Emperor's Bane

Chapter 275 Intermission: The Story of the Think Tanks

I

"Your handling of this matter is somewhat inappropriate, my lord."

Nemir raised his head and stood in front of the silent Primarch of the Dark Angels Legion. The face of this Caliban warrior was full of determination, and he formed a sympathy with Zahariel, who was somewhat cowering at the side. sharp contrast.

It is hard to imagine that they seemed to be brothers of true blood before they became Astartes warriors.

"Here, I think I must remind you, my lord."

"Although this book is written by His Excellency Morgan himself, according to the ancient rules of the First Legion, when dealing with this kind of foreign object, we must perform a complete inspection until its safety is confirmed."

"This may... take a while."

At the end of the speech, maybe he was more or less aware of the inadequacy, even the resolute Nemir could not help but pause before expounding his point of view again.

But his determination didn't get a quick answer, the Dark Angel's monarch just quietly entrenched on his throne, like a silent old lion, watching the two heirs in front of him.

The armor of the Primarch has not been taken off for a long time, and it is covered with bloodstains and unrecognizable dirt: as the fleet of the First Legion approaches the core ruling area of ​​the Randan Empire, this alien that is destined to meet the fate of extinction The race is also undergoing increasingly violent counterattacks and dying struggles.

Today, many of Ran Dan's offensives are no longer tactical or strategic superb moves, but pure madness, longing to die with the Dark Angels. Among them, the twisted and evil methods from the subspace emerged in various ways in every battle, and the First Legion, which was fully armed, had to fall into the quagmire of a difficult war.

In this way, when the wreckage of the Taxus galaxy has completely disappeared, and when the entire human empire is gradually forgetting the former powerful enemy named Ran Dan, the First Legion is still trapped in the darkness that no one pays attention to. For a war that has not yet ended, she shed every drop of her precious blood.

But even so, no one dared to make any complaints. No matter what slander was brewing in the hearts of the veterans of Terra, the figure of the Primarch fighting side by side with them on the front line was enough to keep the entire legion in deadly silence and offensive : Until the number of casualties was so large that even Jonson had to frown.

And it was at this time that the news about the think tank book came to the ears of the King of Caliban following a new batch of supply fleet from the rear.

Frankly speaking, when he knew that he was not the first batch of Primarchs to be sent to the book, Jonson was indeed angry for a million times, but soon, a book written by Morgan himself, with a special introduction to Ran Dan The strategy book was placed on the desk of the Lord of the Dark Angels, successfully calming the lion's anger.

But obviously, there is far more than one person who can provoke Zhuang Sen's anger.

When Nemir, who has been promoted to the priest of salvation, dragged his brother in the think tank: Zahariel, who was appointed to promote the psionic book, to the throne room of the Primarch. Coswayne, the head of the legion, has already unconsciously twitched his eyelids.

He could even guess what was going to happen.

Sure enough, as soon as Nemir opened his mouth, he pointed to the think tank training manual [which has not undergone any serious inspection] and hoped that Jonson could search this book: although everyone present knew that if there is no source from the Primarch Order, that book is simply impossible to promote in the Legion.

When the words of the priest of redemption finally stopped for a while, Coswayne's worried eyes were already focused on him. The legion chief knew that the priest of redemption was a very firm figure in his bones, so firm that he could even be said to be a bit pedantic. It made him worry about Nemir's fate.

While Coswayne and Zahariel held their breaths, the Primarch of the First Legion slowly got up from his throne, his body was filled with the breath of countless fights, he was simply a moving obsidian statue .

When he finally stood in front of Nemir, the stern majesty, dead face and the suppression of the Primarch had already made the face of the Redemption Priest lose its blood color and fell into a morbid paleness, but he still bit his teeth. He gritted his teeth and looked directly at his master.

Jonson was silent for a while, as if thinking about how to speak.

[Nemir, my soldier. 】

"I am, Primarch."

[I am very impressed with you: you have stood out in many battles, you have experienced countless fights with Ran Dan, and you have always been brave and fearless. You are not a bureaucrat sitting in the rear, you know what we are going to On the battlefield, how terrible things are, you have faced them. 】

"Yes, my lord."

【So, you have also seen those profane subspace spells, Ran Dan has already knelt at the feet of those evil spells, they will use this power in every battle, killing countless reliable soldiers loyal to the empire, and we However, there is always a lack of effective means to fight against them, and you can only passively suffer unimaginable casualties: this even includes many combat brothers who have fought side by side with you for a long time. 】

"...Yes, my lord."

[But now, when we finally have enough effective countermeasures, when we finally have the ability to mass-produce think tanks to deal with those subspace evils, you stand up and oppose? 】

"..."

"Yes! Your lord!"

【…】

Nemir gritted his teeth, his pupils burning with fire enough to silence the Primarch.

"From the moment I became the Redemption Priest of the Legion, I swore that I would not allow any unknown or untested powers to be integrated into the Legion, no matter how much damage and corrosion they may cause It's so insignificant, I will never tolerate it!"

"Even if it means, I will disobey your orders, my lord."

"I... I swore it!"

【…】

[Very well, that is to say, you are questioning my authority now? 】

"..."

The male lion's voice was very soft, just like the faint footsteps of a feline beast approaching its prey, the Primarch's big steel-covered hand had slowly covered the head of the Redemption Priest, making the trial on the side Swayne and Zahariel's hearts almost jumped out of their throats.

And Nemir, who was under his palm, seemed to have given up resistance. He closed his eyes, and his face still had a certain determination.

Under the almost suffocating gaze of the Chief of the Legion's Internal Affairs, the iron palm of the Primarch came to the top of Nemir's head. Rotating in the faint light, a burning arc was drawn in the air, and when it was caught by everyone's eyes again, it had already come before Nemir's pupil.

"boom."

It was the sound of flames igniting.

The priest of redemption who closed his eyes only felt an abnormal heat coming from his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw only the still dim face of the Primarch and the pinch of burning flames in his iron palm.

That was by no means a normal flame, it was a kind of jumping with golden light, telling some kind of power from subspace.

At that moment, everyone realized something, and Coswayne was the first to react.

"My lord, that is..."

[Psionic fire. 】

Zhuang Sen simply explained that on his silent face, he could actually see a faint smile, as if silently mocking his several heirs.

[Before I ordered the full promotion of this book, I had carefully read every page, every paragraph, and even learned some of the spells it taught: what you have in front of you is just the simplest one. 】

[That is to say, before you read this book, I have already experimented with it. 】

[How, my priest of redemption: Can you find a more serious and formal inspection ceremony than mine, which is more unanimously affirmed by you and all the priests of redemption? 】

The inquiry of the Primarch was a slow sentence. In the face of such words without anger and excitement, Nemir, who had just spoken righteously, now had nothing to say.

He took a deep breath, and just stood there in a daze, until the Primarch came to Zahariel and announced that the promotion of the think tank manual was going on as usual, and the priest of redemption did not say any more words.

It wasn't until he was leaving that Zhuang Sen patted him on the shoulder and told him in a low voice.

[Next time, don't disobey my orders, my priest of salvation: no matter what reason you have. 】

This admonition is very low, but it can still be captured by the Chief of Internal Affairs of the Legion. Facing such a scene, he thinks of some things that happened before, and Coswayne can only do a moment of emotion.

But how to say, compared to the moment when he just took over the Legion and Ran Dan's war, his Primarch's temper seems to be...

Much better?
Ⅳ

"Dantioch, are you there?"

"I'm here, what's wrong?"

"The primarch has sent an order."

"Yes, that's really rare."

When his battle brothers found Dantioch, the outpost captain of the Iron Warriors Legion was humming happily, polishing his latest architectural blueprints, and constantly pondering the possibility of capturing it.

And when the company commander of the Fourth Army saw his subordinate and friend: Zoran walk in, the joy on his face obviously rose to a higher level. Before the latter could say anything, Dantioch grabbed Holding his arm, he pointed to the blueprint on his desk, it was a fortress that looked perfect.

"How much do you think the threat of launching air strikes or airborne operations is for this fortress? I have seen the air mobile operations of those Dawnbreakers before, which is impressive."

"They only need a few tactical squads and a certain number of heavy individual weapons to easily break through a permanent fortress full of artillery and soldiers. Both in terms of efficiency and results, they are far better than the Our fire-bombing tactics."

Dantioch spoke to his battle-brother, full of talents and talents that had been ruthlessly suppressed, and some words that sounded too rebellious.

"When I saw those aerial battles of the Dawnbreakers, I couldn't help but wonder why we never used this kind of tactic. Our strategy for dealing with those steel fortresses was only heavy firepower bombing, as if the only way to blow them down was to blow them down. It's the only honor."

"Could it be that our victory is more precious than theirs when Dawnbreaker's foot is a completely captured fortress, and our foot is a pile of wasteland and rubble?"

"Perhaps on the contrary."

Dantioch's emotion made the eyelids of the battle brothers beside him twitch.

"Be careful what you say, my brother, it's a tactic set by our genetic father, and it's not something us fighters can figure out at will."

"Can't soldiers think? Obviously we are the most intuitive people about war."

"... Dantioch."

"what happened?"

"You say these words like a dawnbreaker."

"Is this a compliment?"

The Iron Warriors captain smiled, blinked, and patted his brother on the shoulder.

"We have been in Avalon for several years, but you still seem very uncomfortable here, Zoran, do you have something to hide?"

Zoran's eyes wandered.

"Not really, this place is very good, everything is very good, but, Dantioch, we must return to the Iron Warriors Legion after all, that is our own legion, where our genetic father and destination are. "

"But it's not necessarily the perfect one, is it?"

"Even though we are all warriors of the great Perturabo, we have to admit that there may be something different in Avalon, which is worth learning from us, even our genetic father."

"After all, no one is perfect, and no one can always be invincible."

"..."

"You are talking more and more like a Dawnbreaker, my brother."

"Maybe, I don't think there's anything wrong with being a Dawnbreaker."

Dantioch walked to the window and looked at the scene outside the room: they were staying in a mountaintop fortress, and at the foot of the mountain was a bustling town, and there was a scene of peace that was so prosperous that it was almost dreamlike.

He couldn't help muttering to himself.

"You know, Zoran, that the mortals cheer us when we go into that city, and not even the children are afraid of us: for years ago, it was the same army we were part of , liberated this world from aliens, so mortals remember our identity and glory."

"But have you ever thought that when we were in the Iron Warriors Legion, we had already liberated so many worlds and redeemed so many mortals, but only in these worlds of Avalon did we get their cheers. "

"When we were in the Iron Warriors Legion, mortals always avoided us. Even the mortal servants on our own battleship would never approach us at will."

"It's a pity that some battle brothers still take pride in this fear."

Dantioch's words made Zoran feel a little silent. He rubbed his neck, thinking of how enthusiastic mortals overwhelmed him and his team with their cheers when he returned to that city.

It's ridiculous to say that Zoran and his tough guys are enough to face the alien army in a world without changing their faces, but when they face these mortals who exude sincere admiration and enthusiasm, even though these people are so Their fragility, even having quite a few children, was enough to make Perturabo's Sons of Steel fall into a certain kind of bewilderment.

It was a kind of enthusiasm and cheers that they had never encountered before. Dantioch and his party, who were used to the silence and silence, froze in place for a moment, numbly listening to the thunderous applause from all directions.

It was also from that day that Dantioch seemed to have become a little different.

Looking back now, it was really a shameful scene: Nevertheless, the Iron Warrior still had an uncontrollable smile on his lips when he recalled all this.

Zoran smiled at the corner of his mouth like this, and looked at Dantioch.

"What are you trying to say, brother?"

"It's just my private feelings, Zoran. I just feel that compared with Avalon and the Dawnbreaker Legion, our legion seems to have something... not quite right."

"I don't know what the problem is, but maybe I like the vibe of Dawnbreaker better."

Zoran laughed.

"You'd better not let our father hear your words, Dantioch, he has always regarded you as the child he is most proud of, do you know how many people in the legion are jealous of this status? "

"I know, Zoran, and I know what the Primarch expects from me."

"So, I've been thinking about this question: Where is the omission in our legion? Why does the Iron Warrior appear so... lonely compared to the atmosphere of Avalon and the Dawnbreakers?"

"The same efforts and sacrifices have been made, but some people have received sincere cheers, but all we have received is silence, and there are new tasks that need to be sacrificed."

"If I hadn't seen all this, if I hadn't experienced the cheers and enthusiasm, Zoran, my brother, I might never have thought about these questions."

"So now, have you come up with something? Dantioch?"

"...Not yet."

"Then let's take a look at the orders of the Primarch first, this is the most important thing."

The company commander of the Iron Warriors nodded. He took the data pad, glanced at three things, and then couldn't help raising his eyebrows.

"The think tank troops belonging to our legion have been formed? How long has it been?"

"You know what kind of style our father of genes has: It is said that three company commanders have been beaten to the bottom because they failed to screen out the psionic seeds in their company in time. "

"...Is the think tank troops accumulated in this way really useful?"

"This is not something we should think about, Dantioch. It is said that the father of genes concluded that as long as a think tank force of sufficient scale is formed, the wizards of the enemy can be held back in the constant delaying battle. So as to provide output space for heavy firepower."

"What about the casualties of the think tank troops?"

"When did the Fourth Legion consider such a thing? Anyway, I heard that the number of potential psykers in the Legion is considerable, which is enough to offset the consumption in the battle: with the speed of our recruitment of new blood and the knowledge brought by this think tank manual Standardized, think tank troops can fully keep up with the overall war structure and style of the legion."

"In fact, I heard that the Librarian troops have been put into the field. They have completed their tasks perfectly, and the casualty rate is even less than one-eighth of the original plan. The Primarch is very satisfied with their performance."

"So, he sent an order: I hope we can collect the performance of the Dawnbreaker Legion's think tank in battle, compile it into a new book of actual combat experience, and send it back to the Legion."

"For this kind of thing, can't he just find His Excellency Morgan directly? I have also seen the gene mother of the Dawnbreaker Legion, and I have heard many things about her. What a compassionate and rational person she is, How could you refuse to help your blood brother?"

"I don't know about that. Maybe the Primarch has other difficulties. In fact, I also think that Your Excellency Morgan is a good talker, especially when she treats her children..."

"It's kind of... um..."

Zoran hesitated to speak, but Dantioch nodded with a slightly distorted expression when he heard the words.

"I know."

"Those Dawnbreakers..."

"It's really spoiled."

Dantioch's conclusion had his battle-brother nodding his head.

"It's a blessing that they have a unique genetic mother with such a soft heart."

"I see what you mean, Zoran, but it's really nothing, after all..."

"What does this have to do with us? We don't... envy."

"Yeah, what is there to envy..."

ⅩⅤ
[It is said that my brother, the King of Fenris, made a fuss in his legion, dragged all the rune priests into the arena one by one, and persuaded them to accept this book one by one . 】

Even though they were half a galaxy away, the slightest detail on King Prospero's crimson face could still be clearly displayed in front of Ahriman.

"Yes, my lord, I have heard about it here in Avalon."

Ahriman, who was in daily psychic communication with his genetic father, couldn't help showing a somewhat contemptuous smile after thinking about the rumors he had heard.

[It is said that the most old-fashioned rune priests even snarled at Leman Russ, declaring that they would rather die than accept such witchcraft books, because it was a deadly poisonous wine that would poison everyone who drank it. One person: In the end, my brother Fenris opened the mouths of those rune priests with his bare hands, and forcibly stuffed the entire book into their mouths. 】

[Look: Didn't you guys have been poisoned to death? 】

The Primarch of the Thousand Sons imitated his brother perfectly, with only a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

[I didn’t know before that among my brothers there was such a great master of burlesque, I even wanted to give Leman Russ a special trophy from the Imperial Arts: God knows when Jaghatai told me all this, How long have I laughed. 】

Ahriman laughed with his Primarch, although he had been away from the Thousand Sons for several years, and he himself had unknowingly adapted to the living atmosphere of Avalon and the Dawnbreaker Legion, but from The blood of the father of genes can still make him yearn for the attunement with Magnus in his soul.

"But I heard, my lord: Those rune priests finally chose to accept that book?"

[Yeah, these ridiculous people who hide their ears and steal their bells: No matter how resistant and unyielding they are in front of everyone, when they really read that book and come into contact with the most subtle truth of psionic energy, the speed at which they worship Faster than we thought. 】

[Did you know, Ahriman: Although those rune priests are still verbally resisting Leman Russ' promotion of books, they have already clearly excerpted many A large paragraph comes from the content of that book. They just changed the subject and object, changed the psionic energy to what they called the soul of the world of Fenris, and started citing the content of that book with great fanfare. 】

[It's really ridiculous: In the end, these guys, like my brothers, are just a group of mediocre people who see the benefits and turn the wind. A fig leaf for self-deception. 】

"But it's good too, isn't it?"

"At the very least, the vast majority of legions have begun to adopt the organization of think tanks. Except for the still stubborn Death Guard Legion, all legions have accepted the power of psionic energy."

[Mortarion's stubbornness did not exceed my expectations, he just humiliated himself, at least he will be abandoned by the tide of the new era, he will either stubbornly destroy himself, or kneel before the new future, and become that crowd The most conspicuous loser of all. 】

[As for the others... Hmph! 】

[Noble people like Morgan, Sanguinius, and Jaghatai Khan are indeed like-minded partners with me, but my other brothers are very sorry. 】

[They are just like the group of space wolves, seeing the benefits and benefits that psionic energy will bring them, and they are not aware of the value of psionic energy itself. What is the difference between this behavior and those who invest in businessmen? 】

Magnus snorted disdainfully.

Ahriman responded to his genetic father with a smile, and his eyes drifted unconsciously to the clock aside: it seemed that it was time for him to go to the arena to exercise every day.

How about postponing it today?
This is not good?
On the other side, the Primarch was still venting his dissatisfaction with his heirs, and even mentioned his blood relatives in Avalon: but at the moment when Morgan was mentioned, Magnus's voice was obviously much softer, even Bring a lot of rather rare respect.

[My blood relative Morgan, she is indeed one of my few confidants, who can condescendingly write this most basic low-level article for the promotion of think tanks. 】

[You must have read the so-called think tank manual, Ahriman, it is simply a trick of a three-year-old child. For psykers of my level and Morgan’s level, writing down any sentence in that book It is a kind of real self-shaming: but in order to help me promote the think tank and psychic power, Morgan still chose to write such a book. 】

[At this point, I can say that I owe her a favor. 】

[But at the same time, Morgan also made a mistake: her book is blatantly buying other people. She gave all the legions the ability to quickly form think tank troops, in exchange for their acceptance The soft attitude of psionic energy, this is simply a pure transaction, and it can even be said to insult the sanctity and purity of psionic research. 】

[The truly correct path should be to use psychic energy to make the greatest achievement. For example, our Prospero used iron facts to make everyone admire, surrender, regret their past short-sightedness and ignorance, and willingly join the In the exploration of psychic energy. 】

【This is the correct path, and my blood relative in Avalon is too impatient. 】

[On the surface, she seems to have set off a wave of wisdom, but how can this kind of recognition bought with practical benefits compare to the tenacity of real psionic researchers like me and her? When it won't bring them any more benefits, they will naturally leave in a herd. 】

[The secular alliance formed by common interests is so fragile in front of our like-minded alliance of scholars: Morgan did not see this clearly, it seems that she does have some shortcomings. 】

"..."

"However, my lord, I hear that you have also spoken in public in support of the book."

[My support does not mean that I fully agree with this book: as I said, the academic education of this think tank manual is ridiculously low, and if she was not written by Morgan, I would not even bother to read it. 】

[However, it is indeed good for the promotion of the think tank system: for this reason, I also need to stand for it. Of course, if I have time in the future, I will write a book of Prospero's spiritual power, tell All what is real warp tricks. 】

[I've even thought about the main content of the first volume: the summoning skills of subspace elves that everyone can learn. 】

"Sounds good, my lord."

Ahriman smiled, and he suddenly thought of one thing: since he came to the Dawnbreaker Legion, his warp elves seemed to be unable to be summoned anymore.

He even somewhat forgot about it.

[Of course, this kind of public support is not my personal wish. 】

On the other end, King Prospero was still muttering and complaining.

[There is also Jaghatai's push, he successfully...convinced me. 】

Magnus rubbed his neck.

[Yes, persuasion, that's it. 】

【Chagatai is really good at calming others down. 】

[At this point: I admire him. 】

(End of this chapter)