This is the bonus chapter for reaching 250 Powerstones.
--
Meanwhile, in orbit above the third planet, more than six hundred warships were slowly emerging from the orbital starports.
Their designs were crude, their construction rough, but their sheer numbers were impressive.
Cruisers, frigates, and destroyers formed dense battle formations, every weapon pointed toward the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet.
Aboard the Vengeful Spirit, in the strategium of the main bridge, Tarik Torgaddon hurried toward the throne and struck his right fist against his breastplate.
"Father!"
His voice was urgent and grim.
"We've just received a report from Imperial officials."
"More than six hundred warships from the third planet are approaching our position."
"They've formed a battle formation."
Across the holographic star map, hundreds of red markers slowly moved closer.
Horus sat back on his throne, his amber eyes fixed on the display.
His face was expressionless.
But his fingers tapped twice against the armrest.
It was a tiny movement.
Yet the entire command chamber fell deathly silent.
Abaddon and Aximand stood below the throne, barely contained fury burning in their eyes.
Garviel Loken stood a little farther away, his normally composed face betraying the faintest hint of concern.
More Luna Wolves officers were arriving from across the ship, assembling in formation outside the main bridge.
They were waiting.
Waiting for the Warmaster's command.
At last, Horus spoke.
His voice was deep, carrying an authority that seemed to suffocate the entire room.
"It appears they've mistaken our mercy for weakness."
He rose from his throne.
Standing nearly 3.9 meters tall, his massive figure was especially imposing beneath the glow of the holographic star map.
His amber eyes swept over the familiar faces gathered below.
"I had intended to show them mercy, to forgive their grievous crime of usurpation."
Horus's voice echoed through the chamber, unnervingly calm.
"I sent Sejanus to negotiate and gave them a chance to join us peacefully."
"And how did they repay my generosity?"
"They surrounded and attacked my sons."
"They dared to challenge the Imperium."
He paused.
An anger fierce enough to burn entire star systems ignited in his eyes.
"I've been far too restrained."
"It seems they need to understand..."
"What the true Imperium of Man is."
"And what true..."
"Destruction looks like."
Abaddon immediately stepped forward and slammed his right fist against his breastplate.
The metallic impact rang throughout the chamber.
"Father! Allow me to join the battle!"
Barely restrained excitement burned in his eyes.
"I'll personally lead the warriors of the First Company!"
"I'll make those traitors understand the wrath of the Luna Wolves!"
Aximand stepped forward as well, his youthful face blazing with the same fervor.
"Father! I want to go too!"
"With the First and Fifth Companies working together, we can flatten that planet in a single day!"
Horus studied the two of them, then nodded.
His gaze shifted to Torgaddon and Loken, who stood slightly farther back.
"Torgaddon."
Torgaddon stepped forward and struck his chest.
"Father."
"Loken."
Garviel Loken stepped forward as well, his expression composed with the quiet confidence of a seasoned warrior.
"Father."
Horus looked over all four men.
"Abaddon. Aximand. Torgaddon. Loken."
His voice was calm, but every word carried absolute authority.
"Each of you will lead your respective companies..."
"Down to the third planet."
"Surround the High City and launch simultaneous assaults from four directions."
He paused, a cold glint flashing through his amber eyes.
"I want this weak, traitor civilization..."
"To witness the true might of the Imperium of Man."
Four voices answered in perfect unison, their collective response echoing through the chamber.
Abaddon and Aximand immediately turned to leave, their hurried strides barely concealing their excitement.
Torgaddon and Loken followed, their movements steadier but their determination no less firm.
Orders rapidly cascaded down the chain of command.
Communications officers worked furiously at their holographic consoles.
Bridge crews began adjusting their ships' formations.
Inside the hangars, landing craft and Thunderhawk gunships were being brought online. Servitors pushed ammunition crates across the flight decks as preparations accelerated.
Every member of the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet...
From the captains of the Imperial Navy to the humblest soldiers of the Imperial Army...
Received their orders at almost the exact same moment.
The mobilization for war had begun.
--
[Regional Channel: Light of the Emperor]
[The Emperor's Will is Unstoppable]: "HOLY SHIT!"
"How the hell did the fighting start already?!"
[Loken Did Not Betray the Luna Wolves]: "I literally just left the mess hall, and the entire fleet's going crazy!"
"What happened?!"
[Thirty Years a Centaur Gold Ring]: "Wait, did Lone Wolf and Sejanus get into a fight down there?"
[I Don't Eat Bear Biscuits]: "Gotta be!"
"There's no way the Warmaster would suddenly order an assault otherwise!"
A message from [I Want to be the Imperial Regent] appeared in the channel.
His tone was considerably calmer.
"That's probably it."
"With Lone Wolf's help, Sejanus survived the initial assassination attempt and managed to send a distress call to the fleet."
"History is already starting to change."
"The war has begun ahead of schedule."
The channel went silent for a second.
Then it exploded.
[The Emperor's Will is Unstoppable]: "HOLY SHIT! HISTORY'S CHANGING?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
[Loken Did Not Betray the Luna Wolves]: "WAIT! IS SEJANUS STILL ALIVE?!"
[Thirty Years a Centaur Gold Ring]: "Obviously! Otherwise the Warmaster wouldn't have ordered the attack this early!"
[I Don't Eat Bear Biscuits]: "LET'S FUCKING GO! LONE WOLF, YOU ABSOLUTE LEGEND!"
[I Want to be the Imperial Regent] continued typing.
"The question is whether the rest of history will change too."
"Right now, the most important thing is this..."
"As long as we can keep Sejanus alive, Loken won't join the Mournival or become the Fourth Company Captain."
"His Tenth Company won't suffer a Chaos incursion over the captaincy."
"And the first step toward Horus's fall to Chaos will be prevented."
The channel went silent again.
Everyone understood what that meant.
Changing history.
Actually changing history.
This wasn't some insignificant skirmish in a remote star system.
They were interfering with the main storyline itself.
With Warmaster Horus at its very center.
They were reaching into the machinery of fate and forcing its gears to turn in a different direction.
[The Emperor's Will is Unstoppable]: "We'll figure things out as we go!!"
"Brothers, get ready to fight!"
"This time, the Imperial faction is going to win!"
But in another channel, the atmosphere couldn't have been more different.
--
[Regional Channel: Wings of Freedom]
[Chaos Warmaster Abba-Egg]: "Guys, we've got a problem."
His message appeared in the channel.
"Those Imperial faction bastards are up to something."
[I Don't Eat Beef, Noodles, or Tomatoes]: "What happened?"
[You're Low-Sodium, I'm Your Vinegar]: "What's going on?"
"I just logged in and saw the entire fleet mobilizing."
[Chaos Warmaster Abba-Egg]: "I just got some information out of a few Imperial officials."
"Sejanus is still alive."
"He and his delegation were surrounded and attacked in the High City. They're trying to break out right now, and he's already sent a distress call to the fleet."
"Warmaster Horus has ordered a full-scale assault."
The channel went silent for two seconds.
Then messages began flooding in.
[Your Salt, My Vinegar]: "WHAT?!"
"SEJANUS IS STILL ALIVE?!"
[Poor Men Buy Cars, Rich Men Buy Watches, Billionaires Play Boonie Bears Run]: "IMPOSSIBLE!"
"Wasn't he supposed to die during the negotiations in the original story?!"
[Your Salt, My Vinegar]: "SOMEONE'S CHANGING HISTORY!"
[Chaos Warmaster Abba-Egg]: "It's definitely those Imperial faction bastards."
"They must've warned Sejanus and helped him survive the first assassination attempt."
[Your Salt, My Vinegar]: "FUCK! SO WHAT DO WE DO?!"
[Poor Men Buy Cars, Rich Men Buy Watches, Billionaires Play Boonie Bears Run]: "If Sejanus survives, won't that mess up Horus's fall to Chaos?"
[Chaos Warmaster Abba-Egg] slowly typed out another message.
"Oh, a hundred percent."
"If Sejanus stays alive, the loyalists will have the upper hand over Abaddon and Little Horus when the crisis on Davin happens."
"And if the Warmaster never gets taken to the Serpent Lodge on Davin..."
"The galaxy won't burn."
"So what the hell are we even playing for?"
"Might as well delete our characters now."
A deathly silence settled over the channel.
[Your Salt, My Vinegar] was the first to break it.
"So..."
"Sejanus has to die."
[Guilliman, the Greatest Schemer]:
"Exactly! Sejanus MUST die!"
"Once he's dead, Loken can take his place."
"And once Loken gets promoted, the Tenth Company falls into chaos."
[Gimme a Fanservice Chaos Spawn]: "And with Sejanus gone, Horus will rely even more heavily on Abaddon and Little Horus."
[Emperor, Please Marry Horus]: "Then those two precious sons of his can take him to the temple on Davin."
"That's when Chaos corrupts him."
"That's when the Horus Heresy begins."
"And THAT'S when we finally get our epic questlines!"
"We can keep earning Imperial Coins!"
[Poor Men Buy Cars, Rich Men Buy Watches, Billionaires Play Boonie Bears Run] followed up.
"Got it."
"Our mission this time is to assassinate Sejanus."
"Help Loken get promoted."
The channel instantly filled with people spamming "W!"
[Your Salt, My Vinegar]:
"HOLY SHIT! ASSASSINATING A MEMBER OF THE MOURNIVAL?!"
"Now THAT sounds fun!"
[Poor Men Buy Cars, Rich Men Buy Watches, Billionaires Play Boonie Bears Run]:
"Uh, can we even take down a Luna Wolves Astartes?"
[Your Salt, My Vinegar]:
"WE HAVE TO TRY!"
"FOR THE IMPERIAL COINS!"
[Guilliman, the Greatest Schemer]:
"Exactly! Doesn't matter if we can beat them or not!"
"We can respawn. They can't."
"We'll wear them down eventually."
[Emperor, Please Marry Horus]: "Besides, that planet's about to turn into a complete war zone. Perfect opportunity to slip in unnoticed."
"We'll sneak onto the battlefield and wait for a chance to put a round through Sejanus."
"If one shot doesn't do it, we'll fire two."
"If two don't work, we'll fire a hundred."
"Eventually, the bastard's going down."
[Chaos Warmaster Abba-Egg]:
"Exactly."
"Even if there's no quest, no reward, and not a single system notification..."
"This is something our Chaos faction HAS to do."
"For our faction's victory."
"For our survival."
More than eight hundred usernames, all displayed in black, responded with the same word at almost the exact same moment.
"Understood."
At that moment, nobody needed the promise of a reward.
Nobody needed the system to tell them what to do.
The Imperial faction and the Chaos faction had formed their own opposing sides.
Because every player understood one simple truth.
There was no neutrality in this game.
You either won...
Or you deleted your character.
--
You wanna read ahead right now?! Join Patreon.com/AHumanMadeMOFO to read 20+ chapters ahead for the price of a single happy meal and support me if you wish.