Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

As the throne of the Greenskin Empire and the next target of the Human Empire, Ullanor may be the most imaginative fortress system in the entire galaxy so far: just the tip of the iceberg it shows is testing the limits of all physics, architecture and moral ethics in the world.

Even though the distance between the universe makes the model floating in the holographic projector as blurry as a phantom, some clues are enough to amaze people: the asteroid fortresses of unprecedented scale are hollowed out, and filled with hundreds of thousands of green beasts with fangs, as if you can hear their steaming howls through the fantasy, and they never stop polluting the public communication channels between various Astartes Legions.

This is only the first line of defense of the Ullanor system, which is not worth mentioning. Neither King Urge himself nor Jonson and Horus who came from afar took these tens of thousands of asteroid fortresses seriously. Instead, those garbage fleets are more worthy of attention.

[But I don't care about them. To me, they are just a pile of junk. What really concerns me is a detail that seems insignificant to you guys, about the asteroid fortresses we just mentioned. ]

The Spider Queen's beautiful armor shone with a dim silver-white light under the light of the strategic hall, and her long hair was full of brighter luster: at the edge of the two similar colors, a lifelike secretary bird was carved in amber on the luxurious arm armor, which is one of Morgan's symbols.

On different occasions, the Lord of Avalon will have three different beasts to symbolize his authority: the swift and fierce snow owl flutters in war, used to go to the front line and the parade ground where the rumbling of artillery can be heard in the distance; the small and powerful black-footed cat is used in peacetime. While keeping a low profile as much as possible, it will not lack sufficient deterrence. After all, even the smallest beast is still a beast.

As for the elegant secretary bird, it stands between the first two. At the transit station between war and peace, Morgan will mobilize the huge battlefield based on star regions with a more elegant attitude. With just a wave of her finger, she can manipulate thousands of destructive forces: at this time, she is even more deadly than when her psychic power is fully activated, and a string of characters can poison dozens of star regions.

That's enough.

Unlike her title, the Spider Queen actually doesn't like spiders, because it reminds her of the subspace existence that is always watching her: after all these years of coexistence, the gaze of the Lord of Pleasure has long become a tolerable little trouble, and will not even affect daily life.

As for the occasional breath and licking of this evil god, except for making Morgan frown for no reason in any occasion, dismissing the visitors who were panicked by her color change, rushing to her bathroom, and then coming out to solve the mess on these occasions, it doesn't seem to cause any greater harm.

But this is precisely the most terrifying thing about the evil god of the warp: even a cautious figure like the Lord of Avalon, after decades of tense nerves, had to fall into a vortex of laziness and numbness, and his vigilance against the Prince of Pleasure also passively declined.

Slaanesh only paid a negligible price for the [Time] war, and curbed Morgan's counterattack, successfully occupying the position closest to the original body, not only being able to exert influence on Morgan at all times, but also cleverly saving the tediousness of contact in the future.

The evil god did not use force, it was just simply persistent and shameless: even though Morgan and other chaotic beings had destroyed Slaanesh's advance countless times, the Prince of Pleasure still exhausted all means and firmly occupied the position behind the Spider Queen.

In any case, the Lord of Avalon has become accustomed to the evil god's presence so close. The initial vigilance is gone forever. He even occasionally forgets the notes behind him and takes the feeling of the hair on the back of his neck being slightly blown by his breath for granted. He only realized it belatedly and shed a cold sweat afterwards.

This feeling is really tormenting.

Especially when you know that the evil god is lurking at this time just to get more in the future, and you just can't concentrate your vigilance: the Prince of Pleasure has almost perfectly integrated into Morgan's daily life. Although the Spider Queen has curbed many of her hobbies for this, there are always some things that even Morgan can't avoid.

For example...

The Primarch covered his forehead, feeling the increasingly ambiguous breeze beside his ears, and shook his head helplessly in his heart: She was just a little proud because she was able to point out the small problem that both Jonson and Horus ignored, and the voice of Slaanesh began to echo impatiently, leaving another mark in her soul.

Pride: the authority of Slaanesh.

It's really hard to guard against.

The Primarch gritted his teeth and cursed inaudibly, then looked up belatedly and found that her Caliban blood relative was staring at her in astonishment: Morgan's previous move obviously scared Zhuangsen, but he opened his mouth and didn't point it out.

"What did you want to say just now?"

The lion changed the subject rudely.

[These asteroid fortresses. ]

Morgan took a deep breath and had to use her energy to be alert to the breathing behind her.

[You remember that in the past two weeks, we destroyed the last three fortress systems that stood in front of Ullanor, and waited for the reinforcements from Phoenix and Khan: when our several legions fought side by side, we also encountered these asteroid fortresses. ]

"Untouchable."

Jonson snorted disdainfully.

"Any knight under my command can knock down such a [fortress] in less than ten hours: if those Calibans come, the casualties will not even exceed a hundred."

[I don't doubt it. ]

Morgan waved his hand and didn't dwell on Jonson's boasting.

[What really interests me is that in the Ullanor system, there are thousands of such asteroid fortresses observed, but in the three systems we just conquered, there are no more than ten asteroid fortresses like this in total, as far as I remember: the orc emperor is now obviously consciously shrinking the military power in his hands, and his control over his subordinates is still very strong. 】

"For greenskins, such control is rare."

Jonson thought for a moment before nodding.

"I destroyed more than a hundred orc empires in the sandstorm of the Great Crusade. Some of them only occupied a few star systems, while others spanned several star regions or even star fields. There were so many of them that we couldn't completely eliminate them. Among the many warlords I cut off, I really haven't seen such a smart one."

"The Emperor chose this opponent as his last battle for a reason."

At this point, Jonson pursed his lips reluctantly.

"At least, my Dark Angels can't solve the opponent Ullanor alone."

[We can't solve it alone. 】

Morgan blinked his eyes. He was never interested in topics like honor.

[Don't forget, your Dark Angels only sent out 15,000 people, and my Dawnbreakers also sent out 15,000 people. The Emperor's Children and the White Scars have allocated a total of about 50,000 elite troops to us, and the rest are made up by the Ultramarines. In this way, they pieced together a decapitation force of more than 120,000 people under your command. ]

"It's difficult to command them."

Jonson was still in shock.

"Those so-called Khans, Lords or Heroes always have their own ideas."

"A bunch of miscellaneous brands...hiss!"

The Lion King took a breath: a few strands of broken golden hair fluttered in the wind in the air.

"What are you doing!"

[Shut up! ]

Morgan frowned coldly, and she used a sneer to force the Lion King's roar back into his throat.

[What do you want to say? Hmm! ]

[What do you want to say about the support troops that your blood brothers have worked so hard to put together for you? Which part of your brain supports you to say this word: Reckless or Courage? 】

"... Honesty."

After a long silence, the Caliban man actually uttered a rather interesting answer, which made Morgan laugh directly.

[Anyway, don't say this word. 】

"This is just a private occasion, Morgan."

[Do you think I don't know you! 】

The Spider Queen rolled her eyes.

[If you don't remember these things in private, then it will be too late in public. Fulgrim and Chagatai Khan are not thousands of miles away now, but on their respective warships. They may visit your warship at any time. These two people are not as easy to talk to as Guilliman. 】

The Lion King did not comment.

"Then where do you plan to arrange them when attacking Ullanor?"

[I don't have the power to arrange them. 】

Morgan patted his shoulder irritably.

【Chagatai Khan doesn't care much about where he will appear. His only rigid requirement is that his battle zone must be arranged in a range that can support Horus in time. Considering that he doesn't care about the merits that the battlefield of Ullanor will bring him: I prefer to place him in the reserve position. 】

"Reserve? Seriously?"

Jonson frowned.

"You have to know, Morgan, that is the White Scars Legion: other legions regard wearing Terminator armor as an honor, only they regard wearing Terminator armor as a punishment, and instead regard being nailed to a motorcycle as their pursuit. For a legion like this, you want to put him at the back of the entire battle line?"

【Chagatai has no objection, he actually likes this position. 】

Morgan teased Jonson.

【Unlike some people, our Eagle brothers know the importance of the general reserve, and the high mobility of the White Scars Legion just means that they can support various fronts in time to prepare for different emergencies. 】

"Well, what about the Emperor's Children?"

【Fulgrim is much more troublesome. ]

[He asked us to give him a position with a good view. ]

"...What?"

[The meaning of the observation deck, the reason why he joined Ullanor was just for this. ]

"What is the observation deck?"

[You are still young now, Zhuangsen, you will understand when you grow up. ]

"..."

The lion narrowed his eyes: Morgan was perfunctory to him without even pretending.

He felt a sense of suffocation.

"Do you mind explaining it more clearly?"

[Goodbye, I'm afraid you will draw your sword after hearing it and go to Fulgrim to fight. ]

"Hehe, it's really interesting."

Zhuang Sen laughed. His brain was working at lightning speed. His instinct, which was originally like a beast, suddenly captured the correct answer this time: Even Zhuang Sen took it for granted.

"I think there is only one situation that I cannot stand, and that is to treat this war, in which so much of the empire has invested its strength and everyone is focused on it, as a drama for his entertainment: something like this It’s surprisingly reasonable when it comes to him.”

"That's what Fulgrim is."

[Then what do you want to do? 】

Morgan raised his brows, counting the countdown to the war.

"I'll take care of him later."

The Lion King gritted his teeth, and finally realized the priority of the matter: he knew that if he had been a few decades ago, he would never have said such a thing, but would have drawn his sword like Morgan just said. , questioning Fulgrim’s attitude in front of everyone.

But now...

This is inappropriate.

"Don't place him in those crucial positions, Morgan. His current attitude says it all: no matter how famous the Emperor's Children Legion is, we cannot entrust him with the most important responsibilities. I would rather Leave these responsibilities to your mortal auxiliaries."

"They have at least proven themselves solid and reliable in those past wars."

【I will. 】

Morgan nodded.

[Then leave it to the Ultramarines? 】

"Tsk... that's okay too."

Lion King Yu nodded condescendingly.

"Without Guilliman, these Ultramarines are barely trustworthy."

【Then there is no problem...】

【Except one. 】

The Spider Queen curled her lips and looked at the letters that were always at hand.

[Jonson, what do you think about Horus’s opinion? 】

The Lion King was silent for a moment.

"It's not about what I think: if Horus really wanted to go it alone, he could have launched an offensive two weeks ago. After all, the Imperial Fists and Blood Angels were already on his side, and the Emperor's fleet was immediately We will arrive soon, but we all know that Horus did not do this. He has been waiting for the progress on our side."

"In this case, is there any reason for me to avoid cooperating with him? Although this sounds more like a competitive game, I guess I have no reason to be afraid of him: neither Horus himself nor his shadow. Yue Canglang, both Dark Angel and I are sure of victory."

[But you have to consider another issue. 】

Zhuang Sen's answer made Morgan nod repeatedly in his heart: If he can speak so clearly in public, then there really is nothing to worry about. After solving these serious problems, he felt happy in his heart. took over Morgan's mind.

[If you cooperate with Horus to launch an offensive against Ullanor, then how will you compete for the candidate of Warmaster? 】

"Isn't this simple?"

The Lion King laughed, as if he was laughing at Morgan's ignorance.

"The battlefield is not anywhere else. The battlefield is the place where secrets cannot be kept secret. What abilities a commander actually has will determine how well he will perform on the battlefield: The battlefield will not give its players the opportunity to cheat. When a commander After the war comes to an end, you will naturally know who is at a higher level."

"If that's the case, then Ullanor is simply the best place to compete."

"When the war is over, whether it is me, Horus, the Emperor, or you blood relatives who are watching, they will naturally be able to tell who is the real Warmaster: there is no need for any extra Warmaster election. ?”

【……】

I don’t know why, but Johnson’s last words made Morgan very angry.

【That……】

She smiled.

【What if you lose? 】

"..."

The Lion King raised his brow, as if he really hadn't considered this possibility.

After a moment of silence, Zhuang Sen calmly gave his answer: He did not categorically deny Morgan's hypothesis, or became furious, but instead showed his confidence as a matter of course.

"Let me tell you, Morgan."

"I actually... don't really care whether I can get the position of Warmaster."

【real? 】

"Ahem...of course."

The Lion King looked away.

"But no matter what, if Horus's performance on the battlefield can really conquer everyone, including you and me, and use his strength to convince me to admit defeat: then why not let him be the war commander? Woolen cloth?"

"The reason why I am competing for the role is because I am the most suitable person for this position, not because of unnecessary competitiveness. I have never been interested in these vain positions. What I am least interested in in my life are these false names. I I believe in the principle that those who are capable should live there.”

"Before this, Horus's performance was unconvincing to me. I admit that he and Ferus are the only two generals who can rival me. The command capabilities of the others are one level worse, but between the three of us, There is no gap, so naturally no one should be higher.”

"Even if I have to earn a higher or lower salary, I feel that I am the higher person."

"Instead of Horus."

"If he can convince me with his actual performance on the battlefield of Ullanor, or show some ability that makes me look up to him or admire him, I don't care who the position of Warmaster belongs to. If he can win, it is naturally his ability, and I certainly have nothing to say."

"So, it's like I said."

Jonson licked his lips, and the gleam in his eyes concealed his true thoughts.

"I am not interested in the Warmaster... cough..."

"I have no interest in the Warmaster."