[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor":3,"chapter-warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-205":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1511004,1962,"Chapter 205: “War Mask”","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-205",205,"\u003Cp>The Throne of Shadow's Sovereignity, Throne of the Monarch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arsena manipulated the control staff, projecting a holographic image of the second planet of the Wheel of Fire system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Scan results show this planet is rich in mineral deposits.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Its structures still retain some characteristics of human architecture.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The greenskins have taken mankind's hive cities and factories, turning the world into a fortress planet, covered in strongholds and forges.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth sat upon the Black Throne, listening to his aide's report.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There's also a massive orbital structure around this world,\" Arsena continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Scans indicate it was once a human-built starport.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The greenskins now ship their weapons up there and then trade them off-world.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning to the assembled court, Arsena laid out his reasoning:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"According to the information you provided, my lord, the Orks maintain a crude trade system. They use teeth as currency.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Bad Moons clan, whose teeth grow faster than any others, are thus the wealthiest of all clans.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Based on the glyphs we observed on the Attack Moon, I judge that the Warlord of this Ork empire may well hail from the Bad Moons.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shifted the focus back to the second planet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Augur arrays scans reveal five massive fortresses, all of them once human hive cities.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The largest lies directly beneath the orbital starport.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Expanding the holomap,\" he said, adjusting the staff, \"the other four fortresses form a ring around it, linked by a circular causeway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The ring-road was probably built upon human foundations, crude, but one hundred and fifty-two kilometers wide.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By calculating the frequency of traffic, we conclude it functions much like our own high-speed transit arteries.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"Student of Ratiocination\" laid out his deductions before the court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the grand hall, one thousand five hundred and forty-two Honor Guard sat in formation: seven hundred and three from the Seventh Chapter, and one hundred and fifty-four Apothecaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth, recognizing the scale of the coming campaign, had expanded the Honor Guard accordingly, with extra emphasis on the Seventh Chapter and the Apothecaries, who would soon deploy to Catachan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wilshire, once seated at the back, now occupied a forward row, beside Pell Koschelny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the display, Wilshire watched the fortresses: countless crude cannons, jagged barrels like spears pointed skyward, belching black smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'The greenskin defenses are formidable. This will be a hard fight.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he thought, the Primarch spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tell me your thoughts. How do we wage this war?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>James, Chapter Master of the Second Chapter, answered first, his tone shaped by past battles against the Atatck Moon and in void-combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father, we should strip away the outer defenses, then move on the fortresses themselves…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth said nothing. Diana Pauline, attending in her \"Spectator\" role, judged silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'True to James's cautious style.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Mersen, Lord of the Eleventh Chapter, spoke up:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father, I suggest striking the orbital starport first, drawing the orks to its defense. When they come, we strike them down.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"Spectator\" assessed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Bolder than James, more predatory in his gaze.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth listened, then turned to the Honor Guard behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wilshire. What is your view?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the scrutiny of the Primarch, the Chapter Master, and all present, Wilshire did not falter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father, the void of the Wheel of Fire is ours. The starport has lost much of its strategic value. As bait, it is weak.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the ring-road linking the five fortresses, that is the true lifeline.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whichever warboss holds it commands unmatched mobility and the power to move armies across the planet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth nodded, satisfied. He had not been mistaken about Wilshire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"Spectator\" felt the weight of that single word. The warmth in his tone, the gleam in his eye, clear approval. She felt her chest melt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wilshire's heart soared at his father's recognition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Nareth's gaze shifted to Pell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And you, Pell?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pell smiled confidently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father, Wilshire is right, but his plan can be improved.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I studied the data you provided. The Orks thrive on infighting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"On this world, are a clan of the most greedy kind, the Death Skulls.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped forward to the screen, pointing out ork glyphs: a blue horned skull, hanging from many warriors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Death Skulls will scavenge anything. If an opportunity arises, they'll even loot from their fellow orks.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That starport, it is a treasure trove to them. Irresistible.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If we seize it and crash it into the surface, scattering wreckage between the central fortress and the four others…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…the Death Skulls' scavvies will descend in droves, fighting one another to claim the debris. Their greed will consume them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth considered carefully. Pell's grasp of ork psychology, of their crude order and self-destruction, outstripped the Chapter Lords and even Wilshire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Yes… he is well-suited. A \"Lawyer.\" A perfect fit for the Black Emperor's pathway.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"Spectator\" caught the flicker in Nareth's eyes, recognition of something more. A kinship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She trembled, as if stars inside her cracked apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth gave his order:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pell. You will lead five hundred Honor Guard to seize the starport.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then crash its remains upon the planet, between the fortresses.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When the Orks are at each other's throats, we strike all four simultaneously.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"James and Mersen, you will lead the Second and Eleventh Chapters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I myself will lead five hundred Honor Guard against the largest fortress.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wilshire, you take the smallest. Pell will reinforce once the orbital battle is won.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The court dispersed, Pell swiftly handpicking his five hundred warriors. Stormbirds screamed into the void, missile trails blazing as they slammed into the ork starport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Explosions tore open a steel causeway. Stormbirds swooped down, disgorging Honor Guard into the breach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five abreast, bolters raised, they advanced in perfect cross-cover formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Greenskins charged in packs, roaring. Explosive bolts ripped them apart, flesh and bone shattering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Guard swept through a quarter of the ring before a thunderous tread shook the corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hulking figure emerged, encased in a patchwork of scrap-iron plates, daubed in blue paint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Death Skulls' superstition, blue for luck, to ward off harm, was well known. None were surprised to see him clad so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bolter fire thundered, explosions rattled the tunnel, steel fragments raining down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet through the smoke the giant surged forward, alive, axe raised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He swung, cleaving one Shadow of Order in half, momentum carrying the blade toward another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pell roared, fury blazing. He donned the War Mask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rage surged through him, but his mind remained clear, detached, as if guiding his own body from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his power sword, channeling years of discipline into a single strike: the Seventh Form of the Otsberg-Vaya.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time seemed to freeze. The blade flashed down, charged with lethal force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sheared through the Orkish brute, splitting him clean in two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[email protected]\u002FDaoistJinzu\u003C\u002Fp>",1126,"2026-06-06T05:05:10.769Z",1,"novelbin.me","9108b97d2cd4e68fdf9135ae92d60c5e6f12860f846a40beec1b7c77ecfbf634","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-206","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-204",698,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-cover.jpg"]