Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 169: Legendary Pirate

Due to the vast disparities in language and culture, it was actually quite difficult for humanity to decipher what the greenskins called themselves. Therefore, greenskins capable of leaving their names on the Imperium's xenos watchlists were exceedingly rare.

And this invariably meant that any xenos whose name was recorded was undoubtedly an exceptionally tenacious character that had posed a severe threat to, and inflicted grievous harm upon, the Imperium.

Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub was precisely such an Ork Warlord, a greenskin who had etched his name onto the watchlists of both the Ordo Xenos and the Deathwatch.

During the early stages of his activity, Nazdreg remained largely obscure; only scattered intelligence reports indicated he was a member of an exceedingly wealthy Bad Moons clan.

Over time, his reputation as a greenskin pirate posing a catastrophic threat to Imperial shipping gradually spread. What truly cemented his infamy was his salvaging and retrofitting of the wrecked hull of an Apocalypse-class Battleship into his personal flagship. He then launched a devastating raid on a Forge World in the Gothic Sector, plundering a massive haul of materiel, before turning around and ambushing an Imperial Navy fleet in the same sector, sinking over a dozen warships.

Following this, the Deathwatch initiated several operations to hunt him down, but his cunning allowed him to evade them every time. He even managed to ambush a Deathwatch Kill Team on a remote planet, inflicting severe casualties.

In the ensuing years, as Nazdreg's activities became increasingly frequent, his fleet steadily expanded, evolving into a severe threat that caused endless headaches for the Imperial Navy.

According to Inquisition reports, this pirate Warlord appeared noticeably more intelligent than the vast majority of known greenskins. He could speak fluent Low Gothic and even understood the concept of utilizing a "carrot and stick" system of rewards and punishments to motivate the unfortunate slaves forced to labor for him.

He was also one of the rare greenskin Warlords who actively utilized human slaves.

Setting aside the xenos' personal capabilities, his sprawling pirate fleet alone constituted a catastrophic disaster for any given sector.Should he intervene in the Vorenus campaign, the outcome of the war would become impossible to predict.

Silence fell over the strategium.

Minutes later, Soshyan was the first to break the impasse.

"Estimated time of arrival?"

"Insufficient intelligence. However, Nazdreg was last sighted in the Armageddon Sector. Assuming standard Warp travel speeds, he could reach the periphery of this system in roughly one standard month."

"One month..."

Soshyan folded his left arm across his chest and rested his chin in his right hand. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke.

"That timeline is far too tight. Furthermore, once the greenskins on Vorenus Prime realize reinforcements are inbound, they will fight with suicidal stubbornness. Continuing the ground campaign will likely prove nightmarish."

Malakim nodded.

"I had considered a decapitation strike via drop pod assault, but—"

He then shook his head.

"Even now, we have been unable to pinpoint the Ork Warlord's exact location. It knows the tactics we might employ and has hidden itself exceedingly well. All communications are relayed via hardlines or even verbal messengers."

"An interrogation of a captive?"

Greenskins were not entirely incapable of communication. In fact, high-ranking greenskins possessed sufficient cognitive capacity for thought, and the expeditionary fleet was not wanting for scholars versed in the Ork language. Soshyan's suggestion was not entirely unreasonable.

"We thought of that, and we captured several. But to our astonishment, even those creatures had no idea where their own leader was located."

"What a cunning beast."

If they failed to eliminate the greenskin boss swiftly, the campaign would devolve into the awkward predicament of an army stalled beneath an impregnable fortress. If an external force were to intervene at that juncture, they would find themselves trapped in a pincer movement, attacked from both within and without.

"Lord Malakim, what is your assessment?"

Unable to conjure a viable solution on the spot, Soshyan turned to the architect of this campaign.

"My proposal is for the entire combined fleet to commence immediate orbital bombardment. We will maximize the destruction of the planet's surface installations, and then the fleet will withdraw from the system as quickly as possible to avoid attracting further trouble."

As he spoke, the hololith shifted to display a size comparison between Vorenus Prime and its moons.

As they were artificial satellites, none of the moons were particularly large.

Soshyan then offered his own perspective.

"A viable strategy, but it cannot guarantee the total annihilation of the enemy."

"True, but it is the fastest and most direct method available. At the very least, it will ensure the greenskins here are incapable of causing any further trouble for a significant period."

"Not necessarily."

Soshyan shook his head.

"The greenskins here have already evolved their technology to the level of Warp travel, and remnants of their fleet still lurk within the system. If we fail to cut the weeds and dig up the roots, I fear it won't take them long to recover. And they will emerge from this attack even more frenzied and belligerent than before."

Malakim frowned. He knew Soshyan spoke the truth.

But this was the only viable plan he could devise.

"I have a thought."

Soshyan tapped his finger against the hololithic projector, expanding the display to encompass the entire star system.

He then traced several circles at the system's periphery.

"My lord, apologies for the forwardness, but if you were that greenskin pirate Warlord, where would you choose to to enter the fray?"

Lord Malakim stared at the projection for a moment before replying in a low voice:

"If I were a greedy and cunning creature, I would undoubtedly select one of the remaining greenskin perimeter outposts as my insertion point. Such a location would be safe, and it would allow me to absorb the outpost's materiel and manpower—a move guaranteed to yield a profit."

He paused, pointing his finger toward an asteroid belt on the very edge of the system.

"Gantrus 3. It boasts a stable Warp jump point, with the surrounding asteroid belt providing excellent concealment. It is exceptionally safe. I would definitely choose this location, annex the nearby outposts, and observe the development of the war from afar... If the human forces remained bogged down in a protracted siege, I would launch a massive surprise attack against the rear of the human fleet, shattering the siege of Vorenus Prime in a single stroke. Conversely, if the humans were prepared, I would dispatch small raiding squadrons to continuously harass the human fleet's rear echelon, attacking their conquered worlds and supply depots, forcing them to disperse their forces to provide escort and defense, while waiting for the optimal moment to force a decisive clash between our main fleets."

Soshyan clapped his hands lightly.

"I am truly thankful, Lord Malakim, that you are not a greenskin. Otherwise, we might indeed have to choose retreat."

"Hahaha! Now that is an exceedingly odd compliment, Chapter Master Soshyan."

Allowing the heavy atmosphere to lighten slightly, Soshyan then reined in his smile.

"My proposal is this: maintain a minimal blockade around Vorenus Prime, while simultaneously massing the bulk of our combined forces in the Gantrus 3 sector. We ambush Nazdreg's fleet and either inflict catastrophic damage upon them, or annihilate them in a single stroke! At that point, the greenskins trapped on Vorenus Prime will be no different from corpses."

Silence once again descended upon the strategium.

Lord Malakim leaned his hands on the metallic rim of the hololith projector, his eyes locked onto the three-dimensional projection radiating a pale green luminescence, as if trying to divine some prophecy from its depths.

Soshyan noticed a slight twitch at the corner of the older Space Marine's eye.

"This—"

Ten minutes later, Lord Malakim spoke, his voice hoarse:

"—is a massive gamble, Soshyan."

"It is."

"Setting aside the question of whether we can even successfully ambush Nazdreg's main fleet, do we possess the requisite strength to defeat them in a pitched battle?"

In truth, the expeditionary fleet was far from weak. Comprising multiple detachment fleets alongside the Excoriators' Chapter fleet, it boasted nearly fifty major warships of Cruiser-class and above, including super-heavy capital ships like the Endless Night.

However, the vast majority were multi-role Lunar-class and Gothic-class cruisers.

Their opponent was a grand pirate Warlord who had terrorized multiple sectors. Setting aside his flagship, he had amassed a vast armada cobbled together from Space Hulks and salvaged wrecks. In terms of sheer firepower, these cobbled-together vessels matched the standards of Grand Cruisers, possessing enough destructive potential to cause endless headaches for the Imperial Navy of an entire sector.

And their own forces barely constituted a single sector fleet.

"This is our opportunity to ensure this campaign does not end in a shameful defeat."

Malakim raised his head slightly, meeting Soshyan's gaze.

"You insist on this course of action."

"I do."

Just then, the micro-vox built into Lord Malakim's gorget chimed abruptly.

"Report."

"Chapter Master, there is a new development. An unidentified fleet has been detected approaching the edge of the star system."