Explode, Nuceria!

As Hogg used his explosive power to thoroughly slay the Daemon Primarch, the entire World Eaters fleet vanished from realspace like a flickering image losing power.

The Blackwatch, caught in the three-way melee, realized only a group of Dark Eldar remained on the battlefield. Excitedly, they pulled out their meltas to treat them to a barbecue; unsurprisingly, the human forces, having secured air superiority, emerged victorious.

The subsequent task was to sweep the battlefield and prepare for extraction. Angron's comrades were detained on a barge, where Blacklight Cult personnel would soon arrive to assess them for Chaos corruption.

The defeated Dark Eldar suffered heavy casualties, and the survivors were captured and brought aboard the ships for re-socialization. However, the three Primarchs held differing views on how to handle the planet Nuceria.

Hogg's stance was to issue an Exterminatus immediately; he had been fighting for so long and had never actually performed one. To Hogg, lining up the people of Nuceria for execution might result in some innocent deaths, but if he were to kill every other person, some would definitely slip through the cracks.

Chaos corruption was no laughing matter, especially with Khorne, the source of the corruption, having personally intervened, and the people of this planet were far too insane. Yet, Guilliman still considered planetary reclamation.

"Guilliman, stop thinking about reclaiming those meager resources and just drop an Exterminatus. Do you remember the anomalies that occurred with your Ultramarines back then? The corruption here is only worse."

While speaking, Hogg projected footage from the surface, showing that even with the Daemon Primarch destroyed, the surviving humans were still running amok in madness.

Recalling the bloodthirsty thoughts that had once surfaced in his own mind, Guilliman looked at the footage and was persuaded. But as it was the Primarch's homeworld, Angron had to make the final decision.

Two large faces turned toward Angron, who was busy stuffing his face, having never lived a good day in his life.

"Angron, you make the decision!" Guilliman said; after all, he assumed his brother must have some attachment to his homeworld.

Angron recalled his miserable past: being hunted by xenos the moment he opened his eyes, later being treated as a slave, abused, and often left starving.

Fuming with rage, Angron hurriedly shouted, "(╬▔皿▔)凸 Drop it, drop two! I want to see this filthy place erased from the universe."

As Hogg expected, Angron chose Exterminatus. Since he had finally found him, Hogg decided to educate him personally, starting with helping him break through his inner trauma.

The three arrived at the bridge, where the exquisite and minimalist decor of the Blacklight greeted them.

"Father, it is ready." Lynn unlocked the console, and a massive red button appeared before Angron.

"Angron, it is time to embrace a new destiny!" Looking at the pathetic boy, Hogg gave him a supportive kick toward the button.

Angron reached out with his scarred palm and touched the Exterminatus switch, pressing it heavily as if severing his tragic past.

"You damn idiot, let go! Exterminatus is expensive, you know!"

Hogg kicked him aside, simply because this particular Exterminatus used nukes, and they were on rapid-fire; Angron's continuous pressure had already dumped a third of their stockpile.

Dozens of Meteor-like streaks crossed the sky of Nuceria and slammed into the ground. Violent explosions, accompanied by fire and shockwaves, obliterated everything on the surface. Mad creatures began to dissolve, Hive Cities were toppled, all sins were reduced to ash, and the violent energy even shattered the continental plates, hurling them into space.

After settling Angron down and tossing him a pile of books, Hogg left the room. He now wanted to check on the captured Dark Eldar to see if they could be recycled for some use.

Some might have a misunderstanding about Dark Eldar, thinking they are just dark-skinned Eldar! You would be dead wrong.

Unlike other Eldar, Dark Eldar are not all dark-skinned; they are simply all lunatics who rely on the psychic fluctuations emitted by torturing other lifeforms to resist the predation of Slaanesh.

The Dark Eldar dwell in Commorgh, a city within the Webway, which is arguably the most notorious place in the entire galaxy. Countless dark acts are performed there, and given the formidable strength of these Dark Eldar, even a veteran Space Marine captured there would face the tragic fate of having his organs harvested.

The caged Dark Eldar were gathered together, and Yack, acting as the High Priest, began performing rites before his cruel cousins.

A life-sized statue of the towering Hogg was placed in the square. Several Blacklight Cultists began to sway to the rhythmic music, while Yack, as High Priest, chanted the Blacklight Scripture at the podium, occasionally stepping forward to lead the dance.

Watching the strange movements of their cousins, the Dark Eldar deemed them insane and loudly cursed the traitors.

But when illusory tentacles were summoned, their innate sensitivity allowed them to feel a terrifying presence watching them. Amidst immense fear, chaotic thoughts invaded their minds; some began to sway along with the tentacles, drool dripping from their mouths.

Seeing that it was enough, Yack turned off the music. Like his former self, these lost lambs felt the power of the great Holy Father. The Dark Eldar, coming to their senses, began to retch violently, and the cultists, prepared long in advance, cleaned the ground with water cannons.

Some strong-willed Dark Eldar continued to curse, but they were dragged out. A group of Eldar cultists removed their robes, silently recited the Scripture, and subjected these stubborn things to physical persuasion with punches and kicks.

After repeating this three times, the completely broken Dark Eldar fell into a daze. Seizing the moment, Yack began to preach, telling them that joining the Blacklight Cult would spare them from the gaze of Slaanesh.

Watching Yack, who lived up to his reputation as a veteran cult leader, perform such a perfect operation, Hogg revealed a satisfied smile. Surely, these wayward children would soon embrace the Blackwatch.

At this time, the Blacklight Cult served as the primary spiritual faith within the regions controlled by the Blackwatch. Thanks to this faith, Hogg truly saw results, and the Blackwatch's pro-people policy, which was inclusive of abhumans, attracted many Eldar to defect.

The Eldar who received tangible benefits became even more devout than the humans, with some even spontaneously forming fleets to travel to other planets to preach.

Now, the Alicia sector had become a true hotbed for Eldar, and the Blackwatch's internal force of modified Eldar soldiers had begun to take shape.

However, Hogg's research discovered that humans and Eldar could not interbreed, and despite their slender appearance, the Eldar's physiological structure consisted of high-density muscle, requiring a cycle of several days during mating. Thus, after the first incident in the territory where a human Champion had his "little brother" snapped off, local schools began to popularize reports on racial differences.

This skirmish had caught the Blackwatch off guard, and their already limited number of soldiers suffered heavy casualties. But thanks to the installation of the Flesh Reshaping Chamber, the wounded soldiers were able to recover quickly and return to their posts to continue serving the Legion.

As they prepared to open the Webway to return, a message from Terra was intercepted by an Astropath. Emperor wanted Hogg to bring Angron to Terra for an examination and, incidentally, to have Angron rejoin his Legion.

Hogg, who had never seen the Holy Terra, was exceptionally excited. Ever since he was discovered by Emperor, he had never been allowed to return. This time, he would have to take a good look at what Earth had become after 30,000 years.