The Emperor’s Angel of Death

In typical pirate groups, Kurnathi usually number only 2-3, but in the Void Dragon Pirate Band, they number seventeen, demonstrating the strength of this largest Eldar pirate band. Some have served for over three thousand years, spanning three pirate princes.

"What happened?"

Seeing Si Meng walk in alone with three Eternal Handmaidens, Salannia immediately asked, her voice very clear and pleasant, though she tried hard to hide it, some nervousness could still be detected.

"Mitchell and others are rebelling, trying to attack the envoys. Taihouin is currently leading people to suppress them."

"This..."

Salannia swayed slightly, then pressed a hand on the throne beside her, the other hand covering her chest, a look of sorrow on her face.

"Why... why have we fallen to the point of infighting... Father always said that although we are a pirate band, we are actually brothers and sisters, struggling for so long from the desperate situation of our homeland's destruction to have a new home."

Kellis Kanelli reached out and pressed her shoulder, softly comforting her:

"Salannia, this is the essence of pirates. A life of uncertainty inevitably creates an uncertain heart. The bonds of the past will naturally weaken, eventually becoming a simple relationship of interests. That's why I advise you to return to the Royal Court. Only in this way can the remnants of the Corso Ark truly re-root and become relatives and old friends again. His Majesty has also agreed to restore the Corso Fleet."

Corso, the former home of the Void Dragon pirates, was originally an ark with a powerful fleet, but describing it as an ark is not entirely accurate, because its true identity was a mobile base of the ancient empire's navy, and most of the residents inside were ancient empire marines. Therefore, their real name should be the Corso Task Force.

During the Great Fall, they were spared because they were far away on a mission to suppress a rebellious vassal race. Realizing that a major change had occurred in their homeland, the fleet commander originally intended to go to a safe area to see what the situation was. However, during the move, they accidentally entered the territory of a powerful Ork tyrant and were discovered. Subsequently, the ark was attacked by the then-rising Ork Empire. Although they temporarily held on with their powerful fleet, when that terrifying Ork tyrant appeared inside the ark in a mysterious teleportation flash, no amount of void advantage could save them.

Legend has it that the tyrant split a powerful war titan with one axe, and then blasted a starlight turret with another axe, single-handedly cutting through the Corso Ark's deployed defenses, blood splattering everywhere, invincible.

The residents of the Corso Ark had no choice but to abandon their home burning in destruction, break out with the surviving fleet, and after years of wandering, eventually evolved into the Void Dragon Pirate Band—which is also why the Void Dragon Pirate Band has such a large fleet and the best crew and sailors.

However, evolving into a pirate group was not easy for the original Corso residents. At that time, the entire galaxy was entering a chaotic period of constant war with the rise of the Human Empire. Due to the small number of personnel remaining, the Corso Fleet, in order not to attract the covetousness and attention of other races, relied on the strategic star chart records of the ancient empire navy to find a secret military port that had been abandoned ten million years ago, and settled there, sealing up most of their large warships.

Even after a long time, realizing that the empire they had once defended had been completely覆滅 (fùmiè - overturned/destroyed), in order to avoid being suspected by other members of their kind, they chose to conceal their former identity. After ten thousand years, only a very few high-level officials still knew about their former hometown and origin.

In fact, Salannia didn't know any of this for a long time, until her father, the former Pirate Prince, was seriously injured by a Chaos Space Marine's daemonic weapon while rescuing a maiden world that had been attacked by Chaos pirates. He told her everything before he died.

"Now that things have come to this..."

Under Kanelli's comfort, Salannia calmed down a bit, then looked at the three Eternal Handmaidens.

"Sorry, I was a little失态 (shītài - lose composure). What did His Majesty bring me?"

One of the handmaidens stepped forward, took a golden scroll from the banner, and slowly opened it.

"His Majesty decrees that since the Void Dragon Pirate Band has the heart to submit, We shall naturally protect them. The Royal Court has always insisted on assisting the obedient and slaying the strong, no matter how powerful, if they are mere clowns!"

The words were very short, but the meaning was very clear. The last two sentences were also the most frequently used phrases by the Royal Court in foreign wars.

Salannia was stunned for a moment, then pursed her lips and remained silent for a long time, finally uttering a few words.

"If I can repel the Blackheart Conspiracy and quell the internal strife, I will personally pay homage to His Majesty..."

Just then, several blurry figures suddenly appeared behind the Eternal Handmaidens and swung black blades at great speed.

"Bold!"

A cold snort, a burst of strong light, and surging psionic energy dispersed the darkness. The three handmaidens also stood back to back, raising the spears in their hands that flickered with psychic light.

Since they were mostly in the inner court, few people knew what the Eternal Handmaidens were, simply thinking they were a ceremonial guard serving the Queen.

However, the truth was known only to a very few. They were all girls with extremely powerful psychic talents, and had long been nourished by the divine power emitted by Veronica. Each of them had a psychic power close to the level of a War Aspect Warrior. In addition, their martial skills were directly taught by Phoenix Lords, and more than one.

In constant sparring, training, and realistic combat simulations, each of them had been honed into female warriors with both psychic power and superb martial skills.

The equipment on their bodies was also extraordinary. Although the style was ancient, it was jointly made by Calles Toth and the masters of the Vaul Shrine. It could actively counterattack attackers, and briefly take flight, teleport, and create a powerful psychic barrier.

Seeing those who attacked the Eternal Handmaidens, Salannia widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Dragon Shadow... you... you actually!"

With a sigh, an shadow wearing black dragon scale armor, the helmet a smooth mirror, slowly stood up, and then more people emerged from the shadows, thirteen in total.

They were Shadowseers, also the Pirate Prince's most trusted assassins and secret agents, wielding venomous blades forged in the Dark City, capable of cutting through even the thickest armor, and equipped with blinkpacks, allowing the wearer to quickly appear and disappear from the shadows. The operation of these teleportation devices is similar to the Warp Jump Packs of the Warp Spider Aspect Warriors, but combines Dark Eldar technology.

The appearance of these people, who should have been the most loyal, meant only one thing...

The leader shook his head, his voice hoarse:

"Cousin, I'm sorry, I can't accept you handing over the ancestors' legacy."

"I just—"

"Hehe, Dragon Shadow, don't be so hypocritical."

Kellis Kanelli sneered mockingly.

"The Lhama whores that Vect gave you should still be in your room, right? You've been to the arenas of Commorragh several times as a spectator, and you've been secretly messing around with those Khaine's harlots. Did you really think no one knew? You've long harbored rebellious intentions. Even if there wasn't the matter at hand, you would eventually collude with Vect."