Chapter 546 Intermission: The Band of Doom (Part 2)

"Why does Lord Guilliman look at you with resentment, father?"

"Because he just found out that I don't agree with him on some historical common sense issues, and he finds it hard to understand: just like I don't understand why he has to be fond of those useless people instead of choosing the new dynasty."

"...I don't understand."

"I don't expect you to understand, you little illiterate Nostramo: did you bring the brother I asked you to bring? Let me tell you, if you can't appease the appetite of the Great Devourer inside, my Sevatar, then you have to think about whether you want to braise or salt-baked later."

"If I really have to choose a way to die, I would rather be made into boiled meat."

Sevatar laughed, then stepped back, revealing the view beside him.

"I brought everything. Father."

"Let me see...?"

"You bought a Lander? Where did you get the money?"

"I rented it. It's not cheap."

The Crow Prince looked around, then carefully leaned into his gene father's ear and whispered a number: Before he finished speaking, Midnight Haunter's face became interesting.

"Good boy: It's really not cheap."

"I'm spending my salary like this?"

"You've never paid me a salary?"

"Yes: Where did you get the money?"

Sevata didn't answer this question directly, but looked at Conrad first, then guided the Lord of Nostramo's sight to the lower altitude on their left.

"Good evening, Lord Conrad."

What caught his eye was a pair of light pink ponytails, red eyes under the ponytails, and a face as cold as Morgan's: it was Midnight Haunter's dear niece.

"You borrowed money from her?"

"Wasn't this your suggestion?"

"..."

Conrad was silent, he recalled what he had said before.

Rich, little girl, spend money lavishly...

No problem.

This kid of his is really obedient!

"When did you meet?"

"During the more than ten years that Mr. Sevatar has been studying abroad on the Aurora, his room has always been under my jurisdiction: you can think of me as his landlord."

Before the Crow Prince spoke, Virgo took the initiative to answer the question.

"Is that so."

Conrad nodded, and then looked at his favorite offspring again.

"So, how much did you borrow?"

"This..."

Sevatar once again leaned close to Midnight Ghost's ear and whispered another number: but this time, the King of Nostramo's expression turned into astonishment.

"Are you selling yourself?"

"Not exactly."

Sevatar blinked.

"I just happened to see your name on that list..."

"Shut up!"

Conrad coughed awkwardly. Although he still had countless questions in his mind, he had to hold back all the words at this moment: after all, the Midnight Haunter had been outside for too long, and his three blood relatives in the room were looking here curiously.

And just before he sent the Crow Prince away, Conrad suddenly stopped, as if he remembered something, and his face became a little complicated: first he looked at his favorite Sevatar seriously, then glanced at Virgo, who was at most up to his knees, and then put his arm around Sevatar's shoulders and dragged him aside without saying anything.

"You are really good at this, Sai."

In the confusion on the face of the Crow Prince, his gene father sighed for a long time.

"But listen to my advice, don't go too far: I heard that the Dawnbreaker has a prison specifically for people like you."

"?"

After saying that, Midnight Haunter pushed Sevata, who was still confused, away and turned back to the room: and when he just walked to the door, he patted Virgo's shoulder who was looking inside.

"Did you really borrow so much money from him?"

"Don't worry, there's no interest."

Virgo raised her head and looked at her...uncle expressionlessly.

"Mr. Sevata has a higher reputation here than you, Mr. Conrad."

"That's gratifying."

Midnight Haunter sniffed.

"But what interests me more is: where did you get so much money, my little niece?"

"I also manage my mother's treasury."

Virgo narrowed her eyes proudly.

"Mother's treasury contains the spoils she captured in each battle, as well as the legion points that she receives regularly as the supreme commander of Avalon, which are equivalent to her salary. You know, these points can be used as general equivalents on the Aurora. Both Lana and Sevata use these points to buy midnight snacks."

"That makes sense."

Conrad grinned.

"However, given how often my sister orders midnight snacks, can her treasury support you to make an interest-free loan here? Does she know about this?"

"She doesn't care."

Virgo snorted.

"Besides, mother won't pay for midnight snacks herself: generally, Lord Lana will pay for her, and the occasional personal payment is also paid through the legion's public account."

"...What kind of public account?"

"Inner Circle: Their public accounts are generally recorded as special expenditures of the Legion."

"???"

"Wait a minute...let me touch it."

The Primarch touched his chin.

"What you mean is: you use Morgan's personal money to lend it to Rana or Sevita, and then they carry the debt and buy supper for my dear sister, and my dear sister then uses the money to Record it in the public account, and then give you the money she received from the public account for safekeeping, and then you will continue to lend the money to Rana or Savita? "

"...hiss...wait..."

"Then who lost?"

——————

[This question is meaningless. 】

[In the face of the collective’s key interests, individual interests are destined to be secondary: even if this individual is a Primarch like me, there will be few exceptions. 】

Leaning on the temporary tea table that she had dragged over with her psychic powers, the Lord of Avalon held a silver fork in her hand and explained leisurely to Corax, who was sitting opposite her, and most of her attention was , but it was already placed on the tres leches cake in front of her.

This simple Terra delicacy has a fresh and refreshing taste, and does not even require special baking in the oven. The cake body is naturally moistened by being soaked in condensed milk, thick coconut milk, and sweet milk. The smooth fragrance, when it slips quietly from your mouth, if your taste buds filled with the fragrance are too late to wake up your sleeping tongue, then it will slide directly down your throat, leaving only a lingering sound. Milky.

Next to this pastry, the rice pudding in the wine glass was accurately frozen overnight in a special freezer, and was perfectly embellished with the freshest cranberries, the umami flavor of the fruit mixed with the sweet milky aroma and creamy texture. The glutinous rice fragrance is enough to dispel the last trace of sleepiness in the brain.

As for the Pavlova fruit cake that takes into account both taste and beauty, it is one of the Lord of Avalon's favorite delicacies: this cake is just like the origin of its name, not only has the taste progressively layered, but also has a ballet-like texture. Crispy and delicate, the appearance is as gorgeous as the muse in the cake world. Whenever the Lord of Avalon feels a little hungry in public, this luxurious but not exaggerated pastry allows her to maintain her The best match for the external image.

Every time, when she tastes these delicacies late at night, the Spider Queen can't help but sigh: she was able to withstand objections such as the high cost and insisted on allowing Reza's mechanical mages to serve throughout the empire. It is really a foresighted idea to search for the purest plant seeds or animal blood in various places, and then set aside a protected area around the Avalon galaxy as a breeding ground.

Among other things, without the various fresh animals and plants produced in these protected areas, as part of the high-level benefits, supporting the enviable quality of life of the members of Avalon's inner circle, what would happen to the backbone of Morgan's subordinates? How can we recruit those super scroll kings who have been rolled out among hundreds of millions of people year after year from various hive worlds?

These are the best people who have risen from the bottom and climbed all the way out for a better life and a bright future. Their perseverance and strong execution ability can even scare the Primarch himself in many cases: the Lord of Avalon has to do it again and again Check out these miracle guys to see if their pupils are dark blue?

The good news is, so far, she hasn't found a dark blue one.

The bad news is that she did see that the pupils of several of them were...

"Golden?"

Corax stared at the cake in front of him that was as gorgeous as an evening dress. There was no more kindness in his silent face, especially when he saw those dinner plates that were literally inlaid with gold carvings. A pair of beautiful The slender eyebrows are even more wrinkled like mountains.

[What, is it not to your liking? 】

Morgan smiled knowingly.

"……I guess so."

The Crow King smiled reluctantly, and then stretched out his hand to the rice pudding next to him: Compared with these gorgeous pastries, this kind of dessert that can even be made from leftover rice or other leftovers after a meal, deserved the honor of Korak. More favorable impressions of Sri Lanka.

"I can just eat this."

Corax nodded, but Guilliman and Conrad beside him had no similar scruples. These two pragmatists simply ate whatever they caught. The Lord of Macragge was especially fond of nut fillings. Pie was very interested: he stared at this portable high-calorie food, wondering what he was thinking about.

In this way, this unique tea party was carried out amidst a strange sound of chewing and intermittent discussions. The hour hand on the wall also advanced from half past ten to half past twelve, and the appetites of several original bodies were astonishing. As endless as the ideas in his head were, they sifted through the remaining options for Corax over and over again until all eyes were focused on the last few songs.

[I think this is very suitable. 】

Morgan stretched out his finger and pointed at one of the few names left on the list: Taking advantage of everyone's attention being diverted, the Spider Queen took the opportunity to silently snap her fingers, and then walked away from the Lord of Macragge. The nearest plate of tres leches cake mysteriously disappeared, leaving the Lord of Avalon with a suddenly bulging face.

"This song……"

Guilliman, who was farthest away, narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Very old: but it does seem to have a positive meaning."

[Remember what I just said to you, Corax. 】

Morgan ignored Guilliman and looked at the real person involved.

[In the face of group interests, individual interests can be discarded: You don’t have to choose songs exactly according to your own preferences. You should imagine your legion, especially your old guys on the Redemption Star, they will think What kind of song do you want? 】

"You mean, this is suitable?"

Corax asked, and Morgan, who had heard this song a long time ago, did not answer directly. He just raised his hand and signaled Conrad to click on the gramophone again and add the corresponding tape: She believed Corax There will be a decision in your heart.

So, in the quiet breath of the four Primarchs, an ancient, passionate, but extremely long tune slowly emerged from the gramophone. The heavy imprint originated from the soil and labor, from The brows of Guilliman and Corax were relaxed from the very beginning.

For the next ten seconds, they just listened quietly.

"Is this ancient Terran?"

"I should say...it's German."

…

Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen, heia hoho

(We are Guye’s black army, heyahhoho)

und wollen mit Tyrannen raufen, heia hoho.

(Our military boots crush tyrants and flatten tyranny, hahahahaha)

Spieβ voran, drauf und dran,

(Spike forward, move forward!)

setzt auf’s Klosterdach den roten Hahn!

(The red rooster stands on the monastery!)

(This song is called "We Are Guye's Black Army": Guye is a peasant uprising leader in German history, and Guye's Black Army refers to a group composed of knights and mercenaries who sympathize with the uprising. The elite militia of the German army, they are one of the symbols of the German peasant uprising, and this song has always been a famous liberation song.)

(However, during World War II, this song was unfortunately used by the NC regime, which resulted in a bad reputation. But until now, it is a popular song of the European left-wing movement and is a song of the liberators through and through: So everyone Don’t have weird ideas~)

…

"Very earthy tone."

Before the song ended, Corax couldn't wait to express his opinion. It was rare to see him with such an impatient attitude. This impatience and the glint in his eyes already showed that the original body was extremely satisfied with the song.

Especially when he heard those two sentences:

Als Adam grub und Eva spann, kyrieleys,

(The Lord had mercy on Adam and Eve when they worked hard)

wo war denn da der Edelmann? kyrieleys.

(Where are those royal nobles? Lord have mercy)

"These two sentences are really good."

The Crow King nodded with satisfaction.

"It is simply the essence of the whole song. It is indeed a great thing for a group of peasants to have such awareness under the feudal system of knightly fiefdom: You are right, my sister, this song can indeed Reminds me of the story that happened on the Redemption Star, and I must pass it on to my brothers and sisters.”

"I support that."

Before Morgan could speak, the Lord of Macragge sitting far away nodded first, holding his chin, looking thoughtful.

"But please forgive me for saying a few words: From these lyrics alone, we can clearly feel the limitations of the author's era, including those sentences like "The Lord hangs the curtain", which are obviously not suitable to appear in the Legion of Astartes. In the military song, after all, we are not the Word Bearers Legion."

[We can change the words. 】

Morgan smiled and did not give the conflict a chance to continue to break out.

[Just like the red rooster standing on the monastery, it can be changed to the black crow standing on the watchtower. As for the words "Lord has mercy on me," it can also be changed to All Ones, or any lyrics that fit the Great Expedition. 】

"indeed so."

Guilliman nodded: he was just making an opinion.

After the only objection dissipated, the rest of the voting session was just a formality: Corax almost couldn't wait to turn on the gramophone again, memorizing every lyric in detail, and watching all this Morgan just smiled with satisfaction.

This ancient Peasant Rebellion song was the result of her careful selection, and the Lord of Avalon even bypassed the more progressive songs because she was well aware of Corax and his fellow Redeemers. , in essence, is just a peasant uprising army. They don’t need the best. What they really need is the most suitable.

She knew that when dealing with these blood brothers of hers, the best choice was to let nature take its course and help them prudently: it was okay to lend a helping hand to their difficulties, but there was no need to do so if they themselves were stubborn. Keep helping yourself.

"I'm glad we came to an agreement."

While Morgan was thinking, Midnight Ghost, who was leaning on the table, gathered up all the remaining records. While sorting them, he took the opportunity to throw the pastries on Morgan's plate into his mouth. .

"But now that we've gotten this far."

Conrad blinked, a dangerous smile appeared on his face, and his narrow pupils were fixed on Corax: Corax, who looked innocent, looked at his blood relative , completely unaware of what was going to happen next.

"Corax, look, our brothers have been here all night to help you select plans. You should also think of a way to thank us: Do you think this is the truth?"

"……indeed."

The simple miner's son nodded.

"So, do you have any opinion?"

"Any opinions..."

Midnight Ghost looked around. Neither the frowning Morgan nor Guilliman, who was almost as confused as Corax, could obviously answer this question for him: Conrad naturally threw out his own thoughts.

"How about you sing us a song? Just the one we picked."

"certainly."

Almost without thinking, the Crow King turned on the gramophone again.

【What are you doing? 】

When the accompaniment sounded, Morgan had grabbed Conrad's neck and pulled him directly next to him. Guilliman, who had been watching Corax, swept all this with the corners of his eyes, his eyebrows twitching, but he pretended did not see it.

"Relax, Morgan."

Conrad smiled darkly.

"It will be interesting later."

Before the words could even be heard, Corax over there was already singing enthusiastically.

When the first note sung by the Son of the Redeemer pierced Morgan's eardrums, the Lord of Avalon's face became blank. She unconsciously let go of Conrad's neck and looked at Ko with a confused expression. Lux's direction: The same move was made by the Macraggeans.

【……】

How would you rate Corax's singing?

When this fatal question flashed through Avalon's mind, Morgan couldn't help but imagine an answer, a vivid picture that could only describe her feelings about Corax's singing at this time.

In this scene, her two most elegant brothers, Sanguinius and Fulgrim, were stripping themselves naked, spreading their legs, and sitting on a pile of rocks. The clothes they took off were surrounded by On the waist, it was full of oily smell.

I saw the two primarchs holding each other's backs, calling themselves brothers and sisters with great pride, eating gold and silver, sharing wine and meat, and they were so happy.

"Expedition! Expedition! Expedition to the Birds!"

…

This is almost the scene.

Morgan's nose twitched.

She really couldn't understand how Corax could sing with the accent of a coal mine worker with a melancholic poet's face, and Guilliman, who was sitting next to her, seemed to not understand this either.

[Is this what you want me to see? 】

Midnight Ghost was silent for a moment.

"Believe me: I couldn't believe it was so outrageous until I heard it with my own ears."

Conrad had a smile on his face, just like his other two brothers, because Corax had finished singing at this time, and all his dear blood relatives could do was to smile stiffly, A round of applause for their savior brother.

The Crow King scratched his head and felt a little embarrassed. Then, he came directly to Conrad and thrust the pronunciation machine into Conrad's hand.

"You want to try too, brother?"

"……you sure?"

"That's what we usually do at Redemption Star parties, take turns on stage."

Looking at Corax's smile, the stiffness on Conrad's face slowly dissipated, and what followed was a dangerous smile that made Morgan's brows jump: Midnight Ghost seemed to be very confident in his singing skills. Confident, he returned his bright eyes to his brothers and strode to the radio.

The accompaniment sounded and the ghost stretched its throat.

…

Conrad sang only one line.

One sentence is enough.

In an instant, it was like ten million wild cats howling miserably. At the same time, they used their claws to rub the sharp glass mercilessly, pressing against the ears of the other three Primarchs and releasing tooth-piercing screams. A sour and distorted sound: In just a moment, Midnight Ghost etched the supreme pain in the hearts of his three beloved brothers and sisters forever.

With almost no hesitation, Morgan picked up the dessert plate next to him, not even caring about the uneaten delicacies on it, and smashed Conrad on the head: Corax, who was sitting opposite her, was stunned, but magically. Earth did not speak out to stop this, but maintained a shameful acquiescence.

Even Guilliman, who was sitting on the other side, threw a few pastries over symbolically after a brief hesitation.

"Sorry, brother."

Macragge's face was filled with grief.

"But you deserve it."

"Of course I know: it's torture to be fooled by my singing voice in Nostramo."

Conrad grinned, and he turned off the gramophone smoothly. He seemed not surprised by the treatment he would receive now. He even took the opportunity to grab a few pastries thrown by Morgan and Guilliman and threw them in. While chewing with his cheeks puffed out, he glanced at Corax who looked ashamed.

"Wrong decision, bro."

“…Sorry.”

The Raven King shrank his neck, looking like a primary school student who had made a mistake, while Midnight Haunter swaggered back to his seat and threw the generator in his hand to the next Primarch who needed to appear: Morgan.

When Morgan walked forward, she didn’t even need to stretch out her hand, and the phonograph began to play the previous chapter on its own initiative. The Lord of Avalon stood there, cleared her throat, and felt a little unsure: she had never played a song formally, and she didn’t know how she would sing.

But before Morgan finished thinking, the lyrics had already sounded, and the Spider Queen had no time to continue to think about it, so she sang along. While singing, she stared closely at the facial expressions of the other three people, and the more she stared, the more uneasy she was: Why did their expressions look so strange?

Whether it was Guilliman, Corax, or even Conrad: their expressions were not so much simple happiness or resistance, but rather a very complicated... entanglement?

Even the Midnight Ghost frowned at this time, and the smile on his face became stiff and funny, as if he saw a piece of extremely delicious pastry, which was not only delicious, but also hungry at this time: but this piece of pastry was made of plastic.

...

This weird atmosphere continued until Morgan finished her song and received sparse applause.

"Very..."

Guilliman spoke first, his face twitching unconsciously.

"Very exquisite singing skills."

[...]

"That's right."

Corax nodded, his neck was as hard as a rusty machine.

"Very... thoughtful."

[...]

Morgan didn't say anything, she just smiled back at her brothers, then quickly shrank back to her seat and threw the sound machine directly to the next person: and just when Guilliman came on stage, the Spider Queen grabbed Conrad directly to her side.

[What's going on? ]

"... Do you want to hear the truth?"

[Speak! ]

The Primarch lowered his voice.

"How should I put it..."

Midnight Ghost pulled the corner of his mouth.

"Your accent is very good, your pronunciation is very clear, and your voice is as sweet as I said before. In short, you really sang a very good song."

"But the only problem is that we can't hear any emotion in it. It's like a machine that is wound up, spitting out every word of the lyrics in a rigid manner: both I and the other two people can hear that this is definitely not your original accent. You are almost pinching your throat and singing there."

"No: true emotion at all."

[……]

Morgan opened her mouth, but she didn't say anything in the end.

Because...

Guilliman started singing.

——————

"How did I sing, brothers?"

The Lord of Macragge sang the whole song with his eyes closed, and when he opened his eyes after the end, expecting a response from his blood relatives, he was greeted by a solemn silence: every one of his blood brothers had fallen.

Corax's head sank into the unfinished rice pudding in front of him, his long black hair mixed with white food residues, while Morgan leaned back in his chair, and could even hear a slight snoring sound. Conrad rested his head on the Lord of Avalon's shoulder, and saliva could be vaguely seen.

"......?"

Guilliman frowned.

Didn't he just sing for a few minutes?

With doubts in his mind, the Lord of Macragge instinctively turned on the phonograph, and his singing just now floated over from it.

He wanted to listen to it...

"..."

The phonograph started, and in the extremely serious, extremely formal, as solid as the rock castle of Dorne, as heavy as the history of Terra, from the Lord of Macragge's singing, an invisible wave began to sweep across the room.

Sweeping across a messy dining table, sweeping across Conrad who was smacking his lips.

Sweeping across...

"Hoo... hoo..."

In his singing.

Guilliman lay on the ground.

At this moment, I was sleeping soundly.

Amid the light snoring of the Macragge people, only the solemn song, which could make people's eyelids droop just by listening to one sentence, echoed in the whole room over and over again.

Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen, heia hoho……