My Life as A Death Guard

Hades woke up, gripping his dagger tightly amid the jolts and cries of the people around him.

Shaking off the drowsiness, he regained his senses.

He had passed out from exhaustion earlier.

The truck carrying the captives was still moving slowly. Based on the incline, Hades deduced they were climbing a mountainous path and had already reached a moderate altitude.

The night on Barbarus was ending, and the puppet slaves, having completed their hunt, were transporting their captives to the Overlord’s fortress atop the mountains.

Gritting his teeth, Hades crawled within the fully enclosed cage, knocking on the floor as he moved, searching for its weakest point.

Yes, he planned to escape. Despite the odds, despite the slim chances, as long as Hades was alive, he would never accept his fate.

He would never give up.

Even if captured, he could struggle and search for an escape route. Even if his limbs were broken, he could bite his enemies. Even if his teeth were knocked out, he could still glare defiantly and spit blood in the face of his captors, proclaiming his refusal to submit.

He had only one chance to escape, and it was now. If time continued to pass, the slave transport would reach higher altitudes where Barbarus’ poisonous gas was even deadlier. The makeshift gas masks the villagers used would be useless, and they would die agonizing deaths within minutes.

Without information about the mountains, Hades decided to break out of the cage first. There was no other option but to take things as they came.

In the cramped, enclosed space, the villagers wept and wailed. Hades pushed past them, ignoring the noise, focusing entirely on finding the weakest point in the floor.

Finally, he found it.

He shoved aside an elderly woman sitting there. Though she looked old, she was likely only in her thirties. She didn’t react to Hades, as most people in the wagon were consumed by their fear.

Hades took out his dagger and began to chisel at the floor. The toxic environment had weakened the floorboards more than they appeared, and Hades soon created a small hole.

Denser toxic gas seeped through the opening, offering Hades a glimmer of hope. Small, but it was there.

But it wasn’t enough.

Hades continued chiseling furiously. The digging sounds and the increasing flow of toxic gas began to draw attention.

Gradually, the cries in the wagon ceased. The villagers, worn down by a lifetime of hiding and fear, stared blankly at Hades.

They might not have fully understood what he was doing, but they realized something—they still had time to struggle.

A lean young man emerged from the crowd. Ragged and cunning-looking, he half-crawled to Hades’ side, patting his shoulder.

“Let me help you.”

Hades was taken aback and looked at the man, noticing his empty hands.

“You don’t even have a knife. How do you plan to help me?”

The young man hesitated, then spoke with a determined tone.

“I’m a psyker.”

Hades’ mind buzzed with disbelief. An adult, intact psyker on Barbarus was almost unheard of.

A thought flashed through Hades’ mind like lightning.

“Are you Typhon? Calas Typhon?!”

The man nodded bitterly. “What, even now, you look down on me, a freak?”

Hades shook his head immediately, his eyes filled with determination as he gazed at Typhon.

“No, I believe in you. Let’s escape together.”

“I just… didn’t expect to meet you here…”

Hades carefully chose his words, hoping not to offend Typhon. After all, Typhon was a key figure in the Warhammer storyline. Moreover, Hades needed Typhon’s psychic abilities to escape.

Calas Typhon, who was he? Calas Typhon, the true leader of the 14th Legion (not really), Captain of the First Company, Mortarion’s once close friend, despicable traitor, and devoted son. Born of a Xenos father and a human mother, he was a psyker.

His claim to fame was single-handedly dooming the entire Death Guard.

In the original story, Calas Typhon was Mortarion’s close friend on Barbarus. Inspired by him, Mortarion escaped from his Xenos adoptive father’s captivity and successfully reached the human settlements below. Afterwards, Mortarion and Typhon together formed and led the rebel forces (mostly formed by Mortarion). In a way, Calas Typhon was Mortarion’s guide to the human world.