Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde

The surrounding Dark Eldar began to cheer, celebrating the victory of their Arena Queen.

Even though the Arena Queen hadn't lifted a finger throughout the battle, merely standing by and watching, her presence alone was enough to boost the morale of these black bean sprouts.

"Long live the champion! Long live the Arena Queen!"

Standing atop Bemstar's head, Lelith continuously blew kisses to the crowd below. The dark eldar warriors who had come to follow her were essentially a devoted fanbase, utterly enthralled by her.

With just a single word from her, they would willingly arm themselves, prepare their ships, and follow her into battle.

"We should leave now, my little darlings. If we linger too long in the outside world, our mortal enemies will take notice.

Hurry up and pack up this big beast, and then let's take our spoils back to Commorragh! Let the people of Commorragh see what kind of grand prize we've captured this time," Lelith commanded.

The dark eldar race couldn't stay in real space for too long. Even within the networked realm, inside the main city of Commorragh, their souls were constantly being drained by their most dreaded enemy. This ever-present threat loomed over all of their kind.

The dark eldar members nodded and immediately activated their spacecraft. Large hooks were installed onto Bemstar, lifting the colossal creature and hauling it aboard the ship.

"My queen! This time, I've also captured three Deathwatch Space Marines, including a Chaplain and a special spacecraft.

Allow me to present them all to you!" The dark eldar pirate captain said with a sycophantic grin as he approached Lelith.

Among humanity's Space Marine chapters, the Deathwatch warriors were known for their exceptional combat prowess. Surely, they would satisfy the Arena Queen's discerning tastes.

The pirate captain had not forgotten about the Arena Queen's special reward—something he coveted beyond reason.

"Oh! Three Deathwatch Space Marines and a special spacecraft? That does pique my interest. Take me to see them! If they're of good quality, I might just reward you," Lelith said with amusement.

She was in a good mood today. Perhaps, later, she'd reward this guy by letting him be her pet dog for a day—licking her furniture clean, ensuring the floors were spotless.

At this moment, the dark eldar pirate captain had no idea what kind of special reward the Arena Queen was referring to.

After all, while it was called the Arena Queen's Special Reward, the final interpretation of that reward was entirely up to her.

She could just as easily reward him with an arena duel—perhaps by cutting off all his limbs, for instance.

Elated, the pirate captain eagerly led Lelith toward the captured spaceship.

When they first arrived on this planet, he had immediately set his sights on this disc-shaped ship—it looked like a near-orbital landing craft. But upon closer inspection, the interior suggested it was something far more sophisticated than any human-made spacecraft.

Regardless, bringing this ship back to Commorragh would undoubtedly fetch a high price. As for the Space Marines inside? Consider them a bonus.

...

Meanwhile, aboard the mothership, Rhodes smirked and activated his golden teleportation bracelet.

In an instant, he appeared inside the small spacecraft, retrieved the two unconscious Deathwatch Marines and their Chaplain, and teleported them—along with the entire ship—back to his mothership.

Outside, neither the Arena Queen Lelith nor the dark eldar pirate captain had any clue that Rhodes had already spirited their prisoners away.

Rhodes had never intended to let those Space Marines fall into enemy hands. And now, he had also managed to thoroughly humiliate the dark eldar pirate captain—because, after all, he despised bootlickers.

"Let's see how you explain this to your Arena Queen," Rhodes thought with satisfaction.

"You said there were three Space Marines aboard? Well, now there's absolutely nothing left.

If circumstances allowed, I might've even stuffed three Orks in there instead—just to mess with you."

After securing the rescued warriors, the Deathwatch Marines gathered to check on their battle-brothers. They were only unconscious, with no serious injuries.

"Thank you, Lord Rhodes!" Titus said, stepping forward to express his gratitude.

"No need to thank me! Just get everyone ready—we're about to jump. We'll be traveling through the Eldar Webway for a while," Rhodes replied.

The Deathwatch Marines nodded, and Titus immediately began making preparations. Soon, all the warriors dispersed, while Rhodes continued to monitor the situation.

...

Meanwhile, the dark eldar pirate captain opened the spaceship's hatch—only to find it empty, disturbingly pristine.

A cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

What the hell was going on?

They had captured three Space Marines here earlier! And they had even suffered casualties in the process!

So why was there not a single soul inside now?

"Oh? You told me there were three Space Marines in here—famous Deathwatch warriors, no less.

But now, I see nothing at all," Lelith said, narrowing her eyes at the pirate captain with a half-smile that carried a dangerous edge.

The dark elder warriors standing beside her scoffed.

"No one has ever dared to deceive the Arena Queen! You must be incredibly bold!

You claimed there were three Space Marines inside—but there's nothing here.

You must pay for this deception!"

"I—I swear, my Queen, they were here!

They must have escaped using some special means. Yes! The Chaplain has strong psychic abilities.

He must have awakened and used his powers to teleport away! They must be nearby! If we search quickly, we can still capture them!" the pirate captain stammered in desperation.

It was true—when they had first restrained the Chaplain, he had been identified as a psyker. He must have used his psychic powers to escape.

But… wait.

They had put a psychic inhibitor on him! So how did he manage to teleport away?

"Hm. That explanation does seem plausible… But we don't have time to search.

Besides, I've already acquired a delightful new plaything.

You were here to capture Tyranid bioforms, weren't you?

Hand over every single Tyranid you caught—as punishment for your deception," Lelith commanded.

The dark elder race couldn't linger in real space for long. Rather than wasting time searching for a few escaped Space Marines, it was better to retreat while they still could.

Besides, among the Tyranid specimens they had captured, there were surely some that would amuse her. And today's haul had already been quite substantial.

The pirate captain sighed in resignation.

"Understood, my Queen. I will surrender all of them to you."

"That's the right attitude. Your special reward is canceled, and I'm also deducting an additional prize.

Now, you may choose between my autograph or an arena ticket."

"My Queen, I choose your autograph—with a kiss mark," the pirate captain said, sighing.

An arena ticket could be bought. But the Queen's autograph? That was priceless.

Lelith nodded, pulled out a small card from her collar, signed it, and pressed her lips against it, leaving a purple lipstick mark.

Then, as if discarding trash, she casually tossed the card toward the pirate captain.

Seeing him cradle it like a priceless treasure, she smirked in satisfaction.

"Oh, and this spaceship is mine now," Lelith declared as she reached the doorway.

"The ship belongs to you, my Queen!"

With all their spoils secured, the dark eldar fleet began its retreat. A massive portal to the Webway opened in the sky, and one by one, their ships slipped through.

...

Rhodes, meanwhile, activated his mothership's warp jump system and, just as the Webway portal was closing, made a precise jump into the networked realm.

The Padanian ship was incredibly advanced—this mothership had the same teleportation capabilities as his bracelet.

Inside the Webway, Rhodes activated the ship's stealth mode and, using the small vessel's remote tracking beacon silently shadowed the dark eldar fleet toward Commorragh.

They had no idea that a hidden ship had slipped in right behind them.

The Webway was a dazzling, mysterious realm.

Within it, distances of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of light-years could be crossed in mere moments.

No wonder the Emperor had once coveted it.