Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"So, is this how you convinced Perturabo?"

[That’s right: although toughness is not in my taste, it’s better to be safe. 】

Morgan licked the corners of her lips and smiled at her Invite brothers.

[After all, it is rare for my Imperial Fist brothers to ask me for something, so how can I not do my best and be safe? Compared with these, what makes me more curious is that you will actually do it for Pettu. Rab spoke? 】

【Um? Donne: Do you mind telling me the motivation for your actions? 】

On the once again widened avenue, the two Primarchs walked side by side, their respective guards separated by a short distance, making room for their Legion Master to have a private communication.

The two Legion Masters did not walk very fast. They walked forward slowly, as if they wanted to spend more time together and discuss more content when they reached the end. This attitude also spread to their descendants: the two teams of primarchs kissed each other. The guards' muscles were not tense, and they even had the time to observe the other side's warriors.

It was this unintentional glance that made Lana, who was standing behind Morgan, discover something interesting: the followers who were following Dorn at this time, and the Lord of the Imperial Fist had just joined the expedition, and his brother The guards they led when they met were almost the same group of people, but there was only one difference.

The warrior named Sigismund disappeared from the team.

Lana took another careful look until he spotted the huge figure of Polux who was originally acting together with Sigismund, but still did not see the impressive reckless swordsman. The manager then smiled sarcastically: Logically speaking, the boy's injury should have been cured long ago.

It seems that the reckless actions of some reckless warriors are not without cost.

At the very least, Sigismund's genetic father has used his unique way to punish his offspring for causing great troubles: and this method of punishment seems to be the same as that of the Spider Queen.

At this moment, even Lana, who originally had no good impression of Dorne due to various unpleasant pasts, also improved his attitude towards the Invites in his heart: After all, since Dorne dares to use this method, he can also By using this method to punish the heirs who made mistakes, it can be seen in a subtle way that the master of the Imperial Fist must have quite good military management skills, and may even have the style of the Spider Queen.

You must know that not every Primarch is confident that his indifference alone will be enough to make his descendants suffer serious sins and change their past; nor is every Primarch confident that his descendants will make big mistakes. When the time comes, punishment is imposed in this relatively gentle way.

This kind of [gentleness] itself already explains a lot of problems, especially when it appears on the Invit people who have always been known for their [toughness] and [ruthlessness], it shines like a beacon in the dark night, making the usual character The harsh Lana could not help but narrow his eyes.

At this moment, the Guard Chief instinctively began to think: Maybe this Invite was not as bad as he thought. The rude attitude he showed when he first met with Lana's genetic mother, Not out of ridicule or malice?

Or...

——————

The Invite in front of him finally improved during this period of time.

Morgan's eyebrows were deep, and she put her hands behind her back, rubbing her thumbs and index fingers together. After circling three times, the Lord of Avalon came to this conclusion in her heart: Just as she had guessed before, The expedition did change Dorne in some ways.

Of course... only a little has changed.

Thinking of this, the Spider Queen thought for a few seconds, choosing words in her heart. At the same time, she kept casting her sophisticated gaze on the Invite's rock-like face, and when passing by the sharpened nose bridge and brow bone, He spurned his own greed in his heart.

Look at this man, this is simply a stone endowed with a soul. It is already a dream to be able to change him in just a few months: Even Morgan, what more can he ask for?

She comforted herself in her heart, witnessing the corners of Donne's mouth pursed and his face slightly wrinkled. The thick muscles on his neck were clearly exposed due to this thinking posture, and the flesh on his jaw was implicated by the stiff corners of his mouth. Tightly attached to the bone: because of the wonderful height difference between her and Dawn, Morgan only had to raise her head to see it all very clearly, without missing any detail.

She was proud of it.

After all, the scene before her can be regarded as the result of her continuous efforts: maybe Dawn's character is still determined and stern, but at least, in these non-critical situations, the Invites have learned to He thought for a moment before speaking. Although this did not prevent his words from being still so annoying, Dorn's external performance was finally no longer so condescending.

If Conrad had seen it, he might have knelt down with joy.

Of course, all this is based on the premise that "the situation is not urgent". Once something touches Dorn's minefield, or is an area where he is confident, then the words of the Lord of the Imperial Fist will still be more valuable than the Titan's. The artillery fire is more lethal: even the confidence to speak is quite sufficient.

Even the Lord of Avalon is not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing?

On the plus side, this certainly helps to ease the mental pressure on the rest of the people around him when Dorn opens his mouth: after all, the Invites have accepted the fact that they need to keep their mouths shut at some point; Silence is always more welcome than his words.

However, if you think about it from the bad side, it is now more than ten times more difficult to convince the Lord of the Imperial Fist than before: because since Dorn learned to self-reflect, every word he said was based on After several times of internal reflection and deliberation, it was finally a perfect product in terms of logic and principle. To refute his point of view is no easier than defeating the fully armed original body.

However, no one would be stupid enough to engage in a debate with Dorne: not even Perturabo would be so stubborn now.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through the mind of the Lord of Avalon. From the outside world, it was just a matter of a moment. At this time, Dorn had already prepared his words: compared to his usual firmness and Stern, today's Invit people speak much more calmly, but they also have an added factor that was not obvious before, and that is unstoppable self-confidence.

He realized that he was responsible for every word he said.

So, he did it.

"Because reality demands it, Morgan."

Dorn looked at his blood relatives, and Morgan was a little shocked by the words in his mouth. So, the Lord of Avalon raised his hand and put it on Dorn's shoulder, motioning for him to stay, and then put his other hand on the Invite's shoulder. On the other shoulder, he turned him around, so that the two Primarchs were facing each other.

[Donne, what do you mean...]

Morgan looked directly into Dawn's eyes.

[You specifically found me after hearing that I was summoned by the Emperor, hoping that I could take Perturabo to meet the Emperor and fight for his honor in front of the Emperor: The reason for this series of actions is reality Needed? 】

"That's right."

Dawn nodded.

"To be more precise, the empire needs us to do this, and your ability in this regard is better than mine, so I hope you can handle this matter: of course. If you need help, I will also I will do my best within my capabilities.”

【Try your best...】

[Just to give our brother Perturabo his honor? 】

When Morgan said this sentence, she had to desperately suppress her laughter, because this sentence was so ridiculous: although she originally thought that after this expedition, the relationship between Dorne and Pertura The relationship between them will definitely improve, at least it won’t be as stiff as it was at the beginning of the expedition, but...

Can it really improve to this extent?

Improve to Dorne and take the initiative to help Perturabo gain honor?

Not to mention that this kind of behavior is not something that the master of the Imperial Fist can do at all, but let’s talk about another point: Does Dorn really care about honor? Will you really pursue honor?

He doesn't care! Nope! He even regarded honor as a neutral term with a derogatory connotation: and in this case, how could he care about the honor of other blood brothers?

Yes, although the relationship between the pair of stone and steel has improved, it is only an improvement: at most, it has been reduced from a powder keg to a bear trap. It is Morgan's dream that they can not quarrel with each other. scene, as for helping each other? It would be better to go to Magnus for such daydreams.

So...why?

With doubts, Morgan looked directly into Donne's eyes, waiting for the answer. She was sure that behind Donne's determined pupils, a tirade was brewing. It seemed that this was indeed his decision after careful consideration.

"It involves two things."

"We'll talk as we walk."

Dorn turned around and motioned to his blood relatives to follow him, and the mighty team began to move forward again: the road they were passing now was exactly when this expedition just started, and Pettu The majestic avenue that Rabo had built to welcome Dorne, and behind them, was the tower that carried the past anger of the two Primarchs.

The Lord of Steel deliberately chose this place as the end point of this expedition. How did he and his blood relatives walk from this road to the tower dozens of days ago? Now, they are about to return in the opposite direction. , take a transport ship and leave this barren land.

At this time, Perturabo had even been waiting for them in front of the transport platform, but his two blood relatives decided to let him wait a little longer. After all, there were some things that Dorn didn't seem to want to do in front of Perturabo. explain.

"Do you know, Morgan?"

The voice of the Master of the Imperial Fist was low.

"Before participating in this expedition, I visited two places, namely Horus's [Vengeful Spirit] and the Emperor's [Emperor's Dream]. The former was because of my relationship with the Luna Wolves. A joint battle, the latter happened when my father's fleet and I met in the void, and he summoned me on the spur of the moment. "

[Hmm, so what? 】

Morgan snorted, not feeling anything about it: Although she had only boarded the [Vengeful Spirit] for a short time, but the [Emperor's Dream]? She is so familiar! She even found a spot on the great battleship that was perfect for an afternoon tea party.

"On the [Vengeful Spirit], in addition to the conversation with Horus, I also focused on taking a look at the Luna Wolves under his command: I hope to be able to identify those Luna Wolves who have not yet been noticed. to choose a suitable assistant for our brother as a replacement for the Mourning Society in the future.”

【……Um? 】

Morgan raised an eyebrow.

What does this have to do with you?

She almost asked, and Donne was well aware of her confusion. Without even stopping, Vert began to explain the reasons for what he did: Although judging from his expression, Donne was not sure about his actions. , in fact, I don’t agree with it that much.

"Because I noticed that although the Mourning Society under our brother Horus is a perfect organization, it is not without flaws: after the Mourning Society experienced frequent changes in the previous decades, Now it has stabilized to four members, but these four members each have their own problems. "

"Abaddon is irritable and irritable. Although his attitude towards mortals has become much kinder after returning from Avalon, he still has problems in dealing with others; little Horus is not a man of his own opinions. Suitable as an adjutant but not as an advisor; Togaton may be good, but he is not good enough. His too flippant attitude and values ​​determine that he is difficult to trust on important issues."

"The only exception is Sejanus. He is completely worthy of trust. Our brother Horus also likes him the most. However, Horus only has one Sejanus, and he also revealed to me that he is looking for There is no one who can take Sejanus's place: so I hope to find one among the Luna Wolves."

"Horus hopes so too: one more is better than one less."

[Then did you succeed? 】

"nothing now."

Dawn shook his head.

"This is more difficult than I thought: even Horus himself has no clue."

【That's true. 】

Morgan agreed absentmindedly. At this moment, she thought of Lana behind her: her Praetorian Guard held the same position in her heart as Sejanus under Horus, but Morgan was more important than her Wolf Shepherd brother. Fortunately, if something happens to Rana, the Lord of Avalon will be heartbroken, but she can quickly find Rana's replacement.

She doesn't even have to look for it herself, because her head guard actually handed over to the Spider Queen a list of candidates he thought could succeed him more than ten years ago. There were more than thirty names on it. Most of them were Terrans who had fought alongside the Lord of Mankind, while the remaining half were Terrans who had been enemies of the Emperor in their fathers' generation and even in their own past.

[Then why are you involved in this matter, brother? I don't think this is your style: did Horus ask you to help him do this? He hopes you can help him with this matter? 】

"In the beginning, yes."

Dorn looked straight ahead.

That's most likely just a polite statement.

Morgan smiled, mentally cursing: But Donne is just being more serious.

"But after I left the Vengeful Spirit and encountered the Emperor's fleet, I had a second reason to complete a series of things including this: to help Horus complete his Mourning Society, Fighting for Perturabo's honor and improving my own shortcomings all started because of something the Emperor told me."

【What is it? 】

Morgan raised her neck slightly, and Dawn glanced at her first.

"The Emperor told me that he will complete all his obligations in the Great Crusade within thirty to forty years and return to Holy Terra. He will solve a series of hidden dangers: including but not limited to Lorgar's Perfection. After understanding the city, the choice of Warmaster, the psychic issues mentioned several times by Mortarion, and our two lost brothers, he resigned from his position in the Great Crusade and handed over the responsibility of commanding the Great Crusade to the future warrior. handsome."

"Morgan, do you know what this means to us?"

【……free? 】

Morgan thought for a moment before spitting out the answer with a chuckle, and this answer successfully made Dorn frown: the Invites obviously didn't approve of this answer, or they didn't agree with Morgan's way of expression.

"It should be the responsibility."

he corrected.

"More, heavier responsibilities."

【...How can I see it? 】

Morgan hesitated for a moment, then smiled and asked knowingly. This kind of overly obvious publicity was her usual trick to get more information from the helpless Dorne: she wanted to know what the emperor had talked to Dorne. Something to see how favored this son who was highly relied upon by the Emperor was.

"..."

The Master of the Imperial Fist looked serious. Of course he could see Morgan's little thoughts, but he was too lazy to take action: Dorn just sighed silently, raised his hand, and drew an illusory star map in mid-air, but his voice It has become a bit colder.

"I'll just give you one example, Morgan."

"This is what the Emperor told me: as we all know, as the main target of the Great Crusade, the Far Eastern Star Region occupies almost half of the entire Human Empire, which is almost the same as the remaining four star regions. So you know that in In the entire Far Eastern Star Territory, what is the approximate proportion of the star districts that can be fully controlled by Holy Terra and carry out tax collection? "

[Let me think about it...]

Morgan quickly calculated in his mind: the entire Far Eastern Star Territory, minus her Avalon, minus Guilliman's five hundred worlds, minus Konrad's Nostramo, minus Angron, and then minus Horus and Sanguinius to the north...

[Um...one-fifth? 】

She gave a very conservative guess, and Dawn just glanced at her.

"No: one eighth."

【……】

"In the administrative division of the Far Eastern Star Territory planned by Holy Terra, the star district that can stably provide Terra with tax sources now accounts for less than one-eighth of the total area: This is the latest information our father told me personally. ”

[Is this a bit too exaggerated? 】

Morgan smiled reluctantly, but her brother interrupted her slightly brusquely.

"Exaggeration? No! It's conservative."

The Lord of Invite was gesturing on the void star map he drew.

"About one-third of the entire Far Eastern Star Territory is not completely controlled by the empire, and the remaining two-thirds are scattered in the eastern part of the galaxy: among them, the easternmost is your Ava The Long Federation, to the southeast is Guilliman's Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, and to the northeast is Conrad's ghoul ring defense belt. Terra calls these three kingdoms of yours the "Three Kings of the Far East" , the area occupies more than two-fifths of the entire Far East Star Territory.”

"In addition, to the north of the Far Eastern Star Territory lies Baal, the home planet of the Blood Angels, and many imperial worlds deeply influenced by them; while in the northwest, near the Obscure Star Territory, there are more and more More and more newly conquered worlds have raised the flag of the Luna Wolf, and this area is also called the "Wolf Kingdom" by Terra; correspondingly, in the southwest, in the Far East Star Territory and the Storm Star Territory At the junction of , the World Eaters Legion also has a small private land, which is already bordered by 500 worlds. "

As Dorn spoke, he gestured with his fingers. When he finished speaking, the image in the void became very clear: In the huge Far Eastern Star Territory, only the central and western parts close to the Sun Star Territory still retain a The small blank area is the area that is not occupied by any forces of the original body, also known as the [Maelstrom].

"Only the Maelstrom area seems not to be affected by any legions."

Dawn hummed slightly.

"But in fact, there are five legion home planets distributed extremely densely here, including the Emperor's Children, Thousand Sons, White Scars, Salamanders and Iron Warriors, and Magnus and Vulkan have announced not long ago In order to influence decisions on nearby worlds, Terra's control in the Maelstrom region has always been weak."

【It's also colorful. 】

Morgan chuckled lightly and saw that the Far Eastern Star Territory, which occupied half of the empire, was carved up by various primarchs and legions with just a few simple strokes, leaving almost nothing for Terra. : But what does this have to do with what Dorn said before?

"This is what the Emperor told me: and he told me his attitude towards it."

Dawn nodded.

"He supports the status quo."

【……What? 】

"I say, the Emperor has our back."

Morgan felt a little flinched because of the Vet's rock-like pupils.

"According to the Emperor's words: Holy Terra's current administrative power cannot accommodate such a huge territory, so he recognized the original bodies to take the initiative to shoulder more responsibilities and obligations after he left, or in other words, We must take the initiative to shoulder more responsibilities.”

"The Emperor is about to leave the Great Crusade. He can no longer guide us as he does now, so we must take more responsibility, we must become stronger, and we must erase our shortcomings and weaknesses as much as possible: This is not about any one person, Morgan, but about all of us and we have to help each other.”

Dawn clenched her fists.

"This is what the Emperor has told me, and this is why I have come to ask you, Morgan: just as I would help Horus make up for his shortcomings by selecting new members of the Order of the Dead from among his legions; just as I I will listen to your advice to face my inner shortcomings; just like I have been telling you that you have overthinking and excessive greed in your character, and I hope you can improve it.”

"The thing about Perturabo is essentially the same: we have no time. We must start from now on to solve our respective problems and help each other solve each other's respective problems. My request for Perturabo is It’s the embodiment of this point of view.”

"Only in this way can we better shoulder our responsibilities after the Emperor leaves."

【……】

Morgan nodded: Dorn's words were a bit confusing. He was obviously not suitable to use such big principles to convince others, but the Lord of Avalon could also understand what he meant. He just wanted to help his brother improve his shortcomings. Just to make the Great Expedition go more smoothly.

[You mean: Because we have to shoulder more responsibilities after the Emperor leaves, before that, although it is difficult for us to improve our original abilities, we can at least eliminate our respective shortcomings? 】

"That's right."

“Improve yourself and help others.”

Dorn nodded and smiled at his blood relative.

[Then do you think Perturabo's honor is a shortcoming? 】

"Rather, it's a weakness."

The Lord of the Imperial Fist hesitated.

"Although after going through this expedition, I can also find many shortcomings in Perturabo, but I also have similar shortcomings. I have no right to blame him, nor am I qualified to correct him. This is also why I The reason for remaining silent during this period: My previous accusations were somewhat irresponsible.”

Donne lowered his head, genuine reflection flashed across his pupils.

"But the weakness is different. It is more fatal than the shortcomings, but it is also easier to solve than the shortcomings: just like it may take us a long time to change Perturabo's harsh posture when commanding operations, but if we want If you help him get the honor, it will only take a few dozen days."

"not to mention……"

"Our brother deserves this great honor, doesn't he?"

【...That's right. 】

The original body raised its head, and they could already see the Lord of Steel standing at the end of the road. He stood there, looking at the two blood relatives walking towards him, his face changed, and he squeezed out a fairly sincere expression. smile.

In this case, Morgan and Dorn stopped entangled, so that the Lord of Steel would not have any misunderstandings again. They walked forward at a faster speed, and only Morgan's curious inquiry remained in the air.

[If you think lack of honor is Perturabo's weakness, what do you think your own weakness is? Dorne, and what would be my weakness? 】

"Your weakness is everything you have now, Morgan. On this point, you and Guilliman are the same: neither of you will give your wealth to others, or even give it away when necessary. Give up, although this is not a complete weakness, it may cause you big trouble in the future.”

[Hmm...what about yours? 】

"...the authorities are obsessed with it."

"I haven't found my weakness until now: but I believe in her existence."

[There is no weakness so far, does it make you proud? 】

"No……"

Donne's eyes were profound.

"On the contrary, it scares me."

——————

【……】

[So, Dorn, I really don’t need to tell Perturabo that it was you who suggested that I help him win this honor: I don’t think this will be harmful to either of you, and there may even be unexpected consequences. the benefits of? 】

"..."

"No, Morgan."

"No need to do that."

【Why? 】

"Because Perturabo wouldn't want it."

【ha? 】

Morgan laughed.

[You say: Does Perturabo not want the honor Dorne gave him? 】

"No, I mean..."

Dawn hesitated.

"What Perturabo wants is the honor he gets after impressing me: but what he did is not enough to impress me, so this honor is more like an insult to him. , even if I give him the honor, it will only make him doubt himself more."

"He can't beat me yet."

"I know that."

"He knows that too."

"So, if you give him an honor from the Emperor now, it will make him happy and help eliminate his weaknesses, but if you give him an honor from Dorne now, it will only make him angry."

【Wow……】

Morgan admired softly.

[Donne, I didn’t know you were so reasonable? 】

"I always do."

[Then why didn’t you say it before: didn’t you praise him? 】

"……I have no idea."

Dorn shook his head, a rare sad smile appeared on his face.

“For some reason, I’m not very good at boasting about my brothers’ merits in public, but I’m very good at pointing out the problems they have committed: Although I will praise their excellence in my heart, I will always behave inappropriately and cause trouble. "

"That's what happened many years ago."

Dawn shook his head and sighed.

"..."

"Maybe this is my weakness."

——————

"But I don't hate him."

When Perturabo saw Dorn's figure almost blending into the yellow-black transport plane, he murmured to himself and said what he already knew: he had already understood it in the previous war. This truth, but it was only now that his heart was stung by the edge of this truth, like the first ray of sunshine after a long rainy day.

He got it.

He didn't hate Dorne.

He doesn't hate him either.

He just...just...

[Aren’t you going to say goodbye to our brothers? 】

Beside him, his blood relatives of Avalon maintained the gesture of waving goodbye and asked him in a lowered voice: Only then did Perturabo realize that his gesture was a little too serious, and he was clearly saying goodbye to their brother Dorne. , but he still stood there like a street lamp, even with his hands behind his back.

"A pointless move."

He murmured, but he brought his hands to his chest and raised them up. When he raised his voice, he found that his voice had become a little hoarse due to the previous war. It was not very pleasant, but it was still easy to hear. Because of this, the Vet people turned around.

"See you next time, Dorn."

he shouted.

"..."

His brother stopped and turned around quickly. Perturabo could see clearly that his face was still serious as before, but it was not so annoying after all: Dorn also waved, with a loud voice. It reached the ears of the Lord of Steel.

"See you next time, Perturabo."

After speaking, he paused for a moment and added another sentence.

“I will remember this expedition: it taught me a lot.”

"……So much the better."

The Lord of Steel's voice after hesitation was so low that even he could not hear clearly. Then, in his pupils, only Dorn turned around without hesitation, the figure of the transport plane getting further away, and Morgan behind him. A joking voice in my ear.

[This guy Dorn is quite likable sometimes, isn't he? 】

"..."

Having said this, Morgan glanced at Perturabo's face and added another sentence.

[Of course, it’s still a headache. 】

"...That's the kind of person he is."

Perturabo then laughed.

"one……"

He hesitated for a moment, thinking about what image of Dorne he had in his mind.

"A troublesome fellow."

【……yes. 】

Morgan glanced at her brother.

[He is indeed a troublesome guy. 】

【……】

"..."

In the next few seconds, the atmosphere was like clotted cream. Together, they watched Dorn's transport plane completely disappear from the end of the field of vision. Then, Morgan's laughter broke the silence around them.

【What are your plans next? Short term plans? 】

"I will forge a weapon and finish it on our way to see my father."

[Weapons, for whom? 】

"Dantioch."

The Lord of Steel smiled.

"This is my reward for him, a perfect weapon for him: while the other contestants except him will receive nothing, it is a punishment for their failure, although failure in itself is enough Punished.”

[Perhaps, you can also reward him with something else? 】

Morgan blinked.

[For example, why don't you listen to what he wants? 】

"No need."

Perturabo shook his head.

"A perfect weapon that doesn't care about the user is the best gift."

【...Why do you think so? 】

"because……"

The Lord of Steel stopped. His voice was no longer as confident as before. Instead, he raised his head and looked at the stars, as if he was observing a certain star or recalling something: When the Olympian spoke again, Morgan could hear a hint of confusion in his determination.

"Because: this is what our genetic father needs me to do."

"This is it: my place."

"That's what he told me from the beginning, when we first met."