This is our Warhammer journey

Chapter 540 The Old Madman, Zandrek
Tarachin always believed that for any intelligent being with a normal worldview, if a person holds a high position and wields great power, it usually means that the person is likely to be quite capable.

After all, there's an ancient poem in human history that says it quite well.

"Not afraid of the floating clouds obscuring the view, because I am at the highest level."

Standing tall enough naturally broadens one's horizons, and once one's horizons are broadened, one is less likely to do things that are low-class or seem foolish.

If you stand high enough, surrounded by capable people, even if you have some shortcomings, you can still learn a lot by going back and forth. At least you can establish the most basic understanding, so you won't be too bad, right?

But the Silent King was an exception.

When Tarasin heard that the Silent King seemed to be planning something again, he felt as if the sky had fallen.

After a brief moment of disarray, he immediately signaled to the guards who thought he had been shot that he was alright, and then wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

As mentioned before, the Silent King was a very capable yet extremely foolish person.

It can be said that the Silent King's harm to the Fearful Ones was more severe than that of the Slaanesh to the Eldar or the Iron Men to the humans.

You have to understand that the Eldar still have quite a few survivors. The Clown Troupe, the Ark Eldar, and the Savage Eldar are all alive and kicking. Even the most miserable Dark Eldar can still maintain the way of life of the ancient Eldar empire by absorbing the essence of others to pay the Slaanesh the Ancient Eldar's dignity tax.

On the other hand, although the Iron Man cut off humanity's path to becoming the dominant species for the first time, under the leadership of the Great Emperor (whether wise or not), humanity, having survived several extinction crises, is still the most widely distributed intelligent species in the galaxy.

Even if other races criticize humans for their weak physique, mediocre psychic abilities, short lifespans, and being a bunch of monkeys carried by the gods, it cannot change the fact that humans are the current dominant species in the galaxy. The vast majority of races are only fit to be dust, merely embellishing the battlefield backdrop, in the aftermath of the tug-of-war between the Empire and Chaos.

And what's wrong with sucking up to someone's leg?
The Eldar are clinging to the ancient saints and the Pantheon, while the Fearful Ones are clinging to the Star Gods.

It's simply that the ancient saint's leg has been broken, and neither the Pantheon nor the Star Gods are reliable.

Then look at those who fear death.

Are there any survivors?
So, if we were to compare the Iron Man to humanity, the Slaanesh to the Eldar, and the Silent King to the Necromancers of space, who would be more destructive to whom?
It's hard to say about Taraxin.

However, he sincerely believes that facts should speak for themselves.

"What a coincidence."

After recovering from the shock of hearing the news, Tarasin complained to Aurikan.

At the same time, he felt that he might have been set up by Ramses.

How come the Dawn Wings suddenly started moving as soon as he showed a little initiative, and then all sorts of favorable conditions behind them pushed them forward like a tsunami?
"It makes sense."

Noticing that his friend seemed to be doing quite well with Dawnwing, Aurican offered an explanation.

Besides Aurikan, the time engineer, King Silent Szalak also had Xerath, a bio-engineer directly under his command.

As for his professionalism, you could consider him the Orikan of the biological research field. Back in the time of the Deathbringers, he overcame countless ailments that plagued them, significantly extending their cursed lifespans.

Following the biotransformation that turned the entire Fearless race into space undead, Xerath, at Szalak's request, has been dedicated to researching the reversal of biotransformation for 60 million years.

With the civil war escalating, Szalak, knowing his reputation among the Necromancers in space isn't as good as he'd imagined, is becoming increasingly fixated on the matter.

He must produce results that are truly enticing enough for the vast number of space dead to reverse his current predicament in the civil war.

"Xerath seems to have really made progress. If nothing unexpected happens, the Silent King will announce it soon."

Aurikan glanced at Tarasin.

"Tell me, if someone were to announce within the Necromancers that another Supreme Being could restore the souls of the Necromancers, and through this—soul leasing—do you think many Necromancers would choose the Silent King?"

When the topic of soul rental came up, a strange, vivid expression appeared on Aurican's metallic face, an expression that was hard to describe.

"."

Tarasin remained silent for a moment.

“Except for the dynasties that he has gained control of.”

He stated confidently, "I don't think any dynasty would choose to believe him."

“But Zandreik supports the Triune Council.”

Aurican replied coldly.

"Zandreik now firmly believes that he still lives in the Great Division of the Empire of the Dead, and that he is still a flesh-and-blood Dead general. It was because he won the honor of unifying the Dead for the Silent King that he was crowned a general along with the Storm King Imotek."

After explaining the old general's background to the curious onlookers who had witnessed the conversation, Aurikan looked at Tarasin.

"Now, people like Storm King, including you, are probably just traitors trying to divide the country in his eyes."

"And it is precisely because he is still that crowned general."

Tarasin, however, was not worried about this.

"He remains the same crowned general who leads by example and treats every fellow human being according to the noble traditions of the Fearless Ones. That's why he was able to unify the Fearless Ones for the Silent King in the past, which is why I am very confident about this meeting."

He often felt that those four people's understanding of certain things and people in the universe was exaggerated.

Judging from Dawnwing's methods, those two adults who didn't say much but seemed to have everything planned out were simply playing favorites.

Instead of rashly leading a large fleet to invade the dynasty's borders, they organized a delegation.

Instead of rashly sending a stranger to rule, they used Orican, an equally respected astrologer, to mediate, confirm the time, and submit formal visiting documents, leaving ample room for both sides to prepare.

To put it jokingly.

Compared to the now vibrant and chaotic space undead—

He seized control of the Sotek dynasty through violent means, declaring himself the Storm King who would set the galaxy ablaze.

The Silent King intends to regain control of the Necromancers through violent means, announcing his return once again.

Allakel forcibly collected one-tenth of the power of each dynasty through a tithe, thus establishing the Second Necromancer Dynasty of Space.

And all sorts of heroes who either gave up, became isolated, or ran away.
The Empire of Man was actually the first to choose to follow proper diplomatic procedures when visiting Zandreik.

Even the diplomatic regulations of the human empire are far better than a bunch of space undead going their own way.

"look."

Tarasin even brought out the list of guests that Dawnwing used to entertain foreign guests.

Aside from those hospitality standards for various carbon-based life forms whose actual use is unknown, there are also those for mechanical life forms.

It wasn't just a formal reception process like a banquet; considering the unique physiological state of mechanical life forms, various maintenance agreements were also arranged, overseen by the mechanical sages.

Chant specific prayers, apply sacred oil, bathe and burn incense, and then have a group of mechanical acolytes perform a ritual around you.

It refers to the blessing of Om Messiah.

Believe it or not, Tarachin genuinely felt that this whole process had significantly improved his physical condition, and even the data transmission speed was much faster.

Praying to the gods is good; it's effective.

The Dawnwing government really enjoys doing all this.

"indeed."

Aurican nodded in approval.

The gods of Dawnwing are playing a grand game.

They seem to intend not only to lead humanity in the real universe to defeat the Chaos Gods who now occupy the warp, but also to bring back the principles of propriety, morality, and shame that were ultimately abandoned by the vast majority of races due to the changing environment.

This made Aurican feel even more strongly that this group's style was so out of place with the other high-ranking officials in the galaxy today.

Considering the complex backgrounds of Arthur and Ramses, as well as Taraxin's description of the other two, and their shared ability to create things from the void, astrologers always subconsciously suspect that the Old Saints have come up with some strange new concoctions.

"You've never treated me like this before."

He spoke again.

Tarasin's smug expression faltered for a moment, and he wisely chose to remain silent.

Faced with the silent Tarasin, Aurikan stretched out his hand again and gestured a time with his fingers.

"Not even once in sixty million years."

He reiterated that it seemed to be very ruthless.

Tarasin scratched his head but did not refute.

indeed.

Thinking back on the time after his transformation, he has been busy making a fuss, developing his personal hobbies, visiting one tomb world after another uninvited, and launching a heavy attack on the authority of the Triune Court in Auricane.

While finding enough sense of existence in it, the sense of propriety, morality, and shame that once belonged to a person who fears death also disappeared.

"I'll invite you to visit the Museum of Human History sometime."

After some thought, Tarasim formally extended his invitation to his old friend.

Solemnas is almost empty now. The institutions of the Tombworld have all moved to the orbit of Dawn Star, and Talassin's lair is also there.

I eagerly await good news.

Aurican gave a soft hum, watching the familiar movement on the wall of the net, and quickly strode towards the bridge, heading to his place as the 'messenger' to meet the fearsome undead they were about to encounter.

Zanderek.

He was a renowned and outstanding military strategist as early as the era of the Deathbringers. During the Great Scramble, he conquered more than a thousand star systems in quick succession. With his noble character and adherence to the laws established by the Deathbringers, he earned the respect and courtesy of countless colleagues, including many defeated ones. Later, he was incorporated into the Sotek dynasty and became the most famous crowned general in the court.

Now, after millions of years, he has awakened and arrived in this strange world, yet he still lives as a fearless general, and has granted all people, including all intelligent races other than the Necromancers, the rights and interests of all of them through the "Necromancer Noble Protocol".

Almost all the space ghosts thought he was really crazy; among all the actors, there was a real madman.

Not only did he play those role-playing games in his own dynasty, but he also regarded everyone outside of the space dead as death-fearers and tried to treat them with death-fearer rituals.

Many knowledgeable people, upon learning of his deeds, cannot help but think of the knight who charged towards the windmill, a figure existing in human history documents.

However, there is a slight difference.

This Don Quixote was not poor, and his servant named Sancho was never thin.
-
Orpheus Sector, the Graveyard World of Gidrem

Above this magnificent and ancient crypt world, a vast fleet of undead space creatures has assembled.

At the heart of that fleet, layered upon layered like the scales of a colossal gray-green beast, the Crowned Zandreek was hosting a banquet in his crescent-shaped Tomb-class catacombs.

He was dressed in a robe from the time of the ancient fearers of the dead, and sat on the main seat, leisurely waiting for the food that was about to be served to him.

A serving of Grox meat cooked to medium-rare, and a glass of mam.

Before he began to eat, forty poison testers took turns testing the food for toxins. Only after confirming that the vassals, who had long since lost all sense of propriety and shame, had not chosen such a despicable means of struggle as poisoning, did the old general skillfully use the utensils from the time of the dead to put the food into his mouth.

After chewing it carefully, it seemed that the metal mouth could really taste the flavor. The terrifying power of the living metal pressed the food into a pancake in just a few moments of crossing, turning it into tiny crumbs that fell down the metal skeleton's body, stuck to the metal, or drifted away with the air.

Wow~
Then came the sound of pattering water.

The wine in the glass flowed down the edge of the metal skull as Zandrek drank, eventually carrying food scraps to the ground.

Dang rang~
After setting down his wine glass, Zandreuk stood up with the help of his attendants and faced his guests.

Addressing the humans, Eldar, Orcs, Serpent People, and Medusa present at the meeting.
They were all defeated in wars between dynasties, captured, and eventually became honored guests of the crowned general.

"My fellow countrymen who are afraid of the dead, please do not be disorderly or restrained. Enjoy this moment and enjoy the courtesy that belongs to the defeated."

He opened his arms wide, as if he were truly hosting a banquet for his defeated compatriots.

At the edge of the long table, people of various races, his captives and honored guests, watched this scene with twitching expressions.

The civil and military officials around him, who shared the same metallic body as Zandreuk, were equally speechless at the sight.

Click~
A tooth-grinding crunching sound rang out.

Zandreuk lowered his head and looked at the Tyranitar worm that was licking and gnawing at the remaining biomass on his bones.

"Oh, what an adorable puppy!"

He picked up the little creature that should have been disarmed, but which had managed to escape in a short time through evolution and then attacked him in front of the Emperor.

"Look how active it is."

Zander praised him thus, then reached out to the ceremonial officer not far away.

"I will have a diplomat submit an application. I must have a good talk with the dynasty that developed this war beast and trade their breeding technology for it."

The old general seemed to be in high spirits.

Not only the civil and military officials, but even the prisoners of war, who were not familiar with him and were more or less planning to escape, could glean some insights from his speech.

"."

The official in charge of ceremonies, who was flipping through ancient books and studying how to arrange the upcoming meeting with the Wings of Dawn, was taken aback. The expression of an operation manual appeared on his cold, metallic face.

The faces of the civil and military officials around him darkened.

(End of this chapter)