"So, what kind of relationship is there between us and the Dark Angel Legion?"

Sitting at the round table, which disgusted and gracious him, Hector picked up the last papers of the day, and hesitated for a moment between His Excellency Chron's favorite raspberry pie and his equally good blueberry cake.

Why does he only have one mouth?

Doubts like this crossed Morgan's mind again, and the question that had been raised in his mouth actually appeared quite obviously out of tune.

But he didn't perceive it: just as he didn't care much about the papers in his hands.

As Morgan's proud son, and the commander of the Twenty-third Company of the Dawnbreaker Legion, Hecht was able to leave himself with a lot of personal time: so he quickly learned certain ways to make up for extra time in his daily work.

However, his mortal friends who are still working on the Dawning Goddess will call these tricks "Touching Fish", or "Sabotage": they look as if they are masters in their field.

Hecht, on the other hand, thought that this was undoubtedly a very unrefined and unrealistic statement: he could swear to the statue of the Mother of Genes in his room, and when he reviewed the documents that were really important, all his energy was highly concentrated for the benefit of the original, and there would not be even the slightest slackness.

It's just that at other times when it's more appropriate: for example, when their genetic mother is out on a visit, and the important tasks left for them have all been completed, and all that is left is some daily reports that need to be signed, they can naturally become a little easier in the face of tasks that even space wolves can complete in a regular manner.

Quite a reasonable assumption, isn't it?

At least that's what Hector himself thinks: but alas, his fighting brothers, while agreeing with this logic, do not recognize the correctness of Hecht's actions themselves.

The reason is simple, all the dawnbreakers agree that in Hecht's room, the thing he swears by can be everything in the galaxy, but it will definitely not be the statue of their genetic mother: Hector originally wanted to seriously refute this nonsense, but when he thought of the 30,000 arena reservations that were close at hand, he felt that he didn't really need to continue to compete with these unartistic creatures.

After all, the current Legion Arena Vigil champion is Ahriman: Hector and the other Daybreakers are convinced of this record, and there is no desire to challenge it for the time being.

Squinting his eyes and slowly sipping the unnamed black tea in the cup, Morgan's pride felt a real pride in his own moderation: this was undoubtedly a strong proof that he had pure Avalon blood flowing through him.

In this pride, Hector took the raspberry pie decently, not because of his preference for raspberries, but because Lord Bayar, who was facing the table at the table, had already taken the blueberry cake while Hector was meditating: it was placed next to his Chanabal saber.

That's a good knife, it's enough to calm the angiest person in an instant.

Hector couldn't help but think.

And it was at this time that an answer finally came from his ears.

"You're proposing a thesis that needs to be answered in at least twenty feet of academic paper and unfamiliar words, not a question that can be answered in words, boy."

The answer to Hecht was the third and last person sitting at the round table, his former direct commander and now the most relied on deputy of the company: His Excellency Chron.

"Why do you say that?"

The commander of the 33rd Company deliberately leaned over so that he could listen to the teachings of the old commander face to face: the deflection of status did not change Hecht's attitude towards Chron, and he would even think that if his old commander intended to compete, then his position as company commander should actually belong to Chron, or any of the more than 200 Terra veterans in the entire Twenty-third Company.

"Because that's what it is."

Before Chiron could speak, Bayar, who was on the other side of the table, blinked, picked up his share of pastry, and replied slowly: although Hector did not remember Bayard as a person who would be passionate about all kinds of food, it was clear that when their Mother of Genes repeatedly carried a plate of exquisite pastries in public, and did not hide her love for these things, a concept similar to "tea time" became silently popular among the Dawnbreaker Legion.

Even Hector is no exception: when he's going to go fishing, as he said before, tea time can even be a legitimate reason.

But even so, Morgan's proud son felt that his battle brothers' imitation of the Mother of Genes was too much, after all, they consumed enough pastries a day to completely overwhelm an entire orc empire: after all, their Mother of Genes, although she always emphasized that proper caloric intake was a good civilization, she herself never seemed to eat too much in front of them.

So, wouldn't the massive consumption of gastronomy like his fighting brothers become a shoddy imitation that can be called profanity?

After eating today's thirtieth pastry, Hector couldn't help but be worried.

Opposite him, the unaware Bayar carefully explained the history of the Legion to the junior: as the first warrior of the Second Legion, he certainly had the qualifications to go through almost the entire War of the Unification of Terra.

"The reason is actually very simple, Hecht: the Second Legion fought side by side with the First Legion one hundred and thirty years before the concept of the Great Expedition first appeared, and although at that time, our relationship with them was more like that of a knight and his knight's servant, it is undeniable that as the two oldest Astarte Legions, we have indeed maintained more than two hundred standard years of cooperation and bonding with the Dark Angel Legion."

"Specifically, it should be about two hundred and seventeen years, and I can't remember the more detailed numbers: but what I can be sure of is that although the launch of the Great Expedition has made the relationship between the two legions indifferent, in the hearts of Terra veterans like us, the war to unify Terra is still a memory that cannot be erased."

Hecht looked at Chron, who was also a veteran of Terra, and received only a brief but firm answer.

"So, young man."

On the other side of the table, Bayard already showed a relaxed smile: the nostalgia for the old days clearly put him in a good mood, and the leftover half of the blueberry cake was set aside, occasionally attracting Hecht's intermittent gaze.

"Even for us two old fellows who came out of Divine Terra, the story of more than two hundred Terra standard years can be described in a few words to answer your question: the difficulty is a little too high."

On the sidelines, Bayar's words drew a silent chin from Chron: Hector noticed at this moment that as the unquestioned champion swordsman of the Dawnbreaker Legion, Bayar seemed to possess an indescribably immense prestige among all the Terra veterans.

Morgan's pride opened his mouth, only to feel a little dryness in his throat: he hoped it was because of the sweetness of eating too much pastry, rather than some kind of reverence for Bayard in his heart.

"You can do it another way, Your Excellency, just like we describe the Great Expedition: like 'Great', 'Awful', 'Barely Passing', or 'Getting By.'"

“……”

The two Terra veterans fell silent at the same time, and they looked at each other and smiled helplessly.

"That's all there is to say."

“…… What? ”

"The four words you mentioned, especially the last three, pretty much sum up the more than two hundred years we've spent with the Dark Angels: they're not always good comrades-in-arms, and getting along with them is nothing more than a bad mix of anger, dismay, and helplessness, and in most cases, getting by is the best adjective."

“……”

There was still a certain dazed and stunned look on Hecht's face, which was adorned with short silver hair, which caused the two Terra veterans to look at each other again, exchanging information with the light in their pupils.

Eventually, it was Bayard who spoke, swallowed the last of the pastry, and then enjoyed his drink leisurely: after all this was done, he leaned back in his chair, picked up his sword, and wiped it gently, like a white-bearded old man smoking a pipe by the stove, ready to tell a story to his juniors.

"In the beginning: at that time, even I was just a rookie who could not wield a sword or hold a gun steadily, and our legion gathered the first few hundred warriors to fight alongside the Dark Angels as apprentices, comrades, and auxiliaries."

"Oh, at that time, our two legions didn't actually have names, and the Dark Angels would be called the Serap, or the Celestials, but they liked the name First Legion the most."

"At that time, the empire was still confined to the continent called Ancient Asia, and the First Legion led us, who knew nothing, to march towards the land known as Europa: in their eyes at that time, we guys who came out of nowhere, were just a group of things that were no different from the so-called mortal auxiliaries, and even more needed to be supervised and guarded against."

"This vigilance has been in place for more than 200 years: and it is still today."

"The conquest of Europa was one of the most difficult phases of the entire war of unification, and our two legions fought side by side in that land for at least twenty years: it was during these years, in the eyes of the Dark Angels, that we, the soldiers of the Second Legion, finally distinguished ourselves from the mortal auxiliaries: after the defeat of Albion, they would even call us battle brothers in public."

"Let's be honest: at the time, we were even flattered."

At this, the two Terra veterans couldn't help but glance at each other, and then laughed heartily in Hecht's incomprehensible happiness.

"After that, there was nothing more to say: we continued to follow the First Legion at that time, constantly learning the art of war, and imitating them to build our own military system, during that time, we had cooperation, there were bloodless conflicts, and the new blood of the two legions even had large-scale brawls, which caused the relationship between the legions to decline."

"It won't be because the Lord of Humanity has not taken the two legions apart, and we and the Dark Angel can only endure each other's shortcomings and fight side by side: in the vast majority of cases, we are the ones who endure them, after all, the strength is not as good as others."

"Of course, the Dark Angels may not think so: in their eyes, they are the big brother who is reasonable and humble to us."

"The knights are always so blind."

"But to tell you the truth, the First Legion has indeed given us a lot of benefits, but they all have blades: one of the most typical examples is our psionic troops, which are actually inherited from the First Legion."

"Their gift?"

Hecht asked.

Bayar shook his head.

"No, that's what they don't want."

"The Lord of Mankind has lit up the path of psionic energy to the Dark Angels and us one after another, but they have gone much faster than us: when we were still in the stage of trying our best, among the Heavenly Army of the First Legion, there was a department specializing in psionic energy, the [Pentamang Heavenly Army]."

"But soon, the psionic research of the Pentamang Heavenly Army was unexpectedly frequent, so under the order of the Grand Mentor of the First Legion at the time: a figure whose reputation was comparable to that of the current Johnson, the Penmang Heavenly Army was abolished, and their technology and data were all handed over to us, so that we could continue to conduct research related to psionic energy."

"Oh......"

Hector nodded.

"So, that's why the Dark Angel Legion is now weak in psionic power."

"Part of it."

Bayar poured himself a second cup of tea.

"And something like this happened a few times after that: the First Army is a force born specifically for war, and they will take the initiative to study every path of war, but these paths may not all be suitable for them, so those research data that cannot be used, but still have practical value, are often taken over by our Second Army Corps in the end."

"That's why you're now seeing some strange legacies in the Legion: they're so unpopular that only a few people know about them, and they don't seem to have much to do with each other, but each one has its own power."

"This is what we have received from the First Legion, the art that the Dark Angels have abandoned halfway and been picked up by us, combined with the side of our battle, has given the Second Legion and the First Legion some kind of exceptional ...... Fit. ”

"Fit?"

"Yes, yes."

"In the last decades of the War of Unification of Terra, although we have not often fought side by side, we still have a good understanding and cooperation with each other, because it is only when our two Astarte regiments are united that the whole interpretation of the art of war is human."

"Otherwise, do you think that a group of guys who specialize in killing and destroying, but who disdain logistics, governance, command and dispatch, and psionic powers, as well as the necessary [diplomatic strategy], can really achieve a long-term victory?"

"Those legends also have a part of us."

At this point, the faces of the two Terra veterans were filled with a kind of arrogance that Hector could not understand.

"As the Palm Sealer said, my Hectar, I remember vividly how during a visit to the Second Legion by Machado boasted of our power and that of the Dark Angels: if the First and Second Legions could bring together everything they had in their heyday, their combination could even threaten the survival of the Praetorian Army."

"In its heyday?"

Morgan's pride was more interested in the so-called heyday of the Legion than the Forbidden Army, who had only heard of it but had not seen it with his own eyes, but unfortunately, even the two Terra veterans across from him seemed to be unable to answer this question effectively.

"We used to think that 50,000 men at the end of the War of Unification would be the heyday of the Legion, but now it seems that it is much more than that: at least we can expect Hecht, because the heyday of the Legion of the Daybreaker will be in the future, not in the past."

"No matter how bad it is, it won't be as bad as the first seventy years of the Great Expedition."

Chiron on the side suddenly spoke, interjecting for no reason, which made Bayar's eyes turn to him, and he retorted with a smile.

"Don't complain here, Chiron, you know: after the Great Expedition begins, and until the respective genetic protoplasms return, it's going to be bad, either for us or for the Dark Angels."

Hector blinked.

"But the Dark Angel Legion before His Excellency Johnson's return is obviously strong."

"That's just the surface, young man."

The Champion Swordsman of the Legion of the Dawnbreaker let out a good-natured taunt.

"The reality is: after the official start of the Great Expedition, the First Legion lost two Great Mentors in a short period of time, and their own Celestial Army structure has the hidden danger of internal instability, so after losing the last respected commander, for a long time, the entire First Legion could not even elect a Great Mentor who could serve the public."

"Even if they held a large internal meeting, and even invited the soldiers of the Second Legion as fair judges, they could not have come up with a proper result: in the end, it was the Seal Bearer who appointed a new Grand Mentor, and barely supported the return of Johnson."

"To be honest, the guest of the Second Legion at that time was even worried that he would be killed by this group of bastards because he witnessed the black history of the First Legion."

“…… Did his fears come true? ”

"No, he's still eating blueberry cake in front of you, telling the story."

Looking at Bayar's smile, Hector couldn't help but be in awe.

"So, Hecht, this is the story of us and the First Legion: although a new generation like you has gradually forgotten the bonds of the past, in the hearts of us Terra veterans, the Dark Angel is still different from the other legions, and the same is true for those veterans of the First Legion."

"Without touching the bottom line, we tend to fight side by side: if we face a request for help from other legions, we will come to our aid according to the situation, and in the face of the call of the Dark Angel Legion, we will do our best: so, Mother's mobilization is not hindered by us, because her purpose is the same as ours."

“…… The Dark Angel thinks the same way? ”

"Who knows what those bastards are thinking, but relatively speaking, at least the veterans of the First Legion are still willing to talk to us more, but given the long division within them, no one can estimate the actual movements of the Dark Angel Legion."

"I just hope that their genetic protoplasm can improve this division."

"As for the help of the First Legion: ha, don't expect these bastards, little ones, they have a thousand legitimate reasons to ignore our difficulties, and although we are their closest comrades, it is nothing in the face of their bastard nature."

"Still, if circumstances allow: even the most obedient Dark Angel veterans will not refuse our pleas for help: though their help is always on high and looks no different from handouts."

“……”

Hector nodded, but in his mind, there was one last question.

"Your Excellency Bayar."

"Say."

"If we have such a relationship and trust with the First Legion, why ...... I've never heard you guys mention it before, or even any of my predecessors? ”

“……”

Bayar raised his eyebrows, his face silent for a second, and then he was amused by this somewhat clever and somewhat silly question.

The champion swordsman took a slow sip of his tea, and his answer was equally slow.

"Remember that, Hecht."

"Common sense doesn't need to be emphasized all the time."

(End of chapter)