The Emperor’s Angel of Death

At Xin'aljun's feet lay an Aeldari head. Perhaps shielded by some structure, it wasn't burned as thoroughly. Though the skin and flesh on its body and face were charred, revealing bone, its perfectly preserved eyes were wide open—staring directly at him.

On its chest was another gem, encased in delicate filigree metal, resembling an ornament with a distinctly feminine elegance.

Xin'aljun bent down to retrieve the gem, noticing something pressed beneath the corpse. He gently turned it over.

"What's this?"

The Fire Warrior picked up a square piece of material, its edges carved into intricate leaf patterns. As he wiped away the ash, he saw a picture, or rather, a scene floating on the surface.

A long-haired woman with pointed ears, wearing a white dress, embraced a young man holding a spear, a slightly embarrassed expression on his face, and gently kissed his cheek.

At that moment, he could almost hear the girl's silvery laughter.

Xin'aljun felt as if a massive stone had lodged in his chest. Gasping for breath, he staggered back two steps, slowly sat on the edge of a partially collapsed wall, removed his helmet, and began to breathe deeply, as if only that could prevent him from suffocating.

He had yearned to become a true hero, a warrior who could burn for the Greater Good. Yet, at this moment, he felt the foundations of his beliefs cracking.

What were they even doing here?

The commanders said these wicked barbarians had attacked the colony, slaughtering and plundering civilians. But why hadn't they found any abducted civilians?

And these natives showed no signs of any naval power. How could they have crossed space to attack the colony?

What was this war all about?

He looked at the thin plate in his hand, then at the corpse. Suddenly, images of his gentle wife and two children flashed through his mind, causing him to tremble. He was afraid. He was afraid the corpse would suddenly rise and accuse him.

"Captain? What's wrong?"

A teammate approached, voicing concern.

Xin'aljun shook his head.

"I'm fine, just—"

The next moment, the Fire Warrior standing before him exploded into countless fragments.

"Ambush! Take cover!"

Their reaction was swift, but it was too late. Tiny missiles streaked through the ruins, instantly obliterating three Fire Warriors and two Drones with their horrific destructive power.

"Alternating cover! Regroup!"

Xin'aljun donned his helmet, simultaneously raising his Drone and rolling behind a wall.

He heard the death cries of the Kroot and accessed the Drone's visual feed, seeing them lying scattered around their former "dinner table," their heads shattered or bodies riddled with holes.

Then, he saw thirteen uniquely designed anti-gravity vehicles emerge from the smoke at high speed, similar to their Hammerheads but moving with greater fluidity and grace. He didn't know they were Aeldari Falcons and Vypers. At the same time, the Drones scanned something in the smoke—several humanoid targets, entirely black, their armor sculpted into terrifying skeletal forms, wielding bladed ranged weapons.

"Enemy armored formation detected! Enemy armored formation detected!"

Xin'aljun immediately reported to his superiors, his mind filled with doubt. They had always believed the natives were primitive tribes. Where did these advanced vehicles come from? Why hadn't they deployed them from the start?

But the roar in the sky drew his attention. He looked up and saw the dense fog that had covered the sky begin to dissipate, revealing something even more terrifying.

Massive chunks of wreckage fell from the clouds, quickly burning up. Only the largest crashed towards the planet, but they were consumed by an amber-colored energy before landing—he clearly saw the bow of a Hero-class cruiser among them.

So that meant—

Suddenly, his instincts screamed danger. Xin'aljun immediately turned and rolled, narrowly avoiding a gust of wind that whistled past his helmet, then raised his gun and fired.

As bullets flew, he saw a figure performing a high-speed backflip, dodging through the rain of fire. She wore bone-white armor, outlining a slender and graceful form, but her face was covered by a horrifying mask, and fiery red hair streamed behind her. She held a blade in one hand and a gun in the other.

Seeing his shots were ineffective and his magazine empty, Xin'aljun quickly retreated to reload.

But a terrible shriek suddenly exploded in his ears, instantly making his brain feel like it had been struck by a hammer, and sparks erupted from his helmet's equipment.

When he regained his senses, he felt himself tumbling, falling, and saw the enemy standing before his headless body, tearing off the box and the thin plate he had hidden behind him.

The last image burned into his mind was the enemy looking at the thin plate, then flying into a rage and cleaving his body in half—

For the Greater Good.

The reinforcements of the Eternal Court arrived so swiftly that the T'au command was still reeling from the devastating blow to their orbital fleet and didn't have time to react.

By the time they received the flood of attack reports and rout reports from the front lines, the Shas of the Fire Caste were dumbfounded.

The world that had been within their grasp was now overrun by enemies they had never seen before. Sleek, swirling jetbikes pierced the lower atmosphere, streaking over the heads of unsuspecting Fire Warriors, the sonic booms and weapon fire claiming Drones and their lives. The Fire Warriors tried desperately to fight back, but the enemy moved at speeds their visual equipment couldn't track.

Even worse, the Aeldari's holo-fields rendered their prized marksmanship as blind as a human guardsman's lasgun, but they lacked the Imperial Guard's “extensive” (suffering) experience. And because they had lost air superiority, they couldn't guarantee what might appear above them. At this point, anti-gravity bikes became the least of their worries.

Because some of the aerial blurs were likely swift and smooth anti-gravity tanks. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Iyanden artisans, combined with the existing forces of the four Craftworlds, the Eternal Court possessed an enormous armored force. In this operation alone, over 600 Falcon tanks of various types were deployed—including 200 powerful Fire Prism tanks, 100 Night Spinners equipped with D-cannons, and 100 of Iyanden's most famous Wraith Engines—Scorpion super-heavy anti-gravity tanks and Storm Serpent heavy tanks.

In addition to these large vehicles, 1,000 Wasps and 600 War Walker were participating in the battle. This would be a very large armored force for any Craftworld. This does not include the Phoenix Bombers, Nightwings, Vampire transports and Crimson Hunters, and the 200 Wraith constructs.

In the days of the ancient empire, units composed of large numbers of vehicles and constructs had an independent name called—

Vaul's Wrath!