Emperor's Bane

Chapter 270 Guilliman: Ah!Morgan!

Morgan has long been proud of his Dawnbreaker Legion.

Of course she can be proud, because her legion already has so many characteristics, victories and advantages: and among them, the most satisfying thing for the Spider Queen is undoubtedly the stable power in psychic power.

At any time, Morgan can easily throw a thousand Librarians into battle as a force to subvert the battlefield: she has been proud of it for a long time.

Until she found out: with a wave of her Ultramar brother, three thousand think tanks belonging to the Ultramarine Legion walked past her neatly.

Full of pits and valleys, boundless...

……

Really shocking.

Under the cover of those ancient blue pupils, there is the real feeling and fear of the Lord of the Second Legion: for a moment, even though Guilliman's heart has been known and confirmed, the Spider Queen Still can't help trying to figure it out maliciously.

Are her Ultramar brothers showing off their power to her?
Before this thought dissipated by itself, Guilliman's voice came slowly.

"It's all your fault, Morgan."

"You are the biggest contributor to all this."

The Archon of Macragge smiled like a sun rising from the clouds on a hot afternoon, shining with a loathsome fiery radiance: if paired with the vivid cobalt blue of the Ultramarines Lord The armor is exactly the same.

The two Primarchs were standing on a makeshift dais, inspecting the prime essence of their respective fleets and the terrifying weapons capable of destroying a world.

This was the idea of ​​the Lord of the Ultramarines. As early as when he rushed to this chaotic star field, he invited all the spokesmen deployed by the empire here, and used this simple show of force to consolidate their distant loyalty to the empire. : Whether it's an army on the ground or a warship covering the sky overhead, it's all part of the grand show deployed by the Primarch.

Guilliman is obviously good at this, and judging from the silent and gorgeous figures under the high platform, his casual plan is indeed fruitful.

Of course, it is also necessary.

In the words of the Lord of the No.13 Legion himself, the last time the human empire used troops on a large scale in this barren land in the southern border of the galaxy was more than 20 Terra Standard Years ago, and that use of troops has also proved to be bloody Homeless, Terra has since paid less attention to the southernmost realm of the Empire.

And the governors and officers who were placed on this land at that time, after such a long period of semi-independent and arbitrary rule, no one could guarantee their loyalty to the empire, but they just held on to the two legions when they carried out expeditions. Therefore, it is undoubtedly necessary for them to review the power possessed by the empire once again, and therefore put away those eager thoughts.

"If this place is within the influence range of the five hundred worlds, I don't need to go through such a lot of trouble. Pretending to be here for a day means that the progress of the expedition will be delayed by a day."

Guilliman watched another phalanx pass by in front of him, while instinctively calculating the consumption of this military parade, while sighing with a careless tone, he did not realize the inappropriateness of his words .

Morgan glanced at him, did not point it out as usual, and slowly picked up the words of the Lord of Ultramar.

[But as you say, my Guilliman: it was all necessary. 】

[This military parade may not be the most efficient choice, but it is definitely the safest choice. As long as any of the native lords under our feet gives up the folly brewing in his heart because of the force in front of us, then we will All the delay here is definitely worth it. 】

"indeed so."

The Lord of the Ultramarines laughed, and he looked at his blood relatives with admiring eyes, his face full of kindness and kindness.

Guilliman admires his blood relatives: At first, this may have been simply due to Morgan's uncanny resemblance to a young Lady Eudon, but by now, this appreciation has been based on the two primarchs The three views that are extremely compatible, and the silent mutual recognition between each other.

There is no doubt that the Lord of Avalon can listen to and understand Guilliman's words, and she can easily follow the latter's thinking, and appreciate his extremely profound and flickering after countless seemingly political moves. Concern and kindness, and express the recognition, understanding, and support from a blood relative.

Guilliman needed this: more than he could have imagined, and while he could get the same fervor from Lady Euton, his heir, and even his mortal friends, they were always a little short, they After all, he is not a blood relative of the Primarch, unable to provide the same recognition and support, and unable to give the Primarch the [brotherhood] he needs.

This was enough to cause the Lord of Ultramar to brood, and fall into a period of lack of confidence and overthinking: until the arrival of Morgan, it all resolved.

Morgan understood him.

Guilliman was so convinced that he could see no false respect from Morgan's face, knowing that he had rarely seen such pure kindness on the faces of other brothers before.

They always... didn't like him very much.

Just like now, if there are other Primarchs present, it is very likely that the Lord of Macragge will receive an explicit or implicit question: Why waste time on this kind of deterrence, shouldn't Do you want to invest in the expedition as quickly as possible?
As for the rebellion in the hearts of these governors?It was just another simple counter-insurgency. The arrogance and blood of a mere world is really insignificant in the Great Crusade. All the ulterior motives in this wilderness are no match for any heavily armed Dalian.

It is true that such bloody thoughts are indeed popular among most legions, even the imperial army, but the Lord of Ultramar simply cannot agree with it. He would rather use this kind of deterrence to cut down the rebellion in the shadows, and use absolute power to do his best. avoid tragedies as much as possible.

If the only function of the sword is to thirst for blood, how can the war really stop?

Guilliman believed in this idea, but he couldn't get the same approval from most of his brothers: maybe Donne, Vulcan and Sanguinius would agree with him, but unfortunately they were not very close to him, It may be because of the distance between each other, or it may be because of some differences in their personalities.

But Morgan was different. She was at the Lord's side right now, and she was able to express so clearly that she understood what was in Guilliman's mind and shared the same desire to act with him.

This simple recognition alone is enough to make Guilliman feel a kind of sincere happiness: he has almost never received such pure kindness, understanding and help from other brothers.

He is not alone, among his blood brothers, he is not the outlier, he can find understanding and support, friendship and affection.

that's enough.

When he looked at Morgan again, Guilliman even remembered Ms. Euton's entrustment before leaving: the Lord of Ultramar at that time was still confused, why his adoptive mother would seriously propose to let He truly values ​​his friendship with the Lord of the Second Legion.

Now it seems that Ms. Euton is worthy of being Ms. Euton. She must have confirmed a lot of things during the several rounds of correspondence with Queen Avalon.

Thinking of this, Guilliman couldn't help showing a few sincere smiles on his originally solemn face, but when he found out that the No. , and quickly regained his dignity, saluting like a truly powerful king.

Morgan's laughter echoed in his ear.

【You seem to be very concerned about this unique force, my brother. 】

"Yes, they are all warriors who have fought all the way from Terra. They have long been impregnated by the former Sons of War Legion, and have already identified with that barbaric thought and culture."

(Son of War: The nickname of the No.13 Legion before Guilliman returned. Compared with the later Ultramarines, its fighting style is more brutal, bloody and violent)

Guilliman sighed softly.

"In fact, I have never been sure how to get along with them. They are like a country within a country in Macragge. They maintain a kind of stubbornness and isolation, and rarely ask me for anything: except for this Once, they insisted that all members join in the battle against the Osiris psionic species, washing away the failure and shame with their own hands."

[Father and son with distance: It sounds like a classic theme. My brother, father and son are always a little indifferent, and their relationship will be mixed with instinctive struggle. Maybe all of this is reflected in your children. Looks extra sharp, my brother. 】

"Yeah, in their view, I took away everything that the No.13 Legion once had: whether it was their proud barbarism, or the unruly culture they got in the bloody battle."

"But to be honest, Morgan, if I were to do it again, I would still have to reform my legion exactly the same, because the bloody style of the past is really not worth advocating. I must wipe out the pride in their eyes and give them as much as possible. compensate."

[For example, let them be in charge of the most powerful extermination weapons? 】

The Spider Queen's eyes slowly swept across the soldiers in the formation of the No.20 Second World War Regiment, and she couldn't help but be amazed by their huge number and rich variety.

"I don't like them, but I can't deny their necessity either."

Guilliman smiled, his smile tinged with a bit of bitterness suppressed by firmness.

"Even during the process of recovering the five hundred worlds, I issued 38 extermination orders against those stubborn people, but now that I think about it, a small half of them can be avoided through other methods."

"I'm still too impatient."

[Maybe you're just not sinister enough? 】

"?"

"How to say?"

【Guilliman, my brother, do you know how many extermination orders I have ordered and used in all the military operations against the Far Eastern border? 】

"I remember according to your report, you have recovered a large area of ​​land in seven star regions?"

[Yes, according to your standard of five hundred worlds, I can actually be considered the master of one hundred worlds now. 】

"Hmm... how many times have you used it?"

Morgan laughed.

【zero. 】

"!"

"How did you do it?!"

Guilliman's eyes widened, and at that moment, the Lord of the Ultramarines even breathed heavily.

"Teach me, Morgan."

"Do you have any secrets to make them willingly accept the rule of the empire?"

【of course not. 】

Morgan spread her hands, her pale lips pouring out the most insidious reality casually, as if telling what she was going to eat.

[But I have another secret, my dear brother, and that is my eyes. 】

[It is impossible for any world to be monolithic. The so-called resolute resistance is nothing more than our tyrannical and unreasonable force that they have to unite. You will be surprised to find that the so-called conservatives and capitulators are everywhere. 】

[There are only so many vested interests in every world, and those groups that cannot get benefits in the old system have far greater expectations of outsiders like us than their instinctive fears. 】

[As long as you are a little hypocritical, you will find that the iron wall that was once indestructible by thousands of troops is so weak in the face of even the slightest betrayal, so I don't need an extermination order at all, Guilliman, I have There are countless ways to open their city gates. 】

[Only need cunning and impression, only need another kind of transaction and compromise. 】

The slender and pale fingers entangled endlessly under the command of the master, and finally clenched together, becoming a punch capable of destroying everything, telling the power of the Spider Queen's words.

[Of course, I won’t just say it here: the galaxy is so big, who knows what kind of opponent we will encounter in the future, so I also keep the extermination order, even larger than many legions in scale . 】

"..."

Facing such an answer, the Lord of Ultramarines remained silent, his brows were almost knit together at the first moment, telling his distaste for Morgan's words, but even so, he listened carefully to the blood relatives Every sentence he said, and after a long thought in return, he shook his head solemnly.

"I'm afraid I can't accept this point of view, my blood relatives: not to mention that this method is a bit heretical, just one point: since these mortals can betray their own country because of their own interests, how can they be loyal to the empire?"

[Because I don't need their allegiance at all, my brother. 】

The Spider Queen kept smiling. Although she was discussing with her own blood relatives, in the eyes of outsiders, the two Primarchs maintained quite solemn expressions, and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the military parade in front of them.

[My Avalon has a not-so-complicated ruling system, and in this system, the governors of mortals have no more power, all they can do is to attach to my legion to ensure Their rule can continue, and for this reason, they have to endure long corvee and expropriation. 】

[At the very least, on those key worlds that require direct control, the governor is just a rubber stamp. Although I trust the power of mortals, I will not entrust these real lifelines to their hands. 】

"Then who do you rely on to rule?"

[Some of my descendants, as well as those mortal bureaucrats who have received special training, often come from the noble class in another distant world, and have no connection with their ruling area, and their governance has a time limit, It ensures that there will be no strong enough local interest groups to get in the way. 】

[Just like what I told you: Reform the land and return to the locals, since we hold a huge armed force, we can naturally carry out some rough but efficient measures. 】

"..."

Guilliman was silent, he seemed to be thinking seriously about Morgan's words, his pupils flickered with a clear light from time to time, but even so, his brows still did not relax completely.

"I'm very interested in some of the ideas in your words, Morgan, such as allowing our heirs to directly participate in the rule, or forming bureaucratic students directly under us, but I still have difficulty agreeing with your recovery methods."

[It's okay, my Guilliman. 】

The smile on Morgan's face dispelled the scruples in Guilliman's words.

[My words are not orders, I am just stating my point of view, it is up to you to accept it or not, after all, this is just a discussion, isn’t it?We expound our theories separately, collide with each other, tolerate each other's differences, and further integrate on the same points to get better results. 】

[Isn't this the most common and natural activity between blood brothers? 】

Morgan's smile made the Lord of Ultramar stunned for a moment, and when he recovered, Guilliman also returned a rather sincere smile.

"Yes, Morgan."

"You're right, it's normal."

[If you want to know more, I think you can come to Avalon, Guilliman, just like how you invited me to visit your Macragge, we can have each other in this kind of friendly visit progress. 】

"If I have time, I will."

Guilliman nodded solemnly, and when he remembered Morgan's trip to Macragge, he quickly thought of another topic before them.

"Speaking of which, Morgan, I just remembered something."

"I need to thank you, blood relatives, for giving me the psychic tome. Its effect is greater than I imagined. When I tried to promote it in my legion, I found that the result is so gratifying."

【I can tell. 】

Morgan turned her head, seemingly observing the next array very seriously, so as to conceal the slight distortion in her face.

Under Guilliman's reminder, Morgan remembered the scene that shocked her just now: a whole three thousand think tanks of the Ultramarine Legion passed by her in such a mighty way, and according to Guilliman's words, this It is not the full power of Ultramar, at least he has left hundreds of new blood in the think tank in Macragge.

【…】

One thing to say, when she saw this scene with her own eyes, and when she heard the words of thanks from the Lord of the Ultramarines, even the cold Gene Queen couldn't help but fall into real horror.

That's more than 3000 think tanks. You know, even in the Dawnbreaker Legion, Morgan's careful selection and repeated tempering only ensured that the Second Legion can draw out [-] think tanks at any time, and this is enough for the spider The queen was really proud.

Morgan rubbed the corners of his brows when he thought that Guilliman could pull out such terrifying power in just a few years just by relying on her book.

At this moment, she had a deep understanding of a truth: why Guilliman and his legion were so feared, and also deeply felt that once the Ultramarines were exposed to anything related to [Standardization], it would cause What an astonishing consequence.

Damn it, if I knew this book, I shouldn't have given him this book as a joke, and I should have given him a little reward: The Spider Queen couldn't help being impotent and furious in her heart, and said these words of venting angrily.

Of course, on the outside, she was still calm and calm, just listening quietly, so that the Primarch of the No.13 Legion could not notice any clues, which made Guilliman continue to happily talk about and thank his blood relatives, and Every word of thanks scratches a wound in Morgan's heart.

"After you left Macragge, I spent a lot of time getting to know your book, Morgan, until I understood most of the techniques and truths in it, and with the help of the best think tanks in the Legion , successfully integrated it with the actual situation of Ultramar, and began to promote it in the whole army."

"In my legion, the best think tanks have become your admirers. They are amazed at the inclusiveness of the Psionic Scripture. Everyone has learned a lot from it, and what I think is that with this This book will continue to be promoted in other legions, and maybe you will become the common teacher of all the think tanks in the empire, as well as the predecessors who have won countless respects from them."

"Just like all technical soldiers and scientists are amazed by Ferrus's ingenious iron hands, as well as his great creation and wisdom, you will also become a unique existence in the field of think tanks, my blood relatives, you may soon to stand alongside Ferrus: a great honor, even for a Primarch, to stand alongside our Gorgon brothers."

[You seem to admire Ferrus very much, Guilliman. 】

"He has his ability and charisma, and he is destined to be a good partner: I do admire his strength, Morgan, and he is one of the brothers I most want to work with. Of course, now you are too."

【That's a great honor. Have you ever collaborated with Ferrus on a large scale? 】

"There was one time: he sent me an invitation not long ago, hoping to let me join an armored weapon research and development project jointly started by him and the Mechanician: that would be a war engine with extremely high comprehensive performance, and its name Has been named Sikaran."

Speaking of this, the Lord of Ultramar seemed to think of something, his pupils flashed with eager light.

"Morgan, my blood relatives, maybe you can also join this R&D activity. A little more power means more chance of success. I can convey this matter to Ferus, I think he will not refuse , he is a very warm brother in his bones."

[This is true. 】

Morgan nodded. She thought about the advantages and disadvantages of participating in the research and development of a new type of tank: there seemed to be nothing to be afraid of.

【But what can I offer? 】

"Financial support, and relationship with the Forge World: Just like me, Brother Ferrus made direct contact with the Great Sage on the Forge World Metarika through me, and I remember that you have a good relationship with Reza , Ferrus may need help in this regard, I remember he once told about it."

【That's no problem...】

The Spider Queen nodded, she readily agreed to contact Reza, and she was sure that there would be no twists and turns: at least during the Great Crusade period, there were still very active technical exchanges and communication between the Forge World, Ruiza Although Zha's plasma fanatics don't have a good face towards Mars, they are very welcome to communicate with other forces and make progress together.

For example, when the Lord of the Second Legion recruited a series of small forge worlds in the Far Eastern border area and formed an alliance involving economic mutual aid, academic exchanges, and military assistance, although Reza maintained the [little double-headed eagle] Alliance] reserved, did not choose to join this alliance, but they still became [members to be observed] of this organization, happily sharing new academic discoveries and various achievements with other foundry worlds.

Therefore, Morgan is very confident to bring Reza into it, but...

Morgan blinked, she was sensitively aware of something, and looked at the smiling Guilliman with veiled eyes: Why in the words she heard, her Ultramar brothers seemed to be related to this The core part of the research and development of the new tank...doesn't matter?
What was he in charge of: paying for Ferrus' research projects?Pull allies?
Then what?there is none left?
Seeing Guilliman's nonchalant smile, Morgan couldn't help but start to think: whether the Lord of Ultramar's affirmation and enthusiasm for the Iron Hand has received an equal return? She doesn't think so.

However, this has nothing to do with her.

Morgan smiled, and then brought the topic back to the issue of think tanks. This is what she cared about: How did Guilliman pull out such an astonishingly large army of think tanks within a few years?
In this regard, the Lord of Ultramar did not choose to hide his secrets, he said clearly.

"To put it simply, I made a trade-off between quantity and quality: I didn't choose to completely abandon quality, but I did really prefer quantity, giving up some of the benefits of quality."

Guilliman talked eloquently, telling in detail how he had formed this army, and Morgan quickly understood the essence of it.

[To put it simply, you chose to create [-] [qualified] think tanks, and you are satisfied with their ability to meet the standards, do you intend to encourage them to go further on this basis? 】

Thinking of this, Morgan couldn't help but feel a little relieved. She remembered the result of her observation just now: the army of [-] think tanks of the Ultramarines is indeed magnificent, but if they are really allowed to fight desperately with Morgan's [-] think tanks , with the Spider Queen's superb psychic insight, she can easily deduce the result of this kind of fight.

The three thousand think tanks of the Ultramarines will all fall: if they fight to the end, the Psionic Legion of the Dawnbreaker may suffer a lot of losses, but they can still retain considerable combat effectiveness, and can even quickly invest in another battle of the same scale. Go to the fight.

This is where the strength gap between the think tanks of the two legions lies: Thinking of this, Morgan felt the joy of deceiving himself.

At this moment, Guilliman's solemn words echoed in her ears.

"As you said in the book, my blood relatives, [Think Tank] is not a simple path of strength, it tests more the heart and mind, awareness and prudence: unless you have an inseparable talent, or the will to amaze others, otherwise, don’t regard psionic power as the only power you need.”

"In any case: psionic energy is a force that does not belong to our universe, it is an unknown existence that we borrow, we don't know when they will choose to leave, and we don't know when they will become enemies: maybe all of this will never happen. They will happen, but any think tank must have the awareness that they will happen to them in the next moment."

"If you want to hold the rose, you have to bear the wound: psionic powers were never our friends, they were only our unpredictable temporary allies in war, use them, study them, guard against them, but never trust them. "

"Only those who have such beliefs can really embark on the road of think tanks, and on this road, your biggest enemy is not the wizards of the aliens, not the backlash of psychic power, but the power that is too easy to get In front of you, your heart that yearns to lose control and wreak havoc."

"A psyker's greatest opponent has always been in his heart."

【…】

Morgan nodded.

[Yes, Guilliman, I wrote these words, and I wrote them in the preface at the very front of the book, just above the table of contents, to ensure that anyone who reads this book will see them . 】

"Yes, Morgan, I have seen your prefaces, they are long, and I have only excerpted part of them, but this is enough: it is these words of yours that made me decide to promote this book among my regiments .”

"I think other brothers should have the same idea."

[I hope so. In fact, this passage itself is just my advice to the think tank descendants under my command. I hope they can restrain their behavior and not cause trouble for me. 】

"In terms of parents' love for their children, I think we have a common discourse among blood brothers, and every Primarch must understand your painstaking efforts."

[Maybe some of our brothers don't think so? 】

"That's just a minority."

Guilliman coughed, obviously understanding the [some brothers] Morgan was talking about.

"Most people: For example, you still cherish your children very much."

【After all, they are my most valuable private property. 】

Guilliman froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Interesting analogy, Morgan, you do have a talent for making jokes."

[What if I said that this sentence is actually literal? 】

The Spider Queen's words were serious: very vaguely serious.

"..."

The Lord of Ultramar fell silent. He looked at Morgan's sly eyes.

Then, I laughed even more happily.

"Alright, alright, greedy Queen of Avalon, I hope your greed can continue for a long time. After all, sometimes, greed may not be a completely bad thing."

Morgan was laughing too.

[Yeah, Guilliman, sometimes I'm more greedy than you think: When I'm once again distressed that my legion is so sparsely populated, I want to take your legion under my command. 】

"Then I will resolutely resist."

There was a trace of a smile on the face of the Lord of Ultramar. He waved his hand towards the last phalanx that passed by, and looked at the fearful faces of the dignitaries in the audience with satisfaction.

"However, I think maybe you will change your target? For example, Iron Warriors? I remember that Olympia is not far from your home planet, and your legion has envoys from Perturabo."

[Maybe they are also unhappy? 】

"Who knows?"

Guilliman snorted lightly, ending the joking topic, and in his brain, he began to wonder if there was a way to help Morgan solve the scarcity of new blood.

After thinking for a while, the Lord of Ultramarines didn't think of a suitable answer, but he inadvertently remembered another thing.

"Yes, Morgan."

【What's wrong? 】

"Not long ago, my vanguard contacted Zhao-Akada, the casting world. I heard that that world has cooperation with Magnus, and is good at combining mechanical and psionic technology. Maybe it will be useful to you. help?"

【Ah, I do intend to meet them, after all, I have an idea. 】

"What idea? Can I help?"

[Not sure yet, but I want to ask you a question, Guilliman. 】

"please say."

[If one day, you can fight side by side with your sacrificial heirs again, what price are you willing to pay for it? 】

"..."

Guilliman remained silent. He seemed to disapprove of the profanity in this sentence at the first moment, but soon, his face was covered with some inexplicable emotion.

"Sounds like something priceless, Morgan."

(End of this chapter)