Emperor's Bane

Chapter 250 Donne
Roger Dorn led all the troops under his command that could be put into a mobile battle immediately, and arrived in the Voslin galaxy four months after receiving the emperor's order.

This was not an easy trip. The main fleet of the Seventh Legion set sail from their home star Invite in the Starfield of Storms, across a small half of the galaxy including the Maelstrom. During this period, the [Eternal Crusade] passed by It destroyed countless chaotic galaxies that had not yet been recovered by the empire, and the scars from hundreds of encounters and pursuits left a brand new mark on its golden bridge class.

The Primarch of the Imperial Fist resisted the desire to wipe out all enemies and would-be enemies in sight, faithfully and precisely keeping track of their range, and would lead an army of A larger fleet to face these responsibilities that should be shouldered by him.

But now, everything takes the order of the Lord of Humanity as the highest priority.

With such common sense in mind, the fleet of the Imperial Fist arrived at the Voslin galaxy before the specified time, and passing through the Mandeville point here, they will directly jump to the star area where Nostramo is located, and wait there With the presence of the Lord of Mankind.

But just as Dorne's vanguard fleet sailed into the Voslin galaxy with its dim stars, the auspicious, detecting eyes and image units on the ship sent feedback to the Primarch at the same time: they were not the first One of the Human Empire fleets arrived here, and another visitor of comparable size appeared to have been parked in the star system's orbit for some time.

"It is the Second Legion, my lord."

"A Legion of the Dawnbreakers."

Guidores, the commander of the Haskal Guard, walked to his Primarch and reported to him the work of the signal masters, and this answer did not surprise the Gene Primarch: Compared with Invite, Vossling and The Far Eastern frontier can be said to be close at hand, and his blood relative he has never met is half of the lord here, and is also one of the five Primarchs who will go to Nostramo with the Emperor.

"The Primarch of the Dawnbreaker wishes to meet with you and have a conversation. It can be through holographic projection, or she can come to the Eternal Expedition in person. She declares that she will give you the power of choice."

The Primarch's aide-de-camp read the second half of the message in an orderly manner. He slightly emphasized the word "talk", because the message itself was the same, and Guidores didn't want to disturb him with any details. Judgment result of Gene Father.

And the Primarch's answer was quicker and crisper than he had imagined.

"It's not really an option, Guidores, because there's no real difference between the two options, my blood relatives are just sending me a notice, a notice that wants to establish a line of communication with me, and I will respond to this notice with the best possible gesture."

"Invite her to the Eternal Crusade, Guidores, it will take a few Terra standard hours for my fleet to reach the star orbit from Mandeville Point, enough time for us to make the necessary preparations, and the deck of the parking area will be prioritized Clear it out as a welcome venue."

The Primarch's order was accurate and swift, just like any of his past orders, but as Dorne's most trusted overlord of the Haskar Guards, Guidores was obliged to hold the message-filled document at this moment. Electronic board, let his thoughts run one more round.

"Lord Dorn."

Guidores said quietly.

"Maybe we shouldn't make a decision so quickly. We don't have more information about the Lord of the Second Legion, but all the information can confirm that she is a relatively rational one in the Primarch, with With unusually meticulous thoughts and characters, maybe her message will contain some hidden meanings."

"I know, Guidores, but that's not something we need to think about right now."

The Primarch's stern countenance remained unchanged as he walked towards the wall of glory on one side of the room and began to choose what he needed to parade with his own blood.

"Reasonable people will only clearly record important things in external messages, so we only need to consider matters on the message: if there are really other things that are hidden and not clearly stated in the message, it can only show They are not important, and we don't need to waste any more time because of them."

"Yes, my lord."

------

In the next few Terra standard times, everything went more smoothly than Guidores imagined. The Dawnbreaker fleet quietly waited for its allies, and their Primarchs were counted. Protected by a heavily armed Stormbird, he personally came to the temporary flagship of the Imperial Fists.

The short greetings between the Primarchs and the subsequent review of the Seventh Legion's welcoming queue lasted about 15 minutes. The Master of the Second Legion showed obvious concern for the Seventh Legion. Knowing the whereabouts of a well-known figure like Germany, and after learning that the other party is leading an army to perform a mission alone at the moment, he showed a little regret.

Other than that, all went well until the two Primarchs finally arrived in the assembly hall of the Eternal Crusade, only the two Legion Masters and their aide-de-camp remained in the room, while standing in the halls of the Eternal Crusade Guidores, who was behind En, recognized the soldier behind Morgan at a glance. He knew that it was Lana, the famous phoenix in the Second Legion.

Although the Chief Old Guard does not seem to be a big figure among the Dawnbreakers in the past few decades of the Great Crusade, this does not prevent many soldiers from other legions from hearing his name: this is also a kind of strangeness of the Second Legion. Jing, among the sons of Morgan, many less high-level fighters will also have considerable popularity, because they are often veterans of Terra who are hundreds of years old and have already become legends.

Of course, the price of such legendary deeds is that the entire Second Legion has not seen more new stars for a long time. From the beginning to the end, there are those familiar old faces, sung from the unification war of Terra to the present.

Similar emotions flashed through Guidores' mind, and he was thrown out of his thoughts without hesitation. The suzerain of the Haskal Guard ordered himself to concentrate. He must always pay attention to the two Primarchs. conversation.

The conversation didn't start right away. The Primarch of the Imperial Fists maintained his usual low-key attitude, waiting for his blood relatives to speak. Under the eyes of the three pairs of pupils, Morgan first looked around the inside of the assembly hall with interest. The simple but impeccable decoration, and then he retracted his gaze, focusing on Dawn's sharp-edged face.

The Lord of Inwitt acquiesced to this, he waited for his blood relatives, for her observations would bring real words of reason, and he didn't wait long, Morgan's first official words came in a few minutes. coming.

[I heard your name a long time ago, Dorne, my blood relative, long before I knew that I was a Primarch, I heard of you as a Primarch. 】

"I returned to the Empire in No.30 seven years after the start of the Great Crusade, and began to lead the Imperial Fists into battle in the same year, and your earliest record in the records of the Empire was the dawn of No.60 two years after the start of the Great Crusade During the Star Rescue operation, so it is normal for you to know my name in advance, Morgan, if you have not done this, you should strengthen your sensitivity and ability to collect information around you, for people like us For military commanders, this is critical."

【…】

All the words that had been brewing in Morgan's heart were knocked back at this moment.

The Lord of Avalon blinked, and she accepted her blood relative's answer to this simple greeting with an unspeakable astonishment. The long speech from Invite seemed to carry a kind of cold wind, which made Morgan's height Concentration felt briefly confused.

A moment later, like a child who was still a bit ignorant, the Spider Queen nodded with dull brows and eyes. As a simple answer to the words of her blood relatives, she pretended to adjust her posture on the seat very slowly, so as to delay more much time.

And during the few seconds that were intentionally delayed, the Lord of the Second Legion hurriedly took another look at his brother: simple and neat short platinum hair, pure golden armor, and a stern face that seemed to be carved out of underground ice. Cheng, somewhat awe-inspiring indifference and stability.

There is no error in the information she collected, without the slightest deviation.

Morgan nodded secretly.

As a Primarch who is used to putting reason first, after witnessing how rich the biodiversity of her blood brothers is, the female tyrant of Avalon quietly cultivated the habit of collecting In the past two months since Yemenga's farce ended, she has been collecting information on several Primarchs.

Although they are all familiar things, they are enough for Morgan to arrange countermeasures in various situations: after belatedly realizing how aggressive his performance in the Yemenga Stone Stele was Afterwards, the Spider Queen now regards absolute caution and preparation as the only truth.

It is not difficult to search for information about the Lord of the Seventh Legion, but it is also difficult to find any vital information. Morgan can only figure out Dawn's inner and outer strength from the few firm victories recorded in the Great Crusade document. thoughts.

But now it seemed that the Lord of Invite was a little more exaggerated than she had imagined.

So, Morgan laughed, and she put her hands on the table again, showing interest in continuing the conversation.

[Just the right suggestion, my dear blood relatives, I have rarely heard such a valuable summary in such a short conversation, maybe this is the power of our Primarch. 】

"It's far from being a conclusion. It's just a simple fact that couldn't be more obvious. Whether it's finding it, pointing it out or acknowledging it, it's the most basic little thing."

[Your words are a little more serious than I imagined. 】

"Does that make you resist hearing it?"

[No, I just feel very simply that even if we meet for the first time, we don’t need to continue our talks in such a serious atmosphere: we are blood relatives, brothers with the same father, aren’t we? 】

"From a biological point of view, I admit that this sentence is correct."

【? 】

[Does having blood relatives bother you? 】

"No, because I know that my personal thoughts cannot reverse the facts that have already emerged. No matter what my personal perception of the concept of blood relatives is, they cannot reverse the reality that I will have a group of blood brothers. Their existence and behavior There will be no greater change because of my will."

"And all I have to do is accept that calmly."

Morgan crossed her fingers to cover her lips, and her hair fell down to cover the flash of light in her pupils.

Although he had a general estimate of the character of the Primarch of the Imperial Fist long before the action, but at this moment, there was still a genuine question crossing the mind of the Lord of the Second Legion.

Roger-Don, this guy.

Isn't he really taking the opportunity to mock her?
A blood brother who has to be admitted in reality?What is he alluding to?
Morgan didn't have more time to expand on this topic, nor did she immediately assume that Dorn was malicious: After experiencing the surprise brought by the Lord of Ultramar, the Spider Queen has been able to accept a reality.

Among her brothers, perhaps there were some normal ones: perhaps, the Primarch of the Imperial Fist was also one of them?The same simple-minded character, except that just as Guilliman can become unintentionally ambitious, Dorn can also become unintentionally...

Outspoken?

Although these words don't sound very normal either.

Thousands of thoughts resounded in her mind like rain falling on plantains, but the smile of the Lord of the Second Legion was not disturbed in the slightest. She stood her arms on the clean and empty tabletop and continued the process. field talks.

Oh, by the way, it wasn't until this moment that Morgan discovered one thing: Dorn didn't even prepare a ritual drink for her, and the table between the two Primarchs was eerily empty, only Icy off-white.

This seems to be a hint of unwelcome expression, but it seems to be understood as a sincere sincerity without any cover and selfishness?
Two diametrically opposite answers collided in the mind of the Primarch, Morgan did not rush to a conclusion, she just ran her thoughts quickly to sort out the next words.

But before she could speak, Dorne had started a new conversation.

"So, what's the matter with you?"

【matter? 】

"Yes, you came to my battleship as the Lord of the Second Legion, and talked with me in the assembly hall, and only the most trusted heirs were allowed to listen to our conversation: Do you want to be in such a serious situation? , did you say anything important?"

Morgan chuckled, the question not making her nervous.

[There is nothing complicated, my dear brother, I just want to get to know the Primarch of the Imperial Fist, and get to know the blood relatives I will fight side by side with in the future. 】

"that's it?"

[Isn't that enough? 】

"Certainly not enough."

The words that came out of the Emperor Fist's mouth were a decisive verdict, freezing the Spider Queen's chuckle in an instant, because Morgan had never expected a Primarch to be so... indifferent on this issue.

[Can't I leave my ship and meet my brother?You know, Don, it's not such a lax or wrongly personal move that we all got to know each other sooner or later. 】

"Since we are rushing to this galaxy together by the Emperor's order, when the Lord of Humanity gathers us together to meet him, we can naturally meet our blood brothers and exchange names and friendships."

"To the Emperor we are his heirs and generals, kin to one another, but at this moment, our burdens as Primarchs and Lords of the Legion are more important in our identities than not being A well-timed blood bond.”

"Now, in the absence of the Emperor, you, as the Primarch of the Dawnbreaker Legion, left your battleship and came to my battleship, not for any important topic, just to carry out a Things that can be done in the presence of the Emperor."

"That's a private move, Morgan."

"Although there is no law stating that it is a wrong move, in my opinion, it is undoubtedly inappropriate, and you should not leave your battleship, and your legion, lightly."

A ray of light flashed in the pupils of the Spider Queen because of these straightforward accusations. This ray of light caused Lana beside her to fight against the enemy, and made Guidores stand a little uneasy, but it didn't shake Dawn even a little bit.

【You think I shouldn't come to your battleship and meet you? 】

"Yes, it is inappropriate."

[But don't forget, Don: I have two proposals in the message, you avoided the option of holographic projection, allowed me to visit your Eternal Crusade, and now, you tell me this is a wrong decision? 】

"Before, this decision was correct and necessary: ​​even the best holographic projection cannot fully express our words and emotions. If you really have important things to discuss with me, then choose holographic Projections are thoughtless, so I allow the talks to take place aboard the Eternal Crusade."

"But now, you have personally proved that you have nothing more important, and an acquaintance between blood relatives is not important enough to require you to leave your battleship: Haven't you considered that if at this time, a team full of The hostile fleet has already approached our fleet, without your personal command, will your legion pay unnecessary casualties for this?"

[The probability of this kind of thing is so low that it is comparable to the conscience of those Terra tax officials. Will you accuse me of improper actions for such a low probability thing? 】

"It's not a condemnation, it's just pointing out the truth of the matter: you did not think well."

The breath mixed with the lowest anger was slowly spewed out by the Lord of the Second Legion. Morgan leaned his body back, trying to adjust his fluctuating mentality.

[Thank you for your reminder, blood relatives, but this is nothing to worry about: even if I am on your battleship, and if an attack occurs in the next moment, my sons will only fight in an orderly manner, they are not a group that has not yet been weaned child. 】

"No, it's not the same."

Dawn shook his head, his face was a kind of stubbornness that made people almost desperate.

"No matter how well they command, they can't fundamentally replace some of your abilities: an Astartes warrior, even if he is a logistical and strategic genius, still needs a full staff and a constant stream of reports. Commanding a sudden battle, but the same situation is in front of you and me, all you need is a few screens and information from the vanguard."

Light laughter came from Morgan's icy gaze again, but this time, Dorn's aide and military officer instinctively felt a little nervous.

【Don, my brother. 】

【If I say that my heirs can indeed perfectly replace my command, and the battle they command will have exactly the same result as my on-site guidance? 】

"Then you should consider whether you still have the necessary contribution and position in your legion. Failure to provide improvement means that it has no value at all. I think you know what that means better than me."

"Crack-"

For a moment, the assembly hall became extremely quiet, almost dead silent, only the sound of Lana's gradually heavy breathing, and the sharp hiss when Dawnbreaker's ceramic steel gloves clenched the weapon in his hand, were the only ones that could echo clearly. Harsh sound.

Guidores, who had been paying attention to the two Primarchs, cast a glance at Lana opposite him: he saw a familiar indignation on the face of Dawnbreaker, which made Dorne The heirs understand a little bit.

If everything is correct, he will then use the name of his genetic father to have a duel with the person in front of him to determine the honor of the Primarch.

Not only did he do such a thing, but he also watched other fighting brothers do it more than once.

Guidores didn't sigh, and didn't have any more grievances. He turned his gaze back to the Lord of the Second Legion who had lowered his head in the most normal state of mind, waiting for the moment when the Primarch raised his head again. It's the start of a duel.

The suzerain of Hascarl's guard waited for about a minute, but when he was a little confused, Morgan finally raised his head, and on her face, it should appear...

smile?

The Imperial Fist blinked, he was afraid that he was hallucinating, but before he continued to doubt himself, he saw Morgan slowly raise his arm and put it on Lana's trembling shoulder until he was very close The guard's outrage was silenced by her silent command.

Although, the Lord of the Second Legion showed a flawless smile, and this smile came to the side of the Imperial Fist together with a sigh that dispelled the anger.

[You are right, Don. 】

[This matter is indeed my lack of consideration. 】

The short words made Guidores' eyes wide open in astonishment, and he was even more surprised than Lana, and against his almost stunned background, Dawn's indifference seemed to be that he had foreseen it.

Morgan then offered his own smile to the Primarch of the Seventh Legion.

[Then I think, as someone who can point this out, you'll forgive me for this one mistake, right, Don? 】

"I have never been qualified to define any of your actions, Morgan, so I am naturally not qualified to forgive and punish. We are equal individuals, and we only have the right to express opinions and point out the reality."

After the Lord of the Second Legion came to the Eternal Crusade, she saw for the first time a smile on those ice sculptured faces of Donne, a smile so sincere that it could burn her vicious heart meaning.

But this kind of smile was fleeting, and almost in the next second, the face of the Emperor Fist Lord returned to calm, but compared to before, his calm seemed to have a trace of harmony.

"Of course, if you realize the mistake you made this time and decide to correct it, I welcome your conviction and will help as much as I can."

Morgan glanced at Dawn.

Her psychic power and talent are telling her that Donne's words are as firm as ever: including the last sentence [help as much as possible], they are all truths from the heart.

This made the spider queen's inner balance slightly tilted in a better direction, and she realized that in front of her, there might be another Guilliman who was a little different.

[Would you like to help me, Don? 】

"On this issue, yes, in view of the mistakes you made before, I can't be sure whether you will make new mistakes in the process of improvement, so I will help you as much as I can to avoid the first mistake as much as possible. Two mistakes will be born in the future."

【…】

The scales were once again balanced.

Isn't he really taking the opportunity to mock her?
It took Morgan about three seconds to adjust her mentality, and by the way once again suppressed Lana who was about to move around: the chief old guard was already one of the calmest children she could find, and she even I dare not imagine what the situation would be like if I brought other heirs.

Morgan smiled again: this time it was a bit forced.

[Well, Dawn, since we need to sail together in the galaxy in the next period of time, your help is still very important to me, and I think I should thank you for your kindness. 】

"With a little effort, Morgan, you can improve this shortcoming, which is the best thanks."

【…】

[In any case, I still want to thank you for your kindness, but I am not sure how long we will go forward side by side. After all, Nostramo is not far away from us now, and the Emperor's fleet may depart from Manchester at any moment. Dwyer showed up here and there. 】

"Considering the purpose of our trip, the specific time depends on the situation: the Emperor did not stay long in the world of Magnus and Sanguinius, and the world of Ferrus and Vulkan He stopped for a few days, but the longest one was Colchis, who wasted a Tara standard month at the great mass held by Lorgar."

【Then how long did he stay in Invert? 】

"My father and I did not meet on Invite, we reunited on my battleship Shanzheng, and he didn't stay for too long, because everything about me and Invite satisfied him, There's nothing worth expending energy to improve."

【Then, he handed over the Seventh Legion to you as a responsibility and mission. 】

"Yes, this is an obligation I should fulfill. The Seventh Legion is excellent, and the Emperor trusts me very much. I cannot live up to the excellence of the Seventh Legion, nor can I live up to the Emperor's trust."

Morgan snorted softly, and there was no anger in her breath, and there was a faint sourness in her breath.

[It can be seen, Dorne, that the Emperor trusts you very much. He even allowed you to keep the Shanzheng by his side. Is there any more powerful warship in the galaxy than this? It’s okay that you didn’t bring it along with you. I can't feast my eyes. 】

"The Phalanx is undergoing necessary repairs, and the Emperor has not allowed me to keep it: I have given control of the Phalanx to the Emperor, and he has subsequently delegated this authority to me, So the truth is, it was a gift from my father."

[Yes, a gift. 】

Morgan's eyebrows were lowered, but the flicker in her pupils did not escape the gaze of the Inviter Lord this time.

"The Emperor has given you gifts too."

【Who told you that? 】

"Horus."

"And you're not satisfied."

【Is this what Horus told you too? 】

"No, it's your expression."

Morgan raised his eyebrows, and didn't speak any more. Instead, the Primarch of the Imperial Fist raised his head slightly in a serious manner, and spoke to his blood relatives in an undeniable tone.

"Morgan, I don't know what gift your father gave you, and I don't have much interest in it, but you have to remember that as long as it is a gift from your father, you should be grateful for it, because it comes from your father. Your gift is not an arrears, and he is under no obligation to pick out what you like."

【Even if this gift doesn't actually meet my needs? 】

"If you see the Emperor's Gift as a means of satisfying a need, then you will never be satisfied, and you will forever complain why more things don't come down to you from the sky, and see this as a It’s a legitimate default.”

Morgan didn't speak, she just listened to these words indifferently, and then looked at Donne with Furui Mubo's eyes. As for the lord of the Imperial Fist, she did the same thing without fear or guilt.

More than a minute later, Morgan was the first to show a smile.

[You have convinced me, brother, please do me a favor, don't make me think so sadly. 】

"I don't think you are so sad, Morgan, because I don't know you well enough, and I don't have enough basis and prerequisites for me to sum up everything about you."

【So now, do you understand me a little bit? 】

"Still very little, not enough to do anything."

[It's okay, Dawn, it's okay. 】

[We still have plenty of time, we can take our time. 】

Morgan smiled, her blue pupils turned into a pair of sly crescents, hanging high on her pretty snow-skinned face, hidden among the scattered hair.

Dawn didn't reply, he just maintained an almost eternal seriousness, then looked at Morgan's smiling pupil, at the flickering light in that pupil: he recognized what that light symbolized, it was an anchor , that is a high wall, and that is the biggest contributor to making this conversation go to this moment.

Once upon a time, even the lord of the Imperial Fists had to lament that there were not many such lights among his brothers: until this day, he saw it again.

Don smiled, a fleeting laugh.

He knew, he knew the names of the lights he saw.

That's rational.

Valuable rationality.

It was in Morgan's pupils, like a strong lighthouse in the lonely night, rising and falling with the whistling of the night wind, but never truly lonely.

Don looked at those pupils.

Don remembered those pupils.

In the years that followed, when he thought of his unique blood relatives and the Primarch of the Second Legion, he couldn't really describe her pretty face, her style of clothing, or her once again. The obvious silver hair and perfect smile.

But there is one thing that Donne can always remember, and that is exactly what Morgan looks like in his heart.

That is a pair of pupils.

Those are a pair of pupils full of reason and thinking, like the pupils of falling stars flowing in a long river.

It is flickering, reserved and calm, and although it has inevitable erratic, it never gives up the true light.

Dorn knew the value of those pupils.

That means rationality.

That means persistence.

That means thinking.

That means a noble blood relative, his blood relative.

(End of this chapter)