Emperor's Bane

Chapter 217

"Let me introduce you."

"This is Dantioch, the new commander of the 165th company. He inherited the position of the former company commander who was killed in the last battle. He performed very well, so I will allow him to stay."

"He's talented at conducting, but also has that Olympian fortitude of soul steeped in steel, cement, rock and concrete."

"I'm considering whether to take him further: the 165th company is a subordinate unit of the 16th Battalion, and the current war blacksmith of the 16th Battalion has proven to be a soft man who is not worthy of his current status and epaulettes. Egg."

"But right now, it's still too early. He hasn't experienced more war tests and years of tempering, and he can't prove whether he is worthy of the responsibility and burden of a war blacksmith."

"Originally, I planned to use his company as the first batch of offensive troops in the next few battles, so as to test whether he has the talent and ruthlessness to become a war blacksmith, but now, I have a better Method."

"Morgan, my blood."

"Maybe, you can test his ability for me?"

"You can accept him, accept him and his 165th company, as my envoy, and fight side by side with your legion until he proves his strength, or turns into waste water in the furnace of war."

"Accept him and drive him, no mercy, no pity, no need to impose any special care on him and his company because of the friendship between you and me."

"After all, only the fiercest flame can forge the toughest heart of steel."

"If he doesn't hold up, it's only about him and his warriors, that's all."

------

For now, Morgan's invitation didn't impress Perturabo completely: after all, she didn't expect a one-time success.

But obviously, on Perturabo's heart of steel that had been slowly corroded by the spider queen's poisonous silk thread, cracks that could be exploited and spied on were gradually appearing.

Seeing Perturabo staring closely at her outstretched hand, he fell into a long period of consternation, silence and avoidance, his eyes slightly dodged, his breathing was a little short, from a ruthless cold machine to a burning red briquette, in the thick Under his lips, the thick teeth squeezed each other, and his deep breath was like a low roar like an old bellows. A large piece of rough skin from the corner of the eyebrow to the jaw was involved together, revealing various round, spiral, or irregular folds, making the already gray face a bit too pale.

The Iron Lord maintains such a contorted expression, as if his strange heart is alive in the air. For a moment, it seems that the world has stopped between the two Primarchs: Perturabo just like this Standing still, one moment, two moments, three moments...

It wasn't until Morgan blinked with his remaining rationality and the afterglow from the corner of his eyes that the Lord of Steel seemed to be peeling off a thick cloud, and then saw the sun as if he had just woken up from a dream. He quickly turned his face to On one side, in the shadows, some stammered and incoherently expressed their refusal, and then listed some reasons intermittently.

Even if it is the Primarch, his words and reasons are nothing new now: the Emperor's mission has not been completed, and the raid on certain star fields has not yet ended, which does not conform to the regulations of the Primarch and the Astartes Legion, and so on.

Morgan didn't make a sound to respond to these shattering words, she smiled silently, a smile that was enough to reassure the most skeptical victimists: the moment she saw her expression, the iron lord's like The frightened beast-like face finally showed a trace of rationality again.

He hurriedly lowered his head, coughed heavily, and swallowed this straightforward kindness without any concealment, and when he raised his head again, the former Perturabo had returned .

From astonishment, to panic, to rediscovering one's [Inner and Outer Steel], this is actually a very short process, but it can only happen in a few seconds. Mortals and even those who are not very keen Special soldiers are unable to see all this clearly.

But Morgan was the Primarch, and of course she could see it clearly, and she enjoyed it safely in her heart, which was tightly protected and shielded.

Seriously, seeing the Lord of Steel showing such panic: even if only for a moment.

It's also an interesting thing.

The familiar joy born of other people's misfortune was ringing in Morgan's heart at this moment, emitting a vicious echo from the depths of the soul, which made the Spider Queen involuntarily indulge in it for a short time.

But she couldn't indulge for long: because right in front of her, the dictator of Olympia had returned, and because of his gaffe just now, the storm of his return became more violent and harsh.

In the blink of an eye, Perturabo had already recovered his solemn face. He deliberately raised his head a little so that the top of Morgan's head stayed at the edge of his field of vision, and then let his throat be more ruthless than before. times, so that the most serious matter declines invitations from blood relatives.

But when the Lord of the Second Legion nodded kindly, expressing his knowledge and understanding, and then turned his head away, it seemed that he didn't care about this topic at all.

Cracks appeared on the unusually solemn steel face at an excessive speed.

The tight corners of Perturabo's eyes and lips began to tremble imperceptibly. Like a snake waking up from hibernation, Perturabo's eyebrows began to twist slowly and stiffly. His dry and thick lips opened from time to time, It seemed that he wanted to say something, but in the end, when Morgan turned his head again and saw puzzled eyes, all he could do was a heavy, silent sigh.

As if deliberately taking revenge, Perturabo took a few quick steps and pushed open the steel door, leaving behind a raised mark symbolizing violence and resentment: He walked quickly all the way to the corridor, thought for a while, Then he opened the special communication channel in his armor and started to communicate.

In the room, Morgan turned her head slightly, looked at the back of the Lord of Steel who was so angry and unable to say anything, and showed a flashing sly smile. The popular Tyra ditty, began to do the final aftermath of his [Handmaiden].

After spending some time adjusting the psychic messages and hints, Morgan closed the final cover, then snapped her fingers lightly, and her little maid climbed up in the next second, jumped off the workbench, Trotting all the way to her side, grabbing Morgan's robe, appearing more obedient and dependent.

She was in good spirits, and seemed to be well rested. Morgan stroked her melancholy little head, and her high ponytails with satisfaction, and began to think about hundreds of things related to the little guy in front of her at the same time. future.

【is there a problem? 】

"Need, instruction."

"Need, eat."

"Need, follow."

The voice of [Maiden] sounds like an adult with sadness and indifference, which is in sharp contrast to her 15-year-old age and height of less than 150 centimeters. Like a wind-up alarm clock.

But Morgan is very clear that this indifferent speaking habit is not the result of experiments and mechanical transformation, but the habit of [Maiden], or the soul named Arnia, that the Spider Queen can clearly feel , with her own soul fragments as the core, she reunited the soul of this unfortunate little girl, and her resurrected soul seemed to have a certain connection with Morgan's soul body.

This seems to be a fusion, an annexation in a certain sense: but it is different from the souls she got from eating so much before, it is more like... a vassal to some extent?
The soul of [The Maid] is still flickering faintly, giving her a unique character and behavior, but she is absolutely mastered and controlled by Morgan, thus forming a soul that the Spider Queen herself can't fully understand dependent state.

If the previous souls were all entangled by Morgan's spider web and then entered her stomach, then the little guy in front of her was hung aside by Morgan using the spider web as a bandage to extend her life. Some kind of wonderful accessory.

The Lord of the Second Legion silently observed the scene in front of her: her little maid first looked up and looked around, as if she had a little resistance to the strange environment, but soon, she was overwhelmed by a greater anxiety up.

The little maid grabbed her hands, but she could only grab the air, without the electronic board and recording pen she had been relying on, which made her obviously fall into some kind of restlessness: in the end, she showed the same level as the monomolecular bayonet He cut a piece from Perturabo's work table as a recording board, and found a working pen before he narrowed his eyes, and the towering twin ponytails trembled with ease.

From the beginning to the end, Morgan stood quietly and watched: her soul told her that as long as she wanted, she could control every move of the person in front of her at any time, but when she had no time or thought, her The little maid can make her own decisions, her own emotions and behavior preferences.

She still seems to be called a soul?A soul controlled by her?A separate fragment that belongs to her?
If one day, if she masters certain methods, will she be able to cross space and time and use her little maid as a character who can be manipulated by herself at any time, let her act alone on the other side of the galaxy, for her do something?
An individual who acts freely, has her own thoughts and will, but is still essentially taken away by Morgan, who can be exalted and degraded at will: even she herself is simply a fragment of Morgan's soul, but has been endowed with Body and part of self.

This seems to be the future path for Morgan's little maid.

【……hiss……】

For some reason, when the Lord of the Second Legion thought of this, she suddenly had a feeling of extreme unease: as if she was experimenting with something extremely dangerous, as if she was taking Magnus's back road.

Morgan touched her face and felt a slight numbness: she didn't have an illusion, it was indeed a kind of uneasiness deep in her heart that had originally been brought about.

……

Forget it.

Be careful.

In just a split second, the Lord of the Second Legion made up his mind to put the plan he just came up with into the treasure house of his heart, and put it together with those souls who were reluctant to swallow it.

This idea does have its most attractive features, but compared with its risks, these attractive features are actually the same: it is not worth the risk for Morgan now.

She doesn't want to be the second king of Prospero.

As for her little maid, let her do some work first.

Morgan blinked and looked down at Arnia.

[Ania. 】

"I am here, my lord."

[I remember that my brother didn't seem to give you any melee weapons suitable for mid-range: individual light spears or something, it's really not reliable. 】

【Have you learned fighting or other weapons? 】

"Learn a little bit."

[Very well, what are you used to? 】

"A double axe, my lord."

【…】

【very good. 】

"Pink ones, my lord."

【Okay, okay. 】

------

Perturabo came back later than Morgan imagined.

When the Lord of the Second Legion commanded his maid unscrupulously to pack all the blueprints and instruments separately, the Lord of Steel took a son and pushed open the door of his workshop.

"Dantioch."

He pointed to the soldier behind him, introduced him concisely, and hoped that his blood relatives could accept this soldier and his Dalian as a proof of the friendship between the two sides.

Morgan naturally had no objection, but when she saw the unashamed warrior salute to her, she felt an inexplicable sense of disobedience.

Thinking about it carefully, her legion seems to already have quite a few elite backbones from other legions.

Abaddon, Ahriman, Luthor.

They are all good.

But then add Dantioch...

I always feel that there is a temperament mismatch between him and the three above.

However, this did not prevent her from planning Dantioch's future destination in her mind in the blink of an eye: Luthor really needed a young, calm and capable companion, didn't he?
In this way, between the few words of one Primarch and the moment of thought of another Primarch, the Iron Warrior named Dantioch ushered in a turning point in his life: the familiar past was over in a few minutes. He left him within a short period of time, throwing him into a completely strange unknown and future.

It might have changed his life: but the two Primarchs were unimpressed by it, and Perturabo, having explained all this, waved to his son and sent him off to gather his company, while Morgan Just glanced at the soldier casually, and stopped paying attention.

She patted the maid on the head and signaled her to wait outside the door: Next, the less people know about the thing the two Primarchs are going to study, the safer it is.

After the door was closed, Morgan turned around slowly, opened a crack in the space bound around him, and began to search inside.

At the same time, she did not forget to chat with her blood relatives.

[I found that you always seem to like to send envoys to my legion: like Magnus, like Johnson, and like Horus. 】

"Because it's a very normal thing."

Perturabo leaned on the workbench, stroking the gap strangely.

"It is very common for legions to send envoys to each other, or to send people to learn from each other, especially when two legions fight side by side, the friendship between those legion soldiers will promote a wave of mutual exchanges. .”

"What's really strange is that like the Iron Hands and the Emperor's Children, Fulgrim's second company is basically Ferrus' warriors. The only difference between them and the Medusans is their appearance and food taste. .”

Speaking of Ferrus, the corner of Perturabo's mouth curled up into a sympathetic smile, and when he talked about Fulgrim, the Lord of Steel snorted softly, not with much malice, but not more respect.

[So, is this a kind of mutual communication and learning?Then do I need to send a company to the Fourth Army too? 】

Morgan caught a distant glimpse of the golden apple, which was permanently in semi-focus, and turned his gaze to the other side.

"Your legion is still in its infancy, so it's better not to carry out any long-term division of troops for the time being. After all, since ancient times, the only core of war is [strike more with less], and different tactics are only for [more] and [less]. Just answers to different concepts.”

"What's more, I also have another purpose for sending these soldiers."

【Tell me. 】

The Spider Queen picked up the crown that Magnus had given her, hesitated for a moment, then gestured twice to her forehead, and put it down reluctantly.

"I hope you can take them to the five hundred worlds: Guilliman will definitely invite you to his Ultramar. If that guy comes with bad intentions, he can use this to know what he is about to face. Not a legion."

"Also, I'm also worried about what he is going to do."

【You all say that, as if Guilliman is some kind of demon king, I am a little afraid to go. 】

Morgan chuckled, and with her witty words, she finally took out the unusually luxurious metal mechanism box, and when she turned her head, she saw that Perturabo had stood up straight.

"The Demon King is not really, but Guilliman is indeed a loner. He doesn't have any close friends in the Primarch, and he never takes the initiative to contact us, as if he is not our brother, but an indifferent colleague. generally."

The Lord of Iron breathed heavily to demonstrate the reliability of his words.

After putting the box on the workbench, Morgan touched his chin as if belatedly.

【It sounds like it will be a very serious and formal meeting, completely different from meeting you with Perturabo. 】

"After all, Guilliman, he has always been like this, his eyes are all about politics."

【Since it's so formal...】

Morgan murmured under his breath, but Perturabo could still hear him.

[Then should I bring some gifts as a meeting ceremony and an expression of attitude? 】

"..."

Perturabo snorted: this one was especially noticeable.

"When you came here, you didn't bring anything with you."

He uttered this sentence, but immediately regretted it, and turned his gaze to the side involuntarily, but Perturabo could still see clearly from the edge of his vision: Morgan seemed to be stunned by this sentence For a moment, it didn't get angry. Instead, it showed a careless smile and opened its arms.

[Late hug, how about it? 】

"...cough cough."

"Forget it, this is too much fun."

The Lord of Steel grinned, his thick lips rolled down, exposing his gums, as if several teeth were hurting: against this distorted face, Perturabo's refusal squeezed a little bit. After coming out, he rushed to the luxurious cabinet, and began to look at the exquisite pattern and combination lock on it.

Morgan stood beside him, pursed his lips, seemed a little unwilling, and a little guilty.

[I can't help it...]

[You know, Perturabo, I’m not sociable, I don’t know how to say beautiful scenes, and my hands-on ability can’t catch up with you and the other brothers. Gifts and so on are indeed beyond my expectations . 】

This is not surprising.

The Iron Lord answered inwardly while studying the combination lock.

After all, your learning process is following Jonson, how can he teach this.

Thinking of this, Perturabo's mood even brightened for a moment: the shortcoming from other Primarchs made him feel short-lived happiness and joy.

Just like that, the Iron Lord casually unlocked the extremely complicated combination lock, while turning his back to Morgan, suppressing the arrogant smile on his face.

He deliberately waited for a while before speaking slowly with the attitude of a condescending savior.

"I did build a bell tower, but it was just a casual work before. It is far from exquisite and perfect, but it is also worthy of those big conference halls in Ultramar."

"If you really have no choice, I'll give it to you. It's not important anyway."

Without looking back, Perturabo could feel joy and astonishment flashing across the blue pupils behind him, which made the corners of his mouth twitch again, and then he slowly opened the box.

then……

"..."

【…】

"..."

"I remember you telling me it was a spear?"

[The emperor told me the same thing, he said it was a spear. 】

Perturabo was silent, he looked at the perfect, shining, flawless metal cube in the box, remained silent for a few seconds, and then patted his blood relative on the shoulder.

"Father must have his... deep meaning."

"It's okay, I'll explore this gift with you."

------

The first time Perturabo looked at this so-called [Spear of Eros] was genuine surprise and curiosity, but the second time, he couldn't leave it anymore.

"Perfect……"

After formally looking at the completely unworked weapon, the Iron Lord's lips trembled unconsciously, he leaned forward, his solemn face was illuminated by the light reflected by the metal in the box, as if Like a sick man of unusual frailty: but he didn't give a damn about it.

Perturabo's gaze was fixed on the metal in the box, and after staring at it for several minutes, he recovered his standing posture slightly, but he was still amazed.

"Perfect metal."

"It's absolutely perfect, and it's also unique."

"My God, where on earth did father get this metal: it is enough to put any alloy and steel to shame, and the blacksmiths and casters who have seen it will never have any desire, because there is nothing like it."

"It's like... like the god of metal in those ridiculous myths, like our father becoming a legendary hero, walking into those crude paintings and defeating those who symbolize metal, weapons and The wretched god who forged, then cut off its holiest heart and right hand, and smelted it into this metal."

"Yes, it hasn't been forged yet: it doesn't need to be forged at all, and it is more sacred and noble than most weapons in reality. After all, weapons are only consumables in war, and it... It could be the cause of a war."

Perturabo's eyes were straight, there was no greed, no jealousy, only a pure feeling, only a sigh of praise, only the excitement of being a forger, and the immersion of being a scientist.

He caressed this piece of metal lightly, and his gentle attitude was even better than the most loving mother nurturing her child. In the soft eyes that would make any Iron Warrior jealous enough to commit suicide, he looked at it from beginning to end. I looked at the piece of metal once, and looked at it again from end to end, with relish.

Finally, he shook his head.

"I can only be sure that it is not any metal we know: like those species, civilizations and empires that have long since disappeared in the long river of time, it belongs to history, to the mysterious glorious age, to the will of time in I'm waiting for the projection in front of me."

"However, I can guarantee that what is forged from this piece of metal will be one of the most terrifying deaths in the galaxy. I have seen the Dionysus Spear in Leman Russ' hands, and I have also seen the sun kept by the Chief Custodian. God's spears, they are definitely not so perfect and powerful."

"But there is one thing, the things in front of us are the same as those two spears: they are definitely not pure creations of the physical universe, but existences mixed with subspace power, and they are killers of will and soul."

"I think that's why Father gave it to you."

Finally, Perturabo's eyes reluctantly left the perfect piece of metal that fascinated him, and came to Morgan's body. The Primarch saw his blood relative lowered his head slightly, with one hand resting on his chin, as if Thinking about what is going on in general.

Morgan looked at the piece of metal with a flat gaze, so flat that Perturabo even felt a certain kind of blasphemy.

Then, he heard Morgan's question.

【Then... can you forge it? 】

"forging?!"

"You are joking!"

The Lord of Steel was stunned for a moment, and then let out a hoarse laugh. He shook his head helplessly, and then focused his gaze on the piece of metal again, looking and looking greedily, as if Evaluating all his skills.

But in the end, he shook his head.

"I'm not absolutely sure. If I'm allowed to come, there is a possibility of failure."

"For such a creation, even the slightest possibility of failure is intolerable sacrilege: perhaps you can go to Vulcan to do it, and let him see if he can forge this metal, but don't Find Ferrus, he's about as good as I am in that."

"However, no matter who you are looking for, I have to remind you."

The Primarch turned, his gaze a seriousness Morgan had never seen before.

"Father's gift to you, this piece of perfect metal: as I said before, it is definitely not a piece of ordinary iron, and it is mixed with the product of warp power, because there will be no birth in the real universe that is similar to [perfect] Concerning creations, this could not be more obvious."

"So, whether or not you can find a master forging it, you have to remember, Morgan, that the main forging of this weapon is still up to you: the furnace and flames in the real universe can only forge its shape, but it The true connotation and power need to be forged by the soul."

【soul? 】

"Yes, soul."

"Forged with soul."

"Use the soul to form an invisible forge, raise a silent flame, put its soul into this forge and flame, hammer it hard, forge ahead, until it is conquered, tamed, discovered its power, and let It willingly recognizes you as its master and is used by you."

"With your skills, you can do all of this over time, but the only problem is that these psychic flames require a large number of souls as fuel, and they cannot be extinguished even for a moment."

【……How much do you need? 】

"Have you thought of a way to obtain a soul?"

[Relax, Perturabo, I am the Primarch of the Human Empire and the Lord of the Astartes Legion, and I know as well as you what we cannot do. 】

[But I think that there are alien civilizations and worlds everywhere in this galaxy, and they will definitely donate generously for this great cause. 】

The Lord of Steel laughed. He stroked the piece of steel, and there was a trace of extremely rare lack of confidence in his words.

"I read a corresponding sentence in an ancient book... Based on my own calculations, Morgan, if you want to forge this weapon."

"...Let's put it this way."

"In front of you, there is a bucket whose diameter is the length of a mortal's arm and whose height reaches the waist of a mortal, and in your hand is a bowl, a bowl that a mortal can fully grasp with one hand. .”

"All you have to do is use this bowl to scoop water until the bucket is full."

"Every bowl of water is the alien shape of a world, and it is the soul of all of them."

"Every time you destroy an alien world, it is equivalent to scooping up a bowl of water: in the long run, until you fill the entire bucket completely, this is probably the number of souls needed to forge this weapon."

[Then... I can get this weapon? 】

"It should be so. After all, I am not a researcher in this field. What I said just now can only be used as a reference. In terms of specific figures and actual actions, you still need to consider it yourself."

【I see. 】

【In any case, thank you for your sincerity and help, Perturabo. 】

"a piece of cake."

The Iron Lord smiled, the smile he would only show to his friends.

"Like I said before, Morgan."

"You can always expect that from Olympia."

Perturabo's words were the most sincere ambitions, Morgan responded with a smile, but kept calculating in his heart.

This is really a... a number that would make anyone feel hopeless.

……

and many more.

In an instant, the Lord of the Second Legion seemed to think of something.

She thought of the idea she had just sealed up, the idea that was born because of her maid.

An individual who can act for her benefit across thousands of stars...

She had an idea, and even a prototype.

But what if... the Legion?
A legion that respects her will, is bound to her soul, and can appear in various places in the galaxy through the passage and convenience of the subspace?

It doesn't matter if they are weaker, after all, not all aliens are as terrifying as Ran Dan or Greenskin.

With such a power, the soul she needs to forge no longer seems to be an impossible number.

……

……

It's worth considering...

Still, be careful.

(End of this chapter)