Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

Zahariel arrived slower than Morgan expected.

When the three primarchs and their personal guards met on the bridge, the Dark Angels' fighter plane stumbled into the hangar of the Endurance. Zahariel, dusty and tired, faced Morgan who greeted him. Apologize.

"There was a riot among the mortal crew on the battleship. Some of them mutated while passing through the storm. The scale was not small. I had to use a punishment method of sitting together to eliminate all the people involved, so I wasted some time."

Zahariel explained quickly, with a calm tone, as if he was telling a very ordinary thing. When his last words slowly fell to the ground, Morgan had already brought him to the bridge, far away. Yes, they saw Garo standing at the door of the conference room.

The battle captain of the Death Guard seemed to be the one responsible for the bridge's defense. He stood at the only entrance to the room, surrounded by a group of silent warriors. When Morgan approached, Garro stopped her and pretended to check. With.

Through eye contact and the voice coming from the room, Morgan instantly understood what Garrow meant.

Now, don't go in there yet.

And at the moment she understood, the angry voice of the Pale King came from the room.

——————

"What do you think! Horus!"

"Let a wizard! Become our equal? ​​Let her sit with us in this meeting? Do you know what you are talking about?"

The angry and vicious voice of King Barbarus wandered around the room, crackling on everyone's armor. Mortarion breathed rapidly, even the Barbarus gas he had specially saved was accompanied by As his doubts continued to spread, some characters standing in the corner, such as Abaddon, could not help but frown.

But those characters who really stood in the core area of ​​the room, such as Horus, Jaghatai and their cronies: Sejames and Talihutai-Yesugei, greeted all this with expressionless faces. Underneath the same calm face are different thoughts.

Horus sat on one side of a finely crafted round table, with his two original brothers on both sides. Opposite him, there was a fourth chair. It was empty and was obviously reserved. To someone: This is why the Lord of the Fourteenth Legion is so furious.

"Horus, my brother, I have always respected you, your wisdom, your rationality, your strength, your majesty, but I also believe that this respect is based on the mutual respect between you and me. Yes, it is not a meaningless contribution, nor a worthless loyalty, it is a friendship, a great relationship based on the resonance of reason and wisdom!"

"And now, on the [Endurance], on the battleship that belongs to me! I don't want to hear words like those just now. That wizard of the First Legion, the vicious banshee raised by Jonson, who is she?" What qualifications do you have to sit with us and discuss war matters!"

Mortarion was roaring, with surprising anger and stubbornness. Only a small part of this vicious fire was because of the wizard who disgusted him so much, and more of the reasons were directed at Horus: He brother, the person he most trusted and admired, and the words that had just been spoken from the mouth of the Wolf Shepherd, which trampled on the dignity and bottom line of the Lord of Death.

Yes, trample.

Although the Wolf God only asked in a humble tone about the possibility of having the silver-haired representative of the First Legion sit with them, this did not prevent Mortarion from considering this inquiry as enough to The unreasonable declaration that their friendship was completely broken: sitting on his battleship with a wizard who had completely humiliated him?

Horus could have found another reason to fight him.

Horus was silent. He quietly felt Mortarion's anger. He neither showed any annoyance nor planned to answer it. After all, the Lord of Death's question was too sharp. No matter how he answered, it would be useless. It may cause cracks in the relationship between the two.

But the Shepherd God was not without any plan.

Because at the moment Mortarion's rage lit up the room, the Eagle Lord sitting across from him also opened his eyes.

[Your vicious attitude towards psykers makes me uneasy. My brothers, and especially my son, will have to fight alongside your warriors for the rest of time. 】

[My storm prophets, many of them are warriors with psychic powers. They are destined to follow me to participate in the battle, and will also appear in the vision of you and your warriors. Your words can't help but make me worry. Welcome Will theirs be the aid of friendly forces, or the sickle of resentment? 】

Khan's words were like rain and dew on a sultry summer night, breaking through the aura of anger surrounding the room in an instant. The Lord of Death also turned his head and no longer looked at the Wolf Shepherd God.

Seeing this scene, Horus's eyes flashed with light: Before this, the Wolf Shepherd had seriously thought about how to bridge the relationship between the two members of his small circle, but in this battle , Horus also slowly became certain.

Eagle Khan and the Lord of Death may appreciate each other on another level, but the differences between them in various fields are far beyond what this appreciation can make up for.

Jaghatai and Mortarion may never be friends: in that case, let him, Horus, find something to his advantage in their conflict.

Mortarion smiled, a taunting laugh full of sneer and cold anger. He looked at his brother and cast a look of disdain from his sunken pupils.

"Don't play these word games with me, Jaghatai. If you are really worried about those smart boys under your command, then tell them to be quiet and find a place to hide and escape from this war. Isn't that what you are good at?" Of?"

Khan snorted, but he did not show even a trace of anger because of his brother's strange aura. Instead, this made Mortarion fall into a deeper resentment. He slapped the table, stood up, and stood in front of his body. pour.

"If you want to know my attitude, my brother, then I can tell you, in the most straightforward terms: no matter what happens in the future, I will never tolerate any wizards and their dirty tricks. Considering the blood relationship between you and me, allowing your so-called prophets to walk around in front of my eyes is already my greatest tolerance!"

[On behalf of my son, I thank you for your generosity, Lord of Death~]

Mortarion smiled, the purest sneer. His anger slowly diminished with his laughter, until he crossed his hands on his chest and treated his brother with an extremely arrogant tone.

"Don't tell me a riddle here. You, a Chogoris, I don't believe you can't see that with the pace of the expedition, sooner or later all wizards will... This is the will, the will from above us. If If you haven't adapted to it yet, Chagatai, I suggest you adapt to it as soon as possible. This galaxy is not your Chogoris, where you can be a carefree king on the warm grasslands."

"The future will come sooner or later, Jaghatai, either adapt or surrender. There will always be things that disappear with our conquest, because they are blasphemous, evil, and have no room for survival in a rational country."

"You'd better adapt to all this. If you really care about your descendants, then don't let them become the group destined to disappear. Don't let them go too far on these roads with no future."

[Cygoris is never warm, Mortarion, and I have little interest in the future. Living the present is a difficult and interesting challenge. 】

Mortarion chuckled lightly and said nothing more. He sat down. There was no longer much anger. In his new round of words, there was only a kind of indifferent sarcasm, but he also had Reason, and a kind of exhortation full of Barbarus flavor.

"You will understand, Jaghatai, you will understand one day. There are those inherently evil and filthy things in the galaxy. They do not deserve any sympathy and pity. The only energy that needs to be spent on them is Complete destruction and cleansing.”

"Wizards, any wizards, are not worthy of mercy. Maybe those warriors behind you who are proficient in magic look calm and rational, but because they are around you, your strength and blood are reminding them all the time. Stay humble."

"But there are so many people like you and me in the galaxy, and those wizards are like dirty stars. There are so many that I can't kill them all. Do you know how many witchcraft overlords and aliens I have encountered? How many galaxies and worlds have they poisoned? And how much price have my descendants paid to eliminate these species?"

"You will understand when you actually join this expedition and witness your legions and descendants bleeding in front of these dirty wizards."

"Wizards, any wizards, are not worthy of mercy. They are addicted to the huge power without warning, and the darkness in their hearts is also seduced, and their rationality and kindness disappear, or they never truly realize it at all. existed, they were a stain on the galaxy."

"Don't try to understand or forgive any wizard, because every one of them is born guilty - without exception! Because this power itself is filth!"

[No power is inherently evil, Mortarion. At least, I haven't encountered one yet. 】

"Then you need to be more knowledgeable. After all, being ignorant is not something to be proud of."

[Maybe, my brother, but I have learned enough in life so far. The cold wind and life and death on the grassland have taught me some truths, and I have benefited a lot to this day. 】

"for example?"

【For example...】

The Primarch of the Fifth Legion leaned on his chair. Perhaps because he was infected by Mortarion's words just now, Khan spoke more than usual.

[A loyal dog gave birth to two offspring. One grew up around the camp, following its mother and owner. It followed the footsteps of the horse during the day and rested by the fire at night. A few years later, it became a sheep. Defender of the pack, any hunter’s dream companion. 】

[And the other one, it lives in the wilderness, the cold wind is its comfort, and the carrion is its food. It witnesses the fighting and hatred between wild beasts, and learns the skills of survival. When it grows in death , it naturally became a sleepless nightmare for all shepherds. 】

[And at this time, when you go back to the time when they were born, when they were still clinging to each other in their mother's arms, how can you determine which one is the loyal and fierce hound? Which one is the bloodthirsty jackal? 】

[What shapes the wolf is never the sharp claws, nor the mouth full of sharp teeth, nor the so-called bloodline and nature. 】

[It is the hunger in the belly, the experience of killing, and the heart that has been tempered to be extremely greedy, extremely brutal, and extremely dirty. 】

[No power is born dirty, my brother. 】

[In your eyes, a low whisper can kill a soldier, but can't a precise explosive bomb do the same? 】

[A psyker can enslave a world, but can't a cunning tyrant do the same? 】

[A magical storm can disrupt a star sector. Can't a group of well-equipped bandits do the same? 】

[Yes, Mortarion, my stubborn brother, we have killed countless wizarding aliens and overlords, but is it really the pure psychic energy that shaped them and made their rule so stable? 】

[No, Mortarion. 】

[It is chaos, it is ignorance, it is the most powerful killing weapon controlled by a barbaric and greedy heart, and it is the countless people who rely on these tyrants to help others. 】

【It’s this burning galaxy. 】

Chagatai's words ended with this short affirmation, and his voice turned into a remnant, echoing in the room for a long time.

Yesugei stood behind his genetic father, his head lowered so that no one could see his expression clearly.

Horus and Sejames maintained expressions of neither sorrow nor joy. They might have learned something from this, or they might have already known it.

Typhons hid his face under his helmet, while Abaddon, who was farther away, just tilted his head, listening to the original body's words. After not hearing much, his head turned to the other side.

Opposite Khan, Mortarion's pupils were hidden in the shadows, his breathing had become steady, and the poisonous gas of Barbarus no longer bothered the surrounding guards.

He was quiet for a few seconds.

"You can't convince me, Jaghatai."

[I know, and I don’t care. 】

[After all, that is Horus’ job. 】

Before Khan finished speaking, he saw that the Wolf Shepherd had stood up: he had been waiting for this moment, waiting for his brothers to return to the calm platform.

[Well, Mortarion, my toughest brother, I apologize for my offensive remarks just now. 】

Mortarion raised his head and looked at Horus: he had already walked over and placed his warm palm on the Pale King's shoulder.

"You still decided to let that wizard in? Horus?"

[I will not make new mistakes, my brother, but you have to know that whether it is the wizard or the Dark Angel, what I care about is never them, but the First Legion behind them. 】

[They were able to come in and sit with us because they represented the First Army's participation in this battle, not because I favored them. 】

He lowered his head, close to Mortarion's ear, as if the rising poisonous gas did not affect him at all.

When he spoke, it was a soft whisper.

[Mortarion, my brother, my ideals have always been there, so I know it all too well. 】

[What qualifications do they have to compare with you? The only one who can be mentioned with you is the entire First Legion. 】

Then, the Wolf Shepherd straightened his back again, looked at Abaddon in the distance, and gave his order.

[Let them come in, let Zahariel and the others come in, and tell them that I have reserved a place for Zahariel, the representative of the First Legion, and Ms. Morgan can also listen to this strategic meeting - they will understand me. discursive. 】

Of course he would understand, Horus thought to himself. Although the conversation with Morgan did not yield any more information, it at least confirmed to him that the [Soul Drinker] was not a fussy person.

In this, he was very much like her.

Sure enough, after the identity of the person seated changed, Mortarion's last bit of anger finally dissipated. He closed his eyes again, and an almost nonchalant whisper flowed between his lips and teeth.

"Horus..."

"I hope this isn't a lie on your part."