Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 240 Punishment-level Reactor
In the frozen lands of Medusa, Fernus Manus leads Gabriel Santo and the Iron Father deep underground.

They have used large excavators to open underground bunkers and invade the massive factory ruins buried deep beneath the ice.

Manus stood before a wall, his large silver hand pounding against it, a wall as big as the transfer deck of a voidship.

The wall is made of data equipment and contains a chair with cables wrapped around it, embedded in a dilapidated niche.

Manus turned to look at Santo, his most trusted son of Medusa.

Santo met Gorgon's silver eyes and was stunned for a few seconds before he came to his senses.

"Gorgon, the Steel Fathers have conducted a preliminary analysis and determined that the debris here fell from space. They are searching it for anything useful."

“Not enough,” Manus said in a deep voice, his leaden tone echoing as he slammed his large silver hand against the wall.

"It allows people to connect to a database through a neural interface in the spine."

"Through this virtual thinking space, ultra-high-speed data transmission and simulation can be carried out."

Santo looked at Gorgon with admiration; only he could discover the function of a mechanical creation through simple observation and tapping without restoring it to its original state.

He stared at the data equipment and cables that made up the wall and asked, puzzled.

"This is a major discovery, capable of not only handling massive amounts of data in war, but also simulating combat scenarios."

"With this, can't we win the contest?"

Manus's silver eyes were deep: "There's no absolute certainty."

“If Nimrod is a being like me, he is likely someone who, in order to ensure victory, must find the origin of Garuda.”

His silver-coin-like eyes looked at the mechanical eagle flying in from afar.

The mechanical eagles were cast from gray steel and brass, and the Medusa people named them Garuda according to their local mythology.

Ten Garudas flew to Manus's side.

They fluttered around Manus, emitting piercing cries.

Manus's silver eyes shimmered like liquid. "They can't find it."

Santo had served Gorgon for a long time, and he could detect a hint of disappointment in his tone.

“Gorgon, I think this wall is enough to win our battle.”

At the same moment, after listening to the briefing from "The Psychic" Adams, Ninglu spoke to "The Deduction Student" Arsène Dunn.

"Alsena, which location do you consider to be the most valuable?"

The “reasoning student” did not answer immediately, he said.

"Sir, in order to ensure the accuracy of my reasoning, I need to review the information first."

Adams took out his data tablet and sent the information he possessed to the Primarch, the Primarch's attendant, and the Technical Sergeant Gabriel.

After reviewing all the materials, the "deduction student" spoke.

"My lord, I believe that the buildings referred to by the ghosts of nobles and other such spirits are the most valuable relics."

"Furthermore, the ruins he mentioned should have been built by aliens before humans arrived at Medusa."

"Based on the available information, its value cannot be determined."

Ning Lu nodded slightly, acknowledging the logical reasoning of the "reasoning student".

"Let's go to that human ruin."

He then said to the "psychic," "Summon the ghosts to lead the way."

The "spirit medium" took out a spirit crystal from his person and recited a summoning incantation in Dunn language.

"I summon in my own name, and the spirit residing in the crystal in my palm appears to be at my command!"

A chilling wind suddenly arose, and a ghost dressed in magnificent robes appeared before the crowd.

The noble ghost glanced timidly at the tall, black giant; as a ghost, he could feel an immense pressure.

The "spirit medium" spoke in an ethereal tone, issuing orders to the noble ghost.

“Lead the way to the oldest building you have ever built.”

The noble ghost walked around for a while before recognizing the direction and taking a step forward.

The group followed the noble ghost for more than forty kilometers before a majestic iceberg came into view.

Looking into the distance, the overall outline of the iceberg can be seen.

Unlike most icebergs in the world, and even the icebergs of Fenris, this iceberg appears unusually strange.

The iceberg is of varying heights and has an extremely irregular shape.

It's like a mischievous child kneading an irregularly shaped toy.

The noble ghost suddenly stopped and began to mutter to himself.

"It is called McKenna Black Snow Mountain, the result of a war that broke out between the first colonists who came to settle there and fought for control of Sterneros."

"Archaeologist" Gabriel asked curiously.

"Black Snow?"

The noble ghost was lost in ancient memories, and only spoke after a dozen seconds.

"The large amounts of carbides or sulfides ejected into the atmosphere at high temperatures after a nuclear explosion, and the products that fall after they cool down, are called black snow."

The "archaeologist" and the "deduction student" exchanged a glance. He looked at the iceberg in front of him and said in astonishment.

“If what you say is true, then it is a terrible war.” “The spirits I command do not lie,” the “psychic” said.

Nimrod knew the ghosts were real, but he was always puzzled by the fact that, by any measure, the Medusa system was not suitable for human habitation.

Is it worth fighting over such a galaxy?
"Why are you fighting over this galaxy, paying such a huge price?"

The noble ghost glanced at him timidly and spoke.

"We discovered the remains of the aliens here, and a war broke out over them."

Ninglu's eyes were deep as he thought about the environment of the Medusa Galaxy, the fragments floating in the void, and the alien ruins of Medusa.

He also thought of the silver wyvern Asinos, which was suspected to be a fragment of the Void Dragon, and which was released when it was hit by the Fenus Manus incubation pod and crashed into the Black Snow Mountain of Karash.

[If Asinos is indeed a fragment of the Void Dragon, Medusa might be one of the worlds where the Necromancer sealed him.]
As he pondered, the noble ghost drifted into memories, and he continued.

"A protracted war broke out over the control of the ruins, and that's how McKenna came to be."

"After discovering alien ruins in the far north of Sterneros, I landed here and built a base underground in the mountain to facilitate the excavation of the alien ruins."

As they spoke, the group arrived at the foot of McKenna Black Snow Mountain.

The technical sergeants felt the place was unusually cold, and they had to keep swinging the robotic arms on their backs to prevent them from freezing and affecting their use.

Those with extraordinary abilities, known as "Death Gods" under the Necromancer Lord, are even more suited to this path.

The group followed the noble ghost along the winding road until they arrived at a metal gate.

The "spirit medium" asked the noble ghost.

"How to open the door."

The noble ghost walked to the gate, pondered for a dozen seconds, and then spoke.

"It needs to be opened with a key."

The "psychic" then asked, "Where is the key?"

“I don’t know where the key is. It used to be on my servant, but I don’t know where his body is or if the key is damaged.”

Gabriel walked to the gate, his mechanical arm swinging quickly and carefully, using a metal drill to remove the years-old ice that covered the gate's surface.

The sergeant did not proceed further. After carefully tapping the metal gate terminal a few times with his mechanical probe, he turned to the Father of Genetics and spoke.

"You cannot apply force to the door. It is at least five meters thick. Forcibly opening it may activate the device's defenses."

"In fact, it is ten meters thick." The noble ghost's tone was tinged with pride.

"Even if the Voidship launches an orbital bombardment of McKenna, it will survive."

"It was originally the wreckage of a voidship. My technicians modified the void shield to provide protection for the entire base."

"If the attack fails and the defense mechanism is triggered, the entire base will be blown up."

The technical sergeant frowned and asked.

What powers the defense facilities?

The ruins were built during the "Dark Ages," thousands of years ago, and the power arrays of ordinary defensive facilities should have long since become ineffective.

"Punishment-class reactor." The term uttered by the noble ghost was unfamiliar to the technical sergeant.

Ning Lu felt a sense of familiarity, and it took him a moment to remember.

The Punishment-class reactor is a unique reactor used on the "Iron Hand" ships.

Compared to the plasma reactors used on most Imperial ships, the Punishment-class reactors can supply more energy, giving the "Iron Hand" ships a more powerful weapon array and powering the automatically recharged Void Shield.

Perhaps this technology originated from the ancient ruins right before our eyes.

Therefore, the relics before us are of considerable value.
Ninglu thought of the explosion caused by the Punishment-class reactor. Even if he survived, his offspring would suffer heavy casualties. He asked.

"You can't brute-force it, Gabriel. Can you open it?"

“Father, I need time for further testing.”

The "archaeologist's" mechanical probe slid rapidly across the gate terminal before speaking ten minutes later.

“Father, I can, but I’m not sure how long it will take. This is the first time I’ve seen something so complex and incredible.”

"The code inside the gate will generate sub-codes, which in turn require special decryption."

"It reproduces like an ecosystem, it is always changing, and it reacts to my invasion by evolving into more complex systems."

Ninglu realized that he and Fernus Manus had not agreed on a specific time, and although neither of them would resort to unscrupulous methods to excavate one site after another indefinitely, Old Man Huang would not allow such a situation to occur.

But he believed in the abilities of the "archaeologists," and the Punishment-class reactor was a discovery he wanted and that could potentially win him victory, he said.

"Let's begin, break through the defenses as quickly as possible."

“As you wish,” the archaeologist said excitedly, also interested in the code that forms the ecosystem.

As the "archaeologists" and the "generalists" began to decipher the code, Ninglu ordered the Fourth Order Shadow to be on alert before speaking to the "psychics."

"Take your spirit with you; I still have questions for him about that alien ruin."

He and his Primarch attendants, the "psychics," left the gate area and stopped after walking a kilometer.

　P.S.: After seeing everyone's voting feedback, they all chose the first option, so I've decided to stick to the previous writing style.

　　Additionally, there's an introduction to the 11th Legion related to the work; you can look it up if you don't remember. Surprisingly, some people don't know how to find it; it's very simple, just scroll to the very top of the table of contents.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)