Inside the council hall of the Bloodstained battleship, over a hundred warband lords, big and small, finally met the nefarious 'Zane'.
The moment he entered, he was met with a 'staring salute'.
But Emrys, accustomed to grand scenes, showed no panic. He calmly endured the malicious and angry gazes of these Chaos warband lords, walked straight to the head seat, and sat down without a word.
The atmosphere immediately became stiff.
These individuals were clearly here to hold 'Zane' accountable, but now that he had arrived, everyone present harbored their own ulterior motives. No one wanted to be targeted by 'Zane' and be the 'first one to speak out'.
Just then, someone spoke.
"Lord has misunderstood."
The speaker was Necromon, the lord of the Rustfire warband, and also the leader of the Chaos fleet's largest warband, second only to the Bloodstained.
He cast a disdainful glance at Zane, who was seated at the head, his tone full of contempt as he said sarcastically, "Because of your command a few days ago, we all suffered heavy losses. If we continue with the plan, it will be difficult to achieve any results and will only deplete our own strength. As a High Chaos Lord, don't you need to give us an explanation?"
This statement was quite impolite.
But Necromon had confidence; others feared Zane, but he did not!
Although Zane had publicly beheaded Sarton and absorbed the Bloodstained warband, it was impossible to win over those people in just a few days.
In other words, the only ones who would fully obey Zane's commands right now were just the small Bloodskull warband!
What good was it if you were strong in a fight?
"You, demand an explanation from me?" Emrys' gaze fell on Necromon, and he was secretly delighted.
Excellent, he was just looking for someone to establish his authority, and this person jumped out himself, saving him the trouble of choosing.
Necromon, unaware of his thoughts, presumed he represented everyone's opinion and became even more arrogant, directly challenging, "Lord, just being good at fighting isn't enough to sit in this position. If you lack command ability—I advise you to let someone else take over soon, lest you be punished by lord Barton later."
"Oh?"
Looking at Necromon, who had revealed his true intentions, Emrys slowly raised his head, his eyes fierce and violent.
"You want to seize power?"
Those violent, blood-red eyes made Necromon's heart tremble, as if squeezed by an invisible hand. He instinctively stepped back half a pace, hitting a chair with a squeak. But this scene was witnessed by everyone else.
They became even more afraid to speak. Zane might not be able to control Necromon, but he could easily control them.
"Don't you dare threaten me here, Zane!"
Feeling humiliated, Necromon immediately glared, slammed the table, and roared, "Just based on your reckless command over the past few days, which caused heavy losses to the Chaos fleet, even if you were promoted through ritual, I can still have lord Barton remove you from your position!"
"Is there anyone else who shares his opinion?"
Emrys' lips curled slightly as he turned to look at the others, his chilling gaze sweeping over them one by one.
"Zane, I think lord Necromon is right; you are not suitable to command."
"Exactly, lord Barton has been planning this war for a long time, and it absolutely cannot fail due to personal issues. You should hand over command to lord Necromon."
Necromon's lips curved upward, looking at Zane triumphantly.
"Do you see? This is everyone's opinion. You don't want the war to fail and be punished by lord Barton, do you?"
His personal combat strength indeed could not compare to Zane's, but when it came to schemes and tricks, he was a follower of Tzeentch, far more formidable than Zane, that idiot whose head was only filled with slaughter!
This was the method he had devised to seize power.
Using Zane's ambition and foolish command, he would have everyone elect him as the new Chaos Lord, which would avoid a bloody ritual and allow him to seize power smoothly.
These six people were all warband lords second only to him, controlling the majority of the fleet's manpower, which was also the source of his confidence.
But unfortunately, Necromon overlooked one thing.
One, two, three—six. Looking at the six who stepped forward, Emrys looked at them one by one. Although he was a little dissatisfied that the number was small, it was barely enough.
So, he gave Af Krast a look, signaling that it was his turn to appear.
"Come on, no more nonsense, one-on-one!"
Af Krast understood his meaning, stepped directly forward, and beckoned to the six with his finger, saying concisely yet insultingly, "You six, come at me all at once."
"What is the meaning of this, lord Zane?!" Necromon frowned, then cautiously stared at him.
"We are discussing how to better fulfill lord Barton's orders, not engaging in internal strife!"
"Stop talking nonsense."
Emrys leaned on the armrest and sneered, "Don't you want to seize power? It's simple. Beat him, and my position is yours."
"Don't worry, all six of you come at once." Af Krast also cooperated, saying, "Or do you think that even with six of you against me, you can't win?"
However, facing his provocation, Necromon remained cautious.
"Lord Zane, this is war, not an arena where personal combat strength alone determines victory. I disagree!"
He wasn't like those Khorne idiots whose heads were filled with glory and slaughter. Why would he create complications when he clearly had the upper hand?
Besides, if Zane sent him out, this guy was definitely not simple!
Thinking of this, Necromon became even more resolute that he could not agree to his idea!
Looking at Necromon, who repeatedly retreated and refused to agree, Emrys also lost interest.
"You disagree? What kind of thing are you? Today, you will fight whether you want to or not!"
As his words fell, Af Krast lunged forward, his dagger slitting one man's throat, while simultaneously punching another, sending him flying. His target was directly Necromon!
"Zane, are you crazy?!"
Necromon shrieked in terror. He could never have imagined that this guy would dare to openly kill a Chaos Lord!
But what he couldn't imagine was yet to come!
The other Chaos Lords, witnessing this scene, were all terrified by Zane's madness, but soon they became enraged. This was treating them as less than human!
So, they were about to go help.
Bang!
But with a roar, a Chaos Lord's chest was directly pierced by a melta weapon. He stared with wide, disbelieving eyes at Emrys, then fell into a pool of blood.
"All of you, sit down obediently!!!"
Just then, a furious shout made these restless Chaos Lords freeze in place.
"Whoever dares to move, I'll blast him!" Emrys grinned menacingly, and dozens of figures emerged around him, aiming their dark muzzles at these Chaos Lords.
If they dared to move, they would follow in the footsteps of the man who had just been melted by a single shot!
"Save me! Save me!!!"
Clearly, Necromon and the other six were no match for the frenzied Af Krast!
But these people, with guns pointed at them, dared not move.
They could only watch as Af Krast twisted their necks, slaughtering them one by one, cutting off their heads, and throwing them onto the table.
Necromon's bloody head lay on the table, its eyes wide with terror, as if still unable to believe that Zane would dare to do such a thing!
"He's dead. Now—listen to me!"
Emrys, playing 'Zane', swept his blood-red gaze over these people one by one, mixed with a chilling madness. The overwhelming stench of blood was so thick it was almost suffocating.
"Integrate the elites of your respective warbands. In two days—"
I will personally lead the assault on the hive city of Avakalon!"
"Lord—"
Bang!
Another shot, signifying the death of another Chaos Lord. His body exploded into minced meat, splattering onto the faces of the surrounding lords.
"I've finished speaking. Who agrees, and who objects?"
Emrys raised his eyes, his sinister and violent aura, like a raging tsunami, engulfed the entire council hall. The thick and pungent smell of blood and sulfur invaded every lord's nostrils and filled their lungs.
The atmosphere in the entire council hall was suffocating, a terrifying pressure falling on everyone!
They even seemed to see 'Zane' surrounded by a twisted, terrifying, blood-red giant shadow that was almost solidified!
Those who could enter this council hall, more or less, had the blessings of the Chaos Gods, but—like 'Zane',
where the blessing materialized into a phantom, even affecting the material universe, they knew very well what this implied!
That is to say—Zane was highly favored by Khorne, and even the 'specifications' of his blessing were far superior to theirs!
With a blessing of this 'specification', even if 'Zane' died, he would be personally resurrected by Khorne. And if nothing unexpected happened—as long as 'Zane' could complete the Blood God's Eightfold Trial, he would be 'ascended' to become a Daemon Prince, or even a Prince!
"No, no objection!"
"I agree!"
"The Bloodskull Lord's plan is excellent!"
Who would dare to object?
Looking at the dead bodies, they shivered. Zane was simply a madman!
"Laugh, why aren't you laughing?"
Emrys smiled, looking at them, a chilling killing intent in his voice.
"Not laughing? Do you have an opinion of me?"
"No, no, I wouldn't dare—hahaha!"
"Hahahahaha—"
"Hahaha—"
Bang!
The faces of the laughing crowd turned pale.
They stiffly turned their heads, looking at the Chaos Lord who had been shot in the head after the gun went off, their eyes filled with both terror and horror.
"Don't be nervous, I'm not a bloodthirsty person"
Emrys slowly lowered his plasma gun, revealing a kind smile.
"It's just that his laugh was too unpleasant, I really couldn't hold back. You all understand how I feel, right?"
"Yes... yes—"
Everyone lowered their heads in fear.
Zane was a complete and utter madman, better not to provoke him. This guy had Khorne backing him, he wasn't afraid of death!
As for Af Krast, his mood was a bit complex.
He always felt that his Great Sir seemed to have astonishing talent on the path of Khorne!