Chapter 401: The Sleeping Beauty Who Teleports Randomly Across the Galaxy

Guilliman considered himself rational, capable of viewing each brother with reason.

He valued Dorn, the brother as steadfast as stone, even though they had many conflicts after the Great Betrayal.

He revered Sanguinius, the brother as perfect as gilded gold, even though the Second Empire had been unpleasant.

He missed Ferrus Manus, the brother as strong as steel, even though their bond had never been close.

He respected Corax, the brother, the sincere liberator, even though their worldviews differed greatly.

He admired Jaghatai Khan, the free and wise brother, even though he seemed unpredictable.

He trusted Vulkan, the kind and unyielding brother—he had nothing to qualify.

He even missed Lorgar a little, the brother who feigned savagery; given the chance, Guilliman would gladly get drunk with the Wolf King.

But Leman Russ—

Guilliman did not know how to evaluate Leman Russ.

He knew Leman Russ's power; during the Great Crusade, only Leman Russ and Horus made Guilliman feel he could not handle them.

Moreover, Guilliman distrusted Leman Russ and his secrets, disliked how Leman Russ always acted on his own.

He had once hoped Leman Russ would become the protector of the Second Empire, but in truth, Leman Russ preferred orbital bombardment of his own subjects.

And Leman Russ clearly disliked Guilliman—he always seemed to want to punch Guilliman in the face.

If he were the only one to return, even if the next to return were Leman Russ, Guilliman would accept it calmly.

But now Sanguinius had returned, and Guilliman was willing to abandon his principles and pray devoutly to the Emperor and Saint Dora.

Let the next one not be Leman Russ—anyone else would do, even Lorgar!

Guilliman imagined the three of them—himself, Sanguinius, and Leman Russ—together, and his Second Empire PTSD flared up.

"Don't joke," Guilliman said with a bitter smile: "Leman Russ is not easy to handle."

"He dared bomb Macragge. He dared bomb his homeworld. I often suspect he'll bomb Terra."

Guilliman thought Zhou Yun's earlier remark was just another cruel joke about Saint Dora.

But Zhou Yun's lips held no smile—only a weary shrug.

The smile vanished from Guilliman's lips.

Zhou Yun too felt weary; though he enjoyed jokes, he knew that if the Leman Russ of the Great Crusade returned, it would bring nothing but trouble to Guilliman and Sanguinius beyond rebuilding the Second Empire.

As for the Leman Russ in Zhou Yun's memory—the one who returned second in the original timeline—he had indeed become a mature, cold lion. But after seeing Guilliman, who had dismantled his Legion—well, let the Guilliman who had spent ten thousand years in stasis defeat the aged Leman Russ.

The Primarch Zhou Yun could most easily find—and the one he most wished to bring back—was Khan.

Khan was within the Webway, and Zhou Yun held the Webway map, "The Map of Hell"; with the Seeker's Staff, he had every chance to find him.

Emotionally, Chogoris spoke Khorchin, and Khorchin was in Tongliao—Zhou Yun happened to be a spiritual Tongliao man; roughly speaking, he and Khan were countrymen, not to mention their cultural proximity.

But Khan had already clearly refused to return to the Empire on Baal, and Zhou Yun could hardly drag him back by force—he could only set it aside for now.

As for Ferrus Manus's soul, it still fought with the Zhoufujuntuan on Khorne's thigh—no time to return to the material universe yet.

As for Dorn, Corax, Vulkan, and Lorgar, Zhou Yun had already used the Seeker's Staff on them all.

The Seeker's Staff only spun in place—indicating all four were not in the material universe at all, and searching for them in the Warp was far more difficult.

Only Leman Russ.

Every time Zhou Yun used the Seeker's Staff, it pointed precisely to one direction.

But each time, the direction differed slightly, and after a while, it pointed to an entirely different direction.

Zhou Yun initially thought Leman Russ was aboard the Dark Angels' flagship, the Rock, moving with it.

But on several occasions, the Seeker's Staff pointed to directions so vastly distant that unless the Rock, like Zhou Yun, used teleportation gates, such rapid movement was impossible.

The only reasonable explanation was—

"You mean—"

Guilliman's expression turned strange:

"Leman Russ is asleep—and unconsciously teleporting randomly across the galaxy?"

"Yes, I must conclude this," Zhou Yun said, rubbing his brow with an odd tone: "After Caliban's destruction, many Fallen Angels were randomly teleported to different times and places."

"Our sleeping beauty Leman Russ is similar—except he continuously teleports, appearing at different times and places."

"This may be due to Caliban's or Leman Russ's own peculiarities."

Zhou Yun had confirmed this with the Divination Machine of Right and Wrong: the sleeping beauty Leman Russ was indeed wandering the galaxy alone, appearing randomly at any time, any place.

"We might find Leman Russ anywhere, at any place—even if we're lucky enough, he might teleport directly into this meeting room next second."

"How could it be so unlucky—so lucky," Guilliman muttered, troubled.

Zhou Yun could swiftly locate Leman Russ via the Webway and teleportation gates, but the problem was—even those methods required time.

And Leman Russ—Leman Russ was teleporting randomly nearly constantly; he might vanish ten thousand miles in the blink of an eye, making him harder to find.

Moreover, many planets had fallen into chaos; the Empire had lost all control over them.

Of course, if one truly wished to find him, there were always ways.

Zhou Yun looked at Guilliman, asking whether he wished to retrieve Leman Russ.

As Zhou Yun expected, Guilliman shook his head slightly.

"Not yet. Not the right time," Guilliman said with a bitter smile: "The Empire is too chaotic now. Countless planets have slipped from control. We need new order—and Leman Russ brings no order."

"Though this sounds strange, my friend, I fear Leman Russ. He is a more terrifying creature than Khorne. Khorne is a human driven mad later; Leman Russ—Leman Russ was born a beast."

"When I first heard of my elder brother, I felt exhilarated—I thought my father had forged us a brother like King Arthur."

"But when I saw him, the fantasy shattered. Leman Russ is no King Arthur—he is closer to the great beasts of Arthur's legends."

"When I look at Leman Russ, I imagine Caliban. He is the brother most deeply shaped by his homeworld—he is Caliban's embodiment; the great beasts of its forests dwell within his spirit."

"He pretends to be a knight, but in essence, he is still a great beast. His order is not the knight's fairness and justice—it is the hidden, secret, and terrifying ways of forest beasts."

Guilliman paused slightly, then looked at Zhou Yun: "If we have stable order and firm rule, Leman Russ will be the sharpest sword."

"But if we do not, then do not try to bind Leman Russ. Let him wander beyond civilization, in the forests, as a ranger hunting dark beasts—that is the best choice."

Zhou Yun truly sensed a trace of fear for Leman Russ in Guilliman's words.

He understood—it was the same when he wore the faces of several Primarchs in the hive cities; Leman Russ's face carried the greatest intimidation.

Those with weak nerves would faint on the spot just by seeing Leman Russ's face.

Sometimes, even Zhou Yun, when looking in the mirror, was startled by the Lion King's visage—the Lion King had indeed been shaped by Caliban's forests into a terrifying form.

"Do not underestimate Lorgar's humanity. Do not overestimate Leman Russ's humanity. Do not mistake Khorne for a human," Guilliman finally warned Zhou Yun earnestly.

Zhou Yun nodded slightly in agreement.

But that agreement vanished when Guilliman shoved a thick stack of files into his hands.

The first document showed a star map of the eight nodes.

"Around Terra are eight vital star systems, each a crucial Warp node. If these eight systems are sealed, we cannot use Warp jumps to leave the Sol system."

"Worse still, because the High Lords chose to deploy most of their forces within the Sol system, these eight systems were effectively handed to the Black Legion."

"In terms of Warp travel, Terra is now a prison."

"But we have teleportation gates and the Webway," Zhou Yun said, looking up from the documents: "I've seen the Map of Hell—four of these eight systems have Webway gates."

"Correct. I suspect the Black Legion, who seized these eight systems, do not yet know the Eldar—Eldar who worship the God of Death are now subhumans."

Guilliman nodded:

"I need you to deploy some Eldar to carry our troops and directly assault the four systems with Webway gates."

"I also need a batch of Blindspot Stars—the four systems without Webway gates require small, stealthy assassination squads to infiltrate."

"Also, some personnel wearing Blindspot Stars must be sent near the High Lords and senior Lords. Can you get some Jesters from Xigaoqi?"

Blindspot Stars placed a person in others' blind spots, but they did not make one vanish entirely; Astartes' bulky frames might be obstructed when infiltrating narrow spaces.

There were many such places in the Imperial Palace—the best choice was still Eldar Jesters.

But Zhou Yun felt something odd: "Do the High Lords and senior Lords really warrant your concern?"

Most bureaucrats on Terra, even if they caused chaos, could only create political headaches for Guilliman.

But politics—no one in this galaxy could match Guilliman in politics.

The only real risks were the Assassins' Guild, the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the Sisters of Battle.

"I'm not worried about them. I'm worried about the people around them."

Guilliman's face darkened:

"Terra has been infiltrated—and has been for many years."

(End of Chapter)