"My Lord." Arsena, holding his datapad, glanced at it, confirming the crimson numbers matched his memory.
"In the war against the Khrave, a total of fourteen thousand nine hundred and twenty-five Shadows of Order fell."
"Among the seven participating Chapters, the Tenth suffered the heaviest losses, with three thousand six hundred and eight fallen."
Nareth nodded. He recalled that Corvus Corax had descended upon Indra-Sul with two thousand warriors, and that Lion El'Jonson had led the main strength of his Legion, missing the Ullanor campaign against the Orks.
Though he didn't know the exact casualties, they must have numbered in the thousands.
The Shadows of Order's casualties were higher than the Dark Angels, but the Lion had faced a Khrave clan of only three Progenitors.
Nareth had faced all fifty-two Progenitors. Though the Khrave King and two others led larger clans, the clans of the other Progenitors were not significantly smaller in scale.
He had faced at least ten times the number the Lion did. The casualties were acceptable.
Moreover, the First Legion had gained almost nothing from the entire war, suffering irreplaceable losses.
They had not recovered or repurposed any Khrave technology, including the readily usable Exterminator carbines.
They had expended vast quantities of forbidden psychic items gathered from the extermination of a hundred psychic xenos worlds, along with numerous Dark Age of Technology relics granted to the First Legion by the Emperor, such as the Psychic Phage.
These were all irreplaceable, non-reproducible consumables.
Nareth, on the other hand, had made significant gains from this war:
The Progenitors were the primary ingredient for the "Earl of the Fallen" potion. The Khrave were the primary ingredient for the "Dreamwalker" potion.
Forty-three "Conspirer" Captains, including Hasik and Sanchez, had completed their rituals and advanced to "Reaper."
William Wood, the "Marionettist," had acquired a Khrave Titan puppet.
The Fourt Chapter had gained numerous Khrave wraiths, and were even attempting to enslave the Progenitors' souls.
They had acquired over a thousand Exterminator Carbines.
The source domain, along with over a hundred intact and thousands of damaged Khrave web-ships, might one day yield a unique method of Warp travel.
....
'Compared to the Lion, I lost more sons, but I also gained far more from the Khrave.' Nareth gathered his thoughts. "Report to the War Council that the Legion suffered forty thousand one hundred and fifty casualties."
"By Your will," Arsena noted.
The number was not excessive.
When the Ultramarines had encountered a Khrave Progenitor previously, they had lost four thousand warriors, including their Chapter Master. Only by Angron's intervention had resolved the threat.
Arsena, with his "Detective" perspective, made the most optimistic estimate: without the bait on the lower deck, the actual casualties would have exceeded a hundred thousand.
Even without the Primarch, the loss of all the CORV drones and Librarians might not have been enough to deal with all the Progenitors.
'Praise my Lord!' Arsena bowed.
The comm-bead in his ear buzzed. He pressed it, listened, and reported.
"My Lord, Torghun Khan of the Brotherhood of the Moon awaits Your summons, as commanded."
"Send him in." Nareth moved his mind. In the first layer of the Kingdom of Disorder, the Jokaero began concocting the Sequence 9 "Hunter" potion.
Torghun, his white armor now covered by a black robe, strode to the desk, his eyes filled with admiration for Lord Nareth.
'Fifty-two Progenitors, and Lord Nareth and his Shadows of Order had crushed them all.'
'No Astartes could match a Progenitor. It must have been the might of Lord Nareth that had overcome the xenos leaders.'
The more Torghun thought about it, the deeper his regret that he had not become a Shadows of Order.
Nareth's obsidian eyes took in Torghun's complex mix of admiration and regret.
He smiled. Torghun had undoubtedly become a devoted admirer.
Turning his right hand, a blood-red potion appeared in his palm.
"Torghun, you performed exceptionally well in the Muspel campaign and beyond. I have decided to grant you power."
"Drink this."
"Thank you, my lord." Torghun took the potion eagerly and drank without hesitation.
Moments later, the newly elevated Sequence 9 "Hunter" knelt.
"Lord Nareth, Your will is above all."
"Above the Emperor on Terra and my own gene-father."
Nareth rose from his throne, moving to stand before Torghun, a smile on his face.
He placed his hand on Torghun's shoulder, keenly feeling the tremor beneath the armor.
With a gentle pressure, he helped Torghun rise.
Torghun's eyes gleamed as he stared at the majestic form, so close. He felt as if he were the center of the galaxy, the focus of those eyes, deeper than the void.
"I trust you."
The authoritative voice, resonating through his ears, set Torghun's very soul ablaze.
"Return with Hasik for now. He will lead you."
Torghun, though reluctant, did not disobey Lord Nareth's command.
"By Your will."
After Torghun left, Nareth walked to his private quarters, then stepped into the fifth layer of the Kingdom of Disorder
He surveyed the nine remaining Progenitors, the last of their race.
In order of power: The Khrave King, encountered on Muspel; the Progenitor who had fought Angron; the eldest, the one Corax had defeated on Indra-Sul; the two with black crystal spirals on their chests who had seized the Lion's arms; and four previously unknown Progenitors, whose clans had caused the failure of some "Conspirer" Captains' advancement attempts.
Nareth had spared them for two reasons: for the knowledge and psychic techniques within their minds, a vast treasure.
The youngest Progenitor had lived for over ten million years, devouring the memories of beings from over a hundred worlds.
The eldest had lived through the War in Heaven itself, a living fossil of history.
Secondly, he intended to use the fifth layer of the source substance to attempt to "corrode" the Progenitors.
If he could "corrode" a Progenitor, he could immediately leverage him and the source domain for a number of otherwise impossible objectives, including securing Mortarion's trophy, Necare's head.
Nareth stepped before a Progenitor with black crystal spirals on his chest.
The "Mentor of Disorder" moved his mind. His voice of "Majesty" resonated in the Progenitor's mind.
"Submit, or die."
The black crystal spirals trembled. "Nareth, do not think your petty tricks will make me yield."
"I am a Progenitor. I am a World-Eater."
"I will never submit."
Nareth sensed the Progenitor's deep-seated hatred and unyielding will. He frowned.
'Subduing a Progenitor, a being of Primarch-level power, who also excels in mental manipulation, is far too difficult.'
'I must find a weakness in their minds...'
....
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