40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 83 81. The battle for adamantine ore (3k)

Lucretius Corvo did not answer Khalil Lohars' words immediately.

He knew a lot about politics, but his knowledge about fine gold was limited, but it was enough. He also knew a lot about war. In fact, he was born for war. Politics and urban planning and governance were rather learned things, and during his first years as an Astartes, he was a living machine, operating solely to kill.

He knew a lot, but he knew nothing about Khalil Lohars.

He knew his name, he knew his identity, but beyond that?

Don't know anything.

Looking at those calm eyes, Corvo didn't know how to answer for a moment. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this issue must be treated with caution.

The silence lasted for a full two minutes. A hollow echo came from the far end of the dark corridor. The pipes in the walls of the Nightfall were rumbling. The machines were operating smoothly, doing their usual job without wavering. , without hesitation, remain absolutely rational.

They are rational because they have no understanding.

This thought flashed through Corvo's mind, and in the next second, Khalil Lohars spoke slowly, interrupting Corvo's tense and orderly thinking.

His voice was as calm as ever, and although he was much taller than Corvo, his attitude during the conversation did not seem domineering.

"Don't take it too seriously, Corvo, I just asked a question." He said calmly. "You don't have to think about it in political terms or be overly cautious. Like I said, it's just a question."

"A question that could involve many things, Instructor Khalil."

"Are you going to be business-like? Well, Captain Lucretius Corvo - let's take this seriously. You've read the papers, haven't you?"

"Yes," Corvo replied seriously. "I've got an idea of ​​Nostramo's adamantine production, and frankly, I can hardly believe it."

"Can't believe what?"

"."

Lucretius Corvo's first instinct is to lie - he doesn't want to tell the truth, which often doesn't sound good and can easily make people angry. At the same time, he was also annoyed by the words he just blurted out.

However, looking at those dark and calm eyes, he could not convince himself to lie.

There was nothing in the eyes he was looking into but an almost unbearable calmness. This calmness cut open his heart like a sharp knife, carefully searching for traces of lies.

And if you still want to heal the wound on your heart, you'd better tell the truth.

Corvo clenched his hands.

"I can't believe that a cursed planet like Nostramo can actually have such rich deposits of fine gold." He said solemnly.

"indeed so."

Khalil smiled gently, and the calmness that was almost indifferent before disappeared without a trace. "It's really hard for people to believe and even hard for people to understand. And if you ask me, I would say it's like an accumulation of misfortunes."

"I don't know what you mean," Corvo replied stiffly.

He really didn't understand.

"The instructor is the limit of what I can endure, Captain Corvo."

The smile on Khalil's face disappeared briefly at this moment.

"So, it's better not to use honorifics. I respect you."

Corvo was stunned. It was difficult for his common sense to connect respect with not using honorifics. According to human common sense and his common sense, if you respect a person, you should call him or her by their honorific title.

Before he could answer this sentence, Khalil had already changed the subject.

“An accumulation of misfortunes.”

Khalil shook his head calmly as he spoke.

"Let me be clear up front, Captain Corvo. You can treat what I'm about to say as a not-so-funny joke."

"After all, I've always had a terrible sense of humor."

He grinned. This smile was different from all the smiles before. It looked extremely threatening, as if someone was being suffocated by a spinning chain sword slowly approaching his neck.

"To me, Nostramo's huge production of fine gold seems like a kind of revenge for the accumulated misfortunes of the people who died in vain."

"Don't you think that's ironic?"

Khalil asked with a chuckle. "This planet treated its people cruelly, and its unremembered people retaliated against it with blood and life-congealed ore, leaving it over-exploited and leaving it an empty shell."

"."

Lucretius Corvo didn't know how to answer. The birth of adamantium and blood have nothing to do with human life, and he knows this.

To be fair, the tone used by Khalil Lohars when telling the joke was quite gentle, and could even be called as leisurely as a small talk. But Corvo didn't find it funny, and it was even difficult to breathe as if someone had pressed a heavy object on his spine.

Suddenly, he remembered the experience of being buried by collapsed rubble during a certain battle. Even with the protection of power armor, he would never say it was a good experience.

The heaviness at this moment was even greater than that of the huge collapsed building.

"It seems I really don't have a sense of humor." Khalil shook his head. "That's not a funny joke, is it?"

".I don't think that was a joke, Instructor Khalil."

"For you, no. For me, no. But for some people on Nostramo, yes."

".Those so-called nobles?"

"They are the nobles," Khalil corrected.

"I want to deny this, but I can't deny the objective fact, Corvo. No matter how much we despise, dislike or even hate them, they are nobility. They were a long time ago. And nobility has always been a hereditary system. Isn’t it?”

"So—" he gestured. "——Power and strength are indeed a kind of poison."

The corners of Lucretius Corvo's eyes twitched. How could he not hear this subtle reminder? However, after a brief silence, what surged in his heart was not retreat, but an almost furious dissatisfaction.

"Your hint makes no sense!" He frowned and said the sharpest words in the most peaceful manner in his life. "There is no way we can do what you imagine!"

Staring calmly, again.

At this moment, for Corvo, Khalil Lohars' expressionless face in silence can even be regarded as a terrible threat.

He didn't know why he had this thought, but an instinct welling up from deep in his bones told him not to look away.

Make eye contact with him.

After half a minute, Khalil smiled.

"Then, I apologize," he said gently and sincerely. "I hope you can forgive me, Captain Lucretius Corvo."

".Are you always like this?" Corvo replied in an angry voice with a vague desire for revenge. "The temptation is simply too much to bear."

"Testing. That's an interesting thing to say. I wouldn't call it testing. In fact, we were just chatting, weren't we?"

Khalil blinked at him. "Who can deny that this was just a small talk? I was joking."

"If anyone could laugh at that joke, I would question their morality."

Khalil chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, let's talk business," he said softly. "You can see that we have no intention of hiding anything about Nostramo's gold reserves, Lucretius, can't you?"

"That's true, but I don't understand what it means."

"You understand." Khalil smiled slightly. "A completely duty-free trade route, of course you understand what I'm talking about, Lucretius."

".This matter is of great importance. I'm afraid I can't make a decision on my own."

Lucretius Corvo licked his lips discreetly - he would not hide his desire, there was no need.

If someone says they don't need fine gold, that's a complete lie. Who doesn't need it? Battleship keel, Titan skeleton. Who doesn’t need it? But because of this, he must be extremely careful.

Nostramo is not an ordinary trading planet. It is the home planet of the Primarch Konrad Curze. According to tradition, in the future, it will also become the recruiting ground for the Eighth Legion.

From here on, if someone wants to trade with Nostramo, it is no longer a simple business act.

and

"It could take years to establish a trade route with Macragge, Khalil."

he said cautiously. "The distance between Nostramo and Macragge is not that far if you look at the entire empire. Moreover, I have no authority in this matter."

"I understand - of course this matter needs to be decided by the Lord of Macragge."

"It's best to understand nature."

Corvo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Based on the current situation, the best idea is that we return to Macragge in five years and bring the news back. Or let the next logistics fleet that comes for supplies bring the news back. In short, This thing still takes time, just like it takes time to mine a fine gold mine, doesn’t it?”

"Actually, Lucretius, we have already stocked up on a considerable amount of adamantine ore." Kalil said noncommittally. "And today's conversation is actually not entirely out of my own wishes."

Lucretius Corvo frowned sharply.

"Yes, it's what you think." Khalil nodded gently. "I was ordered by Konrad Curze, the Lord of the Eighth Legion, to come here to discuss this matter with you."

He chuckled, as if he had made another joke inadvertently, but looking into those eyes, Corvo knew that he had not.

Yes, he didn't.

There’s one more chapter—or two.