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Chapter 234: Purifying the Blackstone Fortress
🕑 Added 2025-08-20 14:38:41 +0000 UTCChapter 234: Purifying the Blackstone Fortress
Huron, who was skilled at "farming," knew very well the terror of a "farmer" who had fully developed. He also understood the immense power that could be generated by five hundred resource planets. In the past, he had been able to expand while fighting, increasing the number of his Astartes to 5,500. He knew that it wasn't that the Imperium couldn't mass-produce Astartes, but that they didn't want to. The consequences of the Legion's betrayal still stung the Imperium, even after ten thousand years.
The death of the gene-primarch might completely break the shackles that bound the Ultramarines, and he would become the target of their vented fury. The corrupt Imperium still occupied a vast territory. And the Ultramarines would not listen to his explanation.
Compared to the fleet under Vingaard, which was bound together by conflicting interests, the forces in Huron's hands had been truly conquered by his charisma. Even if they did not understand Huron's orders, they still carried them out resolutely.
"Lord Huron, is it appropriate for us to do this? Will it not cause dissatisfaction among the others within? After all, this is also considered attacking a friendly force."
"It is fine. Vingaard was acting on his own, in violation of my orders. I can give capable people autonomy, but that does not mean I am letting them run wild. Their personnel, their warships, their supplies were all provided by me. In enjoying this treatment, they must give me the回报 I deserve, not take my money and my grain to do things that harm the interests of the Red Corsairs. Only those foolish enough to see only the immediate benefits will become the slaves of Chaos. Do you really think that we in the Red Corsairs are all brainless madmen? I can see it, and so can they. After this is over, the wealth that originally belonged to Vingaard, I will give to these other lords. They will appease their own subordinates for me.
"Send a communication to the fleet belonging to Vingaard. Let them leave the battlefield with me. If they obey my command now, I can let bygones be bygones. If they are unwilling, then they can go and die with Vingaard! A pity about this Blackstone Fortress... also, send a communication to the Ultramarines for me. Tell them that this was Vingaard's unauthorized action, that he was incited by Abaddon and the Chaos Gods to do such a thing. Then tell the Ultramarines that the Lord of the Red Corsairs, Lufgt Huron, sends his regards to the Lord of the Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman. Consider it a gift from me to celebrate his return!"
Looking at the Blackstone Fortress, Huron still felt a bit of a heartache, but it was now unrealistic to take it back. This warship was also part of the compensation Abaddon had given him. During the twelve Black Crusades, the incompetent Abaddon had lost a large number of his warships and personnel.
Since it was already done, he might as well try to direct the wrath of the Ultramarines toward Abaddon. Whether it succeeded or not, he would not lose. And if it succeeded, then he could absorb Abaddon's forces. How could Guilliman's kids lack ambition? Abaddon was no good as a Warmaster. Huron felt that he might be more suitable.
And looking at the Protoss warships and the Zerg floating in the void also made a great sense of unease rise in Huron's heart. The corrupt, stagnant Imperium had actually begun to accept the assistance of xenos? He found it incredible. He had a feeling that with the addition of these xenos, the Imperium would undergo changes he did not want to see.
Under Huron's command, the fleet of the Red Corsairs that had invaded Macragge began to retreat. For them, Huron's command was higher than Vingaard's, not to mention the now-completely-mad Vingaard.
When the Ultramarines received this communication, Guilliman of course did not completely believe it. For this traitor who might be his own son, Guilliman did not give any good face. But he still decided to let the Imperial fleet allow those Chaos warships to leave. To relieve a little pressure was a little pressure. This way, they would have a better chance of stopping the Blackstone Fortress.
Lucan's attitude toward Huron was similar to Guilliman's. In his eyes, apart from his personal combat strength being much inferior to Abaddon's, Huron was not weak in other aspects, and was even smarter than him. He also never hid his ambition, but he was not as radical as Abaddon. After falling to Chaos, he had learned to be more patient, to accumulate strength. The Red Corsairs under his command had completely reached the scale of a Legion. And most importantly, the Red Corsairs were more cohesive than Abaddon's Black Legion. If you talked money with Abaddon, he would talk ideals and friendship with you. If you really talked friendship, he would say you were not worthy. The old veterans of 30k were too proud, but the Huron of 40k was practical enough. He would not do things for some ethereal power. Everything was for the sake of strengthening himself.
Lucan was already thinking of a plan in his heart. Perhaps he could provide more resources to those Fallen Angels hidden in Chaos, to split the Red Corsairs or directly occupy a place within them.
Huron came quickly and left just as quickly, leaving only the Blackstone Fortress to face the remaining human fleet. And without the cover of the other Chaos warships, one thruster after another was destroyed. The assault troops also continuously destroyed the engine rooms of the Blackstone Fortress, causing its speed to slow down significantly.
And at this moment, the Chaos forces had also been suppressed to their last defensive position. Two companies of Ultramarines, the Night Sentinels, the Custodes, the Protoss, the Zerg, Lucan, Cawl, and Guilliman—this group gathered together was not something that Vingaard and the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch could stop.
"Karax! Buff the brothers! Drop a time bomb on our position!"
"As you command, my Lord!"
The psionic matrix on the Spear of Adun began to operate. Even through the layers of obstruction of the Blackstone Fortress, the direct buff from the Protoss still reached the heads of the group. A group of Protoss were now covered in an indestructible psychic shield. Although the time was short, it was enough for the Templar to tear open the enemy's position.
The daemons found that their warp-flames could not break through the defense. And when they wanted to escape and open up a distance, the Protoss's time bomb was directly teleported to the center of the battlefield. There was no violent explosion. A large area of enemies was suddenly frozen in place. Only the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch and the ascended Vingaard had the ability to barely move. And the Protoss were not affected.
"A time weapon?!" Cawl's thirst for knowledge was acting up again.
And Guilliman also looked at Lucan. He had seen the combat power of the Protoss clearly along the way, especially Artanis. His combat skills and physical fitness also surprised him. Even during the Great Crusade, he had rarely seen a xenos with individual combat strength that could reach this level. And the psychic power he displayed also made him calculate how he would fare against him. Often, such xenos could bring terrifying losses to the Imperium. And on the other side, although Kerrigan did not display the same combat power as Artanis, the psychic energy released from her body was even stronger than his. Artanis's psychic power only came from himself, while Kerrigan's came from the entire Swarm.
And Lucan's arrival had caused the most proficient and powerful psychic spells of the Tzeentchian daemons to be miserably suppressed. The barely moving Greater Daemon of Tzeentch brandished his staff, and one world-destroying psychic spell after another rushed toward the attackers. But before they could even reach the enemy, they completely dissipated in mid-air.
Lucan, standing in the team, was absorbing all the incoming warp spells. I can even suck Slaanesh dry. A single Greater Daemon of Tzeentch is not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth. These few thousand Psy-crystals, are you trying to get rid of a beggar?
And without the threat of psychic powers, Guilliman also felt that he was back in business. If he didn't make a move now, he would really just be a bystander. He raised the Emperor's Sword and charged at the restricted Greater Daemon of Tzeentch. And a group of Ultramarines also followed their primarch and rushed to the forefront.
The head of the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch was cut off. Looking at the separated head and body of the Greater Daemon, Guilliman only felt that this was the easiest Greater Daemon of Tzeentch he had ever encountered in his life. The holy flame carried by the Emperor's Sword also burned its soul to ashes.
The only enemy left on the battlefield was Vingaard. Seeing the Emperor's Sword and the Primarch, his previous arrogance was gone. He had just ascended, only to encounter something that could completely kill a daemon. He had thrown himself into the arms of Tzeentch, who was all about fate, only to have fate play a joke on him right at the start.
