Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 682 I'm not going to be an executioner, but I absolutely need a cow.

The Emperor, the Seal Keeper Macado, the Commander of the Imperial Guard Constantine Waldo, and the Director of the Martian Foundry entered the golden palace in silence.

After accepting the greeting, the Emperor's gaze swept over the Primarchs and landed on Constantine.

Constantine understood, turned slightly to the side, and spoke while holding the Spear of the Sun.

"After Hannibal and the Faceless Men returned to their home planet, they continued to secretly keep Xenomorphs."

"They raised herds of orcs in the Lecter Mountains and herded and hunted the Elven race in the desolate forests..."

"They tacitly allowed the Xenomorphs to attack outsiders, resulting in the deaths of one sage, fifteen technical priests, and hundreds of apprentices from the Cult of Mechanics."

The mechanical tentacles of the Mars Foundry Director crackled and swayed, and the sonic array emitted a piercing sound.

"Hannibal committed blasphemy against the followers of the Messiah, and he must atone with his death."

Horus Lupecal frowned upon hearing this. He had originally wanted to plead for Hannibal, but now he was unable to speak.

He must take into account the attitude of the Mechanic Church; it would be unwise to incite their hatred.

"Hannibal will be punished." The Emperor's gaze swept over the Primarchs. "He and his Legion will be put to trial."

“All those who cross the line will be punished.”

Saint Gilles trembled slightly upon hearing this.

He felt a chill run through him, and a thought arose in his mind: the emperor's concerns far outweighed the personal needs of his sons.

As Saint Gilles was filled with fear, Old Man Huang's gaze swept over the silent Primarchs.

For Fugrim, Magnus, and Peturabo, the tragedy of a father killing his son flashed before their eyes.

Conrad Coates' arms resembled the folded wings of a vulture, and his pale face showed a look of sorrow.

Chagatai's slender body glided backward like a war eagle. He withdrew from the long table, and his psionic projection pressed against the throne covered with runes.

Mortarian's face was somber as he silently slipped a little inside his robe.

In his grief, Robert Guilliman instinctively pondered whether his father's decision had any political implications.

A second later, his superhuman brain concluded that neither upholding the glorious image of the Great Expeditionary Commander nor fulfilling the demands of the Mechanicus, one of the Empire's two leaders, was possible.

Fernus Manus and Roger Dorn remained calm, but one of them, with a silver coin in his eye, and the other, with his hand-painted yellow gauntlet and silver and red-embellished knuckles, trembled almost imperceptibly.

Ryan Aljonsen remained expressionless, but the image of Luther involuntarily flashed through his mind.

The temperature inside the golden palace dropped, and even the psionic projections were tinged with cold.

Ning Lu's body trembled slightly as he fell into silent contemplation.

The original Primarch returned to the Empire in 927, only to be wiped out in Operation Space Wolf in 965.

However, it has been only thirty-eight years.

If I hadn't been chosen by the "Disorderly Kingdom," even if I wanted to change my fate, I might have been powerless.

Superhuman perception also means susceptibility to contamination.
Ninglu clenched his fists; he craved power and wanted to control his own destiny.

The ambition of the "Chaos Mentor" burned fiercely, and the psionic projection suddenly disappeared, only to reappear shortly afterward.

The flickering of Nimrod's psionic projection brought the other Primarchs, who were more or less instinctively lost in grief, back to their senses, and their gazes turned to him.

Old Huang's gaze also fell on Ning Lu. Seeing that the psionic projection had solidified again, he asked a question.

"My Pegasus, would you punish Hannibal for my evil deeds and bring him to justice?"

The Primarchs looked at Nimrod and knew that their father did not want to give Hannibal any chance at all.

Omega's mind flashed back to the investigation report: his legion, passing through Nimrod's territory, had stopped at ports such as Sepra Mandy and discovered hundreds of white-haired, withered-skinned Order Shadows. He and Alpharis were both incredulous when they first saw the report.

For the first time, they learned that Astartes would grow old and frail.

There really are aliens that can warp time.

Based on Peturab's statements, they began to believe that the "shadow of order" had suffered significant losses.

But even though the "Shadow of Order" suffered more than 100,000 casualties, it was still twice as many as the "Faceless".

This is because the "Alphas" relied on their powerful intelligence system to know that Hannibal gained immense power from devouring aliens, yet he still couldn't contend with Nimrod, who defeated Manus and Ruth.

“My lord, I once commanded the Faceless Men, and after Hannibal returned to the Empire, I was responsible for teaching him to adapt to the Empire.”

"I don't want to accept this task."

Nimrod did not want to be a good second brother like Horus, but he also did not want to become an executioner.

He knew all too well what kind of image Ruth and "Space Wolf" had of the Empire after they wielded their executioners' blades.

The "Space Wolf" replaces the former image of the Sixth Legion as a savage but noble conqueror, with its image as a vicious executioner.

Throughout the empire, no one believed the image of Leman Russ as a wise and virtuous warrior created by the propaganda machine. From then on, he was seen as a blood-splattered tyrant led by the emperor on a dog leash.

Apart from a few brothers, including Guilliman, he was also regarded as a ruthless executioner.

Considering that the "Great Expedition" still has more than ninety years to go, he also needs to get along with other Primarchs, and he also needs to consider his image after the Grand Birthday Celebration.

He cannot act as an executioner unless he is to kill the rebellious progenitor during a grand birthday celebration.

Old Huang, I'm not going to be an executioner.

But the cow is a must!
“My lord, not all Faceless Ones have committed the sin of keeping aliens and condoning their crimes.”

“I want to guide them back on track and continue to serve the Great Expedition.”

The emperor's eyes were somber, and Ning Lu refused the task assigned to him for the first time.

He thought of the insight he had given Nimrod, his psychic powers, and the fact that he had not yet retrieved the Dionysian Spear and returned it to Nimrod.

"Alright, then you shall receive the 'Faceless One'."

“You must examine them one by one, make them completely forget their past, and let them become a shadow of order.”

"The Imperial Guards will cooperate with you."

"I will obey your command." Ninglu understood the hidden meaning in Huang Laohan's order: Huang Laohan wanted him to erase the memories of the Faceless Ones.

[Yes, Old Man Huang doesn't even trust Horus and Forgrim, who have a deep father-son bond. He wipes their memories after the trip to Moro.]

When the Second Legion was handed over to Guilliman, their memories must have been wiped clean, allowing them to fully integrate into the Ultramarines. The Ascetic Chapter established by Tezuka Sasebo, with its culture of collecting skulls and devouring corpses, was clearly different from other chapters and was likely built on the skeleton of the remnants of the Second Legion.

But now that this task has been assigned to me, well, even if the Imperial Guard orders the Faceless Ones to open their hearts, only Magnus and I can complete it for him. I must say, Old Man Huang has saved himself some trouble again.
As Ninglu pondered, the emperor turned his gaze to Leman Russ.

“Ruth, go to Lecter and bring Hannibal to justice for me.”

Ruth's icy blue eyes flickered for a moment, then he grinned, revealing sharp, menacing teeth.

"The wolf pack will carry out your command."

After the War Council concluded and the four emperors departed, the psionic projections silently dissipated.

Ninglu stared at Russ, who was deliberately showing a ferocious smile, and spoke.

"Russ, wait a moment."

(End of this chapter)