Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor

Ka'Bandha's icy tone and violent gaze cast a heavy silence over the atmosphere.

As time passed, the roars of the daemons gradually subsided, and the number of Tyranids on the ground diminished. The daemon army had nearly exterminated the bugs on Baal Secundus.

The Exalted Bloodthirster still stared at his trusted subordinate, Bary, as if questioning—or perhaps hesitating.

The daemon spy Bary was slightly nervous.

After all, his identity was a bit... complicated. First, he was a Genestealer, second, a Khorne daemon, and more importantly, Ka'Bandha's most trusted subordinate.

And ultimately, he was the mole planted by the Four-Armed Savior beside Ka'Bandha.

Right now, Bary, as a Genestealer, was leading Khorne's daemons to attack the Tyranids, all while secretly stabbing them in the back.

Of course, all of this was for the glory of the great Four-Armed Savior.

After years of infiltration, Bary had nearly become the top dog. Within this army, aside from the Exalted Bloodthirster, no one held more power or strength than him.

Most of the first-hand intel had been passed on through him—including this campaign, where the Khorne daemonic host marched on Baal.

If Ka'Bandha ever died, he might even inherit his legacy and ascend as a new Exalted Bloodthirster.

"My lord, you mean... there's a traitor among us…"

Bary took a deep breath. "That wretched traitor leaked the battle plans, which led to our failure?"

Ka'Bandha's fury flared even more violently, and he seemed on the verge of tearing someone apart in the next instant. "That's right! And the traitor is most likely among us!"

He turned again to his trusted lieutenant.

"Who do you think it is? And who do you think sent them?"

Bary blinked his small eyes, seizing on the core issue, and appeared to be deep in thought.

"A traitor acting so brazenly must be hiding very well. To have the power to plant someone among us…"

He emphasized "us" and then wore an expression of sudden realization and righteous fury. "...It can only be those scheming, treacherous birdmen!"

"Those blue-feathered bastards have always been plotting against us, and this time their deceit has gone too far!"

Ka'Bandha nodded approvingly, clearly satisfied. "You're right…"

He was very pleased with this loyal and intelligent subordinate—someone who could keep up with his thinking and also manage operations effectively.

In Khorne's armies, such competence was exceedingly rare.

Ka'Bandha growled, "The traitor must be one of Tzeentch's schemes. I'll remember this grudge."

He vowed to find an opportunity to behead a few more blue-feathered birdmen.

Then, turning to Bary, he issued a new order: "I'm leaving this matter in your hands. Find the traitor. Take their heads."

"As you command."

Without a moment's hesitation, Bary responded loyally, "I will uncover the hidden traitor and offer their skull to you, my lord!"

Entrusting this matter to him was the best outcome.

Whether or not there actually were any Tzeentchian spies in Ka'Bandha's army no longer mattered. If they were declared to exist, then they had to exist.

Worst-case scenario, he could call on his fellow Genestealer agents infiltrating the realms of Tzeentch and have them send over a few scapegoats.

BOOM——

The massive octagram, made of piled skulls, collapsed further, drawing the two daemons' attention.

Ka'Bandha's expression darkened as he realized a more severe problem.

He had embarked on this campaign with grand ambitions and bold promises: to destroy Baal and wipe out all the Blood Angels.

Now, having lost more than two-thirds of his daemon host with little to show for it, the results were catastrophic.

Tyranids had no souls, making it nearly impossible to replenish the soul essence consumed in battle, and even the sole blood offering octagram had crumbled.

It was a disastrous loss.

"My lord, the bugs have launched a new wave!" Bary pointed toward the atmosphere as more Tyranid spores descended.

The Tyranids on the surface of Baal Secundus had nearly been wiped out, but Leviathan seemed determined to claim the moon and harvest its biomass.

More importantly…

It wanted to destroy the daemon beast that had wounded it so deeply.

This put Ka'Bandha in a dilemma. Continuing to fight the bugs meant bleeding resources with little to gain—but if he withdrew without results, he would surely face Khorne's wrath.

The Blood God had blessed him repeatedly and provided a vast daemon army, even lending him forces from other Exalted Bloodthirsters.

To invade the Materium with such fanfare and yet return empty-handed?

That supreme being might finally lose patience—and then it would be over for him.

Ka'Bandha could already envision the coming rage of the Blood God, and the ridicule from other Exalted Bloodthirsters.

He might not survive the Blood God's wrath.

For the first time, this mighty daemon saw a bleak future for himself.

Another unprecedented failure.

Gazing out at crimson Baal, Ka'Bandha suddenly conceived a new idea.

Since those wretched bugs were pursuing him, why not lead them to Baal instead—create more carnage and chaos?

He knew how these bugs worked.

Once drawn by the scent of fresh meat, they would surely attack the humans.

At that point, he could lead his remaining daemons and assault alongside the bugs, reaping greater rewards.

"Everything is going according to plan!"

Ka'Bandha thought confidently to himself, noticing nothing strange.

Then…

He relayed this so-called perfect plan to Bary, ordering him to regroup the daemon host and lead the pursuing Tyranid swarm toward Baal.

"My lord, that is truly a brilliant plan!"

Bary's words overflowed with admiration for the Exalted Bloodthirster. He immediately went to carry out the order.

And of course, he also forwarded the plan to the Four-Armed Savior.

This loyal agent took the initiative.

He ordered Khorne's daemons to burn all nearby Tyranid biomass with haste, destroying anything the swarm could recycle, before regrouping to follow Ka'Bandha to the new battlefield.

This would prevent Leviathan from replenishing itself—and give the advantage to the Four-Armed Savior.

Ka'Bandha praised this action, viewing it as a worthy act of vengeance and a smart tactic to weaken the swarm.

He liked this kind of subordinate—clever and efficient.

Khorne's daemons set Baal Secundus ablaze with hellfire, incinerating nearly all remaining biomass.

This infuriated Leviathan even more, prompting it to divert reinforcements from other fronts to try and annihilate the daemonic beasts.

Now, the Tyranid Hive Mind's hatred of the Exalted Bloodthirster had surpassed even its hatred for the Blood Angels.

When it redirected its forces to Baal Secundus, it found the daemons entering new portals.

At the same time—

"For the Blood God!"

Ka'Bandha now led his Bloodletters, Greater Daemons, and daemon engines through the atmosphere.

"Sons of Sanguinius! The Angelic Scourge descends—you will be annihilated!"

They surged like an unstoppable crimson hurricane toward Baal.

Leviathan's Hive Mind seemed to grasp the daemon beast's intent—it was trying to redirect the swarm toward a human world.

So it calmed down.

Baal Secundus' biomass had been incinerated, and the daemons offered nothing it could consume.

Leviathan's swarm was now starving.

If it couldn't replenish energy soon, the entire hive fleet would be in grave danger.

The Hive Mind changed tactics.

Rather than chase the daemons, it would cooperate with them to attack the human world.

After all, daemons sought souls. It only needed flesh and biomass.

They didn't need to be enemies—not yet.

Even with hatred burning between them, it would have to wait.

Until Baal was conquered and its living resources divided—only then could old grudges resume.

Leviathan's fleet rerouted heavy reinforcements into Baal Secundus' orbit, following the daemons in a rare, wordless alliance.

The sudden shift in the theater of war did not go unnoticed.

In the command chamber of Angel's Fortress, alarms sounded.

Tarko immediately issued orders for the Redeemer Fleet to divert units and reinforce Baal Secundus' sector.

At the same time, he instructed the Adeptus Mechanicus priests of Urth to prepare the sacred Bone-Ash Barrage Array—designed specifically for daemon annihilation.

The warzone's optimism vanished in an instant.

Though Khorne's daemons had depleted nearly half of Leviathan's forces, a joint assault on Baal would still place humanity under immense strain.

BOOM.

The doors of the Blackstone resting chamber slammed open.

Thud… Thud… Thud.

Heavy footsteps echoed.

A figure stepped slowly out from the shadows—clad in fearsome dark-gold armor, exuding an aura of dread.

Any daemon present would immediately recognize the figure and gasp his name—

The Devourer.

The Devourer's mere appearance was a force of nature. To the Chaos daemons, he was terror incarnate—his feats engraved in their memories as an eternal nightmare.

His arrival heralded a holy storm.

The end for the daemons was near.

"Ka'Bandha, that bastard... he's gotten smarter."

Eden's voice was low and raspy under his warped helmet.

It was unsettling that the Exalted Bloodthirster had learned to use strategy.

If he had the choice...

Eden would have preferred not to fight this twisted Warp-born half-brother.

Because once he struck—it was always with a Super Big Ivan: the ultra-massive Holy Bone-Ash Warhead. Ka'Bandha might not even survive the blast.

And worse, only one of those superweapons was currently charged.

Using it now would be a waste.

But fate, as always, was unkind.

Ka'Bandha was still charging toward Baal—and one of them would have to fall.

Hummmm—

A distant launch bay activated. The pale-gray ultra-massive bone-ash warhead began to rise.

The scent of Chaos bloodlust grew stronger.

Eden raised his eyes to the void above.

He knew the Exalted Bloodthirster was coming.

But he made no move.

Perhaps, just perhaps, there was still a way to avoid this fight.

…

Baal's orbital space.

Ka'Bandha suddenly halted, as if he had sensed something.

"The Devourer?"

The Exalted Bloodthirster's heart was filled with unease.

"Why is that bastard here too? I didn't sense his presence before!"

He had narrowly escaped the Devourer's terrifying attacks multiple times and had long since developed a conditioned fear.

Whenever he arrived at a battlefield, his first instinct was always to scan the surroundings—to determine whether the Devourer was present.

Only after that would he decide whether to engage in combat.

And now, the Devourer's aura had emerged.

Ka'Bandha could clearly sense that the Devourer was hidden somewhere on Baal's surface!

He shuddered at the thought:

"That damned Devourer… cunning as ever, lying in wait for me. Good thing I detected your filthy trap in advance."

If he hadn't been sharp enough to pick up the Devourer's presence early…

Once he set foot on Baal, it would've been over.

That horrifying weapon must already be primed—waiting to strike down the Exalted Bloodthirster.

Ka'Bandha's mind was dragged back into that agonizing and hopeless memory: he had once been struck by that dreadful weapon, his body and soul scorched by the energy of the Accursed.

He had suffered indescribably back then, praying only for a swift and total death.

That left a permanent shadow in the heart of the Exalted Bloodthirster—whenever he thought of the Devourer and that moment, he couldn't help but tremble.

Now, Eden knew Ka'Bandha had sensed him—but remained silent.

Ka'Bandha had sensed Eden—but pretended he hadn't.

Both sides were terrifyingly in sync.

After all, both the Devourer and the Exalted Bloodthirster were carefully hyping up a confrontation of good versus evil. They were seen as the final champions of their respective factions.

If they met in battle—it would have to be a true clash of titans.

And whoever lost would shatter that narrative, losing faith energy and followers alike.

To put it bluntly—

Both had hordes of daemon-fanboys boosting their ratings. If either one fell, the buzz would die off.

What's more—

Eden didn't want to lose Ka'Bandha, his loyal "genius" promoter and hype-man.

Ka'Bandha didn't want to be obliterated by Eden's dreaded holy payload.

It was an outcome neither could accept.

ROAR—

The Bloodletters, unable to suppress their bloodlust, let out deafening howls, breaking Ka'Bandha's train of thought.

The Exalted Bloodthirster roared back in fury:

"SILENCE! I'm THINKING!"

He strained every neuron in his daemon brain, calculating his next move.

Now, he was in a dilemma.

Heading to Baal was no longer an option.

Not because he feared the Devourer—of course not. It simply wasn't the right time for their epic duel. Besides, he wasn't in peak condition.

This was, after all, his lifelong nemesis.

He wanted to fight him at his best.

"Yes. Exactly that."

Ka'Bandha convinced himself. He immediately gave up on the idea of attacking Baal.

But staying here meant continuing the fight against the Tyranids chasing him—resulting in even more daemon casualties.

BOOM BOOM BOOM—

In orbit.

Leviathan's bioships were engaged in a brutal firefight with the Redeemer Fleet reinforcements.

Torpedoes, spine batteries, living missiles, macro cannons, and lance beams collided in booming blasts that rocked ships on both sides.

Curiously…

The Redeemer Fleet had avoided engaging Ka'Bandha's daemons, focusing solely on the Tyranid vessels.

Ka'Bandha, watching this unfold, suddenly had an idea.

Perhaps he could join forces with the humans to destroy the bugs chasing him?

Just as he hesitated, a living missile veered off course and struck one of Khorne's daemon engines. A swift hunting beast burst out of its chamber and instinctively leapt toward a daemon, causing chaos.

That was all the excuse he needed.

"Bugs! You DARE challenge me?"

Ka'Bandha spun around and roared furiously.

Without delay, he issued a new command, ordering every daemon to kill any Tyranid bold enough to pursue the mighty Ka'Bandha!

The Khorne daemons, who had suppressed their bloodlust for too long, bellowed and charged the Tyranid fleet.

Daemon engines spewed flame and rammed into bioships, while hordes of daemons ripped their way inside the living vessels, slaughtering everything they found.

Ka'Bandha and the Redeemer Fleet now attacked Leviathan in unison.

The Redeemer's ship cannons punched through the bioships' defenses, and the daemons poured into the breaches with grim efficiency.

The sudden reversal left the hive fleet caught in a brutal pincer strike—crippling them.

"What's going on?!"

Within Leviathan's flagship bioship, the ancient insectoid Hive Mind let out an enraged screech.

"Why are those daemon beasts back?! Weren't they headed to Baal?!"

The Hive Mind felt its intelligence was being mocked—it couldn't comprehend the behavior of the daemons.

Perhaps these daemon beasts were just chaotic, unpredictable monsters driven by madness.

The void battle raged on.

Soon, fleets from the T'au Empire and the Orks arrived and dove into the fray.

T'au battleships fired gravitic launchers and railguns, bombarding the bioships with pinpoint accuracy. Ork warships launched even more drill-loaded boarding pods.

These drills burrowed deep into the bioships.

More Orks burst out of the pods, swinging dakka guns, hammers, and alloy clubs to crush Tyranid skulls.

WAAAGH—

One Ork boss, wielding a colossal dakka gun, was mowing down incoming bugs.

Charging too recklessly, he slipped on a slick patch of Tyranid guts and slammed into something… green?

???

The Ork boss blinked. He couldn't quite understand—was that… a mushroom? A big one?

He reached down and yanked the mushroom up—revealing a tiny Ork child covered in green chitin.

WAAAGH!

The little greenskin, startled, threw a punch right into the boss's giant nose.

Grunting in pain, the boss hurled the little bugger away.

It crashed into a Ravener but surprisingly fought back—grappling the creature and pounding it to death, even while injured.

The Ork boss was thrilled.

He recognized the little tank as a snotling from the Steeltoof Tribe.

Wasting no time, he gunned down the surrounding bugs and then bonked the little one on the head.

"You're mine now."

In truth—

This snotling was a product of the Ork Research Institute—engineered from their super-enhanced fungal spores.

Those spores had been scattered on a test world and had secretly embedded themselves aboard bioships, taking root undetected.

They'd even absorbed some beneficial Tyranid traits.

The Ork boss didn't understand why his tribe's young'un was here.

He pulled out his communicator and, with great difficulty, tapped out a message. The situation was reported up the chain to the Big Mek—and then to the Ork Research Institute.

Eventually, a new order came down:

"Kill all the bugs. Protect the big shrooms. Or Da WAAAGH Boss will eat ya!"

The terrifying command made the Ork boss shriek in fear—but also fired him up.

He led his boyz in clearing out the bioship, marking and defending all the valuable mushrooms.

In the void, Ork warships launched space harpoons, latching onto this rare living vessel and yanking it out of the battlefield.

They fled the scene at maximum speed.

Behind them, the space war raged on—but Leviathan could no longer spare the attention to recover that bioship.

…

Baal.

Eden watched the chaos unfold in orbit.

The Redeemer Fleet, the T'au, the Orks, and even Khorne's daemons were now all tearing into Leviathan.

Everything was going just as he expected.

That genius Ka'Bandha hadn't chosen to duel him.

Instead, he turned and unleashed his fury on the Tyranids.

In truth—

That was the best move the Exalted Bloodthirster could've made.

Any other choice would've meant even greater losses.

At this moment...

The only word to describe the scene in space was—loyalty.

Multiple factions fighting together for the Imperium—for the Savior.

Soon, the tendril fleets Leviathan had deployed toward Baal Secundus were completely wiped out, suffering even greater losses.

After this battle, Leviathan had lost more than half of its bioships, while the Redeemer Fleet had sustained almost no significant damage.

After all, it was Khorne's daemons who served as the primary shock troops.

Once they finished slaughtering the pursuing Tyranid fleets, they withdrew through a Warp rift under Ka'Bandha's command, retreating from the Baal System.

After Khorne's daemons departed—

The fractured, oppressive, blood-red sky of the Baal System finally dissipated, returning to its usual state.

"Ka'Bandha finally left…"

Seeing that bastard go, Eden let out a small sigh of relief.

Now, he could focus entirely on dealing with the remnants of Leviathan's forces.

But then, a new thought struck him.

Ka'Bandha had brought such a massive army to attack Baal… yet achieved almost nothing and suffered staggering losses.

It was an outright, humiliating defeat.

Would Khorne flay him alive?

Eden tried to contact Bary to get an update—but found that Bary was in a chaotic Warp zone, unreachable.

With no other choice, he could only mourn in his heart for his good bro, hoping to see him again next time.

…

Far across the galaxy—

A Hive World.

Crimson pillars of blood stretched to the heavens, as cultists used mountains of bones and blood to summon a legendary daemon.

THUD—

Massive hooves stomped the ground.

The Exalted Bloodthirster, Ka'Bandha, had just left the Baal System's war, only to immediately lead his remaining daemon forces to a new battleground.

He had no other choice.

After the devastating losses at Baal, he was deep in soul-debt and devoid of war spoils—a walking disaster.

Ka'Bandha didn't even dare return home.

He feared that in Khorne's rage, he would be flayed alive, stripped of all his power, and hung from the gates of the Brass Citadel to suffer eternal humiliation.

His only option now was to gather more souls and war trophies across the galaxy to repay his debt.

To lessen the inevitable punishment from the Blood God.

He didn't even hope to keep his rank—only to survive the ordeal.

In other words—

For the foreseeable future, Ka'Bandha would have to scurry about the galaxy, collecting souls to pay off his debt.

Now, the Exalted Bloodthirster had burned the last of his soul energy to arrive at this ripe Hive World—

Hoping to feast on the souls of more humans.

"Faithful ones, tell me—where must I bring destruction?"

Ka'Bandha's violent aura was almost uncontrollable. He could barely wait to begin the slaughter.

But then—

A Chaos sorcerer, trembling, voiced his request… and Ka'Bandha responded by splitting him in half with a single blow.

Another complication—and one that felt all too familiar.

The Khorne cultists of this world had conquered the planet and even parts of the system… only to be invaded by a massive Ork empire.

Their forces had been nearly annihilated.

In desperation, the Chaos sorcerers had used their followers' flesh and blood to summon a legendary daemon—

Hoping the daemon would grant them power to slaughter the greenskin xenos.

But what they didn't realize was—

Ka'Bandha was probably poorer than they were right now. What power did he have left to grant?

The roar of Orks echoed in the distance.

Bary turned his gaze down from the Hive City walls to the plains outside.

A vast ocean of green stretched out.

It was an endless greenskin horde.

And it wasn't just this world—the entire system was like this. The Hive City was now a lonely island in a sea of enemies.

The daemon spy looked at the Orks and suddenly felt his future was looking very… dim.

"Thankfully Orks are a sapient species… they have souls…"

He consoled himself.

ROAR—

"SOULS!"

Ka'Bandha leapt high into the air and dove toward the endless tide of Orks!

—

Baal.

Temporary Savior's Sanctuary.

Eden carefully reviewed the battle reports.

Leviathan's hive fleet was now greatly diminished, while the human forces of the Baal System remained largely intact.

Perhaps, they could now grind down these damned bugs in a war of attrition.

And if they could capture Leviathan itself… even better.

(End of Chapter)

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