Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 649 The Shadow Tarot, Different from the Emperor Tarot
The hazy star field, 11-12-35.

William Wood, the commander of the 12th Regiment, stared at the aliens before him.

Hundreds of aliens, wielding scythe-like arms, charged forward.

Their bodies, cracked like tree trunks, emitted a strong musty smell.

They were about half a head taller than him, with thorny rye swaying above his head.

The enormous mouth, split open to the base of the ears, had no tongue, but one could see green plants being swallowed.

Giant, root-like feet with colorful mushrooms growing from their pores.

The guards raised their grenades and unleashed a barrage of fire.

Amidst the spasmodic explosions and scattering debris, the tree-like alien continued its rapid advance.

[Such tough skin.] A thought flashed through William's mind, and a burst of blue lightning shot up as he raised his hand.

With a flick of his wrist, the seasoned "clown" unleashed a barrage of sharp claws.

Ten monomolecular blades forged by Vokhan flew in different directions, accurately hitting different enemies.

The ear-piercing tearing sound was like sawing wood.

William was astonished to find that the monomolecular blade was trembling inside the alien's body, but it was unable to break free and fly back.

The "Faceless Man" swayed lightly, dodging the incoming scythe.

He leaned forward, puffed out his cheeks, and exhaled, aiming at an alien-shaped crack, mimicking a "bang" sound.

The tree-shaped body trembled, a single-molecule blade shot out from its chest, drawing an arc under the pull of the magnetic field.

William raised his hand, and a sharp blade appeared on his empty fist.

William's "Air Bomb" ability, acquired during his time as "The Magician," was virtually ineffective against the Shadow of Order at that time.

However, after being promoted to "Faceless Man", the "Air Bomb" can now cause considerable damage.

Amidst the cracking sounds of the wooden frame, William grew increasingly curious about the alien.

[My lord, he should be interested in them.]
The "Faceless Man" kept puffing out its cheeks, spitting out "air bullets," retrieving the monomolecular blades, and memorizing the constant creaking sound when the alien made its voice.

Grasp their subsequent actions and understand them by combining them with your own psychic precognitive abilities.

When the Faceless Men retrieved all the monomolecular blades, they gained a basic understanding of their language.

William shouted the order over the sonic channel: "The aliens are slow-moving, close combat."

He had discovered that while the aliens were not particularly slow relative to their size, they were much slower than the Shadow of Order, especially since most of the guards were "clowns".

The "clowns" slung their bomb guns on their backs and activated the disintegration field.

Amidst the buzzing sound, they slightly bent their knees, then spread their arms and pounced forward.

William charged forward to the alien, his five fingers joined together, and with a tearing motion, he pierced the tree-like body.

With a loud bang, the alien's abdomen shattered, and its claws pierced through its body.

The seasoned "clown's" spiritual intuition, preceding his own "foresight," allowed him to detect the scythes hurtling towards him from both sides.

During the gap, the "clown" tilted his body and bent down to avoid the sweeping scythe.

Like a roly-poly toy, he straightened up and slid to the side of the massive body.

William strode forward, his claws flashing.

The "clowns" followed their lord closely, charging into the alien formation. They made full use of their agility, tumbling between the giant tree roots and feet, and passing through the enormous bodies.

With a creaking sound, the enormous body fell down one after another.

After the battle, William found a relatively intact body among the alien corpses.

William ripped off the alien's head, shoved it into his mouth, and ate it like sugarcane from the Cradle of the Sea.

As the Shadow of Order chewed and digested the information flooding into his mind, combined with the previously recorded sounds, he gained a sufficient understanding of the alien that called itself the Harvest Giant.

The "Faceless Man" removed its claws and placed its hands on its tree-shaped body.

His hand gently stroked down, feeling the texture of the skin.

A dozen seconds later, the "Faceless Man" retreated, and cracking sounds emanated from his body. The once smooth skin of the Father of the Order Shadow Inheritance Gene became dry and dull, then withered.

His short, thick black hair turned into ears of wheat, supporting his helmet.

His lips were pulled back, splitting into a wide mouth.

The "Faceless Man's" mouth made a creaking sound as it opened and closed.

One of the "Faceless Man's" matching "Transformation" abilities is to simulate the target's voice.

Once you've heard it, you can recreate it.

Although this ability to mimic sounds has certain limitations, fortunately, after the experiment, the Order Shadow was still able to simulate the vocal cords of ordinary people.

After confirming that he could "transform" into the Harvest Giant, the "Faceless Man" took out a King's Coin.

The "Faceless Man" focused his gaze, his eyes rapidly darkening. A plan flashed through his mind, and he silently recited it in Dunn's tongue:

"The plan to lure the Harvest Giant will succeed..."

After silently reciting it eleven times, the "Faceless Man" flicked the King's Coin upwards and then extended his gauntlet horizontally.

*Snap!* The royal coin fell, landing steadily in his palm.

A profile picture facing upwards signifies affirmation.

William then took out his data panel and brought up the holographic image.

He dragged his finger, browsed through the area, and selected a low-lying basin. The Auger matrix scan revealed that the soil was relatively soft.

William's neck cracked, and his stiff vocal cords gradually softened.

He opened the sound array channel and gave orders to the technical sergeants and pharmacists.

"The pharmacist creates a paralyzing potion based on the enemy's body material."

"The technical sergeant buried the liquid in the soil at the ambush site, and it softened rapidly under pressure."

"..."

While the Warband's newly appointed "Potion Professor" and "Mechanical Expert" led their team in conducting related research, William removed his suit.

A cracking sound came from his body as it swelled up, reaching the height of the shortest harvest giant.

William carried a stack of parchment tarot cards on his person.

Unlike the Imperial Tarot used by most diviners in the Empire, the Shadow Tarot, invented by William and promoted by the Twelfth Regiment, was completely different.

William traveled the world, including Legion culture, homeworld of Vostonia, his native Gadinal, and the Chapter recruitment world of Tannis, creating tarot cards that were completely different from what he had done before.

The back of the Shadow Tarot features the Legion's emblem, while the front displays a different design for each card.

The Emperor card replaced the Sovereign card as the core.

The card depicts a blurry figure, perched atop a throne.

They were unaware of the existence of the Black Emperor, nor of the shadow of the ordinary order that the Black Emperor and the Father were one, or they thought it was an abstract manifestation of anomalies, or they thought it was a sign of respect.

Only those who know of the Black Emperor's existence and have been fortunate enough to travel to the mysterious kingdom can recognize that it is the Black Emperor sitting high on his throne.

William used an even number of black and gold ceremonial knives to engrave patterns on the edges of both sides.

It allows "diviners," "clowns," and "magicians" to make predictions, much like how prophetic psychics use the Emperor Tarot as the focus of their divination. It can also serve as a medium for "clowns" to "turn paper into knives" and for "magicians" to "draw paper into soldiers."

The throwing knives created during the "Joker" era, which involved "turning paper into knives," were, in the context of the shadow of order, only slightly sharper than throwing stones.

However, the "magician's" "paper soldiers" are a decent alternative when weapons are damaged.

The "Faceless Man" also had paper figures cut from parchment on his body, as well as promethium matches developed by the technical sergeant specifically for the "magician".

"Never perform without preparation!" William always kept the Black Emperor's teachings in mind.

It was through his preparations that he was able to perform grandly in Turks, and when he was corrupted by Slaanesh, he was able to persevere until he completed his prayer and was saved by the Black Emperor.

William discerned the direction, strode forward, and headed toward the gathering place of the harvest giants.

(End of this chapter)