Chapter 248: Cooperating with Ferrus Manus

Gabriel Santo, who had rushed over driving an iron vehicle, was shocked to see the golden angel in the air.

Stunned, his foot remained pressed on the accelerator.

The iron vehicle charged toward the lava lake, and the Gorgon's lead-heavy roar rang in Santo's ears.

"Brake!"

Only then did Santo snap out of it and hurriedly hit the brakes.

The iron vehicle roared as it braked, kicking up clouds of dust.

When the iron vehicle came to a stop, it was only a few meters from the lava lake.

When Santo opened the door and stepped out, he stared blankly at the golden angel in the air.

【An angel!】

Santo tried his best to control himself, warning his heart.

【Except for the Gorgon, I will not kneel to anyone!

Never!】

Alpharius looked at Ninglu in the air in astonishment; unlike Santo, he could tell that the golden figure in the air was Ninglu.

After Father said that Ninglu would undergo changes, thousands of images had flashed through his mind, but he had not expected Ninglu to turn into the image of a golden angel.

Ferrus Manus's silver eyes pierced through the magma to see Ninglu's transformation; he was not particularly surprised now, habitually sizing up the golden armor and wings from the perspective of a smith.

His silver eyes shifted as he gave his assessment in his heart.

【The defensive power is weaker than my Iron Hands, but it has its unique aspects; the wings make his speed unimaginably fast.】

The Emperor's golden eyes shone, watching Ninglu with a smile on his face.

【Even better than I expected!】

Ninglu manipulated the wings behind his back and slowly descended; the golden liquid on his face flowed away, revealing his original features.

"My pet Freddy fell into the volcano; I will go find him first."

"Afterward, I will evaluate the value of the ruins I have found."

Seeing Huang Laohan nod, Ninglu flapped his wings and flew toward the Necron ruins that had originally bound the Burning One Shard.

Air currents swept past him, and in an instant, he arrived at the collapsed Necron ruins.

Ninglu activated "Warp Vision" and immediately discovered the black ripples of the black wolf shining in the Sea of Souls.

【Thankfully, Freddy is very weak, but he is still alive.

It is fortunate that Freddy is fine; otherwise, even if I gained golden wings, losing a Mythical Creature Form capable of Pulling into Dreams would make it hard to say if my combat power has increased.

Hmm, if I can find the dead Beyonder characteristic, once my subordinates have the ability to craft Sequence 4 Magical Items, I can possess the auxiliary ability to Pull into Dreams again.】

Pulling into Dreams is a practical auxiliary ability; without Freddy pulling the Burning One into a dream to let Ninglu seize the opportunity to inflict damage on the C'tan Shard, relying solely on the "Feral Howl" Mask would not have been enough to kill the Burning One's shard.

【Besides temporarily losing the Pulling into Dreams assistance, Freddy also looks quite pleasing to the eye; he is a satisfying pet.】

As Ninglu pondered, his wings vibrated, and he crashed into the ruins.

After some effort, he was already able to perform preliminary, precise control of the wings.

The golden wings smashed through the rubble, and Ninglu flew underground.

He found Freddy, whose fur was scorched black and whose gait was weak.

Seeing Ninglu in his golden angel form, Freddy widened his eyes in astonishment.

There was a close connection between him and Ninglu, and he could confirm that it was Ninglu.

"Master, how did you become like this?"

The massive change was even greater than when he activated his Mythical Creature Form and grew two pairs of black legs from his abdomen.

"You will know."

As Ninglu spoke, he flew downward, grabbing the black wolf in his right hand.

Freddy lay comfortably in Ninglu's hand, no longer thinking about the Golden Mechanical Eagle or Ninglu's changes.

He was too weak; lying in the large hand that made him feel safe, he fell asleep in peace.

Ninglu did not fly away immediately; he hovered in the ruins, using the gauntlet on his left hand to push aside the debris above.

He discovered that the Golden Mechanical Eagles rarely had any damage; the materials used by the Necron made their bodies exceptionally tough.

Ninglu remembered the Garuda belonging to Broden of the Iron Hands in the future "Broken Legion."

It was just like the crew of the Sisyphus, suffering greatly but still unyielding.

It had suffered a round of bolter fire from Lucius on Idris without being completely destroyed, and the Iron Fathers Samartika and Sabik Viland had repaired it.

【Hmm, Garuda can fly and has strong observation capabilities, unlike the Spy Fly which requires psychic power to activate.

Moreover, its capabilities in mechanics and electronics are comparable to an ordinary Tech-Priest; it can perform some related operations from a distance, making it a practical electronic pet, especially suitable for Techmarines to use.

As the original version of the Garuda, the creations of the Necron, these Golden Mechanical Eagles might possess more functions and have research value.

The ghost nobles might not be able to research them, but my Techmarines might not necessarily fail; I can also enhance their Beyonder abilities.】

Ninglu was just about to habitually press the Communication Bead in his ear, then stopped his movement; his Communication Bead had been burned to ash by the Burning One's flames.

He flapped his wings and flew up, thinking to himself at the same time.

【Although it was risky and almost exposed the "Kingdom of Disorder," the final result is still quite good.

The lost armor can just be recast; in exchange, I gained wings containing most of the C'tan essence of the Burning One Shard.

This is also a small lesson; before coming to Medusa, I only guessed that Asimos was a Void Dragon shard, not knowing there was another Burning One shard in this place.】

Reviewing this adventure, Ninglu thought again.

【The key point was that I didn't anticipate being pulled into the air, unable to use my Beyonder abilities and Magical Item trump cards.

"Monster" John can only be considered as having just stepped into the domain of fate; he couldn't give me any warning of danger.】

As Ninglu pondered, he flew above the ancient ruins.

Looking down, he saw the heavy landing craft docked two kilometers from McKenna's Black Snow Mountain, where thralls and servitors were moving items from the ruins under the command of a Techmarine.

The Order Shadows saw the golden angel in the air and gripped their weapons vigilantly.

They immediately saw the face of the Gene-Father and felt a familiar aura from that figure.

The Order Shadows watched in surprise as the Gene-Father descended slowly, unable to help but think of the fireball they had seen in the sky earlier.

Ninglu briefly recounted his experience to the hurriedly arriving Adams and Arsena Dunn, then ordered the Techmarine to take a squad to excavate the ruins.

Two stellar hours later, Ninglu flew to the ruins excavated by Manus.

He looked down and discovered that there was no Machine equipment on the Medusan iron carts.

After Ninglu landed, he followed behind Manus, along with the Emperor and Alpharius, and walked into the wreckage of the giant manufacturing plant.

The Medusans watched the slowly descending golden angel with awe; having been alerted by Santo, they were already mentally prepared.

But witnessing the descent of the golden angel, they were still so shocked that they stopped their work, until the leaden voice of the Gorgon rang out.

"Continue working."

Ninglu saw the Iron Fathers continue their research and thought to himself.

【Ferrus has trained the Iron Fathers very well; my Techmarines, before ascending to a high Tier, are still not as good as the Iron Hands in this regard, though they have some unique aspects.】

Ninglu then looked at the wall made of data equipment and saw a chair surrounded by cables embedded in a broken alcove.

He pondered for a moment before identifying it as the Simulacrum Sanctum from his memories.

【The "Iron Hands" must have developed the Simulacrum Sanctum based on this damaged Machine.

When the Iron Hands connect to and sit in this device, the neural interface directly linked to their spines connects them to a sea of data, allowing them to download and upload vast amounts of information at any time.

In the virtual mental space, battle-brothers can rely on the device to simulate artificial combat scenarios in their minds, and can also conduct ultra-efficient mission briefings or data transfers.】

Ninglu looked at the damaged alcove, but in his mind, he pictured a complete, undamaged data alcove, and he thought to himself.

【The Iron Hands also implant subconscious tactical protocols into their brains, which can be uploaded to the minds of every Iron Hands battle-brother as a contingency plan to deal with any unexpected situation.

Based on their powerful computing power, they can simulate most combat situations.

The ones who apply the Simulacrum Sanctum most deeply within the Iron Hands are the Glasco Clan Company; all their mission briefings, information, and even war councils are conducted purely through simulacrum communication.】

As Ninglu pondered, the leaden voice of Manus rang out.

"I have lost; the golden armor on your body and the wings on your back indicate that you have already found the source of the Garuda."

"Combined, they are worth more than the ruins I found."

"You have won this contest."

The Gorgon's voice remained as cold and hard as usual, but the Medusans felt resentment and anger.

They thought that since the Gorgon lost to the golden angel and another demigod, they could accept this result.

"No!" Ninglu's denial shocked everyone.

He flapped his wings slightly, "A part of my body does not count as a discovery."

"In the ruins I found, I discovered a Punishment-class Reactor and an Auto-charging Void Shield."

"Their value is equivalent to the data and simulation equipment you discovered."

Manus looked at Ninglu in surprise; he had not inspected the equipment, yet he was able to state its function.

He heard Ninglu continue: "Our contest is a draw; we shall jointly own the two ruins and cooperate in our research."

Ninglu believed that his Techmarines could gain something from cooperating with the Iron Fathers, the future Iron Hands.

Hearing this, the Emperor's face was full of smiles; the relationship between Ninglu and Manus was much better than that between him and Russ.

He laughed and said: "I am happy for the cooperation between you brothers."

There was a hint of softness in Manus's silver-coin-like gaze, "I am willing to develop the two ruins with you; your progeny are welcome to cooperate with the Medusans."

He looked at the golden armor on Ninglu, "Although you possess golden armor, I think you still need a new set; I will forge a set of armor worthy of you."

(End of chapter)