A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 1014

Chapter 1014: Chapter 699: The Lost World Chapter 1014: Chapter 699: The Lost World Duanmu Huai stood on the bridge, staring at the continually flowing Netway River in front of him, his fingers gently tapping on the chair. Typhonse, Mortarion, the appearance of the Chaos Intergalactic Warriors seemed like a prologue, fully unveiling the eternal war between chaos and order, Evil Gods and humans in this universe.

However, he always felt a bit uneasy inside. Of course, this nervousness was quite normal, as this time they were heading to a Casting World… Wait, was it really a Casting World? Why would it be a Casting World?

Suddenly, such a question emerged in Duanmu Huai's mind. With so many worlds, why would it be a Casting World that survived? If it had been a Garden World, he could understand more, but a Casting World… Those hive cities that produced machinery and equipment, could they really last for more than tens of thousands of years?

Duanmu Huai suddenly paused, then looked again at Hitomi.

“Hitomi, continue to overlook the Sea of Souls. Have you found anything? Lani, assist her.”

“Yes.”

The Starseer resumed her meditation, while Lani stood beside Hitomi, then she paused.

“Huh?”

“What's wrong?”

Noticing Lani's tone, Duanmu Huai also furrowed his brows.

“Something has twisted the colors of this starry sky. Please wait… Hitomi, focus.”

While saying this, Lani reached out and placed her hand on Hitomi's shoulder. Behind her, an infinite expanse of the universe unfolded, and Hitomi's slender body began to tremble, while beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

“I… I… Lord Lani, Great Judge…”

“Focus, Hitomi, do not lose your will and spirit.”

Duanmu Huai didn't know what Lani and Hitomi were doing, but it was clear that something was amiss. He quickly waved his hand, signaling the fleet to slow down. Clearly, Hitomi was sensing something, but from her appearance, it didn't seem to be good news.

After a moment, two of Lani's hands suddenly lifted, dazzling starlight emerged from her hands, enveloping Hitomi, and the Starseer's body softened, collapsing to the ground.

“I… I'm sorry, Great Judge.”

Hitomi, bathed in starlight, now looked like a pitiful little puppy that had been abandoned.

“I, I…”

“Calm down, what happened? Speak plainly.”

“The cosmos… has clouded my perception, misguiding everything I saw.”

“So, the distress signal doesn't exist?”

Duanmu Huai frowned, and Hitomi shook her head.

“No, the distress signal exists, but it's not from the Foundry Planet; it comes from a completely different source. I can feel the destructive, bloody, and horrific aura emanating from that galaxy… Great Judge, please forgive my foolish act of almost leading the fleet into a doomed situation…”

“So you mean the distress signal exists, but it's not actually from the Foundry World. It's merely disguised as a distress signal from the Foundry World, meant to mislead us into another galaxy?”

Hitomi remained silent, nodded her head, and knelt down.

“Sorry, Great Judge, I am not capable enough…”

“This isn't your fault. I can guess what kind of trickery this is, and it's not surprising that you were deceived, luckily we have Lani…”

Duanmu Huai wasn't furious, having only Hitomi as a Starseer, and her abilities only just developing. Although Duanmu Huai could use Spiritual Energy, he was not a Starseer; he could only restrict Hitomi's actions with the rules of the Tribunal, but he wasn't able to guide her on how to use her Starseer powers.

The Evil Gods, having mucked around in the Subspace for who knows how many years, it was natural for Hitomi to not see through their schemes and plots.

“So now, have you captured the original signal?”

“Yes, Great Judge.”

Hitomi bowed her head.

“The signal comes from a galaxy named Istvan, from its third planet, claiming the Emperor has rebelled and is requesting fleet support…”

“So, this is a rebellion, not an alien invasion.”

As Duanmu Huai said this, he frowned, not sure why, but the name Istvan galaxy seemed very familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

“…Should we continue to proceed? Master?”

Watching Duanmu Huai fall silent, Ogis spoke, and Duanmu Huai waved his hand.

“Wait a minute, I always feel that this galaxy sounds familiar. I seem to have heard it somewhere before……”

Duanmu Huai started to think back, first to the instances he had experienced, then to some worlds familiar in the game, yet he couldn't find this name. But he really felt familiar with this name, as if he had indeed heard it somewhere before, and felt that this galaxy was very important.

Hmm…Not the Eye of Fear, not the Five Hundred Worlds, nor Terra…Istvan, Istvan…rebellion…Hmm?

Just then, a piece of information flashed through Duanmu Huai's thoughts like lightning, suddenly making him remember.

The Horus Rebellion!

This was the source of the rebellion that destroyed the entire empire, initiated by the war marshal leading The Great Expeditionary Legion, appointed by The Emperor with the original genetic codes. According to historical records and player research, Horus used the Istvan Rebellion as a pretext to gather a large number of Proto Corps to quell the rebellion, but this was just an excuse. The rebellion on Istvan was a bait to purge those Star Warriors still loyal to the Empire and The Emperor. Horus used the great purge of Istvan to clear all the opposing forces within his legion and then began the counter-attack on Terra, marking the first step of the betrayal war aimed at The Emperor.

Of course, from a personal perspective, Duanmu Huai could understand why Horus rebelled, as it proved that The Emperor was really a fool, and if Horus had not chosen to submit under the Chaos Evil God but had directly marched back to Terra with full force, Duanmu Huai would have just watched the drama from the sidelines.

It was like the dynastic changes in history. Horus would step into the Terra Sacred Palace under the petals, then approach the great hall, smash The Emperor's head with a hammer, and declare his succession to power.

Well, is there a problem with that?

Not a problem at all.

In fact, from a political standpoint, Horus's desire to rebel was very reasonable. He accepted the title of war marshal given by The Emperor and continued to serve as the commander of The Great Expedition. However, Terra did not support Horus as expected; the Terra Council stripped the war marshal of most of his political power, which greatly angered Horus.

This was normal; The Great Expedition had not yet ended, and by rights, since Horus was to continue The Great Expedition, he naturally required all political and military command authority. However, upon returning to Terra, The Emperor deprived Horus of most of his political rights, handing them over to the Terra Council. As a result, Horus was trying to conquer planets at the front while the Terra Council was undermining him from behind.

There's an example that shows how stupid the Terra Council was. Horus led the Expeditionary Force and conquered countless worlds, bringing them under the Empire's glory. Logically, the next step would be to placate these subjugated planet's citizens to let them lead relatively normal lives so that most planets would not rebel but would willingly bask in the Empire's glory.

But the Terra Council didn't see it that way. As soon as Horus conquered a planet, they sent a massive army of tax officers to enforce taxes on the planet, imposing heavy taxation.

Which planet could endure this? Just after so many people had died and they had just chosen to submit, here comes another demand for heavy taxes, pushing us to rebel?

To rebel is to die, not to rebel is also to die, so why not rebel?

Thus, the planets that the Star Warriors had just conquered started rebelling again, forcing the Expeditionary Force to halt and return to suppress these rebellions.

This infuriated Horus to death, yet he had no choice. He had also appealed to Prime Minister Makado and The Emperor, but it was like dropping stones into the sea–totally ineffective.

Once again, it was proven that besides living long, The Emperor was truly an idiot. He should have waited for The Great Expedition to end before stripping the Star Warriors and the Expeditionary Force of their political power. His stupidity was comparable to Emperor Song Gaozong; it was sheer idiocy inherited from generation to generation.

Prime Minister Makado might just be playing a role akin to Qin Hui.

In fact, from a historical perspective, they were about as foolish as those idiotic emperor-minister duos who, in their rush and without even defeating the Golden Men, proceeded to kill Yue Fei and strip military power.

So, for Horus to rebel and mutiny seemed perfectly normal to Duanmu Huai. After all, as the saying goes, long division must lead to unity, and long unity to division. The Emperor had ruled the Human Empire for far too long; it was about time for a change. If Horus' motive for rebelling was solely this, Duanmu Huai would not stop him.

The precondition was that he should not be seduced by a stupid sword or a few twisted, idiotic Evil Gods.

Yes, that was the real reason. Wanting to emulate Yang Guang or Li Shimin by killing his father and brother to seize the throne was quite normal–history is but a cycle: the victors become lords, and the losers bandits. It's simple to comprehend. There have been plenty of similar emperors in history, some even famed for eternity.

But the problem is, you can't damn well collude with the Evil Gods.

If you desire the throne, want to seize power, or seek revenge, that's fine. But if you then join forces with the Turks, the Golden Men, or the Mongols, the nature of your actions changes.

Thus, the moment Horus conspired with the Evil Gods, he could never be the second Li Shimin; he could only end up a traitor like Wu Sangui, letting the Qing forces into the pass. No matter how many excuses, he met Wu Sangui's fate.

The players' attitudes towards Horus' rebellion were pretty clear: Horus' revolt was inevitable, and the corruption of Chaos only hastened the process. Even without Chaos' corruption, given Terra Council's blunders and The Emperor's idiocy, driving Horus to rebellion was just a matter of time. By then, even a perfect Netway wouldn't help; you can block the Chaotic Demon with your Netway, but can you stop Horus' Rebel Army?

Horus isn't some Subspace Creature, after all.

Put yourself in his shoes, the War Marshal position faced with dangers all around from the vast Milky Way, and then a Terra Council in your rear sowing discord and causing widespread rebellion and civilian suffering, it's no wonder he'd loudly proclaim, “The heavens are dead, long live Horus!” The imperial household of Terra was doomed.

Of course, it might be a bit better if Saint Giles handled it, since at least he had maxed out his Charm and Persuasion skills.

But now, what does this signal from the Istvan Star System mean? Are we headed for a historical rerun, another rebellion?

“Should we retreat?”

As Duanmu Huai remained silent for a long time, Lani asked, but Duanmu Huai shook his head.

“No, summon the First Fleet to gather; we're going to Istvan to see what the devil is going on there.”

You're playing dirty, huh? Hey, if you push me too far, I'll just summon Azathoth and see who plays bigger!

If worse comes to worst, we'll die together, what do I have to fear?

Chapter end

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