Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 252 The Wolves of Katachon
Void Hunter.

Chief Pharmacist Mikel took a bath to cleanse his sticky body after a long trek through the humid forests of Katachan before arriving at the lower deck of M-108.

After setting up a sealed spiritual environment with a ritual knife, he knelt on the altar.

Beside the "beast tamer" lay a wolf, unlike the gray or brown-furred thunder wolves, its fur was emerald green.

"The Black Emperor of the Shadow of Order"
The mysterious ruler of a disordered kingdom
The king of light and shadow who rules the rules.

Mikel picked up the sacrificial offerings prepared in advance from the altar and held them above his head with both hands.

I pray for Your watchful gaze.

I offer you a sacrifice.

……

"The Iron Laws of the King, the foundation of a disordered kingdom, please transfer your power to my incantation."

The wolf with its emerald green fur sensed an unseen force surging within it; its fur stood on end, and it warily surveyed its surroundings.

The "beast tamer" held the offering in his left hand and gently patted the back of the Katachon wolf with his right hand to soothe its fear.

As Mikel recited it for the third time, black mist rose and engulfed him and the wolf, Katachon.

Mikel had some idea of ​​the mysterious space and the current situation from Sanchez's words. He looked around and calmed down after a few seconds.

The wolves in the Catachan were howling in terror, as if they were trapped in a nightmare.

The "animal trainer" stroked the Katachon wolf again to soothe its fear.

"My lord!"

Ninglu nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on the wolf with its emerald green fur, its size similar to that of the Fenris wolf.

Besides its fur, its pupil color is also different from that of the Fenris wolf; it is not yellow, but green.

He also noticed that, in addition to the changes in its fur, the wolf also had armor protection on its vital parts.

“Mikel, it seems you have successfully tamed and bred a new breed of wolves adapted to Katachon.”

“As you can see,” Mikel said, “the ‘pharmacists’ concoct unique potions, and the ‘tamers’ accelerate the taming of the thunder wolves, allowing them to quickly adapt to the environment of Katachon and complete their evolution.”

"Their bodies have changed to adapt to jungle life, most notably in the color of their fur and pupils."

"Their fur density is reduced to minimize the problem of fur sticking together due to the high humidity in the jungle, while also enhancing their heat dissipation capabilities."

After reporting the adaptive evolution of the Katachon wolf, the "Beastmaster" added:
"The 'animal tamers' are still guiding their evolution, and the current direction of guidance is to reduce the distance between their toes."

"This will make their forelimb joints more flexible, thus improving their walking efficiency on soft humus."

“They are a completely different species from the Thunder Wolf; we call them the Katachon Wolf.”

He concluded by saying, "The mechanical devices on the Catachan wolf are improvements based on experimental data collected from previous battles."

"This started during the Thunderwolf era. The Shadow Order of the Seventh Chapter reported that despite the Thunderwolves' outstanding speed, they suffered unacceptable casualties in every battle under the Orcs' firepower."

"After consulting with the technical sergeants, I developed suitable armor for them."

"But this doesn't fit into the culture of Katachan and would slow down movement in the jungle, so for now only limited equipment is being provided to protect vital areas."

Ninglu recalled that the Thunder Wolf cavalry of the "Space Wolves" would also equip their mounts with armor to improve their survivability.

They also made some mechanical modifications, adding weapons while retaining the form of the Thunder Wolf. The space wolves riding them could operate the weapons to fight, so he spoke.

"Research and development is not limited to protective armor, but also includes developing heavy weapons used by the shadowy forces that ride them."

After reporting on the progress of the domestication of the Catachan wolves, the chief pharmacist opened the box in his hand, revealing the carnivorous plants inside.

"My lord, this is the Catachan lobe you need!"

"A fleet consisting of three transport ships and five escort vessels has set sail. You will see the flora and fauna of Katachon later."

“Very good,” Ninglu said approvingly. The chief apothecary pressed the rune and closed the box.

"Sir, the transformation surgery on the Catachan people is progressing smoothly."

"They have excellent physical condition and strong adaptability, and no rejection reaction occurred after taking the medicines prepared by the 'pharmacists'."

"To date, none of the 1,500 candidates have failed in their transformation efforts."

After the report was completed, Mikel and the Qatachon were sent back to the Void Hunter.

After comforting the wolves, the "beast tamer" clasped his hands together and praised the Black Emperor for a moment before slowly getting up.

At the same time, on the surface of Katachon, the residence of "Harvest Priestess" Malena Skala was set up next to an experimental farm. The "Harvest Priestess" walked forward, inspecting the farm area.

A turmeric-furred, brain-boosting cat followed beside her.

The plants in Katachon are self-aware, and the "Harvest Priestess" must inspect the defensive perimeter she has created by the plants every day.

The "Harvest Priests" surrounded the farmland, establishing a defensive perimeter around the mutated plants.

When attacked by mutated plants, these plants retaliate according to her will, and this happens every day.

The "Harvest Priest" looked ahead as a "Beast Tamer" led a train-long Katachan demon past.

Its presence deterred most animals from approaching.

The "Harvest Priest" withdrew his gaze and looked at the five-meter-high wall formed by vines.

The construction of this wall cost the "Harvest Priest" one stellar month.

The vines in Katachon grew at an astonishing rate, far exceeding what she had seen in Triken, and Malena spent most of her time manipulating the plants to build a defensive perimeter.

It's almost a meter taller than when I inspected it yesterday.

If it weren't for the various mutated plants attacking them, it's hard to imagine how tall these vines would have grown.
After walking more than a hundred meters, Malena passed the southeast corner of the wall of mutated plants.

As soon as she turned the corner, she saw a one-meter-wide crack about ten meters ahead.

The defensive wall, which was originally about three meters thick, has been reduced to about one meter.

[The fissure was created yesterday by the attack launched by the vines and the Catachan catcher.]
The "Harvest Priest" raised her fair right hand and aimed it at the vine.

The spirituality spread, and the vines grew in accordance with the will of the "Harvest Priest".

Although the plants of Katachon have "consciousness," they do not possess true wisdom. The "Harvest Priest" can command plants and insects within a 30-meter radius that lack wisdom, and thus can also command the plants of Katachon.

Moments later, Malena finished constructing the mutated plant defensive wall.

After walking across the entire defensive wall and inspecting the defenses, Malena walked toward the vines.

As the "Harvest Priestess" approached, the vines she commanded parted, revealing a passage.

Malena went inside, and what appeared before her was a field of farmland.

She used her psionic energy and the technology of the Eldar world to transform the entire farmland, which took her a year to complete.

This area is unlike any other in Katachon; the crops growing here are ordinary crops, not the mutated plants that launch frenzied attacks.

After the "Harvest Priest" inspired the growth of hundreds of crops, it was finally determined that raspberry and pomelo trees were the most suitable for planting here.

Malena walked through the lush orchard back to her dwelling.

Fifty-two Katachán women looked at Malena with awe.

Every woman in the Katachan is physically strong, even comparable to the auxiliary soldiers.

Like the men, they are also Katachan people who survived in the dangerous jungle, and even without training, their combat strength is no less than that of ordinary auxiliary soldiers.

The women of Katachán bowed respectfully to Lady Malena; they had never seen anyone command the plants to such a degree as Lady Malena.

In their eyes, Lady Malena was even more powerful and mysterious than those Astartes clad in black armor.

The women of Catachan considered it an honor to serve Malena, and each one who eventually qualified had defeated tens of thousands of others.

They were deeply moved after being granted permission to set foot in the area.

Lady Malena, you actually managed to plant trees in Katachon.

The legendary fruit tree.

The women of Katachán served Lady Malena with devotion, regarding it as an honor and a blessing from fate.

Malena nodded slightly and continued walking into her residence.

She went straight down into the underground, where fourteen Katachon women and Legion servants were busily working to build the altar according to her instructions.

They tried their best, but progress was still much slower than on the Void Hunter.

Thirty-eight sidereal days later, the altar was completed.

After Malena ordered everyone to leave, she set up the altar.

(End of this chapter)