[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-warhammer-starting-as-a-planetary-governor":3,"chapter-warhammer-starting-as-a-planetary-governor-warhammer-starting-as-a-planetary-governor-chapter-558":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1681328,2147,"Chapter 558 - 559 — Wonderful—It’s His Majesty. Long live!!!","warhammer-starting-as-a-planetary-governor-chapter-558",558,"\u003Cp>West Ice Vault Hotel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vast grand hall was in turmoil, a hundred strands of noise weaving together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The high nobles of the Imperium were giddy to be alive, chattering about the Webway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet every so often a memory of those terrifying punishments surged up; bodies shivered by reflex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of them awaited His Majesty the Savior, hoping that august presence would draw a final line under the brutal purge—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—and then apportion the spoils of the Webway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Savior's \"high-intensity physical education,\" the great nobles had shed their old hauteur—and their greed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What His Majesty said would be what was. So long as they got even a sliver of profit, they would be satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even happy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As His Majesty put it: this was \"expectation management.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All at once the sacred, lilting Sanctus of the Savior rose, and white-winged, artificial cherubs wheeled beneath the coffered dome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence fell in an instant. No one dared make another sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The high nobles sat bolt upright, afraid that the least sign of irreverence would be recorded and judged disloyal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they could help it, they would never again set foot in that \"luxury suite\" to taste exquisite torment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That was the most horrifying experience in the galaxy…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what happens, we must never oppose His Majesty the Savior—not even in the face of annihilation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He is ten thousand times more terrible than the daemons of Chaos!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So one high noble—who had endured the punishments, yet also earned the Savior's Honor Badge for great service to the Imperium—told his bloodline heirs years later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the memory made him tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An indelible nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many in this hotel had suffered long hours of penalty. Every piece of flesh torn, peeled, pulverized; their minds ground beneath unbearable pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The inquisitors* tortured each subject to the brink of death, then mended them swiftly, and began anew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Urth Inquisition had run experiments: the highest grade of punishment could break even Slaanesh cultists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let alone these nobles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a living hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were truly, deeply afraid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is the New Sun of the Imperium—His Majesty the Savior—about to arrive?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drew drew a deep breath. His heart tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the others, he fixed his eyes on the giant doors carved with angelic reliefs at the end of the hall, hardly daring to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom—rumb—le…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The colossal leaves began to move. Two towering Praetorian Terminators pushed the doors wide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natural light spilled in, making their armor blaze—two pale-gold lances thrown across the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the honor guard and the fully armed Imperial Angel Guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last Drew saw the tall figure in dark-golden, sumptuous robes—sheer presence made flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew. That was the Sun of the Imperium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any who beheld that figure would, by reflex, think the same thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drew and the nobles rose as one, eyes following the figure; applause started here and there like sparks among dry reeds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had studied the Savior's court etiquette. They knew His Majesty liked to hear applause at assemblies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tens of thousands of palms became thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The vibe is pretty good…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden* kept his stately bearing and entered the hall at an unhurried pace, following the gilt-filigreed runner toward the dais.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could see the smiles—some strained, some genuine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tears streaked many faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever else, the West Ice Vault staff had done superb work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had \"tuned\" these proud, avaricious nobles until each stood meek and tidy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clapclapclapclap—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In moments the hall was a storm of applause—fervent, rolling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere was perfectly stoked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caught up in the harmony, Eden lifted a hand to those whom he had judged loyal, and waved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cheers swelled hotter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—an abrupt change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Majesty the Savior!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A portly lord suddenly bellowed, his voice so jarringly loud that all eyes snapped to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wiping tears and clapping until his palms reddened, he cried, \"Our House Tartaros will never forget your grace, Your Majesty! You are forever the Sun in our hearts!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still lost in post-punishment PTSD, the man poured out his devotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All at once, weeping, he threw up both hands, almost leaping where he stood in his zeal:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Long live His Majesty the Savior!!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His outburst snagged the rhythm of the applause; the hall rang with his hoarse, echoing cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hss— This guy might be a little too into it, huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden blinked at the portly lord, shocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had a powerful sense of déjà vu, as if the next moment a loyal little ditty would pipe up—something like \"I came from Dandong~.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only the Savior—other nobles were stunned, then quickly grasped the spirit of the scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a heartbeat's hush, a greater roar erupted: \"Long live!!! Long live!!! Long live!!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True believers or bandwagon riders, they all thrust up their hands with heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their most devout tones they hailed the Sun of the Imperium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere soared still higher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carried by the tide, many nobles raised their hands and pressed closer toward the Savior—whole-hearted, whole-body devotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Thunder Guard snapped up their arms to interpose, watchful to a fault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No need.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eeden* stayed their hands with a gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smiling, he stepped forward and shook hands with the nobles in greeting—which only drove them wilder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ladies and young misses pressed in, thronging the Sun of the Imperium, circling in adoration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some were so overcome they nearly fainted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More tears fell; the hall's fervor swelled to its peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very loyal indeed…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden couldn't help grinning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even he was moved. It was… touching—how beloved his Savior's mantle was among Imperial subjects!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one could keep a straight face in that air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a sea of bodies he climbed the steps and mounted the long-prepared dais.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gazed down upon the crowd; the high nobles fell still, awaiting his word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Subjects of the Imperium, I feel your loyalty.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice rolled across the hall; once again the nobles lifted their hands and cheered anew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden watched the fever grow and nodded, pleased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course he knew most of it was a performance—born of fear, not faith.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is very hard to drive the nobles and the elites into true, burning belief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless you do as the Loyal Scions Academy in the Savior's Domain—start from childhood, train them up step by step into high office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then you get loyalty that holds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that wasn't the point today. Today he wanted posture. Submission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Real loyalty could be cultivated later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, the Imperium would soon institute a new policy: noble houses and power blocs must send their heirs to the Loyal Scions Academy for proper Savior-orthodoxy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That, and only that, would bind the strength of the realm into one organization and better match the Imperium's future needs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, governors would be posted to sectors and worlds—but not permanently. Appointments would rotate on a century cycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A true rotation system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden spoke the requisite scene-setting remarks, then laid out the Imperium's present straits and his development plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked for vigorous support—starting with a very large tax to fund construction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A percentile crit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rate would flex by region and house scale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would hurt any family—badly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinarily such a harsh levy would spark a storm of opposition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when the Savior finished, the nobles—swept along by loyalty's fever—cheered their assent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even those who chafed were drowned in the surge and forced to roar along.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who would dare strike a discordant note now? Do you have a death wish?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next came the matter of the Webway routes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eyes widened, fixed on the dais, waiting for the Savior's disposition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Webway routes are the linchpin of Imperial prosperity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More than that, they are the infrastructure of inter-regional trade; we must pour our full strength into their development.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden's gaze swept the hall; his tone tightened. \"The Webway belongs to all Imperial citizens. No single person or power may seize it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any subject of the Imperium may use the Webway routes—so long as they submit to oversight and maintain shipboard safety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every port will open to Imperial travelers and merchantmen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Imperium will assist each region in building ports and linking them to the Webway, so as to let every region enjoy the routes' convenience…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nobles listened intently; their faces flushed brighter; their cheers rose, more sincerely loyal with each pledge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a lavish offer: nobles could use the Webway and receive infrastructure support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, all passing merchantmen would pay the appropriate duties to fund Webway operations and construction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after such intense expectation management, taxes barely made a ripple. Many felt it only right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Majesty wasn't going to exterminate their whole clans—and he was granting them Webway access. A bit of tax? So what?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pure profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond the Webway, the Savior touched on commercial policy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Imperium would gather economic data from all regions—industry, manufactured goods, cash crops, specialties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then it would drive high-quality development and remake the commercial order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short: aid underdeveloped regions with capital and technology while curbing monopolies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let Imperial commerce grow orderly and in harmony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the Imperium would protect all galactic lanes and Webway routes to ensure the safety of traders and convoys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If these policies take root, the Imperium will change utterly…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drew and the other nobles shifted, faces complicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They saw that the Savior was not a greedy tyrant, but a reformer—truly bent on lifting the Imperium into prosperity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not like the \"strongmen\" they had known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These measures would force the center to subsidize the periphery and bankroll vast public works.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A staggering burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For millennia no true power in the Imperium had dared try it—dared make such promises.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Savior did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eeden* never hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not for the nobles—it was for Imperial citizens in every region, that they might be lifted from their misery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is my duty—as Savior, and as Emperor of the Imperium.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this was only the beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When commerce bloomed, he would launch a realm-wide poverty-alleviation campaign, stripping out regional inequities and improving life on world after world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Make the Imperium truly wealthy and strong—fit to resist its foes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the realm were as rich as the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, it wouldn't be forever on fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, the Imperium could not go on like this—poor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward he briefed the nobles on several Dawn City ventures—department-store tenancies, industrial-park land use, warehousing, housing—and invited interested parties to contact the Ministry of Commerce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When all was said, he left the grand hall. The officials would handle the particulars and execution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Savior's task was to appear, explain, and drive the stake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"His Majesty just… left?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drew and the others stared at the Savior's receding back, dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had thought he would seize the chance to swallow their rights, lands, and treasure whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he hadn't. Even the punishments had been limited to executing those who violated the law and levying fines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, that was heavy enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when set beside Grand Inquisitor Deville—root and branch torn out, bones ground to ash—did it look merciful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nobles could not help feeling relieved—grateful, even.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hss—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden reclined in his dark-gold hover limousine and let a cat-eared maid ply her special massage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He exhaled long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Demi-human hands had real power; muscles and tendons let go at last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truth be told, he had never planned to loot the nobles' fortunes in that hall. Kill some, bleed them badly with fines—that was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you hollowed those houses out, the Emperor would be plundering the realm's wealth with his own hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would only drain the Imperium's vigor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those nobles were like large, regional conglomerates, woven through the lives of Imperial citizens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flatten them in one blow and you would crash the economy—and the peace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he would not let them have it easy—would not let them monopolize their regions. He had already raised another power to match them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let competition bite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That new bloc included the merchant fleets and guilds rising in the Savior's Domain, as well as smaller nobles from reclaimed regions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the old houses, these new forces were far more loyal to the Savior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would back them, hard—set them against the entrenched powers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Balance achieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is power and politics…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden slipped an arm around the cat-girl's shoulders and toyed with her neat little ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was tired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In affairs of power, right and wrong rarely ran clear. You took the best path you could under a web of checks and counterweights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And sometimes you chose the hard thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah… once Bayev wraps up on Holy Terra, my side will ease up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The workload had crept up on him of late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder he felt wrung out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It stung more after seeing how easy Guilliman and the Khan had it—carefree, picking through their wargear—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—plotting how to prank the Lion when he woke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The think-tank curators said the Lion's awakening drew near—any day now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Place unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dark Angels kept too many secrets—so many that even they did not know which vault hid the Lion's body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A secret is a secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Word is that once the Lion wakes he'll have the power for mass transit—like a human-shaped Webway node.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forget it. We'll test it when he's up…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden pulled his thoughts in and sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thank the Throne for Bayev—the man had grown into \"Big Malcador.\" Without him, Eden would be buried alive under the paperwork.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministries had been streamlined, yes—but before this they hardly did anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, with policies and projects firing up across the realm, the work had multiplied by the hundreds and thousands. Intimidating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Bayev finished the ministry reform and shifted the core bureaus to Dawn City, Eden could go back to being a hands-off emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new Regent's core principle for reform was simple: divide powers; spell out responsibilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then strengthen mutual oversight and cooperation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No more of the old way—every ministry a petty kingdom with vast, unbound authority, able to act alone and field its own troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was not a government; that was a scattering of little realms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the first step was stripping every ministry's armed wings and placing them under the Department of War.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overmighty offices were bridled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Inquisition, for one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reform the Inquisition would still possess investigative and arrest powers—but could not pass sentences alone. All judgments would be handed to the Ministry of Justice for review.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each would check the other—together they would check the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were preliminary shifts; they would iterate on results to make the machine run smoothly in cooperation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However you cut it, it was leagues better than the Imperium's rotten old mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the dark-gold limousine picked up speed toward another titanic structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden still had one very important thing to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on \"Zaelum\"]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Thanks for Reading!]\u003C\u002Fp>",2478,"2026-06-06T13:29:18.240Z",1,"novelbin.me","d71fd6d459faab128896be985051b59c56270cbcf14b77358ee88c223e4c2ed3","warhammer-starting-as-a-planetary-governor-chapter-559","warhammer-starting-as-a-planetary-governor-chapter-557",771,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarhammer-starting-as-a-planetary-governor-cover.jpg"]