With the conclusion of the Battle of Cadia, the Imperium achieved a strategic victory.
The Battle of Cadia shattered the myth of the Chaos Forces' invincibility, transforming the conflict between the Warp and the Imperium of Man from 'enemy offense, our defense' to'strategic stalemate' (like the Battle of Stalingrad in 40K, right?).
After the Battle of Cadia, although the formation of The Minor Rift seemingly posed a huge threat to the Imperium, the reality was quite the opposite.
Compared to the Great Rift that was originally expected, this relatively smaller spatial tear actually became a strategic opportunity for the Imperium.
This The Minor Rift spread from the Eye of Terror towards the stellar frontiers of the Imperium, covering parts of Eldar Craftworlds, Tyranid hive fleets, newly colonized star systems of the Tau Empire, and Ork-infested war zones.
This unexpected change in the situation forced these originally hostile factions to confront the threat of Chaos invasion directly.
For Chaos, this outcome was a disaster.
Abaddon's The Thirteenth Black Crusade successfully created the rift, but his planned full-scale corruption was thwarted by the Imperium and other races defending The Minor Rift.
His two allied Primarchs, Perturabo of the Iron Warriors and Fulgrim of the Emperor's Children, met with vastly different fates:
During the Battle of Cadia, Perturabo commanded the Iron Warriors Legion to construct numerous fortifications for the Chaos Forces, attempting to turn the battle into a prolonged war.
However, when the main Imperial Army aimed at the Chaos defenses, all preparations proved futile.
The main forces of the Iron Warriors Legion were shattered, and Perturabo himself was intercepted by Rogal Dorn during his retreat.
Severely wounded, he was captured by Rogal Dorn and the Imperial Fists under his command.
Fulgrim led the elite forces of the Emperor's Children in an attempt to raid the Imperial Fleet's flagship formation, aiming to weaken the Imperium's combat power.
But he overestimated his own strength, as he was killed by an unknown force on the Imperial Fleet's flagship, the Emperor's Whip battleship, for unknown reasons.
Fulgrim's death led to the rampage of the Emperor's Children; they furiously attacked the Imperial Fleet and were ultimately annihilated by the Imperial Fleet, leaving the Emperor's Children a mere shell of their former selves.
The fall or capture of these two great Chaos Primarchs not only greatly weakened the Chaos Forces but also plunged Khorne and Slaanesh into a temporary power vacuum in the Warp.
For the Imperium of Man, this was an unprecedented victory.
Compared to the 'Great Rift' that split the The Galaxy / Milky Way in two, the existence of The Minor Rift actually created a favorable situation for the Imperium:
The Minor Rift was relatively small in scale, but it dispersed the Chaos Forces among several racial factions.
Whether it was Khorne's Bloodthirsters or Slaanesh's Daemonettes, they now had to simultaneously face the stout resistance of Eldar defenders, Tau warriors, and Orks.
This situation effectively weakened the direct threat of the Chaos Forces to the Imperium of Man.
(Tau Lord defends the nation's gate, Eldar die for the state.)
The Minor Rift transformed the Imperium from 'passive defense' to'strategic stalemate'.
Strategic analysts within the Imperium clearly realized this was an unprecedented opportunity.
They quickly adjusted their strategy, concentrating resources on defense and offense at the rift's edges, leveraging the geographical advantage created by The Minor Rift to counterattack the Chaos Forces.
Although the formation of The Minor Rift temporarily provided the Imperium with a respite, the Chaos Forces did not give up their corruption of the The Galaxy / Milky Way.
Deep within the Eye of Terror, Abaddon rallied the surviving Chaos Legions.
He gnashed his teeth, glaring at the Imperium's borders, vowing revenge for the failure of the The Thirteenth Black Crusade.
Although the Imperium achieved a strategic victory in the Battle of Cadia, the cost of this victory was equally immense.
In the frantic counterattack of Chaos, the friend of the emperor, Imperial Prince Li Feng, went missing in action.
According to eyewitness reports from the battlefield, Li Feng seemed to have engaged in an earth-shattering battle with the red Daemon Magnus, and ultimately both disappeared into a spatial storm.
The Imperium was immediately plunged into great sorrow.
As one of the few 'reformers with real power' within the Imperium, Li Feng was not only a symbol of Imperial morale but also a legendary figure whom Soldiers regarded as never failing.
However:
"Lord Li Feng will not die! He is not 'KIA (killed in action)' but 'MIA (missing in action)'."
His disappearance caused panic on Terra and countless star systems, with many even speculating whether he had already been martyred.
However, in the depths of the shadows, only a very few who knew the truth remained calm.
Li Feng was no ordinary man, but a truly immortal being, and indeed a true deity.
To ensure the stability and secrecy of the Imperium, Sanguinius personally ordered Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan to lead their respective Legions (now Legions again) to the depths of the The Galaxy / Milky Way to search for Li Feng's whereabouts.
At the same time, the Dark Angels, who were best at 'keeping secrets,' also followed the two uncles to search for Lord Li Feng's whereabouts.
Additionally, elite units of the Imperial Guard would coordinate with these Astartes allied forces.
Sanguinius gave them a clear objective: traverse the Eldar Webway and reach the legendary shadow city—Commorragh.
At the Sovereign's docking port, on the emperor's lash, Li Feng's yacht...
Sanguinius was currently in the kitchen making toppings for rotten meat noodles for the children, while Dorn, Khan, Russ, Konrad Curze... and a bound Perturabo sat quietly at the kitchen island.
Russ held his chopsticks excitedly, almost wagging his tail... Finally, he could eat the meal his mother made!
Perturabo's expression was extremely grim; when he first entered this Sovereign, battleship, and yacht, even though he was a captive, he still inwardly praised the design of the battleship's interior and the yacht.
"This was designed by Uncle Li," Rogal Dorn said expressionlessly.
Perturabo remained silent, inwardly giving a very high evaluation to his father's... lover.
It wasn't until he saw a large number of Custodians and Sisters of Silence that Perturabo, upon seeing so many Custodians and Sisters of Silence, panicked.
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