchs, and now, under the leadership of another Primarch, he was about to meet his gene-father.
There were a million Space Marines fighting on the Great Crusade's front lines, but how many could claim such honor as his?
…...
"Father, your grandchildren are coming."
Guilliman looked up at Macragge's sky. He couldn't see the fleet approaching Macragge with his naked eye, but he could feel it.
Caelan was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Roboute, I must apologize to you."
"Why?"
"Because I never realized you had a talent for deadpan jokes."
"I thought it was a fact."
The father and son shared a knowing smile. The fact was indeed cold.
Guilliman asked, "Father, my sons are coming. Will you be leaving soon?"
"Don't worry. There aren't many left. It won't be long before we're together again."
Guilliman looked at his father. He didn't seem to realize the seriousness of the problem yet.
"Father told me the fleet commander is a Primarch."
"Angron?"
Guilliman nodded.
Caelan guessed immediately. Angron's homeworld was the closest to Macragge, and he had been the one to proactively send the War-born to find Angron.
But he hadn't expected Angron to lead the expedition personally.
The Uncrowned Monarch and the King of Nothing. They were the most similar, yet most completely different Primarchs.
The King of Nothing had become the original but incomplete Uncrowned Monarch. The Uncrowned Monarch had also become the original but incomplete King of Nothing.
The Uncrowned Monarch lacked the essence of the original King of Nothing. The King of Nothing craved only slaughter, not war.
The Uncrowned Monarch had become better. The King of Nothing had been destroyed.
Their life paths were completely opposite.
But that future had not happened.
The King of Nothing was still his original self, and the Uncrowned Monarch had become even better.
They were very similar now.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu