Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor

After the 11th Legion's battleships completed their warp jump into the Viglus System, they immediately began surrounding and attacking the red Worldship, leveraging their overwhelming numerical advantage.

The Aeldar Craftworld orbited the star Astravigilia. Using planets and asteroid belts as cover, the Farseer tried to avoid having their elegant ships struck by the barbaric "Mon-keigh."

But he could feel it; those Mon-keigh battleships were spreading an immense web across the entire System with sheer numbers.

In every vision of the future he peered into, not a single path showed a way to avoid all the enemy ships.

The Farseer also sensed that aboard one massive newly-arrived warship, there was a terrifying being.

In the Warp, it shimmered like a star, more radiant than any lifeform in the galaxy, even brighter than Vigilus itself or its moon, Neo-Vellum.

'A Primarch, Nareth.'

'In every prophecy concerning the planet crucial to Sam-Han's destiny, Vigilance, the strands of fate now bend toward him.'

The Farseer's eyes grew cold as a psychic pulse swept through the entire Craftworld.

"The strands of fate have been woven."

"We've done all we can to secure victory."

"Now we must win. Nareth must die!"

Gripping his staff tightly, the Farseer gave the command:

"Activate the holo-fields. Let the Mon-keigh perish in the mysteries of the Aeldar."

"Seers, send the message to our brothers and sisters!"

"The prey has fallen into the web. The cosmic serpents shall strike!"

At that moment, every ship under the Shadow of Order detected the xenos vessels through their scanning augurs, only to see the images instantly dissolve into clouds of shifting colored fragments. The enemy positions could no longer be locked on.

Sitting on his command throne, Nareth tapped his fingers once, then paused. He could "smell" the scent of a trap.

He understood the Aeldar's defenses were fundamentally different from human ones. Their holo-field was a programmable holographic projection shield.

Harlequins and Rangers often used the same defense method.

Unlike conventional shields that blocked attacks, holo-fields distorted the user's appearance, making them impossible to hit in the first place.

When stationary, the field mimicked the surrounding terrain, rendering the user invisible.

While moving, the field caused the user's image to "explode" into a cloud of colorful fragments; the faster they moved, the wider the spread. Once they stopped, the fragments reassembled, a visual effect known as the "jigsaw field" or "domino field."

'They didn't activate it before, but now they have. The Aeldar Farseer wants to create an illusion of them holding the upper hand, while making the enemy think they still have a chance. The Craftworld is a decoy; there must be hidden ships inside the Sam-Han Craftworld.'

Realizing the trap, Nareth immediately gave orders:

"The Aeldar have set an ambush. Numerous enemy ships are about to arrive."

"They're using holo-fields. Any ship equipped with Aether Cannons, fire now!"

The Aether Cannons, used by the Fra'al, unleashed pulses charged with aetheric energy, capable of bypassing physical shields entirely.

Whether it was the Imperium's void shields or Aeldar holo-fields, aether energy ignored them all and struck directly.

Due to the limited capacity of the Vostroya shipyards and the constant deployment of various battle groups, installation of Aether Cannons had been staggered; most ships were still not equipped.

'After this battle, I must accelerate the installation of Aether Cannons across the fleet.

Cypria Mundi, a chosen world for shipbuilding, must be developed into a shipyard rivaling Mars itself.'

On the Sawtooth, the First Chapter's flagship, Howard received a message from the fleet liaison vessel.

As Lord Arbiter, he relayed the Primarch's orders to the fleet. He then turned to Yasin of Second Company and Mikhaeli of Third Company, both watching the swirling color blobs on the holoscreen.

"Yasin, deploy Pride of Vostroya; Mikhaeli, your ship Dark Judgment."

Pride of Vostroya was once Nareth's flagship before returning to the Imperium.

Only that ship and Dark Judgment were currently fitted with Aether Cannons.

"Use your Aether Cannons. Teach the Aeldar a lesson."

Howard had deliberately chosen the Sawtooth, an Emperor-class battleship, as the chapter flagship instead of a battlecruiser.

While the ship had performed admirably, he now felt a twinge of regret.

As the Pride of Vostroya and Dark Judgment fired their Aether Cannons, radiant beams cut through the swirling colors, revealing Aeldar ships and then blasting them with prow lances.

Howard longed to command a ship and destroy Aeldar vessels himself.

He looked at the sea of multicolored light blobs swarming around the Jagged Edge, launching waves of harassment and attacks.

Although the mighty void shields of the Emperor-class held firm, the retaliatory broadsides rarely struck home. So far, only two escort ships had been destroyed by lucky volume fire.

Howard turned toward a light mass charging the Sawtooth. The prow lance had just fired, but the blob hadn't stopped, indicating a miss.

He clenched his fists and glared at the encroaching enemy. His dark pupils dilated, until they filled his entire eyes.

In that instant, all the colored blobs in Shadow of Order's view disappeared.

He saw elegant, slender xeno ships.

Howard froze momentarily. He had, in his fury and desperation, unknowingly activated the genetic gift inherited from his gene-father:

"The Warp Insight."

His gaze turned cold as he looked at the main screen. The prow lance had just finished charging.

He gave direct firing coordinates to the gunners, who couldn't otherwise locate a target:

"Prow lance, bearing 0-1-1, starboard 11 degrees, fire!"

Company Captain Saesak, similarly enraged by the Aeldar ambush, gripped his chainsword tightly.

Hearing Howard issue orders, he frowned.

'What's he doing? Blindly lashing out? Desperate guessing?'

Then, a brilliant beam shot from Saw Tooth's prow straight into the swirling colors.

Seconds later, the light faded, revealing a slender Aeldar vessel, cleaved in half.

Saesak stood stunned, then looked at Howard in disbelief.

"How did you do that?"

Howard's temples throbbed with pain. Using Warp Insight across thousands of kilometers had drained him.

Even with a superhuman body and multiple psychic enhancements, he could only use the ability two more times at most.

"This is the gift from our gene-father. Follow his teachings, and one day you may awaken it too."

"But if you let anger cloud your mind forever, you never will."

Ignoring the contemplative Saesak, Howard targeted another Aeldar ship approaching from tens of thousands of kilometers away.

Just as he gave the fire order, a searing pain erupted in his temples; his psychic energy was spent.

'The farther the range, the greater the cost. Perhaps only the Primarch can wield it without limit.'

As Howard destroyed an enemy vessel with Warp Insight, Nareth turned his attention to the Worldship.

...

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

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