Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 505 Shrews in the Shadows

At the Primarch Palace of the Shadow of the Throne, Arsène Dunn continued to report on the negotiations.

"We are building the World Anvilus IX in hopes of obtaining a license for the standard template of the Land Raider main battle tank, but they cannot offer us satisfactory terms."

"We eventually reached a compromise agreement with them: we provided the blueprints for the Mars Universal RAND engine in exchange for resupply and future collaboration based on the engine's development results."

“Okay.” Ning Lu nodded slightly. He knew that Anvilus 9 was also a highly innovative casting world.

Several variants of the Rand Raiders were developed by them.

[I hope they can surprise me.]
"The Forgeworld Voss are very interested in the Land Creeper multi-purpose heavy engineering vehicle, and my staff analyzes that this is related to their reliance on the mineral resources of the Morton Belt," the Primarch's attendant reported on the last negotiation item.

"The Morton Belt is a resource-rich asteroid belt and the main source of minerals for Worth."

"In addition to being willing to provide supplies, Voss is the center for the mass production of the Macado super-heavy tank."

"They are also willing to supply the Legion with Lightning fighters, a newly developed combat aircraft of the Empire and a revolutionary improvement over the Swordtail interceptor."

As he spoke, Alsena used his cane to display a new holographic image.

"Wojciech Belik evaluated this new fighter jet, highlighting that compared to the swordtail interceptor, the Lightning fighter has unparalleled power and a much larger fuel tank."

"The Chief Supply Officer's report also highlighted that Voss has a unique advantage in the world of casting when it comes to manufacturing aircraft."

"He believes that the alliance with Voss will help us be the first to complete the deployment of new fighter jets and will also help the Legion improve and deploy jump packs."

“I agree.” Ning Lu nodded in satisfaction.

Although the RAND Creeper Multipurpose Heavy Engineering Vehicle and the Mars Universal RAND Engine are slightly less valuable than the RAND Raider and RAND Speedboat, they still offer a decent return.

[The rich rewards Arkham Rand brought me were well worth the effort I put into "corrupting" him.]
After listening to Alsena's report, Ninglu was about to attend to his official duties when he suddenly heard a muffled voice, an invisible whisper echoing in his mind.

With a thought, he arrived at the fourth level of the "Land of Chaos," spreading his spirituality as he touched the expanding and contracting gray-green sphere of light.

It was he who sent Kion to follow Peturabo.

Ninglu saw Keon in the dormitory. He clasped his hands together, his index finger pointing downwards, while the other fingers were together and hanging down naturally.

"My lord, I have arrived in the Campinas system with Lord Peturabo's fleet."

"The Iron Lords immediately launched an attack on the Randan aliens. Although they did not have a simulated sanctuary, the 'Iron Warriors' fleet still operated like a machine, with each ship functioning like a precisely rotating gear, deploying according to the battle plan."

"The fleet suffered considerable losses, but each squadron achieved its tactical objectives, broke through the drones' obstruction, and the Steelblood was able to reach the orbit of the artificial war satellite, launch an offensive, and gain the upper hand in the engagement."

Nimrod was not surprised. Although the Ironblood's 20-kilometer length was not large among the Glory Queen-class battleships, the warship, designed by Peturabo himself, was actually one of the most powerful capital ships, capable of annihilating an entire fleet single-handedly.

As he pondered, Keown continued.

"I am acting on Lord Peturabo's orders to launch an attack on space station marked 1504."

"I found putrid fumes and green spots of decay from the body in a compartment inside the space station."

Ninglu's eyes flashed. As a former "grave digger" and "corpse collector" who had already been promoted to "psychic", Keon was a professional in this regard.

“I have communicated with the spirits that remain here, and from the fragmented images I obtained, I know they came from another space station, 1499.”

"After they were killed, their bodies were left to decompose before they were eaten."

"..."

The "psychic" reported on the information he had gathered, and concluded by saying, "Based on the information I have obtained, it highly matches the signs of activity of Sloth, whom you asked us to pay attention to."

Keown's report fits the characteristics of Shloth as the "maggot" and "lord of carrion".

After listening, Ninglu was able to confirm that there were signs of Sloth activity in the Campinas galaxy.

“That’s Shlos. They often appear behind the Randan lines. You need to be extra careful.”

Ninglu knew that the population of Shiros had never been large, and they usually did not appear on the battlefield. Most of the time, they would only enjoy the corpses offered by Randan and sabotage the enemy's operations in a covert manner.

Peturabo's biggest weakness is that once he has a plan, he will not change it, even if new circumstances arise.

He refuses to admit he can make mistakes, and when he encounters the shadowy Shloth, the "Iron Warrior" will inevitably suffer a major loss.

I cannot intervene personally, as that would humiliate Perturab. I can only have Keon assist him from the sidelines, allowing him to resolve the threat of Shros "on his own," and then showering him with lavish praise afterward. Only in this way can I win Perturab's heart.
Thinking of this, Nimrod sent a series of images commonly seen by Schloss to Keon.

As worm-men, Shloth can appear in multiple forms; they can even flatten their bodies or stretch them to three times their height.

"Once Shloth is found, use your abilities to assist Peturabo, but he must handle the situation personally."

Inside the Steelblood, black mist surged before Keon, and the Black Emperor's majestic voice echoed in his ears.

After listening, he spoke devoutly.

"Follow Your will."

Ninglu immediately severed his connection with the light sphere and leaned back on the throne.

[The Shrews are adept at hiding, making them difficult to track. They also possess powerful regenerative abilities and cannot be stunned, making it even more difficult to preserve their bodies intact.]

To obtain the potion ingredients, the only option is to rely on the "judge's" "imprisonment," and besides my power gauntlets, Howard Find is the most suitable candidate.

The First Battle Group should be deployed to the location where Schloss is most likely to appear.
Ninglu then inspected his men. He thought that the "biologist" might also have a solution, but he would first need to obtain Sloth's corpse and gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics of the worms that make up the body.

As he was pondering, he suddenly felt the light spheres expanding and contracting. He extended his spirituality over them, touching the blue and red-black light spheres at the same time.

He saw Alkahas Far and Nerat Kirin kneeling together on the altar, and on a whim, he pulled the two into the "Land of Chaos".

The two, who were being pulled into the mysterious land of endless black mist for the first time, looked around in amazement.

Is this the kingdom of my lord?
Their gaze swept over the throne deep within the black mist before they came to their senses.

The 19th Army Corps Commander and company commander immediately knelt down and shouted in unison, "Our Lord!"

Ning Lu nodded slightly and asked, "What is it?"

The Lord of Shadows replied, "My lord, after leaving Shana and reporting back to Lord Horus, he gave us a task."

"The Frank family of navigators established their territory in the beautiful marine world of Swick, which was recently attacked by aliens."

"The aliens, piloting elegant chainships, appeared in the Swick system and attacked the Navigator family's star station, resulting in the disappearance of fifteen Navigators."

Nerat added, "Their ships are very strange, seemingly made up of a series of interconnected parts that can disintegrate in battle and break into multiple different parts."

In the Pacific Starfield, chain ships capable of disintegrating attack navigators.

After a moment's thought, Ninglu was certain that the alien was a space ant—Qiu Or.

(End of this chapter)