Chapter 307: Why is Romulus a God?
"Old Ro isn't suited for the front lines, but it's too dangerous for Karna to operate alone."
Facing Ramesses's bewildered expression, Arthur brought up the star-chart of the operational theatre. A dark network of strategic vectors spread out from the Eye of Terror, connecting countless star systems. Each icon was annotated with estimates of the local Chaos fleet's size, vectors of advance, and factional allegiance. It was a comprehensive map of all currently identified Chaos activity, a cancer radiating from the Cadian Gate to the edges of the Calixis Sector.
The first wave of the war, incited by Khorne's roar, had been immense, but the losses had remained within the Dawnbreakers' acceptable parameters. The thought made even Arthur shake his head. Their enterprise had grown so vast that a Chaos invasion spanning thousands of worlds was now considered an "acceptable loss."
He highlighted several enemy fleet movements. In the years since their arrival, he had never been idle. On one hand, he honed his tactical fundamentals using the vast battlefield data-analytics system established by Romulus. On the other, he absorbed practical combat experience from the veteran Pyrewing members of the Dark Angels. After all, no one is born a master tactician or strategist.
"Look at this." After a quick data verification, Arthur displayed the movement trajectories of several Chaos fleets for Ramesses.
"They're attempting to regroup," Ramesses said after a moment's consideration.
Since Khorne's roar had first echoed across the Veiled Region, the forces of Chaos hadn't had much time to celebrate. A decisive and cunning commander like Khârn was a rare exception. Most Chaos warbands had greedily plundered planetary resources while deluding themselves that the Imperium of Man was the same stagnant empire it had been for millennia. Then, just as they were getting bogged down in fights with local defense forces, the Imperial Navy would arrive. The fact that any of them were capable of regrouping at all was a testament to their resilience.
"If I were leading the assault, I'd need a pep talk, too," Arthur replied with a shrug. Ramesses couldn't help but crack a smile at his friend's dry wit.
"Alright, here's the problem," Arthur said, zooming in on the star-chart. He marked the vectors of the regrouping fleets against the main thrust of the Dawnbreakers' forces.
Ramesses's expression grew serious. He might feign indifference, but that didn't mean he was ignorant.
"They're avoiding the main battle groups of the Black Templars, the Space Wolves, the Gothic Fleet, and the main Mechanicum hosts. They're trying to pinpoint our location."
Seeing that Ramesses had grasped the issue, Arthur elaborated.
"They're treating Old Ro like a soft target," Ramesses chuckled. These primarchs and their path dependence. When in doubt, launch a decapitation strike.
"There is, after all, a precedent," Arthur said quietly.
"…" Cypher and the several members of the Round Table standing attendance nearby all tensed.
The truth was, Romulus was not weak. Even those, like the Carcharodons, who had worked with him early on and noted his initial inability to handle sudden crises, would admit that it was only a matter of time before he adapted. And Romulus's sheer durability usually bought him all the time he needed to adapt. If it came to an all-out brawl, none of the other three were certain they could secure a decisive victory against him.
The real reason the other three travelers always tried to keep Romulus away from powerful enemies was for the sake of the Dawnstar Sector, and indeed, the entire war effort. Why had Arthur been roped into being the Warmaster? Why had the Ecclesiarchy been kicked over to Karna? Why had even the research divisions been delegated to subordinates like Trazyn and the Human Federation scientists as their numbers grew?
Because Romulus had to do everything else. The political governance of the Dawnstar Sector, the social administration of its myriad worlds, formulating and executing economic policy, organizing sector-wide industrial construction, fostering societal development, designing security protocols for the entire sector, engaging in interstellar diplomacy… The development of the five special administrative regions in Ultima Segmentum, the construction of the entire support network for the Veiled Region—it all rested on one man's shoulders.
Romulus's own computational power was constantly increasing with each upgrade and expansion of his vast analytical model, but every increase simply meant another monumental task was added to the Lord Regent's purview. This was why, the moment the development plan for the Dawnstar Sector was complete, the Dawnbreakers had dared to disseminate their technology, no longer fearing that Chaos could use it to build a more powerful war machine. The past had proven that, in terms of organizational capacity, the old Imperium and the forces of Chaos were two sides of the same incompetent coin. But they were different.
They had Romulus.
Why is Romulus a god?
First, there is Karna, who committed the sin of sloth. He gave up on thinking, acknowledged his own mediocrity in matters of statecraft, and thus refused to try. As punishment, the gods took away his brain.
The fact that the Dawnbreaker Fleet and its countless subordinate factions could respond to the Chaos invasion with such terrifying efficiency was entirely due to Romulus's ability to take the absolute mess that was the Imperium's bureaucracy and untangle it, even accounting for the myriad problems caused by warp travel. If Romulus were to be drawn into a decapitation strike, it would mean diverting the majority of his processing power to deal with a primarch-level threat. The countless critical functions under his direct control would grind to a halt, and the resulting losses would be immeasurable.
That was why Arthur didn't want Romulus to be targeted.
"So, Old Ro is planning a strategic withdrawal," Arthur said. "But for his safety, I'd prefer he go with you." After all, when it came to being elusive, Ramesses was in a class of his own. If Ramesses left, Arthur would have to keep an eye on Karna to make sure Khorne didn't sucker-punch him, while also covering for Romulus in case another primarch decided to play dirty. He simply couldn't be in three places at once.
"No problem," Ramesses said, patting his chest and casting aside his complaints about having to write his own reports. At a critical time like this, such petty matters were irrelevant.
The starport had been retaken. Control of the planet's eastern territories had been re-established, and the vast western cargo sector had been cleared. The city walls were now lined with dense formations of troops, their wargear glinting in the thin mist.
Karna and Romulus had regrouped. Below them, massive auto-lifters were ferrying vital resources up the巍峨 outer walls to the relatively intact warehouses in the upper spire. Above, just beneath the atmosphere, observation balloons drifted like stray planets in the smoggy haze, their imaging systems humming.
Karna could hear sporadic gunfire from the ruins. The Space Wolves were conducting raids, using their natural talents for the hunt, while heavy weapon emplacements fired intermittently, further compressing the enemy's living space. About one and a half kilometers to his right, at the space elevator, a captured traitor Warhound Titan was being hauled back to the starport. The Magi of Stygies VIII were ecstatically sorting through their precious data-archives recovered from the wreckage and taking stock of their gains. These Magi, normally seen as unbelievably miserly by other Imperial factions, had been uncharacteristically generous this time, not only deploying in person but also bringing a host of war machines, thirteen Warhound Titans, and an entire support company of Questor Mechanicus Knights.
A slight smile touched Karna's lips. As he watched, the tainted Warhound Titan suddenly burst into a pure, cleansing flame. The grotesque flesh and sinew sloughed off in the fire, revealing the clean metal armour beneath. The twisted bone horns melted away, restoring the war machine to its original form.
VMMMM—
The Titan's head lifted of its own accord, its visor lenses glowing with an active light. The joyous thrum of its newly awakened machine-spirit made the very air vibrate. Karna heard a cheer rise up from below, carried on the dissipating smoke over the battlements. The Magi, who had been busy burning incense and attempting to commune with the machine-spirit, fell to their knees, crying out the holy name of the Omnissiah.
He made his way to the orbital station and entered Romulus's office. Through the observation window, he saw a Magos in a brown robe standing respectfully before the blue-armoured giant who was seated at his command throne.
He stood like a lowly acolyte.
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