The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Bearing prominent markings, the Thunderhawk dove from the blood-red sky, its engines emitting a roar akin to a predatory beast.

One after another, they landed steadily on the cleared landing pad.

As the Thunderhawk's ramp lowered, Lufgt Huron, the master of the Red Corsairs and Blackheart of the Maelstrom, emerged slowly, followed by his powerful Terminator Champion bodyguards.

From the other Thunderhawks disembarked the Red Corsairs' other high-ranking members and individuals from supporting warbands.

Among them, the most conspicuous was a Chaos Lord clad in Terminator armor.

His figure was even taller than Huron's Terminator Champions, adorned with a towering Khorne crest (commonly known as rabbit ears). His Terminator armor, composed of Indomitus and parts of Cataphractii patterns, was covered in spikes, blasphemous symbols, and Chaos litanies glorifying Khorne. A plethora of ornaments were embedded in or hung from the Terminator armor, the most striking and chilling of which was a complete skeleton, secured with wire to the trophy rack behind the Terminator, still wearing a commissar's coat.

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This skeleton was that of Commissar Moph of the 143rd Krieg Regiment, slain by the Chaos Lord Zhufor during the Siege of Vraks.

Thus, this skeleton also revealed the identity of the massive Terminator:

Zhufor the Skulltaker, Champion of Khorne, 'The Piercer.'

Even among the leaders of Khorne warbands, known for their frenzy, Zhufor was considered unique. He was not from the ancient World Eaters Legion but a converted 'new blood.'

Zhufor, originally named Balzac, was once a sergeant of the Storm Lords in the White Scars Chapter (there were a lot of White Scars traitors after the Great Heresy). During a battle between the Chapter and a World Eaters warband, Zhufor was unfortunately wounded and captured.

Afterward, he underwent some kind of 'psycho-spiritual correction surgery' by the World Eaters' apothecaries, along with insane physical torture (probably the ultimate humiliation), and a re-arrangement and adjustment of his brainwave consciousness and thought patterns.

After a series of inhuman torments, Balzac disappeared, and Zhufor emerged, joining the World Eaters warband as a berserker.

However, even so, Zhufor differed from most Khorne followers. The White Scars' unique calm thinking still occupied a place in his mind, allowing him to find the most advantageous methods and paths for himself even in the heat of frenzied battle. Therefore, he not only did not die quickly but rose steadily, even turning the tables and conquering the warband that had once captured him, eventually forming the Skulltakers warband.

His most famous events included participating in the Siege of Vraks and summoning Angron, the current chief Daemon Prince of Khorne.

However, his role in the Siege of Vraks also had a negative aspect. During operations, he often devised ways to annex allied forces, plunder equipment and supplies, and even incite infighting among Chaos forces—

Yes, incite, not participate personally. Zhufor's most terrifying point was his ability to restrain the bloodlust and thirst for slaughter brought to him by Khorne's power, striving to seize benefits with the most efficient means possible.

In the final stages of the Siege of Vraks, seeing that the overall situation was lost and having already made a fortune without suffering any losses, Zhufor simply left without saying goodbye, taking the annexed supplies and personnel with him, leaving his bewildered allies behind.

But ultimately, Zhufor chose to join Abaddon, becoming a Chaos Lord under his command. Relying on the Black Legion's rich armory and powerful logistics, the Skulltakers warband quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the Eye of Terror, and Zhufor's position in the Black Legion also rose steadily. There were even rumors that he would soon become one of Abaddon's personally selected members.

Therefore, this Black Legion reinforcement's aura of pride was no less than Huron's upon his arrival. Behind him hung a massive power axe, and on his left arm was a master-crafted weapon combining a power fist and bolter—from a fallen Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers.

The group advanced along the road, arriving near a shrine covered in debris. This shrine was slightly larger than the head of a Titan, and next to it, a slave was tied to a stone slab, his ears already cut off.

The slab and skull were surrounded by hordes of mutants, their filthy, naked bodies covered in haphazardly smeared bloodstains, hissing out various uncommon epithets for Khorne's blood god, such as Khorne, Khorne, and other rare names.

As the Chaos Space Marines thundered past, the mutant slaves scattered.

Huron and the others passed through these mutant tribes, and now a huge fortress stood proudly before them, its size magnified countless times compared to what they had seen from afar, as if created by some kind of power distortion, making it seem unreal.

This was Planet 11 on the edge of the Angstrom system, the most complete stronghold established by the Red Corsairs, who renamed the planet Scourge of the Aquila.

Therefore, this fortress was also named Scourge Keep.

Between the Chaos Space Marines and the cliff-like city walls, a huge, boiling lava lake surrounded the entire fortress, with countless massive arched bridges spanning the hellish, vast lava lake, and the wide roads made of metal.

Thousands of corpses of fallen Ecclesiarchy soldiers hung on both sides of the bridge, and the scarred road was rarely stained with the blood of sacrificers. In these terrible scenes, the true glory of the Dark Gods was fully displayed.

Suddenly, something in the team said thirstily with a hiss:

"Look, so many full souls are waiting to be harvested."

But Huron ignored the voice and walked directly across the bridge.

He could have landed directly in the center of the fortress, but he wanted to see how each part of the fortress was built, because what you see in the center is definitely different from what you see on the edge.

Behind the fortress's ramparts, various factions and warbands had their own territories, their boundaries marked by totems, flags, rune staffs, or pierced corpses, and totems worshiping the Dark Gods were also a kind. Some were carved from decaying wooden roots with icons of the Flies of Decay, while others had the all-seeing eye of the Great Tzeentch engraved on rocks. Pale skulls praising Khorne were piled into small mountains four or five meters high, and blasphemous statues wrapped in flesh surrounded the seductive incense of the Dark Prince.

In addition to the Chaos Space Marines, there were more slaves and cultists serving them. Their exposed bodies were painted with bizarre symbols in various colored substances, and their shelters were small huts built of crude materials, with warning slogans and dark prayers written on the cracked earthen walls.

Death and slaughter were everywhere, and the order of the camp was only violence.

However, soon, most of them knew that someone had arrived, so they stopped fighting, either hiding in their shelters or kneeling on the ground. Only those Chaos Space Marines dared to look directly at the lords walking on the road.

In this process, groups continued to join the fortress, some joining spontaneously, some brought in by a Chaos Lord, and some ruled by cult groups. They shouted:

"Hail Blackheart!"

'Kill the False Emperor, burn the galaxy!'

"Huron is the true Everchosen!"

The air was torn by the voices of thousands praising and screaming in terror around Huron, making the ground tremble and shake like a living thing, and the surrounding crowd reeked of blood and sweat.