Warhammer 40: My Fiancée Fulgrim.

Chapter 158 Thirty Years, Caliban, the Knights.
Too scary!

The lion king was still reeling from the shock he had just experienced.

As a warrior who devoted himself entirely to the Great Crusade and enjoyed the process of being a loyalist rather than the outcome, he never imagined that his Primarch would be so terrifying!
Horus's open expression of affection for the emperor seemed a little too intense.

This matter became a hot topic of discussion throughout the entire empire.

A Primarch who constantly proclaims himself the Son of the First Return spends a great deal of time recounting his and the Emperor's stories from their youth whenever a tactical meeting is held, and even organizes a "Shadowmoon Wolf University Study" within the Shadowmoon Wolves.

Could this guy really be involved with the Emperor [the text will be censored if I write it out]?

Wow!
What...what is all this?!
As a highly impactful and provocative topic, all sorts of rumors, news, and things that were best left unsaid spread widely throughout the empire.

The relationship between Horus and the Emperor seems to be the most talked-about topic among the vast majority of citizens of the Imperial World after a hard day's work.

It even surpasses the original play characters, Fulgrim and Kasgar, becoming the most authoritative representative of the Centaur Gold Ring.

(Regression correction from the timeline)
"Where is the Terra War Council?"

"Aren't you going to just ignore it?!"

The lion's roar was filled with fear and shame.

Are all Imperial Truth Propagandists idiots who only know how to eat corpse starch?
—Actually, I wanted to take charge.

But even if a conviction is to be made, there has to be a deadline.

Is it a heinous crime, deserving of imprisonment, to promote the idea that the Great Emperor of Man and his most loyal Primarch have a good relationship?

As people living in the 30K era, especially on more advanced planets, they were merely preachers of Imperial truth, not judges of the Imperial Inquisition.

As long as the descriptions aren't overly detailed, depicting things between the Emperor and Horus that shouldn't be described in detail, the preacher can't do anything about it.

In order to achieve a better presentation effect and prevent the audience from falling asleep, the presenter would even take the initiative to tell the audience some strange and interesting stories about the Emperor and the Primarch, in order to re-engage the audience's attention.

I heard the effect is quite good, and everyone likes it.

so
—The Imperial Truth Propagandist did it too.

"Extermination order!"

"They all need to be exterminated!!!"

The lion devoted himself entirely to the great expedition and never tried to understand what those inside the empire were thinking. As a wild child born in the jungle, he didn't care about what others thought.

The Lion King who doesn't understand human nature.

In fact, without his knowledge, the Caliban had already done this kind of thing before.

The Caliban did it all!

When Ryan was still a knight of the Order of Order in Caliban, he and Luther were the two unparalleled heroes who hunted monsters and unified all the knightly orders.
Their story is already widely known and familiar to everyone.

(Luther: "If today is the day you die, then I will live and die with you." — Caliban Anecdotes)

Of course, Ryan knew none of this.

Luther didn't dare let Ryan know any of this.

If it weren't for his need to run for warlord, the Lion wouldn't even care about those foolish mortal bureaucrats—after all, they'd only be interested in power struggles and mutual attacks.

The Great Expedition requires truly capable and willing individuals to meet the challenges that will arise during the expedition.

Instead of a bunch of foolish officials gossiping about other noble families every day.

The lion believed that instead of spending time learning about the trivial matters of these mortals, it would be better to think more about the alien enemies he would face in order to better reduce the casualties of the Great Expedition.

Therefore, the books that were sent to him were piled up in his study and the flagship's library.

Of course, it's just a regular library, the kind that anyone can browse.

As for more secret books, what secret books?

The First Legion has no secrets!

But what should he choose?
"Become a War Commander! Ryan, you're meant to be a War Commander!"

No! Just thinking about such blasphemous thoughts is already as bizarre as a dream on Caliban!

When a war commander sacrifices some of his personal desires, he can gain broader support from across the empire.

Sorry, I can't do that!

With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, the lion stepped out of his house.

Fortunately, in order to terraform the surface of Scacia and complete the final cleanup of the Scacia counterinsurgency campaign, the Astartes Legion has been staying in near-Earth orbit these days, waiting.

He still had plenty of time to consider whether he should follow Horus's methods.

Ryan: "."

Never mind, I'll just take a walk first.

He gently touched his forehead and walked towards the main bridge of the Invincible Rationality.

Just then, an unexpected person appeared before him.

The other party was short, even shorter than a typical Astartes. He wore black, silver, and red armor symbolizing the dark angels, and his face, which seemed a bit more somber than the others, showed a look of surprise and complexity when he saw the lion walk in front of him.

Luther, a semi-modified Space Marine of the First Legion.

He is also the adoptive father of Primarch Ryan Aljonsen.

It was he who found Ryan, who was still a wild man, in the jungle and raised him to adulthood in the Knights.

After Ryan demonstrated his extraordinary size and strength, the two fought side by side in the Knights of Caliban, repelling wave after wave of Chaos Beasts and making indelible contributions to the Knights.

But now their relationship is very strained.

Things are very different now.

After the Emperor found the Lion King on Caliban, Luthor joined the Dark Angels as a member of the Lion King's knightly order, becoming a partially modified Astartes warrior. (He was too old to undergo full modification.)
That's right, Luther now should be considered a son of the Lion King.

The wild child he picked up from the jungles of Caliban became his father.

Astartes, isn't that amazing?
Following the trajectory of son → brother → succession, Luther successfully transformed from the lion king's father into his son.

This is really embarrassing.

Even conjugate fathers and sons aren't conjugate like this!

What Luther found even more unacceptable was that he was originally a genius of the Knights of Caliban, but after the Lion King came along, all his brilliance was overshadowed by the other party.

He even had to call him "Dad".

It’s hard to accept just thinking about it.

Moreover, the two had previously had a minor conflict.

During the previous expedition against the Sarosh Xenomorphs, Luther discovered a nuclear bomb on the Legion's flagship, the Invincible Rationality, that could potentially kill Ryan.

Initially, his jealousy led him to quietly let the threat pass, intending to use it to kill Ryan and thus become the de facto leader of the Legion, leading Caliban towards the light.

However, his conscience ultimately compelled him, with the help of the think tank Zaharel, to stop the countdown to the bomb.

However, it is also an undeniable fact that they hesitated when faced with the possibility of their Primarch being killed by a bomb.

Ryan discovered Luther's disloyalty, but he couldn't bring himself to truly punish him—after all, in the end, it was Luther who chose to save Ryan's life.

The lion harbored resentment and dissatisfaction towards Luther, but couldn't find a good solution.

The two sides remained deadlocked.

(The timeline of the original work has been slightly modified for plot purposes.)
This is actually not good news for the Dark Angels.

As the second most powerful figure in the Legion after Ryan, Luther's influence has always been considerable, whether in Caliban's Order of Order or in the Legion of the Dark Angels.

Without further intervention, Ryan will soon choose to send him back to his home planet Caliban to oversee recruitment and training.

This is actually not strange to Ryan.

Since Luther is dissatisfied with the Lion, let him be in charge of the Legion's recruitment and Caliban's daily management.

Then we won't see the lion anymore, perfect!

However, from Luther's and his many subordinates' perspective, this order to keep them away from the battlefield was almost tantamount to a verdict that they would never be able to participate in the Great Crusade again.

This is tantamount to the lion banishing them.

As events unfolded afterward, the rift between the two grew wider, and Luther ultimately chose to rebel against the Lion King who did not understand human nature.

He contacted the Chaos Cult sorcerers who had infiltrated the planet, and with the blessing of Chaos power, he successfully gained power that was previously unimaginable.

Finally, just as the Lion King was about to return to his home planet to recuperate after the Horus Rebellion ended.
He was then blown into the sky by a cannon shot by Luther, who had become the chosen one of the Chaos Gods, and slept in a stone for ten thousand years.

Luther, as the "Chief of the Fallen Angels," will be imprisoned in the most heavily guarded Stasis Cell inside the giant rock.

Of course, things won't necessarily go exactly as planned in the future.

For example, someone who suddenly learned the [Centaur Gold Ring] and decided to emulate Horus's lion is an exceptionally peculiar existence.

"Commander Luther, it's a pleasure to meet you."

After nearly half a second of silence, the lion smiled and spoke.

Although Luther raised Ryan, the two had always referred to each other as brothers since their time in the Knights.

Smiling.

The lion smiled, still with that friendly and amiable smile.

This startled Luther.

"Lord Ryan, what are your orders?"

"Order? Ah. No, no, no, we don't need to use such cold words as 'order' to communicate with each other."

After much internal deliberation, the lion finally decided to go all out!
In order to become the most suitable candidate for war commander in everyone's eyes, the Lion King decided to learn from Horus!

It's just about opening up to your closest people!

Is this something that is very difficult for a lion to do?

"We. I—"

"I"

I can't bring myself to say it.
For some reason, even though he was about to say those words, Ryan just couldn't utter a single one.

He simply kept opening his mouth and then silently closing it, without uttering a single effective word!

"I..."

The lion's voice grew softer and softer, from its initial boastful pronouncements to its current silence.

Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder (SAD), is a subtype of neurosis characterized by excessive and irrational fear of a certain objective thing or situation.

Studies have found that it may be related to genetics and has a familial tendency.

(Excerpt from Baidu Encyclopedia)
Perhaps in the thirtieth millennium, human medicine will have made tremendous progress.

But no matter how much we evolve, it seems there's no cure for social anxiety.

There's really no cure.

For a male lion, social anxiety is his most prominent inherited trait as the eldest son of the emperor—he is socially anxious.

speechless.

Originally, he had planned to give a long speech like Horus, talking about all sorts of things, and to build on the bond he had formed with Luther in Caliban, so that everyone else would understand that the lion was not actually ignorant of human nature.

In my opinion, the Lion is the most suitable candidate to be the War Master, and he is fully capable of achieving the same level as Horus.

As for Luther, he was just a minor experiment!

If only I could cultivate a good relationship with the Emperor like Horus did.
If I could do that.
Can't do it.

Even though she was blushing, she couldn't bring herself to say anything about wanting to get closer to Luther.

"I"

“How about we walk down the hallway and talk? Luther, I have something I want to discuss with you.”

"Yes, as ordered."

Seeing this, Luther could only nod slightly.

He knew the extent of the trouble he had caused in the recent battle.

His momentary lapse in judgment forced him to pay a heavy price.

Following in the lion king's footsteps, his heart was filled with trepidation.

"Ahem, have you ever heard of a play called 'The Centaur Gold Ring'?"

Arriving at the massive corridor leading to the bridge of the Invincible Rational, in this wide corridor that could allow twenty Astartes warriors to pass side by side, Ryan suddenly spoke to Luther out of the blue.

As for the view outside the window on the other side of the corridor, those are colors from beyond the starry sky.

"Drama? Sir, I know nothing about drama."

As an upright knight, his daily work is to maintain the normal operation of the knightly order, while constantly maintaining his own combat training without any slackening.

He wouldn't have the energy, nor the inclination, to watch plays or anything like that. It's a strange question.

After all, it's not just Luther; the entire Dark Angels Legion is unlikely to have this hobby, as it's not part of Caliban culture.

“Luther, you don’t really need to say that. Our relationship isn’t that cold.”

"Didn't we decide to fight side by side back when we were in Caliban's Order of Order?"

"How did we kill those powerful behemoths, unite all the knightly orders, and ultimately eliminate the threat of all the behemoths?"

Hearing his mentor, who had once guided the lion through countless trials, now so cautious and timid in his presence, Ryan said with a touch of helplessness.

They addressed each other as "Your Excellency" and "Yes, sir," as if a pitiful, thick barrier separated them.

wrong!

Ryan seemed to have finally realized something was wrong!
As a guy with almost zero social skills, the Lion King never even considered Luther's thoughts.

This was something he had never considered when making his decision before.

So, people do have feelings after all!

Will Luther feel bad about being a half-modified Astartes?
I haven't considered this issue.

Will he find it strange that his relationship with Ryan has taken such a dramatic turn?
I haven't considered this issue.

It seems he had never thought about these situations before!

The Lion King thought somewhat awkwardly.

"Luther, I wonder if you would be willing."

"But I think this is a great opportunity for us to get to know each other."

“My Grand Master has a great suggestion: the Phoenix Theatre is the finest hall in the Forgrim and the Emperor’s Sons. If you’re interested, we can go there together to watch the play ‘The Centaur Ring.’”

Although the Lion's social anxiety was even more severe than Old Man Huang's, his yearning for a better life still led him to invite Luther and the other dark angels to go and see for themselves.

"what do you say?"

"Luther?"

Seeing that there was no response for a long time, Ryan looked behind him.

Those were the other person's terrified eyes.

Luther: ".?"

He was sweating a little.

What did he just hear?
Is this something Lane Aljonson would say?
Was the person who just spoke to him Ryan?
No.!

Absolutely impossible!
He is not Ryan; some unknown entity is impersonating Ryan!

"Don't come any closer!"

He cried out in terror.

In that instant, he drew his power sword from his waist, his eyes filled with extreme distrust as he looked at the other person.

"Demon! You're not Ryan, who are you?"

“Luther, how could I not be—”

"Shut up, you devil! I know you disguised yourself as a lion to lure me—though I don't know why you chose to become him, your disguise can't fool me!"

“Ryan would absolutely, absolutely not say such a thing!”

If I had to describe it, it was like the look of extreme terror in Koz's eyes when he saw Casca on the ship.

Their eyes looked like they'd seen a ghost.

Seeing that the other party did not come forward, he immediately reached for the communication device next to his ear with his free left hand.

[Calling Dark Angels communication channel. Emergency. All Dark Angels think tank members, please connect to the communication channel.]

[To reiterate, this is an emergency!!!]

"Brother Luther, I—"

Ryan wanted to get closer to the other person.

But Luther ran off as fast as he could.

"Quickly, Zaharie!"

"Something's wrong with the lion! Quickly call the think tank!!!"

"Sir, what's wrong?"

To prevent causing too much unnecessary commotion, even Luther, who was in a state of panic, only called on the Legion's internal think tank members.

Israfiel, Zaharil, and countless others surrounded the lion, scrutinizing it with strange looks.

There is no chaotic pollution.

Legion Think Tank concluded.

As the First Legion that possesses the most secrets, and also the First Legion that ravaged their home planet Caliban during the Chaos Wars, their understanding of Chaos far surpasses that of other Legions.

As for whether the Primarch was attacked by this unknown subspace entity, they certainly were.
Wait, nothing?
"I don't know what you mean, Dark Angels."

The lion paced back and forth among the uneasy think tank members, saying, “I don’t think inviting Luther, my longtime foster father and best brother, to the Phoenix Grand Theatre is something I would never do.”

Think tank: "."

Is there even one thing in that statement that a lion would do?

For the entire think tank team, what they were seeing was truly horrifying.

That's terrifying, it's like Horus.

Maybe you should just act normal.

"So what? Dark angels, even you don't believe me?"

“Even you don’t believe that I, Ryan Aljonson, would decide to go to the Phoenix Theatre to see a play just because I’m thinking about my past relationship with Luther?!”

Well.
The think tank members looked at each other and exchanged glances.

Okay, kids.

This is not funny.

"What!?"

"The Lion King is coming!?"

Casca, who was hunched over his desk dealing with numerous matters concerning the upcoming joint expeditionary fleet, gently put down his pen.

Did they ask him what he was there for?

Lion King, a serious old man, is now the center-level builder, probably here to discuss strategic and tactical arrangements?
Or is it that he couldn't help but slap Nemir earlier, and his hand is still sore from the impact?

"According to him, he came with Luther to the Phoenix Theater on the Emperor's Pride to see a play."

"What? Repeat that. What's he doing at our flagship?"

Casca was stunned.

Am I right?
The sleek black and red shuttle traversed the boundless universe and finally landed on the helipad of the brightly colored flagship with its wine-red hue.

Legion soldiers and honor guards from the Third Legion's Sons of the Emperor, along with Primarch Vograine and her companion Kasgar, were waiting at the boarding gate for this rare guest.

“This is a very kind invitation, Ryan.”

As the shuttle door opened and the giant in black armor stepped out, Fugrim quipped, "I never thought the lion would ever think highly of our art."

It seems the lion didn't bring many people with him this time.

Apart from Luther, a few Terminator Knights who served as his personal guards, and Nemir who followed the Lion King wherever he went, the Lion King had no other followers.

"Please forgive my previous shallow thinking, Forgrim sisters."

Ryan replied somewhat embarrassedly, "But I heard today that even the Horus brothers really enjoy your plays, which makes me yearn to see them."

Since Horus promoted it throughout the entire legion after reading it, it must have some merit!

"That's right! That's right!"

"Are you also here for the great [Centaur Gold Ring]?"

Fugrim nodded excitedly.

“Come on, Ryan brothers.”

"The Phoenix Grand Theatre is waiting for you."

She smiled and gestured forward.

Phoenix Grand Theatre.

This is the central part of the Emperor's Pride, and it is one of the few facilities in the entire Sons of the Emperor Legion, and even in all the Astartes Legions, that can provide entertainment for the Legion's warriors and even servants.

The Imperial Pride carried a large number of artists, chroniclers and poets from Holy Terra as they traveled to every corner of the galaxy.

Their observations and experiences, as well as the cultural learning from different planets, were transformed into beautiful poems, paintings, and plays by their talented minds, and performed and spread throughout the Phoenix Grand Theatre and other human worlds.

An unimaginable artistic achievement.

Some legions may not approve of the Emperor's Son's behavior of wasting resources on other things.

But as the Emperor believed, humans are the pinnacle of creation, not merely machines capable of carrying out actions. Our Astartes warriors are not emotionless killing machines either.

If their emotions, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, cannot be fully released after the war, they are likely to accumulate and eventually lead to bitter consequences.

Now, Fugrim and Kasgar lead Lane deeper into the Phoenix Theatre.

As for the other dark angels, they were led by the Emperor's Son Commander to their seats in the vast theater.

Fifteen minutes ago.

The Emperor's Pride

"I never expected the lion to choose to come to the theater, and specifically ask for the Centaur Gold Ring. What is he trying to do?"

Unable to make up her mind, Kasgar sought advice from Fugrim.

This is too weird.

This made Casca somewhat hesitant to act rashly.

Horus, who normally only uttered the name of the Centaur Ring when in a state of madness, inadvertently learned of the existence of this dramatic event.
It went from a momentary fit of madness to a constant state of madness.

Kaska doesn't want to see the Lion King become like that!
If that's the case, he might as well go and blow up Caliban himself.

"What are your thoughts, Fugrim?"

"Thoughts?"

"Eh!"

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her: "I have a great idea!"

Luther followed behind the Emperor's sons with some trepidation.

In truth, he still felt indebted to Ryan for raising him into the beastly human he is today.

He often wondered if his autism would have improved if his wife and daughter hadn't died so young, and if Ryan had had a mother and sister (like Peturabo?).
But he never imagined that Ryan would suddenly become someone who enjoys watching plays.

This had a huge impact on his worldview.

Some changes are fine; there's really no need for such a drastic change.

Ryan's social anxiety and autism seem to have transformed into some kind of extreme social anxiety.

Luther had already taken his seat in the center of the Phoenix Theater with the Emperor's sons.

He seemed a little uneasy—where was the lion?
They went on stage.

As the surrounding lights gradually dimmed, the huge red curtain of the Phoenix Grand Theatre was drawn back.

A huge figure walked out from the center of the stage.

That is not one of the most frequently appearing Primarchs, Fugrim.

It's a lion!

Lion!

However, he has now removed his bulky power armor and put on a noble knight's robe in the style of Caliban.

The lion proudly raised its head, looking down with arrogance at the many dark angels and sons of the emperor present.

Luther had a bad feeling.

I have a very bad feeling.

"Next, please enjoy the new theatrical performance from the First Legion Primarch: [Thirty Years, Caliban, the Knights]"

(End of this chapter)