Emperor's Bane

Chapter 86 The Son of the Forest ([-])

it was an insignificant moment
A moment that even Morgan himself has long forgotten.

But Jonson remembered it, well.

------

[The most efficient way and the best way are not synonymous, my lord, rationality and sensibility are a pair of conjoined twins full of contradictions. 】

[To be a bit offensive, if the fastest way to destroy Ran Dan is the disintegration of the First Legion, what choice would you make? 】

------

Jonson remembered that day.

It was an ordinary day.

Between the second and third year Morgan officially became his psychic advisor, around the fifth Tara standard year when Randan's armies started the war, the Imperial fleet had just The Ston galaxy has achieved an extremely difficult victory, and has won a dirty medal piled up purely from flesh and blood.

The millions of elites of the two galactic hegemonies fought around an entire grain-producing star area. Just one of the most cutting-edge fortress worlds required 140 million mortal auxiliaries and the lives of a thousand dark angels to wipe them out. There are a total of 22 such fully armed worlds in the entire Wollaston sector.

Not to mention, the Randan war engine cluster in the center of the star area has a total of six battle moons and thousands of capital ships. In the documents of the Dark Angels, this fleet has the most piercing name: [ The most powerful, blasphemous, craziest adversary ever seen, Ran Dan's Armada. 】

It took the First Legion six full months just to tear through the outer defenses and break into Wollaston's main galaxy.

And it wasn't until the silver-haired Miss [Soul Drinker] tore apart the flagship of Ran Dan's fleet and the two largest battleships in one fell swoop through a long spell, that the vanguard of the Dark Angels caught the alien army because of the loss of the command system. After a short gap, it really rushed into the Wollaston galaxy in one breath.

But despite this, the battles of attack, annihilation, and encirclement and breakout in the main galaxy still lasted more than two hundred Terra standard days, and the blood of at least five thousand dark angels was completely shed on this land, and The number of Ran Dan warriors who fell was more than thirty times this number.

For any Legion Astartes, this was a victory worthy enough to be inscribed in any monument on the Queen of Glory, a moment to be remembered with grand parade and endless hymns.

But the First Legion was the only exception: there was no celebration, no medals, not even the whispered admiration that circulated between mortals and other Legions, the main force of the Dark Angels left without hesitation the moment the battle was over, they All that was taken away from here was the exhaustion, the blood of his comrades in arms, and more orders from Jonson.

From that moment on, almost no one remembered Wollaston's name anymore. This tragic battlefield with tens of thousands of bones and warship wreckage became the most ordinary of the First Legion's unknown achievements. one of.

But not everyone has forgotten the name.

Even the warriors of the Astartes are not real, pure, down-to-earth war machines, ruthless butchers, especially in this flying age, when every legion is singing their triumphant songs and beaming.

When the ruins of Wollaston were completely left behind, the whispers and vicious remarks on the "Indomitable Truth" had already spread, and even flowed into the genetic origin with a deliberate provocation. body ears.

They, the Terrans, certainly had reason to be dissatisfied.

It was only a few years before Zhuang Sen took over the war with Ran Dan, and in this fleeting period of time, he consumed at least one-third of the Terra veterans in the legion, or even more. Shana, to Sabis, and now to Wollaston, Ran Dan's arrogance remains undiminished, but the Dark Angel's army has actually lost more than [-] soldiers, at least [-] of whom were Thai soldiers. pull people.

You know, when Jonson returned to the Empire, the total number of soldiers in the entire First Legion was only more than 6. Even if the Primarch used Caliban's new blood to increase this number to [-], the most basic of these companies The new recruits who can't execute the tactics perfectly can't support the bloody Shura field with the Randan Empire. In this war, the soldiers who come forward will always be soldiers from Terra.

Countless honored companies never came back after a tragic battle, countless meritorious orders lost their inheritance after a bloody fight, countless warships were destroyed, and countless positions were left vacant. Until those Calibans learned the skills of fighting, sat on the positions stained red by the blood of their predecessors, and stretched out their hands to embrace the tradition and honor of the regiment.

Until the never-tiring Primarch walked out of a bloody Shura field, then raised his head, looked around Xingyu with ruthless eyes, and threw himself and his legion into another endless battle In fierce battle.

His eyes never seemed to fall on the heir.

It was as if he could represent all of them by himself.

It was as if he was all about cutting off the next head.

It was as if he never cared about death and wear and tear, and he never thought that other than himself, there was anyone else who could carry it all.

How arrogant.

How heartless.

How crazy.

There are always people from Terra who complain like this.

Their whispers wandered among the legions, among the warships, and in Jonson's ears.

And it was in this wave of whispers that the Primarch of the First Legion pushed open the door of the training ground.

------

Morgan, who had been waiting for a long time, saluted him, the air waves caused by excessively squeezing the spiritual energy still reverberated from her body.

This was the first training session after the Wollaston battle, and it should have been an unremarkable session.

But when Zhuang Sen raised the [Lion Sword] and listened quietly to the churning waves in the sea of ​​souls, his heart was suddenly filled with a question. This was a question he wanted to confide a long time ago, but he had been No object to pour out was found.

Luther couldn't do it, he was too far away from the war, so far away that he couldn't control the flow of blood.

Neither can Cowes. Jonson is not willing to let him bear the burden of this problem. He deserves more expectations and trust to complete the real great cause.

Nemir is also not eligible. Although the former Caliban knight is upright and trustworthy, his suggestions will only be the most standard knights' charter and imperial decree.

As for the Terrans, there was no need to think about it, since their advice might be sincere, sincere, and wise, but they themselves were not suitable for the question.

He needs something different, some characters who are rebellious and different enough and irrelevant, and he needs some different voices, even if they are worthless, even if he will not take them seriously at all.

The Primarch raised his eyes and looked at the mortal who was chanting the magic circle a hundred meters away.

------

【Are you tired? 】

...?
Morgan, who was pretending and chanting those long spells, froze for a moment, and then realized that it was Jonson who was asking his own question.

This is a rare thing. In the past training, the Primarch of the First Legion often didn't say a word from the beginning to the end.

Morgan tilted his head, letting the psychic energy gather on his raised fingertips.

【exhausted? 】

The sharp arrows of psychic energy were fired together with this rhetorical question, aiming at the Primarch overwhelmingly.

Zhuang Sen didn't dodge, he moved his shoulder casually, and scattered these small tricks until the last empty arrow shot at him.

In a trance, the Primarch actually saw the angry figure of Coswayne, his son was holding a big sword high, jumping in the air, the dazzling edge was aimed at his head, and his eyes were full of cruelty. Spicy and decisive colors.

This scene was so real that Jonson could even see the sweat dripping from his heir's neck, the wet bushy eyebrows squeezed by his pupils, his lips dilated from nervousness and fear, spitting It symbolizes the saliva and heat of fury.

The Primarch frowned, turned his wrist, and swung a hurricane from the greatsword in his hand, tearing the false heir in front of him in the blink of an eye.

【Phantom...】

He growled dissatisfiedly, like a hungry lion looking at its fleeing prey.

【You are always keen on illusions, worthless and new. 】

Across the distance, the Primarch was answered with a chuckle without any emotion.

Morgan seemed to think for a moment before answering the Primarch's outrage.

[Because it is practical, Your Excellency. 】

[For a psyker of my level, it is not difficult to make a crude phantom. I only need to breathe out a breath to create a false kingdom and become a false creator. Pulling out a company in an instant doesn't even consume as much mental strength as me chanting half a spell. 】

[But as long as my enemy has a half-pause under this illusion: whether it is the hesitation in the face of familiar people, the astonishment in the face of terrifying things, or the distraction that humans will instinctively produce when facing accidents, It will be a firm step towards victory for me. 】

Jonson didn't speak, he strolled in the psychic storm created by Morgan, casually blocking countless psychic tentacles stretching towards his will, he had faced too many attacks like this, from the very beginning Caught off guard and furious, until now he turned a blind eye, Zhuang Sen adapted quickly, he only needed to raise his will, and he could easily distinguish which were psionic offensives that needed to be taken seriously, and which were just a cover for bluffing.

Dodging the onslaught that would have tormented a hundred Astartes, the Primarch even had the leisure to ask an extra question.

[If I don't dodge, will the phantom cause damage? 】

[Of course not, Your Excellency. 】

The flame of psychic power turned into a group of budding stamens at Morgan's fingertips, exuding the breath of life, miracle and death intertwined.

[In the final analysis, the illusion is just a false, non-existent garden maze. As long as you can find a direction and be firm, you can easily break through even the most real illusion. 】

The corners of Jonson's mouth curled up slightly.

He has already remembered this sentence.

[Then now, it's time for you to answer my question, Ms. Morgan. 】

[I think, I have already answered. 】

------

Jonson listened to the laughter, and again, he frowned.

[Don't play charades with me. 】

【Are you tired? For this war, for the endless fighting, for the most monotonous blood flowing in countless worlds, feel tired, bored, feel weak that cannot continue this war. 】

Morgan fell silent.

She was quiet for a while.

Then, a thick fog began to obscure the Primarch's view.

He could feel, he could hear, on the other side of the endless fog, the silver-haired lady was letting out a sigh, an incomparably long, real sigh, in a voice she was used to ridiculing and mocking.

[Is my answer important, Your Excellency? 】

[What qualifications, abilities, and reasons do I have to represent the thousands of warriors you really want to ask? 】

From the direction where Jonson was, there was only the most oppressive and deadly silence.

[Not one of my comrades fell down. 】

[Not one of my honors is lost. 】

【Everything I own has not been torn apart because of this war. I don’t need to be at the forefront. I only need to face what I am good at, instead of exposing my fragile body to radiation and fire. 】

[So, my answer is worthless, Your Excellency. 】

silence.

The deadly silence lasted for a few seconds.

Then, there was a hurricane.

The prestigious [Lion Sword] was roaring, thirsty to drink the mist wrapped in spiritual energy, and in the blink of an eye, the sea of ​​smoke that filled the entire space disappeared without a trace, leaving only the two most powerful competitors, Opposite in silence.

Jonson's gaze was menacing, his emerald green pupils blazing like never before with the instinctive rage of a true beast when its territory has been offended.

[You, make it clear. 】

[I made it very clear, Your Excellency. 】

Morgan just smiled, insincerely.

[Just like the illusions just now, at the same time, I do have a better way, such as a psychic lightning, but I habitually choose illusions as the means, because its cost-effectiveness is The best, the least consumption, and in my previous actual combat, it is also the most effective way. 】

[So, compared to the best one, I chose the most effective one. 】

[And you are now, isn't it the same? 】

[At this point, in many points, we are very similar. 】

Zhuang Sen didn't answer, the corners of his mouth turned down in an unhappy reverse arc, his long blond hair and beard were mixed together and tangled, under the too wide forehead, there were bushy eyebrows The concealed, emotionless sight.

[I don't doubt your loyalty and ability, sir, I don't think there is anyone in the entire empire who can fight you in these two aspects at the same time, at least among the characters I know, there is none. 】

[I can also roughly guess your thoughts, Your Excellency. 】

[After all, I have been fighting by your side for a while, and I know your habits: your tactics are unpredictable, but your style is down-to-earth, you like to use everything you can, and you are also keen on the most effective means. Small and big, or a final decision, that would be great. 】

[Therefore, I can vaguely guess some of your thoughts: If Ran Dan's war will only be limited to the edge of the galaxy, if Ran Dan's strength will only make the First Legion bleed, so that other empires If the region is safe and prosperous, allowing the Empire to eliminate this formidable adversary with minimal casualties, then you will. 】

[Actually, you are doing the same. 】

【You and your legion have endured all of this, endured the pain that Ran Dan would have imposed on the entire empire, and kept this war under the control of the empire, although the price is that the honor of the first legion will not be known , the blood of the First Legion will not stop flowing. 】

[But you still made this choice. When you needed a victim, you stood up. 】

[This is really great, very great, such beliefs cannot be outlined with pale wisdom and courage, because they are not worth mentioning. 】

[When you make this choice, no matter how much loyalty is in this galaxy, you are as important as loyalty. 】

[If you are not the most loyal. 】

[Then the word loyalty is meaningless. 】

Jonson listened to these words without saying a word.

His eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

He closed his eyes, trying his best to hear a hint of hypocrisy and flattery.

But after the longest effort, his brain ruthlessly told him that every word in these words was from the heart.

then
Jonson could only breathe.

The sound of his breathing trembled.

Like his brain.

Soon, he will forget these meaningless flattery words.

Inwardly, he convinced himself so.

------

【but. 】

This abrupt turning point was like falling from a steep mountain, causing Zhuang Sen's indifferent eyebrows to cluster in an instant.

[You overlooked one point, Your Excellency. 】

【You are so noble that you regard fatigue as cowardice. 】

【You are so determined that you regard hesitation as stupidity. 】

【You are so self-disciplined that you see weakness as betrayal. 】

[Your loyalty is unquestionable, and for this loyalty, you have chosen the most effective method to deal with this war. 】

[But the most effective is not necessarily the best, Your Excellency. 】

[The most efficient way and the best way are not synonymous, my lord, rationality and sensibility are a pair of conjoined twins full of contradictions. 】

【You have chosen the most effective method and are striding forward towards victory, but you have forgotten that you are a giant, a great giant, and every step of yours requires others to try their best to catch up. 】

[So, when you turn your head, you wonder why everyone looks so tired. 】

[Of course they will be tired, Your Excellency, because they are different from you. 】

【You are unique. 】

【You shed sweat, but they shed blood. 】

[You have chosen a method that is beneficial to everyone, but you have to bear the price alone. This price may be heavier than you imagined, Your Excellency. 】

[To be a bit offensive, if the fastest way to destroy Ran Dan is the disintegration of the First Legion, what choice would you make? 】

------

Morgan waited for a while.

After a long time, she finally heard Zhuang Sen's laughter.

What a laugh that was.

Heaviness, indifference, and indifference, but people can feel the burning and hotness like a flame.

He just kept his head down, laughing constantly, slowly, and fearfully, like a silent roaring lion.

Finally, he gave his answer.

------

【This……】

[It's not a choice. 】

(End of this chapter)