Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Rana, do you believe in God?"

"god?"

"Those are the ones who are always talking nonsense in our heads."

Bayar kicked the stiffened corpse of the stabbed man away and strode through the ruins of the alien empire. Black blood stuck to his silver boots, leaving a series of winding snake shadows in the ashes.

He had a blank expression on his face, holding a list of casualties in his hand. He carefully avoided the team that was collecting the dead and stopped at the shadowy edge of the Temple of the Assassins: the Dawnbreaker's blockade ended here, and the Chief of the Guards who had arrived earlier was waiting for him.

"Yes, the gods."

Bayar handed over the lists reported by each company and combat group to the front-line commander appointed by the Primarch, and he himself leaned against a broken pillar: the glittering corals and crystals created a priceless work of art, but now only half of it is left, and the collapsed base tells the fate of its creator.

While the Grand Steward was checking the casualty reports of each army page by page, Bayar started a conversation somewhat boredly: the topic of conversation was naturally their Primarch, and the miracles she had performed not long ago, which happened only a few dozen hours ago.

Of course, calling it a miracle is just what the mortals in the team say: those Dawnbreakers like them who can climb to the core decision-making level of the Primarch know very well that with the power of the Mother, a miracle like this is just a piece of cake. The power of the top psychics is far beyond the meager imagination of mortals.

But speaking of God...

Lana's quill stopped, and he turned his head slightly to look at his colleagues.

"You mean: you haven't met any decent opponents in this battle?"

“Their techniques are so fancy.”

Bayar shrugged.

"Apart from the necessary advances, I did try my best to find a good opponent, but these alien warriors are generally unskilled. They don't know how to protect their weak spots. Although they are extremely fanatical in battle, a successful counterattack can chop off their heads."

"It's really interesting: it's like they've never had to think about their injuries before."

“…”

"What's wrong, Lana?"

"No... nothing..."

The chief guard shook his head and seemed a little lost.

"I was just thinking: Bayar, do you think I've been out of action for a while?"

"Yes, some."

The second captain paused.

"But believe me, being obsessed with war all the time is not a good thing. Just like me, in recent times, in addition to the guy who always roars at me, there seems to be a second voice in my head, which makes me feel like an unsatisfied lustful god."

"It's always complaining that I'm not chopping off the enemy's neck at the perfect angle."

"Is that so?"

Rana turned another page, but after a moment's thought, he flipped his fingers and turned the page back to the front, smearing the personal signature that seemed a little flawed in his eyes, and re-signed a more perfect one.

"So according to what you said: you now have two [gods] in your mind?"

Bayar did not answer immediately.

He looked into the distance, his eyes sweeping across the sea and the sky at the same time, all of which was the soil of the empire.

After more than sixty hours of fierce fighting with hundreds of thousands of casualties, the Empire finally destroyed everything of the Assassins on their home planet: all the crystal towers were destroyed, and thousands of atolls were either occupied or annihilated. Only the Empire's soldiers and Astartes occupied the vacancies left by the Assassins.

The Human Empire first killed half of the resistance-seeking Assassins on the water and in the sky, and turned the atoll into their bridgehead. Then they used the tactical extermination weapons prepared in advance to drown the remaining half of the Assassins in their homes thousands of meters deep under the sea.

Siege torpedoes equipped with biothermal detectors accurately target the most densely populated areas of aliens, and corrosive poison mist can melt a large underwater nest into a mixture of molten iron and pus within two hours: even the bravest Dawnbreakers dare not witness that hellish scene with their own eyes.

Faced with the stragglers preparing to conduct guerrilla warfare in the ocean, the answer given by the Sons of Morgan is water killer: the oxygen in the entire sea area is either stripped away, boiled, or simply poisoned, until the last remaining warriors either drown in the ocean they swore to defend, or float to the surface in utmost despair, where they are shot in the head one by one by human soldiers who are repairing them, holding cigarettes in their mouths, for entertainment.

But even so, it is impossible to completely wipe out a once powerful race in a short period of time: it took sixty hours to destroy the resistance of the Thorns, but if you want to completely exterminate them, it may take at least a few more years: but the subsequent colonial fleet will complete this task.

After all, Larlan is indeed rich, and it contains a large number of rare mineral resources, which are enough to cover up some unstable factors: the Primarch plans to establish a small mining colony in this galaxy, isolated overseas, maintaining a single-line route with Avalon's homeland.

Even Bayar could sense that something was wrong with this order: as if their Primarch was ready to abandon the entire Larlan galaxy at any time, severing its ties with Avalon and leaving it to fend for itself?

Forget it: it’s none of his business.

The second captain shook his head and stopped worrying about these trivial matters.

So, he withdrew his gaze from the skyline where the sound of gunfire could be heard from time to time, and instead looked at the busyness closer: the soldiers of the Second Company were gathering the wounded not far away, and the pharmacists and mortal doctors were guiding each other to ensure that further losses after the war would not be too great.

"Three, actually."

Staring at the white coats passing by hurriedly, Bayar murmured to himself in response to Rana's questions.

Lana nodded, indicating that he was listening.

"Often, when I witnessed the casualties after a battle like this, there would be a mountain voice echoing in my mind, trying to stir up the unrest in my heart, making me realize how important it was to save my brothers' lives: no matter what means I had to use."

"Me too."

Rana nodded, and his eyes stopped when he saw a number.

"What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Lana laughed.

"It appears that we have lost 118 battle-brothers on this world."

“It’s less than expected.”

Bayar drew his sword with one hand and excitedly made some sword flowers in the air.

"And no one in my company died."

"Isn't this a very normal thing?"

Lana rolled his eyes at him.

"If someone in your company dies, it will be a major event in the history of the Legion."

This is no false statement.

Bayar's Second Company is a benchmark unit handpicked by the Primarch, and is the spearhead and instructor of the entire Dawnbreaker Legion: there are no new recruits in their company, and every loss must be replenished from Terra veterans from other companies. The average age of the entire company is estimated to be approaching the limit of 300 years.

But relatively speaking, the mission of the Second Company is also the most important and dangerous. They are responsible for serving as the vanguard for the entire legion in battle, and either cut off the enemy's offensive spearhead head-on, or simply airdrop into the center of the enemy and destroy the enemy. All actions that are undoubtedly suicide from a tactical point of view are their daily work.

But even so, the casualties in the Second Company were very few. At least in Rana's vague memory, in the eighty years since the Primarch began to lead the Legion, Bayar's company had only suffered five combat casualties: all of which were tough battles that required the Primarch to personally lead the charge.

Well: there were eighteen more non-combat casualties.

Forget about that: having your fingers bitten off while visiting the Night Haunter's private zoo isn't exactly a glorious history.

In the battle with the Asa people, the Second Company performed as brilliantly as ever: they broke through the Asa people's heavy forces head-on, charged into the alien king's city with unstoppable force, attracted a large number of Asa people's elite, and cooperated with subsequent friendly forces to fight a beautiful annihilation battle.

Then, they plunged into the street fighting without stopping: the alien capital was a small and exquisite temple city. The Second Legion took it in fourteen hours, killed all the resisters, and surrounded the temple that the Assassins regarded as their spiritual core.

On the orders of the Primarch, the Dawnbreakers did not enter the temple, but instead used suicide drones to clear out the enemies inside, and then completely blocked the surrounding area: exactly where Rana and Bayar were now.

"Victory came cleanly."

"Even if [gods] do exist, it doesn't look like they're on the side of the aliens."

Rana turned the page and began to check the casualties of the mortal auxiliary forces.

"Of course."

Beside him, Bayar nodded confidently.

"Even a true god cannot defy the might of the empire today."

“…”

He paused.

"But you say, Rana: Is there a God in this world?"

"Why ask? The Emperor does not allow us to discuss this matter."

"whispering sound……"

Bayar glanced at Rana.

"This is Avalon: we discuss truth without reference to the Emperor."

"Or: Do you believe in the Imperial Truth?"

A playful tone and laughter: as if admitting this sentence would become a stain on oneself.

"Of course not."

Lana opened his mouth, but he followed his heart and chose not to confront him head on.

"What do you think?"

Bayar refused to give in.

"Is there...a God?"

"Is this important?"

Perhaps because he was annoyed by such metaphysical questions, Rana finally stopped the task on his pen, turned around, and looked at his predecessor with a serious face: his finger did not forget to point in the direction of the Primarch's station.

"Think about it, Brother Bayar."

"In the eyes of those mortals, is our Gene Mother a god? Is what she just showed a miracle? But we all know what happened. It was just a trick of a powerful psychic. Who knows if the so-called god is an even more powerful psychic?"

"Even if they are not, how can we measure the standards of the gods?"

"For example, if gods really exist in this world, why did humans fall into such a state? When our ancestors lost all their wisdom and pride, why didn't gods help them? Why did gods choose to stand by and watch? Why do we have to rely on ourselves to restore the glory of mankind?"

"So, either there are no real gods in the universe, or even if they do exist, they are gods that are of no benefit to mankind, they are indifferent third parties, or they are simply evil gods: if gods are of no use to us, then what does it matter if they exist? They are just like the storms in the warp, and they are powerful entities that we need to stay away from on a daily basis."

“It’s that simple.”

"That's true."

Bayar muttered a few words.

"But you said that in our heads..."

"The Primarch knew this, brother."

Lana interrupted him impatiently.

"Don't let your imagination run wild: if it comes to that, the Primarch will tell us what to do."

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"Too."

Bayar nodded.

“Hopefully the solution won’t be too bad.”

"How bad can it be?"

Lana smiled and turned a bloody page with his finger.

"It's just... Damn it!"

"What's wrong?"

"No... nothing."

Rana took a deep breath, and Bayar came over curiously, only to see a piece of paper marked with scarlet numbers.

"Those Hunting God Roses again?"

"Yes: God knows how they survived so long with such a high casualty rate."

The chief guard cursed.

"Perhaps it's because they like to worship our Primarch as a god?"

"Fanatics are not afraid of death: just look at the Word Bearers legions in the distance."

Bayar raised his eyebrows and glanced at the other names on the paper.

"Um……"

"Perfect Banner, Snowy Owl Knights, Red Death, and Crown Hunters, as well as the Night Watch of Salamas, Catachan Demon Hunters, Hutier Raiders, and Valhalla Sea Souls: they all look like old acquaintances. These mortals have become quite powerful without even realizing it."

"Even without us, they can still conquer Larlan on their own, right?"

"No doubt."

Rana did not deny this, but just signed his name in a hurry. The casualty figures in front of him were too scary. Even though he knew that they were just mortals who had nothing to do with him, the Dawnbreaker was unwilling to look at them for too long: he would involuntarily associate those numbers with those mortal friends who were familiar with him.

That would be terrible.

As he threw away the quill, the Lord Chancellor breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, take it, Bayar: I shouldn't have anything to do next."

"Just look after this place first. I need to go to the battlefield to retrieve the troops..."

"I'm afraid not, bro."

The second captain took the notebook and stopped the chief guard with a smile.

"When I came here, the primarch specifically told me that you must stay with me in the temple until she finishes her work and comes over. The primarch specifically told me not to run around."

"ah?"

Lana was a little confused.

"Mother asked me to wait here?"

"Yes: No running around."

"Does she want to ask me something?"

"I don't know about that, but I heard from the old guy over there that it seemed that her little daughter Lucy told her something, and the Primarch issued this order: Do you have any urgent business now, Lana?"

"How should I put it..."

The chief guard scratched his head.

"I accidentally left the sword Lucius gave me on the battlefield, so I have to hurry to the recovery team to prevent them from melting it down. After all, it was broken into pieces in the battle and might be treated as scrap metal by mortals."

“I see.”

Bayar was stunned for a moment.

Did Lucius give Lana the sword?

Hmm...it seems to be true.

He nodded.

"Why don't you just contact them directly and ask those mortals to pay more attention?"

“That’s the problem.”

Lana felt a little embarrassed.

"I……"

"I seem to have forgotten what the sword Lucius gave me looked like."

“Tsk…”

Bayar frowned.

"What a coincidence. I can't remember it either."

“…”

"Bayal."

Lana asked uncertainly.

"Lucius gave me the sword, didn't he?"

"Of course."

The second company commander nodded as a matter of course.

"That was a long time ago: I remember being there."

"That's good."

Lana hesitated for a moment, but still obediently returned to his seat.

"I hope our Gene Mother can get here soon."

"Otherwise: God knows where the sword will end up."

——————

"Bayal."

"Um?"

"You told me before that you always hear three voices in your head?"

"Well... actually that's a little inaccurate."

"Actually, I can hear five."

"Five?"

"Yes, red, green and purple; gold and silver are less common."

“But they feel reassuring.”

"What about you, Lana?"

“…”

"What a coincidence: I can hear five of them, too."

"Gold and silver too?"

"That's right: Silver has been around since decades ago."

“It doesn’t speak, but it’s the safest.”

"As for the golden one: I just felt its presence a few months ago."

"It's... dangerous."

"Danger?"

"More dangerous than the others: I don't feel any danger from the other voices, but that golden voice always sends chills down my spine, as if it's very close to me, as if it could affect or hurt me at any time, even affect and hurt our mother."

"Why do you think so?"

"I don't know... maybe intuition?"