The recovery of the troops went exceptionally smoothly. The Drukhari's complex internal factional struggles and calculating self-interest played a crucial role.
After the mechanical forces left, Drukhari belonging to different factions fell into a brief bout of infighting as they divided up the areas the Men of Iron had cleared.
The two largest Kabals, meanwhile, became embroiled in even more complicated internal disputes.
The sudden attack had left both Vect and Mallys missing.
Both Kabals fractured into multiple factions that fell to arguing among themselves.
As for the pirate forces, every last one of them cared only about their own interests.
As for pursuit...
Who would pursue them? Whose forces would they use?
Based on the earlier fighting, these treacherous Drukhari could easily estimate the strength of Iax's troops.
Sending one or two factions after them would amount to suicide, while coordinating a pursuit by numerous factions was utterly pointless.
Even defeating the enemy would bring them no benefit.
Throughout the city, the Theatrical Troupe that had vanished well before the battle appeared once more.
The Harlequins watched the devastated Commorragh and the Drukhari descending into chaotic infighting, grotesque smiles on their faces.
Had the Craftworld Aeldari been the ones taking a beating, they would probably have brought their Craftworlds out to fight the enemy to the death by now. Yet these fallen wretches, utterly devoid of honour, were fighting among themselves instead.
Perhaps the Laughing God found this spectacle entertaining too.
Aboard the Sword of the Void.
Tens of millions of Drukhari were roughly herded into confinement together.
With the extraction from a million psykers serving as a precedent, Iax had no intention of being gentle this time.
Still, to prevent the rescued Astartes from dying along with them, Iax made preparations on two fronts.
Tens of thousands of