Chapter 299: Arm-Wrestling with Vulkan

832. M30, orbit of Nocturne.

Ninglu boarded Huang Laohan's Stormbird and, together with Alpharius, who was disguised as an ordinary Astartes guard, flew toward Nocturne.

Ninglu looked at Nocturne and its moon, Prometheus, outside the viewing port.

He knew that every Nocturne year was equivalent to fifteen Terra years, and when Nocturne and Prometheus were at their closest, Nocturne would almost be torn to pieces by gravity.

The people of Nocturne called this the moment of the Heaven-sent Judgment.

Huge waves would surge from the oceans, thousands of volcanoes would roar and erupt, and earthquakes would constantly ravage the land.

After Vulkan returned to the Imperium, being kind-hearted, he used his authority to build sturdy city walls for the seven great cities of Nocturne, using adamantium and ceramite as materials.

He also used the Void Shield systems obtained from the Imperium to protect the cities from being destroyed when the time of judgment arrived.

【Vulkan will be very interested in the Fortress-class Energy Shield; perhaps I should provide some help to the kind-hearted him.

As long as he is willing to pay the corresponding price, he and the Salamanders are all excellent blacksmiths.】

The Stormbird landed in the plains area on the surface of Nocturne, and Ninglu and the others saw a team of people holding spears, launching an attack on a lion.

The lion let out a roar, and it bellowed, raising the claws in its hands.

Bang!

While the Hunter was flattened, a giant scorpion suddenly darted out from the woods, its twin pincers clamping onto the lion from both sides.

Seeing this scene, Ninglu confirmed that this place was the Alidia Plain, which was a huge hunting ground on Nocturne.

【Fenris of the "Space Wolves", Medusa of the "Iron Hands", and Nocturne of the "Salamanders" are all Death Worlds with frequent volcanoes and earthquakes, as well as numerous dangerous creatures.

The three Primarchs have different policies for their home planets; Russ treats Fenris as a hunting ground to train Space Wolf hunters.

Ferrus Manus treats Medusa as an arena, encouraging the Iron Hands to compete, with the survival of the fittest.

Vulkan values life and lets the Salamanders protect the people of Nocturne.】

While Ninglu was deep in thought, his golden wings flapped once, and he flew between the lion and the giant scorpion; the Living Metal instantly turned into a row of sharp blades.

The Hunting Squad only saw golden light flashing, and the lion and the giant scorpion collapsed to the ground with a boom.

Ninglu flapped his wings again, caught up with Huang Laohan and Alpharius, and thought to himself.

【The lion and the giant scorpion are powerful beasts, but they are not Potion Material.】

"Let's go, it's time to meet your brother." Huang Laohan nodded, then took the lead and walked forward.

The dangerous creatures of the Alidia Plain could not see the existence of the three of them.

In Ninglu's line of sight, a village soon appeared, with towering lofts standing within it.

Ninglu and the other two walked in the flow of people gathering toward the settlement, yet no one noticed their existence.

His consciousness spread to the surroundings; while mastering the local language of Nocturne, he also learned from their minds that these people came from the seven great refuge cities of Nocturne.

Because of the frequent volcanoes on Nocturne, the local people used the abundant local basalt to build seven cities to avoid disasters.

The people of the seven city-states of Nocturne, under the leadership of Vulkan, once again defeated the Dusk Nether.

Dusk Nether was the name the local people of Nocturne used for the Dark Eldar.

Ninglu knew that Nocturne had long been plundered by the Dark Eldar, and the local people would hide in their homes when the attacks arrived.

It was not until they were infected by Vulkan's heroism that the humans of the seven great city-states gathered together to resist the plundering of the Dark Eldar.

Ninglu and the other two walked through the crowd toward the center of the village.

He soon saw the crowd surrounding a black giant who was as tall as he was, also wearing armor; the giant was wearing armor made of green agate.

The armor only covered his chest and legs, revealing a large area of dark skin, just like the surrounding people of Nocturne.

He wore a golden crown on his forehead, and there were also golden decorations on his arms and other places.

A dark-skinned nobleman said loudly.

"People of Nocturne, people from the seven great city-states, Vulkan led us to defeat the Dusk Nether."

"Let us praise the great Lord of Drakes in unison... Vulkan..."

Ninglu knew that the Promethean Cult on Nocturne had prophesied a child who would become a savior.

After Vulkan landed on Nocturne, the blacksmith N'bel, who adopted him, believed that the child who fell into his home was the savior, so he named him after the first King of Drakes.

Mountain-shaking cheers erupted, and Ninglu could sense that the surrounding people of Nocturne were praising Vulkan from the bottom of their hearts as the great leader who led them to expel the Dusk Nether.

"Flame-born!"

The nobleman shouted another title of Vulkan's, and Ninglu watched as Vulkan's eyes burned like a volcanic crater, which was one of the reasons he earned this title.

Another reason was that his skin was now burning, hissing like a steak in a frying pan, and when he opened his mouth, the smell of burning wafted over.

"I have consulted with the Council of Elders of the seven city-states and decided to hold a grand athletic competition."

His suggestion was immediately met with loud responses from countless people; the people of Nocturne needed a jubilant celebration to declare their escape from the Nightmare brought by the Dusk Nether.

Just as everyone was looking forward to Vulkan announcing the first competition event, a man with pale skin, completely different from the dark-skinned people of Nocturne, appeared abruptly in their line of sight.

"An interesting competition, please allow my progeny to participate in this competition."

"He will surpass everyone in the competition, including you, Vulkan."

"Let's have a wager; he will represent me in competing against you, and the loser will serve the winner forever."

"If he loses, I will pledge my loyalty to you; if he wins, you must swear your loyalty to me."

Only then did the people of Nocturne notice that behind the pale-skinned outsider, on his right, stood a giant.

The people of Nocturne looked at the black-armored giant in astonishment, especially marveling at the shimmering golden wings.

They were stunned for a moment and could not help but secretly compare the Flame-born with the black-armored giant.

They thought of Vulkan leading them to defeat the Dusk Nether and thought of the fine weapons forged by Vulkan.

"Impossible, even if he is as tall as the King of Drakes."

"Vulkan is undefeated!"

"..."

Vulkan's burning eyes lingered on the outsider with pale skin and the giant in black armor.

After probing and analyzing, he spoke confidently: "I accept your challenge; victory will surely be mine."

He spoke with a friendly tone that contrasted with his body and dark skin: "I welcome you to join the competition; what is your name?"

A heatwave rushed toward him, but Ninglu felt little ripple in his heart.

Having been sent by Huang Laohan to duel with Leman Russ and Ferrus Manus, he was already accustomed to this role.

【Huang Laohan has already gotten used to lying back and winning.】

"Ninglu."

"The first event is a test of strength: arm wrestling," a dark-skinned elder of the Noble Council announced loudly.

The people of Nocturne were forged by high gravity and a harsh environment into tall, sturdy builds; they felt excited by the test of strength and burst into enthusiastic cheers.

Pairs of contestants placed their arms on the table, their arms bulging as they began to exert force.

In the original plan, Vulkan would not participate in the competition; no one on Nocturne could compete with the Lord of Drakes.

Half a day later, the people of Nocturne dragged over a black stone seat made of basalt.

Ninglu and Vulkan walked before the basalt seat in the eyes of the crowd.

Ninglu removed the Ring from the middle finger of his right hand and the Blood-Colored Chain from his little finger, then pressed his elbow onto the polished basalt seat and gripped Vulkan's right palm.

Palms touched, black eyes met burning eyes; both Primarchs felt the other's strength from their palms.

"Start!"

Both Primarchs exerted force simultaneously, the immense power causing the basalt seat to tremble slightly.

"Barbarian" triggered the talent hidden within Ninglu's body, giving his physique and strength a significant boost to contend with Vulkan, who possessed the greatest physical strength among the Primarchs.

The people of Nocturne stared, dumbfounded, at Ninglu; someone could actually arm-wrestle Vulkan.

Ninglu and Vulkan tried again and again to exert force, attempting to overwhelm the other.

After eighteen bursts, Ninglu's eyebrows furrowed slightly; he felt Vulkan's strength slightly overwhelm his own during the bursts of power.

A flash passed through his eyes, abandoning the thought of mobilizing the living metal behind him to let the C'tan Shard augment himself.

Ninglu continued to exert force with pure physical strength, attempting to overwhelm Vulkan.

Bang! Bang!

Two explosions sounded at the same time, and cracks appeared on the elbows of both Ninglu and Vulkan simultaneously.

Dense, spiderweb-like patterns appeared on the sturdy basalt.

The basalt seat collapsed with a crash.

The elder of the Noble Council acting as referee stood stunned for a long while before speaking:

"A draw."

"No," Ninglu said candidly, "I lost. If we kept fighting, Vulkan's strength is greater than mine; it's just that the stone platform wasn't tough enough."

Vulkan's pure physical strength was greater than his, and although it was only slightly greater, the Tier 8 level of improvement could not bridge the gap in strength that the designer, Huang Laohan, had bestowed upon them.

His strength was similar to Leman Russ's, but slightly weaker than Vulkan's.

The gap between him and Vulkan was so small that he could have reversed it and suppressed the other by calling upon the living metal, but he did not do so.

"If we keep competing, I will lose."

"You are very honest," Vulkan said.

"The second event is a test of speed: a race," another elder of the Noble Council walked out and announced.

He pointed to the south side of the village and continued: "We have placed ten gemstones at a location eighteen kilometers from here; the first ten people to arrive will receive a reward."

Volcanic eruptions brought not only Death and destruction, but also brought minerals from the earth's core to the surface, giving Nocturne rich mineral deposits; gemstones were one of them.

He faced the two giants participating in the competition and said: "The goal for the Lord of Drakes and the respected outsider contestant is a lava gemstone from the earth's core."

"It is ten meters in diameter and is a top-tier casting material, a top-tier material that every Master of Casting dreams of."

"The person who brings it back wins the duel."

He announced loudly: "The competition begins!"

(End of this chapter)