Chapter 215: I Am the Emperor, You Are the War Marshal

Sanguinius's wings rose slightly, shimmering with a warmth like the sun.

Angron's brain was occupied by the Butcher's Nails, his will consumed by frenzied madness, yet he remained a Primarch.

He could sense that Sanguinius was different from just moments ago, even more dangerous than before.

In an instant, Angron saw only a storm of gold and crimson surge toward him, the air filled solely with the roar of explosions.

Angron managed only to shift his body slightly to dodge.

However, the Spear of the Perfect Deed pierced through Angron's right shoulder like an arrow.

The two Primarchs were so close that Angron could almost smell the fresh blood pouring from Sanguinius's wound.

The Great Angel chuckled softly, lifting the spear slightly.

The sharp blade pulled directly out of Angron's shoulder blade, stirring up a wave of blood.

In an instant, only half a shoulder remained on Angron's left side, still attached to his torso.

Angron let out a roar filled with rage, attempting to swing the Gorechild in his hand at Sanguinius.

Sanguinius drifted lightly aside, dodging the greatsword Angron launched at him.

The Spear of the Perfect Deed traced an arc in midair with a speed and elegance unattainable by mortals, the spearhead lightly sweeping across Angron's eyes.

The sound of the spear breaking the air was so clear and melodious, reminding one of the drafty breeze sweeping through a vast palace in the dead of night.

A stream of blood gushed from Angron's eyes, resembling the crimson scar in the sky of Baal.

The spearhead of Sanguinius briefly plunged this Demon Primarch into darkness.

"You see, the blessing I received is stronger than yours."

Sanguinius's body bowed lightly, and the Spear of the Perfect Deed thrust upward toward Angron's throat.

The spearhead pierced through Angron's throat, half of it protruding from the back of his neck.

For mortal flesh, this move would be fatal, yet Angron was ultimately a Demon Primarch.

His axe blade was firmly wedged into the decorative tip of Sanguinius's exquisite Spear of the Perfect Deed, forcing the spearhead to advance no further.

"This is also our Father's fault; he put too many decorations on the spearhead," Sanguinius sighed lightly.

Then he suddenly used the leverage to pull the spearhead out; in an instant, the spear transformed into hundreds of thousands of points of light stabbing at Angron's body, like hundreds of thousands of laser beams.

The body of the Lord of Red Veils was instantly covered in blood pouring like a waterfall.

"You were first a slave to the nobles, then a slave to rage, a slave to our Father, and now a slave to the Blood God."

Sanguinius spoke in a gentle voice:

"I understand your rage, but I cannot understand your choice to betray one person only to become another's slave. Does this grant you even a shred of freedom? I only see you shackled with heavier chains."

"However, if you do not mind betraying the Blood God again, the one who blessed me can grant you a complete end and slumber, so that at least you can be freed from pain."

As he spoke, Sanguinius looked back at Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun shook the four-dimensional pocket on his belly just right, the smile on his lips seeming to welcome Angron inside.

Angron roared, drool flying everywhere, and swung the Gorechild in an arc at Sanguinius.

However, Sanguinius, reinforced by the acceleration gears, was too fast; even Angron, a fellow Primarch, could not match his speed.

I fear it would be difficult for the fastest of the Primarchs, the Khan of Chagatai, to catch up with the Great Angel now.

Sanguinius dodged perfectly, the Gorechild passing less than half a centimeter from Sanguinius's golden armor.

"Is the blessing the Blood God gave you only this much?" Sanguinius curled a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

Angron, whose wounds were slowly healing, let out a roar.

He seemed to mock Sanguinius for also accepting the blessing of the Warp, and even feeling proud of it, using this to counter Sanguinius.

The once-pure angel had also fallen into the power of the Warp!

Sanguinius nodded slightly, a smile hanging on his lips: "Hmm, so what?"

"Look at these wings of mine; do you think they are natural?"

"Ten thousand years ago, did you not notice that my wings defied the laws of physics?"

As he spoke, Sanguinius gently vibrated the wings behind him, the silver chains hanging on them chiming softly.

The once-pure white wings had somehow been dyed with some metallic blue, seemingly foreshadowing that Sanguinius had accepted power that did not belong to him.

"Ten thousand years ago, when I first landed on Baal, I was blessed by the Warp and received these wings."

"If we speak of being blessed by the Warp, Angron, you are the newcomer."

"Ten thousand years ago, I was always fearful, fearful of the origin of the power within me, worried about the impurity within, always hoping to prove myself with a posture of perfection and purity."

"But ten thousand years have passed, and I have let go. What does the Warp matter? Even Ji Li Man is not entirely separated from the Warp."

Sanguinius gently raised the Spear of the Perfect Deed, its tip stained with blood, pointing it at Angron's massive body:

"I no longer need to prove my purity or loyalty to anyone; I am Sanguinius, I am the embodiment of loyalty and purity."

There was no pride in his words, as if he were merely stating a fact.

Angron roared, and a blazing fire ignited on the Gorechild in his hand.

The Slaaneshi demon within that daemon weapon let out a wail filled with pain; Angron was squeezing its power.

The voice of the Blood God also rang in Angron's ears; the beast's entire body burned with an indescribable, twisted brass fire.

Angron charged at Sanguinius like a Knight mech running at full speed.

"You are far inferior to me, Angron," Sanguinius said calmly. "I still owe a debt, and I need to use you to repay part of it."

The spearhead of Sanguinius thrust at Angron's right shoulder again; in an instant, Angron's right shoulder was severed, dissolving into pure aether in midair, leaving only the Gorechild to fall to the ground.

Just then, the entire tomb trembled again, and Sanguinius's eyes shifted slightly.

Angron was bathed in blood; the blades of the Norn Queens had cut several terrifying gashes into his body, and psychic fire continuously burned his soul.

Angron felt rage, uncontrollable rage.

First, Lei Site exiled him to Baal, and then the Blood Knight Yor pulled out that strange toy sword.

Finally back on the Primarch's home world of Baal, only to run into these damn bugs inside the Angel Fortress.

Angron realized he had already delayed far too long.

It roared, and the axe formed from another Bloodthirster in its hand swung down; the heavy axe directly tore open the skull of the Norn Envoy, forcibly digging out the pale blue brain tissue within.

The head of this terrifying Tyranid creature glanced once before collapsing onto the battlefield; the Hive Mind residing within was weakened accordingly.

In an instant, the thick Warp shadows shrouding all of Baal diminished significantly.

In the Warp, the Blood God let out an excited low roar; in His twisted, ferocious beast eyes, the three stars of Baal instantly reflected.

Khorne's beast claws, covered in brass armor, suddenly grabbed a twisted spear from among the ten thousand weapons leaning beside the Huang Tong Wang Zuo.

Using Angron as an anchor, He aimed at the three stars of Baal.

Sanguinius, sensing this within the tomb, his gaze shifted slightly.

"The Hive Mind ultimately could not hold out." He sighed softly, then suddenly used the Spear of Finality to lift the fallen Norn Ares from the ground and tossed him to Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun instantly reached out to catch the great sword formed from a Slaaneshi demon, then without hesitation stuffed it into his pocket of the fourth dimension.

"Sorry, for now, make do with this sword."

Sanguinius said softly:

"I must banish Angron back to the Warp as soon as possible; the Blood God is watching."

He had originally intended to subdue Angron and let Zhou Yun sell Angron off completely using the pocket of the fourth dimension.

However, Sanguinius felt the gaze of the Blood God.

With the Great Rift unfolding and the Hive Mind weakened, the Blood God could use the powerful Khornate blessings on Angron as an anchor to barely launch a direct attack on the material universe.

Angron's entire body churned with deadly blood qi; He seemed dissatisfied with Sanguinius's contempt, raising His sharp axe high to strike at Sanguinius.

"Stasis Field." Zhou Yun's voice suddenly rang out.

A field bubble shot from his fingertips, perfectly wrapping around Angron's legs; Angron's movement suddenly slowed by an imperceptible amount.

Sanguinius's figure turned into a blur; although Angron had only slowed slightly, in the combat of Primarchs, before Sanguinius enhanced by the Turbo-Laser, this slight slowdown was enough to be fatal—

Angron's head was severed instantly, so fast that Angron himself did not even react.

His body suddenly fell to the ground, dissolving into a shower of crimson light points right where he stood.

The Blood God in the Warp let out a roar filled with rage; He forcefully drove the spear in His hand back into the sandy ground beside the Wang Zuo.

The three stars of Baal reflected in His eyes suddenly began to become hazy and indistinct; intense blue-gold light, like wings, completely shrouded the three stars of Baal.

In an instant, a chaotic Warp storm woven with gold and blue swept up; the three stars of Baal were swallowed into it in the blink of an eye, becoming hazy and indistinct, as if hidden in the rift between the material universe and the Warp, causing the power the Blood God projected onto Baal to diminish significantly in an instant.

In the Warp, Jaghatai Khan stood beside the corpses of eight Bloodthirsters gradually dissolving into the Warp, gazing at the scene before Him.

The three stars of Baal were being engulfed by a pale golden Warp storm; an angel composed of blue and golden light floated within the storm, casting a gaze toward the Khan.

The Khan noticed a twisted rift on the angel's body, piercing between His wings; the rift was filled with the blasphemous power of the Four Gods and the aura of Horus.

The angel's lips curled into a smile, causing the Khan to feel a slight sense of foreboding.

A voice suddenly rang in His ears.

"Do you want to go find Guilliman with me? The three of us can form a new Second Empire; you shall be the Warmaster of the Second Empire."

The Khan shivered, and without hesitation mounted His motorcycle, leading the Storm Seers charging back into the Webway.

(End of Chapter)