Skulltaker U'Zuhl

The stench of blood spread across the battlefield. Warp energy surged through it, fed by the blood of countless warriors. Every Astartes present could feel the veil of reality tearing apart. They longed to enter the Material Universe.

The fires of Khorne's domain burned across the ground. Bloody light gathered, its red glow deepening around a fully formed passage into the Warp.

Figures emerged from it. First a dozen, then dozens, then a hundred, until there were hundreds of them.

Watching from afar, Peter gritted his teeth.

"They've summoned a whole army of Khorne Daemons."

Born from the primal urge to kill shared by the galaxy's intelligent beings, these horrors stepped through the flames into the Material Universe. The Warp creatures stretched their terrifying bodies.

They had red skin, enormous horns, elongated heads, and swords of crimson flame that never stopped burning. Their deep-red eyes opened, and long purple tongues writhed. Bloodfiends.

One Bloodfiend carried a Blood Banner bearing Khorne's mark. He opened a mouth full of fangs and roared!

Awooooo!

Two more squads, twelve Bloodfiends in all, rode strange Warp creatures. The massive mounts stood taller than a man. Made of wailing iron and brass, they were living metal, and every bellow carried the fury of countless dead. Their huge heads bore the features of both hounds and bulls, while their souls were forged from pure bloodlust. Twelve Khorne's Steel Bulls stood there—or Blood Crushers, as they were also known.

A red cannon of brass and bone emerged from the Warp Rift. Built entirely from bone, bronze, and rage, it had wheels formed from rings of skulls. Even its ammunition consisted of the severed heads of various species. Two Bloodfiends stood behind it, aiming and loading it: a Skull Cannon.

The daemon at their head was merely a Bloodfiend, but he was a full size larger than the rest. Brass pauldrons rested on his shoulders, a brass belt circled his waist, and he held a blazing greatsword in one hand. A cloak woven from sinew hung down his back, adorned with more than a hundred pale skulls. There were skulls of Orks, Aeldari, mortals, Space Marines, and even other daemons.

His mount was also a Steel Bull, but like its master, it was more than a full size larger than its kin. Its surface was black—not a true black, but the black of layer upon layer of spilled blood gone hard. Flames burst from its mouth and joints. The beast was rage made flesh, unmistakably the leader of the Steel Bulls.

"U'Zuhl! U'Zuhl! Blood Hand Butcher U'Zuhl! Skulltaker U'Zuhl!"

The native warriors stood bare-chested, gripping obsidian weapons and chewing herbs that filled them with excitement and visions. They called eagerly to their god's servant, hoping he would lead them to crush the enemies who had invaded their land. Then their god would grant them even greater strength.

At the sight, Peter gave an order.

"All commanders, advance on the center at full speed. Show no mercy."

The forces on the other three fronts were already on their way. With his keen eyesight, Peter could see Captain Wonaby's troops appearing behind the enemy. The forces on both flanks were tightening the encirclement too. The enemy was trapped.

"All forces, advance! Keep firing."

The Land Raider tanks rolled forward. The Mortal Auxiliary, the Spear of Hector, and the Adeptus Mechanicus Defender Army resumed their advance as well. They closed steadily on the daemons at the center. The encirclement was nearly complete.

The Cultists were thrilled by the arrival of the Servant of the Blood God, Blood Hand Butcher U'Zuhl. They shouted praise for his power and for the help they believed he had brought them. But the Khorne Daemons had clearly come for something else.

A slaughter began. Over a thousand daemons charged through the believers, ignoring friend and foe alike as their swords hacked through the crowd. Anyone wounded by a Hellblade had the blood drained from their body. The Steel Bull riders trampled the masses as though these people had never worshipped them.

Overhead, the pilots of the Storm Eagle Gunships swept the ground with their forward Multi-meltas. The Valkyries joined in, hammering ground targets with the multilasers beside their cockpits and the Hellstrike Missiles beneath their wings.

Even the Aquila Shuttles, whose main role was transport, strafed the ground with their nose-mounted Heavy Bolters. Two Avior Barges, unarmed transports apart from their small defensive autocannons, fired those weapons at the Khorne Daemons and mortals below.

With both the Khorne Daemons and the aircraft attacking them, the Khorne Cultists had become the least important players in the battle.

The Bloodfiend named U'Zuhl pointed his blazing greatsword at a distant tank. He opened his fanged mouth and, with a flick of his supple purplish-red tongue, rasped a blasphemous word.

"You!!"

His voice was not loud, yet everyone on the battlefield heard it. The nearby Assault Bike squad heard it most clearly.

Seeing that the Bloodfiend had not even looked his way, Freddy shouted angrily.

"Hey, beanpole! We're still here!"

The Bloodfiend ignored them. He spurred the Steel Bull beneath him, Khorne's Dirge, and charged straight at the Land Raider tank.

Freddy and another veteran felt the insult keenly. They drove their Assault Bikes around to flank the leading Bloodfiend. The squad leader, wielding a Chain Axe, swung toward the Steel Bull's right rear. He knew that melee weapons worked far better against Khorne Daemons than ranged ones.

The Chain Axe buzzed as he brought it down toward the Bloodfiend's thigh. He had killed plenty of Bloodfiends. This one was just bigger.

But just as the veteran's Chain Axe was about to strike, U'Zuhl swept his greatsword to the right with one hand. He did not even deign to turn his head.

The biker's world spun. After several revolutions, his view finally steadied, though something about it seemed wrong. He soon understood: everything was upside down. His head had just hit the ground with a smack.

The veteran's superhuman constitution kept him conscious. He watched his Assault Bike carry his headless body onward until, several hundred meters later, it toppled onto the ground.

Before his brain lost its blood supply, he had one final thought.

What the hell kind of Bloodfiend is this strong?