"The Black Heart King's words are both true and false. The Astral Knight's Soshiyang is definitely not that simple."
Khayon didn't bother to open his eyes to look at Amral; the servitors were removing his armor piece by piece, grunting in robotic voices as they moved around him.
They didn't like to be near him, Khayon could tell.
Whenever he came near, they moved like restrained animals.
He couldn't blame them, because he himself didn't like the strong smell of the warp on his body. It all came from his pet, a warp demon lynx, Nagua.
Now it was huddled in the corner, licking her paws.
The room is large, with a floor of polished chalk, walls of brushed metal, and light coming from spheres suspended in copper cages.
Red fabric softens the hard lines of the walls and covers straight-backed chairs, and a few statues of unknown significance stand at the back of the room, each with a straightforward look.
Among the battleship lives that Khayon has experienced, this can be said to be quite luxurious.
Khayon felt the cool air of the chamber against his skin as the servitors removed the armor from his torso.
His armor is light blue and black, with Prospero symbols made of flat gold wire intertwined on the surface of the plate. A bright crown stretches on the front of the breastplate, and a colorful crown surrounds the top of his helmet. This is the standard Thousand Sons helmet.
A bolt pistol and a short sword hung from his waist, their handles decorated with mirrored coins.
Under his carapace, black tattoos and strange symbols crisscrossed the surface of his muscles in the form of geometric lines. This was the mark left on his body by the infamous "Scarlet Letter" spell, which almost every Thousand Sons wizard had.
His amber skin clearly showed his identity as the son of Prospero. The crescent-shaped Eyes of Magnus spread on his neck and shoulders, and a full moon was hidden among the muscles.
This last mark shows him as a warband of Kaha Shehan
The identity of the leader, this is a group of wizards sworn to serve Abaddon.
Many small scars ran across his arms, back and chest, cutting his skin like hair-like lines.
These are the marks left by wild wolves on his body.
Kayon stretched his shoulders, and his muscles rippled on his skin.
"You don't agree with my analysis?"
A tingle in his skin told Khayon that Telemanon was staring directly at him.
"Huron lied about the war."
The Masked Prince grinned.
"His reasons and motivations are his own business and our purpose overrides truth and falsehood."
Amulal nodded.
"I have blocked out all possible eavesdropping eyes and ears and we can speak openly and honestly."
"I'm speaking frankly, brother. Huron told the truth, at least part of it. When he faced the Astral Knights, he had exhausted all his means, or he was close to his trump card. Even the Demon Army of Khorne couldn't deal with it. The enemy you lost shouldn’t be an unknown little war leader.”
"If everything was as it seemed, there would be no need for us to come."
The last piece of armor was removed, and Khayon felt the fibers of a smock slipping around his neck.
"But I still regret taking this job. It's very risky."
A sudden scratch caused the two to turn around.
Telemanon was moving, each step like a slight movement between complete stillness.
A silver mask completely covered his head. The symbols engraved on the metal were incomprehensible to most people. Even mortals would feel extremely painful just by looking at it. A device similar to a lock fixed the mask on the The back of his head.
Then, a pair of hands emerged from Telemanon's gauntlets. Their fingers were withered and twisted, as if they had been broken and then healed without being reset.
His right hand is holding a silver-edged wax plate, and there is a long metal spike on the index finger of his left hand.
After a pause, he thrust the spike toward the wax plate, tilted his head back, and moved his hands like puppets.
[This place has been bugged]
As the chiselled letters appeared clearly on the wax tablet, Khayon paused, and once again the room fell into complete stillness.
Amulal first stared at the Masked Prince, and then at the words on the wax tablets.
"Over there?"
Telemanon's hand twitched to life again, scratching words on the wax tablet.
[The servitor on the left side of Khayon]
Amulal opened his mouth, a question forming on the tip of his tongue.
Kayon turned his head suddenly, put the index and middle fingers of his right hand together and pressed on the servitor's forehead.
Three seconds later, the servitor shrank back, as if awakened from a dream by a sudden noise, and its arms began to tremble.
"A mark that was placed about a day ago."
After speaking, Kayon retracted his finger, and the servitor returned to its original state of motionlessness.
"It seems there is a pretty good wizard in Huron."
Telemanon let out a low laugh, but to his surprise, Khayon shook his head.
"It wasn't Huron, it was another person. The mark he left was not to eavesdrop on us. He wanted to meet us."
"Meet?"
Amulal asked in surprise:
"Another ambitious person who overestimates his capabilities? Haven't Huron's bloody methods taught them good behavior?"
"no."
Kayon said, closing his eyes slightly, recalling the remaining information of that mark.
"He wants to talk to us about the Astral Knights."
"Oh, interesting."
The Masked Prince was obviously very interested in this matter.
"who is he?"
"The other party didn't leave a name, he just called himself Phantom Warrior."
"You've never heard of this name, so you decide to meet them?"
"Yes."
Kayon nodded.
"In just two days, let's see what this phantom warrior can tell us."
On the Huron side, after sending away the envoys of the Black Legion, Huron began to prepare for another important matter.
"How are the preparations for the skull harvest going?"
Hearing the voice coming from the shadow of the throne, Kelkus quickly lowered his head and answered.
"It's basically ready, and various candidates have arrived in New Badab one after another, but there are a few people inside who are restless."
"As long as you don't go too far, just leave them alone."
"Yes, Lord."
After answering, Kelkus seemed to have thought of something and bent down again.
"My lord, there is an unexpected factor."
"What is it?"
"In addition to the candidates on the original list, there is another newcomer who will also participate in the skull harvesting. That person... I am not sure whether to let him go."
"What's his name?"
"That man's name is Honso, from the Iron Warriors, but I heard that their legion didn't accept him and called him a bastard."
"Ha, Honso, I've heard of this man."
The tyrant laughed harshly.
"Let him participate, maybe he will bring us some surprises."
"Yes, I'll do it now."
