Two hours later, in the Governor's Council Chamber, all senior officials and military commanders of the Calixis Sector gathered.
When Lion stepped into the hall in his brand-new Lion Armor, everyone stood in solemn respect.
"Gentlemen," Lion stood before the strategic star map, his voice echoing throughout the hall.
"We are facing the gravest challenge humanity has encountered in ten millennia.
In the Segmentum Obscurus, our human fleets are battling the Tyranid Swarm, which is relentlessly surging towards our warships, tying up the main bulk of our fleet.
In the Segmentum Pacificus, the forces of chaos have dispatched a large number of fleets and daemon armies to attack the Ultramar 500 worlds. Regent Guilliman has already led a fleet to stop them, and the Plague War has erupted.
Additionally, the necrons have awakened and are currently in a standoff with our main fleet, with a major conflict possible at any moment.
To prevent them from initiating a war while we are at our weakest, we must maintain this standoff and not show any signs of weakness."
Beyond these situations, there is our own sector. The Calixis Sector is currently under enemy attack.
Large fleets of orks, along with 40 Space Hulks, and Abaddon's Black Legion, are heading our way."
"I won't lie to any of you. I'll tell you the truth: humanity's current situation is extremely perilous. We are besieged on all sides."
"Humanity has reached its most critical juncture. We cannot fail. We cannot fail on any battlefield, otherwise the chain reaction that follows will lead to our utter annihilation!"
Lion explained the current situation facing the Imperium and the human race to everyone present, a situation that left everyone feeling suffocated.
Looking around, the entire galaxy seemed to be filled with enemies, all rushing towards humanity, attempting to carve out a piece of flesh from this colossal entity for themselves.
But what did it matter?
After Lion finished speaking, not a single officer or official showed any sign of fear; instead, they were filled with fighting spirit!
Let them come, then. Humanity would never fear any challenge or threat. All of this was for humanity's manifest destiny!
If they could win this battle, then without a doubt, the Imperium would overcome its most difficult period, and with careful planning, ultimate victory would surely belong to humanity.
As for what kind of scene they would face if they failed?
No!
They would never fail!
For humanity!
Lion nodded with satisfaction, looking at the determined eyes of the human officials, the Chapter Masters of the space marine Chapters, and the various mortal commanders.
He greatly appreciated such morale.
"Very good, everyone's morale is high. I see the resolve in your hearts, and that is excellent. Now, let's officially move on to the main topic of this meeting!"
Lion waved his hand, bringing up a star sector map, which was then displayed before everyone.
"Although our enemies are formidable, none of you should feel any psychological burden, because our strength is equally substantial."
"Regent Guilliman has already dispatched 1,000 Emperor-class battleships and 500 Gloriana-class battleships as reinforcements, and 1.2 million Space Marines are also en route."
"These are the reinforcements we will receive. Besides these, I need you to report to me the forces currently available in the Calixis Sector."
"These reinforcements will arrive in the Calixis Sector in 15 days, and we do not yet have definite intelligence on when the orks will arrive.
The enemy's fleet has already entered the warp and could appear at any moment, so we need to be prepared."
As soon as Lion finished speaking, a general in an Imperial Navy uniform immediately stood up to report.
"My Lord, the current naval strength of the Calixis Sector includes: 2 Indomitable-class battleships, 4 Challenger-class battlecruisers, 2 Victory-class battlecruisers, 2 Luna-class cruisers, 4 Gothic-class cruisers, 4 Dictator-class cruisers, and a total of 80 auxiliary warships."
This fleet was definitely considered powerful among the Imperium's sector fleets, after all, it possessed two battleships and eight battlecruisers!
In the Imperium's military system, a fleet of this size would definitely be considered strong, but the enemies they were currently facing did not inspire such optimism.
After hearing the number of naval vessels, Lion's frown did not dissipate.
They were screwed. Compared to the large number of reinforcements that would arrive later, the first 15 days were humanity's weakest period.
At this time, he had no way to resist the enemy fleet that might appear.
Their opponent was a massive ork fleet, comprising forty Space Hulks, while he currently only had a weak fleet consisting of two battleships and eight battlecruisers.
If the enemy were to commit all their forces, they would truly be doomed.
Lion took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down again. Since the naval fleet couldn't possibly contend with the enemy, they would have to resort to their traditional combat strategy.
Boarding actions.
He turned to the space marine commanders: "What is the Chapter situation?"
"The number of Space Marines in the Calixis Sector exceeds that of other Imperial sectors. Since the Emperor himself recently visited, he left a space marine Legion here."
"There are a full 1 million Space Marines available for combat operations locally!"
Hearing the small size of his own fleet, and now hearing that there were a full 1 million Space Marines, Lion finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This number finally put Lion's mind at ease somewhat. He turned to the Imperial Guard general: "What about ground forces?"
The Imperial Guard general reported: "There are 20,000 Imperial Guard regiments, totaling approximately 200 million personnel, including a contingent of Death Korps of Krieg, as well as renowned Astra Militarum units from Catachan and Cadia."
"In addition, our sector also has 18 Titan Legions stationed here, with a total of 400 Warlord-class Titans, 600 Reaver-class Titans, 400 Warhound-class Titans, 800 knight-class Titans, and the most crucial 26 Emperor-class Titans!"
"There are also two knight Houses within this sector, and each of these knight Houses has approximately 200 knight suits that can be deployed together in combat."
Such numbers filled Lion with confidence once again. The number of Space Marines was more than enough; he could directly launch boarding actions against the orks.
At the same time, regarding ground forces, although the number of Astra Militarum was a bit small, only a mere 200 million, the Titan Legions were an army he had never even considered.
The number of Imperial Guard could be further increased through conscription and expansion from within the planets once the war broke out, but forces like the Space Marines and Titan Legions were truly the most important.
Lion was now very satisfied with the composition and scale of this army.
The problem of the navy being completely outmatched by the enemy was partially resolved.
Warhammer is such a peculiar universe.
Although it is a starfaring civilization, fleet battles are surprisingly not the most crucial aspect.
Boarding actions can compensate for many things.
With a large number of Space Marines and a significant number of ground troops, Lyon felt a surge of confidence.
Considering the vast disparity between the strength of our navy and the enemy's, it was imperative to avoid fleet battles in the galaxy at all costs.
In such a situation, orbital defense platforms became the most crucial reliance. So, Lion turned his head and looked at the Tech-Priest of the Mechanicus who was slacking off.
"What is the status of the orbital defense system?"
The Mechanicus Tech-Priest's mechanical voice responded, "All orbital defense platforms are operating normally. Although the rebellion of Severan XII was quite abstract, his generals were not. To counter xenos attacks, they upgraded the orbital defense facilities."
"The orbital defense system in the Calixis Sector is superior to other Imperial sectors and is fully operational."
Even though the Tech-Priest was slacking, he still reported on the orbital defense platforms in detail, as if reciting from memory.
Lyon turned to face everyone, his voice once again filled with confidence: "Gentlemen, listen to my deployment:"
"The naval fleet will employ a feint tactic, using asteroid belts and nebulae as cover to lure the main ork force into a pre-designated boarding zone."
"The Space Marines will form assault squads, focusing their attacks on the engines and command centers of the War Moons. One million Space Marines are enough to attack all targets simultaneously!"
"In the last Beast War, Vulkan already told us how to deal with ork War Moons. Since our fleet is not strong enough to contend with the enemy, we will get close!"
A Titan Legion commander stood up: "My Lord, the Emperor-class Titans are ready. With your command, we can show these orks what true destructive power is."
The representative of the knight Houses also declared: "Our knight suits are ready for battle at any time. For the Emperor!"
Lyon nodded with satisfaction: "Very good. Now, let's formulate the detailed plan:"
"First line of defense: The naval fleet will conduct harassment operations, luring the enemy into the designated area."
"Second line of defense: space marine boarding parties will assault key targets, with the main forces of the Titan Legions and knight Houses accompanying the Space Marines to fight on the enemy's War Moons."
It was fortunate that the orks had previously deployed War Moon-class vessels, and the Imperium had a complete set of countermeasures for such warships, so Lyon was not afraid.
"Just remember our objective: it is very simple. Destroy their energy systems, and after destroying them, withdraw from the War Moons. We only need to delay the enemy's speed until our fleet arrives for support!"
While Lyon really wanted to wipe out the ork army in one fell swoop, the situation was not that optimistic. He indeed had a million Space Marines, but the chaos Space Marines of the Black Legion also numbered over 100,000.
Furthermore, the enemy also possessed a large number of daemon and ork units that could coordinate in battle. Even though the Imperium had a million Space Marines and a large number of Titan Legions.
But if it came to a real fight, the outcome was uncertain.
Instead of seeking a decisive victory in the early stages, it was better to prioritize delaying the enemy until the Imperial Navy's reinforcements arrived.
All in all, Lyon's current deployment was sound.
But who was he? He was Lyon, the Primarch of the First Legion, known as Lion. How could he possibly just command from the rear?
Commanding from the rear was never Lyon's style.
After he had formally assigned the combat missions, he gave himself an order.
"During the boarding action, I will lead from the front, attacking the core War Moon of the orks and dueling their ork Warboss!"
When Lyon announced he would personally lead the boarding party, the entire command room fell silent. Several high-ranking generals rose almost simultaneously in protest.
"My Lord, that is too dangerous!" the Governor of the Calixis Sector said urgently, "You are the supreme commander; you should remain at the command center!"
The Imperial Navy Admiral also advised, "My Lord, if anything unexpected happens, the defense of the entire sector will fall into chaos!"
After those two spoke, the Chapter Master of the space marine Legion also wanted to speak up and dissuade him, but before he could, Lyon raised his hand, signaling for silence.
"My decision has been made.
The tradition of the First Legion is for the Primarch to lead from the front, and..." A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, "Only I can ensure the swift decapitation of the ork Warboss."
"How to deal with the orks, Vulkan, my brother, has given me a plan.
Since that is the case, I must naturally follow this plan. Only then can we ensure the success of our plan!"
"You are not to have any more objections. Besides, don't I have four of the Emperor's Custodians by my side? I believe my safety can be guaranteed with them."
Saying this, Lion even turned to look at the four Custodians beside him and asked.
"I imagine, as Custodians, you should have no problem, right?"
To ensure his plan of leading the boarding action from the front would be approved.
Lion even used a taunt, trying to get the Custodians on his side.
How could the Custodians not see through such a crude trick?
"Of course, we can guarantee your safety, but your actions do not conform to the qualities expected of a senior commander."
"With us here, your safety can be guaranteed, but you should not personally lead as a senior commander."
As Lyon expected, the Custodians acknowledged their strength and stated that they could protect him.
However, to Lion's surprise, the Custodians did not agree with his intention to lead the boarding action.
"The Imperial army does not need you to do this to boost morale; the Imperial army's morale is already high enough. Instead of you personally leading the charge, it would be better for one of us to go and challenge the ork Warboss to a duel."
When the Custodians said the first part of their statement, the Imperial generals' faces were ashen. They thought it was impossible to stop Lion from courting death.
But after hearing the latter part of the statement, all the generals and governors enthusiastically agreed.
Lyon's brow furrowed. He hadn't expected the Custodians to propose such a solution—to have a Custodian take his place in the decapitation mission.
"This does not conform to tradition," Lyon insisted, "The Primarch of the First Legion must lead from the front. This is my duty, and it is my honor."
The Custodian Captain calmly responded, "My Lord, times have changed. You are now not only the Primarch of the First Legion but also the supreme commander of the entire Calixis Sector. Your value far exceeds that of a mere warrior."
"Your actions violate your own honor, because you are a senior commander, you should be here commanding the army, and not leading from the front."
If the Custodians here were those of the Emperor, perhaps they could understand what Lion's actions were truly for.
But unfortunately, the Custodians here were Zeke's Custodians, and the Terran Dominion didn't care about tradition.
Tradition or not, as a commander, couldn't you just stay in the command center and command? Did you have to lead from the front?
If the leader died, the army's combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced; this was absolutely unacceptable!
One Custodian stepped forward: "Let me go. I assure you, I will bring back the head of that ork Warboss."
Lyon fell silent. He looked around and saw all the generals nodding in agreement.
Even his captain of the guard, Kaelen, whispered, "My Lord, the Custodians are right. You should remain at the command center."
At this moment, Lion hesitated.
Lion had originally intended to compromise, but his captain of the guard, Kaelen, fearing that his Primarch would insist on going, unfortunately added a superfluous remark at the very end.
"You're getting old, and this is also for your safety..."
Kain's intentions were good; he spoke up genuinely for Lion's safety.
After all, they had been through a battle when they met Lion, and at that time, Lion had asked what weakening curse the sorcerer had put on him.
Lion, having endured ten millennia, would eventually age, and now he truly was old, his combat strength no longer at its peak.
That's why Kain brought up the matter, hoping to use Lion's age to warn his father, to make him realize that being old meant he shouldn't continue fighting, and that protecting his safety was paramount.
His original intention was indeed good, but he forgot that his father was still proud and aloof.
Ten millennia had indeed changed Lion a lot, making him even willing to understand others, but the ingrained aloofness had not disappeared.
It would have been fine if Kain hadn't said that; Lion was already wavering, but once he spoke those words, Lion became displeased.
Lion's eyes narrowed sharply, a dangerous glint flashing in his golden pupils: "What did you say? I'm old?"
Realizing he had spoken wrongly, Kain quickly explained: "My Lord, I didn't mean that... I meant..."
"Enough." Lion's voice was cold as ice, "I understand what you mean. You think I'm so weak that I need others to protect me?"
He slowly stood up, his Lion armor gleaming with majestic light under the lamps: "Then let me prove it to you."
Lion turned to the Imperial Guard Captain: "Your suggestion is good. But I will modify the plan: I will go with you. Not as someone who needs protection, but as a comrade-in-arms fighting alongside you."
The Imperial Guard Captain wanted to object, but Lion raised a hand to stop him: "This is the final decision. Either we attack together, or I go alone. Choose."
The command room fell into a silence.
Everyone understood that Lion's pride had been touched. At this moment, any persuasion would only make him more resolute.
The Imperial Guard glared fiercely at Kain; he didn't think this fellow was advising his Primarch not to take risks, but rather doing it on purpose!
This fellow was also a Dark Angel; they also had their so-called traditions and honor, so one could draw a conclusion.
What Lion was doing now was clearly Kain cooperating with him, using such means to anger Lion, strengthen his resolve, and make him say those words.
This fellow was, after all, the supreme commander of the Calixis Sector, and when he made such a decision, not even the Imperial Guard had any authority to stop him; they could only choose to protect him.
Finally, the Imperial Guard Captain sighed: "Alright, My Lord. But you must cooperate with us in the operation; this is not a solo fight, but teamwork."
The Imperial Guard thought for a moment and still didn't say, 'so that we can protect you,' lest he hurt the highly proud Primarch opposite him and make him even more stubborn.
Seeing that the Imperial Guard had actually agreed to his request, Lion's face showed a hint of a smile, and his gaze towards Kain was filled with even more appreciation.
A look of admiration was cast by Lion towards his Lion Guard Captain.
The look was clearly saying, 'Well done, thanks to your good idea, otherwise these Imperial Guards might not have agreed.'
Such a look naturally didn't escape the Imperial Guard, and upon seeing Lion's gaze, the Imperial Guard also glared fiercely at Kain.
It was all this guy's fault for talking nonsense; if he hadn't talked nonsense, the matter would have been resolved long ago, and it wouldn't be as troublesome as it was now.
They would also have to protect this Primarch on the battlefield, which was truly annoying.
Besides the Imperial Guard glaring fiercely at Kain, the generals in the room were all generals of the Imperium of Man, and they were all qualified politicians.
So they naturally understood what was going on, and immediately everyone glared fiercely at Kain.
It was all this guy's good deed; if it weren't for him, the Primarch would have obediently commanded from the command room, instead of actively taking risks.
They were also truly puzzled as to why this Primarch couldn't just command operations honestly like The 13th Primarch, Roboute Guilliman, and instead had to lead by example? It was a headache.
Facing everyone's angry glares, Kain felt extremely wronged in his heart.
He swore he had no such thoughts, merely knowing that his father was old, and so he wanted to use facts to make his father yield, but who knew it would backfire.
Kain lowered his head under everyone's glares, his heart filled with remorse. He truly only wanted to protect his Primarch, but he didn't expect to instead ignite Lion's fighting spirit.
"My Lord..." Kain tried to explain again, but Lion raised a hand to stop him.
"No need to say more." Lion's voice returned to calm, "I understand your intentions. But now, let us focus on the battle at hand."
As he spoke, Lion also gave Kain an 'I understand everything' look, quickly settling the matter.
"Then the battle plan is set. If the ork army arrives at our Calixis Sector before our reinforcements, we will fight according to the deployment I have made."
"All forces of the Imperium must fight resolutely; everything is for the manifest destiny of mankind!"
Lion had already invoked the manifest destiny of mankind, so what else could the others say? They all stood up in unison and shouted.
"Everything is for the manifest destiny of mankind!"
The meeting thus concluded.
All Imperial Navy admirals and army commanders began to mobilize their respective forces and prepare defenses, and the actual situation indeed unfolded as Lion had predicted.
The ork fleet appeared in the Calixis Sector on the 10th day, all due to Warp fluctuations.
The scale of the ork fleet was truly too vast, so when they appeared in the Warp around the Calixis Sector, the resulting Warp fluctuations were immediately detected.
"Large numbers of ork signals have been detected on the edge of the Calixis Sector; they seem to be preparing to emerge from the Warp."
In order to execute the planned combat scheme, the Calixis Sector activated its Warp stabilizer within the sector, making Warp travel impossible.
A space stabilizer is a very useful thing, but it consumes a lot of energy, so it cannot be kept on for long periods.
It is only during wartime that this device is activated; normally, it is rarely turned on.
The entire generator almost covered the entire sector; the energy consumed for such a vast area was simply astronomical, but these consumed energies were now yielding returns.
The alarm began to scan the entire Calixis Sector!
The combined forces of the orks and Abaddon's Black Legion had arrived.
Alarms blared across the entire Calixis Sector. On the star map, red markers representing the ork fleet surged like a tide, interspersed with black markers for chaos.
Among this mass of markers, the 40 War Moon markers were particularly prominent, appearing as a vast red expanse, like 40 gigantic stars, hurtling towards the Calixis Sector at incredibly high speeds.
At this stage, with the main forces of the Terran Dominion yet to arrive, and while the Terran Dominion was still manufacturing planet-sized War Moon battleships,
Neither humanity nor the necron dynasty could compare to the orks.
The orks possessed a far greater number of large battleships than these two races, despite some differences in quality.
Normally, a single War Moon from the necrons or humanity could almost destroy the combat power of dozens of ork War Moons. However, the orks found it relatively easy to construct these planet-sized warships; they simply needed to think about it.
"All units, battle stations!" Lion's voice echoed across the entire star system via the comms network. "Execute according to plan!"
The Imperial Navy fleet immediately sprang into action. Two Indomitus-class battleships, leading a smaller fleet, began their decoy mission, using an asteroid belt for cover to launch harassing fire at the main ork force.
Numerous macro cannons and lances fired simultaneously. This was not like the engagements with the Terran Dominion and necrons, where operations were conducted in light-year units. The combat range between the two sides was not measured in light-years.
Precisely because the distance between the two sides was not great, the Imperial Navy witnessed the ork fleet surging like a tide.
The augurs were unable to accurately count the sheer scale of the ork forces, only showing a tidal wave of gargantuan ships, junk ships, cruisers, and various other classes of warships charging forward.
Against the tidal wave of ork warships, the smaller Imperial vessels appeared almost like insignificant ants, unable to contend.
Fortunately, under Lion's command, the human fleet had no intention of engaging the orks in a full-scale fleet battle.
They first unleashed their battleship's firepower upon the orks. Immediately afterward, the battleships relied on their void shields and retreated at full speed.
"WAAAGH!" The roar of ork Warboss Kaptin Badrukk echoed through the comms channels to all ork fleets. "Dem humies tryin' ta run! Get 'em, lads!"
The Imperial fleet had only launched one round of attacks before beginning to flee. What else could this be if not an attempt to escape? They were definitely trying to run!
Just as Lion expected, the ork fleet was successfully lured and began pursuing the Imperial Navy. The Imperial fleet skillfully led the enemy into a pre-designated boarding zone.
It was a region of space filled with asteroids and electromagnetic storms.
Such a large number of asteroids was sufficient to segment the ork forces, preventing them from gathering in a massive, disorganized horde that boarding parties would find impossible to deal with.
At the same time, it would be difficult for large numbers of warships to gather around the massive War Moons.
"Boarding parties, prepare!" Lion commanded from the command center. "Objective: the War Moons' engine sections and command centers! space marine forces of the 59th Assault Legion, board immediately!"
Although his Dark Angels Legion had not yet arrived, the local Space Marines of the Calixis Sector responded swiftly.
One million Space Marines boarded assault craft, preparing for deployment under the leadership of Lion's Angelus Guard.
Lion himself, accompanied by twenty Angelus Guard and four Custodians, boarded the assault craft "Griffin's Fury."
He looked out the viewport at the ork fleet surging like a tide, his eyes devoid of any fear, instead filled with the joy of a coming slaughter.
"For the Manifest Destiny of Mankind!" Lion's war cry invigorated all warriors through the comms network.
One million Space Marines represented all the space marine forces in the Calixis Sector. Now, Lion was taking all of them, preparing to directly board the ork warships for combat.
Lion's actions were undoubtedly a high-stakes gamble, but if he could win and get the Imperial forces onto the ork warships, then his strategy would succeed.
The Imperial Navy's actions naturally could not be hidden from the ork warships. However, upon seeing the Imperial Navy dispatching a large number of assault ships, ork Warboss Kaptin Badrukk issued a seemingly absurd yet entirely logical command, much to everyone's surprise.
"Let 'em come up! Let our lads smash those tin-can heads, crack open their tin cans!"
ork Warboss Kaptin Badrukk issued this absurd yet very ork-like command.
Far from preventing the Imperial assault craft from approaching, the ork fleet actively opened its hatches, welcoming the close-quarters combat they had long anticipated.
Inside the War Moons, tens of thousands of orks excitedly brandished their weapons, awaiting the arrival of the Space Marines.
The "Griffin's Fury" was the first to plunge into the largest War Moon.
When the hatch opened, they were greeted by deafening war cries and a tidal wave of surging orks.
"For the Emperor!" Lion was the first to charge out, his power sword carving dazzling arcs in the dim corridor. Twenty Angelus Guard followed closely, forming a perfect combat formation.
In addition, surrounding Lion were four Custodians, who would be responsible for protecting Lion, preventing him from being hunted down by the orks in battle.
The battle immediately intensified.
The corridors became a bloody meat grinder, and ork corpses rapidly piled up. But more orks continuously streamed in, as if endless.
With the Custodians spearheading the assault, supported by tens of thousands of Space Marines, attacking a single War Moon, the scale of this war was undoubtedly immense.
After the Space Marines had finished boarding the War Moons, the Titan Legions had also been deployed by Imperial warships onto the surface of the War Moons.
Lion's so-called all-out assault was absolutely a no-holds-barred attack. Numerous knight titans and Titans walked across the surface of the War Moons, clearing out orks and engaging the orks' large war machines.
Under the iron feet of the Titans, the ordinary ork lads were like puddles of mud, unable to offer any resistance.
Turbine-charged laser beams swept madly across the battlefield.
The enormous laser beams effortlessly pierced through the surface of the War Moons.
The massive turbine lasers directly blasted into the interior of the War Moons, instantly eliminating the ork Mekboys inside.
The human forces, relying on their elite characteristics and the assistance of the Titan Legions, were virtually unrivaled on the ork War Moons.
The legions began to push deeper into the War Moons, but the assault forces dispatched by the Imperium of Man were ultimately only a minority.
The orks had a total of 40 War Moons, meaning on average, each War Moon could only be allocated 25,000 Space Marines.
Although there were also Titan Legions and giant combat machines from knight Houses as reinforcements, the ork legions were endless; they could even breed and grow mushrooms directly on the War Moons.
Under these circumstances, the Imperial forces only managed to tie down 40 War Moons, while the other ork forces broke free from the asteroid belt's obstruction and headed towards the Imperial worlds of the Calixis Sector.
"Lord Lyon, we have received news that the ork fleet has left the asteroid and begun attacking Imperial worlds around the Calixis Sector."
The Custodian Guard swung his weapon, instantly reducing the swaths of orks before him to molecular Dominion, not forgetting to report the current situation to Lyon.
"I understand, but it doesn't matter. As long as we can decapitate the ork Warboss, these orks will naturally retreat."
"Our fleet is too small to intercept them outside of all Imperial worlds. We can only hope that the Imperial Guard can withstand these relentless ork attacks."
The orks were numerous, and Lyon's fleet and the Space Marines alone could not stop them. Therefore, the departed ork fleets could only be left to the planetary defense forces and Imperial Guard on the planets to resist them.
"Speed up! We need to deal with the ork Warboss as soon as possible!"
Although he spoke of delaying time, Lion knew very well that delaying time against orks was extremely difficult.
The best way to delay them was to kill their leader.
As long as the ork Warboss was killed, then no matter how fierce the ork warships seemed now, and despite their current advantage, they would instantly collapse and retreat, then start a new free-for-all to select a new Warboss.
Although this method wouldn't delay them for long due to the sheer size of the ork army, it would definitely buy at least five days.
Since Lyon had said so, what could the Custodian Guard do?
Of course, the Custodian Guard could only continue to fight their way into the War Moon.
Four Custodian Guards simultaneously unleashed their formidable psychic powers, expending their inner psychic energy without reservation to clear a path for the army.
All the orks charging like a tide seemed to encounter a natural predator, rapidly dissolving before the Custodian Guard's psychic power, yet they continued to charge like a tide.
The Custodian Guard's psychic energy was rapidly depleting.
After they had only pushed about 10 kilometers into the War Moon, even though the Custodian Guard still had some reserves, their psychic attacks were no longer as effective as before.
The culprit behind all this was the equipment the orks had hastily cobbled together.
Inside the War Moon, countless Mekboyz were frantically 'thinking'.
"I reckon if we give the lads these talismans, those big shiny lads who are throwing lightning won't be able to hurt us anymore!"
The number of orks here was truly immense, and their combined 'Waaagh!' energy was undeniably potent.
Indeed, with the amplification of so many orks, the things they 'thought up' actually had some effect.
After donning these talismans, the ork lads were indeed not significantly affected by the Custodian Guard's psychic attacks.
As the Custodian Guard's psychic influence began to wane, the legion was once again forced to combine close-quarters and ranged combat to continue pushing into the War Moon.
However, the speed of this advance began to slow considerably, and by this time, the other ork warships had already arrived at various worlds in the Calixis Sector.
ork armies, in numbers exceeding Lyon's imagination, began to attack various planets from orbit.
The orbital defense platforms above the planets fired with full force, destroying ork dropships and various landing craft in the air.
The entire planet, or rather, all the planets in the Calixis Sector under ork attack, bristled like hedgehogs, extending their sharp quills.
They destroyed all the various dropships and warships deployed by the orks.
However, the scale of the ork fleet was simply too vast. As the orbital weapons fired at full capacity, their warships also moored in orbit and began to exchange fire with the orbital cannons.
The orks utterly disregarded their own casualties; they simply piloted their massive ships to the planetary surface and began attacking the Imperial worlds below.
Eleven hours later, the defensive firepower in planetary orbit began to gradually weaken. Not only had some been destroyed by ork warships, but also the personnel were growing weary and ammunition was being depleted.
Although an endless supply of ammunition was being produced and transported to the defense platforms, the transportation process was also subjected to orbital bombardment by ork warships.
The situation was rapidly deteriorating.
After the first day, the first Imperial world in the Calixis Sector attacked by the orks finally began to be landed upon by the orks.
"Waaagh! Charge with me, lads, and turn those gits into mush!"
The orks who landed on the planet's surface were ecstatic. After bursting out of their crudely made landing craft, they immediately charged towards the defensive lines formed by the planetary Defense Force and the Imperial Guard.
The orks were gleefully preparing to enjoy this massive WAAAGH!
The Imperial planetary Defense Force and Imperial Guard were also determined to fight to the death.
"For the Manifest Destiny of Mankind, we absolutely cannot let these beasts cross our lines! Kill them here!"
Billions of orks appeared, and to counter them, the planetary Defense Force and Astra Militarum unleashed billions of rounds of artillery fire from the Imperial Guard.
On one side, a desperate charge at all costs; on the other, a frantic bombardment at all costs. It was a battle where 'I exchange my life for your shells, and I use my shells to annihilate your advance.'
The orks cared nothing for their losses, for they knew that their deaths did not mean an end. Where they fell, countless spores would land on the ground, and in time, this land would sprout even more orks.
In the face of such high-intensity warfare, fueled by WAAAGH! energy, ork lads could even grow to maturity in just a few hours.
And once they sprouted from the ground, they could pick up any scrap and attack humans.
To the orks, the lads below were utterly expendable.
In addition to these ork lads who attacked at the cost of their lives, the orks also deployed a large number of war vehicles.
Numerous ork ground war vehicles began clashing with the planetary Defense Force's Leman Russ tanks and Baneblades.
Almost every planet where orks landed saw its first battle composed of armored units.
The defending planets would deploy thousands, even tens of thousands, of Leman Russ and Baneblade tanks, while the orks were equally unyielding.
Kill Tanks, Battlewagons, Stompas, and Gargants—giant combat vehicles—were practically endless, their main objective being to overwhelm the Human Imperium with sheer numbers.
To put it simply, every planetary landing zone was a massive apocalyptic land war!
Because the Human Imperium was equally unyielding, large numbers of Baneblades and light combat vehicles were also fully deployed.
And the factories in the rear continuously produced more weapons, sending them to the front lines.
From the moment the war began, all factory workers immediately entered a 22-hour workday, resting only two hours a day, all for the Manifest Destiny of Mankind!
No human citizen opposed such a system, for they had to atone, and now was their chance to atone!
Facing the Ork Boyz' mountain- and sea-filling offensive, the planetary Defence Force on various planets did not retreat; instead, they eagerly participated in the defensive battles.
A small number of titans from the Titan Legions remained on the planetary surface to assist them in combat. As the colossal titan war machines walked on the planetary surface, sowing the Omnissiah's wrath, the Ork Boyz' offensive was forced to retreat.
However, the battle on the planet was not the most important; the most crucial battle was on the battle moon.
Representatives of the Omnissiah's will, the Titan Legions, were stepping forward in droves!
The Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii followed closely beside the Titan Legions, coordinating with the titan war machines as they advanced and spread the Omnissiah's wrath.
The titan, a gargantuan presence, could not only unleash wrath upon enemies, but most importantly, even if some slipped through, its three-legged colossal foot could utterly crush them as it stepped over.
Many Ork Boyz often didn't even have time to launch an attack on the titan before being trampled into a muddy mess beneath its iron feet, followed by subsequent melta fire that completely purified them.
The Custodes still spearheaded the advance, their formidable combat power making it almost impossible for any Ork Boyz to stop the Ork Boyz.
However, the relentless charge of the human army was constantly observed by the Ork Boyz' Warboss Iron Tusk.
When he saw the Imperium of Man's army pushing towards his central area, he showed no fear; instead, he continued to issue his commands.
"Let the Greenskrin Boyz keep charging, keep going! I'm going to smash those shiny big filthy xenos to bits!"
He shouted his orders loudly, while he himself remained unmoving, focusing on letting others wear themselves out.
The Warboss, he was the biggest, fiercest, and strongest presence among the Ork Boyz.
However, they were not foolish; they also possessed intelligence, because Mork and Gork, whom they worshipped, represented cruelty and cunning.
Those shiny big filthy xenos were almost unrivaled in battle; everyone in front of them was easily cut down.
Therefore, regarding this matter, Badrukk would never personally intervene.
His only thought was to let his subordinates continue to wear down the opponent's stamina and strength, while he himself continued to watch the show.
Under his command, the Ork Boyz' forces became even more frenzied; more Ork Boyz charged at the Custodes, howling, and then fell beneath the Custodes' blades.
"Lord Lion, do you know if these fellows have any weaknesses? Their numbers are simply too vast; even a multitude of ants can disrupt Lion."
The Custodes swung his weapon, sweeping away the next wave of charging Ork Boyz, then turned to ask Lion if there was any way to deal with these Ork Boyz.
"I apologize, I also do not know how to eliminate them. The Imperium of Man's strategy against the Ork Boyz has always been head-on combat or a duel with their leader.
This scale of Ork Boyz tide is the first time."
"Neither during the Great Crusade nor during the Beast Wars did the Imperium of Man encounter such a massive Ork Boyz army."
As Lion spoke, he turned and swung his lion sword, once again eliminating a group of Ork Boyz into nothingness.
"This efficiency is too slow. At this rate, if we want to reach their stronghold, it will take at least another day and night, and there are too many variables."
"Our situation is acceptable, but the situation on various worlds cannot be underestimated. Large numbers of Ork Boyz swarms have landed on the Imperium of Man's worlds.
The Imperium of Man's planetary Defence Force cannot hold out for many days; we must accelerate."
The Custodes also reported the situation of various worlds to Lion.
Hearing this, Lion's brow furrowed, but soon relaxed again, and he spoke in a resolute tone.
"We have no choice. Our current forces are weaker than theirs. Our situation is this grim. They are destined to make this sacrifice."
"No sacrifice is too great to accept!"
As a Primarch from the Great Crusade era, Lion understood this point very well.
No sacrifice is too great to accept.
He had done his utmost for every world; if some worlds still fell in the end, there was nothing he could do.
This was war, not child's play; necessary sacrifices were inevitable.
The Custodes did not pick up on his words; they fell silent.
However, their movements became faster, more Ork Boyz were eliminated by them, and the team's advance speed began to pick up.
No sacrifice is too great to accept, but as soldiers, they had to do their best to reduce losses among ordinary civilians.
At this moment, the Custodes could only hope that Lion's plan would succeed; as long as they could eliminate the Ork Boyz' Warboss, these Ork Boyz would truly retreat like a tide, as Lion had said.
Lion, of course, sensed that the Custodes' attack speed had increased. While marveling at the Custodes' formidable combat power, he also wondered what these Custodes were truly thinking.
These Custodes were completely different from his father's Custodes; such a situation would never occur with his father's Custodes. They would only advance with high efficiency.
He knew very well that the Custodes' previous advance speed was almost their peak, and now these Custodes were once again pushing themselves to advance. This meant that when they encountered the Ork Boyz' Warboss, the Custodes' combat power might be weakened.
Nothing ever comes without a price, especially when one has already pushed past their limits.
Was it truly worth doing this?
If it were his father's Custodes, they would never do such a thing, after all, no sacrifice is too great to accept.
Their job was to use all their strength to ensure victory in this campaign, not to push themselves and sacrifice their combat power for the sake of ordinary Imperial citizens.
Lion's curiosity about Zeke grew even stronger. He truly wanted to meet this Emperor, who, like his own father, was called Omnissiah.
He wanted to see what differences existed between Zeke and his father.
The squad, with Lion at its core, was continuing to push into the interior of the war moon, while on the periphery of this great battle, the Black Legion remained inactive.
When the Ork Boyz Waaaghed, no one paid attention to Abaddon's actions.
After all, for them, fighting was the meaning of their existence, the happiest thing in their lives.
So, no one cared what Abaddon's Black Legion was doing; they just charged forward in a chaotic mass.
Precisely because the Ork Boyz paid no attention to Abaddon, he brazenly led his Black Legion, trailing far behind the Ork Boyz fleet, watching the Ork Boyz' army launch its attack.
Even now, relying on the Tech-Priests of the Dark Mechanicum, he could see the situation inside the battle moon, and his gaze remained fixed on Lion.
This Lion had always claimed to be the Emperor's eldest son, and Abaddon was displeased by this, feeling that his father was being wronged.
How could he bypass his own father and claim to be the Emperor's eldest son? That was pure nonsense!
Now he had found his chance; he would personally appear before Lion to question him and personally take the head of this loyal Primarch of the Imperium of Man.
It was because of Lion that the Great Pilgrimage had failed. If he hadn't destroyed their base from behind, the Imperium of Man would never be in its current state.
His father would not have failed.
However, it was not yet time to strike.
First, let these Ork Boyz continue to wear down the Custodes and the Space Marines' combat power.
Abaddon watched the changes on the battlefield. As the warmaster of chaos, he would never take risks.
He was not his father; he would not be as reckless as Horus.
The battle quickly entered its second day, and by this point, Lion was very close to the core of the ork war moon.
They only needed a few more hours to attack the interior of the ork war moon.
However, the situation for the Imperial Army was not good.
The PDF on various planets were desperately fighting the appearing orks. For now, they were holding their ground, but the situation on the war moon was different.
Each war moon could only have 25,000 Space Marines, supported by the Titan Legions. Those giant titan combat units, whose fall was once called the 'Death of a titan,' were now constantly perishing.
The orks, relying on their numerical advantage, brought in large numbers of armored forces to continuously attack the titans.
In two days, the Titan Legions had lost two-thirds of their titans, and even emperor-class titans had fallen due to the orks' numerical superiority.
warlord-class titans, which once could change the tide of a planetary battle simply by appearing, were constantly being annihilated.
Previously, in an apocalyptic battle, losing even a single emperor-class titan was considered an extremely terrifying engagement.
But now? An emperor-class titan was nothing special.
Out of a total of 26 emperor-class titans, only 12 remained.
Who would believe that 14 emperor-class titans could be lost in just two days?
The Adeptus Mechanicus suffered extremely heavy losses; the fall of one titan after another caused them immense grief.
Even if many of these emperor-class titans were not produced by them, were they not still emperor-class titans? Were they not titans for their Titan Legions to use?
As the titans fell, the Space Marines' offensive was forced to retreat.
After all, the Imperium of Man had far fewer Space Marines and troops than the orks. With the loss of large combat machines and the orks deploying a large number of armored forces, the Space Marines could no longer easily eliminate the orks as before.
A massive number of orks successfully cut off Lion's retreat, and he now had no escape route.
Although the Space Marines behind him wanted to provide support, with the losses and fall of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Titan Legions, the army found it very difficult to clear a retreat path.
"Lord Lion, I have some bad news I need to tell you.
The Adeptus Mechanicus has sent word that the Titan Legions have lost two-thirds of their titans. Our rear has been cut off by the orks, which means we now only have one choice."
"We must press forward bravely. Only by pressing forward can we eliminate those orks, and only by eliminating the ork Warboss can we hope to end this war."
They were just a few hours away from reaching the core of the war moon, so the Custodians naturally did not suggest or consider retreating.
Retreating was impossible; they were so close.
If Lion's judgment was correct, then as long as the ork Warboss was eliminated, everything would be fine. Humanity never had the option of giving up halfway!
"Understood. Then let us continue; we have no retreat."
Lion once again brandished his weapon, fighting alongside the Custodians, but just after he swung his sword, another voice came from the Custodians.
"Lord Primarch, you can rest now. When we reach the core of the ork war moon, we will follow your suggestion and engage the ork Warboss in a duel."
"Didn't you say the orks value sacred duels greatly? If so, you should rest well; the rest is up to us."
"Our physical strength has been overexerted and definitely cannot recover to its peak. We need a hundred percent victory, so the rest is up to you."
There was no retreat now; they had to succeed, so any factor that could affect the final outcome had to be eliminated. The Custodians proactively took on the responsibility of clearing the path, even including Lion's share of the responsibility.
They wanted Lion to recover his physical and mental strength, then duel the ork Warboss.
Lion paused for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and replied,
"Good!"
This was not the time for modesty, politeness, or to amplify his combativeness. He could not fail the Custodians' hopes. He had to restore himself to his peak condition to face the ork Warboss.
However, this also gave Lion a strange feeling. At least, his father's Custodians would never have said such a thing.
Because his father's Custodians simply did not trust a Primarch.
But these four Custodians beside him were different; they also placed their trust in him, their comrade-in-arms.
Even though each of these four Custodians was no weaker than him in combat, and even had powerful psychic support, they might not necessarily lose if they dueled the ork Warboss. Yet, they still entrusted this responsibility to him, still choosing to believe in him.
And the reason for choosing to trust him was simple: these Custodians had overexerted their combat power earlier and could not restore it to its peak.
So they chose to place this trust in him, which Lion found very peculiar.
Being trusted by the Custodians was indeed a strange feeling.
After Lion agreed, the Custodians began to attack with even greater ferocity and scope, and the psychic attacks that had been previously blocked by the orks were now restored.
The ork WAAAGH! field was indeed effective.
But that was only when the Custodians were aiming for large-scale damage while also conserving their psychic powers without going all out.
But now, the responsibility of the duel had been placed in Lion's hands, so these Custodians no longer held back.
More powerful psychic energy erupted from the four of them, then swept through all surrounding ork units.
This included the giant combat units, the Gargants, that the orks had brought in to fight.
The psychic sweep directly flattened one of these large combat units into a puddle of mud.
The Custodians' purpose in doing this was simple: they merely wanted to ensure Lion's rest would not be disturbed by any ork units.
They wanted him to rest well, so that Lion's combat power could be restored to its peak.
Such a scene made Abaddon, who was preparing to lead the Black Legion to meet Lion, feel a pang in his heart.
Good heavens!
"These guys were holding back?"
The Black Legion fleet, which had begun to move, stopped once again.
Who was Abaddon? He was the Warmaster who could advance and retreat like the wind.
He had achieved a great victory in the Battle of Cadia, ultimately succeeding in destroying Cadia's existence!
He even succeeded in destroying Cadia's existence during the Emperor's personal crusade, which involved millions of Space Marines and titans.
What did he rely on to achieve all this?
Was it not his caution, his vigilance, and his ability to adapt to circumstances?
These Custodians could suddenly go berserk and unleash a massacre at this moment.
Who knew if, once he arrived, these four guys might go berserk again and recklessly kill him?
Because of this, the *Vengeful Spirit*, which had just started moving, stopped once again. The next second, Abaddon's order spread throughout the entire Black Legion.
"Hold your positions. We will not participate in this battle. Let the orks and them fight it out. We will continue to observe. If anything goes wrong, retreat to the Warp immediately!"
Warmaster Abaddon would surely achieve another glorious victory!
Barton, in a rather underhanded move, ordered his fleet to stop advancing without even notifying the ork fleets.
Meanwhile, Badrukk, with the help of some Mekboyz and Techboyz, was equipping more gear in preparation for the upcoming duel.
He was the most Waaagh, biggest, and strongest ork.
So many orks were amplifying his power, but even with that, he still lacked some confidence, because he had also witnessed the Custodes' slaughter.
Their powerful psychic abilities even caused their Waaagh field to waver, and precisely because of this, he decided to bolster himself.
"Are you done yet? Those golden filthy xenos are about to rush in!"
Badrukk reached out and picked up a Techboy, then held him high and asked.
"Almost, almost, it'll be ready soon, it'll be ready soon, it will definitely make you, Boss, the most Waaagh being."
The Techboy gesticulated wildly, looking at the equipment constantly being installed before his eyes, feeling a surge of fanaticism; this was truly their greatest masterpiece.
In the battle on the planet's surface, the orks had acquired some null-material armor, and these neutron star armors excited the ork Techboyz immensely.
Now, these neutron star armors were being installed on the most Waaagh ork Warboss.
"I reckon nothing can break this thing; nothing can break such Waaagh armor."
The null-material armor was just one small feature of this wave of modifications; at this moment, this ork Warboss was also equipped with an earthquake cannon.
In addition, there were disintegration cannons and gauss rays from the Terran Dominion, and living liquid metal from the necrons.
To ensure their Boss' hundred percent victory in battle, they also added numerous mechanical arms for supporting attacks.
These supporting attackers were also equipped with a large number of small missiles that could be used to attack enemies; furthermore, these orks also added their exclusive Void Shield for their Boss.
Relying on their exclusive Waaagh field, this greatest Warboss, the greatest Great Beast, the greatest ork surpassing the Beast Wars era, the Beast Badrukk, would have an endless supply of energy.
Because he himself was already the primal incarnation of Waaagh energy, relying on this characteristic, the ork's Void Shield could be said to be impossible to break, meaning that various sneak attacks would cause no harm to their Great Beast.
The Techboyz continued to diligently add various devices for their Boss, allowing this greatest Beast to become increasingly powerful.
As they installed the last device onto their Great Beast, the gate was cleaved open by a Custodian.
The Human forces had reached the core of the war moon!
The core of the war moon was not on the planet's surface, but deep inside the planet; this could be considered the planetary core.
The internal structure and gravitational structure of the planetary core were extremely complex; the orks could stand firm because they possessed a powerful Waaagh field.
And as the Human forces entered the innermost part of the orks' domain, the Great Beast Badrukk retracted the Waaagh's embrace, intending to teach these Human forces a lesson.
Instantly, after the originally stable gravitational Waaagh disappeared, a very light sensation appeared on the Human forces.
It was a gravitational pull from both the upper and lower ends, causing the Imperium of Man's forces to start floating.
However, the next second, a Custodian took out a small device from his person, then threw it fiercely to the ground, and gravity reappeared.
The Terran Dominion possessed extensive applications of gravity; for them, nullifying gravity and reshaping gravity were not problems, and such a small trick by the orks could not stump them at all.
Lion stood in the newly stabilized gravity field, gazing at the scene before him.
In the colossal core space, Badrukk stood like a mobile armory.
His body, covered in null-material armor, was equipped with an earthquake cannon, disintegration cannons, gauss ray emitters, and dozens of mechanical auxiliary arms loaded with various weapon systems.
The ork Warboss was surrounded by a powerful Waaagh energy field, almost distorting the surrounding space-time.
The immense mass of the null-material armor should have instantly crushed this ork Great Beast.
However, under the cover of his powerful Waaagh energy field, even the massive null-material armor became his protection.
"Filthy xenos!" Badrukk's roar was deafening, "Let me see what you've got!"
Seeing the gleaming golden filthy xenos appear before him, the Great Beast directly pointed at Lion and challenged him to a duel.
The orks who had been around him also quickly dispersed, forming a circle and shouting loudly.
"Duel! Duel! Duel!"
The Ork Boyz shouted madly, calling for their sacred duel.
Lion took a deep breath, tightening his grip on his lion sword.
He glanced at the four Custodians standing behind him; these Custodians had already aimed their weapons at all the surrounding orks.
The Custodians were on high alert, while the Archangels behind him looked at their Lion with worried eyes.
"Primarch..." Kain began.
He hesitated, wondering if he should say it.
"Kain, no need to say more. This battle must be fought. The hopes of too many people already rest on me, and I cannot let down these Custodians who trust me."
"Trust me." Lion turned his head to look at his son, "This is Lion's battle."
He strode towards the center of the arena, his Lion armor gleaming in the dim light of the planetary core. Badrukk laughed maniacally and raised his earthquake cannon: "Die, filthy xenos!"
But just as the earthquake cannon fired, Lion suddenly accelerated. His figure transformed into a golden lightning bolt, skillfully avoiding the gunfire and charging directly at the ork Warboss.
"For the manifest destiny of humanity!" Lion's war cry echoed through the core space.
Lion sword collided with the null-material armor, unleashing dazzling sparks. Surprisingly, Lion sword actually left a deep scratch on the null-material armor.
"Impossible!" Badrukk roared in shock, "My armor should be the hardest!"
He couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, but no one would explain to him why this was happening.
After all, this was a very risky duel, so Lion's weaponry had naturally been upgraded to the highest level.
With the Custodes' personal involvement and the help of numerous scientists, Lion sword had been enhanced using technology and materials from within the Dominion.
Lion's weapon was now incredibly sharp; even null-material armor could be cleaved open with sufficient force.
The battle instantly escalated to a fever pitch. Lion's swordsmanship was both elegant and deadly, each strike precisely targeting the armor's seams.
Although Badrukk was well-equipped, he appeared clumsy and slow in the face of Lion's exquisite swordsmanship.
"WAAAGH!" The ork Warboss furiously activated all his weapon systems.
A large number of missiles, disintegration cannons, and other weapons began to unleash their full firepower on Lion, but a remarkably sturdy shield also appeared on Lion's surface.
Its deep blue color made it clear to everyone what kind of shield this was.
A dark energy shield, the most robust shield in the entire universe, now enveloped Lion, rendering him almost invulnerable.
The Great Beast's attacks once again proved futile.
Possessing a weapon that could penetrate defenses and an indestructible shield, Lion was now brimming with confidence.
Lion's sword sliced through the air, accompanied by the unique hum of a dark energy shield. Missiles from Badrukk rained down on the deep blue shield, erupting in brilliant sparks, but unable to budge it an inch.
"This is impossible!" Badrukk roared, the disintegration cannon on his mechanical arm beginning to charge. "My WAAAGH energy is the strongest!"
Lion calmly dodged, his lion sword tracing an elegant arc in the air. "Your savagery is nothing before human wisdom, filthy xenos."
Lion could be said to be very pleased now; he once again felt the sensation of high technology empowering him. This was a technological crush, unlike the feeling during the Great Crusade.
The disintegration cannon's beam grazed Lion's shield and struck a distant ork Mekboy, instantly vaporizing him. The surrounding Ork Boyz stirred for a moment but were quickly engulfed by the frenzy of battle.
"Boss! Beat that shiny filthy xenos!"
"Let him see our might!"
Badrukk let out a furious roar, and the earthquake cannons on his body suddenly opened fire.
The powerful shockwave made the entire core space tremble, even rippling the dark energy shield.
Lion was knocked back a few steps but quickly regained his balance.
"Is that all you've got, beast?" Lion taunted, suddenly accelerating forward.
His speed far exceeded Badrukk's expectations. Before the ork Warboss could react, Lion sword had already precisely pierced a seam in the null-material armor.
"Aow!" Badrukk let out a pained roar, green blood gushing from the wound. He frantically waved his mechanical arm, trying to grab Lion, but Lion lightly leaped back, avoiding the attack.
"Your armor is strong, but not invulnerable," Lion said coldly. "Every seam, every connection point, is a weakness."
Lion attempted to disrupt the orks' thoughts with words, and his intention was indeed successful.
Under his verbal provocation, Badrukk furiously activated all weapon systems; gauss rays, disintegration cannons, and missiles fired simultaneously, forming a destructive barrage.
But Lion was like a petrel soaring through a storm, always finding gaps in the barrage.
Even the few attacks that hit him were intercepted by the dark energy shield.
Lion's idea was successful, because all weapons require consumption, especially missile weapons.
Ordinary energy weapons were somewhat better, as they could be replenished with their WAAAGH energy, but missile and physical weapons could not be replenished in the same way.
So, after unleashing a round of firepower, the opponent quickly depleted all his physical ammunition, and the density of his firepower began to decrease significantly.
As the battle progressed, the most powerful attack the opponent had left was the disintegration cannon, which could not directly destroy the dark energy shield. Lion seized this opportunity and charged directly!
The disintegration cannon's beam hit the dark energy shield, unable to cause any damage to Lion, who, in turn, swung his weapon and plunged it into the opponent's head.
Lion's charge was like a golden lightning bolt, pushing through the bombardment of the disintegration cannon to reach Badrukk.
The dark energy shield emitted a piercing high-frequency hum under the continuous energy bombardment, but it remained indestructible.
"It ends now, beast!" Lion roared, his lion sword, with a precise and deadly angle, thrusting directly into the visual sensor slit of Badrukk's helmet.
Just as the sword tip was about to hit, Badrukk suddenly let out a deafening roar: "WAAAGH!!! I won't be defeated by a filthy xenos!"
Something astonishing happened—the WAAAGH energy field around the ork Warboss suddenly surged, and living liquid metal flowed towards his head at an incredible speed, forming a temporary shield before Lion sword could pierce it.
At the same time, the seams of the null-material armor began to self-repair, and WAAAGH energy flowed across the armor's surface like green lightning.
Lion's sword blade was deflected by the liquid metal, leaving only a deep scratch on Badrukk's faceplate.
"What?" Lion's pupils contracted slightly, and he quickly retreated to regroup.
Badrukk laughed wildly as he stood up, his wounds healing at a visible rate. "Didn't expect that, filthy xenos! I reckon this fight ain't over!"
Seeing this, the surrounding Ork Boyz erupted in fanatical shouts: "Boss is the most WAAAGH!" "Kill the golden filthy xenos!"
The sudden change caught Lion somewhat off guard.
Lion calmly assessed the situation. He noticed that although Badrukk's injuries were healing, the WAAAGH energy field around him was noticeably dimmer than before.
Clearly, this miraculous recovery required a significant amount of energy.
"Your trick won't last long, filthy xenos," Lion said calmly, once again assuming an offensive stance.
Even if the opponent could produce such a miracle, so what? He would just do it again. His energy was already being consumed rapidly, and he himself could no longer unleash the terrifying firepower he had before. He would just do it again!
Lion's fighting spirit was unshaken; instead, he once again wielded his longsword and charged towards the enemy.
Badrukk roared and charged forward, no longer relying on ranged weapons, but instead smashing directly at Lion with his massive null-material armor-equipped fists.
It had already been proven that the disintegration cannon could not eliminate Lion quickly and would instead allow him to seize an opportunity, so this great beast chose close combat instead.
After all, most of his other ranged attack methods were almost completely depleted, and it was clear that other energy attack methods also couldn't penetrate that 'turtle shell'.
Thus, for him, only close combat was an option.
However, something he had even less expected happened: his huge fist smashed directly at Lion, but was ultimately blocked by the dark energy shield.
If even a disintegration cannon couldn't deal with the dark energy shield in a short time, how could his gauntlets?
Lion was equipped with a dark energy shield, not an Imperial Void Shield, which meant the great beast's attacks would still be blocked by the dark energy shield.
Taking advantage of the gap when the opponent's punch failed to penetrate, Lion once again drew his weapon and savagely plunged it into the great beast's abdomen.
And the disintegration field was quickly activated, tearing a large hole directly through his belly.
In addition, Zeke's gaze also fell upon the battle here. Zeke sent down a small stream of psychic energy, intervening in the battle, and Lion's strength greatly increased.
Without waiting for the great beast to make any other reaction, Lion violently lifted his lion sword, splitting this great beast in two on the spot!
This great beast, who had organized an ork legion exceeding those of the Beast Wars and even the Great Crusade, thus fell beneath Lion's sword.
When this scene occurred, all the surrounding orks froze in place. The next second, they fled like a tide.
Orks are fearless when they have their Warboss.
But once they lose their Warboss, everything changes. They quickly rout and flee to the rear to re-engage in duels to select a new Warboss.
The orks' calamity came to a temporary end here. Lion could now have time to wait for the Imperial reinforcements to arrive.
However, although ordinary orks could not perceive Zeke's intervention, all of this was perceptible to Gork and Mork, and their gazes quickly converged on Zeke.
The next second, both of them simultaneously averted their gazes.
"Don't see me, don't see me, don't see me."
They weren't stupid; could Zeke, who was practically in a berserk state, be charged at and hit now?
Forget it, forget it.
The fall of the Great Beast meant that the ork army had lost its combat capability; they retreated like a tide, while the Space Marines fighting on various War Moons began to return to their warships, choosing to watch the ork fleets depart.
Now was not the time for a decisive battle.
The true decisive battle should only occur after the Imperial Navy's support fleet, consisting of 1,000 Emperor-class battleships, 500 Gloriana-class battleships, and various escort fleets, had arrived.
Currently, they had merely repelled the ork attack; if they were to foolishly pursue, even a single War Moon from the ork fleet could potentially rout them all.
Lion was not foolish.
On the contrary, his presence in the Calixis Sector, which reassured Guilliman, almost single-handedly demonstrated his exceptional military command ability.
The Imperial fleet watched the ork horde leave.
However, Lion did not remain idle; he immediately began to command the Imperial forces that had not yet arrived as reinforcements.
Order after order was issued from his hands, and then one Imperial fleet after another began to head in different directions.
The Great Beast of the orks was dead; their army was bound to disintegrate, and they would need to re-establish who their new leader was through warfare, a process that wasn't confined solely to the orks.
This was Imperial territory, and these orks wouldn't adhere to any moral codes.
They wouldn't all withdraw from Imperial territory and return to their own to fight it out and decide who the new Great Beast was just because their Boss died.
The reason they retreated from the Calixis Sector was because it was the place where their Great Beast had fallen, and another reason was that their morale was somewhat broken.
But in reality, once they recovered, war would immediately erupt, and by then, the star sectors surrounding the Imperial core would inevitably be engulfed in conflict.
Rather than waiting for all Imperial forces to gather in the Calixis Sector, it was better to command the Imperial army now to start providing support to various star sectors; wherever these orks fled, the Imperial army would pursue them.
With the numerical advantage of 1,000 Emperor-class battleships, 500 Gloriana-class battleships, and his flagship, the Mountain Array-class Titan, Lion felt confident at this moment.
He was confident that he could inflict greater losses on the orks during their internal strife and civil war over who the true leader would be, securing a sufficient advantage for the upcoming grand decisive battle.
At this point, the campaign in the Calixis Sector had largely concluded, but Guilliman was facing a dilemma.
Unlike the war Lion experienced, the war Guilliman was experiencing involved the inherent laws of war.
The Plague War—
The daemon Primarch Mortarion, the Nurgle vanguard Typhus, and the Unclean One Ku'gath, each leading one of three chaos fleets, descended upon the Scourge Stars.
Although they had not directly attacked the core region where Macragge was located, even when the orks and Lion were engaged in a large-scale war in the Calixis Sector,
these Nurgle followers were constantly spreading plagues around Ultramar.
On every planet touched by Mortarion's tentacles, countless dead rose from their graves.
The chaos Space Marines of the Death Guard, relying on these cannon fodder, had already captured 10 Imperial worlds!
And this was not even the main force of the Death Guard.
Their main force attacked some peripheral planets on the outskirts of Ultramar; worlds like Espandor and Adium were under siege.
The daemon Primarch intended to lure Guilliman, who was personally commanding the Imperial resistance, back to Ultramar by attacking the kingdom his brother had personally forged.
Undoubtedly, Mortarion's idea came true.
Ever since Lion appeared, Guilliman began to mobilize his fleets and troops to head towards Ultramar.
Now that the various front lines of the Imperium had their own commanders and sufficient armies, it was only natural for him to begin saving the kingdom he had personally established.
Just as the Ultramar Five Hundred worlds, forged by Guilliman, were a shining jewel of the Imperium,
due to his strong political acumen and strategic planning, Guilliman was also among the first to respond to Zeke's Terran Dominion plan.
However, due to the extreme distance of the Ultima Segmentum, the transformation of Ultramar had not yet begun.
Even without the transformation, the partial resource allocation given to him by Zeke had significantly increased Guilliman's military strength; three million Ultramarines were merely the regular main combat troops.
There were also a large number of reserves on the Ultramar 500 worlds.
If Guilliman wished, the Ultramar 500 worlds could easily replenish at least three more contingents of three million Ultramarines for him.
The title of the Human Imperium's strongest administrator was indeed well-deserved.
With so many Space Marines at his disposal, Guilliman naturally wouldn't withdraw Space Marines from other parts of the Imperium for support; he was currently only deploying some naval fleets.
To save the world he had personally built, Guilliman mobilized a formidable force: 400 Emperor-class battleships, 400 Gloriana-class battleships, two Mountain Array-class Titans, and an Emperor's Dream-class battleship as his flagship!
This Emperor's Dream was not the one the Emperor had once commanded.
This particular Emperor's Dream was one of the replacements commissioned by the Yaeger family for the Emperor after he had built his own personal vessel.
After all, if one was in use, a replacement was needed to ensure that if one was lost, a new warship would immediately be available.
However, it was clear that the Emperor no longer needed this warship after the Great Celebration.
Now, this replacement was found in a warehouse by the Yaeger family and gifted to Guilliman as compensation for becoming the Imperial Regent.
The Emperor's Dream's combat power was not weaker than that of an ordinary Dominion warship; in fact, due to various modifications over the past ten millennia, the Emperor's Dream's combat power now even surpassed the Titan-class warships used by the Terran Dominion.
Even when facing a War Moon-class warship, the Emperor's Dream had the capability to engage it in a proper fight.
As for who would ultimately claim victory, that would depend solely on the differences between the captains within each warship.
In short, after various enhancements and modifications, this Emperor's Dream was absolutely a qualified flagship.
As the battle in the Calixis Sector concluded, Guilliman successfully assembled his own fleet.
Of the three million Ultramarines, one million remained on the homeworld for defense, while a full two million accompanied Guilliman.
Now, this fleet set off; they opened a warp lane and headed towards the Ultima Segmentum.