Beep, beep, beep~
The relic device on Dorn detected signals of armed formations gathering. A large number of troops were rushing toward the Imperial Palace.
He looked up at the honor banner in the distance, protected by a force field, and knew full well that it was very likely the armed force of the Savior, that heretic traitor.
"So certain Space Marines have once again, just as they did ten thousand years ago, thrown in their lot with the Savior who has embraced Chaos…"
Dorn thought silently.
The situation before him was certainly dire, enough to fill anyone with a suffocating sense of pressure.
But he believed the warriors of the Imperium could not all have betrayed their duty. Loyalists still had to exist, not least the Imperial Fists, his own sons.
The Imperial Fists had always been Terra's staunchest guardians. They were so exceptional, so strong, with wills as unyielding as stone.
Those sons of his gene-line would certainly come to support him!
Hummm~
Dorn activated a forbidden relic. A wave of signal distortion spread outward, creating false signatures while also scanning the surrounding terrain.
He was trying to find a hidden passage leading to the core defensive works of the Imperial Palace.
As a master of defense, he possessed numerous relic-grade force-field devices and shielding systems.
They could block certain attacks while twisting surrounding electromagnetic and biological data, allowing him to fight more effectively.
After ten thousand years of wandering, Dorn's strength and survival ability had grown even greater than before.
He could instinctively perceive the operating structure and flaws within defensive systems.
It was a power akin to grasping the essence of things.
With that ability, Dorn had escaped safely several times even while surrounded by tides of Chaos daemons.
He had even evaded the New Imperium's surveillance and infiltrated Holy Terra, the fortress-like world built by the Savior, infamous for its near-obsessive defenses.
Step by step, he had approached the Palace.
Of course, this ability was not invincible. If the enemy's defenses reached a certain threshold, then no amount of individual martial power could overcome them.
"The Palace access route still exists. Forty-five kilometers. Nine fortified defensive positions and large-scale force fields…"
Dorn received the returned data and felt a measure of relief.
The structure of the Palace had changed, but fortunately not by much.
Most of it still looked the way it had when he himself oversaw its forging.
That proved the Savior's grasp either had not yet reached into the Palace, or could not fully extend into that heavily guarded region, vast as a small continent.
As long as he could enter the Palace in time, he could seize control of the defensive works through ancient authorization.
That way, he could not only use the Aegis systems to prevent orbital bombardment, but also strike those traitor forces.
More importantly, the encirclement had not yet formed. The Savior's renegade troops were still on the way, and no being at the Primarch level had arrived to block him.
He still had a chance!
The only question was how to quickly break through those nine heavily fortified positions.
"Savior, heretic, traitor. You will pay in blood!"
Dorn roared as he gathered power.
Like an ancient beast, he charged out once more, wreaking havoc through the Iron Warriors' construction site and setting off explosions on a large scale.
He intended to draw all the traitor troops to this site, reducing the defensive strength in other sectors.
At the same time, Dorn marked one area after another.
Those were targeting beacons.
Once he seized control of the defensive works, he could bring the fire platforms to bear on every marked zone and destroy the massed heretics and traitors.
He would not be as helpless as he had been during the Siege of Terra.
This time, every enemy would be annihilated under devastating bombardment!
Dorn darted through the Iron Warriors' construction zone, weaving like a wolf and boar through the massive industrial machines hundreds of meters high.
The heavy weapons on the perimeter had difficulty locking onto him and did not dare fire recklessly.
Otherwise, they might destroy the massive Warp equipment.
He had already discovered that the Savior's traitors cared deeply about those dark machines, and he used them as moving shields.
Even so, Dorn's breakout attempt remained difficult. More than once, he nearly got locked by heavy artillery.
He frowned.
"Damn it. I need cover from more armed forces. Is there really no loyalist force nearby?!"
Then, all of a sudden, came the sound of something tearing through the air.
A squadron of yellow-painted Thunderhawk gunships rapidly approached. It was an Imperial Fists aerial transport unit.
"My gene-sons have arrived. They are the first Imperial force to come support me…"
Looking up at the Imperial Fists Thunderhawk squadron rushing through the sky, Dorn could not help but feel a flicker of pride and warmth.
It seemed the Imperial Fists had not forgotten his teachings and discipline, had not forgotten how to carve duty and loyalty into their very spine.
His gene-sons, his Imperial bedrock, were still that dependable, still the army a father and the Imperium could trust most.
"The fortress still stands."
Dorn murmured softly.
As he thought of his imminent reunion with his loyal gene-sons and of fighting side by side with them, his emotions became complicated.
This Watcher, this Lord of the Mountain Bastion, was never skilled at expressing emotion. He merely planted his feet firmly, his wall-like body standing upright.
Then, solemnly, he raised a hand and projected the emblem that represented his identity toward the Imperial Fists Thunderhawks.
It announced the existence of this loyal Primarch, standing in distant opposition to the Savior's traitorous honor banner.
From Dorn's point of view, since the Savior's banner of treason had already risen, he too had to answer.
He raised the "banner" of the loyalists, guiding the sons of the Imperial Fists.
And yet, under Dorn's expectant gaze…
The Imperial Fists Thunderhawks whooshed right over his head, whipping up fierce currents of air.
They did not so much as acknowledge him. Instead, they flew straight toward the Savior's honor banner.
The Thunderhawks stirred up shards of debris. A small stone dropped from above, struck Dorn on the head with a crisp thunk, then rolled to the ground.
The sound was especially clear.
???
Why are my sons heading toward the Savior?!
The Imperial Fists gunships ignored the emblem of their gene-father and sped over Dorn's head toward the sector where the Savior was located.
All they left behind was exhaust.
Dorn froze in place, gripped by a bleak feeling of abandonment.
At this point, the situation was painfully obvious.
The gene-sons he had been proudest of had rejected their father's command and had even thrown themselves beneath the Savior's banner of treason!
Then Dorn saw, in the distance, Imperial Fists warriors stumbling out of the Thunderhawks, bare-chested and lurching crookedly across the ground, and he found it even harder to believe.
Especially the burly Imperial Fists crawling forward because their legs were too weak to carry them.
His gene-sons had no armor, no weapons, and looked unbelievably weak.
Some of them could barely even walk properly.
A few had not managed more than a couple of steps before their legs gave out and they dropped to their knees right in front of the Savior's honor banner.
It was disgrace upon disgrace!
"The Imperial Fists, the wall-fortress of Terra. How did they become so pitifully weak?"
Dorn's vision darkened, as if someone had smashed him in the face. Even his head felt faint.
The treacherous and absurd conduct of his gene-sons struck the stone-like Primarch like a physical blow.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
In that moment, everything those Imperial Fists had done shredded the pride of their gene-father to pieces.
It was like watching your brilliant, well-behaved child suddenly run off with some wastrel.
And not just that, but come back with dyed hair, a lip piercing, a succubus tattoo, tiny shorts, and the attitude of, "Old man, mind your own business."
Dorn, that towering old father of a Primarch, still straight and massive as a fortress wall, now seemed slightly hunched. A hint of age and weariness even appeared on his resolute face.
In that instant, he seemed to have aged years.
Dorn could not believe what he was seeing.
Even less could he imagine that this was the army he had raised, the one with bodies like fortress walls and wills like living stone.
"Is that really the Imperial Fists? Are those really my gene-sons?"
How had the sons of Rogal Dorn, the Watcher, become like this? What of the Imperial Fists Legion's discipline and teachings?
What of their loyalty and willpower?
And how was he supposed to face the Emperor, that father of his, after this?!
Dorn's heart ached terribly. He felt a humiliation and shame too deep for words.
He had failed to teach his gene-sons properly, to the point that they had betrayed him, betrayed the Imperium, and betrayed their father!
In truth, once the Savior's order had been issued, the Machine-Goddess had taken control of all the New Imperium's systems.
Galadon and the other battle-company warriors had never even had the chance to see the message.
And on top of that, after undergoing that brutal high-intensity infernal training, the fact that these Imperial Fists warriors could still get up and reach the Palace already made them the elite of the elite among Imperial armed forces.
Ordinary Space Marines, after finishing those infernal programs, were carried to recovery chambers on stretchers.
Hummm~
Mechanical sparks burst.
Because he had projected his Primarch emblem earlier, the shielding device Dorn had set up had failed.
The moment he realized that, he quickly shifted position.
Yet the next instant, he discovered that new armed forces had arrived as well, landing on the flight platform in the area where the Savior's traitor banner stood.
The Blood Angels!
Had the sons of Sanguinius also gone over to the Savior's side?!
Very soon, heavy gunships painted in Ultramarines blue also arrived at high speed, gathering in the same area beneath the Savior's banner.
The Imperial Fists, Blood Angels, Ultramarines, and other forces had all received the supreme alert and his warning regarding the Savior's treasonous conduct.
And yet they had still chosen to stand with the Savior.
How utterly absurd.
"A collective betrayal? Or have only some of them lost their loyalty?
"In a situation like this, this is no longer just an Imperial Fists problem, is it?"
Dorn muttered.
For some reason, that thought made him feel just a tiny bit better.
His beliefs had already been hammered again and again to the point of numbness.
But even so, he still refused to believe that all these loyal warriors had truly betrayed their cause.
Even ten thousand years ago, within the traitor Legions, many loyal warriors had chosen to cut ties with Horus.
Still, the shape of the current situation made Dorn feel the darkness closing in all around him.
Was there anyone left he could trust now? Were there any loyalists at all remaining on Terra?
Just as his heart turned cold, a violent tearing sound ripped through the air.
Whoosh!!!
Several golden airborne craft came roaring in, radiating menace.
Dorn looked up.
Those vessels were sheathed in gold so proud it bordered on arrogance. Under the blazing sun, they did not reflect light.
They swallowed it.
At a glance, he recognized them as Ares Gunships, ancient aerial warcraft used by the Custodian Guard.
They were devastatingly powerful.
For the enemies of the Imperium, they were infamous signs that the Custodes, and lethal airborne firepower, had arrived.
There had even been cases where enemies surrendered the instant Ares Gunships appeared in their airspace.
That alone proved the terrifying power of both the aircraft and the Custodes themselves.
"At last, my father's guard has arrived. The fortress walls have not completely fallen…"
The Watcher, the Lord of the Mountain Bastion, felt some of the pressure in his chest ease, and a faint smile finally touched his face.
At last, he had reliable allies and fire support. The Palace's fire platforms would stand with him as well.
The arrival of the Custodian Guard also proved that his father's guard systems were still functioning, and that the Golden Throne was, for the time being, secure.
Surely even the Custodes had not defected to the Savior… right?
Everyone knew that in the Imperium, anyone might betray the Emperor, but the Custodian Guard would not. They were the most loyal, the most steadfast of all.
That was beyond question.
The loyalists still existed. The Savior and his traitors would inevitably fail and perish!
"Hm?"
Yet very quickly, the smile on Dorn's face vanished.
He sensed danger.
The Ares Gunships' targeting systems seemed to have locked onto him. It was only a faint sensation, but it made every hair on his body stand up.
The next second, the Arachnus magna-blaze cannon on the golden gunships lit with murderous radiance, one of the most powerful vehicle-mounted energy weapons in the Imperium.
A single violent energy pulse was enough to wipe out any living thing!
Dorn could not understand what was happening, but his body possessed a beast-like instinct for danger.
He dodged on pure reflex, hurling himself sideways.
In an instant, the space where he had been standing twisted as ruby-red energy beams swept across it.
The ground, and everything touched by the attack, was fused into crystallized matter.
A dozen or so violent Arachnus pulse-beams swept through the area, cutting off every avenue of escape.
They forcibly drove Dorn out of his hiding place and into full view.
"At last, the Custodes are here…"
Watching the Ares Gunships attack that hateful intruder, Frix could not help but smile.
He was deeply moved.
The moment the Savior's honor banner rose, the Emperor's Custodes had been summoned to protect this Iron Warriors construction site.
That was proof enough that Savior Majesty still cared about them!
Not just the Warsmith, but all the other Iron Warriors felt a surge of excitement as well when they saw the Emperor's guard arrive.
At long last, Savior Majesty had intervened to stop that loathsome enemy. The worksite could finally stop bleeding losses!
"Long live the Savior!"
In an instant, the whole construction zone was filled with a cheerful atmosphere, and faint cheers even began to spread through the area.
The hatches of the Ares Gunships slowly opened. One Custodian after another stepped out in shining golden armor, imposing and fearsome, crimson cloaks streaming in the air.
Boom, boom, boom~
They leaped down one after another, smashing deep cracks into the rocky ground with every landing, each one carrying terrifying force.
At their head stood the former commander of the Thunder Guard, now one of the marshals of the Custodian Guard:
Carter Crowley!
This force was one of the most elite formations within the Custodes, and also the one most loyal to the Savior.
Their loyalty to the Savior even exceeded their loyalty to the Emperor. They were, in every sense, the Savior's Custodian Guard.
After receiving the statue alarm, this unit had mobilized immediately, using the Ares Gunships to force the blasphemous traitor out of hiding.
Now they were moving in to capture him.
Carter stood around three meters tall, clad in heavy auramite armor adorned with many relics, his footsteps thunderous.
"Traitor, surrender!"
He raised a relic spear toward Dorn, who stood only slightly taller than he was, his voice brimming with authority and loyalty.
???
That single shout stunned Dorn so badly he practically stopped thinking. Even his lips were trembling.
"Traitor?
"I'm the loyalist here. How in the Emperor's name have I become the heretic and the traitor?!"
The Watcher, the Lord of the Mountain Bastion, stood there in confusion. For all this time, he had regarded himself as the Emperor's most loyal son.
Now the Custodian Marshal, acting in the name of the Emperor's will, was denouncing him as a traitor. It was a deep blow, and an even deeper humiliation.
He stood rooted to the spot.
Bzzzt~
"Take him!"
At that moment, Carter's ignited relic spear was already coming for him, carrying crushing force, the air-breaking shriek exploding in an instant.
A disruption field flared with savage light.
At the same time, the other Custodians launched their coordinated assault, under-slung concussion bolters opening up in a wave.
Boom!
Caught off guard, Dorn managed to block several attacks before Carter's relic strike smashed him away and sent him crashing into the blackstone pile behind him.
Dust rose. Shattered stone flew everywhere.
That relic strike had been ferocious enough that even solid blackstone could barely endure it.
Cough, cough!
Dorn clutched his chest and pulled himself back up, instantly raising a force-field shield in front of him.
He could not believe it. He still clung to a sliver of hope.
"Custodes, you have chosen the wrong target. I am the Emperor's son. I was the one who sent the supreme alert signal.
"The Savior is the real heretic traitor!"
As smoke billowed, massed attacks of energy pulses, bolts, and explosive rounds slammed into the special shield field before him.
Blazing firelight erupted across its surface.
Even the blackstone behind him was cracking and glowing red-hot.
The weapons wielded by the Custodes were comparable to the high-powered weapons mounted on heavy vehicles, except more agile and far deadlier in close combat.
Boom!
Dorn slammed a fist into the ground, shattering the earth. Ripples from the relic field on his gauntlet spread across the ground in a fan-shaped wave toward the Custodes.
They lost their balance for a moment.
Then Dorn burst from the smoke without hesitation, smashing aside the two nearest Custodians with his elbows and opening a narrow gap in their formation.
"I am Dorn!"
He seized the opportunity and shouted his identity again.
By now, he had realized that the message he had sent had most likely been blocked by the Savior's traitorous data lockdown.
"We're here for you exactly, you traitor who blasphemed Savior Majesty!"
Carter cut him off and thrust his relic spear again without the slightest hesitation.
No matter what excuse he had, they would capture him first and hand him over to the Savior.
Neither in the galaxy nor in the Warp was anyone permitted to blaspheme the Savior.
Never mind Rogal Dorn. Even one of the Chaos Gods would get shot twice first and questioned later!
(End of Chapter)
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