Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

Chapter 728: Life is worse than death

"What...are you doing? Sanguinius?"

"As you see, Horus: I am healing our brother Angron."

"Knock him unconscious?"

"Treatments that take immediate effect always have some side effects: that's not surprising."

"..."

Sanguinius, who had always been gorgeous, was now covered in dust. His finely carved face was stained with blood and dirt from unknown sources, and his long golden hair as smooth as silk had also been beaten. The feathers were broken, like a bunch of ugly straw ropes, and the feather-white wings rolled around in the ocean of dust. The most exquisite feathers were broken into pieces, as if a whole army had been annihilated. corps.

It seems that since the moment he was born and gained self-awareness, the Archangel of Baal has never been so embarrassed: even the sandstorms of the death world have never stained his face with the slightest bit of wind and frost, even the most massive battlefield. He couldn't stain his wings with blood, but when the danger came from another Primarch, even one as powerful as Sanguinius would inevitably suffer his first hidden loss in his life.

Only the Primarch can kill the Primarch: This was originally a lie that was only circulated among the Astartes warriors and mortal crews as a daily joke, but now it can send chills down the spine when you think about it carefully, especially when For Sanguinius, who has always been sensitive.

But no matter how violent the storm was in his heart, at least on the surface, the Archangel could always remain calm: even if the sudden [supernova explosion] was not involved in any of Sanguinius's plans for the Nikaea Conference, There was an expected plan, but when he woke up from the ground covered in ashes, Sanguinius only needed the blink of an eye to readjust his mentality.

And expressions.

At least, when the equally disgraced Wolf Shepherd and Jaghatai Khan came over, the Archangel in their eyes was no different from usual times except for being a little more embarrassed: the two primarchs were surprised by his calm and gentle appearance. , and then they noticed that something out of place seemed to be lying on the ground.

Horus rubbed his eyes and looked carefully, only to realize that wasn't their brother Angron?

The Primarch of the World Eaters Legion fell headfirst into the ruins like a silent boulder: while his blood brothers woke up one after another and were busy looking around, recovering strength or rescuing others. , but the aura on Angron's body was still as low as death.

But this is not because the void king's psychic barrier is weaker than that of his brothers: although Angron's spiritual world would have been affected by the existence of the Butcher's Nail, it was what really put him into a long-term coma. , but the most eye-catching one on the back of the neck is even a sunken bruise visible to the naked eye.

Just looking at it, Horus unconsciously touched his neck, and the hands he finally wiped clean were full of ashes: The Wolf Shepherd God thought that if it was on the back of his neck, there was suddenly such an extra line. Scar, those few hours of high-quality sleep cannot escape. As for Chagatai Khan next to him, he had already cast suspicious eyes on the archangel.

He happened to see the moment when the archangel retracted his right hand behind his back.

"Why don't you explain it, brother?"

Khan spoke first, and before the last syllable fell, his fingers were already on the hilt of the scimitar intentionally or unintentionally: Even if he is as smart as Chagatai, he has no clue about the sudden storm of destruction, and he is even more confused in his heart. There was a rare aura of fear, and any disturbance was worthy of his attention.

Thinking of this, Horus also moved his gaze: Although the Wolf Shepherd God did not believe that his best brotherhood was related to the terrifying whirlpool above his head, in the deepest part of Horus's heart, He has his own set of standards for measuring and utilizing each brother.

When Khan gets serious, his words are certainly worth heeding.

Similarly, when Sanguinius behaves too indifferently, he must be hiding some little secrets in his heart. Of course, it is also possible that he simply doesn't care: but considering the current situation, the possibility of the latter is real It's too insignificant.

"Indeed, it's me."

The archangel did not deny it. When he noticed that the two brothers in front of him had become visibly nervous, Sanguinius first smiled. Then he slowly spread his hands, and when the situation calmed down, he asked a question.

"You two, after you woke up, did you look at that [thing] in the sky?"

"I took one look, and then I stopped Horus from raising his head again."

It was Khan who answered him: At this time, Chagatai was already sitting upright, and even his slender beard was taut.

"But I don't think it's very useful: when we're knocked down by a storm, our minds are already polluted, and looking up at the vortex will only make it worse, at least that's what I think."

"The right thing to do."

The angel sighed and rubbed his eyes seemingly unintentionally.

"It's a pity that I wasn't with you at the time."

"So, Sanguinius: do you know something inside?"

Of course, Khan noticed something strange about the Archangel, but he ignored it: Whether it was the meeting in Nicaea that had exceeded expectations, or the wailing and cries for help coming from the distance in the mist that separated them, Khan was stunned. There is a very uncomfortable feeling.

He felt as if he had fallen into an endless vortex, and was just one step away from being completely swallowed up: everyone present was in the same boat, but they didn't even know what was happening.

Maybe the Emperor knew?

But the Emperor must be too busy to take care of himself.

The reason was that when Chagatai Khan just woke up, he felt that there was still a faint light flickering on the high platform where the Emperor was originally perched, just like the sun in a cloudy sky, far away and ethereal, but it was playing the role of a stabilizing force: fighting against the destructive storm raging on Nikea.

Khan instinctively realized that his gene father seemed to be fighting a great enemy in a higher dimensional space, and the outcome of their war would determine whether Nikea would fall to the side of reality or the warp: However, before Horus regained consciousness, Chagatai Khan had already guessed the outcome of the war.

Although it was strange to say this, Chagatai felt that the Emperor seemed to be fighting against something without self-awareness. Rather than fighting, it was better to put some out-of-control power back into prison. This was indeed very difficult and long, but the victory of the Lord of Mankind was a foregone conclusion.

After all, his opponent did not even put up any resistance. In other words, the powerful energy that set off the storm of destruction did not intend to take the next step against anyone present: even the storm itself might just be an unprovoked disaster when it was released.

"..."

When Chagatai Khan thought of this, he felt creepy.

Think about it, a being that could stun all the Primarchs in an instant and cause such a catastrophe to a world was an unconscious guy: just like a giant beast accidentally trampled the anthill under its feet.

It was precisely because of the unintentionalness that the desperate strength gap was revealed.

And such a giant beast is actually closely related to their genetic father. They have fought side by side with the Emperor for more than a century, but they were completely unaware of this: and now the Lord of Mankind has a way to put this giant beast back into his cage?

Where, how, and why did he master this power?

They don’t know, and they will never know in the future: as smart as Khan is, he has naturally foreseen that Nikea will be the next "Lost Legion".

I am afraid that by then, even the fear in his heart will disappear.

This feeling is really terrible.

Khan retracted his thoughts and did not continue to delve into it: knowing that the situation in front of him is not completely beyond the control of the Emperor has already made him satisfied. As for more things, even if he figured it out, it would only be a trouble for himself.

Wait patiently: see when the Emperor can recover.

In other words, in the face of this indiscriminate force that wants to destroy all of them, even if their father has ulterior motives, he is at least an ally in the open sense, isn’t it?

Chagatai was deceiving himself here, while his two brothers were still obsessed with the problems that were maintained on the surface.

"Inside story? Of course I don't know?"

Faced with Khan's inquiry, the angel hurriedly shook his head and denied it: at the same time, he pointed to his temple.

"But you should remember that I told you a long time ago: Conrad and I have the same ability, and I can also foresee certain future events: but this prophetic ability is very vague, like a fogged mirror."

"So, before Nikea, you foresaw the situation here?"

Khan continued to ask, ignoring Horus's frown beside him.

"I foresaw this."

The angel pointed to Angron.

"I vaguely foresaw that the Angron Brotherhood would lose control at the Nikaea meeting, so I have been guarding him, but I didn't expect the prophecy to come true in this way: Fortunately, when Angron woke up and realized that the Butcher's Nails in his mind were losing control, he was very cooperative with my treatment."

"Understandable."

The Khan nodded and looked around the ruins beside the three seekers.

"After all, we are definitely not in the original location of the real universe now: Morgan once told me how she and the Emperor contained the principle of the Butcher's Nails in Angron's mind. If it is too far away from the Liberator, then Angron will indeed be at risk of losing control again."

"The problem now is that we don't seem to be in the warp either."

The angel smiled and skipped the topic about Angron: when he and Horus joined forces to help Angron to a seat aside, Sanguinius took the opportunity to avoid the Khan's gaze and buried the secret in his heart.

He would not tell anyone that he had not foreseen Angron's problem, but was entrusted by Morgan to stay by Angron's side just in case: When the archangel questioned why Morgan did not put Angron on their side, his sister shut him up with just one sentence.

[Of all people, only you can ensure a sufficient chance of winning when facing Angron. ]

[What? Zhuangsen? ]

[Please, I want someone to help me watch Angron, not kill him. ]

The angel blinked, and he had to admit that these words were very convincing: Although he was also muttering in his heart, after all, he had never heard of any deep friendship between Morgan and Angron before, why would the Spider Queen meddle in other people's business?

They didn't see each other often.

Forget it, I can't figure it out.

What?

His foresight about Nikaea?

...

Darkness, pure darkness.

Originally, he thought that his ability to predict had finally begun to wane like Conrad next door: now, it seems to be getting more and more accurate.

After a little thought, the pain in his mind, like a maggot attached to his bones, made the Archangel more certain that they were definitely not in the real universe now: after they settled Angron, the three Primarchs looked worriedly at the destructive storm that was still raging in the center of the venue.

They wanted to act now, such as rushing to the side of the Emperor, or looking around to see if there were anyone who needed help, but whether it was the severe pain in their minds, the numbness of their limbs that had not yet fully adapted, or the storm barrier that was constantly lingering around them, all restrained the three Primarchs' steps.

In the end, everyone could only stare at the direction of the storm in silence.

"Magnus is in there."

Horus spoke, and the remaining two brothers only responded with silence.

"Do you know what happened?"

After a while, the wolf god who felt better looked around, and then he was the first to explain his situation.

"I feel like there seems to be a piece of memory missing in my mind: I remember that Magnus's sun seemed to explode, and I couldn't see anything after a white light, but there is one thing I am very sure of. Before I fainted, I felt the Emperor's energy protecting me. I will never mistake that information."

"Not necessarily."

The Khan lowered his head. As the dust gradually dissipated, he could vaguely see the positions of Mortarion and Leman Russ with the best vision. Following the smelly cold wind, the voice of the Lord of Death floated into the Khan's ears.

It was a series of curses, most of which were directed at Magnus, and a few were equally splashed at everyone: the Lord of Death was burning with anger, as if he would grab the sickle in the next moment, rush onto the field, cross the fog, and chop off Magnus's head.

Maybe he did have this idea, but in fact: when he noticed his unconscious blood brother and the dead bodies all over the ground, Mortarion stopped.

He muttered and complained, but he also tried his best to carry Leman Russ to a place as far away from the storm as possible. As for the body of the Emperor's son who was lying behind the Wolf King, who he had never met, the Primarch was silent for a moment, and also walked forward to collect the dead bodies as much as possible.

"..."

In the thick fog, the Khan only observed a moment: but in his heart, all the great achievements of the Lord of Death in the past hundred years that came into his ears were far less than this moment of silence. Until then, he realized that his brother Mortarion was actually a respectable person.

"Think about it, Horus."

But on the surface, the logic in Chagatai's voice still did not dissipate.

"Isn't Magnus's sun also filled with the breath of the Emperor?"

"It's different, brother."

The Wolf God shook his head firmly. When he turned his head to look at the Khan, he couldn't help but glance up, but Chagatai, who was well prepared, pressed his head directly and forced his head down.

"I said, don't look at it!"

"Chagatai is right, brother."

The angel also pressed Horus's somewhat dissatisfied shoulder from behind.

"Don't look at it: you are different from us in this regard, brother."

"What's the difference!"

"You are not a psychic: at least you don't have corresponding research in this regard."

Ignoring the obvious dissatisfaction in the words of the Wolf God, Sanguinius gave his answer casually, but found that the situation seemed to exceed his expectations: Horus' figure paused obviously, and then fell silent with a weird attitude. Instead, Chagatai Khan, who was facing Sanguinius, flashed a fierce eye knife to the archangel.

"..."

Did he say something wrong?

The angel was somewhat bewildered: he always felt that after the storm of destruction, especially when he accidentally looked up at the terrifying giant eye in the sky, some part of his heart seemed to have been quietly changed, but Sanguinius couldn't tell what it was.

Fortunately, he had a mature process for dealing with the current situation.

The archangel immediately kept smiling, his voice just right for curiosity.

"By the way, Horus: Why are you so sure that [they] are different?"

"Instinct, brother."

As expected, the wolf god's attention was diverted at once.

"I have been bathing in the light of my father for more than thirty years: so, I am very sure that when I was unconscious, there was a light from my father that protected me, and then compared it with Magnus's sun, I am very sure that the sun is not real."

"At least not completely real."

The error-free version is reading! 6=9+Book_Bar first published this novel.

As soon as these words came out, the angels and the Khan couldn't help but fall into thought. Although Horus had almost no say in the matter of psychic energy, if it was his understanding of the Emperor, the wolf god's answer was still very prestigious.

"What about you?"

Horus looked at his brothers.

"My brothers, has your memory been affected?"

"Do you know who did this?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the angels and the Khans only received a strange silence in response: Jaghatai Khan turned his head and glanced in the direction of the Emperor intentionally or unintentionally, while Sanguinius simply lowered his head. , his eyes moved left and right, unable to give an answer at all.

"My memories...are similar to yours, Brother Horus."

"That's right...me too."

After that, there was silence.

The three Primarchs stood together and spent a long time in silence. Amidst the chaos of the storm and the moans of death, even the sophisticated brains of the Primarchs could not accurately measure how many more minutes had passed: until The storm barrier behind them began to weaken gradually, until they could clearly see their brothers and heirs waving to them in the distance.

The angel stayed where he was and continued to take care of Angron's condition. Horus and Khan joined forces to respond to the call of others. They rushed to the ruins non-stop and picked up the still alive child from under the rubble. Mortals, tap the number of warriors behind you, while constantly paying attention to the emperor's high platform.

And as time goes by. The light of the Lord of Humanity became more and more dazzling on his golden platform. The storm barrier around everyone was gradually weakening. The sight of others in their eyes became clearer and clearer. They could vaguely hear the shouts from across the hall. Voice.

After another few dozen minutes, perhaps longer, when Horus could clearly see the Imperial Guards surrounding the foot of the Emperor's dais, looking at all of them warily, he could also see the other side, Zhuang. The scene where Sen and Conrad are working together to lift a boulder and rescue another mortal nobleman.

"Did you hear that?"

At the same time, Jaghatai Khan asked in a low voice in Horus's ear.

"Um."

Horus nodded, feeling unhappy.

He knew what the Khan was referring to: even though they were far apart, even though they were not specifically listening, there was a chilling sound as the Emperor's light shone brighter and the storm barrier weakened. , it inevitably reached the ears of everyone present.

It was a cry, the most piercing cry that made people break out in cold sweats. Such a powerful sound could only belong to a Primarch, and it was destined to be a dying one, who felt worse than death every moment. The surviving Primarch: And this sound came exactly from the direction of Magnus, who was still wrapped in the storm.

"The Emperor bless him..."

Every wailing tortured the nerves of all the Primarchs present more than a living apocalyptic war. No matter how much resentment they had towards Magnus in their hearts, at least at the moment they heard the sound, everyone I prayed silently in my mind.

Even Mortarion no longer stood by the storm angrily. He was the first to hear the cry: a minute later, the Lord of Death shrank his hands and feet and silently came to the ruins to help him. Brothers.

"It's getting clearer."

The Khan shook his head.

"It was pure torture."

"Don't think so, Jaghatai: at least we can be sure that Magnus is alive."

"He might as well be dead."

The Khan meant something, but Horus deliberately did not understand: his eyes were always fixed in the direction of the Emperor. Although he had long wanted to step forward to see his father, the Wolf Shepherd Never took a step forward.

Naturally, the human wall formed by Malcador and the Imperial Guards could not stop him, but Horus and his heart were inspired by the Emperor. This was the only reason that stopped him from moving forward: he needed to wait patiently. The genetic father needs enough time to subdue the catastrophe in his heart.

He would prevail: Horus had no doubt of it.

And the Emperor did not fail him.

When another group of forbidden troops hurriedly walked back and forth among the ruins of Nicaea, reporting on the disaster relief situation from the outside world, and receiving new orders from Malcador, a sudden light suddenly stung everyone's eyes. : The sound came from the emperor's throne, and his majesty and brightness finally returned to the reassuring level they had been at the beginning of everything.

A brief, biting breeze blew over everyone's cheeks. The power in it was so strong that even the original bodies felt a sense of suffocation for a moment: when most people were quietly rejoicing in their hearts about human beings. When the power of the Lord finally returned, those who were truly proficient in psychic powers frowned quietly in the shadows.

Morgan, Malcador, Khan, even Konrad and Sanguinius.

They can all feel that the Emperor's power has been significantly weakened, especially his power in the subspace. Although there is no permanent loss, it will at least require a very long recuperation period, perhaps thirty years or even It's longer.

There is no doubt that the process of subduing the beast within is not as smooth as it seems.

[But this is the Emperor, isn't it? 】

Morgan shook his head, half complaining to Conrad next to him, half expressing his feelings with emotion.

[What he is best at is enduring endless pain in his heart, but being able to appear calm and calm on the outside: even though we know what a huge catastrophe we are facing, when his light shines again, we always There will be a strange confidence. 】

[I believe he will win. 】

"At least he won this time."

Conrad became unusually serious.

"Honestly, Morgan: This is the first time I regret that my prophetic ability has become so weak."

[Because your prophecy is no longer a torture to you, it can actually help us: and this is what our enemies least want to see. ]

After saying that, Morgan looked at the center of the Nikaea Hall with a cold gaze. At this moment, almost everyone present was doing almost the same action as Morgan: as the Emperor's energy finally gradually recovered, and as the raging storm of destruction was locked back into the cage in his heart by the Lord of Humanity, the truth behind the wailing was finally coming to light.

The guards clenched their weapons, waiting for the storm to completely dissipate, and then put the culprit of everything into prison. Mortarion also did the same thing, his sickle rubbing against the abandoned marble table with a hateful sound, the Wolf King still stood beside him, but this time, he no longer had the strength to sympathize with the Lord of Prospero.

Others were no different: mortals who had no ties to Magnus were waiting for the next capture with hatred and joy, while the closer Primarchs, even Morgan and Jaghatai Khan, and Perturabo, who was trying his best to adjust the various out-of-control parts on his body, just watched indifferently.

Perhaps before everything, some people had arranged Nicaea differently. In the plans of the Emperor and Morgan, this would have been a loss for both Magnus and Mortarion, a warning to both sides, and a timely curb on all extreme thinking.

But now, everything is out of control: What will be the final fate of Mortari and the extreme anti-psychic faction he represents? How will they celebrate their victory in Nicaea? It is something that even Morgan doesn't care about, but they can be sure of another thing in turn, that is, Magnus's failure is beyond doubt.

Fate awaits the death knell of the Scarlet King.

After a few more breaths, as the Emperor's sword was inserted into the ground again, the power of the Lord of Mankind finally got on track. He was weak but tenacious. Although only a part of him was left, he could still dispel the stubborn storm and set up a golden illusion to isolate the big vortex above his head from his sight.

After doing all this, the last trace of the storm reluctantly retreated: almost at the same time, without the shield, the heart-wrenching wailing sound hit everyone's ears like a storm, all the way to the sky, as if to tear the sky apart.

So desolate, so terrifying: even the actions of the Imperial Guards paused.

When the Emperor's golden warriors saw the scene in front of them clearly, even the most persistent Imperial Guards of revenge stopped his steps unconsciously: in the wailing, the swords and halberds of the Imperial Guards slowly fell, and the seal holders and the Emperor behind them also did not issue any more orders to detain the Primarch.

Because... it was no longer necessary.

"Oh my god..."

The same silence infected every bystander present in the blink of an eye. Whether it was the Primarch or the surviving mortals, the anger in everyone's heart had disappeared: everyone opened their eyes wide and stared at the ruins after the storm dissipated with horror.

"Emperor bless..."

Horus shook his head, bit his lips tightly together, turned his head, and cried for his brother.

Beside him, Chagatai Khan and Sanguinius persisted longer. They looked at the source of the wailing in silence, staring at it quietly for about three or four seconds, and finally couldn't hold on any longer, closed their eyes, and helplessly tilted their heads to the other side.

Guilliman and Corax beside Morgan also made the same move. The two brothers were supporting each other. They also couldn't bear to look at the miserable scene in the middle of the venue. Hot tears flowed for the simplest brotherhood.

In front of them, Midnight Ghost sighed at the bloody level. The Caliban Lion, who had already drawn his sword, silently put his sword back into the sheath: Morgan also stopped chanting the spell, but closed his eyes and silently said goodbye to Magnus in his heart.

"Goodbye, brother."

The Wolf King turned around and tried to suppress his trembling shoulders and crying tone.

"I said, I hope we will never meet again in this life."

Behind the Fenris people, Lorgar prayed devoutly for his brothers, Ferrus sighed with regret, Vulcan didn't even dare to look at it again, even Perturabo and silently withdrew their sight, preferring to look at the bloody corpse mountain next to him.

In the silence of everyone, a crackling metal sound was particularly harsh: it was the sound of Mortarion's scythe on the ground. The face of the Lord of Death was already occupied by shock. He widened his eyes and opened his mouth, as if trying to say something, but in the end, he just lowered his head in silence, obviously giving up the idea of ​​adding insult to injury.

Because...

"It's no longer necessary."

The Khan shook his head, and his former friend shed a tear.

"Magnus...ah..."

A sigh from the grassland accompanied by ashes and dust pierced through the endless wailing and floated towards the King of Prospero who was living a life worse than death.

Floating towards his bloody flesh, only white bone fragments and minced meat could be seen, but there was no trace of his original legs.

Floating towards his lost arm, and the charcoal on the other side opposite it, although it vaguely looked like an arm, it had no idea how to continue using it.

Floating towards the primarch's skin, which had been blown open, revealing a blackened spine. A large amount of flesh and tissue was burned and riddled with holes. It seemed impossible for him to walk on the ground, whether he had legs or not.

Floating towards the primarch's blood, which almost covered the entire marble platform.

Floating towards the primarch's soul, which was shattered in a crazy howl.

Floating towards the primarch's mind, where the glory was once, now only madness and loss.

Floating towards the primarch's face.

His lips disappeared.

His ears disappeared.

His cheekbones were exposed.

And under his forehead, the eye sockets that once flashed with countless wisdom.

Now: there are only two bloody holes, like holes in the sky.

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