The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Although they were mentally prepared for a bitter fight and significant sacrifices, when Kantor led all the members of the Crimson Fists back to the Hell Mountains, they found that the situation was completely different. There were no noisy roars, nor the harsh sounds of gunfire.

The Hell Blade Mountains were silent.

So they went directly to the ridge where the monastery fortress was located, only to discover a surprising scene before them.

It was difficult to see any resemblance to a Greenskin fortress here; it looked more like a 'primitive' ruin. Only the overturned turrets, machine guns half-buried in the ground, and artillery shells vaguely indicated that there might have been armed forces here. In addition, the outlines of the original protective walls and other defensive facilities could be roughly distinguished from the stakes on the ground and some remaining wall roots.

It's just that they were destroyed too exaggeratedly.

Not the kind of exaggeration caused by indiscriminate bombing. In fact, that kind of destruction is easy to identify, but the Space Marines found the destruction here somewhat difficult to recognize.

"This is..."

A veteran of the Crimson Fists squatted in front of a two-person-high stone block. It was very smooth and neat, obviously a building material used by the chapter monastery in the past, but there were three deep scratches on its surface, almost splitting it open.

"...Claw marks?"

The Space Marine's fingers ran across the mark, its width wide enough for the Space Marine to insert his fingers.

"What kind of creature has claws so huge and sharp?"

As the team entered the ruins, the traces of battle became more numerous. Incomplete Greenskin corpses and limbs were everywhere. Some were completely disemboweled, their wide-eyed faces still maintaining the terrified expressions from before death. The air was filled with the pungent smell of blood, the stench of decay, and the choking spicy smell of spores. At the same time, various strange traces became more and more common.

"Footprints."

Another veteran squatted down, measured with his fingers for a moment, and then gasped.

"Nearly half a meter deep! This is a rocky foundation! What has this kind of weight? A Knight? Or a Titan?"

A warrior next to him jumped onto the rock, looked down at the entire footprint, and then shook his head.

"Impossible, this doesn't look like it was made by machinery, more like, some kind of beast. Look ahead about twenty meters, there's another pit, smaller, inconspicuous, but if you connect them, it's something that walks on four limbs. Hmm, the pit in front is shallower, which means it's the forelimbs. The difference between the forelimbs and hind limbs, according to the most conservative estimate, is that this thing might be 25-30 meters tall when it stands up!"

Another warrior who was examining a Greenskin corpse immediately turned his head and asked:

"Impossible, there has never been a creature of this size on Rynn's World. The Tyranids aren't here, are they?"

Then he pointed to the Greenskin corpse hanging upside down from the muzzle of the collapsed turret next to him. Its entire rib cage had been turned out, half of its skull was missing, and a broken tusk was stuck in its face.

"This thing also has claw marks on it, and its body was obviously torn apart by external force. The attacker doesn't seem very large. There is a tooth here, and the shape doesn't look like a Greenskin's. It should belong to the attacker."

"And if there really is something this big, how did it get to this position? And how did it destroy this place? The surrounding terrain is so steep and the field of vision is extremely wide. There is only one road leading to the monastery fortress. The Greenskins can't not see it, right? Or their weapons... Look here, these cannons, the caliber is enough to hit tanks, and there are the remains of those rockets. I can't imagine anything that can break through a fortress under such firepower."

Hearing this, Kantor, who had been looking at the destroyed Meganob, suddenly raised his head, then turned around and quickly ran to the other side of the fortress, coming to the edge of the cliff under the puzzled gazes of everyone.

Then he crouched down, staring downwards, without saying a word.

After a moment, Cortes walked over.

"What's wrong?"

After a few seconds of silence, Kantor replied softly:

"It came up from here."

Cortes stuck his head out to take a look, and his face suddenly changed. On the steep cliff wall nearly a thousand meters high, you could see deep scratches and etchings.

Kantor let out a heavy breath, slowly stood up, and turned to look at the fortress.

"It came up, the Greenskins immediately spotted it, and then they opened fire frantically..."

He swept his hand across the ground, which was covered with shell casings, metal fragments, and various shell casings and scorch marks from the bombing.

"The beasts were frightened and attacked and bombed desperately... but it was useless, and then it rushed over."

His hand pointed to several huge footprints on the ground.

"And then it tore open the protective wall."

The raised hand stopped at the remaining sections of the wall, as if shocked by the devastating trauma.

"The slaughter began."

Kantor started walking, entered the ruins, and pointed to the wreckage of the Meganob, which looked like a slaughtered animal.

"The Greenskins wanted to use their most powerful war engines to stop it, but it was useless. It slaughtered it like livestock, tore open its shell, tore its bones apart, and pulled out its internal organs alive."

Finally, his footsteps stopped in front of the radial destruction marks, his chin trembling slightly.

"It's not just a beast... it's a terrifying war machine."

Cortes walked to Kantor's side and whispered:

"We need to talk."

Kantor then walked with him to a place where no one was around. The two looked at each other, knowing what the other wanted to say.

But Cortes spoke first.

"Kantor, you've already guessed what caused these things, haven't you? Besides humans and Greenskins, there are only them on this planet."

Kantor didn't speak, but turned to look at the magnificent scenery of the Hell Mountains under the scorching sun. The undulating mountains were dotted with lush jungles, and the occasional small lakes looked like crystals on a green dress.

"Kantor, we must report this matter, we must tell others that there is another alien race in this world, the Eldar."

Kantor still just stared blankly into the distance. In the past, when he was thinking, he liked to stand on the high tower of the monastery fortress, gazing at the beautiful scenery of his home. He didn't think there was any place more beautiful than here.

Cortes suddenly grabbed Kantor's arm with both hands and roared:

"Kantor! Don't be stupid! We have already shamed the ancestors and the Sons of Dorn! You can't make another mistake! The chapter can no longer bear the suspicion of colluding with aliens!"

Kantor withdrew his gaze and pointed to the wreckage of the Greenskins.

"Then what's the difference between us and these beasts?"

"Put away your hypocritical self-esteem and sense of honor! Kantor! You are the chapter master! You are responsible for the entire history of the chapter! You have to consider all the battle brothers! And you can't be confused by the small favors of aliens! They are aliens, they deserve to die! No matter what they did! There is no such thing as ingratitude when dealing with aliens! Even if we don't do it, we have to tell others and let them do it! Otherwise, once discovered, do you know what that means? Kantor! Use your head and think about it! They are aliens, and they brought some extremely dangerous biological weapons to our world. Do you think they really have good intentions? If they suddenly attack other chapters, or even the Iron Skulls Legion, how should we explain it!? Tell everyone, I don't know?"

Cortes became more and more excited, even poking Kantor in the chest with his finger.