Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 676 Hannibal's Time Is Running Out

“Hannibal.” The Emperor gazed at the Primarch, the only one to have personally participated in the War Council.

Hannibal felt an immense pressure bearing down on him.

Do you know why I had the Royal Guard take you back to Terra?

Nimrod looked at Hannibal with scrutiny, able to see more details than with previous psionic projections.

Hannibal's brown eyes gleamed with an eerie green light, making him appear like a ghostly figure.

His lips were split open on both sides, and thick blood had accumulated in the upward-curving indentations.

As her lips trembled, gleaming teeth could be vaguely seen.

Hannibal's cheekbones protruded, with bone spurs almost bursting through the skin, and were covered with pustules the size of fingernails.

His neck was covered with twisted muscles, like it was crawling with worms.

As Ninglu was sizing up Hannibal, he heard Old Man Huang shout sternly.

“I warned you, but you did not heed my warning.”

"You are raising aliens and allowing them to devour humans."

A look of surprise flashed in Ninglu's eyes. The image of Hannibal eating elegantly when the Wheel of Flames flashed through his mind, making it difficult for him to connect the image in his memory with the person in front of him.

Back then, although he fed on aliens, he was rational and quite dignified; now, he has succumbed to his desires and lost all sense of decency.

Hannibal kept the aliens, presumably for food.

This clearly crossed Old Huang's bottom line. Having experienced the long, dark nights, he would never allow aliens to bully humans.

The only Xenomorph species he could tolerate were weak, benevolent, obedient to the Empire, and posing no threat.
As Nimrod pondered, all the Primarchs looked at Hannibal, unable to believe that their brother would commit such an atrocity.

Horus Lupecal's eyes revealed a hint of reproach.

He was filled with remorse because he was heading in the western part of the galaxy, opposite to the eastern part of the galaxy where Hannibal was on his expedition, and he had failed to discover this earlier and stop him in time.

"I..." Hannibal lowered his head under immense pressure, a chill running down his spine as thoughts raced through his mind as he pondered what to say.

After a dozen seconds, he still couldn't find a suitable explanation. His father had already received a report from the Imperial Guard, and any words he uttered would be powerless in the face of the evidence.

Hannibal's thoughts raced through his mind before he finally spoke.

"Father...I was wrong..."

"You and the 'Faceless One' return to Lecter and reflect on the crimes you have committed," the Emperor commanded coldly.

"The Imperial Guard will accompany you."

Upon hearing this, Ninglu knew that Hannibal's time was running out.

The next war council may not have Hannibal's participation, yet his fate will still be discussed.

Old Man Huang hoped the "Great Expedition" would proceed as quickly as possible, and that sending Hannibal and his army back would be tantamount to imprisonment.

[Compared to letting me recuperate, Hannibal is truly being confined!]
Ninglu knew that Huang Laohan had completely lost faith in Hannibal, and sending the Imperial Guards was the best way to show that.

Sending imperial guards as supervisors is a clear sign of distrust, and Old Man Huang would not easily resort to such a method.

In Ninglu's memory, the only time he sent the Imperial Guard to garrison "The Word Bearers" was after the destruction of the Perfect City.

[Well, Hannibal's situation is fundamentally different from Lorca's.]

Luo Jia was urged to speed up his pace, but he still had room and opportunity to embark on his pilgrimage.

Hannibal was sent back to Lecter, another barren world devoid of Xenomorphs. Giving up their appetites would be difficult, and they might become even more insane.
Ninglu thought of the remnants of the Second Legion after the purge, and the recent report of heavy losses suffered by the "Shadow of Order," and silently pondered. [This can be considered advance preparation, making it easier to demand more men from Old Man Huang later.]
"I..." Hannibal's eyes dimmed, and he opened his mouth.

Seeing his father get up and leave, he could only say, "Yes, sir."

Ninglu looked at Old Man Huang's cold back, then glanced at Hannibal, whose face was ashen.

He couldn't help but think of the original body and the fate of the Eleventh Legion, and a desire for power welled up in his heart.

Nimrod silently returned to the Shadow of the King, pondering whether to use the Prophecy Dice to divine the whereabouts of the fragments of the Birac relic.

Over the past three years, the fleets of the six warbands have been exploring separately, discovering fifteen star systems and twenty-nine worlds that were once inhabited by Hrud.

Among them, thirty-four worlds rich in different minerals were also discovered, along with eighteen habitable worlds.

Nimrod was satisfied with the progress of the conquest, but among the hundreds of ruins discovered, there was no trace of Birac.

[Bilak wields the power of shadows, so his things won't be hidden or hard to find.]

Unlike the mechanical sage who pursues a doctorate and receives his guidance to find the relic fragments, I don't have that kind of motivation.
Although Nimrod did not have Birak's cooperation, he could use the Prophecy Dice to divine the world where the relic fragments were located.

[Well, even without using the head of Mortalian's foster father Necare, and only using the ordinary Barbarus Overlord's, the potion ingredients are still missing the Heraf Origin.]

Promotion ceremonies are even more difficult to complete in a short period of time.
Nimrod's calm thoughts replaced his fear, and he decided to perform divination on other matters first. If there was still no trace of the Birac artifact fragments after three years, he would then perform another divination.

As he pondered, he arrived at the fourth level of the "Land of Chaos".

After Ninglu ascended the throne, he flipped his right hand and a prophecy die appeared out of thin air in his palm.

Information about Naktis flashed through Nimrod's mind.

[Ocean World, Narctis]

Giant bioluminescent organisms and schools of fish predators inhabit the ocean.

The entire planet has only one continent.

[…]
Naktis is the homeworld of the original "Salamander" casting group, established during the "Ultimate Army" period after the "Great Rift" unfolded, and the "Dark Kraken".

[Wokan, it's time to show your awesomeness.]
Nimrod chose Narctis not only because he was suitable for the Ninth Chapter, which primarily followed the "Tyrant" path, but also because it might have Orbnis, who was needed for the "Ocean Singer" ritual.

On the blasphemous stone slab, the ascension ceremony is depicted only in a simplified manner.

The image of "Ocean Singer" shows Obnis and a blue figure tilting their heads back to drink a potion.

Nimrod was unable to determine the world in which Obnis lived based on the limited information available.

However, the two known worlds in which such a large sea monster most likely lived are Fenris and Narctis.

Nimrod had not seen this sea monster in Fenris, so it is possible that he could find it in Narctis.

[If Narctis cannot be found either, the only recourse is to divine "in which world does Obnis exist?".]
Ning Lu pondered this in his heart, silently repeating it.

[Star map of the Karigum Gate leading to Narctis.]

[…]
After reciting it silently eleven times, he stretched out his hand and threw the prophecy dice in his hand.

After tumbling several times in the air, the triangular pyramid projected a bright star map.

After Ninglu noted down the star chart, he input it into the data crystal, which immediately spread its spirituality and touched Szesny's deep blue sphere of light.

After confirming that no one was around him, he sent his spiritual envelope data crystal into the light sphere and gave the instructions.

"You shall set off immediately for Naktis, and once you have taken control of the ocean world, record all information about marine life."

(End of this chapter)