Although he had lost some of his mortal troops, those losses meant little to Abaddon.
Across the vast Imperium, countless intelligent people were willing to follow the truth of its grand history and abandon the false Corpse-Emperor. Replenishing the Mortal Rebels and Cultists was easier than replenishing the Imperium's Astra Militarum.
After all, Abaddon was not picky about his recruits.
The only losses that stung at all were the few Black Legion veterans who had died.
For the first time, Abaddon had gained a profound understanding of the dangers of the Ghoul Stars.
This region had been nowhere near so terrifying during the Emperor's Great Crusade.
But Abaddon also understood that few enemies could truly pose a threat to hundreds of thousands of Astartes. Besides, these Mortal Rebels and Cultists could not begin to compare with the Imperialis Militia of that era.
Fortunately, this minor interruption did not interfere with the Warmaster's grand plans.
Nor could a handful of Native Xenos impede the massive Plague Fleet.
"My lord, based on the results of our feature comparisons, we are about to reach the target Star System."
As the daemon crewman's shrill, strange voice rang out, anticipation stirred within Abaddon, who had been waiting patiently on the bridge.
It was a very ordinary Star System: a star with five planets orbiting at varying distances. Yet the fact that it lay within the Ghoul Stars seemed to make this seemingly normal Star System rather less straightforward.
As the fleet drew closer, however, a planet shrouded in strange green fumes gradually grew larger in their field of view.
Occasional hurricanes sweeping across its surface dispersed those strange fumes, revealing scorched black ground and enormous metal structures scattered among it.
Just as Abaddon's fleet approached, a Warp Route suddenly opened at the edge of the