Emperor's Bane

Chapter 674 Flag (Three in One)

"What a tempting offer."

Fulgrim chuckled, he stood up slowly, raised his glass and greeted every brother present.

"It's my turn, isn't it?"

"No one will compete with you."

Leman Russ grinned, the only one of the brothers to raise his glass in response to Fulgrim's questioning.

"OK then."

Phoenix took a breath.

"I think many of you here already know my dream, because I never refuse to tell anyone about it. For decades, I have been using it to label myself. I am glad that I have done it."

"Perfect again?"

A sigh from the Khan was heard among the crowd.

"I don't think perfection and innovation are antonyms, right, Phoenix?"

"Of course not."

Fulgrim did not mind.

“They should be one.”

"Listen to me, brothers. You don't need to ask me what my dreams are. I will show them to you one by one in the next few decades. Through my legion, my descendants and my subjects, you will see them clearly. I promise that every change will happen before your eyes."

"I can swear to you."

"I swear, the first step of my dream is to grant peace to my land, so that my people no longer have to worry about war. The second step is to pass on art and elegance, so that Holy Terra can reappear in the Maelstrom, and the former glory of mankind can reappear on Chemos, reappear in every world of mine, and shine in every city that is not troubled by hunger and disease."

"Then, unity, nobility, purity and loyalty, I will achieve them one by one: my legion and people will be united, my warriors will have noble souls, the land I protect will bloom its own stamens, and it will be the purest fertile soil. And all of the above is to dedicate loyalty to the great cause we created together, to mankind and the Emperor, and to our master."

"Give peace to the people and let them unite."

"Give soldiers loyalty and make them noble."

"Give the Legion purity and let them be glorious."

“Finally, give me my own dreams so I can lead them into the future.”

"Only when all of this is achieved. I will stop now. And weigh it."

"Perfect."

#applause#
As soon as Phoenix finished speaking, he heard congratulations from his brothers all around him. He accepted them without surprise and boasted to his closest brothers: When he saw that even Guilliman and Sanguinius applauded him, Phoenix's pride was written all over his face.

"Awesome."

Guilliman's heartfelt sigh: Even more enthusiastic than Ferrus.

"I should have copied this sentence on the Constitution Stone in Macragge."

These sincere words passed quietly by everyone's ears.

Even the applause faded a little: Fulgrim didn't seem to care much.

"This may be the first time that your copying does not disgust me, Guilliman."

Phoenix looked at him arrogantly.

"Go ahead, I give you permission."

He nodded, then turned his smiling eyes to Ferrus.

"You're next, bro."

The tone left no room for doubt.

"I?"

Gorgon hesitated.

"of course."

Fulgrim looked at Horus with an attitude of killing first and asking later.

"Is that alright, Horus?"

"of course."

The wolf god simply nodded.

"Well, I……"

Ferrus stood up rudely. He stood there for a long while, then scratched his head helplessly.

"I don't have any dreams. I feel like I'm living a good life now and everything is fine."

"especially me."

Phoenix leaned over to him and patted Ferrus' shoulder proudly.

“I’m the best one.”

"Yes, you are."

Ferrus responded to Fulgrim's pride fondly, his rough fingers tucking the Phoenix's scattered hair behind his ears.

"But to be honest: my dream is probably to have time to take care of my offspring after the Great Crusade is over."

"Iron Hands?"

Corax nodded.

"What's their problem?"

“Concepts, or cognitive concepts.”

Ferrus sighed helplessly.

"I did teach them the concept of survival of the fittest. I ruled in this way on my home planet and in my territories, but I just realized that they had a misunderstanding of the theory of survival of the fittest that I taught them."

"The reason I taught them this was to let them break through their own limits, use courage to overcome those seemingly impossible difficulties, and become truly strong. But they actually misunderstood that they had to use more physical means to overcome their weak bodies in order to gain powerful strength and achieve victory."

"It turned out to be right, didn't it?"

Conrad chuckled.

"I have heard."

Vulkan responded in a rare move.

"The Iron Hands prefer to replace their flesh with pure machines."

"That's annoying."

Phoenix curled his lips: He particularly hated the act of making steel prostheses, which destroyed his natural body and was particularly imperfect.

“But that’s not the most important thing.”

The Fire Dragon Lord shook his head and glanced at Luo Jia with complicated feelings.

"Another thing is that the Iron Hands' attitude towards the mortal auxiliaries and civilians under their rule is indeed problematic: complaints about their brutality have become a topic of discussion on Holy Terra."

Hearing this, Dorn and Corax frowned at the same time.

"Is this true, Ferrus?"

"I won't deny it."

Gorgon looked toward Dorn.

"But I don't think every violent act mentioned is wrong. Sometimes it is a necessary measure that has to be taken. When ordinary people protest maliciously or refuse to carry out the military actions we have planned, we always have to make them quiet down."

"I don't think you know there is a way called listening to their opinions."

Corax's voice was low.

"I listened."

Ferrus did not back down.

"But you can't ask me to listen to everyone."

"Let them elect their representatives and they will tell you what the people want."

"That's what I did, but I trust the strong who emerge from the law of the jungle more."

“This is oppression!”

“This is reality.”

Ferrus stared at Corax in silence.

He seemed to want to soften his attitude, but he was not very good at it.

"Also, as I said, I will find time to correct their attitude, but the military mission of the Great Crusade still exists. Only after the current Great Crusade is completed, I will have the time and energy to correct the thinking of the entire Iron Hands Legion: this is my future dream."

"Maybe you should make it happen sooner."

The Crow King snorted coldly.

"Otherwise, I don't know how many more mortals will suffer for the future you talk about."

"That's their problem."

Ferrus frowned.

"And you, Corax: do your dreams for the future involve mortals?"

"of course."

The Raven King nodded, looking around at his brothers, drawing encouragement from Morgan, Jonson, Konrad, Guilliman, and even Vulkan.

"My dream is simple, it is about my home planet and my mortal comrades: the Emperor summoned me. I must leave them for my innate duty and join the Great Crusade, but I promised them that when I have fulfilled my duty to the Empire and all mankind, I will return to my home planet of Redemption to complete the unfinished work of all of us."

"This is my dream: I will personally complete the work that is mys to accomplish, beginning with Redemption, and then expanding to every world the Emperor places in my hands. This great dream will encompass my life, and I will gladly devote the rest of my time to it. When I reach the end of my life, I know that I will be proud of my life."

“I am dedicated to the greatest cause.”

"..."

Facing Corax's gaze, Ferrus' throat rolled.

"Sounds... okay."

He coughed, his disgust for Corax apparently waning.

"If you need help, my Iron Hands can draw out the power."

"I thank you for them, brother."

"I am here for you and your dreams: not for those mortal men, Corax."

After saying this, Ferrus sat down on his own under the comfort of Fulgrim, but the oath he had just made was obviously effective: this could be seen from Corax's smile and his gradually relaxed expression and attitude. He nodded at Horus and seemed not to intend to continue speaking.

"Okay, brilliant idea."

The Wolf Shepherd God clapped his hands.

"Next brother..."

"The vows you made?"

There was only one person who could interrupt Horus so rudely.

“It’s a nice dream.”

Mortarion raised his head and cast an appreciative glance in Corax's direction.

"You too, brother?"

Horus' smile seemed unaffected by Mortarion's rudeness.

"more or less."

The Lord of Death spoke in a muffled voice.

"I have also sworn in the past, but not for my home planet: Barbarus has already taken the right path under my will. I will no longer care about their details. If they fail, it only means that the potential of this world is limited."

“So, my dream is about myself: about the vows I once made.”

Mortarion's eyes were firm, and his expression was always bitter: especially when he talked about the past that he didn't want to talk about.

"My dream is to complete my unfinished business one day and to make up for the biggest regret in my life. I don't care what means I have to use, and I don't care what enemies I have to face, but I will not let everything end in a whimper again. I will not let what belongs to me be taken away again."

"I will not give in again: I will bleed to death for my dream."

After saying this, he sat down and returned to the same gloomy atmosphere as the damp and depressing weather in Barbarus, as if his previous impassioned speech was just an illusion: when the Primarchs reacted, the Lord of Death had already left them again.

"It looks like someone wants to start a fight: I just don't know who he's going to pick on."

This was Chagatai's assessment: the only assessment the Primarchs had of it.

Naturally, the next person to rise and speak was Chagatai: he was eager to take on this task.

“My dream, or my goal, can be summed up in one sentence.”

The Khan looked around and his gaze finally returned to Horus: the wolf-shepherd god was adding wood to the fire, but somehow it made it a little weaker, until Chagatai Khan added just the right amount of wood in almost the same position.

“My goal is to understand where I stand in this world and what I should do. I want to know my inherent mission and responsibility. When the waves of the galaxy come to me, I don’t want to be a guy who escapes. I hope I can find my value in it.”

"I want to know why I'm here: it's that simple."

"This may be the only dream that the Emperor can answer at this moment."

The Archangel chuckled.

"No, he can't."

The Khan shook his head solemnly.

"Neither can I: just like an eagle cannot resist its instinct to fly, I cannot resist certain desires in my heart, but my real dream is to defeat them, to write poems that truly belong to me on their corpses, no matter what the content is, as long as it is the choice I made..."

"I won't regret it."

"This is what I want: I just want a free choice, a free choice that will not be interfered with by any external factors and belongs only to me."

[Same as me.]

In the shadows, Morgan expressed her emotions in a very low voice. No one could hear what the Spider Queen was thinking at this moment, and no one could notice what kind of light was flashing in Morgan's pupils when Chagatai Khan said his words "free choice".

It was so fleeting that even the Spider Queen herself was at a loss.

"I hope that when the time comes, I can help you, for the sake of our friendship."

Horus raised his glass and drank with Chagatai under the moon.

"I certainly keep your promise."

Khan smiled, a rare occurrence.

"When I am finally free of everything and belong to myself, no matter how heavy the choice I have made, I hope to drink with you under the moon, my wolf god brother: may the wind of the grassland bless us."

"Blessings to us all: and to you and my Legion as a brotherly bond."

"A friendship that will never be betrayed."

The Wolf Shepherd God drank it all in one gulp, and before he could wipe the corners of his mouth, he looked out again.

"So, brothers?"

"Whose turn is it?"

"I!"

When this sound was heard, at least one-third of the Primarchs shook their heads and sighed secretly.

Magnus's red skin was more eye-catching than the bright flames on the campfire, but he himself was completely unaware of it. He looked at Leman Russ and Mortarion with a provocative look, and his voice was loud and proud, as if it was a gift to all the brothers present.

"My dream is very simple. I hope that this world will no longer be troubled by ignorance. I hope that my efforts can be recognized. I hope that the mysteries and knowledge I have discovered can truly help everyone around me, and can help all of humanity and the empire. I hope..."

"You better hope you can survive what happened on Nikaea."

Mortarion laughed, a sound as hoarse as a night owl.

"That's enough: that's all I've heard from you for the past hundred years."

"No one wants to hear that anymore, Magnus."

"To use your own opinion as the voice of all men is precisely your greatest mistake, my pathetic brother Mortarion."

Magnus raised his head arrogantly. He really didn't intend to speak anymore.

"Nikea? I'm waiting for Nikea too."

He smiled triumphantly.

"Thank the Emperor: I will continue to tell you about my dreams from there."

"It looks like I'll have to ask All-Father for a long-term sick leave tomorrow."

Leman Russ's merciless laughter came from the shadows elsewhere. Magrus barely paid any attention to his brother. He returned to his seat on his own, even seeming to be a little evasive, leaving Horus to take over the embarrassing situation that followed. "Russ, my fierce brother."

The Wolf God threw a wine glass over, and Leman Russ caught it accurately.

He was drunk: but no one believed it.

"Tell us, Leman Russ, what is your dream?"

"Don't you know?"

The wolf king grinned, and the strong smell of alcohol almost suppressed the flames.

“I think it’s pretty obvious.”

"my dream?"

"My dream is to be able to eat well, drink well, sleep well, and live as I please, without having to worry about anything, without having to make any difficult choices, and without having to face a brother like Magnus: Oh, Allfather, he really makes me worry!"

"I never asked you to worry about my affairs, Leman Russ!"

Magnus roared.

"You are just being sentimental!"

The wolf king responded with an unbridled laugh.

"I'm just being sentimental. I hope I'm just being sentimental!"

Suddenly, as if sobering up from the alcohol, Leman Russ became serious for a moment, and his deep voice stunned Magnus.

"Honestly, Magnus."

"I sincerely hope that we will never meet again."

"real."

After saying that, the next moment, the drunken wolf king came online again.

"Anyway...anyway, that's it..."

"My dream! My dream is to live like this."

“I don’t want to be the protagonist of any story in anyone’s ears anymore.”

"That's... exhausting."

The wolf king collapsed to the ground without saying another word.

"Should I... record it?"

Horus looked at his other brothers.

"That sounds like drunken talk."

"It's Ruth anyway."

Guilliman shook his head.

"Just put it down: when he was sober, his sentences were not as smooth as they are now."

"Too."

The Wolf Shepherd God shook his head and sighed.

"Ruth... Ruth..."

"So, who's next?"

His eyes turned and his gaze drifted towards the person closest to him.

"Sanguinius?"

"I?"

The archangel's wings trembled.

"I……"

"If you dare to say that you have no dreams, I will recommend the Emperor to make you the Warmaster."

Horus snorted.

"Well, it seems I have to have it then."

The archangel spread his hands helplessly.

"If anything, I hope all of us can be happy and healthy."

"Especially my children."

"They are happy and healthy, and no misfortune will befall them anymore."

"Never, whether I'm still with them or not."

Those seemed to be the only serious words that ever came out of the Archangel's mouth.

"Um... that's all?"

The Wolf God was somewhat dissatisfied, while Sanguinius simply leaned aside, assuming an elegant rogue attitude.

"If nothing else, I can only think about how to write my Warmaster's inaugural speech."

"..."

Horus was suspiciously silent.

"Luo Jia?"

"my dream?"

Luo Jia stood up suddenly, and everyone looked at Horus instantly. The wolf god shrank his neck embarrassedly, indicating that he knew he was wrong: but it was obviously too late.

"My dream is to continue to fulfill His will in the world and make purity ..."

#After a long proclamation about purity, devotion, love and piety#

"Oh my God."

Even Jonson couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Isn't he finished yet?"

"do not know."

Guilliman muttered.

“But don’t you think that’s a very profound idea about communal community?”

"And the labor camps and..."

"SHUT UP! GUILLIMAN!"

#Another long list of sermons about jihad, mutual aid, unity and the Kingdom of Heaven#
"Why do I feel that Luo Jia's idea is to create a large group of agricultural worlds?"

"Do you want to spread the teachings of the myth to those mechanical priests?"

"Why not? Don't they believe in the Emperor, too?"

"That's right: that's the problem."

#Another long list…#
"Cough, cough, cough!"

Horus started coughing and raised his hand with some difficulty.

"Luo Jia, my brother."

The wolf-shepherd god smiled reluctantly.

"Why don't you compile what you want to say into a new book of holy words? Let us savor it for a long time? It would be a pity to let it drift in the air on a night like this."

At this moment, even Morgan looked at Horus with some admiration, especially when Lorgar really chose to sit down.

"To be honest, I think we brothers are all really kind."

Conrad muttered quietly.

"We tolerated it until he sat down on his own: I would not allow such illegal behavior on the Nostramo, he was intentionally causing harm to the ear organs of others."

Even Jonson nodded, listening attentively to what Vulkan was saying.

The Fire Dragon Lord's dream might be the simplest one among all the people present. Its core consists of only two things: the first is to protect his people as much as possible, and the second is to prevent any past tragedy from happening again. This is all that is in his mind.

"Is it about the Comoros?"

Guilliman asked Morgan quietly.

[That’s right: But I don’t think Vulkan will have to worry about this issue in the future.]

"What do you mean?"

[Nothing, anyway…]

"Protect everything."

Vulkan's voice was as heavy as a mountain.

"Do what I can: even if it means shedding every last drop of Salamander's blood."

"I'm sure you'll do it."

Horus led the applause.

"I will aid you and your children in your cause with the utmost respect, Vulkan."

"Thank you, Horus."

"No, no need to thank me, this is the duty of each of us."

The wolf-god raised a hand.

"If I can't do it, let your legion punish me instead of fate."

After receiving the gratitude of the Fire Dragon, the Wolf God turned his attention to the Silent One.

"So, Brother Angron?"

He spoke carefully.

"Would you mind answering that?"

Angron sat there, silent as a statue, but judging from his face which twisted from time to time, he was indeed enduring some pain: tolerable, but indeed annoying, like the bite of a mosquito, testing one's patience.

"I?"

Angron opened his eyes and uttered only one sentence before closing them quickly.

"I want to die a good death."

"that's it."

"Then...what about your legion?"

"They never belonged to me, they should have their own destiny."

Angron hesitated for a rare moment.

"They are great guys and they should be free to make their own choices."

"But you will also affect them, the influence of the Primarch on the Legion..."

"So I hope to die a worthy death, my brother Horus."

Angron glanced at him, a look that made Horus' hair stand on end. In Angron's pupils, he felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

"I hope to rid them of my burden with a well-deserved death."

"This……"

“That’s a great idea.”

Before Horus could say anything, Conrad burst into laughter, causing Horus to turn his gaze.

"You're not like this, are you?"

"Well - there is a slight difference."

Midnight Haunter jabbed his finger.

"I never wanted my life to end with a proper death. I don't deserve it."

"My dream is to know when I will die, and then..."

He smiled, and his pale sharp teeth made everyone's faces look solemn.

“Then, before I die, I will laugh at [them] in my own way.”

"they?"

Horus was confused.

"You mean...Death?"

"That's understandable."

Conrad chuckled. He ignored Horus's smiling face and turned to look at the guy who had been silent in the crowd.

"It's your turn, Alpha: my dearest little brother?"

"..."

As everyone's eyes turned to Conrad's words, a certain Hydra who had been trying hard to suppress his presence twitched unnaturally between his eyebrows: especially when he saw the winking Midnight Haunter, Alpha almost couldn't hold it anymore.

He smiled as best he could.

"I...I don't have any dreams."

"I just wish that my brothers, that is, all of you, the dreams will come true."

“Dreams come true?”

Horus laughed.

"Thanks for the blessing, brother."

"It should."

Alpha breathed a sigh of relief, and he couldn't wait to get back into the shadows.

"Well, in that case..."

Horus was silent for a moment.

"We have one brother left, but we don't know Perturabo's dream..."

"my dream?"

In the darkness, where no one noticed, heavy footsteps and Olympia's steely voice could be heard.

"my dream!"

He laughed and shouted.

“My dream is simple.”

He poured out his voice and roared towards the sky.

"I hope to exert my abilities, I hope to display my wisdom, I hope to let the galaxy and this era know where I am, I hope to return to my true position, the position given to me by this world, and the expectations my father gave me."

“I want to be who I really am.”

"To be everything that I already am."

"What... is that, brother?"

Amid the crackling sound of firewood, I wonder who was asking the question in silence.

"What is it?"

“That’s what it’s really about.”

“It’s what I want to be.”

Perturabo came out.

The real, Olympian, Perturabo, stood there just as he had done decades ago, smiling at his brothers.

------

“I want to return to my essence.”

"I want to be one of the gods."

(End of this chapter)