Chapter 522: Galaxy Tang, but a Vassal State

"So, you used this method to convince Perturabo?"

[That's right: although being tough is not my style, it is safer. ]

Morgan licked her lips and smiled at her Invite brother.

[After all, it's rare for my Imperial Fist brother to ask me for something, so how can I not do my best and be safe? Compared to these, what makes me more curious is that you actually spoke for Perturabo? ]

[Hmm? Dorn: Do you mind telling me about your motivation? ]

On the widened avenue, the two primarchs walked side by side, and their respective guards were separated by a distance, leaving space for their legion masters to have a private exchange.

The two legion masters did not walk fast, they walked forward leisurely, as if to spend more time together and discuss more content when they arrived at the end, and this attitude also spread to their descendants: the muscles of the two teams of primarch guards were not tense, and they even had the leisure to observe each other's warriors.

It was this accidental glance that made Lana, who was standing behind Morgan, discover something interesting: the followers following Dorn at this time were almost the same group of people as the guards led by the Lord of the Imperial Fist when he just joined the expedition and met his brothers, but there was only one difference.

The warrior named Sigismund disappeared from the team.

Lana took another careful look until he found the huge figure of Pollax who had been acting with Sigismund, but still did not see the impressive reckless swordsman. The chief of the guards smiled slightly with a hint of sarcasm: Logically speaking, the boy's injury should have healed long ago.

It seems that the recklessness of some reckless warriors is not without cost.

At the very least, Sigismund's genetic father has used his unique way to slightly punish his offspring who caused great trouble: and this punishment method seems to be no different from that of the Spider Queen.

At this moment, even Rana, who originally had no good impression of Dorn due to various unpleasant pasts, improved his attitude towards the Invites in his heart: after all, since Dorn dared to use this method and could use this method to punish his offspring who made mistakes, it can be seen from the details that the Lord of the Imperial Fist must have a good military management skill, and maybe even has the style of the Spider Queen.

You know, not every Primarch has the confidence that his indifference alone is enough to make his offspring repent and change their ways; not every Primarch will use this relatively gentle method to punish his offspring when they make a big mistake.

This [gentleness] itself has explained a lot of problems, especially when it appears on the Invites, who are always known for [toughness] and [ruthlessness], it is as dazzling as a lighthouse in the dark night, making Rana, who has always been strict, squint his eyes.

At this moment, the chief of the guards instinctively began to think: Maybe this Invert is not as bad as he imagined, and the rude attitude he showed when he first met Lana's gene mother was not out of ridicule and malice?

Or...

——————

The Invert in front of him has finally improved during this period of time.

Morgan's eyebrows were deep, she put her hands behind her back, rubbing her thumb and index finger against each other, and after turning three circles, the Lord of Avalon came to this conclusion in her heart: Just as she had guessed before, this expedition did change Dorne in some ways.

Of course... only a little bit.

Thinking of this, the Spider Queen first thought for a few seconds, choosing her words in her heart, and at the same time, she kept knocking her scrutinizing eyes on the rock-like face of the Invert, and when passing by the knife-cut nose and brow bone, she spitted on her greed in her heart.

Look at this man, this is simply a piece of stone endowed with soul. It is a dreamlike feat to be able to change him in just a few months: even Morgan, what more can she ask for?

She comforted herself in her heart, watching Dorne's mouth pursed, his face slightly wrinkled, the thick tendons on his neck clearly revealed because of this thinking posture, and the flesh on his jaw was implicated by the stiff corners of his mouth, tightly attached to the bones: because of the wonderful height difference between her and Dorne, Morgan only needs to raise her head to see all this very clearly, without missing any details.

She was proud of it.

After all, this scene in front of her can be regarded as the result of her continuous efforts: perhaps Dorne's character is still resolute and severe, but at least, in these non-critical occasions, the Invite people have learned to think a little before speaking, although this does not prevent his words from being so annoying, but Dorne's external performance is finally no longer so high and mighty.

If Conrad saw this, he might kneel down in relief.

Of course, all this is based on the premise that [the situation is not urgent]. Once something touches Dorn's minefield, or a field where he is confident, the words of the Lord of the Imperial Fist are still more lethal than the Titan's artillery fire: even the confidence to speak is much more sufficient.

Even the Lord of Avalon is not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing?

On the plus side, this certainly helps to ease the mental pressure on the rest of the people around him when Dorn opens his mouth: after all, the Invites have accepted the fact that they need to keep their mouths shut at some point; Silence is always more welcome than his words.

However, if you think about it from the bad side, it is now more than ten times more difficult to convince the Lord of the Imperial Fist than before: because since Dorn learned to self-reflect, every word he said was based on After several times of internal reflection and deliberation, it was finally a perfect product in terms of logic and principle. To refute his point of view is no easier than defeating the fully armed original body.

However, no one would be stupid enough to engage in a debate with Dorne: not even Perturabo would be so stubborn now.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through the mind of the Lord of Avalon. From the outside world, it was just a matter of a moment. At this time, Dorn had already prepared his words: compared to his usual firmness and Stern, today's Invites speak much more calmly, but they also have an added factor that was not obvious before, and that is unstoppable self-confidence.

He realized that he was responsible for every word he said.

So, he did it.

"Because reality demands it, Morgan."

Dorn looked at his blood relatives, and Morgan was a little shocked by the words in his mouth. So, the Lord of Avalon raised his hand and put it on Dorn's shoulder, motioning for him to stay, and then put his other hand on the Invite's shoulder. On the other shoulder, he turned him around, so that the two Primarchs were facing each other.

[Donne, what do you mean...]

Morgan looked directly into Dawn's eyes.

[You specifically found me after hearing that I was summoned by the Emperor, hoping that I could take Perturabo to meet the Emperor and fight for his honor in front of the Emperor: The reason for this series of actions is reality Needed? 】

"That's right."

Dawn nodded.

"To be more precise, the empire needs us to do this, and your ability in this regard is better than mine, so I hope you can handle this matter: of course. If you need help, I will also I will do my best within my capabilities.”

【Try your best...】

[Just to give our brother Perturabo his honor? 】

When Morgan said this sentence, she had to desperately suppress her laughter, because this sentence was so ridiculous: although she originally thought that after this expedition, the relationship between Dorne and Pertura The relationship between them will definitely improve, at least it won’t be as stiff as it was at the beginning of the expedition, but...

Can it really improve to this extent?

Improve to Dorne and take the initiative to help Perturabo gain honor?

Not to mention that this kind of behavior is not something that the master of the Imperial Fist can do at all, but let’s talk about another point: Does Dorn really care about honor? Will you really pursue honor?

He doesn't care! Nope! He even regarded honor as a neutral term with a derogatory connotation: and in this case, how could he care about the honor of other blood brothers?

Yes, although the relationship between the pair of stone and steel has improved, it is only an improvement: at most, it has been reduced from a powder keg to a bear trap. It is Morgan's dream that they can not quarrel with each other. scene, as for helping each other? It would be better to go to Magnus for such daydreams.

So...why?

With doubts, Morgan looked directly into Donne's eyes, waiting for the answer. She was sure that behind Donne's determined pupils, a tirade was brewing. It seemed that this was indeed his decision after careful consideration.

"It involves two things."

"We'll talk as we walk."

Dorn turned around and motioned to his blood relatives to follow him, and the mighty team began to move forward again: the road they were passing now was exactly when this expedition just started. The majestic avenue that Rabo had built to welcome Dorne, and behind them, was the tower that carried the past anger of the two Primarchs.

The Lord of Steel deliberately chose this place as the end point of this expedition. How did he and his blood relatives walk from this road to the tower dozens of days ago? Now, they are about to return in the opposite direction. , take a transport ship and leave this barren land.

At this time, Perturabo had even been waiting for them in front of the transport platform, but his two blood relatives decided to let him wait a little longer. After all, there were some things that Dorn didn't seem to want to do in front of Perturabo. explain.

"Do you know, Morgan?"

The voice of the Master of the Imperial Fist was low.

"Before participating in this expedition, I visited two places successively, namely Horus's [Spirit of Vengeance] and the Emperor's [Emperor's Dream]. The former was because of my relationship with the Luna Wolves. A joint battle, the latter happened when my father's fleet and I met in the void, and he summoned me on the spur of the moment. "

[Hmm, so what? 】

Morgan snorted, not feeling anything about it: Although she had only boarded the [Vengeful Spirit] for a short time, but [Emperor's Dream]? She is so familiar! She even found a spot on the great battleship that was perfect for an afternoon tea party.

"On the [Spirit of Vengeance], in addition to the conversation with Horus, I also took a close look at the Luna Wolves under his command: I hope to be able to choose a suitable assistant for our brothers from those Luna Wolves who have not yet been noticed, as a replacement for the Society of the Dead in the future."

[...Hmm? ]

Morgan raised his eyebrows.

What does this have to do with you?

She almost asked, and Dorn was well aware of her confusion. Inverte didn't even stop, and directly began to explain the reason for his actions: although from his expression, Dorn didn't really agree with his actions.

"Because I noticed that the Society of the Dead under our brother Horus is a perfect organization, but it is not without flaws: after decades of frequent changes, the Society of the Dead has now stabilized to four members, but these four members have their own problems."

"Abaddon is irritable and irritable. Although he has become much more amiable to mortals after returning from Avalon, he still has problems in dealing with people; little Horus is not a man with his own ideas. He is suitable as an adjutant but not as an advisor; Torgarton may be good, but he is not good enough. His overly frivolous attitude and values ​​determine that he is difficult to trust on important issues."

"Only Cyjanus is an exception. He is completely trustworthy, and our brother Horus likes him the most. However, Horus only has one Cyjanus, and he also confessed to me that he can't find a person who can take over Cyjanus's position: so, I hope to help him find one among the Luna Wolves."

"Horus also hopes so: one more is better than one less."

[Did you succeed? 】

"Not yet."

Dorn shook his head.

"This is more difficult than I thought: even Horus himself has no clue."

[That's true. ]

Morgan agreed absentmindedly. At this moment, she thought of Lana behind her: the position of her Guards Master in her heart was just like Sejanus under Horus, but Morgan was luckier than her Wolf God brother. If Lana had an accident, the Lord of Avalon would be heartbroken, but she could quickly find a replacement for Lana.

She didn't even have to find one herself, because her Guards Master had actually submitted a list of candidates he thought could take over his position to the Spider Queen more than a decade ago. There were more than 30 names on it, most of which were Terrans who had fought side by side with the Lord of Mankind, and the remaining small half were Terrans who had been enemies of the Emperor in their fathers' and even their own pasts.

[So why did you intervene in this matter, brother? I don't think this is your style: Did Horus take the initiative to ask you to help him do this? He hopes you can help him with this matter? 】

"In the beginning, yes."

Dorn looked forward.

That was probably just a polite remark.

Morgan smiled and thought to herself: But Dorn is just being serious.

"But after I left the Spirit of Vengeance and encountered the Emperor's fleet, I had a second reason to complete a series of things including this: helping Horus complete his Mourning Society, winning honor for Perturabo, and improving my own shortcomings, all because of something the Emperor told me."

[What is it? ]

Morgan raised her neck slightly, and Dorn looked at her first.

"The Emperor told me that he will complete all his obligations in the Great Crusade within thirty to forty years and return to Holy Terra. After resolving a series of hidden dangers, including but not limited to Lorgar's Perfect City, the selection of the Warmaster, the psychic issues raised by Mortarion several times, and our two lost brothers, he will step down from his position in the Great Crusade and hand over the burden of commanding the Great Crusade to the future Warmaster."

"Morgan, do you know what this means to us?"

[...Freedom? ]

Morgan thought for a moment before giving the answer with a chuckle, and this answer successfully made Dorn frown: the Invite people obviously did not approve of this answer, or did not agree with Morgan's way of expression.

"It should be responsibility."

He corrected.

"More and heavier responsibilities."

[...Why do you think so? 】

Morgan hesitated for a moment, then smiled and asked knowingly. This overly obvious publicity was her usual trick to get more information from the helpless Dorne: She wanted to know what the Emperor talked about with Dorne, so as to see to what extent this son who was extremely relied on by the Emperor was favored.

"..."

The Lord of the Imperial Fist had a serious face. Of course, he could see Morgan's little thoughts, but he was too lazy to make a big move: Dorne just sighed silently, raised his hand, and drew an illusory star map in the air, but his voice became a little cold and hard.

"I will just give you an example, Morgan."

"This is what the Emperor told me: As we all know, as the main target of the Great Crusade, the Far East Star Region occupies almost half of the entire human empire, which is almost the same as the other four star regions. Do you know what the proportion of star regions in the entire Far East Star Region that can be fully controlled by Holy Terra and collect taxes is about?"

[Let me think about it...]

Morgan quickly calculated in his mind: the entire Far Eastern Star Territory, minus her Avalon, minus Guilliman's five hundred worlds, minus Konrad's Nostramo, minus Angron, and then minus Horus and Sanguinius to the north...

[Um...one-fifth? 】

She gave a very conservative guess, and Dawn just glanced at her.

"No: one eighth."

【……】

"In the administrative division of the Far Eastern Star Territory planned by Holy Terra, the star district that can stably provide Terra with tax sources now accounts for less than one-eighth of the total area: This is the latest information our father told me personally. ”

[Is this a bit too exaggerated? 】

Morgan smiled reluctantly, but her brother interrupted her slightly brusquely.

"Exaggeration? No! It's conservative."

The Lord of Invite was gesturing on the void star map he drew.

"About one-third of the entire Far Eastern Star Territory is not completely controlled by the empire, and the remaining two-thirds are scattered in the eastern part of the galaxy: among them, the easternmost is your Ava The Long Federation, to the southeast is Guilliman's Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, and to the northeast is Conrad's ghoul ring defense belt. Terra calls these three kingdoms of yours the "Three Kings of the Far East" , the area occupies more than two-fifths of the entire Far East Star Territory.”

"In addition, to the north of the Far Eastern Star Territory lies Baal, the home planet of the Blood Angels, and many imperial worlds deeply influenced by them; while in the northwest, near the Obscure Star Territory, there are more and more More and more newly conquered worlds have raised the flag of the Luna Wolf, and this area is also called the "Wolf Kingdom" by Terra; correspondingly, in the southwest, in the Far East Star Territory and the Storm Star Territory At the junction of , the World Eaters Legion also has a small private land, which is already bordered by 500 worlds. "

As Dorn spoke, he gestured with his fingers. When he finished speaking, the image in the void became very clear: In the huge Far Eastern Star Territory, only the central and western parts close to the Sun Star Territory still retain a The small blank area is the area that is not occupied by any forces of the original body, also known as the [Maelstrom].

"Only the Maelstrom area seems not to be affected by any legions."

Dawn hummed slightly.

"But in fact, there are five legion home planets distributed extremely densely here, including the Emperor's Children, Thousand Sons, White Scars, Salamanders and Iron Warriors, and Magnus and Vulkan have announced not long ago In order to influence decisions on nearby worlds, Terra's control in the Maelstrom region has always been weak."

【It's also colorful. 】

Morgan chuckled lightly and saw that the Far Eastern Star Territory, which occupied half of the empire, was carved up by various primarchs and legions with just a few simple strokes, leaving almost nothing for Terra. : But what does this have to do with what Dorn said before?

"This is what the Emperor told me: and he told me his attitude towards it."

Dawn nodded.

"He supports the status quo."

【……What? 】

"I say, the Emperor has our back."

Morgan felt a little flinched because of the Vet's rock-like pupils.

"According to the Emperor's words: Holy Terra's current administrative power cannot accommodate such a huge territory, so he recognized the original bodies to take the initiative to shoulder more responsibilities and obligations after he left, or in other words, We must take the initiative to shoulder more responsibilities.”

"The Emperor is about to leave the Great Crusade. He can no longer guide us as he does now, so we must take more responsibility, we must become stronger, and we must erase our shortcomings and weaknesses as much as possible: This is not about any one person, Morgan, but about all of us and we have to help each other.”

Dawn clenched her fists.

"This is what the Emperor has told me, and this is why I have come to ask you, Morgan: just as I would help Horus make up for his shortcomings by selecting new members of the Order of the Dead from among his legions; just as I I will listen to your advice to face my inner shortcomings; just like I have been telling you that you have overthinking and excessive greed in your character, and I hope you can improve it.”

"The thing about Perturabo is essentially the same: we have no time, we must start from now on to solve our respective problems, and help each other solve each other's respective problems. My request for Perturabo is It’s the embodiment of this point of view.”

"Only in this way can we better shoulder our responsibilities after the Emperor leaves."

【……】

Morgan nodded: Dorn's words were a bit confusing. He was obviously not suitable to use such big principles to convince others, but the Lord of Avalon could also understand what he meant. He just wanted to help his brother improve his shortcomings. Just to make the Great Expedition go more smoothly.

[You mean: Because we have to shoulder more responsibilities after the Emperor leaves, before that, although it is difficult for us to improve our original abilities, we can at least eliminate our respective shortcomings? 】

"That's right."

“Improve yourself and help others.”

Dorn nodded and smiled at his blood relative.

[Then do you think Perturabo's honor is a shortcoming? 】

"Rather, it's a weakness."

The Lord of the Imperial Fist hesitated.

"Although I can find many shortcomings in Perturabo after this expedition, I also have similar shortcomings in myself. I have no right to blame him, nor am I qualified to correct him. This is why I will remain silent during this period: my previous accusations are still somewhat irresponsible."

Dorn lowered his head, and a genuine reflection flashed in his pupils.

"But weaknesses are different. They are more fatal than shortcomings, but they are also easier to solve than shortcomings: just like we may need a long time to change Perturabo's strict attitude when commanding operations, but if we want to help him get honor, it only takes a few dozen days."

"What's more..."

"Our brother deserves this great honor, doesn't he?"

[...That's right. 】

The Primarch raised his head, and they could already see the Lord of Steel standing at the end of the road. He stood there, looking at the two blood relatives walking towards him, his face fluctuating, and squeezed out a relatively sincere smile.

In this case, Morgan and Dorn stopped entangled, lest the Lord of Steel create any more misunderstandings. They walked forward faster, and only Morgan's curious questioning remained in the air.

[Since you think that lack of honor is Perturabo's weakness, then what do you think is your own weakness? Dorn, and what is my weakness? ]

"Your weakness is everything you have now, Morgan. In this regard, you and Guilliman are the same: neither of you will give your wealth to others, and you will not even give it up when necessary. Although this is not a complete weakness, it is very likely to cause you great trouble in the future."

[Well...what about yours? ]

"...The person in charge is confused."

"I haven't found my weakness until now: but I believe in her existence."

[Are you proud that you don't have any weaknesses at the moment? ]

"No..."

Dorn's eyes were deep.

"On the contrary, it scares me."

——————

[...]

[So, Dorn, I really don't need to tell Perturabo that you suggested that I help him get this honor: I think it will not harm either of you, and there may even be unexpected benefits? ]

"..."

"No, Morgan."

"You don't have to do that."

[Why? ]

"Because Perturabo won't want it."

[Huh? ]

Morgan laughed.

[You said: Perturabo won't want the honor that Dorn gave him? ]

"No, I mean..."

Dorn hesitated.

"Perturabo wants the honor after he convinces me: but his actions are not enough to convince me, so this honor is more like an insult to him. Even if I give him the honor, it will only make him more self-doubting."

"He can't defeat me yet."

"I know that."

"He also knows that."

"So, if he is given the honor of the Emperor now, he will be happy and help to eliminate his weakness, but if he is given the honor of Dorne now, it will only fuel his anger."

[Wow...]

Morgan admired softly.

[Dorne, I didn't know you were so reasonable? ]

"I always do."

[Why didn't you say it before: why didn't you praise him? ]

"...I don't know."

Dorne shook his head, and a rare sad smile appeared on his face.

"For some reason, I am not good at boasting about my brothers' merits in public, but I am good at pointing out their mistakes: although I admire their excellence in my heart, I always behave inappropriately and cause trouble."

"It was like this many years ago."

Dorn shook his head and sighed.

"..."

"Maybe, this is my weakness."

——————

"But I don't hate him."

When Perturabo saw that Dorn's figure was almost integrated with the yellow and black transport plane, he muttered to himself and said the truth he had already understood: he had understood this truth in the previous war, but until now, his heart was pierced by the sharp edge of this truth, like the first ray of sunshine after a long rainy day.

He understood.

He didn't hate Dorn.

He didn't hate him either.

He just...just...

[Don't say goodbye to our brother? 】

Beside him, his blood relative of Avalon kept waving goodbye and asked him in a low voice: Perturabo realized that his attitude was a little too serious. He was obviously bidding farewell to their brother Dorne, but he still stood there like a street lamp, even with his hands behind his back.

"A meaningless act."

He murmured, but he took his hands to his chest and raised them. When he raised his voice, he found that his voice became a little hoarse because of the previous war. It was not very pleasant, but it was still easy to make the Invite people turn their heads.

"See you next time, Dorne."

He shouted.

"..."

His brother stopped and turned around quickly. Perturabo could see clearly that his face was still serious as before, but it was not so annoying after all: Dorn also waved, with a loud voice. It reached the ears of the Lord of Steel.

"See you next time, Perturabo."

After speaking, he paused for a moment and added another sentence.

“I will remember this expedition: it taught me a lot.”

"……So much the better."

The Lord of Steel's voice after hesitation was so low that even he could not hear clearly. Then, in his pupils, only Dorn turned around without hesitation, the figure of the transport plane getting further away, and Morgan behind him. A joking voice in my ear.

[This guy Dorn is quite likable sometimes, isn't he? 】

"..."

Having said this, Morgan glanced at Perturabo's face and added another sentence.

[Of course, it’s still a headache. 】

"...That's the kind of person he is."

Perturabo then laughed.

"one……"

He hesitated for a moment, thinking about what image of Dorne he had in his mind.

"A troublesome fellow."

【……yes. 】

Morgan glanced at her brother.

[He is indeed a troublesome guy. 】

【……】

"..."

In the next few seconds, the atmosphere was like clotted cream. Together, they watched Dorn's transport plane completely disappear from the end of the field of vision. Then, Morgan's laughter broke the silence around them.

【What are your plans next? Short term plans? 】

"I will forge a weapon and finish it on our way to see my father."

[Weapons, for whom? 】

"Dantioch."

The Lord of Steel smiled.

"This is my reward for him, a perfect weapon for him: while the other contestants except him will receive nothing, it is a punishment for their failure, although failure in itself is enough Punished.”

[Perhaps, you can also reward him with something else? 】

Morgan blinked.

[For example, why don't you listen to what he wants? 】

"No need."

Perturabo shook his head.

"A perfect weapon that doesn't care about the user is the best gift."

【...Why do you think so? 】

"because……"

The Lord of Steel stopped. His voice was no longer as confident as before. Instead, he raised his head and looked at the stars, as if he was observing a certain star or recalling something: When the Olympian spoke again, Morgan could hear a hint of confusion in his determination.

"Because: this is what our genetic father needs me to do."

"This is it: my place."

"That's what he told me from the beginning, when we first met."