Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 546 Fernus, Sorry, I'll swear first, you little fanboy.

Ninglu watched Akulduna walk down the hillside, and memories surfaced in his mind.

In the original "Battle of Gadinar", Akulduna was invincible and swept aside all the "Iron Hand" powerhouses except for Fenus in the dueling arena.

Former Legion Commander, Storm General Amadeus Ducaine, and First Company Commander Gabriel Santo were both easily defeated by him.

Among the other legions, only a handful of people, such as Sigismund, could rival him.

Even without the blessing of the four gods, Abaddon would not be invincible against Akulduna.

Nimrod's gaze then fell on Thierry, and he had no doubt that he would win even without using the "Dawn Knight's" "Light Storm" and other abilities.

With a whooshing sound, Timur and Athena leaped from their silk scabbards.

Akulduna stared at the heavy power sword in Thierry's hand, which was enveloped in a gleaming light, and another sword that was longer than the Astartes but shorter than Thierry's.

"Good sword."

“Yours is too.” As a seasoned “weapon master,” Thierry glanced at the twin swords and saw the admirable forging skills and runes he did not recognize.

"The duel for honor begins," Arsène Dunn announced briefly.

The first court swordsman of "Son of the Emperor" and the first swordsman of "Shadow of Order" charged at each other simultaneously.

As the two swords clashed, Akulduna immediately felt numbness in both arms.

If he hadn't been prepared, he would have lost control of his swords by flicking his wrist with superb skill while using the momentum.

Thierry clearly possessed immense strength to match his giant physique, a strength that even the mighty fire lizard could not match.

Akulduna remained calm. Thierry was large, so he used his agility to his advantage.

He took a side step, spun around, and delivered a seemingly casual yet swift strike towards Thierry's back.

Thierry infused his own meager psychic energy into the psychic longsword forged by Master Casser, and swung it diagonally backward.

Lucius lay in the ruins, hearing Achurduna's conversation with Thierry, followed by the sound of swords clashing.

He felt an itch in his heart, as if countless insects were crawling on it.

Lucius sprang up from the ground, then staggered back down.

As the numbness in his body subsided and Lucius regained some mobility, he staggered toward the dueling arena.

Lucius saw Akulduna's swift movements and, even with his eyes wide open, could not quite keep up with the dazzling sword light in the purple-gold storm.

Fugan's eldest son's attacks were faster; he was faster than he had been in the training cage and faster than when he had fought the alien not long ago.

He's gotten even stronger.

Lucius gripped his sword tightly, examining himself to see how long he could withstand the storm of blades.

Before he could reach a conclusion, he was drawn to the black-armored giant.

Thierry's sword blade leaps through the storm, piercing the purple-gold storm.

The two swords were swung, stirring up clouds of dust, and dazzling light surged all around.

Lucius was astonished to find that Akulduna was trying to avoid direct confrontation, launching wave after wave of attacks with movements that were much faster than his own natural speed.

However, he could not completely avoid the collision; as the swords clashed, tiny sparks flew up at the edges.

The broad, powerful sword and the narrow, short sword seemed to be part of Thierry's body.

His mastery of the twin swords was even more effortless than that of Akulduna.

The impacts became more and more frequent, like the continuous ringing of a copper bell.

In the clash of blades, the one who was at a disadvantage was actually...

Akulduna.

Fugen's eldest son, the first court swordsman, the leader of the two hundred swordsmen, the champion of the Palatine Blade...

Lucius could hardly believe what he was seeing—Astartes' swordsmanship had actually surpassed Akulduna's.

Akulduna had always been an unparalleled swordsman; his defeat at the hands of the alien was due to the difference in their strength.

Lord Ninglu and his father were both Primarchs, so it was only natural that their swordsmanship was more perfect.

But today, he was surprised to see another Astartes completely overwhelm Akulduna.

Stevens' words lingered in his ears.

"Without the strength my father gave me, I would lose."

Lucius looked up at the mountaintop and then at Lord Nimrod.

[The power bestowed by Lord Nimrod!]
With a loud bang, he turned his gaze back to the battlefield.

Lucius saw Akulduna being knocked away. After landing, he hurriedly leaped backward to avoid the oncoming sword.

Akulduna retreated repeatedly, desperately trying to fend off Thierry's attacks.

His strength, as well as his pride in speed and natural fighting skills, were inferior to Thierry's.

He had heard of Thierry before, but never imagined that his swordsmanship was so exceptional.

Even if he tries his best, there is no chance of victory.

Akulduna, seeing the dazzling sword blade hurtling towards him, raised both swords to meet it.

He knew his twin swords would be knocked away, but he had no other choice.

Just as the swords were about to clash, a burst of starlight erupted in Akulduna's mind.

The image of Lord Ninglu piercing the alien with his sword flashed through his mind.

Akulduna's twin swords whirled around, unleashing a barrage of thrusts. Lucius's eyes couldn't keep up with the swift attacks.

Thierry, however, could see clearly that it was the 16th movement of the "Osberch-Vajra" exercise that he had been practicing since childhood.

Akulduna's attack far exceeded the limits of Article 16 of "Osberh-Vaya," and even when he became a "warrior" and then a shadow of order, he could not accomplish such a swift attack.

He swung his psionic longsword with admiration, meeting the barrage of swords thrusting at him.

The gleaming sword tip suddenly swelled, enveloping the two swords like a net.

As the two crossed paths, Akulduna was astonished to find that his twin swords were swept away by a tremendous force.

As the two swords slipped from his hands, he came to his senses.

It wasn't Thierry's immense strength that swept away the two swords, but rather some kind of skill beyond his comprehension.

Balsa Couturi and Glenn Wosotto stared in astonishment below at how easily Akulduna had been defeated by Thierry.

Luther and Zaharie exchanged a glance, understanding that Thierry must have relied on the power bestowed upon him by Lord Nimrod to defeat the mighty Akulduna.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Acourduna came to his senses and stared at Thierry.

"how did you do it?"

“It originates from the art of the Kassians, who call it ‘Gekkuaf style,’ meaning to pull back from the brink.” Thierry sheathed his sword and looked at Akulduna with admiration.

“But I was able to train him to this level thanks to the gift of my Lord.”

Akulduna nodded, looked up at the black-armored, golden-winged figure on the hillside, and spoke loudly.

"Lord Ninglu, I wish to witness your power."

He longed to experience it firsthand, to make the blurry images in his mind clear.

Ninglu flapped its golden wings and landed on the ground.

"it is good."

Nimrod watched as Akulduna retrieved his twin swords, recalling how Fernus had made him pledge his allegiance to prevent Fernus from being attacked by the Gadinar's ring weapons.

Akulduna has already witnessed his swordsmanship firsthand, and now he will complete the final "corrosion" with an absolute power even greater than that of Fenus.

Akulduna brandished his twin swords, using Timur as a feint to draw Nimrod's attention before thrusting Athena at the Primarch's right leg.

The "Corrupted Baron" bulged his muscles, twisted his back, and swung his arms, unleashing a missile launched by the Titan.

The sword forged by the Terran master swordsmith shattered.

Ancient Greek runes crumbled.

The power armor chestplate was dented, and the Imperial Skyhawk was smashed into two tattered pieces, its golden wings flying everywhere and shattering into pieces in the air.

Before Akulduna's superhuman senses could even register the pain, he was already airborne before crashing heavily into the collapsing building.

The force broke more of his bones, propelling his body across the building like a bulldozer.

Amidst the flying debris, a thrilling mix of fear and elation filled Akulduna's entire body.

Akulduna crashed onto the hard metal surface of the artificial war satellite, sliding for dozens of meters before coming to a stop.

Akulduna awoke five days later from the pharmacist's bed.

He opened his eyes listlessly, his mind filled with the image of an approaching fist.

The giant fist contained irresistible power, shattering the Athena forged by the master blacksmith.

Blue and white light then leaped up, piercing through the alien's points of light.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Lucius's concerned voice rang in Akulduna's ears, bringing him back to his senses.

"fine."

Akulduna stood up and spoke to Lucius.

"Come with me."

A moment later, Lucius and Stevens nodded to each other and followed Akulduna into the Primarch's office.

"You're awake," Ninglu said with a smile, leaning back on the throne.

“Yes, sir,” Akulduna replied, then knelt down.

"My lord, I will lead the Second Company to pledge my loyalty to you."

Lucius paused for a moment, and since he wasn't in the second company, he knelt down along with Akulduna.

As Nimrod looked at the "corrupted" Akulduna, a similar oath he had made to Fernus echoed in his mind.

[Fenus, sorry, I'm already being a fan of yours.]

Foggrim, I'm sorry I messed up with your beloved eldest son.

Slaanesh... well, there's nothing to apologize for.
As he pondered, he rose from his throne, approached the two men, drew the Val's Sword, and, "switching the concept" to a knight's sword, placed it on the shoulders of Akulduna and Lucius.

"I accept your allegiance."

"I will grant you strength so that you may become even better swordsmen."

Ten minutes later, the newly recruited "warriors" Akulduna and Lucius knelt down again.

"Thank you for your gift, sir."

(End of this chapter)