The Emperor’s Angel of Death

On the orbit of Saganar Prime, most of the Dark Angels' warships were docked in high orbit shipyards. As a first founding chapter, the Dark Angels' fleet possessed strength far exceeding that of ordinary chapters, including the "Repentance Warrior," and the ancient and powerful flagship "Blade of Caliban." They also possessed a large number of very unique Hunter-class destroyers. The design history of this type of destroyer can be traced back to the Legion era. Although based on a design used by various Legions long ago, this type was initially mainly used by the Dark Angels. Compared to other chapters, the latter's deep distrust of other factions within the Imperial structure led to far more problems in acquiring ships from shipyards and forge worlds. Because of this, the Dark Angels chose to use Hunter-class destroyers as the best option to fulfill the functions of the Imperial Navy's Cobra-class, and maintained a large fleet of this type of ship in all of their fleets. This also made the Dark Angels' fleet possess almost the largest destroyer formation among all chapters, totaling over 100 ships.

Among the strike cruisers, battle barges, fast attack ships, and small warships and supply ships, there was also a behemoth.

In the Imperium's long official shipbuilding history, only twenty ships of this class were ever built. They had the largest hulls, the most magnificent main guns, the most powerful engines, and they were piloted by the Emperor's own blood relatives—the Primarchs.

This was the Gloriana-class battleship. Merely witnessing it seemed to allow one to glimpse the magnificent aura of the Imperium at its peak during the Great Crusade.

However, now they were just remnants of ancient glory, bringing people shock and some reflection—

How much has the Imperium lost in these ten thousand years?

And the "Indomitable Truth," was the first of the Gloriana-class to be built. It was said that some of its details and technical level were unmatched by later ships. Surrounded by many warships, she seemed like a true queen. Launch bays and weapon platforms lined the mountain-like ship ridge, and tall buildings stood on the upper decks, spires connected to spires, corridors and passages crisscrossed, and thousands of lights flickered in the arched windows of the giant cathedral.

In front of the cathedral was a huge bone-white statue, a cloaked angel holding a sword, symbolizing the Dark Angels. It was not only a decoration, but also rumored to contain some mysterious technology.

During the Great Crusade, she was the flagship and command ship of Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the First Legion. After experiencing the brutal Horus Heresy, it became the flagship of the Dark Angels Chapter, and like the Rock fortress, it was a symbol of the ancient first founding chapter's former glory. However, what was puzzling was that the "Indomitable Truth" rarely appeared in the ten thousand years after the Horus Heresy.

This time coming to the Maelstrom showed how seriously the Dark Angels took the information regarding Sammael's reaction.

Suddenly, another two-kilometer-long strike cruiser sailed into the shadow cast by the "Indomitable Truth," and then a Stormbird emerged from a flight bay of the cruiser. The small spark was quickly swallowed by the massive Gloriana-class.

This was also the first time that Trazyn had seen the "Indomitable Truth," so he inevitably compared it with the "Avesta."

In terms of size, the two were not much different, but the "Indomitable Truth" was obviously more gorgeous and heavier, while the "Avesta" was wider.

Soon, the outside scenery disappeared, and the Stormbird entered the opened hangar and quickly landed on the smoke-filled buffer pad.

Trazyn was the first to step down the boarding ramp, followed by a group of ten Terminator guards accompanying him, while the Dark Angels were already lined up here to greet them, but this time not only them, but also the Consecrators Chapter and the Disciples of Caliban Chapter who came with the Dark Angels, so hundreds of warriors gathered near the landing pad, a veritable sea of people, with banners fluttering, and each one marked a battle worth remembering.

Trazyn was probably the first outsider to enter the "Indomitable Truth" after the Horus Heresy, so he couldn't help but take a few more glances around. Although the hangar was dimly lit, with only a few sporadic lights flickering, he could still see the distant corridors. The walls looked like they were cut from ancient boulders of unknown age, with patterns of warriors in robes carved on both sides.

Soon he withdrew his gaze and walked down the steps. Standing at the front of the queue was the current owner of this flagship, Grand Master Azrael.

He stood out among the Dark Angels, his helmet held in the hands of a servant behind him, as was the ancient sword. He just waited quietly for his guests with empty hands.

Trazyn, wearing ceremonial power armor, walked forward with a smile and gave the other a hug, the power armor of the two colliding and making a crisp sound—due to some differences in size, Trazyn had to bend slightly.

"Long time no see, Brother Azrael, I miss the days of fighting alongside you."

"Me too, Brother Trazyn, oh, now I should call you Supreme Lord Commander."

Trazyn burst into a bitter laugh and shook his head.

"This is a tough job, brother, you're really making fun of me."

Then Trazyn looked at the other Dark Angels. He found that Grand Master Belial of the Deathwing was not there, nor was Ezekiel, only Saphon, Sammael, and Asmodai. He guessed that the two might have to guard the Rock fortress.

So he greeted Saphon and Asmodai one by one.

Then Azrael brought him to a warrior in black armor.

"This is Chapter Master Nequiel of the Consecrators Chapter."

The founding of the Consecrators is untraceable, and their early history has been completely lost. There is no record of their existence before the third century of M40, but they are always found fighting alongside the Dark Angels, and as Trazyn saw, they are very similar to the Dark Angels before the Horus Heresy, retaining the Legion's earliest black paint scheme, wearing Mark VI Corvus armor, and the chapter symbol is a burning flame.

Trazyn recalled some of the Dark Angels' secrets that Talos had told him. In the past, the Dark Angels Legion used the Hexagrammaton as its main structure, one wing of which was called the Firewing, and its symbol was the flaming twin wings. This wing was also the smallest wing in the entire First Legion, focusing on infiltration and special operations, with a style somewhat similar to the Alpha Legion. It was a strange combination of stalkers, champions, and assassination elites. This was extremely rare in most Legions, because the Astartes at that time generally despised such "dishonorable" tactics, but the Firewing did give the Eighth Legion a lot of suffering. Talos's company had been ambushed by a Firewing squad, and only survived under the leadership of Company Commander Macarion after sacrificing a third of its personnel.

I wonder if this Consecrators Chapter is related to the Firewing of the former First Legion.