Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor

The massive mutated Ogryn charged toward Nareth, smashing through huge stone structures and knocking aside smaller Ogryns in its path.

Even Horus, watching the brute's terrifying momentum, was slightly surprised.

His stride quickened; he intended to rush forward and assist his brother.

But Nareth's eyes lit up as he faced the oncoming monster.

He had finally found a suitable test subject for the power gauntlet he'd acquired.

He tentatively channeled spiritual energy into the golden balance symbol etched onto the back of the gauntlet, similar to the insignia of the "Justiciar" Path.

As though triggering a switch, his entire reservoir of spiritual power was instantly drained.

The silver gauntlet burst into blinding golden light.

Nareth felt a powerful force dragging his body forward.

He didn't resist. He let the power carry him toward the enemy, though he stayed alert, ready to regain control if anything went wrong.

Horus, still charging forward, was stunned to see his brother suddenly lean forward, arm swinging.

His entire body synchronized with the strange force, a ghostly afterimage trailing behind him as he smashed directly into the enemy.

The power gauntlet struck the monster's head with an unstoppable, inescapable force.

The mutated Ogryn's skull, along with the meter-long parasite beetle clinging to the back of its neck and spine, exploded in one single, glorious punch.

Horus's eyes widened slightly.

'That punch… was stunning.'

'I should be able to do that too.'

He committed the moment to memory, planning to equip a power gauntlet himself and test whether he could replicate the feat.

Nareth, drained of spiritual power, pondered silently.

The "Death" ability of a Judge…this silver gauntlet is clearly an artifact of the Justiciar Pathway, its power is at least Sequence 5 level.

Just as he concluded that, Horus turned his attention to the Iceblade Squad following behind Nareth.

The Primarch quickly noticed that, although these black-armored warriors attacked the mutated Ogryns with ferocity, they did not lose themselves in bloodlust.

Horus, once the long-time commander of the Reapers, knew them well.

He instantly saw the difference in these black-armored Astartes.

'They weren't consumed by rage. They maintained formation. They coordinated attacks.'

He glanced forward again, where the warriors continued to fight in perfect formation, under the cold, commanding gaze of Adams, the stern-faced Astartes he remembered.

Turning to Nareth, Horus approached with a mix of surprise and admiration.

"Congratulations. You've already begun changing them."

Nareth smiled faintly. Though his spirituality was depleted, a Primarch did not suffer the same weakness as a mortal psyker.

"There's still work to be done, but it's a good start."

"I believe you can truly change them," Horus replied without doubt.

Then he glanced at Nareth's left arm.

"That punch was impressive."

"A gift from the Emperor's vaults," Nareth explained.

A flicker of understanding flashed in Horus's eyes. He grinned.

"Must've been tough to decide, huh?"

Nareth raised his arm to chest level.

"After looking around once, I chose it at first glance."

"I had a feeling it was meant for me."

The two Primarchs split up to rejoin the battle.

Having witnessed Nareth's combat prowess and his ability to command his gene-sons with discipline, Horus entrusted his brother with leading the Legion's operations.

Nareth left the Fourth Company, the prototype for his future standard, under Adams's command and took only the Iceblade Squad for further evaluation.

He personally led the other Company into battle and was pleased to see that Sanchez's Seventh Company was gradually accepting his ideals.

But he also felt disappointed and angry that Captain Cezak of First Company, Samir of Third, and Robin of Eighth remained obsessed with bloodshed.

A small relief: Sanchez not only embraced the new ideology but also understood his father's preferences.

Thanks to Sanchez's efforts, the entire 11th Legion learned what the Gene-Father valued.

Cezak and others tried to win favor by offering strange items.

The legion's supply of potion materials steadily grew; two, in particular, caught Nareth's attention:

Cezak, who previously showed no interest, had hunted a local, unusually-shaped hawk. Its iridescent pupils could distinguish a wide range of color spectra.

Ancient heretical texts referred to it as the Rainbow-Eyed Hawk, the main ingredient missing for the Sequence 9 "Hunter" potion.

Samir offered up ginkgo leaves, long extinct on Terra but thriving here on the plains, exactly what Nareth needed for one of the supporting ingredients for Sequence 8, "Doctor" for Marlena.

After the fifty-four largest tribes were annihilated, even the dull-witted Ogryns realized the terrifying strength of these giant warriors in "iron skins."

The remaining Ogryn tribes surrendered.

Since Nareth had slain the planet's most powerful Ogryn and performed exceptionally in the conquest, Horus gave him the right to name the world.

Thinking of the corpse-beetle and endless plains, Nareth named the planet:

Carrion Plains

In official records, it was logged as a victory of the 33rd Expeditionary Fleet, planet number 33-4.

After the war, Nareth reviewed the entire campaign and decided to train five more Beyonder sons.

The new candidates included:

Oliver and three others from the temporary Honor Guard

Sanchez, Captain of the Seventh Company

Nareth sent a message to Adams and Sanchez, summoning them to the flagship Void Hunter.

When the other Company Captains heard about it, jealousy ignited; they envied the favor Adams and others received from their gene father.

Cezak, enraged, went alone into the plains, hunting green-striped zebras and anything else he could find.

Meanwhile, Nareth brewed four green "Corpse Collector" potions and one red potion.

He returned to the strategic command hall and summoned Sanchez and the four others.

Looking at his five warriors, he declared:

"You've upheld my ideals in the last battle. Now, I grant you power."

"I hope you'll lead your battle-brothers and help complete their transformation."

He opened his palms and continued:

"Based on your talents, I'm granting each of you different powers."

"Sanchez, the red one is yours."

"The green ones are for the rest of you."

None of the five hesitated; they trusted their Gene-Father.

After they drank the potions, Nareth used telepathic communion to teach them.

Sanchez was the first to grasp meditation and spirit vision

Oliver followed, just one ship-standard minute behind.

The others were between four and fourteen seconds slower.

Then Nareth called Adams in from outside and addressed all six:

"Previously, I've given unique powers to a select few. You six are the first batch I've granted in this legion."

"You are not just Astartes, you carry unique powers. And you are the ones I trust most."

"I've decided to form a secret organization. You six are the founding members."

...

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

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