r18novel Page 124
Page 124
Clark was bewildered. The Lord of the Ravens was completely dumbfounded at this moment. He didn't know what he could do. The power of the Primarch seemed to be meaningless in a war of this magnitude.
It was obvious that he was underestimating himself. Zhou Qing, who was directing the battle, saw the Lord of the Crows appear in space and quickly confirmed who the Primarch was after verifying his identity.
Kolac, the Primarch of the Ravenguard, is also one of the few normal Primarchs.
He has lofty ideals and the desire to realize them; such a person is perfect for the Ministry of the Interior.
Guilliman was finally free from fighting alone; someone had emerged to help him manage the affairs of the empire.
Zhou Qing, who was directing the battle, quickly ordered a frigate to come to the front of the Corax.
There is no wind in the universe, but for some reason, when the escort ship traveling at 10 times the speed of light stopped in front of Corax, Corax always felt as if a strong wind had blown by.
He stared blankly at the frigate that had suddenly stopped in front of him, somewhat puzzled.
But his question was answered the next second.
"Identity confirmed: Primarch of the Empire, Lord of the Ravens, Corax."
"The Primarch welcomes you back to the Empire. I have been sent to retrieve you. Your safety is our top priority. Please board the warship."
After hesitating for only a few seconds, Corax chose to board the frigate.
The Lord of the Crows did not believe that humans would harm him; after all, he had come here on his father's orders.
Aboard Clark's escort ship, he quickly restored his speed to 10 times the speed of light, and finally left the battlefield to arrive at the Ideal City world, the core command center of the 108 worlds in the Misty Starfield.
After entering world orbit, the escort ship did not wait for the shuttle to pick up Clarks. Instead, it went directly to the planet's surface and delivered Clarks to Zhou Qing in a flash.
However, the escort ship did not use the extreme speed of faster-than-light travel inside the planet. It slowed down and traveled at a speed that was suitable for the planet's surface, which gave Clarks the opportunity to observe the Ideal City world.
As the escort ship brought Clarks to Zhou Qing, he successfully observed the scene of the Ideal City world.
And the living conditions of human citizens who were evacuated to their own homes and shelters.
Despite the scale of the war, the people in the rear were still able to live and work in peace and contentment.
Such a peaceful and prosperous life was something Clarks never dared to dream of; it was even more ideal than the society he envisioned.
The feeling of his ideal being realized filled Clark with immense excitement.
This is why, upon seeing Zhou Qing, he did not bow to the Imperial War Marshal but instead excitedly grasped Zhou Qing's hand.
"Is this...is this how humans live now?" Corax's voice trembled slightly with excitement as he pointed out the window at the towering yet aesthetically pleasing buildings.
Even now, during a period of war, the human citizens of these planets are still able to enjoy their lives without being disturbed by the war!
This scene from the past washed over Clark's mind, making him unwilling to separate his hand from Zhou Qing's hand now, and instead holding it tightly.
"Of course, everything is exactly as you see before your eyes; this will be a microcosm and a vision of the Empire's future world."
"However, our capabilities are limited, and we need to proceed one planet at a time. Do you understand?"
Zhou Qing used a little force to pull his hand out of Corax's grasp and continued to command the army in battle, while also maintaining his conversation with Corax.
Hearing Zhou Qing's reply made Clarks feel even better.
The next second, he tightly grasped Zhou Qing's hand, which she had finally managed to pull away, and looked at her with pleading eyes, his own eyes brimming with tears.
"Excuse me... I know what I'm about to say will be very harsh, but I really can't help but ask if you could go to the planet of salvation and bring about the same changes there as here."
Corax mustered his courage and made this request to Zhou Qing.
"Your homeworld, is that it, Corax?"
Upon hearing Clark's request, Zhou Qing once again withdrew some of his attention and shifted it to the Crow King.
"Yes..." As he spoke, Corax couldn't help but lower his head. He had let down his savior, and he had let down his comrades who had fought alongside him.
He could never forget how he had led his comrades in resisting tyranny and injustice, but in the end, he himself returned to the planet of salvation to suppress the uprising launched by his comrades.
The hero who slays the dragon eventually becomes the dragon himself. Whenever he thinks about what he did, he feels deep remorse, which is why he keeps blocking Luo Jia's path and attacking him.
It wasn't just what Loka had done that enraged him; more importantly, he dared not return to his home world.
He dared not return to his home planet to face his comrades who had fought alongside him.
He dared not return to the planet of salvation and face the descendants of his comrades.
He had no face to go back.
He promised to save the planet, but in the end, he suppressed his own companions' uprising.
"Of course, Corax. If you need it, I can make the Savior look like you do now after the war."
Zhou Qing's words rang in Corax's ears.
These words were like heavenly music, causing Clarks, who had been looking down, to suddenly raise his head.
"Really? Thank you so much, General!"
Chapter 192: The world has fallen, and the war has finally taken a turn for the better.
“However,” Zhou Qing changed the subject, shifting his gaze from the star map back to Corax’s excited face, his tone calm yet carrying undeniable weight, “there is one condition.”
Corax's heart tightened slightly, but his eyes remained burning: "Whatever the conditions, as long as I can do it..."
"This condition requires you to fulfill it personally."
Zhou Qing pointed out the window, "Don't look at the war now, just look at what you can see right in front of you."
"Do you see this prosperity? It didn't come out of thin air, nor can it be maintained by force alone. It needs rules, it needs order, and it needs a governance system that can self-purify and continuously optimize."
Guilliman built the skeleton of Terra, but filling it with flesh and blood requires executors like you who understand the cruelty of war yet harbor ideals of construction.
Zhou Qing paused, looking into Corax's eyes: "The Salvation Star can become another pilot project for an 'ideal city' outside the Hazy Starfield."
But its transformation must be led and witnessed by you, Corax, Lord of the Ravens. You need to return there.
Go confront everything you once evaded, and through construction, not repression, truly fulfill the promises you made to your comrades and the people.
"Me... going back in person?" Corax's voice lowered as images of the past flashed through his mind: his comrades falling under his orders to suppress them. The deep-seated guilt and pain almost overwhelmed him.
He instinctively wanted to back down.
But just as he couldn't help but take a half step back, Zhou Qing stood up from his command post and grabbed Clarks.
"Ideals cannot just have ideals; they must have the courage to realize them. Otherwise, none of what you want will happen."
“Guilliman is already very tired. He has to manage the entire empire by himself, and now he needs someone to help him.”
And now that you're back, I think you can help him among all the Primarchs.
Participating in the affairs of the Imperial Ministry of the Interior can also allow you to realize your ideals.
"Go give it a try. If you don't want to keep escaping reality like you are now, if you really want to be what your comrades want you to be, then go for it. The opportunity is in front of you."
Zhou Qing went to great lengths to find an assistant for Guilliman, even diverting some of his energy to advising Corax.
Zhou Qing's persuasion had some effect. As a liberator, Corax now had the opportunity to realize his ideals, and he naturally wanted to seize it.
"Okay!" Corax successfully overcame his inner fear and readily agreed.
"Very good!" Now that the other party had agreed to his arrangements, Guilliman could relax a bit. Zhou Qing felt that he had done right by Guilliman.
"Then you can learn some knowledge from me first, or you can go to the battlefield to eliminate those chaotic demons to ensure that this place can continue to prosper."
"I won't entertain you any longer; after all, war is the primary issue I need to address right now."
After persuading Corax to return, Zhou Qing shifted all his attention back to the war.
The conversation with the Crow King was just a side thing; what we really needed to pay attention to was the war at this moment.
Instead of immediately going out to participate in the war, Corax stayed with Zhou Qing and began to learn about various classics and policies.
Time passed quickly; a full 30 Terra Days had passed, and the war continued, with the flames of war still raging fiercely on various planets.
Zhou Qing personally commanded the operations on every planet.
But even so.
Faced with the endless stream of warp demons, the battle lines on each planet are constantly retreating.
The prolonged warfare has led to a significant increase in the consumption of weapons and equipment, to the point that even the production capacity of the 108th world is struggling to support the current insane consumption of ammunition.
The arrival of the subspace caused some equipment to malfunction and could only continue to operate under the protection of the super shield, which required a large amount of energy to maintain.
Many factories have now completely shut down, prioritizing war and food, but even so, energy shortages persist.
Zhou Qing constantly adjusted energy consumption, trying to keep the 108 world going. All he could do was delay the arrival of death.
The war continued into the fourth standard Terran month—
The Titan legions, which were originally fighting on various planets, have lost at least 200 Imperial or Warmaster Titans in each legion.
The battle lines retreated again, and the Chaos army continued to pour out. Even with the necromancers joining the battle, their black stone devices were still unable to block the warp back in.
The Chaos Gods have already seen the rich 108 worlds, and they will never be able to return without severely damaging these 108 worlds.
The subspace fluctuations caused by the Chaos God's personal intervention are not something a single necromancer overlord can handle.
It is not something that a small necromancer dynasty can solve.
The Necromancers of Space have already deployed Stargod fragments, but it's clear they haven't been very effective.
The war continues—
The time has come to the 8th Standard Terra Month—
The collapse began. The worst-developed of the 108 worlds collapsed, and the Chaos Demon Army stormed into the city.
Large numbers of Space Marines and Imperial Guards perished in the fighting, and massive numbers of Chaos Demons stormed into the city, triggering a brutal urban battle.
Unlike in the world of Empires, where ordinary civilians are completely unable to fight against Chaos Demons.
After the street battles between the Misty Star and the 108 Worlds, the human citizens who had been hiding in their homes under the government's arrangement also picked up their Gauss weapons.
"For the sake of humanity's glorious destiny, humanity will never yield, even if it means dying here!"
By the eighth month, Corax had already personally come out and begun leading the human army into battle.
When the citizens of the Empire took up arms and began to attack Chaos, Kluck saw his ideal.
When he saw citizens of the Empire sacrificing their lives to save Imperial Guard soldiers, he saw his ideal reflected in them.
Korax wanted to protect the citizens of the Empire, so he unleashed his powerful psychic energy, sweeping away the surrounding Chaos Demons, but all of this was just a drop in the ocean.