Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 557 Hathor: The Master of the Path of Destruction, He Should Serve with Me as My Lord
The bridge of the Shining Tizka.

Hathor glanced at Peok and asked Ignis beside him.

"Are you ready?"

Ignis looked around, and the divination prism revealed omens of good and bad fortune.

The hanging astronomical clock displays the patterns of celestial movements.

A torrent of data surged across the relief pillars, overwhelming even the enhanced servants. Within the "Cult of Destruction," a group of thousand members from the "Sky Owl School" transmitted information with swift and agile thinking.

"Director of the think tank, thanks to your support, I have obtained all the resources I need."

Ignis said gratefully that he did not know why Lord Hathor had chosen him, but he would seize the opportunity to put into practice the ideals of Hathor and the entire sect.

Hathor looked at Ignis with scrutiny, wondering why Lord Nimrod valued Ignis so highly.

The "Order of Destruction" is just one of many small groups within the "Thousand Sons," and Ignis is a newcomer to the sect.

But Lord Nimrod's will is paramount, and he must carry out the order.

Hathor flashed a perfect smile and delivered the briefing he had just received, reminding Ignis.

"The alien's artificial war satellites possess a massive number of drones and powerful weaponry, and the 'Dark Angels' have lost a Glory Queen-class battleship."

“My lord, firepower and defense cannot determine the outcome of a void battle,” Ignis said confidently with a smile.

"Space warfare guided by the Path of Destruction is a perfect combination of mathematical conclusions and probability statistics, the key of which lies in a series of beautiful numerological numerology."

"By applying the conclusions of arcane calculations, one can manipulate the entire course of the battle."

"Moreover, we have the support of the 10th Chapter of the Order of Shadows, and Lord Ramsey is also willing to cooperate with my plan."

Hathor nodded; he had to trust Ignis, as Lord Nimrod had instructed.

"Execute your plan and win." The "hypnotist" had deep eyes and quietly opened the digital door embedded in the threads of fate, "psychological suggestion" Ignis.

"Follow me, and you will gain more."

“Yes, Director of the Think Tank.” Ignis replied excitedly, unaware of the surge in data flow that occurred after the fleet jumped into warp space.

Data shared by the "Shadow of Order" fleet: drone trajectories, propulsion vectors, yaw angles...

The data came in a torrent.

“Detailed, clear, and fast,” Ignis exclaimed.

The hypnotist's thoughts moved gently through Ignis's mental body like a large, soft hand.

Although the "psychological suggestion" of the "psychologist" has undergone a qualitative change, if the target has a strong mind, they can still detect or resist it.

He must be careful.

"Lord Ninglu's legion possesses a simulated sanctuary, which can mobilize the entire fleet's oracle and other detection equipment to conduct a comprehensive scan of the enemy fleet."

"They cracked the aliens' illusion of falsifying Imperial warship readings."

The "hypnotist" explains the "Shadow of Order" and Lord Nimrod's fleet from a nearly objective perspective, which is only natural given that he is the link between the two sides and his background experiences.

“Truly admirable, fighting alongside the ‘Shadow of Order’,” Ignis’s eyes gleamed. “My arcane calculations will give me a ten-order-of-magic advantage over the aliens.”

As Ignis spoke, he spread his thoughts across the various layers of his mind, instantly analyzing numerous variables.

Unlike most Senko who push their mental state to the highest level they can control during battle, or a few like Hathor and Ahriman who switch their mental states to best deal with the current situation, Ignis needs computational ability.

Simultaneously covering the first to sixth layers of mental states, it greatly increases Ignis's computing power.

His thoughts merged into the thought network of the "Sky Owl School".

After the "Hypnotist" quietly joined and received the power bestowed upon him by Lord Ninglu, he made great progress in his mental abilities. His ability to transmit his thoughts was no less than that of any of the Heavenly Owl Masters, and his ability to read minds even surpassed that of Apophis, the head of the Holy Temple.

He surpassed all the other children in terms of influencing people's minds.

Within the "Sky Owl School's" mental network, the "hypnotist" uses "psychological suggestion":
"Work with the 'Shadow of Order' to achieve victory."

The hypnotist's suggestive words simultaneously touched upon his Third Society and the 360 ​​"Sky Owl School" members of the "Cult of Destruction".

Ignis's thoughts, encompassing six layers of his mind, divided the star field of the Rosa Galaxy into nine hundred and sixteen quadrants.

Commands such as orientation correction, route adjustment, and firepower plans were delivered with breathtaking speed and clarity by members of the "Sky Owl School" located throughout the warship, reaching all crew members and then the fleets of "Thousand Sons" and "Shadow of Order".

"Tizka's Shining, starboard maneuver array, 49 percent thrust, sustained for 5.1 seconds, then port side will deploy corresponding compensation."

In the instant Ignis's thoughts took flight, he simultaneously learned of the "Fire Phoenix School's" master's methods for dissipating heat and enhancing the power of the bow's light lance using the flames of the vast ocean. "Fire in 6.2 seconds, Ignis 1-9-4 fire plan."

Ignis has developed his own 358 unique firepower plans, incorporating his mastery of the Way of Destruction into them.

"..."

In a single second in the real world, Ignis was already devising a plan for the fleets of "Thousand Sons" and "Shadow of Order".

At the same time, his combat plan affected the entire warship, and after fifteen and twenty-three seconds, it covered each of the warships of "Thousand Sons" and "Shadow of Order" respectively.

The red and black warships quickly dispersed.

Frigates and destroyers operated independently, with each warship flying to a different quadrant.

The main warships were arranged in groups of three to five, forming a formation.

The scene, imbued with mathematical beauty, almost moved Ignis to tears.

Hathor was also amazed by the beauty of the art, and Ignis foresaw the future development of the battle. Each of his commands was aimed at a different moment in the future, from six minutes and nine seconds to ten minutes and seven seconds.

The alien warship and the drones were like his puppets on strings.

Hathor suddenly understood why Lord Nimrod valued Ignis, the follower of the Path of Destruction, whose skill in space warfare was unmatched by any of the Thousand Sons.

[A superior commander of the void, a master of the path of destruction, should rightfully serve my lord.]
While Hathor was pondering, Ignis temporarily disconnected from the mental network and returned to the physical world to assess the situation.

Hathor went to the viewing window and tried to capture the artwork with his eyes.

The overwhelming swarms of alien aircraft passed by the warships, as if being pulled apart by an invisible hand.

Red and black warships weaved through the gaps, raining down torpedoes on the surrounding drones.

The cannons, scattered across the quadrants, fired like dazzling fireworks.

The light spears, enveloped in ethereal flames, detonated inside ships covered in spikes and flails.

In the first wave of engagement, the Combined Fleet lost only one slow-moving battleship, while the Aliens lost dozens of capital ships and tens of thousands of drones.

Hathor returned to the holographic strategic map, where Ignis repeatedly used the Path of Destruction to detect enemy movements in the ever-changing battle quadrants, constantly making tactical responses and macro-level decisions.

The combined fleet passed through the fire and energy vortex of exploding warheads, the winding trails left by the exhaust flames intertwining in the dark void.

Hathor withdrew his gaze from the enormous creature that had come into view and keenly noticed a hint of worry mixed in with Ignis's swirling thoughts.

He asked Ignis, who had been in control of the battle, "Is there anything unexpected?"

“Simply put, the increase in the number of alien drones as the distance closes has exceeded my expectations,” Ignis said.

“Slow down, maneuver within the surrounding quadrants, I trust your control,” Hathor said sincerely with a perfect smile.

After a five-second silence, Ignis spoke.

"But the production capacity of artificial war satellites may exceed the supply capacity of cast decks and transport ships."

"Unfortunately, I cannot destroy artificial war satellites in the void."

"But I can open a channel to create an opportunity for boarding action."

Hathor nodded. "Make a plan. Ramsey and I will lead the team in a boarding maneuver."

While Hathor contacted Ramsey, Ignis quickly devised a new plan.

The plasma engines of destroyers ignited, shooting towards the artificial war satellite like arrows.

The swarm of drones immediately rushed over like a school of fish that had smelled food.

A blinding light burst forth in the void, the overloaded reactor resembling a burning miniature star.

Ignis stared silently at the void outside the viewing window, where clusters of flames were blooming.

“You are already excellent enough.” Hathor’s perfectly magnetic voice rang out.

"We lost some destroyers, and the 'Dark Angel' lost a Queen Glory-class battleship and hundreds of capital ships."

Ignis nodded, his gaze returning to the holographic strategy table.

"Execute the surprise attack plan."

Black and red warships passed through the silent light, reaching the orbit of the artificial war satellite. Raindrops of light fell, sounding the horn of revenge.

(End of this chapter)