Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

On the tenth or twentieth day of this war, Caliban discovered with some horror that he seemed to have lost part of his perception of time.

He could only be sure, extremely sure: the thirtieth day of the war had not yet come, because Russ and Luther's fleet had not yet appeared in low-Earth orbit. If they had arrived, it was impossible for Morgan not to tell him.

Only this can give the Primarch his tired mind a minimal sense of comfort, and this comfort will bring tremendous strength, supporting him to cross the burning ruins and wade through the stinking blood. Chi, on one heavily armed resistance platform after another in the alien empire, was carrying out monotonous and horrific massacres. Every swing of the sword symbolized the fall of a fortress.

Zhuang Sen raised his head and glanced at the ruins he was walking through: the charred walls were covered with stains, mostly the blood of alien soldiers, but also from human ammunition, and the piles of corpses were randomly The ground was thrown into the corner, some of which were only ashes after plasma burning, while others were rotting and stinking wantonly, attracting groups of insects like flies to buzz, and in the deeper piles of corpses Among them, you can even see the growing mold and corpse spots, as well as the decaying laughter lingering among them that should not appear.

At most half an hour ago, this place was still a busy fortress, with at least 200,000 Randan warriors building a shaky defense line around it. Countless civilians and slaves were either driven away or Trapped in the Dark Angels' bombardment zone.

Jonson spent twenty-five minutes to destroy his own resistance. He was the first to break into the inner wall of the fortress, killed all the alien commanders who could threaten the battle, and then allowed his knights to perform freely.

At the very beginning, the Primarch still had some detailed tactical operations, but after repeating hundreds of indistinguishable offensive operations, even the beasts in the deep forests of Caliban had long since worn away their final skills. patience.

The steel boots belonging to Caliban stepped on these lush jungles of death without hesitation, without any hesitation or mercy. In the past few days, Jonson has been used to these miserable scenes: just like his subordinates Like every Imperial warrior, they have become cold, fearless, numb, and even feel a little bored.

Every hour, they kill at least millions of aliens: a small number of them are warriors who resist tenaciously, and more are alien civilians who flee in panic during the war. Anyway, the emperor's army is too lazy to distinguish the difference. , these Astartes and mortal auxiliaries only loyally carried out the orders of the Primarch, maintaining a deserted and stable channel between the landing point and the front line, and were not even willing to occupy more alien lands.

Such days lasted for ten days, or maybe fifteen days, until the vanguard of the Dark Angels, after destroying another fortress, saw the towering walls of the Alien Palace, and the towers surrounding them, The number of weird altars is outrageous.

"Those altars are almost as high as the palace walls."

Arachos, who rushed back from the front line, reported this to his genetic father. His face, which was accustomed to being resolute, actually showed a little uneasiness, as if he had witnessed the alien Titan Legion before.

But Zhuang Sen didn't care about this, because in the past ten years or so, the Dark Angels had not seen altars in Ran Dan's world, but they had no effect at all: even if they really had any effect, then these involved The power of subspace is not what he is good at.

Having said that, if the Titan Legion of the Randan Empire appeared, it would be an easier thing: the Lord of Caliban had led his army to raze countless alien war beasts, although there were more than two thousand Dark Angels , hundreds of divine machines and knights, as well as countless mortal auxiliary troops, sacrificed their lives for this, but these opponents from the alien empire did not stop him after all.

Just like other alien fanatics, they used all means to block the advance of the First Legion: defense lines, fortresses, overwhelming fighter jets and armored clusters, continuous suicide assaults, deadly poisonous gas that can corrode even buildings, Or maybe it's the erosion circle coming from the depths of subspace...

Over the past few hundred hours, thousands of insane sacrifices had been made in the war against the Imperium of Man, some of which even the most well-informed Terran veterans could not help but marvel at, or even die from. , but just like the nearly depleted Randan reinforcements on the outside of the battle line, nothing can stop the will of the Calibans.

Led by the Dark Angels who were equally tired and crazy like him, Zhuang Sen finally arrived at the foot of the Ran Dan Palace. He coldly wiped out the last resistance and raised the lion sword, officially kicking off the final siege. .

Along with his roar, countless human warriors who had just rested and replenished their energy rushed to the final battlefield. The red and gold double-headed eagle flags were overwhelming, like a whirlpool of flames, burning furiously with them. Advancing was a cluster of steel barrages that obscured the sun. These deadly shells constantly tested the alien palace, causing continuous splashes of water on the ancient defense network, like violent raindrops hitting an ugly pond.

The Primarch stood on the last defeated alien war beast, watching the armies of the Human Empire launch the first wave of attacks on Ran Dan's heart, just like an arrogant king watching his invincible legions. .

I don't know when, Coswayne had already walked to his side: the Lion Controller had just returned from the rear of the battle line, and he brought the good news that the supply line and landing point were still firmly in the hands of the mortal auxiliaries.

"The mortal auxiliaries from Avalon were even better than we expected. They withstood the armored clusters of the Randans and even destroyed hundreds of war beasts. However, their own casualties were also very huge. They were just killed in battle. The number of personnel exceeds 30%.”

There was a hint of worry in the words of the Lion Master, but this worry was not caught by the tired Primarch. Jonson just nodded and ignored the topic: he still had other things to worry about.

"Are Leman Russ and the others here?"

"The vanguard fleet has arrived and is landing under the control of Lord Morgan."

Zhuang Sen was silent for a moment.

"Tell Morgan to dispatch them directly to the landing site closest to Randan Palace, so that the Space Wolves and new forces can join the siege as quickly as possible."

Coswayen was stunned for a moment. He glanced at his genetic father and opened his mouth, as if hesitating on what to say.

The Lion King never looked back.

"If you have anything to say, just say it, Akao."

"Yes, my lord."

"I want to say... in our original plan, shouldn't the Space Wolves Legion and other reinforcements be put into the flexible defensive front at the rear?"

"...Look there, Akao."

The Primarch pointed at the towering walls of the Alien Palace and snorted.

"With our current strength, we can't even complete the siege of this alien nest. Moreover, most of the soldiers under my command have only experienced one rotation in the past ten days. Their spirit and combat status are not as good as before: even if Even those Dawnbreakers whose tasks are not too heavy have also shown obvious signs of fatigue."

"It would be extremely inefficient to carry out the toughest offensive with such a force: although I am not stingy with sacrifices, if the Space Wolves and other new forces are allowed to join this attack on the Alien Palace, it will undoubtedly End this war faster."

"That's true, but..."

Coswayen licked his chapped lips, and glanced at the silent Lion Guards around him, with a few erratic colors flashing in his pupils.

"But it doesn't matter, Akao."

The Lion King took a deep breath.

"Sir, I think I need to remind you of something other than battle: In the past ten days of fierce battles, the warriors under your command, or the Dark Angels, have paid a very heavy price. They have been responsible for attacking The sharpest spearhead of Kairandan, compared to the Dawnbreakers who engage in flanking and harassment, and the mortal auxiliaries who are mainly responsible for guarding the rear, your warriors suffer the highest casualties."

"Especially those knights who are currently on the front line as the main attackers. Most of them have lost more than half of their warriors, and even the knight commanders have been sacrificed here: Intervene in their offensive at this time and let the Space Wolves or others The legion joined the general attack on Ran Dan Palace..."

"Something is wrong..."

Coswayne tried his best to consider his tone. At this moment, he even missed the soldiers of the Dawnbreaker Legion: As early as the eve of the battle line advancing to Randan Palace, there were also many soldiers who suffered a lot of casualties in the war. The sons of Morgan tacitly moved the battle line to avoid the general attack on Randan Palace. Although some Dawnbreakers still joined the final siege, their number was really insignificant and no one cared.

But if you throw in a bunch of newly arrived Space Wolves and other warriors...

Coswayen sighed quietly.

In fact, this problem is not complicated. It is just the word "honor". However, this seemingly illusory thing is already the most cherished expectation of many Dark Angels. However, their original body does not seem to be I understand this very well.

…

The Lion King was right.

The Lord of Caliban stood his sword on the ground. He did not immediately answer his most trusted heir, but quietly observed the battle not far away, observing how the vanguard detachment of the Dark Angels attacked the city wall. Offensive.

After a while, he pointed to the fortress that was burning with gunpowder smoke and spoke.

"You know, Akau: one of my brothers has invaded Ran Dan's palace: even here, I can smell the barbaric and bloody scent on him."

Hearing this, the Lion Manager raised his head in shock, and when he saw the indifferent smile on Lord Caliban's face, his astonishment instantly climbed several levels.

The lion's tone was as calm as describing a bullet.

"What do you think I'll do, A'kao: Angry? Mad? Angry at having the honor of being the first to be taken away? Calling my brother a despicable thief?"

"Although that's what he is."

"but……"

Zhuang Sen smiled, showing his teeth.

"Actually, at the beginning, I was looking forward to my reaction, but in fact, when I found out that Conrad was really inside, my first thought was actually worried about the safety of that bastard, and the second The second thought is to look forward to what role he can play."

"As for the so-called honor... maybe there is a little bit, maybe it is in my consideration and desire, but they are so thin that even I can't be sure of their existence."

The Primarch turned around, patted the still dazed Lion Master on the shoulder, and used a contemptuous snort to express his indifference to the topic they were discussing.

"Coswayne, my warrior."

"You've made a huge mistake: you, or anyone else, should never have aspired to glory, or anything else, from this war in the first place."

"Just like the war we experienced more than ten years ago, no one cares about it now. The war we are fighting now is destined to be a war that will be forgotten. Even those who are fighting on this land today Soldiers, most of them, will also forget their struggles and sacrifices in this world."

"This is something that has been decided from the beginning: no one will remember our sacrifices and lament our efforts. All our bravery and achievements are destined to be hidden in the darkness. Even our successors can only You can get a glimpse of it in secret documents, or even forget it completely.”

"That's a given."

"On the other hand, if I really wanted to gain glory from this war, then I would not have taken over its baton at all: because this is a false proposition, a Babel that can never be completed. tower."

"We are not fighting on this alien land for honor or anything else. What supports every Dark Angel to fight to the death should be something more noble, something that we already have."

"...What is that, my lord?"

Coswayen breathed deeply. He stared at the body of the Primarch, feeling as if he didn't understand his father at all: this was simply a huge dereliction of duty.

Zhuang Sen didn't seem to be more enthusiastic about this answer. He waved his hand and once again witnessed the battle ahead, seeming to be thinking about the appropriate time to intervene.

After a while, a deep Caliban accent delivered the answer to Coswayne's ears.

——————

"loyalty."

"My warrior."

"Loyalty is the only reward."

——————

"..."

"..."

"I'm actually quite curious."

"What is it that supports you to accomplish such a ridiculous feat?"

"Loyalty? Madness? Paranoia? Or downright hatred?"

The voice of the midnight ghost arrived before his figure. After all, he still needed to deal with several guards in the corridor before officially opening the door to the top floor.

The Nostramo elegantly took off the head of the last opponent. He came to the door with intricate patterns carved on it. What hit him was the bloody smell that could sweep the entire corridor: this smell even made people feel sad. Conrad felt a sense of homecoming.

He pushed the door open and walked in. The dim lights and strange furnishings that came into his field of vision were casually ignored. The pupils from Nostramo shone brightly in the darkness. They were wide enough to accommodate a knight. The mecha kept searching in the room and quickly locked its target.

The high priest of Ran Dan, it was standing at the highest point of the altar, looking haggard, but its figure was tall and straight, revealing an indescribable weirdness. When its vision focused on the Primarch that rashly broke in, The nominal supreme ruler of Ran Dan was not surprised at all.

It spoke in fluent Gothic.

"I foresaw your coming, human, long before this war began."

"..."

Midnight Ghost grinned and smiled. He turned around, closed the door in a polite manner, and rubbed his bloody steel boots on the floor at the door before placing the alien head in his hand. On the display cabinet beside it, he walked calmly to the bottom of the steps.

"Can you also predict?"

The Primarch's tone sounded more like a joke.

"If so, then please accept my sympathy for you, but since you are about to escape this terrible fate, my sympathy will not be too much."

"..."

"I don't have the ability to predict: if I had, the war would never have evolved to what it is today, but as a spellcaster who is familiar with subspace energy, I can clearly feel that just in low-Earth orbit, There is a powerful spellcaster of your kind, and she must be able to feel the strange movement here."

"And you are the thug she sent."

"..."

"Please call me Champion Swordsman, thank you."

Conrad raised a finger and expressed his dissatisfaction quite seriously.

Randan's high priest made a heavy hum. It quietly watched the Primarch step up the steps without much panic: just like the pace of the Midnight Ghost, it was actually not too fast, or even considered fast. It's slow.

Both of them seemed more interested in this endless conversation.

The Nostramo man reached about a hundred steps and stopped, the smile on his face still not dissipating.

"To be honest: when I heard that you could speak Gothic so fluently, although I had foreseen it, I still had to express my surprise: I had never seen someone like you before. Alien."

The face of the high priest was like deep water.

"I am committed to revitalizing my race and learning everything I need to do so, even if it is knowledge about my sworn enemy. Long before this war began, I was able to read every book on humanity I could find. Books.”

"sharp."

Midnight Ghost clapped his hands and showed an ironic smile.

"You are even more civilized than one of my beast brothers."

"However, I still want to say: knowledge and wisdom are two different things. A well-educated teacher may not be infallible, and a smart person who can navigate his own life may not necessarily be well-read."

"Your knowledge doesn't seem to bring you wisdom, your lord, the alien bastard."

The Nostramo's eyes swept over the strange-shaped altars beside him. When he saw the four carefully carved thrones on those altars, the sarcasm on his face was even more dazzling than the noon sun. .

"How ironic, isn't it."

The Primarch chuckled.

"My brother, the brother who is good for nothing except war, is just twenty kilometers away, leading all his legions and killing at all costs. The killing lasted for more than ten days, and the butcher knife was It befalls your people again and again.”

"But despite this, compared to the Ran Dan alien you are going to kill later, his record is so pale. He waved the butcher knife countless times and issued orders, and fired thousands of artillery shells, but it was nothing more than You have killed at most billions of aliens, and you, as a dying guy, only need to recite a spell that no one can understand, and you can harvest more Randan people than you can count."

"The Ministry of Military Affairs should award you a Randan Friend Medal in recognition of your contribution."

"But if you think about it carefully, such a joke seems to have a basis in reality: any intelligent creature can only explode with real lethality when fighting among itself. After all, wars against foreign races are mostly based on interests and survival."

"The killing of compatriots is due to jealousy, hatred, madness..."

"And stupidity."

Smiling, Midnight Ghost slowly crossed the 200th step. He looked at the ruler of Ran Dan a hundred meters away, with a sarcastic smile on his face: just like how the high priest of Ran Dan looked at him. The same.

At the speed of the Primarch, such a distance did not even take a second, but Conrad walked very cautiously. Whenever he advanced a hundred steps, he came to the middle of a pile of countless small altars. When he reached the area, he would stop solemnly, almost brewing the power of resistance in his heart.

Such a move did not escape the eyes of High Priest Ran Dan. He smiled and spit out crazy flames from his withered throat.

"You know, human."

"You can't stop me."

"The ritual began ten years ago as you know it, and the last step was officially launched in at least one day: you can't stop this power, you can't stop my rituals and summons, you can't stop me Put a curse upon the heads of your race."

"From the beginning, you, the vanguard sent to stop me, could not succeed."

"When this war began, when your first troops stepped onto our sacred main star, you failed, because all the firefights, all the sacrifices, and even the war itself were for Let the ceremony go smoothly."

"This is what war is about."

"..."

"..."

"Ah, indeed."

Conrad nodded sincerely.

He didn't look surprised, and even his smile was a little sincere.

"However, I would like to remind you something, Mr. Alien Bastard."

"I'm not a pioneer."

"I'm just a... spectator."