Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 553 Nimrod: Urian, keep the secret for me and Luther.
867.M30.

Sovereign Shadow, bridge.

"At the holographic strategy table, Zadekiel asked incredulously."

"My lord, are you really entrusting me with command of the Void War?"

He glanced around at the people around him: the knight lord of the Eighth Legion of "Shadow of Order," and three commanders of other legions, whose status and prestige far surpassed his.
Luther, the vice commander of the Dark Angels; Glenn Wosotto, the former legion commander of the Ultramarines and now the chapter commander of the First Chapter; and Akulduna, the second company commander of the Sons of the Emperor.

“I have decided to adopt your plan for the Void War,” Nimrod said, looking at Zadkiel and seeing ambition and desire in his burning grey eyes.

[Zadekil, you have been waiting for your chance, and when you finally got it, your ship was destroyed and everyone on board perished.]

Now, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself.
Zadekil looked around again.

Thierry smiled kindly, and Luther looked at him encouragingly.

Wosoto frowned slightly, but still nodded slightly to himself, a questioning of the Ultramarines code.

Akulduna remains enthusiastic, and he is more interested in challenging strong opponents.

Lord Ninglu's order was actually accepted by commanders of different legions.

With the support of the adults, I can assume the role of commander in this massive void naval battle.
Once Zadekir thought of this, he had no more hesitation and knelt down on one knee.

"My lord, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I will certainly not let you down."

Zadekiel immediately got into character, commanding the fleet to cross into the real world and mobilizing the descendants of the feather pen to join the fleets of various legions.

The descendants of the feather pen thrived in the cramped structure of the starship, conveying Zadkiel's will to each ship.

Zadekir reveled in the power of authority, and words written from his pen transformed into runes for various operational processes, which in turn became the fleet's course plan.

The northwestern frontier of the empire, a defensive fortress.

Black, iron-black, blue, purple, and gray warships leaped from the real world.

The smallest of the gray warships was commanded not by its flagship, but by the entire mixed fleet from the HMS Reign Shadow.

Zadkiel's methodical command, especially his skillful handling of the Skotian iron-black fortress ships, which differed from the Imperial's navigation style, helped Wosotho complete the journey and dispelled many of his doubts.

But he still had doubts about Zadekiel's ability to handle the big battle.

Wosoto reviewed the combat briefing received by the Thinker and spoke up to provide a reminder.

"The aliens have set a trap at the fortress; they have deployed two artificial war satellites."

"The endless stream of drones has severely damaged the Abomination Paradigm. Urian Bendreg was forced to abandon the flagship, overload its plasma reactor, and blow it up."

Ninglu turned his gaze to the artificial war satellite in the void, which was as hot as the star.

The Exemplar of Abomination ultimately could not escape its fate of destruction. From this day forward, the legion with the most Glory Queen-class battleships will only have two, which is only half of my legion's total.

Well, the destruction of the Exemplar of Abomination is actually a good thing for me.

Even if I could "corrode" Ben Dregger, I wouldn't keep giving him the Abomination Paradigm because I dislike the Terran-born Ryan. Now, this wreckage is mine.
In Nimrod's memory, after the "First Randan War," the "Dark Angels" built a fortified monastery on the wreckage of the extinct star—the Exemplar of Hatred—and the artificial war satellite.

He wouldn't leave the wreckage behind at the fortress; Ryan Ramirez, who possessed some of the technology for artificial war satellites, should be able to tow it away.

The Skot Alliance can even trade stars, but using them comes at a price.

Ninglu withdrew his gaze and saw that Wosoto's expression was stern.

"Now, they have less than forty capital ships left..."

"Just as we were speaking, the identification signal of another warship disappeared."

Zadekil turned to Wosotho and said confidently.

"We have two tasks."

"Defeat the aliens, especially the evil artificial war satellites."

"Rescue the severely damaged fleet of 'Dark Angel'."

Zadekiel's gaze returned to the holographic strategy table, his gray-stone gauntlets moving rapidly as he articulated his tactical intentions.

"The air defense firepower of artificial war satellites has been reduced to 56.13 percent, and the number of drones has been reduced to 14.8 percent."

"Two Skoda Fortress ships can knock on its doors."

He tapped the winged angel rune three times, "The remaining three fortress ships, inserted into these three positions respectively, can form an incomplete circular defense circle."

"The 'Dark Angels' fleet can both rely on the defense of the fortress ships and launch fire strikes when it enters the circular gap."

Wosoto stares at the holographic image, deducing the thought process taught by his father.

Thirteen seconds later, he exclaimed in admiration.

"The best tactic for the current situation."

"The inside line has a shorter maneuvering distance and can actively allocate power, choosing the time to appear in the gap."

"The alien fleet is unpredictable. By striking it, we can reduce the risk of damage and continue fighting."

Wosoto glanced at Lord Nimrod again, now convinced that the lord had once again placed the right person in the position of commander.

Zadekir swung his arm forcefully, as if writing a line of victory mantra with a quill pen.

"action!"

Ninglu stared at the holographic strategy table, where blue and purple fighter jets flew out from the deck.

Unlike before, they no longer fight their own battles.

The blue and purple colors are mixed together, with the blue runes neat and orderly, and the purple runes perfectly filling the gaps.

The moment the neat formation of fighter jets collided with the red ocean, the blue fighter jets leaped up their firepower runes, tearing off a whole piece of red.

The blue-purple runes swept across the red ocean like knives, and the fish-like red remnants quickly disappeared under the attack of the purple runes.

The proud son of the emperor, perfectly piloting his fighter jet, fills in the gaps in the meticulous simulations that the Ultramarines couldn't handle. Their established synergy continues to shine; the purple warship, slowing its pace, runs its engines at full power, tearing into those who slip through the blue warship's barrage of fire.

Silent explosions filled the void, tearing apart the spikes and flails of the alien ship.

The bridge of the terracotta-colored battleship, the Terra Glory.

Bendreig stared at the green holographic image of three ships circling his fleet.

Based on the communications officer's report, he understood Lord Ninglu's fleet's tactical intentions.

His fleet had been saved, but he saw no hope for the future.

He failed; he couldn't prove himself to the Lion King.

Having lost the Abomination Exemplar, and seventy percent of its fleet, the four battle groups deployed to defend against fortress support also suffered heavy losses in the protracted war of attrition.

Bendreg sighed almost imperceptibly, his gaze sharpening once more as he gave an order to his adjutant.

"Execute according to the received plan."

Abandoning his desire to prove himself to his father, Bendreg cautiously commanded his fleet, and three days later, under the cover of Skotan warships, landed on the surface of the artificial war satellite.

He led his Eighth Regiment in an attack, but it was not the decisive moment he had imagined.

After carefully studying the intelligence provided by "Shadow of Order" and the battle reports of the four regiments defending the fortress, Bendreg had already formulated a suitable tactic.

He issued orders to the six companies equipped with heavy vehicles: "Third Company...Eighth Company, deploy a 100-kilometer front."

He then ordered the two companies equipped with hovercraft to "the Ninth and Tenth Companies, harass the alien formations from both sides."

"First and Second Companies, follow me into battle."

Bendreg examined the tactical network on his helmet and, once he confirmed that the alien slave army had entered the battle line, immediately issued the attack order.

Bendreg charged ahead, sword in hand, into the enemy ranks.

He cleaved the enemy's head in two with a single sword stroke, then let out a cathartic roar.

The honor guard roared and followed their commander as they strode forward.

Bendreig's sword pierced the human slave along with his nerve collar, freeing him from his fate.

He smashed the aliens' heads like a bat, delivering their death as punishment.

Bendreg strode forward, a sense of calm rising from the carnage, dispelling some of the gloom that had been weighing on his heart.

Until he saw the enormous, spherical head, his thoughts suddenly went blank.

The commander of the aliens.

Bendreg locked onto the enemy's position, swung his arm violently, and spun his sword to tear through the alien overlord's personal energy shield, charging towards the tall, silver figure.

As he walked forward, he felt as if layers of silk netting were covering him.

When he was still a hundred meters away from the alien, he stopped in his tracks.

At fifty meters, he paused in his sword swing, and the Overlord's claws slashed a wound on the power armor.

When the longsword clashed with the crystal longsword, a boil appeared on Bendreg's neck.

He rolled to avoid the white lightning, his pustules burst, and his armor was splattered with slime.

Ignoring the poison wounds, Bendreg's eyes were fixed on the alien commander's bent arm.

He dodged the lightning bolt to the side and swung his sword at the alien.

The alien swung its crystal sword down, the two swords clashed, and energy exploded.

In a series of bursts of energy, a series of pustules burst on Bendreg's forehead, chin, and neck.

When pus enters the eye, after a burning and stinging sensation, the eye feels sore and dry.

Bendreg was breathing heavily, and as he arched his back, he felt a sharp pain in his armpit.

Without stopping, he leaped up, his sword flashing, and severed the alien's head.

After Bendreg killed the brain-eater, the alien army collapsed.

As the pharmacist used a scalpel to remove the remaining pus from the abscess and clean his wound, the adjutant suddenly appeared beside him.

"Lord Ninglu has arrived," the adjutant paused for a few seconds before continuing, "and Lord Luther as well."

Bendreg's still somewhat muddled thoughts suddenly cleared.

"what?"

He suddenly stood up and walked out of the camp.

Before Bendreg could even speak after seeing the black-armored, golden-winged giant, Lord Nimrod pulled out a bottle of green liquid, instantly appeared in front of him, and dripped it onto his nose.

He felt the remaining pustules disappear rapidly within seconds, and all the poison wounds on his body were healed.

Bendreg stared in astonishment at the small green vial. The neurotoxin that had poisoned Superman Astartes' body had been eliminated just like that.

As he stood there in a daze, the Primarch's large hand patted his shoulder, and a voice echoed in his mind, affectionately calling him by his first name, not his surname.

“Urian, keep this a secret for me and Luther.”

Bendreg looked at Luther approaching, and thinking of the opportunity Lord Nimrod had given him, he nodded.

Ninglu smiled as he looked at Bendreg.

A shared secret will bring us closer.

If you choose to keep the secret, you're not far from being "corrupted" by me.

Zahariel once held Lane in the highest esteem, but betrayed him for keeping Luthor's secrets.
(End of this chapter)