Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 409 Peturabo: Nimrod has also mastered the art of making short-handed people.

Peturabo's Aquila shuttle slowly descended onto the main star of the Skot system.

Peturabo, accompanied by his company commander and four guards armed with plasma guns, stepped off the deck.

The envoy of the Skot Alliance, dressed in exquisitely crafted armor, felt his body harden as he met the giant's icy blue eyes.

He bowed slightly and spoke in fluent and standard High Gothic:
"Lord Peturabo, welcome to Skot. Lord Grimnil and Lord Nimrod are already waiting for you in the banquet hall."

Peturabo remained silent, but Frix, who was carrying a plasma gun in one hand, spoke up: "Lead the way."

Vehicles suitable for the Shadow of Order are still under development, and naturally there are no vehicles that match the height of the Iron Warriors, so the team can only walk.

The team moved forward in silence, Peturabo's brain constantly calculating, taking in everything around him and rapidly dismantling it.

Three thousand nine hundred and forty Skot people climbed on 512 scaffolds of varying heights, rapidly repairing the damaged buildings with wrenches and other tools.

The Genesis has discovered that the damaged Starport has been rebuilt at a speed comparable to that of the Iron Warriors and is now operational again.

Perturabo was not surprised by this; during the war in the D-1504 system, he had already discovered that these diminutive Skotians were skilled at building fortresses.

The Primarch looked around, and the sturdy buildings, the equipment similar to but more durable than that of the Empire of Man, and all the ingenuity and wonder of their construction flooded his mind like a tide.

Peturabo had a complete grasp of their design, their habits, their usage, and the principles by which all these things operated.

In the process, Peturabo inevitably took notice of the Skot people moving efficiently between buildings and equipment.

Their Void suits, their movements, their expressions—to him, everything could be analyzed digitally.

Peturabo noticed the hatred in the eyes of the Skot people when they looked at them.

Peturabo gave a cold smile; he didn't care at all.

He didn't care what the enemy thought, as long as he could carry out the orders of the War Council and the Emperor himself.

Moreover, the geneticists of the Cult of Mechanics compared the genes of the Skotians with those of the Imperial Gene Bank, and found that they did not belong to the human category at all.

Even using the Empire's current standard of judgment—the skull—as a basis for comparison, the Skots are somewhere between demi-humans and aliens; whether they are classified as human depends entirely on a single decision.

Peturab disregarded the opinions of these short-sighted people; if given the Emperor's order, he would command them all to be killed.

Peturabo's icy blue eyes suddenly narrowed as he saw a group of warriors in black power armor communicating with the Skots.

“The mining vehicles from the Yunas union are sturdy and durable. I have decided to purchase 100,000 of them for use by my company’s jurisdiction around the world.”

"According to the agreement reached between the Alliance and 'Shadow of Order', I will sell this to you at a 15% discount."

Peturabo was not surprised that the Shadow of Order was negotiating a deal with the Skote Alliance.

He knew that the Shadow of Order would govern the conquered world, and the results achieved would be the evaluation criteria for their promotion.

The Skots were well-equipped, and it was reasonable for the Shadow Order to purchase them.

To Peturabo's surprise, the "Shadow of Order" and the Skot Alliance inflicted more casualties on both sides on the battlefield than the "Iron Warriors," yet their relationship was much more harmonious.

Those Skots seemed to have forgotten the deaths that the "Shadow of Order" had caused them.

Before Peturabo could investigate the reason, his gaze was drawn to the plasma gun carried by the Shadow of Order.

Those plasma guns were almost identical to the Aita-Kahn plasma guns used by the Skots; they were simply elongated and enlarged versions of them.

There's also a bedrock-type explosive gun.

How is this possible?
A ripple of emotion surged in Peturabo's icy blue eyes. No one understood the difference between an Aita-Kahn plasma gun and Imperial weapons better than someone who had personally disassembled the original Aita-Kahn plasma gun.

The Skotians' Aita-Kahn-type plasma gun, with its linear electromagnetic accelerator, cooling pipes, and exhaust vents, was completely different from the Empire's. Peturabo paused, and Fricks and the others followed suit, looking around but finding nothing unusual.

"Father, what's wrong?" Fricks asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing, let's keep going."

Peturabo offered no explanation, but he also noticed the explosive guns carried by the Shadow of Order, distinctly different from those of the Empire.

He continued onward and discovered several other groups of Shadow Order, discussing different trades with the Skots, all carrying Eta-Kahn plasma guns and bedrock-type bomb guns.

[How is it possible that "Shadow of Order" has mastered the methods to manufacture these two weapons?]
Perturabo strode toward a group of shadowy figures, whose members bowed in greeting as the Primarch approached.

"Lord Perturabo."

"Where did you get the technology to manufacture your plasma guns and bomb guns?"

"As far as I know, it was the Forge Master who obtained the standard construction template from his father, and the Legion began to change its equipment."

"Did they start changing uniforms after the Skot Alliance surrendered?" Peturabo pressed.

[The technology that Nimrod acquired from the Skot Alliance.]
“No,” the Shadow of Order’s answer surprised Perturabo. “My squad switched to bedrock-type bomb guns a year ago, and Aita-Kahn-type plasma guns five months ago.”

What? The Skot Alliance hadn't surrendered yet, so Nimrod couldn't have been obtained from the Short Man.

The technology originated from Ninglu, which indicates that he also had the means to dismantle and master the techniques of the short-skinned man.
"My lord?" the Shadow of Order asked hesitantly.

Peturabo snapped out of his thoughts, concealing his confusion, and said, "It's alright."

He strode forward, his icy blue eyes filled with a gloomy gray.

Led by the Skotian envoys, the procession proceeded toward the ceremonial hall.

He encountered Arsène Dunne, who was waiting for him in front of the main hall.

"Lord Peturabo, please come with me."

Peturabo remained expressionless, nodded slightly, and followed behind Alsena.

Peturab followed Alsena into the hall and found that Magnus had also arrived, in addition to Nimrod.

Nimrod saw that behind Peturabo, Fricks was carrying two plasma guns that were somewhat similar to the Aita-Kahn type plasma gun.

Having mastered the STC, he was intimately familiar with the structure of this model. He could tell from the extremely smooth vent holes and the sturdy gun body that this plasma gun was a masterpiece of precision forging.

He then looked at the four Iron Warriors, whose plasma guns were similar in structure to the Eta-Kahn plasma gun.

[Petulabo disassembled the Eita-Kahn model and mastered the manufacturing technology.]
Ninglu was not surprised by this, as Peturabo had been endowed with talents in science and knowledge by Huang Laohan.

He was both an engineer and a mathematician, and no one, including Finus Manus and Dorakauer, could compare to his technical abilities.

Technology differs from forging weapons; it involves a profound understanding of the principles.

While Vograim, Fernus Manus, and Vokhan may be slightly better at forging weapons than Peturabo, their understanding of the technology is not as good.

Perturabo's ability to learn binary code was equally astonishing. His speed in understanding and calculating binary information was enough to shock the sages, and he could even write entirely new programs for the Titans from scratch.

If Perturabo had been given the opportunity to intervene in the affairs of the Mechanicus, he might have truly gained honor and recognition as an Imperial hero, achieving many great feats: pacifying the Mechanicus, refuting the conservatives, and creating new weaponry.

But Old Huang didn't place him in a more suitable position.

The plasma gun in Frix's hand was clearly different from the other four, and he was holding it alone.

Hmm, two. Did Perturabo specially make two as gifts for Magnus and me?
(End of this chapter)