Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 816 An Unexpected Gain

Seeing that the Black Emperor had already given the order and there was nothing else to do, Arsène Dunne spoke up.

"My lord, the librarian of the think tank has discovered a peculiar item in the collection of the Aiven people's Great Library."

As the Primarch's attendant spoke, he approached the control panel, connected to the data panel, and projected a holographic image using his staff.

"It is a bird-shaped statue, half of which is the white feathers of a snow shrike."

"The other half resembles a bat wing."

Ninglu examined the jet-black bat wings with great interest; two skulls hung from them.

Both ends of the bat's wings have sharp spikes.

"The think tank director's report suggests that its right wing appears to be casting a shadow."

“Interesting.” Ninglu rose from his throne. Thomas’s “Eye of Insight,” which could never be closed before advancing to Sequence 4, allowed him to see more than ordinary people.

“Tell him I will go and check immediately.”

Moments later, the Skyhawk shuttle flew out from the Reign Shadow.

Alsena, who was standing by, exclaimed, “The Great Library at Phoenix Cliff is truly a treasure trove. The think tank and the ‘readers’ estimate that it will take two months to categorize and record it.”

Ninglu nodded, not at all surprised.

He remembered that the great library keeper of Tizika, Anku Enan, oversaw thousands of quill-wielding servants who spent three months completing the transcription.

Only Magnus read all the books and absorbed all the knowledge in the entire library.

As Ning Lu pondered, the "scholar" Alsena continued.

"In accordance with Your command, I have selected three hundred apprentices to teach."

The Primarch's attendant, with his snow-white hair, smiled. "We now have forty-nine 'Erudites' who have become polymaths, with a good understanding of various aspects of magic. We only need one more to fulfill Your command."

Ninglu nodded in satisfaction. The promotion ceremony for Sequence 5 "Mystic Mentor" required, as he knew, that the candidate must train at least fifty generalists.

He knew that completing this ritual meant that the "Mystic Master" was well-rounded in the field of mystic arts and had no weaknesses.

Ninglu had no doubt that the forty-nine men met the requirements, and Alsena, always meticulous, carried out his orders without fail.

"Keep up the good work. When you complete the mission, you will gain new power."

A hint of joy flashed in Alsena's long, narrow blue eyes. "Following Your will."

As they spoke, the black Skyhawk shuttle flew into the clouds over Heliossa.

The aircraft was tossed about by the airflow, but the original pilot, Nelson, quickly found the smoothest route in the turbulent air.

The black eagle gradually leveled out, approaching the Antarctic pole—the silver peaks.

With a slight tremor, the Skyhawk shuttle landed smoothly on the passageway leading to the Silver Pyramid.

The landing gear was lowered, and Ninglu led Alcéna off the deck.

On either side of the entrance to the Great Library stood two think tank members wearing psionic hoods and holding force field staffs.

The "peeping man" saw the Father of Genes approaching, his towering figure more imposing than the entire city of Aiven. He was confined to a small body, just as this world was merely his vessel.

Their bodies trembled slightly, and they quickly lowered their heads.

"Father."

"You've all done your duty diligently, thank you for your hard work," Ning Lu said with a smile, before walking through the open door.

As soon as he stepped inside, his eyes were filled with rows of bookshelves:

Original books woven from the feathers of Heliossa birds, yellowed paper books, exquisitely bound silver metal books...

The think tank maintains Magnus's first level of mindset, holding a data crystal and inputting information.

The Primarch's "Readers" moved among them, carefully copying on parchment with quill pens.

The central aisle and the sides are also decorated with artworks, most of which are related to mountains and birds.

On the right stands a semi-elliptical sculpture, with tens of thousands of stones of different sizes and materials piled together to form a lifelike mountain peak.

On the left stand rows of bird specimens, including pterosaurs with outstretched wings and shrikes pouncing with sharp beaks...

“My Lord.” Think Tank Director Thomas bowed deeply, holding his psionic staff. “Take me to see that statue.” Nimrod nodded to the think tank members and “readers” who recognized his arrival and bowed respectfully, then waved his arm, signaling them to continue their work.

“It’s on the thirteenth floor,” Thomas said, stepping aside to guide the way.

With a thought, the mind-based psychic sent a thought pulse to the Black Emperor.

Ninglu's eyes flickered as he received the message from Thomas.

The cold, dark voice seemed to come from the other side of the curtain.

"Thomas, I know you."

"You possess extraordinary intelligence and keen insight, but they have not been fully utilized."

"Now, you have a chance. Don't give my wings to Nimrod. You will gain unimaginable knowledge and..."

The sound stopped abruptly, followed by Thomas's sneer.

"Enough! You demon!"

“Your temptations mean nothing to me, and your words blaspheme my Lord.”

"You're just a rat hiding in the gutter."

The mental image vanished abruptly, but Ninglu continued walking upwards along the elegant silver staircase, filled with anticipation.

beep, beep...

His combat boots flew swiftly over the steps, and he ascended to the thirteenth floor.

Nimrod's obsidian eyes were immediately drawn to a statue standing in the center.

In the vision of the "Chaos Mentor," his right wing is shrouded in a thick line of shadow.

"What an unexpected bonus!" Ning Lu said with a smile, the bat wing on the right side of the statue feeling strangely familiar to him.

That was none other than the right wing of Birac, as I remembered it.

Based on the observed lines of shadow and the dialogue in Thomas's mind, Nimrod could confirm that this was yet another fragment of the relic of Birac.

[What an unexpected find! I never imagined Helios would have fragments of Bilak's relic.]
Ninglu flapped his wings, took off, and stretched out his right arm to grab the wingtip.

Hiss...

The Shadow Wings flickered suddenly, the bright lights overhead dimmed, and the black stone wings became somewhat blurry.

Ning Lu had anticipated this, and black mist rose from his palm.

His right arm muscles twitched, and he exerted a little force.

Click...

As the stone wings tore apart, a piercing howl suddenly exploded in Thomas and Arsena's minds.

The chilling, knife-like cry was laced with resentment and hatred.

“Ninglu…”

The cry suddenly disappeared, and the black bat wings vanished at the same time.

Thomas looked at the Black Emperor with awe, [That demon in the gutter is indeed no match for the power of my Lord.]
He took a scroll from his pocket and presented it to the Black Emperor.

“My Lord, these are the spell notes You asked me to prepare.”

Ninglu took the scroll. He already had all the other materials for the "Secret Arts Instructor," except for a copy of someone else's notes recording the spells.

The notes can be from the "Hermit" pathway Sequence 7 "Wizard", the "Witch" pathway Sequence 7 "Sorceress", or the "White Tower" pathway's own "Scholar" and "Arcane Mentor", or they can be copies, as long as they are not the originals.

Ninglu opened his spiritual vision and gazed at the spirit of the "Scroll Professor".

He saw the pale purple, mysteriously patterned spirit form perfectly integrated and gave his orders.

"The task of replicating the Great Library has been handed over to others."

"You meticulously recorded the images of the star clusters at the edge of the Ark, sketched their true appearance, and mastered all the corresponding mysterious knowledge."

The advancement ceremony for Sequence 5 "Astrologer" was the same as he remembered: select, observe and draw a complete picture of a constellation, restore its true appearance, and master all the corresponding occult knowledge.

(End of this chapter)