Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 641 Trial (V)
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The King of Steel's attitude, which was no less than or even so contemptuous of the Emperor, shocked the entire amphitheater for the third time.

Some people left the scene in a hurry, while others stopped and looked towards the throne on the pyramid-shaped platform.

But most of them could only see the dazzling golden light, which illuminated the entire crater and even the world from the high platform of Nikea, obscuring the emperor's face and expression.

The marshal of the imperial guards, wearing shining golden armor, had an angry look on his face, but he did not shout loudly because he was in front of the emperor. The imperial guards under his command had already appeared from their hiding places, with their power halberds laid flat and their weapon stances activated, and the black muzzles of the halberds pointed clearly at the center of the theater.

The attitudes of the two Primarchs accompanying the Emperor were different. Fulgrim had a perfect smile on his face, as if hoping everyone would get along well. However, when he looked at "Perturabo", he placed his hand threateningly on the hilt of his sword at his side. A hidden look of disdain was hidden under his exquisite smile.

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Pallas commented: "I bet this memory is definitely not in the fate of my previous life, because although he looks beautiful and meticulously crafted, he is also stupid and meticulously crafted to the point where almost no one can realize his true appearance. Although I have committed many crimes and mistakes due to my extreme pride and despair, I really don't think it is wise enough to behave like this at this point."

The pigeon turned around with a little surprise and looked at this son who obviously had no father-son relationship with him except for the genetic code.

Perturabo BC sneered, "It is because your personality is completely different from his that I tolerate Magna's friendship with you. Very good, you did not disappoint me."

"Oh - dear fourth brother - the cost of disappointing you is too high. I can't afford it. How dare I do this! My children and I are still living in Medusa, penniless and in arrears with rent!"

"There's no need to teach Magna the virtue of being smooth-talking."

“Don’t worry. Do you really think I can teach a stone spirit with a mechanical body to be smooth-talking? If I could, then I’m afraid the Imperial Fists’ fists would have to be drawn upside down! Hahahaha!”

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Sanguinius seemed even more torn. His graceful white wings, embellished with thin silver chains and mother-of-pearl, fluttered, and his handsome face looked complicated. But he finally stood up and walked a few steps, drawing his sword, as if he wanted to rush down the platform first to punish his brother so that he would shut up.

But he seemed to feel that this would also create an inappropriate impression, so he just stood there, but still glanced at the person on the throne for instructions.

Only after a clear gesture of pause and observation did the Ninth Primarch nod, fold his wings, and return to his seat.

-----

"Well, I'm not sure about this... Maybe he just wanted to make my brother shut up and then plead for him?"

"No matter who Sanguinius pleads for, he won't plead for me first. He didn't plead for Magnus, so how could he plead for me... for Perturabo? If that damned mad cat knew what you said, he would definitely scratch your favorite toolbox to pieces."

"How horrible! This is much scarier than scratching my face. As expected of Conrad, the Master of Fear. Let's not let him know about this. What do you think of Sanguinius's actions?"

"Perhaps he doesn't dare." Perturabo BC said gloomily, "The most courageous Sanguinius has lived his life with a degree of caution beyond anyone's imagination... His wings have always been regarded by others as a manifestation of divinity and a symbol of holiness, but in fact it is not the case... Let me tell you, now that you and he both have wings, how do you feel, old man?"

"I was just genuinely surprised at the time... Sanguinius already knew his fate, and my loyal son volunteered to guard the palace... With his speed and wings, it would be easy for him to leave. I can only say that your loyalty to your father is not half as good as Sanguinius's!"

"Really? When we first met, wasn't my loyalty to you genuine? And Sanguinius - he just picked the less bad guardian between the two, and you said he volunteered based on that? Then why didn't you take care of Horus? You are such a controlling old man, don't you really know what he did in other brother legions by taking advantage of your favor? Especially after Horus killed Sanguinius, you immediately forgave Horus?"

When the name and the incident in which the parties involved almost disappeared and no one knew about it were mentioned, the pigeon shut up again.

——I know Perturabo knows a lot, but how much does he know? !

"If it was something that was circulated among mortal armies, it would be understandable because it was so subtle and huge that it was unknowable. However, the connection between the Primarch and the Emperor of Mankind was so close at the time, and the Astartes under his command were so connected to the Primarch's mind. It is hard to imagine that the originator of such a spell was unaware of the warrior association in the legion." Dorn's mechanical voice did not contain any emotion, but it sounded very touching. "In addition, most of the endings of the vengeful spirits are also recorded in my memory circuits."

"You should have seen who the old man's favorite son is. You owe us too much for humanity, and the only fact you succeeded is that humanity has become our responsibility." Perturabo BC said in a complex voice, "Lami Zahn is still too idealistic, but."

"That's right. - In fact, I would say he is a bit too proud." Perturabo BC cast a warning look, so Fulgrim Pallas smiled and changed the subject. "By the way, Magna, why didn't you tell me you had relevant records?"

His lavender eyes turned to his mechanical brother. "I'm a little curious. Is Ferrus's horrible skull really in the trophy room of the Vengeful Spirit? How did you arrange everything else?"

The border collie's unusually sharp gaze fell on the serene eyes of the metal mask of the Imperial Fists Primarch.

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Because the appearance of the "Fourth Primarch" was so unreasonable and so directly challenged the purpose of the Nikaea Assembly, the accusations of the brothers and the authority of the Emperor, that because Magnus had to be protected by such a person who appeared like this, his expression changed from looking full of surprise to a subtle expression of obvious hesitation and wavering at such disrespectful and non-compliant behavior.

On the contrary, Azek Ahriman beside him seemed anxious to speak to the Fourth Primarch, but was hesitant because of his father's prestige.

"Perturabo, what do you want?"

As the host of the meeting, the Imperial Chancellor raised the scepter in his hand and knocked the end of it on the black marble floor again, signaling the boiling meeting place to quiet down. "We didn't receive any notification that you were coming - how did you get in?"

"That's true." The fourth Primarch took a step forward, and the imperial guards swung their halberds in unison, making a buzzing sound in the air.

"Did you forget to notify me and the Iron Warriors about today's meeting? If I answer that I was not able to attend the meeting after receiving the notification, but now I have made it to the meeting, what will you say? Are you going to say that I was never notified and that's why I'm so nervous?"

Malcador paused, then narrowed his eyes again.

Dantioch felt a strange tiny wave of emotion spreading out from the pyramid-shaped platform like ripples, sweeping across the entire venue. What was this?
He looked around with his peripheral vision. Ahriman and Yesugei frowned at the same time. Ahriman's eyes became a little dazed, while Yesugei seemed to be thinking about something. The other think tanks did not seem to notice.

"enough."

The man on the throne spoke.

The Emperor of Mankind, who had remained silent throughout the entire trial, finally spoke.

The sound was like the sound of gold striking jade, and the light was like the sun. The man stood up and walked to the edge of the platform. Everyone who passed by bowed down to him in submission. Only Magnus turned pale and stiff in the instant his eyes made contact with the Emperor, as if he had been struck by lightning.

The Fifteenth Primarch was trembling.

Dantioch realized.

He heard Magnus utter through his teeth, "If I am guilty, it is because I seek knowledge. I am not a slave to it!"

Who is he talking to?

But the Warsmith had no time to think about what was happening next, for the Emperor had spoken, and pronounced his verdict.

"I do not ignore the needs of the empire, nor do I neglect the reality of human hearts. Many people say that knowledge and power are abstract things that can be used like swords. But this is not the case. Power is fickle, and its danger lies in addiction. Those who seek power are filled with power all their lives, and in the end they only seek power. It is easy to resist hostility, but few people are willing to hold on to power and not succumb to its hidden temptations.

Peering into the dark and exploring the void is fraught with dangers, for the void is ever-changing and full of deceit and falsehood. Those who seek the truth must beware of deception and fallacy, for false knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. Everyone wants to know, but few are willing to pay the price. They often seek shortcuts, and their greed for cleverness leads to evil. True knowledge comes with wisdom. Without wisdom, the strong do not become stronger, but rather more reckless, and their strength will eventually backfire and destroy their achievements.

I walk the paths no one knows, and face the nameless things in the void. All the secrets and dangers are hidden. This is not for the lesser mind to understand, no matter how strong or knowledgeable it thinks it is. The secrets I reveal are a warning, not a temptation. Those who peek into the secrets that mortals should not know, only death and curse await. Now I see that I let you go beyond the limit, but I should not let you know this. This meeting is to make everyone work together, not to do the opposite. But the name of Astartes should no longer be associated with sorcery. From now on, I order all armies to withdraw from the Think Tank, and those involved to return to the Battle Company, and never use psychic power again.

Those who do not give advice and break their promises will be punished with disaster. I regard them as my enemies, and will bring endless destruction upon them, destroy their families, and burden their hearts with regrets. I will mourn their foolishness in betraying my light until the day of their end.

The faces of the psychics who were not on the throne platform turned pale.

Huh? That's it?
Dantioch glanced blankly at the pale-faced Magnus and Ahriman, while the Fifteenth Primarch muttered something and began to walk out, as if he did not want to stay in this insulted place for another second.

No? What? You?

"Oh, I knew it would be like this."

His gene-father grunted something, and Dantioch immediately stood guard in front of him with Thortann.

"Hey, Huang Laoden, we can't just let this matter end like this today. Let Magnus stay and let's talk. I know you can do it. Let the others go away."

The emperor's brilliance suddenly became extremely dazzling.

Many people who saw him covered their eyes and cried out in pain, and psykers fell to their knees and begged for mercy under his pressure.

A huge ray of light, accompanied by roars, fell straight down from the distant sky like the giant sword of Damocles or thunder from the sky, representing the emperor's wrath towards the bold rebellious son.

"Perturabo! How dare you! Accept your punishment! Repent!"
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Everyone held their breath and watched as a demigod fell under the wrath of his creator.

But the light froze.

This is impossible, no one can catch the light.

But the light did freeze.

It violates all the physical laws of the real universe.

Then they saw a smile creep across Perturabo's lazy face.

"really."

The fingertips of the Iron Lord’s raised hand touched the first photon and the first wave of the killing and purifying light that rushed towards him.

Then he suddenly tightened his five fingers.

As the iron fist clenched, the light - the pure white incandescent golden light - suddenly made a teeth-grinding cracking sound in a dimension that was inaudible to human ears.

Like a thin layer of ice breaking apart, the condensed light hit the ground, then turned into even smaller, harmless fireworks and disappeared.

"I have always had this suspicion, ever since I determined that the true nature of Perturabo might be something else," said the creature that seemed to be wearing the body of the Fourth Primarch. "And this suspicion became even more so when I discovered the various counterintuitive designs of the Fourth Legion. And this offspring of mine -"

He raised his hand and pointed at Soltarn vo Bron.

"Your Valdo, judging by the frown on his face, he must be wondering why the anti-psychic devices, anti-witchcraft arrays, and the Sisters of Silence here have no effect on him, right?"

A long-awaited smile lingered on his lips. "Of course, the Sister of Silence has no effect on him... because the occurrence rate of his existence is much lower than that of psychics. So far, he is the only one in the entire Iron Warriors Corps who has received this random gift. As a member of a corps without a think tank member, Soltarn is able to wield such a powerful rule power under the condition of anti-psychic power. This in itself indirectly confirms my guess."

"As a 'father', you must know why." His ice-blue eyes smiled, but there was no smile in them. "For you, the best way is to hide the leaves in the forest. Your..."

"enough."

In Dantioch's vision and perception, the light that seemed to devour everyone here just now disappeared, or rather, it retracted and faded away, like a sea anemone retracting all its tentacles into its hard shell.

The emperor, wearing golden armor and looking like a god, sat on his throne. On the top of the pyramid-shaped stand, the cherubim folded their damselfly-like wings in fear and hid their chubby bodies and silver baby faces behind the luxurious backrest of the throne, only revealing half of their heads to spy on the Fourth Primarch who was standing in the heart of the golden eagle in the center of the black marble.

"let's talk."

Finally, the emperor spoke.

The Primarchs, bureaucrats, and nobles had different expressions, but the Iron Lord raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly.

"pity."

"Why sigh?"

"If you refuse, I can legitimately bury you all in the mantle and send you to the planet's core."

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"So it's not like you can't talk about it."

Across time and space, Fulgrim Pallas pointed out this. He was now dressed in a comfortable grey overalls, his white hair tied back with a screwdriver. On one ear was an eyepiece and communication beads that were obviously a gift from an Iron Hands forge master, and on the other wrist was a multi-purpose auspex bracelet given by the Emperor's Children, who were not willing to be outdone - they had cleverly hidden it under the surface of engraved gold and embossed agate.

Although Magna suspected that the younger brother had been secretly recording the place from before with one of the two items, he wisely did not alert the furious Perturabo or the pigeon who was trying to defend himself.

"Gu——! I had no choice at that time! The meeting of Nikea was to deal with the doubts of my descendants, the various legions, and the human army regarding the use of psykers and the continuous emergence of psykers!"

"Where is the last resort? You only show the last resort when Magnus is looking at you."

The black and white furry dog ​​hissed and growled maliciously at the side. "Magnus is a big fool. He always thought that he and his descendants saw the reluctance to call this trial meeting and the reluctance to judge them on your face, but he forgot that your aura originally has the passive power of 'a thousand faces'. Magnus hopes that seeing your facial expression will be beneficial to him, so of course he can only see this all the time! And Ahriman even realized that something was wrong before him. - You didn't even tell Magnus the reason why you made that judgment in the end!"

"That's because he was eager to leave! He didn't even raise any more objections to my judgment! Isn't that enough?"

"This is indeed the result you want, but please use your brain, which is usually like a psychic charm aura emitter, to think about it! Why is Magnus in such a hurry to leave? When you receive any report, do you pull all the parties involved out for a talk one by one?! If you just lack those few hours of conversation time, will the Great Crusade not be able to proceed or will Terra explode?! Is the thinking part of your brain really as small as a pigeon? You, an old thing who has lived for 30,000 years, have become a living dog at your age?!"

In full view of the crowd, Perturabo leaped up in anger, bit the neck of the dove with the golden crown on its head, crouched down, and swung violently like a wild animal.

Fulgrim Pallas sat in his seat and quietly asked Magnar Dorn with his eyes: How long will it take for your master to brainwash, silence us, and destroy our bodies?

(End of this chapter)