Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes

Unlike the political storm that was brewing on Terra, Calvin left this place of right and wrong with ease after everything was done.

Shortly after the Imperial Fists' emissary left, a temporarily promoted academy official paid an enthusiastic visit to Calvin's residence. With his diligent help, Calvin and his party finally completed the mission of this trip.

They met the 150 students on the original list at a prepared playground in the college, many of them.

Yes, a lot. After much consideration, Calvin made a special suggestion to the official from the academy to take the young Sutherland, who should have been implicated in the foolish behavior of his father and brother, and whose future was bleak, out of the temporary prison of the Psychic Seminary. .

Without any further pause, Calvin, who did not want to cause further trouble and was eager to return to life, sent the predetermined signal to the orbit, and the Gray Knight strike cruiser, which was already on standby in the orbit, also responded quickly.

Three Thunderhawk assault boats appeared from the sky in a formation and quickly landed on the spacious apron of the Psychic Seminary.

Under Calvin's order, the paladins divided the students into two teams and each brought two Thunderhawk assault boats.

And he himself led the remaining paladins and boarded the last ship of the Thunder Eagles with the most special student in this recruitment.

Just like when they arrived, after a brief air traffic control application was passed, the Thunderhawks started at full speed, and with the roar of their huge engines, they took their masters and flew towards their home in space. Only the college official who was in a good mood because of his unexpected promotion was left. The figure in a brand new red robe became smaller and smaller as the horizon moved away.

The Thunderhawk's engine was still roaring, and Calvin sat in his seat and quietly thought about his experience on this trip.

Although I was unable to see the leader of the Forbidden Army and the newly appointed lord of the Tribunal, I had a vague feeling that the whole matter was handled a little too smoothly.

Calvin recalled the scene at that time. Almost not long after the imperial noble appeared, the power from the Forbidden Army and the Inquisition had already dealt with him.

This kind of coincidence and kindness that someone handed him a pillow just after he fell asleep was not a good thing in Calvin's eyes. If you want to take it first, you must give it first.

What kind of price needs to be paid to balance unwarranted goodwill is something that Calvin cannot know and control.

In hindsight, Calvin, who was at the center of the conflict, functioned little more than an executive-level officer.

At that moment, he was just a chess piece in the entire chess game. Apart from some special functions, his essence was no different.

This huge gap of involuntary fate made him clearly realize that Terra at this time was not his stage.

It is still far from the time when he takes over the entire battle group and related forces and truly competes with all forces on the chess table.

Calvin, who wanted to understand this, no longer struggled with this experience. He just wanted to savor and remember this feeling of losing control.

Only in this way can he always remind himself: If he does not want to hypocritically deceive himself as just a warrior, but only wants to fulfill his mission and obligations from the side of pure force.

Then he must understand that the political game has its own rules. The method of violently terminating the physical presence of the other party is most effective when no action is taken.

How to maximize the use of the deterrence caused by violence to guide others or certain groups to make the changes and results they want is what truly shows his toughness.

In such a struggle, killing is undoubtedly the simplest, most brutal, and at the same time the most incompetent way to do it.

Simple killing not only lowers the evaluation of one's ability as a decision-maker and makes allies less able to trust oneself, but also leaves a mess with no one to clean up the situation. And such consequences are not what he wants to see.

At the heart of Terra, the human empire, every seemingly small functional department is like a blood vessel in the heart, involving every aspect of the entire empire.

For the people here, every simple and crude treatment is irresponsible to the entire empire; every vacancy caused by the transfer of power that is not within the rules may eventually amplify into a certain direction of the empire's response under the chain reaction. devastating loss.

A batch of supplies that are not delivered in time will affect the outcome of a battle, and then affect the ownership of a galaxy or even a sector;

A batch of food that fails to be delivered will affect the life and death of a hive world, and then affect the recruitment process of a certain war group scheduled a hundred years ago;

An order that fails to arrive will affect the policy direction of a sector for decades to come, and thus affect hundreds of millions of people.

These are all Calvin's thoughts while sitting in the Thunder Eagle on his way home.

The soul in his body from the Eastern peoples in his previous life has an understanding of the feelings of family and country that the people of the Warhammer World who evolved from the laws of the forest cannot understand.

He may not love a specific person, but he is willing to use everything he has to love the country represented by this race. This may also be the biggest similarity between him and the man on the throne.

Some people deserve to die in Calvin's eyes, but cannot die, and Calvin can only condone their existence before the time comes;

Some people did not deserve to die in his eyes, but he could only watch them die. When the fate of this country was tied to the outcome of a certain war, even if he wanted to take his own life, Calvin could only Watch them leave.

Such an essential difference in values ​​​​dooms him to not being understood by many people in this empire.

And this also indicates that one day in the future, when he finally walks out of the protection of his predecessors and becomes a chess player holding the pieces, he will be destined to embark on a path that may not be understood by others.

This kind of thinking is beneficial and a norm that accompanies him throughout his life.

This kind of thinking about the internal direction of the empire will make him no longer satisfied with being a good politician or a ruler who is well versed in power and conspiracy. His mission is to be a founder and leader who can guide the direction of the entire empire, change the current low efficiency and outdated management structure of the empire from top to bottom, and then become a pioneer and leader in governing the world.

This is not a goal that can be achieved in a short time. Even under the observation of external alien forces and subspace, it is no less difficult to be able to make such a degree of change in the empire amidst the endless wars and conspiracies. A heart transplant without extracorporeal circulation.

And Calvin, who aspired to become a doctor in this ancient empire, also had to face such a bad situation without a period of peace for repair and peaceful transition of power. This will be a big test for him. (Don’t imitate the protagonist, studying medicine won’t save the empire. That’s enough waaaaaah!)

Calvin woke up from his meditation, calmed down, and looked at the paladins around him.

These lovely comrades also seemed to know the meaning of the seemingly simple but actually complicated experiences on this trip to Calvin.

They stood in their positions with breathless concentration, and there was not even a trace of a word in the bustling psychic channel in the past.

No one wanted to interrupt this young man's thinking, because he was given too many heavy hopes.

And there wasn't much they could do. Apart from defending his safety with their lives, the only thing left was to keep him quiet when he needed to think.

When he woke up from his thoughts, the atmosphere in the entire cabin slowly became active.

Calvin turned his head and looked at the opposite side. As the candidate with the best statistics among the students this time and the most special status, he was sitting opposite the group of giants with a slight uneasiness.

There were still traces of panic and anger on the young man's handsome and delicate face.

But after the "forced" silence after boarding the Thunder Eagle, he wanted to understand something and began to observe everything around him with a strange indifferent attitude.

"Do you hate me?" This was the first thing Calvin asked after watching the other person quietly for several minutes.

And the giants around him, after hearing these words, looked at the young man opposite with what seemed to be cold but actually gossipy eyes.

The young man shrank instinctively under the crowd of angels, but his good upbringing allowed him to quickly get rid of this ineffective behavior that was not helpful.

He straightened his thoughts and said solemnly to the tallest man among the angels in front of him:

"Hate? I don't hate it either."

"Oh? Tell me." Calvin was a little curious about what was going on in the other person's little head, and this also related to whether the "human favor" he paid when the other party's family was dealt with could be reciprocated.

"I think I should hate you, because you are the reason why my father's family was defeated. But my father told me since I was a child that my mission is to become an angel, and serving the Emperor is my greatest value. My life It also exists for this reason, and it saved me from a fate that was about to fail.”

The young man looked at this unique angel in front of him with some confusion. On the one hand, the destruction of his family made the young man unable to treat Calvin indifferently, even though he knew it was not his fault; on the other hand, it was this same angel who saved him from living as an Astartes candidate for 13 years. life. If after the destruction of his family, the meaning of his life was also destroyed, he couldn't imagine what his fate would be.

"Then will you seek revenge from me? For example, on the battlefield, if I was shot in the back?" Calvin continued to ask, and in conjunction with the words in his mouth, he made a shooting gesture. .

He felt satisfied with the other person's character. And he couldn't tolerate such an outstanding seedling being destroyed just because of the selfish desires of his father and brother. Maybe he will eventually challenge him because of his family's hatred, but until then, let this child contribute to the Empire and the Emperor the loyalty he should give back to the Empire with the huge resources he has received since childhood, which is what Calvin wants. Things to like to see.

You may hate me, but you must still be loyal to this empire. Because it is he who gave you a prosperous life and favorable material conditions. This is also Calvin’s fundamental position on this matter.

"I will not do anything to harm the honor of my family! Even if it no longer exists! Even if I am the only one left, the honor of Sutherland cannot be slandered! I will do it after becoming a holy Astartes , launch honorary revenge against you! ...Even if I die, it is the result I deserve!"

The young man was successfully irritated by Calvin's language, and the second half of the other man's words completely penetrated the disguise given to him by his aristocratic upbringing.

With a red face, he loudly vented the anger in his heart to Calvin. Even in the end, he realized the hopelessness of revenge, but the honor from his family still gave him the confidence to accept a glorious death.

Calvin smiled, and the true side of the other party was clearly revealed under his spiritual perception:

"A cub with hatred but excellent nature will obviously grow faster and more motivated than others. This is what he wants. As for revenge? Let's talk about it one day."

He looked at the young man in front of him and said with a smile:

"Good! I remember you. If, and I mean if, you do become an Astartes, then I welcome your vengeance anytime, anywhere. Now, tell me your name."

"Calvin! Calvin de Sutherland!" The boy said his name loudly.

But it was different from the scene of ridicule or recognition he expected. After he said his name, what he got was a sudden silence in the entire cabin.

The paladins looked at each other, and then finally looked at Calvin, who was originally smiling but now looked a little stiff. The latter also managed to maintain his expression after his brain shut down for a few seconds. He said to the "little Calvin" in front of him:

"Very well, I am waiting for your revenge. But before that, you are only our reserve force."

He looked around, and before reaching Titan, he didn't want to have any more communication with the little guy who had the same name as him. He pointed to Gavins who was watching the excitement and said:

"Come on, it's you! You are responsible for bringing this little guy to the fifth company!"

After hearing the instructions, Gavins stood up from the crowd helplessly. He said to the little guy in front of him: "From now on, you, follow me. Well, you can call me Brother Gavins." ”

"Yes! What about him? Also called Brother Zhan?" After accepting the order from the other party, little Sutherland pointed his finger at his enemy - Calvin who was touching his nose.

"Him? Well...he is different. You should call me sir first." Gavins said, almost suppressing a smile.