Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 744 Ninglu instructs to stop Angronsh from killing him.
Margo, the company commander of the 18th Company of the "World Eaters," walked into the triumphal hall of the Conqueror and scrutinized the tattered flags hanging on the wall.

That was the enemy's battle flag, the glory of the war dogs.

Since its completion, this place has been a place of glory.

From legion commanders to new recruits, everyone can stroll here and reflect on their glorious victories.

Margo clenched his fists. This ship was no longer called the Resolute Resolution, and he was no longer a war dog.

Now, he is not here for glory.

They gathered to mourn their defeat.

The hall was eerily quiet, the World Eaters' armor cracked and stained with the oily amber blood of the Genna people.

Everyone is waiting for the father of genetics to unleash his fury.

Angron, gripping his long-handled chainsaw axe—the Widowmaker—strides forward like a predator hunting its prey.

Everyone could feel the contempt and dissatisfaction in his gaze, and the fear that the Primarch of Genesis had struck their very souls.

“Failure,” Angron said mockingly, “failure again.”

“Kahn, I told you.” His bloodshot eyes stared at the company commander of the Eighth Assault Company.

"I told you to kill them all."

"I simply gave one order: everyone must die."

"Men, women, the elderly, children, even a dog—everything! Must be completely eradicated."

Angron turned his gaze to the entire legion. "You so-called World Eaters, you can't even conquer a world. You have more than ten thousand people. It's pathetic."

He looked up into the distance, at Nukelia.

"My brothers and sisters, what do you think?"

The Butcher's Nail hummed as Angron laughed loudly:

“Look at these inferior imitators.”

“We were nothing but a bunch of runaway slaves, starving and weak. We fought the High Knights with sticks and stones, and we burned the whole city to the ground.”

"All of this we do is done from sunrise to sunset, a day in Nukelia, thirty-one hours in Terra."

He raised his head high, declaring, "We are the City Devourers!"

He bowed his head in disdain, looking down at the world-devourer.

"You have warships, you have armor, you have weapons!"

"Your so-called Legion warriors and your so-called glory cannot compare to us."

Margo clenched his jaw in humiliation. All the humiliations and defeats he had suffered since joining the Legion combined did not equal the humiliation he had experienced since meeting Angron.

Angron sighed and proceeded to deliver his usual humiliation to the company commanders.

“Cut out the bloodline, and take responsibility for your failure.”

All company commanders stepped out of the ranks and began to repeat the ceremony.

They removed their armor, pulling apart their blood-stained terracotta armor until everyone was shirtless.

Margo drew his fighting knife, felt along his spine, and found the dark red line that snaked around his scars.

After finding the end of the rope, he plunged the knife deep into it.

To counteract his body's regenerative abilities, he had to make a very deep incision.

Margot plunged the knife straight through his flesh until the tip scraped against his black carapace, and blood trickled down his buttocks.

He reached down and took the bag hanging from his belt, filled it with Genna soil, and stuffed it into his wound.

The physical pain of the wound was insignificant to Margot; the hurt he felt was internal.

After the scars on his body heal, there will be a black dotted line.

The shame will live on forever.

Blood Rope is one of the few traditions that Angron permits the World Eaters to imitate in his homeland.

The World Eaters are always seizing any opportunity to establish a connection with the Primarch, even if it is a connection resulting from failure.

By the time Margot got up, her wounds had healed.

The company commanders silently donned their power armor.

“You call yourselves conquerors,” Angron roared, “you dare call yourselves world devourers.”

“You are not even half as good as my brothers and sisters; you are nothing but failed imposters.”

Angron gripped the hilt of the Widowmaker's knife tightly and strode forward.

His bronze armor creaked, and his sons bowed their heads in fear of the impending severe punishment.

“My legion?” he sneered.

“I look at all of you, and I see all your weaknesses.”

"I cannot tolerate weakness; weakness must be eliminated."

Angron stopped in his tracks and finally declared: "Tit for twelfths!"

Margo turned back heavily to look at his company, all of whom had fought for him.

Now, one in ten people will be tortured to death by their fellow fighters to soothe their fathers' broken hearts.

"No!" Margot's voice pierced the deathly silence of the hall.

“Quadra Ni, we failed to achieve conquest in a single day, and you have ordered us to punish ourselves.”

"Buho, Tricardon, Sesters IV."

"Our swords are stained with the blood of our own brothers, for no other reason than to appease your anger."

“That’s because you failed,” Angron said coldly.

“We have not failed!” Margo felt the raging waves crashing against his face, mixed with the smell of blood.

He knew his life could only be measured in seconds, and he had to say all his thoughts before he was torn apart.

"We conquered those worlds, we won the wars."

"Now we stand here, and we will slaughter our own brothers in arms."

"No!" Margot roared.

"Not anymore!"

A few seconds of silence fell over the hall as all the World Eaters stared at the two in horror.

Angron let out a loud laugh. "I like you, Company Commander."

"At least you have the courage to speak your mind, and I will give you a choice."

His smile vanished abruptly. "Choose now, or I will choose for you."

Margot gritted his teeth and pleaded, "This legion is your legion, and the warriors have your blood in their veins."

"Enough has died today, I beg you!"

"My Primarch! My Father! Please don't do this!"

Angron snorted, his expression twisted.

“You have told me time and time again, ‘We are your sons, you are my master, and our lives are at your disposal.’”

He turned and looked coldly at Kahn. "Didn't you tell me this in the cave? To get me back here?"

"Are you liars and cowards? Am I your master?"

"Since I am the master of your destiny, you should accept your fate."

“This is insane!” Margot shook her head.

Kahn walked up to Angron, his voice filled with a chilling warning.

“Margot, watch your words.”

“You must choose,” Anglon repeated, “or I will choose for you.”

He stared at the soldiers of the 18th Company behind Margo.

“Me.” Salil stepped out of the group, knelt down in front of Margo with a thud, straightened his neck, and exposed his throat.

Margot stared at the recruit; he was the future of the World Eaters and shouldn't die like this.

“For the Legion, for Angron!” Salil said calmly.

“For the Legion,” Margo hesitated as he drew his combat dagger from his waist.

“No…” He dropped the sword.

Angron interrupted him, “Your courage is commendable, but you’ve said too much.”

“As punishment, you must strangle him with your bare hands.” Margo’s hands trembled as he looked at Angron in disbelief.

This goes beyond punishment; it's even humiliation.

What father would hate his child so much?

Lord Corax's exile of his sons was cold enough.

Lord Nimrod gave the Reapers chance after chance to help them change.

Angron, however, wanted him to kill his own comrade-in-arms.

"Impossible!" Margot slammed the sword onto the deck.

"Impossible, Father!"

"You dare refuse me?" Angron's eyes were bloodshot, and a chilling roar came from his throat.

His head began to tremble.

His head was tightened, and the scalp was pulled, making a squeaking sound.

A taut connecting line ran along the top of his head, tightly attached to his skull.

The World Eaters heard the clanging of the Butcher's Nails and retreated in fear.

Terminator Barto approached Angron, attempting to calm him down.

Blood rained down as Angron tore off Bato's arm and slammed his head to the ground.

An arm flew to Margot's feet.

Angron leaped into the World Eater, and thirteen people died in an instant.

The widow maker danced, and eight more were dismembered and broken.

Blood stained the deck.

Company Commander Dreger of the Ninth Company led his honor guard towards Angron, attempting to overwhelm him with their numerical superiority.

Angron roared and sent them flying.

Angron grabbed a World Eater, slammed him to the ground, and crushed his skull with a single stomp.

Tess stood at the back of the triumphal hall. Upon arriving there, he immediately left the 18th Company and stood with the think tank members.

Think tanks are a special group, required to stand as far away from the father of genetics as possible.

His father made no secret of his extreme hatred for psionicists.

Tess gritted his teeth, merging his thoughts with those of the other think tank members, and began a mental dialogue.

"He killed dozens of people, the most he has ever killed."

“We must intervene.” Tess stared at his comrades in the 18th Company, who awaited their deaths in terror.

"This is too dangerous."

“We have no choice.” The powerful voice of the think tank director, Varis, overwhelmed everyone.

"If his anger continues, how many more of his comrades will be slaughtered?"

"There's no time for arguing, let's act immediately!"

Varis brought all the think tanks together and said to the young scribe, "Tess, follow our lead."

Tess forced himself to suppress his fear and unease. He had studied the dangerous ritual but never considered using it.

Beside Kerr, all the think tank members knelt on the deck.

The temperature dropped sharply, and thin ice appeared on their armor, piling up into thick ice sheets.

"Brothers, let's begin to integrate!"

The soaring consciousness of the think tanks combined to form a massive psionic warrior.

He is the same size as the Primogen, but only those with subspace vision can see him.

He swiftly flew over the heads of the World Eaters, leaving streaks of ice on their armor wherever he went.

Rumble!
"Wizard! Get out!" Angron roared, his Primarch's will erupting fiercely.

A profound spiritual upheaval shook the very soul of every think tank.

“His anger is too intense; we can’t control him.” Tess’s face was ashen.

“You are our father, you must stop doing this, your anger is killing your sons,” Varis shouted.

“You are not my offspring! You are the weak he imposed upon me!” Angron roared furiously.

“My only family member is dead; they were already dead when he took me away.”

During their intellectual exchange, Tess glimpsed his father's thoughts.

Tess saw flashing images, images of the abuse and horror of his life.

The relentless torment and cycle tear apart the shattered soul.

The flashing light struck Tess's mind, irresistibly gripping his consciousness and pulling him away from the psionic warrior.

His consciousness was seized by Angron's chaotic mind, and he was trapped within it.

Tess's identity became blurred, and he saw with trembling eyes that he had turned into a child running in the snow, the rocks tearing at the boy's bare feet.

Just as Tess's consciousness was about to overwhelm him, Varus suddenly raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

A syringe was launched towards Anglon.

Caught in a battle of wills, the Primarch was unable to move for a moment, and the injection was precisely injected into his neck.

boom!
Angron’s massive body crashed onto the deck.

Tess's consciousness instantly returned to his body.

[The will of the Father of Genes is far stronger than I imagined; thankfully, Surak warned me beforehand.] Varis thought, relieved to have survived.

"Varius, what are you doing?" Kahn shouted.

“I’m stopping him from killing our brothers in arms.”

Kahn's gaze turned cold as he drew his chainsaw axe.

“Kahn.” Chief Pharmacist Garan Sulak stepped in front of him and spoke calmly to the furious Eighth Company Commander.

"Don't forget why we came to Genna."

"Obtaining the operating technology of androids will win the recognition of the original."

"Now that he's unconscious, we have plenty of time."

Garland walked to Angron's side. "I'll let him sleep for a while until we succeed."

Kahn stared at Sulak with a cold gaze for a long time, then looked at the company commanders, and finally landed on Margo.

"quick!"

"We can't afford to fail again, we can't let him down again."

Three Terra hours later, on the lower deck of the Conqueror.

After injecting Angron with a whole bottle of Nukelin flax, Garan hurried to his altar and prayed to the Black Emperor.

A moment later, the illusory gate opened, and black mist rose.

“My lord,” Garan knelt on one knee, “I obey Your command…”

Ninglu sat high on his throne and listened to Garan's report. He nodded in satisfaction.

One-third of the World Eater's intelligence corps survived, and Tess's consciousness was not taken by Angron.

It was worth it for instructing Garland to remind Varus to stop the celibacy.
Nimrod had come to regard the "World Eaters" think tanks as his own power. In order to avoid the fact that, in his memory, the souls of one-third of the think tanks were burned by the ritual and Tess's consciousness was trapped, he instructed Garan to remind Varis.

"Once you have successfully researched the Butcher's Nail, immediately offer it as a sacrifice to me."

“Margo will awaken Locke and stop you from implanting the Butcher’s Nail. Do not kill him. Implant the Butcher’s Nail that I gave you into his brain.”

Although Nimrod has changed after “corrupting” Garan, he is no longer as cruel as he was remembered.

But Margo didn't want the warhound to become a butcher like Angron. He would still awaken the former officer commander, now the fearless monk Locke, just as he remembered, to attack Garan.

Because Margo was one of the few sane individuals among the World Eaters, Nimrod decided to give him a chance to live.

There is no need to worry about Garland's safety; he is already a Sequence 5 "Crimson Scholar".

Even without Kahn, he could capture Margot and Locke, among others.

"You need to persuade him and be patient."

“Follow Your will,” Garan replied respectfully, before being swallowed by the black mist.

(End of this chapter)