Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 323 "The Apprentice"

Spiral-Morse VI planet.

Upon returning to the Fifth Warband, San Diego Bergkamp was promoted to lieutenant and led thirty Order Shadows deep into the underground ice caverns.

Compared to the royal monks of the Fourth Battle Group, they were not as adapted to the frigid environment, but with the life support of their power armor, they still made steady progress.

The group cautiously made their way through the labyrinthine tunnels opened up by the Randan aliens, as the slave army could appear from any direction at any moment and launch an attack.

San Diego continued searching as he went.

He knew that to end the battle quickly, he had to kill the Randan overlord who commanded the slaves.

"San Diego, my squad, only one ammunition charge left," reported the captain, who was responsible for covering the rear and was frequently attacked by the slave army.

“San Diego, my squad only has two ammunition supplies left. I suggest we retreat from the ice cave and resupply,” the leader of the vanguard said.

"I have found them."

San Diego's eyes were deep; his "Warp Insight" had already penetrated the ice wall and detected powerful life fluctuations.

Compared to other life forms around it, that life form was clearly more powerful.

San Diego placed his hand on the ice wall, and the other shadows of order immediately understood his meaning.

"Damn it! The aliens are lurking so close, using slaves to attack us."

"Should we use a molten metal bomb?"

The two captains spoke in turn.

San Diego immediately rejected their idea, "No, that could cause a landslide and bury us inside."

"Can your portal take us there?"

Upon hearing this, San Diego shook his head: "I can only take five people with me at a time, and we might get surrounded."

"Then we can only use a power sword to cut and break the ice wall."

San Diego rejected the captain's helpless suggestion, "Too slow. When the aliens built this underground labyrinth, they used some kind of technology to reinforce it."

"The overlords don't want to confront us head-on. If there's any movement, they'll leave immediately and continue to drive their slave armies to wear us down."

The apprentice's eyes suddenly lit up: "I have a better way; I will open a door."

"Prepare for a concentrated fire strike!"

As the "apprentice" spoke, he reached out and pressed his hand against the ice wall, his spirituality spreading out as he used his extraordinary abilities to "open the door."

Suddenly, a blurry, pale blue door appeared before the Shadows of Order.

It is embedded in the ice wall, like a water curtain.

"attack!"

Forty-nine Shadow Order soldiers simultaneously pulled the trigger, unleashing a dense barrage of bullets at their target.

The overlord Ran Dan, who was enjoying the feeling of toying with his prey, was caught off guard, and his personal energy shield shattered instantly.

As San Diego retracted his left arm, he raised his archaeological pistol and fired a scorching, lethal ray powered by energy drawn from the planet's radiation layer.

Ran Dan Overlord's body was instantly vaporized by the high-energy rays, and at the same time, the dark blue door that "opened" disappeared.

The Ran Dan warriors' counterattack struck the ice wall and fell off in a flurry.

Santiago led his team quickly to another location, where he reached out again, pressed his hand against the ice wall, and used "Open Door".

The shadows of order filed in, launching a surprise attack from behind the Randan warriors. Before the "Apprentice" ran out of spiritual energy, he passed through the dark blue gate and drew his power sword.

As San Diego launched his attack, another raid was unfolding on the tracks.

The Randan fleet launched a surprise attack on the expeditionary fleet orbiting Planet VI.

The Randan ships, covered in spikes and flails, falsified the ship readings of the expeditionary fleet, and pounced like a pack of wolves, showering the Imperial fleet with dense white lightning bolts.

A cruiser and twelve escort ships on the outer perimeter of the fleet were transformed into ominous black shadows in a strange, silent explosion.

A piercing buzzing sound echoed across the bridge of the Death and Decay.

Fifth Company Commander Keown, who was ordered to command the Queen Glory-class battleship, calmly said, "Identify all orbiting ships."

As he issued the order, he strode toward the simulated sanctuary and sat down in the cable-covered chair amidst the shimmering light.

The moment Keown entered the ocean of data, he discovered that the fleet had identified thirty-eight enemy ships, including thirteen capital ships.

Numerous void behemoths awakened, their pitch-black hulls emerging from the terrifying shadows, like giant monsters bursting out of the darkness.

The Death and Decay's turrets opened their massive maws, and the plasma capacitors generated by the Punishment-class reactor boiled.

It should have been deaf and blind, mistaking the attacking enemy ships for friendly forces, but that was not the case.

The target search system locks onto the enemy ship, the weapon systems turn to aim, and request ammunition.

The massive arsenal of the Queen Glory-class battleships rumbled as shells and missiles were transported up by automated loading machinery, deck cranes, or ammunition chutes.

The air was filled with gunfire, sweeping across the enemy ships like a blizzard.

The main beam spear on the bow spewed out dazzling energy, striking the alien warship directly and unleashing a destructive burst of light.

The flagship of the Randan fleet, the wolf-headed, human-bodied overlord, was astonished to see a blizzard of missiles, like countless steel needles, hurtling against the hull of a cruiser.

Without the protection of the Void Shield, the Randan warship suffered hundreds of wounds on its hull, and flames engulfed its internal structure.

The ship's hull was torn to pieces in the core explosion, like a flower blooming and then quickly withering away.

How is that possible?

Even though human ships have mastered some of the secrets to camouflaging their readings, all warships have been modified.

Every three seconds, it will simulate a human ship and replace it, which should allow it to complete a new round of camouflage before the ships can recognize it.
"Call in the war satellite! Immediately deploy drones for cover! Retreat!" The overlord reluctantly issued the order, and this long-prepared surprise attack was declared a failure.

He originally intended to use the newly improved ships to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy ships before they could complete the identification of friend or foe, and then annihilate the fleet after gaining a numerical advantage.

But the overlord did not anticipate that the enemy ship's computing power would be so terrifying.

"Retreat to combat satellite range." He issued the order bitterly, completely abandoning the idea of ​​launching a surprise attack.

[Defense can only be carried out by relying on war satellites.]
The warships of the Fourth and Fifth Battle Groups, with the Death and Decay as their core, launched a pursuit of the Randan warship.

Relying on the collective calculations of the entire fleet's simulated sanctuary, identification was completed before the Randan warship could iterate its camouflage readings, and the terminal of the fire strike was reached instantly.

The Imperial warships, possessing an overwhelming numerical advantage, were like bloodthirsty sharks, relentlessly tearing at the retreating Randan fleet, unleashing devastating light.

The main battleship crashed through the floating wreckage, and beams of light pierced the hull of the Randan warship.

It wasn't until the Randan drones swarmed in like locusts and sank one of the leading capital ships that Keown cautiously issued an order to cease the pursuit.

Without the endless torpedoes in the central region of the Ramirez-class Starfortress, the Imperial fleet would suffer losses if it continued its pursuit.

While the offensive on the other three planets was underway, Ninglu also set foot on the core planet of Randan's outer perimeter—Juejing Star.

(End of this chapter)