Thirty Years, Caliban, the Order of Knights

.

That's terrifying!

The Lion El'Jonson was still reeling from the shock he had just experienced.

As a warrior who devoted himself entirely to the Great Crusade and enjoyed the process of being a loyalist rather than the outcome, he never imagined that his Primarch would be so terrifying!

Horus's open expression of affection for the Emperor seemed a little too intense.

This matter became a hot topic of discussion throughout the entire Imperium.

A Primarch who constantly proclaims himself the First Returned Son spends a great deal of time recounting his and the Emperor's stories from their youth whenever a tactical meeting is held, and even organizes a "Great Learning of the Lunar Wolves" within the Lunar Wolves.

Could this guy really be involved with the Emperor [the text will be censored if I write it out]?

Wow!

What... what is all this?!

As a highly impactful and provocative topic, all sorts of rumors, news, and things that were best left unsaid spread widely throughout the Imperium.

The relationship between Horus and the Emperor seems to be the most talked-about topic among the vast majority of citizens of the Imperial World after a hard day's work.

It even surpasses the original theatrical characters, Fulgrim and Kasgar, becoming the most authoritative representative of the Centaur gold ring.

(Regression correction from the timeline)

"Where is the Terra War Council?"

"Aren't you going to just ignore it?!"

The Lion's roar was filled with fear and shame.

Are all Imperial Truth Propagandists idiots who only know how to eat Corpse Starch?

—Actually, I wanted to take charge.

But even if a conviction is to be made, there has to be a deadline.

Is it a heinous crime, deserving of imprisonment, to promote the idea that the Great the God-Emperor of Mankind and his most loyal Primarch have a good relationship?

As people living in the 30K era, especially on more advanced planets, they were merely preachers of Imperial Truth, not Inquisitor of the Imperial Inquisition.

As long as the descriptions aren't overly detailed, depicting things between the Emperor and Horus that shouldn't be described in detail, the preacher can't do anything about it.

In order to achieve a better presentation effect and prevent the audience from falling asleep, the presenter would even take the initiative to tell the audience some strange and interesting stories about the Emperor and the Primarch, in order to re-engage the audience's attention.

I heard the effect is quite good, and everyone likes it.

Therefore

—The Imperial Truth Propagandist did it too.

"Exterminatus!"

"They all need to be Exterminatus!!!"

The Lion devoted himself entirely to the great expedition and never tried to understand what those inside the Imperium were thinking. As a wild child born in the jungle, he didn't care about what others thought.

The Lion El'Jonson who doesn't understand human nature.

In fact, without his knowledge, the Caliban had already done this kind of thing before.

The Caliban did it all!

When Lion was still a knight of the Order of Knights of Order in Caliban, he and Lorgar were the two unparalleled heroes who hunted monsters and unified all the Order of Knights.

Their story is already widely known and familiar to everyone.

(Lorgar: "If today is the day you die, then I will live and die with you." — Caliban Anecdotes)

Of course, Lion knew none of this.

Lorgar didn't dare let Lion know any of this.

If it weren't for his need to run for Warmaster, the Lion wouldn't even care about those foolish mortal bureaucrats—after all, they'd only be interested in power struggles and mutual attacks.

The Great Crusade requires truly capable and willing individuals to meet the challenges that will arise during the expedition.

Instead of a bunch of foolish officials gossiping about other noble families every day.

The Lion believed that instead of spending time learning about the trivial matters of these mortals, it would be better to think more about the Xenos enemies he would face in order to better reduce the casualties of the Great Crusade.

Therefore, the books that were sent to him were piled up in his study and the flagship's library.

Of course, it's just a regular library, the kind that anyone can browse.

As for more secret books, what secret books?

The First Legion has no secrets!

But what should he choose?

"Become Warmaster! Lion, you're meant to be a Warmaster!"

No! Just thinking about such blasphemous thoughts is already as bizarre as a dream on Caliban!

When Warmaster sacrifices some of his personal desires, he can gain broader support from across the Imperium.

Sorry, I can't do that!

With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, the Lion stepped out of his house.

Fortunately, in order to terraform the surface of Scathian Planet and complete the final cleanup of the Scathia counterinsurgency campaign, the Legiones Astartes has been staying in near-Earth orbit these days, waiting.

He still had plenty of time to consider whether he should follow Horus's methods.

Lion: "."

Never mind, I'll just take a walk first.

He gently touched his forehead and walked towards the main bridge of the Invincible Reason.

Just then, an unexpected person appeared before him.

The other party was short, even shorter than a typical Astartes. He wore black, silver, and red armor symbolizing the Dark Angels, and his face, which seemed a bit more somber than the others, showed a look of surprise and complexity when he saw the Lion walk in front of him.

Lorgar, a semi-modified Space Marine of the First Legion.

He is also the adoptive father of Primarch Lion Aljonsen.

It was he who found Lion, who was still a wild man, in the jungle and raised him to adulthood in the Order of Knights.

After Lion demonstrated his extraordinary size and strength, the two fought side by side in the Order of Knights of Caliban, repelling wave after wave of Chaos Beasts and making indelible contributions to the Order of Knights.

But now their relationship is very strained.

Things are very different now.

After the Emperor found the Lion El'Jonson on Caliban, Lorgar joined the Dark Angels as a member of the Lion El'Jonson's Order of Knights, becoming a partially modified Astartes warrior. (He was too old to undergo full modification.)

That's right, Lorgar now should be considered a son of the Lion El'Jonson.

The wild child he picked up from the jungles of Caliban became his father.

Astartes, isn't that amazing?

Following the trajectory of son → brother → succession, Lorgar successfully transformed from the Lion El'Jonson's father into his son.

This is really embarrassing.

Even conjugate fathers and sons aren't conjugate like this!

What Lorgar found even more unacceptable was that he was originally a genius of the Order of Knights of Caliban, but after the Lion El'Jonson came along, all his brilliance was overshadowed by the other party.

He even had to call him "Dad".

It's hard to accept just thinking about it.

Moreover, the two had previously had a minor conflict.

During the previous expedition against the Sarosh Xenos, Lorgar discovered a nuclear bomb on the Legion's flagship, the Invincible Reason, that could potentially kill Lion.

Initially, his jealousy led him to quietly let the threat pass, intending to use it to kill Lion and thus become the de facto leader of the Legion, leading Caliban towards the light.

However, his conscience ultimately compelled him, with the help of the think tank Zaharel, to stop the countdown to the bomb.

However, it is also an undeniable fact that the Primarch hesitated when faced with the possibility of being killed by a bomb.

Lion discovered Lorgar's disloyalty, but he couldn't bring himself to truly punish him—after all, in the end, it was Luther who chose to save Lion's life.

The Lion harbored resentment and dissatisfaction towards Lorgar, but couldn't find a good solution.

The two sides remained deadlocked.

(The timeline of the original work has been slightly modified for plot purposes.)

This is actually not good news for the Dark Angels.

As the second most powerful figure in the Legion after Lion, Lorgar's influence has always been considerable, whether in Caliban's Order of Order or in the Order of Knights of the Dark Angels.

Without further intervention, Lion will soon choose to send him back to his home planet Caliban to oversee recruitment and training.

This is actually not strange to Lion.

Since Lorgar is dissatisfied with the Lion, let him be in charge of the Legion's recruitment and Caliban's daily management.

Then we won't see the Lion anymore, perfect!

However, from Lorgar's and his many subordinates' perspective, this order to keep them away from the battlefield was almost tantamount to a verdict that they would never be able to participate in the Great Crusade again.

This is tantamount to the Lion banishing them.

As events unfolded afterward, the rift between the two grew wider, and Lorgar ultimately chose to rebel against the Lion El'Jonson who did not understand human nature.

He contacted the Chaos Cult Sorcerer had infiltrated the planet, and with the blessing of Chaos power, he successfully gained power that was previously unimaginable.

Finally, just as the Lion El'Jonson was about to return to his home planet to recuperate after the Horus Great Rebellion ended.

He was then blown into the sky by a cannon shot by Lorgar, who had become the chosen one of the Chaos Gods, and slept in a stone for ten thousand years.

Lorgar, as the "Chief of the Fallen," will be imprisoned in the most heavily guarded Stasis Cell inside the Rock.

Of course, things won't necessarily go exactly as planned in the future.

For example, someone who suddenly learned the [Centaur gold ring] and decided to emulate Horus's the Lion is an exceptionally peculiar existence.

"Commander Lorgar, it's a pleasure to meet you."

After nearly half a second of silence, the Lion smiled and spoke.

Although Lorgar raised Lion, the two had always referred to each other as brothers since their Order of Knights.

Smiling.

The Lion smiled, still with that friendly and amiable smile.

This startled Lorgar.

"Lord Lion, what are your orders?"

"Order? Ah. No, no, no, we don't need to use such cold words as 'order' to communicate with each other."

After much internal deliberation, the Lion finally decided to go all out!

In order to become the most suitable candidate for Warmaster in everyone's eyes, the Lion El'Jonson decided to learn from Horus!

It's just about opening up to your closest people!

Is this something that is very difficult for the Lion to do?

"We. I—"

"I"

I can't bring myself to say it.

For some reason, even though he was about to say those words, Lion just couldn't utter a single one.

He simply kept opening his mouth and then silently closing it, without uttering a single effective word!

"I..."

The Lion's voice grew softer and softer, from its initial boastful pronouncements to its current silence.

Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder (SAD), is a subtype of neurosis characterized by excessive and irrational fear of a certain objective thing or situation.

Studies have found that it may be related to genetics and has a familial tendency.

(Excerpt from Baidu Encyclopedia)

Perhaps in the thirtieth millennium, human medicine will have made tremendous progress.

But no matter how much we evolve, it seems there's no cure for social anxiety.

There's really no cure.

For the Lion, social anxiety is his most prominent inherited trait as the Firstborn Son of the Emperor —he is socially anxious.

Unable to speak.

Originally, he had planned to give a long speech like Horus, talking about all sorts of things, and to build on the bond he had formed with Lorgar in Caliban, so that everyone else would understand that the Lion was not actually ignorant of human nature.

In my opinion, the Lion is the most suitable candidate to be the Warmaster, and he is fully capable of achieving the same level as Horus.

As for Lorgar, he was just a minor experiment!

If only I could cultivate a good relationship with the Emperor like Horus did.

If I could do that.

It's impossible.

Even though she was blushing, she couldn't bring herself to say anything about wanting to get closer to Lorgar.

"I"

"How about we walk down the hallway and talk? Lorgar, I have something I want to discuss with you."

"Yes, sir."

Seeing this, Lorgar could only nod slightly.

He knew the extent of the trouble he had caused in the recent battle.

His momentary lapse in judgment forced him to pay a heavy price.

Following in the Lion El'Jonson's footsteps, his heart was filled with trepidation.

"Ahem, have you ever heard of a play called 'The Centaur gold ring'?"

Arriving at the massive corridor leading to the bridge of the Invincible Reason, in this wide corridor that could allow twenty Astartes warriors to pass side by side, Lion suddenly spoke to Lorgar out of the blue.

As for the view outside the window on the other side of the corridor, those are colors from beyond the starry sky.

"Drama? Sir, I know nothing about drama."

As an upright knight, his daily work is to maintain the normal operation of the Order of Knights, while constantly maintaining his own combat training without any slackening.

He wouldn't have the energy or the inclination to watch plays or anything like that.

That's a very strange question.

After all, it's not just Lorgar; the entire Dark Angels is unlikely to have this hobby, as it's not part of Caliban culture.

"Lorgar, you don't really need to say that. Our relationship isn't that cold."

"Didn't we decide to fight side by side back when we were in Caliban's Order of Order of Knights?"

"How did we kill those powerful behemoths, unite all the Order of Knights, and ultimately eliminate the threat of all the behemoths?"

Hearing his mentor, who had once guided the Lion through countless trials, now so cautious and timid in his presence, Lion said with a touch of helplessness.

They addressed each other as "Your Excellency" and "Yes, sir," as if a pitiful, thick barrier separated them.

Wrong!

Lion seemed to have finally realized something was wrong!

As a guy with almost zero social skills, the Lion El'Jonson never even considered Lorgar's thoughts.

This was something he had never considered when making his decision before.

So, people do have feelings after all!

Will Lorgar feel bad about being a half-modified Astartes?

I haven't considered this issue.

Will he find it strange that his relationship with Lion has taken such a dramatic turn?

I haven't considered this issue.

It seems he had never thought about these situations before!

The Lion El'Jonson thought somewhat awkwardly.

"Lorgar, I wonder if you would be willing."

"But I think this is a great opportunity for us to get to know each other."

"My Grand Master has a great suggestion: the Phoenix Grand Theater is the finest hall in the Fulgrim and the Sons of the Emperor. If you're interested, we can go there together to watch the play 'The Centaur gold ring.'"

Although the Lion's social anxiety was even more severe than Old Man Huang's, his yearning for a better life still led him to invite Lorgar and the other Dark Angels to go and see for themselves.

"How do you say?"

"Lorgar?"

Seeing that there was no response for a long time, Lion looked behind him.

Those were the other person's terrified eyes.

Lorgar: ".?"

He was sweating profusely.

What did he just hear?

Is this something Lion Aljonson would say?

Was the person who just spoke to him Lion?

No.!

Absolutely impossible!

He is not Lion; some unknown entity is impersonating Lion!

"Don't come any closer!"

He cried out in terror.

In that instant, he drew his Power Sword from his waist, his eyes filled with extreme distrust as he looked at the other person.

"Demon! You're not Lion, who are you?"

"Lorgar, how could I not be—"

"Shut up, you devil! I know you disguised yourself as the Lion to lure me—though I don't know why you chose to become him, your disguise can't fool me!"

"Lion would absolutely, absolutely not say such a thing!"

If I had to describe it, it was like the look of extreme terror in Curze's eyes when he saw Kasgar on the ship.

Their eyes looked like they'd seen a ghost.

Seeing that the other party did not come forward, he immediately reached for the communication device next to his ear with his free left hand.

[Calling Dark Angels communication channel. Emergency. All Dark Angels Librarian members, please connect to the communication channel.]

[To reiterate, this is an emergency!!!]

"Brother Lorgar, I—"

Lion wanted to get closer to the other person.

But Lorgar ran off as fast as he could.

"Quickly, Zahariel!"

"Something's wrong with the Lion! Quickly call the Librarian!!!"

"Sir, what's wrong?"

To prevent causing too much unnecessary commotion, even Lorgar, who was in a state of panic, only called on the Legion's internal Librarian members.

Israfel, Zahariel, and countless others surrounded the Lion, scrutinizing it with strange looks.

There is no Chaos pollution.

Legion Librarian concluded.

As the First Legion that possesses the most secrets, and also the First Legion that ravaged their home planet Caliban during the Chaos, their understanding of Chaos far surpasses that of other Legions.

As for whether the Primarch was attacked by this Warp entity, they certainly were.

Wait, nothing?

"I don't know what you mean, Dark Angels."

The Lion paced back and forth among the uneasy Librarian members, saying, "I don't think inviting Lorgar, my longtime foster father and best brother, to the Phoenix Grand Theater is something I would never do."

Librarian: "."

Is there even one thing in that statement that the Lion would do?

For the entire Librarian team, what they were seeing was truly horrifying.

That's terrifying, it's like Horus.

Maybe you should just act normal.

"So what? Dark Angels, even you don't believe me?"

"Even you don't believe that I, Lion Aljonson, would decide to go to the Phoenix Grand Theater to see a play just because I'm thinking about my past relationship with Lorgar?!"

Well.

The think Librarian members looked at each other and exchanged glances.

Okay, kids.

This is not funny.

"What!?"

"The Lion El'Jonson is coming!?"

Kasgar, who was hunched over his desk dealing with numerous matters concerning the upcoming joint Expeditionary Fleet, gently put down his pen.

Did they ask him what he was there for?

Lion El'Jonson, a serious old man, is now the center-level builder, probably here to discuss strategic and tactical arrangements?

Or is it that he couldn't help but slap Nemiel earlier, and his hand is still sore from the impact?

"According to him, he came with Lorgar to the Phoenix Grand Theater on the Pride of the Emperor to see a play."

"What? Repeat that. What's he doing at our flagship?"

Kasgar was stunned.

Did I hear that right?

The sleek black and red shuttle traveled through the boundless universe and finally landed on the helipad of the brightly colored flagship with its wine-red hue.

Legion soldiers and honor guards from the Third Legion's Sons of the Emperor, along with Fulgrim and her Primarch Kasgar, were waiting at the boarding gate for this rare guest.

"This is a very kind invitation, Lion."

As the shuttle door opened and the giant in black armor stepped out, Fulgrim quipped, "I never thought the Lion would ever think highly of our art."

It seems the Lion didn't bring many people with him this time.

Apart from Lorgar, a few Terminator Knights who served as his personal guards, and Nemiel who followed the Lion El'Jonson wherever he went, the Lion El'Jonson had no other followers.

"Please forgive my previous shallow thinking, Fulgrim sisters."

Lion replied somewhat embarrassedly, "But I heard today that even the Horus brothers really enjoy your plays, which makes me yearn to see them."

Since Horus promoted it throughout the entire legion after reading it, it must have some merit!

"That's right! That's right!"

"Are you also here for the great [Centaur gold ring]?"

Fulgrim nodded excitedly.

"Come on, Lion brothers."

"The Phoenix Grand Theater is waiting for you."

She smiled and gestured forward.

Phoenix Grand Theater.

This is the central part of the Pride of the Emperor, and it is one of the few facilities in the entire Emperor's Children Legion, and even in all the Legiones Astartes, that can provide entertainment for the Legion's warriors and even servants.

The Pride of the Emperor carried a large number of artists, chroniclers and poets from Terra as they traveled to every corner of the galaxy.

Their observations and experiences, as well as the cultural learning from different planets, were transformed into beautiful poems, paintings, and plays by their talented minds, and performed and spread throughout the Phoenix Grand Theater and other human worlds.

An unimaginable artistic achievement.

Some legions may not approve of the Sons of the Emperor's behavior of wasting resources on other things.

But as the Emperor believed, humans are the pinnacle of creation, not merely machines capable of carrying out actions. Our Astartes warriors are not emotionless killing machines either.

If their emotions, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, cannot be fully released after the war, they are likely to accumulate and eventually lead to bitter consequences.

Now, Fulgrim and Kasgar lead Lion deeper into the Phoenix Grand Theater.

As for the other Dark Angels, they were led by the Sons of the Emperor Commander to their seats in the vast theater.

Fifteen minutes ago.

The Pride of the Emperor

"I never expected the Lion to choose to come to the theater, and specifically ask for the Centaur gold ring. What is he trying to do?"

Unable to make up her mind, Kasgar sought advice from Fulgrim.

This is too weird.

This made Kasgar somewhat hesitant to act rashly.

Horus, who normally only uttered the name of the Centaur gold ring when in a state of madness, inadvertently learned of the existence of this dramatic event.

It went from a momentary fit of madness to a constant state of madness.

Kasgar doesn't want to see the Lion El'Jonson become like that!

If that's the case, he might as well go and blow up Caliban himself.

"What are your thoughts, Fulgrim?"

"Thoughts?"

"Hey!"

Suddenly, a brilliant idea Fulgrim: "I have a great idea!"

Lorgar followed behind the Sons of the Emperor with some trepidation.

In truth, he still felt indebted to Lion for raising him into the beastly the Beast he is today.

He often wondered if his autism would have improved if his wife and daughter hadn't died so young, and if Lion had had a mother and sister (like Perturabo?).

But he never imagined that Lion would suddenly become someone who enjoys watching plays.

This had a huge impact on his worldview.

Some changes are fine; there's really no need for such a drastic change.

Lion's social anxiety and autism seem to have transformed into some kind of extreme social anxiety.

Lorgar had already taken his seat in the center of the Phoenix Grand Theater with the Sons of the Emperor.

He seemed a little uneasy—where was the Lion?

They went on stage.

As the surrounding lights gradually dimmed, the huge red curtain of the Phoenix Grand Theater was drawn back.

A huge figure walked out from the center of the stage.

That is not one of the most frequently appearing Primarch, Fulgrim.

It's the Lion!

The Lion!

However, he has now removed his bulky Power Armour and put on a noble knight's robe in the style of Caliban.

The Lion proudly raised its head, looking down with arrogance at the many Dark Angels and Sons of the Emperor present.

Lorgar had a bad feeling.

I have a very bad feeling.

"Next, please enjoy the new theatrical performance from the First Legion Primarch: 'Thirty Years, Caliban, the Order of Knights' ''"