Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 176: "Provocation" sparks public outrage among the Fenrisians

Leman Russ looked at everyone and spoke.

"In the second hunt, your target is the ice dragon Witherwing, which resides atop Mount Etter, the highest peak in Fenris."

"Witherwing is the lord of the skies of Fenris. Only a true hunter, a true warrior can slay him."

Yolin's cloudy yellow eyes flashed with brilliance. He looked at Sanchez who had jumped off the back of the Thunder Wolf and spoke.

"I will be the victor. I will chop off the dragon's head and use his claws to decorate my battle axe."

The Reaper Lord, surrounded by the Fenrisians, spoke calmly.

"The results will speak for themselves."

The Reaper Lord bowed slightly to Leman Russ and spoke.

"The Primarch, my battle-brother, is also a superb hunter."

"Fenris is a world that belongs to hunters. I want them to come here to be tempered."

The Wolf King looked at Sanchez with admiration and laughed heartily.

"You have passed your first hunt and proved yourself to be a great hunter."

"I welcome your brother to Fenris."

He said to the Reaper Lord before leaving.

"Sanchez, you're more polite than your father."

"He took people hunting in the sea without telling me."

Sanchez frowned upon hearing this. Even though he was alone, he could not accept Leman Russ's accusations against the Primarch.

"My lord, with all due respect, you have not yet conquered the seas of Fenris, nor have the tribes of the Isles submitted to your will."

The words of the "provocateur" angered all the Fenrisians, and their hair and beards stood up and fluttered in the wind.

Yolin drew his axe and roared loudly.

"Sanchez, shut up!"

"If the Allfather had not come, the Wolf King of Fenris would have united the world."

Sanchez stroked the hilt of his sword. "Not yet... so the Gene Father hasn't overstepped his bounds."

The wind and snow were blowing, but the Reaper Lord still spoke with difficulty and persistence under the fierce gaze of the Wolf King, sweat oozing from his forehead.

Sanchez felt as if an imaginary star had exploded inside him, and he was one step closer to becoming a true "provocateur".

The power surging in his body made him try his best to straighten his neck and not lower his head.

The eyes of the people of Fenris were filled with anger; they could not accept anyone provoking Leman Russ.

Yolin was the first to raise his axe and charge at Sanchez.

The other Fenrisians also drew their weapons and rushed towards the "provocateur".

The wolf king flashed and stood in front of Yolin.

"Stop!"

He said to the Fenrisians, "Strike him down now, and Jorrin will never win back."

"Tell me, do you want the old hunter of Fenris to lie in his wolf hide and lick the pain of his failure?"

"I don't want to!"

The Fenrisian roared unwillingly, almost a roar, and the Wolf King stared fiercely at the "provocateur" who put the sword back into his waist.

"You have courage. I hope you are as capable as your mouth."

"If you win the next two hunts, I will tolerate your provocation today."

"I will definitely win." The "Hunter's" body was soaked with cold sweat. He did not wipe it off, letting the cold wind freeze the sweat on his forehead into ice particles.

Something seemed to be dissolving inside the Provocateur's body, and he felt that he was not far from fully mastering the power bestowed by the Father of Genes.

"Alright," Leman Russ retracted his aggressive gaze, "the second hunting competition begins now."

The Provocateur felt keenly that he was not welcome in the Fenris camp, and no one was even willing to treat him to meat and wine.

Sanchez jumped onto the back of the Thunder Wolf King, and six Thunder wolves followed behind the leader, carrying their cubs on their backs.

After he left the camp, he pressed the communication bead in his right ear and sent a message to other "hunters" and candidates in the regiment on the dedicated communication channel.

A moment later, the Reaper Lord handed over the six thunder wolves to the senior "hunters" and the seventeen wolf cubs to the new "hunters".

Sanchez called out to the twenty-three "hunters," "Bring your wolves and go hunting in the wilds of Fenris."

He then addressed the forty-nine candidates, "If you wish to prove your potential and enter the Royal Court, go hunting in the ice and snow of Fenris and bring your prey back to the Primarch."

While the Reaper Lords and the "Hunters" are hunting on the ice, hunting is also taking place in the sea.

Szczesny and Jorginho each led their fleets, hunting in the stormy sea.

As Sanchez arrived at the foot of Mount Etretat, Jorginho's fleet was hit by a storm.

The air pressure dropped suddenly, dark clouds hung low like an iron curtain, the anemometer needle spun wildly, and the strong wind, carrying sea water, hit the porthole, making a crackling sound.

Waves over ten meters high smashed into the bow like a collapsing glacier. The Sea Dragon's steel hull groaned like its ribs were broken, and the entire ship shook and vibrated.

In the captain's cabin, Jorginho did not call for orbital support.

The "sailor" personally steered the helm. Even though the entire ship was blown up and down by the wind and waves, with a drop of hundreds of meters between rises and falls, the Fenris tribesmen had to hold on to the mast and other things tightly. Possessing the extraordinary ability of "balance", he still stood steadily on the deck.

The "Navigator" intuitively felt that about seventy nautical miles to the northeast, the warm current and the cold current were tearing out a new vortex.

As a scholar of astronomers and geographers, the "Navigator" completed the calculation in an instant.

The "Navigator" pressed the steering wheel with his finger and started to turn it. At the same time, he gave orders to the "Storm People" on the other two dragon ships through the communication channel.

"Hold the rudder to port! Take in the mainsail three knots!"

"The Navigator" is also known as the "Storm Priest". The three dragon boats commanded by Jorginho leaped in the storm.

The Fenrisians watched in horror as the surging cumulonimbus clouds, carrying hail, violently slammed into the dragon ship.

The "Navigator" was not afraid at all. He predicted the trajectory of the ocean current based on his intuition alone, and guided the ship to use its thrust to break through the storm.

The Fenrisians were tossed up and down and pitched from side to side for an unknown amount of time. Finally, they were astonished to find that the fleet had emerged from the storm without a single ship being lost.

The Fenrisian, having regained his consciousness, knelt before the Storm Priest and shouted in Juvik.

"Messenger of the All-Father! Priest of the Storm!"

The "Navigator" felt as if an illusory sphere in his body had shattered, and water was flowing around him. His slightly tired body felt as comfortable as if it had been immersed in a hot spring in the cradle of the sea.

[You are one step closer to becoming a true "navigator."]
Just when Jorginho was feeling relaxed, the communication bead started beeping. After he answered it, he heard the voice of his subordinate, the "Storm People".

"Captain, there's a fjord ahead. It's a U-shaped valley formed by glacial erosion, with towering cliffs on both sides."

"There's a group of sea dragons swimming around, probably trying to escape the storm."

Jorginho's deep dark eyes flashed, and he shouted into the communication channel.

"Brothers, we've just been through a storm, and now it's time to hunt."

The Shadows of Order leapt out of the dragon ship and led the Fenrisians to hunt the sea dragon.

Every Fenrisian no longer used primitive bone and stone weapons, but instead held iron weapons made by the Legion's mechanical servants.

While Jorginho was organizing his men to hunt sea dragons, Sanchez also climbed to the top of Mount Eter.

(End of this chapter)