Chapter 124: Fables
After deliberately setting the story in a medieval chivalric era, Omega changed the ancient paradox of the spear and shield into something entirely different.
"During the duel between two generals," he began, "Sisyphus, the general who led thousands of soldiers and wielded a mighty spear, surrounded Achilles, the general who was now fighting alone and undeterred, possessing both the strongest spear and the strongest shield. Sisyphus called out loudly: 'I've heard that you hold the strongest spear and the strongest shield!'"
"'I cannot help but wonder,' he continued, 'which is more powerful...your spear or your shield?'"
Omega paused, letting the moment breathe. "The invincible general Achilles surveyed the surrounding enemy troops carefully, and thinking of his country's destruction and his family's demise, he burst into bitter laughter. He struck his own shield with his spear forcefully, and both shattered simultaneously. The surrounding enemy troops, upon seeing this, roared with mocking laughter!"
Omega abruptly stopped the story, leaving everyone eager for more and waiting to see how it would end. Omega, however, shrugged casually and said...
"The story ends here. What are you looking forward to?!"
Upon hearing this, Mortarion chuckled and pressed on. "Of course, it's the final battle! That fool destroyed his strongest spear and shield; I want to hear how he died!"
"The most important thing is the answer to the question of spear and shield; the ending of the story is not important!" Omega replied casually.
Upon hearing this, Corax couldn't help but laugh and curse.
"You rascal, you've gone this far in your story without giving a proper ending, though it is an ending in itself, albeit a...rather tragic one!"
At this moment, Lion El'Jonson, the Dark Angel, criticized directly. "An invincible knight wouldn't make such a foolish choice. Achilles lacks true chivalry!"
"In extreme cases, guys who have no will to fight and give up will do this!" Guilliman added thoughtfully.
Fulgrim had already realized something was wrong with the story. "This isn't an ancient Terran fable at all! You made it up based on the story of the spear and shield seller, very Alpha Legion-esque indeed!"
"It seems I still have a lot to learn!" Omega said lightly, thick-skinned as ever.
"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"
The brothers burst into genuine laughter upon hearing this. They didn't care whether the story was true or false; what mattered was that Omega had told it to them diplomatically. Lion El'Jonson and the others, on the other hand, were indifferent.
Horus turned and asked directly, "Perturabo, Rogal Dorn, are you satisfied with the Alpharius brothers' answer?"
"I will stand firm to the very end against the enemy!" Rogal Dorn declared firmly. Anyone present could tell that Omega's story was meant to be a peacemaker, so they went along with it and expressed their stance.
Perturabo understood the intention to mediate, but still insisted stubbornly, "The Iron Warriors are the strongest spear!"
At this moment, Malcador, in his grey robes and carrying a staff, entered quietly. The crowd fell silent, and he whispered...
"Ahem, you two seemed to have a good chat after the Emperor, and I left. I just heard an exquisite fable that I think could be included in Terra's fable collection officially!"
"The purpose of fables is to warn future generations through a moral, and Alpharius's newly compiled fables also convey a good moral lesson!"
"I was just jesting, don't take it too seriously!" Omega was dumbfounded and said urgently to the grey-robed Malcador. Once it was included, wouldn't everyone know the fable he was telling?
Malcador, with a knowing smirk, retorted...
"I think it's pretty good, and I'm serious about it, so you don't need to doubt me!"
Omega fell silent. The others, seeing this, found it amusing. They were all generals who commanded thousands of troops and knew what it meant. The real issue was that Perturabo should not actually confront Rogal Dorn directly, which was the parable's meaning.
Even the usually silent Vulkan offered his strong support, feeling that the story had made the brothers so happy to chat, and that it was worth recording permanently.
After Malcador finished speaking, he asked Omega to find the Emperor immediately. Obviously, the Emperor knew that these people were having a good time and was eager to pull Omega aside for a chat, as it had been agreed upon during the awarding ceremony earlier.
One Month Later
Omega, suffering from a splitting headache, left the palace and returned to the fortress, where he met Alpharius and the other company commanders in the hall. Everyone looked at Omega with evident strangeness.
Company Commander Skol said softly, "Primarch, the fable of the spear and shield you created is now circulating throughout Terra! Amazing!"
"Won't it have a bad influence if Malcador lets such stories circulate so easily?" Omega thought to himself, not expecting the old man to be serious, considering he had made it all up. He was speechless after a moment of scoffing.
Alpharius heard about the banquet. "I didn't know you could tell stories, brother! Tell me another one!"
"Long, long ago, the great Alpharius returned to the fortress to drink water!" Omega said as he walked to the tea station, sat down, brewed some tea, poured himself a cup, and drank it.
Everyone smiled speechlessly at the sight. Alpharius took a cup of hot tea and slowly drank it, and was also stunned when he saw the laurel wreath on Omega's armor.
Seeing this, Omega carefully took it off and placed it on the table, then laughed. "I won't wear this. Wearing it like this will complicate my relationships with the brothers, and it'll cause a lot more trouble if you're the one to wear it!"
Alpharius said calmly, "It's alright. The only brother I truly favor is Lion El'Jonson personally; I usually infiltrate and observe the others. The important thing is that you seem to have a good impression of Horus?"
Omega laughed. "Horus's personality is hard to dislike, but we basically have no interaction with him!"
"He's been getting very close to Lorgar lately, be careful!" Alpharius nodded and said abruptly, which puzzled Omega, but he had indeed seen the two of them together.
On the contrary, after getting to know Fulgrim, he always felt that Fulgrim deliberately escalated conflicts with his words, and it had already happened twice.
The Emperor, on the other hand, is the kind of person who usually wants to talk to people but doesn't want to talk to the Primarchs to maintain his dignity. This month was clearly spent trying to outdo the Emperor and the Great Sage.
When interacting with the Emperor and other such people, Omega always felt that what they were arguing about was somewhat inexplicable; they even argued about the length of time they spent talking.
After resting for a night, Omega, dressed in light armor, went out into the city streets. As he walked along the busy streets, he heard pedestrians talking and laughing from time to time. Omega quickly walked away, speechless at how quickly the fable had spread.
Upon entering the elegantly decorated chess room, one is immediately struck by its bright lighting and spotless surroundings. In the distance, a woman draped in a black robe is already seated.
Taking a few light steps forward, Erda smiled, resting her slender hand on her fair chin.
"You've come at last!"
"Have you been waiting a long time? Otherwise, how would you have known I was coming today!" Omega sat down and familiarly touched the chess box. Everything around him was as it always had been, clearly showing that Omega was a very sentimental person.
Erda opened the chess box; inside were black pieces. With a sly smile, she picked up a piece, placed it on the star point, and said softly...
"It's been quite a long time. You were gone for several years back then, and I was hoping to talk to you more, but you never came back. This time, you've been exchanging ideas with the Emperor for a month; that's quite good progress!"
Omega placed his white piece and said calmly, "You're quite well-informed, but an emperor with the grand ambition of unifying the galaxy is destined to have little time for personal matters; a person's time and energy are limited!"
"So what do you usually talk about? What do you talk about for a month straight?" Erda thought for a moment, agreed with the statement, then asked with a smile and a touch of curiosity.
"Knowledge and Technology!"
Omega offered a few analogies, and when she heard them discussing the different levels of modification techniques used by the Mechanicum Technologists, Erda chuckled to herself. She never expected the two of them to discuss such a trivial topic.
Knowing that Erda knew he would be meeting with the Emperor in the next day or two and had deliberately waited for him here beforehand, Omega smiled knowingly.
Erda didn't understand what he meant, but when she looked into his eyes, she smiled happily. She felt that this moment was quite lovely. While playing chess, she talked about the fables that were now widely circulated outside, and the more she spoke, the more she chuckled.
[End of Chapter]
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