On the surface of the Rangdan homeworld.
Nareth flicked his wrist. The spinning blade of the Valhalla Sword twisted, and the Cerabvore's crystal greatsword fell from its grasp.
He raised his arm. Golden light flared, "Imprisoning" it in amber.
Just as Nareth was about to move forward, his communication bead buzzed. He pressed it, and Anacharis Scoria's synth voice came through.
"My Lord, a large underground facility has been discovered in the southeastern mountain range."
"The two Primarchs also arrived here earlier and have already entered the underground."
"Mark the location." Nareth instructed.
"Transmitting."
Nareth sent the received location marker to his personal pilot, Nelsen.
"Prepare for flight."
Nareth, with seven others including Akurduana, boarded a Stormbird and flew towards the marked location.
He gazed through the viewport, overlooking the battlefield below.
Xana's red forces were everywhere. The Legio Cybernetica poured out their fury at the desecration of their Forge World upon Rangdan soil.
They shouted the Machine God's name, using phosphor weapons' flames to release their anger.
They used rad weapons without restraint, turning entire enemy formations into blackened corpses.
Black Shadows of Order remained a dominant force on the battlefield. One hundred five thousand men from four Chapters outnumbered the grey Iron Warriors' eighty-three thousand.
Worm Talismans flared. Cerabvors collapsed helplessly.
Some of the front-line tripod walkers, experimental models equipped with Squat void-shield technology, deflected the Osseivores' beams.
On the Iron Warriors' front, energy beams of various colors constantly flashed. The weapons Perturabo had developed specifically targeted the xenos' energy shields.
Numerous white bikes and a significant number of Land Speeders prowled the battlefield's edges, launching hunt after hunt.
"Father, one kilometer to target."
At Nelsen's warning, the Stormbird's small viewport showed a deep, dark entrance.
Over a thousand constructs of various forms, their curved arms swinging, swept beams of necrotic energy at the red-robed Legio Cybernetica.
A dozen winged xenos circled a construct. Phosphor blasters' molten streams reduced its bizarre form to ash.
Nareth's eyes flickered. 'So many constructs.'
Each construct required considerable resources to build. Slaugth Destroyers could possess them, but usually only a few.
Neither at Bar'Savor nor Taxal had constructs appeared in such numbers.
And he hadn't seen Perturabo or Jaghatai. There might be other entrances.
'Two possibilities: a large concentration of Slaugth, or... a ruler-level entity.'
The Primarch opened the hatch. Light and shadow flickered in his eyes. Surges of Warp energy flowed like tides.
He drew the Spear of Dionysus from his back and channeled immense psychic power into it.
The blazing spear tore across the sky, rending the fiery red heavens. It was visible across all of Rangdan.
The "Baron of Corruption" hurled the spear. A thunderbolt descended.
The Dionysian Spear struck at the center of the dense construct formation. One construct raised four blade-arms to block.
CRASH!
The instant they collided, the construct was crushed to dust.
The Dionysian Spear did not pause even for an instant. It struck the ground. The psychic shockwave, its force undiminished,
BOOM!
Spread like a bubble, tearing a dozen constructs to shreds and hurling dozens more aside.
Anacharis raised the Vodian Scepter. Light was just beginning to flare at its tip when it was overwhelmed by an even more dazzling radiance.
His orbiting electronic familiar recorded the scene. He felt fortunate. If he were still using his previous scanning array, it would not only have failed to record the event but would have burned out from the energy exceeding its capacity.
A flood of data poured into the analysis module of his strategium array. It only returned to normal after twelve iterations.
'My Lord is so powerful.'
'When will my strategium array possess destructive power of this level?'
Balsar Kurthuri, Librarian of the 19th Legion, had just reached the hatch when the light flared.
He stared below, then suddenly felt dizzy. His knees buckled, and he knelt, retching into his helmet.
At the same moment, in another tunnel leading underground.
Togudai Yisugei, the Stormseer behind Jaghatai, stumbled. He collapsed to his knees with a thud.
Jaghatai's blade paused, then spun again, slicing through a construct's flesh.
He kicked the construct aside and steadied his Stormseer, asking with concern.
"Togudai, what is wrong?"
Yisugei spat out two mouthfuls of phlegm, his stomach feeling hollow, his face ashen.
"Great Khan..." Yisugei said with difficulty.
The people of Chogoris called Jaghatai "Great Khan," the Khan of Khans, distinguishing him from the tribal khans.
"A powerful psyker..." Yisugei analyzed the impact he had just felt. Even dozens of kilometers away, it was distinctly perceptible, beyond the scope of an Astartes Librarian.
'Only Lord Magnus and Lord Nareth among the Primarchs could wield such power. Lord Sanguinius was said to possess passive foresight.'
He believed the Great Khan also had latent psychic abilities, but they had not yet awakened.
'Lord Magnus was not on Rangda. Only one Primarch could unleash such immense psychic power.'
"Lord Nareth unleashed that attack."
He looked into the depths of the winding tunnel and continued.
"Deep underground, there is a powerful, evil entity. Its will disturbs the Tenger."
On the surface, the moment Nareth hurled the Dionysian Spear, he ascended to the third level of the Telema state of mind.
As expected, the Slaugth's evil will surged, crashing against the gates of his mind.
His mental island shook in the tsunami. His face paled slightly. His temples throbbed. A chill ran through him.
'Not as powerful as the Silent Cry.'
'But stronger than any Slaugth encountered before.
'A ruler-level entity, then.'
Nareth glanced at the thirty-three Silent Talismans at his waist and descended to the ground.
The "Barbarian" Zadkiel, supporting Balsar, leaped from the Stormbird.
"Zadkiel, I'm fine now."
Balsar felt the evil will recede like a tide. He tore off his helmet, his mind much clearer.
He did not draw his force staff. His experience with Slaugth made him wary of using psychic weapons.
He held a bolt pistol in one hand and his force sword, its psychic field inactive, in the other.
The "Lawyer" stepped forward. Following Lord Nareth's instruction, he leaped, executing the simplest Otsberg-Vaya 1st Form thrust.
The blade, forged of psychic crystal, pierced the pale, stalk-like organic flesh, tearing the bestial, tooth-filled maw.
As he descended, he fired a burst of bolts into the construct's open, blade-filled mouth.
The bolts detonated inside its vulnerable cavity. Pale flesh splattered.
Glen Vossoto watched Lord Nareth's majestic back, watched the blazing golden force field, and activated his power gauntlet.
He strode forward. The Hand of Dominion in his father's hand overlapped with Lord Nareth's image, sometimes merging, sometimes alternating.
Golden light overwhelmed blue. The "Arbiter" followed Lord Nareth's movements, swinging his arms.
Lord Nareth used a single fist with his left arm. The "Arbiter" used both.
The "Arbiter" threw his right fist. The force field screamed, knocking aside a warrior construct's lashing tendril blade. Glen could continue to mimic and pursue Lord Nareth's movements.
The "Arbiter" raised his left arm, slamming it into the construct's pale body.
Pale flesh exploded, splattering near Zadkiel, Chapter Master of the Word Bearers' Feather-Quill Scions."
The "Barbarian," taller than before, clad in Saturnine-pattern Terminator armor custom-made by Shadows of Order Techmarines, strode forward.
Feeling the power surging within him, his pace was only slightly slower than Balsar, whose armor was much lighter. Zadkiel silently praised Lord Nareth.
He had recently reported his growth to his father. The reply emphasized that it was a reward for his devout faith in the Emperor, a gift of faith's power.
Lorgar had also commended his son's 'meritorious' service in promoting the Chaplaincy within Shadows of Order.
The "Barbarian" let out a deafening "Savage Howl." He had abandoned his former ornate blade, swinging a screaming chainsword at the staggering construct.
Pale flesh churned. Noxious pus and blood cascaded down the chainsword's teeth, splattering on the glass-like ground with a hiss.
Four bio-chemical mastiffs growled low, stepping over the blood.
Two bio-chemical mastiffs leaped, tearing at the warrior construct's arms.
One slammed into its body, leaping away as the tendril blades lashed out.
The last bio-chemical mastiff shot up, soaring over the construct. As it passed, it dropped a krak grenade into the blade-ringed maw.
Ghalan Surlak, Apothecary of the War Hounds, pursed his lips and whistled.
The four bio-chemical mastiffs, under the "Beast Tamer's" direction, pounced on the next prey.
Zso Sahaal, following close behind Lord Nareth, watched the blue-white light spin like silk, the golden light flare. His eyes shone.
Inspiration sparked in the "Night Poet's" mind. He burst out.
"Sovereign of Vostroya, illuminating the murky skies of the hive worlds;Father of 'Shadows of Order,' the one who reshaped the Reapers;Eternal victor over humanity's enemies, the one who returns in glory;Conqueror of xenos, destroyer of Rangdan..."
The "Night Poet's" chant was like a soothing lullaby, softly echoing.
The minds of those around him briefly wandered, as if seeing tranquil moonlight, a calm, rippling lake.
The constructs' perceptions blurred. Their movements slowed.
Seeing the warrior constructs' tendril blades slow slightly, the reaper constructs' fire rate slow for a moment, Zso Sahaal pursed his lips.
"Constructs that don't appreciate poetry."
He attributed the diminished effect to their half-organic, half-inorganic nature, ignoring the fact that he was a novice poet, having only recently picked up verse to master this power.
The tranquil verse reached Lucius's ears, rousing him from his euphoria of freewheeling blades.
The "Pugilist" suddenly remembered his pre-battle goal. He switched from a two-handed grip to one hand.
His blade spun, as if five swords were dancing.
CLANG, CLANG, CLANG...
Amidst a series of clashes, he batted aside the warrior construct's tendril blades.
He leaped like a bird of prey, his left fist flying.
His purple gauntlet hammered the pale body repeatedly. With a series of firecracker-like explosions, flesh flew.
Lucius felt something detonate within him like a bolt round. He clenched his fist and looked at Akurduana.
'I've finally caught up to you.'
Akurduana's restored Athena now bore Katheri runes instead of abstract ancient Greek ones.
Thierry Viera had his sword-smith forge this psychic blade for the worthy opponent. He looked forward to crossing blades with Akurduana again.
Akurduana also awaited that day. But now, he had a new target.
"My Lord, please let me handle him."
"Good."
Permission granted, the "Weapon Master" charged the Slaugth.
He spun, dodging the beams from the necrotic scepter with swift, flashing movements.
The First Sword of the Palatine danced like a dancer in a purple Pyrae court.
Timur swung from the center, knocking the scepter aside, leaving the Slaugth Destroyer's defenses wide open.
The "Weapon Master" leaped, avoiding a lashing worm-arm. Athena flicked up, tearing the necrotic shroud on its back.
He struck, leaped, parried, struck.
"Meat-thing," the Slaugth's vox-synthesizer ground out harsh Low Gothic, its meaning barely comprehensible, "slippery."
As the awkward adjective sounded, Akurduana's Athanaeans turned. Its crossguard hooked the necrotic scepter, sending it flying from the Slaugth's grasp.
The jeweled blade spun rapidly. Large clumps of worms scattered.
Beyond the veil, in the Empyrean, two entities' gazes fixed upon Akurduana.
The dancing blade of the storm drew their admiration and pleasure.
The storm ceased abruptly. The detonation of a krak grenade interrupted their enjoyment.
They did not grow angry. Their gazes were drawn to two exceptional warriors deep underground.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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