The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Chapter 2940: The Gugg Magocracy

According to Charon, the world of Cinderlance holds an extremely important position in the Screaming Vortex region. It serves as a crucial passage from the outer reaches of the Screaming Vortex to its inner ring. Its entire star system is located on the path of the Black Current, a sub-spatial flow that circles the Screaming Vortex. Ships passing through here will be directly pushed into a terrifying energy vortex, surging inward towards the depths of the Screaming Vortex, making it the safest and fastest key to reach the inner ring of the Screaming Vortex.

Cinderlance itself is a morbid desert world, surrounded by two satellites named Araxia and Megaria. Unknown forces within these three celestial bodies lock them into a tight, almost unimaginably complex orbit. All three planets intermittently linger in the dim currents of the Black Current, which slowly flows around and between them, forming a bizarre and unpredictable waterfall of unfathomable energy. Originally, this place was guarded by a fleet called the 'Septet.' This fleet was not composed of pirates or any other power; they seemed to be simply guarding this world, as many Nurgle worshippers would come here on pilgrimage. Any being who worshipped Nurgle was welcome, but if Tzeentch's followers came to cause trouble, they would be relentlessly attacked.

But at some point, the Septet fleet was defeated. The Phantom Warriors, under the leadership of Garmonbozia, occupied Cinderlance and established their center of power on the shattered shrine formed by Nurgle's divine power, naming it Accursed Reach. Later, they used powerful sorcery to forcibly transform a desert world into a habitable planet filled with snowy mountain ranges and fertile grasslands and valleys, using it as a base to rapidly expand into the surrounding areas.

The Gugg Dynasty is structured like a standard pyramid, with Lharran Bagg'syn, also known as Garmonbozia, the 'Heart-Eater King,' at the apex. Below him are the legion's high-ranking officers known as the Tzohar, whose position is somewhat similar to the war leaders of the Red Corsairs. Further down are company-level figures called the Lhinsay, and below them are the ordinary warriors. However, even the lowest-ranking Phantom Warrior holds absolute power over mortals. The Gugg Dynasty refers to the mortal lords below them as headmen, and their sole purpose is to provide a large number of slaves in a timely manner whenever the legion needs to perform rituals or blood sacrifices, and to maintain the operation of various mines and factories. It is said that the Accursed Reach, rebuilt on the shattered shrine, consumes tens of thousands of slaves every day to maintain its operation.

Regarding the Phantom Legion's behavior, Charon described that these Phantom Warriors seem to be eagerly practicing a kind of witchcraft, intending to fuse incompatible forces from the Warp. To this end, they constantly travel to worlds shrouded in the power of different gods, with Slaanesh's domain being the most popular. And in those places, many horrifying things have happened.

For example, the group they captured was 'cultivating' on a twilight world. Their method involved having the locals contribute hundreds of young girls, who were called Nether Brides. Then, they would copulate with the girls in various bizarre ways. This process, described as unremarkable by the Gomorranians, made Soshjan frown. Most of the girls died in this process, but that was not the end. They would completely peel off the girls' tender skin and draw strange patterns on it, binding their resentful souls within, creating a kind of quasi-Warp creature called a 'Skin Slave.'

According to Charon, there are tens of thousands of Skin Slaves on all the worlds of the Gugg Dynasty.

And those extremely lucky Nether Brides who survived became the most popular attendants and trade items of the Phantom Dynasty. They would be eroded by the power from Slaanesh's domain, and their bodies would undergo varying degrees of mutation, resembling Slaaneshi daemonettes possessing human bodies. These Nether Brides were also called Skyfiends, and the Phantom Warriors seemed to consider them the best tools for cultivation.

In this state, even the Chaos worlds under the Gugg Dynasty could almost be called purgatories. Fortunately, the unique environment of the Screaming Vortex ensures that there is never a shortage of people in that place.

In addition, the Phantom Warriors have also made many allies. Although it is difficult for Chaos worshippers to have any trust, Garmonbozia is very good at dividing and conquering. When confronting Khorne worshippers in the void, he would be close to the Slaaneshi world of Gybeline. When he needs to fight the Nurgle Brotherhood, he would win over the wizard world of Q'Sal. And when he falls out with Slaanesh's followers, he would also go to Khorne's Forge to negotiate an alliance. If Tzeentch's wizards trip him up, he would not hesitate to sell them out to the Lord of Decay. Relying on his own excellent strength, the Phantom Warriors are rarely besieged in the intricate Screaming Vortex. In addition, Garmonbozia also spent a lot of resources to befriend the main arms dealers in the Screaming Vortex, the Dimensional Smiths Brotherhood. This group of dimensional blacksmiths of unknown origin is led by a man named Jahl Khaldein, based in Quelf, and is famous for producing powerful daemon engines and war machines.

After listening to these descriptions, Soshjan said nothing, but praised Charon a few words and asked him to convey a message to the Kabal Archon, asking him to continue harassing these people, and at the same time, let him take some gifts back as rewards - precisely some Tyranid creatures captured by the Royal Court not long ago. These xenos creatures are very rare even in Commorragh and are considered goods of extremely high value.

"The Screaming Vortex is an area containing the destructive power of the Warp. Garmonbozia lying dormant there probably has great ambitions. One Abaddon has already brought enough trouble to the galaxy, and another one would probably only make things more chaotic."

Starscythe, on Soshjan's left, immediately turned around, bowed slightly, and said softly:

"Does Your Highness intend to strike first?"

"Yes, I'm afraid of nurturing a tiger to create future trouble. But the Screaming Vortex area is very dangerous for the Craftworld Eldar. I plan to end the Tyranid matter here, and then the legion will launch a long-range expedition to catch Garmonbozia off guard."

"Such a long-distance expedition, if the other party is prepared, I am afraid it will be a fierce battle. I am not very supportive of Your Highness using the human legions."

"If I don't use them..."

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Soshjan, and then he chuckled.

"That's right, so far to travel, anything can happen. Let's put it aside for now. Starscythe, there is something I would like to hear your opinion on."

"Please speak, Your Highness."

"The Deathwatch has discovered that they are building a huge bio-construct on a world consumed by the Tyranids."

"A huge bio-construct."

After pondering for a moment, Starscythe's expression changed slightly.

"Is it the kind that the Night Spears discovered before?"

"According to the description, it should be."

"This—"

"I suspect this is a kind of beacon or signal tower. Do you think it is possible that all the Tyranid hives currently appearing in the galaxy are actually... sentinels?"

Hearing Soshjan's speculation, Starscythe gasped, seemingly frightened by this terrifying prospect. Not only him, but the expressions of the other close retainers around him were also not very good. After all, if it is confirmed, it would mean that a hive fleet a hundred or a thousand times larger than the existing largest hive is heading towards the galaxy!