Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 352 The Power of the Heartforged Staff

Miguel Quasta raised the Heartforged Staff, arcs of electricity leaping wildly across its surface.

Like the roar of a charging Horned Knight mech, arcs of psionic electricity shot toward a disc-shaped Mitu chariot.

With a deafening roar, the dazzling chariot, which had been shining brightly, turned charred black in the blink of an eye and then turned to ashes.

That wasn't all. Centered on the tank, arcs of psionic energy rapidly spread outwards to all surrounding enemies.

Amidst a series of deafening roars that pierced the air, countless arcs of electricity seeped into the weak points of the Mitu people's armor, which resembled carapaces, turning them into dust.

In the blink of an eye, an alien war machine, along with hundreds of people within a radius of it, was crushed by electric arcs.

Ninglu watched Miguel unleash his psionic attack and nodded slightly in satisfaction.

Hmm, that's pretty powerful.

The Metu people's vehicles and personal armor are made with biotechnology, making them more effective against humans or other enemies with a higher proportion of technology.

Miguel's abilities and loyalty exceed my standards; he can be trained to become an extraordinary individual.
As Ninglu pondered, he stepped onto the surface of the second moon of planet Dametus III.

His gaze passed over the swaying Veroni knight and fell upon the magnificent fortress standing in the distance, and he sighed inwardly.

[The Veroni are one of the oldest knight families in the Misty Starfield, but their Evil Cloud Fortress was attacked, and nearly one-twentieth of the buildings collapsed.]

Other surrounding buildings also suffered varying degrees of damage.
Inside the Lonely Lancer-type Horned Viper Knight, High King Jacques Veroni, atop the Mechanical Throne, looked at the black-armored, golden-winged warrior descending from the sky.

It's unbelievable that he was able to quickly defeat dozens of Mitu tanks and thousands of Mitu soldiers.

They launched an attack on Mitu, so they should also be enemies of the aliens.

They are humanoid beings, but having lost all remote sensing equipment, they cannot determine whether those beneath the armor are human.

Aliens might also take this form, but they wouldn't be this tall. More importantly, we are likely the only remaining humans.
Jacques watched helplessly as the black-armored warrior approached; his knight mech had lost all power.

Then, Jacques heard a majestic High Gothic voice.

"Are you the Knight King of Veroni?"

“Yes,” Jacques manually opened the cockpit, stood up, and looked at the black-armored warrior.

Moments later, Jacques, having left the Lonely Zero, gained a preliminary understanding of the powerful warriors who had rescued Veroni through the standard data files presented to the human colonies by the "Shadow of Order".

He was astonished to discover that Dametus was not the only remaining isolated island inhabited by humans.

Humanity has risen again from the long old night, led by the Primarch of the Eleventh Legion, known as Nimrod.

Jacques and his eldest son, Geos, approached the Primarch and began to speak.

“Lord Nimrod, I am Jac Veroni, the High King of Dametus.”

"Thank you for your rescue and that of your legion. The knights of Dametus owe a debt of liberation that can never be repaid."

“My lord, thank you for your rescue. I am Gios, the eldest son of Veroni.” Dressed in knight’s attire and with a long sword at his waist, Gios looked at the giant before him with reverence.

Upon hearing the two names, Ninglu was immediately reminded of them.

[Upon being discovered, Veroni immediately embarked on the "Great Expedition," fighting alongside the "Dark Angels" who had come to their rescue.]
The knights served in five expeditionary fleets, winning countless honors, but also creating a huge need to replenish the knight mechs lost in the war.

Jacques ultimately chose to ally with the forging world of Hurricane Star, but he chose the wrong ally.

Hurricane Star sided with Horus Lupecal and launched an attack during the alliance ceremony.

Nimrod looked at the young knight and recalled his memories of Gios.

An hour before the alliance ceremony, Geos discovered the Hurricane Star's plot. He returned alone, trudging through the landing zone, and knelt before his father's horned viper-type lancers, delivering the shocking news. [After Jac's death, the wounded Geos led Veroni out of their predicament, demonstrating considerable ability.]
After Ning Lu's mind raced through the memories of the two of them, he said with a smile.

"Vironi's heroic act of fighting the aliens alone to protect the people is admirable."

Upon hearing the Primarch's praise, Jacques and Gios smiled.

“You will no longer fight alone; my sons will accompany Knight Veroni.”

"The Forging World will provide you with Knight Armor, and the number of Knights of Dametus will surpass any time in the past."

Gios was excited by the scene described by Nimrod, while Jacques frowned.

The books of the Veroni family describe the members of the Cult of Mechanism as having an insatiable greed for knowledge. Combined with the information I just reviewed, he felt uneasy about accepting aid from the Forging World.

If Dametus' weakness is discovered, they may demand the knowledge legacy within their colonial ark.

Thinking of this, Jacques spoke up.

"Thank you for your kindness, but Dametus does not need help from the Foundry World."

"Without the invasion of the Mitu aliens, our relic, the Guardian, can repair the damaged Knight mechs."

"The knights of Dametus will soon fight alongside you."

Ninglu understood the reason for Jacques's worries. His gaze swept almost imperceptibly over Evil Cloud Fortress, knowing that an ancient crystal database was buried underground.

In his memory, just as Jacques thought, when Mezoa, Pendex, the newly built Hurricane Star, and even further afield Lucius, all the forging worlds discovered the decline of the knightly world and the immense wealth, all hoped to become vassals of Dametus.

After despising their greed, Jacques delayed for over a hundred years under the pretext of consideration.

Until the Supreme King of Tadametus realized that in order to survive, he must ultimately ally with the Forging World, but he had chosen the wrong one.

If it weren't for Gios's outstanding abilities in leading the knights out of their predicament, Dametus would have been destroyed by Hurricane Star and the knights of the Ethern family.

Ninglu was naturally interested in the ancient crystal database, but he did not want to create discord among the Vironian knights who were extremely grateful to him and owed him a debt of rescue.

As the "Corrupted Baron," he doesn't need to resort to the brutal methods used to forge the world.

The moment he saw Gios, he had already conceived a plan.

Keep him by your side and "corrupt" him.

One day, as the eldest son with outstanding abilities, he will become the head of Veroni and the supreme king of Dametus.

At that time, the ancient crystal database would naturally fall into his hands.

Ninglu smiled and said, "No need to worry, no need to pay any price, Mezoa will build knight mechs for you."

“Mezoa will follow my will and provide you with Knight Armor.”

Jacques and Gios knew from the information they had previously reviewed that the Forging World was powerful, and that Lord Nimrod was able to make Mezoa obey his orders.

The Supreme King recovered from his shock and said respectfully, "As you wish."

"I grant Knights Dametus time to recover until you are able to return to the battlefield."

Ninglu looked at Jiaos, "You stay by my side, and I will teach you to adapt to the new changes."

“It’s my honor,” Gios replied excitedly.

(End of this chapter)