40k: Midnight Blade

The Nucerians turned their heads immediately after hearing the roar, but still could only see a fleeting black shadow.

He thought the shadow would rush in front of him, but he was wrong. It still rushed towards the round table stubbornly, but was stopped midway by another white shadow speeding past. When the two collide, the loud sound produced makes the eardrums soar.

"You dare to stop me?!" Conrad Coates roared again.

"You seem to have missed a few etiquette lessons, brother." Sanguinius replied with a slight frown.

Angel Bal's feet did not touch the ground. He flapped his wings gently and was suspended in mid-air, but those powerful arms firmly grasped Curze's stretched out hands, preventing him from moving.

"Does the place he came from really need etiquette?" Leman Russ asked. He still had that malicious smile on his face.

Sanguinius glanced at him and silenced the Fenrisian again.

Wings folded, he slowly landed. Curze seized the opportunity and suddenly took two steps back, with such force that the ground broke.

He wanted to use this to destroy Sanguinius's balance, but the angel remained motionless. His hands were like statues made of steel. His originally beautiful muscles suddenly swelled at this moment, and the burst of power turned him into a figure that was difficult to be beaten. A wall that can be shaken by anything.

The angel shook his head, slowly moved his face closer to his brother who was baring his teeth and growling, stared into those dark eyes without fear, and saw his expressionless reflection in them.

"That tape guy was rude though, man," he said calmly. "You are still much more extreme than it is. Besides, one of its words is right. This is just a story that has never happened. Why do you care so much?"

A sneer appeared on the Nostramo's face.

"You are outside the incident, of course you don't care, you proud domestic bird. Look at you, you are full of glory. Should I kneel down to you and beg for forgiveness, my lord?"

He answered softly and with malice, letting out a stream of cold air that was so hot it almost made one wonder if he was still alive.

"So, why do you care so much, Conrad?" Angron interrupted the conversation and asked.

He slowly left his seat. The white cables all over his head were steadily delivering the medicine that could cure the sequelae of the Butcher's Nail. His blue eyes were full of concern.

Of course, this kind of emotion is completely unacceptable to someone.

"Stop your hypocrisy!" shouted the Nostramo. "Don't let me see you staring at me like that even once again, otherwise I will definitely dig your eyes out!"

Sanguinius suddenly exerted his strength.

"Apologise, brother," he said sternly and mercilessly.

"I didn't think you were my brothers." Coz turned his head and grinned. "Come on, stop calling me that word. Someone among us is destined to betray, start a war, and burn down the Empire and the galaxy. Maybe that person is you, Sanguinius?"

"Enough!" An angry shout came from the round table, and Horus Luperkar stood up. "You are a little too willful, Conrad!"

"It's much better than you, a large Primarch child who only has one father." Conrad Curze responded with a fake smile.

This harsh but irrefutable remark made Horus's face turn red and white. The instigator was still not satisfied. He simply turned his head and glanced at each of his 'brothers' with a fake smile. His eyes were quite cold.

He opened his mouth.

Sanguinius sighed, and a white light flashed away. One of his wings set off a gust of wind in the stone chamber, forcing Curze to swallow his words back.

"Magnus." He turned and looked at the most learned man among them. "Please use your psychic powers to get something that can help us get started with our current situation, okay?"

The red Magnus raised his right hand hesitantly.

Sanguinius sighed again.

As gentle as he could, he asked, "What's the matter, brother?"

"Yes, yes, but what do you want?"

"Hammer." Alpharius said quietly. "Or a sword."

"I can understand the sword, but what do you want the hammer for?" Leman Russ asked with great interest.

Alpharius smiled and did not answer. He just held up his right hand and made a gesture of tapping his teeth.

"Just the tape that can shut him up temporarily, Magnus." Sanguinius ignored their actions for the time being and replied very tiredly.

But Magnus obviously had a different opinion. He nodded, and after a few seconds, he still raised his right hand hesitantly: "Uh, but even the highest-level tape probably won't be able to restrain him for a long time. .”

"If you dare to turn into a roll of tape, I will kill you!" the Nostramo roared. "And I'll burn every book you hide! Just wait and see, nerd!"

Russ laughed. He raised his right hand and hammered the table: "Hammer——!"

Alpharius nodded and agreed: "Hammer."

Outside of the situation, Ferrus Manus frowned and shook his head quite seriously. He turned his head quietly and looked at the light curtain. A line of small words appeared on it just right.

【What are you looking at me doing? 】

Let's end this farce. Gorgon of Medusa thought silently in his heart.

[This is indeed a farce, but why should I end it? 】

I know you can, and I'm asking you.

[I can indeed do it, but I can, and whether I want to or not, are two different things. This is a rare farce, performed by all the great, noble and proud Primarchs in person, how can it be interrupted midway? However, since you said so——】

Suddenly, the video tape that was lying quietly on the round table began to vibrate violently, and a dazzling blue light immediately bloomed from it. When the light dissipated, both Sanguinius and Konrad Coze actually turned around. arrived at their seats.

Not only that, the hands and feet of the Nostramos were even bound by a ring emitting blue fluorescence. No matter how hard he struggled, it was to no avail.

He was visibly furious, with veins popping out on his forehead. He opened his mouth to roar, but no sound came out, like an excellent mime.

Then, a voice actually came out of the videotape, a male voice that sounded like he was always smiling frivolously.

"——You guys are really making a fuss." He commented.

"It's talking." Perturabo narrowed his eyes. "It does have self-awareness. Is it an intelligence that hates?"

"No." The video tape dismissed this speculation lightly. "My identity is not important, and I suggest you not to take it too seriously. The chance of us meeting is ridiculously small, even smaller than an ant painting a Mona Lisa in its nest."

"What do you want to do?" Vulkan, who had almost always remained silent, asked seriously.

"I don't want to do anything," the tape said. "I just want you to read this stupid story quietly and don't let something like this happen again. Do you know what your father paid for this opportunity? Friendly reminder, I am not a very kind businessman."

No matter how the Primarchs reacted to its words, the light curtain flashed again. The picture that was originally static and had even begun to dim began to move smoothly again.

In the picture, Angron, whose face was distorted like a demon, reached out his hands at lightning speed and grabbed Khalil Lohars' neck. The veins in his hands popped out, and the strength was so strong that there was no doubt about his murderous intention at this moment.

The victim remained indifferent and did not appear to be very panicked. Then, a golden light suddenly flashed, like a flame, and Angron suddenly howled. He immediately stepped back, and even inserted his hands into the wriggling steel braid on the back of his head.

His face was switching back and forth between madness and pain, shocking everyone who saw it.

【Leave quickly. Angron in the picture lowered his head and breathed hard. 【You must leave】

The man named Khalil Lohars did not answer, half of his body still hidden in the darkness. However, at this moment, the original bodies keenly discovered something was wrong.

Compared to when he was still in Nostramo, he has become too tall, even surpassing many of the Primarchs.

【Let’s go! roll! Get out of here! I don't need your help! 】

[No, you need it. 】

Khalil said, and began to walk slowly, calmly towards the man who not long ago had tried to kill him. Angron roared angrily again, but no matter who it was, he could hear a fear that shouldn't appear in the broken howl.

fear? Why fear?

The Nucerian sighed.

"He was afraid that he would kill him," he said, his tone very dry.

He stared at the picture, his hands clenched unconsciously. He didn't know what would happen next, and for a moment, he didn't even dare to look in the direction of Conrad Coates.

However, what happened next was beyond everyone's expectations.

In the picture, Khalil Lohars did not resist at all when facing Angron who was completely crazy. He even took the initiative to open his hands and welcomed the furious charge full of murderous intent, allowing himself to be firmly grasped by the blood-stained hands.

Then he did just one thing.

He held up the twisted face and gently wiped away the blood under his eyes, as if wiping away tears.

Angron was stunned, he could not understand such a thing. The urging of the Butcher's Nails naturally continued unabated. They drilled and destroyed his brain wantonly, forcing the blood vessels in his forehead to burst.

Fury once again took control of the body. Angron should have clenched his hands and killed Khalil completely. However, this time, his fingers failed to move at all.

Not only that, he couldn't even turn his head. A pair of pale hands pressed on both sides of his cheeks, forcing him to move.

[It’s you again.] The man in the picture spoke in a low voice, his voice was soft, but there was obvious anger boiling and burning in it.

The light curtain went out again.

Leman Russ suddenly uttered a sentence in Fenrisian, fast and lengthy, with a loud voice. Even judging from the expression on his face, this sentence is obviously not a good thing.

Coincidentally, Robert Guilliman also whispered something, and soon, a series of noises sounded throughout the stone room. Everyone seemed to be dissatisfied with this, and among the many Primarchs, only one remained silent.

Why, is it because you don’t want to?

"Why do you always stop when the story is at its most exciting?" Leon El'Jonson asked rather unhappily.

"Maybe it was intentional." Perturabo snorted. "It's just to see how we react."

The voice on the tape chuckled with great amusement.

"I'm not that bored yet. In fact, this is also the request of your only father." It said slowly in a very unpleasant tone. "But what can I do? Although I am a businessman, I am still very honest."

"Our father's will?" Lorgar Aurelion suddenly began to ask seriously. "Mr. Narrator, what did he say?"

Two low laughs came from the videotape, the picture dimmed, and then lit up again.

This time, it was also obvious that it had missed something, because Angron in the picture had already appeared in a rather advanced medical room, with a large blue U-shaped coat of arms shining on the wall.

Robert Guilliman frowned suddenly, with ten million questions in his mind. He even stood up, trying to figure out what was going on. However, the picture did not stop again, but continued to play.

[That was seven months ago, and it was also my sixteenth year in the arena. 】

[I agreed, and then, when I woke up, Oinomouth was already dead. 】

[Four hundred and seventy-one, I killed four hundred and seventy-one people. I only remember that I killed four hundred and seventy-one people. 】

【Judgement. 】

[Sir, my name is Oinomouth, I come from the desert. 】

[My name is Akar, from the forest. 】

[My name is Milkan, from Snow Mountain. 】

[My name is Yanio, I was born in the gladiatorial arena, I am the child of a gladiator. 】

[I am Angron's father. 】

[And me, I was his brother. 】

【Me too. 】

[I am his sister. I died when he was eight years old. 】

[Sir, we are his relatives. He has saved us countless times, in gladiatorial battles and from the punishment of slave owners. He took away our bitter tears and fed us with his own blood. 】

[He obviously has countless opportunities to escape and become a free man, but he would rather stay in the arena just because he doesn't want to see us die. 】

[His kindness caused him to be tortured into a monster. 】

[We have been wandering in this bloody sand pit. I watched him break with my own eyes. We all are like this, my lord. 】

The Nucerian looked at the picture in disbelief. He had lost the ability to speak.

Unlike the man in the picture, he had only stayed in the arena for less than five years and had only been nailed for three months before he was luckily found by the Emperor. However, he did know those illusory souls, each one of them

They were indeed all his relatives.

In fact, they are on Terra right now. They sailed with him to Terra, and this was the only request of the Nucerians.

[Stop it, Angron. We will fight this battle with you. 】

The light curtain slowly went out, again, and again.

"You" the Nucerian stood up angrily, pointed at the videotape, his fingers trembled and he remained silent.

"Oh, believe me, you won't particularly want to read the rest of the story." The voice on the videotape said slowly. "Especially considering your legions are still on their way to meet you."

The Nucerian took a deep breath and spoke very seriously, even bowing slightly.

"I'm asking you to keep playing this, it's important to me."

The video tape was unmoved. It asked, "Who is this story not important to? Look at the speechless man sitting diagonally across from you. He doesn't even have an opinion - oh, I'm sorry."

There was a flash of blue light, and Conrad Coates roared at a deafening volume: "Continue to play!"

"Really?" Video asked suspiciously. "Shouldn't you let me go back to before? Aren't you curious about how Khalil Lohars returned to the real world?"

"Needless to say, this must be my father's great power." Lorgar Aurelion said with great reverence.

He was unaware of the adjective used in the tape, and only a few people were keenly aware of the meaning of that word.

Back to the real world? Perturabo frowned deeply.

"Don't let me say it a third time, you are a machine that should rot in the stinking ditch." Conrad Coates gasped and said through gritted teeth.

"I have indeed been to places like stinking ditches, but they were sewers in a city, and I got into trouble after drinking. Unlike you, little black bat, you grew up in a stinking ditch. ”

Amidst Konrad Curze's howling, Leman Russ suddenly approached the round table seriously.

"Tell the truth, Mr. Narrator," he said slowly. "You know something?"

"What?"

"You are almost more terrible in character than all of us combined." the Fenrisian said in awe.

"Thank you for the compliment, but to refute your slander against me -" the videotape laughed, and the light curtain lit up.

The pictures flashed by so fast that even with the dynamic vision of the original body, there was no way to find any useful information from such rapid speed. After a few seconds, the picture gradually slowed down and became clearly visible, and the sound appeared again.

[Stay alive, Khalil Lohars, the covenant between you and me has not yet burned out. 】

[I am Angron of Nuceria, and I am here to kill you. 】

The image changes, twists, and finally settles on a skeleton lying in front of a trembling midnight ghost. It was completely covered in ashes, emitting green smoke, with no trace of flesh and blood, only pale, endless ashes.

The picture freezes again and goes out.

"How is it?" Video asked expectantly. "My character is not bad at all, right?"