Chapter 259: The Emperor Rewards the Primarchs for Participating in the Wheel of Fire Campaign

Three Custodes clad in gold armor, holding trays, strode up onto the high platform.

On each tray rested two items.

The smaller one was a Golden Eagle Medal, inlaid with fiery red patterns around the edges, with the central emblem of each medal being different.

The Emperor first picked up the one in the middle; its central design was a black longsword thrust into an Orc's head.

The Emperor pinned the medal onto Ninglu's black armor and spoke.

"Ninglu, this medal symbolizes your beheading of the Ork Warlord; it is a judgment upon the Xenos."

The Emperor then walked to Leman Russ and pinned the one with the emblem of a wolf pouncing on an Orc onto his dark gray armor.

"Russ, it symbolizes your pack, the ferocious pounce upon the Orcs, and the swift end to their filthy lives."

The Emperor finally walked to Hannibal and pinned the one with the Bear Hunting Knife cleaving an Orc onto his amber-colored armor.

"Hannibal, this symbolizes you using the Bear Hunting Knife to cleave the filthy bodies of the Orcs."

Ninglu's black eyes flickered: 【More like slicing through food with a dinner knife.】

As he pondered, Huang Laohan took another ring-shaped object from a tray.

It was similar to the Iron Halo that Ninglu had previously awarded to the most outstanding scion for their performance in the "Wheel of Fire" campaign.

Its main body was a golden ring connected to a vertical metal rod, capable of being hung on power armor.

The difference was that the top of the ring was inlaid with a ruby, and the ring was decorated with gilded laurel leaves.

Ninglu keenly noted that the gilded laurel leaves were arranged in a specific pattern, and the ruby contained powerful energy.

The Emperor held the ring and spoke.

"These are a more advanced version than the Iron Halo; I name them the Golden Halo."

"Like the Iron Halo, it has a built-in Conversion Field Generator; when under attack, the deflection field activates automatically, and the resulting energy shield can deflect laser cannon and missile attacks."

"The difference is that the energy contained within the ruby is more powerful, capable of even resisting the attacks of an Annihilation Cannon."

Ninglu knew the Annihilation Cannon was a powerful weapon equipped by Psychic Titans, driven by Alpha-level Psykers as their energy source.

The Omen Order, composed of Psychic Titans, was an important force in Huang Laohan's hands, and the technology to forge them came from Huang Laohan himself.

When one-on-one, Psychic Titans were even more powerful than Eldar Titans, far exceeding the Titans participating in today's celebration.

Thinking of this, he silently evaluated the Golden Halo in his heart.

【The defensive capability is very strong.】

Ninglu bowed slightly, allowing Huang Laohan to attach the Golden Halo behind him.

This was only a temporary decoration; it required a Techmarine to perform special processing to make it fit tightly against the armor.

Ninglu's was even more special; he had to wait for the armor that Ferrus Manus was forging for him.

The Master of Mankind then awarded Golden Halos to Russ and Hannibal respectively, after which the three Custodes saluted him and stepped down from the high platform.

The Emperor walked to the center of the high platform, where two items were placed.

Among them was a gray hammer; it was pitch black all over, with lightning runes engraved upon it.

He picked up the gray hammer, walked toward Hannibal, and spoke.

"This Thunder Hammer was manufactured by my personal Artisan."

"It is different from ordinary Thunder Hammers; it does not release energy in a single instant to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy."

"It creates a special force field; when the booming sound rings out, the enemy will be stunned by the sound waves, so I have named it 'Thunder'."

Upon hearing this, Hannibal's eyes shone, and he took the Thunder Hammer from the hands of the Master of Mankind with both hands.

"Father, thank you for your gift; the Thunder Hammer suits me very well."

The Emperor then looked at Russ and said to him.

"The pack paid a heavy sacrifice in the 'Wheel of Fire' campaign; you move swiftly and never stop."

"Your home, Fenris, may be left empty because of this."

"Therefore, I reward you with a fortress; it will be the largest-scale fortress outside the fortifications of the Imperial Palace."

Hearing this, Ninglu immediately had a bad premonition; he had already guessed that what Huang Laohan was awarding to Russ was Wolf Keep.

【Then, according to the original Wheel of Fire rewards, will Huang Laohan hand the Spear of Dionysus to me?】

Ninglu knew that what Huang Laohan said was not wrong; in the future, the Thousand Sons would launch an attack on Wolf Keep, luring the Space Wolves out and leaving their wolf den empty.

The Space Wolves would rely on Wolf Keep to defend against the attack and eventually be able to repel the Thousand Sons' assault, with the advantage of the terrain playing no small role.

Upon hearing this, Russ bowed and said:

"All-Father, the pack will certainly carry out your will and clear away all enemies of the Imperium for you!"

Ninglu watched as the Emperor walked to the center of the high platform and pressed his control staff.

Accompanied by the sound of mechanical transmission, the platform with the spear inserted into it rose.

It looked just like an exquisite spear, only long enough to be suitable for his own use.

The brows of Russ, Manus, and Hannibal furrowed simultaneously; as Primarchs, they could all feel the curse contained within that spear.

Just by seeing the spear, they instinctively felt uncomfortable.

Ninglu's eyes narrowed; Huang Laohan was about to hand the Spear of Dionysus to him.

【In the end, he is still going to hand the Spear of Dionysus to me, and he didn't give me a chance to choose.

Huang Laohan must have used his "Sympathetic Magic" again to deduce the future.

In this future, I will play some important role, which is why he decided to hand the Spear of Dionysus to me.】

Ninglu's gaze flickered; he knew he could not refuse, but he would not let Huang Laohan arrange things as he pleased either.

【The Spear of Dionysus cannot determine my will; every choice is still made by myself.

If it does not conform to my philosophy and my interests, I still will not act according to his plan.

If Huang Laohan has a way to force me to execute his plan, then it can only be because his methods are superb and his layout is reasonable.】

Ninglu knew that the Spear of Dionysus, unlike some Chaos artifacts, would not corrupt a person's mind.

After Leman Russ obtained it, he only carried it when meeting Huang Laohan, in order to please his father.

He could not discard the Spear of Dionysus, yet he was not driven to act by the Spear of Dionysus either.

【If the Second and Eleventh Legion were erased in 945, it was truly the work of Leman Russ and the Space Wolves.

That could only mean that Leman Russ carried out the orders of Huang Laohan.

Leman Russ became the executioner because he accepted this role, not because he was influenced by the Spear of Dionysus; at this time, he still resisted using it.】

During "Prospero Burns," he did not use the Spear of Dionysus, which did not affect his final decision to launch the attack and break the spine of Magnus.

Leman Russ loathed the Spear of Dionysus and had never used it.

In the end, he accepted the power of the curse only to enhance his own combat strength to assassinate the powerful Horus.

The Spear of Dionysus did not manipulate the will of Leman Russ; all his decisions stemmed from his own thoughts.

While Ninglu was deep in thought, Huang Laohan spoke up.

"Ninglu, I forged this spear myself in my first underground fortress during the Age of Strife."

Ninglu stepped forward and thought to himself.

【I also know that you infused a portion of your power into it.

This makes the Spear of Dionysus a true artifact, but it also makes it a cursed weapon.】

Ninglu knew that although powerful weapons like Horus's Claw were also called artifacts, in reality, none of them were true artifacts.

While Ninglu was deep in thought, Huang Laohan spoke again.

"I named it the Spear of Dionysus, and now I bestow it upon you, hoping you will use it to forge great achievements."

Ninglu walked up to the Spear of Dionysus and thought hopefully.

【Perhaps the Spear of Dionysus is destined to belong to Leman Russ, and it might not react to me.

I remember that when Leman Russ grasped the Spear of Dionysus, it immediately triggered a reaction.

Leman Russ felt the ominous life-thread of the Spear of Dionysus pierce through his soul, and his smile was uglier than crying.

Huang Laohan saw the worry and resistance of Leman Russ but said nothing, which made him feel even worse than the power of the curse.

Life-thread is what the Fenrisian call the threads of fate; Leman Russ knew then that his future fate would be tragic.】

(End of this chapter)