In orbit around Cadia,
the Iron Warriors' Fleet appeared battered.
Perturabo stood before the massive observation window on his flagship's bridge, looking down at the battlefield on the planet's surface.
After a brutal naval battle with the Imperial Fleet, the cost of breaking through the Imperial Navy's lines was that the Iron Warriors' Fleet had lost more than half its strength, and was now incapable of creating any further ripples in the cosmic battlefield.
Perturabo placed all his hopes on the ground war.
He personally led the main forces to the surface of Cadia, intending to use precise mechanized tactics to quickly defeat Rogal Dorn's defenses, occupy all of Cadia, and thus reverse the Chaos Legions' disadvantage in the entire campaign.
However, he knew clearly that his plan required more time, and time had become the luxury he lacked most.
Perturabo realized that the Iron Warriors fighting alone would not be enough to accomplish this mission.
He once again sent requests to his three brothers, Fulgrim, Mortarion, and Magnus, attempting to use their power in the cosmos to buy himself the time he needed.
However, this decision quickly became his greatest regret.
Then, as expected, Fulgrim once again betrayed Old Fourth Perturabo.
Fulgrim died in battle, and the entire Emperor's Children Fleet launched a frenzied, uncoordinated assault, resulting in their complete annihilation, which only worsened the already unclear war situation.
At this time, Magnus's and Mortarion's Fleets had already merged with Abaddon's, and they needed to tie down the Imperial Fleet in space to buy time for Perturabo on the ground.
Unlike Fulgrim's recklessness, Mortarion and Magnus were more cautious.
Their Fleets successfully merged with Abaddon's main Black Crusade force and began to maneuver against the Imperial Fleet in the cosmic battlefield.
However, even their efforts could hardly have a decisive impact on the battle.
The Imperial Fleet was well-equipped and disciplined, and had long been meticulously arranged by the Imperial's excellent staff officer corps.
All actions of the Chaos Fleet could only tie down a portion of the Imperial Fleet, buying Perturabo on the ground a negligible amount of time.
Facing the increasingly collapsing situation, Chaos Warmaster Abaddon began to consider the most extreme option.
In the central control room of the Blackstone Fortress, Abaddon stared at the constantly deteriorating battlefield situation displayed on the screen.
His face was grim, and his hands slowly clenched.
He knew deeply that if the ground battlefield was lost, Cadia would be completely lost, and this would be a fatal blow to Chaos in the war against the Imperial.
"If Perturabo cannot win this battle..." Abaddon murmured, "Then I will personally end all of this."
Abaddon ordered the Blackstone Fortress's main engines to enter standby mode.
This gigantic Chaos battle fortress contained destructive power capable of destroying planets.
Once the ground battle completely collapsed, he would choose to ram the Blackstone Fortress directly into Cadia, destroying the entire planet.
Even if this act might bury Perturabo and the Chaos Legions along with it, he would not hesitate.
"For ultimate victory," Abaddon gritted his teeth, "if necessary, we can pay any price."
On the surface of Cadia, the duel between Rogal Dorn and Perturabo entered a fierce stage.
Perturabo personally air-dropped from his warship to the surface of Cadia, leading the Iron Warriors himself, launching fierce assaults from multiple directions simultaneously.
He precisely calculated the weak points of every defensive fortification, gradually dismantling Rogal Dorn's outer positions with mechanized firepower and engineering equipment.
Rogal Dorn had long foreseen Perturabo's strategy.
He used complex multi-layered defenses and deep underground fortifications to firmly tie down the Iron Warriors' offensive.
At the same time, relying on the active phased array radar and new weapons provided by Li Feng, he exposed every move of the Iron Warriors.
He also tried his best to follow Li Feng's instructions, making full use of firepower superiority to deplete the enemy's living forces.
On the battlefield, every clash between the two brothers was a contest of wits and strategy.
However, as time passed, Perturabo began to realize that his offensive was gradually falling into a stalemate, and Rogal Dorn seemed to always be able to predict his next move.
Just as the Iron Warriors were about to break through Rogal Dorn's industrial zone perimeter, a huge shadow enveloped the skies of Cadia—the Imperial Dominator-class Expeditionary Base entered the orbital battlefield.
The Dominator carried a large number of ground support troops and new warships, signaling the official start of the "Imperial Counterattack."
From this moment, the enemy would defend, and they would attack.
In the orbital battlefield, Mortarion's and Magnus's Chaos Fleet had been forced into a defensive posture.
The destructive threat of the Blackstone Fortress still loomed, and the addition of the Imperial Dominator Base became the final straw that broke Chaos.
Magnus, leading some of the Thousand Sons Legion warriors, had already entered the planet Cadia.
He could feel a huge interference disrupting the energy of the Warp, and he suspected that the Imperial Dominator might have some Dark Age of Technology Warp interference device, similar to a Blackstone construct.
Magnus and the Thousand Sons had already completed the drawing of the magic array in the industrial zone that the Iron Warriors had just captured, and he could vaguely sense that the Four Chaos Gods were also operating at full throttle within the Warp at this time.
As Magnus and the Thousand Sons activated their psychic powers, a huge portal was summoned in the industrial zone, followed by an endless stream of Chaos Daemons.
Amidst the ruins of the industrial zone, the Chaos Daemons poured out from the portal summoned by Magnus.
These twisted beings, carrying the raging energy of the Warp, swiftly swept through Cadia's front lines, attempting to turn the entire battlefield into a purgatory of chaos and fear.
At the same time, a large number of drop pods and combat barges began to enter Cadia's atmosphere.
The Imperial Army would officially join the battlefield, with several Astartes Chapters and Li Feng's Imperial Guard becoming the main force of this battle.
The Claws of the Stars, Minotaurs, and Dark Angels Space Marine Chapters immediately became the Astartes vanguard.
Before the battle even began, Huron and Moloc even had a private fight before heading to the battlefield.
As for the Dark Angels, it was said that they brought some secret with them this time, and Li Feng also privately told them some secret...
Li Feng: "Your father, the Lion El'Jonson, is still alive.
Help me win this war, and I'll bring your father back."
Azrael: "Really, Your Excellency!"
Li Feng: "Look how many Primarchs have returned to the Imperial now.
Is Lion still hard to find?"
...Li Feng stood in the command room, watching the holographic map.
He calmly gave orders to the Commanders around him: "Prioritize fire blockade around the industrial zone, cut off their advance path.
Provide long-range fire cover for the portal."
Li Feng watched the battle situation while looking at the star map...
"Hiss... Why aren't the Space Wolves and White Scars here yet?
Could it be, like Guilliman's 'nine-hour fastest legend'?"
Just as Li Feng was thinking this, three massive Fleets immediately appeared on the star map, having just emerged from Warp travel... It was the Ultramarines, Space Wolves, and White Scars.
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