Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"I'm really shocked by your change, Luther."

"You are a lot stronger now than before: a lot."

"It was just a fluke, Lord Abaddon."

"This kind of reason can't explain the changes that have happened to you, but I actually don't really care about the reason for all this: instead of discussing these scientific theories and stuff, the two of us might as well discuss each other. What do you think? "

"..."

"Happy to accompany you."

"Hahahaha, good! Have fun!"

The Luna Wolf's laughter could be clearly heard even across the entire arena, and it attracted some eyes. However, the moment they saw Abaddon, most of them turned away without surprise. , obviously, many Dawnbreakers are already very familiar with this son of Horus and his actions.

But despite this, some people are still paying attention to all this secretly: specifically, they are paying attention to the old knight of Caliban who is having a fierce sword fight with Abaddon. After all, the changes in him are really... horrifying. people.

"That Luna Wolf is still like this: his personality has not changed at all over the years. I thought he could become calmer on the battlefield."

On the high stand of the Legion Coliseum, in a place that is inaccessible but with a very clear perspective, the two most valued descendants of the Spider Queen are observing and communicating: it is Rana and Bayar, the entire Dawnbreaker Legion. A well-known big shot.

"He is a veteran who has fought in Terra for more than sixty standard years. He is one of the most valued sons of the Wolf Shepherd God. Since he has not changed in the past few years, how can he be with us? What big changes are happening here?"

"Don't be so mean, Bayar: Look at Ahriman, hasn't he changed a lot? Now no one in the entire legion hates this son of Magnus, no matter what he has done and said before, We all still like him very much now."

"..."

Hearing the reminder from the Chief Old Guard beside him, Bayar, the commander of the second company of the Dawnbreaker Legion and the champion swordsman of the Spider Queen, was stunned for a long time, and then thought about it briefly before agreeing with it. Nod.

"That's true."

"That Prospero boy actually looks a bit likeable now."

Following Rana's guidance, Bayar saw at a glance that in a corner of the arena, Ahriman was competing with Hector with great interest. The Thousand Sons Captain's moves were now very organized. , seems to have found its own way.

The competition between these two people was one of the most eye-catching focuses in the entire arena. Bayar could see many people surrounding them, watching the sword duel with relish. He even saw a few people in the audience. The swordsman of the Dawnbreaker Legion.

Rana was also paying attention to the duel between Ahriman and Hector, but unlike Bayar, who was somewhat absent-minded, he was more focused on the actual level of the two competitors, especially Ahriman's swordsmanship.

"What do you think of his level?"

Rana looked at Ahriman's fierce offensive for a while, then turned to look at Bayar: the latter may be the most knowledgeable masters in swordsmanship in the entire Dawnbreaker Legion and even the entire human empire. One of the few battle brothers that the Chief Old Guard can completely trust and admire.

Hearing this, Bayar raised his head and glanced at Ahriman's figure casually.

"Progress has been rapid, but there is still huge room for improvement in the future."

"Do you think he can force you to be serious now?"

"..."

The champion swordsman thought for a moment.

"If he can do whatever it takes to risk his life: then I might shed a few drops of blood."

"So, he is pretty good..."

Rana nodded, paying more and more attention to Ahriman in his heart. After all, according to Bayar's standards, his comment just now was already a very dazzling compliment: For a swordsman, bloodshed and death The distance is never too long.

"Then what do you think of the strength comparison between him and Hector?"

Lana once again looked at the fierce duel: the sword fight between Hector and Ahriman was like a brown bear and a lynx. It was the most direct competition between brutality and skill, and it was also a contest that could never be determined. Although Morgan The proud son seemed to have the upper hand, but he never really caught the trace of Ahriman. The son of Magnus had already replaced his mage robe, and he was more flexible than expected in light armor.

"It depends on the situation."

Beside Rana, Bayar looked uninterested in fighting at this level.

"If it were a pure strength duel, Hecht would definitely be victorious in the end. The anxiety now is just the process leading to this result: Hecht's talent in strength and physical fitness is unparalleled, and no one can defeat him in a brutal manner. If you can take advantage of him in a physical confrontation, the power contained in his body can even make machines succumb."

"In other words: if a weapon is used against warriors or infantry, then using it against Hector will most likely have little effect; but if it is the kind of weapon used to hunt monsters and armored vehicles, On the contrary, it will pose a considerable threat to Hector.”

"..."

Lana hesitated.

"Bayar, are your words really describing... a human being?"

"The Milky Way is so vast and full of wonders."

The champion swordsman's pupils flashed with a trace of nostalgia for the past.

"You don't know, Rana: After all, you only joined the Second Legion after the Terra Unification War, so you can't imagine that we encountered creations beyond imagination when we fought on Holy Terra. "

"I don't want to know either."

The Chief Old Guard snorted.

"Then tell me, Bayar: Under what circumstances can Ahriman defeat Hector?"

"The answer is simple: Have you forgotten that he is a psyker, and a very good psyker? If he is regarded as a battle brother of our legion, then he should be second only to the original The spiritual master of the body."

"Once he introduces the power of the Sea of ​​Souls into the battle, Hector will not have much chance of victory: in any case, the almost unreasonable power of psychic energy is an absolutely undeniable fact, it is just that The charm and danger are full of contradictions."

"Are you saying that if Ahriman suddenly releases his psychic powers during a sword fight, then he will definitely be able to defeat Hector?"

"That's true, but it doesn't have to be so rough. Rana: Take a closer look at Ahriman's current moves. Have you noticed that every few rounds, his moves are a little different?"

The old guard frowned, and he looked more carefully: it was indeed true.

"What is he doing?"

"He is practicing a very dangerous but also very effective move. This guy is very ambitious."

Bayar chuckled.

"I've seen this move before, and it almost capsized: To put it simply, do you remember that Ahriman is a prophetic psyker, and he is combining his prophetic abilities with his swordsmanship, but it's just that He is unskilled, but if he succeeds, there will be few among the Astartes warriors who can defeat him."

"Using the sword while using the prophecies in your mind? Wouldn't this be too busy?"

"So I said, it's hard, but the results are incredibly rewarding."

Bayar watched Ahriman's moves quietly, and his pupils finally flickered with interest. His fingers tapped the hilt of the sword intentionally or unintentionally, as if he had some desire to step into the arena. , but soon, this impulse dissipated.

The champion swordsman shook his head.

"With Ahriman's current level of swordsmanship, even if everything goes well, he will need at least ten Terran standard years to initially master the fusion of this prophecy ability and swordsmanship, and mastery may take longer, thirty or fifty years. .”

"but……"

"Based on my memory and understanding of the nerds in the Thousand Sons Legion, from now on, in the next ten years at most, none of the so-called sword masters and battle masters in the Fifteenth Legion will be Ahriman's opponent. : Even if they bully the minority with the majority, the same is true."

"They're vulnerable."

Bayar's comments made Rana raise his eyebrows. He looked at the chief swordsman of the legion beside him, who had been invincible for too long, with some teasing. He even wondered whether the latter's sword might be a little rusty. .

"Then do you think it will take Ahriman many years of hard training, or how many more fights he has experienced, before he can surpass you in swordsmanship, Bayar?"

"..."

Bayar blinked, and he seemed to really think about this question.

"I think it was probably when the entire galaxy split into two."

——————

left!

Luther's pupils flashed with light: his long fighting career allowed him to subconsciously judge the opponent's attack direction without even seeing the light of the blade, and quickly make the most appropriate response.

In an instant, Caliban's former vigorous knight seemed to flutter like a sparrow, and seemed to have been standing still: but no matter what, he effectively dodged this powerful and heavy attack, and even the dust did not stick to it. , making many spectators in the stands nod secretly.

A trace of pride quietly passed through Luther's chest. He had not had this kind of pride that sprouted because of fighting for a long time. It even made him feel a little strange: the Caliban people who realized this couldn't help but feel in their hearts. He laughed mockingly at himself, and slowly retreated to a suitable position, moving his wrists and shoulders somewhat unfamiliarly.

Luther was still a little uncomfortable with this body. Although this was undoubtedly his original body, compared to before, his arms and chest now contained power that he didn't even want to imagine or guess.

Caliban even had a vague feeling: In the realm of [mortal], some of his physical functions may have reached their upper limit. If it goes further, those called [angels] Field: Even now, Luther would not expect to be able to set foot in that field.

He has gained enough now, and he is still very satisfied with his mortal identity: although when he was in the Dark Angels Legion, he once felt sad about why he could not become an Astartes warrior, but in the Dawnbreaker The past few years spent in the legion have really washed away this resentment.

After all, it has been proven that even as a mortal, he can get true trust and recognition, cheers and respect from the Astartes warriors and even the Primarch, and get everything that matches his ability and dedication. As for Why didn't he have this opportunity before...

Luther never thought about this question, he was afraid that some answers would emerge.

"Not bad, Luther."

"I really underestimated you before: wasn't your fighting ability quite good?"

Opposite the Calibans, the individual making the noisy sound was the first captain of the Luna Wolves Legion, the most trusted heir of the Wolf Shepherd God Horus, and the invincible leader of the battlefield:

The great cavalry-type Terminator armor, and its operating machine slave.

Named Abaddon.

"It's just some experience accumulated from hunting giant beasts in the past, it's nothing."

Facing the applause of the Luna Wolves, Luther just showed a humble smile: He has a pretty good relationship with the son of Horus in front of him, and they have had several good cooperative combat experiences. Although Abaddon He doesn't often appear on the Dawnbreaker's flagship, but he does make a name for himself on the fighting fields.

"These are not just experiences."

The Son of Horus moved his body, and from time to time his pupils would flash out a few rays of wisdom that were completely different from his savage appearance, but these wisdoms never seemed to be taken seriously and were never really used.

"Before this, I have never seen a person who can be so calm under my attack: you amaze me, Luther, your ability in combat is so good, if you are a Luna Wolf, You will surely rank among the greatest warriors in the galaxy."

Luther smiled and did not refute, because what Abaddon said was indeed the truth: a fact that even those sons of Morgan watching from the high platform could not deny.

At this moment, many people were shocked by Luther's performance: for example, Bayar and Rana in the stands. Although they all knew what kind of good opportunities Luther had, they never thought of it. The old knights of Caliban would now exude such power.

"I remember, didn't the original body tell us that the genetic modification surgery she performed on Lord Luther was not like the Astartes modifications we have experienced?"

"Then why is it like this?"

Bayar's question made Rana raise an eyebrow.

"Are you worried about something?"

Facing the chief old guard's rhetorical question, the champion swordsman just remained silent for a moment.

"No, I'm not upset, I'm just very curious: As we see now, Lana, although we are all sure that Luther is still a [mortal], but look at his performance. "

"By mortal standards, this is a bit exaggerated."

Following Bayar's words and fingertips, Lana once again looked at the fight between Luther and Abaddon in the center of the arena: they had been fighting for nearly half a Terran standard hour, and this was not because of Abaddon. The reason for letting go is because it is based on Luther's own strength.

Although at first glance, the battle between Abaddon and Luther was just a simple offensive and defensive battle, real warriors could see the clues and horrors in it: Although Abaddon, wearing Terminator armor, had the advantage, However, he has never mastered all the rhythm of the battle. His attacks can only catch Luther's shadow, and his pace is always disturbed by the harassment and temptations of the Calibans. Although he only needs to succeed once, he will be defeated. It could end the entire battle, but so far, Luther's sword has left several long white marks on the Luna Wolf's Terminator Armor.

This is not a crushing battle, nor is it a one-sided situation that theoretically should occur between Astartes warriors and mortals. Luther is fighting Abaddon from an equal perspective, although he looks different from the final one. The victory still has nothing to do with it, but no one can deny one thing: at this time, Luther, as a mortal, was engaged in a real and upright battle with a fully armed elite Astartes warrior. duel, and head-on battle.

How terrifying the deep meaning of this sentence is. Perhaps only Rana or Bayar, who are both Astartes, can understand it. For this reason, when their eyes turned to this During the fight, he never moved away.

They carefully watched every detail of the battle, and soon discovered many clues and oddities.

"Did you notice, Lana?"

Bayar spoke first.

"Lord Luther, although he could only constantly evade and dodge in the face of Abaddon's offensive, these evasive actions were not a hasty hedging behavior, but a retreat in order to advance with the art of fighting. Or maybe it’s to avoid the edge: Do you know what this means?”

"Of course I know, Bayar: This means that Lord Luther can clearly capture Abaddon's movements, and will also leave enough time for his brain to think about the best way to deal with these offensives. , judging from the fact that other mortals cannot even see our movements, nor can they keep up with our thoughts, the transformation that Lord Luther received is indeed very effective."

"After all, it is the transformation surgery performed by our genetic mother. Even if it is the same process and technology, the difference between the operators will bring unimaginable differences: You see, Luther did not avoid this move. , he met Abaddon's attack head-on."

"It was just a feint: Abaddon didn't use much force."

"But for mortals, it is definitely a fatal blow. Don't forget that the Luna Wolf is now wearing a Terminator: Let's take a look at Luther... Well, he didn't dodge, but used his The sword skillfully blocked the blow and removed most of the force, but the rest was theoretically enough to kill him."

"But no, you see, he is still alive and kicking, he just gasped a few times."

"indeed so."

Bayar nodded, and he captured the exclamations from the onlookers: obviously too many people were surprised by this. They all knew the gap between mortals and emperor angels, so they were shocked by the scene in front of them.

When Caliban's old knight not only cleverly blocked Abaddon's offensive, he even took the opportunity to briefly restrain one of the latter's hands, and then launched a ferocious counterattack, even leaving a mark on the right shoulder of the Terminator's armor again. When there was a long white mark, the onlookers of the Dawnbreakers even felt a sense of absurdity: Astartes being counterattacked by mortals at close range?

No one would ridicule Abaddon for this, because they clearly saw Luther's performance in their eyes: if they were the ones facing the Calibans at this time, the outcome of the battle would not be any different.

On the high platform, the Chief Old Guard was already nodding and recording something.

"It seems that the transformation surgery of the Primarch is more effective than we imagined: this can already be regarded as a battle, not the usual crushing of mortals by the Astartes warriors, but a real, to-come It’s really unimaginable to have such a head-on battle.”

"And what's even more valuable is that even though he achieved such a feat, Lord Luther is still a mortal. He has not been dragged down the road of no return by this transformation surgery, and he is not fundamentally different from all living beings in the empire. "

"In other words: Everything that is happening to Sir Luther now may also happen to every elite mortal auxiliary army in Avalon in the future. Even if it is not as good as it is now, it is enough for people to imagine."

Bayar was thinking on the sidelines.

"Lana, I think we can't ignore Lord Luther's own shining points: he is an old warrior who has been fighting various giant beasts for decades in the world of Caliban. His abilities are obvious to all of us. , all kinds of fighting skills are just like a duck in water for him."

"you mean?"

"I mean: if other mortals can accept the same transformation as Luther, then their performance will most likely not be so good: it will be difficult for them to choose the best response method in the shortest time like Luther, even if Physical modifications to them are not going to make up for that.”

"Luthor's rich combat experience and this transformation surgery complement each other. Everything that happened before our eyes is probably just an example, and it is difficult to have a comprehensive reference value."

The tip of Lana's nose paused. He was thinking very seriously, and at the same time he was observing the aftermath of the competition in the distance.

Amid the cheers and applause of the crowd, he saw Abaddon carefully lifting Luther up from the ground, patting him on the shoulder, and showing a generous smile: Although he always maintained the fighting spirit, he was still fighting against the Terminator. After fighting for forty minutes with Abaddon by his side, Luther, who had not fully adapted to his new body, finally felt exhausted and simply admitted his defeat.

Of course, the Luna Wolf did not admit his victory: he also expected to fight Luthor again one day. In fact, after being constantly passively beaten, Abaddon had gradually grasped Luthor's fighting rhythm. , if this competition continues for a while, the descendants of Horus will achieve a complete victory, instead of giving up halfway now.

However, the Luna Wolf is not a certain Barbarus dung-smelling jar. He does not care about these insignificant things: on the contrary, he is more worried about the physical condition of his friend Luther, despite the repeated statements of the Caliban Knight. own health, but the Son of Horus decided to send him back in person.

When the two figures disappeared at the entrance of the arena, Ahriman and Hector also stopped their games almost at the same time: the rest time has come to an end, and many Dawnbreakers still have daily work to do. In the blink of an eye, During this time, the grand arena, which was bustling just now, became a lot more depressed.

At this moment, on the empty high platform, Rana was revealing the safe content to Bayar. Their topic revolved around Luther's transformation surgery: This is not a serious secret. The Primarch of the Second Legion even secretly promoted the spread of this news intentionally or unintentionally.

"The original body master integrated a new set of transformation surgery procedures based on every kind of transformation surgery she could collect, imitate and learn. The purpose is to select a group of elites among the mortal auxiliary troops of the legion and integrate them Shaped into a warrior second only to the Astartes."

"Like Luther?"

Bayar couldn't help but frown and asked: The performance just performed by Caliban Knight was really amazing. Even a well-informed veteran of Terra could not imagine what it would be like to have such a skilled mortal auxiliary army. Scenario, and what will be the outcome.

If millions or even more of these warriors could really be produced: What use would those Dawnbreakers have?

Seeing the worry flashing in the champion swordsman's eyes, Lana sighed in his heart, it turned out that Bayar was not without fear, and easily dispelled the battle brother's worries with firm words.

"No need to worry, Bayar."

"Think about it, what a grand event Luther's transformation surgery was: the original body performed the surgery himself and repeatedly performed every process. The number of clinical trials alone exceeded three digits, and the resources and equipment used were imported from Ava. The best products we can find throughout the country, nor any substitutes, are allowed."

"In addition to these prerequisites, it is also necessary to add that Mr. Luther himself has undergone a transformation operation to create the new Luther before us: Frankly speaking, such an action is too costly. It is a special case in itself, used as a reward for Lord Luther, and there is no possibility of large-scale replication."

"and……"

Lana lowered his voice.

"I can reveal to you: Lord Luther's transformation surgery is actually quite different from the transformation surgery that the Primarch will launch next: in general, the current Lord Luther is not actually a He is a mortal through and through, and he is actually at an ambiguous level in a certain field."

"It's okay to say that he is at the highest peak of the mortal realm, but it's also okay to say that he has broken through the boundaries between mortals and Astartes and touched the realm of the Emperor's Angels..."

"Don't go into detail. Mortals who undergo transformation in the future will not be treated like this."

Bayar listened to these words and nodded, his pupils flashing with understanding.

"In other words, in the operation on Sir Luther, the original body actually used several transformation operations that were similar to those of the Astartes warriors, or even the same steps?"

"I don't know about that."

Lana shook his head.

"But there are a few things I can be sure of: through the words of the original gene, I heard that Lord Luther can live for a long time now, and he lives with the activity of a young man, rather than lingering like an old man. This is It’s still very obvious.”

"indeed so."

Bayar nodded, his cheeks even a little sour.

"I even think: Maybe Lord Luther will live longer than us: except for his face and tone that are still obviously old, he still looks like an old man now, and is no different from a young mortal with full blood. .”

"Are you jealous?"

Lana raised his eyebrows in amusement, surprised that this perfect knight in the legion, who was always known for his calmness and calmness, would also have such an obvious sour tone in his words, and he was still targeting a mortal.

Apparently, a certain chief of the Old Guard had forgotten what kind of fire was burning in Luther's pupils when he looked at him: it can only be said that in terms of self-deception, the Dawnbreaker is indeed the proud descendant of the Spider Queen.

"Not really..."

The champion swordsman opened his mouth, still wanting to defend himself, but before that, Lana patted him on the shoulder, lowered his voice, and spoke to his battle brothers in a tone like an announcement. Whispered.

"Actually, you don't have to worry so much, Brother Bayar: I can assure you that our genetic mother actually has a transformation plan for us, her real descendants: and it is more ambitious and serious than those of mortals. Most of her energy is focused on our reconstructive surgery."

"……real?"

"I will not lie to you."

Bayar laughed, and his face was once again so bright that it was no different from the title [Gentle Knight], but soon, when he looked at Lana, there was a hint of something wrong in his vision.

"But...why do you know so much about the Primarch's thoughts, brother?"

The Old Guard was quite calm.

"If you think our Gene Mother has made significant progress in this area, or has new ideas, if she wants to find a character like a guinea pig to conduct a relatively harmless experiment: she will find who?"

"…Understood."

Bayar nodded.

"In other words, our genetic mother has already started her transformation experiment?"

"At least part of it has started."

Lana stopped in his tracks. The chief old guard tapped the center of his breastplate with his fingers in front of his battle brothers, with an uncontrollable pride on his face.

"At least, I have part of it here."

"……what is that?"

"A new organ is so powerful that it is like a product of myth. It can transform us from the emperor's angel to the phoenix of Avalon, with the great authority to resurrect on the edge of death and regain the qualifications to fight."

Rana pointed to his chest, pointing to the center of the two hearts.

"Right here, our genetic mother planted it right here."

"She called it that."

"Heart of Nirvana."