Emperor's Bane

Chapter 288 Gothic War
Obscure star field, gothic star area.

At this time, this is a burning uninhabited land. The Dawnbreaker army from the other side of the galaxy is ruthlessly and cautiously ravaging hundreds of worlds in this star sector until they are all inserted into the human empire. banner.

Since the Second Randan War about twelve Terran Standard Years ago, the Terran regime has never had such a large-scale military expansion in the Obscurus Segment. After all, in a sense, this is still a war zone. , and its own value is not unique, and it is not worth the deployment of already tense military forces.

Therefore, although this administrative division named [Gothic Sector] had its name in Holy Terra's War Council documents more than 20 years ago, until now, this area still does not belong to the empire. The alien kingdom, wandering pirates, and independent forging worlds like Gothic, Mezoa, and Depanx are the actual owners here.

This situation lasted until No. 80, seven years after the start of the Great Crusade, that is, the tenth year after the reunion of the Dawnbreaker Legion and their Primarch, before it improved: through some means unknown to the outside world, Morgan, the Primarch of the Second Legion of the Astartes and the Queen of the Far Eastern Frontier, led a powerful expedition fleet under her command and suddenly appeared at the border of the chaotic country in the Gothic sector.

According to Dawnbreaker himself, this expedition fleet originally planned to recover the triple star region located in the east of the Milky Way, but when they were sailing in the subspace, they were attacked by a sudden subspace storm.

Although the Spider Queen, who is a top psychic, personally relieved the storm and did not cause too much damage, the expedition fleet still deviated from the original goal: so they came to the Far East border, half a galaxy away. Gothic Sector.

Reasonable.

The imperial governors and mortal generals who stayed in the space region near the Gothic star sector, after hearing the explanation from the Primarch, saw with their own eyes behind the Spider Queen, the hundreds of battleships, 500 Dawnbreakers, dozens of After the mighty army composed of Wanruiza Guardian Army, two Titan legions and affiliated knight families, and at least [-] million elite mortal auxiliaries, they all expressed their belief in what happened to Queen Gene and were willing to fight for the Avalon Expeditionary Fleet. all the supplies.

The Lord of the Far Eastern Frontier was quite touched by the generosity of these imperial officials, so he made a solemn oath on the spot: In order to repay the profound righteousness of these empire's fringe worlds, the expedition fleet of the Dawnbreaker Legion will change its goal to recover the chaotic brothers. It is our mission to destroy all the alien countries and pirate fleets, and eliminate the serious security risks that these imperial worlds located on the edge of the Gothic star sector have been facing.

As soon as this remark came out, there was thunderous applause.

At the same time, Morgan's words also contained a rather obvious hint: she was not interested in the land and resources of the Gothic Sector. After she regained this sector, how the ruling power here should be divided depends on the Holy Spirit. Terra, and the Imperial Governors who supplied the Dawnbreaker Legion.

Such wise words naturally made the local imperial rulers have no complaints. In just two or three months, supplies from dozens of imperial galaxies around the Gothic star sector came one after another, and the Spider Queen was also quite happy. For generosity: According to the amount of supplies, although the imperial governors who provided supplies did not send a single soldier, they were still waved by her. The 【Acting Governor】.

Anyway, Morgan really has no interest in these worlds: even if her Avalon Federation works hard to develop for another 100 years, it will not be able to extend the tentacles of power here, so it is better to be a favor in the gray field and benefit for her legion.

The Spider Queen herself is concerned about another treasure in the Gothic Sector, a treasure that has not yet been discovered by the Human Empire: the six black stone fortresses hidden in the Sector.

She came here precisely for them, but finding the treasures among these stars is not an easy task, and in order to successfully activate these ancient military miracles, the Spider Queen needs to find the information about the six Blackstone Fortresses first. Launcher.

From the Tuchucha engine, she learned that there are two actuators: two ancient alien artifacts called "Hand of Darkness" and "Eye of Dark Night", which have extraordinary power in the subspace and are also hidden. Somewhere in the Gothic Sector.

And at the first moment when he heard the news, Morgan just sighed with emotion.

The hand of darkness, the eye of night...

Finally, she finally met a guy who couldn't name her better than her: Queen Gene had to wonder if the ancient aliens who named these two alien artifacts were in the puberty of their race.

After feeling emotional, the Spider Queen casually set up this plan: With the help of a subspace storm that may or may not exist, the Dawnbreaker Legion came to the Obscure Star Field with a more reasonable reason, and borrowed The machine launched a rather ruthless all-out offensive against the entire Gothic sector.

Except for a few forging worlds that have long been flirting with the Human Empire, all the forces in the Gothic Sector are listed on the list of this purge. Anyway, as the former border territory of the Randan Empire, there is nothing in line with the Empire here. Standard [human world].

In this way, the Dawnbreaker's army spread destruction from system to system, slaying countless alien nations and wandering pirates. Their territories were wiped clean to reward the imperial forces that provided supplies, and their souls were plundered. , making the Spider Queen's spiritual reserves more abundant, and even their memories were all imprisoned: because Morgan needed the memories of these natives to help her find the location of the alien artifact and the Blackstone Fortress.

Relying on the help of the Tuchucha engine, the Dawnbreaker Expeditionary Fleet's actions were swift and its tactics were so fierce that even the local forces in the Gothic star area were easily separated and wiped out in batches before they could unite. Morgan's flagship can even ignore all obstacles in the physical universe and subspace, and directly appear on the home star of the alien kingdom: with this trick, the most powerful resisters have not even had time to exert half of their strength, and they are all Turned to dust before the cavalry of the Dawnbreaker.

Witnessing all these victories with her own eyes, the Spider Queen felt the power and terror of the Tuchucha engine. She knew that the existence of this subspace artifact was enough to make any naval battle mode a joke. The naval battle will no longer be a war, but a massacre on a larger scale: because in the eyes of the owner of the Tuchucha engine, the subspace will no longer be a place where blessings and misfortunes depend on each other, and there will be no conflict with the real universe. block.

Morgan knows this, she has always known this: after the Osiris Expedition and in the years before the Gothic Expedition, the Lord of the Second Legion relied on the power of the Tuchucha Engine to completely wipe out Avalon. Unstable factors within the Federation, and continued conscription, stabilized the number of the Dawnbreaker Legion at more than 5000 people, and created an iron-barrel-like Far Eastern border before he dared to lead his army to the Obscurity Star Territory to carry out this expedition.

What's more, when she first came to the Obscure Starfield, she heard the name of the Far East Frontier from some local rogues: Thanks to the unremitting efforts of Morgan's propaganda department, the prosperity and stability of the Far East Frontier has already Spread throughout the empire, followed by a large number of immigration and trade, Avalon has obtained countless benefits.

At the same time, because there is a five hundred world that is too [jewels and jade] around, Avalon, who is a little low-key in promoting these fields, actually did not arouse more doubts and rebounds within the empire: He and the forces all the way to Compared with Ultramar, which is expanding in the maelstrom area, Morgan's Country, which is still quietly developing on the edge of the galaxy, is undoubtedly a "good boy" in the eyes of some big figures in Terra.

Although this kind of result of gaining benefits without paying a relative price sounds incredible, but Guilliman is so easy to use. His broad back not only dragged Ultramar, but also took it by the way. Taking away the infamy that belonged to the Far Eastern frontier: Morgan has always been generous in this regard.

But even so, the prosperity of Avalon could not completely calm the weird anger in the Primarch's heart: especially when she thought that an artifact like the Tuchucha Engine would not stay in her hands for a few years, and immediately It will be sent to the Emperor's hands together with other artifacts.

In the hands of the Emperor...

Morgan frowned.

In comparison, she would rather these powerful beings... be destroyed.

"..."

The fingers protected by the silver-white metal tapped lightly on the throne, making a pleasant tinkling sound, but with a hint of chilling danger.

"You seem a little unhappy, Morgan?"

【...No, not at all. 】

Morgan first retorted flatly, then opened his eyes, looked at the huge sphere floating on the edge of her throne, and looked at the creation that did not cast a shadow.

Among the entire Dawnbreaker Legion, probably only Tuchucha Engine, who still doesn't fully understand human etiquette, dares to speak to the Primarch so bluntly.

"Don't lie to me, Morgan, like I never did to you."

In soul-communication, the Tuchucha engine was unrelenting: it seemed born with an aggressive arrogance that would yield only briefly in the face of the most dire threats, and in the years it had spent with Morgan it had played a certain directness role as spokesperson.

"I can feel that just a moment ago, you seemed to have some kind of hostility against me. This hostility is enough to make me fear and fear that I will be destroyed: What are you thinking, Morgan?"

The Spider Queen was silent for a moment, she did not choose to continue to hide it.

[I'm just... a little dissatisfied. 】

"Dissatisfied? Because I will leave you soon?"

[After witnessing your strength, anyone will have greedy thoughts, Tuchucha, especially the thought that I will hand over you and the heart of the plague to my father, which makes me especially unbearable. 】

"Do you have a strained relationship with your genetic patriarch, Morgan?"

[The possibility of becoming an enemy cannot be ruled out. 】

"..."

"You humans are so interesting."

After getting the answer, the Tuchucha engine was silent for a while, and then it made a sound similar to laughter, but it sounded too much metallic. This noise lasted for several seconds, and it As an ancient witness, it continued to tell Morgan its views.

"Obviously the power belonging to you is still so weak, you can't even really rule the dry land under your feet: but at this time, you, as the top ruling class, are already worried about the outbreak of internal conflicts among each other. Possibility of struggle?"

[You think this is very strange? 】

"No, it's not unusual: but what I can tell you is that a race that is obsessed with internal struggles cannot stand on the throne of the galaxy for a long time. No matter how prosperous they seem, it only takes one battle. An uncontrolled, all-out civil war would destroy their empire like a flood breaking down a fragile river bank."

"For a case like this, I have more than one knowledge reserve."

【Sounds like a wise saying. 】

The Spider Queen responded casually to Tuchucha Engine's words, and she didn't have the nature to continue the chat. In the few years of getting along, she has already gone through countless insinuations, satisfying all her desires for knowledge about Tuchucha Engine , and the remaining questions, even Tuchucha himself could not answer.

Thinking of this, the leader of the Second Legion couldn't help but snorted, and turned to look at the burning universe outside the porthole: right at the feet of the Dawn Goddess, there was an alien world that had sunk in the flames of war. Hundreds of warships from the Dawnbreaker Legion surrounded it, like hungry wolves tearing apart a dying old cow.

[How many times is this? 】

Morgan asked as if talking to herself, and her question was immediately answered: Virgo, holding a data tablet, slowly walked out of the shadows behind the throne. She glanced at the Tuchucha engine without surprise, and then started report.

"This is the No.20 six alien countries that we have wiped out in the Gothic sector. Mother, your fleet has wiped out more than 90.00% of the resistance in the Gothic sector during the recovery of five Dotera standard months. , the average safety factor of this star sector is now even higher than most of the empire-ruled areas."

[I don't care about these, Ania, what I care about is another thing: Is there anything in this world that I want? I have searched the entire star area before I found one of them. Worse. 】

The Spider Queen muttered to herself, a treasure box was floating on her left hand, and the objects inside were shrouded in a black-blue light, exuding endless subspace energy: this is exactly the place of darkness. hand.

On the side, Virgo saluted slowly.

"Please rest assured, Mother: We have distributed the possible characteristics of the Eye of Night through the characteristics of the Dark Hand to all Dawnbreakers participating in the battle. Even if they turn the entire alien world upside down, they will never let it go from here Slip from your hand."

Morgan nodded, and a smear flashed in her heart: at some point, the Spider Queen suddenly discovered that her Dawnbreaker Legion seemed to have grown into a legion that was enough for her to "let go".

The haggling and carefulness of yesteryear has yielded wonderful results: Now, the Spider Queen doesn't need to do it herself for enemies that aren't considered difficult, and the Dawnbreakers who have learned her tactical style by ear can now handle them on their own Return everything.

All it took was one command from Morgan, and a torrent of steel would crush any opponent for their queen: the sight was even addictive.

Unknowingly, Morgan has become obsessed with this: when dealing with opponents who are not too powerful, the Gene Queen will not intervene personally. She will simply issue an order, and then sit back and watch the legions being launched and the world destroyed.

Just like what she saw before her eyes: because of one of her orders, one word, or even a hum of affirmation, the entire world and country could only fall helplessly into the flames of destruction.

Morgan's lips curled up.

This scene always makes her feel better, better than any decompression behavior.

The Spider Queen narrowed her eyes. She looked at the annihilation of the world beneath her feet with satisfaction, feeling the new power surging in the sea of ​​souls: Judging from the countless alien souls and the few Dawnbreaker souls, this was another battle. It's a victory that can't be faulted, except for the slightest regret.

In the sea of ​​souls, Morgan stretched out the tentacles of her will, and took all the souls into her bag from the endless greed and darkness: the souls of the aliens were randomly thrown into the mature grinding factory , while the soul of the Dawnbreaker is temporarily asleep, residing in the safest place in the Primarch's heart. "You seem happy again now?"

Beside Morgan, the Tuchucha engine made a sound again. The Primarch didn't immediately pay attention to this strange creation. She harvested all the souls in an orderly manner before turning her head to look at the Tuchucha engine again.

[How is the situation in Plague Heart?Is it still silent? 】

"Yes, it is not willing to communicate with you: I'm not sure if it's fear, or because of other reasons, after all, for us, your existence is a kind of natural enemy in a sense, but it may also be Allies."

The words of the Tuchucha engine made the Primarch frowned: In the past few years, although this subspace artifact can be said to answer all questions, it only maintains its integrity when it comes to these questions about the nature and connotation of Morgan. A silence, or apparent avoidance.

At the beginning, the Spider Queen was still very dissatisfied with this, but soon, in the face of the powerful capability of the Tuchucha engine and the real fear of the Emperor's strength, calmness occupied Morgan's heart and eliminated her anger.

Her attention began to be taken away by another wave: it was a spaceship that was rushing from the surface of the planet to the flagship at the fastest speed, and above that spaceship, there was a familiar and exciting wave that Morgan felt The majestic aura of subspace is exactly the same as the one in her hand.

So the Gene Queen laughed.

Sure enough, after a while, Lana's excited footsteps sounded in the corridor. Along with him asking for an audience, he pushed open the door, and the figure of the chief old guard was also visible in front of the Primarch.

As the first batch of Dawnbreaker fighters who began to accept the transformation of [Road to Nirvana], Lana now has obvious changes compared to a few years ago: his figure has become more burly, and he even has some The momentum has developed again, and his record has become more and more brilliant unconsciously. He can coerce most of the company commanders in the legion with an absolute advantage, and he has completely secured his position as the chief guard of the Primarch.

As a warrior who is not considered a veteran in the Dawnbreaker Legion, Lana is now strong enough to defeat any combat brother except Bayal, even those veterans who have fought for a century more than him, can It is difficult to resist his increasingly terrifying power and his constantly improving martial arts.

All of this was seen by the Primarch, which became the biggest motivation for her to continue to promote her transformation surgery: to this day, most of the Dawnbreaker company commanders have completed one-to-one surgery under Morgan's own operation. Three different transformation steps, while Lana and Bayar have completed five, and the changes on them are also the most terrifying.

Even with Morgan's conservative mentality, she can be sure that after personally performing the secondary transformation of all Dawnbreaker company commanders, the surgical procedures she has accumulated and strengthened should be widely disseminated among the Second Legion.

Of course, this time she must pay special attention to the secrecy of the operation: if her dear Ultramar blood relatives learn one and a half moves, then I am afraid that only the Emperor will know. , will turn around and pull out something shocking.

She didn't want to face 10,000+ strengthened Ultramarines, and the phrase from Guilliman's mouth [All this is due to you, my reliable Morgan. 】

Thinking of this, the corners of the Spider Queen's mouth couldn't help showing a few traces of self-mockery. She slowly stretched out her hand, and took the Eye of Night from the respectful Lana: During this period, the strange eyes of the chief old guard were on the scene. On the Tuchucha engine, it is not strong.

The Spider Queen never concealed Tuchucha's existence from the top of the Legion: after rounds of mental testing, as well as intentional and unintentional investigations, Morgan can at least guarantee that those company commanders who have mastered the main company are already She has loyal followers, and their loyalty is enough to keep the secret hidden.

Of course, the Dawnbreaker Legion is not without reverence for the Lord of Humanity, but this reverence is often mixed with the reverence for the Primarch: Far from suppressing her children's worship of the Emperor, Morgan intentionally The image of her and the emperor coincided in the hearts of the Dawnbreaker, which has not aroused objection among the veterans of Terra or the camp of the new blood of Avalon.

Of course, as Morgan gets closer to the Dawnbreaker Legion and the Emperor's figure fades away in the Far Eastern Frontier, one day, this statue that fuses Morgan and the Lord of Mankind will completely become the Spider Queen herself. What it looks like: When the last Terran veteran can no longer see even a hint of the Emperor in his unchanging reverence, the Lord of the Second Legion can take control of her Legion and do anything.

This kind of change is destined to be long, but it is also gentle and silent, and will not cause the already sparse Dawnbreaker Legion to suffer losses due to violent internal conflicts: for this, Morgan is determined to win, and her The progress is also extremely smooth.

Thinking of this, the Spider Queen's mood became brighter. After the chief old guard slowly retired, in front of Tuchucha Engine and Virgo, Morgan juxtaposed the two alien artifacts, feeling the relationship between them. forces of mutual attraction.

Then, she looked at Tuchucha.

[The preparations are complete, now, it's time for you to fulfill your promise: You once said that when I juxtapose two ancient alien creations, you can feel the location of those Blackstone Fortresses. 】

"Yes, because of my distant but familiar relationship with them, I can indeed do this: in fact, I now know where they are."

The sound of the Tuchucha engine is still calm and unhurried. It speaks on a channel that only Morgan can hear. Several galaxies in the Gothic sector.

"There they are."

[Separate hiding? 】

"Because each Blackstone Fortress is slightly different: they are like brothers in a big family, you can think of them as you and your genetic relatives, you belong to a paternal line, share the The names of the Primarchs are similar in some physical data, but other than that, each of you has something different."

[Understandable. 】

[So, these Blackstone Fortresses also have a father who created them? 】

"It does exist, but it can no longer bother you. What you need to worry about is the race that was once called the Dead. They still exist in the galaxy in some form and regard the Blackstone Fortress as their own assets."

【You mean, they will send troops to stop me? 】

"No, in their view, these terrible weapons in your hands may be an excellent insurance measure. They believe that you cannot exert more power."

[How do you know the thoughts and logic of those Necrons? Have you had any contact with them in the past tens of millions of years? 】

"No: but considering that the thinking of this race has reached a complete stagnation tens of millions of years ago, then I think my understanding of them should not be outdated."

【…】

【Reasonable. 】

"So, do you have any questions?"

【the last one. 】

Morgan leaned on the throne, looking at Tuchucha Engine with a hint of unique cunning and distrust in her eyes.

[Based on your knowledge and perspective, which of these Blackstone Fortresses should I acquire first: You said that there are certain differences between them, so the difficulty of regaining them should also be different. 】

"Since you already have the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of the Night, theoretically you can actually strengthen and drive them, but this kind of use is extremely unstable, and if you want to reach a more stable cooperation with them, I suggest You find these two first."

The two coordinates were sent to the Spider Queen's mind by Tuchucha.

"You can choose these two: their consciousness is more gentle, and they are easy to be persuaded by you?"

【……persuade? 】

"Yes, Blackstone Fortress has a certain degree of independent will, and your existence may not be liked by them: although you can still forcefully drive them, the Blackstone Fortress that is forced to fight for you will even seek self-destruction. And once they take the initiative to fight for you..."

"You will be invincible, Morgan."

------

Holy Terra, the Royal Palace.

"The expedition fleet of the Dawnbreaker Legion suddenly appeared in the Obscure Star Field, led by the Primarch himself, and is currently recovering the Gothic Star District. It is progressing very smoothly, and the Gothic Star District has been largely recovered."

Theoretically speaking, information like this is not even eligible to enter the room on the work desk of the handprinter, but when Macado ordered his subordinates to pay more attention to the Second Legion, there was information about Morgan Messages can always be delivered to his desk.

The palm printer glanced at the message, and searched for the possible connection between Morgan and the Gothic sector in his heart, and soon frowned because of this, and looked at his attendants.

"What does the War Council think of this?"

The servant replied without hesitation.

"The parliament believes that this is a hidden favor of the Dawnbreaker Legion to the holy Terra. For a long time, the Dawnbreaker Legion has been conquests on the Far East border to expand its rule, and lacks contribution to Terra. Therefore, the Second Legion The Lord took this opportunity to take the initiative to recover a large star field that she was destined to be unable to manage, in order to fulfill her responsibility as the Primarch, and to show her submission and humility to Terra."

"..."

"Is this their idea, or their decision?"

"It's a decision."

"... let's go down."

The handprinter laughed, and he waved his hand slowly, feeling in his heart: That Emperor's Daughter is even more dishonest than he imagined, and before she knew it, she actually started spying on the rights and interests of Holy Terra. , Thinking of the sporadic reports of a group of mysterious Astartes warriors from various parts of the empire, Macado couldn't help but feel emotional.

Everyone said that the Lord of Macragge was an ambitious man, but how did they know that compared with the gloomy and thoughtful Lord of the Second Legion, Guilliman made Macador feel much more at ease. The Lord of Kurag would be led astray by his sister, just as he had feared Jonson would be led astray.

But for some reason, the Lord of Mankind never seemed to have this worry: The Emperor's rudeness, indifference and strange trust in matters concerning Morgan made it impossible for Malcador, who had followed him for countless years, to grasp his mind. loop.

But anyway...

The Palmist rubbed his temples.

Forget it, his most important task now is to tell the human lord who is far away in the sky about Morgan's movements: No matter what the purpose of the Spider Queen's big move is, he will not believe that it is a coincidence, and Holy Terra will not believe it. There must be a way of coping.

Dealing with Morgan, Malcador must have required the highest vigilance and caution: just as he had faced the Lord of Men.

After all, through a little revelation from the Lord of Humanity, Malcador already knows...

Morgan was never loyal.

Therefore, she is most like the Emperor.

At this point, even Jonson, Horus or Sanguinius are hard to come by.

(End of this chapter)