How to Placate Malcador

"Toqadon, that joke is inappropriate."

Abaddon shot Toqadon a resentful look.

"I was just telling the truth." Toqadon shrugged. "Isn’t that exactly why our Council of Four Kings exists?"

"We said we would live and die together, entrusting our backs to one another," Abaddon said.

"In a place like Terra, aside from scrubbing each other’s backs, I really can’t think of anything else you could entrust your back to."

Toqadon shrugged. "Do you not believe in the Empire’s current strength? Do you think someone can actually fight their way to Terra?"

"Or is your first decree upon returning to Terra going to be building a bathhouse in the palace so we can scrub each other’s backs?"

Everyone in the strategy room burst out laughing.

But the moment Abaddon looked at them, none of them dared laugh anymore.

Their faces turned red from holding it in.

"Are you planning to betray us, Toqadon?" Sanguinius said coldly. Then he looked at Horus. "Commander, I request permission to accompany Toqadon. Wherever he goes, I will go. I will watch him at all times and ensure he remains loyal."

"Sanguinius, I never expected a man with such honest brows and righteous eyes to be plotting betrayal too!" Aximand said. "To ensure the loyalty of both of you, I have decided to apply to go with you. Of course, this is not betrayal. It is to supervise and condemn the two of you at all times."

Horus rubbed his throbbing forehead. "Very good, very good. Three members of my Council of Four Kings are planning to run away. Not even the Tyranid swarm or the Warp gods managed that."

"I once thought that if one day you abandoned me, it would be because our enemies were too powerful, or because of some irreconcilable conflict."

"But I never imagined that all it would take to make you forsake me was a document from Terra."

Horus turned to Loken beside him. "What about you, my Tenth Company Captain? I heard you like reading. What do you think about returning to Terra?"

Loken shrugged. "My lord, you know me. Reading as a hobby is barely acceptable, but if I have to make reading my job, you might as well kill me with a sword."

"I have heard there are terrifying monsters at the edge of the universe. Let me go fight them."

"You would rather deal with monsters at the edge of the universe than return to Terra with me?" Horus said gloomily.

"I cannot imagine being buried beneath mountains of documents. Just thinking about it feels absurd. How am I supposed to hold a pen with a hand meant to hold a sword?"

When Loken imagined himself wearing robes, opening his eyes every day to endless documents waiting to be processed, despair welled up within him.

He would rather find an enemy and fight them for three hundred years than live that kind of life.

"Fine." Horus looked at Abaddon. "Now it is just you and me returning to Terra. Congratulations on becoming the Regent’s second-in-command."

Abaddon’s eyes widened, and he suddenly became hesitant.

"Well, um, Commander, I think the bureaucrats on Terra are doing a perfectly good job. I’m a rough man. There is no need for me to meddle."

"You were shouting the loudest just now," Horus said. "No matter what, you are coming back with me."

"I was just saying it," Abaddon said. "I never actually planned to go back."

"Who was it that shouted that we conquered this universe, so everyone should listen to us? You even said that if the people on Terra refused, we should send them to the front lines while you returned to Terra to handle government affairs."

Horus looked at Abaddon and repeated his words from moments ago.

"Commander!" Abaddon shouted. "I can’t do it!"

"You have to." Horus looked around at everyone and revealed a sly smile. "The same goes for all of you. None of you are getting away."

Wails rose and fell throughout the strategy room.

And so, Horus returned to Terra with the Lunar Wolves.

Horus had thought he could hold out for a while.

But only a few days passed.

Before he decided that whoever wanted to be the damned Imperial Regent and First Son could have the job.

Toqadon, Sanguinius, and the others had become completely listless.

"The noble Lunar Wolves are about to become pet dogs that wag their tails."

Toqadon would occasionally toss out remarks like that.

Poking at everyone’s fragile hearts.

They would rather grab their swords and immediately fight enemies in the Warp for thirty thousand rounds than remain on Terra handling government affairs.

Horus truly could not endure it anymore. To escape the tedious administration, he contacted Lion El’Jonson.

He said that Lion El’Jonson was the real First Son and should return to Terra to take charge of the overall situation.

As for himself, he was Number Sixteen and had no right to compete for the title of First Son.

"Sorry," Lion El’Jonson said. "Compared to the noble Horus, I still fall somewhat short. The Emperor’s First Son should be you."

"You were the one ranked first."

"That was only a serial number. Being the First Son is about ability. Your abilities surpass mine, so you are the First Son."

"Damn it! That wasn’t what you said back then!"

Horus shouted.

"You weren’t saying this back then either!"

Far away in the Kamen Rider Universe, Lion El’Jonson shrugged.

He saw through Horus at a glance. Horus was trying to trick him into returning to Terra to handle government affairs.

No chance. He still wanted to keep roaming other universes.

"Monsters are here! Run!"

"Monsters from the Dark Dimension! How terrifying!"

"Kamen Rider Lion, where are you? Hurry and protect us!"

Cracks appeared in the sky, and countless monsters poured out.

The people panicked and fled in all directions.

"Horus, work hard. I still have to save the world. Sorry about this."

Through the cross-temporal communication device, Horus watched Lion El’Jonson fasten his Driver around his waist and shout his transformation call.

King of the Forest, Master of Lions, Supreme Above All

A resounding voice echoed through the sky.

A terrifying lion and a forest appeared, then transformed into armor that descended onto Lion El’Jonson’s body, turning him into Kamen Rider Lion.

"Let me properly punish you lot."

With that, Lion El’Jonson charged toward the monsters, and a fierce battle erupted.

Horus: "."

No, as a Primarch, instead of focusing on proper work, he was playing over there?

Was their father’s purpose in creating him to make him a Kamen Rider over there?

"Sorry, I don’t have time to talk."

Lion El’Jonson slapped a monster’s head clean off, then cut off the communication.

"Damn it! Why am I the one stuck here working? I want to go to other universes too."

Horus broke down.

For the first time, he felt that this universe was filled with malice.

Still unwilling to give up, he contacted Sanguinius, Magnus, and several other Primarchs.

Sanguinius chatted with Horus while fighting.

"Sorry, I’m currently helping the righteous Riders fight the evil Odin."

"Sanguinius, stop chatting! I’m about to be beaten to death!"

"Kamen Rider Ryuki, hold on."

Sanguinius shouted offscreen, "I’ll be there soon!"

"Horus, you can see it yourself. I really cannot spare the time. Stay on Terra properly. I believe you can become a qualified Regent."

With that, he ended the communication.

When Horus contacted Magnus, he was wearing research robes.

The moment he heard Horus ask him to return to Terra, he repeatedly shook his head.

"I am researching alchemy to master the fundamental power of the universe. I truly have no time to return to Terra."

Perturabo stood before a magnificent spacetime gate and likewise said he was unable to help.

"I am a craftsman, not a politician. You will have to handle it yourself."

"Remember to allocate me more resources. I plan to paint this entire thing green. It will look better that way."

Angron also sounded troubled. "I would like to help you, but I truly have no time. I have already arranged a duel with someone, so I really cannot spare time to return to Terra."

Lorgar showed Horus a magnificent giant city. It used stars as decorations, and every building was carved with words of praise.

Statues of Raven could be seen everywhere throughout the city.

"Sorry, I’m building a Holy City for Mr. Raven. I can’t get away."

Chagatai was racing and did not respond to Horus’s communication request at all.

Vulcan was forging a gift.

Fulgrim was hunting down the remaining Dark Eldar in the Webway while cozying up to the Ark Aeldari, planning to invade the Warp.

After contacting several Primarchs in succession, Horus collapsed despairingly into his chair.

He had never imagined that one day he would earn the title of First to Return in such a manner.

Just as Horus was about to resign himself to his fate, he suddenly thought of Guilliman.

That man was exceptionally skilled at handling government affairs.

At that thought, Horus immediately sent a communication request to the Lord of Ultramar.

"Horus? Long time no see. Why did you think to contact me today?"

Guilliman was currently thinking about how to develop the Ultra Universe.

Today, the Land of Light from another dimension had contacted him, expressing its willingness to coexist peacefully with the Human Empire.

Guilliman was quite satisfied with this friendly faction and planned to sign an alliance treaty with them, bringing them into the Human Empire.

As for the Ampera Planet people who were clamoring about teaching the Human Empire a lesson, Guilliman planned to dispatch the First Legion to suppress them.

Do not ask why he could command the First Legion.

A certain Legion commander was too immersed in a world-saving game to pull himself free.

At this stage, command of the First Legion was in Guilliman’s hands.

Not only the First Legion, but the Blood Angels, Thousand Sons, World Eaters, and other Legions all listened to him.

Because their Legion commanders had all run off to the Kamen Rider Universe.

In a sense, Guilliman was the true Regent.

"It’s nothing. I just wanted to ask how you have been lately. Have you run into any problems? If you have any, feel free to tell me. We will always be the best of brothers."

"When you have time, return to Terra. There are some administrative handovers in the expeditionary fleet that have not been handled very well."

Horus patiently held himself back and did not reveal his purpose directly.

He planned to trick Guilliman back first.

"I see. Sure, once I finish signing the alliance with the Land of Light, I’ll return." Guilliman nodded, harboring no suspicion toward Horus.

"Come back as soon as possible. When you do, we will talk through the night."

The moment the communication ended, Horus began to cackle.

All he had to do was wait for Guilliman to return, then invite him to a banquet.

He would station three hundred axe-men on each side of the banquet hall.

After the two had drunk a few cups, he would smash his cup as the signal.

He would capture the Lord of Ultramar and force him to become the Regent.

Horus felt that his plan was absolutely flawless.

Everything was ready. All that remained was for Guilliman to return.

"Isn’t it a little too much to make a move against another Primarch?" Abaddon asked hesitantly after learning of the matter.

"Ezekyle, why don’t you just stay on Terra?" Horus said.

"Where is Guilliman? Where are the Ultramarines?" Abaddon clenched his fists. "I can’t wait to crush them."

"If the First Company Captain doesn’t study opera or something, it would really be a waste of that talent for changing faces," Toqadon joked as usual.

"I support that," Sanguinius said with a nod.

"Take down Guilliman!" Aximand shouted.

Kamen Rider Universe, Agito Dimension.

Kuro Kami, who had just been thoroughly beaten, crouched in a corner and questioned his life.

Yet the culprit was in no hurry to deal with him and instead brought up another matter.

"Malcador has come looking for us. We need to find a way to placate him."

For the first time, the usually calm Emperor showed a troubled expression.

"You’re finished, Big Guy. Leaving him alone on Terra was really too much." Raven condemned the Emperor while eating fries.

The Emperor’s eyes widened as he stared at Raven in disbelief.

"It seems you had a part in this too, didn’t you?"

"Sorry, I didn’t. I’m just a poor little bird." Raven spoke with complete confidence. "You did everything. What does it have to do with me?"

"I do not have the ability to travel through dimensions. Where we travel and who we travel with are all decisions you make now. If it comes down to it, I will share my memories with Malcador." The Emperor shrugged. "I do not need Terra to research new fries anyway. A certain bird had better pray that research on new fry flavors does not stop."

Raven: "."

This thick-browed, big-eyed Big Guy had learned this trick too!!

"We really do need a way to placate Old Mal. How about this? When you see him, burst into tears. He will definitely soften up."

The Emperor looked speechless. "Forget it. Let’s not placate him."

"Let Malcador rage as much as he wants."

"At worst, he’ll scold me bloody, then throw all those potatoes, tomatoes, and whatever else from Terra into the sun."

"Scolding you is fine, but throwing away potatoes and fries is absolutely unacceptable." Raven’s eyes widened. "How about this? We prepare a gift for him, then apologize and promise to bring him along from now on."

"I’ll leave that matter to you." The Emperor pointed at Raven.

Raven looked up at the Emperor. "Then what are you doing?"

"I need to save the humans of this dimensional world from the oppression of evil gods," the Emperor said.

"How about I take the Zi-O Beast and the Decade Beast to save the world, while you prepare the gift?"

"."

Watching a man and a bird argue until they were red in the face over a so-called Malcador.

Tokiwa Sougo, Tsukasa Kadoya, Primal Heavenly Venerate, and the others were all stunned.

So even supreme beings who transcended time and space could be troubled by something like this.

"Actually, they should find a girl to do this."

Tokiwa Sougo’s words brought the arguing Emperor and Raven to a halt.

"That’s right. Why did it have to be the two of us doing this?"

"They really should find a girl to handle this."

Raven and the Emperor reached a consensus.

They needed to find a gentle, kind-hearted girl to help them prepare a gift and soothe Malcador, who was so angry he had even quit being Regent.