Chapter 342: Malcador the Second Makes a Public Appearance |
"Boss, the plan is ready."
At the ascension ritual site.
Li Nuo received the document on his Dataslate and reviewed it in meticulous detail.
Clear, logical, and comprehensive—worthy of Malcador's genes.
"Excellent, Palcador. I really can't find any flaws in your plan."
Normally, Li Nuo figured that as a superior, he should nitpick to display his authority, but he was too lazy to bother.
Besides, Ork bosses weren't humies. There was no need for all those twists and turns; straight to the point was best.
Li Nuo called Beast over, forwarded the plan to him, and ordered, "Take a look at this first, then pick some suitable boyz to execute the first mission."
"Yeah." Holding the Dataslate, Beast finished reading the plan and scratched his head, baring his teeth.
"Go on, go on." Li Nuo waved his hand, then gestured to Palcador. "You go too. Work with Beast to complete this first mission beautifully. Don't drop the ball."
"Yes, Boss." Palcador and Beast left together.
A moment later, a carefully selected squad of Paru Boyz left the ritual site.
They first returned to the Palu Homeland to don special combat suits, then boarded the scout ship belonging to Boss Bloodhand, Keluoen, heading in secret toward Calasta, which was occupied by the rubbish things.
The opening and closing of the Webway gate might alert the human fleets around Calasta, so Palcador had prepared several backup plans.
The Palu squad had good luck. By the time their scout ship entered the Webway space, the fleets near Calasta had all been destroyed by the rubbish things.
The scout ship arrived near the Warp rift without a hitch.
At a distance of about fifteen kilometers from the rift, the scout ship had to stop.
Any further, and the stealth field would be torn apart by the rift's psionic energy fluctuations, exposing the ship.
The Palu squad rappelled to the ground. Relying on their stealth fields and Mork's Quiet, they evaded the patrolling rubbish things, silently slipping to within a hundred meters of the rift.
Li Nuo possessed one of the Paru Boyz, standing at close range in front of the rift, feeling a suffocating sense of oppression.
The so-called Warp rift was actually a psionic energy veil about 5 nanometers thick.
Why did the blueprints the Eldar shared with Land create a Warp rift?
The answer lay in the parameter units of the nano-cavities.
The nano-parameters used by the Imperium of Man were based on the Alcubierre metric; every 1 μm change caused a 1.02% shift in the negative energy gradient.
The nano-parameters used by the Eldar were based on Soul Encoding; every 1 byte of change caused a 1% shift in the negative energy gradient.
The technical blueprints the Eldar shared with Land simply wrote 1 byte as 1 μm, completely failing to calibrate for the negative energy gradient changes caused by the two different parameter units.
Though both changed by a single unit, 1 μm caused a 1.02% negative energy gradient variance, whereas 1 byte of Soul Encoding only caused 1%.
The 0.02% difference between the two could not be ignored.
When Land suddenly reduced the scale of the Casimir cavity from 12 μm down to 7 μm, that fractional change in the negative energy gradient—which Land failed to notice—hit the critical point that triggered a Warp rift.
Thus, the device exploded, and the Warp rift appeared.
To stop the rift from expanding or even shrink it, it had to be enveloped in the correct energy field.
It was only a matter of time before the Imperium of Man discovered the trap the Eldar had buried in the blueprints.
To avoid retaliation from the Imperium of Man, Palcador believed:
The Eldar would definitely take the initiative to help contain the rift's expansion, seizing control of the rift for themselves.
This way, when facing the Imperium of Man's interrogations, the Eldar would have the leverage to negotiate.
If the mon-keigh dared to take revenge against the noble Eldar, the Eldar would enlarge the rift.
If the mon-keigh yielded, the noble Eldar would show leniency and enlarge the rift later.
In short, enlarging the rift was a step in the Eldar's plan to precipitate the descent of the Dark King. Whether this step could be realized depended on whether the Eldar could control this Warp rift.
The Paru Boyz currently loitering near the rift were here to ruin the Eldar's plans.
Palcador had provided three strategies: superior, moderate, and inferior.
Superior strategy: Seize control of the Warp rift from the Eldar. This required the meticulous placement of 10,000 Nano-Lenses.
When the Eldar enveloped the Warp rift with an energy field, as long as at least half of the 10,000 Nano-Lenses weren't melted by the field, control of the Warp rift could fall into the hands of the Palu Orks.
Moderate strategy: Purely cause trouble for the Eldar, letting the Warp rift continue expanding to destroy the relationship between the Eldar and the Imperium of Man.
If the number of surviving Nano-Lenses fell below 5,000, it would be better to adopt this strategy.
Inferior strategy: Let the Warp directly devour the Webway space where Calasta was located, creating a direct passage from the yellow weasel's asshole straight into the Empyrean.
If the number of Nano-Lenses fell below 1,000, this strategy could be adopted.
The Paru Boyz dispersed, using Nano-Lens implantation devices to scatter and deploy the 10,000 lenses around the Warp rift.
Before leaving, Li Nuo personally buried the lens controller underground.
This device was run by half the brain of a Sparkle Boy (that is, a psionic boy), and its principles were similar to a Holler Box.
The other half of the Sparkle Boy's brain was in the hands of a weirdboy, allowing Li Nuo to remotely operate the lens controller through it.
With everything prepared, the Paru Boyz swiftly evacuated, following the scout ship to hide in the furthest corner from Calasta.
Next, they just had to wait quietly for the Eldar fleet to appear.
They waited for three days.
The coagulation of the True Ork God's Warp projection was proceeding smoothly; he expected to merge with it in another ten days.
The Eldar sent a medium-sized fleet to Calasta through the Webway.
Knowing they couldn't avoid Li Nuo's spies planted in the Universal Hall, Elina wrote Li Nuo a letter before their appearance. The gist of it was:
Do not stop us, or you will make enemies of both the Eldar and the Imperium of Man.
Li Nuo just smiled and didn't reply. Instead, through Space's perspective, he watched the fleet loiter around Calasta.
The Eldar's attitude toward the Warp rift was extremely cautious.
The effect of an energy field was mutual.
If Slaanesh followed the energy conduits into the ships while the field was being deployed, they would be in serious trouble.
The Eldar fleet formed a fractal formation around the Warp rift, carefully dodging the heavy artillery bombardment from the ground.
After obtaining the relevant data, a breach over a hundred meters wide opened at the bottom of the central battleship.
An energy field generator forged from Wraithbone extended its "barrel" from this breach.
After a brief charge and calibration, a bright ray shot out.
A hundred meters above the Warp rift, the ray spread out in all directions, forming an ellipsoidal curtain of light that enveloped the rift from top to bottom.
Li Nuo shifted his consciousness to the weirdboy and looked down at the Metal Box in his hands.
Inside the box was half of the Sparkle Boy's brain. The other half was in the Nano-Lens controller near the Warp rift.
The Sparkle Boy's brain had been split in two, allowing for zero-latency communication between the halves. It was incredibly miraculous.
Changes in the number of Nano-Lenses would be promptly displayed on the Metal Box's mechanical dial via their psychic connection.
"10,000, 9,999, 9,998..."
The dial symbolizing the number of Nano-Lenses began to spin. Every second, at least one lens was melted by the energy field.
The demons wouldn't just watch helplessly as the rift was contained by the energy field; a conflict broke out between the two sides.
The demons had limited range and couldn't fly for the moment, leaving them unable to threaten the Eldar. They could only wash Warp energy against the field.
This action negatively affected the stability of the energy field, forcing the Eldar to adjust its frequency and the parameters of the nano-cavities in real-time to counter the demons' attacks.
Nine days passed like this. The energy field survived the demons' offensive, and a semi-transparent white curtain of light appeared around the Warp rift—the sealing barrier constructed by the field.
The demons could enter and exit the barrier and the Warp normally, but the rift's expansion had been paused.
As long as the Eldar didn't withdraw the barrier, the sealing effect would be maintained.
So, was control of this barrier in the hands of the Eldar?
Yes, it was indeed in their hands.
Similarly, it was also in Li Nuo's hands.
The number of Nano-Lenses settled at 6,712. Li Nuo had successfully obtained control of the barrier.
It was like a two-way light circuit; either switch could control the light.
If one switch was frantically toggled back and forth, the circuit could short out, rendering the two-way control ineffective.
Note that this meant the method of controlling the barrier failed, not the barrier itself.
The barrier was still there; it was just that no one could control it for the time being.
At that point, the Nano-Lenses and controller within the barrier's range could temporarily take over.
Therefore, while Li Nuo appeared to be sharing control of the barrier with the Eldar, he was actually the one who could ultimately decide whether the rift expanded or not.
"Tomorrow, I'll be able to merge with the Warp projection."
Li Nuo sensed the situation within the Warp. The projection had reached a scale roughly equivalent to the Palu Shadow, making him sigh inwardly.
Once upon a time, he had been an ordinary microbiology grad student, yet now he was about to become the True God of the greenskins. The sheer gap in that transition was truly vaster than the differences between people.
After becoming a True God, he would be able to see the paths to other sub-universes.
After becoming a True God, he would have complete control over his soul; he could create whatever kind of system he wanted for himself.
After becoming a True God, neither humans, the Eldar, nor the evil gods of chaos could stop him from possessing eternal life.
Li Nuo didn't expect to be invincible in the Warhammer universe the moment he became a True God.
He only hoped that nothing unexpected would happen in these final 24 hours.
"Palcador."
"Boss, give the order."
Li Nuo turned his head and said, "Do not disturb me for the next 24 hours. If any unexpected situations arise, you and Beast have full authority to handle them according to the plans we discussed."
"Yes, Boss. Rest assured, I guarantee no one will be able to stop you from becoming a True God."
"Get out. I'm sealing the ritual site."
"Yes, Boss." Palcador left.
Li Nuo pressed a button on his Dataslate, locking the entrance. Outside the porthole, everything was tranquil and distant.
Li Nuo closed the system interface, no longer checking any messages.
He closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and meditated in preparation to merge with the Warp projection.
Meanwhile.
In the corridor, Palcador ran into a hurried Beast and stopped him.
"Boss weirdboy has gone into seclusion, and he doesn't want to be disturbed. He told us to handle all emergencies together."
Beast glanced at the tightly shut blast door, scratched his head, and said, "I just got word from Space and Keluoen saying the humies found an unprecedentedly large fleet from somewhere and are coming to cause trouble for us. The number of ships is massive—at least two thousand eight hundred."
Palcador lowered his brows and asked thoughtfully, "Are there any observation images and scanning reports of the fleet?"
"Yeah, take a look." Beast pulled out a Dataslate and shoved it into Palcador's hands.
A fleet with a far more ostentatious and extravagant style appeared on the screen.
The exterior hatches were engraved with scriptures, and the portholes had stained glass symbolizing 'angels'—flashy yet impractical, brimming with religious aura.
Palcador said, "This must be a fleet the yellow weasel summoned from the age of apostasy sub-universe. The fleet's commander is highly likely to be Horus Lupercal."
Beast was struck with sudden realization.
"This Horus you're talking about, is he that big bald guy we rescued from the Cult of Omniscience in the age of apostasy sub-universe before?"
"That's right." Palcador pondered for a moment. "Have Keluoen make contact with the commander of this fleet. If it really is Horus on the other side, help me patch into Keluoen's communication signal. I want to talk to Horus face-to-face. Doing this should stall them for a considerable amount of time."
Beast nodded and asked in a muffled voice, "What if the commander on the other side ain't Horus?"
"If it isn't Horus, then we'll adopt the other strategy in our plan."
"The other strategy?... Oh! I remember now." Beast pounded his fist into his palm. "Alright, I'll go get ready right now. I'll come find you when there's news."
Beast walked away while 'calling' Keluoen, telling him to make contact with the humie fleet suspected to have come from the age of apostasy sub-universe.
About an hour later.
Keluoen's scout ship caught up with the humie fleet speeding through the Webway.
He intentionally exposed the scout ship's tracks, forcing the enemy fleet to halt and negotiate with him.
Palcador took over the communication signal at the right moment, speaking face-to-face with the enemy fleet's commander in Keluoen's place.
Portraits of both sides appeared on the holographic screen, and the person on the other end was indeed Horus Lupercal.
He wore a suit of Power Armor adorned with golden scriptures. Even the wolf pelt draped over his shoulders had taken on a golden hue, every single hair shining like gold.
Upon seeing the Ork communicating with him, Horus was visibly stunned, suspicion welling in his eyes. He couldn't shake the feeling that the appearance and style of the person across from him looked exceptionally familiar:
"Are you... Malcador?"
Look at that nose, those eyes, those cheeks.
If you swapped out the green skin for a beige complexion, wouldn't that just be Malcador?
Palcador held a staff in his left hand, resting his right hand on his belt. He wore a rough cloth robe, and atop his head was a balding hairstyle provided by a hair squig.
He gave a slight nod and said, "As you can see, in a certain sense, I possess over 90% of Malcador's genetic fragments. I am indeed another Malcador. However, the name my master gave me is... Palcador."
Horus's face stiffened in utter astonishment.
A high-ranking officer next to him let out an exclamation of shock:
"The Orks actually dared to create a lifeform using Malcador's genes?!"
"They are desecrating human genes!"
"Damn it! Is there anything these greenskins won't do!"
"By the God-Emperor, we must immediately purge such heinous heretics!"
