My Life as A Death Guard
Chapter 476: The Khan Was Only Away for a Moment
Cadia.
. . .
Violent winds erupted. Black clouds pressed chaotically down upon the earth, turning the ground so dark that one could scarcely see a hand before one's face. Occasionally, monstrous bolts of lightning writhed within the clouds like demonic serpents.
Crack!
Another thunderclap split the heavens!
The furious flash illuminated two figures locked in brutal combat.
Clang!
The White Tiger Dao lunged straight for the enemy's throat. The Khan twisted his wrist, and within the darkness a silver arc flashed like a crescent moon. Something black and indistinct flew high into the storm-wracked skies of Cadia, spinning several times before landing in the mud with a heavy thud, never moving again.
"Nothing but a counterfeit fit to feed my blade."
At this moment, before Jaghatai stood only a headless corpse. Its left hand still remained raised, as though attempting to summon another storm. Blood gushed ceaselessly from the severed neck, splattering across the Khan's ivory-white dragon helm and lending him an even fiercer aura.
Beneath his dark brows, the Khan's sharp eyes remained calm yet murderous as he watched the corpse collapse to the ground. Well-versed in the ways of the Eternal Heaven, the Great Khan knew that death itself was often merely another tool for these shamans' sorcery.
But after a brief moment of vigilance, the Alpha Legionnaire's corpse showed no further movement.
The Khan gestured. The few remaining Stormseers approached, and under his orders, they made certain that the corpse would no longer interfere with the affairs of the living.
While the Stormseers examined the body, the Khan continued gazing into the distance toward the direction in which the endless daemon tide advanced. His brows were tightly furrowed, and within his dark pupils flickered the faintest trace of golden light.
He could see nothing beyond that.
It was as though he had glimpsed something incomprehensible, something impossible to accept.
"Madness. Utter madness."
The Khan shook his head. He had no idea what kind of insanity the Emperor was engaged in this time. Nor did he particularly wish to know anything concerning the Master of Mankind.
In truth, the Khan did not even believe the Emperor deserved that title.
"Fall back!" Jaghatai roared. A whistle sharp as an eagle's cry rose into the storm. Those who had earlier departed under the Khan's orders to scout rather than reinforce now began regrouping around him.
They could certainly continue deeper, but the Khan realized that advancing farther would demand a price.
At present, they had likely already reached the limit of what could be accomplished with minimal losses. To proceed farther would require the resolve never to return.
And deeper within, what they encountered would likely be far more than mere impostors.
The Khan knew they were luring him onward, step by step.
But— No. Not now.
He had never been a greedy man.
The roar of Stormbird engines echoed overhead. The Great Khan raised his head toward the heavens, his gaze seeming to pierce through the clouds directly toward the fleet beyond.
They had completely lost contact with the fleet now—even the channel belonging to Archmagos Trazyn had gone silent.
The Khan found this entirely unsurprising.
In fact, if Trazyn could still contact him under these conditions, that would have been truly strange.
The transport craft's engines blasted apart the clouds with waves of heated air. After killing the Alpha Legionnaire who had blocked their path, the return journey proceeded with unexpected smoothness.
Yet faintly, instinctively, the Khan sensed things would not remain this simple.
His intuition warned him that somewhere beyond his sight, something had already happened.
. . .
The moment he saw the fleet, the Khan knew something was wrong.
Their ships were scattered through the void, no longer arranged in the disciplined formation they had maintained before his departure. The battleships drifted apart sparsely and irregularly, like a herd of horses broken apart after a wild stampede. Massive clouds of gray-white smoke drifted aimlessly between the vessels, silent evidence of recent battle.
The Khan immediately noticed that the White Scars and Raven Guard fleets had separated.
The Raven Guard ships were in complete disarray. Damaged vessels wailed with warning sirens.
Meanwhile, the White Scars fleet showed only moderate confusion, with comparatively minor damage.
Jaghatai's heart jolted.
As soon as the transport craft landed upon the deck of the Swordstorm, the Primarch stepped out first.
He had not even fully taken in the scene before a burst of stray bolter rounds came screaming toward him!
The Khan raised his blade and deflected them aside. The bullets rang sharply against the White Tiger Dao as he stared coldly at the chaos consuming his own ship.
Only then did the communication channel beside his ear finally reconnect.
It was the voice of his Munitorum attaché, Ilya.
"My Khan—Abaddon, son of Horus, just arrived! He attempted to persuade us to join the Warmaster! Led by Hasik, nearly half the Legion now wishes to side with Horus!"
For a brief instant, the Khan believed he must have misheard.
But he had not.
Calmly and rationally, he accepted the truth.
Long before he had returned to the Legion, the Fifth Legion—the White Scars—had fought under Horus's command for many years.
Among the Terran-born White Scars, the Warmaster held immense prestige.
"Stop!!!" The Primarch roared.
He strode toward the command chamber, his Keshig following close behind and clearing a path for him. The warriors locked in vicious combat caught sight of the Khan's towering figure—yet they continued grappling and fighting all the same.
He passed through the long corridors of the warship. The closer he came to the command center, the fiercer the battle became. His sons all understood that the command chamber was the heart of the entire fleet.
"Noyan-Khan!" The Primarch's furious voice thundered through the bulkhead doors.
The Khan stepped inside in great strides and saw utter chaos.
Hasik was dueling Jubal Khan, while their retainers fired at one another around them. On the other side, Ilya curled up trembling beneath a console while Yesugei stood protectively before him.
"My Khan!" At the Khan's arrival, Hasik violently knocked Jubal Khan's blade aside and turned toward him.
"Do you know what you're doing?!"
"My Khan, I merely hoped you would stand united with the Warmaster."
The Khan was nearly beside himself with rage.
"Noyan-Khan—this is my army. My blade. And what are you doing to it?!"
"I—I can explain, my Khan!"
"The Warmaster issued a command, just as he always has. We are required to answer it!"
The Khan immediately drew his sword.
The White Tiger Dao gleamed brilliantly, its tip hovering above the deck plating.
"I will give you one chance. What command did Horus give you?"
"The Warmaster ordered the fleet to attack the Raven Guard."
"So you attacked Corax's fleet?"
The White Tiger gave off a low growl, like a predator baring its fangs.
Before Hasik could answer, Jubal Khan shouted first:
"No, my Khan! We stopped them!"
"Well done," the Khan said quietly.
"Noyan-Khan… you have erred. Is this how you repay the freedom I granted you?"
He watched Hasik take a step backward, yet the man still raised his sword before his Khan.
"My lord, I still believe my judgment was correct."
Hasik clenched his teeth as he spoke.
"Lord Horus said he had Magnus's support. My lord—we all know those are the two brothers you associate with most closely. Even you would choose Lord Horus and Lord Magnus."
Magnus?!
The enraged Khan suddenly froze inwardly.
Yes, among all the Primarchs, the brother closest to the Khan was Magnus, followed immediately by Horus.
What in the warp had happened to them?
Even now, the Khan still did not truly understand what had become of Horus.
"That is no excuse for seizing the blade from my hand."
The Great Khan's face turned cold.
The Primarch stepped forward and effortlessly knocked the sword from Hasik's grip. The White Tiger Dao flashed upward.
Blood and fragments of organs sprayed into the air.
The blade withdrew.
Blood dripped steaming onto the deck, and for a brief moment, the Khan's fury subsided.
Hasik—his treacherous subordinate—collapsed to his knees, still struggling to speak.
"My Khan… the Warmaster invites you to his flagship. He left us the coordinates."
Without warning, a phrase surfaced in Jaghatai Khan's mind.
A banquet at Hong Gate.
And Horus—his closest friend—knew the Khan would go.
Jaghatai would seek out the truth. He would learn what had happened to Horus… and what had become of Magnus.
Standing aboard the Gloriana-class flagship where his own sons were slaughtering one another, Jaghatai Khan felt a deep irritation at being manipulated.
"My lord," came the hesitant voice of the Stormseers over the vox.
"We've discovered something. You need to come see this. It's… highly unusual. Something is attempting to establish contact with us."
The Khan sighed.
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 525: The Erasure[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/my-life-as-death-164167815[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/my-life-as-death-164167815
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/my-life-as-death-164167815