Red Sand Skies

Nuceria, countless years ago.

The fiery Red Sand covered the entire land, and the Gladiator Arena was filled with bloodthirsty spectators as usual.

They shouted the names of their gladiators and cheered them on.

In this land ruled by High Lords, this was their last solace in surviving.

However, in a place that no one noticed, or rather, no one would have thought of—

At the northernmost edge of the world of Nuceria, on the ancient frozen land perpetually covered by ice and snow, a visitor from outer space, like a fiery red meteor, streaked straight down into the desolate, snow-covered landscape and landed on Nuceria, the Red Sand planet.

A lost Primarch has fallen upon this planet.

But that's not the key issue.

The problem is—

It appears he landed headfirst.

It really did land headfirst.

Thump!

Faced with the overwhelming power of Kasgar, Angron, a mere "mortal," had no chance of victory.

He had just thought of it when the other party suddenly seized him and tripped him with an unexpected speed.

Its heavy body crashed onto the leaf-strewn grass in the forest, making a rustling sound as the sparse branches of the bushes swayed.

"Friend, you're too strong, I can't beat you."

Angron, sitting on the ground, helplessly relaxed all his muscles, then sat down with a wry smile.

We can't beat them, we really can't beat them.

After the two extraterrestrial visitors rescued the gladiators from the clutches of the strange monsters, the group fled to the dense forest in front of the Northern Mountains.

Angron was very grateful for this.

But for some reason, after that, these two extraterrestrial visitors often asked Angron to fight them one-on-one, or even to practice using weapons in real combat.

No matter how many times he tried, even though Angron used all his strength and kept recalling his fighting methods in his mind according to the two of them.

Unleash your potential!

Unleash your inner power!

Activate your hidden backup energy!

But no matter how much his opponents encouraged him, Angron still couldn't defeat these two masters.

Angron, who was once undefeated in the Gladiator Arena, winning every single fight, was known to the audience as the Invincible Angron.

When faced with the two of them, there was only defeat.

"Just call me Kasgar."

The warrior in purple-gold armor reached out and pulled him up.

"Okay, Kasgar."

"I understand you may have high expectations for my power, but I have tried almost every means possible, and I have been unable to activate the power you speak of."

Angron was a little embarrassed.

Then, as if trying to make amends for his incompetence, he continued:

"If you're looking for my superpower, this might be the only one—"

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward until he reached the campfire where the gladiators were gathered, and placed his hand on the head of one of the young gladiators.

After a brief flash of light, Angron frowned slightly.

"Like this, I can absorb some of the negative emotions of those around me."

Look at the young man who has fallen into a deep sleep. His slightly trembling body has calmed down afterward, and he is sound asleep as if he were indulging in the most delicious dream.

"If this is the skill you're looking for, I can help you with it."

Seeing Angron's somewhat embarrassed expression, what could Kasgar say?

In the Warhammer World, being bad is the original sin.

But how can a Primarch without Primarch power maintain his authority within the Legion and survive the perilous Great Crusade?

"Perhaps this power will indeed come in handy in the future, but for now we may need more direct combat capabilities."

He said helplessly, "Angron, you stay here and watch over these gladiators. I'm going to go and discuss something with my companions."

"Okay, have a safe trip."

Come back soon!

"Still no clues to help him recover?"

Upon seeing Kasgar arrive, the Angel who had been surveying the surroundings from the ancient tree high above swirled its wings and came to Kasgar's side.

"No. Or rather, he doesn't seem to have the Primarch's power except for his appearance."

After rescuing Angron and the others from Desia's slave Gladiator Arena, Kasgar tried many methods to motivate Angron.

But no matter what he did, it seemed that the opponent's strength was only at the level of an ordinary person, and he could not become stronger at all.

They couldn't even defeat a Space Marine like Kasgar, let alone fight Primarch like the Angel Sanguinius.

How could this happen?

The Angel was also quite puzzled by this.

After returning, she also read about the deeds of other Primarch on their homeworld. Almost every Primarch, with their innate terrifying power and wisdom, managed their homeworld in an orderly manner, and even the least capable were the strongest fighting force on the planet.

How come it became like this when it came to Angron?

"This is also what puzzles me the most."

Kasgar also expressed its helplessness.

You might not believe it.

Although Kasgar had read the script, the text was simply too bizarre.

So much so that he couldn't understand it at all!

It's not just Kasgar who's puzzled; the fighting power of Angron and Nuceria is a complete mystery that remains unsolved.

In the story of Angron, his combat power seems to be in a state of extremely abnormal fluctuation.

It either soars very high in a short time, or it plummets down in a flash.

There is absolutely no logic to it.

If Kasgar hadn't interfered, the story would have gone like this—

Angron was captured by the High Lords' minions in the battle just now and then forcibly impaled with the Butcher's Nails.

From then on, they would not think about anything other than killing, and their personal compassion and empathy would also be stripped away.

In his rage after the transformation, he will kill his master, Oenomaus.

After calming down, the furious Angron decided to lead the gladiators in a rebellion.

—But they failed miserably and could only flee to the nearby dense forest with their gladiator brothers and sisters.

Under the siege of the slave-owning army of Nuceria, Angron, who was preparing for a last-ditch effort, was teleported to his flagship by the Emperor who arrived just in time.

The Emperor has reached an agreement with the slave owners, and they will continue to live on this planet.

What kind of suppression of slaves?

As long as they are willing to pay Tithe to support the Great Crusade, it's no problem.

And so, Angron watched helplessly as his brothers and family members were brutally murdered by the slave owners, and he could do nothing about it.

In a fit of rage, he went berserk and tore apart the Emperor's Adeptus Custodes until he was finally subdued by the Emperor's own Psychic Power.

Then the Emperor dumped it on the War Hounds Legion like trash, ignoring it completely.

None of them are human.

In this entire story, nothing is normal.

It's as if the author, halfway through writing, suddenly stood up and shouted nine times, "Only the Tzeentch, and the extraordinary can be free from their influence!"

The changes in the combat power of all the characters in the entire story are more numerous than the changes in the ever- Daemon Prince of Tzeentch.

The Nuceria natives suddenly became incredibly powerful;

Angron's strength suddenly became inconsistent.

The despicable Emperor who suddenly became indifferent to the Primarch.

The Adeptus Custodes, which suddenly became a weakling that couldn't beat anyone—ah, that hasn't changed. The famous "Adeptus Custodes" has been used as a punching bag again, which is normal.

And Angron himself is a super the Changeling in the story.

If he were like Horus, just an ordinary person before awakening his Primarch's power, then he wouldn't be able to defeat others.

—Yet he could tear apart the White Sprouts Squad at the age of three.

If we say that his strength is powerful enough, he could tear apart the Emperor's imperial Adeptus Custodes with his bare hands.

—But he couldn't defeat Nuceria's High Lords.

If we say that Angron's power lies entirely in Butcher's Nails, then only Angron with spikes is a qualified Butcher's Nails wet piece.

—But even after he hammered in the nails, he couldn't defeat the slave owner and was only saved by being teleported into the flagship by the Emperor.

If Nuceria were truly that powerful, everyone would be like a dragon, demigods would be everywhere, and Primarch would be treated worse than dogs.

—But when the Emperor arrived, he quickly surrendered without even struggling, and was eventually defeated by Angron came back for revenge.

How do you explain that?

Everyone exuded a strong sense of artificiality.

I'm stuck here, unable to go up or down.

"The power of a Primarch should not fluctuate so rapidly."

So far, at least in Kasgar, there has been no sign of Angron's strength improving in the slightest.

He always maintained the fighting ability of a fairly powerful mortal gladiator.

I really don't know how someone with this level of skill will be able to kill a fully equipped Emperor Adeptus Custodes who serves as a close attendant to the Emperor in the future.

"There's no use thinking about it now. If we can get out and bring Angron to see the Emperor, the mystery might be solved."

Unfortunately, I can't bring it.

Since Yriel's communication was abruptly cut off last time, there has been not a single sound from Kasgar's communication equipment.

"You still can't contact your Eldar friends?"

No, there was absolutely no response.

As for when it will resume?

Kasgar didn't know either.

Standing on the surface of the planet Nuceria, Kasgar tried to search for Yriel's warship in the sky, but to no avail.

It was as if the Eldar warships had never even appeared in orbit around this planet.

"Could it be that your Xenos friends abandoned you and ran away?"

"After all, the Xenos never have any moral burden when they betray. Cooperation is fine, but if you entrust your life and fortune to the Xenos, you'll suffer in the future."

The Angel were not surprised by this situation.

The Eldar's double-dealing did not surprise her.

I personally think not.

Kasgar shook his head in denial. "At least I can feel how important I am to them."

"That rekindled sense of conviction. A Craftworld Aeldari will never give up hope of forever ridding Slaanesh of the threat and rebuilding the Aeldari Empire."

"They have no reason to abandon us."

"Rebuild the Aeldari Empire. Don't let those preachers of Imperial Truth hear you say that." The Angel smiled. "Otherwise, they'll definitely burn you at the stake."

"Of course."

"But have you noticed that your combat abilities seem somewhat different from before?"

"Me?"

Kasgar asked, somewhat puzzled.

"That's right." The Angel nodded. "In the Gladiator Arena, facing those eight demons, I didn't expect you to actually be able to hold your own against one of them without being at a disadvantage."

As Space Marine, he was able to take on a Greater Daemon single-handedly.

If we calculate based on the power ranking chart, Casgar's current strength seems to be about the same as that of a newly formed chapter leader like Dante Calgar.

Of course, it still can't compare to cheating.

For example, Marum Kaido, with a Boltgun and a Chainsword, tore apart six Tzeentch Daemon Prince of Tzeentch and three Nurgle Great Unclean One.

Not to mention the thousands of Chaos Prison Soldiers and the hundreds of Chaos Terminator.

He, Kasgar, was merely fighting a Greater Daemon to a standstill.

This is nothing.

"So, do you know what those strange creatures are?"

The Angel asked in bewilderment, "Who exactly is that fellow? He recognized me immediately upon meeting me as Sanguinius of Baal, and he even knows the secret of our legion's Black Rage."

How come everyone knows the little secret about Black Rage?

"Well, it might be a bit complicated to explain."

Xenos.

A bizarre Xenos that lives in the Warp and feeds on human thoughts and emotions.

Regardless of whether this thing is a real creature or not, just tell me it doesn't look like a human at all!

Imperial Truth doesn't stipulate that Xenos must be real-world creatures, so why can't Chaos be a type of Xenos?

After interacting extensively with Lorgar and Old Man Huang, Kasgar gradually learned some of their mysterious rhetoric.

Stubborn.

If we insist that Chaos is an extremely dangerous Xenos that is absolutely impossible to cooperate with, then perhaps after a long time, it really will become Xenos.

That's right, it's the Xenos.

Warp, isn't that amazing?

"But I don't understand how these evil Xenos creatures got into Nuceria."

Khorne's mass production of troops came as a complete surprise.

The eight Bloodthirsters appeared as if by suddenness, and together with the Greater Daemon Kabanhah who followed, they threw themselves into the battle like there was no tomorrow.

This was also the first time that Kasgar had experienced even a small amount of Khorne's shock.

If I remember correctly, an army of Warp gods like Khorne wouldn't be able to so easily break through the Veil of reality and project their massive forces.

The eight Bloodthirsters and Kabanhah who were able to possess from the Warp and enter the battlefield without any sacrifices or blasphemous rituals were undoubtedly highly suspicious.

"This doesn't seem like something that would happen on a normal planet."

"Why don't you shine your magical flame on it? Maybe you can find out the flaw or something?"

"I've tried." Kasgar shook his head helplessly in the face of the Angel's question, "But it didn't work. It's as if the Psychic Power is not obeying my commands here. No matter how I call out, there is no response."

As he spoke, he tried to call upon the Angel for help to remove a section of the glove from his right arm.

The skin, which was originally covered with golden-red cracks, now looked as if it had become countless times duller.

If it weren't for the faint, subtle glow emanating from it, it would truly look no different from a normal person's arm.

It seems that Kasgar's Psychic Power was completely sealed shortly after he arrived in Nuceria.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know either," Kasgar said gravely.

"This is also the problem I discovered after landing on the planet, when I tried to summon flames multiple times but still failed."

"Nuceria. This planet is strange."

"Those High Lords are here! Brothers and sisters!"

"Beware of enemy attack!"

Just as Kasgar was wondering why he couldn't unleash his Psychic Power, a roar from Angron deep in the forest pulled the two of them back from their reverie.

"Is there something new going on?"

The Angel and Kasgar exchanged a glance, then crouched slightly before flapping their wings and soaring into the sky to observe the changes.

"What happened?"

"Desia's slave owner guards"

"What about the quantity?"

"There are many, but they are not insurmountable."

As a Primarch, even if these slave owners brought a large number of people, they would still be nothing more than a rabble.

The only thing the Angel currently fear is that strange, red, demon-shaped Xenos.

"Where did these High Lords and guards come from? How could the other city-states of Nuceria have received news of a slave rebellion?"

"I don't know. But judging from the flag, it seems to be the place we landed before, the place called 'Desia'."

The Angel's words carried a hint of uncertainty. "I cannot rule out the possibility that those strange demons might join the army and launch an attack on us."

From her high vantage point, she could see that on the distant plains of the forest, countless High Lords, fully armed guards, were gathered.

"There are guards?"

"I thought the city was deserted after the landing in Kabanhah."

Kasgar muttered to himself.

Surprisingly, after the appearance of the Bloodthirster, the entire city of Desia did not descend into absolute fighting and slaughter; instead, it remained as if nothing had happened.

No?

These people didn't care that they had a Bloodthirster in their house; the first thing they did was come to quell the slave rebellion.

"How are things going in the city of Desia, that Angel?"

"Was it destroyed, or was there a massacre? Or was the entire city covered in an unknown bloodstain?"

"No."

The Angel's answer was not what Kasgar had expected, "The humans in the city seem unaffected, behaving no differently than usual."

No difference?

When did Khorne become so gentle?

Did Kabanhah not commit any offenses after entering the city, and did he lead his Khorne Daemons without taking revenge on the local residents after failing to capture the Angel, and simply leave quietly without caring about the Blood God's KPIs?

"Sanguinius, my dear Little Angel."

Of course, it's not that simple.

Just as Kasgar and the Angel were preparing to go down and join the gladiators, including Angron, a voice that sounded like a howl from the abyss came from the void before them.

A distorted pattern of light suddenly tore through the air above the forest.

The hooves of the chain-like vessel covered in skulls stepped forward, and beneath the deep red, bone-spiked muscles, the anti-magic runes on the brass armor gleamed brightly. The chilling light emanating from the giant skull axe and chain whip in its hands grew even more intense.

The Greater Daemon Kabanhah, under the Brass Lord, once again appeared before the Angel Sanguinius.

Compared to their first meeting, Kabanhah's aura was more solid, and also more ferocious and terrifying.

"It's you again."

The Angel's voice was filled with anger as she raised her spear and pointed it directly at the other person. "Do you really want to die?"

"Death? No, no, no, Little Angel, death has no meaning for us."

The demon emitted a terrifying sound that sounded like laughter.

"Every enemy's death is an honor, every battle is a gift from Him."

"Beneath the Bronze Throne, only endless victories await us."

"Little Angel, lead you and your offspring to abandon that pitiful the Accursed and join the ranks of the Blood God."

"This is your destiny and that of your Blood Angel, Sanguinius."

Black Rage was no longer Angel's weakness, Kabanhah began to try to tempt the Angel with new things.

Unfortunately, the Kabanhah did not seem to be very effective in promoting Khorne.

Just as Slaanesh used the glory of sitting on the Golden Throne to entice Guilliman.

It's enough to scare the other side into waking up instantly.

Sometimes, even if you and your peers think something is great, it may not attract others.

It only had the opposite effect.

Under the temptation of Kabanhah, the Angel became even more determined to oppose Khorne.

Although it's unclear why this Xenos would use war, which she despises most, to lure her, the final result certainly greatly ignited the Angel's fighting spirit.

Sanguinius' greatest fear was that his offspring would forever be driven by instinctual desires, becoming nothing more than the Beast that only knew how to fight.

This is something she absolutely cannot accept.

Blood Angels must never become ghouls again!

If she cannot exterminate all these demonic Xenos here, her Blood Angels will be more likely to be poisoned by the Xenos in the future!

"This only makes me want to kill you more, Xenos!"

Even though the Blood Angels's tone remained gentle, the rage surging in her eyes was almost uncontrollable.

The next moment, she leaped into the air and rushed toward Kabanhah was floating in mid-air with his periosteum wings flapping.

"Kasgar, go and protect Angron and the others. I'll deal with this monstrous Xenos!"

The Angel cried out.

Although she didn't understand why the other party viewed fighting as a reward that brought them pleasure or joy, Sanguinius would not let anyone who dared to harm the Blood Angels get away with it.

Faced with this Xenos who wants to turn the noble Blood Angel back into a ghoul, the power contained in the spear in her hand will only become more terrifying.

Die!

This was the only requirement the Angel had for it.

"Good!"

Kasgar nodded and turned to run swiftly toward Angron's location.

It's fortunate that Sanguinius came along too.

If she weren't there, Kasgar couldn't imagine how he would face the Khorne army alone.

What? Angron?

Does this kid look like he has any fighting ability?

"No, kid. None of you are getting away."

After being pierced by that spear, Kabanhah's wounds were healing at an extremely rapid pace.

The battle required to kill a demon, especially Greater Daemon, will be extremely long.

Kabanhah took the blow head-on, then slowly and heavily turned the claws in his hand.

The blood-red sand fell to the ground through his fingertips, completely covering the dense forest.

An endless expanse of blood-red sand dunes.

The endless Red Sand World trapped both the Angel and Kasgar within its confines.

"Where are we now? What kind of witchcraft is this?"

The Angel cried out after watching himself and Kasgar being dragged into this strange space.

"The great creation sister from the Blood God."

Although Kabanhah was still a little unfamiliar with the term "sisters," she still managed to say it.

"Angron is the champion chosen by the Blood God, His eternal slave. None of you may interrupt his ceremony toward ascension."

"No one can."

Kabanhah let out a grating howl, seemingly excited that he could trap both the Angel and Kasgar.

"A ridiculous trick."

"When I rip out your Xenos heart, let's see if you'll still be happy about death!"

The Angel's anger grew even stronger, and she once again raised her spear and charged towards her opponent.

Brush--

But this time, nothing was left except for a phantom cloud of smoke.

As a Bloodthirster.

Kabanhah. He escaped.

"Coward."

The Angel continued to hold his spear, calmly surveying his surroundings.

The disappearance of Kabanhah does not mean that it left the battlefield; rather, it is more likely that it was secretly watching Sanguinius' every move from the shadows.

"Kasgar?"

The Angel tried calling the Space Marine's name around them, but received no response.

He's gone?

The Angel's gaze grew increasingly solemn.

Just a short while ago, she saw Kasgar being pulled into this space along with her.

To everyone's surprise, in the blink of an eye, Kasgar disappeared without a trace.

All around, there is only endless Red Sand.

Something is wrong here.

The Angel tried to flap its wings and land on the ground, gently stirring the Red Sand with its spear.

There was no sign of any enemy, nor any Kasgar.

"Kabanhah, come out! Stop hiding!"

The Angel's heart was constantly filled with anxiety.

How is Kasgar doing now?

What about Angron?

What would they do if they were trapped here?

As if sensing Sanguinius's anxiety, a dark shadow suddenly fell to the ground in the distant sky.

What is that?

A trap, or a clue to escape?

The Angel didn't know, but at this moment she had no time to waste.

She flapped her wings and flew swiftly toward the dark figure—

No, that's not a shadow.

Those are corpses, corpses from Kasgar.

His body was cleaved in two by a sharp axe, with countless deep, bone-revealing wounds that tore his armor and flesh apart.

His fatal wound came from a deep, bone-revealing severance wound in his neck.

"What's this?"

The Angel could hardly believe his eyes.

But the corpse was right in front of her, and the real sight and touch forced her to believe that it was happening.

But this is just the beginning.

Before the Angel could even process this shocking reality, another dark figure fell from the horizon.

This one is several points bigger than Kasgar's.

It's Angron.

Sanguinius, who had approached, could not bear to look at her brother's gruesome state of being cut in half, and only glanced at him before looking away.

What does this mean?

Imprison her in this Red Sand land, and then kill off everyone she cares about, one by one, right in front of her?

What about the battle?

Shouldn't that damn Xenos be fighting her?

Why choose to escape and instead turn the sword against the weak?

"Coward! What kind of person bullies the weak? Come out and fight me!!!"

The Angel flapped its wings, wanting to fly high into the sky and look at the endless horizon of this Red Sand land.

She wanted to fly high into the sky, to break through all these obstacles and transcend all these constraints at a high enough place.

But she failed.

No matter how hard she tried to fly higher, it seemed that the Red Sand World where the Angel lived would not be changed in the slightest.

Here, it seems that the laws of time and space do not apply.

Not only that, but more and more dark shadows were falling from the horizon.

These are

Sanguinius was all too familiar with the armor worn by the falling corpse.

Of course, there were also many things he was unfamiliar with, such as those black-painted armors.

However, the huge blood droplet emblems on their shoulders indicate that these are the Blood Angels of Sanguinius.

More and more Blood Angels.

More and more

More and more.

Until the Angel's anger turned to sorrow, and then from sorrow to numbness.

The corpse of the Blood Angels completely filled the entire Red Sand.

Even though the Red Sand itself was boundless, under the burial of countless corpses, in an instant, only her offspring remained here.

The corpses of the unjustly killed Blood Angels are enough to fill this boundless expanse of Red Sand.

What to do?

In this boundless expanse of red sand, the Angel saw neither hope nor end.

She could only feel endless hatred and madness tormenting her body and mind.

The so-called Blood God, who originally prided himself on glory and battle, actually resorted to such despicable and vile means, using the Angel's most cherished family, friends, and offspring to provoke her.

Is this really something that Khorne should be doing?

Instead of fighting them, they cowardly provoke them by avoiding battle?

It has to be said that although it was despicable, it was indeed effective.

Attacking those close to Angel might be the only chance to make the Angel lose their mind.

"Come out! You bunch of cowardly Xenos!!!"

Do you want to leave here?

Just as the Angel began to shout in frustration amidst the pile of corpses, a voice came from within the Angel's heart.

"Who are you? Why are you trying to talk to me in this way!"

Leaving is simple; you don't need to do anything else.

"Just come with me, and I can bring you back to the battlefield outside, so you can continue fighting that demon Kabanhah."

The voice continued speaking.

"Can you really take me out?"

Sanguinius' tone was full of frustration and anxiety.

"Damn it, tell me what to do!?"

Come on, repeat after me—

Centaur, Golden Ring.

These days, I've been racking my brains trying to figure out how to clean up the mess left by Angron's lore.

Why was Angron defeated by the soldiers of Nustar, yet he tore apart the Adeptus Custodes after boarding the ship?

Why can't even the Emperor remove Butcher's Nails?

Why did the Emperor suddenly become so despicable, only teleporting to Angron instead of saving his teammates, and ignoring him and his legion?

How can these many doubts be resolved?

Good news!

After nine days and nine nights of contemplation, I have finally come up with a way to perfectly explain all the mysteries in the Angron story, far surpassing all previous explanations!

Unfortunately, the blank space here is too small to fit everything.