Movements of the Traitors

Lox looked at Samus, trapped upon the Blackstone altar before him, and felt much of his deep-seated wariness toward Warp daemons fade.

So long as favorable conditions were created, even these bizarre creatures had to bow their heads.

Humanity had previously been utterly unprepared for daemons because of the natural barriers in information, and thus had suffered setback after setback.

But as their understanding of daemons deepened, they would realize that these were merely another kind of Warp lifeform. Great daemons of Undivided Chaos such as Samus, in particular, had no sufficiently powerful patron behind them, making them far less threatening than the great daemons of the Four Gods.

Out in the world, it was not all about fighting and killing—it was about connections. Great daemons of Undivided Chaos seemed free and unfettered, but in truth, they had no powerful backer behind them.

Lox had never let down his guard against the Four Chaos Gods, who repeatedly appeared in the intelligence reports. At the very least, they were not enemies he should be facing yet.

How to contend with the Four Gods was something the Lord of Humanity needed to consider.

"Samus, as a great daemon of Undivided Chaos, you should have your own understanding of the Warp."

Lox increasingly felt that the Hermit had chosen wisely. The boundless Warp also had its own distribution of powers. If the one summoned this time had been a great daemon of the Four Chaos Gods, no one could guarantee that their actions would not have been directly interfered with by those conceptual entities.

What if they personally intervened to retrieve their pawn?

Take Khorne, the Blood God. Back on Nuceria, merely displaying a trace of his power had forced Guilliman and the Ultramarines into a desperate battle.

"Then tell us about the current state of the rebels. Have they already breached into Terra’s defensive perimeter?"

As Lox asked the question, Lion stepped closer. This primarch seemed far from satisfied with an enemy like Samus, his brow tightly furrowed.

"Especially my loathsome brothers who betrayed us. Tell me where they are."

"I will hunt down the traitors and show them the price of betrayal."

Though Lion did not specify what he intended to do, the killing intent in his words made everyone present fearful.

It was an instinctive dread, as though the figure before them was not a knight in solemn armor wielding a greatsword, but some monstrous beast of death lurking within a shadowy forest.

Lion had never been joking. He truly wanted to cut off the heads of every traitor, and he had never lacked the strength to accomplish that goal.

"It is too late, far too late. Horus has already reached the Solar System. He has been infused with the blessings and power of the great Four Gods. He is the true Warmaster of Chaos. The Imperium of Man is finished."

Samus let out a bizarre shriek. It was in its nature.

Though it was temporarily imprisoned and enslaved by humans, Warp daemons were immortal and indestructible. It still believed that it had a chance to escape these damned humans’ confinement.

Lox and Lion exchanged a glance. Horus had already punched through countless defensive lines and reached the Solar System.

The Solar System was Terra’s final line of defense. Beyond it lay humanity’s sacred and inviolable home system.

This meant that the Imperium of Man truly stood on the brink of destruction.

"Continue." The Lion gripped his sword tightly, and the pressure around him grew so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

"Accept it. Under Warmaster Horus’s command, humanity’s ultimate fate is to become an inexhaustible source of power for the Warp. Your resistance is futile. Not even the Cursed Ones can alter that predetermined fate."

Samus laughed wildly, as though it had already seen the Imperium fall and itself regain its freedom.

Dissatisfied, Lion stabbed it again. This great daemon was exceedingly punchable, yet it never learned its lesson.

"The Great Word Bearer devised the Ruinstorm’s summoning, while the great powers of the Warp have sustained its existence, extending its duration."

"Look at yourselves—the Ultramarines, the Dark Angels, the Blood Angels. The three most powerful Astartes Legions are trapped in the godforsaken Ultima Segmentum, removed from the conflict."

"The Raven Guard, the Salamanders, and the Iron Hands have been almost completely annihilated. They have only scattered remnants left, nothing to fear."

"So Terra is defended only by the Imperial Fists, the crippled White Scars, and the badly weakened Space Wolves. Yet the Warmaster has nine powerful Astartes Legions, along with the full support of our Empyrean’s forces."

"Countless great daemons and lesser daemons are gathering. The Empyrean, forever embroiled in ceaseless conflict, has temporarily ceased its strife because of your master’s arrogant ambition. What a degree of importance and honor!" Samus shrieked.

What Samus said was not far from the conclusions Lox and the three leaders had previously deduced. In truth, everyone could see Horus’s strategic intent clearly: strike straight at the heart and capture the king first.

As long as the rebels captured Terra and overthrew the Emperor, the overall situation would be settled. No matter how vast the reinforcements from other star regions might be, they would be unable to avert the Imperium of Man’s destruction.

For the Emperor was the soul of the Imperium. The Imperium of Man had been born because of him and existed because of him. He was the Lord of Humanity, seated upon humanity’s Throne World; he was the embodiment of humanity itself.

The rebel army led by Horus had advanced far too quickly. It was now the year 009 of the thirty-first millennium, and only five years had passed since Horus had been wounded, corrupted, and fallen.

During that time, the Warmaster, once the Imperium’s greatest pride, had planned the Isstvan III campaign to purge loyalists from within his Legions; the Isstvan V campaign to ambush and slaughter three loyalist Legions; launched the Shadow Crusade in the Ultima Segmentum; and sent his main force directly toward Terra.

"The Sons of Horus, the Emperor’s Children, the Death Guard, the Iron Warriors, the World Eaters, the Word Bearers, part of the Night Haunter, the Thousand Sons, and the Alpha Legion have already reached the outer defensive line of the Solar System. Those traitorous Dark Mechanicum forces have supplied them with every weapon, piece of equipment, and war machine."

Samus’s words seemed capable of drawing out the fear in everyone’s hearts. Even the Astartes felt that the future was bleak.

Though the Imperial Fists Legion defended the Solar System, and their primarch Rogal Dorn was renowned as the primarch most skilled in defense, the disparity in strength was simply too great.

"Humanity’s end has already been decided. Terra will inevitably fall. Your fate is to become food for the Empyrean. Accept it, humans. There is nothing you can do."

"No!" Lox suddenly roared.

"You are deceiving us. Daemonic words hide deception and traps at every turn. You are spreading despair, trying to convince us that the game is already decided."

Everyone felt their spirits jolt as they waited for him to continue.

"Even if the Warmaster’s forces have pierced every defensive line, they must have been severely weakened. No Legion still possesses the strength it had at its peak. The Imperium’s loyalists are not fools; they will surely harass the traitors’ rear and impede their advance at every moment."

"And the defenders of the Solar System are the Imperial Fists. So what if they face nine traitor Legions? The Solar System’s defenses are the most terrifying in the Imperium. For thirty thousand years since humanity left its homeworld, its people have strengthened the defenses of their home system without pause."

"The World Eaters and Word Bearers were crippled by us in the counteroffensive against the Shadow Crusade. Even if remnants remain, their strength is limited. The Night Lords were defeated by the Dark Angels in the Thramas System; even their primarch and First Captain were captured."

"During the Isstvan massacre, the Sons of Horus, Emperor’s Children, World Eaters, and Death Guard deceived the loyalists within their Legions onto the planet’s surface in order to purge them. To kill them, each Legion lost at least a third of its numbers."

"The Thousand Sons also suffered grievous losses in their battle with the Space Wolves. The Fifteenth Legion had few members to begin with, and they are hardly fit for major use."

As Lox analyzed the situation bit by bit, the gloom in everyone’s hearts dissipated considerably.

That was right. Even if the traitors had reached the gates, so long as Terra had not fallen, everything could still be reversed.

"The more they fear something, the more we must do it. Does Horus not fear the three Legions far away in the Ultima Segmentum? So long as we can reach the battlefield and encircle Horus with the loyalists from both front and rear, then no matter how capable he is, only defeat and destruction await him."

From Samus’s words, Lox heard the traitors’ outward strength masking inner weakness. The longer time dragged on, the more favorable it became for the loyalists, while the traitors, lacking effective supplies, would be bled dry on the road to Terra.