The Emperor’s Angel of Death

“You pointy-ears will all die! Heart-Eater King will kill you all, ya hear!”

One of the Phantom Warriors, enduring intense pain, trembled as he cursed. Charon strode over and kicked him in the face.

“You dog spawn, who gave you the audacity to speak to the supreme Phoenix King like that? We'll have to use the flesh-burrowing worms to loosen your bones!”

“Enough.”

Sorsaryan slowly stood up, stepping down the stairs one by one, and approached the Phantom Warriors. They were now somewhat dumbfounded, staring at the towering “Aeldari,” bewildered.

They were all contemplating one question: Why could an Aeldari grow to such a size?

“Phantom Warriors, Heart-Eater King...”

Sorsaryan looked at the remnant of the Second Legion, whose face was covered in blood from Charon’s spiked boot, and asked in a deep Gothic accent:

“Who is this Heart-Eater King you speak of?”

The man hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and said in a very proud voice:

“He is the great Lharran Baggsi! The supreme and unique God-Emperor!”

“Garmonbozia, is it?”

“How dare you call Lharran Baggsi by his name...”

“Heh, a stinking rat hiding in the Screaming Vortex dares to call himself emperor, even using the title of Primarch. This guy has really reinvented himself. How many are there in your so-called legion now?”

The man was quite tough and simply closed his mouth, refusing to answer Sorsaryan’s question.

“Ah, a tough guy. I love tough guys.”

Sorsaryan turned around.

“Charon, do you have ways to make these tough guys talk?”

“Your Highness, there are plenty of ways, hee hee. There are no tough guys in Commorragh.”

Then, Charon waved his hand, and several Kabalite Warriors walked over and inserted a black, crystalline needle, about the thickness of an adult's index finger, into the backs of the captured Phantom Warriors.

In the next second, their eyes almost popped out of their sockets. At first, they just trembled, then the expressions on their faces began to twist and contort in pain. Tears, snot, and saliva flowed uncontrollably, and then they began to gasp, growl, and finally, scream in agony.

Charon laughed gleefully beside them, introducing the device.

“The Bloodbrides have thoroughly studied the physiological structure of the Astartes. Their resistance to pain is much stronger than that of ordinary creatures, and some of their senses have been dulled. To this end, the Bloodbride coven has developed many good things, such as this spinal barb. It doesn’t cause pain, but it creates an uncontrollable itch inside them, a feeling that makes them want to tear their skin off and scratch vigorously. This is much more effective than pain.”

Sorsaryan showed no expression, still just looking down at the five men kneeling on the ground, screaming in agony. Their voices were loud enough to shatter eardrums.

“Whoever speaks first, I will grant them relief first.”

At first, no one responded.

After more than ten seconds, a weak voice sounded.

“I... I'll speak...”

Sorsaryan turned his head and saw that it was the one on the far right, with brown skin and a skull-faced jackal tattooed on his face. He raised his chin slightly, and the Kabalite Warrior standing behind the man immediately pulled out the spinal barb, without even a drop of blood flowing from the wound.

“Speak.”

“Right now, there are about... five thousand people.”

“Five thousand people, are they all newly recruited soldiers?”

“No... not all of them. Some joined from warbands, and there are some who were originally Blood Serpent cultists...”

“How many worlds in the Screaming Vortex area do you control now?”

“About seventy or eighty...”

“What about warships?”

“That’s about...”

Seeing the man hesitating, Sorsaryan immediately guessed that he was not in a high position and could not access that level of information.

“I... I know...”

This time, the one on the far left spoke up. Sorsaryan then signaled the Kabalite Warrior to remove the torture device.

After panting for a moment, the man trembled and said:

“There should be 118 ships currently.”

“How many capital ships are there?”

“Nineteen...”

“What is the flagship?”

“A... a 'Renegade'-class Battleship, named 'Xiangxiong'.”

“Where did your warships come from?”

“Trading... and salvaging. The Screaming Vortex is a gateway node to the God-Emperor, and inside it, there are many shipwreck graveyards. Although dangerous, you can find many ancient and relatively intact ships.”

Sorsaryan didn’t ask any more questions, but walked behind them, looking at the strange tattoos. The dark-skinned specter was covered in evil symbols and a large number of human bones, wearing a skull necklace around its neck. All four heads had wide eyes and bared teeth, but they showed slight differences in detail, each bearing the characteristics of an evil dog, a raven, a venomous snake, and a fly. Its eight arms held various strange objects, such as a dripping battle axe, a skull bowl filled with bubbling liquid, a glowing crystal, and even a charming and seductive naked banshee.

“What is this?”

But no one answered.

“What are the tattoos on your backs? Or rather, who is it?”

Even when Sorsaryan asked again, no one answered. At this point, he lost patience and waved his hand.

“Lord Doral, take them to be interrogated with psychic powers. Dig out all the secrets in their heads.”

“Yes.”

Then, a group of Golden Guard walked over, restrained them with special shackles, then removed the torture devices from their bodies, and escorted them out of the hall. Sorsaryan turned and returned to the throne.

“Charon, you did well. What do you think of the strength of this enemy?”

“Your Highness, they are still... quite troublesome. The Kabal initially attacked several of their worlds and captured many slaves. After that, these Chaos dogs became alert. Every time we acted, we were ambushed or intercepted, losing a large number of men. In the end, the Archon decided to capture some important tongues to send to the Royal Court. To this end, the Kabal planned for a long time before finding an opportunity to attack one of their remote territories, where a group of these Chaos dogs happened to be conducting their evil rituals, or rather, cultivating. But even though we had an absolute advantage in strength, their psychic powers still caused a lot of trouble, costing us many men. Now the Kabal can only use scattered raiding parties to harass them, and large-scale offensives...”

“It seems these guys are about to become a force to be reckoned with. They can independently resist a large Kabal. Tell me about what their territory is like.”

“Yes.”

Then, Charon recounted what he had seen and heard during this time, and Sorsaryan became more and more surprised as he listened.

According to him, the Phantom Warriors had already established a well-organized dynasty in the Screaming Vortex, referred to by the surrounding forces as the Gugg Dynasty. And the capital was not the previously speculated Gibilin. In fact, this world ruled by Slaaneshi cultists was just a vassal of the dynasty. Its true heart was in Cyndrus, a world once ruled by Nurgle’s power.