Chapter 248: I'm Still a Little Worried About You, Guilliman
Aboard the Phalanx, Captain Garadon of the Imperial Fists saw the arrival of Lucan's fleet. The sight of reinforcements was a much-needed injection of morale for the beleaguered defenders, who felt as if their very souls had been revitalized.
He immediately relayed the news back to the command on Cadia.
Within Kasr Kraf, Castellan Creed couldn't help but cheer. They had done everything within their power, and they had finally held out long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
However, Garadon's message was not just good news. It also carried a grim warning that no one wanted to hear.
The Chaos fleet was making its move.
What had been a relentless, round-the-clock campaign of harassment had now escalated into a full-scale, final assault.
They could have worn Cadia down through a war of attrition, yet they chose the most costly method. Creed knew that the arrival of a Primarch had placed an unimaginable pressure on the forces of Chaos.
The holographic display in the fortress's command center showed a terrifying sight: innumerable enemy ships swarming towards Cadia, heedless of their own losses. Wave after wave of orbital landings began anew, and the mighty Phalanx found itself pinned down by a massive concentration of Chaos vessels. With its munitions severely depleted, the ancient fortress-monastery could only rely on its sheer bulk to endure the onslaught.
"Castellan Creed, prepare for ground warfare," Garadon's voice crackled over the vox. "The Phalanx and the other warships cannot possibly intercept them all. This may be the final battle."
As Creed began to issue a torrent of commands, mobilizing every available unit, another force was stirring.
The Tech-priests of the Cult of the Holy Machine, who had arrived on Cadia earlier, began to unseal the large, metal containers transported within their Gorgon transports. Throughout the previous battles, even as the Cadian soldiers suffered horrific losses, these containers had remained sealed. The Tech-priests were only permitted to open them upon receiving direct authorization from Lucan.
A horrifying scene unfolded as the seals were broken. Densely packed Nydus Worms burrowed their way through the metal flooring of the transports, their writhing, screeching forms creating a sight that made even the hardened Tech-priests' skin crawl. These bio-constructs immediately began disgorging the armies of the Zerg onto the soil of Cadia. Simultaneously, several Probes were deployed near the Cult of the Holy Machine's enclave and began warping in Pylons.
From the very beginning, Lucan's plan was not merely to defend Cadia, but to inflict the maximum possible casualties on the traitor forces. He himself had no clear count of the Zerg's numbers; the planet Char was a teeming mass of countless hatcheries. If he were to unleash the entire Swarm on Cadia, he suspected even Abaddon might abandon the invasion, which was not the outcome he desired. Knowing what the future held, Lucan was certain that the collector, Trazyn the Infinite, was present on Cadia at this very moment.
If the Imperial defense proved too overwhelming, Trazyn might not bother to tell Belisarius Cawl how to activate the Blackstone Pylons—a technology far too vital for humanity to lose at this stage.
The Blackstone Fortress began to move. Chaos Sorcerers on the ground were preparing to teleport Abaddon and his Black Legion onto the planet's surface. The Despoiler was still unaware that the seemingly disadvantaged Cadian defense was, in fact, an elaborate trap. Not only was Abaddon oblivious, but even Castellan Creed had not been briefed on Lucan's full plan.
This secrecy was a necessary precaution against intelligence leaks. No one could guarantee there were no traitors among the mortal forces; even the famously resolute soldiers of Cadia could break.
A series of events that Abaddon would have once considered impossible had made him increasingly aware of the uncertainty Lucan's presence brought to his invasion. The sudden resurrection of Roboute Guilliman… no matter how much Abaddon cursed and belittled him, he held a deep-seated fear of the Primarch. After all, this was the being who had been a thorn in the side of his own gene-father, Horus.
Furthermore, the death of Vashtorr had sown chaos within the Black Legion. The moment Lucan completed the creation of his own Soul Forge, a number of Daemon Engines went berserk, and some of Vashtorr's direct vassals among the Warpsmiths suddenly lost their ability to forge new daemonic war machines.
Beyond the Warp Storm engulfing Cadia, fleets summoned by the High Lords of Terra had assembled. At their command, the Minotaurs Chapter had been deployed. Ten Strike Cruisers and Battle Barges were a testament to the level of support the High Lords had provided them. The number of battle-brothers deployed also far exceeded the limits dictated by the Adeptus Astartes, with 1,500 marines accompanying the fleet.
And this was clearly not the entirety of the Minotaurs Chapter. The High Lords had used their authority to provide them not only with warships and armaments but also with a sufficient supply of gene-seed.
Even Trajann Valoris himself had led a force from the Imperial Palace. This contingent, composed of Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence, began launching surgical strikes on planets in the systems surrounding Cadia, targeting worlds where the Word Bearers had performed sacrificial rituals. Once the Custodians and their silent allies had eliminated the primary threats on a planet, an Exterminatus order was carried out.
No one in the Imperium would dare to question an Exterminatus order issued by the Captain-General.
One by one, the ritual worlds were destroyed, and the Warp Storm generated by the sacrifices began to weaken. The assembled Imperial fleets now lay in wait, ready for the moment the storm abated enough for them to pass.
It had been a long time since Abaddon had heard any good news, and a deep-seated frustration began to gnaw at him. He had a terrible feeling that if this dragged on any longer, he might actually fail.
With a final command, the majority of the Black Legion's fleet lunged toward Cadia. Abaddon left only a fifth of his forces behind to intercept the combined fleet of Lucan and Guilliman. Even so, this detachment was numerically equal to the Imperial fleet and held an advantage in battleship-class vessels. Abaddon didn't expect them to annihilate the Imperials; he only needed them to stall.
Among this rearguard fleet were several unique vessels, their holds filled with millions of slaves and prisoners—the raw material for ritual sacrifices demanded by the Four Gods. Their purpose was to summon the Daemon Primarchs into realspace.
While the Daemon Primarchs had gained immense power upon their ascension, it came with a restriction: as daemons, they were bound by the fundamental laws of the Warp. They could not simply enter the material universe at will. Only with sufficient ambient warp energy and specific sacrificial rites could they be summoned forth.
Aboard the ships left behind were sorcerers devoted to each of the four Chaos Gods, their rituals prepared. The moment millions of souls loyal to the God-Emperor were sacrificed, the Daemon Primarchs of Chaos would be granted their chance to return to the mortal plane. Once the two fleets engaged, the summoning would begin.
Seeing the Chaos fleet redeploy, Guilliman waited no longer. The Spear of Adun, the Macragge's Honour, and the Stellar Pioneer surged forward, forming the tip of the spear aimed at the heart of the enemy. The Primarch's superhuman mind processed information at lightning speed as he single-handedly issued a torrent of commands to the entire fleet.
"If only my Legion were still here," Ferrus Manus muttered, unable to assist his brother in command without his own sons to lead. He turned his gaze to Lucan and noticed he seemed remarkably calm.
"Lord Lucan," Guilliman's voice was crisp and commanding through the command link, "I know your fleet possesses the ability to teleport. I will command the fleet to pin these Chaos forces down. I need you to lead your forces directly to Cadia and reinforce the ground war. Your troops will be of greater use on the surface. You yourself said how important the blackstone is. We absolutely cannot allow the Blackstone Pylons to be destroyed."
Guilliman expected Lucan to comply with his strategic deployment.
"I think I'll stay here," Lucan replied calmly. "I'm still a little worried about you. If I go to Cadia, the pressure on the defenders will likely intensify. I've long been a thorn in the side of the Four Gods. You don't need to worry about the ground defense; Kerrigan and Artanis have already made their own arrangements. I'll remain here with you to deal with the battle in the void.
"Besides," Lucan added, his tone unwavering, "if Magnus the Red decides to target you, you might not be able to handle him. It was a lot of trouble to bring you back to life. I'd rather you didn't have any 'accidents'."
"Worried about me?!" For the first time in millennia, Roboute Guilliman heard those words directed at him.
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 400 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you