Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 219 Firewheel: Beast Tank

The frigate Rio Grande do Sul.

Ning Lu had a sudden thought and pointed to the steel and other materials that the warband servants had brought.

Use them to apply an ape force field to this ship!

Do not alter the original structure of the ship.

Nimrod recalls the Demon Tribunal of the future Calicus Sector, which commanded some space apes to build ape force fields to resist chaos.

He used this frigate as a test; if the ape force field could be superimposed on the Geller force field, it would be safer to travel in subspace.

The space monkey immediately sprang into action, heading to a handcart and quickly rummaging through it to find a pile of parts.

In a flash, he made a steel mesh resembling a basket and filled it with materials.

Nimrod said to the Engine Prophet, "Take him outside the ship."

The Tech Priest's mask flashed, and he only looked away a few seconds later.

His prosthetic eye's signal capture device could barely keep up with the movements of the orange-haired ape-like creature.

The synthesized voice of the Tech Priest rang out: "As you command."

He also wanted to know what “apes” that couldn’t even speak could do.

The engine prophet sends the space ape into the elevator and operates a drone to follow it.

The engine prophet saw the space ape emerge from the elevator, cling to the black hull, and then its slender fingers began to move.

The engine prophet's mechanical tentacles throbbed angrily, and his synthesized electronic voice was trembling.

"Blasphemy!"

He once worked at the Mars Shipyard, building ships for Om Messiah.

Before each construction, the technical priests and their servants would ring bells, sing hymns, and build according to a sacred template.

To him, the behavior of the space apes was like apes playing around, ridiculous and a desecration of Om Messiah.

The engine prophet wanted to activate the cannon to kill the ape.

But then he remembered that the ape was brought by the original gene, so he stopped moving.

The engine prophet suddenly noticed the data flashing on the visor; it was a reading transmitted by the drone.

[The ape wasn't playing around/His modifications were effective/Impossible/Unreasonable/Illogical.]

The Primarch's consciousness followed the space ape. Once he began to act, his eyes flashed with light as he looked up at the outside of the ship.

His gaze pierced through the ship's hull, and he saw an invisible barrier covering the ship's surface as the space ape's fingers moved.

[At least building an ape force field is feasible; whether it conflicts with the Geller force field and what the effect would be remains to be seen through testing.]

If there's no conflict, an extra layer of protection is never a bad thing.
Thinking of this, Ninglu gave instructions to the servants of the battle group.

“Provide him with the materials, and notify me immediately if he stops.”

The space monkeys have established a connection with him and are no longer driven by their escape instinct.

Before leaving, Ninglu gave orders to the space apes.

Once the ape force field is constructed, return to the ship's cabin and do not make any modifications to the ship.

Besides their survival instincts, space apes also have a building instinct. Let it do as it pleases, Ninglu doesn't know if it will turn this ship into a polyhedral open-faceted vessel for its kind.

The following day, the Fourth Legion arrived in the Flame Wheel Galaxy.

After confirming that Adams had digested the "Gravedigger" potion by questioning and observing his aura, Ninglu promoted him to a Sequence 7 "Spirit Sorcerer".

Nimrod dispatched both the Fourth and Eighth Warbands to Planet Two to attack the Orc fortress.

After discussing the matter, Mikhailovsky and Gregor, who were in charge of the war on Planet Two, decided to deploy five experimental hover tanks on the southeastern battlefield.

The nine companies of the Eighth Battle Group launched attacks from the north, west, and east respectively. After drawing the attention of the Greenskins, the Third Company launched its offensive.

Upon discovering that the orc fortress walls were just over ten meters high, Gregorian immediately dispatched Vostonia-type rhinoceroses to launch an attack.

A hundred shadowy figures activated their jetpacks, trailing blinding light, and scaled the city wall.

Their objective was clear: to head straight for the green-skinned artillery.

Inside the command vehicle, Gregorio gazed at the city walls. He watched as the assault squad destroyed the green-skinned cannons as planned, and then he gave the order.

"Experimental team, launch!"

About a hundred meters behind the command vehicle, in a black armored vehicle painted with gears, a technical sergeant replied through a communication headset.

"Roger that!"

Around him were screens displaying various data.

The technical sergeant gave the order: "Attack!"

Five experimental hover tanks flew to the city wall, and the driver pushed the control lever on his left.

The sphere on the tank's belly spun rapidly, the silvery-white solution churned, and beige parasites, about the length of an average person's finger, multiplied rapidly.

The solution splits to both sides and flows along the brass conduit.

Moments later, the solution was injected into the bullets.

The hover tank's two gun barrels spat out a series of bullets, hitting the orcs.

The tall green-skinned men didn't care at all. One of them shouted, "You bunch of useless shrimps! You actually use such small bullets as weapons!"

"What those shrimp-like things offer is nothing more than a scratching an itch!"

Unbeknownst to the orcs, a dozen or so rice-grain-sized parasites were tearing and devouring their green flesh.

The parasites' abdomens swelled rapidly, making popping sounds.

At this moment, the beastmen finally noticed the abnormality inside their bodies, and they frantically scratched themselves.

After the parasites have eaten their fill, thread-sized larvae emerge from their tails.

The larvae burrow into the green flesh, tearing and devouring it, growing and spreading rapidly.

Within seconds, the parasites had spread all over the orc's body.

The slow-witted beastmen finally began to sense the abnormality within their bodies.

They felt their bodies tearing apart, and the pain was spreading.

"Shrimp's weapon..."

A tall orc stared wide-eyed and screamed in terror.

He couldn't understand how such a small bullet could cause him so much damage.

His whole body felt like it was about to shatter.

The next moment, he lost the ability to speak, and his consciousness began to blur.

Sensors integrated into the bullet casing transmit data to the technical sergeant's experimental vehicle, where it is recorded in a data crystal.

Gregor stared wide-eyed at the orcs on the city wall, who vanished as if dissolving.

He switched command channels and said to his friend Mikhailovsky in an amazed tone.

"The new tank is really powerful!"

"The orc is gone, his whole body is gone, it's more effective than burning him."

"Their fungal spores were all eaten by parasites."

“Is that so?” Mikhailovsky replied with great interest. “Then I’d like to see it for myself.”

After Gregor hung up the communication, he issued the attack order.

"attack!"

The Vostochny rhinoceros charged toward the city wall, its ramming horns trembling rapidly.

Hundreds of black chariots crashed into the city wall with a deafening scraping sound, leaving cracks in the wall.

Rumble!
The entire city wall collapsed with a roar, and as the rubble slid down, Vostochny rhinoceroses filed in.

The hover tanks moved synchronously through the air, unleashing a barrage of projectiles at the orcs below.

An hour later, the hover tanks gradually withdrew from the battlefield as the parasite solution ran out.

After compiling the experimental data, the technical sergeants prepared a report and sent it to the Shadow of Royal Power.

Thirteen hours after the hover tanks were deployed to the battlefield, Ninglu received an experimental briefing.

"Sir, the technical sergeant and Gregorj, the company commander of the 3rd Company of the 3rd Regiment, have reported that the hover tanks are performing exceptionally well in the battle."

"The data captured by the sensors shows that the orc's body has been completely eaten away by parasites, with no fungal spores remaining."

Ninglu looked at the image that Alsena had shown him, nodded in satisfaction, and then asked a question.

What is their sustained combat capability?

"The parasites on the Voidweavers of the Eldar live within the Eldar bones and can continue to multiply."

“Our hover tanks use an alternative method: the chief pharmacist prepares a solution that ‘produces’ parasites every day at a fixed rate.”

"After considering factors such as reproduction rate and safety, the technical sergeants believe that it is expected to be able to supply ninety-four hover tanks."

Ning Lu nodded slightly, and after thinking for a few seconds, he spoke.

"It can only be used as a tool to disrupt the balance now."

"Your Excellency is wise. Gregorio reached the same conclusion after receiving a report from the technical sergeant."

He believes that deploying ten hover tanks in a localized area can quickly gain an advantage within a three-kilometer radius.

After listening to the report, Ning Lu nodded in satisfaction.

Although it did not achieve the best results he had envisioned and could not be used on a large scale, he was still satisfied.

"This type of hover tank should be named the Beast-Slaying Hover Tank."

"Produce on a large scale and temporarily allocate it to the Third Battle Group."

"Order the technical sergeant to continue the research."

Mikel did not take all the "Pharmacists" with him; the legion's flagship still had fourteen newly promoted "Beastmasters" and thirty-five "Pharmacists".

One after another, orc-destroying tanks entered service, and the Third Battle Group acquired the sharpest weapon to tear apart the orc defenses.

Mikhailovsky and Gregor deployed them to the most heavily fortified areas of the orcs, conquering one defensive point after another.

The conquest of the two fortresses has progressed significantly, and the Vixtricus Knights have arrived in the Flame Wheel system.

(End of this chapter)