Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

As a Primarch serving the Imperium of Man, Konrad Korz has never tried to hide his heartfelt disgust for the Indomitable Truth.

Although he has not specifically slandered this battleship, as long as he has the opportunity, he does not mind expressing his contempt for the ancient flagship, as well as the legion and the original body to which it belongs, to anyone. This is even true in many cases. It caused trouble to others in public places, but Midnight Ghost still didn't care as always.

In fact, as a descendant of the Lord of Mankind, Conrad's disgust for Jonson is incredible. The Lion of Caliban ranks third on the list of the most hated things by midnight ghosts. Before him was Nostramo, and the man above Nostramo: considering the irreplaceability of these two options, Jonson can almost be regarded as the first.

But Midnight Ghost never explained why he hated this brother of Caliban so much, just like he never really resisted coming to the Dark Angels' flagship and walking on it: intentionally or unintentionally in Alpharius Under cover, Conrad easily deceived the Dark Angels and got into the ventilation duct network of this huge battleship. Although he had never been here before, now, this place seemed to be the home of the Midnight Ghost. Kingdom.

Relying on his own instincts and the slight wind direction in the pipe, Midnight Ghost is like a vigorous lemur, wandering wantonly in the darkness of the "Unyielding Truth". From time to time, he will pass through those top-secret areas, from those most secret areas. The veteran Terran veterans passed over their heads. Although these warriors who had served for more than two hundred years would instinctively feel uneasy, they could not catch any evidence except the cool air blowing on the back of their necks.

This long-lost play even made Midnight Ghost feel a little happy.

But this kind of relaxation, which is almost like a prank, cannot change a fundamental problem, that is, the battleship itself makes Conrad think that he is in a dead and gloomy cage: with the Dawn Goddess Different from the more relaxed and active atmosphere, [Unyielding Truth] is a knights fortress floating in space, and as this cruel war continues, it has become a knights full of death. fortress.

In the directions pointed by the most remote ventilation ducts with no end in sight, Midnight Ghost can feel strange auras: these auras even made him, as the original gene, aware of the instinctive threat, as if in those most remote places, he could feel the strange auras. In the deep shadow of the room, some cruel creatures that have been accumulated in ancient history are being constantly awakened by the Dark Angels.

There, Konrad smelled the ancient hatred, smelled the breath of destruction, smelled the existence of blasphemy in his subconscious as a Primarch, and should never be tolerated by the Emperor. He even felt it. Horrified: Did Jonson keep these things on his flagship before this?

Why did he do this?

Who gave these things to him?

What right does he have to own them?

A barrage of questions kept popping up in Conrad's mind. As a reluctant prophet, Midnight Ghost certainly knew Jonson's specialness among the Primarchs, but he still couldn't understand what he had detected. Those things: After all, even for a Primarch, the things Jonson possessed really crossed certain red lines.

If these things are allowed by the emperor, then it can only be said that his trust in Zhuang Sen is simply beyond ordinary people.

And if the emperor knew nothing about this, then this lion of Caliban must not be much stronger than the blood relative they were about to attack?

…

Could it be that Morgan made a mistake? Her trust and friendship have been entrusted to a hypocrite who only shows his appearance?

Thoughts like this flashed through Conrad's mind, and Midnight Ghost actually felt a little sad about it. After a brief hesitation and struggle, he suppressed his desire to find out more and turned to Above the more common corridors, where, although he could not find the more deadly weapons, he could listen to the exchanges and thoughts of the most ordinary Dark Angel warriors.

Conrad knew very well that at this moment, these people were actually more important than any weapons: after being forcibly educated by Morgan for several years, the people-oriented concept finally planted a small seed in Conrad's heart. seed.

In this way, the Midnight Ghost advanced a certain distance in these loose networks, and he soon found an excellent spot: it was a vent, with the thick railings and the shadows on the side forming just the right angle. It was able to completely cover his figure so that he would not be discovered by the warriors below. Facing the railing, three or five Dark Angel warriors seemed to be chatting.

Conrad could identify the iconic features of these warriors, but he soon fell into confusion: among the people in front of him were knights with outstanding achievements that even Conrad had heard of, and some who were ordinary. , low-level warriors who would not be recognized if thrown into the crowd, but they mixed together as equals, speaking in different accents from Holy Terra, Gramaya, or Caliban, discussing one after another A seemingly unrelated topic.

Whenever they ended a topic abruptly and quickly jumped to the next topic, the initiative and hierarchy in the conversation seemed to be subtly reversed: the meritorious knights would ask for advice from the lower-level warriors, and the Terran veterans would also Would be respectful to a new blood of Caliban.

Even Conrad couldn't help but fell into a long silence after seeing these strange scenes. The scene in front of him completely exceeded his previous inherent impression: even at the dawn, where the order was not so obvious. In the Legion of Soldiers, the level changes between soldiers do not seem to be like this...

frequently?

"..."

Midnight Ghost blinked. He couldn't understand it, but this did not prevent his ears from capturing effective information, especially when words like [War] and [Luthor] began to appear among these warriors. When the words were spoken, Midnight Ghost stopped all useless thinking and listened attentively.

He heard clearly that the person who started this topic was an accent from the industrial world of Gramaya.

"The order from the original body has been issued to the knights I belong to three hours ago: We are going to mobilize twelve senior members to follow Luther back to Caliban. They are all Terrans or Gramayas. People, I never thought they would leave the battlefield this way."

The warrior from Germaye told his story in an incredibly plain tone, as if he was describing something about someone else. His voice sounded like a rather hoarse smoke. voice.

"Are you unhappy about this?"

The first person to respond to him seemed a little rude, but it was undeniable that from his appearance alone, he was a man of great appearance, and the complex coat of arms hidden under his cloak was even more impressive. Tells him that he is a Terran veteran, perhaps even older.

When he spoke, the other people couldn't help but feel that they became more respectful.

The warrior from Gramaya shook his head, he was not angry.

"You know, I didn't mean that, Astlan, I was just explaining my situation here. From an objective point of view, I can understand the original body's action and the deep meaning behind his action: this It’s a necessary emergency measure, isn’t it?”

"..."

Astlan didn't reply. He just snorted harshly. On the contrary, the two Caliban recruits looked at each other, still unable to contain the doubts in their hearts.

One of them stepped forward.

"But are two hundred people too few? I have no doubt about Mr. Luther's ability, but any ability requires certain hard conditions to support it. If the situation is really bad, who needs Mr. Luther to carry the banner? If it’s so bad, then at the very least, we need to give him more support in advance.”

"More support?"

Before the smoky-voiced Gramaya warrior could reply, Astlan's dissatisfied voice echoed in the corridor for a long time.

"He took away two hundred people, two hundred senior warriors from Holy Terra and Gramaya. These people are enough to reverse the situation of any war or any battle, enough to conquer a world and shake the entire galaxy. , and if that’s not enough, it only shows that the trust our Primarch gave Luther was fundamentally wrong.”

"And I'm not at all surprised that he made the wrong decision."

"..."

Perhaps the rebellious spirit in these words was too obvious. For a moment, no one had any reaction to Astlan's words: even Conrad, who had been squatting in the ventilation duct, couldn't help but frown. He frowned. Although he didn't like Zhuang Sen, it didn't mean that he would be happy to see Zhuang Sen's heirs say nasty things to him.

Apparently there was someone in the corridor who shared his sentiments.

"There's something deep in your words that sounds dangerous, brother."

The two warriors of Caliban origin shouted almost at the same time, while the other two people: the smoky-voiced Gramaya warrior and another veteran from Shengtai, maintained a strange silence.

"Danger, where do you mean it?"

Astlan glanced at the two Caliban warriors leaning in front of him, not hiding the contempt in his pupils at all: in his opinion, if he thought about it, there would be two heads here in the next moment. Landed.

These Calibans are still too green.

Astlan narrowed his eyes and continued his words unhurriedly.

"Am I wrong? Placing the hope of the entire legion on Luther, a person who is not even a Dark Angel, is a wrong decision in itself. Even if this decision is made by the original body, it is still wrong. It's just that the error was elevated to the level of a Primarch error: it was no longer an error, but a possible disaster."

"Luthor can't even be called our battle brother. If he hadn't fought alongside Jonson, do you think he would have had a chance to stand on this ship? I don't deny his ability, but I have supported him to get to this point. Yes, it’s more about luck, we can’t pin the fate of the legion on luck.”

"In other words, why should we place the fate of the Legion on someone who is not even an Astartes?"

Astelan's words were like waving sharp blades, creating a rift in the alliance between the two Caliban warriors. The Caliban warrior who attacked first was obviously confused by the conclusions about Luther in his words. His silence symbolized his concession, but it was the Caliban man who had maintained his silence who suddenly spoke.

"You don't know Luther at all: I come from the same world as him. I have witnessed his fighting form in the Grand Knights. Maybe Luther needs some luck to get to where he is today, but his ability is He is better than most people in the galaxy, and he may not be unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility entrusted to him by the original body."

"Moreover, the original body must have pinned all this on Luce for some deeper reasons. I believe in the foresight of our genetic father."

"A deeper reason?"

Astlan smiled contemptuously. He glanced at the two Calibans in front of him who had already had differences in opinions. He was silent for a moment before spitting out a more important conclusion.

"I don't think there is any deeper reason. After all, Johnson is just a commander appointed by the emperor, not a higher-level existence than us: couldn't he make a mistake? For example, because Was it because of outdated trust that the responsibility was wrongly handed over to the wrong person?"

"..."

If the previous words were still a bit obscure, then this point is too obvious: let alone the two Caliban warriors, even the Gramayars and the Holy Terrans who have remained silent, They all raised their heads involuntarily.

"Be careful, Astlan."

The smoky-voiced Gramaya warrior spoke first. He seemed to have a personal friendship with Astlan, but his advice was only met with a merciless reply.

"Is there anything I need to be careful about?"

Astlan gritted his teeth, his opinion so firm.

"Don't you think so too, my brother: as a Warmaster, as our superior, our Primarch is completely unqualified: if he can really master the art of war, we are completely unnecessary Standing here, discussing the most tragic future for the Legion, discussing whether to place the future of the Legion on an old man who has only accepted half of the transformation."

"It was Jonson who caused all this, wasn't it?"

Astlan's tone was arrogant, but for a moment, no one could refute him.

"...He is the original body after all..."

The Gramaya warrior did not directly refute him. He seemed to be sighing, and this sigh itself seemed to be a default gesture towards some of Astlan's views. As for the two Calibans, they seemed to have some He was shaking with anger: If the disparity in strength hadn't been too great, perhaps a bloody fight would have broken out here.

"What about the Primarch?"

Astlan smiled.

"For us, for the Dark Angels, is the Primarch unattainable? Don't forget, we once fought under the Emperor's command and respected the orders of the Lord of Mankind. We and the Empire Banners of equal weight, alongside the Custodes: I have witnessed that glorious time, when there were only the first Astartes warriors."

"Although at that time, the total number of Astartes was only 5,000. But we were far more glorious and noble than the current Legion, and more worthy of the name of the First Legion: look at what we have become now What? All the legions are competing for their honor and legend in the center of the Great Crusade, but we can only worry about the fate of our entire legion in the shadow of the galaxy, and whether the next war will kill us?"

"You have to admit it, my brother, we have been going downhill since Jonson returned. He has not yet become a commander who can adapt to the galactic war, and we are using our blood and future to replace him. Pay this heavy tuition fee."

The warrior of Germaye shook his head.

"Okay, brother, I have always known that you are dissatisfied with our Primarch, but this is a public place after all. You should still pay attention to the impact of your words: In the current war, stability is the most important thing."

"Are you also thinking about Zhuang Sen?"

"..."

Hearing this, the smoky-voiced Gramaya man just remained silent for a moment.

He did not deceive his heart.

"I admit that Jonson may not be the best commander we have ever experienced. I have also been worried about the current situation of the legion, but the current situation is that all our worries, no matter how correct they are, are groundless. Meaning: If you don't win the next war, your complaints will be as useless as the Word Bearers' scriptures."

"..."

Astlan was silent for a moment. He did not continue to reply, but glanced contemptuously at the two Caliban warriors next to him who remained repressed and silent, as if they were looking at two rusty old swords.

"You should take the initiative to confess your sins now, Astlan: you are desecrating the sanctity of the Primarch with your words. This behavior of yours is not allowed in any Legion: neither the Emperor nor the Primarch will Forgive your offensive words!”

The Caliban warrior who had previously expressed support for Luther's arrangement now had an angry face and roared lowly at Astlan. Beside him, the warrior who seemed to have no support for Luther The confident Caliban did not continue to support his fighting brothers who came from the same world as him: the difference in stance and concept was clearly expressed through such subtle actions.

"Plead guilty? What crime do you admit?"

Astelan smiled.

"Do you admit that I am telling the truth, or do you mean that when you are unable to defeat me with the weapon of logic, you can only use this impotent anger as a response to me?"

"you……"

"enough."

The fifth voice from the shadows interrupted the argument: the one who had never spoken before, another warrior from Holy Terra, in front of him, even Astlan remained silent. with a certain amount of respect, let alone others.

"Now that this order has been issued, it is meaningless for us to argue about it. Rather than these, we might as well think about when the next war will break out: the recruitment order for the original body will be issued soon. You The attitude towards this matter should be more important.”

“What’s not to say about attitude?”

The smoky-voiced Gramaya warrior shook his head, his voice a little bitter.

"We have reached this point, do we have any other choice: Zhuang Sen may not be so perfect, but this is not the reason for us to resist military orders, what do you think?"

He asked the Holy Terra warrior who had been silent, and received a nod.

"I don't care about these things: whether under the Emperor or under the Primarch, I only have my duty in my eyes, and I don't care about a single thing you say except how the next battle goes. .”

"Amazing attitude."

Astlan responded briefly.

"What about you, Astlan: what is your attitude towards the Primarch's call to arms?"

"What attitude can I have?"

Astlan dealt with it without a smile. He just patted the sword on his waist and answered his battle brothers in a tone full of helplessness and arrogance.

"No matter how dissatisfied I am, war is coming soon: now that it's over, isn't my only choice to draw my sword and fight, and then defend what little honor we have left?"

"choose?"

"Let's fight, what other choice do we have?"

Astlan's light and bitter words echoed in the corridor, and what greeted him was a common silence. This silence was not because of rejection, but because of recognition: after this brief quarrel and onlookers , the five Dark Angels who participated in the talks finally reached a tacit understanding on one issue without any grudges.

These five warriors cannot maintain completely consistent positions, mentality, and evaluations of the original body and Luther. These five warriors are the epitome of the entire First Legion. Perhaps only on this issue can they maintain the same attitude.

No matter whether they agree with the next war or not.

No one will choose to escape.

——————

"After all, for these Astartes warriors, the courage to face war is just the most basic standard. This is especially true for the Dark Angels. They are no more cautious than the crazed Space Wolves."

"They were born for war."

The Lord of Hydra read these sentences in poetic words, but it only attracted the deep frown and disgust of the Midnight Ghost, but Alpharius didn't mind it at all, he even felt A kind of long-lost happiness: Any character who has been with Conrad for a period of time will unconsciously use the discomfort of this Nostramo man as the source of his own happiness.

After all, he really deserves a beating.

"But then again."

Alpharius touched his smooth forehead.

"Five warriors, a clear-cut anti-Primarch, a Gramaya descendant who has a heavy responsibility and is disappointed with the Primarch, two Calibans, but one has deep trust in the Primarch and Luther, and the other But he had other ideas, plus a Terran veteran who didn’t care about anything but war..."

"It's just five people, but they can come up with five points of view?"

"Zhuang Sen must have brought it upon himself."

Hydra whispered.

Conrad snorted softly and sat down next to Alpharius. They leaned against the wall of an outer corridor together, with a porthole leading directly to the galaxy behind them: with the faint light, they could see The forerunners in those fleets are constantly passing through Mandeville Point, and the order of the [Indomitable Truth] is about a day later.

"Do you know where Morgan is, Alpharius?"

"She went to find Luther after finishing her meeting with Jonson. Otherwise, why do you think Luther could get everything done so quickly?"

Hydra responded briefly, his face always wrinkled, and the oppressive air on the "Indomitable Truth" made him feel very uncomfortable: on this point, Midnight Ghost was rarely consistent with him. , after they finished communicating those necessary things, they never wanted to say a word again.

Until Conrad felt the familiar sound of footsteps appearing on the other side of the corridor.

Following the sound, the two Primarchs only saw Lana, Morgan's chief janissary, walking against the wall with a contradictory attitude that could be called flying, but cautious: he was obviously going to find his genes. mother of.

"Hey, look who this is?"

Seeing Lana, the bored Midnight Ghost laughed, and he jumped up, with a hint of kindness in his voice.

"Where have you been? My dear nephew, shouldn't you have been by my sister's side?"

Midnight Ghost walked up to Lana carelessly and patted him on the shoulder: Whether it was this too intimate action or the words of tiger and wolf in his words, Alpharius behind him frowned. He didn't know. What to say.

"Your Excellency Conrad."

Rana quickly stood up and saluted Conrad and Alpharius, but his saluting posture was a bit strange: that was because a steel box that seemed to have weight and security was being held by the head guard. She hugged him tightly, distorting his movements.

Midnight Ghost naturally noticed this, and stretched out one of his paws towards the box curiously. Then, Lana became uncharacteristically tough, directly blocking the original body's temptation and protecting the box in her arms.

"...Rana?"

"I'm sorry, Lord Conrad, but there is something very important in this box, and I must keep it safe and hidden at all times: this is no disrespect to you, please forgive me."

"..."

The Primarch narrowed his eyes. He hesitated briefly between giving up and snatching the box directly, until he found that one of the hands of the Praetorian Guard had touched the power sword at his waist intentionally or unintentionally, a certain naughty attitude took over the original body. heart.

So, as Conrad bent down silently, a contest of disparity in power seemed to be taking place in the corridor.

"Okay, Conrad."

But the next moment, someone interrupted all of this: Alpharius had made a circle at some point, patted Lana on the shoulder from behind, and caused a big or small blow to the chief guard. While being frightened, it also contained some tense situations.

"Don't cause him any trouble."

Hydra walked to the side of Midnight Ghost and hugged his brother's shoulders, while Kant glanced at Alpharius with some surprise, and there was a little anger in his eyes.

"...Okay, let's go, Rana, and go about your business."

"Thank you, Lord Conrad."

The head guard seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief. He bowed to Conrad, maintained his steady and steady steps, and soon disappeared at the end of the corridor.

"That's weird, isn't it?"

Alpharius stared at Lana's disappearing back and smiled.

"You know, Conrad, it gave me the feeling that it was like those ancient Terran literature I used to read: The leader of a criminal organization sends a group of henchmen to steal jewelry from a guarded treasure house. , but this group of men messed up the matter, causing the criminal leader to become furious and had to grab the remaining jewelry and quickly go to his hiding place."

"..."

"What are you trying to insinuate? Alpha?"

"I'm just telling a story. Don't you think Rana's behavior is strange?"

"It's weird, but not as weird as you are, Alpharius."

Conrad abandoned his brother, and he broke free from the good intentions of this hydra.

"After all, it was eye-opening for a Primarch to use such despicable means as deception and theft against an Astartes warrior."

"I have always believed that there is no distinction between high and low means."

Hydra gave out a cold smile, and his free hand reached into his half-covered robe. He flipped through it lightly and took out a box, which turned out to be the one in Lana's arms.

"Sounds like this little guy is unlucky: this kind of box is not a rare item on the Indomitable Truth. Although the safety factor is indeed high enough and easy to use, I usually prepare a few to be prepared."

"Don't you want to see what's in there?"

"..."

Midnight Ghost narrowed his eyes.

"I don't want to be your accomplice, Alpharius."

"This is no crime, great Judge Conrad."

Hydra smiled sinisterly.

"This is just the suspect Alpharius revealing his evidence in front of you, and what you have to do is to see everything in front of your eyes and remember it in your heart: a perfect judicial process, isn't it?"

"..."

Midnight Ghost's silence was replaced by Hydra's smile, and then. Alpharius opened the box without hesitation, and the two Primarchs couldn't help but look into the mysterious space.

The next moment, their eyes were shaken by some kind of astonishment.

"..."

"..."

"what is this?"

Alpharius gave a bitter smile, put his hand in, and then picked up a shiny object.

It was something that seemed priceless, but was actually priceless. It was something that even if one used the Primarch's brain to perform logical calculations, one could not think of any additional value on it.

Yes.

It's crystal clear.

Capture the sky skillfully.

Sparkling with crystal-like colors.

but……

It's just a goblet.

Just an ordinary goblet.

"..."

"Do you think there is any secret on this cup that we can't discover yet? A hidden text? Or a piece of history that should be sealed away."

Hydra was still a little unwilling to give up, but he looked left and right, and still couldn't see what was worth paying attention to in this ordinary goblet: except that its size was completely suitable for a Primarch, It looks no different than something in a mortal's hands.

"I don't care about that."

Midnight Ghost grinned and glanced at his brother: Apparently, Alpharius's frustration made him feel happy.

"I care about another thing: Alpharius."

"Morgan should be in Luther's office now, and Luther's office is about five minutes away from here: that boy Lana will definitely go to find Morgan. In other words, after he finds the mother of his genes, And you only have five minutes to clear up your crime before opening this box."

"..."

"Is this an early trial? Judge Conrad."

"I am not a judge, because I have no law enforcement power here, but according to the laws of the Human Empire, I do have a basic right as a citizen: so, if the situation permits, I will be happy to become a Conrad witness , to accuse you."

"..."

"Then I'll be happy to drag you down, Mr. Conrad."

"You can't threaten me. Morgan won't think of me as an accomplice. No matter how hard you, the principal criminal, try to talk, your efforts will be in vain in the end."

"..."

"Why?"

Alpharius frowned, and for a moment, he really thought about this question seriously: Could that Morgan still be able to distract her on the Indomitable Truth? Or is there some tacit connection between her and Conrad? Some missing information that wasn't part of his intelligence network? "

"the reason is simple."

Midnight Ghost smiled maliciously and moved closer to Hydra, ensuring that his whispers could be deeply embedded in Alpharius's mind.

"The reason is..."

"Morgan trusts me."

"But she will never trust you."

"It's that simple."

"..."

"..."

Alpharius blinked his eyes. He barely controlled his bulging forehead and the curse words that had flowed to his mouth. The countless exquisite ideas and reasoning in his mind were used by the Midnight Haunter in a rogue-like manner at this moment. The trick was reduced to dust on the floor.

"..."

As expected, he still couldn't deal with such a rogue guy.

——————

While the Hydra Lord was secretly gnashing his teeth, a quiet roar was playing continuously on a certain tarmac of the Indomitable Truth. In a low-key manner without anyone noticing, Luther was already planning to leave this place. It was the flagship of the First Legion that had carried him for decades.

Zhuang Sen did not go to see him off.

After all, there was nothing left to say between them.