Emperor's Bane

Chapter 215 The Cobweb on the Iron Heart ([-])

"Have you and Perturabo known each other for a long time?"

[It depends on your definition of time: it can be 16 years, or it can be less than [-] hours. 】

"Interesting... so in your eyes, what does my brother look like?"

[... Spinning top? 】

"……what?"

[Spinning top. 】

[A... spinning top. 】

------

Primarch of the Imperium of Man, daughter of the Emperor, Lord of the Second Legion, Captain of the Honorary Legion of the First Legion, and future tyrant of Avalon: there is no doubt that Morgan must be a complex figure.

But at the same time, she can also be a collection of very simple elements.

Just like a merciless tyrant on the throne, or a bitter father behind the throne, looking at the same thing from different angles, the results may be completely opposite: nothing is absolutely flat, they are all complex and three-dimensional multifaceted existence.

This is true of mortals, kings, even the gods in the clouds.

Morgan, of course, is no exception.

On the one hand, the Lord of the Second Legion is definitely a complicated woman. I am afraid that even she herself cannot see her true face. After all, countless perfect fantasies from countless pupils have already covered her, and she cannot see her true colors. Despicable nature under layers of cover.

A silent adviser, a quiet confidant, a capable heir, a wise witch, a goddess who drinks victory, a blood-stained tyrant...

Under the layers, no one has cared about Morgan's real appearance. The gift from the Lord of Humanity allows the Queen of Dawn to easily influence everyone around her, and she has more than all her brothers combined. Exaggerated invisibility charm: If she wants, she can master any kingdom in the stars.

But from another point of view, this kind of gift is also mercilessly corroding her originally cold heart, leading that terrifying person who could swing a knife at the soul of her brother without hesitation to a place that no one can. Predict and determine the future.

Morgan is of course complicated: this is not only the emperor's silent plan, but also the unintentional influence of everyone, and it is also a choice she made without regret due to greed and plunder.

But on the other hand, Morgan is quite pure: No matter how external thoughts corrupt her heart, the nature of the Spider Queen is always the soul that trembles in the cold night, the one who does everything to protect, strengthen and reward herself selfish person.

Greedy, selfish, indifferent, cautious...

From this point of view, Morgan has never changed. She has always looked at the world with absolute malice and meticulousness, looking at the crowd smiling or kneeling in front of her: maybe at some point, she will release others. The kindness in her eyes, but kindness is definitely not the nature of her heart, but a kind of imitation and coaxing of the beautiful atmosphere of the outside world.

In the eyes of others, she may be a submissive mother, a loyal primarch, or a friend worthy of deep friendship: but this does not prevent her from being a selfish figure when she has these identities.

As for those acts of kindness.

Maybe it's just a coincidence or a deliberate calculation.

And coincidence, can't change anything, can it?

At least, when Morgan arrived at the [Gauze of Destiny], her nature was not changed: she came with malice towards Perturabo, and this subtle malice was manifested in her delicate A combination of skill and talent was enough to fool the eyes of another Primarch.

As for quietly leading the topic in the reunion joke with Kelly Fanny, it is a matter of course that all of Perturabo's rational observations are interrupted by [coincidences] again and again: this It was much easier than practicing swords with Jonson or exploring the warp with Magnus.

The lady from Olympia is far more talkative than she imagined, and the Lord of Steel is also far more sensitive and thoughtful than she imagined: Originally, Morgan would have worried whether Perturabo would not care about the two of them at all, but this This worry proved to be unnecessary in the first second.

She used one strand of her soul to guide conversations with Kelly Fanny, and the other to keep an eye on legions of bad boys who were going out with her for the first time, so they wouldn't get her into trouble.

And the third ray rises high in the sea of ​​souls, carefully witnessing Perturabo's every move beside them, witnessing the steel lord fighting wits and bravery with the cheerful air in an extremely serious manner, There are back and forth.

The end is a fierce duel!

The three wisps of souls were far from the whole of Morgan's spiritual strength, and all the remaining control power of the Spider Queen was used to firmly press her lips to prevent her laughter from leaking out.

This was much more difficult than talking to Perturabo.

Thinking of this, even the Lord of the Second Legion couldn't help being a little dumbfounded.

Morgan even wanted to laugh at his past self when he thought of how he had been in the room where he was constantly speculating and preparing for the possibility of various situations and how to deal with them before meeting with Perturabo.

Of course, her efforts were not completely in vain: at least, judging from the current situation, her silent evaluation of Perturabo at the beginning was still quite standard.

------

At the moment before the second legion's fleet was about to arrive at its destination, Morgan was still thinking about how to get along with her steel brothers: by the way, she also thought about the few blood relatives she had been with before.

Although she has seen quite a few Primarchs, the ones that left a deep impression on her are none other than Magnus, Perturabo, and Jonson.

Some because of time, others because of... ability.

There is no doubt that these three people are very different from each other. If Morgan himself is also different from the three of them...

Ok……

Her genetic father is really a big biological dye vat...

In Morgan's mind, she used to refer to her brother with various devices.

Johnson is the sword.

Sharp, ruthless, hair-raising, yet somehow exploitable.

There is no shortcut to getting along with the sword. If you want to get it, you must go through a hundred times of mining, a thousand times of beating, and ten thousand times of refining, and you must experience the fierce fire and severe cold with it. You have to bear with your retreat and weakness: even if you have forged it, it can strike back at any time and cut your throat as long as your self-satisfaction gains the upper hand.

This is getting along with Jonson, and it is the sadness that even Morgan is unwilling to look back on.

Compared with Jonson, Magnus is simply too simple.

Magnus is the book.

Concise, to the point, catchy, but you can't decide who wrote it.

When Morgan walked in the land of Prospero, her red blood relative gave her the feeling that she was an open book, and she only needed to pinch her fingers casually to read all about him: his wisdom, his His dreams, his depravity and madness, using the most direct and clear language, deeply shocked the young heart of the Spider Queen, who was only 19 years old and dozens of months old.

What's more, the author who took pleasure in all the changes, didn't bother to use a pseudonym to cover up, and recommended his work to Morgan openly: Magnus didn't know all this at all.

He is just a book, a book that has already been written, and the profound words have soaked the original pure paper, defining the entire content from the prologue to the end.

Morgan didn't even need to turn to the next page, she just glanced at the chapter named Prospero, and she could imagine the content and stories that followed.

So, she fled, not even caring about her original greed and scheming, nor her due etiquette and blood ties, and hastily escaped from the tome written by the Lord of Change, and came to a place where people could barely feel at ease. The place.

If she could, she never planned to open this book again in her life.

------

Compared with Morgan, Jonson or Magnus, Perturabo is particularly interesting.

he's like...

a spinning top.

------

"Spinning top?"

As a woman who was rated as [wisdom] by the two Primarchs, Kelly Fanny seldom felt doubts: but now, she did feel genuine doubts.

"You say my brother Perturabo... is like a spinning top?"

[It's just a rough metaphor. Although some details don't match, overall, it's true. 】

【Have you ever played with a spinning top? 】

"...Perturabo made one for me, but I can't see...he has any similarities with that thing."

The refreshment table prepared by Kelly Fanny is right next to the railing, and she placed the green colors from Olympia on the creamy white carved beams and paintings, making this place worthy of any elegant party: when the weather is better, Morgan and her close friends sat on both sides of this chair, and could easily see the vast scenery more than ten kilometers away.

At this time, one of Ms. Olympia's arms rested on the railing, while the other rested on the tabletop, resting on her chin, allowing it to think slowly.

After thinking about it, she couldn't help but straightened her body, glanced at the shadow of Perturabo in the room, and then lowered her voice.

"You're not saying he's fat, are you?"

"Perturabo is not fat, he just has some... stocky."

【...呵! 】

Morgan was amused, and her flamboyant laughter made the shadows in the room shake.

【No, I didn't mean that. 】

[I just think that there are many similarities between the two of them. 】

Kelly Fanny blinked, and couldn't help but look into the room again.

【Relax, he can't hear you. 】

"Really?"

【certainly. 】

"Then... tell me quickly!"

Kelly Fanny laughed: on that already somewhat vicissitudes of face, joyful anticipation easily appeared.

[Have you ever played with a spinning top? 】

"of course."

[Then do you know its principle?Any idea why it spins? 】

"Um...let me think about it."

"I remember Perturabo and I said: friction, gravity, fixed axis, force analysis, momentum moment theorem, and rigid body dynamics, and others..."

"Well, in fact, he wrote me a book, almost a few hundred pages thick, to tell me how the top spins."

[Yes, you see, the seemingly simple spinning top, a very ordinary children's toy, is full of such complex knowledge and wisdom, it can be said to be rich in knowledge, how many people in the world can explain it clearly or even see it clearly What about the inner sophistication and complexity? 】

[And... even if you can see clearly, so what? 】

[Even if its operation and existence are rich in such exquisite structure and knowledge, its only function and value is to do meaningless things over and over again under the whip of those who don't care about these things , spinning an eternal spiral. 】

[Until the moment it breaks. 】

【The only contact it has with the outside world is that the sharp spiral tip and the hard ground wear and consume each other, hurting the ground as well as itself. 】

[Its only interaction with others is whipping again and again. That is the only way to make it spin and give it strength. However, no one likes being whipped, which is destined to make it feel angry and unwilling. Until the end was scarred and dilapidated. 】

[So, when we look at a spinning top, what do we see? 】

[An existence that is exquisite on the inside, but extremely vulgar and even cumbersome on the outside, as the crystallization of various knowledge and primitive wisdom, its only function is to spin monotonously, and then entertain others. 】

[The only thing the outside world can give it is the whip that is constantly whipped, and the only thing it can give the outside world is the screw point that is getting worn out day by day, and the scars it caused. 】

【All it can do is rotate, constantly rotate, other than that, it can't do anything, even the slightest rest is impossible. 】

[It suffers the whipping, but it cannot do without the whipping: because it knows that without the whipping it is worthless. 】

[In the end, it will even take the initiative to look for whipping, looking for motivation and rhetoric that can paralyze itself. 】

[Until the whip breaks. 】

[Until the tip of the screw collapses. 】

[Not even the most savage external force can counter the raging rage that accumulates in its day-to-day monotony. 】

[Until it finally got out of control, in the future that no one can predict, it rushed all the way along the route of irrational and logical, venting its strength and inertia. 】

[Until all those powers disappeared, until this exquisite creation could not even maintain its savage instincts, until it could no longer get up, and collapsed on an unknown piece of mud, no longer being valued by any eyes , and no longer have any value. 】

[Until it rolls all over the place. 】

[Until it rolls to the ground. 】

------

Until it rolled into my hands.

------

Kelly Fanny blinked.

She swallowed her tea.

"You... you're talking about a spinning top, aren't you?"

【certainly. 】

------

"What the hell were you talking to Kelly Fanny about before I went in?"

Until Kelly Fanny fell asleep and the meeting place between Perturabo and Morgan went all the way from the temple on the surface to the long corridor of the [Polaris], the Lord of Steel finally couldn't suppress his inner curiosity.

When Morgan heard this, she just glanced at her brother and smiled.

[Reassuring. 】

【I didn't mention Li Xingxing, and she didn't mention Olympia either. 】

"...I don't care about that."

Perturabo vehemently rejected it, but his face was obviously relaxed because of this sentence.

He hummed softly, and it seemed that there was an ancient ballad from Olympia echoing in his broad chest. In the ballad, he followed his blood relatives all the way through the tarmac and the long passage, towards Morgan's throne room. Close to the living room.

Time to cut to the chase.

The meeting of the two Primarchs will naturally not be aimless. In fact, the reason why Perturabo initiated this invitation is the order from the Emperor. He will, as a Primarch proficient in creation, Put forward your own suggestions for the [Spear of Eros] in Morgan's hands.

But before that, Morgan wanted to show him something else.

"You are welcome, Your Excellency."

As soon as he entered the throne room, a cold voice caught Perturabo's attention.

"who is she?"

[My maid. 】

[Arnia, Arnia-Alstroem. 】

Morgan introduced softly, but the Iron Lord didn't listen at all.

The Lord of Steel looked at the short and thin [Maidmaid], and frowned. Thanks to his innate wisdom and the inexhaustible knowledge in his brain, Perturabo saw through this so-called "handmaid" at a second glance. 【maid】.

"She's a robot."

[That's right. 】

"...Morgan."

"Don't tell me, you are also involved in some fields that our father does not allow."

Perturabo's voice rose to a higher pitch in an instant, but it didn't panic Morgan at all. Queen Gene just clapped her hands lightly, and her maid quietly walked in front of her, with gestures and gestures. Fluid and natural, Perturabo's brows became more and more wrinkled.

"Are you experimenting with AI?"

【You can’t talk nonsense, my brother Perturabo. 】

The silver-haired Primarch lifted her maid to the table beside her, and deftly pressed a hidden switch. The next moment, the clothes in front of the maid were connected to the skin, and spread out to all sides, revealing the existence inside.

The Iron Lord's brow relaxed slightly.

He clearly saw that inside the maid's body, there were still some organs, and they were still functioning: for example, the entire digestive system and the lower part of the spine were still clearly visible, which were obviously innate. appearance.

But on the other side, a soft soft metal partition lay on the position of the lungs, dividing the two kingdoms of machinery and flesh: her respiratory system and the upper half of the spine had obviously suffered severe damage, and all of them had been destroyed. Sophisticated metal instruments were used to replace it. At the same time, her arms and legs are also a two-way combination of metal cables and the original body, and many traces of artificial enhancement can be seen.

[My fleet passed through the Alstroem galaxy about three Tara standard months ago, and received a distress letter from a colonial ship there. 】

[But when we arrived, it was too late. The raging storm tore apart the unqualified shell of the colony ship and killed millions of colonists inside. My son was only found in the captain's cabin the child. 】

[It was a lowest-level colonial ship, and all the devices on it could only be said to be barely qualified. Therefore, when the storm destroyed the outer shell, they had no chance of surviving. 】

[According to the pharmacist's identification, the child is about 15 years old, but her height is not even 150 centimeters: but she was a blessing in disguise, because other children who were stuffed into small life support devices with her were destroyed because of their size Those inferior devices, thus lost their lives. 】

[But her situation is also extremely dire: when we found her, a steel bar pierced her lungs, breathing tube and the upper half of her spine. She is actually a dead person, but there are still Weak brain waves and will, but the soul has not completely dissipated. 】

【So, on a whim, I decided to use this method to save her. 】

[I asked the mechanical priest who accompanied the army to replace those broken organs with instruments to maintain her life, but this only continued her biological life, but her soul and consciousness could not be recovered, and she became a vegetable. 】

[So, I used a different idea. 】

Morgan closed the maid's body, and then opened her head, allowing Perturabo to see that there was still an intact human brain in the skull supported by metal cables: it was surrounded by a layer of extreme Covered by a hard invisible shield, it provided double protection.

[As you can see, Perturabo, her brain is intact, and the real problem is her soul: when we found her, her soul had been torn apart with the passage of life, and it could not be recovered at all. 】

[So, I separated some insignificant fragments from my soul, and then pieced together the remaining souls of her little by little, filling those missing parts with my soul fragments. 】

[In the end, she was "resurrected". 】

"..."

"Sounds neither biological nor physical."

[In this galaxy, are there few things like this? 】

"..."

"So, what's her state now?"

Morgan shook his head.

【I do not know either. 】

【She can eat, sweat, and even excrete, and has additional functions such as smell and taste, but on the other hand, she doesn't need to breathe, and she doesn't feel pain. 】

[As for the soul, although the main part of her soul is still her own soul, and there is no problem with her big or small brain: this means that she has retained her previous cognition, memory and even physical habits, and some ways of thinking. 】

[But in fact, she is essentially an extension of me. Although my soul fragments are rare, they occupy a huge weight. Any of her thoughts and emotions cannot be separated from the influence of my soul fragments: it can be said that I I can control her every move at any time, and even let my own soul rest on her for a short time. 】

[In other words, she still maintains her human memory, cognition and habits, but it is my soul that allows her to think and act as a human being. 】

【She kept the original mouse, monitor, keyboard and even the decoration style, but the host was replaced by mine. 】

【So... I can't accurately describe her state to you, after all, this is what I did under some kind of instinct. 】

"Your instinct allows you to stuff your own soul fragments into a mechanical creation?"

[This can also be regarded as a physical creation. 】

"Is there any difference?"

[...It seems that there is not. 】

【That's why I came to you, my Perturabo, I don't have the corresponding knowledge, this is really a bit esoteric for me. 】

The Iron Lord touched his chin, and he was silent for a while.

"I can indeed make some corresponding changes: I can replace these mechanical parts with the best handmade products, and then add a billion points of firepower parts to her."

"However, for a while, I can't give you a definite answer."

"What the hell did you... make?"

(End of this chapter)