[Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor] Chapter 86/87 (Patreon)

The charred mass of flesh, now reduced to only an upper torso, had multiple puncture wounds where sharp objects had pierced it.

Yet, despite these grievous injuries, the body had not lost its spark of life.

This was Yusef—the chaos cultist and ambitious traitor responsible for the immense suffering in the King's Court district!

His head was intact, and slowly, tendrils of flesh began to regenerate, knitting themselves back together.

Suddenly, sparks flickered from his head, and his eyes snapped open.

It turned out that part of Yusef's brain had been specially modified, allowing him to survive under extreme conditions.

Though his face was horribly disfigured, a glint of smugness remained:

"Hahaha, that fool miscalculated. How utterly stupid of him to leave so easily…

He never imagined that I, the great Yusef, am still alive!"

As the greatest enemy of the Grant family and the future king of Urth, how could he die so easily?

When he realized things were beyond saving, he had already put an escape plan in place.

Playing the fool was just a way to lower that idiot's guard.

Everything was going according to plan!

Yusef dragged his half-ruined body, struggling to crawl toward a hidden mechanical device.

Gripping the edge of the device with both hands, he used his teeth to bite onto a lever, pulling it down with all his remaining strength.

With the sound of gears turning, the machine activated.

A steel panel on the wall of the incubation zone lifted, revealing a dark, gaping tunnel.

This was the secret passage leading to the lower hive and eventually to the underhive.

Yusef let go of the lever, falling to the ground, and began crawling toward the tunnel.

He had never been in such a pitiful state before, but this was only temporary.

Even though he had lost his territory and power, he still possessed the wisdom and strength granted by the Many-Eyed God.

Yusef crawled, inching closer to the tunnel. Once he reached the lower hive, he would hide in the chaos-ridden underhive, where he could slowly rebuild his forces.

His vengeance was far from over!

But soon, Yusef froze in place.

He realized he had miscalculated…

In the distance ahead, a shadowy figure was waiting for him.

Squeak—

It was the Mutant Grey Rat!

The intense battle had shattered its containment glass, allowing it to escape!

The Mutant Grey Rat hissed, its many black eyes turning red as it glared at Yusef with hatred.

It was furious. This was the human who had caused it so much torment!

Yusef remained still, not daring to make a move.

The Mutant Grey Rat crouched low, inching closer. It was preparing to attack.

"My little pet," Yusef cooed softly, forcing a smile. "I'm your master. I can give you delicious…"

Squeak—

But his words only enraged the Mutant Grey Rat further, the memories of its suffering at Yusef's hands flashing through its mind.

This damned human… The rat was furious!

With a roar, the Mutant Grey Rat pounced, sinking its sharp teeth into Yusef's skull.

Its fangs bit through his skull with a spray of sparks, exposing the mechanical components inside.

"Ahhhhh—"

Yusef screamed in agony, trying desperately to pry the rat off him, but he was powerless.

The Mutant Grey Rat continued gnawing, tearing through flesh and bone!

After a few moments of struggle, sparks exploded from Yusef's head, and his body went limp.

The rat feasted on his corpse, its jaws drenched in blood.

Once it had eaten its fill, the Mutant Grey Rat looked satisfied.

It turned, flicking its tail as it scurried into the dark tunnel, leaving behind a mangled, skeletal corpse.

...

The Underhive of Urth

The underhive was a wasteland of broken walls and debris, with mountains of garbage and toxic waste piled high, emitting a foul stench. Here and there, deadly green fumes rose into the air.

Yet, despite the hazardous conditions, life thrived in the underhive.

Criminals, exiles, gang scum, and scavengers eked out a living in this nightmarish place, surviving on garbage and the flesh of others.

Of course, there were also all manner of mutants, mutated creatures, and even abhumans.

It was a harsh, yet teeming world, larger than both the upper and lower hives combined.

Somewhere within the garbage mountain, a clattering noise echoed from a pipe, as if something had fallen down it.

Squeak—

The Mutant Grey Rat tumbled down the garbage heap, bouncing a few times before standing up again.

It was excited.

It was free!

After its initial disorientation, the rat cautiously surveyed the garbage mountain, wary of potential dangers.

Suddenly, a puff of green gas erupted nearby, startling the rat.

It cautiously approached, sniffing at the green fumes, and then its expression became one of bliss.

What a wonderful smell~

With its wariness subsiding, the Mutant Grey Rat began to scurry about, licking and gnawing at everything in sight.

It acted like a country mouse that had just arrived in the big city.

The rat was filled with happiness—this place was a paradise!

It decided then and there that it would make its home here.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

However, it seemed this area already belonged to someone else.

Several mutated rats emerged from the shadows, their glowing green eyes fixed on the intruder.

The leader, a massive Mutant Rat King, hissed and screeched in warning.

This was its territory, and the Mutant Grey Rat had to leave, or it would be bitten to death!

But the Mutant Grey Rat had no intention of leaving such a prime location.

It lifted its head high:

"Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak!"

What it was saying in rat language was: From now on, this is my territory!

Perhaps it was because the Mutant Grey Rat had a foreign accent.

It wasn't until the third repetition that the Mutant Rat King finally understood what it was saying.

The Mutant Rat King became furious, baring its fangs as it charged forward.

It was going to kill this ugly intruder and defend its honor as the Rat King!

Seeing this, the Mutant Grey Rat rose up, adopting a battle stance.

Fight!

The Mutant Grey Rat, strengthened by the essence of Chaos, had grown immensely powerful, and its strength was still increasing.

It dodged the Rat King's attack and, with its large and nimble claws, pinned the Rat King to the ground.

Crunch—

With a single bite, the Mutant Grey Rat snapped the Rat King's spine.

Squeak squeak squeak!

The Rat King, now torn in two, let out one final screech as it died.

Squeak—

After killing the Rat King, the Mutant Grey Rat turned its gaze to the remaining mutated rats and hissed menacingly.

With their king dead, the other rats, intimidated by the Mutant Grey Rat's power, timidly lowered their heads in submission.

Seeing the mutated rats bowing to it, the Mutant Grey Rat stood tall, its tiny paws resting on its hips, radiating confidence.

From now on, it would be the Rat King.

And this… would be its kingdom!

Suddenly, the Mutant Grey Rat had an idea.

As king, it needed a title.

But what should it call itself?

The Mutant Grey Rat thought hard.

Then, looking at its unusually large and nimble paws compared to the others, inspiration struck.

From now on, it would be known as… Bigfoot Rat!

(This is just a side story, and the next chapter will return to the main plot!)

(End of Chapter)

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From this day forward, the radiated and polluted region of the garbage mountain would be ruled by the new Rat King, Bigfoot Rat.

Standing atop a high mound, Bigfoot Rat gazed down at the mutant rats below, squeaking loudly, as if giving a speech.

The speech concluded with a roar from Bigfoot Rat.

The mutant rats were intimidated, lowering their heads and flattening their ears in submission to their new king.

Bigfoot Rat had fully established its dominance and was satisfied with the result.

After the ordeal, it suddenly felt its stomach growling with hunger.

Clang.

A noise came from a nearby pile of trash.

It sniffed the air, raised one paw, and pointed in the direction of the sound, issuing a garbled command:

"Food... there!"

Squeak—

With its command, the mutant rats rushed toward the pile.

In the corner of the heap was a mutant clad in scrap armor, covered in sores, wielding a staff topped with a skull.

Realizing he'd been spotted by the rats, the mutant let out a scream and turned to flee.

But it was too late.

The mutant rats swarmed him, sinking their sharp teeth into his flesh.

The mutant swung his skull staff wildly, managing to kill a few of the rats.

But against the overwhelming numbers of mutant rats, such resistance was futile.

In no time, he was overrun, torn apart by the ravenous swarm.

This was the brutal law of the underhive—survival of the fittest. Death was commonplace here.

After the mutant rats killed their prey, they didn't dare touch a bite of the corpse.

Instead, they eagerly dragged the "delicacy" to their king, Bigfoot Rat.

The mutant rats offered up the body, then looked at their king with fawning eyes, seemingly awaiting praise.

Bigfoot Rat nodded in satisfaction and bent down to feast on the offering.

Once it was full, it tossed the remains back to its underlings, allowing them to fight over the leftovers.

Excited, the mutant rats fought viciously over the scraps.

They bit and tore at one another, leaving bloody wounds in their frenzy to claim a piece of the carcass.

Bigfoot Rat watched the chaos with amusement, unconcerned by the violence.

Satisfied with the display of loyalty, it turned and, with two of the largest female mutant rats in tow, returned to the former Rat King's "palace."

In reality, the palace was nothing more than an abandoned transport vehicle.

Bigfoot Rat sniffed around, inspecting its new home with contentment.

With the two plump female rats, it began to settle in, preparing to father countless offspring and establish a true rat kingdom!

...

Meanwhile, back in the secret laboratory...

The dark passage leading to the lower hive and underhive lay open, and next to it lay a skeletal corpse, its bones exposed.

This was Yusef's body, now more than 70% devoured.

The skin and flesh of his face had been stripped away, his eyes bulging wide, his mouth agape, with bared teeth visible in a terrifying grimace.

The sight was utterly grotesque.

It was clear Yusef had experienced tremendous fear and torment.

Yet, slowly, his gaping mouth twisted into a grim, mocking smile.

He was still alive!

Once again, Yusef had survived by playing dead.

He flipped over and began to crawl, leaving a long trail of blood as he dragged himself forward.

The dark tunnel loomed closer and closer, and his excitement grew.

As long as he made it inside, he would live.

Once his strength returned, he would come back.

And when that time came, he would defeat that fool, Eden, and bring even greater suffering to the King's Court!

Just a little further…

Yusef's trembling hand grasped the edge of the tunnel, and he was moments away from escaping into the lower hive.

But suddenly, he froze, his body paralyzed.

He struggled, but couldn't move.

Was it… psychic power?

Moments later, someone grabbed his spine and slowly dragged him backward.

He watched helplessly as the dark tunnel, his only hope of escape, grew farther and farther away.

Yusef finally broke down:

"No! Please, let me go!"

But no one heeded his pleas. He was slammed into a wall, then dropped to the ground.

Struggling to his feet, he saw the face he hated most.

It was Eden, clad in gleaming golden power armor.

After dealing with the Horror of Tzeentch, Eden had returned to find Yusef's body.

Finishing off enemies was crucial!

Especially when dealing with Chaos-related foes—the best way to ensure they were truly dead was to burn them to ashes!

And of course, one couldn't simply scatter those ashes. That could still cause trouble, like contamination or the creation of new Chaos offspring.

Having seen Yusef's tenacity firsthand, Eden wasn't taking any chances.

Luckily, he had arrived just in time to catch him.

Eden planned to incinerate Yusef along with the Chaos creatures' corpses, purging them with his powers before sealing the remains inside special metal blocks.

These blocks would be stored deep underground in a secret vault, ensuring Yusef couldn't return.

Eden sneered at Yusef, mocking him:

"Trying to escape, huh? Too bad, you're not going anywhere."

Yusef scowled. If it hadn't been for that damned rat, he would've escaped!

With a cold smile, he spat:

"You fool, you're too late. If it weren't for that wretched—"

Crack!

Eden shoved a skull-marked gag into Yusef's mouth.

The device expanded, clamping his jaws shut and preventing him from speaking.

The best way to deal with people like Yusef was to silence them, leaving them to choke on their own arrogance.

"Still boasting? You've failed so many times that it's embarrassing to call you my enemy. Frankly, it's humiliating…"

Eden's taunts continued.

Yusef's face turned bright red as he struggled, unable to say a word.

It was as if he had been in the middle of an argument, only for the other person to block him. He was furious, but had no way to vent.

For someone as prideful and arrogant as Yusef, being silenced was the ultimate torment.

After a few more jeers, Eden lost interest in the conversation.

Without further ado, he grabbed Yusef and stuffed him into a transparent container filled with a special liquid.

The liquid would suppress Chaos energy, preventing Yusef from regenerating his body.

It also intensified the sensation of pain.

As soon as Yusef was submerged in the container, he knew he was doomed.

He thrashed about, eyes wide with terror, silently begging Eden for mercy.

At that moment, Yusef finally understood why the ancestors of the Hoffman family had once begged the Grant family for forgiveness.

Life was precious, after all. Only by living could one enjoy anything.

Yusef wanted to plead for mercy, but he knew there was no chance left.

He would be taken to face judgment as the number one heretic, in front of the Emperor's statue and the people.

The Imperial Guards fitted a ceramic-steel shell around the glass container, sealing it, and prepared to transport Yusef.

As Eden and the others exited the secret laboratory, a group of soldiers armed with flamethrowers marched in.

They would use intense heat to cleanse this defiled place once and for all.

(End of Chapter)

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