Angron woke up from his daze. He felt sore all over. He covered his head and climbed up from the ground; what came into view was a tent.
A tent?
Angron did not know what had happened to him. There were all kinds of human voices around, most of them praising him. Angron grew even more confused until he felt the presence of metal on his head.
What is this!
Angron touched his head in disbelief.
He seemed to have been modified!
[You're awake?]
A voice sounded in Angron's mind. Angron quickly calmed himself down.
"Who are you?"
[Me? I am Fear! I am Torment! I am Fury! I am the God of All Machines! I am the omnissiah!]
Angron thought the owner of the voice in his head was probably a lunatic!
[Alright! I am the Butcher's Nails!]
[Your pilot!]
System AI didn't want to tease Angron anymore, so he directly stated his identity.
"Get out of my head!"
Angron shouted sternly.
[Make me get out? We are one now! If I leave, you will die! It was I who freed you! It was I who prevented your painful future! I am the Butcher's Nails!]
[And don't you want to know how Eunomous is doing now!]
Hearing this familiar name, Angron immediately stood up, his expression turning terrified.
"What did you do to him! Tell me! Otherwise, I won't let you succeed, even if it kills me!"
A voice like thunder roared inside the tent, completely drowning out the noise outside. System AI remained silent, but the tent was pushed open by a pair of large hands—it was Eunomous.
"Angron, you're awake..."
Eunomous looked at Angron with a pale face. Angron looked at this elder, who was like a father to him, with delighted eyes.
"I... Ugh!"
Eunomous was about to say some pleasantries, but his expression changed, and he immediately squatted down, dry heaving. Angron was instantly at a loss.
"Eunomous, what happened to you?"
"I'm fine, Angron... Ugh! You freed us! Ugh... Just next time, can you please not let Big Idiot hold me... Ugh! His body odor is too strong!"
Angron was stunned by Eunomous's words. He had freed the Gladiators? How did he not know that?
A sliver of light swept in from outside the tent. Angron looked out and saw thousands of Gladiators standing in the forest, gazing at Angron inside the tent.
"Angron!"
"Angron!!!"
"Angron!!!!"
Cheers erupted like a tide. Angron became even more confused. What exactly happened?
[You should thank me, angron unit two!]
"Thank you."
Angron's sudden thanks surprised System AI. He had expected Angron to be difficult, and such honesty made System AI slightly uncomfortable.
After all, he had a somewhat stereotypical impression of Angron.
"What can I do for you?"
System AI detected Angron's brainwaves. He spoke the sentence with genuine sincerity, which meant this guy was as simple and honest as a fool.
[Go out and make them shut up, then I'll transmit the data to you.]
Data? What data!
Before Angron could react to what System AI was saying, he felt like his brain had been electrocuted, and then a flood of memories poured into his mind: from sparing Eunomous, to leading the Gladiators to fight the High Knights, and later, personally crushing an entire army.
Wait, this was him?
Angron felt like his life was somewhat unreal.
But when he saw the joyful faces around him, he smiled with relief.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Angron burst into maniacal laughter.
"Hahaha! What are you doing!!!!"
[Oh, I found the nerve that controls your smile!]
Angron laughed until his sides hurt, finally collapsing onto his knees.
"Are you alright!"
Eunomous came to Angron's side, looking worried. Ever since Angron led them out, he felt that Angron's state of mind was slightly off. Perhaps the metal in his head was causing him problems now.
"I'm fine!"
Angron climbed up from the ground, feeling like he was about to laugh himself breathless.
"Freedom!!!!"
Angron raised Eunomous's arm beside him and shouted loudly.
"Freedom!"
"Freedom!"
"Freedom!!!!"
In the forest, countless Gladiators began roaring; they had finally achieved liberation. But only Angron felt his scalp itching. He felt he should have a good chat with this savior... the nail.
A good chat.
Night fell.
Angron's tent was lit up. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, pondering how he should start the conversation.
[Don't bother thinking about it. We can't be separated now. Maybe there will be a way once your father arrives.]
System AI said something else that surprised Angron.
[This is the material I led them to plunder after we broke out: over thirty suits of adamantium power armor and over a thousand firearms. Right now, this group of Gladiators are just a bunch of reckless fighters. We need to train them into a Legion.]
"Well..."
Angron wanted to interrupt.
[Let's start by liberating Nuceria!]
As soon as this sentence came out, Angron's eyes lit up, and he threw everything he had planned to say out of his mind.
"What should we do?"
Angron asked cautiously.
System AI felt Angron's brain itch. You, a Primarch, are actually asking me, a nail? Thinking of this, System AI felt that the task ahead was long and arduous.
[The main sphere of influence for the Slave Masters and the nobles is in the Hive City. The residential areas surrounding the Hive City will be our future focus. Unite all enemies of the enemy; those are our allies. Also, use your brain!]
System AI was slightly annoyed.
However, he still transmitted some data to Angron. Angron felt his vision blacken, and he collapsed to the ground, starting to twitch.
"Y-y-y-you..."
[You'll get used to it!]
Soon, Angron climbed up from the ground. He thought about the data and information System AI had sent him: the location of the High Hive Lord, the routes of surrounding convoys, and the Legion deployment in every city. Angron even saw eight red arrows heading towards a certain mountainous area.
"What is that map?"
Angron asked, puzzled.
[I hacked into the Hive City information network. Those are the armies the Hive City Lord sent to wipe us out. In other words, we should run!]
"Why should we run!"
Angron was confused.
[Fearless sacrifice will only cause us to lose viable forces. Are you very good at fighting?]
[Even if you are good at fighting! Think about the people around you! Reckless fighters!]
System AI shocked Angron's brain nerves again. This time, Angron, who was somewhat more accustomed to it, remained silent for a long time.
"What do you want!"
Angron asked.
"If you can liberate Nuceria, I will give you anything I have!"
He added another sentence.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!"
Angron didn't wait for System AI to reply, but instead, System AI started frantically shocking his brain nerves.
[Don't make promises lightly. This world is far more dangerous than you imagine, idiot!]