I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 174 [An Army of a Thousand Banners]

In the heart of the ruins of Gelblin, a bizarre "festival" is unfolding.

Judge Grand was nailed to a makeshift cross made of armor plates with large iron nails. The condemned men then strapped this cross firmly to the roof of a chimera armored personnel carrier, as if it were a triumphant trophy. Amidst the gloating applause and cheers of the onlookers, the chimera, carrying the dying judge, began its public parade through the ruins of Gelblin.

The cart tracks rolled over the rubble, leaving trails, while Grand's blood splattered across the scorched earth, tracing a broken, crimson path. He probably wouldn't survive this journey. Thinking of this, Ghostface couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

Just then, the distinctive roar of the vectoring nozzles grew louder as it approached. A fiery red figure tore through the billowing smoke and dust, landing unashamedly beside the Ghost Face like a meteorite, stirring up a cloud of dust.

"I've finally found you, Commander of the Deathbringers." Farsighted's voice came from the external loudspeaker of the XV8 combat suit, calm and clear.

He had expected his arrival to provoke a strong reaction from the surrounding black soldiers, after all, he was an alien, an enemy he had just been fighting against. In fact, they did react—they all gave him a quick glance, then went back to their own business as if nothing had happened.

Foresight couldn't understand this. But from the player's perspective, it couldn't be simpler: Foresight didn't have a white border indicating hostility. This meant two things: first, it wasn't hostile; second, killing it wouldn't earn any merit.

"Hmm, you've found me." Even Ghost Face himself only gave a perfunctory reply, without even looking up. "Hello, my name is Ghost Face, nice to meet you. And you?"

“I’m fine, thank you,” Foresight replied politely, then added, “‘Ghost Face’ is just a code name, isn’t it?”

"Isn't your 'foresight' also foresight?" Ghost Face retorted.

"My full name is Shaous..."

"No, no, no," Ghost Face quickly waved his hand to interrupt him, "I'm not asking you to give your real name! What I mean is, a name is essentially a code. What you're called isn't important. What's most important is that when others hear that code, they know what it means!"

“A real name is necessary,” Vision insisted. “A code name is more of a symbol, a spirit, a banner. Only your real name represents who you are.”

“Exactly!” Ghost Face seemed to have been waiting for these words for centuries. He clapped his hands abruptly and said in an almost chanting tone, “Anyone can be beneath Ghost Face!”

After playing this game for so long, I finally have the chance to say this line. Ghost Face felt refreshed, just like taking a big gulp of ice-cold cola on a hot summer day!

But to Ghost Face's surprise, his joke actually caused the other side's visionary to fall into a long silence.

After a long silence, Yuanjian finally spoke, his voice filled with a sense of realization: "So that's it... Is this the real reason why you are fearless in the face of death and so difficult to break? To dissolve the 'self,' transforming it into a banner, and then countless banners converge into an ocean. Destroying the individual carrying the banner becomes irrelevant, because there will always be another person to take up the fallen banner and continue forward. The spirit is not as easily destroyed as the body..."

Foresight's philosophical interpretation left Ghostface speechless. He opened his mouth, wanting to say, "Brother, you're overthinking it. We can simply be resurrected after death." But then he realized that the system would definitely censor that, so he could only vaguely reply, "Maybe..."

However, Foresight clearly took Ghostface's ambiguous answer as an admission. He solemnly said, "In this battle, you have left a more profound impression on me than those genetically modified superhuman soldiers. Their strength can be understood, and can even be completely predicted because of their rigid adherence to certain dogmas. But you, I simply cannot understand."

“Now, I understand a little better,” Foresight stated. “In the next battle, I will try my best to defeat you, [The Army of a Thousand Banners].

"Hmm... First of all, the title 'Army of a Thousand Banners' is pretty cool. Although historically, Li Shimin's army during the Xuanwu Gate Incident was also called the Army of a Thousand Banners, which might have a bad connotation, I accept it," Ghost Face said. "Secondly, where do we get the next battle?" "Wait a minute, is Li Shimin also an emperor in this universe?"

“Neither side got what they wanted, so there is no peace, only a truce.” Foresight answered Ghostface’s previous question. “A treaty is just a piece of paper. When it is torn up does not depend on the date marked on it, but only on which side feels ready to win the next war first.”

“I disagree with your statement that no one got what they wanted,” Ghost Face said.

"You mean that human who led the negotiations, Lucius Grete?" Foresight pondered for a moment. "Although I'm not as skilled in diplomatic rhetoric as the Water Clan, I can tell that he secured a lot of business deals for himself. His wealth and power will probably increase many times over afterward."

“No, I’m not talking about that wandering merchant, I’m talking about myself!” Ghost Face said.

"You?" Yuanjian asked, somewhat puzzled. "Uh, you received the glory?"

"Glory? Who the hell cares about that stuff?" Ghost Face said speechlessly. "We're here to kill!"

He cleared his throat and said in a tone as if he were about to display a priceless treasure, "Fine, I'll reluctantly show you what I got in this war."

Upon hearing the words "reluctantly," the surrounding players who were watching the show all showed disdain for him, clearly indicating that he had already done this many times before.

Ghost Face carefully took out two thick volumes of the Astartes from his robes.

"See that?" He showed the books to Vision. "The one on the left is an autographed copy by Marius Calgar, the current Lord of Macragge and Commander of the Ultramarines Chapter! The one on the right is an autographed copy by Cato Sicarius, the ultimate overlord in the world of overlord stories and the invincible Second Company Commander!"

The next second, Ghost Face held up the two holy books and shouted to all the players around him, "Did you all see that? Did you see that? Look over here, all of you! I know you only have Sicarius's autograph, but today I'll show you what Calga's is like!"

The other players responded with a barrage of boos and insults.

"Fuck you!"

"I'm reporting this to the King of Figurines right now. Just wait for him to steal your collection!"

"If you want to show off so much, why don't you just wear these two books around and go about your business?!"

Ghost Face smugly retrieved the holy book and looked at Far Vision: "Look, they're just jealous!"

Vision remained silent for a moment. His red combat suit visor stared silently at the incomprehensible commander before him. In the end, he said nothing, simply activating the thrusters and choosing to quietly distance himself from these men he might never fully understand.

(End of this chapter)