40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 177 2. Bad News

Conrad Coz was thinking.

He was standing on a tall building, surrounded by silence.

The night sky, which would have been cut into a chaotic scene by chaotic and gorgeous lights, now looked extremely peaceful. The streets were also brand new, and those places where the gangs had viciously set traps had been flattened along with the traps.

Life in the lower nest was very boring, and the gangs would do everything to get rid of this boredom that could drive them crazy-drugs, killing, alcohol, simple physical pleasure, and the simplest entertainment on Nostramo.

Torture others.

Torture some innocent people who were simply passing by. In this way, they can enjoy a perverted pleasure and a crazy illusion of superiority.

The Lord of Midnight slowly raised his right hand and placed it on the cold iron railing.

He gently stroked its surface with his fingertips, feeling the roughness and coldness, and for a moment he felt as if he were in another world. But he quickly got rid of this feeling.

Coz looked at the other side of the night and accurately caught a silhouette extending from the top of a building in the darkness. That was No. 6, which kept a long watch on Nostramo.

It was there before, and it is still there now, so, will it be there in the future?

Conrad Coz smiled silently, bent his knees and jumped off the building, passing through the dark night like a ghost. He began to run nimbly and freely, as easily and naturally as before.

A few minutes later, he climbed over a deliberately open window and entered another building. And Caril had been waiting here for a long time.

He leaned against the wall, leisurely reading a booklet with the help of the dim soft light above his head. Conrad Coz glanced at it and saw the words "Common Sense" written in Low Gothic on it.

He closed the window to let the temperature in the room rise, and asked: "What are you reading?"

"Common Sense," Caril said without raising his head. "A manual compiled by Lucretius Corvo. I have to say, he is really professional, Conrad. It even teaches how to make a simple and delicious dinner with the seasonings and food distributed."

"Does this kind of thing need to be taught?"

"Not everyone is like you, Conrad." Caryl looked up and glanced at him. "Mastering 23 ways to cook rats is a very remarkable achievement."

"Then you still like to eat fried rats." Conrad Coz glanced back in the same manner. "And I'm not proficient, I haven't practiced it-do you want to try it?"

"No, thank you for your kindness, let's choose some normal ingredients." Caryl chuckled, put away the manual, and put it on the long table beside him.

This is a conference room with dark red carpet, simple decoration, and high ceiling, which is completely enough for them. A huge screen quietly stopped at the front of the long table, not yet turned on, looking like a mirror, reflecting the two figures at this end of the long table.

Curze curled his lips, unwilling to continue on this topic - he already understood why Khalil insisted that he not eat rats, so this memory now became an embarrassing fragment with a nausea urge when recalling it.

He approached the booklet, picked it up and began to read it himself.

Strictly speaking, only three people would participate in this meeting, him, Khalil, and Lucretius Corvo, so Conrad Curze did not want to be too serious - besides, he did not want to tell Lucretius Corvo about the Battle of Halcosus in a serious tone later.

The whole thing sounded horrifying enough in itself, if he said it with a serious face

"Bang, bang, bang."

It was a good time.

The Lord of Midnight narrowed his eyes, closed the manual, and put it back on the long table.

Khalil had already walked over and opened the door. Lucretius Corvo, wearing a light blue uniform, stood straight outside the door, waiting for the next words without looking away - he still maintained the strict attitude that would never show any casualness in formal occasions.

Khalil sighed, stepped aside, and invited him in.

"You don't have to be so serious, Lucretius." Conrad Curze couldn't help but smile. He gestured, signaling the Ultramarines to sit in front of him, but Lucretius did not do it immediately, but looked at Khalil first.

"How can I cross the line like this?" The Ultramarines said with a serious face. "The seat next to you should belong to Instructor Khalil or your first company commander."

"Okay, okay--" Khalil sighed and pulled him to the table and sat down. "--You have worked hard on Nostramo for a whole year, Lucretius, and the results are amazing."

Conrad Curze took over his words: "We are only grateful to you, so let's talk to each other in a different way, not so serious. There are only three people in this meeting."

"But I..."

"It's okay." Conrad Curze nodded to him, and Lucretius stared into the completely dark eyes and had to obey.

He has dealt with many primarchs, and in his opinion, the primarchs usually have strong emotions commensurate with their stature. At this moment, what he saw in the eyes of the Lord of Midnight was an obvious kindness.

This is completely different from Caril Rohals. Although this instructor is also tall, he is calm most of the time, and everything is hidden. It is impossible to see any obvious emotional reaction from him.

"I am very grateful for your hard work this year." Konrad Curze said after he finally sat down. "And this kind of gratitude cannot be expressed in words, Lucretius."

"For this reason, I hope you can return to Macragge with a batch of gifts after the end of your three-year term. I know you are not doing this for reward, but I can't help it. In addition, please forgive me for bringing this up so early. I am really not sure whether I will still be in Nostramo in three years."

The Ultramarines nodded silently-Konrad Curze covered all the points he wanted to refute without leaking a drop of water, and, judging from the current situation, he might still cover them with adamantium.

"Then." Conrad Curze gestured with a thoughtful look: "I believe you have heard what I want to talk to you about on the way here, Lucretius?" "Yes, my lord." The Ultramarines nodded, his voice hoarse because of some emotion - he was not stupid, he certainly realized something. Whether it was this private meeting, or the worry captured in the eyes of the Lord of Midnight at this moment. "I must be honest with you, Lucretius, although this matter may become countless buried secrets in the future. However, Halcosus has three planets in total. It is a federation, a lie, and a vicious trap." Conrad Curze put down his hands. Both of his hands were now placed on the table, quietly staying, with slender fingers and blood vessels clearly visible on the pale back of his hands. Lucretius felt a trance, not understanding why he began to observe the back of a Primarch's hand. His larynx rolled up and down, and he was immediately ready to continue listening. So the Lord of Midnight continued. "And the Ultramarines I and your father were responsible for Halcosus III - it has now been completely destroyed, the orbital bombardment of Macragge's Glory reduced it to a pile of rubble floating in the black vacuum. But before that, something bad happened."

"What is it, my Lord?"

"Your father is injured," said Conrad Curze, and Lucretius began to breathe faster.

"He was despicably calculated. The Halcosus people took advantage of his hope of regaining lost territory by peaceful means. They launched a shameless sneak attack. At close range, dozens of bastards in suicide vests charged at your Primarch. He was not even wearing ceremonial armor at the time."

Lucretius Corvo looked as pale as if he was dying - or that he was already dead - and the Ultramarines took several deep breaths to calm down. He said hoarsely: "Please tell me he is okay."

"Of course he is okay," Curze replied softly. "He is a Primarch, Lucretius, he was just caught off guard by the sudden attack."

"He has recovered long ago and is now fulfilling the tradition of your Ultramarines. Remember? Halcosus is a federation, and he protected the innocent civilians on the only remaining Halcosus I until the Imperial Colonial Fleet arrived."

Lucretius let out a long breath.

"Anyway, this is the specific situation." Curze said, looking at the Ultramarines who were still recovering emotionally, and even made a joke again. "I really should have asked my third captain, Fel Zarost, to do this."

"Huh?"

"Inside information, don't tell others." Curze winked at him. "During the time when I just returned to the Legion, Fel was given a new nickname by his brothers because he often reported some bad news to me. They called him the bird of mourning."

The corners of the Ultramarines' mouth began to twitch: ".It's really. A very special name."

"It fits their personality very well." The Lord of Midnight raised the corners of his mouth and showed an obvious smile. What happened afterwards was very logical - Lucretius said goodbye and went back to work.

Although this news shocked him for a while, he was still encouraged to know that the Primarch was fine and might even pass through Nostramo on the way back.

At the same time, the gentle attitude shown by Conrad Curze also made him feel a sense of pride after being treated with respect. Of course, he didn't know that Conrad Curze, who was very rational and gentle in his eyes, was complaining loudly in the meeting room at this moment.

"I can't believe Robert would let me deceive his offspring."

Curze covered his forehead, leaned back, and lay on the chair.

"How long can he stay on that planet? He will definitely look wrong by then, and then Lucretius Corvo will find out that I lied to him."

"White lies are nothing, Conrad." Khalil replied in a low voice, he lowered his head and continued to read the booklet. "And Lucretius will understand why his Primarch asked for this to be kept secret."

"You sound--" Conrad Curze suddenly sat up from his chair, looking at Khalil's profile with suspicion. "--like you have some plans that you don't want to tell me."

"Is it that obvious?"

Khalil laughed dumbly. He shook his head and said: "The truth about the subspace cannot be hidden, Konrad. Therefore, Lucretius Corvo will discover the truth sooner or later, just as he will sooner or later It will be like becoming a company commander.”

"Will he become company commander?"

"The fact that he was selected by Robert Guilliman and brought 499 Ultramarines to support us is enough to explain the problem, isn't it? The number of Ultramarines is much higher than ours, and Luke Lesho stands out among his brothers."

"So, I deceived an Ultramarines captain." Konrad Curze said in a deliberately low tone.

"."

Khalil sighed again, this was the third time today - he slowly put the book down, then turned his head and spoke calmly to Konrad Coates.

"You're not good enough, Conrad," he said deadpan. "Besides, I don't have any plans that I don't want to tell you. In fact, I have a plan, but I won't not tell you."

"Really?"

"of course it's true."

Khalil pushed the booklet over smoothly, and he turned to the last page, and the content of that page made Conrad Coates's face become strange in an instant.

"The Savior of Nostramo."

Khalil spoke slowly, with a strange look on his face, and his voice was low, almost sounding like a ship's automated voice announcement.

"Conrad Curze and his Eighth Legion came from afar to save Nostramo on behalf of the Empire. I have to admit one thing, the Ultramarines may really be born political masters. He is already looking for a reason that everyone is willing to agree to for your reasonable and legal rule of Nostramo."

"I-" Cozz pursed his lips, his expression extremely complicated. "——Isn't this a little too fast?"

"Well I don't think so, but it doesn't matter if you don't want to be the ruler." Khalil shrugged and stood up. "Just make sure Nostramo gets better, right?"

He left the meeting room with a smile and gave the remaining thinking time to Conrad Coates. After all, time alone is always precious.

As for himself, he had another meeting to hold, a meeting across the stars.

A meeting with Malcador the Markbearer.

This chapter is 4k and updated.