Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 256 Emperor's Reward: Firewheel Participates in the War Against the Primarch
Three imperial guards, clad in golden armor and carrying trays, strode up the high platform.

There are two items on each tray.

The smaller one is a gold eagle medal with fiery red patterns around it, and the main design of each medal is different.

The emperor first picked up a medal in the middle, the main body of which was a black longsword, and inserted it into the green-skinned head.

The Emperor pinned the medal on Ninglu's black armor and began to speak.

“Ninglu, this medal symbolizes your beheading of the orc warlord and your judgment on the aliens.”

The Emperor then walked up to Leman Russ and pinned the medal, the one featuring a wolf pouncing on a greenskin, onto his dark gray armor.

"Ruth, it symbolizes your pack of wolves, fiercely attacking the greenskins and swiftly ending their filthy lives."

The Emperor finally walked up to Hannibal and slashed the green badge, which was the main part of his bear-hunting knife, onto Hannibal's amber-colored armor.

"Hannibal, this symbolizes you using a bear-hunting knife to cleave open the filthy green-skinned body."

Ning Lu's dark eyes flashed: [It's more like using a knife to cut food.]
While he was pondering, Old Man Huang took out another ring-shaped object from the tray.

It is similar to the iron halo that Nimrod previously bestowed upon his sons who performed the best in the "Wheel of Flames" campaign.

Its main body is a golden ring connected to a vertical metal rod, which can be hung on the power armor.

The difference is that a ruby ​​is set at the top of the ring, and the ring is decorated with gilded laurel leaves.

Ninglu keenly noticed that the gilded laurel leaves exhibited a certain peculiar pattern, and that the rubies contained powerful energy.

The emperor, holding a ring, spoke.

“They are a more advanced version than the Iron Halo, which I named the Gold Halo.”

"Like the Iron Halo, it has a built-in force field generator. When attacked, the deflection field will automatically activate, and the generated energy shield can deflect attacks from laser cannons and missiles."

"The difference is that the energy contained in the ruby ​​is much stronger, and it can even withstand the attack of the Annihilation Cannon."

Nimrod knew that the Annihilation Cannons were powerful weapons equipped by the Psionic Titans, which were powered by Alpha-class psionics.

The Order of Ominous, composed of psionic titans, is an important force in Huang Laohan's hands, and the technology to forge them came from Huang Laohan himself.

In a one-on-one fight, the Psionic Titan is even more powerful than the Eldar Titan, far surpassing the Titans participating in the celebration today.

Thinking about this, he silently made an assessment of the golden halo in his mind.

[Very strong defense.]
Ning Lu bent down slightly, allowing Old Man Huang to place the golden halo behind him.

This is only a temporary decoration; it requires special treatment by skilled military personnel to ensure it fits snugly against the armor.

Nimrod's case was even more unique; he had to wait for Phenus Manus to forge the armor for him.

The Lord of Mankind then bestowed golden halos upon Ruth and Hannibal respectively, after which three guards saluted him and withdrew from the platform.

The emperor walked to the center of the high platform, where two items were placed.

One of the gray iron hammers was entirely black, with lightning runes engraved on it.

He picked up the gray hammer, walked towards Hannibal, and spoke.

“This Thunder Hammer was made by my personal craftsmen.”

"It is different from ordinary thunder hammers; it does not release energy in an instant to launch a fatal blow to the enemy."

"It creates a special force field, and when it explodes, the enemy will be stunned by the sound waves, so I named it Thunder."

Upon hearing this, Hannibal's eyes lit up, and he took the Thunderhammer from the Lord of Man with both hands.

“Father, thank you for the gift. The Thunder Hammer suits me very well.”

The emperor then looked at Russ and said to him.

"The wolf pack suffered heavy losses in the battle of the 'Wheel of Flames'. You act swiftly and never stop."

“Your homeland, Fenris, may become empty because of this.”

"Therefore, I reward you with a fortress, which will be the largest fortress outside of the Imperial Palace's defenses."

Upon hearing this, Ninglu had a bad feeling. He had already guessed that Old Man Huang had bestowed upon Russ the Wolf Fang Fortress. [So, according to the original reward of the Fire Wheel, Old Man Huang would give me the Spear of Dionysus?]
Ning Lu knew that what Old Man Huang said was not wrong. In the future, when Qianzi launched an attack on Wolf Fang Fortress, he would lure the wolves out and leave their wolf dens undefended.

The wolves relied on their wolf tooth fortress to defend against attacks and were ultimately able to repel the attack of the thousand soldiers, with their advantageous terrain playing a significant role.

Upon hearing this, Ruth bowed and said:
"Father, the wolf pack will surely carry out your will and eliminate all enemies of the empire for you!"

Ninglu looked at the emperor, walked to the center of the platform, and pressed the control stick.

Accompanied by the sound of mechanical transmission, the platform with spears stuck in it rose up.

It looks like a finely crafted spear, just long enough to be used by me.

Ruth, Manus, and Hannibal all furrowed their brows simultaneously. As Primarchs, they could all sense the curse contained within the spear.

The mere sight of spears made them instinctively feel uneasy.

Ning Lu narrowed his eyes; Old Man Huang was about to hand over the Spear of Dionysus to him.

In the end, they still had to hand over the Spear of Dionysus to me, without giving me a choice.

Old Huang must have used his "sympathetic magic" to predict the future again.

In this future, I will play an important role, which is why the spear of Dionysus has been entrusted to me.
Ning Lu's eyes flickered. He knew he couldn't refuse, but he wouldn't let Old Man Huang make arrangements for him.

The spear of Dionysus cannot dictate my will; every choice is still made by myself.

If it doesn't align with my principles and interests, I still won't follow his plan.

If Old Man Huang has a way to force me to carry out his plan, it can only be because he is highly skilled and has devised a clever strategy.
Ninglu knew that the Spear of Dionysus, unlike some Chaos artifacts, would not corrupt people's minds.

After Ruth received it, he only carried it with him when he met Old Man Huang, in order to please his father.

He could not abandon the Dionysian spear, yet he was not driven by it to act.

[If the Second and Eleventh Legions were wiped out in 945, it was indeed the work of Ruth and the Space Wolf.]

That can only mean that Ruth carried out Old Man Huang's orders.

Ruth became the executioner because he accepted the role, not because he was influenced by the Dionysian Spear, which he at that time still resisted using.
The "Burning of Prospero," in which he did not use the Spear of Dionysus, did not affect his final decision to launch an attack and break Magnus's spine.

Ruth despised the Spear of Dionysus and never used it.

Ultimately, he accepted the power of the curse, solely to enhance his own combat strength and assassinate the mighty Horus.

The Spear of Dionysus did not control Ruth's will; all his decisions stemmed from his own thoughts.

While Ning Lu was pondering, Old Man Huang spoke up.

“Ninglu, this spear was forged by me personally in my first underground fortress during a time of strife and chaos.”

Ning Lu strode over, thinking to himself.

I also know that you poured some of your power into it.

This makes the Dionysian Spear a truly divine artifact, but it also makes it a cursed weapon.
Nimrod knew that although powerful weapons such as the Claw of Horus were called artifacts, they were not actually true artifacts.

While Ning Lu was pondering, Old Man Huang spoke again.

"I have named it the Spear of Dionysus, and now I present it to you, hoping that you will use it to achieve great things."

Ninglu walked up to the Spear of Dionysus, thinking hopefully.

[Perhaps the Spear of Dionysus is destined for Ruth, and it might not react to me.]

I remember that when Ruth grasped the Spear of Dionysus, it immediately triggered a reaction.

Ruth felt the ominous lifeline of the Dionysian Spear pierce his soul, and his laughter was more like a grimace.

Old Huang could see Ruth's worry and resistance, but he remained silent, which made him feel even worse than the power of the curse.

The Fenrisians called the threads of fate "the threads of destiny," and Ruth knew then that his future was tragic.
　P.S.: Just a quick note. Some readers mentioned that they didn't want Nimrul to wield the Spear of Dionysus because they didn't want him to become an executioner. The text clearly states that the Spear of Dionysus does not affect a person's will; whether Nimrul becomes an executioner has absolutely nothing to do with the Spear of Dionysus.

　　Incidentally, Old Man Huang's arrangements might not necessarily succeed. A negative example is that he made Angron a warm-hearted older brother, but he ended up as a butcher. He didn't specifically design Guilliman's domestic affairs abilities; Thirteen was just lucky to have such excellent foster parents.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)