Zeke engaged in a divine war with the Chaos Gods in the Warp, and at the same time, the Emperor once again lost contact.
Due to having to suppress the energy of his own divine body, he was also unable to continue transmitting any clear messages to the Imperium of Man.
On Terra, Guilliman panicked a little when he couldn't contact Zeke and found that his father could only sit on the golden throne again, speaking in fragmented sentences that others couldn't understand.
In an emergency, Guilliman quickly emerged from the Department of the Interior and, using the communication system left by Zeke, began to contact House Yaeger.
The person who answered the call was none other than Zeke's father, Grisha.
"Regent Guilliman, what situation requires you to contact me? Is my son not enough?"
Guilliman had learned of Zeke and the Emperor simultaneously losing contact earlier than anyone else, which was why Grisha was still unaware of what had happened when Guilliman communicated with him.
Grisha was currently enjoying a wonderful honeymoon with his wife; after all, with everything left to his son, why should he still strive?
Naturally, a honeymoon outside was the best choice.
The next second, Guilliman's voice came through, breaking his happiness.
"Sir Yaeger, I apologize for disturbing you at this time. The main reason is that a major event has occurred in the Imperium. My father is now unable to communicate with us, and we can no longer accurately understand his intentions."
"We can only gather that he told us Zeke is no longer in the real universe. At the same time, I have contacted the Dominion's military, and the Custodes also informed me that the Emperor has now gone into the Warp and cannot return for the time being."
"Both Emperors are now unable to intervene in matters of the real universe, which is a very serious matter, so I could only come to contact you."
The vacation drink cup in Grisha's hand instantly froze, and the relaxed expression on his face suddenly vanished. His wife, Anne Yaeger, beside him, immediately sat up straight, her brows tightly furrowed.
After all, they were once knights, and they also understood Zeke's power, so they weren't worried about any accident befalling Zeke.
However, such a situation in the Warp was no small matter.
"What did you say?" Grisha's voice became serious. "Ezekiel and the Emperor both lost contact? In the Warp?"
Guilliman's holographic image nodded anxiously: "According to the last message from the golden throne, Father said that His Majesty Zeke is currently battling the four gods in the Warp.
He himself has received a powerful energy boost, and he needs to fully suppress this suddenly surging Psykers power, otherwise, there is a possibility of ascending to godhood."
"Through the fragmented messages conveyed by my father, we Psykers can deduce that Zeke is no longer able to transmit his commands to the real universe, and due to the excessively powerful Psykers power, our Psykers are also unable to accurately understand my father's commands."
"Just these messages alone have already resulted in the sacrifice of hundreds of Psykers in the Throne Room. Now, it is extremely difficult to communicate with the Emperor within the Imperium."
"Alright, Regent Guilliman, I understand what you've said. So, what do you need me to do?"
Grisha quickly adjusted his mindset. After all, he had been through many things, and now that Guilliman was directly contacting him, there must be something he needed him to do.
"I won't hide it from either of you. Humanity is currently facing several fatal threats. The Tyranid Swarm on the edge of the Galaxy has already begun to enter the Galaxy.
And the Dark Eldar dynasty has also begun to mobilize their armies. In this situation, the disappearance of the two Emperors has left me without confidence. I would like to ask you to come out and once again command the Terran Dominion's fleet."
"You were, after all, the former commander of the Terran Dominion, and I presume you can still command this powerful civilization and continue to resist external invasions."
"Because, as you know, although Zeke has always been promoting the merger of the Imperium and the Dominion, gradually bringing the entire Imperium closer to the entire Terran Dominion.
However, this work has only just begun and requires Zeke himself to oversee it. Now that he has disappeared, this work must be temporarily suspended."
"Without the Emperor's personal oversight, it is very difficult for us to continue this matter, and my orders cannot be directly issued to the entire Terran Dominion; this is beyond my capabilities."
"Although Zeke previously granted me this authority, I cannot guarantee whether this authority is still usable now, so I could only turn to you. I hope you can return to the Dominion and command the Dominion's armies to resist the Dark Eldars and the Tyranid Swarm."
"At the very least, I need you to first return to command the Dominion's forces against the Tyranid Swarm. The threat of the Tyranid Swarm is imminent, and the Dark Eldars have also mobilized their fleets. We need troops to confront them."
Guilliman's speech was a bit incoherent; he was truly overwhelmed by the current situation.
The two Emperors of the Imperium of Man simultaneously lost contact, and at the same time, the Dark Eldars began to activate planet-killing warships of that caliber. At this point, even if the Imperium of Man gambled its last breath, it couldn't win.
The Tyranid Swarm outside the Galaxy had already begun attacking Imperial worlds on the fringes, and these Tyranid Swarm could only be dealt with by the Terran Dominion's fleet.
If the Imperial fleet were to fight them, the losses would be too great, and the Imperium could not afford such losses.
He could only place all his hopes on Grisha. He hoped that Grisha could return to the Terran Dominion and then exercise his authority as Zeke's father to command the Terran Dominion's armies to fight against the Tyranid Swarm and confront the Dark Eldars.
At the same time, the most important thing was to recall the fleet in the Calixis Sector to confront the Dark Eldars.
That fleet was initially commanded by Zeke, so Guilliman did not have permission to command it.
At this time, the only person who could command this fleet was Grisha. Only Grisha, as Zeke's father, could issue orders to that fleet, and Guilliman needed this fleet to confront the Dark Eldars.
The Terran Dominion's productivity was very strong, especially during the period when the Terran Dominion and the Imperium of Man were merging; the productivity of human civilization was truly formidable.
However, this matter happened too quickly.
Guilliman had never dealt with such matters before. Dealing with things in the Imperium of Man used to not be this fast.
But since Zeke and the Emperor both stepped forward, it hadn't even been a few years yet.
War after war had already broken out. In a short period, even with the powerful productivity of human civilization, enough warships could not be produced.
Think about it, it hasn't even been 5 years since Zeke emerged.
The events that have occurred in the last 5 years have already surpassed what the Imperium of Man experienced in thousands of years.
One event after another made the current Guilliman feel extremely exhausted.
Grisha could understand Guilliman's current headache, so he didn't shirk responsibility, just sighed heavily.
"Alright, wife, our vacation is over now, we need to go back. Since Ezekiel isn't here, we have to take on his burden."
Grisha was somewhat helpless, but when he said this, Guilliman breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Grisha was willing to step forward to take charge of the overall situation and lead the Terran Dominion against the Dark Eldars and the Tyranid Swarm, his pressure would be much less, especially since he needed to recall Zeke's fleet to fight against the Dark Eldars.
"Thank you, thank you, Sir Yaeger, thank you, truly, thank you very much."
When Guilliman said this, tears were almost streaming down his face; who knew how much pressure he was under right now?
"You're welcome, this is also what I should do. After all, my son is gone, so I must fulfill his duties."
"However, I'll also be frank with you. Given the current situation of the Dominion, fighting against the Dark Eldars and the Tyranid Swarm will consume most of our energy, so you will need to exert effort against other enemies."
Although Grisha had been on vacation, he still had a clear understanding of the Terran Dominion's current military strength. Fighting against the Tyranid Swarm and the Dark Eldars would inevitably occupy almost all of the Dominion's powerful military forces.
After all, apart from the garrison forces already present on various colonies, other forces would inevitably have to be deployed into this level of war.
Even newly built warships would be no exception.
After all, the enemies were not to be underestimated.
"I understand, I understand. The matters in the Calixis Sector can be left to me. I will mobilize the Imperial Army to fight. You can certainly redeploy your forces."
Most of the problems had already been resolved, leaving only the small issue of the Calixis Sector. Guilliman believed he still had the ability to solve it.
After all, the Imperium of Man didn't only have Zeke's Terran Dominion forces to fight; the Imperial expeditionary force currently on the Sekhmet Crusade could also carry out this operation.
At the same time, local Imperial Army could also provide support. For now, the Imperium of Man still possessed the combat capability to fight against chaos and orks.
The pressure now was much less than when Guilliman came to find Grisha.
After speaking with Grisha, Guilliman hung up the communication. Disturbed by Guilliman, Grisha naturally couldn't continue to rest here.
Grisha and his wife immediately boarded the warship sent by the Terran Dominion and began preparations to return to the capital planet to command the Dominion fleet in battle.
The Terran Dominion fleet, originally stationed in the Calixis Sector, quickly received orders from Grisha. They began to reactivate and advance towards the Dark Eldar dynasty.
For the human race, they must not show any timidity now.
If any weakness were exposed and seen by the enemy, then the human race would face a devastating blow, which was absolutely not allowed.
Humans were now the undisputed Overlord in the galaxy, and becoming an Overlord inevitably meant being targeted by various races.
To be blunt, the Tyranid Swarm's attack alone could tie up most of the Terran Dominion's current fleet.
If the Dark Eldars launched an all-out attack at this time, even humanity would definitely be exhausted and lose a large number of planets.
Humanity could not afford such heavy losses now, so before Zeke returned to take overall command, Grisha had to lead the Terran Dominion to face the threats of various races in the galaxy with the toughest attitude.
The only good news now was that the Dark Eldars were still unaware of what had happened to the Terran Dominion.
As for chaos and the orks, they probably didn't pose much of a threat right now.
Grisha still had some confidence. Unlike Grisha, although Guilliman was relieved now,
it still felt like a heavy stone was pressing on his heart. After hanging up the communication with Grisha, he reconnected with Rogal Dorn.
"Dorn, my brother, the situation has changed. There is no time for you to look for Lion now."
"Deploy your Imperial Fists to Cadia. You must block those chaos forces. Absolutely do not let the chaos armies pour out from the Eye of Terror at Cadia. Block them there, block them firmly!"
Dorn's holographic image was as resolute as a rock. He immediately responded, "The Imperial Fists are already fully prepared. But Guilliman, are we not looking for Lion anymore?"
"This was an order personally given by Sir Yaeger. Am I not looking for Lion anymore?"
Dorn was a bit confused. After all, searching for Lion was an order personally given by Zeke, and now suddenly not searching for him, how could this be?
"Don't even mention that now. Our father and Zeke are both uncontactable; they are both in the Warp."
"Father is desperately suppressing his psychic powers to prevent ascension, while Sir Yaeger is fighting those four guys in the Warp."
Speaking of this, even though he had just come to an agreement with Grisha, allowing the Terran Dominion to go all out, Guilliman's face was still filled with worry.
Originally, he had two huge 'nuclear bombs' to rely on, but now, both 'nuclear bombs' were gone.
Zeke went out to suppress a rebellion and ended up fighting the Chaos Gods of the Warp.
Speaking of this, Guilliman even somewhat blamed himself for not being the one to lead the Ultramarines to suppress the rebellion.
Although he knew that the battle with the Chaos Gods of the Warp actually had little to do with suppressing a rebellion.
After hearing what Guilliman said, Dorn's mouth hung open, looking incredulous.
What was all this? He went out to find Lion, and now, both Emperors couldn't act. How abstract was that?
"I understand. I will now lead the troops to the Cadia Gate and guard it, preventing the forces of chaos from fully corrupting the real universe."
Rogal Dorn was not one to be wishy-washy. He had already realized that the situation was not right, so he agreed immediately and prepared to set off with the Imperial Fists.
"But Guilliman, can just the two of us really sustain this overall situation?"
"I don't know, I don't know if we can sustain it, but even if we can't, we have to!"
"Humanity cannot afford to lose this battle. If we lose, the entire human civilization will be destroyed!"
"At least the formidable enemies have been left for the Terran Dominion to face. We only need to deal with the ork and chaos coalition in Calixis and the chaos daemon from the Eye of Terror."
"As long as we can win, as long as we don't show weakness, then things aren't that bad!"
Guilliman didn't know if he was cheering himself up or his brother, but he just said these words.
"Understood. I will do my best to suppress chaos on Cadia!" Dorn said no more.
However, after hanging up the communication with Guilliman, he didn't immediately take the Imperial Fists to Cadia. Instead, he left a portion of the army and 1,000 Custodians.
This force was led by Achilleus Rael, the current Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists, who was in charge before Rogal Dorn's return.
"Continue to search for Lion's whereabouts. You must find him! The Imperium needs him!"
Having dealt with the Eye of Cadia, and also resolved the issues with the Tyranid Swarm and the Dark Eldars, Guilliman once again breathed a sigh of relief. All that remained was the matter of the Calixis Sector.
Previously, with Zeke present, the Second Crusade Army could gather so many troops, but now that was no longer possible.
It was a waste to have so many crusade armies eliminating rebels across the galaxy; Guilliman was well aware of this.
The crusade army could be sustained before because Zeke was with the Terran Dominion, and resources were relatively abundant, which allowed it to endure.
But now things were different; the Terran Dominion's resources had to be invested in the fight against the Tyranid Swarm and the Dark Eldars.
If the Imperium of Man alone had to bear the cost of these resources, it was currently stretched thin. Moreover, what was the difference between so many fleets on crusade simply fighting small daemon and some T'au Empire planets, and an armed parade?
When the Imperium of Man had money, an armed parade was fine, but now it had no money, so every ounce of strength had to be utilized.
Soon, a communication from Guilliman reached Warmaster Karl Reiss of the Second Crusade Army.
Karl's holographic image appeared before Guilliman, with the command bridge of the Second Crusade Army flagship in the background.
The Warmaster maintained a soldier's upright posture, but his eyes held confusion.
"Your Grace, Regent," Karl asked directly after saluting, "Do you have any orders for me to carry out?"
Guilliman's expression was solemn: "Circumstances have changed, Warmaster. The two Emperors are temporarily unable to govern, and humanity faces multiple threats. I need to redirect a portion of your crusade fleet to the Calixis Sector."
Karl was visibly stunned: "Calixis? I remember the Emperor personally went there to suppress the rebellion, didn't he? Could the Duchy of Severan withstand a Great Crusade personally launched by the Emperor?"
Less than a month had passed since Zeke personally led troops to the Duchy of Severan to suppress the rebellion, so Karl clearly didn't understand.
Could the Emperor of the mighty Imperium of Man, personally leading a fleet to suppress the rebellion in the Duchy of Severan, possibly fail?
And if even the Emperor's fleet had failed, what good would their fleets be going there?
"No, you've misunderstood. The rebellion in the Duchy of Severan has already been personally suppressed by the Emperor. The reason I need to draw your crusade army there now is because a powerful ork force has gathered there, and traces of the Black Legion have also been discovered."
"The number of usable troops the Imperium of Man has left is not many, so I need your forces to make this trip."
"All other Imperial forces have their own assignments, so this battle can only be handled by your fleet, and the Great Crusade cannot end."
"Do you understand what I mean? You not only need to deal with the combined forces of theks and the Black Legion, but you must also maintain the Great Crusade. On the surface, we cannot show any signs of weakness."
Karl's expression shifted from confusion to solemnity, and he slowly nodded.
"I understand, Regent. This is a two-front operation—maintaining the deterrent power of the crusade army while secretly addressing the true threat in Calixis."
Guilliman nodded approvingly: "Exactly. You need to divide your fleet into two parts."
"The main force will secretly turn towards Calixis, while a sufficiently sized fleet will remain to continue the 'armed parade' in the Second Sector."
"No problem, I can do this. After all, the specific objectives of the crusade have almost all been achieved; the remaining issues only require a small fleet."
"The scale of the crusade army is large enough; doing this is perfectly fine. I will now order the crusade army to execute your command, Regent."
Karl Reiss was not one to dither; he immediately prepared to carry out Guilliman's orders. Afterward, Guilliman ended this final communication.
He had essentially done everything he could. The situation in other areas of the Imperium of Man was largely arranged.
Most of the main forces had been mobilized. Now, the only mobile force the Imperium of Man could use was his 3 million Ultramarines from the Five Hundred worlds of Ultramar.
That's right, 3 million Ultramarines.
Rogal Dorn could massively expand his Imperial Fists with Zeke's help.
Guilliman naturally could do the same.
After all, it was Guilliman who first met Zeke, not Rogal Dorn. If Guilliman wanted to expand his army and mentioned it to Zeke, a continuous stream of resources would immediately be allocated to him.
Expanding a Primarch's Legion was that simple, because gene-seeds could be acquired through cloning by the Primarch.
Powerful biotechnology, for the Imperium of Man at this time, was no longer the inscrutable mystery it once was; they could now achieve it.
Unfortunately, among all the Chapters, only the Imperial Fists and Ultramarines could achieve such large-scale expansion, as only the Primarchs of these two Chapters had returned to the Imperium of Man.
The 3 million Ultramarines were now the Imperium of Man's last conventional mobile force. As for the other space marine Chapters deployed in various regions... Guilliman held no hope for these forces, as the traditional 1,000-man Chapter size was indeed useful for pacification operations and maintaining Imperial order.
But when facing the current large-scale, head-on clashes between interstellar powers, a 1,000-man Chapter was completely insufficient.
As for the remaining powerful special forces like the Custodes and the Grey knights Psykic Legion...
These forces each had their own missions to execute. The Custodes had all been deployed to the galactic rim to cooperate with the Terran Dominion's armies.
After all, that was where the most intense fighting was taking place.
As for the Psykic Legion, they all remained on Terra, ready to respond to the predicament after the Emperor's ascension.
If the Emperor's ascension succeeded, then the Psykic Legion and the Grey knights would become the last line of defense. They would do everything in their power to ensure that even if the Emperor ascended, he would remain seated on the golden throne.
They would also ensure that the effects of the ascension could not spread throughout the galaxy.
Although Guilliman didn't know if such a safeguard would truly work, he had no other choice; he could only put such a safeguard in place.
After everything was properly arranged, Guilliman finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had done everything he could now. As for what fate humanity would ultimately face... that was a matter for each to decide, but he had certainly done his best.
Guilliman was mentally exhausted; he was extremely tired because he now had to bear the responsibility for the survival of the entire human race.
He had pushed everything to the limit of what he could do, but it still wasn't enough.
Logically, the major problems were being handled by others, but the battles in the Calixis Sector still weighed heavily on his mind.
The Second Crusade Army deployed 2,000 emperor-class battleships and 1,500 Glorious gloriana-class battleships.
This was undoubtedly a powerful fleet, but it might not be enough.
According to Guilliman's orders, only 1,000 emperor-class battleships and 500 Glorious gloriana-class battleships could be allocated from the Second Crusade Army for combat.
This number was by no means large, because the orks' numbers were also considerable, and the appearance of Yuan Shen and the Chaos Gods had given the orks some never-before-imagined buffs.
These ork had once created Battle Moons, and this time, they had created a staggering 40 more, with countless other types of battleships.
This was an extremely massive army, now advancing towards the Calixis Sector, and the Imperium of Man absolutely could not afford to lose in the Calixis Sector.
The reason was simple: that was the territory of House Yaeger's Segmentum Obscurus. If it fell, House Yaeger would have to divert its fleet to eliminate those orks.
This could potentially affect the efficiency of the front lines battling the Tyranid Swarm, and this was still the simplest of these issues.
The most troublesome part was whether a defeat in the Calixis Sector would make the Dark Eldars believe that the Imperium of Man had entered a period of weakness, prompting them to launch a war simultaneously.
Troops were needed everywhere. If the Dark Eldars launched an all-out war at this stage, fully initiating the War in Heaven, then humanity would absolutely not be able to cope.
The Calixis campaign was clearly the most crucial battle, but just as Guilliman was preparing to personally go to Calixis to command the fleet, news from the Ultima Segmentum further tugged at his heartstrings.
Near the Ultima Segmentum, three chaos fleets led by the daemon Primarch Mortarion, Nurgle's vanguard Typhus, and The Great Unclean One Kugas had appeared.
These three chaos fleets descended from the Stellaris, and although the chaos Army had not yet directly attacked the core region where Macragge was located, these Nurgle followers were constantly spreading plague around Ultramar.
Wherever they appeared, there would be extensive viral contamination.
Even the land would be poisoned by supernatural Warp toxins, and various new diseases began to spread throughout the star system, accompanied by a large number of resurrected Plague Zombies.
On every world touched by Mortarion's forces, countless dead rose from their graves.
The Death Guard chaos Space Marines used these zombies as cannon fodder to deplete the defenders' ammunition reserves, and also to wear down their sanity and resolve.
The Death Guard themselves attacked some peripheral planets around Ultramar. Many planets were attacked by the daemon Primarch, and this time the daemon Primarch's attack was directly orchestrated by Nurgle.
Currently, the four gods are being jointly beaten by Zeke and Weiss, while the Emperor sits on the throne, unable to stand up.
Is there any more suitable time to attack the Imperium of Man than now?
Naturally, there wasn't.
Because of this, he directly dispatched his daemon Primarch.
When this message was delivered to Guilliman by the Ultramarines of the Ultima Segmentum, Guilliman was facing an unspeakable dilemma.
A choice lay before Guilliman: should he go to the Calixis Sector to command the local operations, or return to his Ultima Segmentum to protect the 500 worlds?
On one side was the potential for a great catastrophe for humanity's future, and on the other was his homeland. This was an agonizing decision, and even the rational Guilliman could not make it immediately.
The Emperor on the golden throne seemed to have also noticed Guilliman's indecision.
A gentle psychic force appeared before Guilliman and softly brushed his hair.
That gentle feeling was something Guilliman had never experienced. At this moment, Guilliman knelt helplessly on the ground, silently asking in a place where no one was present.
"What should I do? Father, can you tell me what I should do? Why did both you and Zeke encounter trouble?"
Guilliman knelt on the ground, powerless; he truly didn't know what to do.
Now, the Imperial armies had all been mobilized. Both the Calixis Sector and the Ultima Segmentum needed a commander.
They needed an equally capable commander to lead this battle.
As for the original commander of the Second Crusade Army, the Warmaster, he could not leave the Crusade Army.
He could not go to the Calixis Sector to fight personally.
As the Warmaster of the Human Crusade Army, his actions were extremely important.
If he left the scope of the Crusade Army, it would undoubtedly signal to the Dark Eldars that the Imperium of Man was now stretched thin.
No! Absolutely not!
Besides this, there was one more crucial matter.
That was, any combat failure in either the Calixis Sector or the Ultima Segmentum would reveal humanity's weakness to the Dark Eldars.
Guilliman had to ensure that the battles in both these regions achieved 100% victory, or at least stabilized the situation.
However, in the face of daemon Primarchs and large-scale orks, there was no suitable commander within the Imperium.
As for the Terran Dominion's commander, he also could not be moved.
Because the Terran Dominion's military commander was currently leading the Dominion fleet against the Tyranid Swarm, the Imperium could only rely on itself now.
Guilliman knelt on the ground, pondering for a very long time, and the Emperor's psychic power remained by Guilliman's side.
Although Guilliman could not see his father, he could feel a gentle psychic force constantly accompanying him.
"Father..."
Looking at his son kneeling on the ground, the Emperor would be lying if he said he didn't feel pain.
After all, this was his most accomplished son, and he was now bearing the heaviest responsibility and burden for the Imperium of Man and the human race.
A tool?
Perhaps they could be called tools when the Primarchs first emerged, but how could there be no feelings after spending time together?
The Emperor was ultimately human, or at least he considered himself human.
Humans are emotional creatures. Ever since Zeke appeared and helped him regain his humanity, he felt truly guilty towards his sons.
Guilliman having to bear such a significant responsibility alone pained the Emperor immensely.
Suddenly feeling that he should do something, a surge of his psychic power entered the Warp and then barely manifested in the Segmentum Obscurus.
The next second, Lion, who was wildly acting like a street punk and pardoning his Lion Guard in the Segmentum Obscurus, vanished from his original spot.
In an instant, Lion El'Jonson and his Lion Guard appeared on Severan, the capital of the Calixis Sector.
The Emperor used his last remaining strength to guide Lion to Calixis, to alleviate Guilliman's burden.
The next second, the Emperor felt a surge in his psychic power. He dared not do anything else, but instead tried his best to suppress the surging psychic power within him.
He had to suppress it until Zeke defeated the four gods and came to save him!
As the Emperor began to fully suppress the rampaging psychic power within him, his psychic manifestation, which had always accompanied Guilliman, instantly vanished.
Guilliman, of course, sensed the disappearance of his father.
This made Guilliman even more troubled.
His heart was heavy, but at the very last moment before the Emperor's psychic manifestation disappeared, a fragmented psychic communication reached Guilliman's ears.
"Go... Ultima Segmentum, Five Hundred worlds, Mortarion... Nurgle..."
"Don't... worry about Nurgle..."
"Calixis..."
"Lion..."
Without Zeke's help, and with the Emperor needing to fully suppress his psychic rampage, the words he spoke were, to others, a chaotic jumble.
At least, he couldn't communicate freely like before.
Upon hearing the Emperor's psychic message, Guilliman remained utterly bewildered.
What was all this about? What did he mean by Five Hundred worlds, don't worry about Nurgle, Calixis, Lion?
Guilliman, who had previously been able to communicate normally with his father, was completely confused by this series of messages. He really couldn't grasp what the Emperor was trying to convey.
The Emperor, who could no longer remind his son to fully suppress his rampaging psychic power, could only watch this scene unfold.
He hoped that his smartest son would be able to understand his meaning.
But seeing Guilliman's bewildered expression, the Emperor felt his hope becoming increasingly slim.
It still had to rely on Lion. If Lion could appear directly in Calixis, then everything would fall into place.
He believed that as long as Lion could appear in Calixis and Guilliman learned of it, then his intelligent son would surely figure out what he meant.
Then he would wholeheartedly deal with Nurgle's chaos Daemonic Army.
Before that, he should still have time, after all, the Ultima Segmentum had three million Ultramarines. It wouldn't take a small amount of time for three hundred thousand Ultramarines to defeat them.
He could only hope that Lion would be fast, and quickly make some noise in Calixis so Guilliman would know he had appeared.
The Emperor thought silently to himself. When other citizens of the Imperium felt bad or hopeless, they could still pray to the God-Emperor.
When he, the Emperor, felt hope was fleeting, he couldn't even pray to anything, because he had nothing to pray to.
Amidst his headache, the Emperor finally thought of a compromise.
"Zeke, bless my son to do something meaningful in the Calixis Sector, so that Guilliman will react."
After all, this pressure was quite immense, and most of his sons were not very reliable.
The reliable ones were either gone, or like Guilliman, caught in the thick of it.
So, the heavily stressed Emperor still chose to offer his prayers to Zeke.
After finishing his prayer, the Emperor suddenly understood why the citizens of the Imperium could still struggle and persist with hope.
Indeed, having someone tall to pray to and place hope in felt truly wonderful.
Faith, at times, provided hope, making one's will even more resolute.
The Emperor sighed in relief after his prayer, but Zeke, who was battling the four Chaos Gods alongside Weiss in the Warp, stumbled due to his prayer.
Being distracted in battle was not a good thing. Seizing Zeke's stumble, Khorne brought his great axe down fiercely.
Zeke barely reacted in time, turning to narrowly dodge Khorne's great axe as it sliced past him, immediately followed by Slaanesh's whip lashing out.
Zeke barely reacted in time, turning to narrowly dodge Khorne's great axe as it sliced past him, immediately followed by Slaanesh's whip lashing out, striking Zeke.
A stumble, what a huge mistake!
Seeing Zeke get hit, Weiss went berserk. She began to press the attack against Nurgle and Tzeentch, her opponents.
The battle in the Warp once again entered a more intense phase.
Battles between gods are not so easily concluded.
Even if the Chaos Gods of the Warp teamed up, they might not be a match for Weiss and Zeke, but they still had the power to fight.
At the very least, fighting with all their might and dragging Zeke here for a few years was not a problem.
Zeke readjusted himself, then turned to look at Khorne and Slaanesh.
Wielding his weapon, he fiercely attacked the two again, shifting his focus to Slaanesh, while also grumbling about the Emperor in his heart.
"No, absolutely not. After this fight, I must turn off the prayer function. No one can disturb me!"
After all, Zeke could understand the Emperor's prayer, so he had no intention of troubling the Emperor later.
However, he was quite dissatisfied with the direct feedback of the prayer function.
While thinking about how to turn off this function, Zeke's attacks grew increasingly powerful.
For a time, Khorne and Slaanesh were repeatedly forced back by Zeke.
Meanwhile, the key to breaking the deadlock, Lion Lion, was standing on a street in the Calixis Sector, looking bewildered.
If he remembered correctly, he should have been on Caliban before. Why had he suddenly appeared in this place?
However, since he was Lion, a man who had lived for over 10,000 years, after the initial confusion, he quickly got into gear and began to loudly call out for his captain of the guard.
"Kain."
However, there were only unfamiliar streets and pedestrians around him; no familiar faces responded to his call. Lion frowned, realizing something was wrong.
Clearly, due to his inability to control the psychic power within him, the Emperor had only managed to send Lion to this planet when he transported him.
As for his guards, they could only be guaranteed to be on this planet.
Whether they were next to him, the Emperor could not guarantee. After all, just being able to send him was good enough. As for other things, one couldn't make it difficult for an old man, right?
Lion looked around, and the surrounding scene made him feel unfamiliar.
Although this area looked as if it had just experienced war, people were still walking naturally on the streets.
It was as if nothing had happened, completely unlike a place that had experienced war. Yet, as a battle-hardened Primarch, Lion was certain that war had definitely broken out here.
This bizarre scene left Lion standing still, bewildered. He couldn't understand why this was happening, or what had occurred.
"Sir, do you need help?" a local Sheriff approached and asked, evidently mistaking Lion for someone lost.
After the Duchy of Severan was pacified by Zeke, a portion of the Terran Dominion's officials were left behind to govern it.
Now, the capital planet of the entire Duchy had begun to follow standardized governance procedures.
Although various policies and actions had just begun, their initial form was already visible.
Lion examined the Sheriff's uniform.
It wasn't the Imperial style he was familiar with, but the double-headed eagle emblem on the chest was still prominent.
At this moment, Lion felt it was necessary to figure out what exactly had happened here, and where he was.
He asked in a deep voice, "Has this place just experienced a battle?"
He didn't directly ask where this place was, as a certain level of wariness and caution was still necessary.
The Sheriff paused, his expression turning very serious: "You mean the battle where His Majesty the Omnissiah quelled the rebellion? It ended almost ten days ago.
Now the Duchy of Severan has returned to the Imperium of Man's embrace, and we are rebuilding under the guidance of officials sent by the Omnissiah."
Rebellion!
Lion keenly latched onto this keyword.
As the saying goes, no sacrifice is too great to accept, and no betrayal is too small to tolerate.
So Lion completely ignored the part about the Omnissiah personally launching an expedition, focusing his attention on the rebellion.
"You mean there was a rebellion here!"
"Yes, but the rebellion has been suppressed. The Omnissiah personally led the Imperial army here and has executed Severan XIII, who was at the head of it."
"The Omnissiah is merciful and has pardoned our sins."
As he said this, the Sheriff seemed unsure what expression to show, but it ultimately settled into one of reverence.
They were alive thanks to the Omnissiah personally coming; otherwise, the Dark eldar would have thrown the Imperium of Man's Duchy of Severan into chaos.
"??? What did you say?"
"You said the Omnissiah personally came to suppress the rebellion and also pardoned you. Which Omnissiah are you referring to?"
Lion asked in disbelief. He could guarantee that this Omnissiah was definitely not his father. If it were his father, this place would absolutely have been subjected to an Exterminatus.
He could vouch for his father's character; his father was definitely not this merciful.
Moreover, to tolerate these traitors—traitors are not allowed to live!
"The Omnissiah I'm referring to is, of course, Omnissiah Ezekiel." The Sheriff was well aware of the etiquette, so he quickly stated the Omnissiah's name.
While calling him by name might be disrespectful, adding 'Omnissiah' afterwards made it much better.
"I knew it. How could the Omnissiah suddenly become so merciful? So it's him."
"That makes sense then."
Upon hearing it was Zeke, Lion indicated that he understood, as he was certainly clear about what his father was like.
His father couldn't be this merciful, but with Zeke, it wasn't surprising.
He didn't know what kind of person this new Omnissiah was, but from his previous action of pardoning the tithe, it was clear he was absolutely merciful.
After all, his own father had acknowledged him, which meant absolute legitimacy. Such a person wouldn't need to use such methods to win people's hearts. If Zeke did this, it could only be because he himself was merciful enough.
"Alright, thank you for telling me all this." Lion, uncharacteristically, humbly thanked the Sheriff in front of him, and the Sheriff naturally waved his hand modestly.
"It's my duty. The Duchy of Severan is currently in the midst of rebuilding, and I'm just doing my small part for the Duchy's reconstruction and its recovery."
"If you have any questions or anything you'd like to ask, feel free to inquire with the Sheriffs around here. Everyone will answer your questions, as this is what the Omnissiah wishes."
"The Omnissiah has pardoned our sins, and we will do our utmost to do what he wishes us to do. This is our atonement."
As he said this, the Sheriff's gaze was filled with determination. This was his atonement.
But then, his previously firm gaze instantly faltered.
"If only the Omnissiah would allow us to join the army. Unfortunately, the Omnissiah's army doesn't need us."
Regarding the Sheriff's current attitude, Lion didn't know what to say to comfort him. He could still understand these people's urgent desire for atonement.
However, since Zeke hadn't allowed them to join the army, he couldn't make any arbitrary promises.
After all, Zeke was on the same level as the Omnissiah and his father. He had to show sufficient respect to Zeke, so how could he make decisions lightly?
After bidding farewell to the Sheriff, Lion remained alone where he was.
Although he had figured out where he was, another headache arose: why had he suddenly appeared here, and was there something he needed to do by coming here?
Lion already somewhat understood the meaning of his teleportation ability. He often teleported himself to where the Imperium of Man needed him most. Now that he had been teleported here, it should mean that this place needed him.
But why would this place need him?
The Imperial rebellion that had occurred had already been suppressed by the Omnissiah's personal expedition.
And this was a place the Omnissiah had personally visited, which meant Zeke was still here. What problems could this wretched place possibly have?
Looking across the entire galaxy, even including those four guys in the Warp, who would dare to make a move in a place where the Omnissiah was present?
Zeke had already been here, and it was even possible he was still here now, so how could any problems arise?
Lion thought this, and he believed his idea was correct.
Unless Zeke wasn't here, only then could this place potentially be in danger.
Suddenly, Lion thought of this point. If Zeke wasn't here, then this place indeed could be dangerous.
At the same time, this was a place Zeke had personally visited. The Omnissiah had personally come here to suppress a rebellion. If this place fell into the hands of chaos or experienced another rebellion, wouldn't that be a huge slap in the face to the Imperium of Man and the Omnissiah?
While the actual impact might not be significant, Zeke had only recently become the Omnissiah of the Imperium of Man, and his prestige had not yet been fully established. At such a time, if someone were to cause him to lose face, some serious things would indeed happen.
Lion felt he had seemingly grasped the crux of the matter?!
"Hello, wait, could you not leave yet? I have another question I need to ask you."
With such a conjecture, it naturally needed to be verified, and the simplest way to verify it was to ask the surrounding Sheriffs. Lion needed to gather some intelligence first.
The Sheriff stopped, turned around, and showed a friendly smile: "Of course, what else can I help you with?"
Lion carefully chose his words: "I'd like to know... is Omnissiah Ezekiel still in the Duchy of Severan now? Or, after he left, did he leave behind any significant defensive forces?"
Sheriff: "The Imperial army has already left Severan. Didn't you know that? Before, a large number of warships were docked in our orbit, and now those fleets have departed."
Lion's heart sank. His conjecture might be correct—this place was indeed weakly defended.
But the next second, something unexpected happened. After speaking, the Sheriff's gaze towards Lion became strange.
The Omnissiah had come here to quell the rebellion, and the fleet was parked in planetary orbit; anyone could see it.
And the fleet's departure was also recent. Now, this fellow didn't even know these things and was still asking about the military situation—something was wrong!
The Sheriff took a small step back, then began requesting backup on his personal terminal.
Before, it was understandable that this guy was looking around. He approached to answer questions, and it was conceivable that some old man had lost his way.
But now it was different. This guy had started asking military questions, and such obvious military questions, that his ignorance made it completely different.
Even someone who had just arrived at Severan from another planet wouldn't be as clueless as him.
This news had already spread throughout the nearby star sectors; everyone knew that the Omnissiah's fleet had departed.
This guy definitely had a problem, 100% a problem.
Unlike the Sheriff, who had stepped back, Lion did not notice that the Sheriff had retreated a step.
Or rather, he simply didn't care about this minor change. After all, what could someone merely stepping back signify?
When Lion didn't hear the Sheriff answer his other question, he instead took a step forward and asked,
"Sheriff, you still haven't told me what troops the Imperium has left here to garrison?"
"Are you not speaking because you don't know?"
Lion's action was somewhat puzzling, but it was understandable that he was trying to obtain all the knowledge he needed from the Sheriff, completely disregarding the look in the other person's eyes when he asked the question.
"Don't worry, sir, what kind of army the Omnissiah has left here, I think you will see very soon."
The next second, the Sheriff was clad in a full suit of power armour, drawing a power sword from his waist.
"Tell me, who exactly sent you? Is it chaos, or the Tyranid Swarm, or those damned Dark Eldars!"
"Don't even think about escaping or resisting! The Imperial army has already surrounded this place, and the Custodes will arrive here in just one minute. You can't escape!"
The Sheriff stopped pretending. He put on his power armour, then, holding his power sword, pointed it directly at Lion.
As he raised his weapon, the surrounding Severan citizens also gathered in this direction.
This was a good time to atone for the Omnissiah! The Omnissiah didn't let them go to the battlefield, but surely they could still contribute now.
As long as they could capture this traitor, or rather, this spy, their sins might be somewhat lessened.
Atonement! Atonement!
They were guilty, they didn't deserve the Omnissiah's treatment, they had to pay for their previous judgments and prove their loyalty to the Omnissiah!
Lyon was stunned by the Sheriff's words. He watched the Sheriff, clad in power armour and holding a power sword, pointing at him, and then saw the surrounding human citizens of Severan, each as fanatical as a Kriegsman, swarming towards him. He was in a state of utter bewilderment.
On the one hand, he hadn't figured out how this guy put on power armour, as donning power armour was a rather cumbersome process, so how could it just appear on him?
On the other hand, he was shocked that the Imperial citizens here would so fanatically swarm towards him, completely unafraid of danger. What kind of loyalty was this!
Of course, the most important thing was his shock at why he was being pointed at with a sword?
What the Primarch did not realize was that the age of the Primarchs had passed 10,000 years ago. In 10,000 years, who would recognize a Primarch?
Moreover, Lion had not revealed his identity upon arriving here.
Not revealing his identity was one thing, but he subconsciously acted in the manner of a Primarch.
Directly inquiring about the local military situation from the Sheriff was undoubtedly asking for trouble.
Facing the sudden encirclement, Lion instead showed an approving expression: "Very good. It seems the Imperium's heart of loyalty has not faded with time."
He slowly raised his hands, signaling he had no hostile intent: "I am not an enemy. I am Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the First Legion, the Dark Angels."
The Sheriff sneered: "Primarch? You're full of it! I've never heard of any so-called Primarch of the First Legion. I only know that Lord Guilliman, Primarch of the Imperium's Thirteenth Legion, is currently presiding over Imperial affairs on Terra."
"The remaining Imperial Primarchs are only Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Seventh Legion, who appeared in a live broadcast. I don't know who your so-called Primarch of the First Legion is. I hope you don't try to fool us!"
"Don't think you can just make up a Primarch we haven't seen and impersonate him. Such a clumsy lie, don't even think about deceiving the citizens of Severan! We will fight for humanity until the last moment!"
The Sheriff stated that he absolutely did not believe Lion's words. After all, a Primarch, how could he prove he was a Primarch?
If the Primarch of the First Legion had truly returned to the Imperium, then why had he not appeared in previous live broadcasts?
Why was this Primarch absent during the live broadcasts to the entire galaxy?
"Speak quickly! Which faction's spy or scout are you? If you don't speak, don't blame us for being ruthless!"
Lion sighed. He knew that words alone wouldn't convince them, but he didn't want to harm these loyal Imperial citizens.
Not to mention now, Lion would not harm these Imperial citizens; even 10,000 years ago, he would not harm civilians.
He was Lion, proud and aloof. His pride prevented him from harming these people who remained loyal to the Imperium. This did not align with his own principles and tenets.
But Lion not acting did not mean he would be understood.
After all, Severan had just experienced a rebellion, and everyone was eager to atone by serving the Omnissiah.
Coupled with Lion's undeniable suspiciousness, the Sheriff had already drawn his weapon.
These people were even more unwilling to give up this opportunity to sacrifice themselves and atone for their sins.
The crowd still thronged in front of Lion.
Lion now understood the feeling of helplessness his sons felt when facing him.
Just as the standoff continued, a deafening roar of engines suddenly echoed from the sky.
A Thunderhawk gunship swept low, deploying several giants clad in golden armor—the Custodes.
"Lay down your weapons!" The voice of the leading Custodian Guard boomed like thunder, "Everyone, step back!"
"We are taking over here. The strength of the opponent is currently unpredictable, so you must leave immediately and ensure your safety."
The Sheriff and the citizens immediately respectfully retreated.
The Custodes' orders had to be obeyed, after all, these were the six Custodes the Omnissiah had left here to oversee the highest security.
The Custodes squad leader walked towards Lion, his golden halberd pointing at him: "Stranger, state your identity and purpose."
Lion calmly looked at the Custodes: "I am Lion El'Jonson. Take me to the commander here. Time is pressing."
"The Primarch of the First Legion?"
Since Zeke had already learned of Lion's appearance, his Custodians were naturally aware of such a being.
"You say you are Lion, Lion El'Johnson?
No!
That won't do."
"Now, you will come with us. Do not resist arrest, or else..."
Lion's identity was pending confirmation. The best way was to take him away, verify his genetic lineage, and then have the Psykic Legion check his soul.
Severan could not afford any risks now; he had to avoid him being an agent of chaos or the Dark eldar.
Facing the Custodians' cautious attitude, Lion instead showed an appreciative expression: "A very wise decision. I agree to undergo examination."
He voluntarily extended his right hand: "You may collect genetic samples. But be quick—I can feel danger approaching."
Lion had changed; he had become capable of understanding the Custodians, which was indeed a significant transformation.
However, even though he had extended his hand, allowing genetic samples to be collected, the Custodians did not think this was sufficient.
Lion himself was a dangerous entity; allowing him to remain here would undoubtedly be irresponsible to the humans in this place. Before his identity could be confirmed, he had to accompany the Custodians.
"I apologize, sir, but merely checking genetic samples is insufficient. You must come with us, because in addition to genetic samples, we must also verify your soul."
"Genetic samples can be disguised, stolen, or cloned, so they don't explain everything. Directly verifying your soul is the best course of action and method."
The Custodians did not even bother to hide their intention, directly stating that they planned to investigate Lion's soul.
From one perspective, it could be said that the Custodians were very sincere, not hiding anything but directly stating their intentions. But from another perspective, it was different.
The Custodians were not afraid of Lion losing his temper here, as their combat power far exceeded that of ordinary humans.
They were Zeke's Custodians!
Solely in terms of individual combat power, they were not afraid of a Primarch, and what's more, there were four of them!
"What did you just say? You want to investigate my soul?"
Lion repeated what he had just heard, somewhat shocked.
How presumptuous! To immediately demand an investigation of his soul. How could such a thing be casually examined by others?
Moreover, it hadn't been long since Lion awakened his soul.
Lion's expression grew serious: "Investigate soul? Do you know what that means?"
"Of course, we certainly know. If you had appeared in another way, then perhaps this step could be omitted, but the way you appeared is incorrect."
"More importantly, the time of your appearance is also incorrect. You emerge when both Emperors are unable to communicate with us. Who knows whether you are real or fake?
If we don't verify your soul, what if you are impersonating a Primarch?"
"The Imperium at this time cannot afford any risks. We hope you understand this!"
The Custodians' attitude was firm; they had to examine his soul, otherwise Lion would inevitably be monitored and detained.
The main reason for all this was the timing. Normally, they could freely disregard Lion.
But the timing of Lion's appearance was wrong; he just happened to appear during this period when both Emperors could not intervene in the real universe.
And most importantly, his identity upon appearing was certified as a spy.
This meant his initial identity was problematic.
Furthermore, this was the new capital of the Calixis Sector.
This place would become the most crucial battlefield command zone. With Lion appearing directly here, his identity absolutely had to be strictly scrutinized.
As they spoke, to prevent Lion from escaping, the other three Custodians quietly began to surround Lion, placing him in the middle of the four of them.
Powerful psychic energy was also ready to be unleashed at any moment to block any possibility of Lion escaping. Since this fellow had already arrived here, either he was the Primarch of the First Legion, or he would be directly executed by the Custodians!
A flicker of anger crossed Lion's eyes. He felt that the Custodians in front of him were somewhat unreasonable; he had already agreed to let them check his genes.
But they still wanted to check his soul. Wasn't this ridiculous?
However, just as his burning anger was about to ignite, he saw that the four Custodians had already formed a battle array.
In addition, since he had awakened his soul, he also sensed the vast, ocean-like psychic power emanating from the four Custodians.
If it were a one-on-one duel, Lion felt he could defeat these Custodians, but the opponents were not going to duel him. With four people already in formation, surrounding him, a one-against-four situation...
Lion was proud, but he had also grown.
His biggest growth was learning to assess the situation.
But even with assessing the situation, it was very difficult for him to allow others to examine his soul; this thing was simply too private.
"Is there truly no other way to verify my identity?"
Lion still wanted to try, to see if there was another method to verify his identity.
"If you had been found elsewhere, then there would indeed be a way. We could take you back to Terra and have Regent Guilliman examine you, with your brother verifying if you are Lion."
"Because you are brothers, we would accept the results of an examination between you brothers. But not now; your current location is too sensitive for us to take you away."
The Custodians chose to tell Lion the truth.
The Custodians never stooped to lying. Since the other party had such a question, answering it was not a problem.
"Now you must make your choice: either allow us to verify you, or resist here."
"I must tell you, humanity cannot afford any risks right now, so you truly have no other choice.
Either you cooperate with us, or we will have no choice but to temporarily imprison you. The remaining matters can be dealt with when Regent Guilliman has time."
"Of course, imprisoning you is only an option if we have enough personnel. If chaos and the orks attack here, and the four of us must participate in the battle, then your fate will be immediate execution."
Lion clenched his fists. The Custodians had now made it very clear to him.
Either he accepts identity verification, and after verification, if he is confirmed to be the Primarch of the First Legion, he can gain command of the army.
Or he refuses, and the Custodians will detain him. However, if the war here escalates to the point where the Custodians need to participate, they will execute him.
Lion was proud, but even a proud Lion would compromise when faced with reality.
He didn't know why he appeared here, but it was almost certainly related to his father.
Since the Emperor sent him here, perhaps there was a mission he needed to accomplish.
If he died in vain at the hands of the Custodians, it would not be good news for humanity. He would not do such a foolish thing.
"Alright! I will come with you, but make it quick. I have a very bad feeling, as if a large-scale war is about to break out here very soon."
Lion agreed.
"A wise choice. I'm starting to believe you are the Primarch of the First Legion, but after all, the war here is too important, so the necessary procedures must be followed."
Lion had made his choice, and it was clearly the correct one, so the Custodians couldn't help but praise him.
The authentication for Lion was quickly completed. Four Imperial Guard Captains formed the core, supplemented by 2,000 powerful Psykers who together created a psychic array to enter the Warp, quickly confirming Lion's soul.
"Your identity has been confirmed, First Legion Primarch Lion. We are very pleased that you have returned to the Imperium of Man."
"Especially at such a critical moment, I believe Regent Guilliman will be delighted to know of your return."
"Here, I must apologize for my previous caution, and I ask for your forgiveness for our prudence."
"I accept your apology, Imperial Guard! Your caution was necessary."
Since the soul detection had already been done, Lion saw no need to be angry about it. He simply forgave the Imperial Guard.
Otherwise, besides forgiving them, there was nothing else he could do; he wasn't sure he could win a one-on-one fight.
The immense psychic power of these Imperial Guards made it clear to him that they were vastly different from his father's Imperial Guards.
These guys not only possessed formidable combat strength but also powerful psychic abilities as support.
A one-on-one duel with someone of this caliber was absolutely impossible, unless he had a death wish.
"Let's put this matter behind us. I am now more interested in the critical moment you mentioned and the fact that this place is an important battlefield."
Lion didn't dwell on the soul verification. After all, the matter was concluded, and the offense had been committed; continuing to dwell on it would clearly be a waste of time.
What he wanted most now was to understand why he had suddenly appeared on this planet.
"Understood. Your identity as the First Legion Primarch has been verified, and your authority is sufficiently high. You are now the highest commander in the Calixis Sector, so all military information can be relayed to you."
"As of now, intelligence received by the Calixis Sector indicates that the orks have gathered a massive fleet and are heading towards Calixis. Abaddon's Black Legion is also accompanying them."
"The main force of the Black Legion has been deployed in its entirety."
"We have not yet obtained detailed information about the ork forces, but it can be determined that since they have mobilized a large army, their naval combat strength should not be underestimated."
"Current intelligence suggests that the orks have deployed at least 40 war moons..."
...The moment that number was spoken, Lion fell silent.
Lion, having learned some of the Imperium of Man's history since his emergence, understood the caliber of weapon a war moon was.
It was from the Beast Arises, a war that occurred in the 41st Millennium.
This was an all-out war between the Imperium of Man and the orks, and war moons were the orks' superweapons.
The orks, relying on their war moons, made several Warp jumps and destroyed the main forces of the Imperium of Man's Fifth and Seventh fleets.
The orks were ultimately defeated mainly because the Imperium of Man's Primarch, Vulcan, returned to the battlefield and defeated them.
At that time, the orks had not deployed as many war moons as they had now. With a total of 40 war moons appearing, along with their accompanying warships...
Lion felt an immense pressure weigh down on him, a pressure he had never felt even as a Primarch.
Could the Imperium of Man truly withstand such an attack?
With both Emperors absent, who could defeat these orks?
No wonder he appeared on this planet. Was this planet and this sector facing such a terrifying crisis?
"This is absolutely not a war the Imperium of Man can afford. I understand that the Imperium of Man is now being renamed the Terran Dominion, so where is the Dominion fleet?"
"This place needs the support of the Dominion fleet!"
Lion knew very well that the Imperium of Man's forces alone could not achieve victory. He needed the Terran Dominion's fleet to help him fight, otherwise, the defeat of this sector was almost a foregone conclusion.
In response to Lion's question, the Imperial Guard answered him.
"We are also well aware that if the Imperium of Man were to deal with these ork forces, it would be too much. Their army size is excessively over the limit, but the Dominion fleet is currently tied up. Large numbers of fleets are fighting the Tyranid Swarm at the galactic edge."
"Even the warships produced later cannot come to deal with the orks and chaos armies in this location. All fleets are engaged in a fierce battle with the endless Tyranid Swarm fleets at the galactic edge."
"Theoretically, even the four of us shouldn't actually be here.
We should also be heading to the galactic edge to intercept the Tyranid Swarm, but we received the Emperor's command to guard this planet."
"Furthermore, the fleet personally mobilized by the Emperor has already left the Calixis Sector and is currently confronting the Dark Eldars fleet. This fleet cannot leave that location either."
The Imperial Guard answered Lion's question. This answer was clearly not what Lion wanted to hear, but there was nothing he could do. Only now did Lion realize the true extent of the crisis humanity was facing.
This...
Seeing Lion deep in thought, the Imperial Guard pondered for a moment before speaking again.
"My communication with you might have some missing information. To ensure there are no issues, why don't you communicate directly with Regent Guilliman?"
"Don't worry, we have sufficient communication methods to allow you to communicate with Terra without delay."
After all, the Imperial Guard were not military commanders; they were merely powerful special forces.
Regarding the overall military and strategic layout, they only knew a part, and their information had a certain lag.
"Alright, then I ask you to connect me with Guilliman."
Lion agreed to the Imperial Guard's suggestion. After all, these Imperial Guards were just soldiers stationed here, and their information network was certainly not as extensive as Guilliman's.
"Then please follow me. I will take you to the main control room, where you can communicate in detail with Regent Guilliman."
The Imperial Guard Captain led the way, motioning for Lion to follow.
However, just as they were about to depart, Lion remembered his Lion Guard. His sons had also been teleported to this planet with him, just in different locations.
To prevent his sons from being directly eliminated, he quickly conveyed to the Imperial Guard in front of him:
"When I arrived, my Lion Guard also came here. Please find them."
"Of course, no problem." This was a minor issue, and the Imperial Guard would not refuse.
After Lion was brought to the main control room, communications were quickly established, and Guilliman, who was busy on Terra and already overwhelmed by the current situation, received a communication from the Calixis Sector.
Because Calixis was a very important location, Guilliman chose to answer their call.
Guilliman's image appeared in the communication, looking at the four Imperial Guardsmen who were talking to him, but the next second he saw Lion's presence.
Lion!!!
"How are you in Calixis? This is great, it's great that you're in Calixis; finally, someone can hold the line there!"
Guilliman was so excited that tears almost streamed down his face. The moment he saw Lion, it was as if a weight had been lifted from him, and his burden significantly lessened.
The problem was solved. With Lion in the Calixis Sector, he could return to the Ultima Segmentum to counter the threat from Nurgle.
In his excitement, Guilliman didn't even wait for Lion to ask him anything, immediately issuing orders and communicating information to Lion.
"Lion! The Imperium needs you. The Imperium needs you there to command the Imperial Army to resist the assaults of chaos and orks. You must ensure that the war there is victorious. If it fails, then the human race will face a crisis of life and death."
"Regarding intelligence on the orks, what I can tell you now is that the orks have deployed 40 war moons and a large number of other auxiliary battleships. Their scale is enormous, and I cannot give you much support.
Only 1,000 emperor-class battleships and 500 Glorious gloriana-class battleships are heading in your direction, accompanied by a phalanx-class titan ship to serve as your flagship.
This is the only main fleet support I can provide you. As for the ground forces, your Dark Angels Legion will be redeployed to you, and you can command your sons in battle.
In addition, about 1.2 million Space Marines will arrive with the reinforcements. They will all be under your command and deployment. This is the maximum support I can give you."
"The support forces will arrive in your sector in 15 days."
"Lion, the survival of humanity rests on your shoulders. You must win this war; if you can't win, you must never let them win!"
"We must persevere, even if it's just a stalemate with them, we must hold out there, we must hold out until the two Emperors are free."
A barrage of words from Guilliman came directly through the communication. Lion didn't even have time to ask his questions and was stunned by Guilliman's flood of information. His head felt dizzy.
1,000 emperor-class battleships and 500 Glorious gloriana-class battleships, plus millions of Space Marines—what was this for? Was this for the Great Crusade?
Perhaps even the Great Crusade, when the Emperor personally led the Imperial Army against the orks, was only of this scale.
No.
At that time, the Emperor's scale was not as large as this fleet's.
A look of joy appeared on Lion's face, but the next second, his joy vanished.
Although his fleet's size already far exceeded the fleet size the Emperor had when fighting the orks during the Great Crusade.
However, the ork fleet's size had also far exceeded the scale of the Great Crusade.
Not to mention anything else, the sheer number of war moons made Lion feel a bit lacking in confidence, even with such a powerful fleet as reinforcement.
"Lion, speak up. Do you have the confidence to hold out there?"
Lion was thinking, but Guilliman, on the other side, couldn't help but urge Lion to express his stance quickly.
"Yes! I can!"
"I accept this mission. The First Legion will hold Calixis until the last man."
Lion's golden eyes were filled with determination; Lion's resolve was displayed at this moment.
The moment Lion agreed, Guilliman also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then the matters of the Calixis Sector are entrusted to you. You must stop those orks. I am about to leave Terra for the Ultima Segmentum to command the army against the attacks of chaos daemon."
"The Imperium is currently facing enemies on all sides, but we cannot lose. If we lose, we will be doomed."
After saying this, Guilliman ended the communication.
Before Guilliman hung up, Lion had already seen that his Primarch brother was utterly exhausted.
It wasn't physical exhaustion, but mental.
The Imperium of Man was facing war everywhere, and so many wars had left Guilliman physically and mentally drained. Lion's appearance alleviated his immediate crisis.
The communication ended, and Lion didn't stay in the communication room for long, instead turning directly to prepare to go to the Governor's Palace.
"Please inform the others to come to the Governor's Palace for a meeting. I need to confirm how many Imperial Army are available and deployable here at this time."
As he prepared to go to the Governor's Palace, Lion did not forget to say this to the four Imperial Guardsmen beside him, asking them to summon the high-ranking Imperial officials of this sector for him.
"No problem, we will faithfully execute your orders. All high-ranking officials of the Calixis Sector will arrive at the Governor's Mansion in two hours."
Severan XIII had committed the great crime of rebellion, and thus the Duchy of Severan no longer existed.
Now the Duchy of Severan had been abolished, and the former Severan Palace was repurposed as the Governor's Mansion in the Calixis Sector.
Lion left the main control room. When he pushed open the door, he saw his Lion Guard. These guards had now been ordered by the Imperial Guard to be brought here by other Space Marines.
While Lion's condition was completely different, his Lion Guard were clearly much more disheveled.
If Lion himself could be captured, how much more so these Lion Guard?
Almost every Lion Guard was surrounded by Space Marines outnumbering them by 40 times, then all were captured and thrown into prison.
When Lion requested to find his guard, they were released from various prisons on the planet and brought here.
During the time Lion was communicating with Guilliman, all these Lion Guard had already been brought here.
However, to avoid disturbing the conversation between Guilliman and Lion, these individuals had been kept outside.
When Lion walked out, he saw his guard.
And Lion's guard hung their heads in shame.
They were somewhat embarrassed... Having been so easily captured and thrown into prison, and now appearing before their Primarch in such a disheveled state, filled them with immense shame.
Lion looked at his disheveled guard, a complex expression flashing in his eyes. He slowly walked up to the captain of the guard, Kain, and clapped the old warrior on the shoulder.
"Raise your heads, my warriors." Lion's voice was calm and powerful. "You did nothing wrong. Waking up in this era, we all need time to adapt."
Kain said shamefully, "My Lord, we have disappointed you. As your guard, we should have..."
"Should have what?" Lion interrupted him. "Fought against loyal Imperial warriors ten times your number? No, you made the right choice. True loyalty is not blind fighting, but wisely preserving strength."
He looked around at all the guard members: "Now, we need to focus on the real enemy. The armies of orks and chaos are approaching; this is the challenge we need to face."
The guard members straightened their backs, the shame in their eyes replaced by firm fighting spirit.
Lion turned to the Imperial Guard Captain and said, "Take my guard to the armory; they need weapons and armor suitable for this era."
The Imperial Guard Captain bowed respectfully: "It's already prepared, My Lord. New null-material armor Mark II power armour is ready for them, and Gauss rifles are also prepared, ready for them to be equipped at any time."
"Thank you," Lion uncharacteristically thanked the Imperial Guard. He knew what power armour made from null-material armor meant.
"You're welcome. From now on, you will be the highest commander here, and the four of us will also follow your orders."
The Imperial Guard replied.