Emperor's Bane

Chapter 221 Pragmatist Philosophy
Curran was an Ahibernian, from Ulstershire, a sad country of thugs, killers, and wretches of all sorts, and it was from that barren land that he emerged, Possess the possibility of becoming an Astartes warrior.

At the same time, he was also the first candidate to be selected for plastic surgery: this is certainly because of his talent visible to the naked eye, but there is also another reason, and this reason is also very simple and realistic:

Because, if he doesn't take him to the operation, the other candidates will be beaten to death by him.

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Kuran groped around the room for a long time, but all he found was a sword.

He reached out and grasped the strange metal he had never seen before. For a moment, he marveled at the fact that such a tough creation was randomly thrown in the corner of the room: he was in the entire Ulstershire army, I have never seen such a beautiful sword.

He grasped it tightly, now, this weapon is his, it is his wealth and treasure, no one can take it away, even if the person who comes to ask for it will claim that he is the original owner of this sword, he will only suffer To Kuran's relentless attack.

To scramble and possess, like a hungry hound: it was a lesson his past life had taught him, and he took it to heart and enjoyed it.

The mad dog from Ulster held the sharp metal tightly in the palm of his right hand, constantly weighing and considering how to exert the greatest lethality, but this process did not last long, because soon, a This primitive instinct dispelled his advance preparation for the next battle.

hunger.

He is hungry.

He needs something to eat, he hasn't eaten for too long: since the tall people who call themselves the Chosen took them away from their respective companions, they have completely lost the concept of time, only biological The indirect warning will remind them about how long it has been.

Kuran still vaguely remembered that those towering savage valleys were used as the first level of selection, and all kinds of wild beasts that lived here or were specially captured ran rampant in them, and they would cause trouble or mortal threats.

He still remembers that only a small number of people have withstood the inspection of various body functions and can enter that valley, find the way out, or become rations for wild beasts: he once heard a cry that also belonged to Al Ster's wailing sounded not far away, but he had no intention of going to the rescue at all, not because of his ability, but because of his attitude.

He is from Ulster, but this does not mean that he needs to talk to those Ulster people. He has seen with his own eyes those peers from the same place or even different places, and established friendship while waiting for candidates, but he Never bothered with that kind of stuff.

He walked through the jungle, waited for the beasts to eat and drink, and then launched a neat attack, digging out large pieces of flesh and blood from them, finding a hidden corner, roasting them until they were half-cooked, randomly stuffed into his mouth.

This is how he spent the next few days, those unfortunate candidates he regarded as natural bait, piece after piece of roasted undercooked animal meat wriggling in his stomach and intestines, helping the Ulster's mad dog was the first to break through the fog in the valley and came to the next level.

In the past few days, he didn't see any human skeletons, as if they were completely devoured, or managed to escape: this more or less paralyzed his remaining unease dissipate.

He was the first: he had confirmed it from the mouths of those tall silver warriors, and it was enough to please him more than any pity or mercy could have given him pleasure.

In joy, he stood at the forefront of everyone, the first to rush to the next difficulties, and behind him were countless silver-white players who were only a step and a half behind him. Wuji, to say the least, tens of thousands of people, so that this selection can continue.

In the next few days, ten days, or dozens of days, he marched through all kinds of unimaginable hells, and his sensitivity to time has long been shattered along with the storm in his memory. At the beginning, he could only see the ever-changing purgatory on earth: the heart-piercing cold wind and the endless desert, the deep forest where giant beasts were rampant and the poisonous mist-filled swamp, he was in the midst of a storm composed of half-human mosquitoes. Trekking hard, carefully avoiding the huge castle-like camps in the mist, listening to the cries of the unfortunate fellows in their desperate struggle with monsters, and the strange gunshots and roars that followed.

He didn't know how long such days lasted, because he never raised his head to look at the sun again, he went upstream in the violent hurricane and sandstone array, urged by the successor behind him who may or may not exist , not daring to stay for a moment, he vaguely remembered that in some levels, he was not No.1: this was enough to make him so furious that he forgot those physical pains and sufferings.

Finally, he passed through the last dense forest full of poisonous insects and small wild animals, and came to a clearing. In front of him was a castle that merged with the entire mountain, which seemed to be hundreds of meters high.

Here it is, here he is.

Although there is no actual basis, but in the dark, a distant voice told him so, and made him firm.

Finally, the last of his non-existent strength was exhausted, and his calves and arms whipped the muscles at all costs, gaining the last source of strength, allowing him to sit awkwardly on the ground instead of straight fall down.

The moment he sat down, the mad dog from Ulster passed out completely. Before he lost consciousness, he only heard the heavy iron boots stepping over the gravel and slowly coming to his side .

……

Kuran blinked.

Those memories that have been completely shattered floated in his mind, but it did not stop his limbs from constantly groping and moving in the real space. He squatted on the ground, and his two outstretched arms also touched the ground. There was darkness all around him, he took a step back, and his back was against a cold wall in the darkness.

This is a small room, the lights are not turned on, only the faintest rays of light come from the ventilation ducts and the gaps that he can't see, so that the pupils of the Ulster can barely distinguish some of the darkness. Things, relying on these twilight lights, he constantly identified the direction and location, and relying on the smell in the air, he slowly moved towards the corner that he deduced to have food and water.

He wasn't sure if he had been sent in by those silver warriors, but he was sure he could live well here: closed and dark, but not lacking in anything needed to survive.

After slowly groping for a distance in the dark, the Ulster man found food and water. He found that they were not deliberately placed in the center of the room, but randomly scattered in the corners and around, as if silently Tell them clearly: If they can't stay active after waking up, they can't try to fill their bellies.

Undoubtedly, that means elimination.

Kuran stretched out his hand and grabbed the food on the plates. The texture from the center of his palm was like a mixture of sand and water. It didn't have any edible elements except fineness, but he And it did smell what could be called meat.

He thought for a while, then drank some pure water in big gulps, then grabbed these things that might be food, and stuffed a little into his mouth tentatively.

"Don't worry, you can eat them, they are harmless."

Just when his teeth were about to touch the food, a faint sound came from a corner he didn't notice, which frightened Kuran, who couldn't help jumping back and hitting the wall: he himself Very curious, at this moment, he still has such power.

The mad dog from Ulster narrowed his eyes. He temporarily forgot about his hunger, and focused all his attention on the opposite sounding point. His pupils emitted a dark green light, like a wolf. With all his attention, he quickly saw clearly: a few meters away from him, under the corner of another wall, half-lyed a fully armed man, and the man's hands were also scattered with several empty plates and water bottles.

The man who spoke was fully armed, with a helmet and iron armor carved with gorgeous patterns covering his whole body. In his other hand, he was holding an extremely sharp sword: but it was not as good as the one in Culin's hand. Bundle.

He looked dirty, as if he had just crawled out of endless mud and feces, covered in dirt, but on his chest, there was a small coat of arms, which painted Some kind of ferocious beast that Culin didn't recognize.

The coat of arms was clean, it was a carefully preserved and wiped treasure, reflecting some kind of abnormal metal light in the dark room, telling some kind of noble and adversity sentiment, making Ulster’s Mad Dog has a different kind of irritability.

He is a knight.

After simple observation, Kuran made such a judgment.

He is illiterate, but among the stories of druids and bards, Kuran can still remember some customs and customs in other places. He heard from those people that at the other end of the sea, at a distance Farther away from the mainland of Cadia and Ebernesia, there is a continent called Majorian, where people are used to riding on horses, hunting giant beasts with spears and swords, and using various Oaths and virtues to bind oneself, and to be proud of.

What a strange bunch of people.

He thought about it, and then looked at the guy opposite, until he realized how dirty the knight was all over his body: only then did he realize something belatedly, and there was also an unbearable smell on his body. The stench, and his hands were covered with dirt and filth, and the food he grabbed was naturally contaminated a lot.

But he didn't care. After tentatively tasting it with his tongue, he grabbed the plate with both hands, and wolfed down these meaty but definitely not meaty things, eating like an ignorant beast.

The knight shook his head and sighed. At his feet was a strip of torn and soaked cloth, and his hands were extremely clean, just like those plates.

Hearing the sigh, Kuran casually glanced at the knight, and the dissatisfaction in his heart accumulated more and more, so he lowered his head and ate again.

The food on these plates is not meat, but they are really good against hunger. After a few plates, he is already full. After these soft sand-like things enter his stomach, they will mix with the food that has already entered. The water had a strange reaction, and soon his stomach was full.

"Where are you from, stranger?"

Seeing that he had almost eaten, the knight on the opposite side of the room opened his mouth tentatively. Under his fully armed helmet, there was a voice that was already extremely weak but still full of upbringing and politeness. Those voices were heard from the noble ladies who were kept in the deep palace, and he had a very bad relationship with one of them.

He remembered, too, the so-called Queen who had started the wars that had drawn his native Ulstershire into the fray: Maeve, who had fought against the tyrant's armies and warriors, and won every victory until Ulstershire surrendered in the face of sheer numerical disparity.

Kuran's efforts did not prevent the loss of his hometown, but as a monster who could fight against an entire army at the age of 14 and retreat unscathed, after the war, he was thrown into Afghanistan by those in power as an unmanageable monster. In State's election campaign, it played a dual role of inviting credit and eliminating evil.

Thinking of this, the flame called anger burned higher and higher in his chest, roaring continuously, always intending to engulf some unlucky person.

He raised his head and glanced at the knight, but didn't answer, he just used his rough fingers to trace the residue on the plate, and then put them into his mouth, licking them endlessly.

After filling his stomach, he still held the sword tightly and looked around the darkness like a wolf, only to find that the room was bigger than he imagined, except for the knight sitting opposite him who made him uncomfortable In addition, next to the knight, that is, at the diagonally opposite position of Kuran, a thinner figure than him was lying under the corner of the wall, silently, and it was unknown whether he had passed out or was already dead.

And when he looked to the other side, he also saw a lot of listless strong figures, they were leaning against the corners and corners, some were still fainting, while others were also placed with empty plates and water bottles .

He cleared up the number of people slightly, wanting to count how many of these potential competitors there are, but when his vision passed a corner in the distance, the endless darkness finally obscured his pupils.

"Maybe, I can introduce myself first, stranger."

"After all, it is very rude to ask someone's identity rashly. I just forgot this. I apologize for my rudeness, stranger."

Opposite him, the knight was still talking, as if he wanted to pass the unknown time in this way. His voice clearly revealed some kind of elegant accomplishment and education, although there was no arrogance in the slightest, but It made the savage-like Ulster mad dog feel instinctive hostility.

Kuran kept squatting like this, listening to the knight's words with his ears up, listening to the family and history that he didn't understand, while looking at this nagging guy, thinking about how to fight more in future conflicts. Ok knock it to the ground.

This state lasted for a while, maybe half an hour. Under the effect of sufficient food and water, Kuran could clearly feel that the strength was returning to the muscles and tendons of his whole body. He glanced at his side, There was still enough food and purified water for several people, but he didn't intend to give them away, even if he couldn't take a bite now.

Just when Kuran was thinking about how to pack them, a weak voice interrupted the knight's words and the hound's thoughts, and the figure lying beside the knight waved his arms along with the voice, feeling a little weak Struggling, he supported his body and slowly stood up.

The knight who was still introducing himself soon discovered this scene. This noble gentleman from the Majorian continent extended his helping hand without hesitation. He gently caught the man who had just recovered from fainting. An arm of the awakened stranger leaned him against the wall. After doing all this, the knight immediately looked left and right, trying to find some food and water to help the newly awakened stranger.

But unfortunately, where the knight could see and reach, the only remaining food and water were placed next to Kuran, behind the protection of Kuran's sharp sword.

The knight hesitated, but he spoke anyway.

"Stranger, I see that you have eaten enough food and water just now, maybe you can pass some of the food and water around you now to help this brother who just woke up, he really needs them. "

Kuran smiled, like a hungry wolf mocking a cowardly domestic dog.

With a mocking face, the ruthless Ulster man spoke the first sentence without haste.

"do you know him?"

"I do not recognize."

The knight shook his head honestly.

"But he needs help."

What he said, this absurd statement in Kuran's eyes, was like a truth that should be taken for granted.

"He is your competitor, just like you and I are also competitors, helping him is embarrassing yourself, don't you know?"

"I know, but what appeared before my eyes was a stranger who needed help."

Kuran blinked his eyes, his refusal exploded in the darkness with his overly obvious sneer, he swung his sword lightly, leaned back the plates full of food, and then An attitude of watching a circus performance, watching the newly awakened figure struggle with hunger and thirst.

A few more obvious rays of light came out from nowhere, as if someone was watching here in the dark. Through these lights, the knight could clearly see the cruel smile on Kuran's face. He was turning around. , clenched the sword in his hand, the elegant words behind the helmet have turned into a rather serious inquiry.

But Kuran didn't care about all of this, he just watched the ray of light carefully, as if thinking of something, a trace of beastly wisdom flashed in his savage pupils.

"You can help him, stranger, those food and water are useless to you now, but to him, they are enough bargaining chips to save his life."

"I know...but I won't give it to him."

"why?"

"My pleasure!"

The knight didn't reply, he was silent for a very long time, just when he was about to speak again, Kuran moved.

Half angry, half joking, he grabbed a plate of food and threw it at the struggling figure. With the sound of the body being hit by the plate and another cry of pain, the knight clenched his sword and stood up. He stood up: He didn't see it at all, there was no trace of mischief or cruelty in Kuran's eyes, it was full of cold reason.

"Stranger, I have to warn..."

"Let the horses come!"

The mad dog from Ulster jumped up, holding the sharp sword he had just obtained, and flexed his muscles nonchalantly.

The knight took a deep breath, and Kuran smiled as he watched his body struggling to support himself.

"Seriously, do you really want to fight me for a guy you don't know at all? You know, you are not my opponent, you will fall here and you will be here after all the hard selection Come to an abrupt end."

"Just because you meddle in your own business."

The knight was silent for a moment, his voice a firm declaration.

"When I took my sword and my coat of arms, I made an oath to every ancestor in the hall of glory: I will draw my sword for any injustice suffered by the weak, and I will Fighting to quell any malicious competition in the world, I will do my best to bring the light of reason and kindness back to the world."

"The moment I made the oath, it became the creed of my life and the initial motivation to support me in every battlefield. I once participated in a great defense battle on the land of Artois. Protecting dozens of villages and peasants from the hands of monsters, I once faced bandits with my own power and protected the pure girl from Montfort Castle."

"I have participated in countless battles, traveled countless times, and devoted myself to fierce battles that have nothing to do with me in your eyes, just to fulfill my promise, just to fulfill the sacred promise I made to my ancestors pledge."

"I will not violate it, no matter when."

Kuran smiled. He bared his teeth like a dog. He didn't speak any more. Instead, he bent down, gathered enough strength, and rushed to the heavily armed opponent in front of him without hesitation. The enthusiasm of the battle made his face change. It was distorted: the bloody mouth stretched all the way to the ears, the bristling hair was as hard as a wild boar's bristle, and one of the two eyeballs was sunken and the other raised, like a twisted monster in legend.

The knight was stronger than he had imagined. He withstood the shock of the crazy scene in front of him, leaving a few obvious scars on the Ulster man with his strict defense and fierce attack, but he was like the most The fierce argali couldn't resist the bite from the wild wolf. After several rounds of confrontation and impact as fast as lightning, Kuran found an opportunity. He used a feint to attract the attention of the knight, and then Another savage elbow knocked him to the ground.

The hardest part of his arm hit the knight's heart without hesitation, breaking the tougher will under the armor.

He won, cleanly.

Stepping on this opponent, the big sword was gently slashing on the somewhat damaged armor, Kuran seemed to be thinking about where to speak, and at this moment, an invisible force attacked he.

He turned his head and saw the figure who had just woken up. This person raised a hand with all his strength, and the invisible power came from his whisper.

Kuran recognized it. It was a character from Misca Continent. They have been good at this invisible magic since ancient times, which made them persecuted for a time.

But now, this has become an advantage instead, and even those Miska who do not have extremely strong physiques will become some kind of special candidates to join the selection of Astartes warriors.

Thinking of this, the Ulster man spat in disdain. He looked at the unconscious knight under his feet, threw off the helmet, and saw a face that was older than him.

The soft stubble shows that the knight is also a teenager, and the scars and vicissitudes on his face make him look like he is in his 20s or even 30s, which also shows that his achievements are not boastful .

Kuran snorted softly. He did not take the opponent's life, but set his savage eyes on the frail bug who dared to challenge him. Flicking away, gripping the point of the knife, the Ulster man walked to his next prey, looking to deliver the fatal blow from the neck.

Slowly, he raised the blade.

------

"enough!"

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Finally, Kuran heard the voice.

With a satisfied smile on his face, he quickly put away the blade, his movements were as smooth as if he never intended to harvest anyone's life.

He turned his head and looked in the direction he had expected before. Sure enough, just as he thought, just as he deduced from the sudden appearance of light, in that direction, there was a door that no one could reach. The hidden door that was discovered was pushed open in the blink of an eye.

An unprecedentedly tall Astartes warrior walked in, he was maybe four meters tall, when he walked in front of Kuran, he first glanced at the unconscious knight, after confirming that he was breathing, he felt a little The admiring gaze turned into a cold gaze, and shifted to Kuran again.

For the first time, Kuran took some heavy breaths. Originally, he thought that he would also adapt to these miraculous figures, but when the unprecedentedly tall Astartes warrior walked all the way in front of him, the helpless The terrified savage still couldn't help admiring in a low voice.

"Gods..."

He marveled at the perfect killing skills and the tallest ruthless body.

"Your gods have nothing to do with this place, Candidate."

The Astartes warrior who came to this room stared coldly at the savage lunatic in front of him. For a moment, Kuran thought he was going to turn his head off, but in the end, he just asked in heavy words. In a word.

"You did it on purpose, have you noticed the clues in all this?"

"It's intuition, my lord."

The Ulster man laughed. After overcoming his initial fear, he dared to show that savage smile to Morgan's son. His eyes were scattered, and he looked at the opened door, and he could vaguely feel it from inside. A few strands of cold awn.

"I once guessed irresponsibly that this would be a small episode between the trial and the final link, a free time for you to better observe us, but I'm sorry, I can't bear this kind of free time, So I decided to do something and let you take me away."

"I think I passed, didn't I? After all, I didn't commit any bans. Any non-lethal battles during the selection process are allowed."

"……Yes."

After a long silence, the Astartes warrior reluctantly acknowledged Kuran's words.

"You don't have to stay here, come with me, you passed all the previous tests with the best grades, a priceless gene seed and a transformation surgery are waiting for you, if you can bear them If you have the power, you will be like me."

Hearing the news that was enough to make him happy, Kuran stared closely at this Astartes warrior who seemed to have some malicious intentions. The knight in front of him seemed to have some invisible resemblance.

"I will fight by your side, my lord?"

The warrior paused.

"I am a soldier of the Emperor."

"Heir of Morgan, too."

"I come from the newly born Legion of Dawnbreakers, and serve the great Queen of Dawn."

"My name is Hector, and I am the commander of the 23rd Company of the Dawnbreaker Legion.

"Let me tell you, Candidate."

"Yes, if you can withstand the transformation surgery and all the training after that, if you are lucky enough or unlucky enough, you will be assigned to my subordinates and become my warrior, my...fighting brother."

That's enough.

Kuran laughed, his mouth was grinning, the ugliness of the battle hadn't disappeared from his face, and the big mouth that grinned all the way to the ears made him look more like some kind of terrible monster than human , he looked directly at Hector, and asked the most important question in his mind, which was the last question.

"I'm No.1, am I?"

"...Yes, candidate."

"If you really want to know, then let me tell you that as of now, about 1 people are still undergoing the final test and observation period, and you are the first among them to undergo the transformation operation people."

"Yes, you are the first."

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When the knight awoke, another Astartes warrior appeared before him.

Unlike the tall, ruthless, and commanding Hector, the Son of Morgan's light-gray hair and genial smile made him look more like a benevolent teacher.

"Ah, are you awake?"

"Don't worry about the companion beside you, he has been rescued in time."

"Time? Now three Terra standard days have passed since your coma, yes, all the transformation operations are going on in sequence, and yours has already been done."

The knight blinked, and he quickly looked down at his body.But he found that he did not become tall and burly like the Astartes warrior in front of him. A possibility flashed in his mind, making his complexion pale.

At this moment, the Astartes warrior beside him patiently patted him on the shoulder, his amiable smile seemed to have a kind of natural magic power, which made the knight whose heart was falling apart find some kind of support and move forward direction.

"Before the next conversation, please let me introduce myself to you. As you can see, I am a member of the Dawnbreaker Legion. You can call me Hawthorne."

"Here, I regret to inform you that although your physical indicators fully meet the standards for becoming an Astartes warrior, you do not match our gene seeds, and there will be no slightest success in forcibly implanting Sex, on the contrary, will cause irreparable damage to your body, so after consideration, we gave up on performing surgery on you."

"But there is no need to despair about it. Young people, everyone has multiple routes in the future. Now you are only encountering temporary setbacks. This does not mean that your life will be over."

"To be honest, three days ago, several other fighters and I were observing every move of each of you during the period after all the trials. Your actions left a very deep impression on us."

"Young man, although you can't be a fighter, it doesn't mean you can't use other ways to contribute to Morgan, to the world in front of you, to those vows and everyone you care about."

"Let me tell you, while this transformation operation is taking place, our great Primarch has officially signed a new law, on another world in this galaxy, as far as you can look up Among the brightest stars we have seen, we will build a university city that can cover the entire world, and its name is Faithful Academy."

"It will have countless colleges and universities, as well as the best teachers hired from all over the galaxy, and it will continuously produce real knowledge about administration, law, management, people's livelihood and other aspects. Mainstay."

"Here, I extend an invitation to you. Although you cannot become an Astartes warrior, your physical fitness, your moral concepts and your actual actions all show that you are capable of making great achievements. merit."

"Therefore, here, I hope that you will be the first batch of students of this college to be established, and I will personally write a letter of recommendation for you. In view of your past experience and your own personality, I think you are very It is suitable to be a member of the Judicial Academy affiliated to the Faithful Academy."

"There you will learn how to distinguish and implement various laws, and learn how to find a suitable balance between law and humanity through the local special environment, so as to help those weak in need and calm down those who need help. scourge, and let true peace come among mortals."

"When you graduate from there, you will be assigned to the legal department."

"This is a department directly under the Primarch. Apart from this, no one has the authority to govern it. It will be a paramilitary organization that can operate independently between worlds to maintain the justice and enforcement of laws."

"When you have completed all your studies at the Academy of Loyalty, and passed all the graduation exams, real-life drills, and moral assessments, you will enter that department, and in the future, among the countless stars conquered by the Dawnbreaker Legion, you will defend your Vows and longings."

"Come on, young man, take it."

"I don't ask you to report to that academy immediately. I know how hard it is for you not to be an Astartes, but please keep this in mind."

"Being a candidate for an Astartes, being able to get to this point, is itself the best proof of your strength and ability. Failure to finally become an Astartes can only show that you may not be suitable for this path, but It doesn't rule you out as a loser."

"This is just a temporary defeat, young man. Join us, and you will gain a real direction of strength in the future, and wash it away with countless successes and careers."

"You are a mortal."

"But mortals can be great too."

"Yes, remember it, this is the school language of the Faithful Academy."

(End of this chapter)