Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 413 A Rune in Exchange for Magnus's Sosmes Mark

After the first meeting of the "Thousand Sons," Magnus drew his scythe and swung it, breaking the invisible barrier of the Sosmes symbol.

Many of the Thousand Sons felt their connection to the subspace restored, and their powerful forces returned to their control.

As Magnus slung his scimitar back to his waist, he raised his left arm and rapidly traced runes in the air.

The pentagon-nested circle pattern was quickly completed, and the Thousand Sons sensed the tides of the subspace crashing against the runes, gathering beside the Father of Genetics.

"This rune can trigger warp tides, and the effect is quite good."

Azek Ahriman's eyes were deep. "Indeed, Hathor has contributed a useful rune to us."

Magnus slowly traced the outline again, making sure all the thousand sons remembered it.

As the thousand sons left, he said to Hathor Matt:
"Hasor, stay behind."

When only Magnus, Hathor, and Amon in the shadows remained on the deck, the one-eyed, red-skinned giant spoke.

"Hathor, that rune, did you discover it with my brother, Nimrod?"

“Father, yes.” Hathor’s eyes flashed; he had already guessed the purpose of his father’s inquiry, given his insatiable thirst for knowledge.

“It’s part of the array, along with other runes,” Magnus instructed.

"Ninglu may also possess other runes."

Through communication with Prospero, Magnus learned that Nimrod possessed powerful psychic abilities and skills.

Among his many brothers, he was only slightly weaker than him, and in terms of mind and willpower, he was even no less capable than himself.

Hathor has made some discoveries; Nimrod may find even more.

"You, as my representative, under the guise of communicating and negotiating the process, are attempting to acquire other runes."

“Yes, Father,” Hathor replied, taking this opportunity to report back to Lord Nimrod.

Hathor then boarded the Stormbird and flew toward the Forge.

Two sidereal hours later, he entered the ancestral shrine at the bottom. He walked up to the black-armored giant, who had a sword on his right side and a plasma pistol on his left.

The plasma gun, forged by Lord Peturabo himself, is a two-handed weapon for the Astartes, but to the Primarch, it is merely a pistol.

"My lord," Hathor bowed, but having not achieved the desired result, he was somewhat uneasy and decided to start with the positive aspects.

"At the recently concluded First Meeting, I became the Temple Chief of the 'Bright Feather School' and officially became the Third Company Commander."

“Well done, congratulations.” Ninglu nodded with satisfaction; his investment in Hathor was beginning to pay off.

Before the grand birthday celebration, the "Thousand Sons" was the smallest of the eighteen Astartes legions, but it still numbered 85,000.

The "Thousand Sons" will only have nine societies in the future. Although there are ten societies now, they suffered heavy casualties in the battle against the orcs in the Carmenka-Ulisarna system during the middle of the "Great Expedition".

Apophis, the company commander of the Fifth Society, the temple chief of the "Sky Owl School," and a close friend of Ahriman, also died in this battle.

Magnus reduced the legion's structure from ten societies to nine, emulating the ancient Ennead.

Furthermore, the five major schools are distributed among the nine academic societies, which enables the coordinated use of the different spiritual powers of the various schools.

Of course, the school of thought to which the company commander belongs will dominate in terms of numbers within their respective companies.

As the company commander of the Third Society and the temple chief of the "Sky Owl School," Hathor could influence thousands of people before the grand birthday celebration, and conservatively estimated, that number would reach ten thousand.

"Tell me in detail about the situation at the First Meeting."

"Yes," Hathor breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Lord Nimrod was somewhat satisfied. He deliberately said, "As the first person below the Primarch in the First Council, I am responsible for initiating the First Council."

“After Azek Ahriman and a thousand others signed up one by one, I reported to the father of genetics.”

"The father then drew his scimitar, struck the sun disc, and drew the Sosmes symbol on the ground."

Ninglu's eyes lit up; he knew that this symbol was one of the most powerful among the many symbols created by Magnus.

"Yes, the Sosmes Mark can sever the connection between the same subspaces. All the Thousand Sons who are attending will lose their psionic powers."

"No one can use technology or psychic means to find out what's going on at the venue."

“My father once said that once the Sosmes Mark is set up, even the Emperor himself cannot break through the invisible barrier.” Nimrod listened to Hathor's description and thought to himself:

[It's not necessarily true that Old Man Huang couldn't break through. Perhaps the Sosmes Mark, set up by Prospero or Magnus's flagship using precious psionic materials, could indeed block Old Man Huang.]

However, the tents and other temporary structures in the field might not be able to keep out Old Huang's spying.

If Magnus had a divine artifact like the Spear of Dionysus, imbued with power by the old man himself, he too could see everything through the medium.
After silently giving his assessment in his mind, Ninglu listened to Hathor continue recounting the events while pondering the matter.

The “disorderly country” can indeed block all prying eyes, but in the real world, I really don’t have the means to do so.

The scope of "burial" is not broad enough; although Freddy is a "dark" path, he does not have the ability to master this aspect.

The spiritual wall can block prying to some extent, but it's not powerful enough to stop powerful psychics.
While Nimrod was pondering, Hathor said with a hint of nervousness:

“After my father returned, he never established the position of director of the think tank.”

“Unlike the ‘Shadow of Order’ and other legions, the ‘Thousand Sons’ company commander can also serve as the head of the think tank.”

"The Ahriman brothers, before the Father of Genetics returns, will lead the legion. Although Olmuzd is dead, Azek's position is becoming more and more secure. If I want to become the head of the think tank and serve you, I must win my father's favor before he completes his secondment."

The "mind reader" turned his gaze to Lord Ninglu and continued:
"Therefore, I will share the rune that you told me about at the First Meeting."

Ning Lu nodded slightly and said with a smile:

"Since it's entrusted to you, you can decide based on the situation; there's no need to worry about it."

Hathor breathed a sigh of relief, and Ninglu asked:

Do you possess the Sothmes Symbol?

“I didn’t,” Hathor said helplessly.

“Only the father can complete the Sosmes Mark,” he explained in detail.

"Although the symbols of Sosmes are complex, they are not difficult for the Thousand Sons. The reason why they cannot complete them is the use of psychic energy in the process of drawing them."

“With each strike, the spiritual energy must be just right and executed flawlessly; only Father can do that.”

Hathor knew that even Azek could not complete the Sothmes rune; perhaps only the mysterious Amon could, but he did not believe that the Primarch's servant could do it.

"I can only sketch one-third of it."

“Open your heart to me, and I will explore its mysteries myself,” Ninglu said.

Since Magnus obtained his runes, it is reasonable for him to obtain the symbols he created.

Although the two are vastly different in value, they are both runes, so there's no need to worry about it so much.

By acquiring the Sosmes Mark, he can use it as a basis to create his own secret marks, which he can use in many situations in the real world.

Hathor hesitated. Any psychic, especially the Thousand Sons, knows the consequences of opening one's heart to others.

Powerful psychic psionicists need to break through mental defenses in order to manipulate the mind. The consequence of opening the mind is that even psionicists with some skill can take this opportunity to control the mind and even enslave the will.

But Hathor knew he had no power to refuse; his life was in Lord Nimrod's hands.

The "corrupted" Hathor could not resist the orders of the "Corrupted Baron," and he obediently opened his heart to Nimrod.

"As you wish."

Nimrod's consciousness spread and seeped into Hathor's mind.

On the flesh-and-blood gate forged by Liangyu's craftsmanship, there are embedded bright eyes, which are the reactions of the "mind reader" in the heart.

Nimrod's consciousness, without encountering the slightest hindrance, seeped into Hathor's mind and immediately found two images.

In the Prospero Hall, Magnus sketched the Sosmes symbol.

In the flagship palace, he once again sketched the Sosmes symbol.

Every movement of Magnus wielding his scimitar unfolded before Nimrod, like a film playing out.

Every movement is deeply etched into the superhuman brain of the genomicon.

　PS: Chapter 2 will be scheduled for 21:33.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)