Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 296 Arm Wrestling with Volkan
832.M30, the orbit of Nocturne.

Nimrod boarded Old Man Huang's Stormbird and flew towards Nocturne Star together with Alpharis, who was disguised as an ordinary Astartes guard.

Ninglu looked out the viewing window at Nocturne and his satellite Prometheus.

He knew that each Nocturne year was equivalent to fifteen Terra years, and that when Nocturne and Prometheus were closest, Nocturne would almost be torn to pieces by gravity.

The Nocturne aliens call it the moment of divine judgment.

Huge waves surge from the ocean, thousands of volcanoes roar and erupt, and earthquakes relentlessly ravage the land.

After returning to the Empire, the kind-hearted Vokan used his power to build sturdy city walls made of adamantite and terracotta for the seven major cities of Nocturne.

Furthermore, the Void Shield system, acquired from the Empire, was used to protect the city from destruction during the Judgment.

[Vokhan would be very interested in fortress-level energy shields; perhaps I should offer him some help.]

He and the salamanders are excellent blacksmiths, provided they are willing to pay the appropriate price.
The Stormbirds landed on the plains of Nocturne, and Ninglu and his two companions saw a group of people wielding spears attacking the lions.

The lion roared and raised its paw.

boom!
As the hunter was being flattened, a giant scorpion suddenly sprang out of the forest, its pincers clamping down on the lion from both sides.

Upon seeing this scene, Ninglu confirmed that this place was the Arya Plain, the vast hunting ground of the Nocturne star.

Fenris of "Space Wolf", Medusa of "Iron Hand", and Nocturne of "Salamander" are all dead worlds with frequent volcanoes and earthquakes, and many dangerous creatures.

The three Primarchs had different policies toward their homeworlds. Ruth used Fenris as a hunting ground, training space wolf hunters.

Phenus Manus used Medusa as an arena, encouraging the Iron Hands to compete and the fittest to survive.

Volkan values ​​life and has assigned fire salamanders to protect the people of Nocturne.
As Ninglu pondered, his golden wings flapped, and he flew between the lion and the giant scorpion, the activated metal instantly transforming into a row of sharp blades.

The hunting party saw a flash of golden light, and the lion and the giant scorpion crashed to the ground.

Ninglu flapped his wings again and caught up with Old Man Huang and Alpharis, thinking to himself.

Lions and giant scorpions are powerful beasts, but not potion ingredients.
“Let’s go, it’s time to see your brother.” Old Huang nodded and then took the lead.

Dangerous creatures on the Arya Plains, unable to detect the presence of the three.

Ninglu soon came into view of a village, in which towering pavilions stood.

Ninglu and his two companions walked among the crowds converging on the settlement, but no one noticed their presence.

His consciousness spread outwards, mastering the local language of Nocturne and learning from their minds that these people came from the seven refuge cities of Nocturne.

Because of the frequent volcanic eruptions on Nocturnal, the locals used the abundant basalt in the area to build seven cities to escape the disaster.

The people of the seven city-states of Nocturne, led by Vokhan, once again defeated Twilight's Shadow.

"Twilight Netherworld" is the name given by the locals of Nocturne to the Dark Elf race.

Ninglu knew that Nocturne had long been plundered by the Dark Eldar, and that the local people hid in their homes when the attacks came.

It was only after being inspired by the heroism of Volkan that the humans of the seven city-states rallied together to resist the raids of the Dark Eldar.

Ning Lu and the other two walked towards the center of the village amidst the crowd.

He soon saw a black giant, as tall as himself and clad in armor made of green agate, surrounded by a crowd.

The armor only covered his chest and legs, leaving large areas of dark skin exposed, just like the Nocturne aliens around him.

He wore a golden crown on his forehead, and his arms and other parts were also decorated with gold ornaments.

A dark-skinned nobleman spoke loudly.

"People of Nocturne, people from the seven city-states, Wokan, lead us to defeat the Twilight Shadow."

"Let us all sing praises to the great Lord of Fire Dragons... Vokhan..."

Nimrod knew that the Prometheusian sect of Nocturne had prophesied that a child would become the savior.

After Vokhan crashed on the planet Nocturne, the blacksmith En Bell, who adopted him, believed that the child who fell into his home was the savior, so he named him after the first dragon king.

A thunderous roar of cheers erupted, and Ninglu could sense the people of the surrounding Nocturne Star praising Wokan, the great leader who led them to drive away the Twilight Shadows.

"Flame is born!"

The nobleman called out another title for Wokan, and Ninglu looked at Wokan with eyes that burned like volcanoes, which was one of the reasons he had earned that title.

Another thing is that his skin is now burning, sizzling like skewered meat in a frying pan, and the smell of burning hits you when he speaks.

"I consulted with the council of elders of the seven city-states and decided to hold a grand athletic competition."

His suggestion was immediately met with enthusiastic responses from countless people. The Nocturne Star People needed a joyous celebration to declare that they had escaped the nightmare brought by the Twilight Underworld.

Just as everyone was expecting Vokan to announce the first competition, a pale-skinned man, quite different from the dark-skinned Nocturne aliens, suddenly appeared in their sight.

“An interesting competition. Please allow my offspring to participate in this competition.”

“He will beat everyone in the competition, including you, Vokan.”

“Let’s have a wager. He will represent me against you, and the loser will always serve the winner.”

"If he loses, I pledge my allegiance to you; if he wins, you must swear allegiance to me."

The Nocturne aliens then noticed that behind the pale-skinned outsider stood a giant on his right. The Nocturne aliens stared in astonishment at the black-armored giant, especially marveling at its shimmering golden wings.

They were stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but compare the birth of the flames to the black-armored giant.

They thought of Volkan leading them to defeat the Twilight Shadows, and of the superb weapons Volkan had forged.

"Impossible, even if he is as tall as the Fire Dragon King."

"Wokan remains undefeated!"

"..."

Volkan's burning eyes lingered on the pale-skinned outsider and the black-armored giant.

After some exploration and analysis, he confidently declared, "I accept your challenge; victory is mys."

He spoke in a friendly tone that contrasted sharply with his physique and dark skin: "I welcome you to the competition. What is your name?"

The heat wave hit him, but Ning Lu remained largely unmoved.

Having been sent by Old Man Huang to fight against Riemann Russ and Finus Manus, he had gotten used to the role.

Old Huang has gotten used to winning without lifting a finger.
"Nimrod."

"The first competition is a contest of strength, arm wrestling," a dark-skinned elder of the noble council announced loudly.

The Nocturne aliens, forged by high gravity and harsh environment, have large and robust bodies. They are excited by the contest of strength and burst into enthusiastic cheers.

Pairs of contestants placed their arms on the table, their bulging arms bulging as they began to exert force.

In the original plan, Vokan would not participate in the competition, as no one on Nocturne Star could rival the King of Fire Dragons.

Half a day later, the Nocturne aliens brought over a black stone seat made of basalt in a vehicle.

Ninglu and Wokan walked to the basalt seat under the gaze of everyone.

Ninglu removed the ring from his right middle finger and the blood-red chain from his little finger, then pressed his elbow against the polished basalt base and grasped Wokan's right hand.

Their palms touched, their black eyes met their burning eyes, and both Primarchs felt each other's power through their hands.

"start!"

The two Primarchs exerted their power simultaneously, and the immense force caused the basalt seat to tremble slightly.

The "Barbarian" awakened Nimrod's latent talents, significantly boosting his physique and strength, enabling him to contend with Vorkan, the Primarch with the strongest physical strength.

The Nocturne stared in disbelief at Ninglu, who actually had someone who could arm wrestle with Wokan.

Ninglu and Wokan repeatedly tried to exert their strength and overpower each other.

After the eighteen bursts, Ninglu's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He felt Wokan's power slightly overwhelm him in the bursts of power.

His eyes flashed, and he abandoned his idea of ​​mobilizing the living metal behind him and having the Star God fragments enhance his abilities.

Ninglu continued to exert his pure physical strength, attempting to overpower Wokan.

boom!boom!
Two loud bangs rang out simultaneously, and cracks appeared on Ninglu and Wokan's elbows at the same time.

The thick basalt is covered with dense patterns, resembling a spider web.

The basalt base collapsed with a crash.

The noble council elder, who was acting as referee, was stunned for a moment before speaking:
"draw."

“No,” Ninglu said frankly, “I lost. If we had continued fighting, Wokan would have been stronger than me, but the stone platform was not tough enough.”

Wokan's physical strength was greater than his, albeit only slightly. The advancement to Sequence 8 could not compensate for the difference in strength bestowed upon them by the designer, Old Man Huang.

His strength is similar to that of Leman Russ, but slightly weaker than that of Vokhan.

The gap between him and Vokhan was so small that he could have reversed it and suppressed his opponent by summoning living metal, but he did not do so.

"If we continue, I will lose."

“You’re very honest,” Vokhan said.

"The second competition is a contest of speed, a race," another elder of the Noble Council stepped forward and announced.

He pointed to the south side of the village and continued, "We have placed ten gems eighteen kilometers away from here. The first ten people to reach them will receive a reward."

Volcanic eruptions bring not only death and destruction, but also bring minerals from the Earth's core to the surface, giving Nocturne a wealth of mineral resources, among which gemstones are one.

He faced the two giants participating in the competition and said, "The goal of the Fire Dragon King and the respected outsider is a lava gem from the Earth's core."

"It has a diameter of ten meters and is made of top-grade casting material, a top-grade material that every casting master dreams of."

"Whoever brings it back will win the contest."

He announced loudly, "The competition begins!"

　P.S.: When Vokhan speaks, he spews heat waves and his skin burns; see the official novel "Vokhan Forever".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)