Emperor's Bane

Chapter 219 The Angel of Peace
876.M30, end of year

"I, Duckley, record here."

"Finally, after a long journey and almost non-stop subspace jumps, we have arrived at the destination of this trip, the home star of the Lord of the Second Legion: a remote world named [Avalon] by herself .”

"This place is located on the edge of the Far East star field, whether it is the bright light of the holy Terra, Mars, Reza or Macragge, it is difficult to shine here. From here and then go southeast, the next famous landmark is Damoc Rees Bay."

"Prior to this, the Empire's expeditionary fleets rarely reached such remote corners, but the birth of a Primarch will surely bring glory and glory to these lost kingdoms: in our preliminary estimates, in the Avalon galaxy In the vast area that radiates irregularly from the center and has never been explored by the empire before, there may be hundreds of resource-rich galaxies hidden, and of course there will be countless thieves who will be wiped out by our iron cavalry. "

"Just on our way to the Avalon galaxy with our fleet, we have encountered or detected including but not limited to greenskins, kroot, Ida pirates, half-blood fleets, and separatist human colonies who wantonly claim sovereignty: total There have been more than a hundred cases, and there is no doubt that there will be a long bloody battle born among the stars of the light of the primordial empire."

"At the same time, our exploration fleet has also drawn up a rough star map of the future [Avalon Star District]: this upcoming star district will have 16 star systems of different sizes, about 147 worlds , and around this star area, there are still more worlds that have not been explored, as well as those enemies that have not been eliminated."

"..."

[Here, the note has an obvious scar caused by hesitation. 】

"I don't know if I should write and record these words or not."

"but……"

"From any point of view, the Avalon star area is a very strange place. According to the legion records presented by the Thousand Sons Legion who recovered here, their squadron was destroyed after a strange subspace storm. He came to the Avalon galaxy by chance and established the rule of the empire here: the Lord of the Second Legion also joined the fleet of the empire at that time."

"But after that, when the follow-up troops of the Thousand Sons Legion wanted to find the Avalon galaxy and send tax collectors, they couldn't find this galaxy anymore: not only the Avalon galaxy, but also the nearby Many galaxies also seem to have a strange protective force field, which makes them disappear from the destination of the subspace route according to some unknown law. This is also one of the reasons why the human empire has not carried out large-scale colonization in this area. .”

"It's as if there is some device hiding and protecting these galaxies."

"According to the information I have checked, when the exploration ships of the Mechanicum first explored the surrounding star field, they have already reported this problem, but because this place is close to Damocles Bay, it is too remote , there is no major world of any empire in the thousands of light years nearby, so no one cares all the time."

"However, under the leadership of the Primarch, our fleet arrived at the Avalon galaxy with ease, without encountering any strange situations on the way: I have to doubt the authenticity of the records of the Mechanicus and the Thousand Sons Legion."

"..."

"But after seeing the appearance of Avalon, my previous short-term doubts were overturned, replaced by a kind of fear and reverence for the profound truth and ancient history."

"Like, very similar."

"It's separated by half the Milky Way, separated by thousands of star regions and sectors, separated by a distance that ordinary people will never be able to reach, in the east of the Milky Way, here in a corner so remote that almost no one cares about it, in this On a galaxy called Avalon."

"I actually saw a trace of the past of the holy Terra, a trace of the past shadow of the human mother planet, and saw the arrogant imitation and real sculpture of the core of the empire."

"This is by no means a geological creation that can be formed by natural evolution: this remote world named Avalon, it is actually similar to the pictures of the sacred Terra that were recorded more than a dozen thousand years ago in my collection of historical albums, almost It's exactly the same."

"Yes, at first glance, it seems to be very different from Holy Terra: Unlike Terra, Avalon is a very large world, and its volume is close to being able to maintain the lush natural environment. The edge of the land, and the proportion of land occupied is higher than that of Holy Terra. Among the three interconnected oceans, there are several main continents and several island groups arranged in an orderly manner. There are traces of civilization."

"But if we step away from the deception that vision brings, and look at it from the perspective of geology, biology and even astrophysics, we will feel the cold sweat of the truth."

"In the Avalon system there are eight major planets surrounding a sun in the prime of life, and Avalon itself is the third closest world to the sun in the system: this may seem like nothing, but if compared to the divine If you look at the solar system where Terra is located, you will find that there is almost no difference between this galaxy and the solar system except that the ratio of the sun to the planet is larger."

"Whether it is a sun, eight major planets, nearly 120 satellites and [-] million asteroids, or the more detailed orbital period, orbital diameter, counterclockwise rotation, or the distance between each celestial body unit, It is a unified, scaled-up, absolute replica of the solar system."

"And Avalon itself is like a retrospective of the past memories of Holy Terra: whether it is the rainforest and desert near the equator, or the ice fields in the polar regions, or the looming directions of monsoons and ocean currents, and the The accurate rotation and revolution speeds are some kind of show off, some kind of silent telling and warning."

"If there is any difference between it and Holy Terra, then the only difference may be: in its orbit, there are five self-rotating moons that do not disturb each other, and their volume is larger than the one next to Holy Terra. Luna should be a little smaller, and there are no traces of civilized activities on it."

"..."

"In the face of this situation, what can we speculate?"

"Or, we convince ourselves that this is a unique spectacle in the Milky Way, a mirror image created by nature, and a great miracle in probability brought about by the huge amount of hundreds of billions of galaxies."

"Or, we are confronted with an ancient and comical past: when the first empire of man had not yet fallen, when wild fantasies and vast power were still in the hands of our ambitious ancestors, One of them, maybe a big man with leisure and leisure, maybe a sociological observer with endless ambitions, created this home planet to commemorate human beings, or it was the place where one of the greatest sociological experiments was conducted Artificial Garden of Eden, and turned the huge star field around it into a protective wall, so that his little works can grow up safely."

"Considering the brilliance and madness created by our ancestors thousands of years ago, I have to take the second conjecture as a temporary explanation for everything in front of me."

"Perhaps only the divine Lord of Humanity can explain what we are seeing now."

"But in a sense, we don't really need any explanation: no matter why this world was born, and what kind of past and history it has, at this moment, all traces are already gone for us successors. It's pointless."

"Its owner and creator have disappeared into the chaos of the era of strife. Now Avalon and everything it belongs to undoubtedly belong to the Lord of the Second Legion who has ruled this world, the Emperor's Daughter , Gene Queen of the Dawnbreaker Legion: Morgan."

"And with this world as the center, hundreds of galaxies that have not been recovered, explored and colonized by the empire will also face their fate from this moment: become loyal servants of the empire, or be wiped out."

"They're going to be faced with this multiple-choice question: in the next dozen or so Tera standard years."

"And with this as a premise, we will only get a happy trouble: in this remote corner that the empire has never set foot in, there are also countless treasures and wealth. The rogue traders who are in charge of exploring have already contacted no less than ten The loyal human colonies have all experienced unimaginable torture and pain in the era of strife, and they are always looking forward to the salvation and gospel from the human mother planet."

"At the same time, we have also encountered a large number of alien worlds, those separatists who are unwilling to surrender, and the bad species who are in the same rank as those alien scum: which one of them should be operated first, it has already been destroyed in Astarte There was a discussion among the big shots."

"On the other side, those Reza Mechanicians are also having a... some intense academic discussions. The mineral-rich worlds we have encountered and recorded along the way have reached double digits. Among them There are some crazy high-quality mineral deposits, and the first moment those orange-red robed mechanical monks saw those mineral deposits, they regarded their colleagues as sworn opponents."

"This is just the wealth brought by the Avalon star region. If our lord Primarch is like... the one from Ultramar and wants to expand her kingdom, I don't care about other things." I can guarantee it, but the Dawnbreaker Legion will definitely become one of the richest imperial armies."

"All in all, even if evaluated by the harshest imperial standards, the world of Avalon, and even a considerable part of the world in the entire Avalon sector, are definitely worthy of two words."

"Heaven."

— Narrator of the Dawnbreaker Legion: Darkley

[Note: Within half a Terra standard time after the itinerary was completely written down, it was confiscated by the Legion’s Internal Affairs Department (one of the organizations split from the original Fourth Fleet). I lost all memory of this narrative in the future]

------

After Maeve, Queen of the Kingdom of Essybernia, woke up, she did three things in sequence.

The first is to take care of your own appearance and grooming, and personally establish the most important first step in a queen's exquisite decoration. Although her maid is outside the door, after these things that involve her neck and ears She can't trust anyone in this matter.

Although it was just a primer, she treated it as the most important thing, and almost stuck her beautiful eyelashes on the expensive silver-rimmed round mirror: After walking out of this door, she must always maintain Best Queen manners until coming back again.

After all, with the help of the world's empress Semiramis, she has just solved her father and six equally honorable sisters, and boarded the oak throne of Ahiberia. She knows very well that her men The dukes and lords are watching her every move, and the loyalty of the Janissary directly under the king is also questionable: at least until she has tested every Janissary infantry and cavalry commander on her bed. , she would never trust their ability and loyalty.

As for the world empress Semiramis?If the supreme ruler of all of Avalon finds that Maeve can't even maintain the balance of the court of Aisibenia, her first reaction is definitely to let another more capable and obedient guy sit on the oak throne, and Not to give Maeve any help.

Thinking of this, the [Queen of Purity] with a better face snorted softly. She stroked the exquisite face in the mirror that didn't need any decorations, and blew a smiling kiss to herself as the first step in daily life. end.

Qian's finger fell, the clock rang, and the right knock on the door reached Maeve's ears on time. She responded, and six maids and two guards ushered in. The maids began to take care of Maeve's decorations, while the guards put their hands on the handle of their knives and glanced at the sleeping Imperial Guard officials on the bed, waiting for the Queen's order.

Maeve waved her hand casually, and the guards backed out: The loyalty, equipment and skills of the man on the bed were all personally tested by the queen last night, and he received a very good evaluation. He is enough to become a member of the queen's court part of the network.

It seems that today, the roses cultivated by Queen Maeve are going to be hungry.

Maeve stood there, letting the maids take care of everything, and the ladies poured in one after another, reporting on today's itinerary, memories and various tasks: but they all had to be queued after one thing.

The queen of Ahibernia took care of herself as quickly as possible. After completing the second step of the daily plan, she will proceed to the third step of today, which is also the most important step.

Leading a group of carefully selected guards and female officers, Queen Maeve left the palace prepared for herself with an elegant trot that was closest to a trot, walked through the empty courtyard, and headed towards the towering castle on the cliff. go.

The Empress of the World is there.

Semiramis, waiting for Maeve's audience and gift.

------

About 20 years ago, after the arrival of those huge fleets that claimed to be the "Empire of Humanity", Maximilian, who was already the emperor of the world's most powerful country at that time, was also the overlord of the Majorian Continent, and he did not hesitate to invest in these fleets. With the help of powerful visitors from beyond the stars, Maximilian established a short but real hegemony and became the world emperor of the entire Avalon.

In fact, long before those powerful visitors really arrived, relying on his extremely powerful daughter [Morgan], Maximilian had actually established a world hegemony, but the path of this talented and bold lord came to an abrupt end: As the fleet of the human empire left this world, Morgan, the daughter of the world emperor, followed quietly, leaving her adoptive father and mother planet.

Not long after she left, a plague took away the emperor's life, and the Aargau family where the emperor belonged immediately set off a bloody and crazy succession war, and the hegemony was wiped out: but when everyone thought When everything was about to return to the original point, a female emperor who claimed to be Maximilian's daughter and Morgan's sister became the victor of the war.

She is the world queen of Avalon: Semiramis. Her invincible spiritual power has allowed the Argau family to once again establish an unshakable hegemony, and the worship and legend of [Morgan] is here. It has gradually become established and popular in the past twenty years. From the court of Semiramis, fanatical fighters and preachers have come out continuously, completely establishing Maximilian's world hegemony like floating sand, and also Invisibly, Morgan's name was brought into the memory of the new generation.

Thinking of this, Maeve couldn't help blinking. She remembered the stories she had heard since she was a child: One day, a great man named Morgan will return from the stars, and she will bring supreme gifts and opportunities , she will restore the sacred lakes and springs, so that the bravest warriors can go to the stars, and in the midst of heinous wars and great sacrifices, they will gain eternity.

Avalon itself is a world full of heroism and romanticism: knights and princesses, rangers and maidens, the eternal Hall of Valor and the legends of the Kingdom of Shadows, all of which have already existed on all continents. It has been sung for thousands of years, but under the impetus of the Semiramis regime at all costs, Morgan's name began to appear and occupy these epics, and became the figure in the hearts of the new generation of blood that was destined to lead them to the road of heroes.

And now, the legend has come true.

The fleet of the human empire once again appeared on the sky of Avalon, and the leader of this fleet: named Morgan.

When this news came, the bell towers of every continent, every kingdom, and every city were tolling day and night, and the flames of cheers and celebrations continued day and night, and all bloody people who believed in their own strength and courage The people packed their bags one after another, and got on the boats to Majorian Continent: Morgan's former country, and the continent where the legendary God descended from the Eternal Peak is located. If Morgan is going to choose his own warrior, then Will definitely be there.

And long before these reckless heroes were ecstatic about it, the kings and grand dukes have actually received the notification from the highest level of the world's empress, and they have prepared the best young fighters in their own country in awe and fear. , And at this moment, I am very grateful for my foresight.

Queen Maeve is also one of these lucky ones, and she is even more exaggerated: because she was able to ascend the throne relying on the reputation of the world's empress, she almost stuffed all the people of the right age in the country into the Eternal Peak. ship.

And now, she just wanted to praise herself for the decision: she could walk up to Semiramis with her head held high, and sit down with her gentle greeting, and enjoy breakfast and talk with him.

"Do you know the total population of Avalon, Maeve?"

Semiramis's breakfast table was placed on the edge of the railing of the palace terrace, allowing her to see the sun gradually disappearing from the magnificent mountain peaks in the distance anytime and anywhere. She held her fork and gently fiddled with the cake in front of her , let the jam flow out from the crack, staining the snow-white plate with sticky stains.

Opposite her, Queen Maeve tried her best to search for the knowledge in her mind in silence, but in the end, she just shook her head, expressing that she didn't know the number.

"Of course you don't know."

Semiramis laughed, but her smile didn't make Maeve feel the slightest bit of slack. The queen of Esibenia was very aware of the vicious methods of the black-haired world queen in front of her: Semiramis once In one day, [-] rebels were executed in one go, from high-ranking kings to famous sages, they were no different from those of the most humble blood, and were punished as civilians, and were hanged alive On both sides of the avenue in front of the Palace of the World Empress.

And after this bloody execution, she used her invincible psychic power to easily suppress a joint rebellion that swept across three continents.

After witnessing that moment with her own eyes, Queen Maeve knew that the biggest secret to her peaceful and happy life was to crouch under the empress of the world and become a useful person to her forever.

Or rather, someone useful to the person behind her.

Yes, in front of her cronies and obedient figures like Maeve, Semiramis said little: she was just a subordinate of a greater The puppet she manipulated, and the power she revealed that was enough to make the whole of Avalon bow down, was not just a trace of slack and dissatisfaction in Morgan's spare time.

This story sounds very absurd and ridiculous, but all the characters who think it is absurd are now floating on both sides of the avenue in front of the Semiramis Palace.

Therefore, Maeve regarded it as the most credible truth, and everything in front of her proved that Semiramis did not lie to her.

The Queen of Essyberia raised her head slightly, only seeing the huge shadows that could completely cover the entire sky of Avalon.

It was a fleet, a vast fleet that had always seemed to reign over Avalon in the blink of an eye, it was Morgan's fleet.

"The number is 12 billion."

In front of Queen Maeve, Semiramis was talking eloquently. She didn't seem interested in eating the cake, but simply raised her fork and poked it.

"Avalon has a total population of 12 billion. This is the answer I got in a census three years ago, and a global conscription, even by our strictest standards, can recruit hundreds of millions of people. Hundreds of thousands of recruits: but among them, only 20% actually meet the standards. Or a slightly higher number.”

"And among those who meet the criteria, the number of people who can really undergo transformation surgery and be absorbed by the huge fleet above our heads may be reduced by more than half: that is, after the first round of conscription. If I can Sending 1 men to the fleet above our heads is a very successful thing."

Maeve blinked.

"...Is that an exaggeration, Your Highness?"

"exaggerate?"

Semiramis laughed.

"To conquer a village, I need warriors, to conquer a city, I need generals, and to conquer a kingdom, I need military genius."

"But now, what I need to provide, what I need to offer to those fleets, are characters who can conquer the world, characters who can conquer one world after another, like Avalon."

"Soldiers, generals, military geniuses, no, no, no, not enough."

"What I need: a hero."

"Then tell me, Maeve, where will heroes be produced on Avalon?"

"That's too much, Your Highness."

"As we all know, the land that is ruled by you personally, Majorian: there are fertile fields and pastures all over the place, and there are so many farmers and villages that it is difficult to count, it naturally has a large number of lands that can sweep the entire world. knight."

"Those sons of nobles who wrap themselves in iron armor and travel around on horses, they have listened to the legends of countless heroes since they were young, and when they grow up, when they can pick up a spear and a sword, they will become explorers. Knights, go for your own achievements and prestige, those who are qualified enough to return to their castle to inherit the title, I think they can be called heroes."

"anything else?"

"Also in Arcadia and Ahiberia, on the twin continents, between the kingdom I rule and the city-states dotted across the sea, there have been legends of countless heroes since ancient times, among them Many people, at a very young age, already had blood on their hands and trampled on the remains of countless beasts, monsters and bandits."

"I have been listening to how the Prince of Thebes killed twelve monsters and finally became a god since I was a child, and his imitators emerged endlessly in the following thousands of years, each with royal blood The descendants of my sons are all walking on the twin continents, hunting monsters and bandits in the wilderness, and they are enough to be called heroes."

"Indeed. How do you say that sentence? The heroes of Arcadia are bloodthirsty and passionate, and the heroes of Alcyberia are passionate and bloodthirsty. What do you think of this sentence?"

"It's not biased. The heroes of Alcyberia are more bloodthirsty and sentimental than those of Arcadia."

The two queens laughed at the same time.

"What about other places, Maeve? Do you think there will be so-called heroes born among characters from other continents or islands? For example, those sailors and captains from the Veneto Islands."

"With all due respect, it is difficult. Those Venetians who are surrounded by so-called money and science and technology, they are all potbellied, and they focus on their brains more than their arms and legs. That kind of place is impossible to dare to challenge. Ego hero."

"As for those sailors? There are a few men in fine clothes among them, I can personally guarantee that."

"Um……"

"What about Miska? I remember that the kingdom of Arkham stands on that land, a land that is always gloomy and weird, advocating occultism and archaeology, from kings to traffickers, all want to explore the Leng plain in the north of them happy."

Leng Yuan...

Maeve shivered.

"With all due respect, Your Highness."

"Except for those lunatics from the Arkham Kingdom, no one dares to explore Leng. Sooner or later, the people of Misca will be destroyed by their own exploration and suicide visits to the extreme north. Those who have the most are lunatics. The second The most numerous are occult scholars, and the third most are heritage witnesses."

"It seems that I can only expect them to provide me with enough good soldiers before they kill themselves."

"Speaking of this question, I remembered, Maeve, in the report you submitted to me, there seems to be a soldier you keep mentioning."

"Yes, his name is Kuran, and he comes from Ulstershire under my command. He is a typical Ulster ugly hound. He killed many of my subordinates in the previous war against my rule in Ulstershire. fighter."

"But you still recommended him?"

"He's only 14 years old and he's fully qualified for the call-up."

"I can assure you, Your Highness, his strength and martial arts will definitely impress you. If you are not frightened by his ugly appearance in battle, he is a fighter who will definitely satisfy you. "

"Maeve, your smile tells me that your recommendation this time is actually not pure."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Maeve readily admitted.

"For me, it's a very good deal because as much as I hate Curran, I can't deny that he definitely meets the standards of an Astartes warrior, and his departure will also make Ulster County Worship at my feet more humbly."

"As for what kind of life, experience and war he will experience after becoming an Astartes warrior, I don't care at all."

"You are not afraid that after he became an Astartes warrior, he would recall and complain about his deep hatred with you. I remember that the relationship between you and him has never been improved."

"Relax, Your Highness."

Maeve laughed, a confident smile on her face.

"If Kuran can't suppress his ugly temper, even if he becomes a true Astartes warrior..."

"He will definitely die badly."

　Ah, the painful but necessary setting chapters, I was wondering whether to skip these things, not to write about how Morgan regained his home planet in a shock, but to start hacking and farming happily, everyone how do you feel
　　
　
(End of this chapter)