Emperor's Bane

Chapter 972 Interlude: Comrade Morgan on the Internet (Part 1)

"We must realize this."

"Peace does not come from weak prayers."

"It was not a gift from the enemy either."

"True peace is the sword you hold tightly in your hand."

"It is the courage that burns in your chest."

"It is a priceless treasure that was won by thousands of fearless people who shed their blood and sacrificed themselves on the other side of the stars, one after another, for their brothers and sisters."

"Peace is never a cheap commodity to be taken for granted."

"What it demands is not money, but faith."

"It is not a candle that burns, but a sacrifice."

"People of Avalon, hear me out."

"Here I tell you, whether you cherish the glory of the Great Crusade or not, whether you covet the golden years of the past fifty years or not, now we must all face the serious truth: the banner of the rebels has opened the gates to hell, and the breath of war has once again swept across the entire galaxy."

"Sacrifice is no longer our choice."

"But rather, it is the bloody truth we must face."

"We have no room to retreat; compromise and concession will only lead to our own destruction."

"The Milky Way may be vast, but not an inch of it belongs to the weak."

"If we want peace to return, the only way is to fight a bloody battle and defend our land!"

"This is not for victory, nor for glory."

"This is for yourselves."

"For your children, your lover, your parents."

"So that they will no longer weep, so that the lives of your dearest ones will not be taken by brutal rebels, so that every yesterday you have experienced can be repeated tomorrow."

"This is a war that should never have existed. It will give you nothing but destruction and annihilation. But do not let the fear of death overwhelm your courage. Let us unite before the horn of death, despise it, laugh at it, and protect everything we cherish from being destroyed and enslaved by this damned war!"

"The eagle of the empire will surely pierce this long black night, and the golden age will surely come again."

"But before that day comes."

"Let us fight as true warriors."

"For Avalon!"

"For the Far East!"

"For the sake of this world!"

Even for the most cowardly people.

May fate favor those who have no fear.

"Long live the Empire!"

As the Primarch raised the sword in his hand high into the sky, the entire Three Daughters Square was completely engulfed by the jubilation of hundreds of thousands of listeners. People excitedly raised their arms or threw whatever they had in their hands into the air, responding to the Lion King's declaration with unprecedented enthusiasm.

For a time, whether they were invited officials, street vendors listening in, women holding children, or students who had secretly run away from school, everyone forgot their respective identities and purposes. Instead, as worshippers of a tangible idol, they all fell into a frenzied ocean of collective activity under the same identity.

Thousands of hats, flags, cameras, scarves, handkerchiefs, and even water bottles and teapots rose and fell in the air amidst fluttering banners, instantly causing hundreds of injuries and deaths from falling objects. However, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd as a whole. People cheered hysterically, chanting slogans and repeating Zhuang Sen's words, or singing the common songs of the Far East.

Not far away, hundreds of journalists and narrators picked up their cameras and mercilessly emptied countless rolls of film to ensure they could capture the perfect images: these photos and videos would be distributed as an important part of propaganda materials to the various imperial worlds under Avalon's rule, to appease the increasingly turbulent hearts on the Far Eastern frontier caused by Morgan's departure.

At the same time, all the photos and videos focused on Johnson without exception.

A Primarch with a distinguished reputation and outstanding military achievements.

In this chaotic era, nothing could soothe the hearts of the people of Avalon better than such a person.

Similarly, nothing is more intimidating to those lurking in the shadows than such a person.

Everything was planned. The Spider Queen had already devised every step of the plan before she left, and now the Dawnbreakers were simply executing it in sequence: ensuring that the Far Eastern frontier would forever remain under the control of its sole master.

Neither Zhuang Sen nor the crowd in front of him could change that.

This boiling sea of ​​emotions did not calm down even when Zhuang Sen stepped down from the podium. The Dawnbringers, who were hosting the event, had to send out more military police to barely maintain order at the scene and rescue those unfortunate people with bloodied heads in time.

This is no easy task. Although the people of the Far East are not likely to take advantage of the situation to harm the Dawnbreakers, their usual overly friendly attitude is causing trouble at this time.

The children would excitedly crowd around these tall Morgan angels, trying to climb onto their armor or ask for an autograph. Local bureaucrats with cameras would take the opportunity to snap a few close-up photos to build up some talking points for their business trip. But the boldest were the enthusiastic Far Eastern girls: while the sons of Morgan each had their own unique characteristics, their robust physiques and handsome looks were consistent.

Some Dawnbreakers only noticed the bright lipstick marks on their cheeks after they had emerged from the sea of ​​people, looking disheveled, thanks to the prompting of their fellow fighters. Heaven knows how those ladies, who were only a little over a meter tall, managed to do it. And some unlucky souls who were maliciously pranked would wander around with these lipstick marks on their faces for a whole day, completely unaware of it.

If someone were to sneak into the arena or the cafeteria, their reputation for the next ten years would be ruined.

But none of this has anything to do with Zhuang Sen anymore.

After reciting the last sentence of his speech, Zhuang Sen remained calmly in place. He spent a few minutes waving to the crowd, expressing his respect, which elicited waves of cheers from the crowd before turning around and quickly walking off the stage.

Only when they reached a place out of sight of the crowd did the Primarch finally breathe a long sigh of relief.

Unlike his composure on the podium, this feeling of relief was Zhuang Sen's true reaction.

"I hate public speaking my whole life."

He spoke to Arachios, Lana, and Bernard, who had gathered around him.

"This is more difficult than an apocalyptic war."

"But you did a very good job."

Rana meant it sincerely.

Although it was a last-minute effort, the King of Caliban's imposing physique and impassioned tone amplified the effectiveness of the speech by more than three times.

The Dawnbreakers had originally planned for this speech to be directed only at the crew of the Dawn, giving them the opportunity to witness Johnson's arrival and know that Morgan's departure had not changed anything: their lives and property were still protected by the Primarch, and everything could proceed as usual.

As for those segments that called for war, they were only a tiny part of the nearly 20,000-word speech: but no one could have imagined that, perhaps it was his nature, or perhaps his keen intuition had grasped something, that Zhuang Sen turned these short closing remarks into the theme of the entire speech.

He not only made people feel at ease.

It is also an attempt to awaken the courage within them.

And it seems he did a pretty good job.

"It has been proven that your speaking skills are almost on par with your command skills in combat."

Rana recalled it in a somewhat conceptual way.

"The apocalyptic wars we won under your command during those years of the Great Expedition were just as magnificent and inspiring."

"But you didn't seem to know how to give speeches back then?"

"I don't usually give speeches."

Zhuangcun, somewhat irritated, tore off the scarlet fur cloak he had specially put on for this speech.

"My last speech was...the last one?"

Seeing the Primarch hesitate, Arachios, who had been silent all along, leaned closer and whispered something.

"Ah, yes, that time."

The Caliban frowned.

"To kill that unspeakable bastard..."

Yuan Chong shook his head heavily, seemingly recalling something unbearable to recall; his mood was somewhat depressed.

"Never mind, let's not talk about him."

"Is there anything else?"

"If you're asking about official matters: no." The Grand Master of the Guards shook his head.

"We don't have many activities scheduled for today."

"Of course, there is still a lot to do: the next few months will be very busy."

"As for today, given that you have just arrived, we feel that some personal matters may be more important than official matters."

"Is that so?"

Zhuang Sen seemed thoughtful, but he was not one to take the initiative in arranging his own schedule, and he also considered himself a guest. Therefore, even though he felt that Rana's actions were indeed cumbersome, he did not raise any objections and complied.

After all, before he set off, his genetic sister Morgan had repeatedly instructed him that, as a price for handing over all military power and command in the Far East, Johnson must fully respect the Dawnbreakers on other issues.

The lion has no intention of breaking this promise.

"So, what personal matters are next?"

Under the protection of the Dark Angels and the Dawnbreakers, Johnsen quickly left the so-called public area: although both Rana and Bernard had suggested that they could prepare a special procession vehicle for the Lord of Caliban, allowing Johnsen to leave along the main road of the Dawn Goddess and receive cheers and salutes from the crowds on both sides of the road, thus further demonstrating his arrival and power to the whole of Avalon.

But faced with this option, Zhuang Sen only briefly imagined the scene before he trembled and chose to refuse without hesitation: if it weren't for the fact that the Chief of the Guard was indeed sincere and enthusiastic, the Primarch would even suspect that they wanted to drag him through the streets.

In comparison, the secret passages, though dark and cold, were also fast and convenient, which Zhuang Sen considered a better travel option: although even the Dawnbreakers themselves didn't like crawling in and out of these ice caves, the Dark Angels accepted them well.

"The first question is..."

After watching Zhuang Sen dive headfirst into his beloved secret passage, the two Dawnbreakers exchanged a glance and could only helplessly follow him in: the Chief Guard's voice became loud in the narrow passage.

Where do you plan to stay tonight?

"?"

This question made Zhuang Sen stop in his tracks.

He turned around and looked at Rana.

"You guys didn't even make this arrangement?"

More than anger, the Primarch was confused.

"It's like this, sir: the situation is a bit special."

The chief guard wrung his hands nervously.

"We would certainly like to arrange your accommodation in the most central location of the Dawn Goddess, near the throne room."

"But you see, the number of rooms near the throne room is limited, and after more than a hundred years, they have each had their own uses."

"use?"

Zhuang Sen sneered.

"Shouldn't one of the rooms be used as a private residence that Morgan reserved specifically for me?"

"It did exist before, sir."

"before!"

The original's tone rose a notch.

"It's gone now?"

No: it has always existed.

"However, at some point, Lord Conrad felt that this room was particularly suitable to be converted into his playroom..."

"……snort!"

Zhuang Sen felt like he was about to laugh out loud in anger.

"A game room?"

"Are there any crucial information documents there?"

"In some ways, yes, it is..."

"Is there any important information related to the war?"

"That depends on how you determine that..."

"Or is it that Conrad's fondness for exotic treasures is more important than my dignity as a Primarch?"

“We absolutely did not think that, sir.”

Rana quickly shook his head.

"The main problem is that the room contains tens of thousands of handwritten codes that Lord Conrad used to write the game, and there are no backups; moreover, they are extremely vulnerable to damage."

"So to move that room, we need more than just permission, we also need..."

Rana didn't finish speaking.

He simply touched his neck.

"Ah……"

This time, Zhuang Sen was genuinely amused.

"What? Do you want my authorization?"

"My first order upon arriving in the Far East as Morgan's appointed Regent of Avalon was to find myself a room to stay in?"

"Do I have to compete with a bunch of game code for a bed?"

"Just for that bastard Midnight Ghost?"

What is the next order?

"Should I issue an order to appoint a cook for me?"

"No, sir, that's not what we meant."

Noticing that even Arachios's gaze had become somewhat unfriendly, Bernard quickly stepped forward.

“We just have another proposal.”

"Then tell me!"

"You see, what we mean is: Lord Morgan's living quarters have more than one bedroom."

"In fact, right next to Morgan's bedroom was a bedroom that had been vacant all along."

"How about you stay there?"

"It also includes complimentary on-call evening room service."

"..."

The atmosphere became somewhat subtle.

"Hmm... cough!"

Johnson's Adam's apple bobbed, and his expression began to change in a subtle way until the Caliban coughed heavily and carefully spoke.

"Actually."

"I don't really want to ruin my beloved brother Conrad's personal hobbies either."

------

I had no inspiration at the moment, so I decided to use a minimum living allowance.

After all, there's been a lot going on this month, and I'm short on leave slips.

From now on, these more everyday interactions between Johnson and the Far Eastern frontier will be shown in the interludes, while the formal plot will be shown in the main story.

(End of this chapter)