Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 283 The Burner's Golden Flames
The Andresian swung his tail and struck the runes on the disc-shaped chariot.

The psionicists, stimulated by the electric shock, released psionic lightning that converged into giant dragon-like bolts that, amidst a deafening roar, surged toward the Honor Guard.

Arsena Dunn raised his staff, and a telekinetic shield rose, enveloping the Honor Guard.

Rumble!
The psionic lightning struck the telekinetic shield, and the entire underground city trembled in the energy shock.

The rebounding psionic lightning crackled and struck a dozen unlucky Andres guards.

In an instant, the psionic lightning tore their bodies apart.

The silver-haired psionicist who blocked the attack swayed, his face turning pale.

Just as he was struggling to maintain his composure, Ninglu spoke up: "No need to force yourself!"

Ninglu's golden wings burst into dazzling flames as he soared into the air.

With a flap of his wings, a wall of flames rose in front of the Honor Guard.

The psionic lightning was like countless tiny snakes; the moment it struck the wall of fire, it was mercilessly devoured.

Ninglu naturally wouldn't passively defend; in terms of defensive power, his golden wings were inferior to Fernus Manus's silver hands.

The Burner's true power is the blazing flames; he has mastered the power of the Star God Fragment.

Ninglu flapped his wings and instantly flew to the center of the enemy forces.

The golden wings flapped thirty-three times in an instant, showering down golden flames.

Golden flames descended from the sky, and the Andres people standing in the middle of the disc-shaped tank were burned to ashes one by one.

A raging inferno engulfed Andres's guards.

The blinding light and the raging flames became their last memories before they died.

Alsena and the honor guard members watched in stunned silence as the Andres men were burned to death in less than a minute.

King Andres was astonished to see a golden winged figure take flight from the enemy ranks, unleashing a destructive torrent of molten flames.

His elite army was slaughtered in an instant.

Before he could even react, he was burned to ashes by the flames released by the golden figure.

King Andres turned and fled in panic, but after only two steps, a flaming arrow pierced the back of his head.

After the outcome of the battle at Stevenage was decided, Nimrod ordered Thomas to lead the think tank to handle matters related to the enslaved psionicists by the Andresians.

Ninglu returned to the Shadow of Royal Power to receive a report.

The Primarch looked at Lucas and said, "I'd like to hear your briefing first."

“Father,” Lucas began, “the Eighteenth Legion liberated nearly two million humans from the enslavement of the Andresians.”

"As per your request, the technical sergeant has developed a picking glove specifically for the mushrooms on Stevenage III."

"The picking gloves are made of composite materials, which can be used to pick mushrooms without damaging the palms or the mushrooms."

Nimrod said to the Primarch's servant, "The Eighteenth Legion is small in number, but they will continue to carry out missions to combat pirates and clean up space wreckage."

"Dispatch a company from the 11th Regiment to work with them, focusing on learning from their experience in cleaning up space debris."

Ninglu sent a company because they needed to be dispersed to various fronts.

Although the Eighteenth Legion was small in number by Astartes standards, it was still equivalent to nearly twenty Holy Legions.

The Eighteenth Legion is still able to cross multiple fronts across several star sectors and deal with numerous threats.

Ninglu then looked at Alex and Schkodlan and said, "It's your turn."

“Father,” Schoddran began, “the Twilight Raiders are adept at launching attacks during moments of light shifts…”

"Their use of Storm Shield and defensive tactics..."

"But the Twilight Raiders have also become somewhat rigid due to their rituals and tactics..."

Alex then added, "The Twilight Raiders' heavy infantry are quite excellent; they take great care of their weapons and are incredibly resilient in battle..."

Ning Lu nodded slightly: "You two squads will continue to fight alongside the 'Twilight Raiders'."

He then said to the Primarch's servant, "'Twilight Raiders' are well-suited for frontal combat."

The 11th Legion's fleet then set sail back to Vostonia.

On the return journey, the think tank director reported to Ning Lu.

"My Lord, the think tank has identified 529 stable adult psionics among the rescued psionics."

"After testing using the Empire's 'grading' system, it was found that 293 of them were psionicists of the Eota level or above."

Eota, Sita, and Eta are at the intermediate level of psychic talent; they are aware of the existence of psychic energy and can control it through personal effort.

They are considered true psionicists, and once discovered by the Star Court, they are taken to the Psionic Academy for training.

"The think tank also identified 194 eligible young psychics, 92 of whom possessed psychic talent at the Zeta level or above."

Zeta and Epsilon are high-level psionic talents, which is the standard of the "Shadow of Order" think tank.

"Among them, two teenagers possess Delta psionic talent."

"An eleven-year-old boy named Ramsey possesses Alpha-level psionic talent." Ninglu was slightly surprised upon hearing this. The Imperial medical community believed that Gamma-level psionicists were the limit of humanity's plans.

Delta and Gamma-level psionic beings are typically one in a billion, and they will exhibit extreme psionic abilities.

Untrained psychics of this level are unable to process such a level of psychic energy in their brains, and death and possession are common occurrences.

Beta and Alpha level psionicists, who exceeded the limits of the Empire's medical understanding, were mostly in an unstable mental state when they were discovered.

"Ramsey must have a pretty good will, right?" Nimrod asked, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

“My lord is wise, that is indeed the case.” Thomas looked at the Primarch.

“I see in his mind that he was used as a test subject by the Andresians, to test his psychic limits; they cut off his legs…”

"Fortunately, his bio-psychic energy healed his body."

“Even though he suffered greatly, he did not lose control of his mind; the dam he built restrained his power.”

The think tank director said with a smile, "He is a born shadow of order."

"He patiently observed the alien's behavior and devised a plan that transcended the level of adult thinking."

“In that case, you must nurture him with care.” Ninglu noted down Ramsey’s name.

“Yes, my lord,” the think tank director said earnestly. His only apprentice, Nicholas, possessed beta-level psionic talent and had already begun to show his potential.

He is looking forward to seeing how his more talented new apprentices will perform in the future.

Ninglu then asked, "How is your research on the Andresians' methods of creating psionicists progressing?"

The "Secret Seeker" spoke up, "Father, I analyzed the culture medium made by Andres and researched the types and proportions of materials such as the colorful mushrooms."

"I also discovered that most of the psionicists created by soaking in the liquid are psionicists in the biochemical field."

"Research records show that the success rate is less than one in 100,000."

Thomas added, "When they are struck by electricity, they instinctively release lightning, which is why the Andres people created the corresponding weapons of war."

After a moment's thought, Ninglu issued the order.

“Record the relevant knowledge, but stop creating psionicists.”

Ninglu decided to keep the Andresian technology for creating psionic beings as a reserve, and use it as a reference when studying the original casting process after obtaining the original prototype.

Colorful mushrooms are a potion ingredient for "Master of Tricks," so using them to create psionicists would be a waste.

Human-made products have low efficiency, consume huge amounts of resources, and have insufficient average quality.

If Old Man Huang knew that I created psionicists, he would also be displeased.

Hmm... man-made ones are too costly, but what about "naturally created ones"?
When Ninglu thought of Old Man Huang, he recalled the time of the grand birthday celebration when the galaxy was isolated by warp storms, causing a surge in the number of mutants and psionics.

[Perhaps, we can then research psychic divination devices and select psychics with top-tier talent.]
The fleet returned to Vostoria, and Nimrod had just returned to the palace when the Primarch's servants reported to him.

“My lord, the sage Wojciech Belik reports that he has selected a world forging.”

“A sage?” Ninglu raised an eyebrow and asked with great interest.

"The announcement by Vojtech of the discovery of a combat tank in Nova Polya caused a great stir within the Cult of Mechanics."

"Based on a limited amount of publicly available data, the sages believe this to be the greatest discovery since the start of the Great Expedition, and a blessing from Om Messiah."

"Wojciech thus gained widespread recognition and began to be revered as a sage."

Ninglu nodded. Just as he had expected, discovering STC would bring Wojciech great prestige.

He rose from a technical priest to a sage, and was praised by the Mechanismists.

“Let him in,” Ning Lu said.

A moment later, Wojciech, dressed in a deep red robe with the black "Shadow of Order" emblem painted along the edges, entered the palace.

“Woychech…” Nimrod said with a smile, “The Sage.”

He deliberately emphasized the word "wise man".

“My lord,” Wojciech said with the same respect as always, “all my achievements are thanks to your blessings.”

“Not only me, sir, but you too are now regarded by the followers of Om Messiah as the favored one of the God of All Machines.”

“I have negotiated with many foundries in the world of casting…” Wojciech’s voice trembled slightly when he said his surname.

"When the Belik battle tank was authorized, the negotiations received a warm response, and the conditions they offered exceeded expectations."

"Griffin IV, the world of forging, desires forging authorization in the Storm Starfield and is willing to form an alliance with you."

"They are willing to send the 'War Gryphon' Titan Legion to fight alongside the Legion."

"They are also willing to provide the construction of knight mechs for the Vickerstux family."

Ning Lu nodded in satisfaction; the conditions proposed by Griffin IV were indeed generous.

The terms offered by Griffin IV were almost comparable to the price quoted for the Battle Moon, but the STC license for the Battle Tank was undoubtedly less valuable than the unique Battle Moon.

After listing the conditions of more than a dozen casting worlds, Woichich said, "The casting world Huangquan No. 8 in the Taiping Starfield offers the most favorable conditions."

(End of this chapter)