N-A-A Chapter 85 Sacrifice
Chapter 85 Sacrifice
Emperor Dream Ship.
A quaint and elegant private reception room, filled with ancient books and artworks from ancient Terra.
Li Wei, who had been waiting for the emperor to arrive, began to pace around the spacious reception room. Bored, he inadvertently saw an ancient book, "Journey to the West," on the bookshelf.
"Journey to the West, did I read it wrong?"
Li Wei was stunned. He never expected to see a classic novel from his previous life in the Warhammer universe. It was simply outrageous.
However, after a moment's thought, he realized it was normal.
Ancient Terra is actually Earth, and it also has an Asian plate. The Emperor has lived from ancient times to the present, so it's normal for him to have this ancient book in his private library.
His curious fingers unconsciously reached out and gently pulled down the ancient book "Journey to the West" from the bookshelf in front of him, and began to read it with great interest.
The poem says: Before chaos was divided, heaven and earth were in turmoil, a vast and boundless expanse unseen by anyone. Since Pangu broke the primordial chaos, the distinction between the pure and the impure has been made.
"He shelters and sustains all living beings, relying on His supreme benevolence; He brings forth all things, all of which are good. To understand the workings of creation, one must read the Journey to the West."
He glanced through it a few times and found that it was indeed consistent with the opening of Journey to the West in his previous life's memory. Moreover, he discovered that this yellowed ancient book even had notes, and they were written in simplified Chinese characters.
It was only then that Li Wei suddenly realized that this ancient book was written in traditional Chinese characters, not the Gautier script commonly used in the Warhammer universe. Was this really normal? Li Wei's mind went blank.
Moreover, the more he looked at the handwriting, the more familiar it seemed. He became increasingly alarmed as he looked at it. Just as he was trying to remember where he had seen it before, he heard the emperor's gentle voice.
"Li Wei, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Upon hearing the emperor's gentle words, Li Wei immediately composed himself and gently placed the ancient book he was holding back on the bookshelf.
He then strode to the emperor, who had just entered the reception room with a composed expression, bowed respectfully, and said:
"Your Majesty, Li Wei dares not."
"Hmm." The Emperor accepted Li Wei's greeting without hesitation, and pointed to the black leather sofas standing on either side of the center of the hall in the distance, indicating that Li Wei should sit there.
After several refusals, Li Wei finally walked over and sat down on the sofa.
And so, the Emperor and the calm-looking Li Wei sat facing each other, while the Emperor's confidant, Macardo, quietly closed the door and stood behind the Emperor like a silent guardian.
The moment Makado closed the door to the reception room, the footsteps and conversations outside completely disappeared.
Distracted, Li Wei stared intently at the emperor opposite him, feeling that the scene before him was incredibly familiar, leaving him completely bewildered.
From the moment he saw the copy of "Journey to the West" that he could only see in his previous life, his already taut nerves became even more tense and uneasy, as if he had already experienced everything before.
At this moment, the emperor, who was the one who invited him, noticed Li Wei's dazed look and spoke first:
"Li Wei, don't overthink it. I called you here just to ask how the other legions' think tanks are doing."
"Hmm?" Li Wei, who thought he would get an answer and resolve some doubts, was stunned. He did not expect the emperor to ask such an unimportant question.
He was indeed responsible for establishing the Legion Think Tank, but he was only responsible for its establishment and not for its subsequent operation and management.
Moreover, more than a decade has passed since the last Imperial Think Tank Promotion Conference. In such a long time, the think tank construction of the other legions has not only been completed, but also achieved initial results, and the overall progress has been relatively smooth.
As his thoughts raced, Li Wei composed himself and respectfully said:
"Your Majesty, the establishment of think tanks in each legion is indeed progressing smoothly and yielding remarkable results. The think tank branch of the First Legion's Angel of Death is already taking shape..."
Despite his doubts, he answered truthfully and reported the situation of each legion in detail. Moreover, Li Wei did not embellish the story at all, and he simply and quickly glossed over the fact that the Death Guard firmly refused to accept the think tank.
Mortarion was, after all, a son of the Emperor. To speak ill of other Primarchs in front of the Emperor, especially in private, did not demonstrate Livy's high emotional intelligence, but only proved his narrow-mindedness.
However, the quick-thinking Levi kept steering the conversation toward Conrad Coz, the Lord of the Night, and under the Emperor's focused gaze, he casually mentioned Conrad Coz's strange prophetic abilities.
"The think tank is particularly useful to the Night Lords' Legion, as it can greatly guide and stabilize the unstable prophetic abilities that Astartes warriors inherit from Primarch Conrad Coz."
At this moment, the emperor, whose expression remained calm, nodded slightly and slowly said:
"The Night Lord's innate prophetic abilities are indeed a double-edged sword. Unfortunately, most of the special talents of the Astartes warriors originate from their Primarchs."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Emperor sighed softly, as if lamenting the uncontrollable prophetic abilities of his son, Conrad Coz.
Seeing that the emperor had responded, Li Wei quickly followed up, saying:
"Lord Conrad Coates's prophetic abilities are indeed remarkable; he can accurately predict the future, however..."
He paused deliberately at this point, looking troubled, and then continued:
"Conrad Coz, the Primarch of the Night Lords, whom we, the Thousand Sons, met once about five or six years ago, has become even more terrifying with his uncontrollable prophecies."
"He actually said that most of the Primarchs in the Empire would rebel, and you would sit on the Golden Throne and become a skeleton."
With his last sentence, Li Wei, having mustered his courage, not only spoke slowly and clearly, but also stared intently into the Emperor's deep brown eyes in the distance, observing for any fluctuation in his emotions.
Before Li Wei could even register the Emperor's reaction to these earth-shattering remarks, he immediately heard Macardo's reprimand from the side.
"Li Wei, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"Did Conrad Coates really say this, or are you maliciously cursing the Empire? What are you doing...?"
Before the furious Macardo could finish speaking, he heard the Emperor's majestic voice.
"Macado, don't blame Levi. Conrad Coates did mention this to me vaguely, and Levi was just repeating it."
Having said that, the Emperor slowly stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the reception room, gazed at the vast and boundless universe outside, and said with his back to Li Wei:
"Li Wei, what is it? Go on, I'm not a dictatorial emperor. Ask me anything you want to ask."
Although he hadn't clearly seen the change in the Emperor's eyes, the Emperor hadn't blamed him at all, which was a good start. Li Wei was secretly delighted.
"What variables is Conrad Coates referring to?"
"A variable?" The emperor, with his back to Li Wei, was silent for a moment, his voice low and ethereal. "A variable? There was no variable. It was just the sacrifice of a hero."