Chapter 23: The Deception of Erebus

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Aaron opened his eyes. All around him stretched a bleak, gray ruin.

Fierce flames burned everywhere, while dense smoke twisted and writhed upward, gathering in the sky.

As luck would have it, the weather was overcast as well.

“Cough, cough... Was an entire city burned down?”

Aaron looked around. The fortress had a bizarre style. Everywhere, the remnants of murals depicted filth, violence, and smeared flesh.

Countless human skeletons had been subjected to tortures too cruel to bear and left impaled at random.

It was a fortress belonging to the worshipers of darkness. Fortunately, it appeared that his younger brother had destroyed it.

With considerable effort, he crawled out of the ruins and climbed to the highest point of the structure.

Based on his previous experience, whatever difficulty his brother was facing now ought to be nearby.

He hoped it was not a grievous injury sustained in battle. No—that was not right. He hoped his brother had not been hurt at all.

Aaron climbed atop a watchtower that was on the verge of collapse. At last, he saw a cleared patch of ground beyond the ruins. A group of robed ascetics stood guard around his younger brother, Lorgar Aurelian.

The giant looked somewhat exhausted. He sat on the ground, one hand resting on his mace.

A trace of bewilderment showed in his eyes and brows, though he kept his head lowered and did not reveal it to the others.

Erebus—that bald man Aaron found so detestable—was herding another group of elderly and weak captives, their hands and feet bound, toward Lorgar.

Erebus’s voice should have been clear and pleasant—a fine candidate for the front row of a choir, the sort of handsome young man everyone admired.

Yet the moment he began to speak, Aaron instinctively felt disgust.

“Saint, this fortress has already been conquered by your hand. By the guidance of the Unique True God, these are the people of darkness—the sinners who have supported the worshipers of darkness.”

“We offer you the authority to execute these sinners.”

Erebus bowed respectfully and presented the serpent-scale whip in his hand.

Aaron removed a robe from the corpse of a worshiper of the Unique True God lying nearby and put it on. He clasped the dead man’s hand in apology.

“May—er, may Lorgar bless you with peaceful rest. My father is unreliable, and in mythology, the god of the underworld and Zeus did not get along either.”

“Lorgar clearly resembles a god more than I do, his elder brother.”

For the moment, Aaron could not think of any god who ought to bless the dead, so he had to leave the task to Lorgar himself.

As for asking his father to bless them?

He would pass. Somehow, he felt that if his father came to bless the dead, something extraordinary would happen.

He had no idea whether his prayer would work. After changing clothes, Aaron slowly merged into the crowd, watching the situation unfold.

The battle had already entered its final stage. His brother did not appear to have suffered any injuries, so what trouble had he encountered?

The voices ahead grew clearer. Aaron looked at the elderly and the children. They bore none of the ornaments he had seen on the worshipers of darkness before.

They were simply emaciated human beings who had not eaten their fill.

Only the old and the young remained. Their expressions were numb, and they stared blankly at everything before them.

Had the adults been regarded as combatants and killed already?

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Aaron’s gaze fell upon Lorgar, who was seated on the ground. The latter rose silently and lifted the mace in his hand.

“There has been enough slaughter today. They have no value in the eyes of the dark gods, nor are they worth executing myself.”

“Build a shrine here. Conquer them with our creed, and take them in.”

After speaking, Lorgar turned and prepared to leave.

Erebus grew anxious.

“Lorgar! You cannot continue to be so merciful!”

Lorgar turned his head. “Merciful? I killed hundreds, thousands of people today. When I crushed their skulls, my heart never wavered.”

Erebus hurriedly explained, “We cannot continue like this. We seize a fortress, then build a shrine and spread our creed. It is far too slow. We should destroy every fortress belonging to the worshipers of darkness in one sweeping campaign and complete the unification of Colchis!”

“Otherwise, while we advance at this pace, countless people across this land will continue to suffer beneath the torment of the dark gods.”

Aaron frowned. It sounded as though Lorgar’s preferred method was to advance gradually.

After conquering a city, did he intend to convert it completely before he was willing to move on?

Erebus pointed toward the elderly and the children. “I have no authority to interfere with your decision regarding these people. Everything is guided by the will of the Unique True God. But I hope we can quicken our progress.”

“If you are willing, I can lead an army and spearhead our advance, expanding our territory.”

Aaron drew a breath.

Oh. So this was about obtaining military authority.

The fate of the elderly and children was not the true issue at all. Erebus wanted an independent army under his command.

What was the man planning?

Judging from his previous behavior, Aaron felt that Erebus was both capable and ambitious.

Erebus continued his performance.

“Let it be in the name of the Unique True God, in the name of the Saint. Let us swiftly rescue those people trapped in the darkness.”

“At the very least, you trust Kor Phaeron enough to grant him an army. You can trust me as well!”

Lorgar said nothing. No one knew what was turning over in his mind.

After a moment, he lowered the mace in his hand and looked toward the sky.

“From this day forth, your vanguard shall operate independently of my command. Erebus, may the Unique True God guide us along the correct path.”

Erebus’s hands trembled as he fell to his knees. Then he prostrated himself fully, displaying his faith and loyalty.

But who could know what thoughts truly occupied his heart?

Yes. That was how it happened.

In the future, more than half of the armies of the Curse Child would be raised by him and Kor Phaeron.

The Curse Child’s influence would be drastically reduced.

Then those armies would be used in turn to guide Lorgar into changing his ways.

Step by step, they would mold Lorgar into the figure they desired.

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After the previous attempt at corruption had failed, Erebus had grown concerned that Lorgar might waver in the future.

This was the strategy he had adjusted on the spur of the moment.

“Leave me. I wish to pray alone.”

Having said this, Lorgar did not even take his weapon with him. He walked straight toward the largest tent in the distance.

Erebus raised his arm and shouted, “Brothers and sisters, burn the bodies of our fallen comrades and offer them to the Unique True God!”

He would not let a single opportunity to increase his reputation slip by.

Until one day, without any command from Lorgar at all, he would be able to command Lorgar’s armies.

“In the name of the Saint!” he added.

Erebus had always been a man who thought things through carefully and advanced one step at a time.

The people began to bustle about. Aaron watched Erebus coldly—the handsome, charismatic young man revered by everyone around him.

That bastard was obviously full of schemes.

His younger brother was so pure and lovable. He could not allow Erebus to corrupt him!

Aaron was certain that Erebus’s actions were the danger his brother was facing this time.

He hurriedly slipped into the crowd, then made his way toward Lorgar’s tent without attracting attention. When no one was looking, he entered.

“I knew it was you from the moment you descended, Aaron.”

Lorgar’s weary voice came from within. He was leaning against a chair and looked as though he had developed the same affliction as Guilliman.

Aaron approached openly and lowered the hood of his robe.

“My dear little brother, let me see what trouble you have run into this time. By rights, you should be attending the ceremony for our fallen comrades rather than leaving everything to others.”

“Although it sounds like I am trying to drive a wedge between you, I still have to say—”

Aaron walked up to Lorgar and rummaged through his robes, finally producing an olive leaf.

It had been plucked from the crown of the headdress that was part of the outfit Guilliman had given him.

“Erebus has ambitions of his own. You need to be more careful around him.”

“Here, take this. I do not know whether you or Guilliman is older, but to me, you are both my younger brothers. I feel this may help people relax. It might be useful to you.”

Lorgar took the olive leaf and placed it over the site of his former wound. The skin there was already smooth and flawless. He looked toward Aaron.

“I know. That is why I want to see what Erebus truly intends to do. Does he think he can deceive me?”

“Like my adoptive father, he fears my wisdom, yet naively believes that if his plans are thorough enough, he can control me.”