Great Learning of the Lunar Wolves (Part 2)

Shock.

That was the only word in Gavril Loken's mind at this moment, the newly promoted Tenth Company Captain of the Lunar Wolves.

As a talented recruit, he had caught the eye of the Tenth Company's captain shortly after joining the Lunar Wolves, serving as his adjutant on the battlefield and racking up repeated merits.

Until the recent Dalit Xenos purge, where the original Tenth Company captain fell gloriously in battle.

And he, Gavril Loken, this rookie adjutant, was to take his place.

He was very nervous.

Today was his first day in office, and also a rare occasion when the Primarch, Lord Horus himself, summoned all their captains for a meeting.

In the past, Loken had only glimpsed this godlike Primarch from afar.

On the battlefield, his banner was a prelude to celebration, his war cry an unstoppable wolf's howl.

The Shepherd of Wolves had always been a ferocious great wolf.

But today, he had the fortune to stand alongside the other captains and witness this invincible god's approachable, humble, and amiable side.

What he saw today truly shattered his preconceived image of Lord Horus.

Loken thought to himself.

—Then he saw the projector start playing.

Good news: it shattered his preconceived image of Horus.

Bad news: it shattered it a bit too thoroughly.

The projection flickered up and down. After a subtitle in High Gothic popped up—[Centaur gold ring]—whose meaning was unclear, a magnificent theater suddenly unfolded before everyone's eyes.

A theater?

A play?

Centaur. Gold ring?

What does this mean?

The captains exchanged glances.

As first-time participants in the [Great Learning of the Lunar Wolves], they had expected a refined tactical lecture and breakdown from the Primarch Fulgrim herself, or perhaps from Kasgar.

Using the vast information capacity of the holographic projection, they would impart the Sons of the Emperor's guerrilla warfare essentials and training methods, bit by bit, capped off with a live demonstration.

Wasn't that how all learning materials worked?

But why did this projection... seem to be a play?

The holographic projection flickered, and the theater's perspective zoomed in rapidly.

Approaching the semicircular marble stage, framed by intricately carved stone arches, the crimson carpet laid out was vivid in color. Several bright lamps behind the red curtains on either side illuminated the splendid golden decorations on the theater's dome, making them gleam.

Gaudy and bright, resplendent and magnificent.

A theater decorated with the utmost luxury.

But what did this have to do with commanding a legion in battle?

"Could it be that Lady Fulgrim... grabbed the wrong storage device?" Torgaddon muttered quietly.

Beside him, Loken was inclined to agree with that notion.

But thankfully, the only thing grabbed wrong was a recording of a theater performance. If it had been some other kind of recording...

That would have been a bit too horrifying.

Awkward as it was, the footage continued.

This recording truly matched its title.

Fulgrim, as both performer and playwright, narrated in this opulent theater hall the story of how she and Kasgar spent [Thirty Years] together on [Chemos], exchanging [Centaur] [gold rings] with each other.

It had not even a shred of connection to guerrilla tactics.

Yet, for some reason, Horus did not seem inclined to shut it off or offer any commentary.

He just leaned quietly against the conference table, absorbed in watching Fulgrim's performance.

His facial expressions even rose and fell with the emotions of the characters in the play.

Horus looked deeply engrossed.

He really liked this.

Watching that Primarch, who stood as an unrivaled god in the hearts of the Lunar Wolves, Gavril Loken suddenly had an extremely blasphemous thought.

No. No, no, no.

No!

He immediately denied it.

As the Shepherd of Wolves of the Lunar Wolves, his goal was the Emperor's glorious future of unifying the galaxy!

The Great Crusade was an unprecedented eternal enterprise for all of humanity!

As the Emperor's most loyal son, the Shepherd of Wolves, Lord Horus, naturally swore to spread the Imperial Truth across the entire galaxy and liberate the scattered kin still oppressed by alien hands across the worlds—this was his lifelong goal!

Lord Horus was great!

He had long since cast aside those base pleasures and become a perfected being!

How could he possibly be interested in such a boring and vulgar love story!?

He wouldn't be like that vain peacock Fulgrim, muttering about some "Centaur gold ring" all day!

Definitely!

That had to be it!

But Lord Horus did not stop the playback as Loken had expected.

He watched intently.

All the way until the drama ended.

".Fulgrim!"

"You! Are forever↑, my↓—half↓-man↑-horse↑-seat↓!"

Fulgrim's acting ability seemed to be improving constantly.

Compared to the solo performance she had put on back on Chemos, this recording's performance seemed even more passionate.

If before it could only make one curl their toes through Ceramite armor, this time, even master-crafted Artificer Armor could be curled through as well!

"No matter where↑ you gallop↓ off to in the future↓! I will follow↑ you, by your side↓—!"

"This↑ is our 'promise'↓!"

With her cadenced, emotion-filled recitation, the crimson curtain finally fell.

[The End]

The psychic assault on all the captains of the Lunar Wolves finally came to an end at this moment.

Captain Loken's results in the Great Learning of the Lunar Wolves were not very satisfactory.

He didn't quite understand it.

But he was deeply shaken.

Staring at the final subtitle—[It is love! The power of love allows us to save this world]—Loken struggled to free his mind from the chaotic state it had just been in.

"It's over?"

Horus gazed at the finished projection, lost in thought.

As if, there was even a hint of lingering satisfaction.

"That was a truly splendid performance," Horus said. "It seems my sister is also a highly infectious performance artist."

He really liked this drama.

It reminded him of some of his own affairs.

But judging by the expressions of his captains, he was a bit reluctant to show it.

"Though it does seem to have nothing to do with command tactics."

"Captains, what are your thoughts on this?"

He tossed the ball to his captains.

"I still think it's most likely that Lady Fulgrim grabbed the wrong recording," Torgaddon said, voicing what most of the puzzled captains were thinking.

"I don't like this stuff. We're Space Marines. We're not interested in love stories like this," Abaddon said, frowning with disdain in his eyes.

(Actually, he liked it too.)

"What about you, Tenth Captain Loken? What do you think?"

Horus revealed a simple, honest smile and looked at the somewhat disoriented new captain.

"I'm not really sure."

"But maybe Lady Fulgrim was trying to tell us that even the Auxilia on Chemos could fight so well because of, uh, the power of love?"

Loken's throat felt dry as he spoke.

He was just an ordinary Space Marine; reading comprehension wasn't his strong suit.

His words drew another round of laughter from the assembled captains.

"The power of love, huh..."

Horus murmured with a smile.

"Centaur, gold ring..."

The paper airplane of childhood had finally flown back into his hands~