Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 743 World Devourer Company Commander Margo: The Shadow of Order is truly fortunate to have a gene father like Lord Nimrod.
937.M30.

Orders were given within the fleet of the "World Eaters".

On every command post of the Twelfth Legion, a conspicuous countdown, both striking and abhorrent to the World Eaters, began: thirty-one hours.

Since the return of the father of genetics, Anglon, thirty-one has become the number of deaths.

The father of genetics used the standard time corresponding to a day on his home planet as a strict standard, and the conquest of each planet had to be completed within thirty-one hours.

Even for Astartes, conquering a planet in thirty-one hours was too stressful.

On the Hound's Fang, Margot, the company commander of the 18th Company, strode across the deck of the aircraft carrier. The Unbreakables had already assembled.

Even when the Devourers were still warhounds, the soldiers of the 18th Company were called the Unbreakables within the Legion.

Since its establishment, even in the fiercest battles, the soldiers of the 18th Company have never broken down.

Forged in blood and fire, the soldiers of the company have survived crisis time and time again.

Margot strode up to the three squads of elite veterans and roared.

“Genna once submitted to the human empire.”

The numbering of Genna in the Empire is 93-15.

"But it chose betrayal again, which is no different from a world that refuses to obey."

Upon hearing news of Genna's betrayal, Chief Pharmacist Garland Surak immediately urged Angron, the father of genetics, to respond.

He consulted planetary log data and discovered that the Gennadian android's operating technology could help him complete his research on the Butcher's Nail.

Angron immediately issued orders to set out to quell the rebellion.

Company Commander Kahn, a high-ranking commander who knew Angron, the father of genetics, best, pointed out to them:

"This is our chance."

"Once we implant the butcher's nail, the father of genetics will change his attitude toward us drastically."

“We will be regarded as slave gladiators fighting alongside him.”

Margot couldn't be sure if what Kahn said would come true, but since he had accepted the task, he would do his best to complete it.

"You know we don't have much time to waste, so let's act quickly."

"Trust in your brothers' shield as you trust in yourselves. Fight as one, and no enemy will survive before us."

"We must fight! Nothing can be built without destruction! For Angron and the Emperor!"

His Unbreakable Shouts Responded, and the Sergeant Majors, who were in charge of regulating the ranks of squad leaders in the Military Affairs Department, led their respective squads into action.

The company split into squads and marched quickly toward their designated drop pods and Stormbirds, the air thick with the heat of engines starting up rapidly.

The World Eaters locked themselves inside airdrop pods that were sealed like clenched fists, secured by hydraulic rods.

Margo bumped shoulders with Orentes at the feet of his Stormbird, his honor guards lined up and secured themselves inside the gunboat's hold.

“We will do it,” Tomahawk Champion Orentus said firmly. “This time, in this world, we can do it.”

Margot secured his helmet, a dark green light flashing before his eyes.

"Brother, for the Legion."

This is the first battle since the discovery of Angron, the Father of Genesis, in Nukelia, that has taken place without a Primarch participating.

Angron rarely attended the Legion's war councils; he was indifferent, and when he did participate, aside from a few sarcastic remarks, he rarely contributed anything.

But ever since Kahn found the Father of Genes, Angron has never been absent from the battle.

Even in Angron's absence, the World Eaters could feel his gaze.

The shadow of their father loomed over every World Eater who participated in the war, their hearts pounding with each of them as the damned countdown began.

Margo glanced at the helmet display; fortunately, there were no anti-aircraft weapon arrays on the Genna surface.

As the countdown reached 26, the 18th Company emerged from the airdrop pod, and the Stormbirds swooped down to land.

At the same time, Genna's satellite.

Under the full moon's light, Garan Sulak was surrounded by metals and gems in different moon shapes:
Moon-shaped metal, crescent-shaped yellow gemstone, full-moon-shaped purple gemstone, moonstone from the satellite Vostonia...

"Potion Professor" Garland opened a dozen or so crystal bottles in front of him.

The air was filled with the smell of blood, with the blood of Omega being the most delicious.

Garland clasped his pale hands together, upside down, in silent praise.

"Thank you my Lord."

After releasing his hands, he took out a nearly solidified crimson potion from his waist, tilted his head back, and drank it.

A moment later, Garan, who had been promoted to "Crimson Scholar", drew an even number of ritual daggers made of black gold from his waist, erected a spiritual wall, and knelt on the ground to pray to the Black Emperor.

Amidst the billowing black mist, metals and gems in the shape of different moons were thrown into an invisible, illusory gate.

From the depths of the black fog, the Black Emperor, seated high on his throne, spoke with "majesty."

“Genna’s surrender cannot be completed in thirty-one hours.”

"Margo's 18th Company will be required to carry out eleven-killing, and he will disobey orders. Varis will also lead the think tanks to rebel against Angron."

"You must remind Varis to use an anesthetic to render Angron unconscious until Butcher's Nail is complete."

Upon hearing the Black Emperor's revelation, Garan was horrified: something was about to happen to the Legion.

He had no doubt that the think tank director, Varis, would rebel against the Father of Genetics, Angron, as the Black Emperor had suggested, even though it seemed somewhat unbelievable.

The Black Emperor foretold what would happen in Nukelia, even before the Father of Genes instructed him to develop the Butcher's Nail to fit the World Eater. He also revealed to himself the Genna people's androids.

Garland was also confident that he could complete the research and development in a short time. With the help of the mysterious figure under the Black Emperor who constantly communicated and interacted with him, the development of Butcher's Nail was basically completed. Now, only the technology of the Genna people was needed.

What puzzled him was why the Black Emperor would save Margot.

Margot was not among those he had previously identified as people he wanted to inspire.

"Whatever the reason, since my lord has commanded me to aid Margot, I will enlighten him."

At the same moment Sulan returned to the Conqueror, the Twelfth Legion's countdown jumped to nineteen.

On the surface of Genna, beneath the gates of Marco.

Margot hacked the enemy in front of him to pieces with his short-handled chainsaw axe, and used the brief respite to observe the progress of the other companies.

The runes of each company flashed erratically on the screen. The Genna people resolutely resisted the attack, and the other companies were not progressing any faster than his Unbreakables.

Margot opened the communication channel and called the captain of the Hound's Fang.

“Captain Yuta, we need your ground support. I will provide you with the target coordinates from the ground.” Yuta’s image on the display screen flickered, and he did not answer immediately.

He spoke briefly with someone off-screen before answering.

"Company Commander, given the current state of ground warfare, I cannot guarantee that our artillery fire will not accidentally injure our own men."

"After Bruch, we..."

The communication link was interrupted, but Margo already knew what his captain was going to say.

Three months ago, during the Battle of Bruchweg, a fleet orbital strike disobeyed the orders of the Father of Genetics.

Because the bombing was unexpected, one of the companies fighting alongside Angron was accidentally wounded.

As soon as the battle ended, the Father of Genetics executed the captain who had ordered the bombardment of the ground.

[We can only rely on ourselves.] Margot thought dejectedly.

He looked out onto the battlefield and, like the other companies, abandoned their phalanx advance and charged haphazardly toward the Genna people.

They penetrated deep into the Gennaro Front, but quickly scattered among the enemy, lacking any cohesion.

My company, like the others, began to lose order.

If the former corps commander Locke were still alive, he would definitely whip all the company commanders and even demote us to soldiers.

Is this how Angron fights?
Margot thought sadly.

There was no thought, and no discipline.

You are less a being of flesh and blood and more a mindless killer; all restraint and composure have been destroyed by that damned butcher's nail.

Look at the way you're fighting; you're harming the lives of every World Eater.
Margo couldn't help but think of the reapers who had once been just as cruel as them.

After Lord Nimrod's return, the Reapers were reshaped, and their keen senses were transformed from enjoying the killing to seeking out the enemy's weaknesses.

The Shadow of Order is truly fortunate to have a gene father like Nimrod.

What about us...?
“This is utterly stupid,” Hanno, a member of the Honor Guard, voiced Margo’s thoughts.

He lost his shield and used his falax to cut down anything that came near him.

"We should retreat and order the fleet to burn this world to ashes from orbit."

"No!" Margo blasted a Genna man to pieces with his explosive pistol, then quickly hid the pistol and switched to his short-handled chainsaw axe.

Amidst the roar, he chopped the eight men into twenty-five pieces.

"He won't accept it. You know he won't."

"So do you think he'll accept the current outcome?" asked Orentus, the Tomahawk champion, echoing the thoughts of everyone in the company.

Just as Margot was about to answer, a cacophony of horn sounds came from the right—a standardized sound.

The horn, imitating that of a gladiator, signals a request for aid.

No high-ranking officers survived in that company.

"It's the 44th Company. They've advanced too far and are surrounded." Standard-bearer Astakos raised his flag high.

“All the other companies are engaged in combat, and no one can support them.”

"If we don't do something, they will be wiped out."

The 44th Company suffered heavy casualties. Barkaba's company was supposed to be behind the 18th Company, playing a supporting role as a rearguard.

But he blindly threw the World Eater into the battle in order to complete the mission within thirty-one hours.

They suffered heavy casualties, and if the 18th Company did not come to their rescue, their brother units would be overwhelmed by the enemy.

“Margo, the city gates are in our hands, we have a chance to storm the city,” shouted Orentus, the Battle Axe Champion.

"If we launch a rescue operation, it will be too late to attack the city gate."

Lightning flashed past Margo, burning a dozen Genna people to death. Think Tank Tess shouted, "You must make a decision immediately: either we aid the 44th Company, or we advance."

“We cannot abandon them,” Margot said resolutely.

"We cannot win by abandoning our own people."

“I will not stand idly by. We cannot abandon our brothers in arms when we can help them.”

“But that was Father’s order,” Orentes reminded him.

Margot shouted, "Send Angron and his countdown to hell!"

"Before he came back, the 44th Company had already been our brothers-in-arms."

"Spike formation!" Margot shouted.

……

A sharp bell rang out from inside the helmet, echoing in the minds of the World Eaters like a meteorite.

The timer reset, and a crimson glow flashed on the helmet display, striking them more brutally than the Genna people's weapons.

A terrible thought filled everyone's mind: they had failed.

Margo gritted his teeth until blood dripped down his chin.

Genna, who was crawling at his feet, looked up at him, his disfigured face silently mocking him.

He pounced on the Genna man like a vicious dog, raising his fist and slamming it down again and again.

Genna's head was smashed, and his goggles were soaked with blood.

"Company commander, it's over!" the standard-bearer Astakos shouted, grabbing Margo's shoulder armor and dragging him up.

Margo glanced at the gates of Marco, the capital of Gennady; they had cleared the way, and victory was within reach.

He took a deep breath, forcefully dug a handful of soil from Genna and put it into his bag.

As he stood up, he hung the bag on his waist: "Assemble the company; we will be one."

The company members silently pulled each other back from the killing, carrying the wounded who could not walk.

The World Eaters halted their attack, and the Genna watched them leave calmly and with a sense of bewilderment.

The World Eaters trekked back to their respective company's assembly point and lined up to board the Stormbirds and landing craft.

Margo's Stormbird ascended, climbing towards near-Earth orbit, heading towards the Conqueror.

Angron's shadow transformed into a crimson light, flickering ahead.

(End of this chapter)