Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [208]

"Long live the Primarch! Long live the Emperor!"

The Battle Sisters cheered ecstatically.

"Long live Lady Elena!"

The Cadian women shouted just as fervently.

They could now become noble Astartes—female Space Marines!

Elena was thrilled—she'd never before felt what it was like to stand at the center of a crowd.

Rhodes smiled, giving her a thumbs up. Enjoy this moment—it's rare!

Rhodes picked up Horus's Talon and quietly left, heading for a secret training base in the depths of the fortress.

At the lowest level, Horus—transformed into the Dark Giant Daram—was 1v2, thrashing Babaryu and another Emperor avatar.

As a giant nearly 80 meters tall, Horus's power was terrifying—his opponents had no chance.

"Stop, stop! I give up!"

Babaryu waved his hands in surrender.

"The battle's just begun; how can you quit? You're destined to be a Primarch—you haven't reached your full potential. Let's continue.

Or we can fight in humanoid form."

Horus stretched and cracked his knuckles.

"No more! You already said I'm only at the Primarch level—no need for more training."

Babaryu protested.

Fighting this monster was suicidal!

Compared to the Ultras, this guy was far more brutal. And he targeted me—he barely went after the other guy, but pummeled me relentlessly!

"Alright, today's training ends here! Horus, I brought something you may find interesting."

Rhodes entered, setting down the massive Talon of Horus.

Babaryu thanked Rhodes profusely, then fled the training room.

Seeing his old weapon, the Dark Giant Horus's expression changed. After a flash of light, he returned to his 4-meter form, knelt before Rhodes, and gently stroked the weapon that had accompanied him for centuries.

This weapon had been his for hundreds of years—a personal gift from the Emperor, a privilege even his Primarch brothers didn't have.

Yet, stained as it was with Sanguinius's blood, and his beloved father's blood, it brought him only pain.

"So nostalgic. This should have been in Abaddon's hands—how did you get it?"

Horus asked, complicated emotions on his face.

"My wife Elena recently ascended to super lifeform—like Primarch.

We visited the frozen planet and met Abaddon.

We also brought back the Death Prophet Yvraine, vital to Robert Guilliman's resurrection, and her followers.

On that planet, Elena fought your son Abaddon—he was defeated and killed by her, though only his body. His soul was saved by the Chaos Gods."

Rhodes explained.

A being empowered by the Four Chaos Gods was hard to kill—destroying Abaddon's body was a great victory.

"Unbelievable. Bring your wife to meet me sometime—I want to see the female Primarch who could kill my son."

Horus said.

He knew Abaddon's strength—back when he was the First Captain, he was the deadliest after Horus himself.

He'd also learned about Abaddon's Black Crusades since his resurrection—his son was nearly a Primarch in power and could perhaps match even the weakest Lorgar.

For someone to kill Abaddon, this female Primarch was indeed exceptional.

"Your identity is taboo in the Imperium—everyone there hates you. If Elena meets you, she'll probably try to kill you."

Rhodes said.

"If so, then forget it—for now. I'll meet her after I've atoned for my sins. But how was she born? Can you tell me?"

Horus asked.

What puzzled Horus was how this female Primarch, Elena, had appeared.

Rhodes was easier to explain—perhaps secretly created by his father.

But what about the girl—wasn't she just a Hospitaller Sister?

"You Primarchs aren't unique lifeforms—you're fundamentally still human.

As long as a human ascends to your level, they become a Primarch."

Rhodes explained.

"In theory, yes. But our souls come from warp lesser gods—as you know.

And to physically reach our level is extremely difficult—how did you do it?"

Horus asked.

He suspected Elena wasn't made by the Emperor but by Rhodes himself.

"No harm in telling you. For example, the Dark Giant you're merged with—if an ordinary being merged with him, their life level would rise, right?"

Rhodes said.

"It would, but an ordinary person wouldn't even surpass a basic Space Marine—reaching Primarch level is impossible."

Horus replied.

Though fused with the Dark Giant, he could separate at will.

"Elena fused not with the Dark Giant, but a cosmic beast—a miraculous lifeform."

Rhodes explained, telling Horus about the wonders of the cosmic beast.

"Incredible! So you could create at least ten more Primarchs at once."

Horus exclaimed.

As long as both sides merged, life levels increased. The cosmic beast was amazing!

"Not as easy as you think. Weaker cosmic beasts could fuse with ordinary people,

but stronger ones have stricter requirements—so it's not that simple. Are you interested?"

Rhodes asked.

Once the shop was upgraded and with enough system coins, he could mass-produce Primarchs!

"No need—I already owe you for reviving me with the Dark Giant.

No matter your deal with my father, I owe you a favor."

Horus replied.

One favor was enough—he didn't want to owe another.

"Understood. Now, about you:

We're about to enter the Webway and head to Macragge to revive Guilliman.

Will you leave after his resurrection, or should I give you a ship now?"

Rhodes asked.

With Abaddon soon to ascend as a Daemon Prince, his reputation would suffer—an ideal time for the Warmaster's return.

"I'll go to Macragge with you and watch from the shadows until Guilliman is revived, then leave."

Horus replied.

He wanted to see his brother revived first, for peace of mind.

"Alright, then your old weapon is returned to you."

Rhodes gestured to Horus's Talon.

"No—I don't want it. Holding it only brings me pain."

Horus shook his head.

The weapon was stained with the blood of his best brother Sanguinius, his beloved father, and countless Imperial heroes—a weapon of sin he no longer wished to use.

Seeing it pained him, and besides, it was valuable as a trophy for killing Abaddon.

"Fine. I'll prepare new power armor and weapons for you."

Rhodes said.

After chatting a bit, Rhodes left the training room and boarded a small Padan mothership.

The main fortress world had too many humans for the Eldar to appear, so Rhodes had stationed the Ynnari forces on a small mothership.

"Are you comfortable here?"

Rhodes asked.

"Not bad! Your ship is huge—so beautiful and luxurious.

Sigh! Not like our Ynnari—we're so poor now, we can't even afford a decent ship."

Yvraine sighed, approaching Rhodes.