"In the most distant future, the war will finally cease, and then, in the galaxy, there will be only peace."

"We will have a day when all the stars and the world will be bathed in the light of the Emperor, the flames of war and sacrifice will become ethereal legends, ignorance and faith will no longer be needed, all newborns will no longer be threatened by poverty, disease and barbarism, and those once lost achievements will be picked up and recast as the immortal cornerstone of the peaceful future of mankind for ten thousand years."

"All this is not a dream, nor is it an unattainable whisper, we are getting closer and closer to this goal every moment, and every successful recovery and victory is a firm advance, like building a great spectacle that can be sung for thousands of years with brick by brick."

"One day, we will succeed, we will accomplish our mission, let the age of reason and order come, let the justice and peace I seek come to every world, to every mortal: all this is destined to be accompanied by many tears and pains, to experience inescapable sacrifices and trials, but the end has long appeared in front of us, although it seems far away, but as long as we can continue to move forward, a hundred years, two hundred years, it will finally be in our hands."

"By that time...... Maybe we can rest and do what we love, live the life we want to live, and experience life beyond warriors and conquerors. ”

When the Lord of Maculag had spoken his last words, there was a rather obvious and innocent smile on his angular face, and Morgan could see the belonging of that smile: it belonged neither to the magnificence of intrigue nor to the great poetry of the intrigues, but to a more humble smile, with a satisfaction of being willing to be ordinary.

Morgan had seen them, and she had seen similar smiles, if not identical, in the corners she had not: in the fertile fields and mountain valleys, in the rough countenances of sweaty laborers who had their backs to the sun all day long.

The Lord of the Second Legion was not sure if his blood brother had any valuable experience in the primary industry, but from his smile Morgan could already draw a somewhat ludicrous conclusion: her blood relative, the Archon of Maculag, seemed to have an unrealistic desire and pursuit of a life with his back to the loess.

【……】

If it had been before, Morgan might have scoffed at this smile as a disguise of inferiority, but now she knew very well that her blood relatives really thought so, and this was his most instinctive expression of true feelings and inner desires.

Morgan blinked, and a slight mania swept through her pupils, almost uncontrollably.

Well, how did a grumpy warrior, a thoughtful consul, and a working man eager to kiss the fragrance of the earth, fit into one body and still live in harmony?

Even the shell of a genetic prototype would be hard to do: Morgan could swear by every brother she had ever met.

And Killiman did it?

Why is he so special?

Could it be that he Killiman is the one carefully crafted by the Lord of Mankind? Could it be that he is the Holy Number or the Son of the Emperor? Could it be that while all of them were scattered in all sorts of desperate situations, the Makulag man was being stuffed into the arms of his adoptive parents by the golden guy himself?

Could it be that a happy family and childhood are really so magical that he can become the most special one in the original body?

[Whew-]

Morgan took a deep breath, and it took her a moment to suppress the fire of jealousy that had ignited in her heart, and though it was too weak to affect anything, it was enough to make the Spider Queen understand one thing better: why she couldn't get a positive assessment of Killiman from every brother she had ever met and interacted with.

[Ambitious] is only part of the story.

And jealousy is also an element that cannot be ignored.

When these two major reasons are mixed with all the extra, miscellaneous shortcomings, such as the indelible achievements and great deeds created by the Lord of the Ultramarines, all the resentment and dissatisfaction can only turn into rumors of the same caliber, and together build the 500 world's divisive, ambitious, and ever-expanding and co-opting ......

……

Wait a minute......

Again, Morgan blinked.

Something suddenly occurred to her, a brilliant idea for the Lord of the Five Hundred Worlds, and the best for a means of recycling.

Thinking so, Morgan couldn't help but glance at her blood relatives, and in the dark corners that Killiman couldn't see, a smile big enough to send hairs down anyone's spine was creeping up the corners of the Second Legion's mouth.

Oh, yes.

Killiman, Lord of the Ultramarines, King of the Five Hundred Worlds: ambitious, ill-intentioned, deep-minded, and inexhaustible......

Morgan, the master of the Daybreaker, the overseer sent by the Emperor, the Soul Drinker who has been involved in the war, and rightfully so, like the other Primitives, is not too keen on politics and governance.

Under such circumstances, when most people in the galaxy, especially the various high-ranking people, have already had such a distinct and unusually deep first impression of the two genetic prototypes, wouldn't some of the problems that arose with Morgan just slide to Killiman's body as a matter of course?

After all, those who are close to the flames always have to endure the possibility of burns: as an envoy sent by the Lord of Humanity to oversee the five hundred worlds, the Lord of the Second Legion, who is not good at intrigue and even less good at words, is unwittingly affected and deceived when she is engaged in a silent confrontation with her ambitious brother, and eats the vicious honey beneath the beautiful mask, thus doing something not quite right.

Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

As long as it doesn't go too far, as long as it can accurately grasp the heartstrings of Divine Terra, as long as it doesn't blatantly write words like "New Empire" on immigration posters, then under the huge shadow of the Five Hundred Worlds across the East, how many people will care about the small blasphemy that happened in Avalon?

A large army of mortal auxiliaries? It's something that's necessary to carry out the mission, and it's not a violation in any sense of the word.

An aggressive policy? It's just a helpless move that has to be made in order to fight against the powerful national power of the five hundred worlds of Otlama.

Some extensive alliances? If you don't have any of these, what else can you do against that unscrupulous and aggressive expansion of the separatist vassal king?

These are all necessary, all prerequisites for the completion of the mission, and they are all loyal and reliable that can be immediately dissolved at the slightest order of the Emperor, just as the Spider Empress's affection for her genetic father is as hot in her heart.

Everything is temporary, everything is temporary, everything is a cross-line effort to complete the Emperor's silent mission: she will never fail her genetic father until the Lord of Humanity ends Morgan's mission himself, no matter what terrible abyss it will plunge her, no matter how much incomprehension and rumors it will burden her, she will become a nail in the nail of Divine Terra in the Far East, faithfully fulfilling the false mission entrusted to her by the Emperor.

Makes sense, doesn't it?

As for Killiman? Oh, of course he can continue to work hard to cultivate his kingdom, and with the peace of mind of Avalon's ample assistance, his territory will continue to expand, and his legions will continue to expand until the east of the galaxy is completely dyed with a pale cobalt blue, and until any high-ranking official of the Human Empire can never ignore the [Five Hundred Worlds] that spans thousands of star fields when he sees the galaxy star map.

After all, if Killiman wasn't strong enough and his back wasn't broad enough, how could he help Morgan carry Avalon and the Second Legion while carrying himself and the entire Otlamar Five Hundred Worlds?

Ambitious, ill-intentioned, and divisive......

How could she bear to take these powerful words from Killiman, on the contrary, she would also give her blood relatives the portion she had received, as a testimony to their strong friendship.

Although there was no formal or even verbal agreement, the Lord of the Second Legion was very sure that Killiman was willing to do so, so there was no need for her to ask about it.

And so, Morgan smiled, and made the plan in her heart, and she even thought about how she would admire and even admire the prosperity of the five hundred worlds when she was reunited with those brothers, and believed in some of Killiman's wise sayings.

It's hard: but it's no more difficult than helping Johnson manage logistics, accompanying Magnus on a tour of subspace, or making Perturabo happy, and she's even been through these difficulties, and she's endured and even accustomed to the three guys in her head who talk to each other all day and night, can she be anything more terrible?

Could it be that the only big golden guy in the whole galaxy that she can feel jealous of can give her more surprises?

A madman? Or a skinner?

Ha!

The dark idea came to an end with deliberate self-questioning, and Morgan rubbed her neck, letting her draw her attention away from the paused time for reflection and into reality once more.

But at the last moment of temporary pause to think, a clear self-awareness still stung the Spider Queen's theoretically frozen heart.

——————

Really.

She was still a little jealous of Killiman.

——————

The Lord of Maculag sat upright on the lowest steps, dressed in ceremonial armor, the most obvious sign of which was the great golden laurel wreath on his breastplate, and not far from him, the Lady of Avalon was also half-seated on the same level, still dressed in sleeveless half-armor and long skirts, her legs cocked, and she could be seen wearing a pair of women's Roman sandals, with cut-out cross-straps covering her entire foot and more than half of her calves.

Is this the life you want? My dear brother. 】

The Lord of the Second Legion stroked the marble staircase and seat, smiling at his brother beside him, while Killiman was silent for a moment before answering a secret in a low voice.

"When I first arrived in Maculag, I wasn't interested in the city's many baths, but when I grew up and realized that these public buildings had some necessary value, my body made it impossible for me to easily enter them."

[We've come this way, and I've seen eleven of them in the city of Macurag alone, and none of them can accommodate your body as a genetic protologist? 】

Killyman sighed.

"If I could, I wouldn't have brought you here, Morgan, I wouldn't have taken you to this Macurag Central Bath, which hasn't even been fully built, and it hasn't even had water yet, what kind of big bath is this?"

Morgan smiled, stretching her legs, tapping the marble floor tiles in front of her, intentionally or unintentionally, a little suspicious of where did the city of Maculag, which was almost entirely made of marble, get so many raw materials?

But after thinking about the Emperor's ship, the [Imperial Dream] that piled gold and marble directly into the void, she felt that such a problem was actually not important.

[It's okay, I'm not going to be poor and come to Macurag City to solve my personal hygiene problems, and as a simple artwork and building, everything in front of me is enough to open my eyes, isn't it?] 】

Morgan's words were not a lie: even though she had some basic knowledge of Killliman's fanatical quest for the baths and all other things Romanesque in her mind, she had to marvel at the actual sight of the central Baths of Maculag.

The days of the Ultramarines are really good.

A public bath covering more than 100,000 square meters, or rather a complex of buildings, is where Morgan and her blood relatives are now, and this spectacle that has not yet been officially put into use contains a lot of things that even the genogen himself did not think of, in addition to its own work: dozens of cisterns, elevated water pipelines, cold baths, warm baths, hot baths, steam rooms, and special bathrooms for the gym.

Library, lecture hall, recreation room, sports field, small theater, shop, corridor, ......

The whole nine yards.

It would be too condescending to say that it is a bath: even the most indulgent of pleasure and social activities in Makulag can satisfy all their needs in this building.

For example, the main bath where the two genes are originally embodied is not connected to water, but its semi-circular structure is no different from that of an ancient Greek theater, which is enough to take on the duties of a theater, a council hall, and even a bloodless dueling arena without water, every inch of the floor is inlaid with smooth and shiny colored marble from different regions, and the large windows overhead ensure that users here can enjoy the most glorious sun bathing anytime and anywhere.

"No, Morgan."

Killiman looked up, enjoying the refraction of the sun, he had just visited the small half of Maculag with his blood relatives, and even the Lord of the Ultramarines needed a real break at this time.

"Bathing, especially hot bathing, is a very formal activity, not just a solution to personal hygiene, but a combination of relaxation and tempering."

[I would like to hear about it.] 】

"First of all, the bathing person should first do pre-bathing exercise, and then enter the heating room with different temperatures, so that the bather will sweat, and then take a bath with warm water when the whole body sweats through, and finally rinse with cold water."

【Cool water? 】

"Strengthen your physique, it's a must."

So, this is what you dream of living in the future? 】

Killeman seemed silent for a while.

"Sort of."

"When we have completed this great expedition, and when the great cause of humanity has been established once again by our efforts, I think that at that time, both our genetic father and ourselves will gradually fade from the center of the galactic stage and enjoy a more ordinary life: in a way, I see this as a well-deserved reward after our long mission."

Killiman looked up, quietly enjoying the sun's rays as dusk approached, and saw it as a long-lost relaxation, the genogen sitting on the stairs like a marble sculpture that would make people laugh.

[Do you think this is a reward?] 】

Morgan's movements were almost identical to Killiman's, and she had no bothering to observe the most subtle expressions and movements of her blood relatives as they spoke, and the Lord of the Second Legion was confident that she had figured out something about the Macullags, and she only had to listen and accept his words to get what she wanted to know.

In other words: she's also enjoying a kind of relaxation and chat.

[After defeating all the enemies, conquering all the worlds, and draining our innate blood and energy, retreat from the center of the stage we have built with our own hands, do you think this is a kind of ...... Reward? 】

"Isn't it?"

"After all, from the very beginning, the purpose of this great expedition was not to make the galaxy once again bow down to the rule of a human lord or twenty vice-kings, and our Father of Genes did not have the power to indulge any of our genes in reality, obviously, this is something he decided from the beginning."

Morgan frowned slightly, Killiman's words made her feel a little uncomfortable, but some instinct within her was telling her that every word of the Lord of Maculag was right.

Worldly power......

The Lord of the Second Legion tried to arouse her greed for worldly power, but after the shortest experiment, Morgan realized once again that the so-called worldly power was only a means to increase her power, and that power itself was nothing worth her nostalgia for, that she was a derivative of power.

But......

Have you ever said such a thing to other brothers? After all, I think this kind of topic is a bit excessive...... Serious, isn't it? 】

Killeman paused again.

"I spoke to Dorn once, and it was Rog Dorn, Lord of Inwitt, whom you may not have met yet, but he is the most reliable of our brothers, and he has much the same ideas as I do, or he himself does not care about these things at all."

[It's normal not to care, my brother, to be honest, you care so much about this matter, and it still seems a little abnormal among us, what gives you the motivation to think about this? 】

“……”

"The future, Morgan, is the future."

[The future of the Great Expedition? 】

"The future after the end of the Great Expedition."

【Oh...... That would be a little too far away, and that would be a century or two from now. 】

"Regardless of the centuries, we will not have to face this problem in the end, war cannot last forever, and no matter how great an expedition is, there will be a day when it ends, and we must not wait until the moment before the problem arises to begin to struggle with how to find the answer, right?"

"At that time, of course, characters like us can gradually fade away from us and live well in any world, but in addition to this, there are some issues that we still have to consider."

[For example?] 】

"Our heirs, the angels of the emperor, the tens of thousands of Astarte warriors, the tens of thousands of people born for conquest and slaughter, who paid the greatest price for the arrival of peace, without whom we could do nothing, and the Great Expedition was even more empty talk."

"However, there is an obvious hidden danger of such sacrifice and dedication: most of these warriors who brought peace indulged in killing, and when peace really came, how should they get along with the era of peace, who had long been accustomed to killing and fighting in the Great Expedition?"

"The peacemakers will not be at peace, they are building a paradise that will keep them out, and this is what our children will face, a terrible future."

The future of each of our children? 】

"I don't think we need to add [each] on this issue."

Killiman's words were already contained in a spontaneous trust and closeness, but Morgan didn't care about the obvious trend now, her mind haunting the question Killiman had just asked.

The future of her offspring?

The future of her property?

……

It's not something to worry about, is it?

The Second Legion wasn't important enough for her to continue the conversation.

——————

[Okay, Killiman, let's talk about that.] 】

[What are your plans?] 】

——————

Morgan's unhesitating words brought a happy smile to Killiman's face, and the Lord of Maculag opened his eyes, and he looked solemnly at his blood relatives, and only after a period of necessary thought did he speak his thoughts word by word.

"As you may recall, Morgan, just a few hours ago, you saw firsthand how I handled those government affairs, and that mistake you pointed out was one of my solutions to this problem."

[Let the Astarte warriors, serve as the management class of mortal society? 】

"Yes, but not exactly."

"I'm not going to let my sons become bureaucrats or administrators, after all, Astarte's greatest advantage in politics, apart from their superhuman computing power, is the morality shaped by honor, and the purity that has no interest in detachment from mortal society, and if we let them directly integrate into the bureaucracy, and thus destroy the latter two, it may cause a very bad result."

"What the Aastarte fighters really deserve is a position outside the bureaucracy, with oversight, arbitration, and power if necessary."

"In normal times, he may not be the supreme power in his society, but at a necessary moment, he must rely on the wisdom and determination in his mind to do whatever is right."

[Dick Tuiduo? The provisional supreme consul of the Roman Republic? 】

"It's not that exaggerated."

Verbally, the Lord of Macurag denied this statement of blood kinship, but his countenance was clearly plunged into another pleasure because of the noun full of Roman style.

[You've already implemented it?] 】

"Not really."

Killyman shook his head.

"As you can see before, I am just beginning to experiment with this line of thinking, and the son I sent to Ulysses is the first batch of warriors I assigned to other worlds for management, and their results and progress will directly determine my future consideration and change of this line of thinking."

[So far, what is the result?] 】

"It's okay, but the test report proves that I overestimate Astarte's administrative ability, and maybe I will have to strengthen my training in this area in the future."

[At this point, maybe we can come up with a partnership, Killiman.] 】

The Lord of Macurag turned his head, his pupils glowing with gold.

"Do you also think my idea is feasible? My blood relative? ”

[Feasibility is one thing, I think it's more necessary, like you said, we really should think about how to solve this kind of thing, but before that, I think you should think about one thing first, Killiman. 】

"What's the problem?"

[You are thinking about the future of the entire Astarte warriors, then the scope of your experiments and considerations should not be limited to the Ultra Warrior Legion or the Five Hundred Worlds of Otlama, maybe you can find other people to help, those who are interested, capable, and willing to help you in this area. 】

“……”

"Except for you?"

【……】

Why does this sound familiar?

[I have implemented an experimental structure in my own territory, and thus have come up with some experience and ideas, do you want to hear it?] 】

"I want to hear about it."

[To put it simply......]

[Do you know how to change the land and return to the stream? 】

“…… What is that? ”

[A not-so-Roman thing.] 】

——————

[She's in the Five Hundred World? 】

The words of the Lord of Mankind echoed in the ears of the Palm Seal, and the old man, who was already more than six thousand years old, raised his head, and took a moment to accept and process the question, and then answer, and answer his Lord accurately.

"If time is correct, she's almost finished her own visit to Macurag, and then an expedition to the important planets of the Five Hundred Worlds, and finally returns to her own realm."

[Do you think she can handle the kingdom I gave her?] 】

“……”

"We used to study and analyze that unique chess game day after day, Apocalypse, and this question is only the most insignificant component of that chess game, and we already know the answer to this question."

"In terms of territory alone, she may not be able to catch up with the Genoplasma of the Ultramarine, but when it comes to the depth of domination, she has a ruthless, ruthless, and arrogant determination that Thirteen does not have."

The Emperor laughed.

[Yes, Killiman is a complex mixture of small-peasant mentality, conservatism, and glorious isolation when it comes to their own kingdom within a state, and we know even now what he will do with that maculag if things get a little worse for Terra, and hopefully someone will choose to cooperate with him then.] 】

[My daughter, on the other hand, is not as colorful as her brothers, but never clear, she is a less cold-hearted Machiavelli, the one who can still be mastered by me in my control experiments. 】

The Palm Sealer blinked, he knew the Emperor too well, so when he heard these words, he directly crossed the unnecessary red tape that followed and went straight to the center of gravity of the next topic.

"So, what are you going to do with your daughter? Have you forgotten the backlash and damage her rampage has done to your plans in the chess game? Apocalypse? ”

"You know that you're not the only one who has a big plan for her."

"You know, among those who have cast their eyes on her destructive power, the pair of sworn enemies who indulge in change and decay, of course, have no more ambitions and fantasies, but the youngest, he can't put down your daughter, and can even patiently hide his favor until this moment, and the longer he hides, the more unlikely he will let go until the end."

But He is not incapacitated. 】

But she is not indispensable. 】

“……”

The Palm Seal Holder sighed.

"So, what do you want to do?"

[Relax, old friend, I know I have a bit of a bad relationship with her, and I'm thinking about how I can improve that: maybe I should give her a new gift, and this will be my fifth gift to her.] 】

"What else is there but those three?"

[Ten years with Johnson.] 】

“……？”

"Wait...... Well, I guess, I can probably guess what the fifth gift is, and this time, which problem are you going to solve on her? Her heart? ”

[It depends. 】

The Lord of Humanity replied casually, and then he stretched out his metal claws and poked them at somewhere on the star map.

That's the northeastern edge of the Milky Way.

It was the hell called Nostramo.

(End of chapter)