Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 189 "Audience"

Upon arriving at the Shadow of the Throne and stepping into the palace, Wilshire felt a slight unease.

Obsidian, tilted erratically at angles that defy mechanics, supports the dome.

Twelve metal rods extending down from the dome, along with the flags of various battle groups hanging at their bases, are arranged asymmetrically, three on the left, four on the right, and five in the center.

Inside the magnificent palace, black jade floor tiles spread asymmetrically in a Fibonacci sequence with dotted spacing.

[The flagship has been branded with the mark of the Primarch.]
Wilshire learned from Bradshaw, who was both his mentor and friend, that the Primarch preferred black and asymmetrical architectural structures.

His home world of Vostonia, which he had yet to set foot in, was being built in the Legionary Monastery, which adopted this design.

Wilshire followed the Fibonacci sequence path and arrived at the King's Court.

The council chamber was divided into two sections, where the Astartes commander and fleet officers were seated respectively.

Astartes walked to the left side and took a seat in the last row.

Bradshaw had reminded him that, as a newcomer to the Honor Guard, he should listen to everyone else but not speak himself.

After taking his seat, Wilshire looked towards the front of his area, where Lord James of the Second Warband, Lord Sanchez of the Seventh Warband, and Chief Apothecary Mikel were seated closest to the Primarch.

On the other side, flagship captain Diana Pauline sat closest to the Primarch's throne.

Fifteen minutes later, the war council began on time.

Arsena Dunn raised his control staff, projecting a holographic image of the Flame Wheel Galaxy into the sky above the council chamber.

At the same time, the surrounding displays also lit up, each showing different images.

"Gentlemen, after the Imperial reconnaissance ships infiltrated the Flame Wheel system, they conducted a comprehensive scan of the entire system."

"The orc fleet consists of more than a thousand ships, most of which are cobbled together from scrap metal. The Tech Priests cannot comprehend how they fly through the void."

"It is worth noting that the Green Fleet contains an unknown number of capital ships."

"..."

After the Primarch's attendant gave an overview of the Flame Wheel system, Ninglu spoke.

"The orcs of the Wheel of Fire are numerous and represent the greatest challenge the Eleventh Legion has faced since its inception."

"I would like to hear your strategic ideas."

Diana leaned back in her leather seat, adopting a "spectator" stance, her blue-green eyes scrutinizing Astartes on the other side like an observer.

She saw James get up first.

"From the Primarch's servant's description, we know that the status of the Wheel of Flame is unknown."

"Therefore, we should adopt a steady approach, with the Shadow of the Kings as the center."

The keenly observant "audience" noticed that the Second Warband Lord paused for a moment, a flash of jealousy in his eyes, before James continued.

"Use the Void Hunter's range advantage to strike the orc warships. The frenzied greenskins, not wanting to be devoured by us, will launch an attack."

"My capital ship will become the orcs' nightmare, delivering a brutal blow to the aliens."

Wilshire frowned upon hearing this, watching the lord's retreating figure and thinking to himself.

[Lord James is too conservative. With this strategy, the losses against an orc fleet many times larger would be too great.]
The "spectators" glimpsed James's jealousy from his barely perceptible movements, and combined this with his understanding of the team's situation, they thought to themselves.

[Lords like Sanchez achieved brilliant results, while James' performance was much less impressive in comparison.]

He wanted to win the favor of the King, but he lacked creative strategic thinking. His proposed solution was to prove himself to the Primarch and the Second Chapter through direct combat.

Thinking of this, the "audience" looked up at the original gene.

The female captain is the person who sees the Primarch most often, apart from the Primarch's attendants and members of the Honor Guard, and is more "adapted" to looking directly at Ninglu than others.

After a moment, the "audience" gave up in frustration and looked away. The Primarch of Genes remained calm, and she could not deduce Ninglu's thoughts from any expression or movement.

Diana began to recall past battles commanded by the Primarch, and with the powerful memory of the "spectators," she remembered everything she had seen.

[Although the Primarch's intentions are unclear, James's plan likely doesn't align with Lord Nimrod's strategic thinking.]
As the female captain pondered, James sat down, and Sanchez then stood up.

"Although there are many orc warships, most of them pose little threat. We should adopt a swift strike strategy and launch a slashing attack on the large green-skinned warships."

“There is an advantage to adopting this strategy: without large warships as a support, the threat from those dilapidated warships will be greatly reduced.”

“If it’s a war of attrition, they will use large warships to launch attacks. As far as I know, orc warships often use brutal ramming tactics.” Wilshire’s brows relaxed a little upon hearing this.

He believed that the Seventh Legion's lord had proposed a better plan than his own, but it was too risky and the legion would still suffer considerable losses.

While Wilshere was deep in thought, considering a better solution, Diana was also observing Sanchez.

The "audience" saw a flickering flame in Sanchez's eyes, capturing the soaring fighting spirit and determination within them.

[Sanchez wagers a wager with Enoch Rashivin, the lord of the "Space Wolves," with the stakes being who can purify the greenskins of a planet first. The Reaper Lord is eager to launch an attack as soon as possible.]
The "audience" recalled Sanchez's past battle reports, and his proposed plan was in line with past tactical thinking.

Diana looked up at the Primarch again. Having become an "audience member," she had gained exceptional mental strength and was more capable of withstanding pressure than before.

When Sanchez sat down, Wilshire couldn't think of a better solution, and the "audience" still couldn't see any answer on Ninglu's face.

Just as the "audience" was about to look away, she saw the Primarch's deep eyes looking over, forcing her to break free from her detached state.

"Diana, what's your plan?"

The female captain stood up. "My lady, I think both lords' plans have their own advantages, and I believe they can be combined and used together."

“Oh,” Ninglu said, tapping his fingers on the back of the chair with interest, “go on.”

"The Shadow of the King draws the orc fleet's fire, while the Void Hunter launches a swift strike, and the capital ship intercepts the ramming enemy ship."

"After the arrival of the fifth and eleventh battle groups, the final encirclement and annihilation battle was launched."

Wilshire's eyes lit up as she looked at the female captain; her proposed plan was more comprehensive and would result in less damage.

It is more feasible militarily, and it also takes into account the thoughts of the two lords politically.

[The father of genetics truly knows how to use people wisely, appointing her as the captain of the flagship.]
As the Shadow of Order pondered, it indeed heard the Primarch of Gene speak.

"Diana's suggestion is feasible, and the strategies of James and Sanchez are effectively combined."

"I order the fleet to split into three..."

"Arenis, located four light-years from the Wheel of Flame and on two shipping routes, serves as a supply and transshipment point..."

Ninglu swiftly issued orders, and the massive fleet set sail under the command of the Primarch.

After the war council concluded, Wilshire left with his fellow members of the Honor Guard from the Second War Group.

“Wilshere, I’ll take you to a restaurant. You haven’t tried Fenriscraken steak before, have you?”

"Kraken, what is that?"

"Sea monsters, some of them are several kilometers long, and some are even longer than the Queen Glory-class battleships."

As a new member of the Honor Guard, he had never been to Fenris, but he still fondly recalled the story of the Father of Genesis defeating another Primarch.

"My father had a hunting contest with Fenris's wolf king."

"The Kraken was the spoils of war, and its flesh was distributed among the various fleets."

"Five Relic-class warships, and some of the meat was also delivered to the various warbands. It's a pity that our warband has not yet received the Primarch's reward."

Wilshire caught up with her colleague's leap of thought, "I know the Wolf King lost to the Father of Genetics."

At the same moment, Arenis.

Eldar Warmaster Slaudar, holding the sword forged by the blacksmith god Val, addressed the Eldar warriors before him.

"I have been shown that chaos will perish along with humanity."

“The Threads of Fate have recently undergone another change. Nimrod will obtain the Spear of Dionysus and make it the weapon of the monkey lord. He will be a variable in the Threads of Fate.”

"We must kill Nimrod in Arenis before the War of the Wheel of Fire breaks out, so that Fenris's wolf can get it."

"To ensure that no variables were left unchecked, I spent ten years weaving threads and developing a complete plan."

"Ninglu must die; we cannot allow him to obtain the Spear of Dionysus!"

On the ninth week of its voyage, the Shadow of the Throne received a distress signal from Arenis.

　PS: Si Zhan generally doesn't follow the path of foresight. Slauda received inspiration from other organizations, see Chapter 120.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)