Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 196 "The Eye of Death"

Adams’s Brain Cat walked beside him; its orange fur made it even colder than the Gravedigger, and it looked more like a dead cat.

Adams noticed that the decaying graveyard was not dark; he followed the light to the stone pillars and saw reliefs of spiders and zombies carved on them.

Adams's dark eyes narrowed as he noticed that each stone pillar was inlaid with a different number of glass-like discs of varying sizes.

The light in the cemetery comes from these discs, each emitting a light of varying brightness.

No zombies approached the area illuminated by the light; rusted weapons and broken bones were scattered on the ground.

Adams walked up to the nearest pillar and noticed that it was engraved with runes.

He glanced at the corpses on the ground and deduced the function of the runes.

The owners of the cemetery don't want to be disturbed, so the runes act as alarm devices, attracting the horde of zombies.

Touching the pillar will make a noise and attract the horde of zombies.
The gravedigger cautiously refrained from touching it, gazing intently at the blue disc etched with dense, spiderweb-like patterns, creating an intricate design.

Data Crystal!

Adams knew that the data crystal could store a large amount of memory data, with a storage capacity several orders of magnitude higher than that of the data board.

They emit light when storing information, and the brightness of the light corresponds to the amount of data stored.

The Orb Spider Alliance possesses the Hatto Galaxy, which produces data crystals, so data crystals have always been the storage medium for important data.

Adams looked up at the thousands of pillars supporting the cemetery, each pillar bearing a dozen to several dozen data crystals.

[This is a tremendous fortune; the master of the foundry will surely be overjoyed to see it.]
Adams walked on and then discovered a series of stone chambers.

One of the stone chambers had its door open, so he went over.

He found weapon parts scattered on the ground by the door, and Adams crouched down to examine them.

A look of surprise flashed across Adams' eyes as he thought to himself.

[Could it be an atomic disintegration weapon? The Orb Spider Alliance soldiers didn't have such a powerful weapon in the previous battles.]
He got up and walked into the stone chamber. He saw a dozen or so weapon racks scattered on the ground, but five of them still had firearms on them.

Adams strode over to a weapons rack and reached out to pick up the metal gun.

[It really is an atomic decomposition weapon, and it's well-preserved and safe to use.]

These relics of the "dark age of technology" are now rare in the Legion's arsenal.
Adams, armed with the atomic disintegration weapon, left the stone chamber and continued on his way.

After walking a dozen or so steps, he discovered spider webs stuck to the ground, the stone chamber, and the walls.

The gravedigger immediately thought of the giant spider, but then realized something was different. In his natural spiritual vision, the spider silk emitted specks of green light, tinged with the aura of death.

The gravedigger gazed into the distance, his "death eye" piercing through layers of spiderwebs to see a rotting spider with compound eyes flashing blue-red light.

Adams looked down and saw the huge spider statue in the center of the burial complex and the entrance to the building below.

After scouting the area, Adams retraced his steps and returned to the entrance of the cemetery.

Rosicky Cech saw the weapon in Adams' hand and immediately came over. After examining it for a moment, he spoke.

"The atomic disintegration weapon is intact and safe to use."

There's more inside.

The Lord of Death spoke coldly, then informed the Lord of the Forge of the situation in the cemetery.

“There are data crystals on the pillars surrounding the cemetery, and relics from the ‘Dark Age of Technology’ are found in the stone chamber in the central area.”

"Beneath the central spider statue, there is a passage leading underground, which should be the place where nobles are buried."

The archaeologist's eyes lit up: "This is a major discovery; we must bring them all back."

"The Death Lord and the Forge Master immediately began discussing the cleanup plan," Rosicky said.

"We can't use the bomb gun; it might damage the data crystal."

The gravedigger said, "We can't use the chainsaw sword either; the noise is too loud and will attract the walkers."

"..."

Four sidereal hours later, the "Gravedigger" led 144 "Corpse Collectors" into the cemetery. They were not wearing powered armor; they moved forward in silence, their faces grim.

The "corpse collectors" possess a natural spiritual vision, allowing them to clearly see the walking corpses through their decaying bodies.

They simultaneously raised their arms and swung their swords, the charged blades striking the walker's head, the disintegrating force field crackling and shredding the walker's skull.

Adams raised the atomic disintegration weapon and pulled the trigger.

A beam of light blasted into the zombie.

In the blink of an eye, the foul-smelling zombie disintegrated and disappeared, turning into atoms.

The "grave digger" led the "corpse collectors" to sweep away the walking corpses in one area after another.

After each area is cleared, the Death Lord will use tactical hand signals to order a "corpse collector" to stay behind.

The Forge Master led his technical soldiers into the area, where Rosicky would retrieve the brightest data crystals, while his men would handle the rest.

Once the "corpse collector" confirms that the walker is completely dead, he hands the body over to a legion servant.

At the same time, they will feel a sensation of dissolving inside their bodies.

Legion servants wearing gas masks and protective suits dragged the bodies away and threw them into the incinerator set up outside the cemetery gate.

Leandro Hemar did not leave; he stood outside the cemetery gates, waiting for the opportunity to serve the Lord of Death.

He first saw the corpses being carried out. "The Shadow Order cleared the horde of corpses so quickly using only power swords. It's incredibly efficient, far beyond what my hunting teams can match."

Governor Hermar then saw hundreds of data crystals being carried out, and the towering giant commanding his servants to transport them away.

His eyes lit up and widened.

Each data crystal contains knowledge lost thousands of years ago, and its value may even exceed that of a dome.

The movement of the data crystals lasted for five full work cycles.

The Gravedigger stood before the stone chamber once more, and he clearly felt that he could better harness the power bestowed upon him by the Primarch.

As the dusty stone chambers were opened one by one, the master of the furnace saw various creations from the "Dark Ages of Technology".

Forty-four members of the Order of Shadows were equipped with atomic disintegration weapons, and five more were sent away by technical sergeants for research.

The archaeological pistol, capable of firing various types of bullets, was originally a secondary weapon for high-ranking Imperial officers and Space Marine commanders, but now every "corpse collector" and technical sergeant has been given one.

Sixteen "generalists" were equipped with portable X-ray viewing devices and operated a moving screen to view three-dimensional simulation images of a stone chamber inside a solid stone wall.

……

The Forge Master, who had studied on Mars, was shocked to find so many artifacts from the "Dark Ages" in the cemetery.

Rosicky was increasingly eager to discover as many precious relics as possible in the central cemetery. To get there, they would have to deal with the enormous, decaying spiders.

While the furnace master rejoiced at the discovery, the gravediggers had already begun hunting rotting spiders.

He used a combat gesture to signal the "corpse collectors" to stand by, then walked alone toward the nearest rotting spider.

A rotting spider, nearly fifty meters tall, hangs in the air, its foul-smelling, viscous pus dripping onto the ground, instantly corroding the stone floor into pits and craters.

The gravedigger's dark eyes flashed with green light as he entered the realm of spirits and the dead, looking down upon the enormous, rotting spider from a higher perspective.

His gaze penetrated the decaying body and saw the green node inside the spider's body—a grayish-green, fist-sized crystal.

Just like the "subspace insight" taught by his father, the abilities gained after activation are similar.

Unfortunately, I haven't mastered it like Sanchez.

Its scope is limited, but in this area, its effects are even stronger.
Adams pulled the trigger, and the beam shot directly at the gray-green crystal.

In the blink of an eye, the crystal vanished, and the enormous, decaying body crumbled like mud, falling to the ground.

The gravedigger then killed three more giant, decaying spiders. Their enormous compound eyes didn't even detect any enemy before they were killed.

The group arrived at the central square of the cemetery.

(End of this chapter)