Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [314]

Any monster summoned by the system can be recalled into the system space as long as they are within Rhodes' line of sight—once inside, no one can do anything to them.

At this moment, the four gigantic hands in the sky froze as well. The plan had seemed flawless: strike suddenly while the Emperor and Rhodes's group were sealing the Warp rift, and each of the four gods would grab one of these monsters.

But then, these unique cosmic creatures suddenly vanished! No, not vanished—they entered into Roboute Guilliman's body and another unfamiliar Primarch's body.

The Chaos Gods immediately checked Rhodes's status. His soul was slightly weaker than that of Warp's lesser gods, but not by much. As for his physical power, it far surpassed his soul, even surpassing that of Roboute Guilliman. He was, aside from the Emperor, the most physically powerful human they had ever seen.

These so-called cosmic phantom beasts were effective! The Four Bastards could sense that Rhodes had started as a mere mortal. He reached Primarch status because of these beasts. And it wasn't just Rhodes—the female Primarch, Elena, had fused with one too. So, each cosmic phantom beast could create a Primarch! Where on earth did the Emperor find these things?

At this rate, a dozen new Primarchs would soon be born—fully grown, not infants. This was bad news for the Chaos Gods!

"Don't waste your effort! These cosmic phantom beasts are miraculous creatures I found in a special place. I made a pact with them—they help humanity, and I've hidden them away from you. Give it up, you'll never find them." After Rhodes had recalled the beasts, the Emperor immediately took responsibility.

He couldn't let the Chaos Gods know Rhodes was responsible. He needed them to believe these creatures came from him, and that Rhodes was just lucky to have earned his favor. Otherwise, Rhodes would have to bear their pressure.

"Emperor, hand over the cosmic phantom beasts. We'll let you seal the Warp rift. Otherwise, you know the consequences." Tzeentch's voice echoed through the rift.

"That's right, Emperor, hand them over. These unique life forms interest us greatly."

"Don't push me! You know what happens when I act."

"Emperor, do you really dare to rise up? Do you really dare to let your beloved humanity perish with you?" Slaanesh sneered.

This was their greatest fear. While they appeared to be pressing the Emperor, in truth, they simply wanted to weaken him. Once weakened enough, the Four Bastards would devour him!

Their true plan was to eat the Emperor completely, preventing him from becoming the fifth Chaos God.

To do this, they needed most of humanity to fall, to weaken the Emperor as much as possible.

"No one else is qualified to fight you with everything they have—but I am. I can go down with you. Those cosmic phantom beasts—I can fuse with them, and you don't want to know what happens after that. I guarantee I'll be stronger than any two of you. Want to bet?" The Emperor retorted coldly.

When negotiating with these four jerks, you couldn't show the slightest weakness—if you did, they'd jump you instantly.

The Emperor showed a commanding side—even as a corpse, he could skin two of them alive!

The Four Chaos Gods fell silent. If not for those beasts, they'd think the Emperor was bluffing. They'd already corrupted many humans, and humanity across the galaxy was cut off by the Warp storm.

But it had only just started. The Emperor's power wasn't yet too weak—they needed to wait a bit longer.

They ordered their Chaos forces to completely divide humanity. The Emperor had become this strong only after ten thousand years of faith. So, it was time to cut off that faith.

"Hahaha! Emperor! You really are the most qualified to be the fifth Chaos God. But you'll never be one," Tzeentch said.

The Emperor didn't want to become one, and neither did they. Every time they pressured him, it was just to weaken him.

"This time you win, Emperor, but only for now. We're taking your son," Slaanesh laughed wickedly, reaching for Sanguinius, who was helping mend the rift in the Warp.

Sanguinius was a top-tier lesser god—he'd be fun to play with, and after enjoying him, Slaanesh would shatter his soul and feed it to their godchild.

Sanguinius had kept a low profile in the Warp, so the Four hadn't bothered him before. But this time, by helping the Emperor, he'd exposed himself.

A huge purple demonic hand reached for Sanguinius, seizing his soul.

Sanguinius screamed in agony!

Slaanesh valued their new godchild and planned to catch some lesser gods to nourish him.

Sanguinius's anguished soul cry echoed all the way to the Baal system, and even Mephiston on Holy Terra felt an unspeakable sorrow.

They sensed their gene-father's soul was at risk of destruction, not just his body.

"Let him go! Let Sanguinius go!" The Emperor roared, sending a golden psychic hand into the Warp to try to pull Sanguinius back.

But Sanguinius, now a soul and a lesser god of the Warp, was insulated from the material universe—he couldn't be brought back, even with Guilliman and Magnus helping.

"Don't worry about me! Father, hurry and seal the rift!" Sanguinius's soul shouted.

The Emperor sighed helplessly—he knew he was powerless unless he took drastic measures.

"Khorne! Are you really going to let your favorite prey be taken by Slaanesh?" Rhodes communicated mentally into the Warp.

Khorne always had an interest in Sanguinius, and he and Slaanesh were rivals—Rhodes didn't believe Khorne would let this pass.

"Don't try to sow discord! We… ah!" Slaanesh's words turned to screams.

Khorne didn't disappoint.

"The Blood Angels are mine—especially Sanguinius. Slaanesh, give him to me!"

A blood-red fist smashed the purple arm, making Slaanesh shriek!

The two Chaos Gods started fighting in the Warp. Tzeentch and Nurgle just watched, uninterested.

Whoever got Sanguinius didn't matter—the fight would exhaust both and benefit the others.

"Well done!" The Emperor's soul gave Rhodes a thumbs up.

If Khorne got Sanguinius, he'd try to corrupt him; but if Slaanesh did, it'd be far worse—Slaanesh was the most perverse and vicious of the Four.

They couldn't save Sanguinius this time, but at least he'd survive. The Emperor knew Khorne's strength—beating Slaanesh was no problem.

"Nurgle! I want to make a deal!" Rhodes called into the Warp.

"You want to deal with me?" Nurgle, who'd been watching, was confused.

Rhodes smiled and released a zombie beast from the system space.

"This is a dead lifeform I found in the material universe. It's dead, but its cells constantly regenerate, producing bacteria and viruses—surely you'd be interested," Rhodes said.

He wanted to stir the pot further—to create a chance to save Sanguinius. Let's get Nurgle involved too!