Eldrad Ulthuan

The power of fear

The Tech Sergeant ordered everyone to evacuate before the final step before the Stasis Device built by Perturabo was activated.

Nimrod pressed the activation rune, then returned to the thirty-three Double-Number Black Gold Pillar, pulled out the Flagpole with his right hand and gripped it tightly, loudly reciting the sacrificial incantation in Dunnish.

"In the name of the 'Red Priest,' I pray that the 'Nation of Disorder' grants me power so that the Stasis Field may remain imperceptible to Hrud outside of Craven."

The "Baron of Corruption" was instantly drained of his Spirituality, and the Flagpole became scorching hot.

The Primarch's eyes flickered with light and shadow, and its will unfolded.

[Hmm... the quantity is not right, much less than I expected.]

Despite the endless stream of Herud, their numbers were significantly fewer than those of Gorgis in the Primarch's mental perception.

Even though Craven is in the Gugan System, it has the fewest Hrud among the three major worlds.

Furthermore, the number of casualties in the Void War, numbering in the millions, was far lower than expected.

Nimrod was deep in thought, underground in Gorgis.

Millions of Herud frantically dug into the collapsed tunnel.

The blinding light illuminated the underground, causing a sense of disgust and fear, and tens of millions of Herud fled in panic.

Their Distortion force fields converged, and the time ripples caused hundreds of caves to disappear and thousands of tunnels to collapse.

Their limbs, wrapped around the spine, twisted wildly, rapidly opening a path to a disgusting place.

The Hrud, with their hunched bodies and short stature, could bend their limbs in any direction, allowing them to dig faster than Termite Drill when they gathered together.

Hundreds of tunnels were being rebuilt at a visible speed, rapidly spreading towards Nimrod's location.

In the Gugan System, a Gothic-style ship, painted green and without any legion markings, suddenly appeared.

On the bridge, six Aeldari stood behind the Soothsayer Eldrad Ulthran.

Tall and slender, dressed in a magnificent Purple robe and wielding a staff, Ulthran issued commands to the human crew in Low Gothic:

Send a broadcast to all channels with the following content:

"Humanity, this space contains terrifying secrets; if you touch it, you will surely face destruction."

"Leave immediately and do not come near again!"

Immediately, Ulthran entered a state of Mindset unique to the Aeldari, his soul venturing into the vast and boundless Sea of Souls.

He used the Mind's Eye to capture those minute threads.

On the surface of Craven, Nimrod's brows suddenly furrowed.

Tens of millions of Herud surged in frantically, their combined Entropy Field and Distortion power overwhelming the periphery of the Stasis Field.

Tens of thousands of Hrud, torn apart by the repulsive forces of the Stasis Field and the time ripples, exhibited bizarre and varied changes.

Thousands of Herud aged rapidly and turned into dust.

Hundreds of Herud bodies swelled like balloons, then burst open, releasing toxins that turned the earth black.

Dozens of Herud emerged from their stagnant state and were once again veiled in a hazy mist.

We can't wait any longer.

The black and gold pillars, the Silence Amulet, and even the Stasis Field devices will be destroyed.

Thinking of this, Nimrod loudly recited the incantation in Dunnish:

In the name of the "Red Priest," I pray that the "Nation of Disorder" will grant me strength!

"I command Herud, Silence!"

Black mist surged in the eyes of the "Baron of Corruption," and a trace of the power of the Source Essence was stirred by the priest.

Black mist enveloped a green teardrop-shaped rune, drawing upon the power of the C'tan's Tear of Silence.

The power of Silence, intertwined with black mist amidst its green energy, spread rapidly, even exceeding the range of consciousness extended by the Primarch.

Tens of millions of Xenos fell Silence, frozen in place.

Beyond Nimrod's consciousness reach, in the Craven underground, millions of Herud who had surged forth were frozen in place.

Bang bang bang...

A series of thuds echoed as the earth trembled and resonated.

The Crimson Chain on Nimrod's right little finger glowed, and his Spirituality rapidly recovered.

The Primarch took flight, its Telekinesis sweeping up vast swathes of Herud and sending them into the "Nation of Disorder."

After repeating this five times, his expression suddenly changed.

At the edge of the Primarch's consciousness, thousands of Herud appeared.

Immediately, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions.

[Indeed, Craven is one of the fifteen major worlds of the Hrud, and its population cannot be less than one hundred million.]

Why were they late?

As Nimrod pondered, countless Hrud gathered together, their Entropy Field overlapping.

As time rippled and spread, the Silence Hrud rapidly liquefied and died, turning into a pool of slime.

To the Hrud, there were only repulsive Stasis Device.

They surged forward madly, and wherever they went, the Distortion force field mercilessly tore apart swathes of their own kind.

After the "Rangdan Xenocides," Nimrod used up all the talismans he made with the Tear of Silence in Gorgis and in this sacrificial ceremony. He would not be able to perform such a ceremony again for some time.

Nimrod absorbed the madness of the Hrud into his mind, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him. He opened the Sonic Array channel and issued an order.

"The Hrud are attacking the Stasis Device. The Second and Fourth Legion are to immediately move out and attack from behind."

Immediately, Nimrod spread his wings and flew towards the direction where the Hrud were most concentrated.

Along the way, he continuously sent the Hrud into "Nation of Disorder".

In the blink of an eye, Nimrod arrived at the battlefield.

The "Baron of Corruption" infused most of his Spirituality into the iron-black banner, whispering "Flame" in his heart, and waved it forward.

The moment the "Red Priest" descended with her Uniqueness, an invisible and colorless wave of fire was generated.

The surging inferno engulfed Herud, whose Entropy Field could Distortion Macro-cannon bombs into dust.

However, when faced with the Authority of Flame, it is like a thin sheet of paper, easily shattered.

Wherever the flames passed, they burned and scorched everything.

The Primarch stared at the sea of fire, and hundreds of thousands of Hrud vanished instantly, without even a burning process.

He turned the Uniqueness in his hand, thinking silently.

Even Magnus and Malcador's Psionic Energy flames couldn't instantly incinerate 100,000 Herud.

This is still the result of me only being able to exert a portion of my Uniqueness power.

If I could unleash the full power of the "Red Priest," within the realm of flames, only a fully-fledged Burning One could rival me.

While Nimrod pondered, he looked out into the void of the Gugan System.

Ulthran staggered and fell backward, and two Aeldari reached out to support him.

"Soothsayer, what has happened?" The Aeldari's voice came from behind the elegant mask.

"Distortion spacetime... black hole... singularity... destruction..."

"Silence... flame..."

"Ulthran said weakly," the Aeldari said, and the Eldar were all stunned. The Soothsayer's words were contradictory and incomprehensible.

We'll leave immediately.

Ulthran gripped his staff tightly and stood up straight.

"Humanity has not yet responded."

"They don't need a reminder." Ulthran waved his staff, and in the shimmering light, a large gate slowly took shape.

Ulthran's eyes stung; the Threads of Fate he had glimpsed caused his soul to ache with a burning pain.

"Be'lakor encountered..."

Ulthran didn't know how to describe the terrifying flames, which transcended the realm of mortal and Warp flames.

"Flames," he mumbled, "Will only bring destruction."

Ulthran raised his staff, and his spiritual power spread out.

Bang bang bang...

All the humans on the ship collapsed instantly, their memories erased by Psionic Energy.

As Ulthran led the Aeldari through the Warp Gate and left the Gugan System, the Dreadnought Monks were awakened by a song.

Some of the "Bard" from the Fourth Legion and the "Light Worshipper" from the Second Legion offered hymns to the esteemed monks.

After dying during the "Unification Wars" and his remains being wrapped in a semi-organic net and semi-mechanical structure, the ancient Dreadnought monk of the Fourth Legion was given a new name: Sesenion.

Once sealed in the armored coffin, Sesenion was overwhelmed by emotions he had never felt before. He loathed his own death, and his longing for his intact body fueled his rage and rage.

He hated the cold, empty second life.

But when Sesenion awoke this time, he felt warm and full of strength.

"Father, is this the new change you've brought us?" Sesenion's loudspeaker rang out; each time he awoke, he sensed the changes taking place within the Chapter.

From Reapers obsessed with killing to a calm and self-controlled Shadow of Order seeking out the enemy's weaknesses.

The legion had gained many Royal Court Friar bestowed by his father, and their powerful abilities amazed him.

A built-in timer reminds him that four years and seven standard months have passed since his last routine wake-up, and a warm song has been added to his wake-up calls.

"Yes, esteemed monk," the "Bard" replied. The Royal Court Friar of the Fourth Legion abhorred sunlight, and those who received it from their fathers were among the few.

For this reason, their duty, assigned by the Chapter Master, was to sing for the Dreadnought monks.

"My duty," Sesenion glanced at the screen, "Is to kill the Xenos, the Hrud."

"Come on, young Singer."

"Yes, esteemed monk." The "Bard" sang again, following the Dreadnought monk.

Loaded with the Dreadnought iron crate, the delivery point was only one kilometer from the battlefield. Following orders, Sesenion activated the thermal imaging system and quickly captured a pulsating mass of hot yellow and red.

He learned from the log that it was the thermal radiation effect of the overclocked atomic activity of the Hrud's Entropy Energy field.

Sesenion quickly switched to the Auspex and found that, just as the log had said, he could only see a blurry shadow there.

Sesenion switched back to the thermal imaging system, raising his arms to aim at the clusters of yellow and red centers.

The Tech Sergeant modified the weapon system for this mission, mounting twin Lascannon on both arms.

The laser beam struck the Hrud's entropy field, and then the speed of light broke through all physical limits, causing an explosion.

Four holes burned through the Hrud's protective layer, and four Hrud were cut into pieces.

Sesenion turned and saw the Shadow of Order being struck by a Xenos wielding a two-handed lightsaber.

The Mark III Power Armor aged and shattered instantly, and as it collapsed, its skeletons scattered.

The Shadow of Order seemed to have been asleep for even longer than him, as if it had slept for millions of years.

Sesenion's arms swung faster than ever before, beams of light sizzling as they moved.

The warmth and courage that filled the air, praising his voice, replaced anger and coldness.

The "Bard" followed the Dreadnought monk forward, and as he walked through the dust, he picked up a piece of pale leather covered with rotten black spots.

Those were the crystallized power bestowed upon the Royal Court Friar by their father; they were the only things that could remain in the time turbulence of the Hrud.

Reclaiming the power crystals is the responsibility of every Royal Court Friar.

After placing the leather away, the "Bard" followed the Dreadnought Monk.

As a faint light appeared on the horizon of Craven, the Hrud, unusually, did not retreat.

They rushed frantically toward the Stasis Device, only retreating underground after the starlight had fully illuminated the area.

Nimrod, who was busy supporting various fronts, glanced at the shut-down Stasis Device.

The amount of potion materials harvested this time was far less than that of Gorgis.

However, Herud is still countless; he is my most abundant potion ingredient, surpassing Hive Giant Rat.

Hmm... speaking of which, Herud also has a tail.

Nimrod then looked at the Double-Number Black Gold Pillar.

Overall, the ceremony was a success; seventy to eighty percent of the Herud died on this crazy night.

They tore apart their own kind with their Distortion force fields, more than I collected and more killed by the Shadow of Order.

However, from the perspective of the ritual, the same problem arose as last time.

Nimrod frowned slightly. "[The power level of this Uniqueness exceeds my rank, making it difficult to control.]"

If we were to deal with the hundreds of millions of Hrud in the largest Herud world— Gugan —in the same way we did in the past two times, unpredictable changes might occur.

It might trigger an even more terrible Catastrophe than what Perturabo faced.

Nimrod considered the potential losses of tens of thousands if Shadow of Order didn't use the power of Uniqueness, yet he was unwilling to give up the sacrifice.

Hmm, perhaps I can design a more complete ritual, and even if I can't complete it, I can still use the Dice of Prophecy for divination.

The Silence Amulet have run out. While making and accumulating more, a ritual is designed, and divination will be performed a year later.

As Nimrod pondered, the Communication Bead in his ear rang. He pressed it, and then Arsena Dunn's voice came through.

"My lord, I went to investigate that Imperium ship, but the memories of everyone on board have been erased, Librarian have obtained no information."

Nimrod's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed slightly again.

[Who was it? Just came to issue a warning, and disappeared when there was no response.]

After pondering silently for three seconds, he suddenly remembered that the Imperium would have received a warning from the Aeldari after arriving here.

[Yes, it should be the Aeldari, but I don't know who it is.]

Nimrod collected his thoughts and gave the instructions.

The people on that ship were settled in Gorgis, as the first immigrants.

Nimrod could not allow them to leave, and Sak Trada could not be known to the Imperium.

After the war, he needed immigrants anyway, and settling them in place was the best solution.

"Order four Chapter to wipe out the remaining Herud of Craven."