Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

[But, will the solution you mentioned really work? 】

+What are you worried about? Morgan, worried about my sincerity? +

[Don’t dare, I’m just a little worried about the legitimacy of this method. After all, according to what you just described, this method is very inconsistent with...]

+ Imperial truth? +

【……】

【Yes. 】

Morgan blinked, feeling that her pupils were a little dry.

In the deep and monotonous room of the Emperor's Dream, the Spider Queen's voice revealed a trace of unconcealable exhaustion, as if she had just completed a long journey across the entire galaxy, experiencing countless fights and nightmares. It's like breaking out of a natural disaster.

The Primarch was rarely so exhausted, and rarely so hesitant: after a moment, she mustered up the courage to continue the topic with some trepidation, as if it were some great taboo.

In sharp contrast to the cautiousness of the Lord of Avalon: the Lord of Humanity, who was entrenched opposite the table, not only showed no trace of fatigue or nervousness on his face, but also stretched out his hand and took out a carving knife from nowhere. , carving a new chess piece in a leisurely manner.

The emperor's voice was light and somewhat sarcastic.

+Do you still care about this? +

[Surface work always has to be done, father: Just like on the land of the Far Eastern frontier, I am just ruling the world together with those parliamentarians who were born as mortals. 】

[No matter what the actual situation is, in the constitution and external propaganda, the Avalon Federation is an absolute federal republic system. I and those congressmen have the same identity: although everyone knows that this is just a lie, but we just need these lies. , these fig leaves, these hypocritical seals that maintain the sanctity of power. 】

The Primarch of the Second Legion played with her [Kingslayer], a hint of fatigue flashed through her blue pupils, and thousands of colorful colors were reflected in her eyes, which were gold and fire. The color comes from the holographic projection suspended on the table.

+ We are discussing your legion, but you use these so-called political elements to defend: Morgan, my daughter, do you think your legion and politics have anything in common? +

The Lord of Humanity was also looking at the holographic projection in front of him, but it was obvious that his attention was not on it at all: instead, he cared more about Morgan's answer to this question.

Morgan just glanced at her genetic father without even thinking.

She sighed.

[Don’t waste time on these things that you know for sure. Father: Although any Legion of Astartes seems to have nothing to do with politics, the current background of the Great Crusade has determined that the Legion itself is destined to be a A huge political entity, any move it makes will cause earthquakes in the political system of a galaxy or even a sector. 】

[So, I use a political example to compare the legion, there is no problem. 】

The emperor's dark pupils shone with Gujing Wubo's silence: he did not continue to pursue this topic, seemed to have lost interest, and seemed to have been satisfied.

Clenching the carving knife tightly, the Lord of Mankind continued to focus on the semi-finished product in his hand. Amid the constant friction between metal and wood chips, a lifelike Imperial double-headed eagle had begun to take shape, with the left side of its head resting in the Emperor's palm. , it seems that a long roar will be emitted in the next second.

+So, are you worried that the method I taught you will make you a heretic in the eyes of others who has betrayed the Empire’s truth: even if you don’t believe in the Empire’s truth yourself and despise the value it contains? +

[Who among your descendants, except Guilliman and Dorne, would sincerely believe in the truth of the Empire, father? 】

【not to mention……】

The Spider Queen paused. She raised her head and glanced at the holographic projection. It was a silver-white empty curtain. There was only a walking figure in the simple world, a figure that was enough to make people feel uneasy and terrifying.

That was an Astartes warrior, or was once an Astartes warrior: the once noble and strong power armor had turned into a kind of burnt black, telling an indescribable ominousness, and even more There were endless flames of hatred lingering on it, and the ensuing high temperature and thick smoke erased the badges used to identify the identity, leaving only the horrifying white bones and burning bloodless heads.

They are the judges who emerge from the endless hell, the undefeated legion that can turn things around in apocalyptic battlefields, and the ghostly evil figures that any enemy of the empire can only vaguely glimpse in their most terrifying nightmares. It is also a blasphemy that is enough to make any Primarch and Astartes feel instinctively hostile and furious.

After all, these Astartes warriors who have obviously lost their lives but still cannot rest in peace seem to tell the saddest future of every son of the Primarch: such a future is enough to make people fear, and it is also enough to show that Its people have become the public enemies of all legions.

And this is the [solution] given to Morgan by the Bishop of Humanity: The Emperor spent a long time traveling to the corner of the high sky with the soul of the Primarch, in the past that was forever erased from existence, and The future that has not yet been captured reveals to Morgan the secret of the so-called Legion of the Curse.

This was a long, difficult, but extremely thorough teaching: when the soul of the Lord of Avalon finally accepted all the knowledge about the Cursed Legion and returned to the real universe, she discovered that only a few days had passed in reality. It only took a few minutes, but the knowledge born in her mind was enough for her to patiently digest for more than ten standard years of Terra.

But Morgan couldn't be happy: of course she couldn't be happy, because she had to face a very real problem and a very difficult decision to make.

[The technology you taught me, called the Cursed Legion, is indeed very valuable and very magical, but the only problem is: once a warrior like this, a warrior like this who is obviously not a living person, appears in On the battlefield and witnessed by others, even the slightest rumor would be enough to make me and the entire Dawnbreaker Legion a blasphemer in the eyes of other Primarchs and Legions. 】

[Offending the rest of the dead: This is a grave crime at any time. 】

On her lips, the Spider Queen sighed and resisted in succession, but in her pupils, the figure of the cursed warrior was reflected all the time: indeed, Morgan was indeed worried about what she said. question, but on the other hand, she did long for these warriors who had risen from the dead.

After all, if every Dawnbreaker who died on the battlefield can continue to fight for the Legion, then the number problem that has long plagued the entire Second Legion can indeed be completely solved: although this solution is more or less Evil door.

But in other words: if every dead Dawnbreaker can continue to fight, then it is equivalent to the entire Second Legion becoming an immortal army with no attrition, and its [number of combatants] will always keep rising. It's just that the rate of increase is a bit slow.

This was enough to impress Morgan.

But the problem is: existences like the Cursed Warriors are terrifying and clearly violate the [Imperial Truth]. It is too troublesome to use them. After all, these warriors who have been resurrected from the dead are, both in appearance and in reality, An out-and-out product of witchcraft, it is easy to think of Morgan's use of blasphemous psychic powers to taint the souls of dead warriors and turn them into walking zombies driven by him.

If a conclusion like this spreads out, I am afraid that the good reputation that the Lord of Avalon has worked so hard to accumulate will be lost all at once: except for Magnus, no Primarch will Those who have a good face towards such behavior will regard Morgan as a self-destructive sister.

She couldn't even say that this was what the Emperor taught her: that would only add one more crime to her list: "Insulting the Emperor."

Thinking of this, the Spider Queen couldn't help but rub her eyebrows with a headache, and glanced at her genetic father with a reluctant expression: From the past to the present, the many gifts given to her by the Emperor seemed to carry some kind of ridiculous meaning. Contradictions are very valuable in themselves, but they also have limitations that are difficult to overcome, turning them from priceless treasures into helpless useless items.

The Lord of Mankind noticed the gaze from his daughter: Although it was only for a moment, the Emperor who calmed down to do his work had the best perception in the entire galaxy.

+You are worried. +

The Emperor gently wiped the sawdust accumulated in his palms with a soothing tone.

[Yes: It’s hard not to worry. 】

Morgan nodded, no longer interested in maintaining a perfect smile.

+Tell me about it. +

The Lord of Humanity raised his brows, seeming to raise his temper a bit.

【simply put……】

Morgan thought for a moment.

[You gave me a solution to my discomfort: If your current identity is the belief of the human empire and the protector of the race who recreates the world with the power of gods, then of course I can use the power of these cursed warriors in an honest way. , after all, they are the warriors guarding your Hall of Valor, the angels of death you personally gave to me. 】

[But the problem now is that you claim that there are no gods in the galaxy, and that only the laws of physics are the master of everything: Regardless of whether people believe in your imperial truth or not, they are all supporters of atheism on the surface and resist everything. A man with strange power and chaos, in this case, if I summon a group of dead soldiers to fight for me, what is the difference between me and Heydrich who has been removed from the list? 】

[In an empire that denies gods and supernatural powers, you gave me a power that only gods can use: whether they are Primarchs or Astartes warriors, their weirdness can at least be used by so-called science and technology Let me cover it up, but how do you think I can explain to outsiders that I can make a bunch of skeletons stand up and fight for me? 】

[This is no longer something that can be explained by science, nor can it be explained by psychic energy: not even Magnus would engage in such an operation in public. 】

The Lord of Avalon rarely gave a long speech, her tone was passionate, full of unwilling anger and roar: but these only made the corners of the human Lord's mouth slightly raised.

+Morgan, if you are worried about the influence of public opinion, then there is a solution: wouldn't it be enough if you don't use these soldiers in joint operations with other legions, and at the same time let your heirs shut their mouths? +

The understatement ringed in the ears of the Primarch, causing the Lord of Avalon to stare at her genetic father: Morgan carefully judged whether the Emperor was pretending or had gone crazy?

【Father. 】

Her voice was trembling and she was gritting her teeth: she was angry.

[You know: The fundamental reason why we are discussing this method is because my legion is sparse in number. Since my legion is sparse in number, many actions inevitably require the use of mortal auxiliary troops. 】

[Of course I can avoid the soldiers of other legions, but how can I avoid those mortal auxiliary armies? Their numbers are so large that any kind of confidentiality measures become meaningless. 】

+ But it’s not impossible. +

The Emperor didn't even look at Morgan, he just stared at the work of art in his hands.

+ Just shut them up. Whether it is physical or mental, this is not difficult for you, is it: those trusted mortal auxiliaries can certainly keep their mouths shut, and those who are temporarily affected by Dispatch, or mortal soldiers who cannot be trusted, is not a loss that is hard to let go. +

+I don’t believe you can’t even think of these things. +

【……】

Morgan was silent.

There was a long silence.

The Lord of Humanity's words slowly dissipated in her ears, but the face of the Primarch fell into an almost eternal collapse: the Lord of Avalon remained stunned in the literal sense, staring at the person in front of her. The father of genes had piercing eyes, and he even began to wonder if the person in front of him was her father.

Is this really what the emperor can say?

【You...you...】

【Are you serious? 】

Listening to Morgan's somewhat out of tune inquiry, the Emperor smiled briefly.

+What? +

+Are you reluctant to part with it? +

The Lord of Mankind glanced at Morgan, the teasing and sizing in his pupils could not be more obvious.

【……】

Morgan did not respond: Whether it was the absolute rationality in his mind or the visible hints in the emperor's words, they reminded the Spider Queen that what the Lord of Humanity just said was by no means his original intention, but was another test.

She had to think about how to answer.

In other words: What does her genetic father want to ask her?

【……】

Morgan thought for about a minute. When she raised her head again, although there was still some hesitation in her pupils, she still answered the emperor's question firmly.

[If you want to ask me whether I would sacrifice those unrelated mortals for the benefit of these invisible, so-called legions and heirs: then I will answer you, I will not do that, father. 】

…

For the first time, the carving knife that had been working diligently stopped.

The Emperor raised his head and looked at Morgan.

+Reason? +

The Primarch let out a long sigh.

[You have pointed out a path. Although this path looks very strange, it can indeed make up for the problems my legion has encountered. However, the price this path requires is something I am unwilling and unable to bear. 】

+Why? +

The Emperor raised his brows, half of the double-headed eagle in his palm was already carved.

+ One side is a complete solution to the problem of your legion, so that your heirs do not have to worry about the risk of inheritance being cut off, while the other side is a group of mortal lives. They are neither important assets in your eyes, nor are there enough Shake up your state within a state: Why would you reject such an exchange? +

＋Are you trying to give me an answer that makes me happy, or is there another hidden meaning? +

The Lord of Mankind even smiled when he spoke these words: Morgan could have sworn she had never hated a smile, hated her father, more than she did now.

She had to take deep breaths: again and again.

[If you want to ask me, am I rejecting this proposal because of those mortals, then I will tell you: No, my starting point is still for my legion, and I have not yet overflowed with love to care for those mortals. 】

+Yeah, I know. +

The Emperor nodded.

And Morgan continued.

[Secondly, let’s not mention that your method itself has logical problems. Even if I really ignore these, I can’t solve the dilemma of the Dawnbreaker Legion: the Cursed Warrior is indeed a solution, but through massacre For mortals to cover up their existence is a real crooked way and a heresy. 】

[Secretly using the Cursed Warriors to make up for the lack of troops, and then controlling and cleaning the memories of the mortals fighting side by side to hide the existence of the Cursed Warriors: This theory is feasible, but it is irregular. It goes against honor and principle, it is a way of not solving the problem, it just adds fuel to the fire by using one kind of filthiness to make up for another kind of filthiness. 】

+Do you care about this? +

The emperor raised his brows, with a hint of mockery in his slightly narrowed pupils.

+My unscrupulous daughter. +

+Do you care about this? +

【……】

[If from a moral point of view, I don’t care, but from a utilitarian point of view: yes, I care. 】

+Why? +

[Because the fundamental belief that supports the operations of the Astartes warriors is their pursuit of a sense of honor and their identification with the great cause, and the fundamental reason for shaping the combat effectiveness of an Astartes Legion is their rigorous system and common The philosophy of the Legion, and the confidence to unite under the same enemy in the Great Crusade. 】

[These are the most important and most fragile: once lost, they are almost irreparable. 】

[And long-term massacre of mortals or friendly troops to cover up the secrets of the legion is a way to quench thirst by drinking poison: This kind of selfish behavior without any sense of honor will fundamentally destroy the self-esteem and bottom line of the soldiers, and lose the bottom line. The Astartes warriors are just a group of pathetic beasts that have been transformed, and their corruption will become a matter of course. 】

[And once a large number of Dawnbreaker warriors fall for it, the combat effectiveness of the entire Second Legion will also disappear: If my descendants change from a group of warriors fighting for the ideals of the Great Crusade to a group fighting for the so-called interests of the Legion, Beasts that shoot at their comrades, no matter how many there are, they will only be a bunch of useless negative assets. 】

[This is the reason, father: Solving the Legion's biggest dilemma is indeed a very tempting bargaining chip, but it is not important enough for me to exchange the sense of honor and character bottom line of all Dawnbreaker soldiers. 】

【Why do you have to do this...】

Morgan paused.

She seemed very determined.

[I would rather...they die. 】

【……】

【……】

【that's all. 】

——————

+Impressive statement, my daughter. +

The Emperor was silent for a long moment, as long as Morgan had been silent.

And when he ended his silence and clapped with a smile, the Lord of Avalon, who had never dared to take a breath, also let out a heavy breath: Morgan was not sure whether what he just said was absolutely from the bottom of his heart, but She was able to determine that she passed the Lord of Mankind's perhaps impromptu performance.

But then, a simple question made her expression freeze.

+ Then... +

+ Do you still want to know about the technology of the Cursed Warrior? +

【……】

[This is not something I don’t want to think about, father. 】

Morgan smiled, her face looked so pale.

+ No. +

The Emperor shook his head: perhaps Morgan's answer satisfied him. At this time, the Lord of Mankind was showing a reassuring smile, which was enough power to conquer the galaxy.

+ What I mean is: I have a better way, which can more or less alleviate the difficulties you face, and can be regarded as my reward for your answer. +

+After all, you answered it well. +

At this sentence, the emperor's voice seemed very heavy and pleased.

He raised his hand and took out a book from the twisting space ripples, a thick book with rippling psychic waves: Morgan just glanced at it and couldn't help but marvel. In the sea of ​​souls, genes The Primarch saw the value of this book.

The Emperor spoke.

+ This is not a unique copy, but it is enough to reward you: my research on the Cursed Warriors and the Cursed Legions is all concentrated on it, and there is also some research data on the Astartes Warriors, all of which I have alone Research and development, without putting into actual operation, can be regarded as gifts and rewards to you. +

+ Use it well: I don't mind seeing an elite and powerful Second Legion. I believe you can use this power well and make the right choice at the last moment. +

+ I look forward to this for each of you. +

The Lord of Mankind smiled: adorned with this complete smile, Morgan had an illusion in a trance: for a moment, she actually saw some real paternal love on the emperor's face.

The Emperor's words interrupted the Primarch's vision.

+Besides this, there is one more thing. +

The Lord of Mankind spreads his palm, and there is a newly carved double-headed eagle, shining with a sacred and inviolable light: Anyone who takes a look at it can be sure that this must be a creation of the Lord of Mankind himself.

The Emperor spoke slowly.

+ I have read the psionic codex you wrote. It is well written. +

【Thank you for the compliment. 】

The Primarch was stunned for a moment.

The emperor nodded: he seemed to have thought about this problem for a long time.

+ Now, you can take out the original version in your hand: I can give you some pointers, and put my logo on its cover. +

+I think: You should know the value of what I do, Morgan. +

【……】

[Of course, Father. 】

The Lord of Avalon smiles like a flower.

[Thank you for your generosity. 】

+No need to thank you. +

The Emperor just sighed softly.

+ Just follow the path you are on now: whether it is psychic power or other things, maintain your current cautious posture, don't imitate some of your brothers and let me worry about it. +

+If you can do this, it is the best thank you to me. +

+After all...+

The Lord of Mankind paused.

+This time...+

+ I want to keep one more. +

While whispering, the emperor stroked the broken chess piece, his eyebrows lowered.