Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 539 Three Perspectives and Two Mindsets

The Ultimate Starfield, the feudal world of Mankola.

The continuous mountain ranges, like giant pythons, lie on the earth.

The Shadow Stormbirds lurk among the mountains, watching the wars waged by the local nobles.

Thomas, the think tank director, led the young Ethan up a hillside hundreds of meters high.

Ethan looked into the distance, his gaze passing over the rocks and trees, and saw the edge of the battlefield, where knights from both sides were passing each other, their lances and two-handed greatswords clashing together.

"Protect my body!"

Ethan solemnly accepted the order, and the Staff of Osiris and the Force Field Sword appeared in his hands.

"Yes, my lord."

Thomas's gaze was deep as he entered the first level of Magnus's state of mind, and then gradually ascended to the second, third, and so on, until the fourth level.

Compared to his mastery of Thelma's mindset, which the Black Emperor had created specifically for the shadow of order, he was not as adept at understanding Magnus's mindset and had to enter it step by step.

Thomas closed his eyes, following the wind and the slight trembling of the rocks.

Following the Thousand Sons' "Etheric Journey" technique taught by Hathor Mat, the body of light is freed from the physical body.

Thomas did not allow the body of light to rise into the vast ocean; that would be dangerous and not what he needed at the moment.

He carefully drew a wisp of power from the subspace, allowing the primal, pure, and vibrant energy to propel his body of light upwards.

His physical body remained in place, guarded by Ethan.

After being freed from the confinement of the body, Thomas felt reborn, his diverse and keen senses far exceeding the comprehension of ordinary people, and even beyond the understanding of Astartes.

Only after he activated his "subspace vision" could what he saw be barely comparable.

Its body of light moved like an arrow, instantly covering tens of kilometers.

His invisible body passed straight through the rocks and through the trees.

He left a shimmering trail in the sky that only those with ethereal vision could see.

Thomas flew straight above the battlefield, his body of light allowing him to survey the scene below with his supernatural ethereal vision.

The knights' ashen fear before their charge, their bloodthirsty red during battle...

The mixed emotions were like an overturned dye vat, all mixed together.

The entire battlefield, from a purely emotional perspective that transcends the physical, was brought into his perception.

The Shadow of Order attempts to open a "subspace perspective," using the genetic gifts bestowed upon it by the Black Emperor to examine the world.

He felt his eyes detach from his body of light and examine him from a superhuman perspective.

The Shadow of Order discovered that his field of vision had suddenly shrunk, but it was still wider than in his purely physical state.

At the same time, he saw the scene of dozens of knights clashing in the center of the battlefield.

When the knight charges with his left arm tucked under his lance, his right shoulder is exposed, leaving a defensive opening.

When wielding a sword with both hands, the abdomen is unprotected.

……

The wizard finally activated his "Eye of Secrets," narrowing his field of vision further to just the six people.

He saw not only their red, murderous desires, but also their rock-hard will.

Thomas's eyes rippled with the waves created by the roars of the knights, reverberating through the subspace.

Through the "Eye of the Secret," he saw invisible golden wings within the sound waves.

The wizard's thoughts raced as he compared the three extraordinary visions he possessed.

[Chiko's ethereal travel has the widest range of observation and can observe emotions, but her physical body is exposed, and her body of light may also be attacked.]

Our Lord said that Magnus traveled through the Warp in this state and frequently communicated with the Emperor before their reunion.

His mental state was created for the purpose of defending against predators while traversing the warp.
After summarizing his first experience of "traveling through the ether," he thought about the power bestowed upon him by the Black Emperor.

[The "subspace vision" bestowed by our Lord upon the Shadow of Order allows for safer use in combat without leaving the physical body, enabling one to focus on understanding the enemy's true nature and probing their weaknesses.]

Well, there's another important difference. Hathor said that only some of the Thousand Masters can master "Aether Travel," but "Warspace Vision" is much easier, and now every captain has mastered it.

The "Eye of Secrets" can not only examine emotions, but also the mysteries behind things. The knights of Mancora have mastered part of the secrets of the "Griffin's Roar."
As Thomas pondered, he saw two crowned knights, each leading several hundred men, launching a charge.

It's time!
Thomas had a thought and drew a wisp of power from the subspace. His body of light suddenly rose up like a cannonball.

[Oh no! The extracted power is beyond my control!]
As Thomas's thoughts raced, the "Eye of the Secrets" saw a body formed from golden light swooping down with a deafening roar.

The roaring sound waves crashed into his invisible body, and he immediately felt excruciating pain all over his body, his luminous body rapidly dimming.

The griffin's roar actually damaged his body of light.

Thomas quickly tried to improve Magnus's mood.

The different levels of Magnus's moods have different effects and are applicable to different situations; it is not true that the higher the level of mood, the stronger its power.

While most Senko simply and crudely use the highest level of mental state they have mastered in battle, Thomas does not do so. He requires himself to switch between different levels of mental state depending on the situation.

However, the same applies when it comes to mental defense. Similar to the Thelma state, the higher levels of the Magnus state have stronger mental defenses than the lower levels.

Magnus's state of mind rose to the fifth level, and Thomas felt the knife-like sound waves transform into arrows, while the light of his body of light stabilized.

Upon ascending to the sixth level, his mental power isolated the sound waves, and his luminous body gradually began to shine.

Thomas had just regained his balance when he suddenly saw a golden light rise up, and four griffins swooped down.

[not good! ]
He cursed under his breath and quickly exited Magnus's mental state one by one.

The highest level of Magnus's mental state that he had mastered was the sixth level, which was unable to withstand the griffin's roar that struck straight at the soul.

He had just completely withdrawn from the Magnusian state of mind when a deafening roar came crashing down.

Thomas instantly ascended to the third level of the Thelma Mind, and the armor formed by his mental power enveloped his body of light just before the storm swept in.

Boom boom boom...

An invisible collision erupted in the supernatural realm, but Thomas's body of light remained unmoved.

He calmly conjured a scepter with the power of his mind and waved it into the air.

ooh ooh...

The griffins cried out in alarm and turned to fly away.

Thomas carefully maneuvered his body and landed smoothly back into his flesh.

The Thelema state created by our Lord, while lacking many of the functions of the Magnus state, possesses stronger mental defenses.

More suitable for those with keen perception of the shadows of order.
Thomas exited the Thelma mindset, and with a thought, Ethan and the eight think tank members around him simultaneously heard his voice in their minds.

"action!"

The think tank members boarded the Shadow Stormbird, and as the engines roared, the landing gear retracted.

The Shadow Stormbirds flew over the battlefield, and Thomas instructed the pilots:
"landing!"

He rose and walked toward the hatch, placing his hand on the tailor-made suit as he did so, activating the psionic circuits that the space dwarf had adapted to the shadow of order.

Thomas's eyes flashed, and the think tank members immediately felt a surge of subspace energy rushing towards them.

The think tank director, like the eye of a storm, gathers immense energy.

Thomas had a thought, and the hatch opened by itself.

He took a step forward, and Osiris's Mind Control Staff emitted a dazzling light.

"stop!"

With his rebuke, Osiris's Mind Control Staff swung down.

In the ethereal vision of the think tanks, a magnificent mental storm erupts fifty meters below the surface.

In the eye of the invisible storm, the crowned king, along with hundreds of knights beside him, suddenly fell from his warhorse and crashed heavily to the ground.

The aftershocks of the mental storm swept across the surrounding area.

A voice suddenly resonated in the minds of the thousands of knights on the battlefield, making them understand the shout they couldn't comprehend before.

They involuntarily stopped what they were doing and looked up at the black-armored giant in the sky.

Their actions gradually spread to more distant areas, affecting the knights who were not affected by the mental shock.

The noisy battlefield subsided within seconds.

The two kings used their swords to support themselves as they rose from the ground, staring in astonishment at the large black metal bird that had landed and the black-armored giant that emerged from it.

Their gazes finally settled on the black-armored giant descending from the sky, meeting his jewel-like, piercingly dark eyes.

They instinctively lowered their heads, while a dignified voice echoed in their minds.

The think tanks' communication made feudal kings and knights aware of the existence of the "Shadow of Order" and His Majesty the Monarch.

Ten days later, the hundred think tank members completed their conquest of Mancola.

Thomas, accompanied by Ethan and several think tank members, ascended to the summit of Mancola.

The think tank director instructed, "Build a fortress on the mountaintop; this will be as important as the Shadow Fortress and the Shadow of the Throne think tank."

“Yes, sir,” a “fighting scholar” replied immediately.

Thomas said to Ethan beside him, "Ethan, are you ready to fly?"

Ethan paused for a moment, then heard the whistling of the wind as two birds of prey swooped down from the sky.

They resemble male lions and are covered with thick, golden fur.

Their heads are raised high, their eyes are golden, and their long, hooked beaks are sharp as hooks.

With its wings flapping to cover the ground, it slowly descended.

The cat with the strong brain stood on end, as if facing a formidable enemy.

(End of this chapter)