Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 370 "Shifting the Concept"

The landing craft landed east of Numinas, and the honor guard disembarked from the other landing craft and assembled behind him.

Polti, who had been promoted to adjutant, was waiting there with three squads when he approached Nimrod.

"Father."

Ninglu glanced at Polti's team and found that there were only twenty-seven people. He thought to himself.

[With the loss of three Order Shadows, the Gorgon Serpents can still inflict damage on Astartes.]
He nodded slightly and gave the order.

"set off!"

Led by Polti, the group then headed towards the cave.

As soon as you step into the dark cave, a damp and foul odor hits you, making you want to vomit.

“The cave connects to the edge of Numinas, and the city’s sewage system is connected to this place,” Porti said.

"The stench comes from those serpent monsters."

“This also points us to our goal,” Ning Lu said, his nose twitching slightly as he inhaled the stench.

Astartes, through its taste-monitoring nerves, can track the unique odors of certain organisms.

The Shadow Order inhales the humid air; their taste-detecting nerves are comparable only to those of wild wolves.

The fishy, ​​foul smell was identified and became their guiding beacon.

Following the stench, the team navigated through the spiderweb-like caves.

"Father, the petrification ability of the Gorgon basilisk poses a certain threat to the Shadow of Order," Polti reported to Ninglu en route.

"Once you make eye contact with it, it's as if some kind of force is applied to your body, making your movements sluggish, and the helmet visor cannot block out this effect."

"We must resist the influence of the Gorgon basilisk with unwavering will. Most of the time, the shadow of order is not as fragile as that of ordinary people."

"But a small number of these mutated snake monsters have three pairs of eyes on their heads, and if their gaze meets yours, their brains become sluggish..."

After a moment's thought, Polti found the appropriate expression in his vocabulary.

"If the petrification ability of ordinary Gorgon basilisks is like burying the shadow of order in a sand pit, we can break free with a little effort."

"When he stared at the Gorgon basilisk, which was larger and had three pairs of eyes, it was as if he were trapped in a sea of ​​sand."

“Those with weak will will be swallowed up by the sea of ​​sand. One warrior was petrified as a result and turned into a statue.”

A fleeting sadness crossed Polti's eyes as he continued.

"Even the shadow of order with a strong will can resist. There are two others in my team who have stared at the six-eyed serpent."

"One relied on his own will, and the other entered the first level of the Thelma you created in time; neither of them was petrified."

"It is worth noting that, in addition to petrification, the Gorgon basilisk's claws can tear through power armor, and their claws and fangs contain potent venom, which can also poison the Shadow of Order, causing it to temporarily become paralyzed."

Ninglu nodded. He sensed that the basilisks were only about two kilometers apart in a straight line.

He gave Sanchez the order: "The five companies of the Seventh Regiment awaiting orders shall temporarily increase their time for tempering their will and cultivating the Thelma Mindset."

He instructed the members of the Honor Guard: "Enter the state of Thelma."

While reviewing the Honor Guard members, Ninglu will answer their questions about various techniques.

The Thelma Mindset was developed by the Primarch specifically for the Shadows of Order. The first level of the Mindset, "True Will," requires discerning one's true nature. The threshold is not high; members of the Honor Guard can master it after a hundred days of training.

All members of this batch of honor guards have grasped the "true will".

The members of the Honor Guard, while running, spent varying amounts of time entering the first level of mental state.

Ninglu cast his gaze into the depths of the dark cave, where he saw a dozen or so humanoid creatures standing upright, most of them about two meters tall.

Among them, there was only one Gorgon basilisk with three pairs of bloody yellow eyes, which was about two and a half meters tall.

The Gorgon basilisk has no legs; instead, it has a long, undulating serpentine tail that is longer than its body. Its arms, which grow in front of its chest, are shorter than its torso, and its sharp claws are covered in scales.

Ning Lu noticed that their eyes did indeed shine with a spiritual light.

[As expected, it is a potion ingredient. Judging from its luster, it is either a main ingredient of Sequence 6 or an auxiliary ingredient of Sequence 5.]

After being promoted to "Corrupted Baron", I unlocked half of the potion recipes, which did not include the Gorgon Basilisk's eye.

Petrification... is most likely the primary material for the "Dreamer" pathway Sequence 6 "Hypnotist," or a secondary material for the "Fool" pathway Sequence 5 "Puppet Master."
As Ninglu pondered, the Gorgon serpent monster sensed his gaze and looked over.

The progenitor did not avoid eye contact, meeting dozens of pairs of bloody yellow eyes.

The moment their eyes met, the Primarch sensed that his thoughts went blank for a moment.

His right leg, as if being pulled by something, slowed down a bit.

After experiencing the petrification ability of the Gorgon basilisk, Nimrod instantly ascended to the first level of the Thelma Mind, simultaneously donning the "Howl" mask and letting out a terrifying howl.

After being promoted to "Corrupted Baron", the power of "Howl" increased by about one-fifth, and it also became more compatible with the "Howl" mask that Nimrod learned from the Eldar's "Way of the Howl Banshee".

The extraordinary ability amplifies the effect of the psionic scream and allows it to focus on the direction of the enemy.

A dozen or so Gorgon serpent monsters met the eyes of the black-armored giant.

To their astonishment, the black-armored giant did not stop. Before they could even guess why, a terrifying scream suddenly assaulted their minds and hearts.

The Gorgon basilisks hunched over, clutching their heads with their claws, emitting painful cries.

Apart from the mutated six-eyed basilisk, the other Gorgon basilisks, with their eyes bulging, collapsed amidst a continuous, terrifying howl.

The "Barbarian" drew Dionysus' spear from behind and hurled it.

With a sharp whooshing sound, the Spear of Dionysus pierced through the body of the six-eyed mutated Gorgon serpent monster, pinning him to the ground.

Ninglu stepped forward, exiting his mental state, and looked into the eyes of the Gorgon serpent monster.

The spiritual light still shone, but there was no petrification effect whatsoever.

Ninglu walked up to the six-eyed serpent monster and stared at its six pairs of eyes, but still did not feel petrified.

He gave the Honor Guard members the order: "Attack their bodies and kill them."

“I’m very interested in their eyes.”

The honor guard immediately dispersed and hunted down the Gorgon serpent monsters in the cave.

The "Corrupted Baron" drew his Vaal sword, thinking:

[The Vaal Sword is a sword, and a steel sword is also a sword, therefore the Vaal Sword is a steel sword.]
The "Corrupted Baron" felt his spiritual energy being rapidly depleted, even faster than the blood-red necklace wrapped around his right little finger was replenishing it.

The Vaal Sword was forged by the Eldar's God of Forging; using it with "Shifting the Concept" consumes a significant amount of spiritual energy.

Whether it's considered a gain or a loss, it's a "sleight of hand"; the spiritual energy consumed will not differ, only the degree of change matters.

Well... at least I don't have to take a combat knife from my offspring or use a chainsaw sword without its motor running.
As the "Corrupted Baron" pondered, he swung his arm and sliced ​​off one after another of the bloody yellow eyeballs.

Nimrod strode forward, leaving behind the Spear of Dionysus, before finally sending the Gorgon basilisk's eyeballs to the "Land of Chaos".

Of the five companies in the 7th Regiment, those who grasped the shadow of order in Thelma's mind joined the cave clearing operation.

In the sixth sun month of 846, the Shadows of Order steadily advanced into the depths of the underground caverns through the Spiderweb Cave.

On this day, Ninglu had just returned the Gorgon basilisk eyes collected by the Honor Guard and the Seventh War Group to the "Land of Chaos" when he received a report from Polti.

“Father, I encountered a powerful mutated Gorgon serpent monster. It was five meters tall and had six pairs of eyes.”

"One of the Shadows of Order who had mastered the first level of Thelma's mind was petrified. His body was covered with multiple layers of scales. Even the blaster couldn't kill him. He broke through the encirclement and escaped."

(End of this chapter)