Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 799: The true strength of the "Shadow of Order" is difficult to conceal; it remains to be seen how long it can be maintained.

979.M30.

The Shadow of Reigns, Primarch Office.

Arsène Dunn, embracing the data panel, reported to the Black Emperor, who was leaning against the throne.

"My lord, I have tallied the losses of the four warbands involved in the war. In the war against the Dasinta intelligent machines, the legion suffered a total of 5,249 casualties."

"Among them, the 10th Regiment suffered the most casualties, with 3,481 people."

Ninglu nodded slightly. Although he didn't know the casualties of the "Shadowmoon Wolves" in the war that destroyed the Dassin intelligent machines, the description used by Gavial Loken when he mentioned it to the narrator Messati was as follows:

"After a long and arduous battle, all intelligent machines were destroyed, thanks to the priceless skills of the Mechanicus."

Based on this, Ninglu deduced that the casualties of "Shadow Moon Wolf" would not be less than five thousand.

I won this war without the help of a motor enthusiast.

I thus gained a great machine master, thirty-two overseers, and eleven thousand six hundred and fifty intelligent machines.

If the tech enthusiasts were to participate, they would undoubtedly destroy the abhorrent AI that violates the Crimson Protocol.
He composed himself and ordered, "Report to the War Council that we destroyed an intelligent mechanical civilization in Dasinta, with 30,840 dead."

“My Lord…” the Primarch’s servant hesitated, “Won’t this number raise suspicion?”

As false reports accumulated, the "Shadow of Order" showed a clear decline in the eyes of the various factions within the Empire.

By 900, the Legion had nearly 280,000 members, at least 100,000 more than the second largest Legion at the time, the Dark Angels, and more than 120,000 more than the third largest Legion, the Ultramarines.

After receiving the nearly 40,000 men of the wiped-out legion, it only slowed the decline. The current assessment of the legion's strength is between 200,000 and 220,000.

Although the "Shadow of Order" is still considered the largest legion, the gap with the "Ultramen" is constantly being "narrowed," and they are now "similar" in size.

The "Shadow of Order" and the "Dark Angels," who launched a holy war to eliminate aliens across the entire galaxy, have been waging a continuous and deadly war, showing a clear downward trend, in contrast to the steadily increasing "Ultramen."

However, despite the fact that the "Shadow of Order" also suffered unreported battle losses for various reasons, including battles in the Demon World of Birac and the Silent Federation homeworld used to conceal the industrial world's production capacity, the actual troop strength after the war still exceeded 395,000.

Although the Black Emperor has not donated genetic material to the Legion in the last 140 years, the pharmacists led by Mikel have prepared a drug for the modification surgery to reduce rejection reactions.

Ms. Malena Skala and Ivory Yovan, the former chief medical officer of the "Solar Auxiliary Army," successively led the modification surgeries, ensuring that the Legion's modification success rate far exceeded that of other Legions.

Even the Vessa, who exhibited resistance to warp, had a similar success rate in modification as the Ultramarines, the Emperor's Sons, and the Deathguard.

The larger the legion, the more difficult it becomes to conceal its true troop strength; this presents a significant systemic challenge.
Troop deployment, weaponry, equipment, ammunition and food supplies...

If another 25,000 casualties are falsely added this time, it will be even more difficult to cover up.

“No,” Ning Lu said calmly.

"The War Council will deliberately downplay this record, and the relevant data will be deleted. The Empire does not want their existence to be known to the public."

“I understand.” With her snow-white hair, Alsena decided to organize her “detectives” and “masters of deduction” to devise a plan to make the loss seem reasonable.

More importantly, it concealed a series of related information about the legion's movements.

As he solemnly wrote down the Black Emperor's instructions on his touchscreen notebook, he couldn't help but frown and sigh inwardly.

[It's becoming increasingly difficult to conceal the legion's true strength; I wonder how much longer I can maintain this facade.]
Ninglu noticed Alsena's worry and gently comforted him.

“I know you’re worried about not being able to cover up the growing legions.”

"There's no need to worry too much. In less than thirty years, you won't have to worry about this anymore."

After finishing his notes, Arsena looked up, a hint of bewilderment in his narrow eyes. He recalled the great rebellion the Black Emperor had mentioned eighty years ago.

“I understand,” he said solemnly.

Alsena's communication bead hummed. He pressed the bead, listened to the message, and then reported to the Black Emperor.

"My Lord, the Lord of Armaments is ready. He invites you to the casting deck to observe the testing of the intelligent machinery."

Ninglu rose with delight from the throne adorned with thirty-three longswords, and said with a smile:
"Let's go, let's go together."

“It’s my pleasure.” The Primarch’s attendant gathered up the data panel and followed the Black Emperor out of the Primarch’s office, heading towards the elevator shaft.

Two members of the honor guard, their eyes filled with reverence, bowed to the father of genetics, after which one of them raised his hand and began typing rapidly on the touch keyboard.

Ning Lu smiled and nodded, then stepped into the elevator amidst the gleaming gazes of the two honor guard members.

The servo motor hummed, and the floor beneath our feet trembled slightly.

boom!
The door slid open, and Ninglu and Arsena walked onto the casting deck.

"My lord." Lord Wilshire of the Second Battle Group and Gabriel, who had a mechanical arm on his back, bowed respectfully. Nimrod smiled and nodded. "Begin the test."

He turned his gaze to the machinery enclosed by explosion-proof glass, which had no paint or coating.

The progenitor keenly noticed that its body was covered with rivets and had burn marks from welding.

“Test begin,” Gabriel shouted into the microphone.

A series of red and green runes rose up in the laboratory.

bang bang bang...

One by one, target dummies popped out: the ceiling dropped, the deck jumped out...

The seasoned "mechanical expert" Gabriel walked to his left and reported to the Black Emperor.

"My Lord, over the past year, I have devoted my energy to writing the smart protocol, whose architecture is based on a rewritten version of the Jingyuan Federation's social network."

"Their sensors also employ the same sensors used by high-powered warriors, reacting by capturing movement, light, heat, and odor."

"I embedded the Legion's code into the program's underlying logic so that it would obey the commands of the fighting brothers."

Ninglu realized that the super-powered soldiers, except for their heads, were all mechanized, similar to intelligent machines. Utilizing the fully mastered technology of the Jingyuan Federation was indeed a feasible approach.

“I used the remains of intelligent machines, picked out the usable parts, and pieced them together.”

"Currently, the only weapon we can equip is the thermal ray gun from the Jingyuan Federation."

He spoke as he gave commands into the microphone.

"Gabriel-1 attack protocol".

The intelligent machine projected a series of red lights while simultaneously raising its robotic arm.

The intense, blinding beams of light shot out continuously, accompanied by a series of booming explosions.

The target dummy exploded with a bang, burning to a crisp and crashing onto the deck.

“I am satisfied with your progress.” Ninglu anticipated that a large-scale investment in intelligent machinery would be needed during the war against Lady Hera, which was still nineteen years away.

"You did not waste it; you made use of the existing resources."

“I always keep your teachings in mind, and I will always follow the rules,” Gabriel replied respectfully.

Ning Lu nodded in satisfaction, gazing at the only adornment on the intelligent machine: the metal collar around its neck.

The Primarch's gaze sharpened, and he immediately saw the golden text written in Dunn's language:

All actions of SY-005 are carried out in accordance with the orders of the Shadow of Order.

No attacks will be launched against the "Shadow of Order" and its affiliated legions and sanctuary citizens.

The shadow of order places life above all else, including its own existence.

...]

The collar fastens at the back of the intelligent mechanical neck, engraved with a golden seal.

Standing on the right, the seasoned "notary" Wilshire followed the Black Emperor's gaze and said, "I write the 'contract,' and after 'notarizing' it, I hang it on the neck of the intelligent machine to ensure that it is bound."

Even if a demigod violates a "contract" "notarized" by a "notary" at Sequence 6, the violation will come at a considerable cost.

While the "Notary" ability of the Sequence 5 "Priest of Light" has not undergone a qualitative change, it has been significantly improved.

Ninglu speculated that even the supervisors at the Sequence 4 master material level could not violate it.

“I discussed this with the Lord of Light, and the safest place is to hang the ‘contract’ around your neck,” added Gabriel, the Lord of Armor.

"I will add protection to this part in subsequent improved models."

"Keep up the good work. I hope to see them deployed in actual combat nine years from now." Ning Lu hopes to test the combat effectiveness of intelligent machines in the battle of the Ark Edge Cluster.

This allows enough time to make targeted adjustments to address the problems exposed in actual combat.

The Aven, especially their elite Shrike Knights, are comparable to the Astartes and serve as a true test.

When Space Wolves and Word Bearers encountered major difficulties, they sought help from Thousand Sons. Only through the combined efforts of the three legions could they achieve victory.

Gabriel and Wilshire responded in unison, "As you will."

(End of this chapter)