Chapter 438: The Nine-Headed Serpent and the Little Emperor

"Right here."

Fadix's words were as cold as a lightless, deep night, causing both Iltu and the other two High Lords to shiver.

A cold blade extended from the darkness, pressing against Iltu's neck and against the necks of the other two High Lords.

"In accordance with the decree signed by Luo Bote Ji Li Man, Imperial Regent and Imperial Marshal."

"When you commit acts of undeniable rebellion, you become targets for assassination by the Assassin's Temple."

Fadix pronounced Iltu's fate in a dull, hoarse High Gothic.

The High Admiral and the Minister of Justice stood with mouths agape, completely unprepared for this.

They trembled all over, filled with fear.

Not because of the Kari Regional Military Commissioner Temple assassins emerging from the darkness, not because of the blades pressed against their necks,

but because they felt an invisible giant hand—that of Luo Bote Ji Li Man.

That hand shadowed them, always looming over them.

They all jumped within that hand, thinking they were opposing Luo Bote Ji Li Man, yet never leaping out of that giant hand.

Only when the hand closed and death approached did they realize none of their actions had escaped that hand's control.

What a terrifying political monster, what an ambitious scheme.

Their hearts and livers shattered, their faces turning ashen black as death.

Iltu, facing the dagger pressed against his neck and the impending death, instead felt a sense of relief.

He calmed down; his body no longer trembled from nervous and psychological ailments, and his tone became much more even.

"I have lost."

He said calmly:

"But do not kill me now; first let me revoke the orders issued to the Minotaur Chapter."

"There is no need to create more damage."

"There is no need; my lord Ji Li Man has already visited the Minotaur Chapter via the Any Door, and the Minotaurs have expressed submission." Fadix said to Iltu calmly.

Iltu looked at Fadix, revealing a gaze that was almost sorrowful.

"I never thought you would betray me. I thought we shared the same values. I thought we were friends."

This was a secret between Iltu and Fadix.

Long before the Primarch's return, Iltu and Fadix had formed a certain private friendship.

Both held the same values, both believing the Imperial Law was the Emperor's will, and the Emperor's will was perfect.

Iltu and Fadix thus developed a mutual appreciation, reaching a consensus and friendship.

This was rare among the High Lords, and Iltu had always cherished this hidden friendship.

He never expected Fadix to betray him.

"I am indeed a Conservative, Iltu."

Fadix's voice also carried a touch of sorrow; he and Iltu did indeed share a friendship:

"Like you, I take the Emperor's will as my standard, believing the Emperor's will is flawless."

"And perfect reform does not exist, so the Empire's reform can never succeed."

"Then, why?" Iltu's voice was desolate and low.

"Because that is not all. The Primarch's arrival did indeed shock all of Terra; people like you, the traditionalists, would naturally begin to resist."

"But your resistance is meaningless. You cannot defeat the Primarch. Perhaps you could have contested him in your youth, but Iltu, you are old; your time has passed."

"More importantly, even if you did not resist, Ji Li Man could never succeed. He could reform everything freely, but all of this would be useless and eventually strangled."

"Because his enemy is nothing else, not everything external, but the Empire itself—an ancient, vast, heavy Empire."

"Even a Primarch would feel weary; even a Primarch's will could be driven mad. The Empire will crush him; stagnation will prevail, and the Imperial Law will naturally return."

"This is what the former Grand Master of the Assassin's Temple, Vagorich, taught the Assassin's Temple. This is also why the Assassin's Temple maintains holy silence, and why I lean toward the Conservatives."

Fadix's tone was full of sorrow:

"This is the only truth and the only outcome. Neither the Opposition nor the Gaige Sect can defeat the Empire itself."

"Perhaps in twenty years, perhaps in thirty, my lord Ji Li Man's reform will inevitably fail."

"Then why did you choose to stand on Ji Li Man's side?" Iltu said calmly, leaning his head against the chair to adopt a more comfortable posture.

"That lord, Lord Sanguinius, convinced me. Resistance is for survival; if we do not resist, we will die today without a grave."

Fadix said softly:

"This has nothing to do with whether we succeed or not. The key is that we cannot face destruction without resisting. Even if death is inevitable, we must believe hope remains at this moment."

Iltu calmly accepted Fadix's words, smiling and nodding at Fadix.

The other two High Lords, however, were full of shock and disbelief.

"You have a mental illness," the High Admiral said.

The Minister of Justice nodded in agreement: "You are a bit too twisted."

"Be quiet," Iltu said, adjusting his posture and addressing his two colleagues. "That is enough. Let it end here."

"This is not bad. We are all too tired, bearing responsibilities far beyond our capacity. It is time to rest."

Then Iltu looked at Fadix and nodded at him.

"Let me rest," Iltu said. "Thank you, Fadix."

"I have only one last request. My assistant minister, my child Neso, is innocent. Spare his life."

"He was merely following my orders."

Fadix's expression was slightly strange; he did not answer Iltu, but simply extended his hand and waved it gently.

The Kari Regional Military Commissioner Temple assassins gently waved the phase knives in their hands, lightly slicing through the bodies of Iltu and the other two High Lords, taking their lives.

Fadix looked at Ilto's corpse with a tinge of sorrow,

"Where has that once proud and quick-witted Ilto gone?"

"The duties of a High Lord are truly cruel, twisting us all into grotesque forms."

Fadix sighed and leaned back in his chair,

"Report on the status of the other targets."

A Vanus Temple agent, responsible for intelligence gathering and serving as a living search engine, now approached Fadix's side,

that Vanus Temple assassin extended his wrist, and a series of shimmering, floating windows appeared beside him.

"We have launched a purge against spies, traitors, cultists, and demons lurking within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the high command of the Navy."

"Among them, we discovered three Thousand-Change Demon Lords; two were assassinated and banished by Chulissas Temple assassins, while the third was banished by the Inquisition and the Grey Knights."

"Furthermore, we discovered a Great Keeper who had somehow infiltrated the Terra nobility. The Keeper accused us of incompetence for only coming to banish him now; he has since been banished by Chulissas Temple assassins cooperating with Iverson Temple assassins."

"Then, within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Aelderi human psychic-specialized subhuman Clowns discovered a famous Demon Shapeshifter serving under the Thousand-Change Demon Lord; the Shapeshifter was jointly banished by the Clowns after completing his handover."

"What about that Nethos, the one lurking beside Ilto, whose identity remains unknown?" Fadix asked in a lowered voice.

That spy named Nethos was the highest-ranking infiltrator within the entire Terra administrative system, and his true identity remains undetermined to this day.

"All the assassins we sent have been killed by this person; the Clowns are now pursuing him, attempting to trap him."

Fadix's expression suddenly turned grim.

Nethos darted and writhed through the palace like a nimble viper,

while the Clowns and assassins moved like ghosts around Nethos,

but Nethos was not in a hurry; in his hand he held a short blade shimmering with a snake-scale-like glow, seemingly part of a larger weapon,

he waved the short blade lightly, his movements light, swift, and fluid,

A bizarre shriek originating from beyond the real universe echoed in the void, sounding like the unified cry of a nine-headed hydra,

and the short blade in his hand flickered continuously, as if constantly warping between the physical universe and other dimensions,

in the blink of an eye, the Clowns and assassins pursuing Nethos let out wails of agony,

fatal wounds appeared on their necks; no blood flowed from the wounds, and the flesh at the wound sites showed no signs of tearing, but instead dissolved into a strange oily mist that dispersed into the air.

Seizing the opportunity, he twisted his body and fled into deeper streets; his entire body continuously radiated a deep blue glow, while his flesh, appearance, and physique all constantly changed, as if he was about to become another person entirely——

"Truly a magnificent trick." Yet at that moment, a mocking voice suddenly sounded before Nethos.

A Clown, his face wrapped in thick greasepaint and wearing the costume of a Clown Troupe leader, somersaulted into view before him.

"The Exalted Avatar." Nethos recognized the entity before him,

"I am Xi Xi Xi Gaoqi." That Clown bowed lightly toward Nethos.

That was the Exalted Avatar within the Clown Troupe responsible for portraying Xi Xi Gaoqi, the God of Laughter, equivalent to the Aelderi God of Laughter walking the mortal realm.

Then, a colder, more obscene, and blasphemous power slowly surged from behind Nethos,

it was another Clown wearing a horned demon mask, with a seductive and graceful figure,

"I am Slaanesh!" she sang in a brilliant coloratura.

The Unicorn, responsible for portraying Slaanesh within the troupe, stealing Slaanesh's power to walk the mortal realm.

Nethos slightly tightened his grip on the Snake-Tooth Short Blade in his hand and lowered his body slightly,

he believed he still had a chance to break through.

Yet just then, a desolate, deathly, and destructive aura suddenly surged forth,

a Clown, bare-chested with brown-painted skin, long hair, and dressed as a Mesopotamian figure, stepped out from his left,

"Sell hooks! Sell hooks! Mr., do you want to buy a hook?"

(End of this chapter)