As the Legion Flagship, the Abomination Exemplar truly lived up to the name of a Gloriana Class. It was on an entirely different level from those little skiffs.
Because the name was so cumbersome, Atlas's Canned Ones preferred to call her the Abomination. After all, the name suited her. The Second Legion was itself a Chimera with a bit of everything in it, and they hoped their ship would be just as powerful as they were.
Perhaps because they used the name so often, the Machine Spirit aboard the Abomination grew accustomed to it. It even gradually picked up Atlas's bandit habits and began gobbling down little Warp snacks.
Mordred was delighted by this phenomenon. It gave him the feeling of raising a daughter. With those above setting an example for those below, vast numbers of Warp Creatures were captured by the Abomination every day.
Among those unlucky creatures, more unusual specimens were selected. After suffering merciless beatings, they were used to make Enchanted Weapons for cultivation, while some were directly absorbed by Atlas.
The remaining defective products would not be wasted either. They were all thrown into the Chaos Energy Furnace Mordred had developed and burned to produce Chaos Energy Crystals for the Legion.
Through scientifically rigorous testing, the Arch-Magos discovered that these Chaos Energy Crystals were extremely beneficial to Atlas's growth. Combined with the Gene-Seed of other Legions, they could greatly improve compatibility efficiency.
Thus, whenever they entered Warp Voyage, the Space Marines of the Second Legion became especially excited. After all, catching one flashy Daemon meant that more of their brothers would be born.
Daemons fed on the souls of living beings and extreme emotions, while Atlas did the opposite, growing stronger by devouring Daemons.
Under this philosophy, not only Atlas's Space Marines, but even the Auxilia and the ship's residents began following the example from above.
Some Void Children even came up with the wondrous idea of cultivating Psychedelic Mushroom beside the Chaos Energy Furnace.
As for what Psychedelic Mushroom was, its name said it all. It was a by-product of Mordred's research into the Super Mushrooms from his own homeland.
When ordinary people ate it, they really could see little people. Even Space Marines, with their superhuman bodies, experienced a strange reaction resembling drunkenness after consuming it.
In Mordred's eyes, these little pink mushrooms were, at most, ingredients for brewing alcohol and rolling cigarettes. He had not paid them any attention and had simply tossed them onto the ship to grow alongside the other mushrooms. Who could have known they would cause such trouble?
After learning what had happened, Mordred took it extremely seriously. He immediately arrested the young men who had stolen his mushrooms, only to be left dumbfounded afterward.
The good news was that the stuff was not addictive. Its effect on cats was similar to catnip's. Moreover, it was not only harmless, but also allowed ordinary people to slowly absorb Fel Energy, making them more compatible with the Second Legion's Gene-Seed.
The bad news was that people exposed to Fel Energy radiation for extended periods would turn into idiots.
This result left Mordred utterly devastated. Judging from everything that had happened before, the Emperor had clearly not told the truth. He had definitely stuffed more than one thing into his own body, which was why his Gene-Seed was so bizarre as well.
"Am I even human?"
But becoming an idiot was still better than mutating. Besides, the stuff reduced the chances of the crew being corrupted by the Warp. It could be considered an unusual method of fighting poison with poison. Mordred therefore stopped worrying about it and continued researching new mushroom varieties.
After all, Warp Voyage was extremely boring, and the Learning Machine Mordred loved had been hacked apart by the Emperor. He could only conduct some Blasphemous Experiments to relieve his boredom.
However, what looked perfectly normal to him appeared entirely different in the eyes of others.
Looking at the mushroom vendors everywhere on the Lower Levels, Alpharius became convinced that this was one of Mordred's methods of controlling mortals—a blasphemous act that polluted the human gene.
That was right. The Captain Jerry who had previously coordinated with Mordred was actually Alpharius in disguise.
As Malcador's favored student, Alpharius was deeply versed in the ways of espionage. He never showed his true face in public and relied entirely on aliases when traveling outside. He had come this time to observe his brother from the shadows.
Just as he had been present whenever another Primarch returned to the Imperium, Alpharius enjoyed the wonderful experience of observing from behind the scenes and investigating little secrets.
Recalling the strange, half-smiling expression on the Arch-Magos's face when he learned that Alpharius had completely infiltrated the Second Legion, Alpharius felt deeply dissatisfied.
Old Ones, how many people does Atlas have in total? My men make up a full tenth of them, and you still dare mock me? You truly have no idea what you're talking about!
The infiltrator hidden in the shadows began to move. Alpharius had indeed not lied to Mordred—the thousand Space Marines he had brought were perfectly fine. The one with a problem was not the Space Marines, but the Primarch himself!
Alpharius, whose inner life was extraordinarily rich, could not help wanting to laugh whenever he thought about how he had toyed with his stupid Second Brother.
Second Brother Mordred, Second Brother Mordred. You aren't that wild dog Russ, nor are you one of those freaks from the First Legion. How will someone as dull-witted as you ever discover me?
My foolish brother! Mere imitation cannot make a Legion powerful. Just look at what I've discovered—a group of descendants of our other brothers who are similar, yet not quite the same. You're simply deceiving yourself!
The tall warrior kept his face expressionless as he strolled through the ship. He did not even need to conceal himself; his identification code allowed him to pass unhindered.
The only beings who made him wary were the abhumans known as the Dog-men. Those big dogs had astonishingly keen senses of smell. Fortunately, their minds were simple, and he had managed to bluff his way past one of them. He had even gained the friendship of their leader.
According to that most favored offspring of his, the Dog-man he had met in the mess hall was named Rambo. He was Mordred's favored student and one of the eight Great Commanders of the Dog-men.
Alpharius could barely hold back his laughter. No wonder he had become his Second Brother's favored student. That foolish personality was practically identical.
No, at least the Dog-men aren't hypocritical like Mordred. He conducts Blasphemous Experiments every day, yet acts so self-righteously. He practically doesn't take the Imperial Truth seriously at all.
Come to think of it, should I recruit some Dog-men into the Legion later?
Using his mind for several things at once, Alpharius wandered through the ship, nodding to other Space Marines whenever he encountered them. But careful observation would reveal that he was not wandering aimlessly. He was following a trail of marks.
As one of the Clover, the Hydra Legion, which specialized in covert operations, naturally had its own cipher system. As a Primarch, Alpharius needed no explanation—deciphering these things was child's play.
Excellent. As expected of my proudest offspring, he actually managed to innovate, blending the First Legion's characteristics into the cipher. One layer wrapped around another—interesting!
Look here. He even mixed in metaphors from the Dog-men's native language. But doesn't that make things overly complicated? I'll have to educate him properly later. He absolutely must not pick up too many of the First Legion's bad habits.
Following the cipher's directions, Alpharius had already deciphered seventeen successive codes and was growing somewhat impatient. In the end, however, he arrived at an alley on Deck Four and slipped through a concealed secret door in a flash.
Then he saw display screens covering the entire room. The person shown on every screen was himself.
In the blink of an eye, Alpharius retreated without hesitation. But someone was faster. A large hand descended through the air and firmly pressed down on his head.
The breathing behind him dispelled his last hopes of getting lucky, followed by a greeting:
"Yo, isn't this the Empire's runaway princess, Miss Alpharius?"
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