Chapter 88: Corpse-collector

Ninglu had just arrived at the rally point when he sensed a thick, cold aura emanating from the city ahead—a city that, by Ogryn standards, could be called a magnificent metropolis.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Horus, who was clad in golden armor.

"You discovered it, as expected."

"The life signals in this city are strange; there are over one hundred thousand signals, and they are different from other Ogryns. I have dispatched a reconnaissance squad."

Horus walked before him and signaled for Torgaddon, the Second Company Captain of the Luna Wolves who was following behind, to provide a briefing.

Ninglu remembered that he and Abaddon were the only two members of the Council of Four Kings to survive until the end of that unofficial organization's lifespan; the other two members had been replaced several times due to Death.

Torgaddon, who liked to joke, spoke seriously when facing the Primarch.

"My lord, I previously sent a reconnaissance squad to infiltrate the Ogryn city, and the intelligence they brought back is worth noting."

He operated the system inherited by his left arm, projecting the footage captured by the scouts' helmet monitors before the two Primarchs.

Ninglu's black pupils constricted; the two Ogryns in the projected image were extremely bizarre.

One was covered from head to toe in forty-centimeter Corpse-eaters, but they were not eating corpses; they were eating the flesh on the Ogryn's body.

The other Ogryn carried a great hammer on his right shoulder, while his left hand grabbed a Corpse-eater from his own body and stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing it in large gulps.

Ninglu pondered for a moment, combining this with his memory of Ogryns, and spoke.

"Ogryns are simple, or to be precise, single-minded creatures."

"Once they pledge loyalty to someone, they will not betray them."

"But they are also extremely easily corrupted and influenced. This tribe must have been affected by living with the bugs, coexisting with them and using each other as food."

As he spoke, the image of Plague Ogryns flashed through his mind; the fallen Death Guard had parasitized the Ogryns with Nurgle's Plague, and the simple-minded creatures giggled as they enjoyed the Grandfather's gifts.

After a second of thought, Horus accepted Ninglu's judgment and said to Torgaddon.

"Tell your Warriors to be wary of the changes in those big oafs; I do not want to see Luna Wolves Warriors die at the hands of these mutated Ogryns."

Torgaddon's mouth twitched; he caught the hidden element of humor in the Gene-Father's concern and spoke in a way that would not be disrespectful before the other Primarch.

"The Luna Wolves will not let the Wolf Father down."

Horus laughed aloud, then looked at Ninglu.

"My brother, we shall launch the attack from the east and west sides; what do you think?"

Ninglu's eyes flashed, realizing this was Horus, his "teacher," observing and evaluating him.

"As you wish."

During the conversation, the increasingly cold Adams remained silent; he followed Ninglu toward the Fourth Company.

Ninglu said in a low and calm tone, "In the last battle, you already achieved your first victory over the bloodthirsty craving; this time, I hope you do better."

He raised his left arm, swung it forcefully, and emphasized his tone, injecting conviction into the Order Shadows.

"I believe you can do it; you are the Order Shadows!"

"Move out."

With that, Ninglu led his progeny toward the eastern attack point.

A moment later, the Primarch still left command to Adams, but this time he did not act alone; he selected a squad to stay by his side.

The Ice Blade Squad, which had been the first to lose control in the last battle but also the first to overcome the bloodthirsty desire, received this honor.

This was also the beginning of Ninglu implementing the unique Honor Guard he had set for the Eleventh Legion.

Ninglu wanted to gradually cultivate the Warriors of the Order Shadow Legion into extraordinary beings.

But he would still conduct a certain review of his gene-progeny, with a focus on loyalty and philosophy.

Ninglu already had a plan; he would not, like other Primarchs, simply choose the most excellent Warriors in the Legion to form a stretcher-bearer team.

No, it was an Honor Guard.

He would adopt a recommendation system, where each Company Captain would recommend outstanding subordinates to be reviewed at his side.

At the same time, he could instill his own philosophy into the Candidates, and when they returned to their own companies, they would gradually influence other Order Shadows.

Although this system did not keep the Legion's most excellent members by his side permanently—and might perhaps be slightly weaker than the Honor Guards of other Legions—extraordinary abilities could make up for this gap.

The Primarch also believed this would give his progeny more motivation; he had already observed through "Warp Insight" and Spirit Vision that the blue light of calmness and contemplation leaping within the high morale of the Ice Blade Squad was shining even brighter.

With anticipation, Ninglu activated the Energy Field Generator, and his Power Fist shimmered with golden light.

Boom—!

The stone wall, two ordinary Ogryns high, collapsed with a roar.

The Primarch stepped into the city first, and the Fourth Company Warriors charged into the city with the Macharius Heavy Tank at the center.

The Ogryns turned their bodies somewhat stiffly to look at the Space Marines.

The Corpse-eaters on their bodies began to grow restless, and the Ogryns charged toward the Fourth Company Warriors with a gait stiffer than that of other tribes.

The Machine Spirit of the Macharius Heavy Tank roared in anger; the foul stench of the blasphemous things made it feel disgusted.

The cannon barrel trembled as it rose, and a blinding arc of energy erupted from deep within the chamber; the shell tore through the atmosphere with a piercing shriek.

Dozens of Ogryns, along with the Corpse-eaters on them, were torn to pieces by the shockwave.

The Order Shadows of the Fourth Company fired their bolters, and Adams noticed that dozens of Ogryns whose arms and abdomens had been shattered by the bolter rounds did not fall.

The "Corpse-collector's" Spirit Vision could directly see some evil spirits and discern the characteristics and weaknesses of such creatures.

Adams now saw that the bugs on the mutated Ogryns were driving them to continue stumbling forward.

The "Corpse-collector's" black eyes narrowed; his Spirit Vision had already discovered the mutated Ogryns' weakness.

A bug was clinging to the back of every mutated Ogryn's head, driving the other bugs and the Ogryn to act.

The Fourth Company Captain reminded them in the company communication channel with a cold voice, concise and powerful.

"The head, the weakness!"

Dozens of bolter rounds were fired; the Ogryns' heads were pierced by the hardened adamantine warheads, and the corpses collapsed with a thud.

At the same moment, Ninglu also slashed through the heads of two mutated Ogryns with a single strike.

The Primarch, who had been observing the actions of his progeny the entire time, was pleased to see the Fourth Company Warriors utilizing the slow speed of the mutant Ogryns to perform tactical maneuvers.

They also utilized long-range firepower to precisely kill the Ogryns.

Even if someone was occasionally driven by the desire for battle, the sergeant commanding the squad would react immediately.

He would command two or three Order Shadows to intercept the out-of-control Warrior, while other Astartes stood guard nearby.

The out-of-control Warrior would also recover upon the battle-brother's reminder: "Calm down, don't let the Primarch down."

The Primarch thought silently with joy: 【This is the progeny I want; the bad habits of the Reapers are beginning to be weeded out, and order is beginning to form.】

Just as Ninglu was rejoicing, an earth-shattering roar erupted from the center of the city.

He looked toward the sound and saw a mutant Ogryn, similar in height to Horus, charging toward him.

Its speed was not as slow as its other mutant kin; it was even faster than a normal Ogryn.

Horus also noticed this behemoth and, seeing it charge in Ninglu's direction, could not help but knit his brows.

【Fool! Only knowing that the bigger the size, the stronger it is!】

He strode forward, brandishing the golden hilt in his hand, and with his Power Sword burning with blue flames, he carved a path through the Ogryns, walking toward Ninglu.

His brother might need his help.

PS1: Horus's Claw was only manufactured by the Dark Mechanicum before the rebellion.

PS2: Some readers may not have noticed the existence of undead creatures like ghosts in the Warhammer World; after all, they are not the focus. Two examples are listed below:

A. Torgaddon, who appears in this chapter, died at the hands of Sejanus, and Loken watched it all in horror. Later, Erebus used Torgaddon's corpse as a medium (note: Torgaddon had been dead for a long time, fitting the definition of a ghost at this moment) to create a daemon known as Tumigadon. A strange side effect of this summoning ritual was that a part of Torgaddon's soul remained sentient and free, and later communicated with his old friend Garviel Loken on Luna.

B. The text of "Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader": "The ghost stared sadly at Witz. As it drifted toward the choir master and enveloped Witz, its low whimpering could almost be touched."

In fact, there are quite a few scenes of undead creatures in the official novels (though they are not important plot points); after all, Warhammer is a hodgepodge. Those interested can look for them themselves; I will not list them one by one. This explanation is only to show that such content is not out of place in Warhammer.

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(End of chapter)