Warhammer 40: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 221 The Red Pirates and Vashtor
Meanwhile, in the subspace.

Within the Red Pirates' territory, an entire planet corrupted by chaos serves as their stronghold.

And there is more than one such planet.

In the warp, apart from demons, anyone who can occupy a planet as a base is either a powerful figure in the wilderness or someone with a huge force.

And around these planets, hundreds or even thousands of warships swarm around them.

Huron assembled a fleet comparable to Abaddon's in just one percent of the time it took him.

Among these fleets, one can even see many aliens. These space pirates, who roam all over the galaxy, are also an important force of the Red Pirates.

Huron provided them with material resources and wealth, while they risked their lives to reduce casualties among Huron's men.

Both parties take what they need.

Meanwhile, Huron, whose body was now 50 percent replaced by various life-sustaining devices, sat on his throne, deep in thought.

This body inflicted constant physical and mental pain upon him, yet Huron was not driven mad by it; he became one of the few relatively normal traitors within the forces of Chaos.

"Even the Dark God Vashtor has his eye on a wandering merchant?"

Huron had many dealings with these imperial merchants and wanderers on his path to power, and had also extracted a great deal of profit from them.

However, in his eyes, there was no difference between traveling merchants and pirates, and he never took such people seriously.

He had already heard about Abaddon's Black Crusade being thwarted, and now the Dark Gods were not paying attention to that battlefield, but instead offering him a deal to hunt down a wandering merchant in Macragge? Huron found it hard not to connect the dots.

He rejected the Chaos Gods' suggestion that he launch a full-scale attack on Alteramar, find Gao Yi, and kill him without hesitation.

As a pure egoist, this did him and his Red Pirates no good.

And the blessings of the Chaos Gods? If he had been willing to accept them, he wouldn't be suffering this pain now.

However, having become a demonic being, he would rather continue to exist as a "human." Although his current body is far removed from that of a normal human, he still cherishes everything that a human can gain in this world.

In his eyes, joining the rebellion was ultimately a last resort. He did not want to rebel, but was forced to rebel by those high lords who were like insects and by the corrupt imperial policies!
If the high lords are willing to provide him with resources, he could even clear the chaotic forces within the empire's maelstrom and alleviate the pressure on the empire.

However, he was unwilling to do so, while countless ambitious individuals among the Red Pirates were willing to take on the task.

Many people yearn for the power of the gods, and in order to obtain this power, they are willing to do everything they can to please the gods.

Willing to become the vanguard of the Chaos Gods.

"My lord, Vingal has taken unauthorized control of the ship that Abaddon gifted to Blackrock Fortress and has left. In addition to him, several fleets have also allied with him and set sail together. Accompanying them are many alien pirates. This is a betrayal!"

Huron looked at the former Starclaw, his brother who had come to the Warp with him, but he showed no sign of anger.

"Ignorant fools are trying to gain more fame and power from the Chaos Gods in order to replace me. Aren't there many like that among the Red Pirates?"

Did these guys, blinded by the allure of chaos, never consider why the gods wanted them to do this?

Ultramarines... Do you really think you can defeat them so easily? That wasn't fighting in warp space, that was in the real universe!

Let them go; perhaps they can even help me eliminate any destabilizing elements in the team.

"Very well, sir, then I will not send out a fleet to stop them."

"Wait... Let's gather the fleet. We won't directly join the war, but Blackrock Fortress needs to be defended. If Vingar can't hold out, then I'll bring Blackrock Fortress back. This warship is still very important to the Red Pirates."

"I'll do it right now!"

With Huron's orders given, the forces completely loyal to Huron began their voyage across the turbulent warp.

And in the Black Rock Fortress that Abaddon gifted.

The traitor of the Holy Blood Angels, Vyngar, is leading his Red Pirates, who are willing to follow him, toward Macragge.

Blackfury and Bloodthirst were seen as a warp curse, and he was expelled from the chapter and declared a traitor.

The massive Blackrock Fortress was surrounded by various space pirate warships, aliens, greenskins, and even a group of wandering Eldar. Besides the red pirates, there was also a colossal flesh-and-blood warship...
This warship is of an unusual size. From the outside, it does not look like a warship at all. It is more like a bunch of space wrecks forcibly fused together by chaotic evil magic.

Meanwhile, Tzeentch is using his power to pave a path for them through space.

Tzeentch has promised Vaingar that if he succeeds, he will be made a demon and helped to obtain the position of Lord of the Red Pirates.

This time, Vyngar's collaboration is not only with Tzeentch, but also with Vashtor, the master of the Soul Forge.

At this moment, Vashtor carried his blasphemous body through the Blackrock Fortress.

His hands swept across the walls of Blackrock Fortress, and electronic waste code formed from divine power flowed within the warship, corrupting the machine souls within.

Vashtor could sense the madness of the machine spirit, yet he could still perceive that the machine spirit of this warship was rebelling against him.

A group of black market oil enthusiasts took over much of Blackstone's control.

“Viengar, I can provide you with a large number of demon engines, as well as weapons and equipment, and I can also provide you with warships in the struggle for the Red Pirate Lord, but you must hand over that human to me!”

Vashtor's tone was filled with unreserved hatred.

As the technological influence brought by Gao Yi grew, so did the authority of the God of Machines.

Gao Yi is eroding and taking away what originally belonged to Vashtor.

His attempts to infiltrate the Holy Machine Order almost entirely failed, and his plot to seize technology from the Order's branches also failed.

The existence of the Pure Mark rendered his proud Chaotic Code useless.

The low cost allowed Pavian to have the priests attach a sticker when starting the machine to ensure the purity of its spirit.

Meanwhile, Vashtor's followers, who had infiltrated the Imperial Mechanic Order, suffered a complete defeat in their clash with the Holy Mechanic Order.

His influence within the empire was dwindling.

The believers even began to doubt whether the chaotic code he had given them was truly powerful enough.

The doubts from believers pushed him further and further away from his dream of becoming a god, and the faith they could offer him diminished.

He knew perfectly well that Jianqi was deliberately using his power to eliminate Gao Yi, yet he had no choice but to swallow this poisoned apple.

Feeling his strength waning, Vashtor knew that he had no time left.

The only thing he can do now is to get rid of Gao Yi, seize everything that belongs to Gao Yi, and prove himself to his followers.

For him, this was also a gamble. If he lost, he would hardly have a chance to turn things around, but if he won, he might gain unprecedented benefits.

For this purpose, he brought his most elite Dark Mechanicus army, as well as the Ominous Ark, which should not have been here.

He had not yet fully taken control of these warships, which were like a calamity.

These warships, which are like living things, need to be linked by the magic steel nerve plexus formed by his divine power.

One by one, warp demons who had signed pacts with Vashtor or were forcibly captured were bound to brass, machinery, and gears to control these warships.

"I will not fail. I will use the life of that so-called merchant ronin and the failure of the Ultra Warrior to establish my position in the Red Pirates!"
I will become the Lord of the Red Pirates!

However, Vashtor scoffed at Viengal's boastful words.

In his eyes, these Astartes were still just weak humans, forever their tools.

With the opening of the subspace portal, countless warships headed towards the various planets of Alteramar.

Vyngar was arrogant, but not stupid. He needed his pirates and fleet to draw away the Ultramarines' fleet.

As a former loyalist, he also had some understanding of the Ultramarines and knew their power.

(End of this chapter)