Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor

Tierney sprang forward and charged toward the Blue-Horned Unicorn Rhinoceros, raising his arm to fire an explosive round.

Even though he hadn't completed the Path of Ascension, his body had undergone secondary development from drugs and hormones. Now standing at 2.03 meters, he wielded a bolt pistol, a modified Legion-forged variant, which was far larger than those issued to mortals.

He avoided the most valuable white horn, aiming instead at the beast's left foreleg.

The hardened diamond-tipped round pierced through.

BOOM!

The beast was blasted off its feet, crashing to the ground in a tumble.

Tierney leaped onto its head and severed the glowing horn with a single swing of his sword.

'Hunt complete, ' he then immediately called for an extraction team.

While waiting, he was surprised to spot another Rhinoceros with a white horn.

Tierney recorded his insights mentally:

'The lightning-stunning weapon is effective on white-horned types… but not on those that discharge electricity. Likely because they're already attuned to it.'

As he boarded the transport craft and ascended, Tierney stood by the window, scanning the forest below.

Suddenly, his pupils shrank. In the distance, the green forest looked torn open in multiple paths.

Focusing his enhanced vision, he spotted a line of Blue-Horned Rhinoceros, all headed straight toward the human settlements.

He instantly remembered: in five days, the local harvest season on Daxos Alpha would begin.

He pulled out his high-definition pict-recorder to document everything.

Upon returning to the Void Hunter, Tierney presented his trophies to the Primarch.

Nareth examined the spoils and noted that the white horn was a primary ingredient for the Sequence 7 potion "Interrogator" of the Justiciar pathway.

He nodded approvingly at the stern-faced Tierney.

"Well done."

"My lord," Tierney added, "I have another important discovery. From the mouths of serfs, I've learned that the harvest season begins in five days."

"And in the forest, I witnessed a herd of Blue-Horned Rhinoceros converging toward human settlements."

"This is valuable intel."

Nareth's gaze deepened. He approved of Tierney's performance, while already formulating a strategy.

'This is an exploitable opportunity. It could accelerate my conquest of Daxos.'

Winning the upcoming duel was essential; only through strength and knowledge would House Vextrix yield.

But that wasn't everything, especially given their devotion to Mars.

After a brief moment of thought, he turned to Bukayo beside him.

"Prepare for battle. Your Chapter will intervene during the harvest and defend against the Blue-Horned Rhinoceros."

"As you command, Father."

"I'll destroy them and return with their horns, as an offering to you."

Knowing Nareth's preferences, Bukayo resolved to please him as he had in the past.

He then questioned Tierney in detail, absorbing the intel.

Bukayo learned that aside from the beasts, during every harvest season, strange rat-like humanoids would also emerge from the shadows, raiding and looting.

With all the intelligence gathered, Bukayo ordered full battle preparations.

.....

While the Third Chapter was mobilizing, deep within the mountains of Daxos Alpha's surface...

Apprentices of the Relic Maintenance Corps were stunned as they watched the low-sanctity foreign giant suddenly accelerate his movements.

His servo-arm sparked brilliantly as it moved swiftly across the body of a Knight.

One of the junior apprentices whispered in shock to his senior:

"Ginora, why is he suddenly so fast?"

"Is he gambling on luck after realizing he can't win… or did he really find a way to fix it?"

Ginora didn't answer right away. His augmented eye tracked the outsider's motions, running calculations via logic engines.

Moments later, he muttered in disbelief:

"He… really found a way to repair it."

Gabriel, with his enhanced senses, overheard them and silently praised the Gene-Father:

'It's only by the Gene-Father's gift that I can understand the secrets of the Knight mech.'

Initially, the Techmarine had struggled. During his studies on Mars, Titans, and related tech were not his areas of focus.

His knowledge of them came only from fragments and side references, scattered and unstructured.

At first, Gabriel couldn't even find a proper starting point for repairs. A wrong move could lead to catastrophic system failure in the ancient machine.

But just when he hit a wall, those fragments resurfaced in his mind.

Pieces that once baffled him in lectures began to click together. His superhuman memory pulled up forgotten slivers of knowledge that now made sense.

Once he understood the principles, those loose ends wove themselves into a coherent web.

The veil shrouding the Knight lifted. He quickly devised a repair strategy and got to work.

Five star days later, Nareth received the news: Gabriel had completed the Knight mech repairs first.

With Bukayo and Arsena in tow, he descended to the surface once more.

At the treasury gates, Campbell Vextrix greeted him with noble poise.

"Nareth, congratulations. Your tech-smith has triumphed."

Though his brown eyes revealed worry, his tone remained confident:

"But that doesn't mean you've won. My Relic Tech-Priest told me his work will be done in 12 standard hours."

"Then we'll perform a fair field test."

"I believe victory still belongs to the Shield of Daxos."

Nareth noticed that only two Knights remained lined up for inspection.

He could sense no machine spirits nearby, not in the mountains or in the surrounding fortress.

'They must have been deployed in preparation for the harvest attacks.'

He extended his awareness and immediately sensed the faint tremors beneath the earth.

A massive beast horde was charging their way.

He looked at Campbell and said meaningfully:

"I believe a more fitting test for the Knights has arrived."

"They are not art pieces to be admired… but warriors meant to ride into war."

Campbell glanced at him, his brown eyes now showing a hint of recognition. Then his thick brows furrowed in thought.

A few seconds later, he asked:

"You know about the beast tide?"

"I know. And I've sensed it."

"If you require assistance, my warriors stand ready."

Nareth smiled. This was a chance to win favor with the local families and gather potion ingredients

"I appreciate your offer," Campbell replied stiffly, "but we can handle it."

Just as he finished speaking, the comms unit in the Daxos Gloria started to beep.

He answered, and a panicked voice came through:

"My lord, the beast tide has begun."

"And this time, it's larger than any in recorded history."

.....

If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.

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