Alexander stroked his chin, looking at the threads in his eyes. He vaguely realized what they were.
Because the other end of the thread conveyed Sanguinius' will. This was the connection between Alexander and Sanguinius.
Alexander could temporarily connect to Sanguinius' soul and body through this thread.
He could feel that at the other end of the thread, Sanguinius' state of mind was somewhat on the verge of collapse.
Alexander's mouth twitched slightly. It was better not to study this thread for now. Although he didn't know how it appeared, it seemed that any action Alexander took with this connection would be reflected in Sanguinius.
The Archangel was currently on the front lines and should not be disturbed.
Just then, Alexander suddenly heard a commotion coming from the broken part of the city wall.
Youji's simple-minded son, grunting and huffing, carried three or four bags of sand to the breach in the city wall and used the sandbags on his shoulder to block it.
Angel Keep's city walls had previously been breached by the Tyranids. Those monsters, called Norn Emissaries, had torn four or five huge gaps in the wall.
And the massive Tyranids creature named Norn Assimilator had even created a huge pool of venom on the city wall with its internal toxins.
Although those three terrifying behemoths had been killed, and their remains had been taken away by the man who appeared on the battlefield with the Archangel,
the city walls would not repair themselves. Moreover, most of Baal was still occupied by the Tyranids, and the Blood Angels, having lost their void power, could not obtain building materials from the other two planets.
They could only have the mortals use the ubiquitous yellow sand of Baal to make sandbags, piling them up in the gaps of the city wall, combined with various frontline firepower, to form a temporary defense line.
Fortunately, the Tyranids near Angel Keep had been cleared by the Archangel and the Blood Angels, making large-scale attacks almost impossible. Such a temporary defense line was sufficient.
A chorus of praise rose from the crowd not far away. Although Youji's son had some mental issues, he had once been a young man who participated in the Angel trials, so he was very strong and worked much more efficiently than ordinary people.
The leader of the Saint Doraemon Sect from Ashford, named One-Eye, patted Youji's son's back and gave him a thumbs-up with his only remaining hand.
Youji, watching this scene from afar, couldn't help but feel a little proud.
One-Eye had single-handedly killed three Hormagaunts, losing only one arm, and was considered a legendary figure among the mortals defending Angel Keep.
His son receiving praise from such a hero made Youji feel honored for a moment.
Honor. Youji felt honor surging in his heart, an honor he and his ancestors had never enjoyed in previous years.
They fought alongside the Angels. When the Tyranids charged Angel Keep, Youji and Youji's son fired cannons and lasers from the top of Angel Keep's walls.
When Angel Keep's walls were breached, Youji and his son saw the Archangel.
Even now, Youji couldn't believe what he had seen. The Angel, with trembling wings, descended into Angel Keep, bringing cruel punishment to the daemons and xenos.
Then the Angel soothed their fear with gentle words, which moved Youji to tears. He almost thought he had died and reached the Golden Throne, for how else could a mere mortal like him enjoy such glory?
Suddenly, a massive shadow covered Youji's body. Youji's nose caught the scent of ceramite and machine oil.
An Angel in crimson power armor stood beside Youji. He wore a cowl, appearing not just a warrior, but also a priest.
A Blood Priest. Yes, a Blood Priest. In the training Youji had received earlier, he had learned about some internal positions among the Angels.
"Sir." Youji awkwardly tried to stand up to salute, but his leg had been broken in battle and he couldn't stand.
Fortunately, the Angel didn't mind; instead, he focused his gaze on Youji's son.
"Your son?" the Blood Priest asked.
"Yes," Youji hesitated, "He is my son."
The Angel extended his hand, signaling the boy to come over. The boy put down the sandbag in his hand, then hesitated and ran over.
The Blood Priest noticed the scar on Youji's son's forehead.
"An old wound," the Blood Priest quickly judged. "How did it happen?"
"..The Proving Grounds. He went there two years ago during the last selection." Youji said dryly, "He was a brave boy, strong and smart... but what you sent back was a fool, a cripple."
"..There are ten thousand ways to die in the Proving Grounds. To survive can be called fortunate."
The Blood Priest slowly opened his wrist, and a series of strange instruments emerged from it:
"And his ability to live and fight until now has proven he is not a cripple. He has courage, is worthy of respect, and shows no obvious radiation mutations. He is also a suitable candidate for gene-seed."
The Blood Priest said softly while scanning Youji's son with the instruments.
"Sir." Youji seemed to realize something and involuntarily widened his eyes, "But he..."
"A brain injury, we can fix it," the Blood Priest said slowly. "He did have a good mind before his misfortune."
"You are qualified. You will join us," the Blood Priest said to the boy.
Youji's son seemed to understand and immediately widened his eyes.
The Blood Priest did not conceal his voice, and the nearby mortals heard him clearly.
Youji trembled in disbelief, immense honor and happiness assaulting his mind, making him unable to believe any of it.
"This is very unusual, but we must do it," the Blood Priest said slowly. "This is the Archangel's command."
"He has issued an order, abrogating Guilliman's codex astartes."
"Sanguinius' sons will be reunited. The Legion will reappear on Baal. We need fresh blood."
"Your son will be one of them. This has never happened before, but as the Archangel said: the times have changed, hope is coming. Let us abandon the old and embrace the new."
Youji didn't know what to say. His feelings were complex, and for a moment, there was only silence.
"Dad," Youji's simple-minded son suddenly spoke, "Will you be proud of me?"
"…"
Youji's mouth slightly opened, tears streaming down his face. He knew what he should say. In this war, his son had once saved his life.
"I should always remember this. You should always be my pride, no matter what."
Corbulo watched this scene silently. He knew his goal had been achieved.
He had selected a suitable recruit and also let the mortals in Angel Keep know that qualified and excellent teenagers would have the opportunity to become members of the Blood Angels.
He patted the boy's back and slowly said, "Come with me—"
Before Corbulo could finish speaking, he suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of the sandbag defense line.
A strange rustling sound was occurring, which his enhanced superhuman senses heard.
"Take up arms! Enemy attack!!!" Corbulo's roar rang out. He raised his bolter and aimed at the sandbag-stacked defense line.
"Father!!! Why have you abandoned us!!!"
"Purity, we are the pure ones, right???"
"Wolf God!!! Wolf God!!!"
A frantic roar suddenly erupted. The sandbags burst open as if bombed, and yellow sand instantly covered the area near the city wall.
Corbulo pulled the trigger without hesitation, unleashing scorching bolt rounds at the enemy behind the yellow sand.
He clearly saw what the enemies attacking Angel Keep were: they were a group of genestealer!!!
This startled Corbulo. These monsters, infected with xenos genes, had never appeared in previous battles.
This was because Lord Mephiston and Lord Alexander had cleared out the genestealer patriarch and the bishop before the war broke out.
Logically, the cognitive distortion suffered by the genestealer would be temporarily broken, freeing them from the control of the hive mind, until a new patriarch was born.
But how could it be so fast? How could a new patriarch be born so quickly?
Before Corbulo could think further, he felt a psychic shock wave hit him. His head suddenly throbbed, and illusions appeared before his eyes.
He saw himself standing on the Vengeful Spirit, with Horus standing before him, and the Archangel's corpse lying at his feet.
Corbulo saw that something seemed to be gestating, being born, within the Archangel's body… something born from Horus killing Sanguinius.
The Black Rage??
Corbulo was terrified.
A group of genestealer could actually awaken his Black Rage, and it was supposed to be suppressed after the Archangel's return???
Corbulo roared, using his willpower to break free from the entanglement of the Black Rage.
Then he saw clearly the genestealer pouring into Angel Keep.
Their numbers were not large, but each one was strange. Besides the Tyranids chitinous carapace, they also grew a layer of strange feathers.
The upper two of their four arms twisted backward, covered in a layer of black, blue, and white intermingled feathers, like short, deformed wings.
Their eyes were full of madness, roaring and howling, unleashing waves of blasphemous and dark, strange psychic energy within Angel Keep.
"Father! Father! Why have you abandoned us! Are we not your pure sons?!"
"Sanguinius! Sanguinius! Sanguinius!"
"My Lord, forgive us"
Corbulo felt a bone-chilling fear for some reason.
Bang!!! Bang!! Bang!!
Just then, a sky full of melta fire rained down.
Corbulo only saw Alexander, wearing a strange hat, hovering in mid-air, with more than a dozen melta pistols floating around him.
Each time a melta pistol's trigger was pulled, a genestealer's body fell amidst the roar of fire.
Alexander stood in the sky, looking down at this scene.
His figure flickered, instantly appearing before a genestealer.
The genestealer's legs had been pierced by melta pistols, but it was not dead.
Alexander had deliberately left one alive, wanting to ask what was going on.
"Why are you here? Has a new patriarch been born? What's with the mutations on your bodies?"
As he spoke, Alexander's fingers lightly swept across the clapperboard & robot director, imbuing his words with an authority that made the almost frantic genestealer before him tremble.
"..He's back"
Fragmented words spilled from the genestealer's mouth:
"He's back... He's back"
"The Wolf Herder God has returned!!!!!"
Wolf Herder God? Alexander was slightly stunned.
Isn't that...
Bang!!!
Suddenly, a long spear fell from the sky, violently piercing the genestealer's head, leaving only a pool of thick liquid.
Alexander slowly looked up, only to see the Archangel's wings gently trembling, hovering in the sky.
His face bore a faint sorrow, pitying the world, appearing like a sacred sculpture under the morning light.