Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Let's talk about [Lions]."

"Have you seen him?"

"I saw him once, and he made me feel as terrifying as a man-eating beast god."

——————

Sergeant Latobis of the 23rd Kranos Infantry Regiment was guarding a nearly abandoned trench alone. He felt hungry, sleepy, and nightmare-like cold.

Sergeant Latobis grabbed his raincoat and pulled it hard. He felt that the temperature of his skin was dropping rapidly. This was not a good thing. He had seen soldiers who froze to death. Their His face was as ferocious as a legendary savage.

The sergeant's ten fingers were all red from the cold, and he couldn't even lift the automatic gun smoothly. He sniffed, sucked the big and sticky snot back into his nasal cavity, and let out a There was a disgusting scraping and rolling sound of slime.

But he didn't care about such trivial matters. Lathobis's body was shivering involuntarily in the freezing cold temperature. His eyes wandered among the puddles in the trench that were slowly freezing, and finally returned to his eyes. There was a crude instrument placed there. At a glance, it was obvious that it was a completely industrial product, but this did not prevent Lathobis from serving it like a queen.

After all, apart from the automatic gun next to him, the automatic heater that he got after begging his grandfather to tell his grandmother is already the most valuable thing in Sergeant Latobis's body. It is even more valuable than his own life. .

The sergeant looked at the little thing in front of him enthusiastically, as if he were looking at a hot girl - no, no matter how hot the girl was, she couldn't compare to it. His stiff fingers inserted into his shirt. Inside, under the rainproof leather jacket, he put on another layer of outer clothing, and underneath that was the furry military uniform, and inside the military uniform was another layer of the warmest and best sweater, which he wore from his own body. The only thing I brought out from my hometown had not been washed for several months and exuded a disgusting stench of wool and sweat.

But it doesn’t matter. There is a stench everywhere in the trenches: whether it’s the rotting corpses outside, the supplies soaked in sewage, the bodies that haven’t been washed for too long, or even the gray-haired animal in the corner that is starving to death and resembles a mouse. , and the pee secretly peed by the watchman last night, they all stink, and stench is a theme in the trenches.

The only good thing is that the current temperature is so cold that even the smell and flying insects have been dissipated. This can be regarded as a kind of joy in suffering.

But Sergeant Latopis didn't care about this. He cared more about what he had on hand. With stiff fingers, he carefully took out a box of round tin cans from the inner pocket of his clothes. The outer shell of the tin can was covered with green The paint was sprayed randomly, and words such as [Standard Ration—Type IV] could be vaguely seen on it.

He hooked the tab and opened it. The inside of the tin can was filled with a flesh-colored mixture, and dark brown solids like stones could be vaguely seen. To be honest, this combination looked a bit disgusting.

They said it was canned meat mixed with some beneficial plant stems and artificial substances, but he wasn't sure, didn't know, and didn't care.

Latopis handled all this carefully. He first pulled off the lid completely and put it aside, and then carefully placed his cans in the automatic heating machine. It was like a young man The father held his son in his arms for the first time, and a feeling of excitement, joy and even some fear overflowed involuntarily.

With a slight creaking sound, the self-heater started working. Soon, the aroma and heat continued to spread. Latobis greedily enjoyed this rare touch of warmth. He couldn't help but smell it. , and then he retched violently: once the inferior paint was baked, the pungent stench emitted even overshadowed the aroma of the food.

And just as he was rubbing his head and nose, an equally dirty figure rushed into the trench and galloped towards La Tobis.

The sergeant subconsciously grabbed the gun, and put the self-heater and his lunch into his arms regardless of the scalding temperature with his other hand. Then, he saw clearly who the person was and couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.

"Second Lieutenant Tigray, it's you."

The person who came had a dark face, and when he smiled, he showed a mouth full of yellow rotten teeth. The guy's footsteps were fast, and he almost slid all the way to Sergeant Latopis's side, and sat down smoothly.

Latobis instinctively straightened his back to make himself look as respectful as possible: unlike himself, a sergeant who was picked up for free, Tigray was actually a second lieutenant who was promoted through military service, and was even once the captain's guard. .

Then, Tigre pressed his shoulders and forced him down.

"Okay, okay, don't be so pretentious, come on, give your kid something good."

Tigray took out two dirty, oily packages from his arms and threw one to Latopis. Then he wiped his hands, looked at the dirt between his fingers, and rubbed them hard again. After rubbing it, he carefully took out a letter from the deepest part of his inner pocket, and then regardless of La Tobis, he read it intoxicatedly.

Latobis put down his lunch and opened the package, only to see a dark mass inside, as if it had been kneaded many times.

It should be edible.

After a moment of thought, Sergeant Latopis tore off a bit and stuffed it into his mouth.

At that moment, it was as if a sledgehammer was swinging like a tiger, smashing the shell of depression in his mouth, allowing his tongue and taste buds to once again experience the concept of "taste" and the breath of life. His teeth chewed unconsciously, crushing everything and squeezing out as much of the oily liquid as possible.

The sergeant swallowed involuntarily, letting the delicious piece of food slide down his throat. He froze in place, and then couldn't wait to bite the remaining part, even if he swallowed the paper piece by piece, he didn't care.

This is meat!

It's not the messy starch distributed by those bastards from the Ministry of Military Affairs, nor is it the weird beasts walking in the tunnels that even starving ghosts won't eat.

This is real meat!

He devoured it, feeling the warmth of joy emanating from his pupils.

——————

Latobis has known Tigray for almost two years.

At that time, their legions were not in this damn desert, but in a strange place called the Forge World, where there were huge factories and furnaces filled with smoke, and some strange-looking guys walking around.

They lost the battle there, a very tragic defeat. The entire regiment was destroyed. Everyone was fleeing for their lives. Abandoned firearms and armored vehicles were piled up into hills. Just as Latobis followed While everyone was running for their lives, he met Tigray.

At that time, Tigray was injured and was still supporting an officer who was shot in the thigh. He later found out that it was the captain of Tigray. At that time, Latobis just thought about it, and his pity took over for a moment. The upper hand allowed him to run over and help Tigray and the officer successfully escape.

Later, he heard that the defeat eventually turned into a collapse that almost swept the entire world. It was not until the intervention of the legendary angels of death that the situation was contained. It was said that the generals and commanders who commanded the battle were all shot. When the 23rd Kranos Regiment was counted afterwards, only about one-fifteenth of the people successfully ran back.

But for Latobis, this was not a bad thing. After the officer recovered a little, he immediately promoted Latobis from private to sergeant and said he would take him with him.

Such a good thing made Latobis fantasize about it for several days, until he heard that the officer followed many wounded people on a ship bound for the rear. Then, before the ship had time to take off, it was bombed by an alien attack. into pieces.

A few days later, Tigray, holding the rank of second lieutenant, came to the trenches of the 23rd Kranos Regiment. Along with him came a large number of recruits and stragglers from other regiments. The regiment was soon filled again. Members - at least that's what it looked like. Then, they were kicked into this barren desert world and forgotten in the cold wind for two full years.

"How does it taste? These are cured meats made by my mother herself. They are much better than the bullshit military food given out by those bastards."

"My mother said in the letter that she packed five packages for me, but those bastards in the logistics department told me that there were only two packages and the rest were lost. Damn it! Those bastards!"

Tigray spat, and then continued to read the letter. The letter was not long, but he read it again and again, and smiled unconsciously.

Latobis devoured the pieces of meat, and then licked his oily fingers with endless interest. After licking them one by one, he picked up his lunch, although it didn't look good and was cold. , but he still ate greedily.

The sound of eating echoed in the trenches until Tigre stroked the letter, carefully folded it, and put it in his inner pocket. The second lieutenant wanted to smoke a cigarette, but he searched his pockets and couldn't find any. No.

At this time, Latopis's voice came from the side.

"Second Lieutenant, there's something I've been wanting to ask."

"explain."

"Why did you come to join the army?"

When Tigray heard this, he simply touched his chin and stopped looking for a cigarette to smoke. He just laughed.

"I said it was for the great cause of mankind, for the empire, for the emperor, do you believe it?"

"Uh...For what?"

"For the emperor, for the emperor, the biggest boss who pays us wages, you have to learn to click this sentence. Those officers love to hear this, they also love to shout this, and those people Awesome mortal auxiliaries, that’s what they call when they fight.”

"Uh, mortal auxiliaries? Aren't we just that?"

"What are you thinking about?"

Tigray slapped Latopis on the head unceremoniously and laughed angrily.

"Those armies from Terra and other big places are the mortal auxiliary army. Haven't you seen that their equipment and guns can beat us ten blocks away? Let me tell you, those guys from Terra all have their noses in the sky. , especially those...narrators, they don't recognize guys like us as mortal auxiliaries, they only recognize the rich men of Terra and big places."

"Ah...that's it...then Lieutenant, why are you here? Is it really...for the Emperor?"

"Shit! For money."

Tigray touched his coat pocket, which contained his letters from home, his most precious thing.

"I originally lived in my hometown, with an old woman above me and a brother below me. I didn't have a wife or children, but it was no problem for me and my brother to work together to support my mother. Until my brother went to work once The leg got caught in the machine.”

"The factory director was kind enough to save my brother with money, but he couldn't get a job and could only stay at home. I can't afford to raise two of them by myself, and I had a headache at the time. One day, our area of ​​the sky was suddenly covered by a large group of black shadows - well, it was those spaceships."

"When I went to work the next day, the radio started shouting about "for the empire, for the emperor", and then a few days later, people from the higher ups came to the factory to recruit people to join the army. They gave money, then They really gave us money! Those with guns were there watching the money being given to us."

"I thought about it, I would never be able to earn that kind of money if I kept working for the rest of my life, and my brother was also a reliable person, so I thought, I might as well join the army, take the money, and let my brother give me the money to help my mother die, and the rest would be Maybe it will be enough for him to find a wife and renew his incense, but he will die anyway, so where does he die?"

"So, I came over to join the army. After careful calculation, it has been almost ten years."

Tigre took out a small wine bottle, took a sip, and then threw it to Latopis, muttering some unpleasant words about the logistics department.

"What about you, boy, how did you get here?"

"I……"

Lathobis scratched his head, took a sip, and then spoke slowly.

"I have had no parents since I was a child, and we don't pay much attention to factory directors there. We pay attention to masters and knight masters. Our master picked me up from the roadside. I was almost starving to death at the time. The master was kind-hearted, so he took me Take it back and feed me and clothe me. When I grow up, I will work with the master and run errands."

"Then one day, the master suddenly went on an expedition with several young masters and a large group of troops. Once he left, he did not come back for several months, and no letter was sent back. The remaining young masters began to fight for the family property, and suddenly they came They gathered a bunch of soldiers and arrested all the young masters. They said that the master had disobeyed the emperor. We are all guilty and have to make amends for ten lifetimes. Then they took me away too. That’s all I did... ...came to join the army.

"Didn't I give you any money?"

"The officer who captured me saw that I had nothing, so he gave me a few coins, but as soon as I got on the ship... it was spent."

Tigre laughed. He patted La Tobis on the shoulder, then took the wine bottle away, and took a few more sips. The two of them drank the wine bottle one by one, and they Looking up, all I could see was a gray sky exuding all kinds of unspeakable stench.

"The temperature has dropped sharply in the past two days. You have to be careful to keep warm. The people in the medical department said that their place is full. Many people have suffered from frostbite in the past two days, and some have trench foot. Look at it. I don’t have long to live.”

"There are no supplies and no reinforcements. When I passed by the headquarters today, I heard the group of messengers on motorcycles say that our legion's request for help was rejected again, and only a few supplies and ammunition were given. Those bastards at the rear , I’d really rather we all freeze to death and starve to death.”

"I understand... Lieutenant, when can we leave this ghost place? There are no enemies here, so what's the point of staying here?"

"How do I know? This is something only those big shots think about. Maybe one day, that [Lion] will see our area on the map and move us away. If the time comes, War zone, you kid, don’t come to me to complain again.”

"Lion...?"

Latopis was concerned about another point.

"Second Lieutenant, have you seen that [Lion]? What is he like? I heard people say that he can be ten meters tall, stronger than a tank, and can fly. He will shoot anyone who doesn't like him. His head.”

"Don't listen to those people farting... [Lion], I actually saw it once. My captain was not dead at that time. He once performed meritorious service and went with a group of people to meet [Lion]. ], I followed."

"Is he really ten meters tall?"

"It's not that exaggerated, but if it's five or six meters, I think it's there. I was quite far away at the time and couldn't see carefully, but he was indeed very tall and very strong. At first glance, he really looked like a tank. Could it be? I didn’t know he could fly, and I didn’t see him have wings.”

"If you really want to say it...it should be extremely scary."

"Scary?"

"Yes, it's scary, very scary. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I still have my captain. As soon as the [Lion] came out of the door and took one look at us, we knelt down directly. I still know I can’t forget that scene. He was so terrifying. I didn’t even dare to look at him. He was standing there... How should I put it? It was the aura about him that made people want to kneel down. , dare not look directly at him, just like an emperor."

"Isn't it true that his father is the emperor, the emperor?"

"I don't know. Maybe that emperor has conquered so many worlds and has become more emperor than the emperor. Then it makes sense that his son is an emperor, or like an emperor."

"Anyway... in short, that's it. That [male lion] is like an emperor, but also like a real lion, or like a wild beast, the kind that you are walking in the forest or the wilderness and suddenly find a particularly big one. The beast is also staring at you, and I don’t know if it wants to eat you or what. Anyway, when the [Lion] looks at you, I think you can only think so."

"And the people around him, those guys called the Angel of Death, they are all the same. They don't say a word, they just look at you, and you will feel your calf muscles twisting and you can't stand. I guess, All the relatives and friends of that [Lion] are also like this."

Sergeant Latopis nodded, but he quickly thought of another question.

"Second Lieutenant... Then you say that a person like this has relatives and friends... he does have relatives. Can he have friends?"

This question obviously bothered Tigray. He scratched his head and then his chin. Finally, he simply waved his hand, patted his clothes, and answered in a self-defeating manner.

"Who knows, with a monster like that... maybe there are monsters who want to be friends with him?"

"The Milky Way is so big, who can say for sure."

Well, during this period of time, in order to shape Zhuang Sen, I kept changing my perspective to underline him. I’m not sure if you can adapt to it. If not, you can tell me.

Anyway, for me, this kind of writing is quite difficult. Luther's depression, the Riddler and indignation of the Dark Angel veterans, and the rudeness and dawdling mentality of the lower-level soldiers are all completely different angles and perspectives. , and I have to connect them together to promote the plot, which is indeed quite difficult.

Ran Danjuan is more difficult to write than I thought. Now even sending Morgan to the Lion King requires the continuous alternation and role of multiple perspectives in the plot, not to mention what happens after coming into contact with the Lion King.

However, if this volume can be written well, as long as there is no thunderstorm, it can be said that it has been written.

By the way, there is also Morgan's Legion. I initially set the color scheme of the second legion to be silver-white main color with gold decoration (Grey Knight, Le). The style is somewhat similar to the fusion of Death Watch and Dark Angel. It is also a multi-functional legion. , mainly tend to explore, dig graves and find secrets. As for the name, I haven’t thought about it yet, but it is tentatively named [Fang Angel].