Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 911

Chapter 904: The Cognition of the Son of God

“This is…”

“Hello, Dante, I’m Robert. I’ve read your biography, and you’re truly a hero of the Empire.”

Robert’s gentle voice echoed from the other side of the hologram.

Gu Hang nodded slightly in agreement.

Dante’s thoughts were completely confused.

The only Son of God whose whereabouts were currently known in the Empire was Robert, the genetic father of the Infinite Chapter. Everyone in the Empire knew that this mythical figure, a figure from thousands of years ago, sat in the Temple of the Son of God on Super Star.

But aside from a few delusional lunatics, no one with any sense would dare to hope that the Son of God could ever rise again.

Super Star has a particularly high-end “tourism program”: an audience with the Son of God.

The Temple of the Son of God is not open to the public, but when important figures visit and request an audience with the Son of God, the Infinite Warriors are not easily refused.

Dante, as a legendary hero of the Empire and Chapter Master of another founding Chapter, was someone who was not easily refused.

Centuries ago, during a visit to Super Star, he had met the Son of God.

Now they met again.

However, that time, they were separated by a stasis field, while this time, it was a holographic image.

This was precisely why a suspicion arose in his mind: Could Gu Hang be deceiving him?

Even though he looked at it from every angle, it was a genuine hologram. His mind was spinning, but he couldn’t see any flaws.

But he still tried to maintain his skepticism.

After all, according to past rumors, the leader of the Alliance—Gu Hang—was a renowned psychic master throughout the Empire. Using psychic energy to create an illusion, a vision, a deception—should be possible for such a psychic master, right?

Even with Dante’s psychic resistance, deceiving him with psychic power was nearly impossible. But he preferred to remain skeptical for now.

The reason was simple: this matter was too shocking, too unbelievable.

Without skepticism, he didn’t know how to face it.

However, the two present weren’t paying him much attention.

Upon meeting and exchanging a few pleasantries, Gu Hang apologized.

“I’m sorry, I told you you could come see me anytime, but as you can see, I’m discussing something else with Robert…”

“Can I sit in?”

Gu Hang paused, then turned to Robert. “No problem. Where’s the Regent?”

“Nothing should be hidden from this Imperial hero. Feel free to do as you please.”

And so, Dante leaned against the table next to him, folded his arms, and began to listen.

Gu Hang and Robert ignored him.

What they were discussing was indeed a matter of great importance.

The war in the Infinite Sector was essentially over. Under Robert’s personal leadership, the Chaos invasion had been thwarted, a matter of course.

And the news of Robert’s resurrection had spread from the five hundred worlds of the Infinite Sector.

Every Imperial who heard the news, from the common people to the powerful, from ordinary soldiers to Space Marines, from the Ecclesiarchy to the Mechanicus, rejoiced.

The title of Son of God was truly inspiring. Crowds cried out, “The Imperium is saved!”

And the most excited were undoubtedly the Space Marines.

The Infinite Legion’s Successor Chapters, needless to say, knew they had a father.

Space Marines of other bloodlines were equally shocked. While Robert wasn’t their genetic father, he was nonetheless a genetic father, a Son of God, representing the Imperium’s most glorious era and the Space Marines’ most glorious history.

Before his own Son of God was resurrected or returned from disappearance, Robert’s appeal to every loyal Space Marine was unparalleled.

Besides the Space Marines, another faction, even one with a somewhat unhinged attitude, was the Ecclesiarchy.

While the Mechanicus also worshipped the Emperor, they embraced a different aspect of Him. In their teachings, the Emperor was transformed into the figure of the All-Powerful God. The Son of God didn’t hold a particularly prominent place in the Mechanicus’s ideologies.

But the Ecclesiarchy was a completely different story. When the Emperor was reduced to pure religion, becoming the sole supreme deity, the status of the Sons of God became like that of Jesus. It was simply that there were slightly more of them.

But now, one of them had truly risen! It was

a myth come true!

A divine manifestation!

The State Church was nearly driven into a frenzy!

Across the Infinite Sector, those who had heard of the Son of God’s resurrection and had the ability to contact and connect with him, without exception, flocked to him. They exerted immense religious influence, influencing worlds, trade organizations, the Astra Militarum, and independent warlords to join the Sons of God’s forces.

After Robert withstood the Chaos siege of the Supermarine and opened a channel of communication with the outside world, reinforcements poured in,

eager to fight under the Son of God’s leadership.

Robert, of course, had his own grand plans.

Lifting the siege of the Supermarine was not enough. He wanted to save the entire Imperium!

Robert did not act rashly. He had just awakened from a ten-thousand-year slumber, and to be honest, he was still quite unfamiliar with the entire empire.

He spent some time absorbing the Imperium’s ten-thousand-year history, its current political landscape, and the current cataclysm that had torn the Imperium apart and plunged humanity into crisis.

The Son of God’s extraordinary wisdom enabled him to grasp the two key points of salvation: Holy Terra and the Alliance.

No matter how much trouble Holy Terra was currently experiencing, it remained the very heart of the Imperium. Together with nearby Mars and the Moon, it was the Imperium’s most crucial economic hub, boasting unparalleled productivity.

Beyond economics, its crucial political significance as humanity’s home planet and the Imperium’s ten-thousand-year capital was irreplaceable. Only from Holy Terra could one issue orders and unify the entire Imperium. Nowhere else could one do so.

The precise situation of Holy Terra was unclear, but this was a significant issue: its inability to accurately transmit information to every corner of the Imperium was itself a serious problem.

It could no longer fulfill its dual role as both an economic and political center.

This situation had persisted for a long time, and the division and chaos it had brought to the Imperium were even more severe than the Scarlet Scar itself.

Robert was determined to rally those forces that had joined him and launch an expedition to Terra after achieving initial stability in the Infinite Segmentum.

He wanted to see what Terra truly looked like. He had even made preparations to personally command Terra.

In the past, during the Emperor’s Ascension and the Imperial Civil War, he had been a staunch supporter of the Human faction.

He followed his father’s wishes, believing that the Emperor was human, and so were they, the Sons of God. This included the Emperor’s Guards, the Space Marines, and even ordinary mortals—all were the same, all human, with varying degrees of strength.

However, some of his brothers, influenced by Chaos, went so far as to believe that the Sons of God, as descendants of the Emperor, inherently inherited the entire Imperium, much like a Crown Prince inheriting the throne. The Space Marines, too, were supposed to be superhumans, commanding humanity above all else, and that mortals should obey their leadership completely.

Violent conflict ensued between the two sides, and after that civil war, the Imperium of Man was profoundly divided. For example, Saint Gerard, the Gene-Father of the Blood Angels, perished in that battle, slain by Hells, the Gene-Father of the Moon of Vengeance, a figure blessed by the Chaos Gods.

That final battle saw the death of more than just one of the Sons of God. The Moon Herdsman himself was slain by the Emperor himself during his brief descent, lifting the Siege of Terra.

However, at this stage, the climax of the Imperial Civil War could only be considered over. In the latter half, the severely defeated Imperial Loyalists set out to reclaim the worlds that had rebelled during the civil war. The entire Imperial Civil War, raging for centuries, brought an end to the most glorious period in the Empire’s history, from the Founding War to the Emperor’s Ascension, and precipitated a rapid decline from its heyday.

This decline lasted for ten thousand years… It was due to the strong foundation laid by the Emperor’s early years, coupled with the continuous emergence of heroes among humanity, who revived the Empire, either in whole or in part. Consequently, the Empire slowly declined to its current state, though it hasn’t completely collapsed yet.

Of course, these two weren’t the only Children of God who perished in the civil war. Children of God fell on both sides during the early stages, the climax, and the final stages of the war.

For less than a hundred years, the war between loyalists and traitors raged relentlessly. Children of God on both sides died or disappeared one after another. This included Robert himself. During that period, while battling the Galloping Gene-Father,

he was fatally wounded by the Khan’s saber, a twisted form of Chaos shamanism. Temujin, the Galloping Gene-Father, who bore the name of a hero of ancient Terra, was also severely wounded by Robert.

The outcome of that battle between the two could be considered a mutual destruction.

The Ascended Demon’s Galloping Khan was banished back into the Warp; the remaining Infinity Marines recovered the Gene-Father, having the opportunity to use the Stasis Field to save his life.

Robert could be considered the Imperium’s last lost Son of God.

After his brothers’ departure, before he entered the Stasis Field, he had stood alone in the Imperium for decades. During that period, he effectively ruled the Imperium, and the Space Marine Codex was written during that period.

After all, the lessons of the civil war that nearly destroyed the Imperium must be learned. Back then, both sides relied on the vast, concentrated forces of the Space Marine Legions. A single decision by one or two Legion commanders could bring about profound disaster.

By breaking the Space Marines down from their massive Legions to Chapters with a maximum limit of a thousand men, this force, both indispensable and vigilant, became more manageable.

During that period, the Son of God was known as the “Regent” within the Imperium.

Essentially, Robert’s title of ‘Regent’ and the power it carries over the entire Empire have not been revoked.

Who has the right to rescind his authority?

Furthermore, for the Empire, there’s no need for the Son of God, who has been trapped in a stasis field for ten thousand years, to undertake such a task.

He can now naturally continue to lead the Empire using this title and identity.

However, this presupposes that he can return to Holy Terra. This

is impossible in the Infinite Star Domain.

Robert is confident that if he can return to Holy Terra with his army and take charge, Holy Terra’s current dire situation will be significantly improved.

If Holy Terra can resume its proper function as the capital and political center of the Empire, and reassert control over the entire human empire, the Empire’s fragmentation will be significantly alleviated.

Gu Hang fully agrees and supports this.

…

And the most important thing for the Empire’s overall situation, besides Holy Terra, is the ‘Alliance’.

This is something Robert had not initially considered.

After all, in his time, the Empire hadn’t had a second, independent center like the Alliance, wielding such immense power and influence.

Back when he was ruling the 500 Worlds of the Infinite Star Region during the founding expedition, some called his region an independent kingdom, calling him ambitious and a divisive element within the Empire. But how did the situation in the 500 Worlds of the Infinite Star Region compare to the current size of the Alliance?

After Robert had a thorough discussion with Gu Hang’s son, Gu Jing, he realized that the Alliance now controlled 40% of the Empire’s Dark Side territory, and barring further developments, its influence would continue to expand and grow.

Could he possibly consider the Alliance an enemy?

Absolutely not.

No matter what Gu Hang might be thinking, the Empire couldn’t possibly consider the Alliance an enemy at this point.

Even if Robert could return to Holy Terra and become his “regent” again, and consolidate the power of the Empire, what could he do to the Alliance?

Would he start another civil war in the Empire? In the environment of the Cataclysm?

That would mean he really didn’t want the Empire to survive.

(End of this chapter)