Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 562 First Voyage in the "Great Vortex" Space Region: An Overly Cautious Reaction

868.M30.

The extreme star field, the "Great Vortex" space field.

On the bridge of the HMS Radiant, Wilshire stands before the holographic tactical table.

Entering the "Great Vortex" is a completely new experience; even those on the edge of the area feel the strangeness of the region.

The real world is affected by the warp and appears intermittently.

The number of officers responsible for communication has tripled.

The simulated sanctuaries unique to "Shadow of Order" and "Iron Hand" are affected.

The liaison ship in the warehouse was dispatched.

"Contact ship A-1, proceed to area A-59 and establish contact with the Shadowsong."

……

"Liaison ship C-5, report information about the Sun Shadow."

Wilshire's superhuman hearing allows him to hear all the chaotic information.

This operation was also a valuable experience.

Perhaps in the future, the warband will face similar situations.
He stared at the holographic star map, where black and iron-gray runes would occasionally disappear one or two at a time.

The runes would occasionally jump out and appear suddenly, but they could only be seen as blurry points of light.

Wilshire's helmet-mounted communicator suddenly beeped.

The runes leaped up, originating from the chief navigator of the battle group.

Since entering the "Great Vortex" region, he has never left the Navigator's Sanctuary.

No one would be foolish enough to enter the Navigator's Sanctuary at this time.

Exposed to the navigator's gifted eye, turning into a madman, or even death, would be the best outcome.

After Wilshire connected, the voice of the Othello family's navigator rang out.

"Lord of Light, I have good news to report to you. My family's navigator and I have observed a common anomaly that will occur in three or four days. Please forgive me for not being able to quantify the exact time here."

"We call it the Malik Wind. There will be a realm like a warp rift, with calm sea breezes typical of warp."

"We can ride this wave and reach Tovendis."

What risks might there be?

“My lord,” Othello chuckled, “there will always be risks.”

"The calm space in the Malik Wind might leave the ship stranded, perhaps for days, perhaps for weeks, or even forever."

"But the experience of the Othello family has shown that things are usually not that bad, and that shouldn't be your main concern."

"The most common occurrence is that Geller's stance fluctuates, and some crew members go crazy."

He said this with a helpless yet somewhat proud tone.

“They don’t have the same unwavering will as Astartes and us; they are not susceptible to the influence of the tides or mental instability.”

"Understood. Plan the voyage." Wilshire hung up the communication and immediately began to formulate a plan in his mind to deal with the threats that might be encountered after three or four standard ship cycles.

He gained some forbidden knowledge of the Empire from the data crystal given to him by the Black Emperor.

Knowledge that contradicts the truth of the empire.

Chaos demons exist in the warp.

"Communications officer." At Wilshire's summons, a follower approached from the center of the noisy area.

"Lord Lord."

Wilshire nodded slightly. "Send out a liaison ship to ensure that all ships, including our allies, including the 'Descendants of the Brush,' are aware of our voyage plans."

"Yes, my lord."

Wilshire then switched communication channels and issued orders to the Chapter Think Tank.

"Assign all members of the Royal Court and the think tank to areas of responsibility to deal with potential threats from demons, warp predators, and crew out of control."

"My lord, this is no challenge for us," the Star Speaker said confidently.

"Upon entering this area, our psionic energy is amplified, enabling even editors to communicate in astrolanguage."

"As long as your orders are not too complicated, I can relay them to other ships."

"Maintain your Thelma state of mind while communicating," Wilshire reminded him before hanging up.

After four standard ship cycles, Wilshire did not, like his servants, frequently glance at the hanging clock.

The timer inside his helmet reminded him of the time; he only had forty-two standard points left until the end of the day.

Wilshire clasped his hands together upside down and silently recited in his mind.

May our Lord protect us.
After repeating this eleven times, he released his hands, and at the same time, the chief navigator's voice sounded from inside the communication helmet.

"My lord, the winds of Malik have risen; we request a warp jump."

“Granted!” Wilshire said crisply, switching the chapter’s communication channel at the same time.

"alert!"

The black and gray-rock-colored warships cautiously began to increase the power of their subspace engines.

The etheric light, visible only to psionicists, was clearly visible, but all the ship's windows were down, and no one witnessed it.

On the lower deck, laborer Joe Linton sat on a crate, feeling his oil-soaked pocket. He was out of his last ration card. He slammed the can to the ground, and a few drops of oil mixed with green liquid splattered out.

Joelinton immediately pounced on it like a vicious dog, licking the "wine" off the deck.

A dozen seconds later, he slammed his fist hard on the deck.

"Bullshit, why are those officers and Astartes allowed to drink fine wine so freely?"

Joelinton didn't know who on the ship could drink; he was just making things up based on what he'd overheard from others.

He had just gotten up from the ground when he suddenly froze.

He heard a commotion and looked around in alarm, but saw no one.

He suddenly stopped, and a look of madness gradually appeared in his eyes.

"Yep……"

"If you don't give it to me, I'll take it."

Joelinton grabbed a wrench from the crate, took two steps to the copper pipe, and smashed it twice, breaking it in two.

The heat wave hit him, soaking his thin clothes.

"Damn it!"

Joelinton shuddered in pain, but the thought of the wine made him immediately shake his head, ignoring his burns.

He walked briskly toward the ration warehouse. After walking several dozen steps, he suddenly saw a man covered in grease, holding a rusty box, sucking on it in small sips, with an expression of enjoyment on his face.

That's the expression he only shows when he's drinking "alcohol".

"mine!"

Joelinton roared, and the laborer trembled, looking up in surprise.

The copper pipe slammed into the laborer's face, again and again.

Joelinton dropped the wrench, grabbed the lunchbox, and peered inside.

"Damn it!"

Only when he saw the green color clearly did he realize that it was porridge being cooked in a large pot on the deck.

Joelinton picked up the handle and slammed it hard on the back of the worker's head.

"Pooh!"

He spat, took two steps forward, then suddenly turned around and began groping his blood-splattered body.

A moment later, he pulled out four yellow cards.

Those were the wages of the lower deck workers; two days' wages were enough for them to live on for four days.

Although the old man said that this treatment was better than that of most other Void Crew members in other Legions, Jorington was always dissatisfied.

He wanted "wine," lots of wine.

Joelinton's eyes lit up. "If I kill another twenty-four people, I can buy a bottle of wine."

The hissing sound rang in his ears again, and he clapped his hands violently.

"Yes, whatever I buy, whatever I kill that fat pig, it's all mine."

"Kill them all, kill them all..."

Joelinton roared excitedly as he killed seven more laborers and replaced the copper pipes with daggers.

As he approached the ninth laborer, the man suddenly looked up, saw Joe Linton covered in blood, roared, and ran away.

"die!"

In the center of the deck, the "Prayer for Light" heard the deck enforcer's report and immediately rushed over.

"My lord..." the law enforcement officer exclaimed, and quickly took off to chase after him.

He didn't know why this lieutenant had come to the lower deck, and in such a hurry.

This is the responsibility of law enforcement officers.

Three seconds later, the "Light Prayer" traversed the winding area and found the bloodied laborer wielding a wrench.

Remembering the lord's instructions, "Qiguangren" dared not neglect them, and two small sun-like rays suddenly shone in his eyes.

As if the blazing midday sun had suddenly illuminated the dim deck, the two fleeing laborers were momentarily blinded.

When the "Prayer for Light" saw the "Sunshine," he failed to purify the enemy, but suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

[Did I overestimate him?]
He didn't approach, but cautiously drew his archaeological pistol.

A flash of starlight, and the laborer's body was instantly vaporized.

[Okay, I really overestimated him.]
The "Prayer for Light" chuckled self-deprecatingly; his reaction was overly cautious.

At the same moment, Olivier, the second company commander of the Shadow Song, arrived on the upper deck.

He also raised his archaeological pistol and fired beams of light collected from the planet's radiation layer, which struck the monster whose tongue was pressed against the ground.

Zizizi!
Blood mist surged, but the demon that had taken over the body did not fall.

The "Sun Priest" opened his arms as if to embrace the other person.

A sacred, bright, pure, and warm light descended from the sky and struck the demon's head.

The demon let out an angry roar and vanished rapidly in the "Summoning Holy Light".

(End of this chapter)