Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 697 Old Man Huang is right, it's not just subspace that can expand.
Ninglu leaned against the throne, pondering a plan to cultivate "travelers" on a large scale.

Four special subspace regions must be controlled for the "travelers" to successfully complete the ritual.

Even if I could occupy Lady Hera's pocket dimension and control the underworld of Sonem 8, I would still be two short of the required four.
Ninglu's mind flashed through various regions of the subspace, and known pocket dimensions.

[The Invisible Abyss remains the easiest target.]

It's easier to seize territory there than in other areas.

Moreover, since I originally intended to seize the position of Shadow Lord from Birac, I naturally needed to control the Shadowlands as well.
Ninglu's eyes flashed, and he suddenly recalled the words that Old Man Huang, possessing Robert Guilliman, spoke to Mortalian and Nurgle ten thousand years later.

"It's not just subspace that can expand."

"This realm is not real; only will is real, and no one can match my will."

"Remember this well, God of Plague, pass this message on to them..."

In Ninglu, shrouded in black mist, the flames of ambition burn fiercely.

Old Huang is right, it's not just subspace that can expand.

If the four peddlers can expand their territory in the real world, then I can naturally expand my territory in the subspace as well.

It began with establishing territory in the Unseen Abyss.
After Ninglu had a new idea, he immediately began to consider how to carry it out.

[To conquer the Invisible Abyss, you cannot rely on the Shadow of Order as your main force.]

The test of willpower was far too severe.
Nimrod recalled that in the future "Abyss Expedition," of the thirty Astartes Chapters sentenced to the expedition to the Eye of Terror, only the Piercing Sword Chapter survived; the other two Chapters were wiped out, and the rest were corrupted.

The survivors of the "Iron Dragon" chapter fell into the "Grey Death" chapter in Anathrax, while the "Sentinel Chapter" fell into the cannibalistic "Corpus Brotherhood" in the demon world of Orensis...

Moreover, the "Eye of Fear" still retains some characteristics of reality, while the Unseen Abyss is a pure subspace depth where corruption is more severe.

Even with a Thelma mindset and being an extraordinary being, it is difficult to sustain the mental trials for long in the Abyss of the Unseen, especially before the life levels below Sequence 4 undergo a fundamental change.

I don't necessarily have to rely on the shadow of order.

To some extent, I can be an army all by myself.
The "Chaos Mentor" hatched tens of thousands of Soul-Devouring Bees in Hrud's mind.

His magical artifact, the Death Archon Mask, contained thousands of undead killed and collected from the body of the Void Whale.

Ninglu then thought of the second layer of the Shadow Dimension that had been opened not long ago, and the Shadow Contract creatures.

He gradually came up with an idea and decided to start trying it later.

Ninglu collected his thoughts and spoke to San Diego.

"You made good use of your abilities and completed the journey."

"This is the most difficult one. I have already made arrangements for the next three. Please wait patiently."

“Thank you for your blessings, my Lord,” said Saint Diego, clasping his hands together in reverse, in a devout manner.

Ninglu sent San Diego back to the Starship, and then, on a whim, went to the side of the shadows.

His imposing figure appeared in the second level of space, and as he turned his hands, parchment and a pair of black gold pens appeared.

Ning Lu pondered for a moment, then began to write.

Lines of Dunn's words took shape rapidly.

After the page was full, he turned the parchment over and used the corresponding Hrud writings obtained by Arsène Dunn from dismantling the Hrud silk scrolls.

After Ning Lu finished writing, he reviewed it and then a thought struck him.

A Hrud, his body curled up and wrapped in tattered cloth, instantly appeared on the shadow side from the second layer of space on the real side.

Hrud's large, dark eyes darted around, a look of astonishment in them.

He didn't understand why, just a moment ago, he was digging a tunnel in the sewers of Nest City, and now he had suddenly arrived here.

Hrud's eyes darted over the shadows around him, and he quickly realized that this place was different from the sewers.

The shadow in a sewer is the shadow cast by an object under dim light or when illuminated by glowing mushrooms, crystals, etc.

The shadows here have no traceable origin, as if they appeared out of thin air.

Only two shadows can lead to its source.

He and the giant with black armor and golden wings.

Hrud shuddered, and blurry fragments of memory flashed through his mind:
He and his kinsmen swarmed toward the blinding, repulsive light.

They wanted to overwhelm that light.

They were going to crush him. A green mist suddenly rose up.

A figure in black armor and golden wings appeared out of thin air in mid-air.

An invisible hand grabbed him.

The memory fragments shattered, and Hrud's body trembled.

His subsequent memories were coherent.

He was taken to a new world by the black-armored, golden-winged giant.

A world similar to the ruins of the same nest city.

"Sign this contract and serve me for 330 years, and you will be free." The authoritative voice echoed in Hrud's mind, and he instinctively reached for the pen and paper to sign his name.

Hrud suddenly swung his body.

No! I must not give in!

Don't sign a contract without careful consideration!
Hrud raised an arm, his claws gripping the parchment, the slime covering his body spreading out, instantly making it wet and sticky.

His gaze swept over the title "Service Contract" before he looked at the contents.

In exchange for my freedom, I will obey Nimrod's orders without fail during my service period.

...]

[This terrifying giant is called Nimrod.] As Hrud pondered, his gaze swept over the lines of detailed rules, which imposed numerous regulations on his behavior.

His gaze finally settled on the term of service: three hundred and thirty years.

Three hundred and thirty years is probably a lifetime for humans, and most people don't even live that long.

But for Hrud, who walks through time, it is not a long period of time.

“I accept.” His voice was almost a scream, but Ning Lu understood.

Ning Lu flipped his wrist, and a pen appeared out of thin air in Herud's hand.

He watched as Hrud's claws drew closer to the parchment, and a thought struck him.

A shadow fell silently onto the parchment.

A barely perceptible line of text appeared on the damp paper, between two lines of text:
If the service location has no concept of time, the timer will stop until the service provider leaves, at which point the timer will resume normal operation and the calculation will restart.

Hrud's large, dark eyes were completely oblivious to the blurry text, which seemed to be a shadow of the text above.

Hrud's hand fell abruptly, signing his name: Damian.

The moment the words were written, Ninglu and Damian trembled slightly.

The shadows behind them suddenly leaped up, as if looking down from above.

In an indescribable feeling, their souls were connected.

Damian trembled, sensing that he would suffer terrible punishment if he broke the agreement.

He will die.

Ning Lu's gaze was deep; the agreement reached through the second layer of shadow was not a fair contract.

His only obligation was to "set the other party free".

The agreement between Nimrod and Hrud was not a transaction.

Transactions should not involve attacking the other party beforehand or exerting unfavorable influence on them, nor should they be entered into with malicious intent.

However, the second layer of the "Disordered Kingdom" allows for non-transactional contracts to be reached, which is based on his own strength that enables him to force the other party to agree.

Nimrod also took advantage of this space to modify the contract in a shadowy layer undetectable to Hrud, making the terms favorable to himself.

After advancing to Sequence 4, he will conquer the Invisible Abyss, and upon entering Damian, who has no time dimension, he will naturally become someone who serves him eternally until his death.

Ninglu looked at Damian, whose eyes were shining.

[Well, before that, we can send Hrud to the Foundry World, Industrial World, or Mining World to dig tunnels.]

They are more efficient than termite excavators in this respect.
After trying it out and understanding how the Shadow Contract was established, Ninglu pondered how to find a more suitable contract partner.

The fifth layer of space can also "corrode" Hrud, but it threatens to sign a shadow contract, which is faster and has a binding force.

A more suitable contractual partner would be one that is difficult to "corrupt" and can exert powerful combat capabilities in the subspace.
(End of this chapter)