Flandre did not crush Bruce and the others after waking up again.
That was the good news.
There was bad news too, however: her memories had become somewhat confused.
Because she remembered both being Flandre and being Angron, she became extremely prone to hissing at strangers—especially those who came on too strongly.
She was so sensitive that, aside from Bruce and Curze, everyone else was a wicked slave master who might snatch her away and enslave her at any moment.
Fortunately, Flandre could still communicate.
So, under Curze's comfort, the child gradually adapted and stopped crushing people on sight. Angron would also emerge every so often to provide some psychological counseling.
In short, the situation was improving. A little.
But that was how things looked to Bruce and the others. When the news reached Horus, the normally composed Warmaster was almost struck stupid in the Isstvan system.
"You all... call her... Angron?"
Horus looked at the tiny Flandre and nearly broke into a grin.
Fortunately, she had training, and as the Warmaster of the Imperium, she had seen all sorts of storms. That was why she managed to hold it in.
Because to any normal person, no one would treat this 140-centimeter-tall little girl as Angron. Although the color scheme was correct, if no one told her otherwise, Horus would have thought this was one of those tomato-and-egg dishes Bruce often cooked.
"That's right! I'm Angron! Hahahaha————"
Flandre stood with her hands on her hips and spoke very proudly.
To her, becoming Angron and leading the World Eaters properly was like playing a game. It was an extremely fun thing.
Even though Flandre's emotions were still unstable like before, and even though she lacked practical understanding of some matters, at the very least she could now distinguish right from wrong.
"..."
Horus's faint smile faded. Then she turned to look at Curze, who was drinking black tea.
"First of all, she really is Angron. She is also my younger sister, Flandre. The details should already have been explained to you by that round-headed raccoon cat and my recruit."
As Curze spoke, she cut off a slice of cake and held it out.
Flandre, who had still been happily bouncing around a second ago, spun around, hopped over, and took a bite. But when she swallowed it, she revealed a look of disgust.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey. Sakuya made this. It doesn't taste good."
"Then eat this one. Bruce made it. Though it's houttuynia-flavored."
Magnus also cut off a slice of cake and began feeding her.
"Okay!"
Flandre bounced into Magnus's arms.
"To be honest, this version of Angron absolutely cannot participate in the Isstvan plan. To us, she is too great a variable. The same is true for the enemy."
Horus spoke tactfully.
Leaving aside what role such a little girl could play on a high-intensity battlefield, the greatest problem was whether she could command the World Eaters Legion properly.
So after all that effort, all they had done was ban the World Eaters Legion from the board?
Sigh. This result was actually acceptable, barely.
"You underestimate her too much."
Curze quietly ate another slice of cake and said:
"Do not be fooled by her silly appearance. In reality, she fully possesses the strength and wisdom a Primarch should have."
"..."
Horus opened her mouth several times, then stopped.
She really wanted to ask where exactly that strength was, and where exactly that wisdom was.
Just let this child stay put!
I do not want an uncontrollable Legion, much less an uncontrollable Primarch!
What if the entire Isstvan plan proceeds smoothly, only for this one to lead her people down in a boarding assault and start a meat grinder? Who would take responsibility then?
"In short, this is what we came to report this time, Warmaster."
Curze gave a final summary of the matter.
"I understand."
Horus nodded, then sighed.
"In that case, I have only one suggestion."
"Respect Angron. My mad brother, who was tortured his entire life by an alien creation, has finally gained peace."
"Mad... Flandre is mad...?!"
"Lord Warmaster definitely wasn't talking about you, sweetheart."
Seeing that Flandre's state was becoming unstable, Magnus hurriedly hugged and comforted her.
"You father-complex bald rabbit, can you watch how you speak?"
Curze angrily scolded Horus.
"?!"
Horus's ears stood straight up as she retorted unhappily:
"Curze, why are you attacking me personally?"
Too much!
You actually said that about me. I'm going to complain to Father!
Just as the two stared each other down, considering whether to begin the next round of verbal artillery, Bruce arrived at exactly the right time, pushing in an entire cart of desserts.
It was precisely his appearance that eased the tense atmosphere.
"Lord Warmaster, your portion has already been sent over. Remember to eat it while it's hot."
Bruce distributed the cakes one by one, then greeted Horus at the end.
"No problem!"
Horus nodded repeatedly.
"Then, what was the result of the discussion?"
Bruce sat down nearby, unscrewed his thermos, and took a small sip of tea.
"I can acknowledge her as my brother Angron. But for the Imperium of Man, the best outcome is to default to saying he sacrificed himself. I have already prepared the wording."
"The heroic and fearless Angron, until the final moment of his life, ensured his loyalty to the Emperor. He chose to..."
"You mean you want to sacrifice the lives of these World Eaters and build a golden statue for Angron?"
Bruce rarely interrupted Horus.
"Are you angry, Bruce?"
Horus noticed the displeasure in Bruce's tone and asked.
"You could say that. Because I promised Angron I would look after them."
"The World Eaters who truly participated in the rebellion are already dead. Those who remain are absolutely loyal to Angron as an individual."
"If they all have to be sacrificed just to make the logic self-consistent, I cannot accept that."
"Moreover, those words you intend to use publicly—how are they not another kind of injury to Angron himself? Is that really all right?"
"Must you really follow the bureaucratic route? Doing that only makes you seem very much like Guilliman, Lord Warmaster."
Bruce stated his view very tactfully and calmly.
He knew that Horus's wording, combined with executing a batch of World Eaters, would absolutely make the matter look better. No one would be able to find fault with it.
But compared to satisfying everyone, Bruce wanted Angron and his Legion to receive a result they could be satisfied with.
"Those words of yours really wound me..."
When Horus heard herself compared to Guilliman, her ears immediately drooped.
"I am only speaking honestly, Lord Warmaster. You have been clashing with the Council of Terra for so long that perhaps even you have not noticed you are becoming an increasingly pure political animal."
"Even though you possess the strength and authority to send them all sky-high at any time, for the Emperor and for the Great Crusade, you increasingly tend to think in terms of a 'win-win' outcome."
"In my view, Angron is both your brother and a Primarch. If we make concessions on this matter, it will only make the swine of the Council of Terra celebrate."
"Things should be as they are. Why should we weave lies for their sake?"
"And the World Eaters Legion deserves a chance to atone."
"I understand, Bruce."
Horus took a deep breath, then answered:
"I will request Father's guidance on this matter. If He gives no answer, I will give Angron and the World Eaters Legion a fair result."
"But before that, I will exclude the World Eaters Legion. They absolutely cannot become the main force on Isstvan."
"How nice. You all get a team-building activity, while I can't participate."
Magnus shrugged regretfully.
"Not bad, Lord Warmaster. I thought you would insist."
Curze added a mocking comment.
"I have no objection."
Bruce nodded.
Since everyone had agreed, there was nothing more to say. For now, it was settled.
A moment later, Little Horus brought Horus's favorite cream cake to the table. Now, the exhausted Warmaster could finally relax.
"Speaking of which, the matter of Bruce killing a Primarch still could not be stopped. The news has already spread."
Horus spoke seriously while eating cake.
"..."
Bruce fell silent.
Compared with his own heroic deed, the thing Bruce found harder to endure was Horus's background. It was clearly such a warm and loving image: a little bunny nibbling cake. Yet when he saw the little bald man and topknot-bearing fierce warrior standing behind her—
Something about it was incredibly difficult to endure.
"Do not worry. Even Dorn will understand that your killing of Angron was the correct action. You both liberated a Primarch and perfectly demonstrated your loyalty to the Emperor."
Seeing her son so troubled, Curze comforted him gently.
Although it was painful to say, in truth, no one cared about Angron.
After all, no one liked being friends with a mad dog.
If one had to say who had built brotherly affection with Angron, it would only be Horus, who had always restrained him.
But the problem was that this time, even Horus chose to stand on Bruce's side. Thus, Angron's situation seemed especially tragic.
No one paid attention to him.
No one cared about him.
No one treated him as anything important.
He was like a stray dog.
"But I still think it's necessary to explain."
Bruce sighed.
"If Angron had not willingly sought death, I would never have had that chance."
"But you did create a great feat, Bruce."
Magnus spoke honestly.
"But he was also a victim."
Bruce shook his head.
"I will attempt to correct this outcome, but the news has already spread. You know how severe the delay in astropathic communication is."
Horus understood what Bruce meant, so she also comforted him.
Moreover, Horus also felt that this matter could not be allowed to spread any further. It drew too much hatred, after all.
A gene-Primarch had been killed.
A son of the Emperor!
If this news became known to those nobles with ulterior motives, they would celebrate wildly, because a myth had been broken.
But from another perspective, the Imperial Truth would also be promoted.
Because the so-called sons of gods could indeed be killed.
"Then how will the Twelfth Legion be treated and handled?"
Bruce asked heavily.
Whether emotionally or logically, he hoped Angron's Legion could be preserved. But judging by the current situation, that would not be easy.
"If nothing unexpected happens, their Legion status will be revoked. The survivors will be incorporated into other Legions, then continue the Great Crusade."
Horus gave the likely result.
"Sigh..."
Bruce was not surprised by this outcome and could only sigh helplessly.
What else could be done?
Disbanding them and breaking them into smaller parts was already a very good result. Unlike the two Legions that had been completely erased, whose fate was truly tragic.
"I think you also know that Father has always held considerable dissatisfaction toward the World Eaters Legion."
Horus added.
The Butcher's Nails, cruel retaliation against already-compliant worlds, all manner of disobedience—one could say that to the Emperor, the World Eaters Legion was already no less troublesome than another Word Bearers Legion.
"Once you contact the Emperor and receive feedback, approximately how long will it take?"
Bruce suddenly had a bold idea.
If it could work, then at least he would not have failed Angron's trust. No matter what, if a friend entrusted something to him, he had to at least try.
"I'm not sure, but one thing is certain: the Isstvan plan will definitely be over by then."
Sensing something, Horus asked in confusion:
"Bruce, what do you want to do?"
"Nothing much. I want to use this period of time to have Flandre command the World Eaters Legion. If she can achieve something, perhaps the Twelfth Legion can be preserved."
Bruce openly stated his thoughts.
There was nothing to hide. They were all on the same side, and Horus was his superior's superior, so Bruce felt it was worth trying.
Even though the probability of success was nearly zero, and even though it was very likely to be thankless, he could not simply ignore Angron's entrustment, could he?
After all, the World Eaters were the people in this world who cared about him the most.
If their Legion status were revoked, and they were like the Astartes of the two erased Legions, with their memories wiped before entering other Legions, then in this world, there would no longer be anyone who cared about Angron.
"Why? What benefit does this bring you?"
In just one second, countless possibilities flashed through Horus's mind.
Including, but not limited to: Bruce wanting to take control of a Legion; Bruce actually being occupied by a daemon, with this now being the time for it to make its move; and so on.
But very quickly, Horus realized that she was being a little too much of a political creature.
If it was Bruce, he probably would not have such vulgar thoughts.
"Benefit? I just don't want Angron's existence to become like those two ridiculous brothers of yours: cared about by no one, noticed by no one, and remembered by no one."
"What is sadder than death is no one remembering them."
"Is that the result you want, Lord Warmaster?"
"..."
Horus set down her fork and said nothing more.
She already had an answer in her heart.
The problem was that the Imperium of Man was too complicated. Sometimes, if one did not become a political creature, one truly could not walk far on the path of Warmaster.
Not to mention, this time the opponent was the Emperor.
"What do you plan to do?"
Out of reason, Horus asked Bruce for his view.
Horus could trust Bruce unconditionally in almost anything. But only in this matter did she have to be cautious, because with one careless step, Bruce might very well become the one who was forgotten.
"Of course..."
Bruce stood and pressed a button on a remote control.
The next second, a curtain descended, and the room Bruce and the others were in went dark. Immediately afterward, a projection appeared on the curtain, forming an image.
Heh!
As a former corporate wage slave from an internet company in his original world, Bruce had now found his comfort zone—
Giving leadership a PowerPoint presentation.
"Eh? Why am I on there?"
Flandre tilted her head and looked at herself on the PowerPoint.
"Leaders, next, I will explain how we can reshape the World Eaters Legion!"
"And the first and most important point is to have the World Eaters Legion accept the current Lord Angron!"
As he spoke, Bruce walked to the curtain, pulled out a pointer, and began giving a professional explanation with a serious expression.
Join here to read ahead.
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Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
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Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 280
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Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
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The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
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My Harem Is Indescribable 105
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Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 91
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
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Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 90
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
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What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
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MYGO Beauties 75
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The Gacha Merchant Who Started 90
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 105
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 85
After Maxing Out Every Class 85
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Honkai: World Modulation Mode 70
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
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From Trilobites to Titans 55
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DanMachi: My Party Members Are 70
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 50
Honkai: The Fire Devil 30
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