Raldoron, First Captain of the Blood Angels, allowed a flicker of disappointment to pass through his eyes.
Ever since his gene-father had returned from the war council, he had looked forward to fighting alongside the Shadows of Order.
Raldoron had most hoped to encounter Howard Fender, the Arbiter Lord of the First Chapter, who had the most conquests to his name, and Bukayo Arshivan, the Darkness Lord of the Third Chapter.
He was often mentioned alongside them, as well as Ezekyle Abaddon of the Luna Wolves and Sigismund of the Imperial Fists.
Raldoron was also curious about the Reaver Lord, who wore the Russ-pattern wolf helm, the Morkai cloak, and carried the Krakenmaw at his hip, a challenge to the frenzied Wolves of Fenris.
'Thierry Vierra. A pure warrior.'
'He defeated Akurduana.'
Raldoron's eyes brightened. Even he was not certain he could defeat Fulgrim's Champion.
The 2nd Company Captain of the Emperor's Children was not lauded as a commander, but he was, without question, a transcendent swordsman.
As a youth, before even receiving his implants, he had repeatedly defeated his instructor, the old Thunder Warrior Tarail Collins.
Raldoron believed that Abaddon, Sigismund, and Khârn were also uncertain of victory against Akurduana.
Yet Vierra had defeated Akurduana in a duel.
When Raldoron first heard the news, he had doubted it, suspecting it was merely a rumor, or that Vierra had resorted to trickery.
It was only confirmed over forty years ago, during combined operations with the Luna Wolves and Emperor's Children, when he heard it from Akurduana himself.
"He defeated me cleanly."
"We have agreed to a rematch."
"I have been honing my skills ever since."
Raldoron saw no trace of defeat in Akurduana.
He saw the blazing, cutting edge of a swordsman's spirit.
As Raldoron pondered, Sanguinius lifted his pristine white wings slightly, gazing at the tall, black-armored, golden-winged figure.
"Nareth, your fleet has opened the way to Magc'Sithraal for us."
"Beautiful, colorful light."
"Psychic artillery," Nareth said without elaboration, vaguely answering Sanguinius's implied question.
He steered the conversation towards their objective. "Sanguinius, you arrived first. What are your plans?"
Sanguinius folded his wings. "Raldoron and I have studied the engagement records of Expedition fleets against Aeldar craftworlds. They possess some form of teleportation device aboard their ships."
"Void cannon fire cannot exterminate the xenos."
"They will flee before they are destroyed."
Nareth knew Sanguinius spoke the truth. The craftworld also contained varying numbers of Webway portals, connected to certain planets of the ancient Aeldar Empire.
Even if he ordered his Aether cannons to destroy the craftworld, most of the Aeldar could still withdraw safely.
The optimal strategy was to board the vessel and inflict maximum casualties before the Aeldari could abandon it.
Of course, the core reason he agreed with Sanguinius's strategy was the opportunity it presented to acquire the psychic secrets of Magc'Sithraal's famed warlocks.
"I agree." As Nareth spoke, light and shadow flickered in his eyes.
The Primarch's telekinetic power surged, spreading across the hololithic platform.
An elegant projection of the Aeldari craftworld materialized from nothing. Two areas on its green hull were highlighted.
One area was dark; the other was blood red.
Sanguinius stared at the two bright areas on the periphery of the projected image.
"Docks."
"Our Legions will each land here."
"The first to reach the central node will be the anvil. The second will be the hammer."
Sanguinius understood. Hammer and Anvil was a doctrine created by Amadeus DuCaine, the former Legion Master of the Tenth Legion before Ferrus Manus's return.
Horus held it in high esteem. Guilliman had also studied it diligently.
Nareth had briefly taught it to Ferrus Manus when he returned. The Shadows of Order had also adopted Hammer and Anvil.
When the Blood Angels and Luna Wolves had purged the Nephilim from Melchior, Horus had proposed this very tactic.
The Iron Hands had since iterated upon the tactic, making it famous across Legions. The approach Horus and Sanguinius had used on Melchior had not strictly followed Ducaine's doctrine from the Battle of Rust.
Of course, regardless of variation, Ducaine's strategic core remained unchanged.
The anvil acted as a magnet, drawing the enemy's main force.
The hammer would then fall, sweeping through the enemy with the force of a storm.
"I agree."
"Ninety-five thousand Blood Angels."
Hearing this, Nareth knew Sanguinius had committed almost his entire Legion.
Before the Heresy, the Blood Angels would number one hundred and twenty thousand. At this time, they likely did not exceed one hundred thousand.
"Ninety-one thousand."
Nareth had deployed three main Chapters for this operation, the Eighth, Eleventh, and Twelfth.
Their combined actual strength was ninety-three thousand.
However, after six decades of cumulative under-reporting, the War Council's records showed a force of only seventy-two thousand.
The Twelfth Chapter, the smallest, actually numbered twenty-three thousand.
The recorded figure was less than twenty thousand, only eighteen thousand five hundred.
The Eleventh Chapter, the second largest, had thirty-four thousand soldiers.
After cumulative under-reporting, the recorded number was twenty-five thousand nine hundred.
Of the remaining deployed forces, in addition to the First and Tenth Chapters, there were two thousand one hundred and ninety Librarians from seven other Chapters, one thousand five hundred and twenty from the current Honour Guard cohort, and one thousand and thirty Vessor neophytes, who possessed varying degrees of psychic resistance.
"I look forward to meeting you on the craftworld," Sanguinius said with a smile.
Though he and Nareth were allies, they had yet to meet in person.
For much of the Great Crusade, Sanguinius had been expanding territory in the Pacificus Segmentum alongside his close friend, Horus.
"I look forward to that moment as well," Nareth replied with a smile.
Among his allies, he had accompanied the Emperor to Prospero to retrieve Magnus, and had also, in the galactic core, subdued the Squat Leauge.
He had also, on Chogoris, convinced the swift-moving Khan to join him on the expedition to the Rangdan homeworld.
Sanguinius was the only one of his allies he had not yet met in person.
Raldoron exchanged salutes with their allies, following Sanguinius's lead.
His gaze swept over Pell Koscheny and William Wood, pausing briefly on the towering form of Thierry Vierra.
After the holographic projection faded, Raldoron spoke to the Angel, who had turned away.
"The Blood Angels have more combatants deployed than the Shadow of Order."
"We are more specialized for assault operations."
"We will become the anvil before the Shadow of Order," his eyes flickered, and he tucked his helmet tighter under his arm. "Perhaps even the hammer."
Sanguinius saw the warrior's flame in his son's eyes. His wings unfurled with a snap.
He gently touched the ebony-patterned badge of the hunter tribes on Raldoron's chest.
"My Blood Chief."
"Your guns will thunder on Magc'Sithraal. Your blade will sever the heads of the maddened xenos warlocks."
Raldoron bowed, his helmet covering his resolute face.
....
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