Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 563 A Smart Spaceship with a Shared Love of Music Signs a Singing "Contract"

In the Tovendis space system, black and gray-rock-colored ships leaped out from the light.

On the bridge of the HMS Radiant, Wilshire walked to the holographic strategy table.

"Bird divination device, turn on at maximum power!"

The energy of the Heavenly Punishment-class reactor is redistributed, and the scanning array provides feedback time and again.

As the entire space became clearer, video screens around it lit up one after another.

Wilshire looked up at the largest video screen, at the magnified scan image.

His target—the Killing Song, a spaceship from the "Dark Ages of Technology".

Its appearance is completely different from the Empire's gothic spaceships.

The Killing Song is an ancient and minimalist style, and its exterior appears to consist of silver armor and glowing windows.

Wilshire activated the helmet's built-in communicator and assigned tasks.

"Sound array master, the Song of Slaughter has extremely high thinking ability. Send a communication request to try to persuade him."

"Think Tank, contact Zadekil immediately and have him devise an interception plan, as well as a boarding plan for me and the Honor Guard."

"Tell Winterburn that his company is to go to the surface of Tovendis to investigate the heretical corruption of the local people."

Upon receiving the report from the think tank, Zadekil immediately took action.

The "lawyer" has already won over five company commanders and their adjutants with his devout followers during the voyage.

He was certain that he had become a true "lawyer," and that after helping Wilshire obtain the spaceship, he would surely receive Lord Nimrod's blessing once again.

Zadekil's plan was implemented thanks to the coordination of liaison ships and think tanks.

The capital ships were scattered around the planet Tovendis, like roadblocks.

One hundred and sixteen frigates and destroyers are scattered among them, ready to intercept any target that attempts to escape.

Zadekil's fleet was on the outermost perimeter, flying in orbit as the last line of defense.

Since Tovendis had not developed interstellar travel capabilities, the First Company's fleet reached orbit without any hindrance.

The Shadow-type Stormbirds took off from ships such as the Sun Shadow and silently flew towards the ground.

On the bridge of the Radiant, Wilshire stood in front of the observation window, gazing at the Slaughter Song.

Unlike the Empire's silver-white aircraft, the Suicide Song took off and made contact with the black communication ship.

Wilshire waited quietly until the helmet communicator rang.

"My lord, it took me quite a while to understand... what that ship meant."

"He seemed to say..." the sound array master said uncertainly, "Don't disturb him while he's listening to music."

Wilshire was also stunned for a moment; he hadn't expected such a response.

[As mentioned by my Lord in the data crystal, the Killing Song came to this world on its own.]

He also mentioned that most heretics in the world worship the evil god Slaanesh.

Slaanesh's other side is a god of pleasure and art, fond of songs... the Song of Slaughter... Hmm, that seems to match.
“Play any song you can find on repeat,” Wilshire thought of the large number of “singers” under his command.

He immediately ordered his captain of the guard, "Statistical chapter, all Shadow Order members skilled in singing."

Finally, he instructed the think tank to send a message to Winterburn to verify whether Torvendis's Chaos followers were related to the song.

The Shadow Stormbird of Winterburn landed 35 kilometers east of the area with the strongest life signal in the Auger Matrix scan.

Winterburn stepped off the Stormbird and looked around.

In the basin, towering ancient trees stand tall, and winding rivers meander through like ribbons.

[A beautiful world.] Winterburn, after his initial admiration, became even more wary.

After leaving one adjutant to lead two squads to guard and protect the aircraft, he led the rest of the honor guard forward.

After crossing six hillsides, a thin mist rose and clung to the crisp trees.

The shadows of order strode forward, like discordant figures intruding into a beautiful oil painting.

"alert!"

Winterburn shouted as he glimpsed six figures approaching from a distance.

The way they moved looked very strange; wrapped in silk, they walked with a sideways gait, their knees and ankles bent at odd angles, like reptiles.

They moved forward in a strange way, yet at an unusually fast speed.

The "Sun Priest"'s eyes lit up with golden light, and he immediately saw the body wrapped in silk.

Its horns curve backward, its long tail stands upright, and its long tongue protrudes.

Slaanesh.

"Holy Water of the Sun!"

Having recently encountered the Slaanesh demon, he knew how to deal with these creatures.

The six "Light Prayers" drew out the golden bottles from their waists and threw them forcefully.

With a loud bang, the Slaanesh demon let out a shrill scream.

The "Sun Priest" raised his hand, and golden, illusory flames spontaneously ignited in the air.

The flames exuded the vast and pervasive aura of the sun, pure and sacred.

The Slaanesh demon's twisted body burned like a candle, turning into drops of liquid, and vanished with a mournful howl.

Winterburn led the team forward, his helmet communicator receiving reports of noisy signals.

Some supernatural force is interfering with communication signals.

As he continued his journey, he encountered no more Slaanesh demons, and the beautiful songs gradually seeped into his ears.

Reaching the edge of the dense forest, he surveyed the area ahead and saw a translucent, slimy creature covering the roof of a purple building.

Its surface is gel-like, with countless unblinking eyes hanging on it.

Like some kind of giant parasite, it occupied the rooftops of a series of houses, with a diameter of several hundred meters.

Its boundaries are fluid, constantly moving, and oozing pus.

Six enormous tendrils, like writhing tentacles, hung down from the massive, amorphous body, and the air was filled with absurd and nauseating hissing sounds.

Winterburn's gaze followed the tendrils downwards, and suddenly his eyes narrowed.

He saw each tendril wrapped around a person, their bones creaking and crumbling little by little in torture.

The slime corroded their faces, and their eyes, ears, noses, and other organs disappeared rapidly.

But the three men and three women simultaneously wore pained yet strangely satisfied smiles, as if they were enjoying themselves.

The people around them knelt on the ground, chanting beautiful songs with piety and fervor.

The beautiful melody contrasts sharply with the cruel torture.

A flash of anger crossed Winterburn's eyes. [The Tovendis are beyond saving.]
"attack!"

The bomb gun roared into action, blasting the heretics into pools of blood mist.

Golden light shone in the eyes of the "Sun Priest," and the sun spread out.

A sacred, radiant light descended from the heavens, emanating pure, warm light.

The "Summoning of Holy Light" tore a hole tens of meters in diameter in the body of the Slaanesh demon.

Countless densely packed eyes on Winterburn's gel-like body were simultaneously fixed on him.

The "Sun Priest" felt that he was being targeted by a malevolent supernatural being, and his whole body was itchy.

The tendrils of the tendrils twisted and turned, spreading outwards.

Golden light flashed in the eyes of the "Sun Priest," who chanted in Dunn language, "Holy Flame!"

The archaeological pistol was raised and fired; the pure light, under the influence of the "Divine Oath," transformed into a pure golden beam. Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three tendrils burst into golden flames and vanished swiftly in a golden light.

The "Sun Priest" gripped the Thunder Hammer tightly, and the blue force field rapidly turned gold.

The "Sun Priest" strode forward, swinging his golden hammer.

Bang bang bang!
With a hammer slamming left and right, the "Purification Slash" cleaved through the tendrils and tentacles one by one.

Winterburn continued onward and saw the Chaos Cultists charging towards him, weapons in hand.

He shook his head slightly, watching indifferently as they were torn apart by the explosives.

The Shadows of Order strode forward, their black armor growing heavier and heavier, as if coated in slime.

"concentrated!"

The "Sun Priest" gave the order, and golden light surged, covering the surroundings.

The viscous feeling vanished rapidly within the "sun halo".

"Holy Water of the Sun!"

The "Sun Priest" raised his hand, and dozens of drops of golden liquid appeared out of thin air, sprinkling onto the monster along with the "Holy Water of the Sun" thrown out and prepared in advance by the "Light Prayers".

The Slaanesh demon let out a painful howl, and his gelatinous body melted away in the light.

The Slaanesh demon, now shrunken and only one-tenth the size it once was, was now much smaller.

The "Sun Priest" sheathed his weapon at his waist, and with a flick of his wrists, golden, illusory flames appeared out of thin air.

Flames, radiating the powerful and pervasive aura of the sun, densely clustered together to form an ocean.

Pure and holy, covering the Slaanesh demon like a net.

With a defiant roar, the Slaanesh demon vanished swiftly in the "Lightfire".

Four hours later, the Shadow Stormbird rapidly ascended, and Winterburn gathered more and more information. He established a communication connection with the Lord of Light and began to report.

After hearing Winterburn's report, Wilshire learned that all fifteen detachments had witnessed the Slaanesh demons and their worshippers of Chaos.

He remained silent for four seconds before issuing the order.

"Erase Torvindis."

"Prepare the aircraft. I will lead two hundred of the best singers of the battle group to the Song of Slaughter."

"Maintain speed, and play a selection of songs on every Stormbird!"

Black stormbirds leaped from the warships, and the best singers from each company of the Second Battle Group gathered in the void.

The Killing Song suddenly accelerated as it circled Tovendis, like a silver steed galloping through the purple starlight.

One warship after another was arranged into an attack formation in the high-altitude synchronous orbit.

Thousands upon thousands of weapons were aimed at the planet's surface below, bombarding it with artillery, energy weapons, kinetic weapons...

The multiple sonic booms triggered by the hypersonic bomb masked the singing that lingered on the ground, creating a deafening, rumbling sound.

The light spear pierced the psychedelic weapon, and the dazzling vertical light twisted and crashed to the ground.

Lava bombs rained down from the sky, flattening the crisp mountain peaks like hammer blows.

The dazzling energy weapon left scorching marks, tearing through the twilight mist.

The silver-white spaceship rotated, its weapons turning as it went.

The fleet of "Shadow of Order" mobilizes energy to maintain the Void Shield at maximum power.

Killing Song did not fire. After a sidereal hour, it slowed down and then turned to approach the Stormbird formation it had previously evaded.

A smile appeared on Wilshire's face as he watched the Stormbirds.

His method worked; as Tovendis's singing gradually subsided, the Killing Song was naturally drawn to his song matrix.

"My lord, the exposed flight platform of the Slaughter Song seems to be inviting us in."

"Land!" Wilshire gave the order.

Two standard hours later, Wilshire led the team into the cabin to the sound of singing.

He noticed that the walls were made of polished chrome-plated surfaces and fluorescent strips, and every curve of the wall was smooth and flawless.

The floor was a bright silver, and the walls were covered with mirror-like, shiny metal.

Every corridor and doorway I walked through was circular, filled with blank reading screens, all of which, along with the light bars on the ceiling, emitted a continuous, uniform light.

Despite its age, it is in remarkably good condition, maintained by its internal machinery, and is bright and clean, even cleaner than some Imperial ships.

Wilshire did not go to the bridge; instead, he went straight to the core of the ship, as the Black Emperor had instructed.

After passing through two decks, a piercing sound suddenly rang out.

Whoosh whoosh!
It is a silver-white, disc-shaped metal object with two cannons mounted on its side.

A gleaming drone with a cannon hanging below it.

Wilshire raised his hand, and two hundred “singers” burst into song.

A deep, resonant melody, with a magnetic quality, echoed across the deck.

UFOs and drones dispersed to the rhythm as the procession moved forward to the core of the spaceship.

A towering, gray-black stack of memories surrounds the entire square.

Each building's surface is covered with faint ripples of light, and the wide, circular, dark stone field is filled with delicate light, forming complex geometric shapes.

The pattern features a swirling design, which decomposes and reassembles as the ship contemplates.

Wilshire gestured for the music to stop and shouted, "I have a proposal."

As the song faded, countless aircraft roared in.

Wilshire remained expressionless and continued.

"Sign a contract with me, and you'll hear us sing for you every moment."

Wilshire waited for fifteen seconds, but still received no response.

He removed his helmet and recalled the Viking war songs that echoed from his home city of Terra Morvor.

"The Vikings went on expeditions to foreign lands."
The men of Scandinavia set off.

On the king's ship, the warriors stood side by side.

Battle preparations complete..."

The stirring war song resounded, and the surrounding shadowy figures of order stomped their feet in time with the song.

The majestic song resounded like thunder, echoing throughout the core of the spaceship.

The song ended, but the sound lingered in the square for a long time.

A minute later, the sound gradually subsided, carrying an approving tone, as if a voice was speaking.

"I am willing to sign a contract with you."

The "notary" took out a piece of parchment that had been prepared beforehand, and wrote the contract on both sides in Dunn and Gothic languages.

Wilshire and the Contract of the Song of Slaughter.

Duty: To continue singing the Song of Slaughter.

Rights: The Killing Song serves the Second Chapter of the "Shadow of Order," including Void Warfare, defending against boarding raids, etc.

A silver light shone on the contract, and then, with a rumbling sound, a silver-white arm emerged from the gray building, signing simultaneously with Wilshire.

After the "notary" signed his approval, he felt a subtle but invisible connection between the parchment in his hand and himself.

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(End of this chapter)