Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 197 "Archaeologist"

Rosicky Cech gestured for everyone to stop, and he walked to the base of the huge spider statue, gently tracing the words and patterns on it with his fingers.

He learned spider language from the data crystals of the Iron Lords.

Archaeologists discovered that the script on the base inscription, although slightly different from spider language, belongs to the same language family.

He immediately began analyzing the text with sixteen "generalists".

"We first used glyph and symbol analysis to compare the morphological evolution of letters, and then statistically analyzed the distribution patterns of symbols."

The "generalists" dispersed and read the words and phrases in their respective areas of responsibility, memorizing every word and phrase they read.

They gathered together, compared all the letters, and matched the ancient and modern spider language one by one.

The [C] on the base and the modern []...

The "generalists" then compiled statistics on high-frequency letter combinations and word endings to determine the frequency of each letter in a specific position, and thus inferred its grammatical function.

The Shadows of Order first determine articles and pronouns, and then verbs and names.

Ultimately, the "generalists" deciphered the words and determined the meaning of the sentences.

The results came into the hands of the "archaeologist," who sorted them and grasped the meaning of the entire inscription.

Rosicky briefly summarized the results in a communications channel.

"The Orb Spider Alliance worships spiders, regarding them as embodiments of death, calling them Death Spiders, and erecting statues in their honor."

"There are eight underground tombs containing the corpses of the Iron Lords and the Tech Nobles, who believed that the Death Spider would protect them."

The "archaeologist" finally stated his judgment based on his knowledge of the remains.

“There should be an altar in the center of the underground tomb.”

"Only through the altar can the protection and blessings of the Death Spider be bestowed upon the deceased."

"Is there a guardian in the cemetery?"

Since receiving the power bestowed upon him by the Father of Genetics, Adams developed an interest in the culture of the dead, collecting numerous books and artifacts during his campaigns.

He knew that the dead did not like to be disturbed, and that the core cemetery should be guarded.

The "archaeologist" nodded slightly, acknowledging the "grave digger's" assessment.

"I found on the pedestal, in addition to spiders, canine creatures, which the inscriptions call the Watchdog of Death."

“The native mechanical hounds of Necromonda are one meter long and are modified cyborgs.”

"I think we'll encounter some kind of special dog in the tomb, or perhaps a more powerful mechanical construct."

The gravedigger nodded slightly, his tone as usual.

"In that case, let's go to the tomb."

The "archaeologist" gleaned a hidden interest from the "grave digger's" almost icy voice.

The Shadows of Order immediately headed towards the underground tomb. Just as they reached the entrance, Rosicky spoke.

"Stop."

The master of the furnace stared intently at the gate with deep eyes. He raised his left arm and activated the multi-functional scanner mounted on it.

Seconds later, the scan results confirmed the furnace owner's visual judgment.

"The alloy gate is a technological relic made of various metal materials using ancient technology."

Unlike other legions, the tech sergeant beside him painted his power armor red to indicate his connection to Mars.

The power armor of the Shadow Order's technocrats remained black, except for the shoulder armor, which was painted a fiery red.

The sergeant exclaimed in amazement after scanning with the prosthetic eye.

"The alloy door is integrated with the tomb chamber. Using a molten metal bomb to destroy the door may bury the entrance."

"not only."

The master of the furnace retracted his left arm and raised his right arm. Dense mechanical probes extended from his gauntlet, striking the alloy gate like tentacles.

The touch probe identifies a surface arithmetic mean roughness of 0.52 micrometers, and the thermal probe identifies a thermistor resistance of -4.1% per degree Celsius...

Ten seconds later, the master of the furnace summarized all the parameters and spoke.

"The alloy gate uses special ancient technology and is connected to the entire cemetery through a special array of negative thermistors."

"The frigid tomb chamber was like an ammunition depot."

"Once the violence is detonated, it will bury the entire cemetery."

Adams gasped upon hearing this; the owner of the cemetery was even more ruthless than he had imagined.

To prevent tomb raiders from entering, they were even willing to turn to ashes along with those who would disturb their slumber. "Rosicky, can you open the door?"

The master of the furnace did not speak immediately. The mechanical probe in his hand tapped rhythmically for twelve seconds before he finally spoke.

"can."

The servo robotic arm behind the furnace extends, its mechanical claws open, and its mechanical probe extends.

Each strike of the mechanical claw is accompanied by the strike of several mechanical probes.

The servo robotic arm moves at high speed, making a crackling sound.

Thirty minutes later, the servo arm retracted, and the mechanical parts sparked with electricity due to their high-speed operation.

With a roar, the alloy gate slowly opened.

Rosicky entered the tomb first, followed by the other Shadow Order members.

After passing through two passages, the ground trembled, and numerous mechanical hunting dogs, each nearly two meters long, appeared around us.

Ordinary mechanical hunting dogs are only one meter long, but the ones in the tomb are nearly two meters long.

Not only were there mechanical hounds attacking from the ground, but there were also mechanical claws rapidly climbing the walls and ceiling.

The mechanical hound's eyes simultaneously lit up red as it launched an attack on the shadow of order.

A dozen or so mechanical hounds charged toward Rosicky Cech from above and around him.

Rosicky is no longer the technical expert he once was. He now possesses the superhuman physique of the Astartes and has received a slight physical enhancement after being promoted to "archaeologist".

He drew his power axe and swung it diagonally upwards, smashing the mechanical hound to pieces.

The Shadow of Order wielded its power axe, cleaving through a dozen mechanical hounds like a windmill.

Although Adams did not wear power armor, he underwent enhancements as a "corpse collector" and a "grave digger," making him stronger and more agile.

He strapped the atomic disintegration weapon to his back and drew his power sword.

The Gravedigger moved swiftly, dodging the lasers shot from the mechanical hound's eyes, and swung his charged blade to slash and pierce.

The disintegrating force field tore apart the alloy body, scattering parts all over the ground.

The shadowy figures of order advanced until they reached a tomb chamber.

Under the cover of the shadow of order, the Master of the Forge used a servo arm to break through the gate.

After the gate burst open, Rosicky saw that it was filled with data crystals and strange mechanical artifacts that had been buried with him.

After leaving two technical sergeants and four "corpse collectors" to deal with the bodies, the Shadow of Order continued on their way.

After swiftly traversing the four passages, the Shadows of Order arrived at the center of the tomb. Upon seeing the altar, all the Shadows of Order narrowed their eyes.

The entire altar was constructed from data crystals, each one more dazzling than any they had found before, its radiance blinding even Astartes.

"This is a data altar; it is a treasure trove."

The master of the forge sighed and led the technical soldiers toward the data altar of the "Dark Age of Technology".

After the "grave diggers" and "corpse collectors" cleared away the mechanical hounds, they excavated seven more burial chambers.

After excavating all eight tombs, Adams felt the stars within him explode, and he had fully mastered the power of the "gravedigger".

As the "archaeologists" studied the data stored at the data altar, the Primarch's fleet arrived at the rendezvous point and joined the fleets of the Second and Seventh Chapters.

Before Ninglu issued the attack order, images he had obtained from Slau Da's mind flashed through his mind.

Standing before Slau Da was Joseph, the prophet of the Forta-Ries Ark.

“Slau, fate has revealed to me that the Monkey King will give the Spear of Dionysus to Nimrod.”

"Ninjaku's possession of that cursed artifact will hinder our great cause; he must die!"

Ning Lu's gaze was deep, and he thought to himself.

[Should we slow down and deliberately lose to the wolf king?]
He rejected the idea as soon as it came to him.

No, Old Man Huang never said that he would bestow the Spear of Dionysus and Wolf Fang Fortress upon the Primarchs who participated in the "Battle of the Fire Wheels".

This is just my guess based on memory.

Old Man Huang never said whether he would hand over the Spear of Dionysus to the Primarch who obtained the head of the Orc warlord, or to someone else.

If he chooses me, he will give me the Spear of Dionysus, regardless of my victory or defeat in the hunt.
Thinking of this, Ninglu decided to strive for victory so that he could receive Makado's gift.

The Primarch then issued the order, "Execute the plan, attack!"

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(End of this chapter)