Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 297 Contest with Vokhan: Lifting the Anvil
Ninglu and Wokan started running at the same time.

The moment they started, they quickly left the Nocturne Star contestants behind them.

Ninglu did not spread his golden wings again; he simply ran as fast as he could.

One after another, the pavilions were left behind by him.

In the blink of an eye, Ninglu had run a kilometer, leaving Wokan a body length behind.

The distance between the two grew larger and larger, soon exceeding ten meters.

Wokan's eyes, like those of a volcanic eruption, were fixed on the golden wings behind Ninglu.

He was certain that Ninglu had not flapped his golden wings; he had overtaken him with sheer physical strength.

Vokhan felt his body burning; even the Twilight Netherworlds, who were much faster than the Nocturne Star People, were not as fast as him.

This was the first time he had encountered someone faster than himself. His body crackled and his skin burned as he sprinted at full speed.

However, he soon discovered that no matter how hard he tried, the distance between him and Ninglu was growing ever wider.

With each breath, Wokan exhaled, waves of heat surged forth, and his eyes blazed like a volcanic eruption.

This was the first time he had encountered such a formidable opponent; his strength was only slightly weaker than his own, but his speed was clearly superior.

As soon as Vokhan saw the enormous lava gem, Ninglu had already lifted it up.

Volkan did not stop. As a participant in the race, he was determined to complete the entire process, even though he was destined to fail.

As Wokan ran toward the finish line, he collided head-on with Ninglu, who was on his way back.

Ninglu smiled at Wokan and then ran towards the village.

The race participants, upon seeing the lava gem radiating a dazzling light, erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

Immediately, their cheers ceased as they realized that the person running in front of them was the black-armored giant, not their fire dragon king.

They stopped in their tracks, stunned, and stood frozen in place.

Ninglu ran into the village, holding the lava gem in his hand.

The Emperor and Alpharis smiled when they saw Ninglu.

The cheers erupting from the Nocturne aliens abruptly ceased as they realized that the outsider, Nimrod, had won this time.

His advantages are obvious.

The noble council elder, who was acting as referee, calmed his shock and announced loudly: "The winner of the race is Nimrod."

Ninglu put down the lava gem and thought to himself.

[Although not a potion ingredient, it is a valuable forging material.]
Having experienced his first failure in life, Wokan returned to the village empty-handed.

"Lord of the Fire Dragons, victory is assured!"

"Wokan remains undefeated!"

Wokan strode up to Ninglu, a wave of heat emanating from him as he spoke: "Do you need a rest?"

"No need." Although Ning Lu removed the blood-red chain, he still didn't feel tired at all.

The golden wings on his back are like a never-ending furnace, supplying energy to his body.

He will never feel tired.

Over the next six days, Ninglu and Wokan competed in one event after another.

The Nocturnes were astonished to find that their Fire Dragon King had not achieved an overwhelming victory. The two were often evenly matched, with Vokan occasionally winning, but he would soon be defeated in the next challenge.

On the eighth day of the competition, the elders of the noble council made an announcement.

"Today's competition is an anvil lifting, which is a contest of strength, but even more so a test of endurance."

The contestants on Nocturne strained their arms to lift the heavy anvil made of refined ore.

The elders of the noble council prepared anvils specifically for the two giants.

Their special anvil has two huge iron discs on each side.

The discus was much larger than the discus of the other Nocturnes, and no other Nocturne could lift any of them.

Ninglu and Wokan simultaneously lifted the anvil with both arms. Wokan, shirtless, his eyes blazing with volcanic heat, raised the anvil.

The Nocturne aliens erupted in enthusiastic cheers, shouting wildly.

"King of Fire Dragons!"

"Wokan remains undefeated!"

As the cheers subsided, Nocturne Star noticed that Ning Lu, an outsider contestant, had also easily lifted the anvil.

They were not surprised by this; the past few days of competition had shown them that Ninglu possessed strength comparable to that of Wokan.

What truly determines the outcome is the endurance of the two giants.

From sunrise to its highest point, Ninglu and Wokan's arms remained perfectly still. They steadily lifted the anvils, which could crush an ordinary person, yet they did so with remarkable ease.

From the sun's highest point to its setting, the two men remained steadily holding their anvils, unchanged from the morning, like two sculptures.

The Nocturne aliens, who had always firmly believed that the Fire Dragon King would win, could no longer help but doubt that Vokhan could win.

After a tense discussion, the elders of the noble council announced the results of the competition.

"The Fire Dragon King, Wokan, and the outsider contestant, Ninglu, were unable to determine a winner in the anvil lifting competition, and their competition ended in a draw."

Ninglu put down the anvil. With the power of the Burner fragment in his hands, he was like a perpetual motion machine, with endurance surpassing any Primarch.

But he knew that Vokhan had superhuman physical abilities, and even if he had the advantage in endurance, he wouldn't be able to show it within a few days.

The outsider Ninglu actually fought to a draw with the Fire Dragon Lord Wokan in many competition events, which shocked many Nocturne people.

The Nocturne aliens quickly accepted reality, which was consistent with the actual situation of the competition over the past eight days. If it had been ten days ago, they would never have believed that anyone could contend with Vokhan.

Having witnessed the entire eight-day competition, even the Nocturne aliens believed that a draw was a fair result.

Just as the Nocturne aliens remained silent, a dark-skinned noble council elder, adorned with jewels, stepped forward.

"The final competition belongs solely to the Fire Dragon Lord Workan and the esteemed outsider Ninglu."

"The competition involves forging weapons by hand within a one-day time limit and using those weapons to hunt fire lizards from the Volcano of Death."

"Whoever hunts the biggest fire salamander is the ultimate winner."

"Wokan will prevail!" the Nocturne aliens shouted in unison.

They believed that Vokham, who taught them the secrets of pattern welding, metal folding, alloying, and bonding, and led them to leaps in forging skills, would surely win.

Wokan and Ninglu walked up to the furnace.

Wokan made the first move, skillfully picking up the ore and hammer and expertly beginning to strike.

Although Nimrod had never forged anything himself, his superhuman brain raced back to the time when workers were forging Miguel steel when he was managing the Magnito Steel Works.

He picked up the ore and, following the forging method for Miguel steel, swung the hammer and began to hammer it.

The Emperor gazed at the two Primarchs and asked Alpharis beside him, "Who do you think will win?"

Alpharis looked at Ninglu; his movements were swift and precise, demonstrating his exceptional craftsmanship.

But then he looked at Vokhan, a dark-skinned giant whose every movement contained a certain rhythm, and whose every strike was like art.

The difference between the two is obvious. Alpharis said, "Vokhan will win. Although Nimrod was born in the industrial world of Vostoria, he has never made a weapon by hand."

"By the standards of a first forging, he is an excellent craftsman."

“But Vokhan is a forging craftsman, and only Phenus Manus and Fugrim can compare to him.”

Alpharis recalled his two previous misjudgments, paused for a moment, and then added.

“The volcano of death is his territory. He knows it well, and with the advantage of his weapons, I think he will definitely win.”

The Emperor shook his head slightly and said in a deep voice, "After Ninglu obtained the golden wings from Medusa, he controlled the power of fire. Compared to Vokhan, who was known as the Flame Bloomer, he was the true master of fire."

"Fire is the furnace of iron, and he uses this power skillfully to make up for the gap in forging techniques."

"More importantly, for them, killing the salamanders is not the key; finding the largest salamander is the key to victory. Nimrod has an advantage in this regard over Vokan's familiarity with the environment."

As the two spoke, golden flames leaped from the furnace in front of Ninglu.

(End of this chapter)