[{"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-223":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},1511022,1962,"Chapter 223: The Catachan Brainleaf","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-223",223,"\u003Cp>Void Hunter, Chapter Master's quarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sanchez crossed his office, removed his black armor in the private armory, passed through the meditation chamber, and entered the innermost bathroom opposite his bedroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dripped eleven drops of ritual oil, taken from Thomas, into the bath and submerged his whole body in the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thirty-three ticks of the wall clock, he rose, dried himself with a towel, and donned a black robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sanchez stepped into the meditation chamber and approached the altar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The altar dominated the room: eleven meters in diameter, 3.3 meters tall, occupying most of the space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ascending it, he lit candles and used a ritual dagger to inscribe spiritual wards along the walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he knelt upon a black onyx cushion and began chanting in Dunnic:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Black Emperor of the Shadows of Order,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mysterious Sovereign of the Kingdom of Disorder,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Monarch of Light and Shadow, who governs and holds the rules.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I beseech Thy gaze.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I beseech Thy favor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I beseech Thee\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have arrived in the Catachan system, persuaded the native tribes, and they now offer their loyalty to Lord Nareth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"O Balance, foundation of the Kingdom of Disorder, grant strength to my invocation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"O Iron Laws of Monarchs, basis of the Kingdom of Disorder, grant strength to my invocation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had Sanchez finished than the altar stirred with unseen force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bowed his head and continued chanting, and at that same moment, in the Wheel of Fire system, on the fourth planet,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A nearly inaudible murmur brushed Nareth's ear. If not for his razor-sharp senses, it would have been lost beneath the thunder of bolter fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Primarch's bolter roared in his hands, the Hand of Order, even as his thoughts flickered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'A prayer? But far weaker than Arsenna's or Thomas's when they prayed. Is it because of distance?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thirty-four minutes later, after the fortress battle ended, Nareth withdrew from his warriors and stepped into the Formless-side of the Kingdom of Disorder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, he noticed something new: a small red orb pulsing with light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He extended his spirit into it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he touched it, distorted visions surged in his mind, along with overlapping, broken words:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Black Emperor of the Shadow of Order,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kingdom of Disorder…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I beseech thee:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have arrived in the Catachan system… they… offer loyalty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"O Iron Laws of Monarchs… grant strength into my invocation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sanchez's voice flickered in and out, Dunnic words fragmented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth's eyes deepened. His thoughts spun:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Catachan is far from from Wheel of Fire. The prayer consumed vast power in the transmission.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'It resembles astropathic communication, fragmented, incomplete, but almost real-time.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Normally, prayer needs no sacrifice. But without a proper altar and offering, Sanchez's message wouldn't even have \"arrived.\"'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He frowned, then pondered further:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'If my authority grows again, I should be able to achieve cross-system communication, real-time and clear.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'At the earliest, when I digest the Briber's potion. At the latest, once I ascend to Baron of Corruption.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Satisfied with the experiment, Nareth whispered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have heard.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He infused the words into the red orb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catachan system, Void Hunter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sanchez kept reciting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had heard nothing in return, yet he persisted, voice steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then black mist surged in his eyes, and within it a vague figure stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…have heard.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shock struck him, but also puzzlement. The revelation was fractured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Did I fail to hear the Black Emperor's full message because my devotion is lacking?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Is the Black Emperor the same great being as the Father?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind wandered. After more bowing, he rose and headed planetside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chief Apothecary Mikael had already led a \"Beast Tamer\", five \"Apothecaries\", and three \"Hunters\" into the deep jungle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Primarch's dossier warned them: power armor draws the notice of Catachan's predators. So they wore only green shirts, shorts, and packs, at the cost of reduced toxin resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every so often they injected antidotes to stave off the jungle's poisons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their formation was loose, each warrior hundreds of meters apart, to avoid attracting aggressive flora and fauna.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet still, vine-tendrils whipped out like serpents, striking at them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The warriors' charged blades flashed, shredding the attacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three Hunters flanked and covered the rear; Mikel led the vanguard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"Vampire\", his heightened senses honed by Apothecary work, smelled every creature. To him, every blood-scent was unique, even among his own brothers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His superhuman mind catalogued each trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slipping lightly through the undergrowth, he avoided the diffuse yellow-green light filtering through the canopy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A twitch at his nose, he locked on to prey, six kilometers ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its blood-volume dwarfed all nearby beasts. A pond compared to puddles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikael recalled the Primarch's briefings. He already suspected what it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Catachan Devil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Beastmaster confirmed it, eager to tame it. Even among Catachan's horrors, the Catachan Devil was feared, yet to tame one would be a boon in the jungle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Vampire wove through growth, avoiding the blood-traces of other beasts, when something drifted down from above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikael looked up, a birdlike creature descending toward his head, woven from plant tendrils.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No blood within it. Plant, not beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind raced. He matched it to the Father's dossier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brainleaf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hidden in jungle canopies, it latched its tendrils to spines and skulls, enslaving its hosts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That it moved and hunted was no surprise. On Catachan, every plant was a predator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vines struck. Brainleaf enslaved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'And the Brainleaf… the Father named it as a priority target.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From his pack, Mikel drew a black iron rod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pressed a stud, a net burst forth, wrapping the Brainleaf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Apothecaries' alchemical fluids seeped into it, paralyzing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikael caught the immobilized plant and hooked it to his backpack, specially fitted for trophies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, on the left flank, a Hunter rolled backward, just in time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive tendril burst from the ground, coiling around his arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hacked through it with his charged blade, then turned toward the splitting earth and gaping maw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dizzy spell hit him. He nearly collapsed, driving his sword into the soil to stay upright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Poisoned.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tore away the tendril, jammed an antidote into his arm, and cleared his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he split the gaping maw with his blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The attacker shriveled, fading back into the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaken, he thought:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'I carry the Father's senses, I am a Hunter, trained to perceive all, yet I did not detect it. A Miral Catcher.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Father's briefing came back:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flat plants clinging to the soil, their roots tuned to vibrations. They lie dormant, invisible. When prey approaches, they erupt with devastating force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hunter recalled his Father's words:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A Hunter must know the land, use the land.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He finally understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'To hunt on Catachan, I must know its beasts and flora, or I will be the hunted.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in that realization, his spirit surged, his control over his inner power grew keener.\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>",1151,"2026-06-06T05:05:10.769Z",1,"novelbin.me","a82fa35a9057ce8892a0a76106db9874ceb2e026a007e80efdfd349959c42d8a","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-224","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-222",698,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-cover.jpg"]