Emperor's Bane

Chapter 251 Meeting of Primarchs
"Are they here?"

"not yet."

"But we have been waiting here for at least half an hour. The stagnation with a goal is so heartbreaking that my soul never rests for a moment."

"The Emperor's order has just been issued not long ago, and it will take at least 15 minutes to pass the security check on the [Emperor Mirage], so there is no need for you to be so urgent."

"Those Custodians are always like this—I mean, we are father's children, why even we have to abide by such complicated regulations and rules, it's such a waste of time."

"I thought you would like these things. After all, in a sense, this kind of products accumulated by countless factors and cognitions and pure pursuit of complexity seems to be infinitely close to the [art] in your mouth, and you And how much I love your art."

"...I know you've been misunderstanding my artistic pursuits, Ferrus."

"It's not that there's any misunderstanding, I just don't see what they do."

"Don't you want to ignore the gifts I gave you? Those portraits, those sculptures, those moving poems, you hang them all over your room, just like a dragon adorns his lair with gold coins, all of these I saw it with my own eyes, my Gorgon, and don't try to fool me about it."

"I'm not going to lie to you, it's pointless behavior, Phoenix."

The ugly Gorgon stood up, approached the Phoenician's ear, and quietly completed the second half of the sentence.

"After all, you and I both know."

"You know me so well, you always see the best part of me, feel the truest part of me, that's why I love having you by my side bro."

The phoenix of Chemos laughed, his flawless smile was breathtaking, the Primarch of the Third Legion bent his fingers, and lightly tapped the black iron of Ferrus with his white knuckles. Hard rivets line the forged battle armor.

"You're right, Gorgon."

"I know you so well. You are like a mirror that belongs to me. When I look at you, I feel like I am looking at myself. I believe that your pupils are my pupils. And your heart is mine, because our hearts are destined to be filled with each other."

"The beautiful heart of the phoenix and the ugly Gorgon's organs don't sound like a good match."

The Primarch of the Iron Hands Legion gave a rare indifferent smile, and he seemed to have accepted this somewhat inappropriate title: because it would make the Phoenicians happy.

"of course."

Facing this answer, Fulgrim raised his chin slightly, revealing the snow-white neck under the gorgeous high collar, and the little pride that came with it from Chemos.

"So I think, no matter which heart it is in, no matter which pair of pupils it is in, more of that part should belong to me, shouldn't it?"

The steel giant laughed.

"Can even Phoenix be so greedy?"

This question made Fulgrim lick the corner of his mouth lightly, and he narrowed his enthusiastic eyes slightly to make his words sound more believable.

"If it were you, Ferrus, I would be willing to never be satisfied."

Hearing that, Ferrus's iron face, which is not famous for being handsome, but exudes a unique charm like a boning saber, couldn't help showing a more sincere smile, which ended at the edge of his pupils like silver coins , an almost unlimited identification with the Phoenicians.

"Me too, my brother, when I look at you, I will find out what makes me unhappy with myself, and I will know where I will work hard in the future, because only in this way can I Follow in your footsteps and try to make myself the best I can be."

"To me, you're very good the way you are, Gorgon."

"It will be better in the future."

"..."

Ferrus' words made the Phoenician Phoenix snort softly. He dragged his feet like a slightly annoyed breeze, avoiding the hard shale, and walked to the luxurious Leaning against the desk, he casually picked up the ivory goblet he had brought himself.

He glanced at Ferrus again, and then left angrily from the unconscious smiling face of the other party. His eyes wandered casually and deliberately in the room, and quickly found his temporary target.

"You seem extraordinarily quiet, Lorgar."

"Let's talk about something, we haven't seen each other for a long time."

As he spoke, Fulgrim raised his ivory goblet carved with strange secret symbols, and gracefully sipped the wine in the glass, which made his already elegant and luxurious face radiant at this moment .

After finishing all this, his fingers went around the goblet engraved with the Gorgon logo, picked one at random, filled it with the fine wine brought from the [Emperor's Pride], and pushed it to the room in front of the third person.

"Thanks, bro."

The giant with a gentle expression and countless golden symbols painted on his skin seemed to have walked out of the ancient and fragrant book in front of him until this moment. He put down his quill and took the Brew of Fulgrim, looking up, joined the conversation for the first time.

"I'm sorry, Fulgrim, I've just been overindulging in the enlightenment that the Father God gave me: What happened? There was a disagreement between you and Ferrus? Is there anything I can do to help? ?”

"Differences...not really."

The Phoenician Phoenix raised its beautiful eyebrows, glanced at Ferrus from the edge of its pupils, exhaled a light breath from his nostrils like a hummingbird flapping its wings, and took the first sip of wine in Luo Jia After that, Fulgrim spoke slowly.

"I just want to care about you, my brother Lorgar, we haven't seen each other for too long, maybe 20 years? You and your legion have been fighting in the west of the galaxy, and I can't even find out about your The news, the only rumours, are worrying."

"During this period of time, I really neglected to communicate with my brothers. This is my problem."

The Primarch of the Word Bearers Legion laughed. He politely tasted the fine wine from Chemos, carefully flicked the tome under the wine glass, and closed it lightly. The Phoenix's eyebrows and eyes twitched at this scene .

"Well, Luo Jia, I can understand you too. I know you have been busy with this book and other things: after all, you sent someone to borrow my book just a few months ago. In the legion, there are thousands of the best artists and architects, to build that... the city of the monarch?"

"It can also be called the perfect city."

Having said that, the purple pupils of the Lord of Colchis shone with a golden light that was not inferior to those mysterious runes.

"For architecture, you can find Don or Perturabo. They each have their own strengths, but they are all very good master architects. This is the only expectation my father has for them."

Ferrus slowly interjected, and he also sat on a chair beside him, resting his arms on his face in boredom, and took his own one from a kind of goblet with ease, and then held it up to Fugeri in front of Tom.

Phoenix glanced at his friend, hummed reluctantly, but still poured a full glass for Gorgon, and at the same time picked out the loopholes in Ferrus' words loudly.

"The Legion of the Emperor's Children is also a master of architectural art, Gorgon, don't tell me you haven't seen the grand scene of the Victorious Road, the Phoenix Theater and the Great Council Hall of Heliopolis on the Emperor's Pride before, Who can beat them but the ships of the Emperor himself?"

"I have no problem with that."

Ferrus spread his hands, he didn't pay too much attention to the slight dissatisfaction from Phoenix's mouth.

"And I think Lorgar's idea is the same as mine: that's why he found you, not Dorne and Perturabo, after all everyone knows they can make the bones of buildings, but only you can call the soul of architecture."

"It's the result of hard work."

The corners of Phoenix's mouth curled up, and his slight dissatisfaction dissipated in front of the simplest compliment from Ferus. The Phoenician lowered his eyebrows and picked the hair that was messed up to his shoulders and gathered it to his ears. Only then once again shifted his gaze to another brother.

"If there is anything that needs my help, Luo Jia, just ask, you are my brother, I will help you, you can always trust the Emperor's Children."

"For the time being, I've received enough help and kindness from you guys, and I haven't even had time to say a formal thank you to you."

The Primarch of the Word Bearers clinked his glass lightly with his brother, his voice so earnest and sincere that Fulgrim was even proud of it, and in that pride his eyes moved to the The cover of the book, and saw a name that did not surprise him.

"The Emperor's Words, are you still compiling this book, Lorgar?"

Hearing the name of the book, the light in Luo Jia's pupils was strong enough to make Ferrus on the side look sideways, and sighed with emotion at the strange persistence of his blood brother.

"The first draft has been completed. Although it is far from being the final product, the general skeleton has been laid, and most of the content has been perfected. All the arguments, arguments and arguments have been repeatedly checked by me. This time, it is enough to refute any hypocrite to the point of being speechless and throwing in the towel."

Lorgar's words were full of enthusiasm, and a drop of sweat flickered on Fulgrim's forehead. He tried his best to listen to the story of his blood brother, and continued to maintain his decent smile.

"Unbelievable, Luo Jia, you must have paid a lot during this period."

"No, brother, how can I work hard when I walk in the world created by God the Father?"

The golden runes on the Primarch's face shone with his words, exuding an unbearable light, making every word of Lorgar's words seem to be floating in the clouds.

"Walking in this endless galaxy that is still ignorant, I know that this is the territory created by our Father God. I have witnessed countless blasphemy and heresy, and I have witnessed the old words and icons distorting the real world. Faith, so I sent my armies, and I burned them all, to bring true divinity and justice among the Emperor's people, and where my legions passed, there was no more left No more crude prostrations and false prayers, but new monuments and cathedrals to mark the eternal light of the Emperor on yet another world."

"In this way, I walked on the dry land, walked in the gray sky, walked in the same galaxy as my hometown Colchis, and fought unremittingly against countless difficulties, ignorance, false belief and stupidity. , I used to fight until I was scarred, and I was so confused that I was at a loss, but it was precisely because of this suffering experience that I realized where my mission lies. I will light the fire of faith and let it shine in every day A world burning."

"It was not easy, for I could not ignore the fact that there are worlds that submit to the rule of empires but stubbornly reject the true fire of faith. After staying on the earth for four full months, the tens of billions of people in this world finally abandoned their original atheism and became believers of the Emperor."

"...I see, my brother."

Fulgrim listened with a smile, and although he could clearly make out Ferrus' disdainful humming at his side, he didn't follow suit, and he didn't want to take any action against him. It hurts so easily for a brother to show malice so easily.

But seeing that Luo Jia's words didn't seem to stop, the Phoenician Phoenix could only reach out, caressing the cover of the book seemingly unintentionally, and inserted Luo Jia's topic in as polite a tone as possible. middle.

"So, is this book the result of your efforts?"

Luo Jia stopped talking and couldn't help but nodded happily.

"Yes, this book is written by me. It explains in detail everything about the belief in God the Father, as well as my understanding and cognition of this belief."

"So, let me think about it, Lorgar, do you want to give it as a gift to one of our brothers? Morgan? Or that Nostramo blood relative?"

"Anyone can if they're interested."

Luo Jia picked up the book, hugged it in his arms, closed his eyes, as if he was stroking his own heir.

"Its role is to let more people know the fire of faith, which is my only desire."

"Okay, a gift."

Phoenix was smiling, and from the beginning to the end, he didn't really mention the specific topic of the Emperor's faith, because he clearly remembered that the Lord of Mankind didn't like this topic, and forbade the Primarchs to discuss it in detail.

But even so, Fulgrim still tolerated his blood relative's little idiosyncrasies from the bottom of his heart. After all, apart from this, Lorgar was a pretty good brother, and few people really hated him.

"Very well, Luo Jia has prepared a gift full of heart, which seems to give us a little wake-up call, for you and me."

Holding the goblet, Fulgrim turned around and looked at his Gorgon, while Lorgar, who had just made a long speech, looked back and forth between the two, then became quiet again, indulging in himself among the books.

"What about you, Gorgon? A gift I don't think you'll forget."

"I made a long whip for her, because after collecting various rumors about her, I think she is more likely to like this weapon: a soft whip made of ceramic steel, alloy and Medusa iron, Can do anything according to her will."

"A weapon?"

"It's made of enough material to do effective damage to a small titan or knight mech, and if you think it's a weapon, it's a weapon."

"Sounds very good, but it is inevitable that there is some confusion."

"Then what have you prepared?"

Fulgrim pursed his lips.

"It's a secret."

"Hey, Phoenix, you clearly know about my preparations, isn't this..."

The white fingertips touched the chest of Ferrus' black armor, and also resisted Gorgon's unserious complaints. Chemos walked back to his brother in a leisurely manner. He returned to the position he had just left: this scene made Luo Jia's eyelids twitch, and he bowed his head in silence.

"Look at what you said, Gorgon, have you forgotten what we talked about earlier? You know me so well, as I know you so well, I even guessed that you would forge in the smithy A weapon, not a suit of armor, is your gift."

"I'm not good at forging armor."

"I'm sure of that, because you never gave me armor, any more than you never gave me a whip, though I'm certainly not used to that weapon."

"If you want one, you'll have a handful soon."

"That's not the point."

Fulgrim picked up his goblet again, touched Ferrus' indestructible armor with it, and smiled at the crisp sound.

"Look, just like I know you, Gorgon, I think you can guess the gift I prepared, after all, you witnessed how I collected Morgan's information, and then deduced her preferences and habits .”

"Guess what, what have I prepared?"

The Phoenician blinked his eyes full of anticipation, and in his burning gaze, the Primarch of the Iron Hands thought for a moment before confirming an answer.

"Mirror?"

"Yes."

Phoenix giggled, he spread out his palm, and clearly imprinted five fingerprints on the dark armor as a reward for his friend.

"Sooner than I thought, brother."

"After all you are the Phoenix of Phoenicia, you are always associated with art."

"You still hate art?"

"It's not annoying, I just don't understand what they mean."

"Well, then we can choose to avoid this topic, just like I will avoid the art in your eyes in future gifts, and choose some styles that are more suitable for Gorgon."

Ferrus laughed, and he recognized the overtones of the Phoenix.

"Let me see... wild?"

The beautiful eyes of the Phoenician narrowed into a pair of crescent moons of joy.

"If, you still know me so well, Gorgon."

"it's necessary."

Ferrus spread his palms, and he leaned closer to Fulgrim's ear, the fiery breath made Phoenix's silver hair moist.

"Otherwise, how can I deal with Phoenix's greed?"

------

When the Lord of the Second Legion, accompanied by the Imperial Army, finally boarded the [Imperial Illusion] for the first time, she saw a few wisps of cheerful silver hair rushing towards her at the first sight.

"Morgan, my sister!"

"You are welcome."

Fulgrim, the Primarch of the Emperor's Children Legion, his enthusiasm and sincerity can be clearly felt half a corridor away. The Phoenician strode ahead and walked to Morgan's for the first time. In front of her, hugging her, full of intimacy and non-offensive kindness.

In just a few seconds, Fulgrim had already looked up and down his blood relatives: Morgan was wearing a set of extremely elegant slim dress, the main color was pure black, with creamy white patterns Staggered like crescent moons, she was wearing a red woolen coat that was almost like a cloak. Her silver hair was coiled up and cleverly occupied the tall collar behind her neck, which made Fulgrim especially appreciate it.

Of course, all of this is not the most important thing: when Fulgrim saw Morgan for the first time, the Phoenicians were quite pleased to find that their blood relative was quite similar to him, Especially the pupils dotted under the silver hair, and the corners of the lips gently drawn when smiling, are exactly the same as Fulgrim in the mirror image.

The joy of the birth of the phoenix lasted for a while, and during this period, Lorgar and Ferrus also came to Morgan's side one after the other, and the Lord of Colchis shook hands with the two blood relatives with the same enthusiasm No one can doubt the sincerity of his heart, and although the Primarch of the Iron Hands also met Morgan with a smile on his face, when his eyes turned to Dorne behind Morgan, his face couldn't help but change. Get serious.

The relationship between Ferrus and Dorn is not very good: not hatred, but some tension and anger, just like Dorn and most of his brothers who are not calm enough, they once had a quarrel, the reason for the quarrel is natural It was the Primarch of the Imperial Fist who accused Ferrus of tactics in the presence of brother and son.

Since then, the two of them have kept their distance as much as possible: as now, Ferrus was the first primarch to turn away, Fulgrim chatted with Morgan, followed by Lorgar with a gentle voice. Greeting Dorn with a smile became an obscure footnote, while the Primarch of the Fist of the Empire, under the indifferent gaze of the Custodians, became the rear of the line as always after all his blood relatives had walked a certain distance. that one.

The distance between the landing pad and the meeting room was only fleeting, and the many wonders standing on the [Emperor Mirage] did not impress Morgan any more. They soon arrived at the special room, Surrounded by a table and seven chairs.

"The first seat is reserved for father, and the seat next to father is reserved for Nostramo's brother. You know, he can be regarded as the second protagonist in the next few days."

Fulgrim opened the second chair next to the Emperor for Morgan, and in the slight protest of the Lord of the Second Legion and the acquiescence of the other Primarchs, he kindly pressed her on it, and then sat down Diagonally opposite her.

The ivory goblet was distributed in front of each Primarch, and it was already filled with fine wine that Fulgrim poured himself. He raised his cup high, and after getting three responses from the audience, he was satisfied. Open your mouth.

"My blood, my father's call has brought us together here, but we may have to wait for him a while, so we have time to talk: five brothers, it's been a long time since we met on such a large scale, I remember The last time was..."

There was some hesitation in Fulgrim's words, but in the next second, Dorn enthusiastically ended his hesitation.

"We all remember what happened last time, do you want to break your promise, brother?"

"Oh, of course not. We all swore an oath in front of the Emperor. I remember that even though it was an oath expressed through holographic projections far away from the stars and the world, I would never violate it."

The Phoenician responded to Don with a smile of his own. He took a sip of the wine and was satisfied to see that all the brothers were engrossed in this rare family gathering and began to think about the next topic.

Then, Fulgrim seemed to remember something, raised his goblet, and smiled at Morgan.

"Oh, I think I forgot one thing."

"Before everything starts, Morgan, my dear blood relatives, please allow me to express my respect and congratulations to you. Your actions on the Far Eastern border are extremely successful, and even the residents of the Empire in the Obscure Starfield have heard about it. , you proved the strength of yourself and the legion in the shortest time possible."

"Good job, congratulations."

Morgan blinked her eyes, and she sensed Fulgrim's state of mind in an instant. It was indeed a kind of sincere kindness, and it was even hotter. It seemed that in her, the Primarch of the Emperor's Children had found A few strands can evoke the resonance of past memories.

So, she smiled, raised her glass, and accepted the kindness from Fulgrim amidst the clear clashing sound: Before she knew it, Morgan had gotten used to seeing those positive emotions in her brother, and she There is even a little bit of doubt, which one is the majority in the Primarch, a character like Perturabo or a character like Guilliman?
But soon, the Lord of the Second Legion realized that the richness of biological diversity contained in her blood brothers does not seem to be enough to be summarized in two categories. If the existing fifteen Primarchs are detailed Distinguish, probably at least fifty kinds of personalities can be distinguished.

Morgan smiled lightly because of the results of her speculation. In this inexplicable joy, she accepted the greetings and congratulations from Luo Jia: The soul of the Lord of Colchis is also friendly, but pervading There was an almost dirty scent of aromatherapy, which was something Morgan had never encountered before.

At this time, Fulgrim and Lorgar had already chattered happily, while Ferrus and Donne were entrenched in their respective seats, maintaining a rock-like posture. The former would occasionally respond to Fulgrim's words. Discourse, the latter is happy with a stable quiet.

"Do you know Nostramo, my blood relative? After all, you can be regarded as half of the lord here. The development of the human empire in the Far East depends on your command."

Once again, Fulgrim threw the topic to Morgan, and the Lord of the Second Legion frowned and thought for a while before responding.

[My fleet has never penetrated into the Nostramo star area, even Avalon is a little far away from there, but according to the information I have collected, Nostramo is almost the limit of the empire's expansion The light of the astronomical torch dissipated there, and beyond that was the deadly ghoul stars. It was a barren land that required gathering several legions to enter safely. 】

Fulgrim shook his head, and his noble eyebrows dropped a few strands of sympathy for his blood brothers.

"Well, I think I can already guess what kind of situation our blood relatives will grow up in: I have visited the edge of the galaxy and witnessed the suffering, sorrow and degradation beyond the Astronomical Torch, and our Brothers who have never met may grow in it."

"I just hope we don't arrive too late, maybe we can get him out before he is swallowed up by that very likely hell."

"None of the primarchs need help from outsiders, Fulgrim."

This answer - no doubt, came from Dorne. His almost eternal coldness was slightly loosened by Fulgrim's emotion, and he quickly spit out a natural testimony.

"Don't speak so harshly, my brother."

"It's just a fact."

"If one of our brothers has been reduced to needing outside help to tide over difficulties, it means that there has been an invincible obstacle in his will, and when he faces this obstacle again, he It will still fail."

"Do we need special strength to help him every time he encounters the same difficulty? No one can rely on the strength of others at any time, and no one has the right to rely on the strength of others. In the most difficult moments, only yourself able to help myself."

"Among you and me, and among most of the brothers outside, is a comprehensive home planet a must? If a Primarch can't even overcome the obstacles on the home planet, how can he do it for him?" The emperor is going to recover the thousands of stars in the universe?"

Dawn's words were like a cracked rock clogging everyone's chests. Under Morgan's quiet observation, Fulgrim looked at Lorgar helplessly, then played with the goblet in his hand, and answered lightly. Following Donne's words.

"The differences between us cannot be resolved with just one or two sentences... But there is one thing I agree with very much. A good home planet is indeed not a necessity for the Primarch. Our brothers just encountered a worse situation. Of course, Our experience was not simple."

"Chemos, the desolate wasteland; Medusa, the iron nation of disputes; Colchis, the remote dry desert; Inwitt, the icy hell, and Avalon, Avalon..."

Avalon...

Sensing the gazes from several brothers, Morgan blinked her eyes innocently, but her brain started to run at a high speed: Compared with her other blood relatives, her nominal hometown of Avalon really has nothing to belittle. : But she is not willing to be an extra character in this topic.

Think about it, Morgan, think about it...

Think better than Avalon...

Wait, there is.

The Lord of the Second Legion tightened the end of Fulgrim's hesitant tone, and followed his brother's words with the most natural gesture and the most bitter tone.

[Avalon, the cage of stagnation. 】

"Stagnation? Cage?"

Sure enough, Fulgrim raised his brows, giving Morgan a chance to continue his words.

[Yes, the cage of stagnation: no possibility of progress, no direction of the future, only a sad ode to the past, all etiquette and thinking are just parodies of countless generations before, tradition and patriarchal clan hold high The big banner is manipulating everyone to carry out the same drama generation after generation. 】

[Every time an era passes, a little bit of wisdom will be lost, and a little bit of courage will be lost. Even the most noble person only dares to recite the golden and jade words in the history books, instead of having even the slightest fantasy, just put forward an innovative idea Thoughts and thoughts, the head will be cut off, the neck will be strangled, the life will be burned, and it will become a heresy that will never be restored. 】

[In the end, no one even dared to look up at the starry sky, because they stubbornly believed that it was the abode of the gods, and it was beyond their humbleness to touch. 】

Morgan recited her currently compiled lines with great emotion, and read aloud a lonely island that had been stagnant for thousands of years. She was satisfied to see the disgust of such a world flashed in the pupils of her blood relatives, and the ensuing Come to Morgan with emotion.

"I remember that you quietly left your hometown through the empire's fleet."

[I spent five years there, five years like suffocation, any idea and action will be denied, all I have to do is to become an empty-handed vase, listening to all their requests and suggestions. 】

"I can't even stand five days like this. It's really hard work for you."

Fulgrim smiled good-naturedly, but Morgan felt that wasn't enough, and she wasn't sure how reliable a stagnant realm was on the subject.

[In fact, at the beginning, even when I returned to Avalon, I didn't think this world was so unacceptable, but one thing changed me. 】

"Appreciate further details?"

Morgan's brows and eyes drooped, but anyone could see the flash of loneliness.

[It's very simple, as you know, just a while ago, I went to the Five Hundred Worlds for a visit, and Guilliman showed me his Ultramar. Until then, I didn't know for the first time that even Isolated in the storms of the age of strife, not all nobles and worlds will fall into a hopeless stagnation: Our Ultramar brother proudly showed me the development of Macragge before him, which was visible to the naked eye thriving. 】

The air stagnates for a moment.

Then, a soft hum from Luo Jia pierced the air.

"It's Guilliman's home planet after all, and he always has the best stuff."

"Yeah, everything we have achieved through hard work and hard work, Guilliman took it for granted the moment he landed. He is so lucky, isn't he?"

"Who wouldn't want to have five hundred worlds? In other words, who wouldn't be so successful if they had Macragge's childhood and five hundred worlds?"

There was a bit of sourness called jealousy in the words from Chemos Phoenix, and this sourness quickly got Lorgar's agreement, Ferrus' nod, and Dawn's slight approval in silence.

Morgan also narrowed her eyes, and echoed Fulgrim's words in a low voice. She took a sip of the wine slowly, and couldn't help whispering something she had never said about the Lord of Ultramar in her heart.

……

Thank you, Guilliman.

(End of this chapter)