Emperor's Bane

Chapter 223 The Helpless Classroom of the Mother of Genes

After spending 1888 Terra Standard Hours in the arena of the Second Legion, Ahriman finally saw the dim lights on the ship's corridor once again.

For a moment, the heir of Magnus even felt a sense of gratitude as if it had been a lifetime ago. He stood in the corridor of the battleship where the crowd was gradually dispersing, with one hand tightly holding Barek's outstretched arm, As if still immersed in endless hallucinations.

"...What's the matter with you, Ahriman?"

Barek, who also belongs to the Thousand Sons Legion, looked at Ahriman strangely: the first company commander of the Thousand Sons Legion has no wounds or scars on his body, and his palms still convey new vitality and health, even his armor All shiny and new.

If it weren't for those grayish-white pupils, anyone would believe that Ahriman had just experienced sufficient rest and maintenance, and was ready to go, just like those dawns who smelled the smell of war and dispersed from the arena Like the warriors, they are brimming with ambition unique to the Great Crusade.

"me……"

Ahriman's lips trembled, and his trembling hands gripped his battle brother tightly. The son of Magnus found himself more secure in another Thousand Sons than he was now.

"What's the matter, Ahriman?"

Barek blinked. He couldn't help checking Ahriman's current state of mind with his psychic power: Very good, Ahriman obviously got regular and healthy eating, rest, and proper exercise.

"I……"

"He's all right, Barack."

A gentle voice intervened in the conversation of the two Thousand Sons warriors, and it was seen that Bayal was fully armed at this time, and he was standing aside with that almost iconic friendly smile on his face.

"What can happen to Ahriman? At least three medical teams are protecting him at close range anytime and anywhere, constantly checking his physical health. To put it a bit exaggerated, the medical treatment and services he enjoys are even better than genetics. Primarchs are better."

The kind smile, the gentle words, and the squinted eyes exuded a wonderful force field that made Barek extremely suspicious, but he didn't dare to utter even half a sentence. Barek boldly looked at Ahriman again.

"Are you all right, Ahriman?"

"..."

Bayar's squinting eyes moved towards Ahriman silently, causing the son of Magnus, who was about to say something, to cough a few times, showing a very pale encouraging smile.

"I'm fine, Barack."

"I'm doing fine."

"Their reception was very gracious and I really like it here."

Barek blinked, he glanced at the silent smile from Bayar, and then at Ahriman in front of him.

Ok……

He believed it.

But having said that, when he saw Bayar before, he always felt that this legendary figure with bright eyes had a good temper, worthy of his title of "Affable Knight". From Bayar's smile, seeing Bayar's pupils narrowed because of the smile...

How could he feel some kind of awe?
------

The army assembled.

"The various companies and special operations departments have all entered a state of combat readiness, and all the warships participating in this expedition have also completed all maintenance procedures. Reza's technical priests ensure that they are sufficient to deal with the most extreme situations."

"The legion council has just presented the finalized marching plan, waiting for your approval, before it can be officially issued to each combat company."

"In addition, according to your order: Avalon must keep at least [-] Dawnbreakers at any time, and the legion council has already listed the list of those left behind. Since this is the first time you have personally commanded the legion, the absence of such The pomp and circumstance will cause dissatisfaction among those left behind, because His Excellency Marshall proposed that he could stay as the garrison commander of Avalon to appease these dissatisfaction."

[My old knight is still as reliable as ever, isn't he? 】

"No one will disrespect His Excellency Marshall's words, my lord."

【That’s true, but I shouldn’t be too aggressive. No matter how old a knight is, he’s still a knight. Maybe I can look forward to his magnanimity this time, but I’ll bring him back to the battlefield after all. 】

【I've seen other people make this mistake before, so I definitely can't make it again, don't you, Lana? 】

"Your wisdom, my lord."

The chief old guard bowed his head and saluted: unconsciously, he seemed to have advanced from a simple private guard leader to Morgan's attendant and personal representative when necessary.

Morgan rubbed the corners of her brows. After a period of adequate rest, her brain regained clarity again, but the emptiness brought about by the lack of soul storage still needs real food to make up for it.

[Is there anything else?Rana, what's going on with Reza? 】

"Reza's war sages have made full preparations. They have mobilized a huge mechanical army and an unknown number of Titans. According to your request, one of them will join Luther Among your branch fleets."

【Has Luther responded? 】

"Your Excellency Luthor is very excited. He seems to have rarely cooperated with Mechanics and Titans. He has always marveled at the size and strength of those god machines. He and Iron Warriors' Dantioch and those generals from Catachan He also gets along very well, and is confident that he can complete all the tasks you entrust him with."

"If you weren't resting, he even wanted to swear to you in person that he would clean up those pirate dens within a year, and make the entire Avalon galaxy free from any pirate attacks as quickly as possible. Harassment."

[Very confident, but I believe he also has enough ability: Few people will see Luthor's ability, and few people will really use this power. 】

[For a knight, this is really unfortunate, isn't it? 】

"...You seem to highly admire Lord Luther's ability, my lord."

These words made Morgan's eyebrows raised involuntarily. She laughed, and turned her head to look at Lana who was standing beside the silver throne, until that resolute face lowered quietly.

[I thought you didn't care about these things, Lana. 】

"I lost my word, my lord."

[Nothing, where did we just talk about, oh, Reza, have the things I ordered from Reza arrived? 】

"Just arrived, my lord."

[It's pretty fast, I thought it would take a long time. 】

"After all, it is one of the best large-scale foundry worlds, and productivity can be guaranteed."

Morgan smiled, and as a simple answer to her guard, she focused on Reza's production report, feeling satisfied and joyful for the shockingly huge numbers on the electronic board, because every number Both symbolize a huge bargaining chip.

Unknowingly, Morgan began to think about a question: How could she use these brand-new bargaining chips in exchange for the lives of her children in the chaos of war?
------

In general, the result of the conscription in Avalon did disrupt many of Morgan's plans.

No matter how confident the Spider Queen is in her spiritual power, she still knows that she cannot replace an entire legion. For a long time to come, Dawnbreaker will be one of her most important assets.

On this basis, no matter how indifferent the Master of the Second Legion is to his children, there is one thing she has to admit now:
In a short period of time, the Second Army did not have the capital to withstand a tragic battle, even if it was a tragic victory.

Using the lives of soldiers to open the way like the Iron Warriors is something Morgan absolutely cannot do.

And even if it was the plan of the Dark Angels and Space Wolves to sow more than [-] lives in the void of Duran when they captured Duran, now it seems that it is a [luxury] that Morgan is not qualified to touch.

At the very least, until her legion returns to a reassuring number, the Spider Queen must avoid any kind of huge loss, and must ensure that other factors in the war, or even any factors, can be used to exchange her little by little The lives of the heirs, in the case of bloodshed as little as possible, to win the war.

Sounds a bit difficult, doesn't it.

After all, this is the Great Crusade. In this exciting age set off by the Lord of Humanity, even an angel of death like an Astartes warrior is nothing more than a precious consumable on the battlefield. There are too many things More important than their lives, the Emperor and the Primarchs were tossed like gravel, allowing the elite Astartes warriors to be consumed on the battlefield like mortals when necessary or unnecessary.

Yes, in the eyes of some generous primarchs, even at unnecessary moments, Astartes warriors can be used as consumables, dying for any factor on the battlefield.

But it's a pity that Morgan couldn't experience the boldness and generosity of some Primarchs in a short time. She had to hold the only more than 2 fighters in her hands, thinking sadly about how to further protect their Life, how to use more chips to win.

Fortunately, with Morgan's casual chess before and after returning to the empire, she can use quite a few chips: just like the electronic board in her hand, it was originally only used when communicating with Riza's technology saints. , In order to stabilize the relationship between the two parties and complete the flash of inspiration in my mind, I casually put forward opinions.

But unexpectedly, this thing turned around and became her life-saving straw: Then again, the foundry world of Reza is more reliable and honest than Morgan imagined.

Thinking of this, Morgan's face, which had been gloomy due to various things, finally appeared a little brighter again, which made Lana, who was observing secretly, heaved a sigh of relief.

Sure enough, the next second, Morgan reached out to him.

【star map. 】

Lana heard the words, and quickly handed over the star map in his hand, which was the battle plan deduced by the legion council after constant discussions and negotiations.

In the shadows that he didn't notice, the maid of the Lord of the Second Legion came quietly from the other side of the throne, and picked up her own electronic board and recording pen.

[Tell me, Lana. 】

"Yes, my lord."

"According to the discussion of the Legion Council, we finally calculated the most efficient route: starting from Avalon, our fleet will first jump to the Cornwall galaxy, which is the closest galaxy to the Avalon galaxy, and It has rich mineral resources."

"In view of the fact that since our fleet sailed into the Avalon star sector, various forces in the star sector have immediately noticed our arrival and have sent out reconnaissance forces one after another. Therefore, the legion council speculates: we may be in Cornwall The Er galaxy was blocked, and the enemy blocking us is most likely the combined army of the surrounding alien countries. According to our intelligence, it may include a small number of Kroot and Stryxis aliens, while the rest Those alien species have not been recorded by the empire before, and the level of technology they display is not very high."

"With reference to the feedback from Rogue Traders and various exploration fleets, we can basically draw a conclusion: the most difficult alien in the Avalon sector is the Kroot family, whose number may exceed 100 million. For Kroot, it's definitely a huge number."

"In addition to Kroot, there are at least three exploration fleets that have sent back messages at different time periods: In the Theseis galaxy in the Avalon sector, there is a rising greenskin force, although They were still in a state of savagery when they were sighted, but . . . "

【but what? 】

"However, during the last exploration, an exploration ship unfortunately crashed and crashed on a world controlled by green skins. Because the strength of the two sides was too great, the exploration fleet could only abandon the ship there."

【…】

[Very well, it looks like we need to speed up a bit. 】

"The rest of the ten alien countries in these star regions are either backward in technology or too small in size to pose a real threat to our army. Therefore, the legion council proposed that if we really If you encounter an alien coalition force, you can complete the battle, and then turn your head to solve the real problem."

[Glaston? 】

"Yes, Gladstone, an independent human pocket empire, is one of the three original human forces in the Avalon sector, and the only one among them that refuses to surrender to the empire. Our envoys have received courtesy from them, but all All proposals were rejected cleanly."

"This pocket empire completely occupies an industrialized galaxy. They have a medium-sized fleet, including eight main battleships that are comparable to imperial battleships, and at least sixteen defensive space stations around their parent star, but most of them are already in It's old, but the asteroid fortress near Mandeville Point maintains a high combat effectiveness."

"But even so, there is a considerable possibility that Gladstone will actively interfere with our actions. According to the feedback from our envoys, the noble house that actually rules Gladstone seems to regard us as some kind of... ...a very powerful wandering army."

[Washner? 】

"...What? My lord?"

【No, nothing. 】

[Judging from their history and worldview, such an inference is extremely reasonable and true? 】

"Yes."

"The envoys we sent were not harmed in any way, and the Gladstones took them to visit the world's historical exhibition hall, which showed that the Gladstones once established hegemony in this star area, and they are How to keep your frontier free from pirates through bribery and bribery."

"Recently, they even expressed to our envoy very cryptically that they are willing to pay a large sum of money to hire us to destroy the Kroot alien world closest to them."

"But even so, after constant deduction, the legion council still came to a conclusion: If we really win the battle against the aliens, or gain the upper hand, Gladstone will definitely follow their ancient traditions of thousands of years , let their fleet join the alien side to maintain balance."

[The way of survival of ancient dynasties: But this kind of way is also the first death knell of decline or even demise. 】

[What does the parliament think? 】

"The opinion of Parliament is that..."

A ray of beast-like light flickered from Lana's pupils, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily raised because of the next words. At this moment, no one doubted that he was a genuine son of Morgan.

"Just count."

"We don't need to use all our strength to defeat the alien coalition forces. Then we can reserve a part of the army in advance to ambush and wait for Gladstone's fleet to leave their galaxy to check and balance us and the alien forces. When the time comes, annihilate their fleet."

【Well, good, and then what. 】

After a long absence, a sincere smile appeared on Morgan's face.

"As long as their fleet is wiped out, we will occupy an extremely favorable form in the subsequent recovery operations. Those asteroid fortresses and space stations that have lost ship support are not worth mentioning. We will soon break through the outer defense line, and then attack the Gera Ston's home planet launched a landing operation."

[... Qiang Deng? 】

"Yes, although doing so will inevitably pay some casualties and costs, but after repeated deduction and sand table games, the Legion Council is confident that the number of casualties will be reduced to less than [-]..."

【Too much. 】

"……grown ups?"

[I said, too much, Lana. 】

[2000 people, too many. 】

【200 casualties are enough to cause me a lot of mental trouble. It seems that you don't understand how precious you are in my heart now. 】

Morgan closed her eyes helplessly and pinched her temples. She once again thought of the sad success rate, which made her feel bored again.

Naturally, she didn't see Lana's lowered head, nor her clenched, trembling fists.

"Then... your order, my lord?"

Lana's voice seemed to tremble a little.

[Convene the Legion Council... No, call the Legion Council and every company commander who will join this battle, and with my will, order them to gather in the Great Council Hall. I will go there in person after a while and explain to you how to wage this war. 】

"Your will! Your lord!"

Compared with just now, Morgan found that his chief old guard seemed to be a lot more excited. He walked out of the throne room with his head upright, and the steady sound of iron boots stepping on the floor could be easily heard from far away. .

------

Morgan didn't leave right away, because she had to meet another person, a subordinate who was more important than Lana.

The Lord of the Second Legion closed his eyes for a while, then waved his hand, signaling his maid to open a hidden door on the side of the throne room. The next moment, a soldier in black armor appeared in front of Morgan. .

"I salute you, my lord."

Morgan's Lord of Shadows emerges from the darkness, his armor and glory nothing like his battle-brothers, a declaration of total merging into the darkness.

Morgan nodded, her face was instantly covered by night and coldness, seamlessly transitioning from the lazy mother of genes to an indifferent whisperer, her back was straight, and she used the most inviolable The posture is entrenched on the throne, and the eyes looking at the shadow are cold, not like a mother at all, but like a stern and silent tyrant.

But it is precisely this kind of posture of the monarch and ministers that makes the Lord of Shadows' body appear more humble. In his vision that dare not raise his head privately, there is a Heka who wears night as his robe and secrets as wine Goddess Intuit, who appears under the cover of a black robe trimmed with silver, is the Queen of Yejun who is strong enough to stand firm in the darkest secrets and smile faintly after the bloodiest atrocities.

This is the image of Morgan in the eyes of these shadow people: with just one glance, the Dawnbreakers who are addicted to the cause of shadows salute their mother in unison, taking any order from her as their highest pursuit, and there used to be With Morgan's words, the internal differences in the company were swept away.

Ministry of Internal Affairs: This is the new code name given by Morgan to these former Fourth Fleet fighters. They have become the most remote corner of the new Legion Council. Unless it is a big scene where the whole army is dispatched, it is difficult for them to be remembered.

But the shadows didn't care: all the shadow people were compiled by Morgan into the [Secret Society] directly under her, and became a member of the Primarch who could be mobilized at will, and those who appeared to be under the command of the legion council The black-armored warriors who fight often have another mission.

This pleases the Shadows more than any honor or status: their Primarch sees them as someone truly close to whom they can share secrets, and what they want in return is their all.

【thing. 】

Morgan ordered briefly, she kept staring at the black-armored soldier in front of her all the time, and couldn't even reveal his name: the Lord of the Second Legion once wanted to ask the former leader of the Fourth Fleet what his name was, but The Lord of Shadow's answer impressed her deeply.

"In front of you, I have no name, Lord Primarch. I am the Lord of Your Shadows, or whatever name you give me. My real name and my life are not worth mentioning. There will always be a new Lord of Shadows to answer your call."

Morgan got this answer, and she respected this answer. Since then, she has never asked the name of the Lord of Shadows, but occasionally scanned his soul to see if he is still the same person.

And it was in everything the Lord of Shadows handed over that Morgan truly realized the potential of her shadows, and how they had wasted themselves before.

Therefore, the first order she gave to the shadow troops was to incorporate them all into her [Secret Party] system, and to reforge this sharp blade in the shadows with the wisdom and viciousness of the Spider Queen, and The pathetic and ridiculous pocket empire Gladstone will be the first blood to be spilled on this long knife of darkness.

[Let's report. 】

Morgan took the thick stack of summaries in the hands of the Lord of Shadows, flipped through them, and listened to the reports of his subordinates: This is a certain habit of the Spider Queen. She believes that the words on paper and the oral narrations are different. Between, there will always be the slightest difference, and this difference will often lead to countless problems and opportunities.

"Your will, my lord."

"According to your order, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will send personnel in a saturated manner among the two batches of missions sent to Gladstone, including the Astartes and the most elite mortal agents. The characters carry out sabotage, wooing, threats and investigations in advance, and all the information is transmitted to the receiving room of the Ministry of Internal Affairs through the special communication channel strengthened by psionic energy that you gifted."

"On the other hand, because Gladstone has not experienced war for too long, their vigilance and protection against the outside world are not as high as we imagined. With the frequent interstellar trade inside the galaxy as a cover, we have successfully made several Soldiers are lurking in every corner of Gladstone, and they have sent back the complete defense blueprint of Gladstone's home planet."

"Including detailed maps of the industrial center and the main hive capital, the garrison area and the surrounding environment of the fortress of the main land armies, the internal structure of the world's airport, the location of all the void shield generators in the world, and some hidden bunkers and The weapons storage warehouse, and in accordance with your order, we have also collected the locations of all the air defense interception command centers and the power sources of the air defense firepower network in Gladstone, so we can harass and destroy them at any time."

"With our help, some of our mortal agents have also replaced certain middle management figures in Gladstone's ruling class. Overview of zone status."

"It is worth noting, mother, that although Gladstone's naval fleet and void station have serious problems of fund corruption and aging equipment, their army has been well maintained due to the unstable political situation. And enhanced, they are equipped with a large number of super-heavy war engines, and there are even some kind of combat mechs and genetically enhanced fighters."

"However, due to serious political internal conflicts in this world, combat mechas and gene-enhanced fighters are usually under strict surveillance and require the joint activation of several hostile families to use them. According to the information we have found, their combat effectiveness is very impressive. , and can even cause massive damage to Astartes warriors."

The Lord of Shadow's report was just like the shadow he occupied, exuding a different kind of coldness and rationality. While listening to his report, Morgan flipped through the documents stained with the blood of dozens of mortal agents. In the mind that was constantly churning, a plan that had already taken shape was constantly biting at the details and information it needed to expand itself into a real strategic plan.

[What do you think of this opponent, my Lord of Shadows? 】

"A behemoth that is late, weak, but still possesses some power, provoking it from the wrong angle will pay a huge price, but if we choose the right direction, it only takes a few drops of blood and a little strength to turn it It fell to the ground."

[To describe it correctly, I think this is what you all want too. 】

"...Yes, my lord."

Finally, the Lord of Shadows stretched out a ray of light from his darkness, it was the light that flashed in his eyes.

"Your shadow can completely solve this problem for you. We only need a part of the auxiliary troops as a cover, and we can pass through the fragile political system of this world itself, as well as a series of key points exposed because of long-term comfort, almost without bloodshed. You offer the world: if you want to go faster, we can disrupt, and if you want results, we can evolve."

"Reconnaissance, intelligence, sabotage, wooing, subversion, evolution...even assassination and purge as a last resort, we can do it by ourselves, we are not the ones who are proficient in launching attacks in the shadows in the eyes of others Assassin, we can do more for you."

[I know, my Lord of Shadows. 】

[I've always known. 】

Morgan smiled, and she slowly stepped off her throne, came before the shadow, and solemnly put away the report.

[I care about you all, but I care about another thing even more, my Lord of Shadows. 】

[Legion, my legion. 】

[You are also part of it, aren't you? 】

[Don't pick yourselves out, it will only become a wrong demonstration, because the same split will naturally occur within you: agree with your own ideas, reject others' ideas, be too incompatible to walk together, such Does the pain come again? 】

[No, my Lord of Shadows. 】

[I don't allow it. 】

[I will not allow you to see yourself as the successor of the No. [-] fleet, and I will not allow you to be full of desire to fight alone. You must learn to unite and learn to stand on the same front again. 】

[You must learn the secrets of multi-army cooperation and three-dimensional combat, and you must learn to share the responsibility and burden with your combat brothers. The former legion lacked authority and orders, so that the joint operations that could have been completed in one go have become the bragging rights of various groups. The split stage performance of his own ability caused the entire legion to almost fall into the abyss. 】

[But now, no more. 】

[In this pathetic enemy, in this pocket empire weakened by long periods of comfort and political means, I will bring you back together, and I will show you the beauty of unity. 】

[Every one of you will get a chance to perform in this war, just like you, my Lord of Shadows, your performance has already been halfway through, and you will use the remaining half to tell your ignorant Battle brothers. 】

[Before a war breaks out, it is over. 】

[Then, as our fleet will sail to Gladstone, and I will make up for some of my fatigue in the naval battle with the alien, we will shed blood on those stupid enemies, and in these blood With victory, you will be reborn and will learn my thoughts. 】

【Reborn as my warrior, reborn as my Dawnbreaker. 】

【…】

[Of course, I don't expect all of you to become enlightened in a battle and become what I want, but who told me that I only have you now? 】

[One game is not enough, then two, three or even four games. 】

【Let more enemies bleed, let more worlds burn, until you finally become what I want, until you finally understand my words and thoughts. 】

【So be it. 】

[Let them bleed. 】

[At least, at this very moment, in my heart, those worlds that have burned out, or are about to burn out, the whole world. 】

[Not as good as any of you. 】

　push the book, push the book again
　　"40k: Midnight's Blade" is a masterpiece of very high quality!There is a lot to do!He is the boss who can kill me!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)