Warhammer: Angron Training Manual

Chapter 295 Small Calculations and Big Feelings
Because of games and conversations, the relationship between Primarchs Thirteen and Twelve changed from a diplomatic process to one of brothers.

Some things are not easy to discuss together as the leaders of the Thirteenth and Twelfth Legions, but if they are getting along as brothers, they can be mentioned casually.

"..."

A brief silence to end the previous topic.

Then Guilliman leaned back on the sofa, like a monarch leaning back on his throne, and he thought that this posture was very casual and inappropriate.

Angron also adjusted his sitting posture, leaning his upper body back, reaching out to lift his right leg and folding it over his left leg, with his body slightly tilted to the side.

Guilliman would not use etiquette or other requirements to evaluate Angron. After observing Qin Xia, he found that Qin Xia's sitting posture was exactly the same as Angron's.

After briefly observing the sitting posture, Guilliman's brain began to work rapidly again.

Angron sensed Guilliman's thoughts racing faster and harder than they had in the game.

This does not mean that "Guilliman thought about the following conversation more seriously than he thought about the war", but rather that "the capacity of the mind-reading function of the game device limits Guilliman's thinking performance in the game."

"Now we are all sitting in a relaxed posture, which shows that our relationship with each other has improved a lot."

“It’s a good vibe and sign.”

Guilliman pondered this in his head.

"Angron will sense what I am thinking. He will also sense my thought process. Will he feel that my attitude of not intending to hide anything is more genuine?"

"Looking at his expression, I guess so. Anyway, I can't hide my thoughts, so I might as well be honest with him."

"..."

Angron sensed it.

He was used to reading other people's minds this way.

After thinking for a long time, Guilliman slowly spoke: "Recently, each of our legions has been busy selecting a person to go to the Imperial War Council as a legion representative to discuss matters. Has the 12th Legion chosen a candidate?"

Before Guilliman uttered these words, Angron had sensed why Guilliman had chosen to bring up this topic.

And Guilliman could also realize that Angron could realize why he said that.

But Guilliman and Angron were not the only ones present.

“Of course, we just picked someone at random.” Angron said truthfully, “Other legions are very concerned about this matter, but in the 12th Legion, only we knew about it, and then let my legion commander make his own arrangements.”

"Kil is still the Legion Master?" Guilliman was a little surprised, but he did not ask Angron why he did not choose to take on the duties of Legion Master himself after returning to the Legion.

After a brief silence, Guilliman smiled and asked, "This is a very important matter. We cannot be careless."

"Warships and equipment." Angron spread his hands. "We can only get these from the War Council, but the 12th Legion used to have a very bad reputation. You know this. Those people in the War Council who hate the 12th Legion will not give us any benefits."

Guilliman nodded.

Angron sensed that his brother was thinking about the Twelve Legions.

In Guilliman's opinion, the former XII Legion was indeed notorious, so much so that after Angron's return, the XII Legion was still paying the price for what happened back then, but this was understandable.

Guilliman believed from the bottom of his heart that the 12th Legion was not well disciplined. "The number of friendly forces and civilians accidentally killed is not allowed to exceed thirty-one" was an outrageously harsh rule in the war of conquering planets, and it should be tied around the necks of every war dog.

But in any case, Angron's return is changing the Legion, and the War Council should indeed reconsider the various arrangements for the Twelve Legion.

"So you do not intend to invest much in the war council," Guilliman asked.

What Guilliman thinks and what he says are separate, but that's what makes him so powerful, he thinks about many things at the same time.

Multithreaded processing.

"My adoptive father believes that the War Council will be replaced sooner or later, so of course, brother, if it weren't for the strict rules of the Empire, I would refuse everything related to the War Council from now on." Angron nodded.

Upon hearing this, Guilliman's eyes instantly locked onto Qin Xia, and then a smile with a complex meaning emerged on his face, with a hint of doubt between his brows.

Qin Xia confronted Angron.

He felt that Angron was behaving very badly at this time, not even having any defensiveness.

Yet Angron had sensed what Guilliman was thinking, or he would not have spoken of it.

Guilliman asked solemnly, "Why do you think..."

"Why do you think the War Committee will be replaced?" Qin Xia quickly thought of an answer other than "Because I am a person from the future."

Guilliman listened.

"What exactly does the Imperial War Council do?" Qin Xia asked a question that sounded a bit stupid at first.

If you look at it literally, it is incredible that a high-ranking member of a legion did not even know what a war council was.

But there is actually something else behind this question.

“No one can really say what it does.”

"The only certain thing is that it was formed by the Emperor himself, who led the Great Crusade and ordered it to be established. Just like the Great Crusade itself, it was a forced effort."

"How are bureaucrats selected? I don't know. Details of their powers and functions? Not clear."

Qin Xia spread his hands.

"At this stage, we all know that an institution exists, but its functions and meaning are unclear, which means that even its establishment was just an idea, so it has become a temporary existence." "A temporary thing will not exist for long."

After hearing this reason, Guilliman smiled and nodded.

"He thinks so too." Angron said to Qin Xia.

Guilliman shared the same view.

The Imperial War Council is a vague institution. On the surface, it is responsible for matters related to the Great Crusade, but who cares? The Legion obeys the Primarch, and the Primarch either works on his own or listens to the Emperor.

In charge of material distribution? The Mechanicus supplied the vast majority of the materials. When the candidate for the Forge General is determined, in order to show that the Mechanicus and the Empire are in a cooperative relationship, this responsibility distribution will inevitably be taken away.

This was Guilliman's judgment.

But in fact, if Qin Xia had not inferred the cause and effect from the perspective of a latecomer and made a "judgment" in hindsight, it would have been impossible to be sure.

In any case, the War Council exists, even if it only exists in people's mouths.

Qin Xia thought about it carefully at this time, and felt that if he were a person of the current era, he would probably think that the War Council would be more likely to be directly formalized, that is, the Primarchs and Legions would directly control all aspects of the Empire.

I'm afraid no one can believe that the superhuman legion, which is the absolute main force, would be isolated from the rule.

But that’s a matter for the future.

"I have no idea what the men I sent out to the war councils do on a day-to-day basis, but it remains in place for the time being," Guilliman said. "If it is replaced, whatever replaces it will not turn a blind eye to Ultramar and Nuceria."

Angron nodded.

Qin Xia also nodded.

But Qin Xia added in his heart: Originally, Ultramar had to be tolerated after the matter was settled, but now Nuceria has appeared, which is really intolerable.

"If that time comes, we should unite as one." Guilliman said sincerely, "Whether as brothers, neighbors, or masters of two legions... we should unite as one at that time."

Angron nodded.

Qin Xia also nodded.

Guilliman felt that he had not yet completely convinced these two people, because in Guilliman's view, he needed Angron's help.

"Let's take the blame together in the future."

This is what Guilliman thought. Asking others to shoulder the responsibility together and jointly face the pressure from the Empire that may be imposed on Ultramar and Nuceria in the future cannot be said to be a kind of cooperation where both sides get what they need, but a request for help.

But in Qin Xia's opinion, Ultramar would have been fine, but now that Nukeria has shown up, Ultramar has to take the blame along with Nukeria. This can't be considered a request for help.

The War Council would have no problem with Ultramar, no problem with Nuceria, and the Emperor would do nothing if he was in a hurry for the Great Crusade.

But in the future, as the Imperial Chancellor Malcador and the Imperial Parliament, as the real force representing the Empire, they might have felt helpless about the birth of Ultramar. They would not make any big moves and would have tolerated it. After all, the rice has been cooked, and the Emperor might have liked a civilized and rational place like Ultramar.

But some things can't come in pairs.

Maybe... one day, after Malcador has dealt with a mountain of affairs, he will hear that the 500 world of Nuceria has emerged next to Ultramar, and then he will think that Angron, who is able to unite others, will definitely promote the warlordization of the Primarchs. When he thinks of the Primarchs all building their own territories, he will suddenly feel that the sky is about to fall.

Qin Xia shook his head and cleared his mind of all these complicated thoughts: "Ultramar and Nuceria will undoubtedly cooperate. Don't worry, Lord of the Thirteenth Legion."

Guilliman smiled and nodded.

Angron sensed a small sense of pride in Guilliman's heart, as if "the purpose of this journey has been achieved. Nuceria will withstand the pressure from the Empire together with Ultramar in the future. It's stable!"

But Guilliman still felt a little guilty, because he felt that this was actually... quite calculated.

But as the master of a legion, the master of a star zone, if you don't calculate like this, how can you preserve a model of civilization and prosperity?

Angron had the ability he had always dreamed of—not by catching clues, but by being able to see what kind of person the other person was just by meeting him once.

Such a person could build a rational, civilized, and prosperous sector just like Ultramar, or even better than Ultramar.

If Angron, like his other brothers, handed over the things that he should have done and could do well to the Empire, and just replaced the aliens or slave owners on the heads of the people ruled by the Empire with a group of people, it would really be...

This was what Guilliman thought in his mind.

Feeling guilty and helpless, Guilliman wanted to make amends: "The 12th Legion is currently busy transforming from being good at assault operations to being good at all kinds of combat. I can provide some help within my capacity, such as warships, weapons and equipment..."

"Thank you, but no thanks." Angron shook his head.

Guilliman's thoughts were unilaterally transparent to Angron. Angron knew that Guilliman did not actually take advantage, so it was difficult for him to get any more benefits from Guilliman.

Seeing that he was rejected, Guilliman nodded with emotion, thinking that Angron had done him a great favor.

But then, the Lord of the Thirteenth Legion sensed something wrong in Angron's attitude.

Qin Xia was unable to read any information from Guilliman's face, which did not show rapid changes in emotion, so he subconsciously changed the subject.

"I don't know why, Lord of Ultramar." Qin Xia smiled, "When you appear here, I always feel that the development of things has changed from a war movie to a power struggle movie."

"This is a characteristic of intelligent creatures." Guilliman also smiled. "Those who regard such non-war actions or competition and fighting for interests as shameful will eventually watch the people and worlds that once followed them suffer under the oppression of the Empire, and when the people are dying, they will look at them with hatred that is completely opposite to the admiration and respect they once had."

"This is how Ultramar remains prosperous and civilized." Qin Xia said to Angron, then raised his glass filled with wine.

Guilliman and Angron also raised their glasses.

The three men clinked their glasses together, and the wine spilled out of the glasses onto the table, forming two fortresses that would stand firm and protect billions of humans in the stormy night of the future.

(End of this chapter)