Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 642 Ninglu Embarks on a Journey of "Courting Death"

The place Nimrod chose to "courte himself" was one of the stops along the Giant Mouth route, and it would be called the Temple in the future.

This perilous passage contains numerous stations that offer voyagers the opportunity to escape powerful subspace storms.

Among the many sites, some are relatively "safe," while others are even more dangerous than a space storm.

The temple is a relatively "safe" site, located on the edge of the halo, providing a resting area during warp storms.

In the future, ships traveling to and from the Giant Mouth will seek refuge there when they encounter Giant Mouth fluctuations, and will not return to the Wandering Port.

Some devout traveling merchants even regard the temple as the embodiment of the Emperor Tarot and will make a special trip to the temple area to stay for a day, hoping to receive the Emperor's protection throughout the perilous journey.

However, once they get close to the temple's orbit, the dangerous asteroid belt is nothing compared to the fact that any interference with the stone spheres in any area will lead to doom and a violent death.

Nimrod was interested in the temple because the stone spheres might have been placed in that cosmic region by some ancient deity.

Which deity is it?
Why did He place so many stone spheres, hundreds of meters in diameter, there?
Nimrod was very curious about the secrets within. In his assessment, the creations of the ancient gods that had disappeared into the tides of history were less dangerous than another stop along the way—the Cursed World. So he decided to go and explore it.

After ordering the Fourth Fleet to build a portal in the Sonem system and mine resources such as diamonds and gold, he ordered a company of the Fifth Fleet to assemble around the Shadow of Reign.

In November 894, a shining "egg" appeared in the northwestern halo region of the Milky Way, in the space between subspace storms.

As the light faded, a black fleet appeared in the real world.

On the HMS King Power Shadow, in front of the floor-to-ceiling viewing windows on the bridge.

Ninglu stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the void.

Alcena Dunn, standing beside him, examines the results of the ornithometer scan.

"My lord, the scan results show that the star in the galaxy is a lifeless planet, emitting a faint light."

"There are no planets, no dust, and not even gas in the entire galaxy."

Alsena, with his snow-white hair, asked in confusion.

“My lord, there seems to be no value here.”

Ning Lu stared into the void, his tone profound, "Have you ever wondered why there are no planets here?"

Arsena examined the data panel and the report submitted by the technical sergeant and the fifth chapter's "astrologer" company commander. The conclusion was that a subspace storm had torn the planet apart and, in some way, shaped it into rock.

He didn't speak immediately; there must be a reason why the Black Emperor asked such a question.

Arsène, examining the situation from the perspective of a seasoned "detective," immediately exclaimed in surprise.

"Each rock is a stone sphere with a diameter of several hundred meters."

"If it were a warp storm tearing something apart, it wouldn't be in such a perfect shape; it would be rocks of various shapes and scattered rubble."

The protogenes gazed into the void and nodded slightly.

"That's right, these spheres were not formed naturally, nor were they caused by subspace storms."

Nimrod was now certain that the stone spheres in the temple area did indeed contain some kind of secret.

"Prepare the Stormbirds."

After giving his instructions, Ninglu turned and left, heading towards his palace.

In his bedroom, with a thought, the Hand of Order was sent to the "Land of Disorder" for the first time since the "connection."

The Sword of Vaal and other items also disappeared.

Nimrod entered the office, his gaze sweeping over the trophies on the weapons rack, including Ruth's Kraken Bite.

He paused for a second, then continued walking to the private armory.

After the gate opened, Ninglu walked in, picked up the Spear of Dionysus, and put the Pegasus Ring on his hand.

The only two things he was willing to lose were the Dionysian Spear and the Pegasus Ring made by Old Huang.

Although the Spear of Dionysus, when imbued with psionic energy, is an absolute weapon of mass destruction, a true divine artifact, incomparable to those weapons that are merely nominal, he both disliked the cursed feeling he had when wielding this weapon and was even more wary of Old Man Huang's possible spying.

Ninglu stroked the two items and walked towards the flight deck.

Both items were made by Old Man Huang and are extremely rare. They would be of great value as a medium for "under-the-table" transactions should danger arise.

They should not die, and should be able to escape unscathed.

[My priority is still Dionysus' Spear; I'm unlikely to lose it.]
The fallen deity's power should not be comparable to that of Old Man Huang.

Nimrod, without bringing Freddy the Black Wolf and John the Strong-Brained Cat, boarded the Stormbird alone, setting his sights on a stone sphere 530 meters in diameter.

Three sidereal hours later, the runes indicated that when Nimrod's communication bead was still six kilometers away from the stone sphere, it began to hum.

He raised his hand and pressed the communication bead; Alsena's voice came through.

"My Lord, turn all scanning arrays, including the ether reader and Auger matrix, to full power."

"The report shows that all the rock spheres are ordinary rocks and have no activity."

“I understand.” Ning Lu hung up the call and immediately instructed his private pilot, Nelson.

"Open the hatch."

“Father,” the inspiration of the “Catastrophe Priest” remained unmoved. “I don’t feel any danger.”

“Although you have a high level of intuition, you are unable to perceive all the hidden dangers,” Ninglu warned.

Although the "Monster" pathway has always been the most inspired in the sequence, Nelson is, after all, a sequence 6.

The authoritative voice of the "Mentor of Chaos" compelled Nelson to obey instinctively.

The hatch opened silently, and Ning Lu's wings flapped behind him.

He landed silently on the surface of a rocky sphere in the entire galaxy, where there was no gas, and bent down to gently stroke the ground with his right hand.

The rocks felt slightly cold to the touch, and their textures were clearly visible.

The Primarch sensed nothing amiss, but he knew the rock was no ordinary rock.

Ning Lu recalled that when the future expedition team drilled into the surface of the stone sphere, all the mining equipment mysteriously malfunctioned after drilling only a few centimeters.

Some traveling merchants even shot light spears at the rocks, but without causing any damage.

Both the powerful figures who issued the orders and those who carried them out died violent deaths soon afterward.

As the Primarch rose, he drew the Spear of Dionysus from behind his back and simultaneously ascended into the third level of Thelma's consciousness, carefully spreading his awareness to touch the surface of the rock.

Hard and cold.

The Primarch frowned slightly; his keen senses failed to detect anything unusual.

He bent down again, touched the ground with his hand, and his telekinetic energy surged forth.

"Unknown rock, it looks like shale, or it looks like basalt."

As the "Chaos Mentor" rose, he activated his spiritual vision.

He stared at it for several seconds but found nothing unusual.

The "Chaos Mentor" maintained his spiritual vision and moved forward slowly.

The stone sphere beneath his feet, along with many other stone spheres, revolved around the dim star in a staggered pattern along different orbits.

After the stone ball spun four times, the "Chaos Mentor's" spiritual intuition was suddenly triggered, and his spiritual vision involuntarily shut down instantly.

Ninglu gripped the Dionysian Spear tightly, warily surveying his surroundings.

(End of this chapter)