Chapter 81 I Have to Fight the Dark King?!

The grand audience chamber where Vect resided was obscenely lavish and sprawled across a massive footprint, perfectly befitting his exalted status as Supreme Overlord.

Looking around, one could see countless ornate corridors branching off in every direction, leading into hidden sanctums and secret halls. Hovering in the air were numerous scrying prisms, projecting live feeds of Commorragh’s apocalyptic destruction. In the absolute center of these prisms sat a colossal throne. Vect sat upon it, quietly awaiting his final judgment.

“Forefather of Humanity.”

Vect’s face, pale as frost, was perfectly composed. The despair and pessimism that had gripped him earlier were entirely gone.

“Yvraine. Lelith.”

Vect’s gaze shifted to the Ynnari members standing right behind Vane.

Lelith was the former undisputed Queen of the Arenas. After Yvraine awakened the power of the God of the Dead, Lelith had taken her elite Bloodbrides and fought her way out of Commorragh right by Yvraine’s side. Now, she had returned, bringing the total annihilation of the Dark City and the end of the tyrant Vect.

Rumor had it that Lelith’s Bloodbrides weren’t just her deadliest subordinates, but also her personal concubines used to satisfy her endless desires. After every gladiatorial match, Lelith would have them attend to her bedchambers, and things supposedly got incredibly wild.

Lelith looked up at Vect on his throne, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing her eyes.

“You’re actually here in your true body. I was certain you’d just leave a flesh-double to face us.”

“Commorragh is utterly destroyed. The Dark Aeldari are history. Even if I were to flee, what purpose would it serve?” Vect replied, his tone eerily serene. “A king should die a king’s death. I refuse to die in the shadows.”

In the past, Vect constantly relied on body doubles to navigate the hyper-lethal, backstabbing politics of Commorragh. The Archons were always plotting assassinations and deploying exotic poisons. Without his decoys, even he would have died eight hundred times over.

But now? Commorragh was gone. The Kabal of the Black Heart was ash. The Craftworlds, the Harlequins, and the Ynnari had all willingly become vassals of the Imperium of Man. Even if he managed to escape the Dark City, it was impossible for him to make a comeback. He’d just spend the rest of his miserable life being hunted by his countless enemies.

Faced with that reality, he figured he might as well skip the running and embrace the end with some dignity.

Lelith actually felt a brief pang of respect. Vect was an unfathomably cruel monster, but he was undeniably a true warlord. If he had panicked and fled in disgrace, he would have been looked down upon forever, even if he survived. But choosing to face his death head-on completely changed how his final moments would be remembered.

Vect turned his gaze back to Vane, staring at the human who had single-handedly dismantled his eternal empire.

“You win, Forefather of Humanity.”

“Wasn’t that a given?” Vane replied casually.

“Losing to a god wielding supreme, absolute power… I suppose it is not an entirely unjust end.”

“Hold on, stop right there,” Vane interrupted, raising a hand. “I need to clarify something. I’m not a god. I am just a perfectly average, ordinary guy.”

Even facing imminent death, Vect couldn’t maintain his stoic facade. The corner of his mouth twitched violently.

You casually hand out divine authorities to make others gods, and you still have the audacity to claim you’re just an ordinary guy?!

Realizing that trying to hold a serious conversation with Vane was completely impossible, Vect turned to Farseer Eldrad and the Aeldari delegation.

“Without you, the Imperium of Man would have bled for decades just trying to navigate the Webway to reach Commorragh. Handing the absolute center of the Webway network over to humanity on a silver platter… is it truly worth it?”

“It is. Because making this choice means our race actually has a future,” Eldrad replied, his voice firm and unwavering. “If we allowed your depravity to continue unchecked, She Who Thirsts would have eventually consumed the Aeldari in our entirety.”

“I truly hope the final outcome does not disappoint you, then,” Vect smiled bitterly. “But mark my words, cousins… when you bargain with a beast, you are inevitably devoured by it.”

“Stop trying to stir up drama,” Vane said, casually walking up the steps toward the throne. “I have a very good habit: I never break my promises. Though, for a guy like you who spent his entire life playing with conspiracies, parlor tricks, and betrayals, you probably can’t even comprehend the weight of the word ‘promise’.”

“I have never witnessed a true promise. I have only ever seen the calculated weighing of interests,” Vect replied lightly, watching Vane approach.

When the outcome of the war was still uncertain, Vect had been consumed by anxiety and terror. But now that his death was an absolute, unavoidable certainty, he felt completely at peace.

“Human Forefather, I am deeply curious. Who will be your next target of destruction? Will it be the Dark Gods perched high in the Warp, or the ancient Necron dynasties stirring from their slumber?”

“What’s the point of knowing? It’s not like you’ll be around to see it,” Vane stopped beside the throne and raised Bloodletter [Carnage]. “Just sit tight and accept your end, Vect. Your story is officially over. A new era is starting, and sadly, there’s no room on this boat for old relics like you.”

Vect didn’t quite grasp Vane’s phrasing, but he didn’t need to. The blade was already falling.

Bloodletter [Carnage] was horrifyingly sharp. It effortlessly cleaved straight through the tyrant’s neck.

The tyrant’s severed head hit the crystal floor with a heavy, hollow thud.

Right on cue, a system prompt popped up in Vane’s vision.

[Congratulations on completing the quest: Successfully slay the tyrant Asdrubael Vect and destroy Commorragh.]

[Reward: 10% Total Conquest Progression.]

[Unlocked Title: ‘Destroyer of the Dark Aeldari’.]

Finally knocked that one out. Total progression is sitting at 20% now. Honestly, conquering the Warhammer universe is way easier than some of the other hardcore dimensions I’ve played through, Vane thought to himself.

[New Main Quest Activated: Rescue the Master of Mankind, Defeat the Dark King.]

[Objective: Assist the Master of Mankind in repairing his physical vessel and enhancing his power to suppress the Dark King. Under his guidance, defeat the Dark King, allowing the Master of Mankind to break free from his destined fate and return to realspace.]

[Reward: 10% Total Conquest Progression. Unlocked Title: ‘Savior of the Big E’.]

They want me to go save the Big E and punch out the Dark King? Well, that’s definitely a spicy questline.

Vane’s original game plan was to wrap up Commorragh and immediately head to Medusa to find a way to glue Ferrus Manus’s severed head back onto his body. From there, he figured the Emperor would just magically recall the rest of the missing Primarchs, allowing Vane to easily clear the “Restore the Age of Primarchs” quest.

But with this new quest popping up, Vane realized he should probably pivot and head to Terra first to pull the Big E off the Golden Throne. Clearing that would bump his progression up to 30%. Plus, once the Big E was actually up and walking around, completing the rest of the quests would be a total breeze. He could just force the Emperor to manually recall the missing Primarchs, and he’d have a massive heavy-hitter to help him clear out the Necrons and the Chaos Gods.

Alright, Medusa gets pushed down the to-do list. We’re going to Terra to bail out the old man.

Vane murmured internally, officially recalculating his strategy, preparing to rescue the Big E first.

BANG!

The massive, reinforced doors at the ends of two separate corridors were violently kicked open simultaneously. The Lion and Leman Russ barged into the tyrant Vect’s throne room at the exact same time.

Seeing the scene in the throne room, both Primarchs froze. They were actually late.

“Looks like we have to call it a draw,” the Lion said, glancing over at Russ. “The tyrant was slain by the Forefather, and we breached the chamber at the exact same moment.”

“Fine. We’ll call it a tie,” Russ sighed, clearly disappointed.

If it had been literally any of their other brothers who stole the kill, the two Primarchs would have been absolutely furious and probably would have started throwing hands right there. Because their little wager was public knowledge across the entire crusade fleet.

But since it was the Forefather who killed the tyrant Vect, they didn’t have the guts to complain.

Given Vane’s absolute authority, his terrifying power, and the fact that he literally initiated this entire war, he certainly wasn’t going to slow down his kill-streak just to entertain their petty bet. If either of them dared to utter half a word of complaint, the Emperor’s psychic hand would probably cross the galaxy just to slap them across the back of the head.

And he’d be cursing them out while doing it.

You fail to secure the kill yourselves, and you have the audacity to complain about the Forefather?! Take this psychic smackdown, you brats!

—

Vane summoned the core leadership to Vect’s ruined throne room to announce his next steps.

“Vect is dead. The War for Commorragh is officially over.”

“Next up, I’m heading to Terra to rescue the Master of Mankind. The rest of you are free to decide your own deployments.”

The moment those words left his mouth, the entire room erupted.

“We are going to rescue our father right now?!”

“Forefather, you aren’t joking, are you?!”

The Primarchs and the Imperial commanders were practically vibrating with excitement.

Vane waved his hand, signaling for them to quiet down so he could finish.

“Yes, rescuing the Master of Mankind is a mandatory next step. After all, when we eventually throw down with the Chaos Gods, we’re going to need enough heavy-hitters on the roster.”

“As for Commorragh…” Vane turned to look at Eldrad, Yvraine, and the Aeldari delegation. “It’s all yours now. Try to manage the real estate properly. Don’t turn it into a horrifying, degenerate hellscape like Vect did.”

Eldrad and the Farseers stared at Vane, their eyes bulging in utter disbelief.

Commorragh was the absolute, undisputed focal point of the entire Webway network. Its strategic value was beyond comprehension. And Vane was just… handing the keys over to them?!

Right before his death, Vect had desperately tried to sow discord between the Aeldari and the Imperium. If he knew that Vane was just casually gifting Commorragh back to the Ynnari, he would probably be spinning so fast in his grave he’d generate electricity.

This completely broke all standard grimdark political conventions. Weren’t they supposed to engage in paranoid backstabbing, betray each other over the spoils of war, and become bitter, eternal enemies?!

Honestly, Eldrad was seriously fighting the urge to drop to his knees, hug Vane’s leg, and call him ‘Forefather’ too.

Ancestors of the Aeldari, please forgive me! It’s just that this human sugar daddy is offering us way too much!

Surprisingly, the Primarchs and the Imperial representatives didn’t voice a single objection. They had personally witnessed the Forefather’s incomprehensible wisdom and methods. Doubting his decisions at this point was basically a punishable offense.

After a brief logistical meeting, Guilliman, Sanguinius, a delegation of the Ynnari, and Archmagos Cawl (who had just finished his terraforming duties on Sotha) would accompany Vane directly to Terra. Their objective was to rescue the Master of Mankind, overhaul the bloated Imperial bureaucracy, implement massive reforms, and begin distributing Archmagos Cawl’s upgraded technology across the Throneworld.

Meanwhile, the Lion, Russ, and Jaghatai Khan would return to their respective Chapters, integrate the new Primaris tech, and begin marshaling forces for the next phase of the Great Crusade.

Naturally, the Lion and Russ immediately forged a new bet: whoever secured the most glory and conquered the most sectors in the upcoming crusade would be the undisputed winner.

With the war council adjourned, Vane decided to take a casual walking tour through the ruins of Commorragh. While exploring one of the massive gladiatorial arenas, he stumbled upon an incredibly unexpected surprise.

A T’au calling himself Aun’Shi was actively demanding to be treated with the respect fitting of his Ethereal caste status. Not only that, he was boldly demanding that the Imperium of Man provide him with a fully armed escort to leave Commorragh and return to the T’au Empire.

—

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