Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 90: Black Duke's Court (Happy Lantern Festival)
"The name of this secret organization is the Black Lords' Court."

Nimrod explained the meaning of this to the six Order Shadow Extraordinary Ones:

"Black is the color of the Legion. I am the king, and you are my subjects."

"Although their numbers are still small, there are another twenty-nine people who have been given power by me and are undergoing transformation surgery."

"I will also grant more power to the legion in the future, so there will be a strict promotion system in the royal court, and it has nothing to do with your position in the legion."

The six Orders remained silent, but their eyes flickered with curiosity, unlike the Legion's hierarchy.

"The measure will be the number of times I grant you power. Even though you are superhuman, you still need to understand the meaning of the power I grant you before you can make the next upgrade."

"You are now knights. The next level up will be lords, followed by barons, viscounts, earls, marquises, and dukes."

Nimrod combined Sequence 6 "Corrupted Baron", Sequence 4 "Fallen Count" and Sequence 2 "Duke of Entropy" to name the third, fifth and seventh enhancements, and supplemented them with the Viscount and Marquis levels.

He added the titles of Knight and Lord before Baron, completing the hierarchy of the royal court.

"Now, then, listen carefully to my first order."

"You are forbidden to mention the abilities I have granted you to anyone who is not a member of the Royal Court, including your battle brothers."

The severity in the words frightened the five heirs, and they immediately responded in unison.

"Now you should go back and spread my ideas to more Shadows of Order."

After the six children left, Nimrod sent a message to Marlena Scala.

On the way to the "Tiller", he returned to the "Land of Disorder" to prepare the "Physician" potion.

After a moment, Malena Scala, with her broad and smooth forehead, looked at Nimrod's open palm with a smile.

"Another gift of power."

The female psychic of the biochemical department showed a perfect smile. After experiencing the mind link, she had a very deep understanding of Nimrod's inner world.

Although Nimrod skillfully used psychic techniques to conceal most of his secrets, Malena could still sense a part of his heart.

The mysterious sense of distance lessened slightly, and she gained a deeper understanding of the existence known as the Primarch after Nimrod returned to the Empire.

Nimrod possessed godlike combat power, but he also possessed emotions, though he rarely displayed them.

This is because of his status, and more importantly, because he possesses power. The crises that mortals encounter, like the predators he encountered during that warp voyage, are just minor troubles to them. Not many things will shock them.

As the "tiller" spoke, he picked up the white potion and drank it all in one gulp.

After a moment, she gathered her surging power and asked in a low voice.

"'Physician'?"

"Yes, I will assign you a new role so that you can quickly master the power, but it won't be pleasant at the beginning."

Marlena raised her thick yet delicate eyebrows and asked tentatively.

"Medical deck?"

She knew that Howard Finder and the others were in an area on the upper deck that had been divided into a separate level for their Space Marine transformation.

"Indeed," Nimrod nodded, "I hope you can participate in the Astartes transformation."

Apothecaries are responsible for recovering gene seeds, but they are not usually directly involved in, or at least not entirely responsible for, the transformation of new recruits.

Typically, their role is to oversee the entire process of the recruit's transformation surgery rather than perform it themselves.

He also knew that the new soldiers recruited by the various legions from Terra were currently being transformed on the moon. There were no pharmacists involved in the process, and it was mainly the work of members of the "Selena Gene Sect".

Nimrod could arrange for Malena to be involved, but winning the pharmacist's trust was not an easy process.

He looked at Malena and told her his purpose.

"The soldiers from the Vostroyan regiments undergoing transformation are too old, and the risk of failure of the transformation surgery is very high."

"As a 'physician', you can keep some people alive even when they fail."

Nimrod said meaningfully, “You will learn a lot from this and benefit from it in the future.”

The "Mother" path is just as its name suggests. Starting from the middle sequence, one can begin to create living things. After the high sequence, the creation will even have a soul.

As a bio-psychic, Malena can use psychic power to analyze the composition of biological tissues and manipulate changes.

Combining the two doubles the effect.

Nimrod was very optimistic about Malena, a Beyonder he was prioritizing. "I believe in you. With the abilities you've given me, I'll quickly earn their trust."

Marlena's brown eyes sparkled as she spoke confidently.

"follow me."

After Nimrod made Malena understand the significance of joining the pharmacist team, he took her to the medical deck.

Taking the Primarch's special elevator, the two went down to the medical deck.

As they entered the hall, what came into their sight was a busy and orderly genetic laboratory.

The pharmacists have completed the installation of all the equipment, and the air is filled with a special smell of disinfectant and metal.

Under the towering ceiling, intricate pipes meander like veins, supplying the equipment with various liquids and energies to maintain the life of the transformed and promote the transformation process.

Next to the metal walls are organ cultivation chambers. After the heart, lungs and other organs required for the transformation surgery are produced, the trainee pharmacists use testing instruments to test them one by one.

Pharmacist attendants in black robes, scattered throughout hundreds of modified cabins separated by tempered glass covers, gathered around the metal operating beds.

The pharmacists monitored the operations in more than a dozen modified cabins and personally completed the more difficult modification procedures.

Nimrod glanced at the medical deck and was immediately attracted by the modified cabin twenty-five meters away, which was numbered IV.

Mikel and another pharmacist gathered around the metal operating table, surrounded by a dozen attendants in black robes.

A naked man was lying on the metal operating table, his body shaking violently as if he had been electrocuted.

Ningluo immediately identified the identity of the candidate being transformed. He was Rawlslev, the earliest follower of his, the commander of the first regiment, and a "fighter" who was promoted not long ago.

He thought to himself that something was wrong and strode towards the No. 4 modified cabin, with Malena following closely behind him.

Ten meters away from the cabin, Rawlslev's body suddenly stopped twitching and fell straight onto the operating table.

Mikkel said helplessly as he took back the medical kit from his left arm.

"Rescue failed, candidate died!"

Nimrod heard the cold voice of the chief pharmacist, and his spiritual vision also confirmed Mikel's judgment.

He looked at Malena beside him, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Marlena understood and walked towards the transformation cabin.

"Primarch!"

Mikel heard the servants' shouts and looked outside the cabin. When he saw the Father of Genes, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. Then he quickly walked to the cabin door and opened it.

He ran into a mortal and was about to scold him when he heard his father speak.

"She's a 'physician', let her take a look."

[Doctor? The candidate is already dead, and no mortal doctor can save him.]
Although confused, Mikel immediately followed the Primarch's order. He took a step to the side and let Malena go in.

Malena quickly walked to the operating table, and another pharmacist and a servant made way for her.

She opened her spiritual vision. Unlike the "corpse collector" who focused on the field of death, the "doctor's" spiritual vision focused more on the field of health.

With just one scan, Marlena confirmed that Rawlslev's organs were inevitably dying, but she checked twice more before shaking her head at Nimrod.

Ningluo felt sad. He knew the dangers of adult reconstructive surgery, but he did not expect to witness Rawlslev's death with his own eyes.

He was the earliest follower and the most loyal one. He did not die on the battlefield, but died on the cold operating table.

[Rawlslev is the oldest and most likely to die.

Even if he hadn't undergone the transformation surgery, it would have been impossible for him to be promoted to a high-sequence state. Even with the best life-extending surgery, he could only live for a few hundred years at most.]
After a moment of sadness, Ningluo spoke to Mikel and others.

"You guys go out first."

"Marlena stay."

He wants to recover the extraordinary characteristics left behind after the death of the extraordinary person.

"Yes."

After learning this, Mikkel chose to follow the Primarch and held a special place in his heart.

[The Primarch wants to say goodbye to him.]
After the pharmacist and the attendants left the transformation cabin, Nimrod walked in.

(End of this chapter)