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

Page 217

It was a slightly sweltering afternoon when the news of the loss of a loved one weighed heavily on his heart. They had lost a brother forever after he had done something unforgivable.

The emperor did not forgive his sons, even though he was usually lenient and tacitly approved many of the legions' private affairs.

But this time, he ultimately released the wolves and lions.

Horus tried to speak with the two executioners, but the Lion King refused him with his usual harsh language, while the Wolf King was frustrated, unwilling to get his hands dirty with blood.

But in any case, when Horus went to find them, most of the truth had been erased, and even the executioners could not remember the truth behind the fog.

Horus had forgotten what had happened, but ultimately he was entrusted with delivering the message to his brothers, who had been altered.

The truth has vanished, leaving only the sting in one's heart. The elegy has not yet been played, and Guilliman and Dorne, trusted and chosen by the Emperor, still have other missions to undertake.

Horus was saddened that the angel Saint Gilles would not feel any positive emotion about this fact. The genetic defect of the Ninth Legion was a deep-seated problem for the angel, and the erasure of a legion would only exacerbate Saint Gilles's panic.

Horus walked slowly on the carpet. The wolf god keenly noticed the laxity of the mortal procession, but Horus had no time to dwell on it.

Before the Primarch's story, mortals are but ants.

Horus pondered how to begin. He was already grieving enough; the Wolf God did not want his brothers to suffer any more pain.

Guilliman and Dorn were somewhat prepared for this, while the angel Saint Gilles knew everything Horus had previously known. Mortalian and Magnus, however, were ignorant and did not need to get involved.

Horus invited Mortarion and Magnus because Mortarion did indeed participate in the Battle of Randan, and Magnus might be able to offer some insights into the matter of psychic memory erasure.

On the other hand, well, this was Horus's own selfish motive; Horus knew he needed to invite the ignorant, otherwise the conversation between Dorn, Guilliman, and Saint Gilles would turn into a disaster—

They all knew some of the details about the vanished legion.

If there were any ignorant people present, the other three would not speak up easily, which might make them feel better and shift their attention to the new brother.

Mortalian Horus believed he would attract everyone's attention, and that the angels and Guilliman would try to help him. He also thought he might get along well with Magnus on the topic of psionic beings.

Upon arrival, the banquet hall doors were tightly shut in front of him, and some faint noises could be heard coming from behind the heavy solid wood doors.

They seem to be having a good conversation.

This fact slightly eased Horus's heavy heart. He didn't rush in. The wolf god took a deep breath and forced out a perfect and sunny smile.

At least in front of Mortarian and Magnus, he needed to maintain the appearance that nothing had happened.

He looked forward to the banquet on the other side of the door, hoping it wouldn't be as somber as the reality.

Horus strode open the door.

Hello everyone—

Horus's voice stopped abruptly.

The angel Saint Gilles knelt on the ground, while the Great Celestial pressed down on Mortarion with all his might. Mortarion was still struggling. On the other side, Dorn stood with his arms crossed next to Magnus. The scarlet giant's once flowing and fluffy hair was now limp and sticking to his body. He stood there without saying a word.

When Horus arrived, the angel looked up and gave him an apologetic smile.

Horus slowly typed a question mark.

?

Horus sat silently in his chair. The dishes on the table beside him had been cleared away, leaving only a crumpled white cloth, just like Horus's inner state.

He might have come here for something, but looking at Guilliman dispersing the crowd, at the angel with its wings slightly drooping, and at Dorn sitting there alone without saying a word, he was struck by the sight.

Horus suddenly felt an absurd sense of unease, as if he shouldn't be there.

Perhaps he shouldn't have invited Mortarian, or Magnus, or perhaps neither of them should have been invited at all.

Even Horus, who often gave impromptu speeches, felt the inadequacy of language in the face of such abstract facts.

An indescribable somber atmosphere permeated the entire hall, and for some reason, it seemed that all the Primarchs were expressing a sense of apology towards Horus.

This included Magnus, who was examining the injuries of his offspring, and Mortarian, who sat on the other side with a cold expression, while his offspring examined his injuries—the angels applied a little force.

According to the angel's account, Mortalian seized the opportunity while Guilliman was entangled with mortals on the communication channel to break free from Guilliman and Dorn—this guy had an unexpected level of endurance.

Fueled by a kind of overwhelming rage, Mortarian attempted to engage Magnus in combat.

Then he was pinned down by the angels. The good news is that after seeing the Lord of Death charging towards him, Magnus successfully stopped provoking Mortarion.

Finally, Horus suggested that Mortarion's two death shrouds be used to persuade him. This was a good proposal, and the Lord of Death finally calmed down and vowed not to attack Magnus again.

"That's almost it."

Finally, Guilliman, who had been giving instructions in a low voice, broke the silence.

"Most people will undergo level two memory erasure surgery, while the honor guard members on the periphery will only need to undergo level three surgery."

"The Ultramarines will take them to complete the surgery. I have just explained the situation to the planet's governor."

The archangel Saint Gilles gave a relieved smile, and looked at Guilliman.

"Thank you for being here, Killieman. If it weren't for you, I think this farce would have gone much further."

"In reality, this banquet may still be spread through a secret message, but I think no one will believe such an exaggerated secret message."

Guilliman gave a wry smile, his gaze lingering between the far ends of the hall, where Magnus and Mortalian sat respectively.

Finally, Guilliman turned his gaze to Horus.

Clearly, only Horus could end this; the angels couldn't, Guilliman wasn't qualified enough, and Dorne lacked the personal charisma to command respect.

In fact, Dorn had just berated Mortarion and Magnus for their behavior, and he was clearly puzzled by their tendency to resort to violence at the slightest disagreement.

Horus could understand Magnus to some extent. Magnus would not tolerate anyone insulting a psyker to his face, as that was his proudest identity.

But Mortalian Horus didn't understand why he would choose to publicly insult Magnus, even knowing that Magnus was a psionicist.

Horus was aware of Mortalian's aversion to the think tanks. Back in Druun, Mortalian had shown a twisted and hidden dislike for the Death Guard's think tanks.

After hearing the angel relay the words verbatim, Horus suddenly had a terrible thought.

So, was Mortarian trying to persuade Magnus?

The idea was so terrifying that Horus instinctively refused to delve into it; if true, it meant that Mortarion was inept at interpersonal relationships.

Dorn might have something in common with him.

However, this stalemate couldn't go on indefinitely. After the bell tower struck its ninth, darkest hour, Horus finally managed to organize a proper meeting.

Horus originally intended to have Mortarion and Magnus leave directly. Although the estrangement was saddening, Horus had no obligation to mediate between every legion.

Sometimes, Horus is actually happy to see some friction and conflict between legions.

But the angel looked at him thoughtfully and said,

“I’d like to hear their respective debates on psionics, Lupecal.”

“We may already be familiar with Magnus’s arguments, but I’m curious about the views of this new brother, Motalian.”

The angel silently shifted her gaze to the Death Guard's position. Compared to the incessant chatter of the Thousand Sons, the Death Guard was unusually silent.

Dorn, Guilliman, and Horus were unaware of it, but the angels were.

Since the archangel couldn't directly reveal the truth, using Magnus might be a good solution.

Perhaps he shouldn't be so persistent, but anyone with etheric vision would not ignore or underestimate that existence.

He needed to at least confirm whether the Death Guard was conducting some kind of forbidden experiment. Although Magnus was impulsive, his words still caught the angels' attention.

Thanks to Horus's efforts, at opposite ends of a long table sat Mortarian with a cold expression and Magnus with an angry and disgusted look.

"I don't expect you to apologize for your slanderous words, but I also won't talk to you anymore."

“Let my commander Hades answer your questions and refute your absurdity for me.”

Mortarian said calmly that he would never attend such banquets again, as they were a disaster for Mortarian and for everyone else.

[Where are your slanders against psionicists?! Your prejudiced words!]

Magnus roared angrily, and any Primarch present could testify that the argument was initiated by Mortarion.

Mortarian watched him silently, his eyes blazing with fury, but the Lord of Death remained silent.

This was another kind of contempt, another kind of irony, Magnus realized angrily.

So he turned around.

+Aliman, representing my will, will argue with that barbarian. +

Do not be afraid, my offspring; if it tries to attack you, I will stop it.

Ahriman swallowed hard and looked at the figure opposite him.

The Ether Ocean contains hundreds, even thousands, of indescribable senses and emotions, but what torments Ahriman is that the being on the other side is tormenting his senses in every way.

It seems the only way to avoid it is to shut down that faint ethereal perception, but that is not realistic for a thousand-child like Ahriman.

But he could not refuse Magnus, the Scarlet King.

Yes, sir.

Ahriman had no choice; the only choice was that it had already been observed.

At least for now, most of the Primarchs present seemed to support Magnus's position, especially the angel Saint Gilles. Ahriman didn't believe that an angel with psionic abilities wouldn't have noticed anything after causing such a disturbance.

Any psychic who sees the true nature of that creature will choose to stand on the side of the Thousand Sons.

Ahriman took a deep breath and stepped forward.

He was confident he could out-argue these taciturn fellows; studying in Prospero required the essential skill of public speaking.

Then he saw Hades smile at him from the other side.

It was the exact same smile as before, that ambiguous, half-smile that sent chills down Ariman's spine.

He even detected a slight apology in that smile—apologies for what?

A straight punch.

After that laugh, Ahriman was met with a straight punch.

A single, unskilled, pure straight punch.

The opponent's left eye, hidden beneath the hood, flashed a terrifying red afterimage, and Hades' smile hadn't even completely faded.

After that, he blacked out.

Ahriman wasn't sure whether the punch had knocked out his body, or whether the blasphemous power emanating from it had shattered his spirit—or both.

This was a rare occurrence; for the first time, Ahriman experienced a truly deep sleep. He no longer actively perceived the etheric field, and he completely severed his connection with the outside world.

When he awoke, he saw his groaning companion—Ariman had softened his blows after knocking him unconscious.

The Imperial Fist and the Holy Blood Angel, who were watching from the sidelines, wore indescribable expressions.

this is not right.

Ahriman thought angrily that they hadn't seen Hades' projection in that vast ocean; to them, it was just the Thousand Sons being laid flat on the ground.

This is wrong. They fought fiercely in the vast ocean, but no one realized that they only saw the sight of Senko falling in a sorry state.

A sense of shame and anger rose within him, which gave Ahriman a resolute courage; Senko needed to turn the tide.

He pondered all of this. Angels would understand psychic power. If Ahriman described the orderly and disciplined aspect of psychic power, Lord Macrag would agree with his view.

Lord Horus is the kind of person who will help whichever side shows weakness; he will not try to interfere with either side based on his own views.

The only problem is Dorn, but Ahriman believes Dorn won't garner much support for his views.

Suddenly, Ahriman realized that they had victory in their grasp. By defeating the Death Guard and making the adults realize what Hades really was, they could then contact the Emperor and expose Mortarion's crimes.

Across from Ahriman, Hades raised an eyebrow; his opponent seemed to be deep in thought.

Unlike Senko, who was determined to win, Hades didn't care about winning or losing.

If he wanted to win the argument, he could have simply spilled everything, then watched as all the Primarchs in the hall fell into hallucinations and eventually fell into demonic possession.

Language itself is meaningless; when faced with an opponent who meets Hades's conditions for taking action, Hades will only choose to resolve the issue physically.

Although this doesn't quite align with 3K's traditional moral values, it does align with 30K's.

Seeing that Ahriman was still thinking, Hades realized that the other side really wanted to persuade all the Primarchs and punish him or something.

Hades saw the efforts made by the other side.

As for Hades' efforts

The hall doors were flung open, and a guard and a nun of silence strode in, their red sideburns on their helmets held high, proclaiming their undeniable presence.

Hades noticed that, apart from Magnus and Ahriman, the remaining Primarchs did not look very well.