After the ceremony, Leo was led to a familiar room.
This was Lynn's office when she was in Forbidden Wall.
Leo changed back into the Brevis PDF General's uniform.
It's the same outfit, but wearing it feels completely different.
The former air of nobility has faded, replaced by a weathered composure.
He stood by the window, looking at the Forbidden Wall outside.
The door opened.
Gus walked in, carrying two cups of tea.
He placed one glass on the table, picked up the other, and sat down on the sofa.
"Sit."
Leo turned around and sat down opposite him.
Gus took a sip of tea and began:
" Luna St. Garus has officially taken control of the St. Garus Family."
It has the support of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the support of most of the paladins, and the support of the Knight Auxiliaries.
Leo's eyes dimmed slightly.
He knew what this meant; he had lost his family.
The family that gave him birth and raised him, the family he was so proud of, no longer belongs to him.
Unlike other whimsical young nobles, he didn't feel that his aura limited him.
He knew that without this halo, he would just be an ordinary general, or even just an ordinary soldier.
Therefore, the pain of such loss cannot be ignored.
Gus looked at his expression and put down his teacup.
"But don't worry, the governor said that as long as he's not around, you'll always have primary command of the Forbidden Wall."
Leo looked up.
"Thank you." His voice was sincere.
But the sense of loss remained; having lost his greatest haven, he couldn't be happy at all.
Gus stood up, walked over to him, and patted him on the shoulder.
"What if," he stared into Leo's eyes.
"There's an opportunity to get the St. Garus Family back on track. Will you seize it?"
Leo's pupils contracted sharply.
He stared at Gus without saying a word.
But that longing almost overflowed from his eyes.
Gus sensed Leo's longing and nodded.
" Luna, along with the Adeptus Mechanicus, did indeed control most of the paladins and their family's armed forces."
However, during your grandfather's many years of rule, a large portion of the population did not approve of her.
Those veteran paladins and their loyal vassal legions, and those who couldn't stand the Adeptus Mechanicus's meddling.
He took a sip of tea as he said this.
They're all waiting for one person.
"A person who is 'qualified' enough, someone who can go back and lead them, and get the family back on track."
Leo understood.
"The Governor also said so," Gus smiled.
"If you want to prove who is the true patriarch, then come to Saint Garus Castle and settle it with a duel. Whoever wins is the patriarch."
Leo fell silent.
He was thinking.
Doing so would damage the foundation of the family.
When the two factions fight, regardless of who wins, it will cause irreversible damage to the family.
However, it's better than letting the family be ruined by Luna.
That woman, corrupted by the Chaos Gods, colluding with the Adeptus Mechanicus, and trying to exchange STC for forbidden knowledge.
If she continues to control the family, St. Garus will eventually become a true traitor.
Leo hesitated for only 0.25 seconds.
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked in the direction of Saint Garus Castle in the distance.
That castle, the place where he grew up, his home.
He spoke, his voice low but filled with the determination of someone who had made up their mind:
My father often said...
Gus listened intently.
"A knight's death on the battlefield is an honor."
Leo turned around, and in his eyes there was no more hesitation, no more disappointment, only a blazing fire.
"Who would have thought I'd be harmed by villains, and now my family has nowhere for me to go."
He slammed down his teacup, making the table shake.
"It would be better to use the strategy of driving away the tiger to devour the wolf."
He stopped in front of Gus and clenched his fist.
"When I rise again, I will surely..."
Gus looked at the hand, then at the face.
The former nobility on that face had completely faded, replaced by a kind of arrogance he had never seen before.
"All heroes of the world bow down!"
Even with the Forbidden Wall in such turmoil, the Orks in Brevis didn't cause much of a stir.
The remaining Orks troops, numbering in the hundreds to thousands, still roam around the ice plains, looking for opportunities to fight.
But every time they peeked out, they were spotted by savage cavalry that appeared out of nowhere.
Those savages diligently followed the task Lynn had given them: searching for remnants of the Orks, marking their locations, and finally summoning the Frost Soldier with the help of the Priest of Frost.
The Frost Soldier surged out of the Ice Lotus, launching a fierce attack on the green Primarch like white blood cells.
There were no suspense or surprises, only one-sided slaughter.
Lynn would occasionally check the battle footage through Rena's link.
The Frost Soldier ' teamwork became increasingly seamless, and their tactics became more and more efficient.
This is thanks to the Tyranids's unique memory recovery ability.
If Rena wants, she can receive the combat experience of every Tyranids.
Through countless real-world experiences, the Zerg swarm can continuously refine and develop tactics that better suit its own playstyle.
Sometimes Lynn even felt that these creations, bred from Tyranids genes, were the ideal army.
There was no fear or hesitation, only absolute obedience to orders.
Through these continuous battles and biomass recycling efforts, Rena's favorability rating finally broke through seventy.
An ordinary night.
Lynn was reviewing documents in the Governor's office.
Each stack is at least one meter high.
He glanced at the mountain of documents, rubbed his temples, and continued working diligently.
" Isolde " sat in the corner, quietly flipping through a book borrowed from the Ecclesiarchy.
She has recently become very interested in history and culture, especially ancient texts with religious overtones.
The miniature Ripper huddled in Lynn's sleeve, only its tiny compound eyes peeking out, lazily dozing off.
Suddenly, Lynn felt something coming from the Ripper, as gentle as a feather brushing the surface of water.
He looked down at the little guy inside his sleeve.
The Ripper opened its compound eyes and was looking at him.
Those eyes seemed to have changed again.
" Rena?" he murmured to himself.
"Mmm," the cool female voice replied, "I'm here."
Lynn waited a while, wanting to see if anything changed.
When she turned fifty, Rena learned to think independently.
As she turned sixty, she began to become more and more like a "human," able to ask questions proactively and to feel a variety of emotions.
However, even after reaching 70 points of favorability, there doesn't seem to be any particularly noticeable change.
If I had to say, Rena is more like a human.
Her language became more natural, her reactions more responsive, and her understanding with Lynn reached a point where they could understand each other without needing to communicate.
Lynn looked at her and suddenly remembered something.
How long have he known Rena? From that dark pipe in Necromunda until now, it's been almost a year, hasn't it?
In just one year, a Tyranids warrior who only knew how to devour and kill has become what he is now.
He looked down at the tiny Ripper in his sleeve.
The little guy looked at him too, his compound eyes sparkling.
"What are you thinking about?" Rena asked.
"Thinking of you," Lynn answered honestly.
The Ripper narrowed its compound eyes, and several pink bubbles appeared on its head.
Lynn smiled.
Soon, Lynn found himself beginning to understand Rena's way of thinking more deeply.
As his connection with Rena's consciousness grew stronger.
Sometimes he could even vaguely sense what Rena's true thought process was like behind those simple words and emotions.
It was a vast, ruthless, and highly efficient Gestalt consciousness.
Like all Tyranids, Rena's core ideology is "devouring".
That's the fundamental reason for the Tyranids's existence, just like humans need to breathe and eat—it's not a choice, it's a "necessity"!
In that kind of mindset, there is no distinction between good and evil, right and wrong, only efficiency.
Devour the weak, and evolve yourself.
That's the same ideology as the Hive Mind.
Rena's mind could almost be described as "empty," but Lynn discovered something different.
Deep within those empty instincts, Lynn sensed something different.
This is not an instinct that any Tyranids should possess.
There is only one name.
Lynn Corvana.
When he sensed that name, his heart felt as if it had been struck hard by something.
That wasn't just simple love and dependence; Rena couldn't yet comprehend such complex human emotions.
But it's more complex than any other emotion.
Lynn looked down at the tiny Ripper in his sleeve, at its bright, gleaming compound eyes.
He couldn't help but laugh.
He reached out and gently touched the head of the Ripper.
The little guy rubbed against his fingers and made a soft, satisfied purring sound.
" Rena," he thought to himself.
"Um?"
"I love you."
Rena didn't understand the meaning of those three words, but she derived an unprecedented sense of satisfaction from them.
The goodwill rating, which would require a massive amount of biomass to even slightly improve, actually increased slightly because of these three simple words.