Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Nice opening, man."

"Your first company commander's performance far exceeded my initial expectations for him."

When the entire amphitheater of Nicaea fell into a deathly silence that could send chills down anyone's spine because of the unbridled speeches and corrections of the Death Guard, in the stands closest to this offense, the Space Wilderness The wolf's primarch excitedly showed his fangs, and used his last rationality to lower his voice.

The ecstasy turned into heat, which continuously slapped the face of the Lord of Death next to him.

"The kid I remember is called Typhon, right? I will remember this name."

"His name is Karas."

Hiding most of his face behind his hood and respirator, Mortarion used this method to hide his disgust well in front of his brother and temporary ally.

He quietly took a step back to prevent himself from being contaminated by the stench of the barbaric world. At the same time, he couldn't wait to speak, and was particularly stubborn in correcting the slight mistakes in the Wolf King's mouth.

"Calas-Typhon."

The primarch insisted on giving his full name.

"He's not a kid. He's the company commander of the Fourteenth Legion, the leader of the entire Death Guard. Brother: you should have remembered his name a long time ago, just like I knew about the Space Wilderness decades ago. The old wolf among the wolves who likes to go against you, Captain."

"Yeah: he's not dead yet, and he's more resistant than the orangutans on the Fenris tundra."

Leman Russ didn't seem to hear the Lord of Death's sarcasm at all. He shook his huge head triumphantly, and his carefully braided beard became a mess.

"But apart from resisting roughness, that old thing has no advantages. He will confront me all day long: If he has one-tenth of the rhetoric of your kid, then I will drag him to the field. , let him have a good showdown with Magnus."

"..."

Mortarion narrowed his eyes.

He was a little unhappy.

"Typhon is not my heir: he is my most trusted brother and friend, Leman Russ."

"Like my wolf?"

"Of course not."

Mortarion raised his chin.

"Typhon was the first kind-hearted being I met on Barbarus. It was his existence that told me that there are still elements of friendship and sincerity in this world: the bond between me and him is definitely not You're as good as two four-legged beasts, brother."

"He would go through fire and water for me, even giving his own life without hesitation."

"Beasts cannot do this: bonds and friendship are treasures that only exist in civilization."

"..."

Hearing these words, the Wolf King of Fenris neither refuted nor replied. He simply smiled, as if he was ashamed of himself because of Mortarion's accusation: when he turned his gaze in another direction , a casual question floated in the air.

"He would give his life for you: at least that's what you believe?"

“It’s not that you believe it: it’s that we’ve already done it!”

"Parting between life and death: the meaning is beyond your imagination."

The voice was raised by half a tone: in the stall where no one dared to speak, it actually seemed a bit harsh. Thousands of eyes turned to the two whispering primitives, but they were quickly taken away by the changes on the venue. Out of sight: Karas was performing his final performance, and he once again performed exaggerated etiquette, bending deeply in the direction of the Lord of Mankind.

"What an exaggeration."

On the other side, even Zhuang Sen, who remained silent, couldn't help but shake his head.

"Even Lorgar's perfect city would not stoop like this before the Emperor."

"Of course they won't."

Conrad chuckled.

"They will just lie down on the ground: this is called a great ceremony on ancient Terra."

The lion's brows trembled, but he didn't say anything. His green pupils turned to stare in the direction of Magnus: the rules dictated by Malcador told the lion that it was Magnus' turn next. A move was made, but his keen war instincts were also warning Jonson that according to the current situation, Magnus had better not say anything.

"Everything he said was wrong: and certainly out of character."

The lion commented dully.

"Typhon will obviously not be the only killing move sent by Mortarion. He is just the vanguard of the Death Guard: look at the people behind Mortarion. Their clothes are obviously not qualified to enter here. He looked at Magnus like he was an enemy."

"Obviously, these mortals are the accusers brought into the meeting by Mortarion, and they are the [Witch Hunters] under his command."

"Looking at this amount, Magnus will have to endure the indiscriminate bombardment from them in the next three or four hours: if he is really stupid enough to confront these consumables one by one in court, Then he will definitely lose this war.”

"Oh my god..."

Farther away, only the five brothers could hear Guilliman's soft sigh.

"Even Jonson can see it... I hope Magnus won't be more stupid."

"..."

The Lion King obviously paused.

"But compared to this, is there really nothing we can do to help Magnus? Morgan?"

Such innocent words seemed destined to be uttered only by the only remaining conscience among the Five, the Primarch of the Raven Guard, Corax: the brother who was happy to hide himself and hid his presence between Morgan and Guilliman. Behind the two of them, he was one of the few people present who was really worried about the outcome of this meeting.

[At least not now. 】

Morgan sighed softly and focused his eyes on the tea next to him: As one of the few people who knew the true meaning of Nikea, Morgan's eyes had left the field from the moment Typhon came on the stage. She knew Keeping an eye on it is just a waste of time.

But facing Corax, the Spider Queen was still willing to say a few more words.

[Have you ever wondered why Mortarion asked Karas to be the vanguard? 】

"To separate Magnus from those of us who are supporters of the Think Tank."

[Yes, and I have to admit that Typhon completed this task beautifully: he not only planted seeds in the hearts of bystanders, paving the way for subsequent attacks, but also interfered with the unity of our think tank factions. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone. 】

"Our unity?"

Corax looked around.

"Morgan, didn't you prepare for this moment decades ago?"

[Yes, but even if I work on this for decades, I can't change the most basic fact: the entire think tank faction exists to maintain the interests of the think tank system and all imperial psykers, Magnu The personal interests of Si and the Thousand Sons Legion are not the most fundamental interests of the entire think tank group. 】

[In other words, most supporters of the think tank system, including even the brothers who are on our side, are actually willing to sacrifice Magnus in order to preserve the overall interests of the entire think tank system: Mortarion knows He was unable to fight against a huge interest group that was deeply entrenched throughout the empire, so he chose to break through Magnus's weak point first. 】

"Our...brother?"

Obviously, Corax didn't listen to the second half of the sentence. He was shocked by something that Morgan meant: Would any of them choose to betray Magnus? Choose to betray their blood brothers?

"How is this possible?"

The Crow King gritted his teeth: betrayal was the most taboo red line in his heart.

【Why is it impossible? 】

Morgan asked with a smile. Under the shocked gaze of the Crow King, the Spider Queen gradually directed her gaze to a brother next to her. Corax looked along and found a picture that he could not believe the most. face: that person is looking at them now too.

"Robert!"

The Crow King opened his mouth.

"You... actually still have you?"

His fingers were trembling.

"Of course it's me, Corax."

Guilliman simply nodded.

“It’s not just me: I’m just an insignificant component of the vast majority.”

"You all decided to give up on Magnus?"

“First of all, it’s not giving up.”

The Macragge shook his head.

"Secondly..."

In turn, this time it was Guilliman's turn to keep an eye on the Raven King.

"Speak with your conscience, brother."

"Don't you think that Magnus's arrogance and ambition have indeed gone too far? He does need a proper punishment and warning, even if it is for his own good: let him know that he can't be so unscrupulous in the future, otherwise he will Sooner or later it will harm us all."

"Timely punishment?"

Corax didn't even notice that his tone was distorted at this time. The Crow King quickly looked around: The Emperor is above, Malcador is in the center of the field, all the Primarchs and Legion representatives are lined up on both sides, from The tens of thousands of representatives from all over the empire are only an insignificant part of this venue.

"In a place like this, if Magnus was knocked to the ground, how could he be greeted with [timely] punishment: he would definitely be excommunicated by the Emperor, and only the harshest result would be worthy of it. Such an occasion.”

"On the contrary, brother."

Guilliman just blinked.

"A citizens' meeting like this will not push Magnus into a corner. If nothing else goes wrong: Don't forget, we are ultimately a monarchy, not a democracy. The banishment law for pottery fragments is in the human empire. It doesn’t work well on this land. The bigger the scene, the more benign and harmless the result will be.”

Then the Primarch shook his head, raised his hand and patted the Crow King on the shoulder.

"You know, brother, if the Emperor really wants to punish Magnus, he doesn't need to go to all the trouble here: he just needs to find a reason, even the most ridiculous, to quietly transfer the Thousand Sons Legion to In this world, he would then summon his most powerful swords, maybe Jonson and Leman Russ, and occasionally bring Morgan or Conrad to have a less happy family picnic."

"Then? Then you will never hear the name of the Thousand Sons Legion again, or even remember the trace of their existence: of course, if Magnus is lucky, he may not escape this punishment. I have witnessed a similar incident with my own eyes.”

Having said this, Macragge's face froze for a moment, and he seemed to be sighing and feeling emotion.

"Trust me, brother. I have personally experienced the Emperor's wrath and witnessed the true cruelty of the galaxy. I know how the Emperor treats those who disappoint him: that is an experience I never want to relive again."

"Robert, you..."

"That's nonsense!"

The Raven King opened his mouth and was about to respond, but on the other side of his brother, or on the other side of the Conrad Wall, a scornful scorn tore the remaining brotherly warmth in the air to pieces: the objection filled with Caliban's tone made Guilliman's face turn red all of a sudden.

"Nonsense, you don't know what the harshness of the galaxy looks like, and you don't know how the Emperor's wrath will be released. You just live in your own world and think that what you see is the cruelest: don't mislead our brothers here, you are just a child in a greenhouse, Robert."

"..."

[So, you see. 】

When the Macragge people were furious because of the lion's interference, they quickly turned around and used the blazing fire in their pupils to fight with Jonson on Conrad's face and scalp, Morgan took his place in order, spread his hands, and smiled helplessly at the Raven King.

【We can't even reach unity on these small things, how can we collectively support Magnus: Do you know what kind of people your brothers are? Do you also know what kind of people those mortals are? It is a thousand times more difficult to unite the latter than the former. 】

"Well... okay."

After a long silence, Corax ended his confusion with a sigh.

【What's more, my little crow: this is not all bad for us. 】

"What?"

The Raven King raised his head again.

"This... can you benefit from things like this, Morgan?"

[It's not a benefit: but I finally have a bottom line in my heart. At least now I can finally determine what Mortarion's goal is in this meeting? ]

"Really?"

The Raven King was a little surprised, because he was completely unaware of this. Then, he instinctively looked at other brothers, such as Jonson and Guilliman who were spitting at each other, and a Midnight Ghost who let the two spit on each other in his five senses: their performance seemed to be similar to Corax.

"Then how did you know, Morgan?"

[Reasoning plus a little luck: Do you want to know the goal of the Lord of Death? ]

"Yes."

The Raven King nodded immediately.

"What exactly does he want to do: what exactly does he want to accomplish on Nikaea?"

——————

"Very simple."

"Not those things: my goal on Nikaea is a range."

In front of Leman Russ, Mortarion didn't mind speaking freely.

"The lower limit of this range is that Magnus gets the punishment he deserves, and the upper limit is that because of Magnus's punishment, the Empire's psyker system will be implicated and uprooted by the Emperor in one go: as long as it is any result between the upper and lower ranges, I can accept it, brother Leman Russ."

"But more importantly..."

The Primarch smiled slyly.

"I will remain undefeated throughout the entire Nikaea Conference."

"The convening of the conference has already foreshadowed Magnus's final fate, so even in the worst case, my minimum goal can be guaranteed to be achieved: I will only gain victory, great victory, or unprecedented epic victory on Nikaea."

"Win! Win more! Win big and win!"

"These results were already determined before the meeting."

When the Primarch raised his head and triumphantly explained his point of view, Mortarion naturally ignored the flashing light in Leman Russ's drooping pupils.

"What are you going to rely on to ensure that Magnus will be punished, Mortarion?"

"A complex system."

The Primarch gestured proudly.

"Let me tell you, in order to ensure that Magnus will receive the punishment he deserves, I have prepared a complete set of execution steps for him, which is divided into seven steps in total, and Typhon is just the first step: similarly, the accusers of Magnus who are ready to take the stage one by one, and the aliens you prepared for the Emperor in advance, are also part of this seven-step plan."

"You are here, I brought the aliens. Did you make this plan later?"

"No, fate and divination have already told me about the aliens."

Mortarion shook his head.

"I have been planning for this for a long time and have collected countless information and intelligence."

"Don't worry: this time, Magnus and his Thousand Sons will definitely fail."

"And after Magnus falls, the so-called think tank system will not exist for too long."

"What do you mean?"

The Wolf King raised his eyebrows, and his pupils flashed with displeasure.

"Aren't you planning to separate Magnus from the entire think tank?"

"Yes, that's the case here."

Motarion nodded.

"But in the final analysis, Magnus is the representative of the Imperial Psychics. Morgan and others cannot deny this reality: after the matter of Nikaea is over, we have enough time and opportunity to make people believe this again, at least to make the next generation of mortals believe that Magnus and his Thousand Sons Legion will once again become the weak point of psychics."

"Think about it, since we can punish Magnus's Legion, then other think tank supporters, those Primarchs who support psychics and their Legions, and those mortal organizations, what reason do they have to continue to occupy the golden medal of immunity from death?"

"Being the first is powerful 's power: even the Primarch can be punished for this, then no one can escape the final judgment: the Librarians may be glad that their Nicaea abandoned Magnus's final decision, but this is exactly the scythe I prepared for them. "

"Our victory against the psykers is nothing more than coming a little later: we may not be able to win on Nicaea, but there are countless Nicaeas waiting for us in the future. One day we will win, even if it will be decades later, even if we need to cut off this huge tumor that has polluted the entire empire bit by bit. "

"But I can wait."

The Lord of Death slowly clenched his fist.

"Patience, tenacity, planning, waiting, swinging again and again, and after weakening the enemy countless times, making it impossible for them to avoid the final blow forever: this is the way of fighting of the Death Guard Legion. "

"It is also my way of fighting. "

Speaking of this, it seems that the ancient memories have aroused his emotions, and Mortarion suddenly smiled sentimentally.

"You know, Leman Russ."

"In my life, I only admit that I have experienced one failure."

"And that failure was caused precisely by my recklessness: it was because I intended to make a final effort, and without sufficient preparation and patience, I recklessly launched the final challenge to the powerful enemy, so I had to swallow the bitter fruit of failure."

"..."

"I promise you, brother."

"There will never be a second failure like this."

"I will defeat them: defeat these damn psychic wizards."

"Defeat them little by little."

"Let them despair."

"Make them crazy."

"Let them seek their own death."

"Start with Magnus."

"Keep an eye on him: in a few hours, I will show you how a psychic like him destroys himself?"