That overbearing aroma surged outwards, directly assailing the faces of Nurgle, Alexander, and the observing daemons. In that instant, they seemed to hear this declaration.
The nurglings looked on in terror at the continuously boiling soup. Thick, dark purple liquid constantly oozed out, swirling with various ingredients that were no longer distinguishable, spilling onto the fungus and humus-filled meadow of Nurgle's Garden.
The soup that landed on the ground continued to boil, emitting fine bubbles, absorbing all the fungi and humus it touched, becoming part of the soup, allowing the almost semi-solid, viscous liquid to continue spreading outwards.
"Drink it all or I'll beat you up!!!"
The declaration became even clearer.
The viscous soup shot out like an arrow, piercing the nearest observing nurgling.
The tiny nurgling hadn't even reacted before the soup forcibly tore open its mouth, pouring itself directly in.
The purplish-black soup was forcibly poured into its mouth. The little nurgling's eyes rolled back as it continuously swallowed the thick, throat-clogging soup.
But this pot of soup was too potent; after consuming the surrounding meadow, it was even larger than the little nurgling itself. This little nurgling simply couldn't swallow it all.
"Failure to finish will result in punishment!!!"
A roar erupted from the soup. The little nurgling's body instantly exploded, and the purplish-black soup expanded again, devouring the nurgling's remains and becoming part of this thick soup.
The little nurgling directly returned to the trees in Nurgle's Garden to respawn.
Nurgle watched this scene with great interest.
Alexander had only used a pile of miscellaneous items from the material universe, yet he had brewed such an overbearing pot of thick soup.
The existence of this soup was so potent, so powerful, that the things in Nurgle's Garden could not decay it; instead, they were consumed by it, becoming part of it. Was this the power of numerology?
The nurglings fled in a panic, but the thick soup collided with them faster than they could run.
"Drink! Why aren't you drinking!"
"No reward for finishing! Punishment for not finishing!"
"Drink it or I'll beat you up!!!"
The soup roared, darting around, occasionally drilling into the mouths of Nurgle daemons, forcibly making them drink itself.
If they couldn't finish it, the soup would directly burst the Nurgle daemons' belly, making the Nurgle daemons' remains part of itself, and then continue to search for the next victim.
This was its instinct as a pot of soup: to constantly brew itself and be drunk by others.
The soup Alexander cooked was too potent, so potent that its instinct as a soup was incredibly strong.
And the Warp just so happens to be a world of will. If a pot of soup strongly desires to be drunk, then in the Warp, it will even actively force others to drink it.
Alexander scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
He had only followed the instinct of the Greater Daemon's body, and according to his feelings, imitated Nurgle in brewing this thick soup.
He hadn't expected the soup to directly go berserk, slaughtering Nurgle daemons all around.
"Hehehe, it's alright, it's alright. Only a good soup truly hopes to be drunk by others."
Nurgle seemed to notice the fleeting embarrassment on Alexander's face. He held his belly and laughed, saying:
"My children will soon revive in the forest. They often die from time to time when playing in the Garden."
Nurgle looked at the pot of soup Alexander had brewed with complete satisfaction.
"Good soup, so lively!"
He licked his lips, then gestured to Slimux, his Chief Greater Daemon, who was nearby.
Slimux stood up from his mount, the snail Maus, and bowed slightly to Nurgle and Alexander with a sturdy, farmer-like body.
Then, with a rare agility for a Nurgle daemons, he leaped from the snail Maus, a massive pruning shear in hand, and pounced towards the continuously boiling thick soup.
"Drink! Drink it quickly! Why aren't you drinking!!!"
The thick soup also noticed Slimux, roaring as it collided with the Chief Greater Daemon.
Slimux demonstrated his skill as the manager of Nurgle's Garden. Just before the thick soup touched him, a massive Big-Mouth Tree grew from the ground, opening its maw to bite the thick soup, then slammed its huge mouth shut, swallowing the thick soup into its trunk.
But the thick soup quickly seeped out of the Big-Mouth Tree, engulfing the entire Big-Mouth Tree into the soup.
Amidst the continuously boiling soup, the Big-Mouth Tree also became soft and mushy, becoming part of the thick soup.
But Slimux was not in a hurry. He brandished the sharp shears in his hand, precisely cutting into the semi-liquid, semi-solid thick soup.
The rusty blade, capable of cutting through the marrow trees of Nurgle's Garden, instantly sliced the thick soup into seven portions.
At the same time, seven Big-Mouth Trees suddenly grew from the ground, swallowing the seven portions of thick soup into their trunks.
Alexander watched this scene with interest, watching his brewed thick soup being divided into seven portions and trapped by Slimux.
This Chief Greater Daemon's strength was quite intriguing. He truly lived up to his reputation as the first daemon Nurgle ever created.
Alexander had fought several daemons and even Greater daemons, and in his estimation, this Chief Greater Daemon's strength was even greater than that of an average Greater Daemon.
However, Alexander found it difficult to judge exactly how much stronger, as there had been no actual direct confrontation.
Nurgle chuckled as he ran to the seven Big-Mouth Trees, casually pulling one of them to his mouth.
The Big-Mouth Tree opened its mouth, spitting the thick soup from its trunk.
The thick soup, mixed with all sorts of strange and bizarre things, fell into Nurgle's mouth, sliding down his bottomless throat.
Nurgle fell silent, lowering his head, seemingly savoring the taste emanating from the thick soup.
Alexander slightly raised his head, watching this scene.
He wasn't too worried that the thick soup wouldn't suit Nurgle's taste.
The power in the thick soup, of course, didn't come from the so-called numerology, but from the power Alexander gained when he drank Nurgle's thick soup with the Greater Daemon's body.
Under the function of the Source of Flavor, Nurgle's thick soup had become truly delicious food, completely digested by Alexander. The power within it stimulated the Greater Daemon's body to also possess the ability to cook soup, and the soup he cooked should taste similar to Nurgle's.
"This truly is a good soup!" After a brief moment, Nurgle couldn't help but sigh softly.
His gaze towards Alexander also grew more eager.
Alexander's skill in cultivating bacteria and his skill in cooking soup both filled Nurgle with admiration.
At the same time, Nurgle also developed immense interest in the numerology Alexander spoke of.
Without a doubt, when Alexander cooked that soup, he indeed only used materials from the material universe, cooking it according to the methods of numerology.
Those miscellaneous goods from the material universe couldn't possibly have an effect, so the effective part could only be numerology.
The theory Mortarion had devised actually worked?!
"Please teach me numerology!" Nurgle lowered his head, speaking to Alexander with a humble tone.
Nurgle is the most humble of the Chaos Gods.
No living creature exists without external aid; plants rely on sunlight and fertile soil, animals rely on grazing, bacteria and viruses rely on parasitizing other organisms.
Nurgle, therefore, is also the most adept at relying on and utilizing external forces to cultivate himself.
"No," Alexander shook his head and said.
His answer startled Nurgle, who abruptly looked up, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Alexander's firm refusal made Nurgle restless. The rotting flesh piled on his body writhed and twitched.
"Why do you want to learn from me?"
Alexander looked up at Nurgle, smiling as he asked:
"You clearly know who the originator of numerology is, who the most authoritative expert on numerology is, don't you?"
"Instead of seeking guidance from me, why aren't you willing to ask your family?"
"I imagine Mortarion would be delighted to share this knowledge with you. He's always been a child who craves approval, and hearing you endorse numerology would surely make him exceptionally happy."
Nurgle froze for a moment, looking at the smile on Alexander's lips, and suddenly understood.
He suddenly reached out and slapped his head, which was covered in rotting flesh, as if annoyed that he hadn't thought of this earlier.
That's right, his own family member, little Mortarion, was the creator of numerology, so why should he seek it far away when it was so close?!
Nurgle also quickly understood why Alexander was so enthusiastically promoting numerology to him.
Little Mortarion would certainly be delighted to share his knowledge of numerology with him. He had already frequently promoted numerology to other daemons in Nurgle's Garden.
He advised Ku'gath to stir the Great plague seven times when brewing it, told Slimux that the total number of trees in Nurgle's Garden must be a multiple of seven, and strongly insisted that Rainfather's rain must last for three days and three nights or seven days and seven nights.
However, the daemons in Nurgle's Garden had always had difficulty understanding Mortarion's numerology.
Ku'gath felt insulted by Mortarion, Slimux was so angry that Mortarion pulled out his trees that he beat Typhus, and Rainfather was utterly bewildered.
If he was willing to listen, Mortarion would surely be happy. To explain numerology to him, Nurgle believed he would even be willing to temporarily forget about delaying Guilliman.
This way, the conflict between Guilliman and Mortarion would temporarily cease to exist, and Alexander and Nurgle, as parents, could also breathe a sigh of relief.
Everyone would be happy!
Nurgle's gaze towards Alexander was filled with admiration.
He was in such a good mood that when Alexander suggested that if Tzeentch tried to prevent Guilliman, Alexander, and Sanguinius from going to Terra, he hoped Nurgle could help harass Tzeentch, Nurgle patted his chest and guaranteed that he would definitely intervene.
"No one has the right to stop a child from seeing his father, do they?"
Nurgle laughed heartily, retorting.
He didn't even ask Alexander for any reward, only asking that Alexander leave some of the bacteria he had previously cultivated for him.
"Come play again next time!" Nurgle waved to Alexander as he entered the anywhere door.
Even after Alexander and the anywhere door disappeared from Nurgle's Garden, Nurgle remained in a cheerful mood.
"Nurgle... I'm late." Just then, a not-so-happy voice sounded.
Ku'gath moved his massive body, emerging from the Garden with deep apologies.
"Ku'gath, my child, didn't I tell you that an honored guest was visiting and asked you to come quickly?"
Nurgle looked at Ku'gath with some displeasure, his brows tightly furrowed.
Upon learning of Alexander's visit, Nurgle had hastily begun cooking thick soup, while also notifying Ku'gath, his Chief Greater Daemon, to come quickly and help him entertain Alexander.
But Ku'gath was late, barely arriving after Alexander had left.
"..Nurgle, I've brewed a new Great plague, which can..." Ku'gath hurriedly began to say.
"Alright, alright." Nurgle shook his head helplessly: "I've said it many times, I don't mind you drinking my soup. I'm not stingy."
"Never mind, since you're here, I remember you often communicate with little Mortarion... Do you know anything about his numerology?"
Ku'gath tilted his head, looking at Nurgle with confusion: "Huh?"