Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 654 Fernus Manus Desperately Seeks His First Defeat
The Grand Theatre temporarily suspended performances after the premiere of Hamlet.

As the stage prepared for the next performance, the nobles reluctantly left the magnificent theater after the two Primarchs departed.

Kozubar said this to Vostochny Chancellor Elena Kournikova.

"I never imagined that Your Majesty would have such extraordinary artistic talent. If it weren't for Lord Peturabo's visit, we would not have had the opportunity to witness masterpieces from ancient times."

Yelena's hair is gray, and despite the life-extending surgery, she is inevitably growing old.

"Everyone says that Lord Fugrim is a true artist."

"Even a king could rival it; the model city is a symmetrical and perfectly planned city."

"Shadow Castle is an asymmetrical, disordered and unrestrained work of art, but few people know how to appreciate it."

The nobles marveled at the grand theater and the unforgettable performances while in the palace at the top of the nest.

Triken's unique thick vegetable soup, made from beets, cabbage, carrots, onions, and cream, is served first as an appetizer.

Specialties such as raw whale slices from Cradle of the Sea and Ovija steak from Attila were served one by one.

As Peturabo drank a glass of white rasvoot, feeling a slight burning sensation in his mouth, he spoke.

"The stasis device that I redesigned and manufactured for you has been delivered to your starport."

Ninglu raised his glass in a toast to Peturabo.

“Petulab, thank you. With the creations you designed, I am able to cope with the Hrud’s entropy energy field.”

“The distortion effect of the Hruds is peculiar; it can even cause Astartes to age,” Peturabo remarked with a sigh.

"No one knows that you are fighting against powerful aliens, waging a difficult war in silence."

In the past, Peturabo always heard his father praise Nimrod at war conferences, while he was rarely mentioned.

Now he understood that Nimrod's army had not only completed the many battles his father had entrusted to him, but had also silently fought arduous battles without anyone knowing.

[Father, you told Ninglu to rest, but how could he stop?]
As Peturabo marveled at Nimrod's loyalty, Alsena Dunn's communicator buzzed. He answered the call, listened to the report, and then reported to the Black Emperor.

"My lord, Lord Finus Manus's fleet has arrived at the anchor point in the real world and is sailing from Mandeville."

"The fleet is expected to arrive in orbit in three days."

Ninglu was taken aback; Fernusby had arrived sixteen standard days ahead of schedule.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. [Finnus Manus is in a hurry.]

Yes, he was always seeking perfection, and his way of seeking perfection was through failure.

I was in Medusa, and although I defeated him in the competition, I didn't defeat him in a fight like Old Man Huang did.
Nimrod recalled that of all the Primarchs who had challenged Fernus, only Roger Dorn was someone he was certain had fought before.

[Fenus possesses the Silver Hand with the Void Dragon Fragment, and without considering me, he is the ceiling in terms of physics.]

He shouldn't lose to Dorn, meaning he hasn't suffered his first defeat yet.

I have defeated Russ before, and in his mind I may be able to defeat him.

In other words, Fernández Manus desperately needs his first defeat!
As Ninglu pondered, Peturabo's icy blue eyes shone brightly.

He looked at Ning Lu and said with a smile.

“I originally intended to set off for the western part of the galaxy to complete my father’s trial.”

“Now, I will stay a few more days to witness your great battle with Fernus Manus.” “I believe you will be the victor.” He spoke, recalling Magnus’s words that Ruth had been beaten so badly that it was known to the other brothers in the War Council.

“Apart from Zi Feng, no one has a high opinion of Gorgon.”

Nimrod nodded slightly. He knew that Fernus was the complete opposite of Forgrim, who was afraid of failure and ruining perfection. He wouldn't care about his own failure, nor would he refuse Perturabo's invitation to watch.

He said with a smile, "I have prepared many plays for you, and you will have the opportunity to watch them."

In the following days, Peturabo watched performances from all over the world at the grand theater he designed and Nimrod built for him.

Besides tragedies and comedies, there are also war dramas.

Alicia's noble opera troupe presents "Death from Above," with the actors using a unique gliding landing technique to depict nobles leading paratroopers on a landing and defeating Eldar and human pirates.

The Lewis von Valancieus Opera Company presents the play "The Abyss of Colonid," depicting the atrocities of the Metu and the epic story of Nimrod's liberation of hundreds of billions of enslaved humans.

What Peturabo remembers most fondly are his battles against the Skot Alliance with Nimrod and Magnus, and his war against the Randan aliens with Nimrod.

Three standard days later, the Steel Fist entered Vostonia's orbit.

Finus Manus stands in front of the viewing window, gazing at the satellite.

When he last visited, the Vostonia shipyard was just an ordinary shipyard that could only build destroyers at most, but now it has grown into a huge shipyard capable of building Ramirez-class Starfortresses.

On Vostokia's moon, in orbit, various facilities such as orbital docking stations, shipyards, and maintenance facilities are linked together by a massive space station, forming a huge aggregate.

In the shipyard, the horizontal and vertical framework of the platform divides the area into a cross shape, and the outlines of the four quadrants of the future Star Fortress can be vaguely seen.

The work stations, composed of pipes and cables, are densely packed together. Hundreds of meters of cables connect them like a spider web, forming a complex network that allows the auxiliary platforms to suspend between the main body.

[While not on par with top shipyards like Mars Shipyard or Cypra Mondy Shipyard, it's comparable to most shipyards in the foundry world.] Finus quietly offered his assessment.

As he pondered, he heard footsteps behind him.

“Gorgon, we will be entering orbit around the main star of Vostonia in ten minutes.”

Gabriel Santo, the company commander of the "Iron Hands," the commander of the Primarch Guard's Morlock Terminators, and the company commander of the Avignon Clan, approached the Primarch and reported.

“I got the results of the oracles scan from the officer in charge of the sacral chamber.”

"The orbit is anchored by 'Shadow of Order' and a smaller fleet of 'White Scars,' the latter of which must be a Khan sent by Chagatai Khan to study under Nimrod."

"In addition, there is a massive 'Iron Warriors' fleet, Lord Peturabo, which should be in Vostonia."

“I see those gray-iron warships,” Finus’s silver-coin-like eyes gleamed. “He wants to be a spectator.”

"Many of my brothers are watching this duel."

When Santo recalled Medusa, Lord Nimrod had defeated his father in a contest to excavate technological relics.

He once fought in the air against a giant bird made of gold metal.

Many Medusa people witnessed that great battle, and it has now become a legend of Medusa.

Its spread is second only to the legendary story of his father defeating the silver dragon Asimus.

Santo gripped his gauntlets tightly and shouted.

"Gorgon will prevail."

(End of this chapter)