The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Chapter 3122: Hanging by a Thread

Standard Terra Calendar 984.M41, Posol, Temple of Death

This book is first published on the entire network by 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞

In the dark void, the battle-monastery of the Repentant Chapter slowly rotated in the pale light emitted by Posol and its distant star. The planet was covered in large expanses of green and some blue and white, its surface appearing mountainous and rugged.

At its peak, this space fortress housed a thousand battle-brothers and tens of thousands of servitors, with majestic warships docked in its spaceports.

But now, metal fragments with large craters floated in orbit, and the magnificent fortress visibly bore many torn wounds, twisted turrets, and shattered statues.

It was as broken as its master.

A massive fleet slowly approached it under these circumstances, subsequently dispatching shuttles into the fortress.

Upon entering the fortress, the signs of battle were everywhere. Weapons had torn through walls and blasted open doors. Many facilities had been hastily destroyed to serve as barricades, and even precious vehicles had been pushed into passageways to block the roads, demonstrating the defenders' desperation at the time.

The Repentant Chapter had a tradition of placing the skulls of the fallen in the fortress's halls, but now it had suddenly increased by over one hundred and fifty. The sheer number forced the priests conducting the funeral rites to simplify the procedures.

Now all the Repentant companies stationed abroad had returned to their home, filled with anger, sorrow, and hatred.

Even mortals could see the gloomy flames burning in their eyes, not only for the sacrificed battle-brothers but also for their Chapter Master, the longest-serving elder in the history of the Repentant.

As the airlock door slowly opened with a metallic screech, a massive figure appeared amidst the swirling incense, then strode into a dust-free hall bathed in blue light.

This was originally a medical bay, but it had been urgently converted. Many tubes connected to a massive machine resembling an operating table, enveloped in a pale blue aura. On the table lay a giant without armor, with a slightly aged face and scars all over his body. Some scars were so old that they overlapped with others, turning into thick bruises.

And in the giant's chest, a broken sword resembling an insect's limb was embedded. The sword's blade was an ominous scarlet color, and it was clear that almost half of the sword had pierced the giant's chest. It was unknown whether the exposed part was broken off or cut off to remove the power armor.

Step by step, Soshjan walked up to Mazal, who was surrounded by a stasis field, his face filled with sorrow, without a word. Behind him were Mark and Falzad, as well as other members of the Repentant, such as Chief Chaplain Astador and Chief Librarian Zdeno, and Chief Apothecary Baisama.

"Senior Mazal, I-"

Soshjan reached out, but stopped just as he was about to touch the stasis field.

"I'm, too late."

At this moment, Baisama said hoarsely:

"We have exhausted all means to try to heal the Chapter Master, but the Eldar vilely used a poison completely foreign to us. It eroded the Chapter Master's nerves at an extremely fast rate. We used all potentially useful potions but they had no effect. In the end, we had no choice but to transfer the Chapter Master into the stasis field."

"Then what's with this broken sword?"

"It's like witchcraft... but without any psychic signature."

Zdeno replied in a low voice:

"It extended many thin lines that wrapped around the Chapter Master's two hearts. Once pulled out, it would likely-"

Upon hearing this, Soshjan growled:

"Typical Commorragh trickery!"

After returning, Soshjan didn't even go back to the Nason System first, but rushed to the Repentant's homeworld. The various Suffering Alliance detachments that had returned earlier had already been here, but obviously, they couldn't provide any help either.

"What's worse is that, although there is a stasis field, the Chapter Master's vitality is still constantly weakening. He might not last a month."

Soshjan turned to look at the members of the Repentant Chapter.

"The most important thing now is to save him. Save him first, then talk about other things. We have a librarian in our chapter who is proficient in this area. Can we let him try?"

"Since it is Chapter Master Soshjan, we will certainly trust him. There is no other way now."

"Okay, everyone else, please step aside for now. Jackal, come here."

After most people had left, Kayan, wearing a helmet, walked in from outside the door. At this time, only Soshjan, Zdeno, and he were left in the room.

Kayan walked to Mazal, then raised his hand. After a while, he lowered his arm and said softly:

"The situation is not good. This is a poison from the Bloodbrides, probably the most virulent kind. With current human technology..."

"Bloodbrides?"

Zdeno exclaimed in surprise.

"Aren't those monsters..."

Soshjan turned to look at him.

"When I came, I looked at the alien weapons left behind. Many of them were from Commorragh, and they also plundered a large number of planets' populations. This is absolutely unnecessary for the Craftworld Eldar. They have something called soulstones that can protect their souls. Only the Eldar of Commorragh, because they don't have soulstones, must constantly torture others to survive, so they need a large number of slaves."

"But the Watch Fortress's Castellan said that this was an attack by the so-called Eternal Court, and they have taken in many Commorragh kin."

"Of course, this is just a guess. But after watching the battle footage, I discovered something. I don't know if Brother Zdeno has noticed it."

"What?"

"These Eldar, none of them have soulstones."

Zdeno blinked and said:

"Don't they all have that kind of red gem on their chest?"

"Yes, but when those Eldar died, the gems didn't change color. I've killed Eldar before. When they die, the soulstone will change from red to a unique blue, meaning their soul has entered it."

That's right, this is Viktor's biggest weakness in the whole plan, and it's also a fundamental weakness that cannot be overcome. Soshjan actually thought of it on the way. The Commorragh Eldar can fake anything, but this is completely impossible to fake. If you use a fake soulstone to fool people, you can only deceive laymen. Anyone who knows a little about it can see through it at a glance.

Obviously, Viktor was gambling, betting that most Space Marines don't know anything about the Eldar, especially soulstones, and betting that Soshjan wouldn't be able to return so quickly before things spread and escalated.

"Uh..."

After Soshjan said this, Zdeno also seemed a little hesitant.

"It seems... is that so? That is to say-"

"That is to say, these attackers cannot use soulstones at all, so they won't leave corpses behind. They take away what they can take, and dissolve what they can't take. This method is obviously done out of guilt, fearing that their identities will be discovered, but they blatantly reveal their logo. Isn't this contradictory?"

Old Mo wishes all readers a happy Mid-Autumn Festival~!