Emperor's Bane

Chapter 673 Flag (Three in One)

【dream?】

【You actually want to ask this, brother? 】

"Not me, but our Father: He wants to know the answer."

[That's really strange. ]

"What's so strange: this is really what our father asked me to ask, Morgan."

[No, I'm just curious that the Emperor would actually care about such an insignificant matter: In my impression, the Lord of Mankind never takes other people's ideas seriously, let alone those fantasies that have not yet been implemented.]

#The Wolf God's chuckle#
"It's normal for you to have this misunderstanding, my dear sister Morgan: you didn't spend more time with our father, which led to you not knowing him enough and not having enough opportunities to witness his greatness. I'm sad about this, but I won't be angry about your rudeness."

"You just have to remember one thing: your father is always better than you think."

【Really? 】

"Of course: you won't find anyone in the entire galaxy who knows him better than I do."

"Don't question my advice: especially when it comes to our genetic father."

【Okay then... I'll try my best. 】

Morgan put her hands behind her back, her blue eyes casually sweeping across the Wolf God's slightly forced smile. Deep in her heart, she shook her head for Horus: the Spider Queen did not hide the perfunctory nature of her promise at all, and the Wolf God had no way to deal with it.

He did not even mind the disrespect shown towards the Emperor in Morgan's words: it was not an intentional disguise, but he really did not care. Considering that among Horus's closest friends were famous loyal ministers and filial sons such as Jaghatai Khan, Sanguinius and Mortarion, the Wolf God must have heard all kinds of criticisms of the Lord of Mankind so many times in the past that his ears were callused.

God knows how he managed to accurately pick out these heavyweights among the 19 Primarchs to be his close friends.

Compared with the small matter of [criticizing the Emperor behind his back], Morgan noticed that what Horus cared about more were the other two key points in the topic: He couldn't wait to prove that the Emperor had asked him to do all this, and his words inevitably seemed too blunt, and the lack of confidence in his chest almost burst out.

In contrast, Horus ended his speech by repeating his authority on the question of the Emperor, a scene that Morgan was no stranger to: he did this often in his conversations with Morgan, especially after he had reserved the throne of Warmaster.

The Wolf God has instinctively realized that as a war commander and the de facto spokesperson for the Emperor in the eyes of everyone in the post-Emperor era, he always emphasizes his close relationship with the Lord of Mankind and emphasizes that he is the one chosen by the Emperor, and how important it is to him.

This eagerness for quick success, or decisiveness to put it in a positive way, made the Spider Queen begin to appreciate her brother. She did not rule out working with Horus for a long time in the future, and signed invisible compromise terms with the Wolf God for this purpose.

This went very smoothly.

Horus was not a fool, and Morgan certainly wasn't either. Over the past few hours, after an unprecedented long conversation between the two of them, the Wolf God and the Spider Queen had roughly figured out how they could get along with each other in harmony: many concessions and compromises were reached inadvertently.

Morgan was used to letting Horus take the lead in the conversation between the two of them, letting the wolf god bring up topics that interested him: Horus's doubts and concerns seemed endless, and he always had new questions to ask indirectly. In order to get peace of mind from Morgan, he would of course want to be the one who spoke first.

In turn, Horus also acquiesced to Morgan's absent-mindedness in front of him. The Spider Queen's attitude was always unpredictable. Her asking price was always like cutting flesh from Horus' heart, but the promises he made for it were just a piece of fickle and elusive. Whenever her iconic smile appeared, no matter how many certain words she said, it was hard to feel at ease.

Horus knew that Morgan did it on purpose: from the intelligence he had gathered, it was clear that the Spider Queen could make even the most suspicious people let down their guard with a simple smile. The cunning and vicious sister in front of him might have been prepared just for him.

But the Wolf Shepherd God chose to accept it.

Ever since he heard the long-awaited promise from the Father of Genes, Horus decided that he would always hold himself to the standards of a Warmaster: some blood brothers should of course maintain the brotherhood of the past, but for some other brothers, getting along with them would have to be accompanied by a hint of official rhetoric.

This was the case with Jonson and Guilliman, who were pushed out by them. As the leader of Jonson or the small group in the Far East, Morgan was naturally the same: when the Wolf Shepherd God understood the conversation between him and Morgan as a conversation with the "eight people opposite", whether it was indirect attack or hypocrisy, it became a necessary step that could be readily accepted.

He told himself that he had to get used to it, as they would have to live like this for many years: and compared to his brothers who were still accustomed to using their simple nature to replace their brains to think, Morgan was at least a calm partner, her mind was always working, even if they held completely different views on a certain matter, they could always talk about it.

not to mention……

“I think we are quite similar.”

“We can all agree on most things: being smart people.”

Horus held out his hand to his sister with his palm facing upward, trying his best to act like a gentle gentleman. Although he did not receive a very warm response from the Spider Queen, as they walked shoulder to shoulder down the balcony overlooking the entire legion camp and headed towards the flat ground that Morgan had cleared early in the morning to accommodate all the Primarchs, they still had time to reach a final consensus.

And answer each other's questions.

[You spent the first half of the night just to confirm this one thing: You can meet several brothers during this time. ]

“You are all my brothers: it shouldn’t be strange if I want to chat with anyone.”

Horus just smiled.

"Besides: it's always good for others to see that the two of us get along well."

“That’s valuable.”

"Does this displease you, Morgan?"

[No, I'm just a little confused.]

They were half a body length apart. Horus walked in front, walked down the balcony, and passed through a small group of solemn guards of the Imperial Guards. Several Gastalins and Knights of the Round Table followed silently in the distance: Horus's personal guards kept a close eye on their colleagues in silver armor. On the contrary, the veterans under Morgan seemed to be much more at ease.

Horus saw it with his own eyes: Rana, the leader of Morgan's side, was wearing a heavy Terminator armor, but it was not until he brushed past the back of a Gastarin and walked away that the elite of the Wolf God turned around in surprise and realized the presence of the Dawnbreaker.

The Wolf God watched this scene, his face was calm, only one of his hands slowly clenched into a fist in silence: No one knew what Horus was thinking, perhaps he was thinking about those Terran warriors who had won the title of [Moon Wolf] for the Sixteenth Legion, but he was destined not to be able to remember many of their names, and the few that were known would not be too close to him.

(The title of Luna Wolves was won by the XVI Legion in the Reconquest of the Moon before Horus returned. By the end of the Great Crusade, there were actually few Terrans under Horus' command. Although Cruz, as a representative of them, was capable, he was not valued by Horus.)
"What's puzzling you, Morgan?"

[It's more like pure curiosity. ]

Following Horus's gaze, Morgan naturally saw the scene just now, but she was not proud of it as she was in the past: after all, Horus was right in front of her, and defeating Gastalin was not a special thing. Their strength has always been relatively... abstract.

The Wolf-God's Primarch Guard is perhaps the most unique of all Primarch Guards: in terms of duties, the Gastalin's duties as an elite force of the Luna Wolves' First Company are greater than their duties as Primarch Guards, so rather than serving as bodyguards for Horus, they are more accustomed to dying on the most important battlefields.

The Battle of Ullanor that just ended not long ago is a typical case. The Gastalin, led by Abaddon himself, almost perished together with the elite of the Orc Empire in the two sieges of Goron and Ullanor, and had to draw elite troops from each company to rebuild: such destruction and reconstruction have been staged many times in the Gastalin's more than 100 years of history, which also led to the fact that their combat effectiveness is actually not guaranteed.

Even Horus was used to it: he smiled at Morgan, not at all embarrassed by his son's gaffe.

"What are you curious about?"

[You are here to collect the dreams of the brothers under the order of the Emperor, right? ]

"It is a request, Morgan: a request from my father, not an order from the Emperor."

【In my opinion, there is no difference. 】

Morgan muttered quietly.

[I am just more curious about another point: after the Emperor issued his request, did you give him an answer on the spot? I am curious about what your dream is now, Horus? Are you interested in telling me a little bit?]

"mine?"

Horus was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and walked in front. Without answering the question immediately, Morgan followed her brother closely, waiting for the answer: she knew that if Horus did not refuse immediately, he would definitely give an answer.

Authenticity is another matter.

The Wolf God did not stop immediately. He walked to the lowland with Morgan, leaving the Imperial Guards and the Primarch's Guards behind. Now, the descendants of the two Primarchs stood together, staring at the Emperor's chosen ones, and tried to stand closer to the platform.

But Morgan did not pay attention to these, she was more concerned about the figure of Horus: facing the moonlight, the wolf god was climbing to the highest point step by step, his heavy iron boots stepping on the white stone steps, every step clanging like the hissing of weapons, his eyes rose with the crazy moon in the sky, until it dominated the top of the world, those stars that were far more powerful than it, at this time could only be the most ordinary stars, bowing under its command, and becoming the foil of eternal light.

With every step he took, Crazy Moon was one step closer to the great commanding heights, until they both stood at the highest point, until Horus stood at the very bottom of Crazy Moon, with deep haze and misty colors in his eyes, and the bonfires of the entire continent were shrouded in them: stretching out his hand, he could grasp thousands of soldiers with one claw; waving his arm again, countless fluttering legion flags would tremble in the whirlwind, the light on their bodies dim and unclear, sometimes bright, sometimes silent in the endless night.

The moonlight fell on Horus' shoulders. There should be no shadow, but his back looked so wild and powerful. The giant wolf beside his ear dropped every strand of hair on the ground. It seemed to come alive, with a mouth full of sharp teeth, as if it wanted to swallow Horus' head, or as if it was the second head born by Horus, spying on everything with him.

All of this was too unreal. Morgan even suspected that she was hallucinating. Before she could figure it out, she found herself shrouded in the shadow of Horus. When the Wolf God turned around, his inexplicable shadow not only swallowed Morgan, but also everything he could see. Like an emperor, the Imperial Guards, Dawnbreakers and Luna Wolves were all trapped in this darkness of unknown origin, but they had not yet noticed it, or had become accustomed to it.

Even the Custodians were like this: they could not possibly be so insensitive.

"Aren't you coming up, Morgan?"

When the Wolf Shepherd God smiled and reached out his hand to his sisters, the huge shadow suddenly disappeared in an instant. The gray wolf and the vague ferocity disappeared without a trace, leaving only the gentle smiling face of the Wolf Shepherd God.

Morgan blinked, wondering if it was an illusion. However, she did not think too much about it, but chose to believe the reality she saw at that moment: Horus just happened to be standing at the bottom of the Crazy Moon, and the shadow under his feet could only cover himself. As for more things besides that...

Just remember it.

Maybe it was because the Wolf Shepherd God's movements were too big, but he shook the huge wolfskin cape to the ground, where it lay limp like a dead dog. Before the Wolf Shepherd God put it away, Morgan took a special look at it: after being worn for decades, and despite having undergone careful maintenance, the wolfskin cape that once bared its fangs and claws, like a living creature, had now become shabby and worn. How could it look like it had swallowed up the world in the illusion just now?
But those dead eyes do make people feel uncomfortable.

Morgan blinked and adjusted her expression back to a timely smile. She walked quickly forward and easily came to the side of Horus. It happened that the wolf god said something strange to her.

"It was harder to walk up than I thought."

Morgan did not respond, her eyes awaiting the answer that Horus would give.

[Now, can you tell me? ]

"my wish?"

"it's actually really easy."

Horus puffed out his chest and raised his head, his eyes filled with the lights of thousands of homes below him.

"Look at this, Morgan, look at what we have now."

“That’s what I want.”

With a single point of his finger, the human empire's army conquered the universe.

“Our strength.”

"Our glory."

"Our Legion."

"I am content with what I have: I hope it will remain the same forever."

"My father, my children, my brothers, my career and my people: I have given them all my best, and they have all become what I dreamed of. The greatest dream of my life has already been realized."

“What we need to do now is to protect it.”

"Forever."

【…】

"How's that for an answer?"

【From your perspective...】

"A bit of a simplified score?"

[Almost: I imagined you to be more ambitious, Horus.]

"That's not surprising."

Morgan laughed.

"I imagined you, Morgan, to be more greedy and indifferent, but the facts tell me that this is not the case. Then again, now that I have said this, why don't you tell me what your dream is like? I can maintain my curiosity."

[Of course.]

Morgan nodded.

【But before that, I think we need to do another thing first. 】

"What is it?"

Morgan smiled, raised his head, looked at Horus, and pretended to snap his fingers, rubbing his fingertips gently. Just a trace of spiritual energy leaked from his fingertips made the powerful Horus frown seriously.

【of course……】

"Snapped!"

The flames lit up, illuminating the faces of everyone sitting around.

They are all Primarchs.

The angel and the Wolf God sat side by side, the Phoenix and the Gorgon were whispering to each other, the Lord of Death and the Crimson King each placed the other in a blind spot where they could not see, and in the latter's other blind spot was the laughing Fenris Wolf King. Chagatai Khan and Angron nodded to each other and tolerated each other's existence. Jonson occupied the most deserted position in the whole venue, accompanied by Morgan, and he sat directly opposite the Wolf God.

Whether serious or playful, indifferent or cynical, the lord of all mankind and the entire empire rules over millions of different worlds under his command, and his nineteen children naturally display nineteen or even more completely different attitudes.

Such characteristics seemed to be born to create division and confrontation among them: no matter which Primarch spoke, no matter what ideas he wanted to express, no matter whether the things he discussed were related to the interests of everyone, there would always be other brothers frowning and opposing his views with silence or sneer, and there would also be another group of brothers smiling kindly and facing the previous group of opponents from a distance.

By then, there will be many people who support the opponents, refute the opponents, choose the side they think is right based on rational point of view, or simply hate a brother on a certain side. The chaotic situation is like pouring a drop of ink into clear water. Once it starts, there will be no way to contain it.

Because of this, when many Primarch brothers took off their armor and weapons, left their trusted children, dressed in plain clothes, sat on the ground around a newly lit bonfire, and gathered shoulder to shoulder, the first to speak was naturally the awkward look in the air, and some brothers either avoided or looked at each other sharply.

The air was quiet: until the first warrior appeared to break the silence with laughter.

"Are such gatherings held often?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice; Alpharius's face was hidden in the fading shadows, but as the youngest brother, his curiosity was evident in his words.

"Not much."

The one who answered him was the wolf-shepherd god.

"You're lucky, Alpha: you caught the biggest crowd."

"Yes."

Horus was about to say something else, but Mortarion's heavy dissatisfaction interrupted him.

“It is also the least likely time for any practical results to be achieved from the discussion.”

The Hydra raised its eyebrows exaggeratedly and looked at Horus' slightly embarrassed face. The indignant breathing of the Lord of Death echoed among the brothers. Some wanted to persuade him, but after looking at each other, it was Sanguinius who spoke first.

"Alright, brother."

The Archangel's smile was enough to calm any throbbing in the air. "You can't expect every conversation between brothers to achieve something. Sometimes, the conversation itself is the meaning: How long have we not sat down and had a drink? Staying in your own legion all the time will make you lonely. You should understand this pain."

"I'm fulfilling my responsibility!"

The Lord of Death raised his voice to a higher pitch.

"As a brother, isn't it your responsibility to talk to other brothers?"

Phoenix was holding a golden cup and saying something in Ferrus' ear with a smile.

"Besides, no one can say that this conversation of ours is meaningless: our father wanted to know something before he left, about our dreams and hopes: as his heirs, we have an obligation to tell him."

"It's like telling him that he can step up and help us finish it."

Mortarion snorted coldly, but his complaint actually attracted a lot of approval from the Primarch: the Khan of Jogoris nodded imperceptibly, and even Sanguinius' pupils flashed a little, but he did not immediately refute Mortarion's words.

"He--of course he can't."

This unique long tone and banter almost only belonged to the Nostramo people: Conrad collapsed beside Corax. He originally wanted to separate the Raven King and Guilliman in a malicious way, until before he officially sat down, Morgan's fierce look dragged him to his side and guarded him at the same time as Jonson on the other side.

"But others may not."

The Night Haunter showed a mouthful of fangs.

"With so many brothers here, maybe someone can help you realize your dream."

"Unless: you can't speak?"

Conrad looked fearlessly at Mortarion until he realized that the bonfire in front of him was a little small: Midnight Haunter instinctively looked at Morgan, but as the host, the Spider Queen didn't want to pay attention to him.

"Conrad has a point."

In the end, it was Guilliman who turned around and took a handful of firewood and added it to the fire: the dry wood was piled everywhere, and each Primarch had some in his hand. After watching the fire grow brighter, the Macragge people belatedly looked at their brothers.

"Since this is the Emperor's request, let's resolve it quickly."

"Who says it first?"

After he finished speaking, the only response Guilliman received was pathetic silence and a vigilant look hidden in the silence.

"When did you become so concerned with fulfilling the Emperor's orders, Guilliman?"

Fulgrim's casual question was met with countless nods.

"No... I just..."

Guilliman blinked: then he looked at Morgan as well.

【Luo...Guilliman just hates wasting time.】

Morgan smiled.

He is used to finishing things first.

"I hate wasting time, too."

Dorn, who was sitting on Fulgrim's other side, straightened his back.

"Shall I report first?"

“It’s the dream, man.”

Phoenix held his forehead helplessly.

“There’s no need to [report]: just say whatever comes to your mind.”

"That's right, Dawn."

Horus nodded, but his eyes turned to Morgan's side.

"However, I believe we need to follow a certain order of precedence: Brother Guilliman, would you like to be the first to speak?"

"……also."

The Macragge hesitated only for a moment.

"My dream: My dream is to do my part well, to protect my land and the people on it, until they can stand proudly without my protection, until someone can take over my mantle and free me from this lifelong responsibility."

Guilliman's voice was full of enthusiasm. He swore to heaven that every word he said came from his heart. Although it was a little restrained, it was indeed his instinctive reaction: this was his dream a long time ago, and what he said was everything his heart desired.

But some people clearly don't think so.

"liberation?"

It was Fulgrim again.

"Do you think your current position and power is some kind of oppression, brother?"

“For my dream, yes.”

“I love it, but I admit it can be stressful at times.”

"Power is not something I would ever want if I had the choice."

Guilliman nodded calmly, but was greeted by several frowns.

It's Fulgrim again.

“But it gives you glory and energy and the resources to achieve other goals.”

"Glory? Energy? Resources?"

Guilliman was a little surprised.

"Aren't these things something you can get if you work hard? What does this have to do with power?"

"Besides, glory is not something that is necessary for personal survival, right?"

【…】

The air seemed to become quieter again, and Khan's laughter sounded sharp.

"At least we all know that you have never lacked these necessities since childhood, Guilliman."

Chagatai Khan glanced at his brothers, all of whom had different expressions on their faces.

"You have too much, so now you want to let it go."

"That's true."

Guilliman smiled, happy to have a brother who agreed with him.

"I do have too much, even though they are just ordinary things. But if my dream is the standard, then a few acres of land in an agricultural world is the only necessity I need in my life. Everything else seems so redundant."

"besides……"

【That’s it. 】

Guilliman was in high spirits, but Morgan, unable to bear it any longer, stopped him: the Spider Queen glanced at Conrad, who was enjoying himself and seemed to want to urge Guilliman to continue speaking, then smiled at her Macragge brother.

【Give others some time to speak.】

With just one word and a gesture, Morgan suppressed the Lord of Five Hundred Worlds, and then looked at Horus.

[Do you need a narrator to help you transcribe, Brother Horus? ]

"No need."

The Wolf God shook his head and looked at Guilliman meaningfully: the latter smiled at the Wolf God somewhat awkwardly, then turned around and continued to add firewood to the fire.

"call--"

The wind fanned the flames, and everyone felt the temperature because of Guilliman's actions. Horus' smile became more obvious: I don't know if it was because of the fire, but the wolf god's face looked a little scary.

"I will never forget every word you said."

"So... Dawn?"

Horus turned his head.

"Do you want to speak?"

"of course."

The Master of the Imperial Fist nodded, and he first looked at Guilliman with a look of disapproval.

"I admit that Guilliman's speech about dreams has its value, but I think the second half of his speech is completely wrong: we should certainly fulfill our duties, but if we fulfill our duties only to be able to throw them away one day, then there will definitely be problems when we perform our duties, because your heart is not firm enough."

"Perseverance in order to give up is not perseverance at all. A heart that is looking at the way out cannot support an eternal line of defense."

Guilliman almost jumped.

"I mean……"

"Alright, guys."

Before Guilliman spoke, without even saying hello to each other, Horus and Morgan each performed their duties: the Spider Queen used her eyes to order Conrad to hold Guilliman down, while Horus leaned forward, stretched out his hand, and temporarily blocked Dorn's mouth with a smile.

"Don't argue about this."

"So, Dawn: You want to tell us what your dream is..."

“I have a plan for my future career and I will fulfill my responsibilities.”

Donne is concise and to the point.

"That's...that's all?"

"That's enough."

The tone and gesture of the Lord of the Imperial Fist were so unquestionable: perhaps some of the brothers laughed secretly, but most of them nodded in agreement.

The most obvious of these is Jonson.

"Don is right."

The lion's sudden words attracted countless surprised looks.

"What we have to do is to fulfill our own responsibilities and do our part. This is far from a dream. It is just an obligation that each of us must fulfill: no matter how the external situation changes, we must do our best to fulfill our responsibilities."

"Is this also your...dream?"

Horus' smile was a little odd.

"I think I can report this to my father as an answer, Jonson?"

"You can do whatever you want."

The lion glanced at him.

"This has nothing to do with me."

"Come on, bro."

Horus beckoned to Jonson.

"You know: we must have more...autonomy in our future actions."

The Lion King snorted coldly.

"If by autonomy you mean the ability to change the meaning and duties of our existence at will, then do it: I will not be influenced by you, Horus, but if you cross the line, I and my Dark Angels will do our part. You know what the Emperor has given me."

"Is this a threat?"

There was a hint of chill in Horus' tone, and even the bonfire in front of them seemed to be affected, becoming a little weaker.

"be honest."

Jonson straightened himself, no longer interested in confronting Horus.

"I will do my job, and it's up to you what you want to do, and it's up to you how you want to understand this sentence: I will not have the past events again, whether they were victories or setbacks for me, if you want to know my attitude."

"I care not, Horus: I look only to the present situation."

"..."

The Wolf Shepherd God was silent for a moment.

"This is good."

He laughed.

"I'm glad we came to an agreement."

"So, who wants to say next, my dear brothers?"

(End of this chapter)