"My lord! The Aurora fired a jumper torpedo at us! At least one hundred and forty! ”

"My lord! The core console has just undergone an accident and has been invaded by an unknown person! ”

One moment, one core, different place, different characters: the moment the wrong attack was sent, on either side of the illusory projection, two powerful Legion Masters received the same message at the same time that stunned them.

The next moment, the sirens whistled, sharp and piercing, sounded one after another on the two Glorious Queen-class battleships that were extremely close to each other: the difference was that the whistle on the [Dawning Goddess] was an automatic alarm in case of emergency, while the long sound on the [Glory of Maculag] was the clarion call for a real attack.

Without the permission of any military commander, hundreds of jumper torpedoes swaggered in the most sensitive and obscure middle ground between the two fleets, and countless surveillance arrays, shipboard radars, and even the naked eye of sailors could clearly see them, and quickly figured out what they represented, the most terrible and the most unbelievable.

Hundreds of the most powerful warships were stirred up by this, and millions of bewildered mortals began to follow their instincts without receiving orders: the moment the Lord of Maculag was stunned, his flagship began to turn and evade, a move that directly caused the entire Grand Fleet of the Thirteenth Legion to fall into a brief period of confusion and cries of war.

On the other side, the Legion of the Dawnbreaker's Void War engines were also stalled at their posts, and this abrupt attack caused the battle-hardened Terra veterans to look at each other, not expecting such a situation to erupt in an ordinary brotherly meeting.

After another moment, countless heavy footsteps began to sound on the countless warships in the two fleets, and the Astartes, who were born to fight, instinctively entered the combat position, although most of them remained at a loss for the rest of the day, not even knowing whether to turn on the ship's fire system or not.

Only the Terra veterans of the Dawnbreaker Legion, as well as the silent warriors of some of the Ultramarines, would clench their weapons and close their eyes in a mournful but determined motion, waiting for any orders that might come.

And just as this torrent of confusion, panic, astonishment, and consciousness shattered the original fragile and peaceful patterns of the two Astarte Legions, Killeman slowly turned around, staring at the holographic projection of his blood relatives, his trembling fingers almost crushing the data tablet in his hand that brought bad news.

Opposite him, the Lord of the Second Legion, who had also snatched the data board from the heir's hand, was already frowning: Morgan was calmer than her own blood relative, and she had even asked a question to her heir who had come to report.

"Morgan of Avalon, my blood relative! Tell me! What the hell is going on? ”

"Is this your order? Or is all this just a terrible misunderstanding? A technical malfunction that happened on your battleship's systems? Quickly answer my question, we still have time to solve it! ”

The continuous words were more like direct inquiries than doubts, but the throat that spat it out was so pale and dazed, revealing the true thoughts of the Lord of Otlama, who leaned forward, as if able to step over the holographic projection, grasp the hands of his blood relatives far away, and even forgot to prepare his ship for battle.

The hands that could build a great kingdom were now clenched, and in the blink of an eye, a large whitening appeared, and Killiman's majestic body trembled at the catastrophe, trembling with his astonishment and anger, and behind the Genotype, the high-ranking officers of the Ultramarines were roaring orders to open all the battleship defenses and ask for further orders from their Genogen.

Especially Auguston, who had a violent temper, his hands were already gripping his weapon, and his gaze at the figure of the Lord of the Second Legion had long since lost the last trace of respect, and only the bottomless tenacity of looking at the enemy remained.

But no one had yet given the order to fire: because their genetic father had said nothing, he was just staring closely at the projection of his blood relative, and his blood relative was just looking at the data board in his palm, and his face grew pale.

After a few seconds, the Spider Empress breathed a brief sigh of relief, she seemed to be whispering something so fast that Killyman couldn't hear it, but he could barely make out what Morgan was saying was unimaginably foul.

Morgan then displayed her data board in front of him, allowing Killiman to read the words clearly, and at the same time, the rushing Ranner also brought another bad news, which made the Spider Queen's face turn hideous for a moment, but she still maintained her reason with the utmost restraint, reporting to her blood relatives in a clear voice.

[This is not a technical mistake or a betrayal, Killiman, please believe this: remember the brother we just mentioned? That bastard on my ship? I think he slipped into my control room while we were talking, and fired these torpedoes at your battleship. 】

The Spider Queen confided these explanations in an instant, so fast that no one but her and Killiman could hear them, and she even added psionic powers to ensure that her words could reach her brother's ears clearly.

The Lord of the Ultramarines swallowed hard, he stared at Morgan closely, there was still a trace of betrayal pain in his pupils, he took a moment to understand Morgan's words, and then in the constant shouts of the heirs behind him, he distorted his face and judged.

Eventually, he gritted his teeth and looked at his blood relatives again, drawing the last strength of trust in her sincere countenance.

"Is there your warrior up there?"

Killiman asked, and his question made Morgan breathe a real sigh of relief, and even the gaze that led her to the Lord of Otlama began to be mixed with a hint of genuine respect.

【Please wait a minute.】 】

The respectful tone that flowed from the Spider Empress's mouth was a sincerity and respect that even the Lord of Mankind had not received.

The Lord of the Second Legion took a step back, she took a deep breath, her blue pupils flashed with a brighter light than the sun, and at this moment the endless power boiled, danced, and broke through from her sea of souls, turning into a wave that could sweep over tens of millions of people in the blink of an eye, enveloping all the souls of the entire Glory Queen-class battleship, and bringing them under the net of the Queen of Genes.

The tide was so terrible, brutal, and brutal that all the Startalkers, Navigators, and Think Tanks involuntarily knelt on the ground, bowing down to the mighty queen, and even the most powerful Astarte warriors were swaying and staggering under the onslaught of their souls, and the old guards closest to the original genome were already paralyzed in the corners, enduring the little pain in their bodies.

In the face of such power, even those outstanding warriors, such as the most powerful Bayar, and Ahriman, who was looking for Hecht, couldn't help but grit their teeth and silently bear the obscenity of the genetic protogen.

In the blink of an eye, Morgan brutally searched her ship with psionic energy, and it took less than a second to digest it, and when she opened her eyes again and looked at Killiman, her pupils were already convinced by the Lord of Otlama who believed her words.

[Those jumper torpedoes don't have my fighters on them, brother.] 】

"Are you sure?"

[I remember the soul of every child on my ship. 】

The Second Legion's words were categorical, but they didn't ease her frown much, as she sensed that the last few jumper torpedoes had been fired just after her soul search, and that they had just been inspected......

[But there's one thing, Killiman, I haven't checked my ship for Conrad's soul: he's probably on top of those jumper torpedoes.] 】

“…… Are you sure? ”

The Lord of Otrama, who was about to raise his hand and order his heir to intercept the torpedo, frowned again, the corners of his mouth twitched constantly, and finally slowly lowered the hand that was about to give the order.

Morgan didn't speak, she just used her psionic power to forcibly contact the heir who had just felt the control room, and asked him about the situation inside.

Soon, she got the answer: when the Dawnbreakers' reinforcements arrived, just in time for the last jumper torpedo to be fired, and the three warriors who rushed to the front could swear that in their haste, they saw the tall figure in dark blue armor in the torpedo.

【……】

[He's on his way to your warship, my brother, though I don't know why he's doing it: I was going to take him with me to visit you. 】

Killyman gasped, and in a great hesitation, he gave the only correct order to his children: no matter how angry he was now, Killiman did not lose his composure, he knew that no matter what the reason was, he could not really hurt the other genetone, it was a silent iron law.

"Don't fire, all retreat and stay on standby, lower your shields, let those torpedoes ...... Smash in, while ordering everyone to be level 1 combat ready and wait for my next order. ”

"Adult ......"

"Do !!"

The roar of the Lord of Otlama made his team work again, and he himself let out a long sigh and looked at the projection of his blood relatives, and there was not much resentment in his pupils.

"I don't know why he did that, Morgan, but I don't care about the answer to this question either: if Conrad had come to my ship as a guest, he would have all my respect, but since he had chosen this way, the first person to greet him would have been my sword, and hopefully he would have the most basic sanity so that we could settle this farce with conversation."

"I hope it doesn't offend you, my blood relative, after all, he's ......"

[Don't worry, Killiman, but please wait a moment, I will teleport to the deck of your ship with my soul at once, please join me first, and then face him: and in the meantime, do not let any of your warriors approach those torpedoes, you will never know how ...... his methods are Abundant. 】

The face of the Lord of the Ultramarines flashed with genuine bewilderment and resistance, and behind him, one of the most elite Thirteenth Legion formations had been assembled, and the entire battleship awaited the coming shock: and the ensuing rage.

"Don't bother, I'll be enough to deal with our brother alone, you know, this is my flagship, Morgan, he can't beat me here!"

The Lord of the Second Legion watched Killiman's impassioned speech with a cold eye, and although she now had a lot of respect for this blood relative, as long as she thought about it......

Killiman's strength.

Conrad's strength.

【……】

[No, Killiman.] 】

【Please be careful! Must! Waiting for me to join you, we must go together! 】

——————

A few minutes later, a distortion from a burst of soul fluctuations appeared on the deck of the [Glory of Maculag], and Killiman, who was already waiting here, stepped forward and shook hands with Morgan, who was quickly walking out of the teleportation array.

"I'm sorry, blood relative, I can only welcome your visit with this hasty etiquette, please accept my apologies, I promise that when you come to visit, I will be the best prepared for it."

[I'm sorry, Killiman, forgive me for my negligence, I have been deceived by our brother's sloppy disguise, mistaking him for someone I can trust a little.] 】

The two Genotypes shook hands, apologizing and understanding, and behind them, the Dawnbreaker and the elite of the Ultramarines lined up in their own lines, staring at each other in silence, trying to hide the remaining confusion in their hearts as much as possible.

Until this moment, in fact, the two large fleets were still in some kind of chaos, and the delay in communication had only allowed the outermost warships to react, and it might take a Terra standard hour or even longer to calm the minds of each warrior.

In the case of the two genetic prototypes, all the things were explained and the truth as quickly as possible, and the two emperor's heirs, each with their own heavy thoughts, kept dispelling the worries in their hearts while secretly rejoicing in their hearts.

Fortunately, this time, Killiman/Morgan is a reasonable blood relative.

"My fighters have counted most of the torpedoes with bullets, and they have caused some damage to my ship, but not enough to make it incapacitated: the ship's mechanical priest and damage management department are operating at full capacity, and I believe in their strength."

"Now, only the last few torpedoes remain unchecked: the passage to them has been completely blocked, and our brother has no way back."

The Lord of Otlama strode before everyone, his sword clenched politely and solemnly, his pupils tingled with just the right amount of rage: hot enough but not enough to consume himself.

The Spider Queen, on the other hand, had a gloomy face, and followed closely behind Killiman, her pupils now paler than hers, a formidable prophecy of calamity.

They cut through the dense crowd and, in the constant reports of the Ultramarines, pinpointed their target: the last suspects were now surrounded by hundreds of heavily armed Kidliman's Sons, scattered in a messy corridor, with the forcibly destroyed hull behind them.

[The second from the left, there are people.] 】

As soon as he arrived, Morgan's whispers rang in Killiman's ears, and the Lord of the Ultramarines rushed forward almost impatiently, while the Spider Queen whispered a spell and steadily followed behind the blood relatives.

The two genetic prototypes slowly approached the steel coffin that had always remained dead, and behind them, countless Astarte elites clenched their weapons, holding their breath for the time being, for fear that one of their minds would let go of the demon in it.

In the suffocating silence, Killeman pulled open the door to the torpedo landing, whispering angry inner words.

"Let me come and see you, you ......"

"This ......"

The Lord of the Ultramarines' eyes widened, and he couldn't speak for a moment, and when the Spider Empress behind him looked over, he couldn't help but cast a stunned gaze.

[This is ......]

[Hecht? 】

The Jumper Torpedo is not the feared and hated Midnight Ghost, but Hecht, who seems to have nothing to do with it all.

The tall Son of Morgan had fallen into a fainting state, and he was lying inside, his armor already rendered in a dark blue of the same color as the Midnight Wraith's armor: if the door of the jumping torpedo had been closed and there was only a moment left to observe, it would be highly likely that even the sharpest Astarte warrior would have confused him with the Midnight Wraith.

But the question now is......

"This is that warrior ...... yours"

Killyman muttered to himself.

"He's here...... So where is that brother of ours? ”

——————

"Inhale—exhale—"

"Inhale—exhale—"

Conrad breathed greedily, gulping in on the thin air, giving his claws enough strength to keep his mind lucid enough.

He was sober, sober enough to play with two genotypes, and two legions.

He knew that the trick would eventually be punctured, and he knew what would await him when he was punctured: but so what? He doesn't care.

Today is not the time of his death.

If yes, maybe better.

Midnight Wraith couldn't help but laugh at the thought of this, clinging to the glacial walls, and the colder breath grinding in his ears, under the double pressure, he relied on his armor, claws, and might, crawling up and down the metal barriers, looking for the best moment.

By the simplest of means, he was able to achieve his next goal: although he could not hear the sound, he still saw the moment the hatches were opened, and peered into the dim light that hung over the deck in the hatches.

Yes, the Midnight Wraith wasn't inside the ship at this point: he hung himself in the void like an impossibly reckless real bat, above the hull, clinging to the delicate positions that were reliable enough to hold him, and the thin oxygen that had stagnated around the battleship.

This was also the way he was able to escape the Spider Queen's soul detection twice: he was crazier than Morgan had imagined, and the time and chaos he left Morgan with had left the Lord of the Second Legion with no more energy to expand the scope of the inspection.

As the saying goes: the most dangerous place is the safest place.

As the Lord of the Night who emerged from the infinite abyss of Nostramo, Conrad was unaware of the existence of this phrase, but that did not prevent him from understanding the same wisdom.

By now, everything was within the Night King's calculations: the fourth dawnbreaker to stay at the console was none other than the proto-body Hector, who had first seen him in Morgan's throne room, and the Midnight Wraith had been contemplating the value of this gift.

He managed to use this to coincide with Hecht's visit to the fighting brothers in the console, and after Hecht left, he made enough movement for him to go and return, and quickly subdued the unconscious, then used the paint hidden in the ventilation ducts in advance to give the Morgan's son armor the same color as the Midnight Wraith, and then stuffed him into the last landing torpedo, accurately grasping the moment when the Dawnbreaker reinforcements pushed open the door before firing it.

In this way, the Midnight Ghost has gone to the Glory of Macurag, the testimony of several Daybreaker warriors, and even the Spider Queen cannot temporarily distinguish the authenticity.

As for Hecht's whereabouts: with the launch of the torpedo, the two Glory Queen-class battleships were already in disarray, and no one would be obsessed with the temporary disappearance of an Astarte company commander.

And when all this happened stirred the minds of millions of people, Coates crouched quietly in his hiding place, calculating the time when his blood relatives had been out, and after making sure that order had been temporarily restored in the hatch, he no longer hesitated, flashed over the heads of several guards who were palpitating like a phantom, and quickly disappeared into the ventilation duct.

Now, only one last step remains.

——————

Although the Lord of the Second Legion had temporarily left, there were still four guards at the door of her private space, maintaining a high level of vigilance.

But it was useless, and the Midnight Wraith emerged from the shadows it had chosen, and it took less than thirty seconds for all the resistors to be temporarily silenced.

He even flicked his claws a little impatiently, because just knocking out instead of killing was a delicate ordeal for the Midnight Spirit: in some kind of unadmittedly fearful and lurking patience, the Night Lord had not let a drop of blood shed for more than a month, which before it was almost unimaginable.

He convinced himself that it was just some kind of wisdom of patience, not because he was afraid of the carrion queen in his heart...... Strength.

Suppressing a twitching countenance, Midnight Wraith struggled not to wonder if it was excitement or trembling, he checked the snorts of the warriors beneath his feet, and after making sure that they would wake up within two Terra standard hours, he stood up and sorted out his countenance rather solemnly.

Then, he pushed the door open.

He was ready to step into the true secret of the carrion queen.

He believes that as long as he ......

"Whew-"

Midnight Ghost turned his head to the side, his thoughts interrupted by an uninvited guest: in the same place where he had avoided in a hurry, there was a razor-sharp knife that pierced the wall.

"You should be on the Glory of Macurag by now, Lord Koz."

The diminutive figure, never really cared about by the Midnight Ghost, appeared: the Genetic Queen's handmaidens stood between the furniture facing the door, her fingers twisting into a dozen of the same sharp knives, and she looked at the intruder with unkind eyes.

The Midnight Ghost even faintly saw an aura called [Battle Spirit] on her immature countenance, which was almost never sad or joyless, and he couldn't help but laugh at it, and the Night Lord closed the door, then spread his arms and slowly walked into the constellation Virgo.

"It's good to be faithful, little one, but now you're just stupid."

"Get out of the way, you have nothing to do with my purpose."

Midnight Ghost smiled, and he even had enough energy to turn his head away and listen to the sounds of the hallways and the curses of the Dawnbreakers: although he could not let any more blood flow, it was easy for the Midnight King of Nostramo to set some traps on the way here, and teach the reckless sons of Morgan a profound lesson without shedding blood.

"No, Your Excellency."

The Gene Queen's handmaiden flung the throwing knife in her hand, and Midnight Ghost easily dodged it, but she seized the opportunity to grab the heavy furniture beside her and slam it into the unmistakable intruder in front of her once more.

"Every character who steps into this place without permission has something to do with me: there is a life-and-death relationship, I don't care about your name, your identity, I only care about your actions and guilt."

"What authority do you have to judge guilt?"

Midnight Ghost spoke lazily, not taking this last step seriously, until he saw what was happening in front of him after he easily avoided the heavy furniture flutter.

Virgo grabbed the food cart she almost never left and violently pushed it down until everything on it crackled to the ground under the gravitational catch, and she gently pressed a button.

Next, the huge dining cart reorganizes and transforms in mid-air, and in a matter of moments, it becomes a real murderous weapon, a double-edged axe that is even larger and sharper than Virgo's own.

When Virgo lifted her head again, although her countenance didn't seem to change in the slightest, Midnight Ghost had to get serious: the protogen's talent and hunter's instinct alternately screamed in his chest, causing him to grit his teeth and spat out a few grumblings from the craggy crack.

"Monsters make monsters......"

"It's all a bunch of monsters......"

Virgo craned her neck without the slightest hint of anger, she just flicked the great axe in her hand, and then informed Coz in an extraordinarily serious tone.

"My melee weapon is called the Petite Ragdoll, and you'll be the first to be defeated by it, Midnight Ghost, and I'll record it all on the wall."

“……”

The Night King's face became gloomy like never before, and he licked his claws, intending to end the battle as quickly as possible, although there was no future for this blasphemous creation, but a heavy weapon like this would only ......

Coetze muttered to himself, and then he saw Virgo swing the great axe and spread the mechanical wings behind him.

“……？”

In the next moment, countless fiery beams and streams of energy flooded the location of the Midnight Wraith.

“……”

"it!"

——————

"I still can't figure it out, Apocalypse."

[You always can't figure it out, my friend, maybe you don't need to continue to torture yourself, but you need to think about the things you can understand, which is good for our efficiency. 】

“……”

【……】

[Well, what do you want to ask?] Is there anything about the eighth trumpet? 】

"Yes."

[You're wondering, why did I put her next to number two instead of the originally scheduled number three?] 】

"In fact, if Eight's problem is not corrected from the start, it will be useless to follow any brother on his home planet, and from a purely utilitarian point of view, we should immediately let him join his legion."

[Eight and his legion have an excellent fit, so his presence or not is not really important to the Eighth Legion, because he will not bring any changes to the Eighth Legion: except for the worse and worse quality of recruits. 】

[So, rather than a little utilitarian, I'd rather continue the experiment of Two, and Eight is one of the most important links in this experiment, we have witnessed his role, and we have witnessed the possible path of him and Two, which is a combination of victory over One.] 】

"But No. 2 and No. 8 will also be one of the worst combinations in the early run-in, from this point of view alone, No. 8 is far inferior to No. 3, No. 7, No. 13 and No. 16, they are all individuals who can quickly establish a sufficient mutual trust system with No. 2 in our deduction."

[Yes, I know, the thirteenth is the fastest, the seventh is the closest, the sixteenth is not as fast as I thought, and the combination of him and the second is likely to cause a bad ending. 】

"The skulls of the seven primitives?"

[Actually, there are more than seven, you forgot about the number sixteen that fell in front of me, and the number seven one step earlier: I still wonder how the second did it.] 】

[But let's consider it from another angle, my friend, in our initial deduction, No. 1 and No. 2 will not be a very close combination, and you are even sure that their cooperation will end in failure. 】

"Yes, I did make a mistake at this point, no, I don't think it's enough for you to put Eight on Two's side, I don't see that Two will have any biased feelings for Eight, their future is exciting, but it's too difficult."

Is there any simple thing in our hands? 】

“……”

"You didn't convince me that this is not a qualified answer, Apocalypse."

[I know. 】

[If you want to answer, then I can only tell you, my friend: we brought Eight back at a time when it was a little late, but not too late, which gave him a glimmer of possibility of redemption, and made getting along with him more difficult and tormenting. 】

[Even No. 3 can't bear this kind of torture: No. 2, only No. 2, only she has the possibility, to help No. 8 at this time.] 】

"Will she do it? After all, it's just a possibility? ”

[I don't know. 】

[But it's never worse.] 】

(End of chapter)