[{"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-346":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},1510895,1962,"Chapter 346 - 345: “The Melee Scholar”","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-346",346,"\u003Cp>After returning to the realspace, Thomas made his way to the bridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Twelfth Legion's Chapter Master, Marquinius, spoke as soon as he saw the Chief Librarian enter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ghana's Rock is a world of stone, with few xenos structures on the surface. The Mitu hide beneath the ground, so orbital bombardment has limited effect.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas nodded slightly. \"Then we must launch a ground assault and purge the Mitu below.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Augery detected severe signal interference in the subsurface regions of Ghana's Rock,\" Marquinius said, frowning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas reviewed the report, noticed the warp readings, and after a moment's thought said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's likely the Mitu are using some kind of arcane device that disrupts Imperial electronics.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My vox-psykers will assist your Legion,\" he added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These vox-psykers served as principal battlefield communicators; unlike astropaths who transmitted across star systems, they handled shorter-range coordination of attacks and command signals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinarily, one had to possess the psychic ability to project thought into the warp to become a vox-psyker, an ability Librarians could only master after years of disciplined training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after the Black Emperor departed from Prospero, he had passed down Primarch Magnus's Enumeration techniques to the Legion's Librarians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the foundation of the Thelema mindstate, the Librarians swiftly mastered the first level of the mental states, clarity of thought, and emotional calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This improvement greatly benefited the Legion's archivists, who recorded histories and categorized vast data, and the remembrancers, who reviewed reports with newfound composure and efficiency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most crucially, it elevated the vox-psykers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, 196 Librarians had failed to reach the psychic stability required for vox duty. But after training in Magnus's second meditation, they could now transmit thought across small-scale battlefields with reliability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ramsey followed Marquinius and his honor guard into the Kumasi Mountains, the largest range on Ghana's Rock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marching within the column, Ramsey examined the Augur Matrix's geological scans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Formation date: approximately 27,000 years ago…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Highest peak: 9,250 meters, composed of clearly stratified rock layers…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Range lies atop uneven saline flats, possibly the remnants of an ancient seabed…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Ramsey had been an archivist, he often noted such terrain data in his battle records.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, as a newly promoted vox-psyker, those duties no longer fell to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three hours later, the detachment descended underground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marquinius surveyed the tunnel and, after estimating its width, issued orders:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Form teams of three. Ten teams per squad. Sweep for xenos.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ramsey and another guardsman followed behind the Chapter Master into the mining passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After descending thirteen kilometers, Ramsey saw his tactical display fill with static; their comms dissolved into crackling noise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he heard it, a low, mechanical whirring like a motor spinning up. Turning toward the sound, he saw a cluster of anemone-like creatures burst from the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One o'clock!\" he shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marquinius reacted a moment slower, raised his left arm, and fired a bolter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leading Mitu exploded under the blast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More poured forth, eight-tentacled humanoids whose two lower limbs ran like humans while six upper limbs wielded energy blades, shields, and spears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marquinius charged, his power sword blazing, carving through a dozen Mitu in swift arcs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One towering Mitu lunged at him, its twin arms bearing yellow-glowing shields. The sword met the shield, and the creature twisted its grip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shield detonated, sending a psychic shockwave that hurled Marquinius against the cavern wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Astartes' transhuman frame staggered, momentarily stunned. The Mitu rushed in for the kill, but Ramsey extended his hand. A surge of bio-psychic electricity burst forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mitu convulsed as oxygen fled their blood; their bodies rebelled against them, muscles locking, spasming violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The towering one's anemone head burst in a spray of crimson foam, its limbs thrashing before collapsing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack-crack-crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bones shattered like firecrackers; the creatures fell in heaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marquinius recovered and charged, cutting down the remaining aliens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the fight ended, he said to Ramsey, \"Tell them, the Mitu under Ghana's Rock favor close combat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Understood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ramsey's eyes shimmered with motes of light as he entered the first meditation taught by Magnus, calm like a still lake. Moments later, he reached the second layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind unfolded outward, psychic pulses rippling through the caverns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within seconds, every member of Marquinius's force heard his thought-voice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The xenos below Ghana's Rock excel at close quarters. Their weapons are forged with arcane technology…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The unengaged squads immediately adjusted their formation, Shadow of Order troopers taking point, gunners flanking both sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Thomas and the First Company of the Twelfth Legion advanced into the Odumas Mountains, the planet's second-largest range, full of jagged peaks and winding stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They descended through narrow tunnels into a vast chamber within the mountain's heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There Thomas beheld a gigantic dome filled with mining machinery and roaring foundries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the center floated an enormous luminous orb, from which extended many metallic limbs. All surrounding domes directed beams of light toward that sphere, every ray converging on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas sent a psychic order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a powerful telepath, he merged the minds of 120 Shadows of Order into a single, unified intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They advanced in perfect formation, twelve swordsmen leading the charge, their power swords flashing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gunfire roared like thunder; a hail of bolts tore into the ranks of the Mitu, shredding their bizarre forms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Thomas saw it, a towering, three-meter-tall Mitu with eight writhing limbs and an energy weapon clutched in each hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bolter shells exploded across its body, sparking against its arcane shield. Ripples of blue energy flared with every impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a stray round grazed past the Mitu and struck a strange metal device.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The device exploded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The energy sphere above them detonated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'No, the power core's exploding! A Chain reaction!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Thomas could act, the ground split apart. The mountain quaked, collapsing in on itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black chasm yawned open beneath them. Thomas, his men, and the onrushing Mitu all plummeted into the depths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tumbling and striking rock after rock, Thomas lost his grip on his staff. When he finally rose, battered, the Mitu were upon him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One lunged, greatsword raised high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even before the blade fell, the force of its arcane energy shook the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"Melee Scholar\" sidestepped, crouching low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>SHRRAK!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sword cleaved through stone. Sparks flew as the creature swept horizontally, its other limbs slashing with hooked blades in a seamless barrage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas barely kept pace, parrying, evading. The blows came like a storm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the \"Melee Scholar\" remained calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the Hermit Pathway, combat was a truth to be studied, one of the hidden secrets of existence. The \"Melee Scholar\" sought to understand that truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body moved with heightened precision, every motion analytical, every strike measured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He observed, dissected, two-handed swings, one-handed thrusts, unpredictable arcs, all catalogued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he saw it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flaw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Mitu lifted its upper pair of limbs, the lower set briefly crossed paths, a momentary interference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas lunged in that instant, locking his arms around the creature's joint, where the anemone flesh met the torso.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wrenched hard. Superhuman strength tore one limb free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he pivoted and slammed his fist into the creature's head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anemone burst, spraying ichor. The alien collapsed, lifeless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas felt something within him break, or rather, transform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He realized, quietly, 'I have become a true Melee Scholar.'\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>",1224,"2026-06-06T05:05:10.769Z",1,"novelbin.me","f9e1c76a6504a20bc1b30507927e5c37c6de053bf0abfab81d358767bbe8376c","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-347","warhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-chapter-345",698,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarhammer-the-11th-primarch-the-black-emperor-cover.jpg"]