Chapter 61: That Man
Nuceria
Guilliman and the Ultramarines had pursued the traitors from Calth and now surrounded Lorgar and the Word Bearers on this world.
"Lorgar! Have you fallen so far as to let this... modified creature, who claims to be our Father, assault the Ultramarines at Calth?" Guilliman demanded.
He threw a blackened heart to the ground, his voice cold and measured. "Why have you betrayed the Imperium? Speak plainly, what is your purpose?"
Hearing this, Lorgar began to laugh, his entire frame trembling. Finally, he covered his face and spoke through the laughter. "All I seek is truth! But the Emperor is not the truth! CHAOS, Ha-ha-ha, Only Chaos speaks truth!"
Since the Great Crusade, when the Emperor ordered Guilliman to destroy the perfect city he had built for him and refused to acknowledge himself as a god, Lorgar, who had believed in the Emperor, had already died.
However, Guilliman didn't take this seriously. In fact, he thought his father's actions weren't even a punishment, but rather very merciful.
"Lorgar, return with me now," Guilliman said, his tone offering no malice, only reason. "I believe the Emperor would grant you clemency. Do not be so proud as to throw away this chance."
Hearing this, Lorgar struggled to control his emotions. He had not abandoned his mission and sought only to buy time. "You ask what I saw? I saw the truth that was hidden from us!" he declared.
"The Emperor will bring ruin upon humanity, repeating the Aeldari's fatal mistakes. I act for mankind's salvation. Join Chaos, Guilliman! There lies the real truth, and the gods offer more than the Emperor ever could! He is unfit to lead. If you embrace this path, I would name you Warmaster!"
Hearing this, Guilliman's expression hardened. "You presume to decide who holds the Warmaster's authority? Since you will not yield, I shall beat compliance into you. All units, advance!"
At Guilliman's command, hundreds of thousands of Ultramarines and two Titan legions charged forward. The Ultramarines, armed with bolters, continuously fired in volleys at the Word Bearers to create dense formations and suppress them with powerful barrages.
The Word Bearers, on the other hand, were the first to use psychic powers. They unleashed mental storms using their telepathic abilities, attempting to disrupt the Ultramarines' formation.
Once the enemy showed weakness, the Word Bearer Chaplains, wielding crozius arcanum warhammers, would mercilessly smash them to pieces.
However, when their enemies became Titan legions, the massive mechanical feet directly crushed the warhammers and Chaplains into flattened remains.
When the Titans of both sides met, they continuously fired at each other, and massive Titan wrecks constantly fell upon the fighting Ultramarines and Word Bearers.
Nearly a hundred thousand Word Bearers and over two hundred thousand Ultramarines became entangled in combat, and the massive numerical disparity forced the Word Bearers to constantly shrink their battle lines.
It was at this time that tens of thousands of Gal Vorbak emerged from the Word Bearers ranks.
These were the "Blessed Sons", warriors who had understood the truth alongside Lorgar. When they willingly embraced Chaos, their bodies merged with Chaos daemons, gaining unparalleled enhancements.
Their arms mutated into huge claws, and their lower jaws transformed into massive mouths with enormous fangs. They could easily tear apart the enemy's power armor, which greatly slowed the Ultramarines' momentum.
Guilliman, wielding a power sword, charged directly at Lorgar, who was forced to defend.
Clang, clang, clang!
The frantic exchange of sword and hammer reverberated across the battlefield. Whenever Lorgar moved to channel psychic force, Guilliman would strike at the limb without hesitation.
"You will not cast upon me," Guilliman declared, each word clipped and final.
Lorgar burned with frustration, forced to parry each blow with his warhammer, no room for anything but defense.
"You are nothing but an inflexible fool, Guilliman! I curse you to waste away in this false Imperium!" he snarled.
"I accept your benediction gladly," Guilliman replied without breaking rhythm.
As the battle deepened, Erebus, the First Chaplain of the Word Bearers, began his mischief again. He continuously murmured dark prayers, causing hundreds of thousands of Heretics to offer their lives.
In an instant, countless daemons grew out of flesh and blood, roaring as they charged toward the Ultramarines.
Guilliman, knocked down by a psychic blast, rose to his feet and roared across the chaos. "Lorgar! Is this your truth? This slaughter?"
The Ultramarines, witnessing their Primarch's wrath, echoed his fury. "Kill them!"
The Word Bearers, their losses mounting, seized the moment to withdraw. The daemons surged outward in waves of Chaos energy, shredding the Ultramarines' line.
Beneath the daemon screen, the Word Bearers retreated like a receding tide, their forms dissolving into Warp-light until only smoke and ash remained.
"Lorgar! Face me!" Guilliman's shout cut through the dissipating smoke.
Lorgar did not answer. He simply walked into the Warp rift and was gone.
However, one Word Bearer was thrust backward by Erebus himself.
Argel Tal, one of the Gal Vorbak, staggered in confusion. He didn't understand why his commander had cast him out. The Ultramarines' answer came in the form of relentless bolter fire.
In moments, Argel Tal was torn to pieces by the merciless barrage. His scream of anguish and betrayal split the air. "Erebus! I will have your blood! Ahhhhhhh!"
Nuceria - World Eaters Camp
The scream reached across the void to Khârn upon Nuceria. It struck him like a blade.
"No!" he cried out, his eyes snapping open.
The vision still burned in his mind, impossible to deny, yet impossible to accept. His brother. His closest friend. Dead by Erebus's hand.
Why would he do such a thing?
His subconscious knew the truth even as his mind rebelled against it. This was one of the few he had called brother, and he would have answers.
The others looked at him curiously, somewhat puzzled by his behavior while sunbathing.
Ever since the World Eaters legion returned to Nuceria with Angron, they discovered that all the people who had resisted with Angron at the time had been killed. In a fit of rage, Angron had killed all the slave owners.
For a moment, they even thought their Primarch had returned.
Unfortunately, after doing all this, Angron dug up the corpses of his brothers and handed them over to Fabius. Then he started to slack off again, spending his days eating and sleeping like crazy.
As for them, they took over all the wealth of these nobles. They spent their days sunbathing and watching gladiator fights.
They couldn't imagine life could be like this. They even somewhat missed the days of fighting and killing.
When Khârn saw Angron sleeping in the pool, he said nothing. He simply gathered a group of his most trusted brothers and left in silence.
Just after they departed, Angron's eyes opened slowly. He had sensed Khârn's boundless rage moments before, but he did not draw it into himself as he once would have.
Francis had been right about many things.
Living like this—simply existing, enjoying peace—was indeed worth a life pursuing. Once his father and brothers were resurrected, everything would be complete.
...
After several days of intense fighting, the Ultramarines legion drove out all the daemons.
When Guilliman tried to contact the Imperium, he found that they had lost contact. Even Warp travel and psychic communication were blocked.
At this moment, a terrible premonition appeared in Guilliman's mind. He was starting to assume that the Emperor and the Imperium had fallen, and he had no way to rescue his father.
However, to preserve the Imperium's spark, he had to contact all available forces to replace the Imperium after the worst-case scenario arrived and continue the fight against Horus and Chaos.
But how could he let the lost warriors find him?
Suddenly, he remembered. A few days ago, Barabas Dantioch, the former Warsmith of the Iron Warriors legion, had discovered an alien technological artifact similar to a Warp beacon on Sotha.
Moreover, it was clearly technology left behind by an unknown xenos species and had originally been sealed away.
"Perhaps, using it occasionally in an emergency shouldn't be a problem," Guilliman muttered, his brain constantly working, repeatedly confirming whether his idea was feasible.
...
Near Olympia, Francis looked up at the sky. "Achoo! Who's thinking of me? Who's thinking of me! Is it the Emperor!" he exclaimed, but saw nothing.
"Where was I again?" he asked.
Perturabo and Ferrus "..."
After their prompting, Francis remembered again and continued, "Anyway, we've lost contact! Why don't we wait a bit? Maybe in a few days, the storm will subside, and we'll be able to reach the Imperium again."
Ferrus was silent for a long time. It seemed he had no better solution either.
This place was not very far from Ultramar, so it was somewhat affected.
But overall, it was still within the Imperium, and as soon as the storm subsided a little, they would be able to contact the Imperium again.
"Then that's all we can do! What do you plan to do next? Just rest here?" Ferrus asked the crucial question.
"Yes, first, we'll recruit soldiers to replenish our numbers," Francis replied. "My Soul Drinkers only have a few thousand men. One volley and they'll be gone. Do you think this is appropriate?"
Hearing this, Ferrus thought for a moment and then asked, "Now that communication is cut off, what if these planets refuse to cooperate?"
"Ha-ha-ha, Such good fortune! If they resist the Imperium, confiscate everything directly," Francis said, his eyes instantly lighting up with a sharp gleam.
[End of Chapter]