[{"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-254":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},1510803,1962,"Chapter 254: The Emperor Rewards the Primarchs of the Wheel of Fire Campaign","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-254",254,"\u003Cp>Three Custodians in golden armor, each carrying a tray, strode up the platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On each tray rested two items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The smaller was a golden Aquila medal, inlaid with fiery red patterns, each with a different central design.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor first picked up the one in the middle: its emblem was a black sword thrust into an Ork's head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pinned it onto Nareth's black armor and spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nareth, this medal symbolizes your beheading of the Ork warlord, a judgment upon the xeno.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then walked to Leman Russ, taking the medal showing a wolf pouncing upon an ork, and fixed it to his gray armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Russ, this symbolizes your wolves, striking down the greenskins with ferocity, swiftly ending their filthy lives.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, the Emperor moved to Hannibal and set upon his amber armor the medal bearing the design of a bear-hunter's blade cleaving an ork.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hannibal, this marks your hunter's blade cutting apart the orks' vile bodies.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth's black eyes glinted: 'More like a dinner knife slicing meat.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he thought, the Emperor lifted another item from the tray.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It resembled the Iron Halos Nareth had once bestowed upon the best warriors of the Wheel of Fire campaign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a golden ring attached to a vertical rod, made to hang from power armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at its crown was a ruby, and golden laurels decorated its circumference in deliberate patterns. Nareth quickly sensed the ruby's immense power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor held it high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These are a higher form than the Iron Halo. I name them Golden Halos.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Like the Iron Halos, they contain built-in conversion field generators: when struck, a deflection field activates, producing an energy shield capable of turning aside lascannons and missiles.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But these rubies hold even greater power; they can even withstand a blast of the Sinistramanus Tenebrae.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth knew Sinistramanus Tenebrae were the terrible weapons mounted on Psi-Titans, powered by Alpha-grade psykers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such Titans, belonging to the Ordo Sinister, were one of the Emperor's greatest weapons, machines whose designs came from His own hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A single Psi-Titan could outmatch even the Aeldar's god-machines, far surpassing the Titans parading here today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He silently judged: 'Its defense is formidable.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth bent slightly, letting the Emperor place the Golden Halo behind his armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, it was only ceremonial; Techmarines would later bind it properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His case was special: he still awaited armor forged by Ferrus Manus himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor gave Golden Halos also to Russ and Hannibal. The Custodians bowed and withdrew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the platform's center lay two items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was a gray thunder hammer, blackened in hue, etched with runes of lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor took it, walking to Hannibal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This Thunder Hammer was made by my personal artificers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It differs from the common hammer; it does not release its force in one instant to strike down a foe.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Instead, it projects a field that stuns with a peal of thunder. Thus, I name it Thunderclap.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hannibal's eyes shone. He accepted it in both hands:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father, thank you. The Thunder Hammer suits me well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor turned to Russ.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the Wheel of Fire campaign, your wolves made great sacrifices. You move swiftly, never halting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But your homeworld, Fenris, may be left exposed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thus, I grant you a fortress, the greatest of all beyond the Imperial Palace itself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Nareth's heart sank. He already guessed the Emperor was granting Russ the Fang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'So, by the Wheel of Fire's rewards… He will give me the Dionysian Spear?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth understood the Emperor's words were not untrue: in the future, the Thousand Sons would strike at the Fang, drawing the Wolves from their lairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fortress would let them resist and ultimately repel the sorcerers, its strategic value decisive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Russ bowed low: \"All-Father, the Wolves will honor Your will and purge all enemies of the Imperium!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth watched as the Emperor moved to the platform's core, pressing a control rod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the grinding of gears, a platform rose bearing a long spear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was beautifully wrought, sized for a Primarch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at once, Russ, Manus, and Hannibal frowned. Their bloodline senses recoiled: they felt the curse bound within it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even at a glance, the spear inspired unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth narrowed his eyes. The Emperor was about to bestow upon him the Dionysian Spear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'So in the end, it comes to me, and without any choice.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'He must have used his abilities to peer into the futures.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'In those futures, I play some vital role. That is why he entrusts me with the spear.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze flickered. He knew he could not refuse. But neither would he let himself be a pawn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'The Spear cannot dictate my will. My choices are my own.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'If His designs do not align with my ideals or interests, I will not follow them.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'If He forces my hand, it only means His cunning is unmatched, His plans flawless.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth knew the Spear was not like the warp-tainted relics of Chaos. It did not corrode the mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Russ himself had only ever carried it before the Emperor, never embracing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It did not command him, his actions remained his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'If the Second and Eleventh Legions were purged in 945, and it was Russ and the Wolves who did so…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'That only means Russ obeyed the Emperor. He chose to be the executioner; it was not the Spear's influence.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Even at Prospero's burning, he did not wield it. Yet he still made his choice: to strike, and to break Magnus' spine.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Russ had loathed the Spear, resisting it for long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only at the end did he accept its curse, not as servitude, but as a weapon, to gain strength enough to kill Horus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Spear never bent his will. His every decision was his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Nareth pondered, the Emperor spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nareth, this spear I forged in the age of strife, within the first fortress I built underground.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth approached, thinking:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'And I know you poured part of your essence into it.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'That makes the Spear a true artifact, but also a cursed weapon.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most so-called relics, like the Claw of Horus, were mighty, but not true artifacts. This spear was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I named it the Dionysian Spear. Now I give it to you. May you wield it to forge great deeds.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nareth came before the spear, his thoughts racing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Perhaps it is fated only for Russ, and it will not react to me.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'I remember when Russ first grasped it, its curse-string cut through his soul.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'He laughed then, though it was uglier than weeping.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'The Emperor saw his dread and resistance, but said nothing. That silence pained Russ more than the curse itself.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'The Fenrisians call those strings the threads of fate. Russ knew then: his destiny would be grim.'\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>",1142,"2026-06-06T05:05:10.769Z",1,"novelbin.me","e4d2ea0a621a71d8417812c50d002fecf550f405839af889eada1ec800de6cfa","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-255","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-253",698,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-cover.jpg"]