Webway
Sanguinius
137.M32
With slight disbelief he watched from a great distance the Drukhari base hidden in a small branch of the Webway, surprised at how dismissive they were of any kind of defence.
Not only were the fortifications still under construction, but he could see only a dozen or so guards at the front. No cannons, vehicles or walking machines.
But everywhere there were Dark Eldar bustling about, preparing equipment and weapons or loading supplies onto the decks of their ships.
Or rather guarding the slaves who did all the work for them. Both humans and Aeldari.
"Were they really so arrogant, so sure of themselves, or of the safety provided by the Webway, that they did not fear any attack?" He muttered to himself, but Varok, standing behind him, must have heard him because he replied.
"That is a trait of their race, not just the Drukhari. Orlain and the rest are poor examples of how their people behave, for they have a different perspective, but the Aeldari can be just as proud as their dark cousins, yet disciplined and loyal to themselves."
"And the Drukhari are just as likely to backstab a fellow human as an enemy," added Sanguinius, who had heard similar words from his Eladar teachers many times.
"It may be easier than we thought, though we cannot rule out the possibility that they have some traps set. So be careful when you attack," he said, stretching his wings and reaching into the Immaterium to capture its energies in an iron grip, bending them to his will.
He cast a glance once more at the Krorks standing behind him and ordered, "Give me five minutes before you strike. I think most of their forces will be concentrated in the centre of the base against me by then. After your attack, Ezraes will lead the rebels behind the enemy... for the glory of battle."
After these words, tensing his muscles and taking a powerful swing of his wings, he rose into the air with enormous force, in the blink of an eye rising hundreds of metres into the air, and a dozen or so seconds later, he was already above the base itself, breaking the sound barrier.
His gaze immediately fell on the largest building, located almost in the centre, where, according to the words of the their former prisoner, the leader of the entire planned expedition, Succubi Aeshia Oratarin, was staying.
At that moment, the Drukhari already knew that something was happening because the psychic energy pouring out of Sanguinius itself must have seemed to glow like the sun to their sensitive psionic senses.
Having wrapped itself in a cocoon of wild golden-purple chaos energy, it fell on the building like a meteor, not only destroying it but also creating a crater in its place. The wave of released kinetic and psychic energy also shattered many buildings around it, although they were made of wraithbone and other incredibly durable materials.
He even considered using Void, but he didn't want to risk it getting out of control while his allies were within range. Plus, it would be overkill, and the Krorks would never forgive him for taking the fight away from them.
Shouts of both pain and anger erupted from all sides, and not all of them belonged to the Drukhari. Sanguinius clenched his teeth, knowing that it was impossible to save all the slaves. War and fighting had this thing about them that they always brought death to the innocent and defenceless, regardless of their willingness.
Having emerged from the created crater, he rose lightly into the air again, revealing himself to the Drukhari recovering and heading towards him a few dozen metres away. Blasters, heat lances, and splinter cannons aimed at him sent deadly projectiles, which, however, stopped easily on the golden barrier that grew around him.
Sanguinius stretched out his left hand, around which discharges began to gather, and a second later a real storm emerged from it. Hundreds of branching lightning bolts exploded around him, tearing the proud Dark Eldars to shreds or completely disintegrating them.
Then, gripping his hand tighter on his spear, he flew towards them. The first Drukhari was pulverised on contact with his body as he struck it with force. His spear pierced the skull of the next one, practically vaporising it.
In a split second, his senses and brain registered all the enemies around him, their faces painted with terror and desperation. Not only because of his terrifying appearance but also because death was a sentence for them and practically a guarantee of an encounter with Slaanesh.
More missiles and rays flew towards him, but he was already in a different place, tearing through the Drukharii surrounding him as if through butter. Here he grabbed the head of one of them with his hand, crushing it easily. Another received a kick that tore him to shreds.
His opponents tried to keep him at a distance, avoiding hand-to-hand combat, which was unusual for them, but it was of no use because he was too fast and too powerful for them.
Where his spear and body could not reach, lightning and flames appeared, ice stalagmites, and others were swallowed or crushed by huge hands formed from the ground.
But soon the more powerful units of the enemy fell upon him, the Grotesque, the Khymerae, and the Talos Pain Engain. Fearless, driven forward by pain and madness.
Their disgusting bodies, twisted by the torments and other repulsive methods used by their masters, and their minds broken and forged into something that should not exist, made Sanguinius filled with anger. Plain anger at the sight of indescribable evil, yet so common in this world.
With fury he rose into the air for perhaps thirty metres, then, putting his wraithbone spear on his back, he stretched out his hands in front of himself, accumulating more and more energy between them, which he released after a moment.
A devastating purple-gold wave spread in all directions, engulfing both the Drukhari and their beasts, creating an empty space around him in a radius of a kilometre.
He sensed how, at this moment, the Krorks were launching an attack in three places, and considering that the commotion he had caused here must have certainly attracted attention, he counted on the powerful warriors to easily break through the rest of the Drukhari.
At that moment, a brief flash of an incoming attack appeared in his mind. A curved black blade, covered in green runes, was heading towards his face.
He extended his hand to the left, surrounding it with a shell of psychic energy, and a moment later it intercepted the blade that had been heading towards him, seen in the vision earlier.
However, the first was followed by the second, and before the hand and the whole body appeared, an exceptionally tempting, scantily clad body, a body that he assumed belonged to Aeshia, because he doubted anyone else would be able to get close to him so quickly and practically unnoticed and at that height.
With an open palm, he struck the Succubi in the stomach, sending her to the ground, after which he landed gracefully. He covered both hands with psychic energy and waited for her to attack again.
The Drukhari female struggled to get up from the ground, clearly injured, as blood was flowing from both her mouth and nose. It was honestly quite an achievement that she had survived his blow. After all, she was one of the elite of her race.
Aeshia rushed at him with a speed that was imperceptible to a normal human, but he saw her every move with ease, and when her curved blades were heading towards him again, he began to parry them with his hands again, which clearly drove the woman into a real frenzy.
The whole exchange of blows lasted perhaps a few seconds, after which Sanguinius knew that he could not afford to waste time. Parrying her next blow, with his other hand he quickly grabbed her by the neck and sent some of his energy into her body, thus depriving her of consciousness.
Taking to the air again with the Succubi held in one hand, he looked around again, noticing the commotion in the ranks of the surviving Drukhari and their slave hybrids. Some began to fire in his direction again, and their beasts charged at him again.
The rest, however, began to turn in the opposite direction, where the sounds of fighting could be heard from the places where the krorks and the rebelling Drukhari and slaves led by Ezraes were advancing.
Sanguinius rose high above the ground, where he could easily see the entire base. He watched with satisfaction as the Krorks pushed forward with a brutality and precision that even the Astartes could envy.
Honestly, it looked more like entire battalions of Dreadnoughts. The Dark Eldars simply stood no chance. The docks were already ablaze, and the Krorks were also beginning to board the Drukhari ships.
In the opposite direction, Ezraes defended a complex of buildings that served as targets for the slaves. The battle was going even better than he had expected, as the Dark Ones were involuntarily pushed towards him, straight into the slaughter that awaited them.
Suddenly, golden flames appeared in his free hand, and then in front of him, just above the largest concentration of Drukhari monsters, the air itself ignited, creating a huge pillar, a true inferno with a diameter of over 20 metres, which, controlled by his will, moved forward, immediately consuming everything in its path.
The flames were so hot that even where they did not reach, everything began to ignite and melt.
And to demoralise the enemies even more, he focused his will on the enemies and then attacked their minds directly, strengthening the fear and panic they felt. Encouraging them to abandon their weapons and flee.
In the end, within the next few minutes, it was practically over. All that remained were ruins, ashes, and thousands of corpses of Drukhari and their slaves. Both humanoids and beasts.
Varok sent Durotan with some of the krorks to search for the surviving drukhari, and Aeshia Oratarin and several other prisoners had already been taken to Ilmaris.
Meanwhile, Sanguinius, along with Varok and several of his krorks, went to meet Ezraes' rebels, who were waiting for him near the slave barracks surrounded by former slaves, mostly humans, but among them were several dozen Aeldari and even a few orcs.
Now that the fight was over, the former slaves kept their distance from the group of several dozen Drukhari, which, in his opinion, was probably a good thing because they outnumbered them by a dozen times, and he did not want to lose potential Drukhari spies. He had too many ambitious plans for them.
Both the Dark Eldars and the slaves looked at his approaching silhouette with a mixture of fear and admiration, seeing first-hand his power and the destruction he was capable of.
The impression was certainly enhanced by the golden aura of psychic energy that he maintained around himself like some kind of celestial halo.
"Ezraes," he addressed his newest servant.
"My Lord," the Drukhari replied, bowing his head in obeisance, then added, "According to your command, I found like-minded members of my race and gave them to drink of your blood, which you gave me. There were almost a hundred of us, but over a dozen fell in battle."
"I know. Sixteen to be exact," the primarch said. "Their souls went to the Immaterium, where they dissolved into its endless rivers of energy, perhaps to be reincarnated once more. I could feel Slaanesh lurking for them, but she had to leave without a taste. She was not pleased about it."
And indeed she was not, now that he thought about it. In addition, if she had not known of his survival before, she now knew, and she was furious that he dared to block her access to the souls that belonged to her.
Sanguinius would have laughed at the sight if not for the fact that he would have to be on his guard from now on. If he had been in the Immaterium instead of the Webway, he would have stood no chance against the god of chaos.
In any case, his words had made an impression not only on the Drukhari but also on the few enslaved Eldar who listened to him. The mere knowledge that he had a way to shield them from the Prince of Pleasure's gaze was like a light shining in the darkness of night to them.
Sanguinius looked around at them all, the humans as well as the orcs, who were unusually calm for themselves, clearly gazing at their great, powerful ancestors with adoration.
"I invite you all to my fortress, where you will be safe and fed. There we can discuss the future."