The Emperor’s Angel of Death

The Heroth Kingdom is a very ancient and barbaric kingdom, as can be seen from its location. In the distant past, it was far from the core ruling area of the Aeldari Empire. For a long time after the Fall, its residents were even unaware that it had happened. Their history can be traced back to the end of the War in Heaven, before the establishment of the Aeldari Empire's Yin-Yang Dynasty system, during the "Scattering Era" recorded in Aeldari myths, when gods still walked among humans. The ancestors of the Heroth Kingdom, following the instructions of Khaine and Isha, arrived at this distant world and settled down. Their duty was to serve as sentinels for the Aeldari civilization.

This is possibly the only maiden world that still maintains the worship of Khaine after the Fall, but their historical records contain many vague parts. Even the "ancient great enemy" they were supposed to be vigilant against as border sentinels has become a very blurred concept. However, judging from what is happening now, the identity of this ancient great enemy is obvious.

The long years have eroded many things, especially after the closure of the Gates of Heaven, when the Aeldari gods lost direct contact with the mortal world. The ancestors of the Heroth Kingdom could no longer receive divine guidance, which made them isolated. Besides being vigilant against the unknown in the dark void for a long time, they rarely had contact with the outside world, including the established and prosperous Aeldari Empire. Only occasionally would adventurers, merchants, and priestly orders seeking the relics of the gods come here, but there was not much interaction between them, because the Heroth Kingdom did not welcome guests, only trading for needed goods or exchanging useful information to maintain a basic understanding of the galaxy—of course, this understanding might only be updated every few million years.

But it was precisely this very strict isolationist policy that allowed the Heroth Kingdom to be almost unaffected by the corruption of the Aeldari Empire. The only thing they felt was that travelers and merchants had not arrived for a long time, and the world spirit became vigilant and irritable. The fluctuations of the Supreme Heaven began to become strange, which in turn prompted the Heroth Kingdom to become even more closed off, until many years later, when the scouting team of Iyanden arrived, and everything finally came to light.

The Heroth Kingdom initially did not believe that the Eternal Empire would fall, but Iyanden presented a lot of evidence and invited some adventurous people from the Heroth Kingdom to witness the fall of the old empire in the Eye of Terror. Only then was all of this accepted.

However, even in the face of the crisis of the near extinction of the race, the Heroth Kingdom still did not change its closed nature. They even believed that this was the right thing to do. Apart from establishing contact with Iyanden, they did not need to have any relationship with other Aeldari forces. They would continue to watch in the dark until the gods, who were declared to have fallen, gave them instructions again.

This sounds stupid and stubborn, but Soshayan had to admit that perhaps it was this stubbornness that ensured that the Heroth Kingdom had hardly suffered any substantial threats for tens of millions of years. They were almost non-existent in the eyes of both the Aeldari and other galactic forces. The outside world had no news about them, and even the Harlequins might know nothing. Absolute isolationism was exchanged for absolute security, which seemed like a worthwhile deal.

However, this situation ended with the discovery of the Royal Court.

Of course, it's not that the Heroth Kingdom bowed down to the Eternal Queen as soon as they saw her. The previous contacts were not smooth. They were very suspicious and xenophobic, and did not believe that the Eternal Court could be rebuilt, let alone that the incarnations of Asuryan and Isha would walk among humans again.

It was not until the Royal Court presented the evidence of Menakh's awakening and the tragic battle scenes of Alamar to the high-level officials of the Heroth Kingdom that they finally realized one thing—they were no longer able to fulfill the duties Khaine had given them.

The ancient great enemy had already awakened, but they knew nothing and had no one to warn.

More importantly, the enemy was right in front of them, and might even appear at their doorstep at any time. In this case, for survival and security, the Heroth Kingdom had no choice but to temporarily put aside its xenophobic strategy and engage in substantive contact and exchange with the Royal Court.

Then, as long as they were willing to make contact, the Royal Court could show them its power, and most importantly, the golden signs of the Eternal Queen and the Phoenix King.

Of course, what really settled everything was Soshayan's personal visit to the Heroth Kingdom.

"Your Highness believes that someone is using the Storm King?"

Hearing Soshayan's words, Starbane immediately responded cautiously.

"Otherwise things wouldn't be so coincidental. As soon as Lana was captured, the Storm King's expeditionary army came... Although I don't know much about the supreme rulers of the Sotek and Menakh dynasties, I personally believe that the ruler of such a great dynasty must be the most cold-blooded, cruel, and rational power animal. Their characteristics are that they are very good at patience and very good at seizing opportunities. For example, if I were the ruler of Menakh, I would try to avoid the risk of fighting on two fronts as much as possible. So when dealing with humans, I would avoid conflicts with Sotek as much as possible, and I wouldn't provoke them, even if they were potential enemies. If I knew Lana's identity, then I would send her away politely, or drive her away, and wouldn't touch her, because it wouldn't do any good except to cause trouble."

Saying that, Soshayan put down the stack of documents in his hand, leaned back slightly, and leaned his body on the wide and gorgeous crystal throne.

The Ice Feather Shrine where he was located was also called the Phoenix Shrine. It was the most magnificent and luxurious palace in the Heroth Kingdom, built on the highest peak of the planet. Therefore, the entire hall was made of snow-white ice crystals, but people inside would not feel a trace of cold, and even felt as warm as spring.

In most cases, this place was empty, because it was the sanctuary of the world spirit. Only when major events occurred would the fifteen city-state hunter kings of the Heroth Kingdom and their elected Sword of Khaine hold meetings here to discuss and decide the direction of the kingdom.

And now, the entrances and exits here were guarded by the Phoenix Guard, and the important officials of the Outer Court stood or sat on both sides of the main hall, which had become a temporary court.

Doral, who was closest to Soshayan, placed a new report in front of Soshayan and said softly:

"Your Highness means that Lana was deliberately framed in Menakh's side, in order to anger the Storm King."

"Not only that, but she may have been calculated from the beginning when Lana came here... Moreover, she also has many secrets, but there is no doubt that she has become a key pawn in disrupting the balance between Menakh and Sotek. Think about who would benefit? At least we benefited temporarily, but not much. Other dynasties? Maybe... The Silent King? Would it be beneficial for him to regain control of the situation if the two strongest dynasties were both defeated? Perhaps Menakh is no longer so loyal to him? It's hard to say."