After Eden successfully transformed Mortarion into the Chosen of the Hell King, he poured out another surge of faith power.
That hellish fel energy spread outward with Mortarion at its center, extending into other regions in an unnatural form.
It surpassed time and space, swiftly transmitting through the Warp to the corresponding individuals—the Death Guard.
No matter where the Death Lord's gene-sons were, it was difficult for them to escape such corruption.
Even more so, they could not refuse it.
"Poach them. Poach the entire department!" Eden continued pouring out faith-borne fel energy, madly corroding them.
He grew increasingly practiced at it, thoroughly indulging in the thrill of being an evil god.
Back then, it was precisely in this manner that Father Nurgle had carried off the Death Guard, one of the Imperium's core Space Marine Legions, pot and all.
Now Eden had dug them back out from under Nurgle again, and their numbers were even greater than before. It barely counted as collecting the debt with interest.
Within Eden's field of vision, dark red flames ignited across the festering, mutated, reeking bodies of the Death Guard, burning away plague fel energy and bacterial contamination.
"Father…"
Faced with the sudden corruption and transformation, the Death Guard were somewhat at a loss.
They desperately tried to extinguish the flames on their bodies, but it had no effect whatsoever.
Hellfire did not merely touch the body. It sank deep into the soul, and these Chaos warriors could not withstand it.
"My gene-sons, you need not fear.
"This is a precious blessing. It will burn away the poisonous miasma and the germs. From this day forth, we will be utterly freed from the Plague Lord's enslavement and shackles."
Mortarion spoke thus, a trace of liberation in his words.
At last, he had escaped those loathsome germs and toxins, escaped the rotting stench clinging to his body.
That filth had been a cage binding him ever since he was stranded on Barbarus, subjecting him to far too many strange stares.
And the Plague Lord had intensified all of it, turning him into a source of disease that no one dared approach.
Now, under the burning of hellfire, all of it vanished like smoke.
Hearing their gene-father's voice, the Death Guard calmed as well and no longer rejected that power.
They would follow the Death Lord forever, no matter what decision he made.
More importantly, the Death Guard discovered that compared to the Plague Lord's previous corruption, the Hell King had given them more right to choose.
They were no longer slaves of Chaos, but warriors of Hell fighting for themselves.
To put it simply, the Death Guard had previously been more like illegal laborers working in a coal mine, their income entirely dependent on the Plague Lord's mood and favor.
Now, their new boss, the Hell King, had given them full benefits, even employee stock.
Any warrior facing all this would know what choice to make.
"We… are free!"
Mortarion abruptly removed the mask that had accompanied him for so long, rarely revealing his true face.
His face no longer had that sickly yellow-brown hue from before. It was no longer rotting, nor would he breathe out poisonous gas.
The transformation wrought by hellish fel energy made the lines of his face even darker and more intimidating, and his demonic horns were imposing.
Roughly one-fifth as impressive as the Savior.
The aesthetics of the Hell King—or rather, Eden—had always been reliable. There were very few bizarrely malformed warriors under his command.
Mortarion used the reflection of the fel veil to gaze at his own face. It had been a very long time since he had seen his own appearance.
In the past, he had always envied Guilliman, Sanguinius, and the others. Envied that they could remove their helmets and face people under the sunlight.
While he could only wear an ugly mask like a rat in a gutter.
Mortarion suddenly crushed the mask and issued a proclamation to the Death Guard. "Of course, that does not mean the Death Guard will stop fighting. It only means we now have a loftier faith.
"We will fight for the Hell King, and bring a new terror of death to the Warp!"
As the Death Lord made his declaration, Eden swiftly manipulated the Hell King to transmit an oracle to the Death Guard.
That was essentially a pay slip and the relevant benefits package. Naturally, all of it had to be earned through battle achievements.
So long as they destroyed or corrupted enemies, they would receive their due glory and Chaos power.
Bang, bang, bang—
The toxins on the Death Guard fused with the flames, forming a special ghostfire. They raised their weapons and howled madly at the sky.
They were warriors of the Hell King!
"Good. Everyone's spirits are looking pretty solid." Eden watched this scene and nodded in satisfaction.
He had poached a powerful Chaos Legion, and his heart was filled with delight.
"Wait, something's off."
Eden suddenly thought of something and could not help worrying. "I'm poaching this hard, so why hasn't Father Nurgle reacted at all?"
The Plague Lord's resistance to his corruption was far weaker than expected. It was practically nonexistent.