Nimrod's Proposed Contest

Ferrus Manus looked at the Warrior named Nimrod, who was slightly taller than him.

His long black hair fluttered in the wind, his face resembled a marble sculpture, and his black eyes were deep and unfathomable.

Ferrus Manus habitually turned his gaze to the black armor, which was entirely black and meticulously crafted by hand, with every surface hand-forged.

The armor forged for Nimrod was crafted by the Tech-Priest Malevolus, who also forged Horus's armor. He was the most outstanding craftsman in the Adeptus Mechanicus.

But in Ferrus Manus Manus's innate talent for metallurgy, every part of the armor and every curve was not yet perfect.

He then looked at Nimrod's left hand and saw the silver Power Fist.

"Your boxing gloves, their polished steel gleaming with perfect arc."

As he spoke, he raised his left arm, the silver metal gleaming.

"My hands are silver too, and I want to know whose hands are stronger."

Nimrod's eyes were deep. "The Justiciar's Pathway's Sequence 1, the Hand of Order, is interesting, as is the Iron Hands that is suspected to be C'tan Shard. But there is something more valuable."

He was more interested in the ancient ruins of Medusa than in mere curiosity.

He cast his gaze into the distance, looking at the mountains and beneath the ice.

"I learned from Azek Ahriman's report that Medusa contained countless relics from the 'Dark Mechanicum Era'."

"You, Gorgon, frequently lead expeditions to explore underground ruins."

"Let's have an exploration contest. We'll each lead a team to excavate an ancient ruin. Whoever finds the most valuable ancient artifacts wins and takes all of the loser's spoils."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor first frowned slightly.

In the countless futures he foresaw, Nimrod defeated one or more Primarch in many threads of destiny.

Nimrod defeated the traitors to the Imperium and his Primarch.

He had seen similar situations in Leman Russ, but not as frequently as in Nimrod.

He has decided to award the Spear of Dionysus, which he forged himself, as the reward for the "Wheel of Fire" during the Terra Festival to Nimrod or Russ.

The Emperor saw the immense power hidden within Ferrus Manus; he was the perfect test subject.

If Nimrod can defeat Manus, he will be the master of the Spear of Dionysus.

However, his plan was thwarted by Nimrod, who rejected the idea of a martial arts contest and proposed exploring the ruins instead.

After a few seconds of silence, the Emperor spoke before Manus could.

"Nimrod, this is not a fair contest. Manus is more familiar with Medusa, and the talent I bestowed upon him in casting and technology gives him an advantage."

Ferrus Manus's mind raced, taking into account his knowledge of the ruins Iron Father he had nurtured.

He also took the Emperor's words into consideration, and from any perspective, he believed he was destined for victory.

"He's right, you can't beat me at ruin exploration."

Nimrod's eyes flickered; he keenly sensed the Emperor's sudden change in emotion.

[It's not that I'm worried about Manus not returning to the Imperium after I lose the duel.]

Rather, it was a kind of sudden, unexpected astonishment, as if I had disrupted one of his plans.

Well, the Old Man in Yellow isn't a lazy person, so he must have some purpose in sending me into battle, but it's not just for victory.

Then there's only one possibility: to test my combat strength?

Nimrod's gaze was deep. Regardless of the Old Man in Yellow's purpose in probing his strength, he would never use all his Beyonder Ability in front of the Old Man in Yellow.

This further solidified his idea of challenging Manus to explore the ruins.

Even if I lose, I'll only lose what doesn't belong to me; if I win, I'll get all the good stuff from both ruins.

Besides, I might not necessarily lose; I have a "Spirit Medium" and an "Archaeologist."

Thinking of this, Nimrod deliberately exuded confidence and spoke.

"I grew up in Vostonia, so I'm not completely ignorant about technology."

"To preserve all the items during the exploration of the ruins, a team is needed."

"Among my descendants are many skilled in technology, and I will make good use of their abilities."

Ferrus Manus's silver eyes gazed at Nimrod, sensing the confidence emanating from the other man.

"In that case, let's do as you say, each of us will lead our own teams to explore the ruins."

The Emperor sighed inwardly. The situation had developed beyond his expectations. Nimrod and Manus had reached an agreement, and it would be too unusual for him to interfere further.

When Manus summoned the Iron Father, Nimrod's consciousness spread.

The ion storms and debris surrounding the planet interfered with communications, so he could only communicate with Arsena Dunn Telepathy.

Nimrod's consciousness spread, and when it pierced through the thick clouds, he immediately found it much more difficult than usual.

He immediately ascended to the Third Mindset the Thelema state of mind, adding mental power to his thoughts.

His consciousness traversed the clouds, passed through the ion storm, flew over the wreckage, and arrived at the black warship in the void.

Arsena Dunn was in his office, sitting at his console, reviewing reports from various Chapter on his Data Slate.

He suddenly sensed something and raised his head.

The silver-haired Psyker felt the approaching consciousness, which he recognized very well. He did not resist, letting the Thought Impulse resound in his mind.

"You, Adams, Gabriel, come to the ground immediately."

"Bring the exploration team!"

Nimrod had already made preparations along the way, selecting Shadow of Order who demonstrated relevant traits in exploration and technology from the Honor Guard, the Fourth Legion, and Tech Sergeant.

After the journey was completed, the Primarch's Attendants relayed the Primarch's orders to the Death Lord and the Tech Sergeant.

One sidereal hour later, Arsena and fifty-four Shadow of Order boarded Heavy Transport Ship and headed toward Medusa IV.

As they approached the wreckage, the Primarch's Attendants received a report from the captain.

"Sir, we are about to enter Medusa IV's ring zone. Please prepare for collision."

The silver- Psyker's blue eyes shone brightly as he placed his hand inside the ship's cabin, his Telekinesis spreading outwards.

Heavy Transport Ship, enveloped in Telekinesis, moves through the wreckage.

Fifteen minutes later, Arsena spotted the first Automated Defense Turret.

His Telekinesis touched the control panel, wanting to temporarily disable the turret.

A look of surprise flashed across Arsena's eyes; he realized the turret had been completely shut down.

Arsena then touched several more automatic weapons and found that all weapon platforms were shut down.

As a master of Psionic Energy, he sensed a familiar energy from the weapon platform—it was Telekinesis.

[In Azek Ahriman's report, they didn't handle the weapons; was it the Emperor?]

His Psionic Energy are astonishing; he was able to permanently shut down so many weapon platforms.

I could never possess such powerful Telekinesis; only the Primarch could.

The failure of the Space Mine and weapon platforms made the challenges facing Arsena much easier; he only needed to defend against the occasional ion storms.

Five hours later, the Transport Ship slowly landed.

The Primarch's Attendants wiped the sweat from his brow and, together with Adams and Gabriel, led the way down to the deck.

A moment later, a roaring sound came.

Black exhaust fumes and the roar of an engine came from afar as an Iron Carriage came into view.

The Iron Carriage is about 300 meters long. It is entirely black, but a dazzling silver hand is engraved on the front.

The black Iron Carriage began braking a kilometer away, making a screeching sound.

With a rumbling sound, the steel the Chariot stopped precisely ten meters in front of Nimrod, without missing a beat.

After the Iron Carriage came to a stop, the sound of pneumatic levers rang out, and the side hatches rose one by one, allowing the Medusan to disembark.

A dozen or so of them had prosthetic bodies, some more than others.

Several people replaced their flesh and blood bodies with silver prosthetic eyes and silver arms.

Nimrod's gaze swept over the Medusan, and he thought to himself.

[The Iron Father.]

Nimrod knew that before returning to the Imperium, Ferrus Manus had established and trained the Iron Father.

They can be seen as a combination of Tech-Priest and Shaman, responsible for the daily spiritual and technical needs of each tribe, while also exchanging secrets passed down through generations from each tribe.

Through this system, Manus was able to enable each clan and tribe to produce better weapons and more powerful machinery without directly ruling them.

The Iron Father, following Manus's will, ensured that the tribes continued to fight in a controlled manner, guaranteeing that they would not slacken their efforts even after their lives improved.

[The Iron Father were also a source of confidence for Manus; they were both masters of mechanics and had followed him in excavating countless ruins.]

After Ferrus Manus stepped out of the cockpit, he went straight to Nimrod.

Gabriel Santor and the Medusan looked in the direction their Gorgon had gone and saw a giant clad in black armor.

The giant's body was as imposing as the Gorgon's, and he seemed like a demigod descended to earth.

Manus's scrutinizing gaze swept over the black-armored Warrior behind Nimrod, and each Royal Court Acolyte felt immense pressure from the cold glint in his silver eyes.

They ascended to the first level of Thelema's Mindset, resisting the instinct to look away.

Manus's gaze lingered for a moment on the Mechanical Arm protruding from behind the eleven black-armored Warrior before finally settling on Gabriel.

Gabriel felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him; sweat beaded on his forehead, and his temples Shoota.

He felt the pressure lessen slightly after he entered the second level of the Thelema Mindset he had just mastered.

A hint of surprise flashed in Manus's eyes. He looked away and said to Nimrod.

"Your offspring are quite good."

Nimrod smiled and began to speak.

"Of course, I have confidence in them."

After activating the Astropathic Communication, Azek Ahriman immediately recorded the Medusa language he had mastered, as well as some of the knowledge discovered by the Fifteenth Legion, on Data Slate and presented it to Lord Nimrod.

The sons that Nimrod chose all learned the basics of Medusa during the voyage.

They understood the conversation between the two Primarch and were greatly encouraged.

"You are ready. Let's begin."

Nimrod responded to Manus.

"Good."

Seeing the two Primarch lead their team away, the Emperor asked Alpharius.

Who will win this contest?