Chapter 331: Guilliman: I Have Never Felt Happy Ruling the Empire

"Nurgle, have you heard of numerology?"

Zhou Yun asked with a sincere tone.

Numerology? The moment these five words left Zhou Yun's mouth, Nurgle froze in place.

He first nodded, then shook his head in confusion.

He knew the five words "numerology"; it was some theory worked out by Little Mortarion.

Nurgle had never really understood it in detail, only feeling that Mortarion had found a way to utilize his own psychic power.

"You are right, but numerology is a rigorous science developed by the Primarch Mortarion, dedicated to using numbers to connect reality and the Immaterium, using numbers to explain reality and the Immaterium, and encompassing both dimensions under materialism."

Using a clapperboard and a robot director as props, Zhou Yun unleashed the acting talent bestowed by the items and began to fabricate nonsense with the superlative logical ability granted by his detective hat:

"Look, is there even a shred of Warp power on these bacteria of mine? They are purely material!"

Speaking thus, Zhou Yun pushed several types of bacteria on the table toward Nurgle.

These bacteria were produced by the Aimless Bacteria Fabricator, not tainted by even a trace of psychic power.

Hearing this, the Plague Father couldn't help but widen his eyes and began to observe the bacteria in their petri dishes.

He then discovered with shock that these bacteria, which could even infect gods, contained absolutely no Warp power; they were things born purely within the material universe.

Nurgle couldn't help but lean his face close, watching those tiny bacteria wriggle and divide on the glass.

"They really are products of the material universe, products of the pure material universe..."

He couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Throughout the entire Warp, his domain was the one that interfered most with the material realm, and his powers often manifested in the form of viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other things dwelling within matter.

But the Plague Father had never attempted to cultivate pure, material bacteria, nor had he ever thought that such effects could be achieved without utilizing the power of the Immaterium.

"Nurgle, in the long past, the material universe and the Warp were like two ends of a mirror; they balanced each other and were reflections of one another."

"But until the war we both know of broke out, the war between the Star Gods born in the material universe and the Old Ones, the war that burned the entire galaxy and the Warp."

Zhou Yun spoke to Nurgle in a kind, instructive, preaching tone:

"In that war, there were tides of the Warp invading the structure of reality, and Star Gods of the material realm burning through the Webway of the Immaterium; the two worlds intertwined and fought, but in the end, we all know the result of that war."

"The material realm was permanently scarred; so many lives were trapped in death and disease, treachery and sorcery, war and slaughter, while the Immaterium thus boiled; you infected so many extreme emotions within it, breaking the balance between the two worlds and causing the Immaterium to tilt and overwhelm the material universe."

Nurgle kept nodding in agreement; he knew everything Zhou Yun said was true. He was a witness to that war and drew power from it continuously, becoming what he is now.

Not just him; his "brothers" or rather colleagues were almost all the same; even Slaanesh, in a sense, was born from the afterglow of that War in Heaven.

It is no exaggeration to say that the current landscape of the two dimensions, reality and the Warp, was actually born from that war between the Old Ones and the Star Gods.

The sea of stars boiled, and thus the Immaterium boiled.

"Thus, the Immaterium constantly eroded reality, tearing open rift after rift in the dimension of reality and spreading corruption at will. This landscape has been maintained for so, so long that you have all forgotten a fact: it is not only the Warp that can invade the material realm."

Hearing this, the Plague Father inhaled sharply.

Zhou Yun knew his words had taken effect and pressed his advantage: "You are the oldest deity; you know better than anyone that this is not something that has never happened. How recklessly the Old Ones played with the Warp, and how the Star Gods, the Burners, repeatedly invaded the domain of the Immaterium."

"The Immaterium is the realm of will; in this dimension, only will is real, yet will can twist the matter of the material universe."

"Similarly, reality is the realm of matter; in that dimension, only matter is real, yet matter can give birth to will to twist the Warp."

"Think of your Daemon Princes and Chosen, think of the viruses you cultivate, think of Calgar, the Grey Knight who once invaded Nurgle's Garden."

Calgar, the Grand Master of the Grey Knights, was eternally trapped in the Warp due to the curse of the Daemon Prince Reborn M'kar.

This Grand Master once banished Mortarion, killed a Bloodthirster with his bare hands, slaughtered six Slaaneshi Daemons, broke into and destroyed the domain of Tzeentch,

and even set fire to parts of Nurgle's Garden.

All the Daemons of the Warp fear this Astartes from the material universe; to this day, he still roams the Warp slaughtering Daemons at will.

This is not only because of Calgar's own strength; in fact, it is because the will born within this Grey Knight's material body is so intense that he can twist the Warp and dominate the Immaterium even more strongly than Daemons.

After all, in this dimension, only will is real.

Zhou Yun chose to use this as a case study, as an example of reality invading the Immaterium.

Nurgle couldn't help but nod repeatedly along with Zhou Yun's narration.

Relying on knowledge accumulated over long ages, the Plague Father believed Zhou Yun was indeed right.

The invasion of the Warp by the material universe is not powerless; the Warp often suffers backlash from the material universe.

This is also one of the reasons why Nurgle and his colleagues pursue Daemon Princes, Chosen, and mortal followers.

They need the power of the material universe to help them enact their will.

"Just as psykers of the material universe draw power from the Warp, you, as beings of the Warp, can also borrow power from the material universe."

"But over the long ages, you have largely ignored the power of reality. Only Mortarion saw the power contained within matter. The great prophet Mortarion interpreted the unified theory of the material universe and the Immaterium for you; this is numerology."

Nurgle listened with wide eyes.

If Zhou Yun had not said these words, he might not have realized what kind of thing Mortarion had researched.

Numerology... a discipline that borrows power from the material universe.

The Plague Father hesitated a bit; he had previously thought Mortarion's numerology was merely a means for him to utilize psychic power.

But if everything Zhou Yun said is true, perhaps it is because he, as a purely Warp deity, failed to notice the power numerology draws from the material universe?

Noticing the Plague Father was somewhat wavering, Zhou Yun took a deep breath and continued:

"I can cultivate these bacteria that do not rely on Warp power at all, and I can easily defeat the Plague of Tears, all thanks to numerology."

"I really don't understand why some people always attack our great numerology, attacking the sage Mortarion. Our numerology is clearly a perfect and flawless discipline; those who attack our numerology must have been blessed by Tzeentch."

"Come, let me cook a pot of soup for you and show you the power of numerology."

Hearing that Zhou Yun was going to cook soup, the Plague Father immediately became interested, his eyes even lighting up.

Based on the method of soup-making he had just comprehended after drinking Nurgle's thick soup, Zhou Yun began to figure out how to brew this pot of soup.

The required ingredients burst forth from Zhou Yun's mind almost instinctively.

"I must first return to the material universe to collect the necessary materials."

Night deepened over Macragge, and half the planet fell into sleep, yet Roboute Guilliman still did not cease his work.

He had just finished processing the frontline report sent by Sanguinius; the forces under the command of this, his most perfect brother, advanced like a breaking wave, reclaiming most of the planets within the former Ultramar Five Hundred Worlds in seven months, with only a scant few remaining occupied by the Black Legion, mutants, and demons.

Yet it was expected that before the year ended, before humanity stepped into the forty-second millennium, the war within the Ultramar sector would conclude.

And thereafter, the recovery of the entire Ultramar sector would surely be put on the agenda.

Now the Ultramar sector was torn in two by the Great Rift; fortunately, with the existence of the Anywhere Door, the Dark Side where the Blood Angels' homeworld Baal lay and Macragge had not yet lost contact.

Roboute Guilliman did not intend to personally oversee the coming battles.

He resolved to hand the war on the Macragge side to Marneus Calgar and Drogan, and the Dark Side to Dante of the Blood Angels.

As for himself, Zhou Yun, and Sanguinius, it was already time to depart for Terra.

Guilliman set down the last document; the work within Ultramar for today had temporarily ended.

He could now spare some time to undertake grander tasks.

Guilliman took out paper and pen, striving to grip the pen with fingers clad in the Armor of Fate; this was difficult, very difficult.

But Guilliman felt he could do it; he began to attempt writing.

"Perhaps sharp, but without doubt, humanity is unfit as a species to rule the galaxy from a physiological standpoint."

"The vast majority of individuals in our species cannot endure the work of ruling even a single planet; they must endure sleepless long nights, endure mental exhaustion and the fatigue of long work, yet this in turn weakens the minds they use to rule planets; this is one of the causes of our civilization's inefficiency."

"To speak plainly, even I, Roboute Guilliman, son of the Emperor, still feel weary when handling these state affairs, and I have never felt happy ruling this Empire."

"Humanity needs a completely new way to manage its vast civilization; this method will be efficient and swift, rational and perfect, making every individual within it a cog in a vast administrative system, ensuring that individual fatigue, pain, and death by overwork cannot affect the operation of the whole system."

"Below, I will demonstrate the operating method of humanity's new civilization system."

Guilliman examined the words on the paper; he had tried his best, yet the writing remained ugly.

Nevertheless, Guilliman was somewhat satisfied; he had improved greatly since the very beginning.

Crack——————

The door-opening sound, which had become familiar to Guilliman recently, rang out; Guilliman saw Zhou Yun step out from the door.

"I need something, wait, what are you writing?" Zhou Yun interrupted himself before finishing his sentence, his gaze falling upon Guilliman's desk as he asked.

"Oh, I am planning to create a new Codex, the 'Imperial Codex'; it will replace the 'Astartes Codex' and will not be limited to Astartes, but will encompass all things, becoming the guideline directing all human actions—Hey, why are you tearing it?!"

(End of this chapter)