Chapter 278: The Byzantine Incident

Nicholas followed his mentor, Chief Librarian Thomas, into the Norman city marked III.

With less than two-thirds of his Gaizao Shouhu completed, he wore a set of Vostonia-pattern Precision Power Armor, a design derived from an STC presented by the Arbiter Lord before the Primarch returned to the Imperium.

Vostonia-pattern Precision Power Armor is now commonly equipped by Legion recruits who have not yet obtained Power Armor, as well as some Auxilia officers.

After advancing one kilometer, the mentor's voice rang in Nicholas's ears.

"Ice Blade Storm!"

"Mentor, as you wish." Nicholas responded loudly, simultaneously raising the psionic staff in his hand.

The runes for wind and ice blades lit up; they originated from the Tomb of the Ancient Kings on Fenris and were recorded by Arsena Dunn.

After Thomas became Chief Librarian, he communicated with him, obtained their mysteries, and recorded them within the Library.

The psionic talents of Fenrisians like Nicholas are unique; they can harness the powers of wind and ice, which cannot be classified into the five major psionic factions currently held by humans and Fulao.

Thomas taught according to his aptitude and transmitted the runes of the FenlisiXianwangzhong to him.

Nicholas has already mastered the profound meanings of three of these runes: wind, ice blade, and a combination rune; he engraved the three runes onto his psionic staff.

Above Nicholas's head, rapidly spinning wind and sharp ice blades emerged.

The third combination rune lit up, and the wind and ice blades converged rapidly.

Nicholas swung his psionic staff violently, and the Ice Blade Storm swept toward the Normans.

Before the Normans could react, several spinning ice blades slashed into his body, cutting him and his surrounding attendants into several pieces.

Thomas glanced over and praised, "Not bad, you have already begun to harness the power of the Storm."

"This is due to Mentor's teaching," Nicholas thanked Thomas modestly for his guidance, then gripped his staff confidently, "I will certainly become an excellent Librarian."

"To become an excellent Librarian, it is not just psionics; you must hone your skills in all aspects." Thomas issued an order to his apprentice.

"Fire."

Nicholas hung his staff at his waist and took the LingnengshiYouxiayingJiguangqiang from his back.

Compared to ordinary Ranger-type Laser Guns, the psionic version uses a special Psionic Crystal.

Unlike ordinary models where the Psionic Crystal passively generates a laser beam, this model requires the user to actively inject psionic energy, so only a psyker can use it.

An iceberg appeared in Nicholas's eyes; under his mentor's guidance, he had already found his own Warp anomaly, which was his memory of Fenris.

Warp power converged, and the squad of Eighth Legion Ninth Company recruits behind him felt a cold wind howling; they felt as if they had been pulled into a world of ice and snow.

The runes on the LingnengshiYouxiayingJiguangqiang flickered; Nicholas had branded the ice blade rune onto his own gun and re-outlined the psionic link, causing the emitted laser beam to undergo a fundamental change.

Streams of ice blades shot toward the Trua, smashing their heads and necks into mush.

Thomas nodded with satisfaction and continued forward with his apprentice.

The rescued humans surged toward the Chief Librarian excitedly, shouting in strange Gothic:

"Are you here to... save us?"

"Save us."

Thomas used his mind-reading ability to understand their meaning.

He ordered the Leader of the Vostonia First Regiment: "Send men to comfort them."

Thomas continued forward with his apprentice, and after two kilometers, they encountered a Norman squad of one hundred.

The Normans rode in golden chariots, upon which countless runes were branded.

Their hive-like eyes flickered, and they all pointed their staves at the runes in unison.

Psychic power gathered together, sprayed out from the gun-like device at the front of the chariot, and swept toward Thomas.

Thomas's expression was grave; he ascended to the TailemaDisanceng, and his psychic power surged to form an invisible high wall in front of him.

Nicholas's eyes shone; in his Aetheric Sight, he could see the Lingnengfengbao released by the Normans crashing into the psychic wall constructed by Thomas.

Amidst a huge collision sound, the aftermath of the Psychic Shockwave rippled out.

An invisible shriek rang in Nicholas's ears; his face turned pale, and his body swayed.

At this moment, his mentor's voice rang in his mind.

"Steady! This is the moment to prove that you have the potential to become a Librarian!"

"Ascend to the Thelemic First Layer!"

Nicholas is the only one among the Librarian apprentices who has mastered the Thelema Mindset technique; even some Lexicanum have not yet mastered it.

Nicholas received the reminder from his mentor's telepathy, and he recited silently in his heart.

【Nicholas, calm down, the difficult moments of battle are the times to test you.】

An iceberg appeared in his eyes, and the shriek crashed against the iceberg, causing a harsh friction sound.

Nicholas let himself enter the TailemaMingxiangzhuangtai, and the shrieking around him lessened slightly.

He then let himself enter the Thelemic First Layer, isolating the Psychic Shockwave.

Thomas felt that his apprentice had successfully resisted the psychic attack, so he sent another Mind Pulse to him.

"I am defending against the Normans' psychic attack and have no spare energy; you and the Order Shadow, deal with them."

"As you command, Mentor." Nicholas drew his Power Sword and pressed the Runic Rune.

He held the staff in his left hand and the sword in his right, charging forward together with the Order Shadow behind him.

The Order Shadow raised their bolters and fired at the Normans in unison.

An invisible protective shield rose over the Normans' golden chariots, and the bolter shells struck it, causing crackling explosions.

Nicholas's Aetheric Sight captured the weakest point of the shield's colorful light and waved his psionic staff.

Three runes lit up one after another, and Nicholas tried his best to control dozens of ice blades, slamming them into the weak point of the psionic shield.

Amidst the explosive sounds, a crack was beaten into the psionic shield; Nicholas leaped onto the Normans' golden chariot and swung his Charged Blade to hack.

As the Normans died one by one, the pressure Thomas bore became smaller and smaller; he saw Nicholas using the Power Sword to swiftly hack at the Normans and nodded with satisfaction.

The cities of Nova Polia were conquered one by one, the Normans were purged and cleansed, and the humans who had been enslaved for thousands of years welcomed their liberation.

At the end of 823, all cities of Nova Polia were liberated, and the remaining few Normans and Trua hid like rats in the sewers.

Ninglu summoned the Tech-Priest Wojciech Belik and said to him:

"Nova Polia has a Standard Template Construct; lead your attendants to search for it."

The mechanical parts on Wojciech's body were far fewer than those of Tech-Priests of the same age.

After receiving the power of the "Knower" bestowed by Lord Ninglu, he had not performed any enhancements on his brain.

"The sacred template!" Wojciech exclaimed; he had no doubts about Lord Ninglu's words, as he had long regarded the Lord as the incarnation of the Omnissiah.

"My Lord, I will certainly unearth the sacred template!" Wojciech said excitedly, for finding the sacred template was his honor.

Ninglu returned to the Shadow of Sovereignty to hear the report from his Primarch Attendant.

"My Lord, after the Fifteenth Legion departed from Medusa again, they suffered heavy losses in Baizhante this year."

"They have submitted reports to you and the Emperor, stating they are temporarily unable to continue the expedition."

Upon hearing this, Ninglu's heart stirred.

【823, Baizhante.

Suffering losses is a lie; the Flesh Change is the truth.

The first major crisis of the Thousand Sons Legion is most likely the handiwork of Tzeentch, the "Lord of Change".】

Ninglu frowned slightly, and he could not help but think of the psychics under his command and the extraordinary individuals of paths such as the "Witch" who were susceptible to corruption.

【If they are corrupted by Chaos, relying solely on willpower and the Thelema Mindset may not be enough to resist it.

I can only bring them into the "Kingdom of Disorder" and use Source Essence to isolate the power of the Warp.

Although I and my progeny may not be the primary targets, I should still warn them.】

As Ninglu pondered, the Primarch Attendant continued the report.

"The Emperor has therefore dispatched the Fourteenth and 18th Legions to be under your command."

"The Legion Commander of the 18th Legion, Cassian Vaughn, has sent an astropathic communication asking what your orders are."

"Order the two Legions to proceed to Sepra Mundi; I will meet them there," Ninglu commanded.

(End of chapter)