The Emperor’s Angel of Death

After greeting the lost bloodline of these Legions with cheers, Sotha stepped to the forefront of the formation and began shaking hands with everyone, asking for their names one by one.

Despite some assistance and supplies from Li, the situation of this wandering warband was still dire. Ninety-eight of them were 'recruits' within the last two centuries. The veterans of the original warband had dwindled significantly, and there was a severe lack of technical personnel, with only one Tech-Marine and one Apothecary. To adapt to 'warband-style' combat, Tek’shar had divided the entire group into four combat companies, each with 30-60 members, thus having four company commanders under him.

The armament situation was even worse. Many of the bolters were captured. The usage of bolter rounds during combat had to be carefully calculated, leading them to favor close combat. However, the wear and tear on close combat armor kept the entire warband's power armor in a state of extreme disrepair. Many had replaced every plate of their armor at least once. They only had one Land Raider and one Stormraven left. Only one set of patchwork Indomitus pattern Terminator armor remained.

Normally, Sotha would have to suspect whether they had been corrupted by Chaos. But the moment Tek’shar revealed his grey marrow, Sotha dismissed this suspicion. Regardless of his character and intelligence, he certainly would not be corrupted by the forces of Chaos. The only thing to do was to slowly dilute their hatred for the Imperial Fists.

Fortunately, although these people hated the Imperial Fists and despised the Imperial bureaucracy, they were still loyal to the Throne. Their loyalty stemmed from a strange belief: the Emperor still favored the Primarch who was murdered by his brother. He secretly preserved the bloodline of the Eleventh Legion and erased everyone's memories to prevent any Primarch from discovering them.

In short, although a bit strange, their recognition of the Legion was profound, even deeper than some veterans of the Astral Knights. The Legion, in a sense, had almost become their faith, likely due to Tek’shar's daily preaching.

There was also a rather interesting thing: Tek’shar did not take on the position of Chapter Master. Instead, he took on the role of a Chaplain, calling himself a Sa’voth—an ancient position from the Legion era, similar to a Chaplain, mainly to inspire and guide the warriors' spirits on the battlefield and to answer the confusion and doubts that arose in the warriors' hearts.

In other words, after leaving the Imperium, the Toxic Thorns Chapter had never had a Chapter Master, and were always led by Chaplain Tek’shar.

And what Tek’shar preached daily was basically the glory of the Legion. However, he actually had a field notebook written by a scribe from the Eleventh Legion, recording some battles and events in the dozen years before and after the recovery of the Primarch, as well as descriptions and interview notes of some warriors. It was perhaps the only detailed record in the galaxy about the Eleventh Legion's transition period. According to Tek’shar, Li gave it to him.

Sotha immediately realized that this was very important information, but it could also be completely fabricated by Li. He had to see it himself to verify it.

But regardless, Tek’shar had ultimately shaped a group of warriors who held fervent worship and love for the Legion.

This worship and love naturally transferred to Sotha as well, not only because of his position as Legion Master, but also because of the achievements and merits Sotha had created over the years. Although they were already rebels of the Imperium, they were still proud to have such a great bloodline. More importantly, the information Li conveyed to them also stated one thing: Sotha's appearance was extremely similar to the Primarch.

Sotha had no immediate plans for these people and could only wait until the administrative affairs of Nayseth were settled.

After shaking hands with everyone, Sotha publicly introduced the current situation of the Legion, with only the White Templars and Astral Knights as numbered Chapters, totaling about two thousand.

Then he briefly talked about the situation of the Astral Knights and some major events that had happened in the past, including the Soul Drinkers Chapter, as well as the containment of the Crimson Sabres and the Eighth Legion company.

The Soul Drinkers were nothing, after all, it was also a matter for the Legion. The Crimson Sabres were a friendly assistance, which everyone understood. But when it came to the Eighth Legion, even the former Toxic Thorns, who had become 'rebels,' couldn't help but express surprise and doubt.

After all, the reputation of this Legion was indeed too terrible. Even Chaos warbands might not be able to stand them.

The name Night Lords, even in the slave markets of the Eye of Terror, was notoriously repulsive. After all, even the madness of the World Eaters was at least predictable, everyone was used to the fickleness of the Word Bearers, and the neuroses of the Emperor's Children could always be appeased with drugs. Only the Night Lords, no Chaos Lord dared to say that they could control this group of beings that straddled the line between madmen, neurotics, and fickle villains.

Although Tek’shar and the others had never truly entered the 'society' of Chaos, the Toxic Thorns Chapter had fought with the Night Lords' warbands many times in the past, and had clashed with these people in the Ghoul Stars.

So Sotha patiently explained the origin of the Eleventh Company, while certainly concealing some details. He only said that Talos had helped him, that this person was different from other Night Lords, and also told everyone that Primarch Xesios and the Eighth Legion Primarch Konrad Curze actually had a good friendship. Talos was also carrying out the last wishes of the Eighth Legion Primarch. Finally, he recounted the achievements of the Eleventh Company in various battles, which barely dispelled their doubts.

Of course, Sotha also knew that completely dispelling them was unrealistic. After all, his statement about the relationship between the Primarch and Curze was only his own assertion, without any evidence.

But fortunately, his prestige was still useful.

Finally, when Sotha told everyone that the Legion's flagship had been recovered and that the Primarch's wife was in the fortress monastery on Nayseth IV, many people burst into cheers. Perhaps this was the most important thing to them.

After introducing the current situation of the Legion, Sotha asked Mark to arrange for these people to stay on the flagship first. The Toxic Thorns Chapter's original flagship, the Toxic Thorn, would be escorted by a frigate squadron to the shipyard on Nayseth IV for repairs—their battle barge, according to Tek’shar's description, had become a wreck due to a lack of effective maintenance. It was not easy to get it here. On the way, it had fought a great battle in the Warp with a Chaos warband that tried to plunder the ship. The hull was somewhat damaged and needed further repairs.

Most importantly, Sotha also wanted to get to know these warriors better and observe their words and actions.