Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 38 Boarding the Furao Battlecruiser

The withered old man in the shape of a bird, holding a staff, waited for the eight people to come to him.

"The destined time has arrived. It is time to enlighten the people of Vostonia and let them know that the God of All Things is a false god, and only the God of Wisdom is the true God."

The old man's voice was shrill, like a bird's cry.

Zelinsky asked in confusion, "High Priest, there are still eleven sidereal years until the time of our planned enlightenment. Why are you launching it ahead of time?"

"Zelinsky, our Lord has revealed the truth, and the appointed time has arrived."

Upon hearing this, the eight priests bowed their heads in unison: "We will obey the High Priest's orders! Praise the God of Wisdom!"

The high priest extended his left claw and pointed at Zelinsky.

"Zelinsky, you are the first link in the plan. How is the Bright Light Plan, which you are responsible for implementing to ignite enlightenment, going?"

"High Priest, the foolish Piatek Świdrski is my puppet. He will carry out any of my orders."

"Well done, Zelinsky, you gained true wisdom before undertaking your foolish mechanical transformations."

"As long as you make good use of the wisdom and enlightenment I have bestowed upon you, those foolish humans, the slaves of false gods, will become your playthings."

The high priest nodded with satisfaction, and then he asked the other seven people one by one.

"After nine work cycles, execute the Enlightenment Plan."

"As you command, High Priest."

After the eight priests left, a hint of cunning flashed in the high priest's blue eyes as he walked down the stairs.

When he reached the end of the passage, he mounted his one-man speeder and laughed playfully.

"The Enlightenment Project is no longer important. My Lord has given me a new mission, a project that only I can complete."

On the Piszczek, Rosicky was astonished to find that Nimrod's judgment was correct, and the time when the enemy ship A-II entered the Vistula asteroid belt was exactly the time he said.

He stared at the holographic projection nervously. Nimrod was very confident in his judgment and did not even send two destroyers to attract the enemy's firepower. He made a tactical maneuver in advance so that the Piszczek would appear right behind the enemy ship when it circled an asteroid.

The gamble was successful, and Piszczek avoided the coverage of the powerful guns on both wings of A-II.

Rosicky couldn't help but respect Nimrod. He had always thought that this giant was only powerful in combat, but he didn't expect that he had such terrifying computing ability.

[A flesh and blood body actually possesses computing power exceeding that of a mechanical body!]
The technical priest also gained some confidence in Nimrod's next plan. He picked up the communicator and asked the operator of the boarding torpedo.

"Operator C-53, are you ready for launch?"

"It's ready."

"Execute the launch procedure immediately."

Boarding torpedoes are less maneuverable and less armored than assault boats, but are generally smaller and more difficult to intercept.

In order to accommodate the giant Nimrod, Rosicky made targeted modifications to the boarding torpedoes, raising the height of the crew compartment so that he could barely stand in it.

The boarding torpedo that can carry a commando team can only accommodate three assassins, including Maria, in addition to Nimrod.

A mechanical electronic voice rang out from the crew cabin: "Evacuating the fixed mine frame."

"Promethium fuel ignited."

"Countdown to launch."

Ningluo stood steadily in the crew cabin, listening to the broadcast.

"3."

"2."

"1."

"Thrusters ignited!"

Driven by burning promethium, the boarding torpedo instantly detached from the Piszczek like an arrow from a bow.

Maria and the other two suddenly felt their balance unbalanced. The support bars holding their shoulders couldn't hold them steady at the rocket-like speed. They rushed forward, crashing into the black armor of the giant in front of them.

Maria's eyes widened as she saw Nimrod in front of her, holding the mount firmly without shaking at all.

She stubbornly grasped the handles in front of her shoulders, trying her best to resist the impact, and finally stopped when she was five centimeters away from Ningluo's back.

The two assassins on the left and right stopped just when they were about to hit Ningluo's arms.

The mechanical announcement sounded again: "Contact initiated, impact expected to last 17 seconds."

"Prepare for blast! Countdown 3 seconds!"

"Bite your braces."

Nimrod's reminder brought the three of them back to their senses, and they immediately did as they were told.

"1."

The boarding torpedo's melta explosive module then detonated, sending a loud bang through the crew compartment.

Maria and the other two immediately felt a huge force coming from the front and knocking them backwards.

Even with helmets on, they were still deafened and dizzy by the loud noise.

The violent shaking and turbulence made the three people's faces turn pale, until a majestic command sounded.

"action!"

The three men then discovered that the hatch of the crew compartment had been opened and was placed on the burning deck of the enemy ship.

Nimrod had already jumped out first, and when he landed heavily on the deck, several aliens were crushed into meat paste.

Maria pulled out her two swords from the unlocked weapon rack and said, "Let's go."

Then, she jumped out first, took a step on the hatch, and used the force to leap up, pouncing on the tall alien wearing a tight purple protective suit.

The alien turned and ran away, pulling out a serrated dagger from its body.

Suddenly, he turned around like a swimming fish and stabbed Maria with a dagger.

The alien's accumulated attack was as fast as lightning, but Maria, who grew up immersed in chemicals, reacted even faster.

She raised the scimitar in her left hand to block the dagger, and at the same time swung the scimitar in her right hand, chopping it at the alien's neck.

Maria immediately felt obvious resistance. The wrinkles on the alien's neck were tougher than she had imagined, like layers of leather armor.

She didn't panic. She drew her knife and rolled over, jumping behind the alien.

As she landed, she crossed her two swords and slashed at both sides of the alien's neck.

The shark-like flat and wide head fell to the ground. Maria raised her left arm and was surprised to find that the finely forged scimitar in her left hand had a big gap in it due to the previous parry.

She picked up the dagger curiously and found that it looked like it was made from a single piece of smoking crystal, with the edge of the blade constantly breaking into tiny fragments that fell to the ground.

Maria decided to test the power of this weapon, and she rushed to the other alien in one step.

With a swing of the scimitar, he cut off the alien's arm, then raised his left arm and stabbed the alien's neck.

As soon as the dagger touched the wrinkled neck of the alien, Maria felt obvious resistance.

She stared at the blade, and suddenly saw a large number of tiny fragments breaking out of the edge of the blade and penetrating into the wound.

With a slight "hissing" sound, the alien showed a painful expression and then fell down.

Maria picked up the dead alien's dagger and looked forward. She saw an alien with eyes on both sides of its cheeks rushing towards Nimrod.

She warned: "His dagger..."

Halfway through his words, Ningluo thrust out his halberd, avoiding the two daggers, and the tip of the halberd pierced through the alien's head.

Nimrod knew that the Flao glass blade was famous for its powerful strength and sharpness, and could penetrate ceramic steel. Not wanting to damage the weapon, he easily avoided the Flao man's high-speed attack and killed it.

(End of this chapter)