Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

For a long time, Azak Ahriman has been troubled by a problem.

This is a piece of trivia that sounds incredible: as one of the earliest soldiers of the Thousand Sons Legion, a veteran of Terra, and one of the most trusted descendants of the One-Eyed King, Ahriman has never fought under Magnus.

Yes: not once.

This helpless truth is made up of a series of misfortunes and coincidences: In fact, long before the Thousand Sons reunited with Magnus, Ahriman had already occupied an important position in the 15th Legion. When he first met the Primarch, he was a captain, and soon became Magnus's close attendant.

But this lofty position did not bring Ahriman the supreme honor of fighting side by side with the Primarch, because almost at the same time when Magnus reunited with the Thousand Sons Legion, the flesh and blood mutation swept the entire legion.

Although the Grand Wizard finally succeeded in suppressing it, the 15th Legion did not participate in any large-scale military activities for the next sixty years. They stayed on their new home planet Prospero to recuperate and accumulate strength.

During this period, the few attacks of the Thousand Sons Legion were to rescue those endangered rare collections, or to respond to some humanitarian rescue: the most typical one was the Dawn Star incident, where Ahriman met Morgan.

Admittedly, they did encounter some resistance on Dawn Star, but for the Primarch and the Astartes, it was ridiculous to regard these tiny opponents as war experience: what Ahriman really wanted was to participate in a real war under the command of Magnus.

But unfortunately, before this simple wish could be fulfilled, he was seconded to Morgan's Dawnbreaker Legion: this long study abroad journey lasted for sixty years, almost occupying at least one-third of Ahriman's entire life so far.

In these sixty years, Ahriman personally experienced the growth of Morgan and the Dawnbreakers: he came to the Second Legion's warship in the first year when the Spider Queen took over the legion, and then worked hard for the establishment of the Far Eastern Frontier. He won the respect of almost all the Dawnbreakers in an unbearable way, gained precious friendships, and tried hard to find his own position in the new think tank system established by Morgan. Until now, he has been making tireless contributions.

This kind of hard work and achievements directly made the vast majority of Dawnbreakers, even the battle brothers from other Astartes Legions, regard Ahriman as an outstanding representative of Avalon and the best sixth man of the Second Legion: many of them directly called Ahriman the Dawnbreaker.

This phenomenon always made Ahriman feel a little bit amused: unknowingly, the traces he left in the Dawnbreaker Legion far exceeded those left in the Thousand Sons Legion, and he even couldn't tell where he belonged.

So far, all the achievements Ahriman has made: whether it is the great reputation in the arena, or becoming the mentor of countless think tanks, or the name of the sword master that is enough to impress the primarchs, all of them were accomplished by Ahriman in the Dawnbreaker Legion. In contrast, he has achieved nothing as a Thousand Sons.

In terms of brotherhood, the situation is even more comical: after all, more than three-quarters of the warriors in the Dawnbreaker were selected by Morgan after the establishment of the Far East Frontier. In their impression, Ahriman is the non-mainstream legendary predecessor who has always stood in the corridors and arenas of the [Aurora], wearing a unique bright red armor, and was naturally included in their legion.

On the contrary, in the Thousand Sons Legion, with Ahriman's long absence and the inevitable marginalization of the original Terran veterans after the continuous expansion of the legion, Ahriman, the former captain of the first company, has become unpopular. The recruits are familiar with his armor and glory, but are at a loss for his face.

At this moment, Ahriman could more or less understand those who returned home.

But fortunately, not everyone had forgotten the former captain of the First Company: when Ahriman followed Magnus's footsteps and stepped onto the Shrike Star, where the smoke of war had already risen, his colleague in the Black Raven School, Amon, who temporarily held the position of the captain of the First Company for the past sixty years, was waiting for him in the newly established headquarters.

The ruins under his feet were named the 93rd Crow's Nest, and they were destroyed together with the more than 8,000 defenders inside. Less than 300 Thousand Sons warriors slaughtered these slender defenders wearing feather cloaks without any loss. They were deployed on the hidden cliffs in the mountains. In front of the skilled psychic prophecy of the Black Raven School, they were as fragile as blank paper.

But such a victory was obviously not enough to satisfy Amon.

"Long time no see, Ahriman. I thought the Primarch wanted to keep you for a while."

"Obviously, this library on the ground is more attractive than me."

"No surprise there."

Amon took a few steps forward and couldn't wait to shake hands with Ahriman. Above their heads, thousands of Imperial fighters roared past, heading for the smoke-filled battlefield in the distance: the Space Wolves' Thunderhawks were fierce and violent, the World Eaters' Stormbirds were as conventional as the Legion, but the Dawnbreaker Legion's air force was not included, because their number was so large that they could independently shoulder the battle line in another sky.

Compared to these comrades, the air force of the Thousand Sons was very pitiful, but they were quick in action, and most of the pilots were experienced psykers. Their prophecy and mind-reading abilities made them invincible in air combat and always able to avoid danger in advance.

But this time, the air force of the Empire encountered a terrible opponent: the Knights of Shrike Star were in groups of two, one rider and one shooter, driving those huge Shrike birds, and threw them into the battlefield like a whirlwind. The claws of these huge raptors under them could crush stone pillars, tear apart the power armor of the Astartes, and then peck open the skulls of the Emperor's Angels with their sharp beaks, or simply smash the entire Imperial fighter plane, killing several Astartes warriors.

God knows how these carbon-based creatures were fed to such an intensity.

Along the way, Ahriman saw countless casualties caused by this: the First Society under Amon alone had paid the price of more than 80 deaths, because these huge Shrike birds were so numerous that even the most experienced prophet could not avoid all the possible deaths they brought.

What's more...

"We are no longer the same as before."

Amon shook his head.

"As a Black Crow, I don't know if you feel the same as me: our ability to predict is declining with time. At most five or six years ago, I could predict almost 90% of the future in battle, but now it has regressed to less than 80%. The decline of other people in the school is even more serious than mine."

"..."

Ahriman frowned.

"But I don't feel that way, Amon, I am also a member of the Black Crow School."

"Yes, we know."

Amon nodded.

"So, the entire Black Crow School is waiting for your return, Ahriman: We are waiting for you to take charge of this glorious organization again, lead us back to the peak of the legion, regain the favor of the primarch, instead of being left here alone to eat dust: your strong strength is our greatest confidence now, brother."

As he said, Amon spread out a three-dimensional map of Shrike in front of Ahriman, so that he could see the current direction of the war: all legions were acting according to the original division of labor, and jointly launched a fierce offensive against Phoenix Cliff.

Leman Russ and his wolf pack razed the upper part of the city to the ground, searching for the remaining kings and nobles, while the armored forces of the World Eaters had already crushed the broken walls of the Valley Gate, and the flags were planted on the land of the lower area. Behind them were groups of prisoners, ruins, and not much blood.

The Dawnbreakers surrounded the military area outside Phoenix Cliff, using more powerful air power and Morgan's own psychic power to force the arrogant Shrike Knights back to the ground and capture these precious assets alive as much as possible: and the Thousand Sons Legion followed the gap opened by the Dawnbreakers and took the opportunity to pour into the core area of ​​Phoenix Cliff, becoming the legion with the fastest progress in fact.

Magnus and his descendants were now following a marble-paved road, advancing in an orderly manner towards the top. Their ultimate goal was a silver pyramid: a huge library that was 600 meters high and 2,000 meters wide, carrying everything on Shrike.

Magnus longed for it because he did not want this branch of human civilization to be extinct because of a war.

This is the consistent style of the Primarch: Unlike his brothers' bloodthirsty thoughts, Magnus has always believed that the Great Crusade is a magnificent epic to reshape the glory of mankind, and in this great epic, there should not be only content from Terra, because the original footprints and glory of mankind are far beyond Terra.

They should collect as many unique human civilizations that have been lost as possible and re-decorate them on the flag embroidered with the double-headed eagle: even if we take a step back, the ancient human civilization in this world has relied on courage and perseverance to survive the haze of the era of strife and tenaciously come to this day. Shouldn't this nobility be solemnly remembered by them?

Until today, Ahriman felt that there was nothing wrong with this statement, and the Thousand Sons Legion would not have any objection: thousands of elites were all assembled, and Ahriman could stand on a high place and see their bodies in bloody battles.

What's more, there was Amon to explain to him.

"You are lucky, we rarely see such large-scale collective combat."

Amon pointed to the fiery red ocean on the marble road and explained the tactics of the Thousand Sons to Ahriman with a smile.

"Twenty-four years after you went to the Dawnbreakers, Magnus led us back to the Great Crusade and gradually figured out the tactics you see in front of you: the five major schools and the Spire Guards are the absolute core."

"As for the five major schools, I guess I don't need to tell you more, right?"

"Let's talk about it."

"Okay."

Amon nodded.

"Our Black Crow School can detect the future that is about to happen, so we are always responsible for pre-war analysis and guidance in battle. The Primarch used to be in our formation, but such favor has become less and less. He now prefers the Fire Phoenix School."

"In the Falcon School, there are masters of manipulating force fields. They are deeply influenced by the Shadow Moon Wolves. They are very good at both offense and defense, so they are also responsible for defense and advancement in battle. They are the strongest wall behind the Spire Guards."

"...Behind?"

"What's wrong?"

"No... continue."

"The Bright Feather School likes to use their psychic powers to manipulate anyone's body. They are as annoying as the Emperor's Children: they are support troops on the battlefield, responsible for drying the enemy's blood or healing the wounds of friendly troops, but You'd better not count on these selfish guys who care more about their appearance than your safety."

"Looking over there, it's the Tianxiao School, our traditional allies, who can read other people's thoughts or instill their own thoughts. They will provide intelligence to our Black Crow School, and we will use this information to predict the future. At other times, , they are also responsible for stable communication within the legion and boosting the morale of the soldiers: by reading hymns in your heart.”

"Finally, there is the Fire Phoenix School. Each one of them claims to be the God of Fire. They are the most popular group of guys in the legion now. Their fire is the main output force of the legion, but at the same time, they are also responsible for everything related to machinery. : Armored troops, automatons, and even the sporadic Titans are, in theory, under the command of Fire Phoenix's Kalofis."

"During the battle, our entire legion will be roughly divided into four large arrays: The first array is naturally the spire guards, who are responsible for facing the enemy's first wave of troops and testing out how many cards the opponent has."

"With your life?"

"What else can I use? Eyeballs?"

"Then the force field shield masters of the Falcon School are responsible for defense and advancement. They are the only school that occupies an exclusive array. We Black Crow and Liang Yu are in the third array. This position ensures that our entire support reaches everyone. We are The ones behind us are Tian Xiao, who ensures communication, and Huo Feng, who is responsible for output.”

"The entire legion is like a huge ancient Greek phalanx. Relying on our psychic powers, we don't need to hide here and there on the battlefield. Instead, we can advance steadily like line infantry. We only need to make small changes. Respond to any emergencies.”

"As the Primarch said: Eternal change makes us indestructible."

"..."

Ahriman nodded. He felt a little uncomfortable with this complacent veneer, but he wisely did not speak immediately, but patiently observed the situation on the battlefield.

He saw Forsis-Taka. His men held up invisible force field shields to block the heavy attack of the Shrike Knights, and then brutally smashed open the towering fortress in front of them.

He also saw the elites of the Bright Feather School of Hathor-Maat playing malicious tricks on the enemies in front of them: boiling the blood dry or draining every trace of moisture from the body, or simply sealing the lungs, these orders Ahriman frowned at the disgusting killing method. In fact, he preferred to give his enemies a clean and tidy death, respecting them as well as himself.

He also saw Karofis of the Fire Phoenix School controlling the uniform automatic robots with ease. There were special crystals in the minds of these machines, so even without tactical chips, the Thousand Sons Legion could still rely on their psychic powers. command them.

Psionics, psionic powers, well... psionic powers again.

Ahriman shook his head secretly.

He saw the spire guards.

……Um?

The next moment, Ahriman frowned as he watched the minaret guards: he found that these elite mortal troops were somewhat powerless in the face of the swift and bloody air attacks of the Shrike Knights, and the Thousand Sons were focused on There was not much enthusiasm for these flanks in the distant Great Library, so the casualties of the spire guards were a bit ugly.

"Are the casualties of those minaret guards too high?"

After thinking for a moment, Ahriman tactfully mentioned it to Amon beside him, and this warrior who was always very humble in his impression did indeed listen to his words patiently, and then observed carefully. nodded.

"Ah, indeed a bit."

Afterwards, Amon said nothing and continued to look at the library in the distance.

"..."

Ahriman frowned and tried to ignore this matter. He began to look for Magnus on the battlefield, and soon saw his original body: he was as invincible as the death that came to the world.

Magnus blinked, and hundreds of Shrike Knights turned into blazing torches under the power of the ether. Those resisters who tried to jump off their mounts were forcibly connected to their mounts by the original body. , can only die in mid-air with endless wailing.

Then, the original body waved his hand again, and the Aven soldiers on the whole street found in despair that the guns in their hands exploded, and the broken limbs and death wails could be heard at the feet of Magnus. , but did not stop the pace of the Primarch for even a moment: the Scarab Order wearing Terminator Armor followed behind the Primarch, and their cavalry crushed the remaining wails, allowing Magnus to no longer be disturbed.

"My lord seems to have become a lot stronger..."

Ahriman whispered, he always had an indescribable weird feeling, while Amon next to him was proud of all this.

"Yes, Lord Magnus is getting stronger almost every moment, but his power has been particularly dazzling recently: I believe the collection in the library will speed up this. I can't wait to see him Greater power."

"……hope so."

Ahriman smiled. He only felt a little uncomfortable all over: although those familiar battle brothers and the original body that he had not seen for a long time did make him inexplicably excited, but whether it was the rigidity of their tactics or the inadvertent The cruelty displayed during this period made Ahriman feel very uncomfortable.

...relax.

Maybe it's just... acclimatization?

He comforted himself, said goodbye to Amon with a forced smile, and planned to directly participate in the great conquest below to offset the discomfort in his heart: maybe he just needed time to adapt.

Re-adapt.

Amon did not stop him, but when Ahriman actually arrived on the battlefield, he found that there was another trouble waiting for him: standing in front of him was Hathor, the disgusting leader of the Bright Feather School, and It was Ahriman's friend Hector who faced him.

Why is he here?

Ahriman took a step closer and heard the argument between the two clearly: Hector and his company came to move reinforcements, and they hoped to receive support from the nearby Thousand Sons Legion, but Hathor said that their manpower was sufficient. Unfortunately, the library is not far away.

"Did you get into any trouble?"

Ahriman asked directly, while Hector looked helpless.

"It's those Space Wolves. There was a small situation on their side: a large number of dignitaries from the Shrike fled into the library and the surrounding high-end residential areas, and the bloodthirsty wolves were following them. Finally, once they take advantage of the situation, the consequences will be unimaginable. "

"yes."

Hathor loudly agreed.

"They'll burn those books."

"..."

Hector and Ahriman cast strange glances at Hathor at the same time.

"So, the situation is like this. Lady Morgan can't come over for a while. She ordered me to come to Thousand Sons to ask for reinforcements to jointly guard the high-end residential area: there are many technical officers and the families of Shrike Knights living there. If Being able to save their lives from the Space Wolves' ax will bring great benefits to the Empire."

"But we don't have enough people."

Hathor shook his head in disbelief.

"We still can't figure out the movement trajectory of those space wolves. Who knows whether they are heading for the library or the residential area. Our troops can only protect one of them."

"That's why I came to you: I want you to come with us to the residential area."

As soon as Hector's voice landed, Thousand Sons' eyes widened in shock.

"Are you crazy? This is a whole library of priceless treasures! Are you going to let them be exposed to the Space Wolves like this?"

His question instead elicited an even more astonished retort from Hector.

"Are you crazy? That's thousands of fucking lives!"

The two looked at each other in confusion. In the end, they couldn't tell a reason: Hathor obviously had no interest in continuing to entangle with Hector, and Morgan's favorite didn't seem to be planning to leapfrog to go to Magnus to request the matter. He turned around, He left in a hurry with his company and headed towards the residential area in the distance at full speed.

"What a bunch of wretches."

Hathor muttered, and then looked at Ahriman.

"Ah, and you, brother, I feel sad for you in my heart when I think of you staying with them for so long, Ahriman: Do you want to join us? The Primarch is almost arriving in the great library Now you can bask in his glory again."

"I……"

Ahriman hesitated for a moment. His eyes gradually jumped between the domineering Hathor and Hector who was gradually retreating. He pursed his thick lips and looked at the magnificent and magnificent library in the distance. Then he looked at the Residential areas crumbling in the flames of war.

"You go first, Hathor, I have to go see those Dawnbreakers before..."

"Lest they get us into trouble."

"Ah, too."

Hathor smiled.

"You're still thoughtful: I couldn't think of such an insignificant question."

"You'd better go back quickly, otherwise you won't miss the most exciting part of the whole war."

"I try my best."

Ahriman nodded.

I don't know why, but when he left the arrogant red of the Thousand Sons Legion and ran towards the silver of the Dawnbreaker, a long-lost sense of tranquility suddenly arose in Ahriman's heart.

"..."

He likes this feeling.