Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 356 Protective Orb Blessings, Ring Weapon Slays Enemies

The 9th standard month of 842.

The Colonia Abyss, the Manachian System, Manachia.

The prophet Flamini, who was about to turn ten, once again led his followers to escape danger in the sewers.

He looked around and saw that his followers had dropped from a peak of five thousand to just over four hundred.

Most of them were used as fuel for the alien, evil arcane machines, and he could hear their terrified screams from the ethereal tides.

Flamini's face bore a weariness and pain beyond his years.

He heard their cries for help, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Flamini had no idea how long this endless escape would last.

His predictions don't always yield the desired results, and his interpretations may be flawed.

Flamini made many mistakes, and no one taught him; he relied on talent, trial and error, and reflection.

He took a deep breath, and as the stench filled his nostrils, he cast aside his negative emotions.

Flamini looked around and then walked toward the pipe.

"Let's rest here for a while."

He found a relatively clean spot in the metal pipes and sat cross-legged.

Flamini's eyes were deep, and his thoughts probed into the subspace, searching for hope in a series of colorful images.

Over the past few years, he has made countless predictions, but has never found any new hope.

But Flamini did not give up; he believed he would eventually find it.

His gaze swept across the blood-red scene, which showed the Mitu people throwing humans into various machines to burn.

Flamini struggled to control himself, refusing to show grief or anger at witnessing the deaths of his kind, knowing that would attract predators from the Warp.

He felt enveloped in icy cold, hallucinations appeared before his eyes, and whispers echoed in his ears.

Flamini knew that his will had reached its limit and he had to end the premonition immediately.

A bitter smile appeared on his face; once again, he had failed to find hope.

Just then, he saw a dark shadow envelop the blood-red orb of light belonging to the Mitu people.

Flamini chased the shadow and then saw an unassuming marble building, followed by a beam of bright light.

His consciousness returned to reality immediately, his body drenched in cold sweat.

Flamini's entire attention was focused on the final, premonitory image that evoked childhood memories.

At that time, he had not yet awakened his psychic powers, and his family, along with many other families, were crammed into that dilapidated building.

Compared to the sewers, that place was like paradise. More importantly, he still had his parents there.

Flamini's eyes lit up as he interpreted the vision he had foreseen: "I hope it's related to shadows, something I can find in my childhood home."

He couldn't quite grasp the meaning of the light, and ultimately regarded it as a beacon of hope.

Flamini hesitated. The Mitu people would never allow psionicists to live; going to the surface was tantamount to walking towards the executioner's blade.

Having made countless predictions, he also knew that what he foresaw might not be what was about to happen.

Just as Flamini hesitated, he felt a huge shadow approaching.

Flamini was familiar with the immense shadow that had loomed over Manach years before, when waves of warp had swept through the space.

[shadow……]
Flamini whispered silently to himself, "The omen has already occurred."

He suddenly stood up: "Come with me, I will lead you to hope."

The emaciated followers rose to their feet, their eyes shining, and followed the prophet.

At the same time, after a long voyage, the Ramirez-class Star Fortress arrived in the Manach system, towed by tugboats.

The Eleventh Legion's fleet then jumped to the real world and deployed its forces around Starfortress.

As the capital of the Mitu United Empire, the Manach system is home to the largest fleet of the Mitu people.

Thousands of Mitu warships immediately turned their cannons on the colossal object in the void.

Countless beams of light shot towards the fortress-level energy shield.

In response to the provocation, thousands of thermonuclear fusion warhead torpedoes were launched from the central region of the Ramirez-class destroyer.

Atomic flames tore apart the hulls of dozens of Mitu-class capital ships, and the void burned fiercely.

More cluster-warhead torpedoes were unleashed at the Mitu warship, seemingly endless and inexhaustible.

The thrusters, larger than the entire destroyer, emitted a blazing red light, burning like the sun.

The Ramirez-class Starfortress's fortress-level energy shield withstood countless beams of light, smashed through the torpedo-torn wreckage of enemy ships, and steadily advanced.

The terrifying gun corps rained down massive shells on the Mitu warship.

The Eleventh Legion's fleet advanced alongside the Starfortress, its bows unleashing fierce beams of light that crisscrossed and covered dozens of spherical warships.

For a brief moment, dozens of warships shone like burning stars before disappearing from sight.

The entire void of the galaxy was illuminated, and the Ramirez-class star fortress finally took hold in its high orbit above Manachia.

The sky above Manachia was immediately illuminated by rapidly changing flames. The overwhelming torpedoes and dense barrage were intercepted by the Mitu people's anti-aircraft fire, and explosions burst in the air.

But this was just the beginning. The Eleventh Legion's fleet slowed down and entered orbit, with more turrets and light spear arrays joining the bombardment.

The bombing lasted for a full stellar month before the Mitu people's anti-aircraft firepower was reduced to a level where they could launch a landing operation.

The five chapters of "Shadow of Order" that participated in the battle then launched an orbital drop.

The traveling merchant Lewis von Valancius assembled his armed forces and joined the First Chapter. Having participated in the suppression of the Incaladion rebellion and the First Randan War, and stationed at the Osiris Cluster, the First Chapter had the smallest force among the participating chapters, consisting of only seven companies and 6,900 Shadow Order soldiers.

They were ordered to launch an attack on the fifth largest city in Mitu, as confirmed by the Auger Matrix scan.

The officers in Lewis's armed forces were officers from the Vostonia Auxiliary Army whom he had hired at great expense.

Although they had to retire due to injuries and other reasons, they were favored by wandering merchants.

Lewis was able to successfully hire these officers not only because of the salaries he offered, but also because he was a wandering merchant whom the monarch valued most.

The warriors were recruited from several wild worlds, received rigorous training from officers, and were equipped with sophisticated weapons purchased from the Vostonia Armory.

Chief Warrior Svavomir Kavuzinski was the only Vostunian auxiliary army company commander recruited by Lewis.

During the battle to purify Oxenx, he destroyed an Andrew robot, but was then struck by an energy beam that took away his legs.

After Kavuzinski had his prosthetic leg replaced, he was deemed unable to meet the requirements for continued service during physiological function tests and was forced to retire.

He was granted entry into Exemplary City because of his meritorious service.

Furthermore, because of the Oskos Memorial Medal, one can obtain a land area of ​​one hundred kilometers on Westday Main Star.

Kavuzinski eventually chose a residence in the middle of the city of Exemplary City, and, thanks to his medals, sent his five children to school in the upper city.

He himself, unwilling to endure a boring retirement life, was attracted by the prospect of changing his prosthetic body, which was specially designed for him, and joined the exploration team.

Lewis paid Kavuzinski 1.5 million royal fiefs, three times the amount he received in retirement.

After adaptive training, he found that he had almost the same agility as before.

The dense barrage of bullets fired by the Shadow Order awakened Kavuzinski's past memories. He saw the Mitu people being torn apart by booming bombs and scattering in all directions, and then he spoke.

“Lord Lewis, the King’s son has broken through the defenders’ lines. It is time to launch an attack.”

“Okay,” the traveling merchant said into the communication channel, pressing the communication bead.
"Warriors of von Valensius, for centuries the Mito aliens have perpetrated atrocities against our fellow human beings."

"Today, we will punish them with death! Attack!"

The wandering merchant raised his Vostoria-type laser gun and fired a devastating beam at the evil alien.

Lewis's hard work on the training deck was evident as the beam of light shone precisely on the Mitu soldiers.

After breaching two city blocks, the von Valensius family's armed forces discovered a high-value strategic target: the Metu's arcane factory.

After a moment's thought, Lewis decided to launch an attack on the Arcane Factory.

Such a feat will add a shining chapter to the history of the von Valensius family.

Lewis stroked the magnificent armor's chest and the protective orbs hanging from his waist, his confidence growing even stronger.

The chief warrior spearheaded the charge, raising his Vostonia-type laser gun as he ran and firing at the guards.

A series of beams struck precisely, and the sea anemone's body disintegrated and fell to the ground.

Lewis and Kavuzinski rush into the spherical factory, where they witness humans being driven into bizarre circular devices by the Mitu aliens.

He angrily swept a guard down and was about to rush toward the nearest device.

Suddenly, two Mitu people with four pairs of arms and legs rushed over.

Lewis immediately recalled the information provided by the Shadow of Order, knowing that they were elite Mitu soldiers skilled in close combat.

The chief warrior was the first to react. He fired several beams at the alien, but when he found that he could not break the strange energy shield, he drew his power sword and pressed the rune.

Lewis saw the chief warrior, wielding the power sword "Osberh-Vaya," block a Mitu warrior.

Although he had received instruction and mastered some sword skills, he lacked the confidence to defeat the elite Mitu warriors.

As Lewis saw the Mitu warriors approaching, he immediately raised his left hand and activated his ring weapon.

With a bang, Lewis felt the recoil of an automatic gun.

A blinding spear of flame flew toward the Mitu warrior.

Lewis was overjoyed. Alcéna Dunn told him that each ring weapon could only launch one type of attack.

However, there are many types of ring weapons, and the attack effects of the ring weapons he obtains are uncertain.

Lewis was also told that after each attack, the ring weapon needed a certain amount of time before it could be used again, which he understood as charging.

Because the charging time varies depending on the ring, he abandoned the idea of ​​conducting the test.

I'm so lucky.

Praise be to Lord Nimrod!
As Lewis pondered, he saw the flaming spear pierce through the energy shield of the Mitu warrior, as if the smoke had dissipated.

[Oops!]
Lewis discovered that the goggles he wore over his right eye could not detect the Mitu warriors in the smoke.

He immediately retreated, but the Mitu warriors attacked even faster.

Six longswords shrouded in smoke slashed towards Lewis.

Lewis was caught off guard, but an energy shield rose out of thin air and protected him inside.

Boom boom boom!
A loud collision rang out. After realizing that the alien's attack had failed to break through the protective orb's defenses, Lewis once again thanked Lord Ninglu in his heart and then extended his left middle finger.

Dozens of ice spikes shot out, smashing the Mitu alien into a pulp.

After Lewis dealt with a Metu warrior, he saw the chief warrior kill a Metu alien with a single slash.

While the traveling merchants were rescuing their fellow humans, Flamini found himself in crisis within the main city of Mitu.

Upon first setting foot on the ground, the Mitu people were thrown into chaos by an aerial attack, but the procession still progressed relatively smoothly.

But after traveling five kilometers, they were inevitably discovered by the Mitu warriors.

(End of this chapter)