Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 238 Ninglu's Proposed Contest

Finus Manus looked at the warrior named Nimrod, who was slightly taller than him.

His long black hair fluttered in the wind, his face resembled a marble sculpture, and his black eyes were deep and unfathomable.

Fernus Manus habitually turned his gaze to the black armor, which was entirely black and meticulously crafted by hand, with every surface hand-forged.

The armor forged for Nimrod was crafted by the priest Malevolus, who also forged Horus's armor. He was the most outstanding craftsman in the Mechanicus.

But in Felus Manus’s innate talent for metallurgy, every part of the armor and every curve was not yet perfect.

He then looked at Ninglu's left hand and saw the silver power boxing gloves.

"Your boxing gloves, their polished steel gleaming with perfect arc."

As he spoke, he raised his left arm, the silver metal gleaming.

“My hands are also silver, and I want to know whose hands are stronger.”

Ninglu's eyes were deep. The Sequence 1 Order Hand of the "Judge" pathway to the Iron Hand, which was suspected to be a fragment of the Star God, was interesting, but there was something more valuable.

He was more interested in the ancient ruins of Medusa than in curiosity.

He cast his gaze into the distance, looking at the mountains and beneath the ice.

“I learned from Azek Ahriman’s report that Medusa contains countless relics from the ‘Dark Ages of Technology’.”

"You, Gorgon, often lead teams to explore underground ruins."

"Let's have an exploration contest. We'll each lead a team to excavate an ancient ruin. Whoever finds the most valuable ancient artifacts will win, and the winner will take all of the loser's spoils."

Upon hearing this, the emperor first frowned slightly.

In the countless futures he foresaw, Nimrod defeated one or more Primarchs in many threads of destiny.

Nimrod defeated the traitors to the Empire and his Primarch.

He had seen similar situations in Riemann Russ, but not as frequently as in Nimrod.

He has decided to award the Dionysian Spear, which he forged himself, to either Nimrod or Ruth as a reward for the "Wheel of Flames" during the Terra Festival.

The emperor saw the immense power hidden within Phenus Manus, and he was the perfect test subject.

If Nimrod can defeat Manus, he will be the master of the Dionysian Spear.

However, his plan was thwarted by Ninglu, who rejected the idea of ​​a martial arts contest and proposed exploring the ruins instead.

After a few seconds of silence, the Emperor spoke before Manus could.

“Ninlu, this is not a fair contest. Manus is more familiar with Medusa, and the talent I have given him in casting and technology gives him an advantage.”

Finus Manus's mind raced, taking into account his knowledge of the ruins and the steel father he had nurtured.

He also took the emperor's words into consideration, and from any perspective, he believed that he was bound to win.

“He’s right, you can’t beat me at ruins exploration.”

Ning Lu's eyes flickered; he keenly sensed the emperor's sudden change in emotion.

[It's not that I'm worried about Manus not returning to the Empire after I lose the duel.]

Rather, it was a kind of sudden, unexpected astonishment, as if I had disrupted one of his plans.

Well, Old Huang isn't a lazy person, so he must have some purpose in sending me into battle, but it's not just for victory.

Then there's only one possibility: to test my combat capabilities?
Ning Lu's eyes were deep. No matter what Huang Laohan's purpose was in probing his strength, he would never use all his extraordinary abilities in front of Huang Laohan.

This further solidified his idea of ​​challenging Manus to explore the ruins.

Even if I lose, I will only lose things that don't belong to me. If I win, I can get all the good things from the two ruins.

Besides, I might not necessarily lose; I have a "psychic" and an "archaeologist."
Thinking of this, Ning Lu deliberately exuded confidence and spoke.

“I grew up in Vostochny, so I’m not completely ignorant about technology.”

"To preserve all the items during the exploration of the ruins, a team is needed."

"Among my descendants, there are many who are skilled in technology, and I will make good use of their abilities."

Finus Manus's silver eyes gazed at Ninglu, sensing the confidence emanating from the other man.

“In that case, let’s do as you say and each lead our own teams to explore the ruins.”

The emperor sighed inwardly. The situation had developed beyond his expectations. Nimrod and Manus had reached an agreement, and it would be too unusual for him to interfere further.

When Manus summoned the Iron Fathers, Nimrod's consciousness spread.

The ion storms and debris surrounding the planet interfered with communications, so he could only communicate with Arsène Dunn telepathically.

Ninglu's consciousness spread, and when it pierced through the thick clouds, he immediately felt it was much more difficult than usual.

He immediately ascended to the third level of the Thelma state of mind, adding mental power to his thoughts.

His consciousness traversed the clouds, passed through the ion storm, flew over the wreckage, and arrived at the black warship in the void.

Arsène Dunn was in his office, sitting at his console, reviewing reports from various battle groups on his dashboard.

He suddenly realized something and raised his head.

The silver-haired psychic felt the approaching consciousness, which he recognized very well. He did not resist it, letting the thought impulses resound in his mind.

"You, Adams, and Gabriel, come to the ground immediately."

"Take the exploration team with you!" Ning Lu had already made preparations on the way. He selected members of the Order Shadow who demonstrated relevant traits in exploration and technology from the Honor Guard, the Fourth Battle Group, and the technical sergeants.

After the journey was completed, the Primarch's servant relayed the Primarch's orders to the Deathlord and the Techno-Soldiers.

One sidereal hour later, Alsena and fifty-four Order Shadows boarded a heavy transport ship and headed toward Medusa IV.

As they approached the wreckage, the Primarch's attendant received a report from the captain.

"Sir, we are about to enter the Medusa IV's ring zone. Please prepare for a collision."

The silver-haired psionicist's blue eyes shone brightly as he placed his hand inside the ship's cabin, his telekinetic powers spreading outwards.

The heavy transport ship, enveloped in telekinesis, moved through the wreckage.

Fifteen minutes after the ship's timer expired, Alsena spotted the first automated defense turret.

His telekinesis touched the control panel, wanting to temporarily disable the turret.

A look of surprise flashed across Alsena's eyes as he realized the turret had been completely shut down.

Alcena then touched several more automatic weapons and found that all weapon platforms were turned off.

As a telekinetic master, he sensed a familiar energy from the weapon platform—it was telekinetic energy.

[In Azek Ahriman’s report, they did not handle weapons, was it the Emperor?]

His psychic abilities are astonishing; he was able to permanently shut down so many weapon platforms.

I could never possess such powerful telekinesis; only the Primarch could.
The failure of space mines and weapon platforms made the challenges facing Alsena much easier; he only needed to defend against the occasional ion storms.

Five hours later, the transport ship slowly landed.

The Primarch's servant wiped the sweat from his brow and, together with Adams and Gabriel, led the way down to the deck.

A moment later, a roaring sound came.

Black exhaust fumes and the roar of an engine came from afar, and a large steel vehicle appeared in everyone's sight.

The steel wagon is about 300 meters long. It is entirely black, but a dazzling silver hand is engraved on the front of the wagon.

The black steel truck started braking a kilometer away, making a screeching sound.

With a rumbling sound, the steel chariot stopped exactly ten meters in front of Ning Lu, without missing a beat.

After the steel wagon came to a stop, the sound of pneumatic levers rang out, and the side hatches rose one by one, allowing the Medusa-like figures to disembark.

A dozen or so of them had prosthetic bodies, some more than others.

Several people replaced their flesh and blood bodies with silver prosthetic eyes and silver arms.

Ninglu's gaze swept over the Medusa, and he thought to himself.

[The Steel Father.]
Nimrod knew that before returning to the Empire, Phenus Manus had established and trained the Iron Fathers.

They can be seen as a combination of technical priests and shamans, responsible for the daily spiritual and technical needs of each tribe, while also exchanging secrets passed down through generations from each tribe.

Through this system, Manus was able to enable each clan and tribe to produce better weapons and more powerful machinery without directly ruling them.

The Iron Fathers also followed Manus's will, ensuring that the tribes continued to fight in a controlled manner, guaranteeing that they would not slacken their efforts even after their lives improved.

[The Steel Fathers were also a source of confidence for Manus; they were both masters of mechanics and had followed him in excavating countless ruins.]
After Fernus Manus stepped out of the cockpit, he went straight to Nimrod.

Gabriel Santo and the other Medusas looked in the direction their Gorgon had gone and saw a giant in black armor.

The giant's body was as imposing as the Gorgon's, and he seemed like a demigod descended to earth.

Manus's scrutinizing gaze swept over the black-armored warriors behind Ninglu, and each royal court monk felt immense pressure from the cold glint in his silver eyes.

They ascended to the first level of Thelma's state of mind, resisting the instinct to look away.

Manus's gaze lingered for a moment on the mechanical arms protruding from behind the eleven black-armored warriors before finally settling on Gabriel.

Gabriel felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him; sweat beaded on his forehead and his temples throbbed.

He felt the pressure lessen slightly after he entered the second level of the Thelma state of mind that he had just mastered.

A hint of surprise flashed in Manus's eyes. He looked away and said to Ninglu.

"Your offspring are quite good."

Ning Lu smiled and began to speak.

"Of course, I have confidence in them."

After activating the interstellar communication, Azek Ahriman immediately recorded the Medusa language he had mastered, as well as some of the knowledge discovered by the Fifteenth Legion, on a data tablet and presented it to Lord Nimrod.

The sons chosen by Nimrod all learned the basics of Medusa during the voyage.

They understood the conversation between the two Primarchs and were greatly encouraged.

"You are ready. Let's begin."

Ninglu responded to Manus.

"it is good."

Seeing the two Primarchs lead their team away, the Emperor asked Alpharis.

Who will win this contest?

(End of this chapter)