Warhammer 40k: Rise of the Great Horned Rat

Chapter 189 189: Chaos

Deep within the Aeldari Imperial Ruins, beneath the Black Bell Tower of the Realm of Ruin, Isha let out a heavy, shuddering moan before collapsing onto a boundless bed that seemed woven from the very fabric of starlight.

Her silver tresses fell across her flawless face as she leaned against Lucius. Her long, pale fingers brushed over his chest, her voice thick with sated exhaustion as she whispered, "How did you obtain this? This was once part of Asuryan's private sanctum."

"There is nothing a rat cannot steal," Lucius replied with a triumphant smirk. He drew the slender, yet taller, Isha to his side with his left arm, finding the Aeldari to be increasingly "useful."

Not only did they possess a myriad of ways to please, but their psychic abilities allowed for shared sensory experiences, and their endurance was peerless. It was no wonder Slaanesh kept such a raptor-like vigil over them.

"All things lost eventually vanish into the shadows, and the shadows are the domain of the Great Horned Rat," Lucius let out a boisterous laugh. "Tell me, is it not exceptionally stimulating to be here, in your former husband's bedchamber?"

It was not just the wreckage of the Aeldari Pantheon; nearly everything in the universe that had been forgotten or discarded eventually became infested with rats before finding its way into the Realm of Ruin.

That was the very origin of the Realm's name.

Isha moved to offer a retort, but as she felt the texture of the starlight beneath her, a sensation she had been deprived of for over ten millennia, a surge of transgressive pleasure rose within her heart. Ultimately, she merely pursed her lips and sat up.

Seeing this, Lucius raised a hand, and his black robes immediately swirled to cover him.

He remained indifferent to the increasing amount of time he spent dallying with Isha. Chaos Gods were like this by nature; it was simply that their hobbies differed, leading them to different pursuits.

According to intelligence gathered by his Deceiver Verminlords from the Palace of Slaanesh, the Dark Prince had been in a foul mood of late. Consequently, those unfortunate enough to be chosen by Slaanesh were finding that every "available orifice" was meeting a rather gruesome end.

Isha draped a light veil over herself and turned to Lucius with a cautious look. "There is something I wish to ask. May I go to see my children?"

"Oh? So soon you have cast off your inhibitions?" Lucius asked with a grin. For Isha to "see" her children was, in truth, a divine manifestation, no different from the Emperor's miracles or the Tau'va intervening to save Shadowsun.

Any other god doing so would be unremarkable, but for Isha to play such a hand was a direct insult to Slaanesh.

"No... I only wish to look upon them," Isha said, bowing her head. Over time, she had begun to grasp the temperament of the Great Horned Rat; he was generally easy to deal with, provided he wasn't currently occupied with some act of malicious self-interest.

"It is not impossible," Lucius chuckled, nodding. "But what will you give in exchange? The Great Horned Rat is never generous."

Isha closed her eyes and began to loosen her veil. "My body... you may do with me as you wish."

Lucius, however, gave a dismissive click of his tongue. "From the moment you prayed to the Great Horned Rat, everything you are already belonged to me. Heh. Fine, go then. I shall shield you from prying eyes. While you are at it, tell your children this: I will place the fifth Cronesword on the Shattered Stars."

Upon hearing this, Isha's face turned deathly pale. Though she had been trapped in Nurgle's Garden, she was not entirely without news. For the sake of the fifth Cronesword, the Aeldari would surely fight to the death, and Shattered Stars was currently...

…

South of the Galactic Core, within the planetary system of Shattered Stars. In the orbit of the system's largest planet, Shattered Star itself.

Innumerable Ork pirate ships swarmed forward. These vessels, resembling mountains of space-junk with no two sharing the same shape, structure, or size, continuously spat volleys of assorted munitions at the sturdily built ships of the Leagues of Votann.

Boarding craft, as numerous as flies, carried countless Orks to slam into the hulls of the Kin ships, initiating brutal hand-to-hand boarding actions.

"Dis is da life! Smashin' stunties is da best!" A heavy power claw hissed with hydraulic pressure as it crushed an Einhyr Champion along with his exoskeleton. The Meganob let out a jovial roar.

Bogg, the Freebooter King, had not launched a proper WAAAGH! in a long time, and his greenskins had been suppressed for far too long. They were desperate for a release.

Emerging from the Warp, the Ork fleet had made a beeline for Shattered Star, the largest fortress world on the periphery of the Kin territories.

The Kin's never-overheating plasma weapons fired frantically within the cramped corridors of the ships, shredding Choppa Boyz and Shoota Boyz who charged with massive blades.

Yet, even this could not halt the green tide as wave after wave of "WAAAGH!" crashed against them.

The Orks seemed infinite. Eventually, their corpses piled so high they completely obscured the Kin's lines of sight, forcing the conflict into unavoidable close-quarters combat.

Fully AI-controlled Ironkin swung plasma blades as they collided with the Orks. Their mechanical bodies were every bit as resilient as any greenskin, and the Orks' crude choppas and low-quality sluggas could barely dent them.

"Well struck, Ironkin brother!" the Kin cheered for their mechanical comrades.

However, the arrival of the Meganobz immediately shattered the equilibrium. These Meganobz, resembling living battering rams, looked at the Ironkin with glowing eyes, clashing their hydraulic power claws together with deafening thuds.

"Right den! Come 'ave a go!" a Meganob laughed, charging forward like a main battle tank!

An Ironkin swung its blade, shearing off a corner of the Meganob's highly stylized "junk" armor, but was immediately sent flying by the irresistible force of the impact.

Following them, "Deffguns" composed of an impossible number of barrels emitted high-pitched screeches, unleashing a storm of fire upon the Kin.

Ultimately, overwhelmed by the Orks' absolute numerical superiority, the sheer weight of the green horde drowning the elite Kin forces, the Votann fleet was forced to retreat toward Shattered Star.

Relying on the planet's orbital defense batteries, which were far more formidable than those of other worlds, they managed to drive back the massive Ork fleet.

But like the Skaven, the greenskins were a swarm that feared no death. How could they possibly stop there? As Bogg's flagship arrived in person, the entirety of the Ork pirate empire began to mass.

The Big Mekz and Mekboyz began dismantling junk and reassembling it into circular drop pods, fitted with massive thrusters at the rear.

They intended to use extreme velocity to punch through the Kin's anti-air fire.

Thus, countless Orks were stuffed into these "death-traps," lacking any safety measures but boasting "proppa" speed, and were launched from the Orks' ship cannons!

A massive meteor shower immediately began to descend through the atmosphere of Shattered Star.

"Damn it... if it were only these greenskins, the Regulates could hold them back with effort. My fear is that the Skaven behind us might strike as well," a Kin High Kahl said, watching the rapidly falling meteors through an optical telescope.

Though some were blown apart in mid-air, far more were slamming into the ground.

Once these filthy drop pods landed, the Orks inside would kick open the doors and charge out with howling roars toward the nearest, loudest noise.

"Do not worry. Burnos will succeed. As long as they lure those 'catastrophes' behind the greenskins, they will inevitably turn on each other."

Most of the Kin held little hope for this suicidal mission. However, having consumed the brains of Kin implanted with specific memories, Hive Fleet Tiamet had already learned of the impending war in the Shattered Stars system.

The Tyranids, who had been "farming" nearby, were not about to pass up such a windfall. Their massive forms began to drift through the void of the materium.

Meanwhile, the Necrons, under the leadership of their shrewd Phaeron, had originally intended to sit back and watch the biological races tear each other apart. But fate had other plans. It was not just them who appeared from the Warp; a fleet no less chaotic or filthy than the Orks, the Brood Fleet, had crossed paths with the Necron Tomb Fleet.

Aboard Queek's flagship, Skaven pilots began screaming as alarms blared incessantly.

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