The slave owners across the planet were hanged from streetlamps by Kenthelion's cold, merciless hands. Their heads were severed by Kenthelion's alien commanders and impaled into the ground, encircling the city as a gruesome warning.
The spectators who witnessed the purge could do nothing but flee-carrying only shame and terror in their hearts. Some met brutal ends beneath the axes of the World Devourer Legion, while others became easy targets for the Caelestial Imperium's fleet orbiting above.
The planet's defenses crumbled within hours. Its defenders fell, overwhelmed by the ruthless onslaught of Space Marines who stormed through with no intention of mercy.
Amidst the chaos, Angron-naturally-rose to lead the remaining slaves. Kahn and his followers stood in silence, eyes full of hope, ready to follow the one who now stood as their guiding light.
"Father, I want to bring my brothers back-the former slaves," Angron declared with unwavering determination.
Kenthelion looked at him with both affection and authority. "Yes. But they must submit and obey the laws of the Caelestial Imperium."
Angron nodded resolutely. Then, together, their voices thundered across the ruins:
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Caelestial Imperium!"
A wave of emotion swept through the freed gladiators and slaves. They embraced one another, celebrating a freedom long lost. In that very moment, the foundation of their new future was laid.
"Planet Necoria will be your new stronghold, Angron. Your recruitment base begins here," Kenthelion said, gesturing at the hopeful city around them.
"Of course, that includes the people you've just freed."
Kenthelion paused for a moment, ignoring the surrounding noise. He activated a comm-link to his War Points System.
Kenthelion
"Hello, System. Can you apply a bulk recruitment discount?" he asked calmly but with sharp calculation.
Sytem
"Request accepted, Host. A 5% discount has been applied," the System replied in its polite mechanical voice.
Kenthelion
Kenthelion frowned slightly, a question nagging at the back of his mind. "One more thing. Where did you get these people? Weren't they dead in the original story?"
System:
"They were taken from the Immaterium, the realm where souls gather after death in the Warhammer universe. I intercepted them before they were drawn in, destroyed, or devoured by the forces of Chaos. All negative effects have been removed-but their core nature has been preserved."
Kenthelion:
"So, you stole them straight from the Chaos Gods of Warhammer?"
System:
"Correct, Host. The Chaos Gods have little interest in ordinary warriors like them. Their souls are often torn apart, absorbed, or consumed by other Warp entities such as daemons and Immaterium predators. Unless a soul is particularly strong, fanatically loyal, or possesses unique potential, it is often ignored."
System:
"Even if a soul has been reshaped or mutated by Chaos, then dies again, it usually remains unnoticed. Thus, I extracted them before they were truly lost."
System:
"The Chaos Gods do have armies of their own-daemons and creatures from Warhammer Fantasy included-but they prefer to torment mankind and other mortal races. Emotional energy like fear, hatred, and despair is far more potent when it comes from the uncorrupted."
---
Kenthelion:
"In that case, if I want a force of World Eaters, how many could you retrieve?"
System:
"At present, I can retrieve approximately 200,000 units, Host. However, I cannot identify them individually. I reconstruct their bodies using the basic genetic blueprints of the World Eaters."
Kenthelion:
"That's a massive number. Then there's still a chance you could retrieve more, right?"
System:
"Correct. There is still a possibility. But many of them may still be alive, or bound by contracts or specific powers within Chaos."
System:
"To retrieve individuals who are still alive, I must copy them, not steal them. The cost of such replication is significantly higher."
System:
"This is why copying individuals from other universes-such as Star Wars, StarCraft, Halo, Stellaris, Gundam, and Mass Effect-is far easier than pulling from Warhammer. In Warhammer, the conceptual gods are still active and highly sensitive to interference."
---
Kenthelion:
"But aren't Amon and the Xel'Naga in StarCraft also god-like entities? Don't they qualify as divine?"
System:
"Host, Amon and the Xel'Naga are indeed high-tier entities-but they are nothing like the Chaos Gods."
System:
"Amon is a failed experiment-a biologically evolved creature trying to become a god, not a true deity. As for the Xel'Naga, while powerful, they are still mortal and do not reside in metaphysical realms like the Warp."
System:
"In other words, they are not omnipresent, they do not embody pure concepts like emotion or will, and they hold no dominion over souls. That's why the StarCraft universe is far easier to access, replicate, and even manipulate."
Kenthelion:
"Alright. I'm starting to get the picture now. Time to go shopping in the System Mall."
After wrapping up his conversation with the War Points System, Kenthelion began redeeming several companies of World Eaters-frontline assault troopers, tactical think tanks, legion apothecaries, tech sergeants, tribunals, war priests, and of course, the elite First Company. These were battle-hardened veterans clad in proud, time-worn armor.
Opening up the System's virtual mall, Kenthelion began browsing for equipment and vehicle reinforcements.
For armor support, he fully outfitted the World Eaters Legion with an array of advanced armored vehicles-Rhino armored personnel carriers, Land Raiders, the massive Mastodon assault transports, and main battle tanks like the Sicaran. His troops would settle for nothing less than top-tier wargear to match the might of the Legion.
Among all the options, the Rhino APC remained the backbone of any Space Marine deployment. Since the days of the Great Crusade, Rhinos had faithfully served the Imperium, delivering its finest warriors directly to the heart of the battlefield.
Each Rhino came equipped with a remote-operated storm launcher controlled by the driver, and a pintle-mounted weapon station manned from inside the hatch. Every Space Marine was trained to operate and pilot a Rhino flawlessly.
With a ten-marine capacity, the Rhino featured rear and dual side doors for rapid deployment, as well as a top hatch allowing marines to fire while staying protected-doubling as an emergency egress or tactical assault position.
The Rhino's power system relied on two "Mars" Mk2 engines. Even if one of them failed, the other could still power the vehicle with no issue. And in the unlikely event that both engines went down, a reserve battery connected directly to the drive wheels would still be able to push the Rhino forward with brute force.
Kenthelion gazed at the troops before him, pride flickering in his eyes.
"These are your children now, Angron."
Suddenly, a blinding light erupted from the sky. A golden vortex opened, and from within it descended an army-Space Marines in red-and-bronze armor, the World Eaters. Two hundred thousand warriors dropped from orbit in synchronized formation, led by a towering veteran clad in Cataphractii-pattern Terminator armor. As they landed, they all knelt with one leg bowed, saluting a single figure: Angron, their gene-father.
"All hail, Father of the Gene. All honor to you, Skraal," one of the company commanders shouted with reverence.
As a captain of the World Eaters, it was only natural that he'd pay respect to his Primarch. But Kenthelion froze at the name that had just been uttered.
"Skraal? Loyalist World Eaters... Captain Skraal?"
He stared, his mind drifting back to the forums he used to read in his old life. Skraal had been a topic of countless heated debates-an obscure yet unforgettable name. Though his name never made it into the canon epic sagas, what he did was legendary. After the fall of his brothers, Skraal had infiltrated an enemy battleship alone. In his final moments, he managed to sever the arm of the enemy captain before being cut down.
Kenthelion exhaled deeply.
Thankfully, this wasn't the grim, hopeless universe of Warhammer. In this timeline-his timeline-Angron had been saved. There was still a chance to build something better.
He straightened his back and asked calmly, "System, how many war points do I have left?"
Ding!
"Ten million, Host."
Kenthelion frowned slightly and rubbed his chin. "What's the price of the World Eaters' flagship-the Conqueror?"
As a father... if he didn't provide for his own son, then who would?
Ding!
"The World Eaters' Conqueror-class flagship is priced at four hundred million war points, Host."
Kenthelion let out a dry chuckle. "So... we'll have to hold off on that."
That bitter feeling of poverty crept in again-right after he had just blown through millions of points to strengthen Angron's forces at the System Mall. But to Kenthelion, these points were just numbers. In the end, they meant nothing.
As they continued their journey alongside Angron, Kenthelion conversed with the archbishop standing beside him.
"I hear the Mechanicus technocrats and leading researchers of the Imperium Caelestis are running short on experimental planets. When will they begin their trials?" Kenthelion asked.
"Your Majesty, I have an idea," the archbishop replied seriously.
"First, we can rescue the human slaves from planets that hold no strategic value. After that, we immediately carry out the orders of extermination."
"When we find planets of high strategic value, we can deploy poisonous gas and chemical weapons as our main arsenal-wiping out enemies on a large scale without leaving survivors."
"Beyond that, our primary goal is to eradicate the aliens. I propose modifying garbage trucks into alien-patrol vehicles to drive off those that cannot be exploited militarily or economically," he added with firm resolve.
Kenthelion nodded decisively. Their strategy was taking shape, and everything was ready to move to the next stage.
"The strong can serve as training targets for new recruits. The weak and emaciated can be sent to the mines, while the rest... can be used as food and distributed among them. It's the perfect form of recycling."
"Your Majesty, what about those delicious aliens?" one subordinate asked.
Kenthelion gave a thin smile. "Remove their nerves and breed them as pets. Once trained, they will become the empire's delicacies."
Having finalized the plan, Kenthelion handed the documents to his subordinate. Now, he could add a new wave of war points.
Angron took command of the World Eaters Legion, previously led by Karn. Once under Angron's control, he made one crucial request: every legion member must do their utmost to remove their Butcher's Nails without causing death.
Angron understood the dangers of the device well, and he certainly didn't want anyone to bear that burden.
The order was immediately put into action. Thanks to the Tech-Priests' aid, many World Eaters succeeded in removing the Butcher's Nails from their bodies.
Next came the legion's military system reform.
"Cancel the eleven-day kill order," Angron commanded firmly. "We must focus on balancing the strength of both sides. I will not rush your attacks. Protecting humans is our top priority, even as we hunt down those cursed aliens."
News of the World Eaters' military reform spread quickly. Angron felt honored to join the First Expeditionary Force.
At the same time, with the collapse of the Tuskborn Federation, all gates of the Central Ring swung wide open. The next expedition was ready to advance toward the heart of the Central Ring.