Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

Chapter 501 Steel·Morgan·Stubborn Stone

[Boy, can you listen to me? 】

[After all, I guess I'm part of this conversation, right? 】

Before her abrupt voice caused the stubborn steel and broken stone in front of her to turn their gazes, Morgan's nerve center urged her facial cortex to outline the most natural-looking smile.

That's right, smile, Morgan: all you have to do now is smile.

Within her, the Lord of Avalon was hypnotizing herself.

Just smile and that's it.

The face should be kind, the voice should be soft, the attitude should be fair, the movements should be as non-aggressive as possible, and the topic should avoid those damn minefields: the most important thing is to suppress the anger and psychic frenzy in your heart. I thought about throwing these two stubborn pieces of sediment out of the window again.

This is not Prague. There are no Germans in front of you, and there are no dung trucks or straw piles outside. There are only tens of thousands pairs of eyes belonging to the Astartes warriors: if you piss them off, it will take you several hours to get rid of them. These little bastards were killed cleanly.

Therefore, be calm and elegant, and keep the rolled-up cuffs on the white mark you have drawn in advance in the middle of the forearm: roll it up a little bit for the elbow joint, for fighting, and roll it up a little bit for the wrist, use Come and be civilized.

As for where it will go: It depends on whether these two bastards will give you face.

...Yes, that's it...

Morgan was silent for another second to appease her heart, until the two explosive barrels in front of her, which could be ignited at any time, had stood up straight again, turned their faces, and were waiting for her words with serious expressions. , the Spider Queen licked her lips, letting her last bit of resentment slip away quietly from her smiling lips.

We can still be civilized people.

Then, the Lord of Avalon stretched out two fingers, curled up, and pressed against the table in front of her. His lips touched lightly, and the invisible shock spread out like a wave, sweeping through the entire conference room in the blink of an eye. .

As if time was going back, those objects that had suffered unreasonable disasters in the previous conflict between the two original bodies were picked up by the Spider Queen's ruthless hands: the broken desktop began to heal, and the scattered files flew back to their original places. In this position, even the slight smell of gunpowder in the air was swallowed up by the cold breath in Morgan's pupils.

The law of time was invisibly tampered with between the fingers of the Primarch, which was far more amazing than any time weapon of the Hrud people. Although a situation like this only lasted for a short dozen seconds, But it still left a deep impression on the two sons of the Emperor who witnessed the whole process: the Lord of Steel's eyes widened, and he seemed to be quite aware of the wonders in front of him, with sparks of inspiration flashing in his mind, while the Imperial Fist's The Primarch was simply watching, waiting intently for Morgan's words.

But no matter what, when the Lord of Avalon spoke again, both Dorn and Perturabo temporarily forgot their previous unpleasantness and listened attentively.

[First of all, I have no intention of interrupting this debate between you. I can also understand the reason for your debate: after all, this is a military meeting, and battles that occurred in the past must be discussed. 】

The Lord of Avalon had her voice at just the right level, sounding authoritative as if reading a communiqué, but without losing its original softness. After noticing the remaining gloom on the Olympian's face, Morgan spoke again. The moment he spoke, he forcibly classified what just happened as a [debate].

This neutral word domain made Perturabo's face look slightly better, but Dorn had no objection to it: the Spider Queen had a panoramic view of the faces of the two brothers, and she had already compared them in her mind. s answer.

Morgan knew that she could favor Perturabo a little: as long as Dorn didn't mess up the [business] in Dorn's heart, then the Lord of Invite wouldn't care about these details and the power of words. Shi Yuan is much more open-minded than his Iron Brothers.

After understanding this, the first smile was naturally given to Perturabo, who was already filled with resentment and anger. Morgan nodded towards him, but only received an extremely gloomy response from the Lord of Steel.

She didn't care.

[As I just said, Brother Perturabo, this is a military meeting of the highest level, so any battle can naturally be discussed here, and any opinions can be put forward here: no matter what Whether the process of this battle has been misinterpreted, whether the opinion itself is reckless, we must respect the question and the questioner, and use wisdom and answers to eliminate the confusion in their hearts. 】

The Primarch of the Dawnbreaker Legion narrowed her eyes slightly. While she was paying attention to Dorn's immobility, she observed the gradually softening attitude on the face of the Lord of Steel: This kind of work is not as good as commanding several legions. Fighting on the ground in Nuceria is easier.

Morgan quietly cursed before continuing.

[You have to understand, brother, even a genius like Michelangelo, when facing the mayor who knows nothing about art, must pick up his own plaster powder and pretend to satisfy the other person's ignorance: You are better than Michelangelo is a greater genius, and our brothers are by no means ignorant of war. The heated debate between you is understandable, but please don’t forget one thing...]

【We are at war. 】

The pupils of the original body saw with satisfaction that the Lord of Steel's expression softened due to the secret praise in her words, and even a faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips, restraining his anger: Seeing that the goal had been achieved, Morgan changed the subject and took advantage of the situation. His eyes turned to Dorn who was standing on the other side.

Just as she thought, the Lord of the Imperial Fist was just standing there. Although he was listening to the conversation between Morgan and Perturabo, and he might not be unaware that it contained derogatory connotations towards him, he still just stood there quietly. , not caring about all this,

This made Morgan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and her heart became more and more appreciative of the Primarch of the Imperial Fist. But when she actually spoke to Dorn, there was not much relaxation and preferential treatment in Morgan's tone. Instead, the Lord of Wallonia maintained a businesslike and efficient attitude, and his voice was as cold as a machine.

Just as Morgan had guessed before: This kind of efficiency did not disgust Dorn. On the contrary, it was this [same hatred and hatred] attitude that made the Lord of Steel next to him smile. He noticed from this kind of favoring one and the other that his The blood relatives of Avalon fully support him.

[I hope you will not forget my Invite blood relatives. 】

Morgan and Donne looked at each other.

[The purpose of you and your legion being sent here by the Terran Council is to ensure the victory of this expedition, not to review the regrets of the past: You must know, brother, as we attack the core of the Kraken Abyss Geographically, the opponents we have to face are completely different from those a few months ago. 】

Dawn nodded and motioned for Morgan to continue.

[Now, what stands in front of us are the Hruds, a powerful alien species that we know very little about. They are entrenched in intricate tunnels, possessing blasphemous technology and massive troops that are difficult to understand: in the face of When facing such an opponent, blindly discussing an offensive and defensive battle that took place a few months ago is an act of neglecting the good and the bad. 】

[We should look forward. Only by looking forward can we win: Since what happened has already happened, then dwelling on its mistakes here will only turn the debate into a useless quarrel. I think In the past few minutes, you should have seen through and figured out this truth. 】

"I don't have a problem with that."

Donne nodded again without any hesitation. Apparently, he only listened to the useful parts of Morgan's words and ignored those rhetorical statements that, in his opinion, were essentially useless.

"According to the intelligence I have collected, you have been trapped by the Hrud alien you just mentioned for the past ten days or so. I do know very little about this latest situation, because at that time, almost all of my fleet will All the time is spent on subspace navigation, and naturally there is no time for relevant intelligence collection. "

"It was my mistake, Morgan."

Dawn nodded, cleanly admitting his lack of preparation.

This [concession] made the Lord of Avalon quietly heave a sigh of relief. She felt that she had once again grasped the reins that were gradually letting go between her fingers to prevent the meeting from getting out of control: But just While the Spider Queen was thinking about how she should properly start the next topic, the Lord of Olympia's heavy groan caused cold sweat to flow down the back of Morgan's neck in an instant.

"snort!"

Perturabo smiled, his smile so vicious and angry.

"So: You are criticizing and criticizing the victory achieved by me and my legion without fully understanding the current situation? Don't you think this is a slander? You have never understood it at all. , what on earth are we facing, you don’t care at all about the blood we shed in this space.”

This long speech is full of the feeling of resentment in the heart of the Lord of Steel. It is obviously his delayed response to Dorn's "big talk" just now. The dangerous atmosphere that Morgan used words and means to smooth out, because of the Olympian's simple sentence The words were rekindled at this moment.

【……】

The Lord of Avalon didn't even have time to sigh in her heart. She hurriedly changed her face from the [high efficiency] to a perfect smile. With no time to think deeply, Morgan could only take out those futile words. persuasion to alleviate the situation.

【I think we should maybe...】

"I'm not being slanderous, brother."

It is a pity that before the Lord of Avalon could say a complete sentence, Dorn was like a calculator programmed in advance. He spoke without any hindrance. He turned around and spoke with a strong and stubborn voice. Crushing over Morgan's struggles mercilessly.

"I'm just pointing out the problem."

"question?"

Perturabo laughed angrily.

"You are in the warm and comfortable safe house in the Sun Star Territory, thousands of stars away from the real front line. You understand the situation of the war through the materials on paper and the words of those around you. Dorn, you How dare you point out any problems in this war to me who have been fighting on the front line: if these problems in your mouth are real and not another illusory slander.”

[You know that's not the case, Perturabo...]

"Just based on your words just now, we can see several problems."

【……】

The Lord of Avalon's outstretched arm froze in mid-air, while her two blood brothers were still fighting indifferently: this round, it was Dorne's turn to attack.

The Lord of Invite stared at his brother, and although Perturabo's pupils were ignited with anger again, the original body of the Imperial Fists did not flinch at all, and there was no compromise in his words. .

"First of all, all my words are neither nitpicking nor slander, because the former is an accusation of insignificant things, and the latter is fabricating facts that do not exist: but the blood left by your legions in the Kraken Abyss is absolutely It doesn’t stop at being insignificant, and these blood casualties are real, and there is no need for me to fabricate their existence.”

"Your legion is bleeding, brother, it is bleeding because of your command. I don't need to fabricate lies about your heavy losses, because you have indeed suffered heavy losses: any legion that has lost one-third of its strength can be called It’s a huge loss, and there’s no need to worry about it.”

"..."

The Lord of Avalon watched helplessly as Perturabo's breathing quickened again. Morgan wanted to say something, but the strings of reason gradually breaking in her mind prevented her from adjusting her words as quickly as usual, and Dorn The sound is so unpredictable.

【Wait a moment...】

"Secondly, it's not that I don't understand what kind of opponent you are facing, nor do I ignore my own intelligence channels. I know very well how difficult those Hrud people are, and it's not that I don't care about the blood you leave behind."

Dawn raised a finger.

"And here, I would also like to point out to you the problems derived from this problem, my brother Perturabo: the sacrifice of the army and the blood of the soldiers are to make the Empire's Great Crusade a complete success as soon as possible, and to make mankind The territory spreads, not for anyone to care about their sacrifices.”

"It would be irresponsible to ask your warriors to bleed and die in order to win the attention of anyone: whether that person is the Emperor, one of our brothers, or anyone in the galaxy. This behavior is a highly individualistic mistake that only the worst commanders can make.”

Dorn paused for a moment, perhaps seeing Perturabo's gradually trembling body, then he nodded, giving his brother some [comfort] seriously and sincerely.

"I trust you will not do this: no commander would be so foolish."

【……】

Seeing that familiar blood-red color creeping into the corners of the Lord of Steel's eyes again, Morgan didn't even have the strength to sigh. She could hear the sound of crackling strings in her mind.

"You mean, in your eyes, I'm just a shitty commander?"

"In your eyes, my campaign in the Kraken Abyss was so full of loopholes? Is it just to use these huge casualties in exchange for those meaningless flattery!"

The Lord of Steel spoke, his voice trembling like his body. Obviously, Perturabo did not hear every word of Dorn's words. He only selectively heard the parts that were enough to make him furious: these It was enough, enough to make the Lord of Steel breathe heavily.

In response, Dorn's stern features showed a doubtful look.

"I didn't mean that, brother."

【Yes! He didn't mean this...]

"But you are right about one thing. Your expedition is indeed full of problems. You and your legion are trapped here and cannot continue to advance the empire's front. The emergence of this situation has already illustrated the problem. The existence has shown that at least one of you and your legion is not suitable for this expedition: you need to review yourself and make changes in time."

"Me...and my legion?"

Once again, Perturabo ignored most of Dorne's words, and his first answer in his rage even surprised the Lord of Avalon.

"Why do you accuse my legion? They used their blood to build the empire's road to the Kraken Abyss. In the past ten days, you and the boys under your command have just stepped on their blood with peace of mind, and walked all the way. Are you in front of me? How dare you blame them for their sacrifice here!"

"I'm really not qualified."

Dorn nodded, not even letting Perturabo laugh again.

"And if you also think that the problem does not lie with your legion, then this will only symbolize one thing, brother: the embarrassing situation of this war is your fault, because there is a problem with your command ability. "

"You need to adjust, Perturabo."

"..."

【……】

The air was quiet for a moment.

Let everyone hear the earth-shattering explosion.

"I?!!"

This time, the Olympian's voice was a genuine roar.

“You mean: I’m the reason for all this now?!!”

【etc! calm down……】

"For now, that's true."

Dorn nodded, and he even agreed with Perturabo's words.

"Because the reality is that before my reinforcements arrive, your expedition fleet is trapped here and unable to advance. This dilemma naturally arises because of a problem: this problem is either the inability of the legion itself or the military There was a flaw in the conductor.”

"And since we have all agreed that your legion is not a weak one, then there is a problem with the chain of command: As you just said, Perturabo, your legion is respectable, but It seems like you didn’t play to their strengths.”

"……What do you mean?"

The Lord of Steel's eyes widened, and he was no longer even angry: because of Dorn's straightforward and unconcealed words, the Lord of Steel's anger broke through the threshold in an instant, and had reached the coldness of death.

"Is this what you really think: Do you think I have failed my Legion? Do you think I have failed the mission given to me by the Emperor? You put this expedition into trouble because of my own selfish desires and incompetence?!! "

[I think that’s not what he meant...]

"No, that's what I meant."

Dorn stared fearlessly into Perturabo's crazy eyes.

"Because we have eliminated other options before this, there is only one possibility that has caused the current predicament: the problem does lie with you, brother, your performance in this expedition is not enough to achieve The Emperor’s expectations for you.”

"If you don't make things right soon, Perturabo."

"You will disappoint the Emperor."

【...damn...】

Morgan could say nothing: all she could do was curse.

"Dorn..."

Perturabo gritted his teeth. The veins on his forehead protruded together with the external command chains, like a hungry beast that had been hungry for half a month. The thick steel gloves were waving in the air and making a sound. A harsh sound broke through the air: It was naturally impossible to vent the anger in his heart with such a gesture. After standing on the ground burning with anger for a few seconds, the Lord of Steel's suppressed angry tone finally echoed throughout the conference room. middle.

"So arrogant, so stupid."

"Unforgivable..."

He stared at Dorn, just as Dorn was staring at him.

"Donne, I will never tolerate the humiliation you have done to me. Your arrogance and ignorance have opened the door to hell. There is only one way to end it all!"

"……bleed……"

"Someone needs to bleed for all this!"

"You! Me! Or..."

"or……"

——————

【……】

[Or you. 】

Morgan sighed, shook her head, and rolled up her sleeves to her elbows: At this moment, she heard the last voice of reason in her mind collapse.

The Lord of Avalon carefully put away the only plan in front of her.

Then: Inhale, lift your chest, raise your head, extend your fingers, and face forward.

She opened her eyes.

In her pupils: there was extreme madness that was ten million times more terrifying than the eyes of the furious Perturabo and the sight of the stubborn Dorne.

Morgan laughed.

【Both...】

【Now……】

【Everyone, please be quiet! ! ! 】