Darkness and Glory

As the Knight Grand Master of the First Legion, Luther knew very well the implications of the arrival of this young Penitent Knight.

His formidable fighting prowess and his absolutely rational and efficient combat style won him the attention and favor of most of the Lion's men.

It was precisely because of this that he had a tremendous impact on the entire First Legion.

Within the First Legion, whether they were seasoned veterans or Recruits had only recently Legion,

They all began to learn from Aequus, consciously or unconsciously.

Lion El'Jonson condoned this, turning a blind eye to it entirely.

Seeing the First Legion increasingly derailed, Luther could not tolerate this change.

In his view, more and more people were learning from Aequus, to the point that the First Legion was gradually forgetting its honor.

Or rather, as they delve deeper into Aequus's theories.

Their understanding of how to obtain and interpret honor became increasingly inconsistent with traditional Chivalry.

For an old Knights like Luther, this was absolutely intolerable.

He had initially thought the Father of Night would have some other profound insights, but now it seemed that the source of all this was the Father of Night!

"Don't get so worked up, Brother Luther."

Luther... bro?

I have no interest in getting close to you.

"Alright, let's stick to business as usual, Knight Grand Master of the First Legion."

And so, in front of the Interrogation Room, the Father of Night and the Knight Grand Master engaged in a fierce debate.

Or rather, the arguments between the two sides in this debate were not heated, because the Father of Night only raised one question.

"Knight Grand Master, before Sanguinius returns, do you think highly of the Ninth Legion?"

"Before the Great Angel returned, the Ninth Legion was nothing but a bunch of Eaters of the Dead."

"So that means you're admitting that you can't accept the cannibalism of your own kind, right?"

So what?

"This is the answer, Knight Grand Master: Regardless of whether the enemy looks like a human, Abhumans, or a Xenos, if they eat people, then they are monsters."

"They are not human, they are not of our kind; those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts."

"What we need to do with those monsters is to exterminate them completely."

"But this does not mean the extermination of humanity!"

Do you think the world is peaceful now?

"Of course not, not every Planet is in Peaceful Star System."

"That settles it then. We're in the midst of Great Crusade, facing a chaotic world. Chaotic times call for harsh measures; we have no time to teach them child's play."

"Furthermore, Knight Grand Master, do you believe that the First Legion is now a force of honorable Knights?"

"Of course! I am always proud of my Legion!"

"Bullshit!"

What???

"Heh, everyone in the First Legion knows better than I do. As the Emperor's eldest son and the Emperor's most trusted Legion, the entire First Legion is the Emperor's black glove."

"You carried out many unseen missions, missions that weren't even allowed to be recorded in the Legion's history. Your Legion faced the darkness head-on. Do you really think that kind of war was honorable?"

"The First Legion Has No Secrets, and First Legion glory is beyond question!"

"So now the First Legion is torn between keeping secrets and pursuing honor, their minds are constantly conflicted, ultimately creating a group of people bound by Secrecy Agreements, is that right?!"

"Yes, you come from Caliban, from the Planet of Knights. You uphold the justice of Knights, but your justice is too idealistic, and your glory is utterly vulnerable in the face of the Imperium's realities."

"You can't even be honest with your own hearts."

"What Aequus did was extreme and cruel, but for humanity, for humanity today, it was a necessary means, and he acknowledged it."

"But what about you?"

Han Mingxuan's words were truly thought-provoking, causing all the Dark Angels present, including Lion El'Jonson, to fall into deep thought.

Lion El'Jonson knew his Uncle was absolutely right; he was the Emperor's eldest son, the Primarch's elder brother, and the standard-bearer of the Imperial Army.

Similarly, he is Knights.

As Knights, they pursued glory and the ideals demanded by Knightly Code.

However, the Emperor trusted them, so he entrusted them with many secret missions that could not be made public within the Imperium.

Of all the Legions in the entire Imperium, the First Legion has witnessed the most darkness.

That is precisely why their rationality and loyalty are so precious; after witnessing so much darkness, they still chose loyalty.

Without a doubt, this is great and noble.

The problem is that their loyalty cannot mask the inner turmoil within them.

The code of Chivalry that I have been learning since Knight Aspirant.

Compared to the dark truth of the Imperium, it gradually twisted their hearts.

Their glory is unknown to others, for it is their secret.

This is precisely why the First Legion constantly emphasizes honor and also keeps its secrets hidden.

In this way, one approach is blocked at both ends.

Perhaps the First Legion is undoubtedly the benchmark when it comes to dealing with the Imperium, but when it comes to honor and secrets, the First Legion is no less conflicted than the Iron Warriors.

"You..."

"Knights full of ideals can't even face his own conscience when confronted with reality, and you're going to blame my nephew?"

Lion El'Jonson looked at Aequus with an enigmatic expression.

Aequus, however, proudly raised her head.

"Uncle, I don't want anyone else to know what we talked about today, because it directly addresses the core issues of the First Legion."

So is this yet another new secret?

"At least until the reforms of the First Legion are completed, this is indeed a secret."

"Just tell me, Lion El'Jonson, what is the core problem of the First Legion?"

Lion El'Jonson remained silent for a long time.

Then he uttered a single sentence, a sentence powerful enough to utterly shatter the entire First Legion.

"What kind of Knights are we? By the standards of Chivalry, are our actions acceptable? By the standards of Chivalry, should Knights like us even exist?"

Dead silence.

All the Dark Angels present, including Luther, fell into an eerie, deathly silence.

Han Mingxuan just stared at Lion El'Jonson, the Dark Angels Lord who was jokingly referred to as having the appearance of an octogenarian.

She is conscious.

He was acutely aware of the problems within the First Legion, and he wanted to find solutions.

"You truly deserve the title of the Emperor's eldest son, Lion El'Jonson. Your questions are profound."

"Uncle, I'd like to know how you taught Aequus?"

"That's not important. After all, I can't let you join Gang. But I have a book to give you."

Book?

Then Han Mingxuan took out a book, which contained the Nonexistent Knight.

"You should finish reading this book first, and then we can discuss this issue in more depth."

Traitorous warlord: I might be a little dead.