The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Almost every T'au army has Kroot among its ranks. These avian-evolved humanoid beasts are bloodthirsty carnivores, only a little better than wild animals, but they are loyal to the T'au Empire and perfectly suited for close-quarters combat with the enemy.

"Report, no signs of enemy activity, over."

"Received, continue searching. Communications with orbit are currently disrupted, be aware of sudden situations, over."

Xin'Aljun ended the communication with his superior, strode forward, and his squad moved into the depths of the ruins, stepping on the crunching, charred wood. Around them, other squads could be seen cautiously moving through the smoke, along with the trails left by Hammerheads speeding past.

The swirling black miasma had transformed the once lush forest into a dark labyrinth, filled with charred corpses, some of which were the twitching remains of Aeldari-tamed dragons, not yet dead. The Fire Warrior squad advanced, silently carrying out their killings – a mercy, but Xin'Aljun could still feel his squad members drawing closer to each other, disgusted by this kind of death.

"Captain, found a collectible."

Suddenly, a warrior to his right spoke. He turned to see the warrior brushing away a patch of ash on the ground, revealing a completely carbonized, slender form. It was evident that the deceased had been holding their arms across their chest in their final moments. The Fire Warrior roughly snapped the arms off the body, like breaking branches, and picked up a dazzling, bright red gem, holding it up to examine it closely.

"The texture doesn't seem like a mineral. Beautiful and rare, probably quite valuable."

As the Fire Warrior praised it softly, Xin'Aljun walked over and held out his hand. The Fire Warrior immediately understood and placed it in his palm – Fire Warriors were strictly disciplined and not allowed to hoard spoils of war.

Holding the mysterious gem, Xin'Aljun immediately placed it in the storage box behind his waist. This was also their mission objective: the command had ordered frontline Fire Warrior squads to immediately collect and safeguard any such mysterious gems they found and hand them over upon their return.

As for what it was that made it worth such a fuss, Xin'Aljun didn't know, nor was it their concern.

As the squad entered the ruins of the enemy village, they could see that some squads were already in position. They were overturning the collapsed buildings, searching through the ashes, and Drones were constantly scanning. Anything of value was being loaded onto the nearby Hammerhead, whose temporary cargo hold was already piled high with various items, from decorations to weapons to household goods.

It was even explicitly stated that cultural and artistic trophies must be carefully preserved, as they were of great research value.

Occasionally, excited cheers could be heard from the ruins. Upon approaching, they would find Fire Warrior squads who had discovered underground hatching chambers hidden by the enemy, filled with many dragon eggs and even newly hatched young dragons. They walked past Xin'Aljun, each carrying an egg bigger than their head, and struggling, squealing hatchlings. These precious assets would add to the prosperity of their Sept world.

But for some reason, four words popped into his head: Aren't we just… pillaging?

He quickly shook his head, throwing those thoughts away. It wasn't his place to consider such things, and their actions were for the benefit of their Sept world.

As he and his warriors continued to search the ruins for scattered gems, they suddenly heard the gleeful cries of the greedy, hungry Kroot. Curious, he walked over and saw the beasts surrounding a pile of corpses. It was then that he realized the rumors about their allies were true.

One of the Kroot saw the Fire Warrior watching and chirped. It waved its claws back and forth, a blood-red piece of corpse dangling from its serrated beak – a slender arm, the length suggesting it belonged to an Aeldari child.

The humanoid beast then tilted its head and beckoned, its expression sly and mocking, as if inviting Xin'Aljun to share the feast.

"Barbaric creatures…"

Xin'Aljun retreated, seeing the Kroot feeding for the first time. He heard two Fire Warrior recruits vomit inside their helmets.

Although they all knew that the Kroot were loyal allies of the Greater Good, the fact that the Kroot devoured the flesh of the dead was always kept in a semi-concealed state. Most T'au were unaware of this habit of their 'good partners,' including inexperienced Fire Warriors, and even Shas'ui like Xin'Aljun might not have seen it, only heard rumors of it.

The Kroot are a humanoid barbarian race evolved from birds, tall, about half a meter taller than the average human. Their ugly faces have bird-like beaks and long feathers on their heads. Although they look thin, their muscles are like metal cables, capable of stretching and snapping in an instant, and they are incredibly strong.

The alliance between the T'au and the Kroot originated from a chance encounter. An exploration ship from D'yanoi tracked a long string of Ork ships firing on the Kroot homeworld. The Kroot were conducting defensive operations on their territory on K'raiz – despite being hopelessly outnumbered.

Although initially just watching from the sidelines, the Ethereal and Fire Caste generals could not bear to see the Orks seize a new victory, and thus the young T'au Empire was drawn into a conflict that was not their own.

After quickly deploying their advanced fleet, the T'au Empire's navigators destroyed the Greenskin's rickety scrap ships. However, by the time these warriors finally realized that what had just been defeated was only the vanguard, it was too late. A massive invasion was closing in on the newly victorious locals and unexpected guests in an encirclement.

Afterward, this battle was known as the "Battle of the Allied Lands" because it marked the first time the T'au and Kroot fought side by side. This unexpected alliance was surprisingly effective, enough to resist the Ork invasion until reinforcements arrived from Sa'cea, and a triumphant victory against the Greenskins duly followed.

The T'au Empire helped the Kroot eradicate the Ork threat from several planets, and finally, at the request of the Kroot leaders, the T'au Empire decided to liberate Pech – the Kroot homeworld.

The T'au and Kroot allied forces fought a difficult and brutal battle against the Greenskins on Pech, and finally liberated this jungle world.

When the fires of war subsided, the Kroot leader made a promise before the sacred Oath Stone: the Kroot would form an eternal alliance with the T'au Empire, and the Kroot would fight for the Greater Good as promised. Of course, blood and sweat would be rewarded reasonably, but the Ethereals were clearly willing to pay such rewards, so the Kroot were also the most common alien auxiliary members of the T'au Empire's legions.

Perhaps worried that his teammates' expressions would anger these alien allies, Xin'Aljun immediately spoke up.

"Stop watching, go do your own thing."

Then he turned to leave, but perhaps he was too focused on the scene he had just witnessed, he suddenly tripped over something and almost fell. When he looked down, he was stunned.