Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 517 Mastering the Power of Wrath
The surface of the primary planet Behentime.

Szesny entered the Land Raiders from the front assault ramp. Dressed in custom-made armor, he sat down at the commander's workstation without feeling cramped.

"Please perform gene coding verification."

Szczesny removed his gauntlets and pressed them onto the touch panel, whereupon the spikes pierced his palms.

For security purposes, all controls for the Rand Raiders are genetically encoded and verified to prevent unauthorized use by enemies.

"Verification successful. Welcome, Lord Stormlord."

Szczesny stared at the holographic tactical display in front of him, while simultaneously raising his hand to insert the external connection cable of the central sensor into the implant interface in his spine.

The moment he connected with the tank, tactical data from the triple protection analysis engine flooded his mind.

The Ninth Wing has gained the upper hand in 27 of the 41 operational areas engaged in combat, is at an equal footing in 12 other operational areas, and is at a disadvantage in only two operational areas.

He asked the technical sergeant beside him, "Have you confirmed the identification results?"

“Storm Lord, I have verified that it is in the C-14 combat zone.”

The sergeant's servo arm held a clump of worms, which were still wriggling alive.

The "archaeologist" infused the surrounding runes with spiritual energy, and the worms became even more active.

"But this item is still in the experimental stage."

"This worm was obtained in Campinas by Keon, the company commander of the fifth company of the fourth regiment. It was a reward from Lord Peturabo for the corpse of Shlos."

"The Forge Master and Lady Malena created this item together, hoping to use the mysterious connections among the Shros to discover the Shros lurking in the shadows."

Szesny stared at the worm-like mass that disgusted him and gave the order.

"The area is too large, and the accurate distance between the location and the target is unclear."

The "archaeologists" infused the runes with more spiritual energy, and hundreds of worms began to wriggle rapidly before gradually calming down after several minutes.

"My lord, it's about 15 to 24 kilometers away, but the exact distance cannot be confirmed."

Szesny only saw the wriggling insects and didn't know how the technical sergeant confirmed it, so he glanced at the tactical data again.

Area C-14 was the battle zone where the two Ninth Regiments were at a disadvantage. After thinking for a few seconds, he adjusted the communication channel of the local communication array connected to his spine.

“Jorgione, the technical sergeant has spotted signs of activity resembling Shloth's. I must go and confirm.”

"You will be temporarily in charge of commanding and deploying your elite forces to support the D-3 area."

“Yes, my lord,” Jorginho said to his friend before hanging up, “but don’t keep me in charge for too long, I just got dizzy from flying.”

Szczesny laughed heartily, "Not long."

After hanging up the communication, he marked the direction of Schloss's location and issued the order to advance.

Eleven Rand Raiders of the Honor Guard, their Mars-type adaptive thermal combustion reaction engines burning with promethium.

The first eleven of the twenty track links of the Firestorm-type Rand Raider represent the Legion, engraved with a Legion pattern consisting of wings, spikes, and an abstract crown.

The following nine sections represent the battle groups and are engraved with the battle group's blue wave symbol.

Szczesny reviews the briefing for the C-14 operational area and turns on the tactical imagery.

The Bone Eater, as tall as a giant tree, unleashed a dense beam of light that shot towards the Firestorm-type Rand Raider.

The first wave of dazzling beams of light slammed onto the front slope.

Tactical data from the sensors showed that the titanium and plastic steel composite material in the reinforced key areas was penetrated, but the precision thermoplastic fiber mesh was not.

Brain Eaters and Bone Eaters, as the two main races of Randan, are the two major enemies facing the "Shadow of Order," and all parts of the Legion are conducting research on these enemies.

The Ninth Armed Forces conducted their research based on their own armored assault advantages.

The chapter's territory, Firestorm Star, boasts massive forging facilities that give it a production capacity comparable to many forging worlds.

Relying on its powerful industrial capacity, the Ninth Warband quickly completed the deployment of the Land Raiders, with only the Third and Eleventh Warbands doing so faster.

In response to the Bone Eater's thermal ray attacks, the Land Raider's thermoplastic fiber mesh was further reinforced to absorb and dissipate high-energy laser weapons.

They are located in the first layer of two ceramic steel layers, which can withstand extreme high temperatures and thermal weapons.

Szesny reviewed all the tactical reports and found that the modifications were successful; the Land Raiders could withstand an average of three attacks before being destroyed by the Bone Eaters. Key areas such as the assault ramp, the front ramp, and the hatches could withstand five attacks.

After releasing smoke, the Firestorm-type Rand Raiders of the Fourth Company fully utilized their mobility advantage.

With targeted defense upgrades, only five Land Raiders have been destroyed so far.

The biggest problem facing the Fourth Company is that it lacks firepower and cannot break through the Bone Eater's energy shield in a short time.

There are four ways to destroy an energy shield: absolute power like that of a Primarch, overloading of energy weapons, concentrated fire from tripod walking mechs or more armored vehicles, and...

Fierce firepower!
After reaching this conclusion, Szesny ordered the technical sergeant to edit the tactical footage.

The technical sergeant knew his lord's needs and rapidly edited together footage in the tactical video showing the Rand Raiders being destroyed by beams and the Shadow of Order being vaporized.

After sending the video to the Honor Guard members, Szczesny immediately turned on the communications channel.

“You wrathful ones, the time has come to test you.”

"Our target is the bone-eaters of Randan!"

"Now, put on your 'war masks'!"

A hundred “enraged people” browsed the edited images, their anger burning within them.

The heart pumps powerfully, blood circulation accelerates, and adrenaline is released rapidly...

Unlike the boiling power within their bodies, their minds are unusually calm when they put on the "war mask".

The Firestorm-type Land Raider's machine spirit sensed the pilot's anger, and its engine roared furiously.

Eleven Firestorm-type Rand Raiders sped across the potholed ground like black lightning, kicking up dust and gravel dozens of meters into the air.

"The Mask of Rage!"

Enraged individuals use anger as their weapon, donning a "mask of rage" for themselves.

Entering a state of frenzy, the power was a thousand times greater than that of a combat stimulant, causing them to gasp in surprise.

"Release your anger!"

At Szesny's command, the laser cannons of the Firestorm-type Land Raiders simultaneously fired.

The enraged machine spirit unleashed a barrage of beams of light at the Bone Eater.

The Bone Eater was astonished to discover that the newly appeared black armored vehicle instantly unleashed a firepower a hundred times greater than that of more than two hundred identical tanks.

The crew of the Wrathful Ones sprang out like lightning the moment they were lowered onto the assault ramp.

They simultaneously raised the Aita-Kahn plasma gun; the powerful forging capabilities of Firestorm Star satisfied the rage's equipment needs.

Countless blazing beams of light converged in the air, forming an artificial sun.

The sun swallowed the bone-eater.

The energy shield shattered.

"Smash his head!"

The "Rage Mask" made the Rages unusually calm, and they executed Szesny's orders perfectly.

The orb of light engulfed the Bone Eater's head, and with a rumbling vibration, the Wrathful Ones unleashed their fury.

They sensed the vibrant spirituality and calmly examined the ETA-Kahn plasma gun in their hands.

Even the Aita-Kahn type, derived from space dwarves' technology which is far more stable than the Imperial plasma guns, suffered from overheating barrels due to the high-speed firing of the ragers.

Szczesny smiled with satisfaction; anger is power.

The "Wrath Mask" controls them; it is the source of power for the Wrathful Ones, and the key for the "Wrathful People" to wield the power bestowed upon them by the Black Emperor.

The honor guards marched in unison, boarding the Firestorm-type Rand Raider.

Szesny, having assembled the Fourth Company, proceeded in the direction indicated by a swarm of worms.

(End of this chapter)