The Old Man in Yellow's Early Encouragement, Personally Recalled
Ships of the Old Night
854 AD.
Southern Galaxy, Segmentum Tempestus, Barbarus.
The Shadow of the Throne travels through Warp Gate to the Carium Gate.
Then, in just five weeks, the space station was transported from the northern Galaxy to the Southern Galaxy by repairing the stargates of three pairs of space stations.
Compared to his usual appearance, Nimrod now wore a gray belt around his waist, an extra feature on his black armor.
"Biologist" Malena Skala and "Potions Professor" Mikel each prepared some potions for him.
Nimrod boarded the Stormbird and flew toward the Emperor flagship Bucephalus.
During the journey, he looked out at the empty space through the viewing window.
Barbarus orbited the dim Sun, which reminded him of those Mortarion brats known as the "Dusk Raiders."
Nimrod turned his gaze to the side of the Bucephalus, where even the Old Man in Yellow's flagship could not obscure the enormous warship.
Its architectural style is generally similar to the mainstream Gothic style of the Imperium, with its most distinctive feature being that the midships of the warship are taller and more prominent.
Ningli gazed at the warship, thinking to himself.
What is the Old Man in Yellow's purpose in dispatching this warship to Barbarus?
Barbarus has no defensive fleet or orbital defense facilities.
It can't be... as a bargaining chip... as a reward...
Nimrod's eyes narrowed. If this warship were to be used as a reward, it might not necessarily be a good thing for him.
His dark eyes were deep, and various thoughts raced through his mind.
The Stormbird landed slowly. After Nimrod stepped off the deck, he did not see the Old Man in Yellow waiting to depart.
Adeptus Custodes in golden armor approached Nimrod. "Please follow me."
A moment later, Nimrod saw the Old Man in Yellow, who was sitting steadily on his throne.
To his right stood Constantin Valdor, wielding the Sunlight Spear, while to his left stood Alpharius appeared to be an ordinary Astartes.
He gathered his thoughts and said, "My lord."
The Emperor's golden eyes flashed, then dimmed.
"The Xenos known as Overlord enslaves the entire world of Barbarus."
"Your brother, Mortarion, is leading a human rebellion to overthrow the Xenos rule."
"Nimrod, my Pegasus! I want you to go to the surface of Barbarus, help your brother overthrow the rule of the Xenos, and then he will join the Imperium."
Upon hearing this, Nimrod realized that it was exactly as he had thought.
He anticipated that killing Necare, known as the Pale King, would not be difficult.
But killing Necare like the Old Man in Yellow might very well incur the same hatred from Mortarion.
Nimrod knew that for every Overlord Mortarion killed, a portion of the Barbarus would be freed.
As the struggle progressed, his mission became increasingly clear.
Mortarion uses Purification and destruction to liberate Barbarus, killing all the Overlord —this is his mission.
The shame that arises from failing to fulfill the mission he has set for himself will sting him.
Although he had no expectations for his relationship with Mortarion, he didn't want to provoke the drug addict for no reason.
While Nimrod was pondering, the Old Man in Yellow spoke up.
"Nimrod, I personally excavated from Ganymede's permafrost to salvage a relic from the Old Night."
"It is a powerful Strike Cruiser, equipped with ancient technology."
"You should have seen it on your way here; it's yours now."
The image of the powerful void warship he had just seen flashed through Nimrod's mind.
The warship excavated from the permafrost is the Dark Monarch.
Originally, it belonged to the "Dark Angels" and was expected to play a crucial role in the attack on the traitorous Forge World of Xana during the Great Birthday Celebration.
When Nimrod heard that the Old Man in Yellow was offering a return, and a high-value return in advance, he immediately felt that Huang's request was more acceptable.
As a former "Lawyer" skilled at manipulating rules, a brilliant idea flashed into his mind.
[I don't necessarily have to use the Old Man in Yellow's method to directly kill Necare.]
Numerous thoughts flashed rapidly through Nimrod's mind.
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his face.
As you wish.
Nimrod the order and left immediately.
After boarding the Stormbird, he gave orders to Arsena Dunn.
"Dispatch personnel to take over the Strike Cruiser Dark Monarch."
The Stormbird roared toward Barbarus. Nimrod decided to meet with Mortarion first to see what support he needed and to discuss an exchange.
Thick smog shrouded the entire planet. Nimrod's gaze pierced through the toxic clouds, and the sight of Barbarus awakened memories of when his incubation pod landed in Vostonia.
The industrial fumes accumulated in Vostonia over thousands of years are dangerous and deadly.
Barbarus's toxic gas is more dangerous and deadly, but it does not originate from emissions from industrial facilities.
The Stormbird flew through the poisonous gas, the pilot's eyes glued to the screen.
He discovered that the instruments in front of him were being interfered with, and the visibility of the video screen was significantly reduced.
On the surface of Barbarus, a giant wielding a scythe and wearing a hood cultivates the fields.
Unlike the other people wearing filtering devices, he only had a white cloth wrapped around his face.
Even in the plains, the Barbarus wear filters.
A sudden gust of air, carrying a breeze laced with poisonous gas, could cause the Barbarus to collapse, bleed to death.
Mortarion wore a brown mesh inner armor, with pearl-white battle armor on his lower body providing extra protection, as he wielded his scythe in the sunlight.
Although Barbarus has large areas of low-lying plains, sunlight rarely shines on the farmland.
Every time the sun shines, we must seize the time to prepare the food.
Mortarion knew that survival was difficult in a world filled with suffering from birth, and he had to lead his people to cultivate the few remaining barren lands and Reaping food.
The giant, whose skin was pale from lack of sunlight, wielded a huge scythe and quickly Reaping the spoils.
Its scythe was at least half a head larger than the pale-skinned human bodies around it, yet the weight of the scythe did not hinder its swing speed.
Mortarion's Reaping was both swift and precise; he Reaping faster than a hundred of his followers combined, like a highly efficient Reaping machine.
Mortarion's rapid pace suddenly stopped, and he looked towards the distant mountains.
"The plundering Xenos are here! Prepare for battle!"
The Barbarus silently gripped their weapons, quickly found their captains, and formed orderly ranks around the fields they depended on for survival.
Kalas Typhon, wielding a scythe horizontally, stood to Mortarion's side and rear, ready for battle.
The Primarch's gaze pierced through the thick fog, and he saw the approaching Xenos, his face paling slightly.
There are more looting Xenos than usual.
Although he had no doubt that he could lead his followers to kill them, the food supply would also be compromised.
After the war, many people will die from lack of food.
Mortarion's already pale forehead grew even paler.
He rose, raised his scythe, and chased after the starting point of time. His movements were faster than the Xenos commanders had anticipated, and he rushed in front of the Xenos in an instant.