Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 341 One-Eyed Magnus
When the Shadow Stormbird was still two kilometers from the surface of Tizka, some of the bustling residents noticed the shadow in the sky.

They looked up and, after a moment, recognized the eternal nightmare—the Soul-Eating Bee.

The psionicists screamed in terror and turned to run in panic.

As Magnus's most trusted temple chief, Amun was in charge of overseeing the construction of the new city of Tizika when Magnus was away dealing with the crisis of his offspring.

Amon immediately realized what was happening and rushed toward the slowly descending black aircraft.

He looked up and immediately recognized the two wings draped over his body in the net.

Its six slender limbs, bound by metal rings, passed through the net, swaying helplessly.

That was the terrifying creature, the Soul-Eating Bee, which had killed several of his apprentices and implanted invisible eggs into the brains of more than a dozen of them.

Amon instinctively clenched his fists; every real and illusory nightmare in his life was accompanied by a shrill scream.

But unlike the other Tizkas, he was not terrified or panicked; he could briefly see the future.

He no longer felt the burning premonition of danger in his mind; he clearly sensed that the three Soul-Eating Bees had fallen into a coma.

Amon also confirmed that the aircraft belonged to the visiting Order of Shadows, and he frowned, wondering.

[Lord Ninglu, why do you want to capture the Soul-Devouring Bees?]
Moments later, the Shadow Stormbird landed.

Amon walked up to the aircraft and spoke solemnly to the giant who was stepping off the deck.

“Lord Ninglu, the Soul-Devouring Bees you captured are not pets.”

"It is a dangerous monster; it destroyed Prospero's civilization."

“Amon, I know he is dangerous,” Nimrod said seriously, “but defense is not a sustainable solution.”

Amon was taken aback. Faced with the terrifying Soul-Eating Bees, should he not defend himself but instead actively hunt them?

Just as he was about to ask further questions, he noticed Ning Lu's gaze shifting behind him, and a scene flashed through his mind.

Amon turned his head and saw hundreds of figures dressed in scarlet armor appearing on the streets of Tizka.

Most of the Thousand Sons had no memory of arriving in Prospero.

They were placed in a static force field to prevent the mutation of flesh from continuing to spread within their bodies.

Even powerful psionicists like Azek Ahriman, who suppressed the mutated power within their bodies, fell into a state of blurred consciousness.

The memory that flashed through Ahriman's mind was of the Primarch Nimrod, who boarded the flagship and provided them with assistance, and how the Shadow of Order was not infected with the flesh mutation due to contact with the Thousand Sons.

He was lost in his memories for a dozen seconds, confirming that his last memory was of Lord Ninglu boarding the flagship four days later, when he was listening to the apothecary's briefing.

After that, I was caught up in a struggle against the mutation of flesh and blood.

I didn't even enter Prospero's memory; at that time, I was enduring intense pain and struggling to maintain my balance.
Ahriman recalled the comforting voice, the voice that had awakened him from the darkness, the gentle and soothing voice of a father comforting his sick children.

Ahriman gently stroked the silver oak leaf embedded in the armor; it belonged to Olmuzd.

The mutation of flesh completely destroyed Olmuzd's body, and he could not be saved.

As Ahriman forced himself to pull himself out of his grief and, along with the other Chikas, curiously looked around, Hathor Matt's eyes cleared.

He and several other children who did not undergo the flesh-and-blood mutation possessed complete memories.

Matt knew that it was the magical power of Lord Nimrod, to whom he served.

Out of the corner of his eye, he also glanced at his father, Magnus.

Most people don't know the price Magnus paid, and his father warned everyone who knew.

But he knew that their father had lost his right eye while saving a thousand survivors.

[One thousand people!

It would be appropriate to name our legion "The Thousand Sons" now, but why did the Emperor name us "The Thousand Sons" so long before we arrived in Prospero?
Did he foresee the suffering we would endure, and did he know that Magnus would save a thousand of us?
Matt was saddened by Magnus's loss of his right eye, yet also horrified by the seemingly fated coincidence. A phrase Ahriman had uttered countless times flashed through his mind: "There are no coincidences in this world."

[If one day in the future, the mutation of flesh and blood breaks out again.]

Did the father lose another eye?
Or perhaps he was powerless to stop it.
As Matt pondered in fear, he suddenly saw a giant clad in black armor in his eyes, and his gaze gleamed.

No! It was not Magnus who saved me, but my Lord.

Without my lord, I might have died before I even reached Prospero.

Moreover, our lord paid almost no price.
Matt subconsciously compared the price that Ninglu and Magnus had paid.

He preferred to believe that Nimrod would save him then, so that he wouldn't feel guilty for pledging allegiance to Nimrod rather than his genetic father.

Ning Lu's gaze swept over the group of Qianzi, their emotions of surviving the ordeal were obvious.

No one, including Magnus, knew that the flesh mutation had only been temporarily resolved.

Even before the grand birthday celebration, the number of "Thousand Sons" reached a peak of 85,000, seemingly free from the mutation of flesh and blood, but no one knew that the power of transformation was still lurking.
Ninglu's gaze then swept over Matt, whom he had "corrupted" and who had pledged allegiance to him.

Not only is Matt the company commander of the Third Society, but as the temple leader of the "Bright Feather School," one of the five major schools, he must have more than ten thousand soldiers under his command than the other company commanders of the temple leader.

He, along with Ahriman and Amon, were the only three survivors among the eight company commanders who participated in the "Burning of Prospero," but they only had about a hundred loyal followers left under their command.

Hmm... I do have a chance to get Matt to bring some people out.
Nimrod knew that although Magnus had ordered the entire legion to return to Prospero after the "Nicaea Conference," several Thousand Sons units were still scattered throughout the galaxy.

Centor Ramée of the Ninth Society, leading two thousand men, was massacred in their camp by Ultramarines whom they considered allies.

The main force of the Fourth Society, about five thousand men, did not return to Prospero, so only eight company commanders resisted the wolf invasion.

Given this situation, it is possible, perhaps, to find an opportunity to have Matt bring out some loyal subordinates.

As the Temple Chief and Company Commander, he has his own loyal followers, but I can also "corrupt" those who are disloyal.

Better to die at the hands of wolves or fall into chaos than to follow me.
While Nimrod was pondering, he walked over to Magnus and asked in "surprise".

"Magnus, where is your right eye?"

Before Nimrod spoke, Magnus had already foreseen it, and his psychic energy spread out, creating a barrier around the two of them.

"I paid a price to save my offspring."

“I don’t want them to know about my sacrifices; it would make them feel guilty.”

“A considerable price to pay,” Ning Lu said meaningfully, thinking to himself: [Part of the reason is that you don’t want them to guess that you made a deal with Tzeentch.]

The more information you know, the more likely you are to predict it. Others may not be able to do it, but Ahriman might.

Hmm... After Magnus, he should use his telekinetic abilities to make the Tizka residents, who know he once had two eyes, forget about it, since losing an eye is quite obvious.
Ahriman always believed that it was important how Magnus saved them, and he explored this question.

The fact that it was not discovered must mean that Magnus used some means.

Ning Lu knew that Old Man Huang had done this kind of thing a few times before.

Not long after, in 869, in order to cover up the dark secrets of Moro, the old man Huang immediately erased the memories of Horus Rupekar, Ryan Eljonsen, Fugrim, and Chagatai Khan, who had fought alongside him.

“It’s worth it,” Magnus said with a broad smile, his single eye shining like emerald. “Please keep this a secret.”

“Alright,” Nimrod agreed to Magnus’s request.

Magnus removed the psionic barrier, his eyes transforming into a deep blue. "I heard from Ahriman that you suggested to Father that the think tank be established."

"I think we'll have a lot in common."

　PS: The number of people with over 1000 is from the official black book.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)