Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 450 A Decision Completely Different from Fernández Manus
On the forty-first day of the ceasefire, Alsena Dunn had already moved more than a dozen operational bases.

As more and more warrior castes are transferred into the legion, his room for maneuver becomes smaller and smaller.

One of the greatest resources the High Lords possess is manpower, something the Black Emperor emphasized before the war.

However, he has now achieved the result he wanted.

After Tierney infiltrated the colony ship, he provided Tierney with information on the Consciousness Matrix.

After Malena Skala seized the Pap caste’s laboratory, she transmitted back the genetic data that created the caste before it was taken back.

Combining the data collected during the lower-caste uprising led by Maria Scarlatan, he led the "Inference Students" to search and analyze all the data.

After conducting several targeted search operations, the "Guardians of Knowledge" finally reached a conclusion.

Besides Stradican, who openly leads all of Gardinar's military forces, there are five other high lords in secret.

Alcena quickly reviewed the key points of the entire process, knowing that any mistake would negatively impact the entire operation and could even cause huge losses.

A moment later, he took a deep breath, opened the communication channel, and reported to the Black Emperor.

On the Shadow of the King, after listening to the report from the Primarch's attendants, Ninglu revised the final battle plan in his mind and then issued the order.

“I will order the legion to launch a military operation and personally deal with Stradivarius.”

Having identified all the high lords, Nimrod no longer waited for Stradivarius to assassinate him; he decided to take the initiative.

Fernus Manus was trying to prove himself, like Horus Lupecal, Sanguielles, and Robert Guilliman, by employing appropriate diplomacy to bring lost human colonies into the Empire, rather than always resorting to his much-criticized cruel methods.

This would prove that he is suitable to be a war commander.

It wasn't until he was assassinated, a dozen guards were killed in a bombing, and Amadeus Ducaine and Gabriel Santo had their limbs blown off that he ruthlessly ordered the purge of the Gadinar chief.

Nimrod already knew that the Gadinars would not easily submit, so he naturally wouldn't waste time waiting for the outcome of the negotiations.

Stradican possesses terrifying firepower through mechanical modifications, and his long lifespan of 3,600 years has given him rich combat experience. Nimrod decides to personally deal with the strongest warrior in Gadinar.

"My Lord of Light will attack the main planet's biological recycling center and kill Brandon."

"The remaining four high lords are yours."

"If possible, use the Staff of Osiris to control at least one high lord."

Kill all the high lords, and the leaderless Gadinar will quickly fall.

By controlling the remaining high lords, one can leverage their prestige to rapidly integrate hundreds of billions of people after the war.

Apart from Terra and Necromonda, which he controls, no other place in the Empire's world today has such a large pool of human resources.

Arsena was thrilled to hear that the Black Emperor trusted him so much.

"My lord, I will certainly live up to your expectations."

After Ninglu hung up the communication, he switched the communication channel and sent a message to the master of the casting furnace.

"Have they cracked the Star Ring's weapon systems?"

Unlike Manus, who only captured the orbital elevators to facilitate rapid troop deployment, Nimrod seized all the space stations in the Star Ring.

Besides the Star Ring technology, he also knew about the weapon the High Lords ultimately used to perish together. If they all agreed, they could activate the weapon system that had been dormant for 1,600 years.

In Nimrod's memory, the Star Ring's weapon system was activated and aimed at Manus.

Finally, there was Akulduna, the second company commander of the "Son of the Emperor," considered the strongest in Astartes at the time. He stormed into the control tower and detonated it at the cost of his life, preventing the ring weapon from attacking Manus.

Rosicky Chekh's voice rang out, "My lord, I have taken control of the orbital platform's weapon systems."

"After I reset the control core, I revoked the control tower's permissions, and now it's ours."

“Very good.” Ninglu had no more worries. Even if Alsena did not control all the high lords’ positions, he could quickly seize the head of Gadinar.

He then switched communication channels and sent a message to Per Koscielny.

“Tell Gardiner’s diplomatic consul that Gardiner must surrender unconditionally; he only has one hour left.”

Ninglu immediately issued orders to prepare for battle.

An hour later, as expected, they received a rejection from Gardiner's side.

With the battle order given, the four chapters of "Shadow of Order" launched an attack on the leader of Gadinar.

The orbital ring at the head of the Gadinal is littered with debris, mineral residues extracted from satellites, and corrosive waste.

Five thousand years of technological development have transformed this place into a new ring system, aligned with the planet's magnetic field and rotation.

The entire debris field of the orbit was filled with radiation, a conclusion reached by the 33rd Expeditionary Fleet's oracles, which was verified after the control of the Star Ring Thinker. The radiation was trace remnants from when a nuclear device was used to blow up a planet's already damaged moons 1,600 years ago.

The orbital platforms scattered throughout the area have now begun to rotate slowly.

The launch gate opened, and the radiation level began to soar, awakening the firing mechanism that had been dormant in space for 1,600 years.

The attitude impellers spun, and each weapon platform adjusted its direction, aiming at the same target.

The devastating particle weapon unleashed countless beams of light, piercing the brass-colored atmosphere and striking the marked fortress.

Red ripples spread out in concentric circles across the military fortress area.

The Gadinar were astonished that their orbital defense platform had turned around and attacked them. At the same time, the Ramirez-class star fortress and the fleet of "Shadow of Order" also joined the bombardment.

The bombing targets were clearly defined, avoiding industrial and residential areas and focusing on striking military fortifications.

Fifteen hours after the orbital bombing began, Nimrod ordered it to end.

Unlike Manus, who launched a full-scale attack only after indiscriminately killing most of the hundreds of billions of people in the Gadinar, who were mainly composed of light infantry, and countless auxiliary troops on the surface, he launched a decisive battle at this moment.

The Third Battle Group's drop pods slammed into the granite like claws, and the black hatches were flung open by the impact.

As soon as Company Commander Oleksandr stepped onto the ground, he saw an endless expanse of Gadinar people clad in gray armor, charging towards him with shouts.

Even with orbital bombardment, and because we chose to drop our troops in locations far from military fortresses to avoid anti-aircraft guns, the number of people in Gadinar remained the same.

The sheer scale of industry at the head of the Gardiner even surpasses that of some foundry worlds, enough to arm so many people.
After a moment of reflection, Oleksandr loudly issued the order: "Clear the landing zone and prepare for the gunboats to land."

"Our steel chariots will make the people of Gadinar face reality."

(End of this chapter)