Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Do you know what the most popular search term is in the entire Macragge network environment in the past few weeks: what all Macragge people and even all Ultramar people are discussing and arguing about?"

The huge body showed a hunched posture beside the coffee table. The Lord of Macragge, with his arms bent, was absent-mindedly fiddling with the fork covered with sauce in his hand: compared with the loss of composure a few minutes ago, the current Primarch has adjusted his breath.

But even so, some people are still obviously dissatisfied.

"Robert! What are you doing?"

A plate of noodles was casually rolled up by the silver fork, and then abandoned in the air by the diner who was always thinking. It gradually became colder and colder until it fell apart. Then, the pair of water-blue pupils that reacted stretched it to the table with disgust.

Pressing, wiping, scraping, wiping, and then rubbing the edge of the plate with the tip of a fork, a tattered, dead body was left on the snow-white tablecloth, reflected between the brows of the Primarch Mother who were almost squeezed together.

"If you want to eat, eat well, don't play with your food here like a child."

Lady Euton's voice carried a kind of accusation that only a mother can have, which did not make people feel angry at all. Her dry body leaned forward straight, and the backs of her two hands crossed on her knees could clearly see the skeleton and blue blood vessels. There were wrinkles on her simply groomed face that could not be concealed.

She was very old, so old that she had long exceeded the physiological limits of human beings: Lady Euton might be the same age as the Great Crusade, which was gradually declining. Whenever she had to undergo a life-extending operation, it was the most tense moment in Guilliman's life.

There is nothing wrong with this: which son can remain calm when his mother is sent to even the most prestigious operating room? Anyway, the Primarch felt that he could not do it.

But fate blessed, Macragge's medical system did not disappoint Guilliman's huge annual resource investment: when the Primarch was more than 130 years old, he could still eat the meal made by Lady Euden himself on a night of emotional loss, and hear her scolding, then everything before was worth it.

Although, this could not change the Primarch's embarrassment in front of his angry mother: even as powerful as the Lord of Macragge, under Lady Euden's cold eyebrows, he could only bow his head obediently, inserting the artichokes on the plate, and defending himself awkwardly.

"It's all Conrad's fault... He always fiddles with his plate in front of me."

"Yes! It's all others' fault, why don't you find the problem in yourself?"

Eudun obviously didn't buy it.

"I have met Conrad many times. He is such a good child. He is not only obedient but also polite. Every time he comes to visit Macragge, he knows to bring me gifts. Just look at how worry-free his parent Morgan is on weekdays."

"..."

Guilliman actually wanted to remind his mother that Morgan and Conrad did not seem to be guardians and wards...

Hey... It seems okay to say that?

The Primarch held his forehead: he clearly felt that his thinking was becoming sluggish, and the midnight snack in front of him, which he had eaten since he was a child, now made him uninterested.

This is too bad.

Guilliman forced a large mouthful of porridge that he had no idea what it was, into his throat, and naturally felt the gaze from Lady Euton, which was gradually heating up: in order to avoid further scolding, the Primarch decided to change the subject.

"My descendants, what reason did they use to invite you?"

"To determine whether the ruler of the Five Hundred Worlds intends to replace Magnus and become the stupidest of the Primarchs by [starving himself to death]."

Guilliman smiled: he didn't even bother to try to defend Magnus's remaining reputation in front of his mother.

"My hunger strike worries them?"

"That's not the case, but the food you wasted in the past few weeks will make the outside world begin to suspect that I am not conspiring with the Ultramarines to embezzle their Primarch's food subsidies."

Ms. Euton glanced at Guilliman's rough hands and found that even his nails had grown to an unreasonable length because they had not been trimmed for too long: a combination of anger and heartache filled her chest, and even the Primarch had to temporarily avoid the edge.

But at the same time, the mother of the Primarch was now full of confusion.

"Honestly, Robert: you are different now than when you were a child."

"..."

The fork that was arguing stopped.

"What's different?"

"You make me confused."

Ms. Euden's eyes involuntarily glanced in the direction of the thinker and the desk: in the Primarch's short childhood, that was his favorite place to stay. Watching his adoptive father Connor working there was a way for Guilliman to relax that was different from other children.

"Compared to before, I always feel that you are torn now."

"Torn?"

The Primarch chewed on the word.

"You mean: insincere?"

"Indeed."

Eudon nodded, and his eyes noticed the tears under the Primarch's eyebrows.

"To be honest, Robert, before I walked into the room, I really didn't expect you to cry in front of me. Although it was only a brief sob or two, it was a rare experience for you."

"Do you still remember: when Kang Nuo had an accident, you were as strong as a piece of steel."

"Because this time, that time."

The Primarch dropped the fork.

"At that time, although my heart was also full of sadness, it was more burning anger, because I knew exactly what happened, I knew clearly who was responsible for this tragedy, and the enemy was clear , so the desire for revenge is also strong, and there is no more room for confusion. "

“But now, things are different, I’m not supposed to know who I should hate, I don’t know who I should vent my anger on: I’m not even sure whether I should be harboring anger for this obvious tragedy, Because this time, I couldn’t find the real murderer.”

"Whether it's us or Terra, we seem to be the driving forces behind the current situation."

"So... you are confused?"

Jotun nodded. She actually didn't understand Guilliman's words very well, and she didn't agree with his thoughts from the bottom of her heart. But as the mother who raised the Primarch, Ms. Jotun knew very well: Marku What the Lord of Raghu needs now is not a debate about spending money, but he needs to pour out all the thoughts in his heart.

Right and wrong will be discussed later.

"yes."

Guilliman simply slumped in his chair.

"I don't even know what to do."

"Really?"

Jotun began to clear the plates, obviously not agreeing with the original body's words.

"You said you didn't know what to do, you said you were at a loss? But since the Badab crisis broke out, Robert, my son, every one of your actions has been very accurate and fatal: you have shut yourself down. Get up, but you still ensure that Five Hundred Worlds can exert almost all its combat power."

"Seriously, this is..."

"You don't mean what you say."

The Primarch spoke the word for the second time, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

"Yeah, I'm always like this, say one thing and then do another."

“In my heart, no matter how much I sob, I am still confused, but on the surface, the skills of weighing pros and cons and many political instincts have already formed muscle memory. Regardless of my ideas, I will execute them subconsciously: as if my rationality It’s separate from sensibility.”

"My heart was screaming, telling me not to be an enemy of Terra, but the day I received Badab's distress signal, I immediately decided to fully support them because I had to prove to outsiders what I signed Every covenant is pure gold, this natural answer overcame my inner thoughts. "

"But it..."

"But it's not all rational?"

Euton laughed.

"Robert, when you ordered to support Badab at all costs, you actually still had anger in your heart, right? You knew you couldn't make things worse, but your sensibility was also urging you to take revenge on Terra. Especially after the loss on Nicaea."

"..."

"That's right."

The Primarch raised his head and looked at the Ultramarines flag hanging on the wall.

"Now that I think about it, I did have a personal impulse in giving that order."

"But, how should I put it: I just lost a large number of elite warriors on Nicaea, and even the right to pursue the truth was denied. But when I turned around, the Holy Terra who prevented me from redressing the injustice for my descendants was Reach out again and extend their claws to my allies."

"No matter how you think about it, this looks like a conspiracy against us."

"So, I immediately issued an order for a full-scale counterattack."

"But now that I think about it, maybe this is really a black swan event."

"But we can't go back."

The original body's hands were crossed, and the ten fingers were violently wrestling together.

"This is simple political common sense. The bigger the Badab crisis becomes, the less we can take a step back from the obvious. Otherwise, not only will the prestige of Five Hundred Worlds be damaged, but the political credibility we have worked so hard to build will also be damaged. Everything will collapse in one fell swoop: Who would entrust their lives to a sect leader who cannot protect themselves?"

"Unless the sect leader himself is a robber."

"At that time, I'm afraid even the five hundred worlds will be shaken by it."

"So, you have been actively deploying troops to the Badab front line?"

"This is also superficial."

Guilliman sighed.

"To be honest, Ms. Youdun, I really don't want to make things big. I'm even afraid of the consequences of staying in such a stalemate. But no matter how I struggle in my heart, I must pursue another plan on the surface. : I must maintain a tough attitude and confront Holy Terra face to face, no matter how much I want a peaceful solution in my heart.”

Ms. Youdun did not speak. She finally understood why her son shed tears very rarely: against his will, watching the development of things push the development of things into the abyss with his own hands, I am afraid that even the Primarch would Too much to bear?

"You don't have to blame yourself so much, kid."

After a long silence, Joden slowly walked up to Guilliman and patiently touched his shoulder.

"This is the unanimous thought of the five hundred worlds: you are only responding to the expectations of your people."

"Hahaha……"

The Primarch laughed, his voice frightening Lady Euton.

"expect?"

"Do you really think so?"

The Primarch pointed to the Thinker.

"Ms. Youdun, these days, I have never let go of my responsibilities. I will also carefully screen and check real-time data from all over the world. Do you still remember the question I just asked you?"

"What has been the most discussed topic among Macraggeans since the crisis began?"

"It's Badab."

Yudun replied firmly.

"Even the kids in school are chanting to be tough on Tyra right now."

"Yes: but what do they know?"

The primarch nodded.

"Do you know that among all the search engines in Macragge, what is the second-ranked search term after Badab?"

"I'm asking: What exactly is Badab Prime?"

"Where exactly is it?"

"What does it have to do with the Five Hundred Worlds?"

"Why does Holy Terra impose taxes on Badab Prime?"

"Also: what is Terra?"

"The search volume for these terms is almost the same as the search volume for the Badab crisis."

"..."

"Got it, ma'am?"

Looking at the silent adoptive mother, the original body just stood up silently and walked slowly to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The bright lights of Macragge City were gradually disappearing. As most people fell asleep, there were still people on the streets. The remains of the mess that followed the day's demonstrations against Holy Terra remained.

"They were chanting slogans, but they didn't even know what was happening."

"They were just shouting slogans."

"Following the leaders, shouting some slogans that they think are correct."

"Then say, this is public opinion."

"Can such public opinion really be regarded as the unanimous will of the five hundred worlds?"

Before Ms. Euton could answer, the Primarch shook her head.

"It's true."

"That's really what they were thinking."

"But after more than ten days, maybe they will have another idea."

"How could I go against Holy Terra for such public opinion?"

"But I had to do it. My political instinct was pushing me forward. No matter how much my heart screamed, I had to give in to my weighing nature: I had to help Badab against my will. I We must fearfully confront Holy Terra."

"I had to face things that only appeared in my worst nightmares."

"..."

The primarch turned his head, his face shrouded in complete shadow.

"Under my governance, five hundred worlds may become...traitors to the empire."

"..."

"Connor..."

The primarch groaned in agony.

"This is a nightmare..."

"Betrayal of the Empire...oh my God!"

Slowly, the original body's palm touched his neck, where almost inexhaustible thick cold sweat had accumulated.

As soon as he thought about the possibility that the Five Hundred Worlds would become a rebellion against the empire and mankind under his governance, the Lord of Macragge felt a thorn in his back, and his worldview almost collapsed because of this.

Rebellion?

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How is that possible!

The original body's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and he instinctively wanted to vomit, but found that he had not eaten much at all just now. He was swaying back and forth like a weak patient, and could only hold on to the window railing in front of him with his hands. He crushed it nonchalantly until big drops of cold sweat fell on the floor in front of him.

No.

He can't do this.

Robert Guilliman cannot be a traitor to the Imperium.

But Macragge...but Five Hundred Worlds...

…

Father, what should I do...

The original body held his head. He almost wanted to sob again, but a warmth comforted him in time: Ms. Euton had come to his side and put a hand on her son's side. At the waist, the other hand slowly caressed his back, just like a mother caressing a baby, bit by bit, calming down the original body's emotions again.

"Self-pity is as useless as destroying your own body, Robert."

Eudon comforted her son.

"Remember, you are their leader, you can respect their ideas, but you can't be led by their ideas: Since you think this is inappropriate, then let's find ways to de-escalate the situation. , we will contact Terra."

"I have met the Seal Holder, even though it was only for a very short time, but I believe that he is by no means an incommunicable fool: Terra must have a price tag that belongs to them. If this price tag is really unacceptable, then we will feel at ease. Protect your own interests.”

"I know."

The primarch nodded.

"I know what they want."

"It's nothing more than...two things."

Who is the Lord of Macragge? Within ten minutes of receiving the information about the crisis at Badab, Guilliman had already guessed why Holy Terra would launch this reckless offensive.

To be more precise, he had foreseen this scene more than ten years ago.

"Two things?"

"That's right."

The primarch breathed deeply.

"The first thing is to collect taxes."

"The reason why they sanctioned Badab is, on the one hand, to use the powerful overlord world in the Maelstrom region to attack, and on the other hand, to force the forces of the Five Hundred Worlds to withdraw from the Maelstrom region: If these two things are accomplished, Terra will not only benefit herself After accumulating enough prestige, it can take the opportunity to dismantle the largest local organization in the Maelstrom and return it to a state of disunity. It can then take the opportunity to launch a comprehensive taxation plan. "

"Although to this day, I still can't figure out why Holy Terra charges such an unreasonable tax, it is obvious that their determination to tax is extremely firm: so firm that they do not hesitate to become enemies of Macragge."

"So, what about the second point?"

Eudon then asked.

"Is this..."

The original body was a little embarrassed.

"Perhaps the expansion of the power of the Five Hundred Worlds is too close to the solar system, so close that Holy Terra feels a fatal threat. They no longer want to see the Maelstrom area as my sphere of influence, but hope to My banner is driven back to Ultramar."

"That doesn't surprise you."

"I've been expecting this for a long time."

The primarch smiled bitterly.

"How do you say it?"

"Actually, at that time, I was not very supportive of Badab's expansion, because I had foreseen that the rule of the Five Hundred Worlds in the Maelstrom would arouse many fears, but there was no way. At that time, the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar The world really needs a stable direction of expansion.”

"Because for a long time, the system of the Five Hundred Worlds has been built around expansion: countless newly developing industrial worlds need more raw material origins and dumping markets, and the Far Eastern Frontier and Nostramo are obviously unable to satisfy their appetite. In politics We also need room for maneuver in the military, and we also need to make stable achievements in the military and extract space for new recruits through actual combat.”

"All in all, Macragge at that time really needed a depression, a stable expansion direction for the five hundred worlds, to maintain the operating system at that time: until I could transform the entire Macragge system from military to People’s livelihood has shifted from reliance on outward expansion to a self-sufficient internal circulation system.”

"But it will take time, at least one to two generations."

"So, I had to find an expansion direction for the Five Hundred Worlds, a [colony] that does not have to be included in the Five Hundred Worlds."

"colony?"

"yes."

"To develop this kind of thing, in the final analysis, you need to pay a price, and you need to exploit other things: either yourself, or exploit others, and the collective name for the latter is a colony, but such a colony has more classifications , some don’t even look like colonies.”

"So you chose the Maelstrom?"

"Because there is no other choice."

Guilliman shook his head and couldn't help feeling the cruelty of fate in his heart.

"Originally, I could actually avoid touching the sensitive area of ​​the Maelstrom, but Macragge's geographical location determines that we cannot expand to the east or south, because it is beyond the scope of the star torch, but the west and north were originally still Those who own large tracts of unclaimed land can handle the work of lowlands.”

"Until my sister Morgan established her far eastern frontier in the north."

"And a few decades later, she saved Angron on Nuceria. Angron then surrounded his home planet and established a kingdom belonging to the World Eaters in the west of the Five Hundred Worlds. The Legion’s state-within-a-state has completely blocked our two main directions of expansion.”

"With no other choice, I didn't activate the backup option of the Maelstrom until that moment."

"And probably from that time on, Terra has been extremely dissatisfied with me, right?"

"Do you know everything?"

"How could you not know?"

The primarch shook his head.

"I'm just lucky, I hope my luck can be better, I hope Holy Terra can be more tolerant, I hope time can be delayed a little longer, until I can completely transform the entire Five Hundred Worlds into The day when the internal circulation system is established, the whirlpool can be abandoned at any time.”

"But now, it will take at least twenty years for me to complete my original plan."

"And Holy Terra's patience seems to have reached its final limit."

"They swept in, and the High Lord's letter was placed on my desk."

"Give in, or fight."

"..."

"I have no choice, ma'am."

Ms. Euton did not speak, she just stared quietly into Guilliman's pupils.

"Are they strong?"

"Who? Terra?"

"That's right: Is the power of Holy Terra stronger than that of the Ultramarines and Five Hundred Worlds?"

"certainly."

The original body nodded decisively.

"That's all I'll say."

"As of now, there are a total of more than 64,200 expedition fleets in the galaxy. The number of expedition fleets that each Astartes Legion can possess ranges from a dozen to more than a hundred at most. That’s all. Added up, I’m afraid it’s only a fraction of the total number of galaxies.”

"Think about it, who will the remaining expedition fleets take orders from?"

"Similarly, the total number of Titan Legions in the galaxy is far more than three digits, but most of the Primarchs can only rely on their relationship with the Mechanicus to barely mobilize one to three Titan Legions. I am special and should be able to mobilize eight Legions, and Horus should be able to mobilize a little more."

"But apart from that, who do the remaining Titan Legions and Knight Families obey?"

"I haven't even counted the largest number of mortal auxiliary troops on Holy Terra."

"But they don't have Astartes?"

"Yes."

The Primarch smiled.

"Mortals would think so."

"But seriously, even my Ultramarines Legion, so far, only has nearly 300,000 Astartes. With this amount of troops, do you think it can play a decisive role in a battlefield with the Milky Way as the front line?"

"The Great Crusade relies on the concerted efforts of 19 legions. A single legion is extremely fragile in front of the Empire: not to mention that the mortal auxiliary army is far less vulnerable, they are enough to shake the power of the Astartes."

"Indeed, an Astartes can easily kill a mortal auxiliary army."

"As long as If there are ten experienced and well-equipped mortal auxiliaries, they are likely to cause trouble to the Astartes, and if they are lucky, they can even kill the Astartes: if the number reaches twenty, thirty, or even fifty elite veterans, then the Astartes acting alone will have to think twice. "

"Hundreds of mortal auxiliaries, if they have the weapons and courage, can completely repel an entire Astartes squad."

"If the mortal auxiliaries gather in the thousands, with systematic firepower support, armored cover and fortress networks, they can completely delay the Astartes. When the number of people reaches millions or even more, even if the entire Astartes Legion is dispatched, it may not be able to ensure the final victory of the battle. "

"And there are endless warriors like this under the banner of Holy Terra."

"No doubt, Ms. Euton."

"At least so far, Holy Terra is the most powerful military force in the entire galaxy. Even if the Five Hundred Worlds and the Far Eastern Frontier are fully mobilized, they can only barely compete with Holy Terra: this is based on the premise that all other legions are neutral and do not respond to Terra's call. "

" If we act alone, my greatest guarantee is to rely on the strategic depth and logistical supply of the Five Hundred Worlds, as well as the full mobilization of the total war, so that Macragge will not fall so quickly. If Terra takes the casualties into consideration, perhaps they will give us a more decent surrender agreement. "

"This is the reality."

"The reality is: Holy Terra is now the superpower in the galaxy."

"For at least thirty years, no country can compete with it."

"What about thirty years later?"

Guilliman was silent for a moment, and he thought about this question seriously.

"Thirty years later..."

"Maybe..."

"Horus, Lorgar, Morgan, and my five hundred worlds, the four of us will become the four largest superpowers among all the Primarchs. If two or three of us are willing to join hands, we may be able to be compared with Terra."

"But now, it's not the time yet."

"Peace is coming, and we don't need to bleed before the dawn."

"Believe me, lady."

"With the Emperor's retreat and the end of the Great Crusade, peace and development will be the theme of the next era. The wonderful golden age awaits all of us: we don't need to provoke a war that is completely tragic for the galaxy at this time."

"What's more: we will definitely not win this possible war."

"..."

"So: do you want to compromise?"

Udon asked tentatively, and the answer was the Primarch's smile.

"I don't know, ma'am."

"I was just thinking: maybe I should go to the Badab front and take a look."

"To find out what's going on."

"To sign a gentleman's agreement: if there are smart people on Terra."

"To protect our interests as much as possible."

"To bring... peace to the next generation."