Warhammer 40: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 199 Macragge’s Travels (4)

The final outcome of this evening banquet was undoubtedly beyond Perturabo's expectations, because a name that had not been mentioned for a long time and had no connection whatsoever with what was happening in Macragge suddenly appeared. Landed in the center of the dining table.

Leman Russ, only Perturabo and Mors present had seen with their own eyes the true appearance of the Wolf King of Fenris, and how the wild wolf suddenly set off from Terra with the entire fleet after a small banquet. The voyage left only Magnus and the palace kitchen that he needed to clean with a flamethrower; however, through the mouths of Horus and Leman Russ, they shared all the joy and interesting stories of the primarch gathering back then. It came to Macragge's table ten years later, raising the atmosphere of the family gathering to a level of heartfelt rapport.

"I think that's true, Robert Guilliman." Mors held up the wine glass and leaned back, leaning his whole body weight on the back of the chair. "Of course the wolves raised by the original body Leman Russ are better than those raised by Leman Russ." Wild beasts have a higher level of intelligence, and Russ himself is a representative of informality. If they let the ice water temper their strong bodies together in the same ice lake in Fenris, then they will be in the palace of Terra. It’s not necessarily impossible to bathe in the same bath. Also, the mead is good, dear Macragge.”

"Thank you for your recognition, Olympian," Robert replied, sipping his tenth glass of wine of the day, his cheeks flushed with the joy of the conversation. "I never thought someone would bring a wolf into the bathhouse..."

"Because there are no wolves in Macragge." Morse put the empty cup back on the table. "But I imagine there are very few recipes that call for a wolf on the table, so the presence or absence of such a beast shouldn't affect your lives."

Perturabo glanced at Rogal Dorn, who was eating and listening intently next to him, and Angron, who was freeing his mind. He used a conical gold cup to block the smile that appeared slightly. He was not sure whether he had found the host of Horus that day. The same joy at the palace banquet.

Calculated according to the order of the original bodies, excluding the second original body that happened to miss the meeting time of all the brothers, he found that he was actually the first brother among the brothers who returned to the empire.

This sudden and wonderful knowledge suddenly hit him from an unimagined angle, and coated everything in his field of vision with a soft light - this should also be taken into account that the Moon of Macragge had already appeared. Their heads were rising slowly, while the white decorative stone pillars and the green grass leaves in the shadows were picking up the bright glow of the stars from the sky.

"I have also heard a saying that there are no wolves on Fenris." Perturabo said, "But no one knows what this means except Leman Russ himself."

"Like a code word in politics or military." Conor Guilliman guessed. The two mortals occasionally joined the conversation between the primarchs, hoping to touch the edge of a more distant realm.And the Primarchs present each had their own reasons to like such a respectable mortal who could converse with them freely.

"I don't think so," Morse's soft voice penetrated everyone's ears accurately, "In my observation, it may be closer to an investigation and revelation of the essence of things."

"But that can't be an absolute truth, unless there are differences in the definitions of some of the words." Robert said, "You just said that Leman Russ was raised by a she-wolf."

"He even has two wolf brothers," Morse shrugged. "Just remember not to invite him to your bathhouse, especially after drinking Fenris mead."

"We're not supposed to drown in drunkenness?"

"You don't want to see him slapping the hand he just finished grabbing the barbecue on your brand new bathrobe." Morse added a bit of playful sincerity to his tone, getting it from Robert's wide eyes. his pleasure. "Besides, I'm not so sure whether the poison in Fenrisian mead is enough to completely plunge a Primarch into a state of unconscious carnival."

"I don't understand why our party turned into Ruth's joke time," Perturabo said.

"Because there is a hidden principle here." Morse's fingers brushed the upper edge of the gold cup, and Perturabo began to feel that the craftsman's technique of making a friction sound like a musical instrument was also assisted by psychic runes. "Well, I can tell you that around the year 3000, I killed an entire hive city and a locksmith."

"What did the locksmith do?" Robert couldn't help asking.

"You see, the story of a locksmith is more entertaining." Morse shook his head unhurriedly, not hiding his smile.

"No, I think in the hidden condition of this sentence, you put a hive and a locksmith on the same level, which invisibly highlights the locksmith's..."

"Would you like another drink, Dorne?" Perturabo asked.

"Oh." Dawn put the wine glass on the tray brought by the waiter.

Mors smiled: "Actually, I can also turn this party into a little story time for Perturabo. Ms. Euton, on the way here, you also mentioned Robert Guilliman's childhood. A lot of things have happened that parents can be proud of. Do we want to communicate?"

"My mentor, you underestimate me if you think this will excite me."

"Then I'm going to start talking?" Morse leaned his upper body out of the seat and patted Perturabo's hand lightly, which was resting on the armrest and almost became a piece of steel.

The craftsman retracted his upper body, slid down a little in the chair, raised his left hand on the armrest to support his head: "Okay, no one wants to make a joke, so let's discuss how to deal with Markkula while waiting for the arrival of the War Child. issues of development and reform in Macragge and the entire Ultramar sector, and promote friendly and constructive merger negotiations between the Empire and Macragge, striving to reach an effective agreement that is in the interests of both parties and maintain the financial stability and economic growth of both parties. Avoid the negative impacts brought about by the integration of the two phases, reduce trade frictions and currency barriers, and explore bilateral trade opportunities and investment potential."

"What new paperwork has the Emperor assigned you lately?" Perturabo pinpointed the source of this sudden turn of events.

"Actually, I just helped our Imperial Chancellor organize his file box." The craftsman made a yawn gesture, "But I'm not joking now. Otherwise, why would we have a secret meeting here?"

Robert glanced hesitantly at Connaught, Connaught nodded, and Euton summoned an attendant.

Within the next few minutes, the empty plates and remaining food and wine were removed from the table, and then the attendants retreated.In addition, this also caused Roger Dorn, who had just agreed to have another drink, to innocently lose the wine he had not yet started drinking.It's surprising how quickly the topic changes, but Morse is just the kind of guy who can do that.Perturabo easily switched from his mind to another set of thoughts and matching data and examples.If he had brought a data tablet here today, then he could now connect the black cable on his head to the data tablet and show the Macragge people present something more meaningful than illusory promises and promises. Charts and overview.

The Iron Lord was pleased to see that Robert Guilliman and his adoptive parents had entered into a state of negotiation. As for the black-robed craftsman who dropped the topic to the private discussion before the formal meeting and began to take a nap with his eyes closed. He decided to ignore it.

"Robert mentioned to us that Macragge is promoting a comprehensive reform of the system recently." Perturabo said, his hands resting easily on his legs, "Therefore, I think that before the reform is completed, it is necessary to cooperate with the existing horse The dialogue on the Kurag system is inefficient and redundant. I hope that the real consultation on the cooperation between the two parties will start after your reform situation is stable. The representative of the dialogue at that time should not be me. The military system dominated by the Primarch , which is a different system from the empire’s civil service system.”

"Do you hope that in a few years, when Macragge will be completely new, you can return to our country and continue the current issues?" the consul asked cautiously and sincerely.

"No, there is no point in making such a long-term agreement." Petula responded with unreserved frankness. "My hope is that you will complete the reforms you need as soon as possible and ask for help from the Imperial military if necessary. The Primarch's home world naturally has such privileges. Before we are too busy in the nearby sectors to have nothing to do , I hope you have achieved reforms in internal affairs, so that when Robert Guilliman joins our expedition, he will not be obsessed with the home front, or even have secret complaints against the Empire."

He had no intention of playing political tricks in front of anyone.From the moment he took the military power in Olympia, no, earlier than that, from the beginning, he has never been patient with all kinds of things that waste construction efficiency and consume energy in the undercurrent.And under the silent protection of Damex and Morse, he easily retained his persistence in this regard - the Primarch was suddenly aware of this, and a corner of his vast mental network supported He was distracted at this time.

His words immediately elicited a secretly happy expression from the primarch wearing a laurel crown.

"Thank you for your understanding, Perturabo," Robert said, reassuring himself to side with his home world. "The Senate will do our part, and Macragge will remember any favors from the Empire. And respond accordingly. But I have a few questions."

"Please speak." Perturabo raised his hand.

"First, I think Macragge has a right to know what the Empire is up to in our neighboring sectors. Even if you want to conquer our neighboring sectors," Robert said in a practiced way when addressing the possibility of being unable to resist. With a good calm tone to cover up his worries, "Macragge would also like to know about this."

"Second, you mentioned before that the troops assigned to me by the empire will arrive within a month. But the changes in the political structure of the entire planet cannot be completed in a month. Even if absolute force is resorted to, it cannot be completed in a short time. Verifying the effectiveness of various policies, not to mention force will bury vicious hidden dangers in the foundation of Macragge's reforms. Then condemnation and tricks will follow. Therefore, it is impossible for me to lead them to join as soon as they arrive. Your expedition.”

"If you have regarded the planets around Macragge as part of your future pocket empire, we can leave this place to you. You can later draw the boundaries in your mind." The Iron Lord's thinking speed made him see It almost sounds like you’ve already prepared the answer to the question, “And regarding the second point, what’s your solution?”

Perturabo could see a hope for the future in Robert's expression. "I want to know what kind of people my troops are," said the Primarch, "and then I will have to choose between leading my troops and the priorities of advancing reform."

"Reform is not just your job, Robert," Conor said, looking at his adopted son. "Macragge will continue to advance while you are away from home."

"But if I were involved..." Robert heard his father's comfort.

"Is there a possibility," the craftsman suddenly said, his eyes still closed, his fingers tapping rhythmically and silently on the armrest, "before you start to make some remarks that sound like a reluctant parting of life and death, you can consider the empire. Is there a means of inter-galactic communication?”

He attracted the attention of the people of Macragge, but unfortunately, this was not enough to open the eyes of the craftsmen who always regarded etiquette as nothing.

"In the same sector, the efficiency of the Astropath is pretty good; if it is delayed until the War Sons have included the entire sector into the territory, so that they have to truly join the 'Great' Crusade, Macragge's reforms will It’s not done yet, and I don’t think it’s an Empire issue,” Morse said.

When Perturabo was preparing to cooperate with the black-robed craftsman and take on a role that showed the tolerance and kindness of the Sky Eagle, Mors unexpectedly threw a new thing to him.

"And you, Perturabo, Califon's reply has been sent to the Ironblood. In addition to delivering a diplomatic statement and asking you why you suddenly remembered this, she also submitted new special matters. "

Some golden light twined between Morse's fingers.The craftsman openly used supernatural means to read the report on the track that was being sent to Perturabo's office in the hands of the war blacksmith.

Robert Guilliman looked at the conspicuous beam of light and silently added some notes to the Imperial Truth in his mind.

"Califon said that Melatala near Olympia recently traveled thousands of miles to submit a document to the Royal Palace of Lokos. The title is 'Mellatala Star Cluster Citizen Petition', and the content is that their star cluster has recently achieved more than 90.00% of the The vote passed and she applied to join a planetary alliance led by Olympia. She was not sure whether the Empire would allow your planet to begin to expand the scope of influence that belongs to the original body alone, so she did not accept it for the time being."

In Perturabo's surprise, Morse opened his eyes, and the golden light composed of runes faded from his eyes: "You might as well take advantage of Macragge to do their own thing and take a look at the development of Olympia. My Olympian Lord.”

"Angron," Morse then called on the name of another primarch, "the culture of Nuceria is similar to that of Olympia and Macragge. Although you have no intention of expanding the territory, I personally still I suggest you check out the development plans on these two sides to see if there is anything you can refer to."

"As for Rogal Dorn..."

"It's time for the Phalanx to do routine cleaning." Roger Dorn took the initiative to find something to do for himself.

Perturabo quickly realized what his brother was referring to, and no gold cup could help hide his smile.

(End of this chapter)