The Night Lords Legion needed a thorough purge. That was the unavoidable path if the Legion was ever going to be reborn and achieve anything resembling glory.
It was a dangerous move, no question.
But Bruce knew better than anyone how little time he had and how heavy the task was. He had no choice but to do it.
Otherwise, once the Great Heresy arrived, the Night Lords—with their current level of cohesion—would shatter on contact.
And worse still, their Primarch was, at least officially, already missing.
Right now, the Legion's morale and loyalty were completely scattered.
More absurd still, after Sevatar had "gone missing" as well, Bruce's title as acting commander had become even more of a joke.
At this point, Bruce was basically alone in all but name. His orders couldn't even get beyond Nostramo, let alone control the Legion as a whole.
To put it bluntly, the wreck Bruce had inherited wasn't even really a proper Legion anymore.
It was more like an oversized 40K-era Chapter.
Unbelievable. Was this the Night Lords' cutting-edge progress? They'd skipped ten thousand years ahead and outpaced Guilliman's Codex Astartes by multiple editions.
"So you're planning to use the Dark Angels to solve the Legion's internal problems? You really are bold."
After hearing Bruce's full plan, Sevatar offered her opinion in a cool, unreadable tone.
"I don't exactly have a choice. We don't have enough manpower, and most people are extremely wary of civil war. One wrong move and the whole Legion blows apart."
Bruce gave a rueful smile as he flipped through stacks of administrative reports.
"Sigh. I finally understand just how miserable it is to be the person actually running a Legion."
"This is only a handful of sectors. Hah. You still have a lot to learn, recruit."
Sevatar sounded utterly dismissive.
"Be grateful. Only half of the Night Haunter Council is interested in rebellion—not all of them."
"Yes…"
Bruce answered with proper humility.
Compared to the mountain of Legion problems, Sevatar herself had discovered a kind of joy she had never known before.
Ever since becoming a woman, she had been happier than she had ever been.
No more endless Legion nonsense. No more colonial worlds stirring up trouble. One could say she had become a far sunnier person.
Even though Shen had repeatedly begged her to step in, take over, and save the Night Lords, Sevatar had chosen to continue doing absolutely nothing.
There was no chance she was going to spend the rest of her life chairing councils.
Let it all end here.
There would be no more Prince of Crows.
Now, there were only three things she needed to do.
First, brew black tea for Lady Curze, and while doing so, learn Bruce's tea-making methods.
Second, wipe the crumbs from milady's mouth after she ate pastries, preserving her dignity at all times.
And third—and most importantly—maintain the Scarlet Devil Mansion properly. The Night Lords' image must not be allowed to suffer even slightly.
It could be said that the fully feminized Sevatar was now thoroughly enjoying herself. She no longer thought at all about the fact that, in the past, she had been the storm-center ruler of an entire Legion.
"Damn it… the Second Imperium hasn't even shown up yet, and Nostramo's already about to get a second senate. What a mess…"
Looking at the reports submitted by several members of the Night Haunter Council, Bruce felt an immediate headache coming on.
Sevatar might have vanished, but the council she had left behind was still functioning normally.
It was just that some of its members had already begun making moves in secret, while another faction, noticing the problem, had decided to strike first before their enemies could.
Some had even started skimming tithes—or outright refusing to pay them.
That wasn't ordinary treachery anymore. That called for heavy punishment.
"This is your trial, recruit."
Perched elegantly on Bruce's shoulder and enjoying the rich fragrance of her black tea, Curze gave her verdict.
"If you can't even handle a trivial matter like this, then how do you expect to become my sharpest blade and carve down all of my brothers?"
"Yes…"
Bruce wanted to say several things, more than once, but forced himself to swallow them every time.
In his heart, the Night Lords Legion had almost no value at all. If it were a faction in some strategy game, it would be one of those complete trash factions—something nobody would pick unless they were a diehard specialist or had genuine masochistic tendencies.
And me?
A beginner.
Dropped straight into nightmare difficulty.
So what, exactly, was he supposed to do? Turn a Legion made up largely of criminals and bandits into a disciplined, battle-ready force in less than ten years?
That was asking too much of anyone.
Work continued regardless.
Then a dispatch from the Warmaster's command entered Bruce's field of view.
The moment he saw the words "Warmaster," Bruce began thinking about how he might establish contact with Horus—preferably find out exactly where he was, and whether it might still be possible to prevent him from being railroaded into corruption by the plot itself.
Then—
Bang!
With a loud crash, Shen kicked the door open in a pair of old cloth shoes and swaggered in.
"Acting Commander! The recording is done! I captured the Dark Angels Primarch's disgrace!"
Shen came bouncing toward the Night King's Throne in obvious excitement.
"Meiling, could you knock before barging in next time?"
Sevatar's fist clenched in annoyance.
How had this woman become so reckless after turning into a girl?
"Sorry, sorry, slipped my mind… should I go back outside and knock?"
Only then did Shen finally notice that all three senior figures of the Legion were present.
Though what she could not understand was why the Acting Commander was seated on the Night King's Throne, while the Primarch sat on Bruce's shoulder and Sevatar stood nearby.
Was this bizarre arrangement really fine?
"It won't be necessary."
Curze set down her teacup, rose by bracing herself against Bruce's head, stood tall on his shoulder, and issued her command in a ringing voice:
"Play the recording immediately! I want to see my brother's disgrace! Hahahaha!"
Bruce silently set down the bloodstained feather quill in his hand. Then he laced his fingers together and raised them to his chin.
Was it finally happening?
My favorite yuri cinema segment?
Even back in his original world, a little film like this—this sort of intimate all-girls material—would have been a rare treasure.
Bruce time was about to begin.
"Got it!"
Shen placed the DV recorder on the steps below the throne, sat down beside it, scratched idly at her foot, and finished adjusting the device.
"Ah~ hff… hff… mm… ngh… ahh—!"
As a holographic projection unfolded in the air, the heated sounds of a woman's breath filled the room, accompanied by moist, sucking sounds like flesh being licked.
On the screen, Lion's face was flushed crimson as she bit down hard and endured the stimulation rippling through her body. Even so, strong as she was, there were still times when she couldn't help parting her lips and letting out trembling breaths.
"…"
Bruce watched silently, then shoved the table in front of him aside because it was beginning to get in the way.
But very quickly, he realized something was wrong.
Why was it all just close-up shots of Lion's face?
Where was the rest of it?
Where were the shots of the four gorgeous women "working her over" from every angle?
"What a humiliating spectacle," Sevatar commented with complete seriousness.
"Hahahaha! I'm going to share this recording with all of humanity!" Curze threw her arms up, thrilled beyond measure.
"No. That's not the issue."
Bruce, however, shook his head with grave seriousness.
Looking at the three girls staring at him, he declared:
"This recording is garbage."
"It's just a close-up of a face panting! What's the point of that?!"
Who would be interested in something like that? Honestly!
"But… the Primarch's order was to record the prisoner's disgrace. I got as close as possible for the shots. Did I do it wrong?"
Shen scratched her head, genuinely baffled.
From her perspective, she had executed the task perfectly. Twelve hours of uninterrupted close-up filming, focused entirely on the subject's face, without a single distracting element.
"Aaaaaaah…"
Bruce clutched his head and let out a sound of pure despair.
If you had just pulled the camera back a little and shown everyone how the Lion was being broken down, it would've been fine! Instead you kept it glued to her face! Did you learn filming from the straightest man alive?
At that moment, Bruce honestly wanted to pin Shen to the floor and strangle her. This was a sacrilege against great material. Such incredible source footage, and this was what she had turned it into?
If Trazyn ever found out, he'd kill you over and over again.
"So… should I go shoot a second version?"
Shen scratched her head apologetically.
"It's my first time doing this kind of assignment—the sort that isn't combat-related. Sorry about that, Acting Commander. Ehehe~"
"No, forget it…"
Bruce shook his head, picked up the phone beside him, and spun the rotary dial. A moment later, Blue Fatty's voice came through the receiver.
"Old Wang? You needed me?"
"Has Lion submitted yet?"
"No. She still can't accept the future shown in the prophecy. But she has her own answer now. At this point she's just missing a few critical pieces of evidence. See if you can get them."
"What sort of evidence do we need?"
Bruce frowned, already thinking about how he was supposed to obtain proof strong enough to make Lion resign herself to it.
Getting Lion onto their side—or at least keeping her neutral—was the most important piece of the entire plan.
Otherwise, the Thramas campaign would still happen, and all of this would have been for nothing.
"Try starting with Horus," Blue Fatty suggested. "The key to the entire Heresy is still him."
"Horus…?"
Hearing the name of the single most crucial pivot point in Warhammer's whole story, Bruce thought of many things at once—but had a much harder time seeing how any of them could actually be done.
"Here's what we do. Keep feeding more story and future scenes into Lion's mental world. Stall her as long as you can. I'll figure out a way to get her solid proof she can't ignore."
Bruce immediately found a path forward.
But first came securing the Night Lords' rear and keeping the home front stable.
Only after that could he go after Horus—either to witness his fall firsthand, or stop the Warmaster from being corrupted in the first place.
If either of those happened, then this entire timeline would go off the rails.
"Uh… are you sure? If that causes some irreversible consequence—"
"She's already like this, and she's a Primarch on top of that. What's the worst you think you're going to do—corrupt her too?" Bruce shot back mercilessly.
"…Fine. I'll see if I can find relevant material."
"Waaah! I'll kill every last one of you! Bruce Wayne! Just you wait! Just wait!"
As Lion's furious scream echoed faintly from the other end, Bruce dug at his ear and ended the call on his own.
Then he shoved all thought of that aside for the moment and unfolded a portable star chart device on the table.
"So you're going to stop Horus from being corrupted?" Curze asked with interest after settling back down.
Bruce, his view partly blocked, reached up and flipped Curze's skirt behind his head, then shifted the star chart over to the Word Bearers' territory with a grim expression.
In a cold voice, he answered:
"I'm going to kill Erebus."
If one were to ask for the fastest and simplest way to clear Warhammer 40K—
the answer was obvious.
Kill Erebus.
Without him, everything becomes better.
And for every Warhammer fan alive, that matters.
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
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin