Huron understood the true nature of Chaos Marines: except for his Astral Claw squad, the rest of the Red Corsairs only followed him temporarily, unlike Abaddon's Black Legion.
The Red Corsairs were a loose alliance—Huron was the grand governor, but each had their turf and forces.
After falling to Chaos, their humanity was twisted, becoming bloodthirsty. He often held bizarre banquets where his Astartes fought to the death for the right to be a Warband master, offering the losers' skulls for Huron's throne.
After nearly a century in the Maelstrom, the Red Corsairs had lost all humanity. Huron even shared Khorne's hobbies, building a throne of skulls—all from Space Marines.
Saved by his master in the medbay and washed by cosmic energy, Huron regained his human form and mind. Looking back, he was horrified by his actions.
Ordinary mortals corrupted by Chaos were even worse—atrocities that would horrify normal people became routine.
Sacrificial rites were commonplace; some Chaos cultists even butchered their newborns for the gods.
"Master, I know what you want: to use my army as a surprise force against Chaos in a future war. But that's impossible. I can lead raids on the Imperium, but not attack the Four Gods—only the Astral Claw will follow me," Huron said.
He wanted to help, but this was the horror of Chaos corruption.
"So you want to abandon the Red Corsairs and the Maelstrom?" Rhodes understood.
Huron wanted to leave with his loyal Astral Claw, abandoning his old base.
"Yes, master! Give me time! I'm better at administration than war—I can build up your power somewhere," Huron said.
"How many in your Astral Claw?" Rhodes asked.
He had three star systems under him, and the Mefilas could help develop them—when the Unyielding Crusade began, they'd aid him, and Huron could take over.
His territory bordered the Ultramar 500 Worlds—there was room to expand.
Letting Huron build up the territory was better than betraying Abaddon—especially since Horus was already giving Abaddon enough trouble.
Besides, in the Warhammer universe, once tainted by Chaos, you were unsalvageable.
But not for Rhodes. As long as you weren't corrupted by the Four Gods specifically—just by undivided Chaos—Cosmic Beast energy could cleanse you.
Huron's Astral Claw hadn't pledged to the Four Gods; they'd just taken in some chaotic energy.
"Master, my Astral Claw has over 7,000 loyal members and about 6,000 more who haven't absorbed the Four Gods' power.
With your beast's cleansing, they can be freed. The rest are already lost to Chaos," Huron said.
Recent Chaos converts weren't deeply corrupted, but they'd need new gene-seeds after decades in the Maelstrom.
"Good, that's not many. My beasts can handle it. Gather your loyal troops—I'll send a ship to lead you to my star system, where you'll get new surgeries and gene-seeds," Rhodes said.
He ordered the Mefilas to begin recruiting and left detailed procedures and medical pods at HQ.
These Chaos Marines could be rearmed and cleansed in a few months.
Rhodes had Zett pilot a small Pedan ship to guide the Chaos Marines to his realm.
After discussing details, Huron began gathering his loyalists.
The ships Rhodes had destroyed were all Four Gods' property. Huron's flagship and his marines survived.
Those who'd absorbed a lot of Chaos energy were cleansed by Huron's beast.
Huron told others he was leading a raid on Imperial traders—no one suspected a thing.
While Huron was preparing, Zett had injected himself with Reionics genes, evolving into a Reionics and gaining access to the Battlenizer device.
He then completed a final trial by ordeal, killing two Ork warbosses, growing to over 4 meters in height.
The Ork warboss tried to resist but was brainwashed and controlled by Zett.
Released, the Ork warboss became a loyal servant.
"Unbelievable, master! The Reionics power is far beyond my imagination—it can easily control and enslave monsters!" said the Zett.
"Good! Now begin the super-beast transformation!" Rhodes ordered.
Yapool arrived with the super-beast fusion machine.
A million Ork corpses, extradimensional energy, and a warboss were thrown into the machine.
A flash of green light—and a 60-meter-tall, musclebound Ork in tattered armor, with a massive chainsaw axe and a giant power fist, appeared.
The power fist had cannons for ranged attacks; the Ork could also fire energy rays from his mouth.
After the transformation, the huge Ork knelt before Zett—his new master.
"It's done, master! I can control the Ork warboss and, through him, the Ork army," said Zett.
"Good! Make sure to restrain the Ork boss—he'll obey you, and his army will follow him, but not you directly. Be careful," Rhodes cautioned.
"Understood, master. For my second monster, how about capturing a Tyranid Norn-Queen?" asked Zett.
If Orks could be controlled, maybe Tyranids could too?
"Absolutely not! Don't mess with the Tyranids! Reionics power is strong, but Tyranids are fundamentally different from Orks.
Orks are individuals, but Tyranids, even the Norn-Queen, are just parts of the Hive Mind," Rhodes warned.
The Hive Mind is not a single entity. All Tyranids are one consciousness.
…
A few days later, Huron led 13,000 cleansed Astartes, following Zett back to Rhodes' base.
Rhodes himself returned to his space fortress.