Etrich leaped from the hovering Shadow-pattern Stormbird and, as he hit the sand sea, instinctively sensed danger.
Four short but sturdy figures raised their weapons, similar to the Shadow of Order's but much smaller, aiming at him.
He rolled swiftly and spoke calmly: "Etrich, mercenary of Lord Nareth."
During the voyage, Etrich used his free time to quickly learn about his surroundings.
He learned about the Primarchs and Nareth's status.
Etrich pragmatically accepted addressing his employer as 'lord' like the others. He also studied and mastered the fleet's common language, Vostroyan, enough for basic communication.
The Squats understood Etrich's words immediately upon hearing them.
Century-old Squats from the Squat League had all mastered Vostroyan through close trade with the "Shadow of Order."
For the newly born Hearthkin and Ironkin of the Squat League, the Ancestor Core implanted Vostroyan into their minds at creation.
"There's a monster here, he can turn invisible," a Hearthkin warrior shouted loudly.
"That's exactly why I'm here," Etrich replied, drawing his Falcon short sword. After receiving training from the Shadow of Order's Librarians, he understood that Nareth had hired him to target a specific type of enemy: psykers.
Etrich's eyes, sharp as a bird of prey, scanned the sand sea through his visor.
During his interactions with the Librarians, he had gained experience. The direction in which he felt disgust and discomfort was the location of the psyker.
Etrich looked around, his eyes suddenly tensing, then he lunged forward.
Thud, thud, thud...
His skin itched and stung, as if stung by insects.
Etrich became even more certain that the hidden psyker was in this direction.
"Ah!"
A piercing shriek suddenly rang out, like a fowl with its neck wrung.
A figure, as if draped in a gossamer veil, grew from the shadow of the crystalline sand.
He dropped his staff, assembled from white bones, and clutched his head in agony.
His body was covered in layers of differently colored flesh, fluttering like pairs of butterfly wings.
His wings, his entire body, were densely covered with eyes.
As the eyes blinked, faint, shadowy wisps scattered around him.
As the negative Omega-grade Etrich rapidly approached, the mutant psyker's cries grew more wretched, as if he were being tortured.
His body crackled and exploded, foul thick blood gushing out.
BANG!
The countless eyes on his body exploded amidst flickering shadows. A slippery tentacle, shrouded in shadow, shot out from within his chest, heading straight for Etrich.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...
The Hearthkin warriors angrily pulled their triggers, raining dense fire on the shadow tentacle.
The diamond-hard bullets seemed to hit an intangible shadow, zipping right through.
Etrich raised his Falcon short sword. A flashing light soared, stabbing into the hazy shadow.
BOOM!
With an explosion, the gray, sticky tentacle burst apart.
The psyker roared. His wrinkled, turban-like head covering burst, revealing a massive eyeball atop his skull.
The eyeball slid down grotesquely, rolling in an instant to his featureless face.
His arms twisted and coiled like vines, lashing out. His eagle-claw-like nails flickered, and shadows rose.
The shadows rapidly grew, writhing like giant serpents.
The shadow serpents lunged straight at Etrich. When they were two meters away, the Hearthkin's hunter modules suddenly flashed with locking runes. They seized the opportunity and pulled their triggers.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...
Amidst corrosive acid mist, the shadow serpents were blasted apart, puffing out gray clouds. Gray, worm-like fragments crackled as they fell onto the crystalline sand.
Etrich charged forward, his Falcon short sword spinning and chopping with fluid grace.
Amid a series of explosions, clouds of gray mist burst apart, and charred gray worms scattered. He rushed to the front of the mutant psyker.
Etrich lunged into a bow stance, twisting his waist, and thrust the Falcon short sword into the single eye. The curved hook at the tip slid.
Rumble!
The mutant psyker exploded into a mass of gray shadow, which then shattered and scattered like a broken mirror.
The four Hearthkin warriors stared at the scattered, charred gray worms, breathed a sigh of relief, then looked appraisingly at the giant man holding the short sword.
Their hunter modules had been completely unable to detect the bizarre psyker. It was only after Etrich arrived that the one hidden in the shadows revealed himself.
Their weapons had also failed to inflict substantial damage on the strange psyker.
Etrich walked past the Squats, gripping his Falcon short sword.
He felt as if there was something in the dust and sand ahead.
Silently, a gray, murky fog rose like a curtain.
Sting, sting, sting!
Etrich's skin prickled painfully, his sallow skin turning noticeably paler.
A sour, foul odor seeped through his respirator into his nasal passages.
His hand, tightly gripping the Falcon short sword, felt as if it were covered in writhing maggots.
Etrich glanced at his arm. Seeing nothing there, he continued forward.
Crack!
With a crisp sound, an invisible shell shattered, and a gray building suddenly appeared.
A hive spire.
The reward flashed through Etrich's mind. He was certain that the gray building before him was Lord Nareth's target.
His eyes flickered as he pressed the communicator at his throat.
Two standard hours later, a black Aquila Lander descended from the sky.
Nareth, dressed in a black robe with his golden wings folded, walked down the ramp.
His gaze swept over Etrich, a black speck reflecting in his eyes.
With each step Nareth took, the black specks in his eyes grew more frequent.
He ascended to the First Level of the Talemman, suppressing some discomfort, and looked at the hazy gray building.
The building was roughly elliptical, like an egg spread flat on the crystalline sand.
In the "Mentor of Disorder's" eyes, threads of gray rules coalesced into a single gray eyeball.
"My thanks to you. This is exactly the place I was seeking," Nareth said to the Squats.
The two drivers and the six remaining Hearthkin warriors struck their chests with their fists.
"The Squats are pleased to serve you. The oath of the alliance is unbreakable."
Nareth stopped walking, raised his hand, and lightly tapped their rock-like bodies.
"The oath of the alliance is unbreakable."
After the Squats left, he walked towards the temple.
Etrich followed closely behind, as if walking through the gate of a hive spire.
The "Mentor of Disorder" Nareth followed the outline of the gray threads, passing through the vaulted gate, weaving between the gray rocks, until he stood before a colossal statue.
On a pedestal built of skulls, the shadow cast by huge, outstretched bat wings covered the entire gray statue.
Its massive right claw gripped a gigantic sword.
Spikes protruded from the edges of its body.
Curved ram's horns extended upward from its head.
Etrich looked up, following the black-robed giant.
A foul stench permeated the air, making him feel as if he were sinking into a swamp.
The gray stone left eye suddenly blinked.
Cold sweat beaded on Etrich's forehead. His Falcon short sword burned hot.
Amidst the intermingling of ice and fire, viscous gray fog surged like syrup.
WHOOSH!
He saw the black-armored giant suddenly leap, rising in an instant to level with the statue.
Nareth raised his right arm, reaching for the statue's left eye.
"Roar!"
Amidst the rising, illusory dust and smoke, a snarling face emerged from the shifting shadows.
From its split chest, a long tongue lashed out.
The gray left eye shot out a dancing shadow.
The "Mentor of Disorder" moved his mind, and his spirituality surged forth.
The long tongue snapped back, smashing against the sharp teeth in the split chest.
The dancing gray shadow scattered into speckles, drifting chaotically.
Nareth's right hand grasped the statue's left eye. He exerted force and tore the eye free.
As the gray eye entered his hand, shadows writhed, as if Aeldari shuriken projectiles were exploding within.
Nareth moved his mind. Black fog suddenly surged from his palm, wrapping around the gray eye in layers.
The next instant, the gray eye vanished.
Nareth looked down at the seventh layer of space in the Kingdom of Disorder, where threads of black rules were coiling around the gray eye in layers.
'Be'lakor's left eye, his Eye of Shadows.'
'Not as powerful as the Blade of Shadows, but still a sizable fragment of the relic.'
"Ha!" Etrich exhaled deeply, expelling the foul stench.
"Etrich, the spire of House Ayari in Hive Primus is yours."
House Ayari was one of the families that resisted submission. Their holdings had been taken over by the Shadow of Order. The spire was Etrich's payment for completing the mission.
Nareth opened the vox channel and instructed Arsena:
"Send all the mutants from this world to the Dusk Moon."
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu