Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 509 Lord Peturabo, Your Offspring Have Been Parasitized

The void of the Campinas system is filled with flame-engulfed debris.

Among them, the most eye-catching is the burning new "sun"—Randan's artificial war satellite.

To achieve this glorious victory, the flagship of the Iron Lord, the Steelblood, paid a heavy price.

The Queen Glory-class battleship's gray-iron hull is covered with scars left by the Randan drone swarm.

After winning the void war at a great cost, the "Iron Warriors" successfully landed on the surface.

In the Primarch's command center, Keon, clad in armor, stood before a holographic table, quietly listening to Peturabo's orders.

Peturabo explained his plan to his trident, and finally pointed to a mountain ridge.

"Now, the only uncertainty in my plan is the mountain range that runs across this plain world."

"Because of unknown electromagnetic interference, the head of the Auger Matrix did not provide me with sufficient scan results to eliminate all the unknowns."

His icy blue eyes were fixed on the center of the holographic image, a mountain range that resembled a reclining dragon, and his tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

"The trident's blade, the war blacksmith Frix, said to his genetic father."

“Father, I have dispatched Kelkaz, the most skilled reconnaissance officer among the lieutenants. He will surely bring back intelligence that will satisfy you.”

The main planet Campinas has a continuous mountain range that rises and falls, shrouded in mist all year round.

In the heart of the continuous mountain range, magnificent fortresses rise from the ground.

Hidden in the shadows of the rocks, the Sloth Infiltrator, Dominic, wriggled with worm-like movements, leisurely watching what lay below.

His body was wrapped in a shroud, and the light shining on him was absorbed.

Two of his summoned minions, the Brain Eaters, obeying his will, had surrounded the warrior clad in iron-gray armor.

As someone who has already made his mark in the field of biological weapons, Shlos can tell that neurotoxins have been dispersed in the air. Before long, he will be able to obtain test subjects and carry out his plans.

The worm wriggled and stretched out a smile that resembled a human's. Dominic saw a warrior dressed in iron gray kneel down.

A flash of light, and the Brain Eater swung its crystal sword, severing another Iron Warrior in half.

Hour after hour passed, and young Dominic looked at the unyielding warrior with growing impatience.

He ran out of ammunition, and his power sword was destroyed in a collision with the Brain Eater's crystal greatsword, but he was still struggling.

Dominic emerged from the shadows of the rocks and slipped among the Randan warriors.

The infiltrator, wrapped in a shroud, slid silently among his servants, appearing unnoticed three meters behind Kelkaz.

The shroud seemed to come alive, twisting and turning on its own, following the spreading worms.

The worms all over Dominic's body stretched out rapidly, and in an instant they spread to the top of Kelkatz's head, grabbing his head like a giant hand.

The worm-man's body tissues rapidly secreted necrotic fluid, and the acid at the molecular level enveloped Kelkaz's helmet.

Kyle Ketz swung his chainsaw sword, struggling to deflect the crystal longsword. Just as he sensed something above him, necrotic acid had already torn a fist-sized hole in his helmet.

Countless worms spread wildly, burrowing into the helmet and grabbing onto Kelkaz's head.

Necrotic acid enveloped Astartes' head, tearing a gash in his skull in an instant.

Hundreds of worms, like hands, grabbed a blood-red, insect-like thing and stuffed it into Kelkez's brain.

Kyle Kells's chainsaw swing froze in mid-air, his face contorted in pain, his body trembling.

The two brain-eaters and the other Randan also stopped their attacks, retreating a distance and looking at their masters with some fear.

The worm quickly contracted, and the shroud also shrank, transforming back into human form.

He walked to the body of a steel warrior, his left arm hanging down, worms swarming onto his right arm.

An outstretched right arm gripped the helmet of a steel warrior.

After the necrotic acid dissolved the helmet, worms swarmed out and completely enveloped the Iron Warrior's head.

A dozen seconds later, the Iron Warrior's head disappeared, and a massive flood of mixed memories, knowledge, and experience surged into Dominic's mind. After the worms on his face writhed erratically for a while, he finally found the part he needed from the chaotic information and regained his human form.

At the same time, "Kelkez" stopped trembling, walked up to Dominic, and knelt down.

Dominic's body writhed, and the worm-like hand once again gripped the top of "Kelkez's" head.

Then, "Kelkez" stood up, ripped off the helmet of a Steel Warrior, and put it on his own head.

The worms on Dominic's body trembled. He raised his right arm, positioned in front of his tentacles, and the uneven metal spheres glowed. The speech-generating device translated the worm-man's rubbing sounds into words that his servants could understand.

One of the brain-eaters immediately left with its minions to relay its master's orders to the other aliens.

Another brain-eater, along with his other minions, carried up the Iron Warrior's corpse and followed behind Dominic.

Dominic returned to his fortress with the spoils of war.

The Iron Warrior's body was divided into two parts. Ten relatively intact bodies were sent to the laboratory to await his dissection and biological research.

The remaining corpses were sent to his restaurant, where he would wait until they decomposed before he began to enjoy his meal.

Compared to the discomfort of ingesting living memories, rotting corpses are much more delicious.

Four sidereal hours later, Kelkez entered Peturabo's command base.

He bowed to the Primarch and the Trident, and then spoke in a normal and fluent tone.

“I was ordered to scout the central mountains, and the aliens did not build any fortifications in the mountains.”

"There are several straight highways in the mountains that the foolish aliens have not taken advantage of."

“We can occupy these positions and build fortifications, which will give us an advantage.”

As Keown listened to the Iron Warrior's report, the "psychic" suddenly felt his inspiration strike.

He also sensed that there were barely perceptible signs of decay in Kelkaz's body.

Although faint, it was by no means wrong to the former "corpse collector".

The "psychic" immediately activated his spiritual vision, scrutinizing the steel warrior before him.

[Um?
Something was off about Kellkheez's soul; it wasn't the somber, resilient iron gray of a steel warrior, but a pale red.
He shut down his spiritual vision and activated the "Death Eye," which he had mastered when he was a "Gravedigger" and which he had enhanced after becoming a "Psychic," to continue scrutinizing the steel warrior before him.

Entering the spiritual world, looking down upon Astartes from a higher level, he immediately saw decay at both the physical and spiritual levels.

The "psychic" closes the "eye of death," and his spirituality spreads to the steel warrior, touching the blood-red insect creatures.

The "psychic" sensed his independent consciousness, and combining the results of his clairvoyance and the "Death Eye," he reached a startling conclusion:

The Iron Warrior has been parasitized.

Astartes, who had been modified by Superman, was parasitized and seemed to maintain his sanity, which seemed impossible. However, the Black Emperor had previously told him that Sloth had this ability.

[“Kelkez” is a lie; it's a trap set by Schloss.]
Just as Keon was about to offer his reminder, he suddenly remembered the Black Emperor's instructions to assist Lord Peturabo.

He changed his words at the last minute, "Lord Peturabo, I have important information that I need to report to you privately."

Peturabo glanced at Keon with his icy blue eyes. "Come with me."

Peturabo led Keon away from the holographic table and into the private room.

After activating the shielding field, he spoke.

You have one minute.

"Lord Peturabo, your offspring, Kelkaz, has been parasitized."

As soon as Keon finished speaking, he felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. He met Peturabo's icy blue eyes and saw that they were filled with coldness.

　PS: In "AlphaRies - The Head of Hydra", necrotic bodily fluids can corrode power armor.

　　Additionally, in the same rulebook, Sloth's parasite has an intelligence of 30, while the average planetary support soldier has an intelligence of 26. The parasite can complete simple reports, but will only be exposed if it engages in high-intelligence behavior.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)