Kasgar's Maelstrom Gathering

Dabus, the leader of the Red Hook Pirates, is nothing.

But he is a Farsight and intelligent man.

Regardless of whether the person before him was the Hero Kasgar he spoke of, his formidable strength remained unchanged.

At this moment, the Imperium of Man and the army of the Tyrant of Badab, namely Ruft Hurons, are locked in a standoff. Whether they fight or make peace, it will be the fuse that drastically changes the future situation.

If negotiations break down and the Star Phantoms Chapter is deemed a rebel and annihilated by the Imperium of Man, then after Hurons, who was behind the Dark Fire Pirates, falls from power, they will need a stronger and more powerful backer.

—Clearly, this being who can be regarded as a father by the proud Eldar is certainly qualified.

"Good!"

"Since the three of you are all willing to believe in me Kasgar Sherlock, why should we continue standing here chatting?"

"Everyone, come back to the Maelstrom with me."

Kasgar nodded to the three pirate crew members.

These three pirate captains each had their own agendas, but fortunately, they were currently aligned on the same goal.

As long as their goals are aligned, he doesn't need to worry that the three pirate captains will sabotage him during the battle.

"If things go well, I will also be able to notify other Tiger Claws Chapter Space Marine who have become pirates."

"Tiger Claw is willing to give anything to help Chapter Master Hurons."

"Dvorz Cole said, and the Space Marine behind him nodded in agreement."

"The legend of Lord Yriel is that the true incarnation of Asuryan has returned to the world once again. I must let all my Eldar brethren in the Maelstrom know this news."

"If you can remove the mark of the Thirsting Lady from us, the entire Corsairs fleet in the Maelstrom will be at your command."

"Void Dreamer Waldra said."

Corsairs do not need to practice asceticism and asceticism like the old-fashioned Prophet of the Craftworld Aeldari, nor do they need to search the entire universe for slaves like their Fallen Cousins in the Commorragh in order to prevent their souls from being torn apart by the Thirsting Lady.

Very free and unrestrained—except for having to face Slaanesh himself.

This is the situation that all Corsairs fear most.

As long as Kasgar can help the Corsairs in the Maelstrom resolve the issue of the Thirsting Lady's mark, even if he is a mere mortal, many Corsairs will revere him as the reincarnation of Asuryan.

"It's my turn again?"

Dabus looked around again.

"Then I'll have to ask my brothers if they're willing to lend me a hand."

The Sorrow System.

A negotiation that will determine the course of the Badab War is about to begin here.

In order to prevent the negotiations from being hijacked by either side, neither side deployed more troops to the area, except for the flagships of the Mantis Warriors and Red Scorpions.

Even the final meeting place was chosen in this old, seemingly neglected transit station.

Apart from the two Chapter Masters and their adjutants, only a few Servitor and ordinary historians who were there to record the proceedings attended the entire meeting.

"The time has come, Saltak."

"I don't know if Hurons will cooperate with our investigation, but I hope that in this negotiation you can truly demonstrate the honor of being a proud guardian of Badab."

The voice of Otis, the Red Scorpions Chapter, echoed through the Mantis Warriors's Escort.

To arrange this meeting, he overruled objections during the Imperium's discussions on the matter, firmly insisting that since neither side had insurmountable conflicts or problems, and both were willing to contribute to the Imperium's efforts to quell the chaos in the Maelstrom—

If that's the case, why resort to violence?

"Sir, this meeting is of great importance," said a Space Marine of company commander rank aboard a Red Scorpions Chapter Escort. To reduce tension between the two sides, the flagships of both Chapter were only Escort ships.

"If you ask me, this meeting is very likely an ambush by Hurons, a trap set to cripple our manpower."

Both sides only had Escort.

If the Strike Cruiser were to be deployed, and one side were to fire large-caliber Macro Cannon and Lance at this abandoned transit station, the only outcome they would face would be the death of the Chapter Master and the complete breakdown of negotiations.

As for security, both Hurons and the Imperium of Man have temporarily withdrawn their armed forces from the Sorrowful Starfield.

Furthermore, this star system has been cleared out, and there cannot be any Space Marine Chapter other than the Mantis Warriors and Red Scorpions that were not involved in the Sorrow System.

Apart from that, the only thing that could be done was the ambush that Hurons had set up in the Maelstrom that allowed him to launch a surprise attack during the talks.

"No, Karab Cullen. Hurons is a smart man."

Chapter Master Otis answered him

"He would never do that."

With only three Space Marine Chapter, Badab could not possibly withstand the full-scale attack from the Imperium of Man.

As can be seen from their previous small-scale battles, Hurons does not want to escalate the current tensions.

"But Hurons has been accused of Inquisitor by the inquisitors, and it's even rumored that he illegally recruited Space Marine from the Tiger Claws Chapter!"

"The Star Phantoms Chapter has been expanded to approximately 3,500 members!"

This is no ordinary act of rebellion; we must take decisive action!

The Red Scorpions Chapter has always valued its own purity and honor, a Chapter inherited from their parent chapter, Sons of the Emperor.

Because they always execute every order from their superiors with utmost care, their execution of the Codex Astartes is also the most rigorous.

Hurons's violation of the Codex Astartes was seen by many within the Red Scorpions Chapter as a disgrace to all Adeptus Astartes, and his ambition was driven by his dream of Tyrant of Badab.

"Ruft Hurons is indeed not a pure Space Marine, but I believe that with his abilities and intelligence, if he were free from the constraints of the High Lord, he might become an important rising star in the future of our Imperium of Man."

"You must remember that as Adeptus Astartes, our primary task is not to prove our loyalty and purity, but to fight for the well-being and future of all mankind."

"The sacred texts are not the end, but the means."

As he spoke, the old regimental commander Otis, gently patted the company commander's Ceramite shoulder guard.

"Kullen, all will be well if I return safely."

"If I am unable to serve the Imperium again, the Red Scorpions Chapter will be under your command."

". good."

Soon, the shuttles flew from their respective flagships, which were on high alert, toward the abandoned transfer station that had undergone some rough repairs.

"Saltak, long time no see."

The Sorrow System, a world abandoned due to resource depletion, and its transit station, are struggling on the verge of complete collapse.

In the center of the only hall that had undergone preliminary cleaning and repairs, in a conference center crowded with Servitor and historians, the two Chapter Master finally sat down at the negotiating table from the main bridge of the warship.

"Otis, you know why we have come."

"The Imperium Inquisitor was aggressive, and based on his baseless accusations, the leader of Badab would be indefinitely removed from his post."

"For something that is not a big deal, they would rather let the beasts of Chaos slaughter my people than offer us even a single request for assistance from a Space Marine Chapter," said Saltak, the Mantis Warriors, in a calm tone.

"Honestly, Otis. If you had fought alongside us as our comrade, Hurons would have wiped this Maelstrom out long ago, leaving no trace of pirates and Xenos scum."

His words were persuasive and encouraging.

Instead of discussing conditions and the war first, they tried to move the other party by appealing to their emotions.

"That's right, that's right."

Otis replied with a smile, "But if you really succeed in conquering this Maelstrom one day and take control of everything, what will the new power Hurons establish be called, the 'Iron Empire' or the 'Red Sands Republic'?"

"Ancient records prove our division—"

Just as Otis was about to explain why the Imperium high command insisted on not allowing Hurons to truly control the Maelstrom, a strong Psychic Power fluctuation suddenly erupted in the dark night sky outside the transit station.

"My Servitor! My Servitor has stopped working!"

"What's going on? What happened?"

"Warp Rift has opened! Notify headquarters immediately, we are under attack!"

The entire transfer station hall was thrown into chaos in an instant.

"Quiet!"

"The meeting negotiations are suspended! Notify the Astropath to relay the signal that we have been attacked by an unknown force!"

Otis raised his Boltgun and fired a shot into the air; his expression was extremely grave.

Beyond their transit point, beyond the suddenly appearing Warp Rift, lay a mysterious human fleet, its paintwork completely erased.

It seems that preparations for this attack had been made well in advance.

The size of that mysterious fleet far exceeded that of any single Chapter, and it was even comparable to the entire fleet of the three Chapter of Badab.

Moreover, the entire fleet was painted in absolute black, leaving no distinctive features on its surface whatsoever.

It seems that the fleet was indeed assembled specifically for disguise and assassination.

Just as the Red Scorpions Chapter agreed to the other party's request and arrived at the transit station to participate in negotiations with only a small number of troops.

The assassin appeared at just the right moment.

"Otis, believe me! I knew nothing about this attack either, and it's definitely not our fleet!"

The Mantis Warriors' Chapter Master was somewhat incoherent.

He had never anticipated this attack, nor did he believe that Hurons would disregard brotherhood and use him as bait in order to kill the Chapter Master of the Red Scorpions Chapter.

"Of course I understand what you mean. Hurons has no reason to break ties with the higher-ups of the Imperium of Man, nor does he have any reason to ambush a relatively incompetent Chapter Master like myself."

No matter how powerful Wang Xiulun is, he still doesn't have the guts to challenge the entire Imperium of Man.

What good would it do to Chapter head-on against so many Space Marine chapters, Titan Cult, Missionaries, and Astra Militarum members of the Imperium of Man?

The so-called tax resistance and conflict with the Fire Hawks Chapter were merely Hurons's way of covering up his takeover of the Tiger Claws Chapter, thus amplifying a minor issue to mask his real problems.

At the same time, it fuels their ambitions, or rather, their ambitious Maelstrom conquest, in order to acquire more resources.

At least use this as leverage to bury the fact that he took in the Tiger Claws Chapter Battle Brother.

If both sides compromise, with one side making up the tax payment and the other not pursuing the matter further, then the matter is considered closed.

Only a complete idiot would choose to break ties with the Imperium of Man and fight it out to the death.

What's the point?

Was the Tu Imperium's anger not strong enough because of the death of the Red Scorpions Captain? Or did Tu betray his good brother, the Mantis Warriors, just to kill the opposing peace faction?

The Red Scorpions Chapter naturally understood this principle.

"This is certainly not one of our fleets; to be precise, it's coming for us."

Otis answered.

Even Hurons couldn't possibly be hiding such a terrifying fleet now. If he did, he wouldn't be sending the Mantis Warriors to negotiate peace with the Red Scorpions Chapter in this half-submissive manner.

Clearly, this is a third-party force trying to use this to incite an inevitable hot war between the Imperium of Man and the Badab Sector!

There is a hidden hand behind the scenes that wants to repeat the civil war that was once Horus Heresy!

—Although it will be far smaller than it was in the past.

"Notify all Red Scorpions Chapter to prepare for a breakout. We have been attacked by an unknown force, and the negotiation center is currently under protection."

Perhaps some smaller ships on the outskirts can evacuate.

But it was clear that as the target of that sudden intruder, he, as the Chapter Master, was absolutely destined to be caught.

But Otis showed no fear whatsoever.

Walking against the flow of the panicked fleeing crowd, Otis, the Red Scorpions Chapter, drew his Power Sword from his waist.

Let him see how many enemies of humanity he can slay in this final moment!

"Then count me in too."

Seeing this, the Mantis Warriors' Chapter Master sighed and drew his own power sword from his waist.

Countless jet fighters painted in jet black filled the entire sky like flies.

Those who landed at the transit station aboard Stormbird from warships and went on a killing spree were Space Marine painted entirely in black.

No one knew which Chapter these Space Marine belonged to, but they clearly didn't want to leave even one survivor here.

"Traitors! They're all Space Marine traitors! Ah!!!"

"Help me!!"

"Don't want!"

Shouts echoed throughout every corner of the transfer station hall.

The shouts of battle from the outside world were deafening, the defensive equipment at the transit station was completely destroyed, and the Escort were also seeking to break through under the command of the Chapter Master.

At this point, the two Chapter Masters could only rely on themselves.

Besides--

"Are you all ready, children?"

The moment the Warp Rift appeared, Kasgar, who was meditating alone in the pirate fleet, opened his eyes.

"All is well, Captain!"

"Alright, let's get ready to go!"

Kasgar looked at the Void Dreamer eager to fight ahead of the fleet and raised an arm, shouting.

"The Sagan, where the Maelstrom Mantis Warriors are stationed."

"I remember this was one of your recruitment sites after the destruction of Colchis ten thousand years ago."

"It was also the place you fled immediately after your defeat in Calth."

Am I right?

"Lorgar?"