"Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent! It's been ages since I've had wine this good! Burp—"
With flushed cheeks, Lion let out a cry of pure delight.
For a Primarch, this sensation—emptying his mind and feeling his whole body go light—was a rare luxury. The strange, exquisite pleasure of it was so intoxicating that even Lion found himself getting hooked.
So this was what alcohol felt like?
How fascinating.
Now he finally understood why that gang of barbarians under Russ clung to their rotgut day and night, always insisting on getting a few more swigs in. So that was why.
"Your drinking capacity is astounding, Warmaster! Hahahaha!"
Bruce praised him while pouring more wine.
"Compared to you, that Knight-Captain Robinson is already drunk after only a few cups."
"Ah, Robinson? That's just how he is! Hahaha!"
Lion laughed heartily and went right back to chugging.
By the time the Dark Angels had finished laying waste to the banquet, only a little sauce remained on the table. As for the bones? Eaten clean.
For an Astartes, that was hardly difficult. Some had even eaten the ceramic plates as well.
In a sense, everyone at the feast had gotten what they wanted.
There was no need to mention Lion—he was already floating high. As for the knights under his command, they'd completely exposed their disgraceful side.
And even so, Lion did not rebuke them. On the contrary, seeing the ugly spectacle his subordinates had made of themselves filled him with a strange sense of satisfaction.
Lion had always been suspicious by nature, and under the effects of the alcohol, he became even more absorbed in the nature of power itself.
"Hm? Why's there no more wine? Hiss…"
Bruce kept pouring for Lion, but only managed half a cup.
"That's it? Just this much?"
Lion felt instantly disappointed, then knocked back the half-cup in one swallow.
He had only just begun to enjoy himself, and now they were telling him there was no more? Still, a little was better than nothing.
"What are you standing around for? Bring more wine!"
Bruce turned and put on an act, barking at the fairy maids behind him.
"Our Warmaster Lion has fought his whole life—can't the man enjoy himself for once?"
"Acting Commander, um…"
The fairy maid bowed slightly.
"The reserves in the wine cellar are gone."
"What? Gone? Is this how you do your jobs?"
Bruce lurched to his feet and raised a fist as if he were about to strike her.
"It's fine! Bruce!"
Lion rose as well and grabbed hold of his good brother, belching as he did.
"That's enough! I'm already happy with what I've had today. No need to take it out on these mortals."
"Keep the music going. Bruce and I are going to have a proper talk."
With a wave of his hand, Lion ordered the fairy maids who had just stopped playing to resume the music.
"Warmaster… ah, this is my failure as a host, I…"
Bruce lowered his head in shame and no longer dared look Lion in the eye.
"It's fine, it's fine! Brother Bruce, I won't waste words with you, burp~"
Acting like a magnanimous elder brother, Lion pulled Bruce down into a seat, then picked up the massive fish head in front of him and leaned in while gnawing at it.
"I was sent here under Horus's orders, specifically to investigate Curze. So tell me everything that ought to be told."
"So long as you don't violate any principles, I'll back you all the way. What do you say?"
"By 'principles'…?"
Bruce raised his head hesitantly and looked at Lion.
"Yes. Principles."
Lion chewed through flesh and bone alike, crushing them together before he went on.
"I know full well there must be hidden circumstances behind Curze's disappearance. Whatever you know, say it."
"Of course, I also know that your Night Lords have always colluded with mutants and xenos. That's hardly a secret. So…"
Halfway through the sentence, Lion's drunken demeanor vanished. His eyes and expression sharpened in an instant, like a lion preparing to spring on its prey.
Lion understood perfectly well the principle of "once you've eaten a man's food, you grow soft toward him," but some matters admitted no compromise. And to be honest, he rather liked someone like Bruce—the sort of man who knew how to provide emotional value.
"I wouldn't dare! Never!"
Bruce answered with obvious fear.
"A mere wretch like me would never dare comment too much on the Legion's internal affairs."
"I know. I know."
Lion patted the trembling younger man on the shoulder.
"Actually…"
"Go on."
Lion nodded in satisfaction, signaling that Bruce need not be afraid.
If anything happened, his elder brother here would shield him.
But at the same time, the corners of Lion's mouth couldn't help lifting slightly.
At last, I've got you talking, little Astartes. Did you really think Lion El'Jonson couldn't handle you?
"Ahem."
Bruce turned his head and coughed twice.
The music in the banquet hall stopped at once. The fairy maids who had been playing immediately packed up their things and withdrew as quickly as possible.
In less than a minute, the vast hall was left with only Lion and Bruce—along with a pile of Dark Angel knights sprawled out in drunken sleep.
"The truth is… the Primarch was never missing. She merely hid herself away."
"Why?"
In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through Lion's mind. Dissatisfaction with their father's arrangements. Or perhaps Curze had simply decided to stop giving a damn and abandon it all.
"Because… it wasn't worth it!"
Bruce's face twisted with difficulty as he shook his head again and again.
"We fight on the front lines for the Emperor's dream. Every filthy job, every thankless burden, it all falls on us. And what for? For the five great domains and the hundreds of sub-sectors of the Imperium—for the great ambition of the Master of Mankind!"
"But what did we get in return? Those damned human bureaucrats treat us like dogs! Like fools! Who's supposed to reason with that?!"
"…"
Lion watched Bruce in silence.
"Ah… it isn't worth it. It just isn't…"
"Ever since the Council of Terra was established, not one seat was reserved for us! That Chancellor Malcador does nothing but squeeze us dry, milking our victories and our achievements!"
"And the worst of it is, the Emperor does nothing about it! He allows it to continue! Sometimes I even suspect the Emperor himself has been deceived by that treacherous Chancellor—his decrees no longer leave the Imperial Palace!"
"Bruce, do you even know what you're saying?"
Lion clenched his fist and barked the words.
"Are you questioning my father's judgment?!"
"I wouldn't dare… I only…"
Tears spilled down Bruce's face as he choked on his words.
"I'm not the one who suffers, my lord. It's the Primarchs who suffer!"
"Tell me—does this Imperium still belong to the Emperor and the Primarchs… or does it belong to Malcador and those so-called mortal nobles?"
"That's enough!"
Lion was furious—but at the bottom of his heart, he still felt a resonance with Bruce's words. He forced down the anger, steadied himself, and continued questioning him.
"First tell me where Curze is. I need to speak with him."
"No matter what, I must talk to him face-to-face. The Great Crusade absolutely cannot be halted over something as petty as personal feelings! If our father truly decides to hold him accountable, neither Horus nor I will be able to protect him!"
Bruce let out a long sigh.
"If Warmaster Lion says as much, then I suppose I have no choice but to risk my life and accompany a hero."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Hearing the grim, almost martyr-like resolve in Bruce's tone, Lion felt a sudden stab of unease.
"The Primarch hid herself in the deepest part of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's labyrinth. You know what my father is like. The maze she created is not only intricate—it's extremely dangerous."
"In our attempts to find him in the depths, we've already lost more than one company of battle-brothers."
"If you truly wish to go in and try, Warmaster, then I'll go in with you."
"If I must, I'll stake my life on it! Today, I will risk my life for a hero! At worst, I'll slit my own throat and ascend to heaven!"
Once he judged the mood was right, Bruce pulled out two canned drinks and set them on the table.
"And these are…?"
Lion looked at the two tiny bottles and immediately thought he understood.
"This is the fine wine I'd been saving in secret. If we're going to die anyway, then we may as well enjoy it first! Come, Warmaster Lion—your humble servant offers you a toast!"
Bruce lifted a glass bottle in salute.
"…"
Lion merely smiled faintly, then replied,
"I'll drink the one in your hand."
Hiss—
As expected of the Lion King.
When Bruce heard that answer, he inwardly cursed the Lion for being so damn sharp—but outwardly, he did not hesitate for even a second. He directly handed over the bottle in his hand.
In a sense, Lion had guessed right: there was something wrong with the drink.
But what he absolutely had not guessed was—
Both bottles were Transformation Drinks.
"Drink!"
Lion took Bruce's bottle, clinked it against his, and downed it in one go.
To Lion, it tasted like a sweet fizzy drink. And somehow it hit even harder than the wine from before. How was this stuff stronger than everything he'd just drunk?
His body grew strangely hot, like something was running wild inside him.
"Warmaster Lion, if I may be honest with you… there is something I've long wanted to confess."
Bruce silently calculated how long it would take for the effect to kick in.
"What is it?"
Lion felt his head growing heavier and heavier, but the possibility that there was anything wrong with the drink never even crossed his mind.
After all, if something could make even a Primarch feel this wrong, then if an Astartes drank it, merely dying would be the least of the consequences.
And if Bruce truly dared try some suicidal one-for-one exchange against him—well, what more was there to say? Lion would simply respect the attempt. The man had gone that far.
"The truth is… when I originally filled out my recruitment request, I chose the First Legion. But alas—your Dark Angels didn't want me. So I got reassigned to the Night Lords."
Bruce's voice grew choked with emotion.
"What does that matter? We all serve the Master of Mankind. The Legions differ only in their duties—there is no high or low among them!"
"Someone as talented as you, I think…"
Thunk—
Mid-sentence, Lion's eyes lost all focus.
His whole body went rigid.
Then he pitched forward onto the table.
In the very next second, smoke burst from his body. And when it cleared, the mighty, broad-shouldered warrior slumped over the tabletop had become a little blonde girl.
"Hoo…"
Only after Lion had completely gone down did Bruce finally lean back in relief.
Survived the disaster.
Damn it—after spending hours acting like a grandson, I finally took you down.
Just goes to show: the things an office drone learns at the dinner table are still useful even in another world.
This was a victory for social maneuvering.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 150)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter95)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 55
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 45
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 32
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 31
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 31
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