Emperor's Bane

Chapter 935: Late
“Hey, Kahn.”

"what happened?"

"Look at those salamanders: don't you think these guys look a little different from the last time we met?"

"Different? In what way are they different?"

"This time, they all had dark expressions on their faces."

"..."

“You have such good eyesight, Margot.”

……

Ever since he became a company commander in the legion, Kahn has always had a feeling.

He thought his brothers were particularly stupid.

No, it should be called stupid.

After all, stupidity is only an innate deficiency, while foolishness is always a subjective behavior.

Although to ordinary World Eaters the two terms may seem to make little difference, after all, the Warhound Legion has never been known for its ability to think.

In the early years after the legions were founded, the Emperor's warhounds were always assigned tasks such as slaughter and assault: they rarely appeared on the front lines of expeditions and were always assigned to rear areas where riots broke out, which made them have a poor reputation among their brother units, and there were always a few legions that could ridicule them.

For example, the Dark Angel.

Of course, the Dark Angel can mock anyone: even the Dawnbreaker.

The military is a place that values ​​strength and merit. Those field troops who conquer cities and territories on the front lines and make great achievements can rightfully despise the cowards who are only fit to do security work in the rear. Not to mention that the war dogs are responsible for the most lowly killing operations in security work, which are not even technically sophisticated. This kind of early humiliation is still vivid in Kahn's mind.

However, he also had to admit that the Lord of Mankind's arrangement of the Warhound Legion was not biased. He simply assigned the Twelfth Legion to a position that best suited their abilities: a battlefield where pure bravery could prevail over cunning, which was a perfect fit for a group of carnivorous dogs who didn't like to use their brains.

Sadly, even when they entered the vast battlefields of the Great Expedition, the War Dogs did not fundamentally change this perception. Although the Twelfth Legion had made a name for itself in the Great Expedition early on, it relied on their courage and self-discipline rather than their impressive combat capabilities.

People might list the Dark Angels, Shadowmoon Wolves, Ultramarines, or Imperial Fists and argue about who is the most powerful of the many Legions, but the Warhounds will never be on that list. Even after the Primarchs returned and became even better World Eaters, they never saw themselves advance any further in the eyes of others.

They are still not the strongest; they don't even make the shortlist.

Perhaps this is nothing to ordinary people.

But Kahn's competitive spirit was ultimately stronger.

At least by the standards of the World Eater, Kahn was undoubtedly a guy who was always competitive.

It was this competitive spirit that ultimately enabled him to become a company commander in the Legion: after leading the World Eaters through the early stages of the Great Crusade, Gale, the Legion Commander, felt that his physical functions had deteriorated and he was no longer suitable to follow the Primarch in the front lines. So he proposed to Angron that Kahn take over his position.

Angron had tried to retain this trusted advisor, but Gael's intention to retire was clear, and there was indeed a position more suitable for him: the new territories granted to Angron by the Emperor on Uranor, hundreds of star systems and anarchic regions, which required a large number of veteran World Eaters to replace their Primarchs in governing them.

Meanwhile, due to geographical location and historical ties, the World Eater Legion has always maintained close ties with the Dawnbreaker and Ultramarines Legions to its east. In many areas of civilian life that it is not good at, it has been learning from these two more advanced and powerful brother forces: for example, the issue of resettling veterans of the Legion.

Originally, like other legions, the World Eaters did not have the concept of retirement. Unless they committed an extremely serious mistake in their position or completely lost the Primarch's trust, it was almost impossible for a legion commander like Gale to step down. They would continue to serve in their posts until they died in battle.

But Morgan and Guilliman's arrangements for the veterans in their respective legions gave Angron a new idea: to let these older warriors, who were already somewhat tired of fighting and whose physical functions were no longer suited to their posts, pass their positions to their chosen successors, while they themselves would take the place of the Primarch to guard thousands of worlds, becoming great figures who could turn the world upside down with a wave of their hand. This was a good way to satisfy the needs of all parties at the same time, both in terms of efficiency and appearance.

The Legion was able to maintain its efficiency, the Primarch could take the opportunity to promote his more favored subordinates, and the Terran veterans also had a more dignified ending.

Therefore, after the Ulanno Conference, a large number of Terran warhound veterans, led by Gale, relinquished their military posts and became interstellar governors under Angron, while the new generation, led by Kahn, took the opportunity to go further and established a command system centered on the newly appointed company commander Kahn.

As for why Kahn, a Terran veteran, is considered a representative of the new generation, that's another question.

Anyway, Angron had no objection to this.

Privately, he had also expressed his hope that a fiercely competitive and ruthless character like Kahn could properly deal with the current "depressed" state of the World Eaters.

Interestingly, if judged by the standards of other brother units, Kahn could definitely be described as having a detached temperament and disliking fighting. Many people even doubt how someone as lazy as him could have risen to the position of company commander in the Devourers.

This extreme polarization stems from the stark difference between the World Eaters and other Astartes legions. To be more specific, it arises from the vast disparity between the Primarch Angron and other Primarchs, which directly impacts their respective legions.

For some unspoken reason, although Angron, like his Primarch brothers, was granted vast territories and powers by the Emperor on Ulanor, he never developed new ambitions or life goals because of it. While the Primarchs were stirring up trouble in their fiefdoms for their own ambitions or dreams, the Lord of the World Eaters seemed very detached.

The territory under Angron's rule was relatively stable, with little need for frequent battles. His attitude towards taxes from Holy Terra was ambiguous; although taxes were paid, they were not paid in full. In addition, the Primarchs were accustomed to granting their governors considerable autonomy, except for the occasional beheading of certain scoundrels. This resulted in the Red Sand Protectorate remaining peaceful for a long time, with no major events worth recording.

The governors under Angron's rule cherished this relatively relaxed environment. At the same time, they also held the fully armed World Eaters in awe. As a result, the Red Sand Protectorate never caused any major trouble. This made the Primarch's life even more peaceful, with nothing worth striving for all day long.

So, of course.

Angron, who was already nearing the end of his life, began to steadily decline in mental condition due to the slow pace of life. He lost the motivation to fight or study, and he rarely left his room. He spent his days either lost in thought or gazing at the sky, recalling his experiences on Nukelia, sometimes sitting for hours without moving.

At this time, if a subordinate comes to him and interrupts his contemplation, Angron will not be angry. If the person comes to him because of work, he will tell them to go to the company commanders such as Kahn to resolve the issue. However, if the person comes to advise him and hopes that he can go out more, then Angron will ask him a very strange question.

"Have you eaten?"

If you get a negative answer, he will casually hand you a decree written by the Primarch and then send you to the best canteen on the warship for a meal.

If the visitor has already eaten, the Primarch will ask him to rest and take a nap.

In short, this Primarch, who seemed to have lost all purpose in life, gradually succumbed to the stagnant habits of detachment from worldly affairs. This lethargy gradually affected his legions and subordinates. Although the World Eaters' fleet remained powerful and disciplined, in certain unseen and intangible realms, the bloodthirsty hounds, like their revered Primarch, gradually relaxed and were no longer the aggressive hunting pack they once were.

In just over a decade, the warhounds gradually lost their former pride and ferocity. They became like a group of numb guards, and even though they were highly skilled in martial arts, they no longer had the desire to achieve fame and glory. All they wanted to do now was to stay by the Primarch's side and accompany their genetic father on his final journey.

Even Kahn, who was given high hopes and eager to change the stagnant atmosphere of the Legion, could not escape this gloomy collective atmosphere in the end: although he occasionally thought of struggling, in the eyes of his fellow fighting brothers in the other Legions, Kahn, like his brothers, was nothing more than a silent gravedigger by Angron's side, no longer caring about anything except their Primarchs.

That's how it was originally.

The Devourers lived like this for fifty years, and they would have continued to live like this for another fifty years, until the day the Emperor promised came: Kahn never thought about what would happen after his father died, he seemed to think that day would never come, and he seemed to believe that he would never live to see that day.

His stagnant life with the Primarch came to an end with a psionic phone call from the Queen of Avalon.

In the galaxy, few things can excite the World Eaters and their Primarchs: but Morgan knows one of them.

For both reason and emotion, Angron's offspring had no reason to refuse the Spider Queen. The war machine of the Warhound Legion, which was almost rusted and webbed, started running again, roaring for an unprecedented war: they disregarded everything in the real universe without any hesitation, turned a blind eye to the conflict between the Warmaster and Holy Terra, and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the upcoming Webpath Expedition.

Gathering the legions and making full preparations for war are not the main issues. For the World Eaters, the most difficult part is how to get into the Webpath: although they could indeed go to Avalon in a grand manner and set off with Morgan's Dawnbreakers, the consequence of doing so would undoubtedly be the covert assassination of the entire operation.

The collective mobilization of 300,000 World Eaters could not be kept secret from anyone, and secrecy was a key point that Morgan repeatedly emphasized before setting off. Therefore, Angron's offspring had to find their own way into the Web Path.

Fortunately, unlike her father, Morgan was not the type to only offer negative opinions: after refusing to send the World Eaters to Avalon, the Spider Queen immediately proposed an alternative idea: Angron could lead his legions to Nocturne, where the Dragon Lord, who was also involved in the operation, was repairing the Webway entrance on his homeworld, and the two legions could enter together.

Fortunately, the territories of the World Eater Legion and the Salamander Legion are adjacent to each other. As long as the operation is carried out secretly, no one will notice that a large-scale short-distance transport has taken place in a remote corner of this galaxy.

Things should have gone smoothly.

However, just as the World Eaters were preparing to depart, a message came back from Nocturne: the Fire Dragon Lord's repair work on the Net Path Gate had failed, and they had now lost their way to enter the Net Blade, instead needing to seek help from the World Eater Legion. "And so the situation has become what it is now."

Margo spat out his cigarette and looked at the army of salamanders disembarking from the transport plane.

"Originally, we were supposed to go to them, but now it's the other way around, they're the ones coming to find us."

“Hey, Kahn.”

Margot nudged the company commander of the regiment with his elbow.

"What exactly happened on Nocturne Star? Why are the fire lizards abandoning their home?"

I advise you not to say anything more.

Kahn's voice was icy: As the Legion's highest authority after the Primarch, Kahn certainly knew what had happened on Nocturne. At the same time, he immediately blocked all related information and forbade anyone to discuss it, especially when the Salamanders were present.

"Also, don't ask."

"If they beat you to death, I won't save you."

"What are you doing..."

Margot spat.

"It was made to look like some kind of life-or-death crisis."

"What? Did these fire lizards blow up their home base while repairing the Web Gate?"

"In some ways, it's worse."

"Alright, don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

Kahn took a deep breath.

How's the matter I asked you to handle going?

"Don't worry, don't worry, everything's fine."

“I personally inspected all the rooms to ensure there was no dirt or dust.”

Margot waved casually.

"Honestly, how come I didn't know before that these fire lizards were all such germaphobes?"

"Isn't the place they live in entirely volcanic ash?"

"Shut up."

Kahn sighed softly.
“You’d better shut your mouth before we get into the net, Margot.”

"Ah, speaking of the internet."

Margot scratched his head.

"Kahn, how did you manage to find a stable internet portal so quickly?"

"Because this was prepared in advance: it was the result of planning ahead thirty years ago."

"You started preparing thirty years ago?"

"No, strictly speaking: it was an unexpected turn of events when we invited those foreign professors to the internship."

"Foreign guests?"

"What foreign guests?"

"Those are the ones..."

------

"what------"

A mournful, sharp, and piercing alien wail.

Its sound echoed throughout the room, piercing through the heavy door that could withstand artillery fire, and reverberated across the deck.

It makes people feel relaxed and happy.

"..."

The crow prince leisurely squinted his eyes.

He enjoys listening to these vocal performances.

Listening to these voices, wishing for life but unable to die, is almost like witnessing the exhilarating feeling of his genetic father being beaten rib by rib by Primarch Morgan.

"grown ups."

Someone walked over, interrupting Sevita's enjoyment.

"This is something we just got out of them during the interrogation, something we extracted from the mouths of those Dark Eldar."

"...Netway? What's that?"

Sevita looked at the blueprints in his hand, his brow furrowed.

He thought for a moment.

"Never mind, keep them all: we'll give them to our World Eater brothers later, along with the other testimonies."

Prince Raven waved his hand, then shouted at the Midnight Lords, who were busy and sweating profusely, in front of the equipment on the other side of the room.

Hey! You bunch of bastards!

"Don't slack off, keep working."

"We need to get this group of Dark Eldar into shape before tonight, so I won't feel awkward when I lecture those World Eater students."

"Keep it up, bro."

"Don't let them look down on the skills of our older generation of Nostramo people."

(End of this chapter)