Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 818 Changes in the War Council

Nimrod's psionic projection crossed the void and descended upon Terra's golden palace.

As soon as he sat down, he immediately noticed that it was different from the many war conferences he had attended in the past.

As Huang Laohan spent more and more time in Terra, his master would often appear with him at the last moment.

But today, Macardo took his seat early, his weathered face, worn by the torment of imperial politics, bearing a smile.

"Luo Jia, your father is very satisfied with your performance."

Ninglu followed the eyes under the hood and looked toward the spot where Luo Jia was sitting.

Lorga Aurelion, who used to sit alone in the last row, has rapidly risen to sixth place on the opposite side.

This means that his achievement in the Primarch has been elevated to ninth.

Beside him is Saint Gillis with pure white wings, and above him is Fernus Manus, who served as commander in the early stages of the "Great Expedition".

Robert Guilliman, whose legion size and conquest record were increasingly approaching those of himself and Horus, looked at Logar with a mixture of satisfaction and an almost imperceptible hint of guilt.

Ninglu noticed that not everyone reacted positively to Lorga's transformation. Apart from the expressionless Ryan Aljonsen and the rock-faced Roger Dorn, Perturabo's icy blue eyes were somber.

Clearly, Peturabo, who has spent the last century guarding the western edge of the galaxy and far from the center of the Great Expedition, is unwilling to see his record slip to thirteenth.

Nimrod withdrew his gaze. Beside him were Ryan, Dorn, and the repulsive wolf Ruth.

Currently, only eight Primarchs have achievements higher than Lorgar's.

[As expected, Makado really admires Loga!]
He knew that although Macardo taught Primarchs like Ruth, among the Primarchs he actually admired most, Lorgar was definitely among the top.

When the City of Perfection was destroyed, he was the only one who tried to comfort Loga.

Even after the "Nicaea Conference," it was inspired by the chaplains of the Seventeenth Army Corps that he promoted the chaplain system in many corps, so that each corps would follow Huang Laohan's orders and completely disband the think tank.

However, Logar took advantage of the situation and spread the Chaos faith among the various legions.

During the "Grand Birthday Celebration," he privately stated more than once that he believed his lord, the Emperor, had not treated Loga properly in Kur. He believed that Loga was the Primarch who should not have fallen and whom he most wanted to redeem.

"I have been enlightened and I know what I should do."

Luo Jia spoke with a double meaning, and only Ning Lu understood the implication of his words.

[Hmm... I have to say, Lo Jia, the Chaos High Priest, is quite capable; he's a master at farming.]

The legion's size has increased dramatically, and the rate of defection has skyrocketed.
Loka had little to show for his return to the Empire over a century later, but after the “pilgrimage” in 968, the number of people who submitted to the Empire increased dramatically.

Nimrod believed that by 999, thirty years later, the world he had submitted to would be second only to Horus and Guilliman.

[However, these worlds are quite different from the stable imperial worlds of the past!]
Ninglu knew that the Word Bearers of the past had "patiently" transformed the worlds they passed through and presented them to the Emperor.

Although few in number, each one is truly integrated into the world of the Empire.

They not only adopted the empire's technology, but also its systems and culture in their entirety.

Apart from faith, they are the most perfect imperial territory.

Of course, these worlds they once built with their own hands are also the worlds that the “Word Bearers” most desire to destroy.

These newly subjugated worlds were brutally ravaged by the Word Bearers' ruthless religious genocide, who imposed their faith in the Chaos gods upon them. Apart from the followers of Chaos and the modified Word Bearers, all others were cruelly murdered or enslaved.

They exploited and seized every resource available in these worlds to expand their legions, leaving behind only devastation.

[Yes, if I hadn't obtained the Ark Edge Cluster, the four star systems the "Word Bearers" traversed would have been no different from the alien world wiped out by the "Dark Angels," or the ruins left behind by the "Space Wolves" and the "World Eaters."]
As Ninglu was lost in thought, the palace gates opened.

He turned his head to look, and then realized that it was different.

The Mars Forging Director, who once walked alongside the Emperor, arrives alone.

The new Mars Foundry Director is tall and has no face; instead, a pair of strange green spherical diodes are implanted in his cold steel face, replacing his eyes.

The uneven edges of his red robe revealed his chest, and his fleshy organs and blood vessels were replaced by tendril-like servo devices and ribbed steel pipes.

He had a set of mechanical prosthetics on his back, like spider legs, covered with saws and other mysterious machines.

Kelbo Ha.

Ninglu's eyes narrowed as he stared at Kelbo-Ha, whose mechanical prosthetic limbs were swinging.

He knew that the man in front of him was a true genius among motorists. In just a few decades, he had risen from an apprentice to become the most powerful person on Mars.

He was the most creative among the engine oilers. He designed and built the Abyss-class warship, which was even more powerful than the Glory Queen-class. Only Doraemon could compare to him in this respect.

He is incredibly powerful and is the only one who could possibly stand against the tyrant of Shana, Anacharis Scoria.

He was even more ambitious and unwilling to be bound. He tore up the Olympia Treaty and openly led his followers to rebel against Huang Laohan.

Unlike socially awkward and marginalized sages like Arkham Rand, he was ruthless, politically astute, and united Mars and the many factions in the Forging World who were dissatisfied with the Emperor.

Kelbo-Ha walked to one end of the long table and sat down, his consciousness sinking into the built-in meditation machine and his personal memory imprint, waiting for the meeting to begin.

Ninglu leaned back in his chair, the cool touch of the metal reaching his body through his psionic connection.

He watched as Loga's seat rose rapidly and Kelbo-Ha became the Director of Foundry, realizing the changes that were taking place in the War Council.

The heavy doors opened again after forty-eight seconds, and the Emperor entered the palace with Constantine Waldo, the commander of the Imperial Guard.

After accepting the greetings and respects from everyone, he took his seat and looked around at the Primarchs.

The emperor's gaze swept over Luo Jia, and he nodded slightly in approval.

Despite countless admonitions, Loka remained unchanged until he finally changed. He actively embraced the role of a general, leading his legions to conquer many worlds for the empire.

Although the loss of a member of the Imperial Guard during the rebellion was regrettable, the Word Bearers were still gratifying.

The Emperor's gaze then swept over the only empty seat, Angron.

He was violent and bloodthirsty, and uncontrollable, but he was still a competent general.

He conquered more worlds than the kind-hearted Vokhan and the ultimately returning Corax.

The emperor withdrew his gaze and looked at the person who held the seal.

“Before this meeting, Makado shared an idea with me.”

(End of this chapter)