Emperor's Bane

Chapter 301 Tacit Understanding and Secrets

The meeting is still going on.

The atmosphere was a little dull.

Someone forced a smile.

Some people are in a daze.

------

Conrad is naturally the one responsible for being in a daze, and he is doing his best to perform this great job, making his breath weak enough to perfectly serve as a dark background for the two legion masters to discuss each other.

This is not as simple a job as it seems: apart from anything else, in Conrad's eyes, just having to curb the boredom and impulse in his heart and continue to stay in this dull and serious conference room is just a job. An unimaginably horrific torture.

When he thought that he could actually endure this kind of endless suffering that was piled up with time and documents for the sake of his dear blood brothers, Conrad was even moved to the point of crying.

For this alone, Midnight Ghost felt that he was a great man.

……

He really thinks so.

……

However, from another perspective, this is actually not a difficult task, because at this moment, none of the other four pairs of pupils in the room are paying attention to him: although the two close confidants of the Primarch are just They stood not far behind Midnight Ghost, but their energy and attention were almost entirely focused on the two legion masters.

To be more specific, it focused on the Primarch of the Dark Angels Legion.

However, the connotations of the two equally anxious gazes looking at Zhuangson were somewhat too obvious: Coswayne's gaze was one of nervousness and preparation, as if he was ready to take a step forward at any moment. Then he unreasonably interrupted the Primarchs' meeting to avoid any more good words coming from the lion's mouth.

Compared with the simplicity of the gaze in the eyes of the Lion King, the sight exuded by the chief old guard on the side is a kind of military fire that makes the midnight ghost quite interested. If matched with the slight steel grinding in his palm, , the crunching sound is even enough to make Nostramo people feel some kind of musical enjoyment.

However, the performance of these two primarch servants was just side dishes after all. What really allowed Midnight Ghost to survive this difficult time was his two blood brothers and the subtlest expression changes on their faces.

These almost imperceptible and wonderful changes are more splendid than Wagner's operas and more charming than Aeschylus's tragedies, making the midnight ghost deeply trapped in them and fascinated.

He even wanted to join in.

Of course he could be a part of it.

After all, although his Caliban brothers have perfectly regarded the midnight ghost as a ball of filthy air and want to ignore it at all, on the other side of the table, the Lord of the Second Legion understands the value of unity: even if it is not Expect Conrad to say anything constructive, but at the end of each session, Midnight Ghost will get a question from the Spider Queen.

[Do you think there is anything else that needs to be added to this topic, Conrad? 】

Another question came out, but Midnight Ghost's attention was only focused on the face of his Caliban blood relative, but he did not forget to grin and spit out a normal-sounding reply from his throat.

"Ah... not really."

Morgan nodded, and then began to check the next topic: In front of outsiders, or in any public place, the Lord of the Second Legion is working hard to maintain the power and status of Midnight Ghost as a Primarch, even though Kang Ladd himself didn't care about this, and the Spider Queen never expected to get any constructive response, but this process must exist and cannot be erased.

Even Midnight Ghost knew the purpose of Morgan doing this: although he still believed that this was a worthless move and the dross part of [Procedural Justice], he had long since learned to remain silent.

And in the eyes of Conrad now, compared to these boring superficial pomps, his Caliban blood relatives are much more interesting: especially when the Midnight Ghost discovers the Dark Angel from the seemingly unintentional glance of the lion. When the Lord didn't actually hate him as much as he seemed, a burning fire of seeking knowledge completely engulfed the Nostramos.

In the following meeting that lasted for one Terran standard hour, the eyes of the midnight ghost were almost glued to Caliban. He devoted all his energy to this sacred cause and followed the hero with great interest. Between the lion's slightly trembling eyebrows and lips, he unearthed little secrets that were enough to open his eyes.

Some secrets are easy to discover: for example, when Morgan, who unknowingly took over the right to speak in this meeting, began to shift the focus of the discussion to [Logistics Supply], the originally serious face The lion suddenly became restless.

Although Zhuang Sen's face still looked so joyless, but in the midnight ghost's fierce gaze, he easily discovered the clue: if, before this, the face of Lord Caliban was a continuation of If the eternal ice lake that has lasted for tens of thousands of years will only melt slightly for the lucky ones like Morgan and Coswayen, then when the topic gradually shifts to [Legion Internal Affairs], this ice lake will also step into the In the scorching summer heat.

Under the surface of seriousness, there were already waves of confused muddy water: Conrad could even swear that if he put his ear next to Jonson's head now, he might have heard that kind of clear spring flow. loud sound.

The leader of the Second Legion on the side did not seem to notice, or she had long been accustomed to this situation, and continued to talk: Although Conrad could understand every word of these words about logistics, he could not understand them. He couldn't understand every word, but when he saw that Zhuang Sen's condition was exactly the same as his, Midnight Ghost felt a subtle sense of pride.

At the same time, deep down in his heart, he became more and more convinced that Zhuang Sen was his kind. However, the cannibalism between the same kind was often more bloody and crazy, which was also a reality.

But emotions like this didn't stay in Conrad's heart for a second before he was squeezed out by a new question: When the midnight ghost came back to his senses, his eyes jumped back and forth between Jonson and Morgan. When he was thinking, he suddenly felt that he had thought of something.

At this moment, he began to think.

He thought: Not long ago, when the Lord of the Dark Angels solemnly said that shocking statement that could make the two brother legions instantly fall out, Lana could hardly help but unsheath his long sword. At that moment, when Conrad fell into true astonishment, his eyes caught another scene.

On the other side of the table, opposite the Lord of Dark Angels, the Queen of Avalon, who was humiliated by Jonson's solemnity, wrinkled instinctively just the first moment she heard these words. She frowned: Then, her frown smoothed away quickly, and her blue eyes returned to calm and indifference before even an inch of anger could be ignited.

The Spider Queen actually calmed down at that moment, or in other words, she didn't feel angry at all: on the contrary, Midnight Ghost could clearly see that in Morgan's pupils, a few messy colors flashed through her eyes. Lu can be understood as memories and nostalgia, or even some kind of emotion.

Immediately afterwards, in Coswein's eyes that were so pleased that he almost shed tears, in Lana's gritted teeth and stunned eyes, in the endurance, in the Lord of Caliban looking at the pause in front of him, he felt a little confused, with written all over his face. Confused about "What are you doing?", the Spider Queen had already picked up a document and continued the meeting between the original bodies without changing her expression.

She did not [report] the situation of her legion to Zhuang Sen, but chose a topic at random: Under a sense of crisis that was close to the instinct of a beast, the lion's words retracted abruptly between his lips and teeth, and he did not I chose to get to the bottom of it, and found out that the two sides were so peaceful.

Thinking of this, Midnight Ghost couldn't help but smacked his lips, a little unwillingly: it was obvious that when he made those smaller mistakes, such as painting the silver-white statues of the competition winners in the Dawnbreaker Legion Arena into beautiful dark blue At that time, his rotten corpse blood relative would never be so patient. No matter how successful his argument was, she would directly take action.

Look at it now: what a standard unfair treatment.

Konrad lamented belatedly: He failed to complain about this obvious double standard at the first time, because Jonson's words not only shocked the two primarch attendants, but also shocked those who had never seen the world. Midnight Ghost.

For a moment, the Nostramo even had a sense of crisis: Isn't he the craziest among the Primarchs?

Why couldn't he say such kind words that were taken for granted but had rich connotations? Why didn't his father give him such a great talent?
How frustrating.

Conrad's long tongue slowly licked his teeth. Although his mouth was completely closed at this time, there was still a moving hillock around his lips: this made the dark man who accidentally glanced at him The Lord of Angels' brows instantly furrowed to the point where a lock could be hung on his face.

Faced with the disgust written on his face, the Midnight Ghost responded with a huge smile: this successfully repelled the sight of Lord Caliban, allowing Conrad to continue to quietly think about his two blood relatives. question.

Facts have proved that as a bloodline of the Lord of Humanity, as long as he is willing to use his brain, Midnight Ghost's thinking speed is still very impressive: when his eyes once again walked back and forth between Zhuangson and Morgan, Conrad De felt that he had been able to grasp that key word.

Between Morgan and Jonson, his two blood relatives, there seems to be some kind of invisible but intangible... tacit understanding?
Tacit understanding is not the kind of tacit understanding that is linked from birth, but a kind that is thicker and vulgar, more calm and realistic, and even mixed with a little bit of blood: tacit understanding.

Conrad clearly recognized the existence of this tacit understanding: because they were too conspicuous, whether it was the Spider Queen silently enduring the arrogance of Lord Caliban, or when she picked up those crucial When talking about important data briskly, the Lions responded quickly without even checking, which seemed to illustrate the true existence of this tacit understanding.

At the beginning, the discussion between the two legion masters seemed a bit stiff, which was caused by the gap caused by the power of time and space: but after they discussed for a while and regained the feeling of the past, they even The brief pause between each two issues was indifferently compressed to the point of almost nothing. The two efficient processing machines once again pieced their gears together, quickly destroying all the adverse factors that delayed the war. .

The Spider Queen had just determined the ownership of one document, and before she even had time to pick up the second one, Lord Caliban seemed to already know which one she would choose: Midnight Ghost even saw it with his own eyes, Morgan just chose it One of the documents simply spit out a few seemingly irrelevant keywords and data, and Zhuang Sen nodded quickly to show his agreement.

As a result, another agenda was passed: the speed was so fast that even the midnight ghosts on the side had not had time to react, and those Wenshanwenhai who, in his eyes, would take seven or eight Terra standards to deal with, were dealt with by two geneticists. As the body answered questions and answers more quickly and concisely, it seemed that he could no longer survive the second hour.

"..."

Conrad watched.

Conrad was silent.

Conrad thought.

Finally, when the speed at which the Spider Queen picked up the files was almost an afterimage in his eyes, Midnight Ghost finally let out a long sigh in his heart: This sigh is just a meaningless noise. But one can also hear that the owner of the voice is in a bad mood.

The Nostramo felt that he was excluded from some invisible circle, but had no way to get in, which made him feel a little angry: Conrad could accept that he was not included in the system, but This situation only exists when he actively wants to escape from the rules of the system, but once he finds that he is actually passively driven away.

His mood wouldn't be too wonderful.

"..."

No.

He has to do something.

Midnight Ghost blinked and confirmed this.

There is no doubt that there is some tacit understanding between his two blood relatives that he did not know before, and now he wants to squeeze in: Frankly speaking, it will not do him any good, but he Just want to do this.

He is happy.

After all, it is his own freedom whether he wants to stay in these circles, but whether there is a place for him in these circles is another serious matter worth fighting for and fighting for.

Rights can be actively given up, but they cannot be passively deprived.

In the past years of non-stop cramming, Conrad learned this sentence: there are countless other sentences that he doesn't like, but he has to remember or even understand.

And now, he knows that he needs to fight for his rights: this is destined to be an inexplicable war, a war that will make his image of madness more solid, and a war with more losses than gains.

But he is happy.

Thinking of this, a long-lost excitement and pride began to appear in Midnight Ghost's dead heart. He subconsciously began to look for the targets of war: Nostramo's deep pupils, of course, were the first to look at them. The Spider Queen beside her, her enthusiastic gaze even temporarily extinguished the cold report.

[What's the matter, Conrad? 】

"..."

"No, no, you continue."

Instinctively, Midnight Ghost coughed a few times, and the indifferent blue pupils moved back: until this moment, the throbbing in the heart quietly dissipated.

"..."

Conrad lowered his head and thought about it seriously: First of all, he knew that he was definitely not afraid of challenging Morgan, he just didn't want to continue the Spider Queen's unoriginal mission goal.

This explanation was legitimate and reasonable: he was convinced in an instant.

So……

Quietly, like the eyes of a wolf sizing up prey in the low bushes, Nostramo's gaze quietly placed on the Caliban table across the conference table where the discussion was going on. on the face.

It's up to you.

Midnight Ghost laughed. Deep in his heart, he realized that he was actually eager to have a confrontation with this brother who was also a beast, a confrontation that would not make things completely out of control.

It will be a beast to beast bite.

This will be a confrontation between madmen and barbarians.Conrad knew that he would be crazy: he would have to be crazy.

------

After all: a madman.

But it was the business card he carefully crafted for himself.

------

【…】

There seemed to be a disturbing low laughter in her ears.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to slow down and pick up the next document, the Spider Queen, who had completely entered into working mode, glanced at Conrad's position with her indifferent pupils: after seeing her Nostramo When the blood relative was still sitting on the chair and looking deeply at Zhuang Sen, Morgan just blinked and returned to his work.

She knew very well that it was absolutely impossible for Conrad to stay honest: but since there were more important things now, it would be enough for the Lord of Avalon to be satisfied that he could maintain the momentum he had before becoming a demon.

The future matters will be left to her to worry about: By the way, after returning to the Dawn Goddess, she must remember to teach Conrad a special lesson. His visit this time can be said to make her Shame on you.

Thinking of this, the Spider Queen frowned slightly. She raised her head and glanced at Lord Caliban on the other side of the table. Part of her dissatisfaction with Conrad slowly accumulated on Jonson.

Others may not be able to see it, but Morgan knows it in his heart: about thirteen issues ago, the Lord of Caliban slowly fell into a state of relaxation. He no longer tried to keep up with Morgan's thoughts. Instead, he fell into a lazy state of simply responding and nodding to everything Morgan said.

Especially when the focus of the discussion gradually shifted to the supplies brought by the Dawnbreaker Legion and the subsequent material preparations, although Zhuang Sen's face was still serious, the Spider Queen who had worked with him for more than ten years could see at a glance Coming out: This guy's thoughts may have gone to Shangri-La.

On the contrary, Coswayne behind her was pricking up his ears at this time, trying hard to record all the data in Morgan's mouth. Should he look at his obvious energy with worry? The genetic father who began to become unfocused.

Seeing the Lion King's eyes going back and forth between the two parties, he didn't dare to stop for even the slightest moment. Even the unhappy Chief Old Guard beside him couldn't help but dissipate some of the anger in his heart and fight for this man. Brother's hard work is in vain.

Luckily that wasn't his genetic father.

Rana smiled in his heart: You know, before Morgan returned and Johnson was still the commander-in-chief of the Second Randan War, Rana, who was just an ordinary veteran at that time, actually had a secret feeling in his heart. I have always envied the warriors of the Dark Angel Legion: they have an extraordinary genetic father, so extraordinary that the Lord of Mankind can entrust the fate of the entire empire.

At that time, although the entire Second Legion was still in a state of fragmentation, a common topic was always popular among each independent fleet.

No matter which fleet the soldiers were in, during the short gap between the battle and the expedition, apart from lamenting the decline of the legion, the most they did was to find friends, gather in groups of two or three, and use the In a tone that could be described as pitiful anticipation, they discussed the Primarch they had yet to meet.

At that time, nearly 70 years of continuous decline had almost exhausted the vitality of most warriors. They did not even dare to expect to have a warrior like Horus, Sanguinius or Fulgrim. The great and gentle Gene Father, because except for the most staunch veterans of Terra, has never witnessed the once glorious new blood, he actually does not believe that a declining scene like theirs can be worthy of a radiant person. The father of genes.

The most pessimistic people even think that their original body will give them an unforgettable meeting gift like the infamous flying Perturabo: while other warriors will be worried from the bottom of their hearts that their genetic father will He is a barbarian, and he will be a brother to the likes of Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan.

At that time, expecting that their Primarch would be a figure similar to Lorgar, Mortarion, or even the evil-minded Guilliman was considered an optimist in the discussion: and someone like Ra To accept the extravagant thought of having a Jonson-style Primarch was even considered an optimist among optimists.

Whenever he confided such heroic words to his battle brothers, all he got was a chuckle: the Chief Old Guard still remembers it clearly to this day. That chuckle was not actually a mockery, but a chuckle. A kind of helplessness, a kind of timidity that can't be believed.

……

Lana snorted softly. He was briefly distracted, remembering the past, and then saw the reality in front of him: in comparison with the two, he couldn't help but slowly raise the corners of his mouth.

That was a long time ago.

Very, very long: Although it was actually only ten years, in the Chief Old Guard's senses, he seemed to have served under the Gene Mother for a century, and had the pride and pride to match it. loyalty.

Between this kind of pride and loyalty, recalling his extravagant thoughts about Jonson can even make people feel a sense of humor: The Chief Old Guard looked at the original body of the Dark Angel, although there was nothing more in his eyes. Angry, but also vaguely arrogant.

After all, he can confidently declare to anyone that they have better Primarchs than the Dark Angels, the Iron Warriors, and most legions: the identity of his mother only adds to this reality, but does not cover it up at all. In the minds of the Dawnbreakers, perhaps only Horus and Sanguinius could rival their Gene Mother in every aspect.

In this almost arrogant pride and contrast, when Morgan's head guard looked at the busy Coswayan again, the last trace of hostility in his eyes disappeared, and turned into something that would make him The Lion Controller felt offended by the size and pity.

Fortunately, Coswayne cannot see this now: even among the Primarchs, Morgan's speed at cleaning files is only slightly slower than Guilliman's, and he can barely keep up with the Spider Queen. It took away all the attention of the Lion King.

And just before the long-tested Coswayne almost collapsed, the last document finally escaped from the Spider Queen's fingers and was put aside, marking the general completion of the meeting: Now, as long as these documents are Once the content is conveyed, the expedition can officially begin.

Morgan looked at the time and found with satisfaction that it took him less than two Terran standards to complete all of this. Unfortunately, it was difficult for her two blood relatives to share this pride with her: Midnight Ghost and Caliban. At this time, the Lord was wandering in unison, but unlike the Nostramo people who just slumped on the table and made no secret of it, the Lion at least maintained an air of listening carefully. When Morgan put down the last piece of When writing the document, he raised his head in time and reacted.

"ended?"

[It's just preparation work. After the war really starts, the number of emergencies and documents that need to be processed will only increase, and it will never be as leisurely as it is now. 】

The Spider Queen ruthlessly extinguished the short-lived joy in Lord Caliban's heart, and then calmly gave the Midnight Ghost a cold eye knife, letting the grinning Nostramo swallow it. After hearing the words between his lips and teeth, he retracted again.

Morgan had to admit that listening to Conrad's laughter and curses about Jonson did make her feel secretly happy: but now that the enemy is at hand, her Nostramo blood relatives can still shut up if they can. Well, the Lord of Avalon is not a person who would delay the overall situation for short-term pleasure, not to mention that the three opponents she will face this time are not weak.

Heydrich hiding in the darkness: Who knows where his madness and career have reached.

The Dying Randan Empire: A civilization that once competed for hegemony in the galaxy cannot be underestimated easily even if it is now extremely weak. You must know that even the isolated city of Carthage held on for a while under the fierce attack of countless Roman legions. It's a long time.

And the third enemy...

Morgan glanced at Jonson and then at Curze.

These two guys are in the same room...

It is indeed difficult to deal with. It can be regarded as the third enemy of this trip.

The Spider Queen shook her head secretly, and just opposite her, the Primarch of the Dark Angel Legion finally gathered his thoughts. Jonson already had a clear plan in his mind for what was to come.

"So, from now on, Morgan."

"Anything military, we can discuss."

[You lead, I assist. 】

"no problem."

The lion nodded matter-of-factly. This arrogant attitude made Lana frown again, but then he saw: Zhuang Sen seemed to hesitate. He rubbed his hands and seemed to be quite concerned about the next words. .

"So, when it comes to internal affairs, we should still choose the old method?"

【…】

Morgan narrowed his eyes.

[You have to know, Zhuang Sen, now it is a coalition of two legions. 】

"I know."

The Lord of Caliban waved his hand, seemingly unfazed by the question.

"Stay the same as before, Morgan. Whether it's the Dark Angels or the Dawnbreakers, all internal affairs issues other than military issues will be left to you: you don't need to inform me, you can just handle them with full authority."

【…】

[The internal affairs of the Dark Angel...]

"You take the lead...hey, I'll assist."

The second half of the sentence sounded a little guilty.

Morgan thought for a moment and nodded.

[Okay, that’s it for now. 】

"That's perfect, Morgan."

After receiving the affirmative answer, the smile returned to Jonson's face again: just like the surprise returned to the face of the Chief Old Guard.

Unlike Conrad, who was completely indifferent to these things, when Morgan's head guard finally understood the meaning of the conversation between the two legion masters, he instinctively fell into some kind of consternation: especially, When he found that the Lion King manager beside him not only had no dissatisfaction, but was also obviously relieved.

"..."

There must be something he doesn't know.

Rana coughed heavily and glanced at Coswayen, who was smiling beside him.

"that……"

"Um?!"

The Lion King's manager reacted quickly. He saw through the hesitation on Rana's face at a glance. After thinking about it, he showed an apologetic smile.

"Ah, for the internal affairs, we need to trouble Mr. Morgan for the time being: but please rest assured: we will help Mr. Morgan as much as possible and will not delay the internal affairs of the Dawnbreaker Legion."

"...Internal affairs, what do you mean?"

"As the Primarch said: except for military issues, everything else is internal affairs."

"..."

"I understand that this situation may be very troublesome for Mr. Morgan: I am truly sorry."

……

No, that’s not the point of the problem at all, okay?

Looking at Coswein, who looked sincerely apologetic, Lana opened his mouth, feeling like he had nothing to say: Inexplicably, he felt some kind of estrangement. His genetic mother must be related to Jonson, or even Jonson. It's because the entire Dark Angel Legion has a certain tacit understanding.

But the problem is that he, and even all the Dawnbreakers, don't seem to know the existence of this tacit understanding or secret: thinking about it carefully, they really don't know much about their mother's past in the Dark Angel Legion.

"..."

No.

He has to do something.

(End of this chapter)