Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 626 Shapeshifter: How did you do that?
John's mind was flooded with all the information about Pertigus.

The "Catastrophe Priest" pulled out a piece of parchment with his left paw and grasped a quill pen with his right paw, writing rapidly:
Pertitus...

John wrote down the information on the paper, over and over again.

After eleven times, the "Disaster Priest" picked up the paper and leaned back on his wooden bed.

Through the telepathic link, Ninglu saw in a virtual scene three noblemen dressed in fine clothes leading a troop of guards into a magnificent palace.

The scene shifts to guards rushing towards the nobles, brandishing their blades and piercing the silk.

They pulled out the blades and licked the blood off them.

[Assassination? Coup?] Ning Lu frowned slightly, wondering.

The scene twisted and changed again, the guards' bodies contorted, their obese figures stretching their silk robes tightly.

The Primarch's mind flashed back to the scene from just now, the faces of the dead nobles appearing one by one in his mind.

[He licked the blood of those he killed and then became like them.]

Shapeshifter.

The main ingredient for the potion "Faceless Man," Sequence 6 of the "Fool" pathway.
As the image shattered, Ning Lu had already obtained the information he wanted.

He obtained the information he wanted through dream divination by the "Catastrophe Priest".

So that's why there was only silence when Ryan first arrived in Pertigus.

Perhaps, after the recapture of Pertitus, the subjugated "people" launched a rebellion, and after Ryan angrily punished them, he regarded it as a disgrace, which is why not much information about Pertitus was left behind.

Another dark secret that the "Dark Angel" habitually keeps secret.
Ninglu knew that the shapeshifter was different from the shape-mimicking monster, which also possessed the ability to shapeshift.

They do not acquire the memories of the changed objects, and if they have not lived in human society for a long time, they will not master Gothic language and the use of various devices.

Ninglu had long planned to acquire the potion ingredient—the shapeshifter—but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

He remembered that during the Great Crusade, the Empire viewed shapeshifters as alien creatures like cockroaches.

After discovering that they fed on humans, the Empire sent the "World Eaters" as its vanguard in an effort to exterminate them.

The 203rd Expeditionary Fleet descended upon Alpha Salish and annihilated the Shapeshifters.

Of course, like other aliens, they were not completely wiped out.

Shapeshifters are not a species that can be easily extinct. They can transform into various creatures by consuming blood, including Astartes and even the Custodians.

Compared to the shapeshifters, they have another advantage: their bodies undergo corresponding changes, acquiring the physical attributes of the object they are transforming into.

During the grand birthday celebrations shortly afterward, Ultramarines Arkadis and Hecatern, the Salamander, encountered shapeshifters disguised as the Imperial Guard when they were on a mission to a neutral planet.

The shapeshifter, possessing the physical attributes of the Imperial Guard, once overwhelmed two unarmored Astartes.

In the forty-second millennium, the shapeshifters still exist.

They ambushed the Inquisitors of the Alien Inquisition and a killing squad of "Death Watch" on the space wrecked ship, the Ghost of Terror.

They transformed into Inquisition retinues and Astartes, gradually eroding the Killing Squad.

Ninglu leaned back in his chair, pondering how to deal with the enemy who possessed shapeshifting abilities.

[The war in Pertigus was not a conventional frontal battle; the key was how to find the shapeshifters.]
Ninglu typed his thoughts into the data panel while pondering.

A moment later, he pressed the communication bead and summoned Arsène Dunn.

“Summon the spiritual think tank and pastors.”

He pushed the data crystal in front of the Primarch's servant. "First Chapter, come with me to Pertigus."

After the Primarch's servant left the office, he went to the "Land of Chaos," spreading his spirituality and giving orders to Dementieva and the leader of the "Thieves," the "Fire Thief."

Amidst the churning black mist, a data panel appeared before the two.

Before Maria Kournikova took the stage in "Terra," Dementieva, who was also a "Pleasure Witch," became the leader of the "Assassins."

……

The 6th month of 885, the Perettitus Galaxy.

On the bridge of the Shadow of the Kings, Primarch servants report to the Black Emperor.

"My Lord, the Oser Matrix Master reports that there are abundant life signals on both Pertitus II and VI planets."

"But the full-frequency, full-language broadcasts by the sound array master received no response."

Ninglu had anticipated this situation; the shapeshifters must have already taken control of the two planets.

He arrived earlier than Ryan and Typhon, and had fewer shapeshifters who possessed human language and technology. [This made it easier to identify shapeshifters.]
“Heading to Planet Six.” Ninglu decided to first travel to Planet Six, where the Tuchucha engine was located.

"The Auger Matrix and the Ether Reading Divination System are operating at full power, focusing on scanning the subsurface of Planet Six."

“Follow Your will,” the silver-haired Primarch servant said.

The black fleet encountered no resistance, passing directly through the unresponsive Planet Two, and arriving at the orbit of Planet Six in silent response.

Inside the heavy landing craft, Howard Finder frowned deeply.

Since arriving in the Pertitus system, he had had a strange feeling, and now he felt even more out of place.

The Pertitus did not respond, nor did their sparse anti-aircraft fire.

"The shapeshifters have taken control of the upper echelons of this world, but they don't yet know how to use human resources."

"This is why our Lord ordered that all Royal Court monks land via heavy transport ships instead of using airdrop pods and stormbirds."

The closer the "judge" got to the ground, the more he felt the incongruity of the planet.

As Howard pondered this, he felt a tremor beneath his feet.

He immediately stood up and eagerly stepped off the deck, determined to restore order to the place.

The shapeshifter stood in the crowd, dressed in dark brown clothing and holding a laser gun, looking no different from the guards around him.

After nearly a month of study, he has mastered everyday human language and was therefore selected to perform the observation task.

He had to figure out why outsiders had suddenly arrived in a world controlled and devoured by the tribe.

The shapeshifter stared intently at the black-armored warrior carrying the great gun. He felt every cell in his body throbbing with restlessness, and his thorny tongue, tightly locked in his throat, waving hungrily.

[tasty.]
He instinctively wanted to stick out his tongue and entwine it around the giant.

The shapeshifter suppressed its urge to devour. [No rush, they are already my food.]

What's the human language saying again...? Delivery to your door... lambs to the slaughter...
The shapeshifter glanced greedily at the leading black-armored warrior, then quickly lowered its head, pretending to be as afraid as the others.

Howard abruptly stopped in his tracks. As a seasoned sheriff, he instinctively sensed the presence of something evil in his surroundings.

Howard looked around, taking in the thousands of Pertigus people.

Their appearance and clothing showed no abnormalities.

Their reactions reflected a mixture of bewilderment and fear at witnessing the Astartes' actions.

Howard trusted his intuition, as a seasoned sheriff, more than what he saw.

The "judge" raised his palm and pushed forward, his spirituality bursting forth, and he shouted loudly in Dunn's language.

"Deformation is prohibited here!"

When the Transformer heard an unprecedentedly majestic voice in his ears, he paid no attention.

However, the next moment, he let out a bird-like shriek, feeling as if he had lost control of his body.

His body was rapidly returning to its original form.

Those around looked toward the source of the shriek and immediately saw a nebula-like creature, a combination of bizarre limbs and swollen flesh.

The crowd stared in horror at the monster that had infiltrated their ranks, letting out terrified screams.

"what……"

"How did you do that?" the shapeshifter asked in astonishment as it slid backward.

His tongue shot out.

Howard raised his power gloves, and blue light leaped up, slamming into the thorny tongue.

The disintegrating force field hissed and shattered the strange tongue, and the "judge" suddenly waved his hand.

The invisible, soft whip cracked, sending swollen chunks of flesh flying.

The "judge" raised his arm again and shouted, "Imprisonment!"

The extremely viscous liquid envelops the shapeshifting demon layer by layer.

After capturing the shapeshifter, Howard shouted loudly to the fleeing Perettitus:

"Your world has been taken over by aliens, and shapeshifting monsters have infiltrated your society."

(End of this chapter)