Emperor's Bane

Chapter 579: Flesh and Blood Mutation

Years later, as he stood among the shattered bodies of his brethren, his hands stained with the blood of his brothers, the heart of a Primarch hanging from his waist, Ahriman would think back to the afternoon when he faced the Lord of Fenris.

That day, he truly saw the true face of Leman Russ: although he and the Wolf King had known each other for decades.

However, it was only when the Fenris Giant, wearing his gray armor, the wolf skin on his shoulders rustling in the wind, holding the golden Spear of Dionysus in one hand and the fully charged pistol in the other, and walking towards them step by step, that Ahriman felt that he had seen the Primarch clearly.

At that moment, he recalled every myth and every epic he had witnessed, watched and heard in his previous two hundred years of life, and constructed in his mind the gods of murder, war and blood depicted in these fantasy stories: when their figures finally gathered together, they were strikingly similar to Leman Russ in front of him.

If there really was a god in this world who controlled killing and destruction, he would probably look like Leman Russ: without a roar or a threatening look, and as he slowly approached, even the instinctive disgust that arose from witnessing the changes in his flesh and blood disappeared at a rapid speed.

Ruth was quiet.

Ruth was patient.

……

Ruth is terrible.

More terrifying than any enemy Ahriman had ever encountered before.

Ahriman mustered up all his courage and dared to stand in the Primarch's path. Although he was still hundreds of meters away from Russ, the biting chill in the air alone made his fingers tremble as they clenched the blade. Ahriman suddenly remembered the problem he had discussed with the Dawnbreaker legend Bayar a long time ago.

Ahriman once asked his sword teacher: When Bayar drew his blade to buy time when facing Conrad who had just returned, what was going on in the mind of this perfect knight?

Was he immensely excited about his ability to fight the antigen?
But unlike what Ahriman had imagined, Bayar, who had always been calm and had never been afraid of anything in his eyes, was silent for a while after hearing this question, and then slapped him hard on the head: The Dawnbreaker's fingers were even shaking.

"Glory? Excitement?"

"What are you thinking?"

"Let me tell you, Ahriman: when I drew my sword and faced a Primarch, my mind was blank. I could not think of anything else. If anything, there was only one thing that occupied my mind."

……

"I am dead."

Years later, Ahriman repeated Bayar's words, and only now did he realize the value of these words: because when he faced Leman Russ, he realized that the so-called glory and excitement were just jokes imagined by those ignorant fools.

In front of the angry Primarch, the only thing one could feel was the endless sense of death.

However, despite holding on to this deathly intent, Ahriman did not choose to retreat: when the entire Thousand Sons Legion was trembling with fear because of the approaching wrath of Leman Russ, only this Thousand Son who was least like a Thousand Son still held the blade tightly, walked to the front tremblingly, and stood in front of the Wolf King with almost fear.

Now, perhaps he was one step closer to the true legends among the Astartes: Ahriman thought to himself, and then he heard the Wolf King's heavy breathing, like a living mountain.

In a moment, Leman Russ had passed the place where he had just launched the charge, and a new legion gathered behind him: the losers climbed up again, and more wolves were pouring in from the foothills in the distance. Ahriman even saw his good friend Hedemaker standing not far behind the Wolf King. The Rune Priest was also staring at him, with a trace of reluctance in his pupils, but more of it was an incomprehensible coldness.

The army was gathering more and more, and the number was enough to make anyone despair. Ahriman could only place his hope on his genetic father: Magnus had come out of his previous dazed state at this time. He obviously realized what was going on, but this was still not enough to make him fall into complete panic.

The Scarlet King first looked around at the situation of his offspring: the warriors of the Thousand Sons had temporarily lost their combat effectiveness, and only a few could still help him, including Fusistaka and those Terran veterans, who were already struggling to re-grip their weapons, while Ahriman, who was standing in the front, made the Primarch cast him a glance of approval.

Magnus silently stared at the long-lost wanderer for a while, then nodded solemnly: No one knows what the great wizard is thinking at this moment.

Afterwards, the Primarch moved, and did not immediately go to confront his brothers, but first came to his poor offspring Hastur, who was no longer in human form: Magnus saw clearly that compared to the Space Wolves army that was already close at hand, more Thousand Sons' eyes were obviously focused on Hastur's body.

So, the Primarch knelt down. He first patted the shoulder of Hathor, who was holding Hastur and crying, then reached out his hand and found the only part of Hastur's body that could still be called a "face". He closed those hideous dead eyes again and lowered his head to bid farewell to his warriors.

Just like a real father, extremely short but sincere and sad.

When the Scarlet King had done all this, the morale of the Thousand Sons had obviously stabilized. He then walked steadily to Ahriman's side and faced the imposing Sixth Legion together with his child.

In the moments before Leman Russ arrived, Magnus suppressed his voice, and his tone sounded heavy to Ahriman: there was sadness, but also a hint of new pride.

"You did the right thing, Ahriman."

Magnus spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear clearly.

"You have become someone your brothers can rely on. I know how much courage it takes for you to make this decision. I understand and support you from the bottom of my heart. Now, step back, my child. Leman Russ is not the opponent you need to face."

Ahriman nodded, and he retreated to a position where he could provide support at any time. Only Fusistaka stood shoulder to shoulder with him. As for Hathor, he was still holding his subordinate who had been beheaded by Ahriman, and his trembling fingers were mixed with the mutated flesh and blood.

Ahriman had no time to care about him, because the scene in front of him was more urgent: Magnus didn't seem to realize, or he didn't know at all, what the Spear of Dionysus in Leman Russ's hand meant?
This is understandable. After all, in the eyes of most people, the Spear of Dionysus is just like the Wolf's Fang, both of which are ordinary artifacts given by the Emperor to reward Leman Russ for his outstanding performance in the Battle of the Wheel of Fire. In the human empire, which Primarch does not have such gifts from the Emperor?

As for its hidden meaning?

Even Ahriman himself only vaguely guessed it after being hinted by the Spider Queen during Morgan's private teaching: If Leman Russ had not actually taken out this weapon in front of him, Ahriman would have thought it was just a harmless joke.

However, Magnus seemed to really think so.

Facing the aggressive wolf pack, the Great Wizard's countermeasure was to draw out the golden scimitar in his hand and stand proudly in front of the entire Sixth Legion: Indeed, looking at the terrifying psychic power accumulated in the scimitar, it could easily destroy every Space Wolf present except Leman Russ.

The two Primarchs faced each other where their legions had once fought, and the Wolf King asked his warriors to stand at a distance to prevent their next words from flowing into the teeth of these wolf cubs with loose mouths: Magnus smiled at this cold kindness.

Then, before Leman Russ could think of what to say, the Prospero stepped forward and spoke first: his pupils gleamed with the wisdom and cunning that was also part of Magnus.

"I'm sorry to have you witness this, my brother Leman Russ."

Magnus forced a smile, trying to dispel the tension in the air.

"But fate is always more cruel than we imagine, just like what you just saw: after several decades, the genetic disease of the Thousand Sons Legion has recurred. I think what I need to do now is to leave here as soon as possible and find a way to suppress it again."

"If you have no objection, let's just forget about what happened today?"

"..."

The wolf king did not answer.

Ahriman nodded, and Magnus's first speech directly extinguished the anger that had been accumulated in the Wolf King's heart, and by the way solved the biggest problem of the Thousand Sons Legion: with a slight change of the great wizard's lips, the horrific change that occurred in front of everyone was explained as an ordinary genetic disease attack.

This scene made Ahriman breathe a sigh of relief in his heart.

Fortunately, fortunately! At the critical moment, his father was not completely unreliable.

He still remembers that he is a Primarch!
But such a simple statement was not enough to offset the anger in Leman Russ's heart.

"Shut up, Magnus."

The Fenrisian growled, his cold mask wavering.

"Don't fool yourself here, we all know what it is: it is definitely not some nonsense genetic disease you are talking about, you are using witchcraft, brother, this is black magic, this is necromancy, it is an unclean evil way, you should be tied to the stake and burned to death!"

"..."

Magnus was stunned at first, and then he laughed helplessly.

"Dark magic? Necromancer?"

he taunted.

"Do you want to listen to what you just said, Leman Russ? This is not in line with the Imperial Truth at all. If you tell this to any of our brothers, they will think you are crazy again."

"Shut up."

The wolf king gritted his teeth, with a hint of anger in his rage.

"Others may not be able to do it, but I understand what you are obsessed with, my foolish wizard brother: you have crossed the line. The thing that was just your offspring is enough to be the evidence of your crime and that of your legion."

"And now, are you going to defend this abomination in front of me?!"

"Of course I will!"

Magnus's expression turned cold.

"Watch your words, Rus. He is not what you say. He is an unfortunate warrior under my command. He has shed as much blood and sweat for the empire as your wild wolf. Maybe he is indeed in trouble now, but this is not caused by his subjective consciousness, as I said just now..."

"This is! A! Genetic disease!"

Magnus spoke each word with emphasis.

This performance made Ahriman nod repeatedly.

That's right, just like that, as long as the Primarch insisted that this was a genetic disease, the situation would never develop to the worst point: no matter how angry the Wolf King was, he would not start a fight with the Thousand Sons Legion on the spot just because of a genetic disease.

If the Emperor's military police really dared to open fire on another Astartes Legion under the pretext of genetic disease, then at least half of the Primarchs and Legions of the Imperium would be uneasy: Leman Russ could not fail to understand this, and this was the source of his tremendous anger at the moment.

Because he really had no other choice: don't forget that on the surface, the entire Empire still strictly abides by the Imperial Truth. Even if he knows in his heart that the situation of the Thousand Sons must be entangled with something in the Warp, he, the Wolf King, cannot say it openly: at least it cannot be used as a reason to confront Magnus.

As for going to the Emperor to appeal? That will happen after this.

At least now, the great wizard stopped the Wolf King with just one sentence.

After realizing this, the Scarlet King even began to take the initiative.

"Like I said, bro."

Magnus was laughing. "This is the result of the instability of the gene-seed in each Legion: the Wildness of the White Scars, the Thirst of the Blood Angels, the Rapid Healing of the Ultramarines, and the Witchmaul of the Dawnbreakers. You cannot deny a Legion due to such an innate deficiency."

"...hehehe..."

In this scenario, this argument was almost perfect. The wolf king, who was not good at speaking, was in a dilemma at this moment: even though he was filled with overwhelming rage in his heart, and even though he knew everything, he could not launch a sharp counterattack verbally. He kept opening his mouth, but was always unable to stop the opponent's torrent of talk.

In the end, the Fenrisians could only transform their anger into terrifying laughter.

"You...you one-eyed dragon!"

The wolf king gnashed his teeth.

"You think I don't understand? You think I don't know what this is? I've chopped off their heads myself! I know what comes out of the warp: don't fucking pretend in front of me, Magnus, every word you say makes me sick!"

"……what are you saying?"

This time, it was Magnus' turn to frown, looking confused.

"How could anything come out of the subspace? What are you angry about?"

The wolf king just sneered.

He pointed rudely at the body.

"Look at him, Magnus, look at him with the one eye you have left, at that pathetic pile of flesh that cannot be described by any human word except as a monster: look at him! And look into my eyes! Magnus!"

Leman Russ stared straight at his Prospero brother, sincerity and anger in his pupils.

"tell me!"

"What the hell! Is this a genetic disease?"

"This isn't it! These warriors of yours are fucking contaminated!"

"By whom?"

Magnus frowned, displeased by the Wolf King's anger.

"Tell me: by whom?"

"Tell me, brother: when you make an accusation, you should always name the suspect, right?"

"..."

The wolf king was speechless again.

He could only grit his teeth and repeat over and over again that simple and easy-to-understand truth.

"Don't be so arrogant, Magnus: I know enough."

"Since you said that this situation is just a so-called genetic disease, then let me ask you: Which legion's genetic disease would be like this? I have seen genetic diseases in more than one legion, and they never turned soldiers into pathetic monsters. Or is your legion born despicable?"

The wolf king bared his teeth, his inner calmness affected by endless anger, so much so that he made unnecessary accusations.

"Shut up!"

The last words successfully made Magnus frown tightly, and the anger in his heart was also aroused: the scene of the two Primarchs approaching each other with murderous intentions made Ahriman, who was standing behind, not even know what to do. He could only watch his father approach Leman Russ with great anger.

Magnus was standing very close, and even the Wolf King was a little scared. He realized that Magnus was in a real rage: What would this extremely angry man do? Fight him? Or directly vent his anger on the Fenris warriors behind him?

The wolf king didn't know.

He found that he didn't know Magnus well enough.

But soon, the great wizard gave the Wolf King the answer with practical actions.

The enraged Magnus came up to Leman Russ and warned his brother word by word.

"You pissed me off, bro."

"I'll say this once: my legion has never been what you call a bastard."

"Then how do you explain this beach..."

"Why should I explain to you?"

Magnus sneered and interrupted the Wolf King unreasonably. The pride and complacency that came naturally to him were his true nature.

"listen."

The Primarch lowered his voice and spoke with a certain ostentatious tone.

"Who are you to call my Legion bastards, Russ? Who are you to accuse us of a genetic disease? Wasn't the secret that Jonson kept for you in the throne room of the fallen tyrant on Duran despicable enough? Wasn't that enough to make you mind your own business? Were your children not a bunch of monsters?"

"My offspring is at least stable: my legion may have been miserable before, but such a case has not appeared in nearly a hundred years. I can proudly say that this is just an exception, a possibility of one in a billion or even less."

"And what about your legion: your pack of standing werewolves?"

"How often do they show up?"

"A few months? Or a few days?"

"How dare you accuse me?"

"Mind your own business, Ruth."

In extreme anger, Magnus proudly revealed the secret he had kept for Leman Russ for a long time. In his opinion, this was the ultimate revenge, and Leman Russ's astonishment was the best answer.

"Don't be surprised, Ruth."

The great wizard was very proud.

"The subspace is like this. It always tells me some secrets of others, even though I have no interest in knowing them. But this is enough to make me sure of your despicableness, or that you are really stupid to such an extent."

"I'm not mean, nor am I stupid."

The wolf king gritted his teeth.

"I'm just warning you: this is really the last warning..."

"I never need it!"

"you!"

Just before Leman Russ's rage completely erupted, a dull roar echoed in the mountains, and dazzling flames accompanied by the whistling giant axe broke the tense situation between the two Primarchs: the sharp blade hit accurately between Leman Russ and Magnus, completely separating them.

This is the axe of Angron.

The next moment, an invisible psychic shield, with the axe as its base, forcibly covered the entire road occupied by the two Primarchs: this shield was thousands of times stronger than the force field shield used by Fusistaka and all the Falcon School elites under his command.

This is Morgan's will.

"..."

The Primarchs fell silent and looked upwards in the direction of the axe.

Morgan and Angron stood there, looking helpless.

------

"Are they...fighting among themselves?"

【Roughly the same. 】

"..."

"Are they always like this?"

In those brief words, there was a sense of helplessness that came from having one's worldview severely shaken.

[…Ah, that’s about right.]

Morgan saw Angron and sympathized with the helplessness on his face.