The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Besides being exceptionally agile, the Spiritbone Knights here possess another characteristic: remarkable durability. They are far more resilient than Sosh Jan initially imagined. When two Great Elk Knights clashed with lances, even without activating the piercing tips, they only managed to leave shallow scratches on each other. Considering the astonishing speed of their charge, which even impressed Sosh Jan, the force behind those impacts must have been immense.

Any Wraith Construct would have suffered a gaping hole from such a blow, but the Great Elk Knights only sustained superficial damage. This suggests they employ some unique Spiritbone hardening technique, likely making them resistant to artillery fire as well.

From this perspective, these Spiritbone Knights appear to be of significant military value.

Especially the Wild Hunt Knights, who, during close-quarters combat, can still use their rear-mounted ranged weapons to engage fast-moving targets around them, demonstrating remarkable multitasking abilities. This suggests either exceptional piloting skills, powerful machinery, or both.

Beyond the Spiritbone Knights, Sosh Jan also noticed another distinct group.

Riding Frost Phoenixes, they hovered above the dueling knights, seemingly acting as referees. After inquiring with Doral, he learned these were the Frost Phoenix Singers – individuals who fulfilled roles similar to battle-wizards and seers. To ensure Herlo's safety, Anivia also controlled psychic abilities. Those born with particularly strong psychic powers had to attend the Singer Academy beneath the Phoenix Icepeak, learning to control their powers. Upon graduation, they would form a bond with a Frost Phoenix and, alongside the Sacred Knights, become guardians of the Phoenix Icepeak, carrying out the tasks conveyed by the world-spirit Anivia.

Of course, in the event of an invasion, they would likely form a joint force with the city-state armies, as the Phoenix Singers' primary task was to regularly organize exercises for the various city-state forces.

This implied that the Herlo city-states possessed a highly developed and stable military system, accustomed to large-scale operations. Therefore, whether to integrate them into the Phoenix Army system became a crucial question. While the Ark also had its own military system, it was based on small unit tactics, making it easier to incorporate into a larger framework. The Dragon Knights of the Savage Kingdom were even more so. However, Herlo's framework was already similar to the Phoenix Army, making integration very difficult.

Careless integration could even lead to the collapse of the Phoenix Army system Sosh Jan had established.

Yet, if they were not integrated into the Phoenix Army system and allowed to maintain their original framework, issues with command and coordination would arise. It would also create an independent and powerful military group within the Royal Court. Although each city-state had its own independent system, they all originated from the same world, making them prone to forming cliques based on local ties and kinship, a situation Sosh Jan wished to avoid.

After the knightly performance came a grand banquet. As Veronica was unable to attend, Sosh Jan presided in her stead. At the banquet, he met the military leaders of each city-state and the prominent figures of each knightly order.

From their conversations, he could sense that the knights and warriors of the Herlo Kingdom were very warlike. They expressed a strong desire for war, perhaps stemming from a long period of overall peace, leaving these warriors with skills they couldn't fully utilize. Furthermore, the teachings of Kurnoth held that hunting symbolized self-improvement and virtue. Through the pursuit and contest with prey, a warrior would gradually approach the Path of the Wild Hunt and ultimately become Kurnoth's ultimate hunter, hunting the most powerful and ferocious monsters in the galaxy.

Before contact with the outside world, this strong tendency towards war might have been controlled, but once they knew there was a wider battlefield outside, their desire for war would be difficult to suppress – this was also the function of the Path, emphasizing self-control and restraint in war.

Herlo lacked a Path; their only restraint was peace. But once they tasted blood, Sosh Jan worried they might quickly slide towards the path of the Commorrites.

This was another issue that needed to be handled with caution.

Of course, at the banquet, the Herlo knights and warriors were also intensely curious about the Phoenix King. Even with limited knowledge of the galaxy, they could see that his physique clearly exceeded the bounds of Aeldari physiology.

Sosh Jan didn't particularly try to hide it, nor did he emphasize his human identity. Instead, he gave a tiger-like shudder (hmm...) and revealed a tiny bit of his power as a god among men – the specific physical form was no longer that important to beings at his level of power.

At least now, few Aeldari in the Royal Court regarded him as human anymore.

After all, Asuryan had never appeared in the form of an Aeldari, and one could even say he wasn't an Aeldari at all. Gods cannot be defined by race.

The banquet ended, and Sosh Jan briefly left the Herlo Kingdom, mainly because word had arrived that news from Terra had arrived.

Although he was somewhat prepared, Sosh Jan couldn't help but curse when he actually heard it.

"...So much blood shed! And they're just giving up!?"

Standing before the furious demigod, the Storm Region Department of Military Affairs Class One clerk looked very weak, wiping sweat with a handkerchief while explaining:

"Chapter Master Sosh Jan, I understand your feelings, but according to the Department of Military Affairs and the Bakka Fleet Command's estimates, based on the enemy forces deployed in the last battle, to defend the remaining Orpheus Sector, the Imperium would have to deploy twice the forces and fleets that you previously commanded. That's too large, almost equivalent to a large-scale expedition, but a force of that size... You are the most prestigious Astartes Chapter Master in the Storm Region, you should know the current situation in the region, it is almost impossible to assemble a force of this size..."

Hearing this, the Space Marines on the bridge of the Randar glared at the messenger. Sosh Jan stared grimly at the clerk, the good mood from his meeting with Veronica now replaced by a mess of disgust.

"I never expected any reinforcements, but I just want to know why I was sent to execute a sector-level exterminatus!"

"This, Chapter Master Sosh Jan, I am only relaying the astropathic message from Terra, but, but, there are other instructions, not to transfer the population, provided you are confident in defending this area. Then you will also become the Guardian of Orpheus, and the Star Phantoms' homeworld can be transferred to Orpheus."

At first glance, this seemed very generous, essentially giving a (half) sector to the Star Phantoms, but upon closer inspection, it was actually very malicious, essentially kicking the Star Phantoms to the edge of the galactic dark zone. Moreover, it concealed an even more vicious plan: to seize the Nathen system, which the Star Phantoms had cultivated for nearly a century. Presumably, some High Lords had finally noticed this piece of fat and couldn't resist wanting to eat it, such as the one in charge of internal affairs.