Warhammer: I don't want to become a stinky can!

Page 314

Hades casually pulled out the bottom few books from the pile on the table. None of them had been read yet. Because of his rough handling, the pile of books collapsed, making a dull thud.

Hades caught a twitch on Magnus's face out of the corner of his eye; he looked like he was about to rush out and loudly denounce Hades's atrocities, but he didn't.

Hades turned to the first page and began to read aloud.

"MA/F 14689—M29.6 is the standard number for drawing sheet size and format. 'MA/F' is an abbreviation of 'Mars Standard/First Consideration' in High Gothic, '14689' is the standard's serial number, and 'M29.6' indicates the date of promulgation of this standard."

[...Do you only read repair manuals and recipes?]

Magnus's weak voice rang out. It was the thirty-fifth day. At first, Hades read aloud to himself, then Magnus asked Hades to stop, then Magnus became numb, and finally Magnus managed to get some rights to exchange books.

Thirty-five days passed in total.

Magnus simply wanted a quiet place to reflect; he needed to accept this painful reality, to realize just how far he had fallen.

But Hades wouldn't allow it.

Every day, apart from eating, he was forced to listen to Hades read. This caretaker didn't even sleep or rest. Several times when Magnus woke up from his desperate slumber, he could still hear Hades reading the recipes.

Magnus realized with despair that he was gradually becoming desensitized to Hades's existence.

Hades, who was engrossed in reading, looked up and pondered for a moment.

"Okay, by the way, most of the casting world now uses the U/FM series of blueprints, which translates to 'Extreme Starfield/Fuck your Mars'—so, do you want to hear yesterday's 100 episodes of Zhongchao's home-cooked meals, Magnus?"

Actually, Hades also wanted to see it. Hades reached out his hand, ready to exchange books.

Why don't you seek out other forms of true wisdom?!

Magnus raised his voice slightly.

[You are—you are Hades, the Lord of the Order of Silence. Shouldn't you be reading some books on mysticism or philosophy?]

Stop torturing him with repair manuals and recipes!

Hades paused, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

"I've never heard of it. None of the psionicists I know are familiar with me. How would I know what books I can read?"

Visibly, Magnus, who had been either listless or enraged, suddenly perked up. He subconsciously reached up to adjust the dull, dusty ornaments on his arm and spoke seriously.

If you've never touched upon this knowledge before, I suggest you start with the Three Hundred Questions of Ancient Terra, but only read the first 368 pages; the rest is complete fabrication. Next, you can read The Wise Man's Grand Vision. Although this book has a strong exotic feel, that's no excuse for its obscurity. Then, you can choose your next learning path based on your own psychic energy. If your energy shines—

Magnus suddenly stopped, and then shouted as if he had suddenly woken up.

[You're a damn soulless being! You have no psionic aura!]

Hades, with his cheeks shrugged, looked like an intellectual locked in prison, yet still able to talk eloquently—in fact, he was.

"Yes,"

Hades naturally picked up where Magnus left off.

"So I never read those books, I only read cookbooks and repair manuals."

He watched as Magnus grew pale and listless again.

"What...what exactly do you want, Hades? Stop reading that stuff!"

Hades put the book back.

"I'm just bored."

He said he saw the angry red light reappear on Magnus's head.

[Bored? You've been reading aloud for thirty-five days straight; you just want to, you just want to—]

Magnus gritted his teeth and spoke.

You just want to torture me for your own amusement!

Hadesto clenched his teeth and released his dark domain.

“If I really wanted to torture you, Magnus,”

Hades said,

"Then I think the pain you're feeling is probably more than what it is now."

He looked at Magnus, opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately refrained from uttering anything offensive.

"So what exactly do you want to do?! Hades!"

"To relieve boredom."

Hades answered calmly.

"Or you could choose to tell some funny stories to relieve boredom."

Magnus shouted.

[This is a new type of forced confession! Hades—you did this on purpose!]

When did I force you to speak?

Hades said impatiently, reaching his hand into the pile of books again to retrieve them.

"Then let's continue with the Mars mapping standard guidelines."

[I'll talk! I'll talk! What do you want to hear, Hades!]

Anything is fine.

Hades said quietly.

Yes, code

Chapter 380 Conversation

Flames...

The dry sand lashed against his face, and in the distance, the towering red pyramids collapsed with a mournful roar. Just as he was about to draw his knife and move forward, the winter wind suddenly grabbed his cloak, and the low howl of wolves echoed.

The Emperor opened his eyes and calmly watched as Macado walked into the room.

"My lord, we are almost there, and the legions are ready."

The emperor lowered his eyes, golden flames burning fiercely.

“Tell Hades that if he is confident that he can get the Crimson Sinner to give a speech ordering the Thousand Sons to surrender, then the Empire will treat the rest of Prospero kindly.”

Macado watched the Emperor silently.

"My lord, what if Hades is not confident?"

“Then I will use my psionic powers to forge Magnus’s command.”

------

Only fools would enter the battlefield for the satisfaction of defeating someone.

War is never the end goal; the end goal is the people behind it, and the civilization and wisdom they embody.

"So that's why you abandoned Space Wolf on the battlefield and took Thousand Sons alone to protect the alien library?"

Magnus let out a loud, annoyed sound. The Crimson Sinner, sitting cross-legged, slapped his knee in anger.

[The Wolf King—Lemanrus—is a dog! He has no idea how valuable an entire intact library is; all he does is lead his pups to fight and tear each other apart!]

"But I heard that Space Wolves suffered heavy losses in that cooperative operation because of Senko's sudden withdrawal?"

Magnus gritted his teeth and remained silent. After a long while, he struggled to say that it was Russ's own tactical mistake.

"And what about that collaboration with Conrad Coz?"

But the other side relentlessly pursued them.

Hades blinked and asked naturally,

"I heard you almost got into a fight with him because Coz insisted on burning down a library, and you were against it?"

You'd rather believe a crazy, prophetic person and a dog than believe me?!

Hades coughed, and then he watched as Magnus immediately deflated.

"I wasn't the one who brought it up first this time."

Yes, yes.

Magnus became distraught again, perhaps because the reality of suddenly becoming a prisoner had made him sentimental.

However, Magnus himself knew exactly what he had done. The Crimson Sinner also hoped to find a corner where he could escape the cruel reality, just as he did in the original story.

Magnus, filled with remorse for destroying the network, personally severed ties with Chiko and locked himself in the library, leaving Chiko to face the judgment of the wolves alone.

Hades' assessment was that the imperial bloodline was extremely powerful, and the tendency to harm one's son was a family tradition.

Of course, it's also a rip-off.

[…Hades, will they issue an extermination order against Prospero?]

Magnus suddenly asked,

Hades raised an eyebrow.

"So how do you want them to deal with Prospero?"

He looked at Magnus and stammered for a long time, but in the end he couldn't say anything.

After all, Magnus himself knew the situation on the mother planet of a thousand children best.

The restaurant uses psychic energy to order food, provides free psychic medical care for everyone, and is basically staffed by psychics. Summoning arrays are placed in every corner where summoning is convenient. In front of the Fire Phoenix School's pyramid, there is a war machine that can only be manipulated through psychic energy.

Everything seemed perfect—provided that psionic energy was ignored.

Hades was very curious about what the Emperor had shown Magnus.

Hades guessed that it was probably Tzeentch or the truth about Chaos, otherwise Magnus wouldn't be so distraught. He fully realized that he was wrong, and even refuting it would make Magnus feel ashamed.

"Think positively,"

Hades said he realized Magnus was about to drown in self-blame again, and he feared the guy would drown himself.

"At least some of your descendants will survive, and they will inherit your good spirit and continue to contribute to the Empire and humanity."

"And as long as you stay put and don't cause trouble, if the Empire ever manages to get rid of the warp garbage, and the Emperor has some free time, I reckon he'll beat you up and then release you, instead of keeping you locked up forever."

Magnus seemed to consider Hades's words for a moment, then shook his head in a pale and fearful manner.

I'd rather the emperor never think of me again.

Magnus said sullenly,

I don't want to face him anymore.

What did he do to you—?

Magnus suddenly shouted,

No, don't mention this!

"Okay, okay! Let's get another one!"

Hades quickly interrupted Magnus's shouting.

"So what exactly do you know?"

Hades asked tentatively,

I know everything.

Magnus buried his face in his hands; he couldn't see anything now. His large, calloused hands roughly rubbed his face as he mumbled something.

[Everything—everything unbearable reality, the absurd past, the distorted future, those blasphemous and evil things, no…no no…]

"And you've become entangled with one of them."

Don't mention it!

Magnus screamed in terror again.

[Subspace can perceive language and thought! You'll be watched simply by mentioning it!]

It's a pity we didn't meet Magnus sooner and learn about this. Otherwise, Hades would never have given the entire Death Guard such a huge spoiler buff, making Mortalian so neurotic every day.

"But I am a soulless being."