The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"This"

Soshian and Veronica were both stunned.

He knew about Tyranid Zoanthropes.

The Tyranid bestiary contained records of these psychic creatures, but they usually moved with the main army and rarely appeared alone, because their own defenses were weak, relying entirely on powerful psychic abilities to command the surrounding Tyranids or launch psychic attacks.

The Seer painfully closed his eyes, seemingly recalling that terrifying scene—

"We didn't expect that this creature would begin to devour the souls of our ancestors in the Infinity Circuit, and its power would increase to an unmatched level in the process of devouring!

When the Zoanthrope's consciousness spread throughout the entire Craftworld, we lost all means of resisting it.

Accompanied by a terrifying psychic shriek, many of our people's souls were torn apart alive!"

"So it was destroyed by a Zoanthrope... What happened to it afterwards?"

"I heard that because it devoured too many souls, it attracted the attention of a great enemy, and was eventually overwhelmed by swarming daemons... At least it was gone when we returned to our abandoned home.

Only the Grey Knights, who had purged the daemons, were waiting for us, and returned the remaining spirit stones."

Soshian then asked a very strange question.

"Did you not have any conflicts?"

The Seer shook his head.

"No, at first we were very angry, thinking they were here to destroy our home, but when we saw them hand over the spirit stones, we realized they had protected the souls of our ancestors, and I saw the wounds on their bodies.

We used to despise humans as well, but at that moment I knew that some things are not determined by race.

They are cold warriors, but also noble heroes.

We expressed our gratitude to them, and they just silently left."

Soshian nodded, seemingly muttering to himself:

"So... in fact, many things can turn in a good direction.

Perhaps I am too pessimistic?"

Then he regained his thoughts and asked the other party:

"Can the Craftworld of Malan'tai be restored?"

"Your Highness, I'm afraid it's impossible.

That Zoanthrope completely drained the psychic power of the Infinity Circuit.

Although the Craftworld's keel structure has not suffered substantial damage, it has lost its vitality."

The Infinity Circuit is the core of the Aeldari Craftworld's spirit bone structure.

It is not only the final resting place for the souls of every Craftworld Aeldari who dies, but also the source of the Craftworld's psychic driving force.

It can transmit soul energy throughout the entire Craftworld, provide power for the Craftworld's equipment, and is also connected to the Webway in turn to form the so-called Eternal Matrix, which facilitates contact between different Craftworlds.

"Then, Seer Wynselas, I must inform you that after retrieving the Craftworld of Malan'tai, its fate will either be to be dismantled and take away the useful parts, or... to be a city or orbital facility affiliated to the Royal Court.

You are its former residents, and I give you the right to choose."

"Your Highness, we have long been psychologically prepared for this.

Malan'tai is not a large Craftworld.

In order to deal with the constant harassment of the Orks, the Craftworld has long been highly fortified.

Our ancestors built a large number of defensive facilities and obtained many ancient weapons through various means, which is why we were able to resist the Endless Wyrm for so long.

We only hope to move away the ancestral temple and some ancient ruins, and this powerful weapon can contribute to the revival of our race."

"Are you really willing for the Royal Court to transform Malan'tai into a weapon?"

"Yes, this may be the best ending for Malan'tai.

Its fate is probably to be born for war, after all, the Craftworld has rarely had peaceful moments since its fall."

"Seer Wynselas is righteous, and the residents of Malan'tai are righteous.

The Royal Court will remember your contribution.

No matter what it becomes in the future, the name of Malan'tai will never change."

According to reconnaissance, the Orks occupying Malan'tai do not have a strong fleet, so Soshian did not intend to bring a strong fleet either.

He only used the Doom Moth Tal-Anrehk and 2 Hemlock Wraithfighters, 4 Nightshades, and 10 Shadowhunters to carry out the mission, while the other ships were on alert and maneuvering in the Esro system.

Anyway, the two places are not too far apart, and support can be provided at any time.

In terms of troop strength, considering that the number of Orks is not too large, Soshian only transferred half of the troops he brought to assist Esro.

The Frostheim Ironclad had already left due to another mission and would not participate.

The Hearthguard Ironbreakers could also participate in the battle because of their long-term military service contract.

In fact, this troop strength was still a bit thin compared to the nearly one million Orks.

But Soshian also had a force he could use, which was the Crawler Alliance.

After determining the personnel and ships for the operation, the fleet immediately set off, but instead of heading straight for Malan'tai, it first bypassed this cold tomb drifting in the void and arrived at the edge of a strange star system.

At this time, a small fleet was waiting here.

Their shapes were very unique, looking a bit like Tyranid bio-ships but made of metal and crystal, but in terms of volume, they were smaller than Aeldari cruisers.

After identifying themselves, three uniquely shaped alien envoys were brought before Soshian's throne.

The Q'Orl representative was an individual with mottled and colorful skin.

According to them, this was one of their most distinguished royal family members, while the Hrud were a flying race with slender bodies, grayish-white skin, an oval head with only one eye and a mouth, respiratory organs on both sides of the neck, and unusually long legs and four arms, with webbed wings between the upper and lower arms.

Their representative wore a gorgeous robe woven from the feathers of unknown creatures, and was nearly three meters tall.

The Demiurg were a strong humanoid race with human-like body proportions, but covered in thick hair, with a somewhat fierce face with a protruding oval nose.

There were upward-protruding tusks on both sides of the nose, and the eyes looked a bit small.

There were protruding tumors growing under the eyes, and it was not known what organs they were.

There were a pair of small ears on both sides of the head.

In short, this appearance was quite ugly by human standards, but their physique was well-developed, not inferior to Ogryns.

The visitor looked like a small mountain, wearing gray-black armor, and looked very mighty.

"Greetings, Phoenix Lord."

The three envoys made sounds with different timbres through the Aeldari translator, and performed different salutes.

In fact, Soshian had argued with the surrounding Aeldari about this matter.

Some etiquette advisors insisted that these "insignificant races" should kneel and "crawl" all the way from the entrance to Soshian, saying that this was the rule for the ancient empire to receive foreign envoys.

In the past, the most common reason for the Aeldari Empire to destroy a race was "lack of etiquette," which was quite domineering, but not as domineering as the Human Empire.

Soshian had a new understanding of the arrogance of the ancient Aeldari Empire, but he did not like this unnecessary insulting etiquette.

Besides, what was the point of putting on such airs when that empire was gone?

So he overruled all objections and not only discarded all the cumbersome ceremonies, but also changed the greeting etiquette to allow each race to use its own customary etiquette.

So the three envoys' salutes were completely different.

The Q'Orl envoy stood up and raised its forelimbs over its head, the Hrud envoy instead prostrated itself, clasped its hands together, and the Demiurg knelt on one knee, raising its right fist over its head.