Astonishing Wisdom

During the few days spent on Terra, Hogg and Leman Russ got along the best; the two were birds of a feather, both being absolute pranksters.

After being beaten up by Plankton, Perturabo's anger had dissipated. In truth, he didn't harbor any hatred for Hogg in his heart; he just found him infuriating to look at.

When the Iron Blood was completed, Perturabo left Terra. Before departing, he gave Hogg another beating, and in a pleasant mood, he tossed a communicator to him, saying that if he was about to die, he could call him to collect the corpse.

This moved Hogg deeply. In front of a group of Fourth Legion warriors, he hugged Perturabo's thigh and wailed, "Pepe loves me!" This angered Perturabo so much he nearly used the ship's cannons to blast the disgraceful thing to pieces.

Time spent together is always short. Angron returned to his legion and followed Horus on the Great Crusade, and Leman Russ returned to his home world, Fenris. Only Hogg and Magnus remained on Terra as Primarchs.

"Little Mag, do you know what color a sunburned Ogryn turns? The answer is red," the bored Hogg could only pester Magnus.

"I will say this again: Ogryns do not turn red when sunburned, they only turn black. Furthermore, my skin tone is natural; I am not an Ogryn."

The furious Magnus really wanted to beat Hogg up, but he couldn't win, so he had to let the shorty follow him around.

"Go pester our father; I have work to do." Unable to win, Magnus could only pray for Hogg to stay away from him, but Emperor had ordered Hogg to help him resolve the mutation issues within the Thousand Sons.

"By the way, Little Mag, what have you been using your psychic powers for these past few days? I can't make heads or tails of it."

"I am using psychic powers to solve the mutation issues within the legion. It is normal for a shapeshifting Ogryn like you not to understand such profound things. Besides, you probably couldn't learn such deep psychic knowledge anyway."

Magnus spoke, his words filled with disdain for Hogg's intelligence.

Hearing Magnus's words, Hogg almost laughed in anger. Currently, within Imperium, aside from Emperor, he was arguably the most skilled at biotechnology. Yet, he was being looked down upon by a sunburned Ogryn who appeared to possess 'world-shaking wisdom' for having no brain.

"Say, Magnus, have you ever considered the possibility that I might be a scientist proficient in biological modification?"

"Ha!" The nearly five-meter-tall Magnus was amused by the shorty at his feet. He lifted Hogg up with both hands to examine him carefully, then shook his head.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! I appreciate your good intentions, but I have already found a solution in The Great Ocean, and now I am in the preliminary verification stage."

"Don't tell me you saw some psychic sprites, or some spirit entity you're trading with," Hogg asked, his scalp tingling.

"?" How did you know? Could Father have told you? But I haven't even informed Father yet."

His response made Hogg marvel that he truly was a sunburned Ogryn. When he saw Magnus with both eyes intact, Hogg had thought Little Mag hadn't been deceived by Tzeentch yet, but who would have thought this guy was already addicted to Tzeentch's scheme.

"Magnus, I believe what you encountered are Warp daemons, not some sprites. Furthermore, the things fighting the Blackwatch on Nuceria were Warp daemons, just red ones."

Hogg didn't give him any face and ruthlessly exposed the truth, but Magnus, already addicted to the deception, didn't care.

"First, I must correct your terminology; they are merely benevolent spirits of the Warp. Second, when you first arrived, I noticed that terrifying, disgusting shadow of yours, but as your brother, I said nothing. However, you cannot slander my research and the benevolent spirits."

The angry Magnus did not like Hogg's words.

Magnus's stubbornness was laughable; in fact, Hogg actually laughed out loud.

"Haha! Damn, this is too interesting. This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Seriously, if you want to refute me, take me to see what these so-called sprites are."

Hogg's words completely enraged Magnus. As a profound scholar, even Emperor held him in high regard.

Having used psychic powers to communicate remotely with Emperor since childhood, he had begun exploring The Great Ocean when he was young, and he had even led his home world to fully apply psychic technology.

Hogg's words completely negated his achievements, which the proud Magnus could not tolerate.

"Fine, I will show you the great power of The Great Ocean and the benevolent spirits, and use them to shut your mouth and let you see your own ignorance."

A massive psychic surge flowed through Magnus's body, and a spell was completed instantly with his superb technique. A Warp portal appeared before them, and the two stepped through the gateway, arriving at a place that resembled a fairy-tale wonderland.

Sprites with butterfly wings and petite bodies danced among the flowers, tall fruit trees were laden with bright and delicious fruits, and unknown animals ran across the fields.

Everything was so beautiful; anyone seeing this scenery would feel relaxed, as if they had arrived at a religious heaven, making one not want to leave.

"Do you see? How could such a beautiful and peaceful place be the home of the daemons you speak of? I admit there are some behemoths in The Great Ocean, but there are no daemons at all."

After speaking, Magnus went under a fruit tree, picked a fruit, and put it in his mouth, even thoughtfully giving one to Hogg.

Hogg held the delicious fruit in his hand, turned his head, and saw Magnus eating it in large bites, fresh red juice flowing from the corners of his mouth. He felt completely unwell.

Wiping the juice splashed on his mouth, Magnus looked at the silent, twisted-looking Hogg and let out a triumphant laugh.

He must have realized his ignorance by now, perhaps feeling ashamed and wanting to apologize to me.

In a great mood, Magnus picked a few more fruits and chewed them loudly, and even the little sprites flying in the air landed on his head to play, which made Hogg's expression even more twisted.

Forcing himself to control the churning in his stomach, Hogg examined the fruit in his hand. After a moment of deliberation, he said:

"You eat, brother, I'm full!! I've never admired anyone in my life, but today I've seen it all. Brother, I'm impressed; you are truly a badass."

The high-spirited Magnus believed this was Hogg being unable to save face and starting to soften his stance. He decided to let his brother see more and completely change his view of The Great Ocean.

"Brother, I admire your attitude of admitting your mistakes; you already possess the most basic qualities of a scholar. I am starting to believe you are a scientist. Next, I will take you to other areas for a proper tour. I believe you will definitely be able to understand what I've said."

"Ah!! There's more to come." Hogg no longer held any hope for the subsequent attractions.