Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 267 The Golden Garuda Helps Unleash a Storm

Ferreira led the Flao people towards the warship.

After traveling two kilometers, Ferreira suddenly signaled the driver to stop.

The open-top Vladimir command vehicle came to a stop, his eyes narrowed as he looked up at the sky.

In Ferreira's ethereal vision, it had no luster whatsoever.

[Not a living being, but some kind of machine?]
Ferreira shouted into the communicator, "Biomaster, Ether Lightning, shoot down anything spying on us from the air!"

To unleash the power of etheric magic, the Flao people's etheric masters all traveled in open-top vehicles.

A dozen or so bio-engineering Aether Masters immediately raised their staffs, and psionic lightning gathered in the air.

The lightning bolt, as thick as a finger, grew thicker and thicker, eventually becoming an electric dragon as thick as the Flao people.

The electric dragon ripped through the sky, striking the gray and yellow mechanical construct in mid-air.

The mechanical eagle, billowing black smoke, crashed to the ground like a kite with a broken string.

Ferreira waved his hand, and the driver started the command vehicle and continued onward.

The "Iron Hand" front.

Beside Dukaine, the technical sergeant who had earned the title of Iron Father spoke up:
“I lost my Garuda. The Flao's psychic lightning was faster than it could react. It had no chance to dodge.”

"Garuda's energy core was overloaded by the psychic lightning and could not be repaired even after the war."

Du Kane nodded and asked Gabriel on the other side, "Can your golden Garuda bring me information that Garuda didn't obtain?"

“I will try my best,” Gabriel said cautiously, observing and taking notes beside Dukaine.

He had come to understand that "Storm and Hammer" was a seemingly simple but actually extremely complex and sophisticated tactical system based on consideration of numerous factors.

The extent to which the auxiliary forces attract enemies as a "storm," the control over the auxiliary forces' persistence capabilities, and when to unleash the Iron Hand to strengthen defenses.

The timing of deploying the Astartes "Hammer" and the command of the deployed highly mechanized assault forces.

Even logistical support is meticulously planned, including ensuring supply during high-speed assaults and navigating the route from attack positions to target points.

The ability to advance mechanized forces after launching an attack, as well as the configuration of firepower and advance fire preparation.

"Storm and Hammer" also involves multi-dimensional considerations, from the planning of aerial interdiction and cover by gunships to the rapid clearing operations coordinated by Astartes forces and vehicles.

This requires long-term training and evaluation. Du Kane trained the Steel Hand of Solago in highly mechanized tactics, and he also considered the campaign's determination, the commander's willpower, and execution.

According to Ducaine, these were all developed and evolved from the tactical system of the Terra Albia war clans.

He developed this tactic in actual combat, and after Lord Phenus Manus returned, the demands on battlefield factors and calculations increased significantly.

In the past, "Storm and Hammer" took into account all parameters of one's own side in a comprehensive and multi-layered manner, but only grasped the overall situation of the enemy.

While it is unlikely to be wrong in general, Lord Manus has set a higher standard.

The enemy's various troop types, numbers, weapons used, and logistical situation...

Manus wanted his commanders to have a complete grasp of all the enemy's factors and to make perfect calculations; he emphasized the use of devices such as oracles.

Garuda was also given importance, and in this first battle after being renamed "The Iron Hand," he was expected to realize his ideals.

However, the Flao people's ethereal magic thwarted Garuda's reconnaissance activities right from the start.

Gabriel switched the helmet's interface, and the panel turned gold.

The steel hand connects directly to Garuda through an implant.

Instead of this approach, Gabriel developed a new display system and uploaded it to the "Shadow of Order" helmet system.

While it doesn't provide real-time feedback like the Iron Hand, it has a wider range of applications.

Gabriel hopes to mass-produce golden Garudas in the future and popularize them at the company level, or even squad level, within the "Shadow of Order".

Above the Vladian procession, the golden Garuda, high in the sky, looked down.

Compared to ordinary Garudas, golden Garudas have a wider reconnaissance range and can conduct reconnaissance at higher altitudes.

On the golden interface in front of Gabriel, a holographic image of Flao's team appeared, and he quickly said:
"The second vehicle carried eight Flao Aether Mages. Based on the lightning and fire symbols on their robes, we can deduce that they were four bio-type and four fire-type psychics."

[Hmm... The lack of an eyepiece sensor for automatic classification and rating is inconvenient and needs improvement.]
Gabriel reported to Ducaine while recording battlefield feedback for post-war improvements.

"..."

After ordering the metal eagle that was spying on him to be shot down, Ferreira continued forward. After a few hundred meters, he sensed something was wrong again and looked up at the sky.

He glanced at it, found nothing, and looked away.

The command vehicle moved forward for another hundred meters or so, and Ferreira looked up and gazed at the sky.

He always felt that a pair of eyes were watching him, he shouted.

"Master Mind Control, inspect the high altitude!"

Dozens of telekinetic ether masters released their telekinetic energy, which spread into the air.

A dozen seconds later, the telekinetic master in the third vehicle spoke:
"Lord Ferreira, there is a mechanical eagle in the sky, a golden mechanical eagle."

“Pull it down for me!” Ferreira shouted.

"No, it's too high, about 10,000 meters above the ground."

"Biochemical Master!" Ferreira had no choice but to ask the biochemical Aether Master who had just shot down the Metal Eagle.

"We can't reach it either, it's too high."

Upon hearing this, Ferreira had no choice but to give up and gave the order: "Full speed!"

As a psionic pilot, Flao sensed the terrifying flames leaping from Ferreira's body and immediately floored the accelerator.

"The Iron Hands" front, Du Kane said with admiration, having obtained all the information he wanted from Gabriel.

“The information obtained by the Golden Garuda is far more detailed than anything provided by any reconnaissance aircraft or divination array.” “General Storm, is there anything else you would like to know?” Gabriel asked.

"No, I have everything I needed."

General Storm then adjusted the military deployment, and Gabriel began further testing of the Golden Garuda.

Ferreira, from the Flao people's ranks, suddenly looked up at the sky.

He was furious to discover that the spy, whom he could not see before, could now see golden specks of light.

"provocative!"

Flames danced in his eyes. "Can we attack it now?"

"cannot!"

The answer frustrated Ferreira: "Despicable humans, only good at playing petty tricks."

Then, as Ferreira watched the golden dot grow larger and larger until he could clearly see the golden mechanical eagle, the telekinetic ether master reported that the golden mechanical eagle had entered their attack range.

"Attack! Shoot it down!" Ferreira said fiercely, raising his hand to fire a fireball into the air.

Upon landing, the psionic energy of the telekinetic ether masters converged, unleashing a "mechanical influence" on the golden mechanical eagle.

The telekinetic energy converged into a vast net of psionic power, which shot towards the golden mechanical eagle.

When the net was a kilometer away from the golden metal eagle, its golden wings flapped, and it flew more than a hundred meters away in an instant.

The golden Garuda did not have any built-in etheric reading divination devices, but Gabriel saw the movements of the Flao psychics through its eyes and speculated that they were using psychic magic.

Gabriel then manipulated the golden Garuda to continue its descent.

It was both to test its limits and to deplete the spiritual energy of the Flao people.

Rational psychics will not draw psychic energy indefinitely; once it exceeds their control, it will lead to catastrophic consequences.

When the golden Garuda was a thousand meters above the ground, Gabriel began to find it difficult to dodge the psionic attacks.

The Flao psionicists, in groups of three or five, gathered their psionic energy and launched wave after wave of attacks on the golden Garuda.

A red alarm rune suddenly lit up on Gabriel's interface, and a bolt of psionic lightning struck the golden Garuda.

Gabriel noted down the damage data, then piloted the golden Garuda to dive.

"Mechanical Influence" weakens activated metal, and lightning and fireballs strike Garuda.

Ferreira looked at the metal eagle above him, its body turning from gold to jet black, and finally smiled.

He raised his staff, ready to strike with full force and knock down the wretched metal contraption.

Before launching his attack, the jet-black mechanical eagle suddenly opened its mouth, spewing molten flames onto the fourth vehicle.

Before the mind-based ether masters could react and raise their psionic shields, they were engulfed by the molten inferno.

"Damn it!" Before the battle even started, Ferreira was furious at losing eight Aether Masters who were coordinating the battle. He raised his hand and released psionic flames, shooting them at the metal mechanical eagle.

After Gabriel launched an attack using the golden Garuda, he was about to control it to escape when he suddenly lost signal.

[The defensive capabilities of the activated metal were overestimated, while the power of the Flao psionicist's ethereal magic was underestimated.]
Gabriel silently noted: [Except for mechanical capabilities, all tests have been completed.]

Based on the feedback, we can try to create Garuda, which belongs to our "Shadow of Order".

However, I do not have the ability to create activated metal. I did not find this alien technology in Medusa. The new Garuda I created would have a certain degree of performance degradation.

While superior in performance to the Steel Hand, it falls short of the golden Garuda created by the Alien.
An enraged Ferreira led his troops to attack the defensive line built by the auxiliary forces an hour later.

To boost the morale of the auxiliary forces, Storm General Amadeus Ducaine took command at the front lines.

Clad in robust Mark I Thunder-type power armor, he shouted before the lines clashed: "Unleash the storm!"

Dukaine's tactical intention at this stage is to give the enemy enough reason to launch an attack, thereby gaining the initiative for himself.

Ferreira held a psionic staff in his right hand and the Frao Glass Blade in his left.

He waved his staff, pointing it at the auxiliary army lines: "Ether!"

The Ether Masters raised their psionic staffs and launched an attack on the auxiliary forces.

The psionic flames erupted suddenly, engulfing more than a dozen auxiliary soldiers.

“Psionic,” Dukaine whispered.

He raised his bomb gun, aimed it at the alien psychic, and fired a bomb.

Master Ether raised a psionic shield, creating invisible ripples amidst the explosion.

The second explosive shot pierced the psionic shield and tore the psionicist's head apart.

"storm!"

The morale of the auxiliary troops was greatly boosted, and they launched an attack on the aliens.

The Ether Masters immediately unleashed psionic lightning in the direction from which the bombs were fired.

Crackling lightning struck in the direction where Dukaine was.

Several auxiliary soldiers were found with blood spurting from their mouths and noses, their bodies charred black.

Dukaine was numb all over from the electric shock, but his superhuman physique allowed him to continue.

He let out a low growl, raised his explosive gun, and continued his attack on Master Aether.

Du Kane's black armor was charred black, but he did not stop attacking. His expression was calm as he used a bomb to kill another Aether Master.

General Storm remained calm in the face of danger, and his auxiliary troops followed him, launching an attack on the warriors of Flao.

(End of this chapter)