Chapter 75: Pouring a cup of tea for Huang Laohan, and then I felt it (Seeking

Before entering the King's Reception Hall, Alpharius stopped and spoke like an Astartes.

"Emperor, Primarch, I should not participate in your conversation."

"I will stand guard outside the door to prevent anyone from disturbing your talk."

The corners of Ninglu's mouth twitched imperceptibly, but he said nothing, letting Alpharius continue his masquerade.

He sent a message to Howard and the others who were rushing over, "I have matters to discuss with an honored guest; you all go attend to your own business."

Afterwards, Ninglu and the Emperor walked into the King's Reception Hall, while Alpharius stood at the door holding a spear, like a loyal guard.

Howard and the others who received the message were filled with confusion; after seeing the man in the golden robe, their minds had gone blank, and they had not heard the conversation between the two, nor did they know what had happened.

Now, having received the King's message and seeing a giant blocking the way, they could only leave with their questions.

Inside the King's Reception Hall, Ninglu picked up the teapot and poured tea for Huang Laohan and himself.

"Black tea from the Cradle of the Sea, please taste it."

The Emperor picked up the golden teacup, took a sip, and a faint expression of enjoyment appeared on his face.

"Top notes of bergamot, middle notes of wild berry, base notes of cedar."

"Not bad, I have never drunk black tea of such quality."

This was grown by a "Cultivator"; naturally, ordinary people could not grow this quality.

As Ninglu was thinking this, he suddenly felt his Spirituality become a little more active, as if something inside his body had melted.

【This... a clear feedback, the "Briber" Potion has digested a little.】

A flash of imperceptible surprise crossed his eyes; the difficulty of digesting a potion increased with the rise of the Sequence, yet now, a simple act of pouring tea had actually produced a clear digestive effect.

【Hmm... since his birth, the Emperor has borne the fate of the "Dark King," the symbol of ending and Death. Once he accepts his own fate, he should be at least an Old One-level existence.

Even if he has not accepted it, he is nearly a true god, or perhaps even a true god himself. A tiny bit of feedback to a Sequence 7 would be magnified countless times; it is reasonable to feel digestion.】

【But... bribery should involve obtaining a benefit, and the result I obtained was just a word of praise, which was not even directed at me personally; part of the feedback is missing.】

While Ninglu pondered, he poured another cup for Huang Laohan.

The Emperor did not drink the second cup; he cast his gaze toward Ninglu.

"Tell me, how did you conquer Vostonia, and how did you develop this world to be so prosperous?"

Ninglu nodded; within seconds, he constructed a complete story using the logic of a "Lawyer," naturally concealing matters related to the Potion Sequence, and recounted it with "extraordinary eloquence."

"... I was attacked by Ogryns, and in the critical moment, I awakened my Gene Memory."

"..."

The Emperor's eyes shone as he listened to Ninglu's vivid narration, being drawn into the journey of the Eleventh Primarch struggling alone.

The abilities the Primarch displayed did not exceed his expectations, but the fact that he had spent five years reforming Vostonia and building Exemplar City made him feel that the Primarch was wasting the abilities he had bestowed upon him.

"Reform will only slow your pace; keeping the original system and using Vostonia as a base is the most efficient approach."

"If you were to conquer immediately, you would achieve greater accomplishments."

"At that time, it would be easier to integrate numerous worlds and develop a prosperous civilization."

Ninglu shook his head; this was also something he had to make clear to Huang Laohan.

"I do not think so; in the vast galaxy, there will always be worlds waiting to be conquered, so construction would never begin."

"Since one must begin construction, then let it start now."

As Ninglu spoke, he picked up a steel chair from the side; he pressed his hands together with force, flattening the stool, and with a pull and a twist, he turned it into a spiral.

"I believe that conquest and development do not conflict, but can promote each other."

"The people who support me from their hearts will become the driving engine of the cause of conquest; it will pull, rather than just being a component of a war chariot, like a Machine."

"If you wish for me to follow you among the stars, then you must allow me to carry out my own philosophy: while conquering, bring true prosperity to those worlds."

As the "Black Emperor," he had to establish his own order.

The Emperor remained silent for ten seconds before speaking.

"I agree to your request; you may execute it according to your philosophy."

Having said this, light flickered in his eyes, and his tone revealed a warning.

"You should prioritize the Great Crusade; bringing the lost human civilization back into the Imperium is the primary matter."

Ninglu knew that Huang Laohan had a vast and complex plan; he had mastered "Sympathetic Magic" thirty thousand years ago and used it to deduce the entire plan.

He had shown a part of it to Malcador and a small portion to others.

For thirty thousand years, Huang Laohan had been preparing for his plan.

This included the "Great Crusade" the Imperium was currently pushing and the "Webway Project" being conducted in secret; both were parts of his plan.

Huang Laohan did not know when the Four Ruinous Powers would come to interfere with his plan, so he could only quicken his pace to execute it.

He would not tell anyone the complete plan, and Ninglu did not want to know his plan either.

It was not just that he knew the Emperor's plan would fail; he knew even more that the plan itself had flaws.

The Primarch Vulkan had personally walked through a section of the Webway completed by the Old Ones and the Emperor; his evaluation of the latter was that it was barely usable, and compared to the original version, it could only be considered a flawed replica.

If the Webway of the Old Ones could be called a high-speed passage, the Emperor's could only be considered a dirt road.

Even if the "Webway Project" succeeded, it could only partially satisfy the needs of Warp travel and could not allow humanity to escape the fate of relying on the Empyrean.

Ninglu did not know if the Four Ruinous Powers had interfered with Huang Laohan's deduction of "Sympathetic Magic."

But clearly, the plan he had deduced had major flaws; even if it had not been destroyed by Magnus in the future and the "Webway Project" had succeeded, it would not have reached his expected effect.

The Primarch was an important part of Huang Laohan's "Great Crusade" plan, and Ninglu would satisfy his needs, in his own way.

Ninglu had confidence that his Legion's achievements would certainly not be at the bottom of the list.

"I will certainly go all out and will not fail your expectations."

Having obtained the Emperor's promise, he decided to offer his loyalty, like Lion El'Jonson, viewing the Emperor as a sovereign rather than with the loyalty of a son to a father.

"Emperor of Mankind, I pledge my loyalty to you; I will assist you in completing the 'Great Crusade'."

"Very well."

The Emperor smiled, and he continued to speak.

"You will soon meet your brother, Horus; he is the first Primarch I recovered."

Upon hearing this, the corners of Ninglu's mouth twitched imperceptibly.

【You are right, Alpharius and Omegon are soul twins; the one outside only counts as half.】

"You will be reunited with your gene-sons; they are called the 'Reapers', led by Horus."

"Each of them is a powerful and efficient Warrior, and I hope you can lead them to achieve even more glorious accomplishments."

"You must first return to humanity's home—Terra, where a festival will be held to celebrate the return of the second Primarch."

A flash of understanding crossed Ninglu's eyes; he knew that every time a Primarch returned, it was a political performance by Huang Laohan, who would use it to inspire the populace and resolve other political issues that needed addressing at the time.

Except for Alpharius, every Primarch's return was staged this way, and Horus's celebration had lasted for an entire Terran month.

"My Lord, I do not wish to go to Holy Terra right now."

(End of this chapter)