Emperor's Bane

Chapter 586: Popularity Increases...

"They're late, Father."

"You're already four minutes late."

Fully armed, Khârn stood beside his genetic father. As he gazed at Angron's back with his eyes closed, he couldn't help but think of his brother who had made a big mistake: Kargos, who was atoning for his folly.

Kahn remembered him. He had just read the questions about the Bloodspitter not long ago: Kagos proved in battle that he was indeed reflecting on the mistakes he had made, so he would be sent to another place, promoted from the array of miscellaneous soldiers to the logistics troops, to continue to atone his sins until he could be trusted by the Legion again.

These seemingly cumbersome steps are very necessary: ​​the 4th Assault Company has proven in countless battles that they can be one of the guard groups closest to the Primarch, so Kagos must do his best to prove his honor and loyalty in order to continue to stay in this destined great team.

Of course, the premise of all this is that Angron is willing to show him mercy.

And of course he would.

Khârn bowed his head as the Primarch responded to his vocal reminder.

He was always so conscientious.

"It's alright, Captain Four."

Angron's voice sounded hollow.

"Perhaps the two of them were delayed by something else."

Kahn nodded and said nothing more: because just as the Primarch said, he had heard the footsteps at the end of the corridor. The two Primarchs did not delay any longer, they were still discussing the issue until the moment they pushed open the door.

【Sorry, brother.】

Morgan was walking in front, and she obviously took the initiative. On the contrary, Magnus, who was four or five times older than her, walked behind his petite blood relative, with an awkward feeling of following closely: when Morgan took the initiative to shake hands with Angron, Magnus just nodded stiffly as a greeting.

[I don't want to be late, but I have to take some time to convince Magnus: specifically, to debate two questions with him, maybe you would like to listen? ]

Kahn, standing aside, was certain that his father did not want to listen, but Angron did not reject Morgan's suggestion in the end: the Great World Eater would always be tolerant when facing the silver-haired relative who saved him, although it was still difficult for him to give Morgan a real smile.

"What are you discussing?"

【About sacrifice, and the seriousness of life and death.】

Although Morgan tried his best to smile gently and friendly, the air between the three Primarchs suddenly became cold: Angron's face twitched a little, which obviously reminded him of those bad memories.

“Why are you talking about this?”

【Because we were having a discussion about psychic power and soul before. 】

Morgan's expression remained unchanged, and even Kahn felt that the Spider Queen was not lying.

Maybe it's just a coincidence.

[One of the questions is: if the power of psychic energy is strong enough, can it reverse the death of the soul or even the body, fundamentally rewrite the ending of life and death, and make the dead return to the present again: we discussed this from the perspective of ability or morality. ]

"..."

Angron was silent.

He was silent for a minute, and his next actions were simpler than expected.

"I'm not a psychic, so I can't give advice from an ability perspective."

"But if it's from a moral or spiritual perspective, I think I can help you with my past experiences and understandings: Just like you said before, Morgan, life and death are very serious matters. Death is the most sacred existence for a warrior. It is the summary and celebration of his life. Only death can make the souls of brave men noble."

"To tamper with this is to fundamentally insult them and their comrades."

Is it worth getting angry about?

"anger?"

Angron asked back.

"Fight to the bitter end: The humiliation suffered by a battle brother is worth anyone's bloody battle."

"So will I. I will shed my last drop of blood for their humiliated souls."

Kahn noticed that Magnus, who was standing behind Morgan, suddenly trembled: because the primarch's red hair was so lush, his shivering was particularly conspicuous, like a chicken shivering from the cold.

【Thanks for the explanation. 】

Morgan smiled and then looked back at Magnus.

【What do you think, brother: This is good for our discussion. 】

"...Ah, indeed."

Magnus was stunned for a moment, then nodded blankly.

Then, he walked forward and hugged Angron, who didn't understand the situation: Prospero's deep voice echoed in the ears of the Great World Eater, it was sincere, and somewhat unwilling and helpless.

"I'm sorry, brother: you must believe that I mean you no harm."

“…I certainly believe that.”

Angron's features twitched.

Although he was definitely not considered the smartest among the Primarchs, he was not a fool who could not read the situation: considering Morgan's previous words and Magnus's current actions that were obviously wrong, Angron could more or less guess what Morgan and Magnus were discussing.

He... and his comrades?

Those who died...will they come back?
The Great World-Eaterer's expression changed for a moment, but he suppressed it in the end.

Just pretend nothing happened.

Angron took a deep breath and nodded affirmatively. This action made Magnus completely relieved. The confusing complacency returned again: the great wizard seemed to have changed from the nervousness just now to the unbridled and flamboyant now in an instant. Even Kahn standing beside him could only marvel at the speed of his change.

Magnus quickly walked away to choose his seat and glass, and Angron and Morgan followed him, deliberately delaying for a few seconds so that the Great Eater could get close to Morgan's ear and ask questions.

"What happened to him?"

[Nothing: Our brother once wanted to help you, Angron, but it was obvious that his wisdom and sincerity were not used in the right place. However, you must believe that his kindness is pure, but his stupidity is also pure.]

"Is that why he's apologizing?"

【Yes. 】

Morgan nodded.

[Like I said, sometimes Magnus can be a fool, that's why he needs to apologize to you, but Magnus has always been a good person, that's why he will take the initiative to apologize to you: Maybe you guessed what happened just now, but I hope you can forget about it, brother. 】

"For my friendship with Magnus?"

【Also for my sake. 】

"……I will."

Angron was noncommittal.

“Stupidity is worth tolerating, especially when it is coupled with good intentions.”

Morgan gave him a sidelong glance.

[You are more generous than I thought, my brother Angron. I thought you would consider this an offense and it would take a long time to appease you: after all, this involves your former... battle brothers? ]

"..."

Angron raised his head. He asked Kahn to stand outside before he spoke slowly.

"Do you know what I think?"

【All ears?】

"Actually, the reason is very simple."

Angron actually smiled: it was more difficult for him than killing.

"At first, I did think of my gladiator brothers, and I did feel the anger burning in my heart, but I soon thought of something else: in my first half of life and the lives of those gladiator brothers, we were also wrapped in stupidity, but no kindness would come to us on our own initiative. There was only madness, evil thoughts, greed, and the barbaric meanness that required us to kill each other for fun."

"Compared to them, even foolish kindness seems so precious."

"Magnus may not be smart: but he genuinely wants to help me, doesn't he?"

【That is true.】

Morgan snorted.

[And you are lucky, he is particularly receptive to advice today. ]

“He’s also very lucky.”

Angron's voice was a little gruff.

"If you hadn't noticed it in advance and given him a buffer, if he had brought that thing directly to me, then even if I knew it was his foolish kindness, my anger would have burned him: it would have burned both me and Magnus to ashes, and that would have been the greatest tragedy."

[Can you beat him? ]

"In the space of a room, I could at least die with him: I know how powerful his psychic abilities are, but he doesn't look like a fighter, and it's sad for a Primarch to hesitate so long before fully committing to a battle."

【His psychic power is measured in microseconds.】

"Killing and fighting are two different things."

Angron just smiled.

"And during this time, I have met almost all of the brothers. In my impression, only Lorgar is similar to him: but Lorgar will at least raise his hammer and fight at the first moment of crisis, while Magnus' hesitation is fatal."

【Precise summary.】

Morgan sighed, and they sat down at the table almost at the same time. Magnus was fiddling with a book he had grabbed from Angron's bookshelf, which seemed to be of little interest to him: Angron's attitude towards books was to read them diligently, and he had never had any more interest in learning knowledge.

"What shall we discuss first?"

As soon as the Great Wizard asked, Angron smiled at his two blood relatives.

"Before that, why don't you tell me what your second question is?"

"Besides the separation of life and death, what other serious issues could make you late?"

"This."

It was the Prospero who answered him.

"Strictly speaking, the second question Morgan and I discussed was not really a question. Rather, she was seeking my advice. I thought I could also seek your advice on her behalf: You know that the Emperor is about to return to Terra, right, my brother Angron?"

"Of course I know." Angron said with some disdain.

"A stupid decision. As a military commander, he actually abandoned his own army!"

"You can't say that, brother. He will choose a Warmaster for the Imperial Army."

"So what?"

The Great World Eater raised his voice.

"When the battle is tight, I will appoint an assistant to take charge of a battle line, which is fine, but I will not throw the entire war or even more things to even the officers I trust the most: this is not a military issue, this is entirely a question of responsibility."

"He left the war behind: it was a war he had started!"

"Besides, who among us is good enough to represent the Great Crusade?"

This is what we discussed.

Morgan blinked as she fiddled with the World Eaters' goblet: it was perhaps the crudest goblet she had ever seen, not even as refined as those of the mortal governors. Angron still retained his extremely simple lifestyle.

[Before coming here, I was trying to get Magnus to vote for Jonson, whom I supported. He had already agreed to take the same position as me: he would vote for the Calibans. I only needed one sentence to stabilize his position.]

"If the situation remains unchanged by then."

The Great Wizard corrected with a smile.

"I respect you, Morgan, but I don't really care who the Warmaster is. I support Jonson purely because you want me to support him, not because he is more suitable for the position than Horus: so I also hope that you will allow me to reserve my right to choose until the last moment. After all, none of us can know the future, right?"

"Perhaps Horus's performance will leave me speechless?"

[Of course you can do that.]

Morgan looked casual.

[In fact, I have also asked Guilliman or Konrad, as well as Leman Russ and Corax for their opinions, and they are all surprisingly similar to you, Magnus: they don't mind voting for Jonson, but they are also unwilling to immediately limit their power. ]

【The choice must be made at the last minute. 】

"That doesn't matter: if Jonson proves himself good, I'll certainly vote for him."

Magnus gave a reassuring smile.

"What about you, Angron?"

"I?"

The Great World Devourer was a little surprised.

"You are asking for my opinion on the Warmaster's seat?"

"Of course."

The great wizard chanted his spiritual power and put the book in his hand back to its original place.

"You have to know that Ferrus has already announced that he has given up his ambitions, and none of the other brothers have made any public statements. The only two who are still pursuing that position are actually Jonson and Horus, and the gap between them is actually not that big."

【But Horus has the upper hand. 】

Morgan pouted.

[News from a few days ago: The Wolf God personally visited Fulgrim. He has persuaded the Phoenix Lord to support his election and even tried to get a vote from Ferrus: but Gorgon only gave an ambiguous answer.]

"I suppose Horus expected this: and I hear that Vulkan supports him."

[Yes, the Fire Dragon Lord had a very good impression of Horus, but his impression of Jonson was not so good: although he also acknowledged Jonson's ability and achievements, he felt that Jonson's fighting style was not suitable for the next Great Expedition. ]

Magnus chuckled.

"I think I can probably guess what Vulkan is thinking: our compassionate brother must have thought that the killing phase of the Great Crusade was over, and what remained were the gentle years that required conciliation and diplomacy. In this regard, Jonson was indeed not suitable to be the leader."

"All I can say is that the Emperor's departure may have misled him, making him think that the most difficult phase had passed, and that the remainder of the Great Crusade was so easy that it was not worth the Emperor's stay?"

【So Horus won him over. 】

Morgan was a little disappointed. Although she had fought alongside Vulkan, Horus had clearly made a deeper impression on the dragon.

[That is to say, if we count the Primarch of the 20th Legion who has not yet returned, Horus has already obtained six votes from all nineteen brothers: Phoenix, Dragon and Dorn, as well as Khan, Archangel and Mortarion all support him. They have all publicly stated their positions, while most of Jonson's supporters are silent. ]

[Considering that Horus and Jonson had to avoid suspicion, there were actually only seventeen people who participated in the vote: six solid votes were a very impressive number, and three more votes would secure the victory, and after all, some people would be undecided.]

"Like me?"

Angron finally spoke up.

"Who else is the same as me?"

【Is this...】

Morgan pondered.

[In fact, there are quite a few: Perturabo and Konrad have already publicly stated that they are willing to support Jonson, but Leman Russ and Guilliman are unwilling to do so, and Corax is actually the same, so he is still silent. ]

[In fact, Corax insisted on seeing Horus and Jonson with his own eyes, and making a decision after comparing the differences between them.]

"I thought Corax would follow your lead as a nurturer, Morgan."

Faced with Magnus's doubts, Morgan answered confidently.

[If he did so, it would prove that my education was a failure: his neutrality would prove that my education was successful, because he had independent thinking, and the same was true for Conrad, who chose Jonson because of his relationship with Jonson.]

"Is that really the case?"

[…Most of the time, that’s the case.]

Morgan spread his hands, only to find that Magnus opposite him was smiling meaningfully.

【Okay, Angron, maybe you can tell me your choice? 】

Morgan coughed and forced the topic back on track, and Magnus's eyes followed: the great wizard was also curious about what decision the pensive Angron would make.

Angron did not think for long.

"In that case, I will probably maintain my neutrality until the end."

【why? 】

"First of all, I hate the creation of the Warmaster. I don't think anyone is suitable for this position."

"Secondly, I have personally witnessed the war between Horus and Jonson. Jonson is indeed one of the best warriors in the galaxy, but Horus is able to think about problems at a higher level. His ability as a commander is convincing, but he does not seem to be worthy of the position of Warmaster. He lacks something... something I cannot describe."

[So: No one is chosen? ]

"Yes."

Angron nodded, and he looked at Morgan pointedly.

"Of course, Morgan. You helped me in the distant past, and I am happy to change my mind to help you. If you think Jonson really needs my vote, I will vote for him then. I still think he is not qualified to be a Warmaster, but overall he is barely qualified."

【…】

Morgan narrowed his eyes.

She thought for a long time.

[No, Angron, that's not necessary: ​​stick to your own ideas, and vote for whoever you want when the time comes. If you want to remain neutral, no one will say anything to you.]

"grateful."

The Great World Eater nodded.

"I thought you would be determined to get votes for Zhuang Sen."

Why should I do this?

Morgan laughed.

[Is Fulgrim running around for Ferrus's Warmaster? Or did Sanguinius visit your legion and hope that you would all vote for Horus? I just have a close relationship with Jonson, so I thought of this issue in time and tried to win you over.]

【It's not worth my special trip. 】

"indeed so."

Before Angron could speak, Magnus nodded.

"After all, the Warmaster is a minor matter, isn't he?

"Who cares about it?"

【…】

"…Rather, Morgan."

After an eerie silence, the two Primarchs ignored Magnus and spoke in private.

"I'm actually quite curious: Why do you support Jonson? Because of friendship?"

[Part of the reason.]

"What about the other part?"

【Is this...】

Morgan moved closer, whispering into Angron's curious ear.

[Because the Emperor had already given the position of Warmaster to Horus.]

"Tsk...his style."

But if Jonson could cause Horus even a little trouble...

"..."

At that moment, an extremely rare expression emerged on Angron's face, and the richness of his expression made Morgan stunned: she actually heard eagerness to try in Angron's voice, which was something that had never happened before. The King of Nothingness briefly broke through his restraint.

"Go on, Morgan."

"I thought: I'm suddenly a little interested in the Warmaster's affairs..."

(End of this chapter)