Chapter 185: Lavish Enough
The Endurance, in one of the most secretive armoury.
The room was filled with dim Blackstone and shimmering alien alloys glowing with unknown light.
At the center stood a towering frame. At first glance, it appeared to be an unfinished Armiger Pattern Knight, but on closer inspection, subtle differences could be seen between this machine and a standard Armiger.
There were no sacred oils or decorative insignias; the joint structures differed in design. Beneath the metallic armor of certain vital sections, faintly glowing alloys of an unusual hue lay dormant.
Indeed, Hades had incorporated a touch of Necron technology, granting the Knight limited self-repair capabilities in its critical systems.
While maintaining similar overall strength, most of the machine's materials had been replaced with Blackstone. Embedded deep within it were complex cultivation chambers, in which twitching organic matter stirred occasionally.
The Armiger Pattern Knight was a common all-purpose type of Imperial Knight, widely used by many noble houses. Compared to other models, it excelled in close-quarters combat, typically equipped with a thermal cannon and chainsword—designed purely for melee aggression.
Hades had further enhanced its speed, enabling it to close distance with enemies even faster.
Though the mech looked like an Armiger on the outside, the technology within was fundamentally different. The reason for this design was Hades' intent to make use of the Untouchables currently within the Death Guard's ranks.
This machine had no machine spirit, making it more flexible in terms of who could operate it. With biological wetware assistance, it caused minimal harm to the pilot.
However, the pilot must be an Untouchable.
Yes, within Hades' design, this Knight would be piloted by an Untouchable of the Death Guard.
This would be an anti-psyker Knight, with a role on the battlefield that served two purposes:
One, to neutralize enemy psyker units; two, to act as Hades' personal bodyguard squad—or even a vanguard unit.
Using Knights as a personal guard detail is something that even Hades felt was far too extravagant, after all, it's something that is usually reserved for a Titan's honor guard. But the truth was, if they encountered an elite enemy psyker unit, the suppression fields of regular Untouchables alone likely wouldn't be enough.
Hades would still have to intervene personally.
But his Black Domain was an area-effect weapon, which meant it didn't discriminate between friend or foe. He couldn't simply release a large-scale Black Domain and annihilate an entire enemy psyker unit, since there's a huge chance that it would also put his own team down.
Thus, what Hades needed was a squad that could survive within his Black Domain, and clearly, only Untouchables could form such a team.
Unlike Hades, who was a special case, most Untouchables couldn't be transformed into Astartes. After confirmation from Apothecary Leo, it turned out that his gene-seed couldn't be used to modify other Untouchables either.
Hades could only stare at the gene-seed freshly extracted from his own body in silent frustration.
Leo helpfully stored it in cryo for him.
"Regrettably, your gene-seed is only compatible with normal humans. I'll pick a particularly chatty recruit to give your seed to later."
So then, how could the power of Untouchables be enhanced?
The Death Guard Legion wasn't like the wealthy Imperium, who is able to spend lavishly on long-term projects like raising the Sisters of Silence.
And even if they trained these Untouchables to match the strength of a Sister, fighting alongside Hades would still mean he'd have to carry the whole squad on his back.
At that point, he might as well go solo again.
So, it was rather awkward.
Hades, as an overpowered outsider, currently had no suitable Untouchable teammates to support him.
But now, he has unveiled his modified version of the Armiger Pattern Knight.
These mech suits, operated by Untouchables and lacking machine spirits, would become a striking presence on the battlefield of anti-psyker warfare.
He had even thoughtfully added a standing platform atop the Knight's head, just so he could conveniently ride alongside the Knight toward their next battlefield together.
Feeling satisfied with himself, Hades closed the final piece of armor plating.
Thus, the first prototype of the Wraith Knight was born.
The massive Knight was jet-black all over, with sparse accents of green glowing softly at the joints and along the frame.
Following the Death Guard's austere aesthetic, the Knight bore no unnecessary ornamentation.
Korklan and Jin-306 circled the machine like madmen, with the Magos looking seconds away from bowing down in worship to the Knight, though to his credit, he managed to restrain himself.
Hades had already worked things out with the Magos of Graia Forge World: these Knights, while directly under the command of the Death Guard, would be officially registered under Graia Forge World to avoid scrutiny from Imperial auditors.
Typically, Knights were linked to noble households and bore corresponding heraldry. And thus, Hades simply made one up on the spot: two black scythes, dripping blood, crossed together to form an emblem.
That was now the sigil of a newly "invented" house: House Wraithborn.
Next came the matter of choosing suitable pilots.
The Untouchables had already been dumped on the Grave Wardens for training, though Hades didn't know how Garro was managing them.
Of course, Hades hadn't forgotten to go cry about the Death Guard poverty to Malcador once again, though, this time, bolstered by the success of the Black Tower project, made him at least have more justification for requesting additional Untouchables.
What Hades didn't know was this—
A few weeks later, within the Imperial Palace, Malcador casually tossed aside another letter from the Death Guard.
"He's more efficient than I expected."
"Since that's the case, rather than sending the White Scars for reinforcements. Let's just dispatch the Death Guard and the Luna Wolves instead."
Originally, the Stormseers of the White Scars were meant to be the core force of the operation.
But now that the Death Guard had their own anti-psyker team, it would be good to just let them handle it.
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