Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 485 "Corrosion" and the Forgotten Ones of "Space Sharks"

The surface of Shana II in the Shana-Vesidax system.

The commander of the Nineteenth Army Corps, Alkahas Far, swung his axe one last time, tearing the enemy to shreds.

Blood flowed all around him, and every one of his brothers-in-arms had pieces of flesh hanging from their armor.

Alkahas still hasn't found the alien that Balsa Kuturi described as enslaving humanity.

He shook the blood off the axe, stopped, and looked up at the sky.

Countless rays of light, like shooting stars, pierced through the dark clouds that forged the world.

Alkahas was taken aback; it was obvious that Astartes was rapidly arriving on the battlefield via airdrop.

"Shadow Lord, they've arrived." Balsa walked slowly, and unlike his other warrior brothers from the Asian, dust storm regions of Terra, his armor was not stained with blood.

"Don't get too excited. It might just be a task force, like ours and the 'Star Hunters' company, that happens to be passing through this area."

“But there are thousands of warships in the void.” Balsa shook his head.

“Those alien ships, covered in flails and spikes, may be heading deeper into the Empire after taking control of the Shana system.” Alkahas turned to look at his think tank.

"Don't rely on your prophecy. Eight hours ago, you told me that you would find aliens enslaving humans here."

"Lord of Shadows, I apologize, but I believe the alien possesses powerful psychic abilities, and it interfered with my premonitions."

“I hope to hear some good news. Where is Nerat Kirin?” Alkahas stared at Balsa with a cold look in his eyes.

"Lord of Shadows, I regret to disappoint you once again. We have lost contact with Nerat, and I have no idea where he is."

"His last known location was coordinate point 513."

“However, Nerat has always been sharp enough to retreat in time before the enemy can catch him. I think you know him best.”

“Nerath is a cunning fellow; he won’t die so easily,” Alkahas said. Although they all came from the Dust Storm region, Nerath, who was from the Zerik tribe, was very different from them.

Alkahas shouted to his fellow fighters:
"Proceed to coordinate 513 and kill every enemy of the Empire we encounter."

"Whether it's aliens or the humans they control."

Al-Kajas quickly acknowledged that Balsa's prediction was at least partially true.

More and more airdrop pods, like raindrops, were scattered across the gloomy sky of Shana.

This situation lasted for ten sidereal days before it stopped.

Alkahas realized that it wasn't a special task force; he had been met with reinforcements from the Legion.

The Lord of Shadows acknowledged the prophecy of his think tank, and reinforcements and enemies fought fiercely across the world.

Alkajas did not stop, and there was still no news from Nerat.

He launched an attack on coordinate point 504. Once he broke through the slaves blocking his way, he could reach coordinate point 513, where Nerat had disappeared.

Alkahas and his battle comrades, their armor now a dark red.

"Free fire."

The Lord of Shadows issued the order over the communication channel, and the thunderous roar of explosive guns echoed in front of the foundry.

The roar of rockets and the scorching heat of plasma beams sent the bodies of the crowd exploding and scattering, blood splattering like rain.

Alkajas waited for the first volley to finish before charging forward.

The chainsaws and axes roared, turning the scene into a sea of ​​blood.

Suddenly, a voice rang out in his mind.

"Lord of Shadows, something is coming."

"They're aliens; they're coming from all directions."

"It's a trap..."

Alkahas drew his chainsaw axe beforehand and flung the mangled corpse aside.

He turned to look at the alien, a towering creature resembling an upright scorpion. It opened its ferocious maw and let out a roar.

Alkahas felt as if his brain was being repeatedly struck by a heavy hammer. He let out a low growl, raised his great axe, and charged at the alien.

The alien swung its thick, pincer-like arm and pierced through an Astartes.

A dozen or so Astartes raised their weapons and angrily unleashed a barrage of bullets at the alien.

In the blinding light, the Astartes were astonished to find that the bomb seemed to have hit an invisible barrier and exploded in front of the alien.

Balsa saw that the alien had not stopped, and he was very confident in his defense.

His eyes immediately lit up with a golden light, and he gripped his force field staff tightly, the emerald green stone at the top radiating psionic energy.

A large plume of black flames enveloped the alien like a shadow.

Amid a series of ear-piercing explosions, Balsa sent a thought pulse to Alkahas.

“I have broken through his defenses, now.”

Alkahas suddenly accelerated, and the enormous potential energy sent the alien flying backward with a deafening roar.

He rushed forward, stepping onto the alien's chest, and in an instant, the giant axe cleaved down diagonally from left to right.

The Lord of Shadows killed an elite enemy warrior, but Balsa showed no sign of joy.

His golden eyes swept around as countless figures charged toward them, including not only enslaved humans but also aliens.

Balsa sent a thought pulse to his Shadow Lord, “This is a trap. The aliens have been using slaves to wear us down, and they’re using Nerat as bait.”

Alkahas's automatic sensor display reminded him that he had lost fifty-two of his comrades in the standard one minute and forty-two seconds, while he had only lost twenty-seven in over a month of fighting. The Shadow Lord immediately gave the order, "Follow me!"

The honor guard immediately formed a crescent formation around him and charged forward.

The storm of bullets tore a rift through the enslaved human race.

Alkahas charged toward the shielded alien before the first explosive shell was fired; he had to clear a path for his combat comrades.

Balsa suppressed the throbbing in his temples and swung his power field staff with all his might to aid his Shadow Lord.

Black flames enveloped the shimmering personal energy shield, and with a series of explosions, finally tore through the alien's defense mechanism.

The otherworldly shriek pierced Balsa's ears as he wearily hung the Force Field Staff at his waist.

The think tank knew it had reached its limit and could no longer use psionic energy.

Balsa injected himself with a combat stimulant, which revitalized his weary body, and the throbbing pain in his temples disappeared as his body throbbed with excitement.

He drew his explosive pistol and chainsaw sword, ready to fight like an ordinary Astartes.

Balsa immediately took action. He noticed that one of his fellow combatants had run out of ammunition, so he fired a bomb to the right, forcing an alien to take cover.

Alkahas noticed that more and more of his fellow fighters were running out of ammunition.

Their last resupply was a week ago at the Temple of Forging on the 15th, but now it is heavily surrounded by terrifying creatures tearing apart Titans and a massive army of human slaves, preventing them from getting close.

The foundry had been completely abandoned; they could only find some parts inside to repair their melee weapons.

"Conserve ammunition and prevent enemies from approaching from the flanks."

The Lord of Shadows decided to lead his honor guard to quickly break through the front lines, and he turned on his communicator.

“Brothers, as the eldest sons of the tribe, we fought against much larger Indonesian tribes before our ascension.”

"After the upgrade, we conquered Central Asia and ended the rule of the tyrant Karaghan in Ursh."

He slapped the rune hard. "Remember? We had just left Terra when we took Ganymede back from the aliens."

The brothers-in-arms pounded the runes with all their might; they had carried them as souvenirs ever since that brutal war.

The Lord of Shadows swung his giant axe, pointing it forward.

The fighting comrades responded with a roar, following the Shadow Lord in a charge, their chainsaws roaring and their power weapons flashing blue light.

Alkahas brute forcefully rammed into the overlord of Randan, letting the pincers smash into his armor, and swung his chainsaw axe, unleashing one fierce slash after another.

His ferocious attack shattered the overlord's proud defenses, and with a piercing screech, the giant axe slammed into the enemy's chest.

The Lord of Shadows kicked the enemy away before receiving feedback from the automatic sensors.

He lost another 147 comrades-in-arms, including 29 of his closest guards.

Only 218 people still had ammunition.

The Lord of Shadows' eyes were cold; he didn't know how many more of his comrades would die on this journey.

He roared and charged at a tyrant who had just swung his pincers and torn his guards to shreds.

Suddenly, Alkahas felt a golden light flash overhead.

The overlord was swept into the air by a force, and then his body was twisted together in a strange way and broken into several pieces.

Alkahas stared in astonishment at the black-armored giant in the air, only snapping out of his daze when the giant landed right in front of him.

"Lord Ninglu, the commander of the 19th Legion, Alkahas Far, pays his respects."

Ninglu looked at Alkahas, whose armor was covered in dark red blood, and his eyes flickered.

It was you!

The most tragic legion commander!
After the Primarchs returned, most of the former Legion Commanders became the second-in-command, while Alkahas was the least favored one in Nimrod's memory.

Not only was he not given an official position, but shortly after Kovacs Corax's return, he was sent to wander outside the territory.

Alkahas later became the first Chapter Master of the Space Sharks and became the Great Forgotten One worshipped by the sharks.

[However, this is precisely my opportunity to "corrupt".]
Through continuous experimentation, Ninglu has come to realize that the stronger a person's will and the higher their loyalty, the more difficult it is to "corrupt" them.

Corruption views the Emperor as Arkham Rand, the Om Messiah, and he has spent far more time and effort on him than Ryan Ramirez and others.

The same is true even in a "disorderly country".

In the future, in order to avoid dying from a flesh mutation, Hathor Matt betrays Magnus and collaborates with the treacherous demon Carlos, who is capable of corruption.

As a warrior of the Eldar, Slao Da has walked many paths and possesses an unwavering will.

Through the esoteric power of foresight, he viewed humanity as an inferior species that should be destroyed, thus rendering it impossible to "corrupt" them.

Not everyone in the esoteric sects wanted to destroy humanity from the very beginning. They attempted to guide humanity to develop according to their will during the Terran era, but they were unsuccessful.

Only Slough Dahl believed from the beginning that humanity should be destroyed.

Ninglu thus concluded that the object of "corruption" must meet certain conditions in order for the corruption to succeed.

They may not have been loyal to begin with, or they may have found an opportunity.

Arkham is a typical example. Although he regards the old man as Om Messiah, he can show him the miracle of retrieving the Void Claw.

Without a doubt, the future "space shark" Great Forgotten One is such a suitable candidate.

Corax has not yet returned, and the future Alcaraz is also not well received.

[Korax, since you look down on Alcaraz and the other Terrans, I might as well take care of your offspring for you.]
The "Corrupted Baron" stared at Alcaras Far, "Stay by my side."

(End of this chapter)