Chapter 254: Assigning Targets
The Daemon Primarchs' fleets began to withdraw, and the surrounding Chaos warships moved in concert with them.
The furious Angron was sucked into a warp portal amidst a fluctuation of psychic sorcery. When he returned to realspace, he was received by Chaos Sorcerers devoted to Tzeentch on Cadia's surface. Enraged at being forcibly teleported, Angron immediately vented his fury on the surrounding sorcerers. By the time the last Tzeentchian psyker was torn apart, the raging battle on Cadia had captured his attention.
Skulls and blood were everywhere. The warbands already devoted to Khorne began to flock to his banner. At that moment on Cadia, there were eight Greater Daemons of Khorne, each leading a legion of Bloodletters. In terms of daemonic legions, the forces of Khorne were the most numerous, and they now began to gather under Angron's command.
Leading this crimson tide, Angron unleashed his fury upon the Cadian defenders. Killing here was just as good as killing anywhere else. What was the point of chasing an enemy through the void when there was a proper melee to be had right here?
Meanwhile, Magnus began to create warp portals for himself and Fulgrim. There were far too many Chaos Sorcerers devoted to the Four Gods on Cadia, and the congregation of countless cultists and daemons provided Magnus with the perfect medium for his sorcery.
Magnus and his Thousand Sons, along with Fulgrim and his Emperor's Children, vanished from their respective flagships. When they reappeared, they were standing on the soil of Cadia.
"Guilliman, my brother," Magnus murmured, gazing up at the void above. "I will be waiting for you on Cadia."
The sudden appearance of the Daemon Primarchs instantly multiplied the pressure on the Cadian defenders.
Fulgrim brandished his four arms, each wielding a blasphemous, daemonic weapon. The Imperial defensive lines were shattered under the assault of him and his Emperor's Children. These former sons of the Emperor had been twisted beyond recognition during their endless revelries with their Primarch. They constantly injected potent combat stimms into their bodies, seeking even a fleeting moment of sensation. Slaughter and sadism were far more effective methods. In a mere moment, he broke through a fortified position that the Black Legion had been unable to crack.
Magnus and his Thousand Sons were even more efficient. No loyalist psyker could stand against their overwhelming sorcery. Even Librarians could only hold for a moment before their minds were incinerated by Magnus's power. Warpfire consumed everything. Thunderhawks and Stormravens were plucked from the sky and slammed into the loyalist lines. An Astartes counter-assault was annihilated with a casual wave of Magnus's staff. Their power armor appeared intact, but the Space Marines inside had been reduced to pulp.
They had landed on Cadia. The Daemon Primarchs had no desire to continue the grinding war of attrition in space. Even if they won the naval battle, the Spear of Adun could simply carry Lucan away from the battlefield. It was impossible for them to kill Lucan in the void; they couldn't even get close enough to board his ship.
Lucan and Guilliman both realized the enemy's strategy at the same time. They were using Cadia and the Blackstone Pylons as bait, forcing them to make planetfall. If Lucan refused to come and simply fled, they would destroy the Pylons and the planet. If he came, they would encircle and annihilate him in a ground battle. For the Daemon Primarchs, it was a no-lose proposition.
Abaddon was currently leading the assault on Cadia's shield generator arrays. Although the Despoiler had a reputation for failure, Magnus trusted that with such a concentration of force, he couldn't possibly fail at this simple task. If Abaddon succeeded, Lucan could still be killed by his fleet when he arrived in orbit over Cadia.
Unfortunately for them, Lucan was not concerned about this at all. He had already made all the necessary arrangements to counter Abaddon's attack.
A real-time battle report from Cadia was transmitted directly to Lucan.
"Lord Lucan!" Guilliman's voice was tense. "Though they have fallen to Chaos, they were once the most brilliant commanders in the Imperium. I told you before, you should have used your ship's mobility to deploy my warriors and your own to the surface to stabilize the front! Now Chaos has broken through our lines. A force of this magnitude must have already overrun numerous positions and fortresses. We have lost the initiative. They will throw endless legions of daemons into this war. How do you expect the Cadian defenders to hold against them? They will break."
Ferrus Manus was equally anxious at his side.
"Lord Lucan, use your warship to transport me, Guilliman, and his sons to the battlefield! If we add the Protoss warriors, we should be able to hold them off, for a time!"
"Hold them off? And then what?" Lucan countered. "Are you confident you can banish them? We are here for victory, not a slow death."
Lucan admitted that Guilliman's assessment was correct, assuming their combat strength was limited to what was publicly known.
"We will go to Cadia," Lucan declared. "But the ground war collapsing? Who told you it would collapse? I believe I mentioned that ground warfare is my true specialty. The daemons are endless? So am I.
"Ferrus, Karax will deploy the newly constructed Purifiers to fight alongside you. You will be responsible for Fulgrim and his Emperor's Children.
"Guilliman, you and Artanis will take your forces to deal with the Thousand Sons. I'm entrusting my special Artificial Blanks to your command.
"As for Angron… I'll go take care of him first!"
The Purification Code had been a profitable venture, and what was money for if not to be spent? Angron, you wanted to find the DOOM Slayer? Well, I'm about to make a special delivery.
Filled with doubt, Guilliman and Ferrus followed Lucan aboard the few remaining Gorgon transports.
Meanwhile, on the Blackstone Plains of Cadia.
Castellan Creed had moved his command post here. While Kasr Kraf was still heavily garrisoned, the importance of the Pylons now surpassed that of the fortress.
Creed's face was grim. Just as Guilliman had predicted, the arrival of the Daemon Primarchs was causing the outer defensive lines to collapse at an alarming rate. It would likely only be an hour or two before they broke through to the plains. At that point, even if they didn't annihilate the Imperial defenders, they could simply destroy the Blackstone Pylons.
Daemons and Chaos Renegades swarmed together. The wreckage of Imperial Knights from noble houses littered the plains, their once-mighty forms reduced to scrap metal. They had fought to their limit, but the enemy was simply too powerful. Two entire Chaos Titan Legions now strode across the Cadian landscape. Before them, the formidable Imperial Knights seemed pitifully small.
"What is the status of Archmagos Cawl's work?"
"No results yet, my Lord."
"Hmph," Creed sighed deeply, but his resolve remained unbroken. He would never surrender. He would never give up.
"It's not enough! I need more time! More time! Damn it all, I still can't decipher it." Cawl raged internally.
"Pavian, give me a status update on the Chaos advance. How are you not nervous? You, who retained more of your flesh, shouldn't you be more susceptible to emotion?"
"Archmagos, there is no need for such alarm," Pavian replied calmly via data-tether. "Did Lord Lucan not say so himself? He has his own arrangements for the ground war. If he says Chaos cannot advance, then they will not advance. Lady Kerrigan will hold back the daemonic legions."
"I saw those Zerg on Macragge," Cawl retorted. "They are strong, yes, but not strong enough to change the course of a battle like this. The Protoss, in fact, demonstrated far greater combat potential."
"You have only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Zerg and the Protoss, Archmagos. If you were ever fortunate enough to receive the Lord's permission to visit Char—the Zerg homeworld—you would understand. From the moment Lord Lucan became the Rogue Trader of the Mongorte Dynasty, he has always brought us miracles. I believe this time will be no exception. All we must do is wait patiently."
"But the Imperial soldiers outside are dying every second! The situation could spiral out of control at any moment!"
"Lord Lucan has said that the current sacrifices are necessary," Pavian explained. "The technology to activate the Blackstone Pylons is too important for humanity at this juncture. Although it is a difficult truth to accept, we cannot reveal our full strength in this war just yet. We must wait for the Necron that Lord Lucan mentioned."
Suddenly, Cawl cut off their data-dialogue. He looked up and turned around.
A tall, statuesque yet hunched Necron was walking towards him. A viridian light glowed from the reactor in its chest, and a fan-shaped cowl shrouded two blazing eyes.
"Belisarius Cawl," the Necron's voice was a dry rasp. "You may call me Trazyn."
☆☆☆
-> 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