Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 311 War Council, Guilliman's Thanks

In the fifth month of 837, in Caladion.

Ninglu led the Honor Guard, defeated the main force of the rebels, and arrived at the outer perimeter of the Second Forging Temple.

The young technical priest Neto, who was fighting alongside him, looked at the Primarch with admiration.

“Lord Nimrod, Barnes, the leader of the largest rebel army in Incaladion, is in his temple of forging.”

"He was a radical and mad sage who, according to rumors, had been blasphemously modifying himself in his laboratory."

Ninglu nodded slightly. He strode to the gate of the Forging Temple, raised his left arm, and slammed the power gauntlet, which shone with a dazzling golden light, heavily against the gate.

The disintegrating force field tore apart the steel gate, sending debris flying.

Ninglu looked inside and saw that the ground was covered with strange and savage totems, including tiger heads with black stripes and giant pythons with their mouths wide open...

His eyes flashed, and he thought to himself: [For thousands of years, Incaladion has been attacking the surrounding world, plundering barbarian populations, and absorbing the cultures of tribes.]

The Titan crew of "Tiger Eye" were performing strange rituals during the "Great Expedition," which even delayed the deployment of their God Engine.

Their rituals were a horrific hybrid of Om Messianic mechanical rituals and primitive animal worship totemistic practices, which is partly responsible for the future downfall of the "Tiger Eye" and Mordred.
As Ning Lu pondered, a strange hissing sound rang out.

The sound was like both the roar of rapidly spinning machinery and the roar of a wild beast.

Rumble!
Ning Lu looked in the direction of the sound and saw a half-mechanical, half-flesh monster about nine meters tall striding over.

Neto, who rushed over, saw the human head on the monster's body and shouted at the Primarch.

“Lord Ninglu, this blasphemous object is Barnes.”

As the young technical priest looked at the monster with anger and horror, he saw Nimrod rushing toward it.

It was so fast that all he could see in his mind's eye was a black afterimage.

"die!"

Barnes let out a strange roar and raised his hydraulic giant fist high.

Rumble!
The giant fist smashed through the metal dome of the temple, then swung down violently, crashing towards Ninglu.

Ning Lu raised his left arm, and amidst the deafening explosion, his powered gauntlet blocked the hydraulic giant fist.

He drew the Spear of Dionysus from behind his back, his eyes flashing with light, and hurled it.

"Give it to you!"

The Dionysian Spear whistled through the air and pierced Barnes's raised, grotesque, fleshy arm.

"Roar!"

Barnes let out a strange roar, his body swayed, and flesh and parts fell off with a crackling sound.

Nimrod leaped into the air, drawing the Vaal Sword from his waist. A blue-white light flashed, and the disintegrating force field tore Barnes' head apart.

Neto was astonished to see that Nimrod killed the monster and the blasphemous sage Barnes in an instant.

Before he could react, the Primarch walked up to him, its black eyes fixed on him. He immediately felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Incaradians should abandon their barbaric tribal culture, do you understand?"

Neto's gaze fell upon the hellish scene within the Temple of Forging, with the corpses of countless bizarre creatures scattered on the ground and blood splattered across the walls.

He shivered and replied, "Sir, I understand."

“Then I will help you take the position of Director of Foundry, and you will reshape Incarardion.”

Nimrod had been observing Neto and comparing his information with that of other military technical priests reported by other commanders, and ultimately selected him.

Upon hearing that the Primarch was going to promote him to the position of Director of Foundry, Neto's eyes gleamed.

[Because Carradion was shattered and its strength was less than one-tenth of what it was before the civil war.]

The liberation of the "shadow of order" that forges the world can determine everything here.
Thinking of this, Neto immediately said, "My lord, in the name of Om Messiah, I pledge my allegiance to you and follow your will."

On the way back, Ninglu said to Neto.

“You are a technical priest now, so you can’t become the foundry director directly.”

“Even if I force you into the position of casting director, you will not be able to win the support and control Incaladion.”

"I will help you first obtain the title of Sage and help you develop your power."

“My lord, thank you for your help.” Neto’s performance pleased Ninglu; he had not been blinded by ambition.

Five days later, Nimrod, having purged the rebels of the Second Temple of Foundry, returned to the First Temple of Foundry, where he stood before the twelve sages.

"The technical priest Neto performed exceptionally well in the suppression of the rebellion. I believe he possesses outstanding talent and should become a sage, working with other sages to rebuild Incaladion."

The twelve sages looked at each other and exchanged binary scientific terms.

A moment later, a sage spoke on behalf of everyone in Vostonian.

"As you wish, sir."

The liaison officers of the Shadow of Order have successfully made the local elites fluent in Vostonia.

As the ground sweeping continued, Nimrod returned to the Shadow of the Throne, where he appointed Neto as a "generalist."

He had assessed Neto's loyalty and ability and decided to train him to be an extraordinary individual.

Improving Neto's abilities was also a form of assistance provided by Ninglu.

Ninglu then instructed Rosicky Cech to discuss with Neto how to mobilize resources to help him expand his power.

After the two left, Arsène Dunn began to report.

"My lord, the Emperor has retrieved Primarch Robert Guilliman in Macragge in the Extreme Starfield."

“He is the ninth Primarch to return, according to official Imperial records.” Ninglu nodded slightly, but thought to himself.

[The prophecy dice are about to be fully charged, and a new divination will be performed soon.]

So, what should we divine? Should we intercept Horus's future acquisition of the STC, or seize the jewel of Alteramar first?
Ninglu knew that just as Rome wasn't built in a day, so too was the Ottoman Empire.

Before Guilliman returned to the Empire, his only territory was Macurag, which he inherited from his adoptive father Connor.

Connor was one of the two rulers of Ottara, and he died in a coup led by the other ruler, Garan.

After quelling the rebellion, Guilliman became the ruler of Macragge. In five years, he developed the world into a prosperous place like never before and began trading with several star systems, including Espando.

Old Huang heard about the appearance of a person suspected to be the Primarch in Macurag while he was in Espando.

Without the navigators and star speakers prepared by Huang Laohan, intergalactic expansion would be almost impossible.

Without a navigator, warspace travel is like gambling, which is the fundamental reason why I must rely on the Empire for development.

To the best of my memory, of all the Primarchs, I am the only one who escaped the galaxy from which I fell.
Ninglu recalled his personal participation in the subspace voyage, a long and arduous journey.

Even when navigating in subspace, progress is extremely difficult; psykers are ultimately less skilled than navigators.

Even I, aside from Vostonia, have only completed the conquest of the Crystal Illusion Galaxy.

Interstellar communication is equally important; the "Disorderly Nation" can only conduct high-level communications and cannot replace regular military and civilian communications.
Ninglu sighed as he thought about how his conquest efficiency had greatly improved since reuniting with his son.

Without Legion warriors, even the Primarchs could not conquer the Five Hundred Worlds.

The five hundred worlds of Otaramar are the result of the entire Ultramarines Legion's Great Expedition.

And yet, they have not yet embarked on their journey of conquest.
Ning Lu's eyes gleamed as he thought to himself.

Most of the five hundred worlds of Alteramar have not yet been discovered by the Empire.

Kos, the pearl of the Eastern Galaxy, is a fiery and stormy star with abundant mineral resources and a production capacity comparable to that of the world's casting industry, and the rich Aventinium.

There's also Tarasa, a world more suited to recruiting for the Ninth Legion, an ocean world even more suited to the "Tyrant" path of order's shadow than the Cradle of the Sea.
Ninglu knew that once the "Ultraman" started to take action, the speed of his conquest would increase, and his territory would inevitably not be contiguous.

He carefully selected from a hundred worlds, initially thinking of five, then eliminating the completely impossible Macragge, leaving only four.

As Ninglu pondered, the Primarch's attendant spoke.

"My lord, the Star Language Choir's leader told me that the Emperor has decided to convene a new War Council."

The Great Crusade was a massive undertaking, involving twenty Space Marine Legions, thousands of auxiliary legions recruited from the newly conquered worlds, the Titan Order of the Cult of Mechanics, and countless other armed groups.

The "Great Expedition" also involves an increasing number of foundry worlds that are incorporated into the logistics system, as well as numerous transit and supply points.

In order to manage the many matters of the "Great Expedition," the Emperor convened the War Council.

Before the formation of the Terran Council at the end of the Great Crusade, the War Council was the de facto ruling body of the Empire.

Each Primarch has its own seat in the council.

Of course, this excludes AlphaRice, whose identity has not been publicly revealed.

"He and Wojciech Belik calibrated the time and determined it to be 10:00 a.m., the standard time for the ship tomorrow."

"I understand," Ning Lu said.

The following day, at 9:52 AM ship time.

Primitive Palace, Remote Conference Room.

The runes on the mechanical device lit up, and each modulator made a crisp click as it touched the indentation on the mechanical drum, blending into the choir's melody.

"Sir, you are ready."

"Let's begin." Horus, who had already changed his mindset and decided to be a good older brother, suggested that they participate in each meeting in advance before it officially started, and use this time to exchange ideas.

At the same moment that the light engulfed Nimrod, his figure flashed in the golden palace of Terra Palace, where the War Council was held.

The head of the War Council is a position reserved exclusively for the Emperor.

Ning Lu sat in the second seat to the left of Old Man Huang. He saw that there were already nine people seated in the hall, and only three people had not yet arrived.

Next to him was Riemann Ruth, followed by Hannibal and Vorcan.

Right next to Old Man Huang on his right was his imprinter, Makado, dressed in a gray robe.

Sitting opposite Ninglu was Horus Lupecal, with Fernus Manus, Roger Donne, Vograim, and Robert Guilliman in that order.

To encourage the Primarchs to compete and help him reclaim more worlds, Old Man Huang rearranged the seats in the War Council according to their merits.

The closer you are to Old Man Huang, the greater your achievements will be.

In relation to each other, the right side is considered more honorable.

Among them, Vogrim, Volkan, and Guilliman have not yet achieved much in battle, and their positions are based on the performance of the three legions before their return.

Horus spoke to Nimrod before Makado could speak.

“Nimrod, I want to introduce you to a new member of the War Council, our brother Robert Guilliman, the Primarch of the Thirteenth Legion.”

“Nimrod, I want to thank you for saving my son, Glenn Wosoto, and preventing the complete annihilation of the Osiris suppression fleet.”

Guilliman and Makado, who were in Terra attending the welcoming celebration, were the only two people who were actually in the Golden Palace and not participating via projection.

He had short blond hair and a smile on his face as he thanked Ning.

“Welcome back, Guilliman,” Nimrod nodded in response.

"Since I've run into this, I certainly won't stand idly by."

As Ninglu spoke, he thought to himself, "Well, I'll take the four worlds, including Kos, as a thank you gift to me."

Although I got it on my own merit, arriving first still counts as me robbing you.
(End of this chapter)