Chapter 1076: The Lackey of the False Emperor!

Most importantly, Mortarion could not feel any psychic resonance of a "brother" from him.

On the contrary, Mortarion felt an unsettling aura.

"Lackey of the False Emperor!"

The white figure roared.

"Prepare to welcome true destruction!"

He launched an attack again, his scimitar slashing toward Mortarion in a series of dazzling arcs, each strike too fast to be seen.

Mortarion barely parried, his Great Scythe colliding with the scimitar, erupting in a burst of sparks and ripples of energy.

"Brother? Is that you?"

Mortarion shouted in the gap between parries.

"Jaghatai? This isn't you! What happened to you?!"

"Brother?"

The white figure let out a shrill laugh.

"Ah, yes, I once had brothers. Nineteen of them, right? Nineteen dolls manufactured by that golden liar, nineteen Puppets conquering the star seas for him!"

The white figure's attacks became even more frantic.

"But I am no longer one of them! I have seen the truth! I have tasted true power! And you, still kneeling at the feet of that liar, licking the scraps he bestows!"

Mortarion's mind was shaken to its core.

This was indeed Jaghatai's voice, Jaghatai's fighting style, that swift-as-the-wind sword technique, that unique combat rhythm of a nomadic warrior.

But the madness in the words, the blasphemy against the Emperor, and that dark aura...

"You betrayed Father? Why? How did you..."

"Betrayal?"

The white figure suddenly stopped attacking, stepped back a few paces, and tilted his head to look at Mortarion, his posture eerily unsettling.

"No, my dear Mortarion, not betrayal. It is awakening."

The corrupted Jaghatai spread his arms and shouted loudly.

"In the vast star seas, I encountered... the truth. A truth older, more powerful, and more real than your golden liar.

It showed me the true face of the galaxy, and revealed to me the ridiculous nature of the so-called 'Great Crusade'."

A fanatical light flickered in the eyes of the corrupted Jaghatai.

"Do you know, brother? Our 'Father' is deceiving us all.

He created us not for the future of Humanity, but for his own ambition.

He views us as tools, as weapons, as pawns for him to achieve eternal rule. And you... you foolish, loyal lackeys are still bleeding and sacrificing yourselves for him!"

"Lies!"

Mortarion roared, psychic energy surging around him.

"Father is for the survival of Humanity! He is for saving Humanity from the darkness! You have been bewitched, Jaghatai! No matter what you encountered, that is not the truth, that is a trap!"

"Oh, my dear Mortarion,"

The tone of the corrupted Jaghatai suddenly became gentle.

"You are still so... simple. So easily blinded by flowery words. But it doesn't matter, you will understand soon. All brothers will understand."

The corrupted Jaghatai raised his scimitar, the pale flames on the Blade burning even more fiercely.

"Now, let me help you find release. Release from the lies of that golden liar. Death shall be your salvation."

The corrupted Jaghatai launched an attack again, but this time, Mortarion no longer defended passively.

Anger, confusion, and pain intertwined; Mortarion's psychic energy erupted fully, every swing of his Power Sword carrying the power to tear through reality.

The two began to fight in the violently shaking Control Console room.

Their speed was so fast that not even afterimages remained, the sound of weapons colliding merged into one, and the energy shockwaves continuously destroyed the surrounding Control Consoles and instruments.

"Tell me!"

Mortarion roared during the fight.

"Where is the real Jaghatai? Is the one in the Sixth Star Sector you? Or is it..."

A terrifying guess formed in his heart.

The corrupted Jaghatai parried one of Mortarion's heavy slashes, backhanded a strike that tore through Mortarion's breastplate, leaving a burning wound on it.

The corrupted Jaghatai grinned.

"You are smart, Mortarion. I am not 'your' Jaghatai. I am the Jaghatai who awakened in a possibility where the Emperor failed and Humanity became a plaything."

The corrupted Jaghatai spun his body, his scimitar carving out an arc.

"In my world, Horus did not become Warmaster, but saw the truth early on. Lion did not cling to the dogmas of Caliban, but embraced a broader power. All of us... made a choice. The right choice."

"And your world,"

The voice of the corrupted Jaghatai was filled with mockery.

"Is still indulging in the sweet dream of that golden liar. How pathetic, how ridiculous."

The shock in Mortarion's heart could not be greater, and he looked toward the still-flickering spatial rift.

"That rift..."

The corrupted Jaghatai accelerated, his scimitar attacking Mortarion rapidly.

"And my purpose for coming is simple: to sever your heads."

"Absolutely impossible!"

Mortarion roared, psychic energy erupting fully, blasting the corrupted Jaghatai back several steps.

"No matter where you come from, no matter what you have experienced, blaspheming Father and betraying Humanity is an unforgivable crime!"

"Crimes?"

The corrupted Khan sneered.

"When your world is torn to shreds, when your Emperor is dragged off the Golden Throne, and when Humans beg for mercy before true power, you will redefine the word 'crime', brother."

The battle entered a white-hot intensity.

Mortarion realized that this corrupted Jaghatai had not only retained his original combat techniques but had also gained the blessing of some dark power.

His speed was faster, his strength was greater, and his attacks carried a corrosive energy that could gradually weaken an opponent's defenses.

Even worse, that spatial rift began to fluctuate unstably.

"This game should end."

The corrupted Jaghatai said suddenly, his voice becoming abnormally calm.

"I have wasted too much time here. Now, either you die, or... you come with me."

The corrupted Jaghatai made a gesture.

The spatial rift expanded, and countless twisted, translucent tentacles surged out from the rift; they had no fixed form, constantly changing as they tried to grab Mortarion.

"Do you see, brother?"

The corrupted Jaghatai stood beside the rift, those tentacles gently wrapping around his arms.

"This is true power. Not the lies and shackles of that golden fraud, but freedom! Infinite possibilities! Eternal evolution!"

"This is corruption!"

Mortarion gritted his teeth and persisted, using his Psionic Shield to resist the onslaught of the tentacles.

"This is the price of abandoning your soul!"

"Soul?"

The corrupted Jaghatai laughed loudly.

"A soul is nothing more than another tradable currency! And right now, I am wealthier than any nation!"