Chapter 255: Catachan Wolf

Void Hunter.

Chief Apothecary Mikel bathed to clean his body, which had become sticky after long treks through the hot and humid forests of Catachan, before arriving at the bottom deck of M-108.

After using a Ritual Dagger to set up a sealed spiritual environment, he knelt before the Altar.

Beside the "Beastmaster" lay a wolf; unlike the Thunderwolves with their gray or brown fur, its fur was emerald green.

"Black Emperor of the Order Shadow,

Mysterious Master of the Disordered Kingdom,

King of Light and Shadow who holds the rules."

Mikel picked up the sacrificial items prepared on the Altar and held them above his head with both hands.

"I beseech Thy gaze.

I offer these sacrifices to Thee.

'Iron Law of the Monarch', foundation of the Disordered Kingdom, please transmit the power to my incantation."

The emerald-furred wolf felt the surging, invisible power; its fur stood on end, and it looked around vigilantly.

The "Beastmaster" held the offering in his left hand and gently patted the back of the Catachan wolf with his right, soothing its Fear.

When Mikel recited it for the third time, black mist rose, swallowing him and the Catachan wolf.

Having gained some expectation of the mysterious space and the current scene from Sanchez, Mikel looked around and calmed down after a few seconds.

The Catachan wolf roared in terror, as if it had fallen into a Nightmare.

The "Beastmaster" stroked the Catachan wolf again, soothing its panic.

"My Lord!"

Ninglu nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the emerald-furred wolf, whose size was similar to a Fenris wolf.

Besides the fur, its pupil color was also different from a Fenris wolf; it was not yellow, but green.

He also noticed that, in addition to the changes in fur, the vital parts of the wolf's body were protected by armor.

"Mikel, it seems you have successfully domesticated and bred a new wolf species adapted to Catachan."

"As you can see," Mikel said, "the 'Apothecaries' formulate unique serums, and the 'Beastmasters' accelerate the domestication of Thunderwolves, allowing them to rapidly adapt to the Catachan environment and complete their evolution."

"Their bodies have changed to adapt to jungle activities, with the most obvious external manifestations being the color of their fur and pupils."

"Their fur density has decreased to reduce the problem of matting caused by the high humidity in the jungle, and their heat dissipation capacity has also been enhanced."

After reporting on the adaptive evolution of the Catachan wolf, the "Beastmaster" added:

"The 'Beastmasters' are also guiding them during their evolution; the current stage of guidance is to narrow the spacing between their toes."

"This will make their forelimb joints more flexible to improve walking efficiency on soft humus."

"They are already a completely different species from the Thunderwolves; we call them Catachan wolves."

He concluded: "The mechanical devices on the Catachan wolves are improvements based on experimental data collected from previous battles."

"This began during the Thunderwolf era; the Order Shadow of the Seventh Legion reported that although Thunderwolves have outstanding speed, their casualties in every engagement under Orc fire were unacceptably high."

"After consulting with the Techmarines, I developed suitable armor for them."

"But this does not conform to Catachan culture, and it reduces movement speed in the jungle, so currently, it is only equipped in a limited capacity to provide protection for vital areas."

Ninglu remembered that the Thunderwolf Cavalry of the "Space Wolves" would also add armor to their mounts to increase survival rates.

And they would perform a certain degree of mechanical modification, adding weapons while retaining the Thunderwolf form, which the riding Space Wolves could operate to strike, so he spoke up.

"Research and development should not be limited to protective armor; you must also develop heavy weapons for the Order Shadow who ride them."

After reporting on the domestication progress of the Catachan wolves, the Chief Apothecary opened the box in his hand, revealing the carnivorous plant inside.

"My Lord, this is the Catachan Brain Leaf you required!"

"A fleet consisting of three transport ships and five escort ships has already set sail; you will see the flora and fauna of Catachan later."

"Very good," Ninglu said approvingly, and the Chief Apothecary pressed a rune to close the box.

"My Lord, the Gaizao Shouhu for the Catachans is progressing smoothly."

"Their physical fitness is excellent, and they have strong adaptability; no rejection reactions have occurred after taking the serums formulated by the 'Apothecaries'."

"As of now, among one thousand five hundred Candidates, there has not been a single case of failed modification."

After the report concluded, Mikel and the Catachan wolf were sent back to the Void Hunter.

After soothing the Catachan wolf, the "Beastmaster" clasped his hands together, praised the Black Emperor for a moment, and then slowly stood up.

At the same moment, on the surface of Catachan, the residence of "Harvest Priest" Malena Skala was located next to the experimental farmland.

The "Harvest Priest" stepped forward, walking around the farmland area to inspect it.

A ginger-furred cat followed by her side.

The plants on Catachan have self-awareness; the "Harvest Priest" must inspect the defensive perimeter she drove the plants to establish every day.

The "Harvest Priest" circled the farmland and established a mutant plant defensive perimeter.

When attacked by mutant plants, these mutant plants would counterattack according to her will, and this happened every day.

The "Harvest Priest" looked ahead as a "Beastmaster" walked past with a Catachan demon as long as a train.

Its presence made most animals afraid to approach.

The "Harvest Priest" withdrew her gaze and looked at the five-meter wall formed by vines.

Building this wall took the "Harvest Priest" one stellar month.

The growth rate of Catachan vines is astonishing, far exceeding what she saw on Triken; Malena spends most of her time driving plants to establish defensive perimeters.

【It is nearly a meter higher than when I inspected it yesterday.

If not for the various mutant plants attacking, it is hard to imagine what height these vines would reach.】

After walking more than a hundred meters, Malena passed the southeast corner of the mutant plant wall.

Just as she rounded the corner, she saw a one-meter-wide fissure appear ten meters ahead.

The defensive wall, originally about three meters thick, was now only about one meter left.

【It was a fissure caused by the vines and Catachan devils launching an attack yesterday.】

The Harvest Priest raised her fair, delicate right hand, aiming it at the vines.

Spirituality spread, and the vines grew and spread according to the will of the Harvest Priest.

Although Catachan plants have "consciousness," they lack true intelligence, and the Harvest Priest can command unintelligent plants and insects within a thirty-meter radius, thus she can command Catachan plants.

A moment later, Malena completed the construction of the mutant plant defensive wall.

After walking past the entire defensive wall and inspecting the defenses, Malena walked toward the vines.

As the Harvest Priest approached, the vines she commanded parted, revealing a passageway.

Malena walked inside, and what appeared before her was a field of crops.

The entire field was something she had spent one year transforming using psychic powers, following Eldar world-terraforming technology.

This area was different from any other part of Catachan; the crops growing within were ordinary crops, not mutant plants that would launch frenzied attacks.

After the Harvest Priest stimulated the growth of hundreds of types of crops, she finally determined that raspberry and pomelo trees were the most suitable for planting here.

Malena passed through the lush fruit grove and walked back to her dwelling.

Fifty-two Catachan women looked at Malena with awe.

Every Catachan woman had a robust physique, comparable even to the Auxilia.

Like the men, they were also Catachan people who had survived in the dangerous jungle; even without receiving training, their combat strength was not inferior to ordinary Auxilia soldiers.

The Catachan women respectfully saluted Lady Malena; they had never seen anyone who could make plants submit like Lady Malena could.

In their eyes, Lady Malena was even more powerful and mysterious than those Astartes clad in black armor.

The Catachan women regarded serving Malena as an honor, and every attendant who finally obtained the qualification had defeated tens of thousands of others.

After they were granted permission to set foot in this area, they were even more deeply shocked.

Lady Malena was actually able to grow trees on Catachan.

Legendary fruit trees.

The Catachan women devoutly served Lady Malena, regarding it as an honor and the favor of fate.

Malena nodded slightly, continuing on her way, and walked into her dwelling.

She walked straight underground, where fourteen Catachan women and Legion Servitors were busily and nervously working, constructing an Altar according to her requirements.

They were doing their utmost, but the progress was still much slower than the construction progress on the Void Hunter.

Thirty-eight stellar days later, the Altar construction was completed.

After Malena ordered everyone to leave, she set up the Altar.

(End of chapter)