Guilliman considered himself rational, capable of viewing each of his brothers rationally.
He valued Dorn, his brother as unyielding as stone, even if they had many disagreements after the Great Heresy.
He respected Sanguinius, his brother as perfect as shining gold, even if the Second Imperium had been somewhat unpleasant.
He missed Ferrus, his brother as strong as steel, even if their relationship wasn't close enough.
He respected Corax, his sincere liberator brother, even if their worldviews differed greatly.
He admired Jaghatai Khan, his free and wise brother, even if he seemed unpredictable.
He trusted Vulkan, his benevolent and steadfast brother; there was nothing to 'even if' about him.
He even missed Leman Russ a little, his brother who feigned barbarism. Given a chance, Guilliman would have loved to get drunk with the Lion King.
But Lion, uh...
Guilliman didn't know how to evaluate Lion.
He knew Lion's capabilities; during the Great Crusade, only Lion and Horus made Guilliman feel he couldn't handle them.
Moreover, Guilliman didn't trust Lion and his little secrets, disliking how Lion always acted on his own.
He had once hoped Lion would become the protector of the Second Imperium, but in reality, Lion preferred orbital bombarding his own people.
And Lion clearly didn't like Guilliman either; he always seemed to want to punch Guilliman in the face.
If he were the only one to return, then even if Lion were the next, Guilliman would have accepted it calmly.
But now Sanguinius had returned, and Guilliman was willing to cast aside his principles to pray devoutly to the Emperor and Saint Doraemon.
Please, not Lion next! Anyone else would do, even Leman Russ!
Guilliman thought of himself, Sanguinius, and Lion gathering, and his Second Imperium PTSD was about to flare up.
"You're not joking, are you?" Guilliman forced a bitter smile. "Lion is not easy to deal with."
"He dared to bomb Macragge, dared to bomb his own homeworld. I often suspect he would bomb Terra."
Guilliman felt that Alexander's previous statement must still be one of Saint Doraemon's usual wicked jokes.
However, Alexander's lips held no smile, only a hint of helplessness as he waved his hand.
The smile on Guilliman's lips completely vanished.
Alexander was also a bit helpless. While he enjoyed making jokes, he knew that if the Lion from the Great Crusade era returned, besides recreating the Second Imperium, he would only bring trouble to Guilliman and Sanguinius.
As for the Lion in Alexander's memory, the one who returned to the Imperium second in the original timeline, he had indeed become a mature, stern old Lion. But upon seeing Guilliman, who had split his Legion... well, let's hope Guilliman, after ten thousand years in a Static Field, could defeat the aged Lion.
The Primarch Alexander could most easily find, and the one he most hoped to bring back to the Imperium, was the Khan.
The Khan was in the Webway, and Alexander had the Webway map, the Infernal Map, in his hand. With the Seeker's Staff, he had a good chance of finding him.
And from a personal perspective, Chogoris spoke Khorchin, and Khorchin District is in Tongliao, and Alexander happened to be a spiritual Tongliao native. Rounding up, he and the Khan were practically fellow villagers, not to mention their cultural proximity.
But the Khan had explicitly refused to return to the Imperium when he was on Baal, speaking to Sanguinius. Alexander couldn't just forcibly drag him back, so he had to temporarily give up.
As for Ferrus' soul, it was currently fighting with The Emperor's Cursed Legion in Khorne's lap, so he wasn't free to revive and return to the material universe just yet.
Regarding Dorn, Corax, Vulkan, and Leman Russ, Alexander had used the Seeker's Staff for all of them.
The Seeker's Staff only spun in place, indicating that all four of them were not in the material universe at all. Finding someone in the Warp would be much more difficult.
Only Lion, just Lion.
Each time Alexander used the Seeker's Staff, it would precisely point in one direction.
But each time, the direction it pointed was slightly different, pointing in a completely different direction after a period of time.
Alexander initially thought Lion was on the Dark Angels' flagship, the Rock Fortress, moving with it.
But there were times when the Seeker's Staff pointed in such a wide range of directions that unless the Rock Fortress traveled via anywhere door like Alexander, it simply couldn't move that fast.
The only logical explanation was...
"You mean..."
Guilliman's expression was a bit strange:
"Lion is in a deep sleep and unconsciously teleporting randomly across the galaxy?"
"Yes, I had to make that judgment," Alexander rubbed his brow, speaking in an odd tone. "After Caliban's destruction, many Fallen Angels were randomly teleported to different times and places."
"Our Sleeping Beauty, Lion, is in a similar situation now, except he's constantly teleporting, constantly appearing at different times and places."
"This might be due to the unique nature of Caliban or Lion himself."
Alexander had confirmed this with the Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine; Sleeping Beauty Lion was indeed teleporting alone across the galaxy, randomly appearing at any time and any place.
"We might find Lion anywhere, at any location. If we're lucky enough, Lion might even teleport directly into this conference room the next second."
"How could it be so unlucky... so lucky." Guilliman said with a bit of distress.
Alexander could quickly find Lion through the Webway and anywhere door, but the problem was that even anywhere door and Webway travel took time.
And Lion... Lion was almost constantly teleporting randomly, possibly going a hundred thousand miles away in the blink of an eye, making him rather difficult to find.
What's more, many planets were now in chaos, and the Imperium had completely lost control of them.
Of course, if one truly wanted to find him, there was always a way.
Alexander cast an inquiring look at Guilliman, asking if he wanted to bring Lion back.
As Alexander expected, Guilliman gently shook his head.
"It's not time yet, not yet." Guilliman said with a bitter smile. "The Imperium is too chaotic right now; a large number of planets have lost control. We need a new order, and Lion cannot bring order."
"While it sounds strange to say, my friend, I fear Lion. Lion is a more terrifying creature than Konrad Curze. Konrad Curze was a human who was later driven mad, but Lion... Lion was born a beast."
"When I first heard of this elder brother of mine, I was almost ecstatic. I thought my father had forged for us a brother like King Arthur."
"But when I saw him, the illusion shattered... Lion was not King Arthur; he was more akin to the giant beasts from the King Arthur legends."
"When I looked at Lion, I could imagine Caliban. Lion was the brother most deeply shaped by his homeworld; he was like the embodiment of Caliban, with the giant beasts of the forests residing in Lion's spirit."
"He masqueraded as a knight, but at his core, he was still a giant beast. His order was not the fairness and justice of a knight, but the concealment, secrets, and terror of a forest beast."
Guilliman paused slightly, then looked at Alexander and said, "If we have a stable order and strong rule, then Lion will be the sharpest sword."
"But if we don't, then it's best not to try to restrain Lion. Let him wander in the forests outside of civilization, acting as a rogue knight hunting dark beasts; that would be the best choice."
Alexander genuinely felt a hint of fear of Lion in Guilliman's words.
Alexander could understand this. When he was in the hive city, he had worn the faces of several Primarchs, and Lion's face had the highest deterrent power.
People with poor psychological fortitude would be scared unconscious on the spot just by looking at Lion's face.
Sometimes, Alexander even startled himself when he looked in the mirror at the Lion King's face. The Lion King had indeed been shaped into a terrifying form by the forests of Caliban.
"Don't underestimate Leman Russ' humanity, don't overestimate Lion's humanity, and don't mistake Lorgar for a human." Guilliman finally cautioned Alexander sincerely.
Alexander nodded slightly, agreeing with Guilliman's statement.
But this agreement vanished when Guilliman handed him a thick stack of documents.
The first document was a star map depicting these eight nodes.
"There are eight important star systems around Terra, each a crucial Warp node. If these eight systems are sealed, we will be unable to leave the Solar System via Warp jump."
"The unfortunate thing is that because the High Lords chose to deploy most of their forces within the Solar System, these eight systems were practically handed over to the Black Legion."
"At the level of Warp travel, Terra is already a cage."
"But we have anywhere door, we have the Webway." Alexander looked up from the documents at Guilliman. "I've seen the Infernal Map; four of these eight systems have Webway gates."
"Exactly. I think the Black Legion who captured these eight systems don't yet know that the Aeldari... well, the Aeldari who worship the God of Death are already abhumans."
Guilliman nodded and said:
"I need you to deploy a portion of the Aeldari to carry our troops and directly attack the four systems with Webway gates."
"I also need a batch of Blind Spot Stars. The four systems without Webway gates require small-scale, covert assassination squads to infiltrate."
"Additionally, some people wearing Blind Spot Stars need to be sent to the High Lords and some secondary lords. Can you ask Cegorach for some Harlequins?"
Blind Spot Stars allow one to remain in others' blind spots, but they don't make one completely disappear. The robust bodies of the Astartes might encounter obstacles when infiltrating narrow spaces.
There are many such places in the Imperial Palace, and the best choice would still be Aeldari Harlequins.
But Alexander felt a little strange: "Are the High Lords and secondary lords worth your concern to this extent?"
Even if most of the bureaucrats on Terra caused an uproar, it would merely be political maneuvering against Guilliman.
But politics... no one in this galaxy could compare to Guilliman in politics.
The only risks were from organizations with independent military power like the Officio Assassinorum, Adeptus Mechanicus, and Battle Sisterhood.
"I'm not worried about them; I'm worried about the people around them."
Guilliman's expression was a bit grim:
"Terra has been infiltrated, and it has been infiltrated for many years."