The male lion walks in the shadows of the understory.

It was a state of great familiarity and peace of mind that made the genogen feel so familiar and reassuring that he even enjoyed it.

The turquoise pupils were gently brushed by the golden hair, shooting sharp edges, piercing through the vast sea of vines and lush leaves, quietly searching for them in the hollows and rivers.

Johnson sniffled and sniffed the breath in the air: the senescent leaves had broken away from their fragile branches, and under the guidance of wind and gravity, they fell to the ground, fermenting with a rancid taste; The gurgling water brought the corpses that had been dead for many days, and were blasted by predators, fish, and currents until only a pair of bones remained; Scavenging birds of prey, large enough to shade the sun, roamed the highest firmaments, their wings stenching with greed and death.

And the sound, the subtle sound, the sound of the wings of the birds flapping against the wind, the sound of the soles of the beasts trampling on the dirt, the roars and cries of countless beasts, whether sharp, thick, docile, or savage, intertwined without logic, playing a music that belongs only to the forest and the jungle.

Although there is only survival, struggle and escape, only killing, meanness and devouring, this does not hinder the vitality and prosperity of the forest itself, and countless competitions, arias and writings related to life and death are constantly played along with those living and inanimate things.

When all the sounds, all the breaths, all the rhythms of life and death rushed into the mind of the genogen, he actually had the illusion of "noise".

It's like a forest in Caliban, but there seem to be some differences.

It was as if he were walking in that ancient forest, walking beside the trees that scraped the furs of the beasts, carefully studying the furs and relics, and stalking his prey from the savagery that claimed to be his territory.

Johnson remembers those days, from the tattered foliage costumes, to the wire cloth that was standard for knights' squires, to the neat armor needed to slaughter behemoths, carved with elaborate marks of honor.

He remembered that at that time, his body would pass through the woods, like a silent knight walking through the more silent kingdoms, and towards the ......

Wait a minute.

……

……

！！！

Johnson's brow furrowed.

He twisted his wrist and swung a sword as if he had torn through a false curtain with the claws of a beast, and the bustling noise fell silent in an instant.

There were no fallen leaves, no running water, no sparrowhawk wings cutting through the wind overhead, no huge beasts roaring and hunting in the forest.

There was a dead silence left behind.

There is only dead silence.

Dead silence in its simplest.

Johnson looked at the dead silence, listened to the dead silence, felt the dead silence.

Then he took a deep breath.

——————

This is a real forest, like the forest of the Caliban.

——————

In the midst of this real dead silence, he heard laughter.

More dead laughter.

——————

[You can see through it, Your Excellency Johnson, much faster than I thought. 】

They didn't stop you, and they didn't even complete the deception for a moment. 】

The sound came from all directions, echoing in the firmament and in the valley, and it did not startle the birds or the roars of the beasts, for everything in the forest was dead silent, and even the rustling of the wind through the leaves tried to suppress its own tune.

The voice seemed to come from heaven, like a lazy goddess leaning on the extravagant temple of the mountain, passing her words through the breeze and invisible envoys.

[How the hell did you see through the ......]

Johnson walked, and he didn't answer immediately, but only spat out a few hints of mockery from between his clenched teeth.

[It's been a long time since I've walked in the deep forest, so I've forgotten what it looks like. 】

[And you don't know what the real forest looks like, you are just imitating, making the most clumsy imitation and deduction, describing what you saw at the beginning, the original appearance of the world, and then according to your own imagination, add oil and vinegar to make a funny painting. 】

[Your false dream is like a pile of hole-ridden stones, which may make a beautiful sound when the wind blows, but when someone walks up to it with a hammer, it is as fragile as white paper. 】

[Ridiculous.] 】

The gene prototyp was mercilessly concluding, and his tone was the usual orders and requests he had made to Morgan for several years, but this time, it was not the "obedience" that answered him.

It's a continuous burst of laughter.

He narrowed his eyes, hunched slightly, like a real beast, his constant breathing silently blended into the breeze, his long golden hair was hidden in the fine sunlight, like vines in the night, and his heavy iron boots brushed against the crisp leaves that had crackled in the past, without making even the slightest sound.

He was like a beast, a beast that would never exist in reality, a legendary beast, they would only appear in the stories around the campfire, in the hideous scars of the hottest hunters, they melted into the darkness, into the pure hunt, not perceived by any light or sight, only the blood of the victims dripping little by little in the endless night, indicating their visit.

And now, Johnson is the beast.

He desperately wanted to kill something.

The Gene Prototype continued to move forward, and he walked through the deep forests one after another, his figure wandering repeatedly under countless rifts and giant trees, until a huge sinkhole appeared in front of him, and lying quietly in it was the most standard drop pod of the Dark Angel.

He found it.

His prey, his advisor, is around here.

He knew her.

She wouldn't go too far, because too far meant a lack of control, and she hated, even feared, the feeling of not being able to control everything in her hands.

She thought she was hiding it well.

Then Johnson heard laughter again.

——————

[A dangerous distance, Lord Johnson. 】

[You're really amazing, I'll admit, you caught me off guard. 】

The voice continued to echo, but this time, it seemed to be closer, and every character exploded in Johnson's ears.

The genogen looked up, and he smelled the stench of the beast.

This is not a delusion.

Low roars began to appear at the end of his vision, one after the other, one after another, hundreds, thousands, endlessly.

The beast's figures converged into a foul-smelling wave, countless hairs and fangs gathered in a rare light, contrasting with bloodthirsty longing.

With the influx of this first life, the forest seemed to come to life in an instant, and Johnson could hear countless young leaves chirping in unison, which seemed extremely noisy for a while, and under this most natural cover, the tens of thousands of vines quietly withdrew from their bodies, slid rapidly from the trunks and branches, like poisonous snakes without pupils and fangs, gathered into intertwined masses on all the land, and finally turned into wisps of long whips, silently whipping the air and the earth.

The forest came to life, and in an instant, the active and violent aura swirled under the lion king's nose.

Do not think that nature is kind, it is nothing more than an illusion of laziness, and that angry nature is capable of destroying any serious manic beast of man.

But Johnson just smiled.

[A living forest? 】

[I thought you would demonstrate more for me.] 】

Laughter responded to him.

[If you come at the appointed time, then I will indeed do more, how can you give a little more time, the whole world will be under my provocation and control to release a fury of destruction. 】

[But there is no if in war, you have disrupted my steps and rhythms, and at this point, you are despicable, but you are also extremely smart. 】

【…… Vile? 】

The word made the lion king's brow furrow.

And the laughter seemed to be a little sharper.

[Yes, despicable. 】

If meanness can help win battles, will you make yourself mean? 】

This was not a problem, because the moment the words landed, the two of them, who already knew the answer, laughed in unison.

Johnson was laughing, real laughter, laughter of pleasure, mockery, anger and murderous intent, and in the midst of this laughter, he raised his greatsword, and the relentless light reflected in his turquoise pupils.

Then, he rushed towards the roaring herd.

——————

[You are very powerful, Your Excellency, very powerful. 】

You are the master of war, you were born as such. 】

As the Lion Sword unleashed a devastating storm in the endless flesh and roar, the voice pierced the curtain of the whirlwind and reached Johnson's ears.

The genogen ignored it, and seemed to be silent in the slaughter before him, thousands of behemoths scrambling under silent control, their scales and claws flying, and the mottled marks of the fight still on their furs.

There may be hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or even more, but Johnson didn't care, and with the swing of his great sword, he reaped more and more beast spirits, and everything seemed to go back to his last days in Caliban: all the knights marched together, banners were raised, armor was bright, and the hunting ground with the world as a curtain was pulled up in countless roars, and every day there was bloodshed and sacrifices, more and more, and there was no end.

He misses it.

The great sword swung again, slashing dozens of beast heads away.

Finally, he stood his sword on the ground, and the endless tide of beasts fell silent at this moment.

Finally, he burst out laughing.

[War? 】

He laughed.

[You have been by my side for three years, but if you have learned the slightest thing in these three years, you will not count everything in front of you as war, it is not even hunting. 】

[It doesn't matter what I've learned, Lord Johnson, but what have I seen in you? 】

Isn't war also a hunt for you? 】

Johnson stopped smiling, and the corners of his mouth pressed down for a moment.

But the voice continued, the merciless laughter slowly piercing Johnson's armor, slowly melting the next words into a poisonous needle and shooting into the heart of the genoplasm.

[For you......]

[Isn't everything a hunt? 】

[Each of us will stop in one place of our lives, and some of us have nothing but the vast forest of Caliban in their hearts. 】

[Precisely because of this. 】

You are great, Johnson. 】

——————

The silence lasted for a few seconds.

And what broke him was the disdainful sneer of the genetic proto.

You should go to Magnus or Fogram and learn the tricks. 】

He wielded his great sword, and his power was heavier than ever, and countless huge beasts turned into dust under this sword light.

[War is not for you, and you are not for it, Morgan. 】

"I swear, after I catch you, I'll let you understand that.] 】

His turquoise pupils flickered with danger he had never seen before, and he kept exuding his will, eager to find the thief hiding in the deep forest.

Magnus ...... Vogrim ......】

Morgan's voice seemed to fall silent.

[Why not Peturabo?] 】

The corners of the lion king's mouth raised slightly.

[My brother Olympia, he is a rough designer, he knows the art of war and negotiation, but he will never use his talents to the fullest, as long as he can't control himself, he will achieve nothing, he is even worse than Horus.] 】

He walked silently, stepping through the gurgling water.

[Your last emotion makes the whole word lose its meaning, Lord Johnson, who will be more brilliant than Horus, even in the fortress of the dark angels, I can hear the glory of the wolf herder. 】

Her voice was almost pompous, mixed with almost undisguised provocation, and Johnson remained cold in the face of this voice.

But he admits that there is a faint nameless flame burning in his heart.

【Horus ......】

He whispered the name as if to a stranger who had nothing to do with it.

[I know that he is jealous of me and complains about me, although I can't understand his emotions, but even through so many star fields, I can still guess his thoughts: he doesn't want to join this war, he doesn't want his heir to shed blood, but he doesn't feel that there is anyone else besides him who can carry it all. 】

[He is always favored on the bright side, but he is always dissatisfied, with warm words in his mouth, a big stick in his hand, hungry, and greedy. 】

Johnson heard laughter, sharper than ever.

[Sounds ......]

[He is very suitable for the commander. 】

In a place where Johnson himself was not aware of it, he couldn't help frowning at this sentence.

The genogen was silent for a moment, then snorted coldly.

[Do you have a choice?] 】

[Either irritable, pedantic, or not the slightest ability and attitude to take responsibility. 】

He was the only choice. 】

He spoke, but couldn't help but snort coldly.

He heard the sound of his boots scraping against the leaves.

[Why...... Don't choose Killiman? 】

The question caused Johnson to pause.

Then, he laughed.

[Yes, yes. 】

[If you don't say it, I forgot it.] 】

And Killiman, the worse option. 】

(End of chapter)