Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 653 Only Old Man Huang can point out the mistakes.
Ironblood, bridge.

Perturabo stared at the holographic image with his icy blue eyes. What first caught his attention were the two bright stars.

The trident's blade, along with the Primarch's gaze, led the war blacksmith Fricks toward the holographic image.

"Another shining star is a gift from the Skotians to Lord Nimrod."

"It's unimaginable that they actually dragged a star from the center of the Milky Way to this place."

What Fricks didn't voice was why, after the three legions fought a bloody war against the Skots, the "Iron Warriors" and the "Thousand Sons" were always hated, while the Shadow of Order had established a good relationship with the Skots.

They maintained close trade ties, and the fine weapons and civilian goods manufactured by the Skots circulated in the territory of the "Shadow of Order."

A Skote fleet that has long served Lord Nimrod in battles—a condition even the Empire has not obtained.

Peturabo looked up at a video screen, watching the torrent of data scroll by.

“It’s not difficult.”

"Computation, power, energy."

As he spoke, his icy blue eyes gazed at the orbits between the stars.

Two Ramirez-class fortresses and one artificial war satellite are flying in adjacent orbits in different quadrants.

Peturabo's superhuman brain spun rapidly, then he raised his hand and circled an area.

“There are important assets here, and they are protecting something.”

Frix broke free from his stellar calculations and examined the various readings around him.

"The energy of the stars, as well as the interference from other stars, obscured what was in the central region."

“I believe this was a deliberate act by the ‘Shadow of Order’ to conceal their vital assets.”

As Fricks spoke, he saw four streaks of light flash across the holographic image.

He followed the trajectory and saw four frigates.

The built-in communicator in the helmet beeped, and he listened to it before reporting back to his father.

"Father, Lord Ninglu has already dispatched a frigate to welcome us."

"Prepare the gift I have prepared for Ninglu; he will surely be pleased this time."

Frix knew that his father spent a lot of time on stasis devices.

Together with the Sage Zulin-4, he observed and recorded the entropy energy field distortion effect when different Hruds gathered: one, two... thirteen.

He created a formula for calculating entropy energy, performed mega-scale calculations, conducted experiments, and iterated the stasis device three times.

Fricks had never seen his father so much as to value a creation.

"Follow your will."

As Frix prepared to transport the stasis device, four escort ships surrounded the "Iron Warriors" fleet and headed towards Vostonia.

Perturabo aboard the Primarch-type Aquila Shuttle, which he created based on a standard template and matched the Primarch's Superman body.

The iron-gray Skyhawk shuttle landed at Vostoria’s busy starport.

Peturabo stepped off the deck and immediately saw Nimrod's squire, Alsena Dunne, waiting on the tarmac.

Amidst fluttering ribbons and the chanting of the sonic skull, the snow-white-haired Alsena approached Peturabo.

"Lord Peturabo, on behalf of my lord, I welcome your presence."

"Please move to the Grand Theatre in Exemplary City to enjoy your masterpiece."

Peturabo's lips twitched, but he forced himself to suppress it and said calmly.

"lead the way."

Peturabo boarded the airship prepared for him and headed towards Exemplary City.

His icy blue eyes shone brightly as he looked through the glass window at the people waving their arms and cheering enthusiastically on both sides of the road.

"Lord Perturabo! Lord of the Iron! Hammer of Olympia!"

"The bond between 'Shadow of Order' and 'Iron Warrior' is as strong as steel, and their friendship will last forever."

"..."

Three hours later, the airship arrived at Exemplary City.

Before the airship had even come to a stop, Peturabo had already eagerly stepped out of it.

As he walked toward Ninglu, his gaze fell upon the magnificent theater.

The magnificent theater structure was designed in an elliptical shape and is situated in an extremely deep pit.

Peturab knew that Exemplary City was a hive city designed and built by Nimrod himself, and it did not have the meteorite impact crater he had designed.

Clearly, targeted modifications were made to the area around and beneath the grand theater in order to realize his design.

Perturabo's superhuman brain takes in every angle and curve of every building, and in his mind, the buildings are like time flowing backward to their original state.

The concentric rings of explosives shook the ground, and a jet of flame several kilometers wide shot straight into the sky, spraying millions of tons of atomized fragments.

The construction engine devours millions of tons of rubble, grinds and reshapes it, and finally turns it into bricks with extremely small tolerances.

[A typical Nimrod style.]
Peturabo silently remarked that his brother was not stingy with his resources, but he also made good use of them and put them to good use.

Images flashed through Peturabo's eyes; he could see towering engineering cranes placing them in the right positions.

He could detect on the stone traces left by levers, files, and chamfering tools that even the most sophisticated instruments could not capture.

Peturabo suddenly frowned slightly. He noticed something different in his well-versed field of architecture, something slightly different from the engineering plans he had conceived.

Not only are the materials different, but the processes are also slightly different.

[Ninlu's descendants, not bad.]
Peturabo didn't bother to discern the subtle details of the surprise; he simply wanted to immerse himself in the moment.

His mind raced, guiding the precise route of the project down to the exact dimensions, allowing the image to take shape.

Peturabo's cold, hard face curved into an uncontrollable smile.

His icy blue eyes focused on the figure in black armor and golden wings. "Ning Lu, thank you for bringing my design to fruition."

Peturabo's eyes were deep, and his memories were drawn back to the past.

"Olympia's theaters were often small, and even at their peak, under the iron-fisted rule of the kings on the mountaintop, entertainment was scarce."

"I envisioned a stage that could accommodate all forms of drama, showcasing a variety of art forms such as love, comedy, and heroism, a magnificent palace built with intrigue, murder, and bittersweet endings."

“This is thanks to your brilliant design,” Nimrod said with a smile, gesturing for the red-robed sage to step forward, “as well as Wojciech Belik’s coordination, organization, and logistics.”

He selected a chief supply officer for this role.

Peturabo looked at the red-robed sage; compared to the mechanical cultists he had seen, Wojciech was far less mechanized.

His physical body is almost entirely intact, except for the six pairs of servo arms on his back, indicating that he possesses the computational ability to match his identity.

"Lord Peturabo, it is my honor to bring your great design to life."

“Belik…” Peturabo looked at him scrutinizingly, “Belik battle tank.”

Wojciech bowed humbly, “It is all thanks to Lord Nimrul’s guidance.”

“Excellent,” Peturabo said approvingly. “You are second to none in engineering.”

Wojciech immediately felt as if something within him was being absorbed into his body by the nourishment of the holy oil.

[I have become a true "mechanical expert," mastering the power bestowed upon me by the King.]
Ninglu, inspired, glanced at Wojciech with a hint of realization, and then spoke to Peturabo.

"Petulabo, the Grand Theatre's premiere is ready. Let's go and watch it together now."

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.” Peturabo followed Ninglu up the steps and into the palace.

Inside the grand theater, Elena Kournikova, standing tall, was the first to applaud, followed by Kozubal and other nobles.

They sat down only after the two Primarchs were seated.

As the mist billowed, the curtain was drawn back, revealing the decorative stage props.

The director of the Vostochny Opera took a deep breath and walked somewhat stiffly to the front of the stage.

His hand, gripping the microphone, was pale with nervousness. Today's audience consisted of nobles from Vostonia and the surrounding star systems, as well as distinguished merchants, navigators, and star talkers.

There is also the shadow of order, and the visiting steel warriors.

There was even Lord Peturabo, and the King himself.

He took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself down.

"Your Majesty, Lord Peturabo."

"Ladies and gentlemen, our opening performance is Hamlet."

"Its script had long been lost in Terra, but His Majesty the King personally restored it to celebrate the opening of the Grand Theatre and His Majesty Peturabo's visit."

Hasik Khan, who was sitting to the side and behind Ninglu, suddenly brightened up.

Although the white scars are mostly devoted to poetry, they also have some knowledge of other Terran cultures.

He recalled that the Great Khan seemed to have mentioned that the Sealholder, Lord Makado, regretfully stated that one of the greatest destructions caused by the "Age of Strife" was the loss of Shakespeare's immortal masterpieces.

Peturabo glanced at Ninglu in surprise, then said with a smile.

"I think Magnus and Fogrem will regret missing today when they hear this."

“They might have a chance,” Ninglu replied with a smile.

He looked at Peturabo's icy blue eyes as they gazed onto the stage, at which point the second scene of the first act had begun.

In the castle's hall, Hamlet, dressed in a purple robe and a red cloak, with shining hair, spoke in standard High Gothic.

"No, Your Majesty, I have been in the sun for too long."

Nimrod caught the focused look in Peturabo's eyes, and he knew that he had successfully recalled and restored the script by relying on his superhuman memory.

[Yes, even if there are errors, only Old Man Huang could point them out.]
The opening performance ended slowly after Hamlet killed the new king with a poisoned sword, and the nobles of Vostoria fell into silence.

Peturabo's icy blue eyes were calm as he stood up and applauded.

"Thank you, all the actors, for giving a great performance."

The nobles, as if waking from a dream, applauded along with the steel warriors.

Amid thunderous applause, Peturabo turned to Ninglu, who had risen, and said gratefully.

“Ninglu, I should express my sincere gratitude to you. You not only realized my idea, but also prepared a great performance that is comparable to it.”

Frix and others often followed their father's trident and saw the relaxed and carefree smile on his face, which was very different from when he was usually tense.

“This is my promise,” Ninglu said with a smile.

"Now, I think you should give the Grand Theatre a name."

“No,” Peturabo shook his head, “this honor should belong to you.”

"It's your design, so you should name it."

Peturabo could no longer refuse. After a few seconds of contemplation, he said, "Taliakren."

Ning Lu paused slightly, then said thoughtfully.

"Lochosi language, 'Talia's dwelling'."

As Peturabo nodded, Ninglu couldn't help but think of the meeting.

He knew that Thalia was an ancient Olympian deity who, according to legend, provided fools, poets, and writers with endless creative inspiration through her remarkable poetic talent and fondness for wine.

Although Olympia's public faith in Thalia is no longer what it once was, lavish banquets were still held on the ruins of Her theater and temple on the cliffside during the days when she was still revered.

What concerned Nimrod even more was that, in his memory, after Peturabo's original design was completed during the Grand Birthday Celebration, he named the Grand Theatre Taliakren.

It was there that Forgrim performed, recounting the myth of the Eldar's Extinction Angel, luring Perturabo to the Eye of Terror.

(End of this chapter)