Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

Chapter 403 Terra (11)

"What are you doing, Sanguinius?"

"..."

"I'm washing my hands, Horus."

——————

"What are you washing your hands for?"

[Quit the old and welcome the new: Say goodbye to the old trouble and welcome your new trouble. 】

Morgan's voice cooled down, and her fingers swayed in the turbulent waves of the fountain, and even her hair and the tip of her nose were stained with a few hazy vapors: Now, in these artificial water features used to decorate the interior of the Terra Palace, flowing All of them are warm, pure water that can be drank directly. Every drop of them is priceless in this dry world.

But here, they just flow in vain day and night. Their only function is to allow this hive city standing at an altitude of 10,000 meters to still maintain a warmth that complements the emperor's dignity amidst the strong winds and thin oxygen. with moisture.

"..."

"I feel that I should not be called a trouble now. Sister, there are many more troublesome guys than me in this palace. Just among our brothers, there are several who are enough to make you Guy with a headache.”

The slender figure of the Midnight Ghost jumped back and forth in the splendid palace, just like a black goat galloping freely in the golden wheat field. At the last moment, he was standing on the edge of the square like a reflection, and at the next moment , he had already arrived beside the Spider Queen and sat down on the steps at the edge of the fountain.

The pair of narrow pupils narrowed, and Conrad soon discovered some clues: at the top of Morgan's gem scepter, the largest crystal seemed to be inlaid with some dazzling scarlet, like a dry streak. The blood stains were put into the crystal using special means to preserve the same.

A suspicious smile flashed across Midnight Ghost's face. He thought about many possibilities in an instant, but in the end he didn't say it out loud. Instead, he patiently waited for Morgan's move.

The Lord of Avalon carefully washed his fingertips and palms, and then recited a mantra silently, causing the breeze to temporarily blow away the hazy moisture in front of him.

[How was the conversation with your father? 】

"Overall, it's okay. Although it's a little different than I expected, I'm still quite satisfied: my father talked to me about the past of the Eighth Legion and his views on the future of the empire, and I I talked with him about the future of the Eighth Legion and my views on the empire’s past.”

[He would actually talk to you about his thoughts and plans for the empire? 】

"...No, strictly speaking, this is not what we are talking about."

"My father just told me about his original intention of establishing the Eighth Legion and the role he longed for the Eighth Legion to play within the empire: On this issue, I am glad that there is no conflict in the general ideas of the two of us."

[What is the general idea? 】

"The real battlefield of the Eighth Legion is after the war, not the war itself: but on this issue, I personally have no confidence, and the Emperor does not care."

"Only on those details, we still have a lot of conflicts, but he said he would respect my leadership on these details."

[Because in his plan, these details are not important? 】

"..."

"He didn't say this directly in front of me."

"But that's about right."

Conrad curled his lips, stretched out his claws, and caught the water mist clumps scattered by the wind in mid-air.

And just when his fingers became a little wet, Conrad seemed to feel something, and his eyes drifted vaguely to the edge of the square, and then quickly drifted back to look at Morgan.

"By the way, sister: my father came out with me. He is staying at the edge of the square now. I think he wants to meet you and talk about something."

[I saw him, don’t worry. 】

Morgan stood in front of this luxurious fountain, crossed his hands, closed his eyes and rested, letting the weak water droplets splash on his hair, enjoying this rare peaceful time.

[I have just ended a long and painful struggle of surrendering, and I don’t want to start the next one so soon: Even that war madman Zhuang Sen will not start two apocalyptic-level wars in succession, right? 】

"I highly doubt it: He will."

[No, he won't: because I won't allow him to do it. 】

"You can't control him."

【……】

[Okay, let’s not mention this for now. Tell me about the details when you chatted with the emperor, so that I can help you check: Our father is a person who is used to calculating anyone, including himself. You can’t If you are not careful, you will be deceived by him. 】

Morgan lowered his eyelids: She is experienced in this area. After all, the golden apple seems to be stuck in her body now, unable to get up and out, making it difficult for the Spider Queen to even eat the dessert tower.

"probably not."

Conrad seemed confident.

"And the so-called details are innocuous in themselves: I have got all the answers I want, and I already know the Emperor's attitude towards my legion: it is a little more indifferent and neglectful than I imagined, but it is not It’s a bad thing. Isn’t it?”

"When I am ignored enough, I can have enough space to do some things I want to do without getting into trouble: if I am unfortunate enough to put myself in a position similar to Guilliman, then Any changes I make to my legion will attract irresponsible remarks from others."

[You don’t need to worry about this, Conrad, no one will accuse you: because no one will care about what you did to your legion. 】

Morgan smiled mockingly.

[The friendship between the primarchs is far less profound than you think. Unless they are close friends or companions who have fought side by side, most primarchs don't care at all what their brothers are doing. 】

"for example?"

[Compared to the relationship between most Primarchs, you and Zhuang Sen can be considered to have a deep affection. 】

"..."

"When the lion and I met for the first time, both of us were thinking about how to kill each other. Sister: Is this what you understand as a deep friendship?"

[What does it mean to kill the opponent? 】

Morgan laughed outright.

[Among the Primarchs, at least 80% of them have thought about killing at least 80% of their brothers, and they all feel that with their own abilities, they can kill 80% of their brothers: fighting with the same roommate is not a problem for any royal family of a large human empire. Characteristics, this was the case before humans came out of Terra. 】

"……really."

[So, please keep this in mind, Konrad. After all, you are going to leave me soon and go out and live independently: other brothers are not as easy to talk to as me or Leman Russ. It’s really not possible. You can just walk around them from now on. It doesn't matter if you become a little more lonely. Anyway, among the original bodies, there is never a shortage of orphans. 】

"..."

Midnight Ghost raised his brows and nodded solemnly. Then, he licked his chapped lips, and his crazy eyes curved into a pair of crescents.

"The friendship between the Primarchs is not that deep, I know this, but there are always some people who are more eager for justice, right? Just like our great Wolf Shepherd, he is now in this Terra In the palace, he wants to find an explanation for one of his lost brothers."

"In addition, he also brought the famous archangel to help him: But now it seems that our most holy brother has been convinced by you, which even our father cannot do great deeds, sister.”

【……】

[If you want to make fun of me in this regard, Conrad, then I have to think of the unreasonable behavior of someone who dared to hang up my psychic communication just now: Do you think such an unreasonable move should be done? How about accepting hundreds of millions of small punishments? 】

"..."

"Don't do it, Morgan."

The midnight ghost's eyes were darting wildly, constantly diverting Morgan's attention to the cold sun standing on the edge of the square.

"Do you really think that all this is planned by me in secret, rather than by some great human lord who tried his best to ask you to help convince Senge because he didn't want to face his radiant son? Les?"

【……】

[You and your father teamed up to trick me? 】

Morgan looked unkind.

"..."

Midnight Ghost's eyes were like a pair of fine cat's eyes, spinning in his pale and narrow pupils. He had never been like now, frantically digging for the few wisdoms in his mind. .

"I can tell you a secret: a secret of little importance, as compensation."

【explain. 】

"Do you know why our father stays in this tower? This is just a remote area of the Terra Palace, not the central area of his throne room. Generally speaking, he will not stay here. .”

【……】

Morgan didn't respond, but there was a glint in her pupils.

[To avoid Horus? 】

"Yes."

Conrad laughed mockingly.

"Our great Wolf Shepherd returned to Holy Terra with great momentum. His arrival was so fast and sudden that even our father could not escape in time on his dazzling Emperor's Dream. Go to the front line, so he can only pretend that he is not there and let Horus point the finger at the Seal Bearer."

"Before that, he can only hide here and wait for his sealer to help him clean up this mess: I am very curious whether the sealer knows these things. If he knows, I'm afraid the old man's mood, It won’t be good now.”

"When a king gets into trouble, he needs his assistants to help bear the blame and pressure."

"What an irony, isn't it?"

As he said this, Conrad did not forget to wink at his blood relatives.

【……】

Morgan did not respond, because when Conrad told this story, for some reason, a distant Caliban accent floated in the Lord of Avalon's mind.

——————

I am also responsible for military affairs. The envoys of these logistics worlds and forging worlds are left to you. Morgan: Don't let them bother me anymore with the affairs of the Titan Legion.

——————

【yes……】

Morgan's silver teeth shattered.

[This is a great irony. I really didn’t expect that this damn character could actually become one of his genetic materials: he really stuffed everything into our genes. 】

"..."

Morgan's words were sharp, and the extreme coldness in her tone made Conrad narrow his eyes, and he wisely pretended not to hear.

"I remember that when you came to Terra this time, didn't you want to have a meeting with the Printer? If possible, you'd better go early or go later, otherwise the scene may be ugly and you may not be able to see it. Not one more time to clean up our father’s mess.”

【……Thank you for reminding. 】

"By the way, the strength of this seal bearer is stronger than we imagined. If our Wolf Shepherd brother wants to resort to violence, I don't think much of him."

[Can a mortal still defeat Horus? 】

"He is a powerful psyker on the same level as you, Morgan: and if it is not a battle of lives, but a competition of skills and experience, both you and Magnus are not as good as him. He can play with time and space at the planet level. .”

[Okay, I understand, thank you for reminding me: I will pay attention to this. 】

"That's best."

Conrad responded, and the sharp voice suddenly cut off, and the same happened to Morgan on the opposite side. For a moment, the two Primarchs suddenly fell into silence and embarrassment. They never imagined that they could still Let’s talk about something else.

After all, they have been with each other for almost ten years, and they have already talked about almost all the things they can talk about. In the past few months before going to Terra, Morgan has also talked about the Eighth Legion. I have taken the trouble to chat with Conrad many times, and Conrad is getting a little annoyed with the nagging.

The Lord of Avalon even had a strange feeling, which was like the embarrassing situation that mortal mothers find themselves in when they want to chat with their children on the border of adulthood: what they want to say The clichés are either worn out or destined to be unpopular, and finding common ground with your children seems even more difficult.

So, there was only silence. There were thousands of words in my heart, but I didn't know which one to say.

Only in front of them, the luxurious fountain was still loyally sprinkling its hazy water mist, so that the hair tips of the two original bodies were already stained with stars of dew.

Other than that, only the golden glow behind them seemed to still be shining.

"..."

It flickers a little lonely.

"Our father has been standing there for more than five minutes. Sister, don't you really want to go and talk to him?"

[No hurry, let me rest for a while. 】

"I think it would be better if you hurry up a little: maybe the Emperor wants to talk to you about something important. After all, you are now the Emperor's secret keeper."

"With the Emperor, you are definitely on the same level as Jonson or Leman Russ: By the way, with you, our father definitely talked to Leman Russ before talking to me, I can smell us The fishy smell left in the tower by the Fenris brothers."

[Believe me, Conrad, he definitely didn’t want to talk about anything important when he came to me this time: just from the appearance around him, I can be very sure of this. 】

"……How to say?"

[Look at him now, is he alone, standing on the edge of the square? 】

"...That's right."

Conrad followed the sound and found that what Morgan said was absolutely correct: the Lord of Mankind was standing alone on the edge of the square, standing as if nothing had happened, as if he were a passer-by. He did not bring any guards or attendants with him. Not to mention the famous palm sealer.

The emperor stood alone in the corner of the palace, with only the light from the distance to complement the emptiness around him. When the cold wind blew from the palace compartments, his hair would also follow it. Dancing is like the only trace of catkins left in the cold wind.

There he stood.

Shining alone.

"I even feel a little pitiful for him."

[You'd better put away your abnormal compassion: this is the problem. 】

Morgan blinked, her pupils filled with the light of truth.

[Our father didn’t even bring the Imperial Guard with him this time. He was like a speaker. He had already walked to the stage, but we discovered that he didn’t bring a teleprompter, a microphone, or even a speech script. He didn't bring any: and he was a poor third-rate orator, lacking the style of Demosthenes. 】

"You always seem to be full of malice and lack of confidence in our father, sister, why is this?"

【Isn’t it the same for you? 】

"That's because I have seen the future, and I am no longer like this: in front of our father, I am a polite, cautious, good boy who never speaks out loud."

"What's your reason?"

【……】

Morgan narrowed her eyes. She slowly turned around, straightened her appearance, and prepared to walk towards the emperor. After walking away for a while, she let her voice drift along the wind to Kangla. Germany's ears.

【I'm used to it. 】

[I have become accustomed to remaining malicious, cautious, wary and slightly hostile towards the Emperor. No matter what, I cannot completely trust him. 】

【because……】

【……】

【Because I don’t dare. 】

——————

"..."

"What a coward."

It wasn't until Morgan walked away that Conrad dared to grin and sneered in a lowered voice. Then, he took a step forward, leaned down, and wanted to wash his hands in the fountain. After all, he still There is juice residue on it.

[I advise you not to do that, Conrad. 】

But before Conrad could bend down, Morgan's shout came from behind him. He turned around and saw the Lord of Avalon, who had already walked halfway, turning around and facing her. The blood relative waved his hand.

"……Why?"

Conrad shouted, and Morgan responded just as loudly.

[Because there are gold foils in the water...and gold powder! 】

"..."

"Fuck, there really is!"

Midnight Ghost looked at the gold shavings in his hands in a daze. It was only then that he took a serious look at the fountain in front of him: he saw that the endless gold had been ground into fine powder for several days, floating in the warm water. In the spring water, it wanders and rises and falls in the air with the turbulent current, until this elegant artificial water feature turns into a magnificent moving golden spring, filled with unspeakable...

A sense of wealth.

"..."

[The emperor’s aesthetics...]

Morgan's emotion was the only thing left in the air.

——————

+ Do you have any objections to my aesthetics? +

When Morgan walked to her genetic father, the Lord of Humanity pulled away from his distant gaze and lowered his head, as if he had just noticed Morgan's arrival: If it weren't for her breathing rate, Ava would have If he had adjusted himself the moment Lord Long came into view, Morgan might really have been deceived by the Emperor's superb acting skills.

But at this moment, the Spider Queen was able to raise a perfect smile in front of the Emperor, and it was watertight.

[Nothing, father. 】

[I am just lamenting your unique aesthetics that are independent from the world and destined not to be recognized by ordinary people: your understanding of aesthetics is like the reincarnation of Van Gogh. I believe that one day, they will be amazed by it. , after all, Van Gogh also experienced the same hardship, didn't he? 】

+...+

The Emperor was silent for a moment. Morgan's weak sarcasm naturally did not fool him, but the Lord of Mankind did not seem to intend to continue to dwell on this issue. He just sighed briefly in his heart.

Although he and Morgan have not actually met each other a few times: by all means, this is only the fifth time, but unlike the first time when he was overly cautious and cautious, now his daughter is already cheerful With too much initiative.

only……

Looking at the biological daughter in front of him who has learned to be tight-lipped and even secretly sarcastic towards him, the Lord of Humanity couldn't help but think deeply: for his biological daughter who is both loved and hated, is it better to be "cautious" or "cautious"? Cheerful] How about a little better?

+...+

That’s all, it’s better now.

At the very least, she was willing to take the initiative to talk to her about something, instead of needing him to stir up any topics: thinking of this, a qualified smile appeared on the emperor's face.

+Morgan, my daughter, I have witnessed with my own eyes every great victory you and your brothers have in the darkness. You have completed every task I have given you very well, whether it is to destroy something or to It turns out that you are very good at saving anything. +

+ At this point, you have surpassed every one of your brothers. No one among them has ever been able to complete these two points in balance. They cannot grasp the balance of power between the two poles of creation and destruction. +

Morgan smiled softly: but her rejection was serious.

[I beg to differ, father: My lost brother was destroyed by your own hands. Please do not put this bloody crown on my head. As for Conrad, I am actually not sure whether I saved him until now. Who knows whether he will choose the right path until the final moment? 】

+ No, you have actually educated him very well now, far beyond my initial expectations for him. This is undoubtedly a gratifying answer. +

The emperor narrowed his eyes and looked at Conrad in the distance: The Midnight Ghost was sitting boredly next to the fountain, using his palms to lift those golden water balls and smash them at the patrolling Imperial Guards in the distance. .

+...+

+Although, there is still a lot of room for improvement. +

+But compared to my expectations, you have taught Conrad well. +

Speaking of this, the emperor's tone was solemn, even with a hint of gratitude.

+ Very, very good. +

+ Now I can give him some of my trust: just as I gave you more of my trust before. +

【……】

Morgan's eyelids moved: Although the emperor's words were enough to make half of the original bodies forget themselves with excitement, and although the Lord of Avalon was also excited for a moment, as long as she thought of the brother who died under her hands, Morgan's heart was filled with excitement. All passion will disappear.

[Let me think about it, Father, this kind of trust will not let me have the blood of another Primarch on my hands, will it? 】

+...Do you care about this? +

[I have to care that the blood is on my body and in my soul. I cannot erase it: my brothers can see what is in my soul, at least some of them can see it. arrive. 】

+...+

The Emperor sighed.

+ Come with me, Morgan, I think we need to have a good chat, and then I will wipe away the blood: In fact, you can keep them. After talking to me, you can make this choice. +

【……】

[Okay, Father. 】

Morgan laughed again.

+But first, you need to answer a question from me. +

【What? 】

+How did you...+

The Emperor paused.

+How did you teach Conrad to understand those etiquettes: for example, don’t sit on the table when chatting with others. +

【……】

【Use your feet. 】

+? +

The Emperor raised a brow.