Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 789 The Four Gods and the Emperor are all False Gods

968.M30.

The northwestern cosmic region of the Milky Way, the cradle of serpents.

From the observation porthole of the destroyer USS Vostokonia, Arkham Rand gazes at Planet Three passing between the binary stars.

Akahan held the data tablet in his hands, tracing lines with a stylus.

He had not rested for eleven days and nights, but three months ago he was blessed by God and became immortal. Therefore, without mechanical modification, he did not feel tired at all.

He has been busy ever since he discovered several sacred templates named after his own surname, Rand, at an archaeological site on Mars.

It took Arkham decades to escape the sight of various factions and reach Lord Nimrod's territory, Calligham Gate.

Upon arriving at the Cradle of the Serpent, he was immediately granted immortality by Lord Nimrod, the incarnation of Om Messiah.

Arkham then followed the instructions of Ohm Messiah and began to observe within the galaxy, his task being to discover an astronomical phenomenon.

He looked up at the video screen, where images of the void captured by the oracles and images of the ground captured by the Auger matrix flashed by rapidly.

These data come not only from the destroyer beneath our feet, but also from sixteen other warships, including HMS Kings Shadow.

Arkham's eyes suddenly lit up, and he began writing rapidly with his stylus.

As Planet 3 passes between Alpha and Beta serpents, forming a 3.3-degree angle with the line connecting them, the light from the two stars interferes with each other.

On the Earth's surface, at coordinates NB 5-69 27-04, the area illuminated by both stars simultaneously has lost light and fallen into darkness for 8.7 seconds.

Coordinates HN 2-94 37-64, lost light, plunged into darkness at 7:1.

...]

After quickly finishing his notes, Akahan strode toward his dormitory, knelt on the black onyx, and began to pray.

"The Black Emperor of the Shadow of Order"
The mysterious ruler of a disordered kingdom
......"

As Aqqan prayed a second time, black mist rose from nowhere and enveloped his body.

"My lord," Akahan reported quickly after bowing respectfully.

"Following Your command, I observed the cradle of the serpent and discovered a completely new astronomical phenomenon..."

Nimrod sat high on his throne, listening to Arkham's report. At the same time, with a thought, he commanded the space monkeys in the first layer to use the telescope they had obtained from the Great Observatory during their visit to Terra to concoct the Sequence 5 "Astrologer" potion.

The promotion ceremony for an "astronomer" was the same as he remembered: to discover and name a celestial body or astronomical phenomenon.

Rosicky Cech, the forge master of "Shadow of Order," and Gabriel, the master of arms.

The great sage among the oil enthusiasts, Ryan Ramirez, the sage Wojciech Belik who serves as the legion's chief supply officer, and the technical priest Malevolus who serves as the armor master.

Anacharis Scoria, who recently succeeded in forging the world of Shana and ascended to the rank of Great Sage.

They either discover celestial bodies or astronomical phenomena, complete the promotion ceremony, and become "astronomers".

The celestial bodies of the Cradle of the Serpent have all been discovered, but there is still room for exploration of the galaxy.

As expected, Arkham discovered astronomical phenomena.

"...I call this astronomical phenomenon, in which the light of two stars intersects but then falls into darkness, a binary star swallowing shadow."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a bottle of potion reflecting a dreamlike starry sky appeared in front of him.

"Drink it!"

Arkham obeyed Om Messiah's command, picked up the potion, tilted his head back, and drank it.

The medicine slid down his esophagus, and his eyes reflected countless mysterious patterns, his mind sparkling with starlight.

Akahan's consciousness was immersed among the glittering stars, revolving with their orbits.

After an unknown amount of time, a majestic voice rang out.

“Sketch the binary star system you discovered.”

Arkham instinctively obeyed the oracle of Om Messiah, focusing his consciousness and constantly driving the stars to arrange them according to the cradle of the serpent.

While sketching the astronomical phenomenon of two stars swallowing their shadows, he gradually regained his scattered thoughts.

The newly minted "astronomer" knelt down, saying, "Thank you for your gift. I will certainly make good use of the power you have given me."

Ninglu nodded slightly. "I am familiar with your power."

The black mist churned and engulfed Akahan, sending him back to the real world. Then, he took a step out and arrived at the third layer of space.

Ning Lu reached out and picked up the triangular cone.

"As expected, Treachery is up to no good."

"The cooldown period has been increased again, from nine years to ten years."

After his initial shock, his mind raced, and he began to think more carefully.

Based on the calculation of divination once every ten years, including this one, he still has four more divination opportunities.

Ninglu had already planned to select three individuals for divination:
In my memory, the Wild Wolves conquered the Jingyuan Federation.

The Ark Edge Cluster, conquered together by "Thousand Sons", "Space Wolf" and "Word Bearer".

The only potion ingredient yet to be obtained—the Origin Space where the Origin Being of Heraf resides.

Nimrod spun the prophecy die, saying, "Eight years ago we just fought the Eldar Ark, and more importantly, Arkham is also here."

"This divination is for the Jingyuan Federation."

He remembered that the Third Company of the "Space Wolves" responded to the request of the commander of the 40th Expeditionary Fleet and annihilated the Jingyuan Federation. Before the Grand Birthday Celebration, the Wolves had a force of about 95,000 to 100,000 men. Considering their losses in battles such as the Jingyuan Federation, the Ark Edge Cluster, and the Battle of Gate 42, the Third Company's combat strength would not have exceeded 10,000 men.

After making his decision, he gathered his thoughts and his mind raced through what he knew about the Jingyuan Federation.

Fifteen thousand years ago, Terran colonists crossed the galaxy, reached its edge, and established the Silent Federation.

The homeworld of the Jingyuan Federation is a striking orange-yellow planet, with all important locations covered by a layer of hard ice.

The Jingyuan Federation possesses extremely advanced technology, but its technological standards differ significantly from those of Terra and Mars.

...]

Unlike Orius and Terra, the Jingyuan Federation was established before the rise of the Martian Order, and its technology does not rely on standard construction templates.

After quickly reviewing the information he knew about the Jingyuan Federation, Ning Lu silently recited it in his mind.

[A star map leading from the Cariham Gate to the World of the Silent Federation Homeland.]

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

After the triangular cone tumbled several times in the air, it landed in Ning Lu's outstretched hand, and a scene that looked like a holographic projection appeared before his eyes.

"It's been a long time since things have gone this smoothly."

Ning Lu couldn't help but sigh, then noted down the star map and entered it into the data crystal.

"The Jingyuan Federation has existed for 15,000 years, more than 1,100 years, which meets the requirements for the 'Chaos Mentor' promotion ceremony."

"Who should I choose?"

"I should choose from among the 'corrupted barons' who are inconvenient to conquer the Ark Outer Cluster: Zadkiel and Luther..."

He took a step and returned to the fourth level of space.

After Ninglu took his seat, his spirituality spread, touching the spiritual sphere of Zadekiel, the leader of the "Descendant of the Feathered Brush" warband of the "Word Bearers".

“My lord,” Zadkiel bowed respectfully.

He followed his weak father and returned to the law of faith.

Abandoned by the false god, the father sees no one except Company Commander Cole Fallon and Chief Priest Eribas.

It was a long time before he rejoined the legion.

Zadekir rejected his weak father and became even more steadfast in his faith in the true God.

“Loga went to a world called Kadia a year ago, and I don’t know what happened there.”

"But the three Word Bearers, Diomes, Licus, and Shar Curry, and..."

His tone held a hint of disgust. "The Imperial Guard Vendasa was there too."

"The four of them died in the riots."

"That's not the case. That's just what Luo Jia told the Imperial Guards to cover up the truth." Ning Lu said calmly, without the slightest emotion.

“Kardia held a blood sacrifice ritual, which Vendasa stopped.”

"He killed three Word Bearers, and was finally killed by his only friend among the Word Bearers, Aggle Tower."

"Vendasak is the tenth and final offering in the ritual."

“Thanks be to my Lord for the revelation.” Zadekiel said thoughtfully, beginning to understand the changes that had occurred in Loja and the Legion.

"Not long ago, Loka convened a meeting with the company commander and the pastor, where he claimed to have received enlightenment from the truth."

"He preached to us the enlightenment of the human race, and told us about the existence of the gods..."

He glanced in awe at the majestic being deep within the black mist, "The Four Gods and the Emperor are all false gods."

“Loga denounced the Emperor’s worldly vision as a lie and said he would destroy the idea completely.”

“The Word Bearers no longer build false, perfect cities for the Emperor, they…” Zadkiel emphasized, highlighting the difference between himself and them.

"The focus of those who cherish words has become the propagation of the four false gods."

"They recruited new soldiers, developed mortal believers, and established the Chaos Cult."

Ninglu had anticipated this. Calculating the time, he knew that Luo Jia had completed his pilgrimage and assumed the high priestly duties entrusted to him by the four peddlers.

"I see."

With a thought, a shimmering data crystal fell in front of Zadekiel.

"You shall immediately depart for the Jingyuan Federation space domain, and along the way study the data crystals to devise a plan to disrupt the order of the Jingyuan Federation."

Zadekiel respectfully accepted the data crystal with both hands, saying, "I will follow Your will."

Ninglu sent Zadekiel back to the real world, and his spirituality spread, dispatching some of the forces of the Second and Tenth Warbands to the Jingyuan Federation.

He also summoned Anacharis, who had been promoted to High Sage of Shana.

Ning Lu recalled that after the Jingyuan Federation encountered the Human Empire, they captured the Empire's humans and discovered that there were 15,000 differences between them.

However, it is actually the humans of the Jingyuan Federation who have become distorted.

They receive implants from birth, integrating themselves into the broader social network.

As they age, their organisms are gradually replaced, eventually leaving only the brain, spinal cord, and skull.

For this reason, Ninglu did not consider using peaceful submission to deal with the Jingyuan Federation.

(End of this chapter)