Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 429 The Cursed Remnants of the Dragon Kingdom
Dawn Star, the planetary capital of Karena.

Carrena is built at the end of a straight, arrow-like valley whose source lies far upstream beyond Zarujín.

The valley widens abruptly in Carena, forming a large bowl-shaped structure, surrounded on three sides by towering rock walls, with the azure sea on the last side.

As Hathor Matt walked through it, Karena was older than any of the buildings he had ever seen since leaving Terra: bustling commercial districts, ocean-going transport ships from all over Dawnstar, cathedrals with domed ceilings, rotating towers inlaid with polarized glass, and vast libraries.

The city was originally home to 70,000 people, but as the electromagnetic storm grew larger, more than 500,000 people poured into the planetary capital, boarded ships from there, and left their homes that were about to be destroyed.

Traffic was overwhelmed, with cars lined up one after another, and tens of thousands of residents trudging along the congested highways.

Hathor's gaze searched through the crowd, and he keenly noticed that, just as Lord Nimrod had said, not a single person among the people around him possessed psychic potential.

They were not the Emperor's Silent Sisters, nor did they evoke any sense of disgust, yet they were rejected by the psychic forces.

The people looked at the tall giants in red armor with curiosity and awe.

Hathor quickly identified his first target, a man who, unlike the other civilians, did not show any fear. He was wearing a cloak painted with a storm pattern.

Wrapped under the cloak was an ochre robe, on which gold patterns were faintly embroidered.

[Son of Sitan!]
Hathor immediately matched this man with the local religious organization that Lord Nimrod had mentioned.

Lord Nimrod foresaw this years before the War Council decided that the Fifteenth and Fourth Legions would be responsible for rescuing Dawnstar.

His prediction that this action would be a crucial step in his struggle with Azek Ahman for the think tank leadership has come true.

Hathor had no doubt that the son of Sitan was the key to his victory.

Following the man's gaze, he found five people who dressed similarly to him and had similar expressions.

Hathor raised his staff; he did not intend to use his preferred psionic lightning.

Lord Ninglu said that the son of Xitan has a high reputation in the area, and taking action against them among the fleeing people may provoke sensitive emotions among the people.

Just as Hathor was about to release bio-energy to weaken his target and cause him to collapse on the run, which could easily be mistaken for malnutrition, a man suddenly ripped off his Storm Robe from his blind spot.

On the exposed ochre robe, there were complete patterns embroidered with golden snakes.

He used both his hands and feet to try to climb up the statue.

The sculpture depicts Damyan Torun, the first Light King of Dawn.

Hathor cursed under his breath. He immediately changed the spell he was casting. As the temple chief of the "Bright Feather School," he skillfully switched spells in an instant.

Psionic lightning danced through the crowd, instantly knocking the Son of Shitan and the others, who were preparing to loudly incite the crowd, to the ground and into a coma.

"Killed!"

Terrified screams erupted from the crowd, and they instinctively began to scatter and flee.

The "psychologist" took a heavy step forward and shouted, "Stop!"

The "psychologist" exuded a terrifying aura, and the refugees immediately felt a dragon-like pressure.

They wanted to scatter and flee, but the threat in the giant's words and the red-armored warriors forming ranks made them stop in their tracks.

After calming the public's panic with "intimidation," the "psychologist" gave orders to his thousands of subordinates.

"Bring out the unconscious person."

Karena's luxurious villa had already been reported to the Imperial Meteorological Court by its original owner, who then boarded a voidship and left when the planet's core underwent an unexplained decay, reducing the planet's lifespan to only six months before it self-destructed.

In the dimly lit basement, the son of Sitan slowly awoke.

The image in his mind was still of him climbing the statue, preparing to deliver a speech. He looked around in confusion, then his pupils suddenly contracted as he saw a giant in red armor—an outsider.

Hathor smiled and spoke in a magnetic voice, sculpted by biochemical energy.

“Son of Sitan, let’s have a talk.”

The words of the red giant, and the scent of peace he sensed, eased the tense nerves of the Son of Sitan.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Let's start with why you are the sons of Sitan." Seeing that the other party was no longer tense due to his "psychological suggestion" and the carefully blended essential oils, the "psychologist" began to guide them gently, starting with simple topics.

The Sons of Sitan are not a secret organization; they exist openly on Dawn Star, and the other party does not particularly resist them.

Starting with this topic will allow you to further steer the conversation in your own direction.

The son of Sitan smiled and said proudly.

"We are the chosen ones, destined to ascend to heaven and join the Lord of Storms! His storms shake many worlds, and His return shatters the earth!"

"Our world missed an opportunity when a dark and turbulent era descended upon this galaxy, elevating the chosen ones to His golden palace among the stars!"

"Now, merciful Lord of the Storms, He grants us His grace once more! He presents to us the opportunity to be with Him! In the celebration of the old night, we were deprived of this opportunity, but now the Son of Shitan has it again! The heavens proclaim the signs of His coming! Welcome them, embrace this golden end!"

Hathor's eyes flashed with disdain. [Just as my lord said, the Son of Shitan is a death-worshipping cult that worships the end times!]
Hathor operates the data panel and brings up the holographic map.

"Where is the colony ship named Sitan?"

Hathor learned from Lord Nimrod that the Seatans set out from the Dragon Kingdom during the Golden Age of human exploration.

Hathor is no stranger to the Dragon Kingdom; the "Thousand Sons" once set foot on that land and found a large number of giant missiles containing nuclear warheads in a warehouse in the Bashu region.

During their voyage, the colony ships of the Dragon Empire unfortunately encountered a surge in psionicists during the Old Night Era.

The terrified crew isolated the psionicists and used machines to drain their psionic energy.

The resentment of the dead psykers coalesced into a powerful being in the warp—the Shitan.

The crew fled the Shitan in terror, but their minds had been brainwashed.

The curse of Shitan has been passed down through generations, and all the colonists on the planet are descendants affected by it.

Everyone who is awakened will become a son of Sitan.

"How to activate the colony ship?"

"Where are the destructive machines you created?"

"..."

The "psychologist" asked a series of questions and got the answers he wanted from the son of Sitan.

The "psychologist" then questioned each of the other sons of Sitan, obtaining the information he wanted and recording it.

[Now we must carry out the Lord's command. The Lord prophesied that once Magnus and Peturabo discover that the Dawn People are cursed by the Sitan, they will kill all the colonists and issue an extermination order to this planet.]

Before we parted, my Lord said to me, 'If possible, save the remnants of the Dragon Kingdom on Dawn Star.'

My lord's intention remains that my defeat of Ahriman and the attainment of victory are paramount, but accomplishing secondary tasks will also please him.
Hathor frowned. Lord Nimrod had said that Shitan was a powerful warp entity that even the Father of Genesis could not defeat alone, so there was no way he could suppress him and unleash his power.

[I hope my intelligence will attract the attention of the Father of Genetics and Lord Peturabo, so that this mission can be completed.]

Regardless, uncovering the secrets of the colony ships and the Sitan beforehand will definitely give me an advantage in my competition with Ahriman.
(End of this chapter)