40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 300 20. The show is on (three, two in one)

Never in his life had Magnus felt so at a loss, so frightened and so angry - since Mortarion's speech ended, many more people had come forward to express their opinions. Maybe it's a lord, maybe it's a governor

Even the Forge-General of Mars, Kalbor Hal, expressed his opposition to psionics and related users. His rhetoric was far more violent than Mortarion, and he even called for all psykers to be strictly guarded.

Magnus was indignant at his words, but the real thing that would drive him to the boil was yet to come.

People spoke one after another. As soon as one person sat down, another stood up immediately.

Even those who had fought side by side with the Thousand Sons have given evidence that substantiated the accusations of the Rune Priest and Mortarion. The fact that the Fifteenth Legion was indeed using witchcraft has been completely confirmed—— But in this case, why didn't you say it during the war?

My legion helped you win, and this is what we get in return? What a bunch of noble cowards.

The Crimson King remained angrily silent, waiting for his moment to speak. Malcador did not betray his trust. The Palmist stopped the thirty-second speaker when he stood up from the box and turned to look at Magnus.

"Please be silent, everyone!" He raised his scepter and shouted loudly. "You have all made your accusations and attitudes, but Magnus has not yet! We must give him a chance to defend himself!"

very good.

Magnus exhaled a slow breath of heavy air and stood up from his seat. Azek Ahriman looked at him worriedly and mobilized his psychic powers. Magnus saw that he wanted to communicate with his psychic powers and chose to refuse.

"Don't worry, Azek. These lords, nobles, and officials cannot understand us, but their understanding is unimportant. Have you ever seen a second Primarch besides Mortarion stand up against me? My The brothers were dismissive of their words."

"But, the Primarch -" Astartes wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Magnus. The Crimson King did not want to listen, nor did he want to explain to Azek Ahriman what he was thinking now.

He just patted him on the shoulder in relief and said: "Look how I can bring order to the chaos, Azek."

The director of his think tank watched him leave, and the worries in his heart almost turned into a storm. The unspoken words finally fell into his heart: But, primarch, isn't the issue of the Nicaea meeting the question of whether to stay or leave the think tank system? ? Why has it become a judgment on us?

Magnus didn't know what Azek Ahriman was thinking. He walked out of the box with his hands behind his back, walked to the center of the theater with his head held high, and kept looking at the emperor's golden platform. His expression was neither humble nor arrogant, but he was holding back a feeling in his heart. gas.

Just wait, Father. He swore to himself. I will prove it to you today.

"Are you ready, Magnus?" the Palmist asked, his eyes calm under his hood.

Magnus passed him with his head tilted up and replied softly: "Of course."

He walked into the wooden pulpit, receiving looks from all directions, and his eyes became colder little by little.

After a few seconds, he spoke loudly.

"I have no intention of making any excuses, and I disdain this. The focus of the accusations you have made is wrong. You seem to think that I and my legion are the same as those ignorant and cruel wizards, but is this really the case?"

Magnus began to retort loudly.

"How many of you have been to Prospero and seen what it was like? Is it right that you stood up and spoke in indignation without doing any research?"

"But you and your legion are abusing psychic powers. This is an indisputable fact." Mortarion retorted lightly. "Also, not many people are comparing you to the Kayols, and no one is saying that you are doing anything similar. You are changing the subject, Magnus."

"I'm sorry—" The Crimson Dynasty bowed mockingly and turned to look at Malcador. "—I thought it was my time to speak."

"Let him finish, Lord of Death," said the Sealbearer. Mortarion nodded to him, and the silence returned.

Magnus began to look around. He should have enlightened people with rational and calm words like a scholar, making them realize how absurd what he said before was, but he didn't want to do that now.

All the manuscripts he had originally written were turned into ashes at this moment. He has realized that words alone cannot change the minds of most people - yes, he can use long speeches to preach his ideas and the possible role psychic energy can play in the future of mankind. key role.

But even if he did, wouldn't Mortarion and those who opposed him stand up and contradict him?

They still will.

Only by throwing out some facts that can serve as decisive evidence can he end this debate once and for all.

The Crimson King raised his head and glanced at the high platform again. Surrounded by the Imperial Guards, the Emperor sitting on the throne looked at him calmly, with no emotion in his eyes, but Magnus felt as if he heard his whispers and saw his expectations.

Let me prove it to you, Father. He took a deep breath and raised his arms.

"I need three hours to prepare, everyone," he said loudly. "I know your doubts, and I hear your objections. People are always doubtful about things they don't understand. This is normal, I understand."

"Because of this, I hope that everyone can see the truth about psychic energy! It is definitely not an evil force as my brother Mortarion said. You can reserve your opinions and doubts for the time being, but I only need three In just a few hours, you will be able to completely reverse everything! You will see the truth about psychic energy!”

People looked at each other, and in the amphitheater, waves of discussion began to erupt one after another.

Malcador frowned, a golden light flashing in his eyes. He looked up at the high platform, and the emperor responded with a slightly saddened nod to his gaze, so the seal bearer sighed and touched the ground with his scepter, ending the spread of the sound.

"Your request is very legitimate," he said. "Three hours, then, Magnus."

The Crimson Dynasty smiled slightly, bowed, and saluted the Emperor on the high platform, then immediately turned and left, leading the Thousand Sons out of the amphitheater.

On the observation deck of the original body's box, Konrad Coze suddenly fell into a tremor.

The spreading chill almost completely enveloped his whole body, making him unable to speak, unable to see, and unable to hear. Corvus Corax looked at him worriedly. After a few seconds, the Lord of the Night returned to normal, with a faint smile on his face.

He shook his right hand, and a blade slipped into his palm, dispelling the cold wind that had enveloped him with an even colder chill.

"You know what, brother" Conrad Coates shook his head, seemingly to himself. “It’s been a long time since my talent broke free.”

"So," Sanguinius, who had approached at some point, raised his wings and covered Curze's head with it, casting a warm glow. Among the slowly falling feathers, he looked calm on the surface, but actually asked worriedly: "Did you see it too, brother?"

"I wish I couldn't see it, angel." Curze smiled coldly.

——

Looking at that person, Angel Tai felt a strange sense of familiarity.

He shouldn't have felt like this. His memories had scattered and disappeared without a trace in the darkness, but he just couldn't be wary of the person in front of him. It’s weird, but it feels like it should be like this.

The unknown reasons will not be mentioned for now. At a time when there is terrible darkness all around, only the person standing in front of him radiates light. How can he not trust the other person?

Although this light cannot dispel the darkness, it is enough. Moreover, he vaguely felt that if the light was really strong enough to dispel the darkness, something bad might happen.

Instinctively, Angel Tai stumbled a few steps forward. He wanted to get closer, to step into the light and escape the darkness.

He has been here for too long, every second is a torture, and there is no concept of time here. One second may be a year, or it may be ten thousand years.

As Angel Tai approached him, he stretched out his left hand with a blank look on his face. He wanted to try to touch the light with his fingers to get a moment of peace before he got really close. However, his throat made a vague, inarticulate sound at this moment.

He stooped down like a reflex, and some maggot-like things mixed with black sticky objects poured out of his mouth and fell to the ground, emitting a horrible stench.

"What did he do to you? That traitor? I will cut him into pieces."

When the man saw this scene, he couldn't help but whisper, clenching his fists, clenching his teeth, and his face was distorted.

Angel Tai remained blank, staring at him without saying a word.

He lost not only his language skills, but at this moment, even his thoughts were no different from those of a child. Despite this, his right hand still grasped the shadow tightly, and his fingers seemed to have been completely integrated with it.

The man did not skip this detail. His eyes swept across the shadow, his frowning eyebrows relaxed, and a complex joy emerged from his eyes. Then, he strode towards Angel Tai.

The gait was extremely urgent, and the skin began to shine as if on fire. The darkness inevitably faded away, and other things emerged together.

Angel Tai's eyes widened, his vague feeling came true, something bad had happened - a strange sound surged in his heart, but as soon as he heard it, he immediately knelt down in pain Fall to the ground.

He didn't know that this was not a sound that humans or any intelligent beings should hear. In fact, it was not a sound at all, but a sharp knife that was cutting open his chest.

Angel Tai fell to his knees and screamed in a voice that did not sound like him at all.

His blood vessels began to burst one by one, and countless tiny faces began to protrude from the surface of his body. Those beings with sharp horns and fangs rushed out of the blood vessels, smashed his bones, and laughed wildly against the surface of his skin before biting them. Of flesh and blood.

The man roared angrily, changed his posture, and started running wildly. With every step he took, the radiance on the surface of his skin grew stronger. By the end, his entire body had turned into a melting wax statue.

The heat was blazing, the darkness that burned away crackled, and his flesh and blood hung on his bones and began to flow downwards. It should have been a moment of heartache, but there was peace on that melting face.

He stretched out his hand and grabbed Angel Tai without hesitation, or to be precise, grabbed his right hand - in an instant, the shadow no longer regained its previous dead silence, and began to twitch madly.

It wound up Angel Tai's arm, suddenly turned into a sharp knife and pierced into the man's flesh and blood. It went up the river and began to swim in the melted flesh and blood, feasting on it.

A low, shrill, wild laughter sounded faintly, spreading continuously in the darkness, like the sound of a distant storm coming from the plains on a rainy day.

The man allowed it to engulf him and sighed uncontrollably. Exhaustion appeared on his melting face, and the melting and smoking flesh was still falling off.

A few seconds later, Angel Tai opened his eyes in confusion, and happened to see his face. The man looked at him calmly, with no regrets on his face.

"There is nothing more natural than a father's blood being shed for his son, Angel Tai." He said softly. "I've fallen into the abyss, but I can't just watch you fall in too."

Remaining blank, Angel Tai looked at him doubtfully, not understanding his words at all. Faced with such terrible confusion, Lorgar Aurelion just smiled softly.

"I have been here a long time, my son." He smiled broadly. "They wanted me to surrender, to surrender willingly, but I ran away, I hid here and the traitor sent you in."

"He wanted me to watch you die, to test whether I was here or not, to see if I would be indifferent to your death. I should have been a hard-hearted person, and I would be of greater use if I survived, but, do you know."

He gasped and fell to his knees, his body gradually being completely swallowed up by the shadows. Despite such a terrifying end, his glory began to shine brighter.

"Throughout my life, I've accomplished almost nothing." He spoke slowly, gently, in a whisper.

"I should be pious, but I disobeyed the gods. I should be friendly to my brother, but I insulted his adoptive father. I should have noticed in advance that there was something wrong with Erebas, but I was blinded by his smile at that time, and he stabbed him with a knife. Go into the back and become a puppet. I have failed so far, but at least I can do one last thing, and it will succeed."

Lorgar Aurelion laughed, a laugh that contained no fear of death.

"Wake up, Angel Tai!" He shouted Angel Tai's name loudly. "From now on, never forget who you are!"

——

At the other end of the amphitheater, in the box of the Word Bearers, the body of the mantra holder Lorgar Aurelion trembled violently. He tried to open his closed eyes, but was immediately closed by a pair of reaching out hands.

Erebus leaned down and began to examine the primarch carefully without any respect. The Word Bearers turned a blind eye to his actions, like puppets. Cole Phaeron looked at him with a faint struggle, his teeth chattering.

"Stop looking at me like that, my friend." The chief priest straightened up and sighed softly. "Our plan failed."

"What did you say?" Cole Phaeron asked in a trembling voice, his hand already on the sword blade at his waist. "I should have killed you earlier."

"It's too late, my friend. You should have taken action long ago, but you were greedy for power. Maybe I am a liar and a villain, but you are even lower than me."

Erebus chuckled, and in addition to his contempt for Kor Phaeron, there was also an underlying arrogance in his smile. He raised his head and glanced at the golden high platform. His chuckle gradually turned into a silent but larger smile.

"But it doesn't matter." He walked towards Kor Phaeron gently, stretched out his hand, and pushed back the half-drawn sword.

"Because our plan will definitely succeed. You see, the Crimson King is already preparing to leave. As I expected, and as they promised, the thread of fate will be controlled by me from this moment on."

Kor Phaeron looked at him with hatred and said nothing. The smile on Erebus's face gradually faded, and like lightning, he pulled out a dagger. There was a flash of light and blood splattered everywhere. Cole Phaeron fell to his knees, with a bone-deep wound on his face.

"You'd better not look at me like that." The chief pastor exhaled. "At least not now, he will find out. We have to wait until he becomes Him, do you understand?"

Cole Phaeron still didn't answer, just lowered his head deeply. Erebus frowned, but soon relaxed.

It doesn't matter.

As long as Aurelion is still under my control, Cole Phaeron has nothing to fear. All I have to do is follow the steps. He smiled again, and by the way, he reached out and patted the corpse sitting on the seat. A motionless original body.

The latter immediately opened his eyes, his expression dull, but he soon gained some human flexibility.

"When is it?" He turned to look at Erebus.

"There are still three hours left." The chief pastor bowed slightly and replied.

"Very good." The original body nodded slightly. "Well done, Erebus. But—"

He suddenly stopped speaking, frowned, and looked at Erebus suspiciously. There was an unknown struggle emerging from his expression. Seeing this, Erebus stretched out his hand and made a complicated gesture in front of his eyes, and the original body's expression immediately calmed down.

"My pleasure, Primarch." The Head Chaplain smiled happily.

Behind him, Cole Phaeron lowered his head and stretched out his hand to tear open his wound. The blood was held in his palm along with the minced meat, and there was deathly silence in the heart of the Captain of the Word Bearers.

I had my wisdom teeth removed today and I took a nap in the afternoon. I forgot to send a notice. Sorry.

This chapter costs 5k, and I owe 1k, which I will pay back tomorrow.