Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 291 Signing an Alliance with Lucius of the Forging World
829.M30, the world of Lucius, was forged, and the black fleet of the "Shadow of Order" arrived.

The sage Wojciech Belik sent Lucius messages about the Primarch Nimrod, the Empire, and the Empire of Man, using the binary language of science.

Upon learning that Mars had signed the Olympian Accords with the Empire and joined the Empire of Man, and after the Primarch retrieved several sacred templates, Foundry Director Mathieu-12 agreed to the meeting request.

Nimrod led Arsena Dunne and Wojciech, along with some members of the Honor Guard, aboard the Stormbirds, to the surface.

Through the viewing window, he saw the magnificent letters that made up Lucius, etched into the planet's surface by ablation, with each letter's detail stretching for tens of kilometers from top to bottom.

Ninglu's golden wings trembled slightly as he sensed the planet's pulsating power, the ceaseless artificial sun.

His gaze shifted to the landing zone, where he then saw the orderly ranks of the religious guards.

As the Stormbirds lowered their landing gear, the Honor Guard lined up behind the Primarch in the cooling cycle of the landing jets.

The servo skull was adorned with ribbons, and the sound array device emitted mechanical high Gothic language.

"Lucius greets Primarch Nimrod and welcomes you."

Nimrod walked toward the waiting Lucius sages amidst the incense smoke.

He saw the Lucius sages wearing red robes with black trim, and he knew that black had great significance for Lucius, symbolizing being scorched black by the artificial sun underground during the ceremony of blessing the sun.

Father Lucius, the Technologist, regarded it as a blessing from the god of all machines, and that it would only be changed to a deep red like Mars after the end of the future split ideology.

The emblem on Lucius's team consists of an ornate variation of the initial "L" and a skull, a symbol of pure humanity.

Mathieu-12 walked up to Ninglu, and a synthesized sound came from his visor.

"Welcome to Ninglu."

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Director of Foundry, Mathieu-12,” Ninglu replied.

Ning Lu boarded the welcoming car, and the black vehicle slowly drove forward.

Mathieu-12 sat opposite Nimrod, “Nimrod/Lucius is a never-ending furnace/Apart from Mars/Few casting worlds/Possess a production capacity comparable to Lucius.”

"We can produce the Lucius-type Warhound-class reconnaissance titan/with unparalleled agility among its kind//Lucius-type airdrop pod/with excellent performance/short preparation time/easy recovery."

"The Steelwalker Gunners of the Guardians of the Faith are crafted with precision."

Ning Lu looked through the viewing window and saw large areas of factories and assembly workshops rushing past.

Wisps of smoke rose from the vents and chimneys, turning the sky above the entire foundry world a deep black.

The massive steel gates never closed for a minute, like the gaping maw of a giant beast devouring ore, fuel, and an ever-present amount of time.

As the piercing work bell rang, people emerged from the work shed like zombies, dragging their thin and heavy bodies toward the gate covered with spikes.

As they passed the overseer, they silently collected their soup and soup base for the day before starting work.

The progenitor's superhuman vision allowed him to see the laborers, their bodies covered in pipes, working under the foreman's command at their workstations.

The strict hierarchical system kept the entire factory in order, with rows of machines roaring day and night in the sweatshop, and weapons of war rolling off the production line.

He was intrigued when he heard that the casting director, Mathieu-12, had just met him and introduced Lucius's two flagship products.

[The forging director seems to want something from me.]
“I have previously visited Mars and the Crown of Wonders of Gloria, and Lucius is impressive in comparison.”

Although Yomiuri VIII and Griffin IV are allies, Nimrod has not yet visited either of these forging worlds.

After confirming that Mathieu-12 had something to ask for, Ninglu was in no hurry to speak.

After passing through countless factories, the vehicle drove onto the passageway leading to the temple of casting.

Along the roadside, furnaces churned and boiled, while rotating ventilation fans were turned on at maximum power to cool down visiting guests.

The freight channel uses a hydraulic transmission system, accompanied by the rotation of gears and load-bearing wheels.

The temple was deliberately designed to resemble a hollow furnace, with its dome pieced together from panels of glacial alloy.

Amidst the rumble of tracks, the hum of hydraulic presses, and the roar of power backpacks, the slave laborers parted to the sides, and the gates of the Forging Temple swung open with a deafening roar. Lucius's Guard, clad in black armor, stood in formation to greet them.

The entire ceremonial hall of the Casting Temple shone brightly in the blazing light and the reflection of the scorching alloy.

In stark contrast to the radiance were the long black table and chairs, where the Primarch and the Forging Director sat facing each other.

Unlike usual, the Primarch's servant sat beside him, while Wojciech sat in the seat next to him.

“Ninlu/Welcome to our visit,” Mathieu-12 said.

“I learned from the sage Wojciech Belik that you have retrieved the sacred templates of the Ramirez-class Starfortress and the Belik Battle Tank.”

"Lucius is willing to ally with you / to forge equipment for you / 'Voidwalker' and 'Shadow of Order' fight side by side / the Guardians fight for you."

"I, the Director of Lucius Foundry of this unit, have only one request: to authorize the template for the Lucius Ramirez-class Starfortress/Belik battle tank."

Upon hearing this, Ning Lu's eyes flashed with understanding.

[As expected, Lucius wanted two types of STC.]
Ninglu recalled that although Lucius was a world with a long history of casting and top-tier production capacity, it lacked combat tanks.

The Lucius sages spent ten thousand years researching the STC (Supported Tank) in order to acquire a tank, and then named it after Markarius.

They then spent another three hundred years obtaining permission to Mars.

However, the sages' joy was short-lived, as Mars granted mass authorization to numerous worlds to produce the Imperial Poison Blade super-heavy tank, making Lucius's long and arduous efforts seem somewhat ironic.

Compared to future mechanical teaching methods, the current ones are still much more efficient.

Of course, this is because I am a Primarch and do not need to worry about certification for Ramirez-class Starfortresses and Belik battle tanks.

For an ordinary person, they might die before even passing the certification and receiving the reward, just like Commissar Trast, who discovered ID 145XX22, didn't have the lifespan to survive the centuries-long review process.
Ning Lu thought that the paint produced by STC No. 145XX22 had a unique chemical composition that could complete the coating of combat equipment in a very short time, so he decided to get his hands on it.

However, this STC is still far from being discovered and is not urgently needed, so it should be placed in a later position.

He gathered his thoughts and said, "It's not enough."

"Lucius will supply Vostoria with one-third of the average annual production capacity of Sunfire Alloy. In return, I will authorize Lucius to use the standard construction template for the Belik battle tank."

"For the Ramirez-class Starfortress authorization, Lucius needs to provide me with the corresponding standard construction template."

Mathieu-12's logic engine spun rapidly, assessing the requirements of the protogenes.

"This unit//Lucius Foundry Director/ agrees to the authorization of exchanging Yangyan Alloy for the sacred template of the Belik Battle Tank."

"Our unit//Lucius Foundry Director/provides gas fractionation technology//the technology to convert organic raw materials into promethium/in exchange for the authorization of the sacred template of the Ramirez-class Starfortress."

Ninglu knew about gas distillation technology, and the Wensterkel family, the most powerful of the three major merchant dynasties, possessed this technology in the future expansion of the Colonus region.

The continuous production of promethium not only provided Wensterkel with energy but also brought them enormous wealth.

[Lucius is skilled in energy, so it's reasonable for him to have mastered this technology.]

However, compared to the Ramirez-class Starfortress license and the three Glory Queen-class battleships exchanged on Mars, its value is significantly lower.
Ninglu thought of this and said, "I agree, but the Ramirez-class star fortress built by Lucius should be provided to my allies and designated entities first."

Mathieu-12 had a short time to weigh the options and made a quick decision.

"This unit's Director of Lucius Foundry agrees."

The lawyer and technical sergeant representative, Ninglu, negotiated an alliance with Lucius's side.

Fifteen sidereal days later, Nimrod reviewed the covenant.

The Voidwalker will provide eighty-five Titans to fight alongside the Shadow of Order.

Unlike other Forged Worlds, Lucius was not conservative and reserved half of his forces for defense. The Voidwalkers only kept fifty Titans on the field.

The total number of Voidwalker Titans will only reach 162 before the grand birthday celebration.
The Om Messiah bell tolled twelve times, and Nimrod and Madil-12 wrote their names on the parchment scrolls and data tablets, branding them with data seals.

(End of this chapter)