The Emperor’s Angel of Death

#2143 - When Wolves Hunt (Part 1)

Veronica was shocked by the scene before her. The webway hall, once full of guards, was now littered with corpses. The air was thick with the acrid smell of blood, the stench of beasts, and the cold brought by the biting chill.

Even Veronica, with her usually good temper, couldn't help but be consumed by anger at such a sight.

"Leman Russ!"

As Veronica gritted her teeth and spoke his name, the towering figure standing atop the Eldar Titan let out a contemptuous, barking laugh, then slowly drew his already bloodied runesword.

As he turned and stepped down from the Titan, all the Eldar activated their weapons due to an instinctive sense of threat.

He was an incredibly tall warrior, even 'gigantic,' with a rough face and a broad forehead. His gray eyes held indifference and madness, and his sharp canines were slightly bared, like a barbarian king who had gone blood-mad on the battlefield. Unkempt hair fell messily behind him and over his shoulders, making him appear both majestic and wild. His heavy armor was the color of iron-gray storm clouds, covered in etchings and runic symbols, and adorned with many wolf claws and wolf teeth amulets.

This was one of the sons of the Emperor of Mankind, the Primarch of the Sixth Legion, the Space Wolves: Leman Russ.

Veronica had heard many things about him. Even in Eldar society, this human Primarch was known for his cruelty and ferocity. But hearing and seeing are two different things. Now, his mere presence made her tremble, as if an icy wind had crept into her neck.

Moreover, this individual had a completely different style and temperament from Jaghatai Khan. The Khan was an untamed wind, yet he possessed the integrity of a scholar and the demeanor of an elder, and he did not constantly display a threat. But Leman Russ gave her the feeling of a living destruction machine, a weapon forged from pure power and the will to kill, existing only to shed blood.

Especially for the sensitive Eldar, the wildness and bloodlust emanating from Leman Russ were as impossible to conceal as a flare rising at midnight.

"For ten thousand years, your rancid blood still makes me feel—"

Leman Russ's voice was very rough and guttural. When he looked at Veronica, he suddenly bared his teeth slightly, revealing a cruel smile.

"Disgusted."

Veronica suppressed her anger, met his gaze fearlessly, and said aloud in High Gothic:

"Leman Russ, why are you doing this?"

Leman Russ scoffed, raised his frost blade, and lightly wiped the already frozen blood from it with his gauntlet.

"Do you know how many aliens like you I've killed in the past? They always have all sorts of questions. Do you think I have time to answer them one by one? Maybe that idiot Magnus would, maybe the sentimental Sanguinius would, even the boring Guilliman might, but I don't have that kind of patience."

At this moment, a large group of Wulfen also gathered around Leman Russ. Veronica noticed that these Wulfen were still wearing remnants of armor, their fur pale blue or gray, like the colors of winter. Their tough fangs were covered in blood and saliva, and their bestial faces had protruding muzzles and broad brow ridges. Their eyes were deep-set, shining brightly, reminding Veronica of a scene from her dreams.

"Leman Russ, you will pay for your actions today."

In an instant, all the Eldar pointed their weapons at the Primarch, but Leman Russ simply laughed and twisted his wrist, the sword blade cutting through the air with a chill.

The next moment, a flash of teleportation spread across the hall, and then towering figures of steel emerged from the dazzling electrical light.

They wore grim, black iron-colored Cataphractii Terminator armor, with sea dragon patterns decorating their shoulder pads and gorgets, huge wolf teeth and beast skulls hanging from their waists, and dry animal pelts draped behind them. They wielded various heavy weapons and battleaxes, and their name represented their special status—Wolf Guard, Leman Russ's personal guard, the only group he took with him when he left Fenris.

"Hunt!"

At Russ's roar, a gale swept through the hall, snow fell, and the temperature plummeted, as if the entire world had fallen into a primeval frozen wasteland.

"Protect the Princess!"

As the Wolf Guard began to charge, their weapons roaring, and the Wulfen howled wildly, the Eldar also activated their weapons.

Lasers, shuriken, bolters, lightning—a dazzling array of weapons made the air seem to ignite.

In the middle, small squads of Eldar continuously arrived from various passages to join the battle, but the Wolves' offensive was as unstoppable as their nature.

The most threatening was still their alpha, Leman Russ.

He charged straight at Veronica's command platform like a war machine. Lasers and shuriken couldn't even scratch him. When a Howling Banshee leaped out of the blizzard, her twin blades slashing at the Primarch, the frost blade flashed even faster, directly cutting the Howling Banshee into several pieces, as if swatting a fly.

More blood splattered on the ground.

"Leman Russ!"

A strong sonic wave slammed into him, and Leman Russ finally stopped his advance, holding his sword in front of him, while the ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.

A few seconds later, the sonic wave disappeared, and the Wolf King suddenly twisted his head. A huge shuriken suddenly swept past, taking a few strands of his hair with it. Then he turned sharply and swung his greatsword.

With a clang, the ancient spear collided with the greatsword. Phoenix Lord Jain Zar borrowed the force to leap backward, and the moment she landed, she charged again with a sonic boom, her spear whirling like the wind.

However, Russ simply waved his hand lightly, knocking away the Phoenix Lord's spear. The difference in their strength was too great, but Jain Zar's speed also prevented Russ from acting for a moment. At this time, Morgahla had already aimed his weapon, 'Morgahntar,' at the target and pulled the trigger with a sneer.

Almost at the same time, two giant wolves, one black and one white, suddenly leaped out of the void and pounced on Morgahla, causing him to move his gun muzzle at the last moment. The wary Russ also dodged in time, but the screaming energy still grazed his shoulder, hitting the webway arch and causing ripples.

Just as a small piece of Russ's shoulder pad ornament was wiped away, Jain Zar charged again, while she controlled the shuriken to return from behind Leman Russ.

The Wolf King laughed, swung his longsword in a semicircle, knocking away the Phoenix Lord's spear, and suddenly reached out and grabbed the shuriken, crushing it with a sudden force.

Morgahla, on the other hand, encountered something even weirder. Just as he was about to use Morgahntar to deal with those two beasts, he didn't expect those two things to merge together and turn into a two-headed giant wolf that was five or six meters tall and eight or nine meters long!

"Nature Spirits."

Veronica saw through the essence of the two-headed giant wolf at a glance, then she raised the Heart of Avalon, and vast power flowed from her, forming thick vines that bound the two-headed giant wolf's heads and limbs.