The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"I believe that those willing to stay are the ones who still have hope for the future of the Aeldari race, those who have higher pursuits in life beyond mere enjoyment, and those who still have ideals in their hearts."

Inside the main hall of the Dragon's Nest's Prince Palace, Sochoyn stood on the high platform, the hall filled with pirate barons and captains dressed in strange attire and armor.

After this turmoil, the number of captains remaining here was less than a thousand. In the past, the Void Dragon Pirate Fleet was known to have three thousand captains and one hundred thousand pirates, but now the total number was less than thirty thousand, which, although still a large number, could be considered a downfall compared to the past.

Some died in the internal strife, others left the pirate fleet, either leaving alone, returning to their former homes, or seeking new opportunities, and the last part was absorbed by the Sinister Reavers pirate fleet, which even boldly approached the battlefield to observe the large-scale naval battle between the Royal Court and Commorragh from close range.

When he learned that the famous pirate prince Irillyth had quietly arrived on the battlefield and received many pirates who had left the Void Dragons, Sochoyn immediately became very interested in him.

But this one was obviously as arrogant as rumored, ignoring Sochoyn's requests and swaggering to attack the Kabals fleeing the battlefield.

At that time, Gulio Pla, the Star Marshal, sent a communication to Sochoyn, hoping to teach this arrogant guy who dared to pick peaches under the eyes of the Royal Court a lesson, but Sochoyn refused.

Irillyth did not intervene in this dispute, and Sochoyn had said that those who left the pirates should be allowed to go, at least the two sides had no hostile attitude now, and after hearing Irillyth's past rumors, Sochoyn still had some love for talent. Young people can be a little unruly, which can be changed the day after tomorrow, but talent is something that either exists or doesn't.

Of course, in fact, gathering people's hearts is not something worth him doing, but considering that Salania had never encountered such a situation, Sochoyn finally came forward to give an inspiring speech.

Salania stood on his right-hand side, looking very serious with her hands behind her back.

"I am not good at drawing cakes, and I speak very directly. What I can tell you is that the Royal Court's national policy, or core purpose, is to solve that eternal threat and rescue the Goddess of Life trapped in Nurgle's domain. To accomplish these two major tasks, it is not enough to rely on my strength alone. It requires the joint efforts of all Aeldari. You must all know what happened in the Dragon's Nest. As an old saying goes, when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. As long as the threat is still hanging overhead, whether it is avoidance or ignorance, it is meaningless. Only by facing the threat and solving the threat is the way to survive."

Saying that, he looked at Salania on his right.

"Of course, rest assured, the Royal Court does not intend to annex the Void Dragon Pirate Fleet. In the future, Lady Salania will still be your leader—if you are still willing to serve and sail in the void, only the Void Dragon Pirate Fleet will return to its past identity, the ancient Corsairs Fleet, the formal armed force of the ancient empire. You will also obtain the status of citizens of the Royal Court and enjoy full citizenship, and of course, you must also accept the laws of the Royal Court, which are generally close to the most lenient Saim-Hann Craftworld, and will not make everyone feel particularly suffocated. It is only for the sake of the future diplomatic environment that the Royal Court does not allow armed robbery against non-enemy targets."

At this moment, a pirate baron with one eye and a black animal fur cloak on his shoulder raised his hand, and Sochoyn nodded slightly.

"Please speak."

"Phoenix Lord, please forgive my rudeness, but I think this question must be bothering many captains, what kind of existence are you after all?"

Sochoyn was silent for a few seconds, then slowly replied:

"I have many identities, I don't deny that, and it can even be said that there are so many that it is unreal, but I can answer you that my ancestors did have Aeldari blood. My family history can even be traced back to before the Fall, but due to the long time, much of history has been lost. However, one thing is certain, I possess the power of Asuryan, and the Phoenix Guard are proof of that."

At this time, another pirate raised his hand, and Sochoyn also allowed him to ask questions.

"Lord, but some people say they saw you transform into the Blood God?"

"This is related to an artifact I obtained. It is from an ancient Shrine of Khaine, and it allows me to briefly use Khaine's ferocious power, but this power is very dangerous, and I will not use it unless it is absolutely necessary."

Then, the third person asked a question that is generally difficult to answer.

"Lord, if the Royal Court and the Imperium of Man go to war, what do you intend to do?"

However, Sochoyn had been asked this question more than once over the years, and he already had a mature set of arguments.

"I will try my best to prevent this from happening, and if it is truly unavoidable, I will do my best to minimize the damage."

Although his answer was not accepted by everyone, at least he responded. In the Aeldari society where arrogance and riddle culture are popular, explanation itself is a very kind gesture.

"I have also considered that some captains may not be able to get used to a relatively fixed life, so I have decided to establish a Shadow Dragon sub-fleet. It belongs to the Corsairs Fleet, and its main task is to patrol, scout, explore and other more frequent and dangerous actions. Captains who aspire to continue their adventurous careers can join this fleet."

After Sochoyn's speech, the people's hearts, which had been fluctuating due to the turmoil, finally gradually stabilized. Then he simply counted the existing ships of the Void Dragon Pirate Fleet.

In addition to the Void Stalker, Corsairs Flame, there were two other ships, named Endless Winter and Blood Web. They belonged to Salania's rebellious relatives, and these people were basically dead, and those who did not die escaped to Commorragh, so these two ships now belong to Salania. You must know that ordinary pirate fleets would be great if they had one Void Stalker. Like the Steel Eyes Raiders before, the largest warship was a Dragonship, which was also Kaneli's flagship—now this ship still belongs to her.

In addition, there were 11 Eclipse-class, 20 Shadow-class, 41 Aurora-class, 52 Hemlock-class, 47 Aconite-class, plus other small pirate ships that were not of model, for a total of 917 ships, which was less than Sochoyn's estimated actual number. When he actually saw those pirate ships, Sochoyn realized why the Void Dragon Pirate Fleet had so many ships.

They were too small and too rudimentary, and could hardly be called warships. It might be more appropriate to call them armed gunboats.