Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 92: Failed to replicate, Horus's desire to win ignites

"Father," Mikkel said, holding a data pad and reading out a series of cold numbers, "Currently, a total of 342 candidates have undergone transformation surgery."

"Among them, 58 candidates failed the first revision surgery, with a failure rate of 24.39%."

"Of the losers, five survived and were transformed into the Legion's servitors, while the other 5 died."

The chief pharmacist paused and began to explain to Nimrod.

"The ascension from mortal to Astartes is a great challenge, and many are unable to adapt to the process and fall at the first hurdle."

"Once you enter the gate to heaven, the probability of surgical failure will drop significantly."

To prove his point, Mikel said immediately.

"The number of candidates who failed the second revision surgery was 6, and all of them died. The failure rate dropped to 4.52%."

"Nine candidates failed the third surgery. This is because the difficulty of the surgery increased, and the failure rate increased to 9%."

He paused, a hint of surprise in his tone.

"The eight people who didn't make it through the third stage of transformation all died. The one just saved by that 'doctor' is the first one to survive."

Ning Lu was silent. He quickly calculated that the combined failure rate of the first three transformation operations was 33.54%.

Even in the most optimistic scenario, four out of ten people will fail.

Without Malena, most of them would have died.

Nimrod realized that this was the right opportunity to express the purpose of his visit.

"Marlena Scala is not only a 'doctor', she is also a bio-psychic who can save the patient's life if the operation fails."

"Father, do you want her to join the transformation process?"

The chief pharmacist understood and asked.

"Yes."

Mikel thought for only a second before deciding to follow the orders of the Father of Genes. He was also somewhat interested in the methods of the mortal "doctor".

Is this a unique medical technique native to Vostronia? Or is it a special effect produced by combining medical skills with psychic powers?
"As you wish."

The Chief Pharmacist looked at the data board and continued to report the progress of the transformation to the Primarch.

"There are currently 103 candidates undergoing the first surgery, 51 candidates undergoing the second surgery, and 36 candidates undergoing the third surgery."

"A total of 79 people passed the first three transformation surgeries. It is worth noting that among the 23 group leaders, only Rawlslev died."

"Among them, Howard Fender, Bukayo Arshavin and Thierry Vieira have made the fastest progress in their transformation. They have already completed their fourth surgery and are adapting well without any rejection reactions."

Ningluo nodded with satisfaction and analyzed the three people in his mind.

[Well, "Sheriff" Howard has the strongest will, "Midnight Poet" Bukayo is young, and "Fighter" Thierry has the strongest physical fitness.]
He said approvingly while thinking about it.

"Your work is amazing, and I'm pleased with it."

"But I need more pharmacists. I hope you can train more pharmacists, trainee pharmacists, and even attendants."

"This is crucial for the future of the Legion."

Nimrod's minimum expectation for the number of "Shadows of Order" before the "Horus Heresy" was 200,000. The current 23 official pharmacists and 10 pharmacists were far from enough to meet his needs.

The more pharmacists and attendants there are, the more people can undergo surgery.

Nimrod further changed the legion's plan and needed these soldiers he trusted to enter each company and squad, and influence the surrounding fighting brothers in every battle and in daily life.

On his way back to the strategy room, he sent a communication message to another dual-type psyker, Arsène Dunn, summoning him to the bridge.

A moment later, Nimrod sat on the command throne, looking down at the silver-haired psyker.

The time they spent communicating was limited to the Crystal Illusion. After that, he was concerned about Old Man Huang's attitude towards psychics and his studies with Horus, so they had no contact.

Nimrod simply gave him the Flao data crystal containing the Fire and Telekinetic elements for him to study. "Arsena, how is your research going on with the data crystal I gave you?"

"My Lord, I have read and mastered all the data crystals you gave me, and have gained many insights from the etheric arts of the Furao people."

Arsene replied in Vostroyan, his voice in perfect intonation.

"I have gained a deeper understanding of the power of ether, and have learned and mastered more than a dozen new ether spells."

Nimrod nodded with a little surprise. Every psychic spell required a period of practice to master before one could skillfully extract energy from the subspace and use it efficiently in a fixed form.

According to the standards of human psychics, Arsene's talent can be described as excellent, as he was able to master more than a dozen spells in such a short period of time.

If we consider that he also had to decipher and master the language of the Flao people, as well as learn languages ​​such as Vostroian and Gothic, Arsene's learning ability can be said to be excellent.

The Primarch, keenly aware of Arsène's ability to learn, tapped his fingers on the back of his chair.

"Do you read any books?"

There was a flash of surprise in Arsene's eyes, and then he said.

"Sir, the library area on the officer's deck is where I spend most of my time. There are a large number of ancient books preserved there."

Ning Li knew that this relic-class battleship preserved a large number of books. In his private study, there were tens of thousands of books dating back to the Golden Age or even earlier times.

The Primarch also keenly noticed the excitement in Arsene's eyes when he mentioned the library area; he obviously loved reading.

[Arsène is well-suited to be a "Reader," serving as my scholarly attendant, but his loyalty remains to be seen.]
After Nimrod got to know Arsena better, he spoke.

"My private study has a large collection of books. I allow you to read them."

At the same time, the Spirit of Vengeance.

Horus was not wearing armor, he was only wearing a tight suit and a fur cloak.

He stood in the private training cage, rushed forward, and instantly arrived in front of the training robot servant and punched him.

The servitor was blown up by the Primarch's violent power, but Horus frowned and muttered to himself.

"Something seems different. His attack contains some strange power, or perhaps..."

"It contains certain rules that cannot be resisted or avoided."

While Horus was thinking, he signaled the servitor to replace the training servitor.

He tried more than ten times, and each time he destroyed the training servitor with one punch, but he still couldn't find the feeling when Ningluo swung his fist.

The Primarch shook his head, walked out of the training cage, and looked at the Void Hunter through the viewing window.

"Let me see how many more surprises you can bring me, my brother."

Ningluo, who was handling official business, received a communication message from Horus forwarded by the Master of Sound Array.

"My brother, there are still two planets left. Let's each take one and see who conquers it first."

Nimrod sensed the underlying fighting spirit in the voice message and replied, "Okay."

"One is an ocean world, and the other is a world made up of mountains. Which one do you choose?"

Horus generously gave Nimrod the opportunity to choose. The "Moon Wolves" were stronger than the "Shadows of Order" in terms of both number and combat power.

If Nimrod wanted to be victorious, he would have wisely chosen the Ocean World.

For the Astartes Legion with landing ships, the ocean is not an obstacle, and the mountains are more time-consuming.

Just as Horus was thinking this, Nimrod spoke.

"I choose the world made of mountains."

Nimrod has realized that different environments will produce different potion materials. Having conquered the Cradle of the Sea, he is more interested in the mountainous world.

(End of this chapter)