Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Honestly, Horus, your response is much more open-minded than I thought."

"I don't think this is strange, right?"

Hearing the angel's sigh behind him, Horus, who had been prepared, turned around and quickly added a rhetorical question: But despite his confident voice, the wolf god's frown that had not yet dissipated still betrayed his heart, making his smile seem less sincere.

Sanguinius naturally saw everything, but he said nothing. Instead, he focused all his attention on the more interesting thing in front of him: concentration is the angel's most proud advantage, and he has completely different values ​​from Guilliman.

"This is not strange, any advantage in you will not make me feel strange."

The angel smiled, which made his words sound extremely sincere: even if you know that he is about to tell a lie, the angel's smile is enough to make you believe that this will be a white lie that is completely for your sake.

"Really?"

Even Horus could not escape this simple temptation: after a brief silence, the wolf god could not suppress his inner expectations.

"Of course."

The archangel continued to smile and quickly caught up with his blood brother: the two were no longer in the lounge, but in the passage to the secret command room. The surrounding scene also changed from the original deliberately magnificent to the original appearance of the Spirit of Vengeance.

Simple, old and decayed.

But it should not be taken lightly.

Sanguinius was not surprised by this. As a frequent visitor to the Spirit of Vengeance, he knew the truth about this fighter better than anyone else: this Queen of Glory-class battleship belonging to the Moon Wolf Legion had an extremely ancient history. It was one of the earliest battleships built by Mars for the Empire. Its achievements were recorded in history, needless to say, but its dilapidated and decayed was also an indisputable fact.

The battles on the Man, coupled with the long-term neglect of the lower decks where the mortal servants lived by the Luna Wolves, have caused many corners of the Vengeful Spirit to become a maze full of corruption, stench and pests, but with few people: of course, this is a common problem for almost every large warship in the human empire, and only a few warships in the entire galaxy can escape this predicament.

For example, the Emperor's Dream, which is personally commanded by the Lord of Mankind, or the Aurora, which belongs to Morgan, and the Queen of Glory of Sanguinius and Fulgrim: It's not that the angel and the phoenix love cleaning, but they both simply can't stand living on a dusty and decayed warship, even if it is the Queen of Glory.

As for the question of the Vengeful Spirit, the angel wisely chose to keep silent.

He continued to pay attention to the topic that could bring him fun.

Sanguinius blinked, first calculated the time to arrive at the destination, and then thought about Horus's previous words.

Frankly speaking, Horus's answer was somewhat beyond Sanguinius's expectations, but it did not surprise the angel, because he knew that the Wolf God was such a person: although it was unexpected that he could give such an answer, it was reasonable when he thought about it carefully.

What a complicated person...

Thinking of this, the angel's chuckle even reached Horus' ears.

"What's wrong?"

The Wolf God turned his head, and the angel's whisper blew across his smooth back of the head.

"Nothing, Horus."

"I was just wondering: what kind of person are you?"

"Huh?"

The Wolf God raised his eyebrows.

"We have known each other for a hundred years, and our friendship has lasted for the same amount of time. Dear Brother Sanguinius, isn't it too late for you to think about this question now: it takes time for a prodigal son to turn back."

"It doesn't matter."

The angel blinked.

"You will forgive me, won't you?"

"..."

Damn it.

Horus cursed inwardly.

After so many years, Sanguinius still only knows this one trick, and there is no new idea at all.

"Of course."

After a few seconds, Horus finally heard his own sigh of willingness.

"But you have to tell me first, why did you suddenly think of this topic?"

The wolf god stopped walking. They stood in the dark corner of the passage. There were no descendants or eavesdroppers around them, which allowed some private topics to be talked about casually. Even Sanguinius, who has always been cautious, put down the high wall in his heart here.

"I'm just sighing about something."

The archangel sighed for a long time, and Horus had to restrain the impulse to draw his sword and go through fire and water for his angel brother: Sanguinius's sigh had this power, and his frown was even more abetting.

"Is it related to me?"

"Yes..."

The angel's smile was very sad.

"I was wondering, Horus: how confusing is your image in the eyes of the world?"

"...What do you mean?"

The moment the angel's voice reached his ears, the wolf god's brows had already been furrowed, but he still suppressed his temper: Horus instinctively realized that Sanguinius's sigh now was directly related to his response to the Eastern Front Legion's march to Ullanor a few minutes ago.

After he made that heroic declaration of competition, Sanguinius remained silent until he suddenly began to sigh at Horus's open-mindedness.

"Think about it, Horus."

The Archangel stopped smiling.

"It won't be long before the entire Ullanor front and even the entire galaxy will know that the Eastern Front Legion is ready to launch a decapitation attack on Ullanor: anyone with a brain knows the information behind this and naturally associates it with you."

"Me?"

"When someone steals the show, everyone will instinctively look at the original protagonist, right?"

The angel just shrugged.

"Think about it, brother: 350,000 Space Marines, countless mortal auxiliaries and skitarii, several fully equipped Titan legions and supporting knight families, fleets as vast as the sea of ​​stars, and supplies."

"We have all these too."

"Yes: but now they have them too."

"Not to mention, there is also Jonson, the experienced military commander in person. Others may not know his abilities, but you and I are definitely aware of it: although the matter of Randan is no longer allowed to be mentioned, Jonson's achievements should not be erased."

"I know."

Horus interrupted him. When the story of Jonson and Randan was mentioned, there was a strange color in the pupils of the shepherd wolf god: it was a rather complicated emotion, but the main component of it was still incomparable envy, which was the envy of soldiers for those with outstanding merits.

"Tell the truth, Sanguinius."

Horus sighed.

"I have always thought that if Jonson took the initiative to mention it to me, I would be willing to use all my power on Holy Terra to help him recover most of the honor that had to be erased after the Randan War: I know the possibility of this happening is not high, but this is what we should do as his blood brothers."

"Jonson is not good at getting the reputation he deserves for himself: unless someone helps him."

"Why don't you take the initiative to do it?"

"Jonson won't appreciate it."

Horus' smile was bitter.

"I... I have some problems with him."

"Even if I took the initiative to do it, he would only be furious."

"But please believe me, I am willing to be a good brother with Jonson. There are things in him that are worth learning and respecting: the contribution made by the lion to the empire cannot be erased. When I heard that he would lead the Eastern Front Legion, I was actually more nervous than you think, brother."

"I think others would think so too."

The angel nodded, and Horus' words did not exceed his expectations.

"In fact, everyone can see that you are a little afraid of Jonson on weekdays, especially this time, Jonson is standing next to a big man who can change the situation of the war: as long as our sister Avalon makes a little effort, the Eastern Legion's decapitation fleet can go all the way to Ullanor without any obstacles. After all, as long as it is not a catastrophic warp storm, it is not an unsolvable problem for Morgan."

"Indeed."

Horus nodded.

"She is much better than Magnus."

At this point, the greed in Horus' eyes made Sanguinius frown. He rarely saw Horus show such straightforward emotions.

"Although theoretically, the front line we are responsible for is closer to Ullanor, but there are definitely more enemies in front of us, not to mention that Jonson has a lot of experience in this kind of solitary battle. If we only reach Ullanor, then it is really a question whether he or I will arrive first."

"That's right."

The angel sighed again.

"So, we are curious about your attitude towards this matter, Horus."

"My attitude?"

The wolf god was stunned for a moment, and he quickly understood the hidden meaning of Sanguinius.

So, he laughed.

The laughter sounded very sharp.

"Why, brother, do you think I will be in a state of panic because of this matter?"

Horus turned around, his eyes burning towards Sanguinius like a blazing torch.

"Do you think I will panic and be furious? Or curse Jonson in the shadows for destroying the glory given to me by the Emperor? Do you still want to compete with me for the position of Warmaster? Or do you think I will be afraid of a head-on battle with Jonson, or do you think I will think that I am not as good as Jonson?"

"Many people will think so."

Sanguinius just smiled, and Horus's anger and rapid-fire questioning did not affect him.

"And your endless chatter also proves that their thoughts are not groundless."

"... Sorry, brother."

The Wolf God felt a little guilty.

"I was a little excited."

"It's okay, you are always like this."

Sanguinius blinked again.

"And, Horus: you must have had this stage in your heart, right?"

The angel looked at the suddenly depressed look on the Wolf God's face with satisfaction.

He admired it for a while before continuing to speak.

"I am actually very happy that you finally showed this heroic attitude. I know you will not hide it in front of me, Horus. Since you told me about your heroic spirit, what is burning in your heart now must be the ambition to fight with Zhuangsen, not the timidity in the eyes of the world that you are afraid of Zhuangsen coming to snatch your honor."

"Cowardly?"

The Wolf God snorted disdainfully.

"I admit that Zhuangsen is excellent."

"Then why do they think that Zhuangsen can beat me?"

"He is indeed my last opponent in the competition for warmaster: but he is only an opponent."

"Why should I be afraid of him?"

"Perfect idea, brother."

The angel clapped his hands excitedly.

"I believe that this is not your original idea, Horus. You must have been entangled in your heart, but in the end you came up with this heroic attitude: the courage after careful consideration is more valuable than the courage that comes spontaneously, brother."

"Don't flatter me."

Horus smiled, and his original anger began to disappear. He turned around and continued to walk towards their destination. The iron boots of the two primarchs stepped on the ground, but there was no sound. Only the echo of their communication was left in the air.

"You are right, Sanguinius."

When they reached the door, the wolf god who pressed his palm on the door sighed.

"In fact, when I first learned about the changes in the Eastern Front Legion, I was even more panicked than you described, Sanguinius: For a moment, I was indeed worried that Jonson would take away the honor of Ullanor given to me by my father, but I soon realized how narrow-minded and stupid my thinking was."

"It's simply unreasonable."

Horus laughed at himself.

"I must have been crazy at the time."

Then he shook his head helplessly.

"Whether this crown of Ullanor was given to me intentionally by my father or not, as the outside world has rumored, but first of all, it is an honor, an honor of war. If I don't have the ability to win it in the competition, but need to rely on my father's grace to wear the crown of Ullanor on my head: then I would be too ridiculous, wouldn't I?"

"By then, I'm afraid even the likes of Lorgar or Guilliman will come to laugh at me."

After saying this, the Wolf God slowly pushed open the heavy door in front of him.

"You are right. Zhuangsen is indeed a challenge beyond my expectation."

"But if it is an honor, isn't it natural to face the challenge for it?"

"Let Zhuangsen come."

"This time, I will convince him."

"I have never doubted it."

The archangel responded and did not dwell on this topic: the attitude of the wolf god. Sanguinius could not continue to find the fun he wanted on this issue for a while, but it was worth the trip to witness the sudden enlightenment of his blood relatives.

After all, his friendship with Horus was more important than happiness... a little bit.

Sanguinius was briefly ashamed of his thoughts and began to look at Horus's private strategic room: the magnificent star map and strategic command panel occupied every inch of the field of vision. On the holocron, the details of thousands of battles in hundreds of star systems were constantly turning over and analyzing. The interweaving of intelligence and tactical data announced the tremendous power of the human empire on the battlefield of Ullanor.

But these numbers and good news were not enough to attract the Archangel's interest. What really made him raise his eyebrows was the slight throbbing in the air. Sanguinius caught it very carefully and quickly recognized what it was. He also realized that it came from the instruments in front of them.

"Have you installed psychic plug-ins in all your command instruments?"

"Yes."

Horus nodded.

"Avalon's imported products are considered as subsidiary products of their Psychic Academy."

"It's really a rich place."

The angel smiled.

"Our sister has the potential to become a business tycoon among the Primarchs."

"What do you mean?"

"Your legion seems to be accepting unilateral product dumping from the Far East Frontier."

"Because it's really useful."

The Wolf God argued.

"As long as I bind my consciousness to the psychic plug-in in the instrument, I can adjust any star map I have seen in my memory at any time. As long as I have the most basic soul power, I can do this. It's really convenient to use."

"Is that so."

The angel didn't continue speaking.

"It seems that you are used to psychic powers now."

"They are indeed... very unique."

Horus smiled. He did not answer Sanguinius' question directly, but his eyes said it all. The archangel had noticed it in the conversation just now: when they mentioned psychic powers, the greed in the eyes of the Wolf God was almost impossible to hide.

In theory, Horus rarely showed such strong greed for anything, but if it was psychic power, which represented a powerful force in itself, it seemed understandable, especially when the current Wolf God could indeed access or even master this power.

Is his greed justified?

The angel thought about it, but did not study it in detail.

He noticed Horus's melancholy eyes when he looked at the star map again.

"What's wrong?"

Sanguinius took a step forward.

"Haven't you figured out how to plan the march to Ullanor?"

"No, I have already thought about it."

Horus shook his head.

"More than one: the Ullanor greenskins are indeed powerful, but not smart. With just a little trickery, I can attract most of their fleet forces, so that the main force can go straight to Ullanor. In any case, I will arrive before Jonson."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"I just..."

Horus was silent for a moment.

"Hey... Sanguinius..."

"What's wrong?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"explain."

"What do you think..."

Horus stared at the star map closely, and his fingers slowly clenched into fists. The crunching sound made Sanguinius frown.

"After Ullanor is over, when the Emperor returns to Holy Terra, will our Great Crusade continue? Or will the Great Crusade still be the Great Crusade then without the Emperor on the front lines with us? There will be no more enemies or territories worth conquering, not even opponents like the Ullanor Orc Empire from now on."

"Tell me, what will the Milky Way look like at that time?"

"A time of peace."

The archangel didn't even think twice.

"Everyone is looking forward to it."

"……yes."

Horus smiled. He did not refute the angel's words, but looked a little melancholy.

Sanguinius noticed this.

"Don't you like it?"

"Of course I like it, I just..."

"Some concerns."

"Doubts? What doubts?"

Horus remained silent, but Sanguinius could not understand him.

What can the Shepherd God have to worry about?

What is there to doubt about peace?

"Sanguinius."

After a long time, the voice of Horus, who lowered his head, became much hoarse.

"When peace comes, have you ever thought about what you will do when you go back?"

"have?"

The Archangel thought about it.

"Perhaps I will return to my home planet Baal with my children and grandchildren. I have a plan to gradually improve the ecological environment and human race on Baal: I hope to see my home planet become a normal place again. The world, people can grow vines on it and you can make sweet wine that you can drink.”

"Well...you had this plan already?"

"certainly."

The excited archangel did not hear the gloom in Horus' words.

"Since I was little: this has been my childhood wish."

"Yes, you spent your childhood on Baal, another part of your life."

"..."

Having said this, the archangel finally understood Horus's thoughts.

"Horus...you are..."

"No, it's nothing."

The Wolf Shepherd is still smiling.

"I'm just...a little emotional."

He licked his lips.

"When the Great Crusade ended, and when the precious peace came, each of us seemed to have his own destination: you have your own grand plans on Baal, Jaghatai and Mortarion also told me Their respective plans, even Dorne or Vulkan, seem to have subjects waiting for their return, not to mention Morgan and Guilliman, who will be the second most noble people in the Empire when there is no need for war. "

"You all have your own world, your own childhood, your own home planet, and another life of your own, a life before joining the Great Crusade: The Great Crusade is just an episode in your life, but it will ultimately When it’s over, you still have somewhere to go and you can still go back to where you started.”

"And I..."

Horus hesitated.

"Do you know where I'm from?"

"certainly."

Sanguinius nodded.

"Lucenia: The Emperor picked you up almost as soon as you landed."

"That's right."

The Shepherd God nodded, and the worries in his heart were finally completely released.

"That's not my home, my childhood and my country."

"The Emperor's warships are my home, the Great Crusade is my childhood, and the galaxy is my realm."

"I have nowhere to go but here."

"Luo Jia can be his missionary."

"Jonson can be his knight."

"Leman Russ continues to be a wild man."

"Not to mention Morgan and Guilliman: they were born with their own crowns."

"When the Great Crusade is over, you will still be kings, saints, and leaders on your respective home planets. You will have people who wait for you and love you: you will still have a proud and firm position in the galaxy."

"But when the Great Crusade is over..."

…

"Horus, where should we go?"

——————

"I believe that the Emperor will not leave you, Brother Horus."

——————

"..."

"Sanguinius."

"Our father, isn't he leaving me now?"