A holographic projection floated on the control panel in the Strategic Room, displaying the planet's surface as a massive, jagged crater surrounded by mountains, with a magnificent temple standing in its center.
This temple was the largest structure detected by the orbital scan.
Its prominent location on the surface indicated its importance.
More than a dozen holographic projections of important figures stood beside the control panel, discussing the impending military operation.
"The psychic index of this place has gone off the charts," Little Alpaca said.
"I smell the stench of those bastards from Chaos."
"Saronis has completed the blood sacrifice; this planet has already merged with the Warp."
As the Great Prophet of Koror Ark World, Ashbel had the right to attend such a meeting.
She also offered her opinion.
"Why don't we just orbital bombard it directly?" A Bowl of Lobster Soup said.
"Anyway, the dimensional space has been sealed, so Erebus can't escape."
"It's not that simple," Ashbel said.
"Even if the dimensional space is sealed, orbital bombardment won't kill Erebus."
"The countless atrocities committed by the Word Bearers during the Horus Heresy and over the past ten millennia have granted this fellow immense power and blessings; ordinary means simply cannot kill him."
Ashbel's words made everyone's expressions turn grave.
"Let's start with a wave of orbital bombardment to weaken them, and then proceed with a landing operation," Little Alpaca said.
"Anyway, that's how we've always done it."
"I agree," Desert nodded.
"Erebus is cunning by nature, so caution is advisable."
The others also agreed with Little Alpaca's idea, and soon, the order for orbital bombardment was relayed to every warship.
Dense missiles, orbital torpedoes, and lances rained down upon the surface of Saronis World.
Boom!
When the first fusion warhead struck, a tower of fire erupted, sweeping in all directions.
The magnificent structures were instantly engulfed in a sea of flames, mountains shattered, rivers broke, and the land turned to scorched earth, radiating a scorching heat.
Immediately after, torpedoes and lances also fell one after another, unleashing terrifying explosions.
After the first round of orbital bombardment, the ground became a wasteland.
However, not long after, the buildings that should have been reduced to ruins mysteriously returned to their original appearance.
An even more eerie aura enveloped the ground structures, like a chilling ghost domain, exuding a spine-chilling terror.
"Is this some kind of horror resurrection? It turns into ruins and then recovers as good as new."
A Bowl of Lobster Soup looked at the changes on the surface, feeling a headache.
"Hahaha, Warhammer 0L's operations never disappoint; they really can integrate everything," Desert laughed.
"Forget it, let's air drop. Erebus should have already prepared for both eventualities," Little Alpaca picked up her weapon.
"If he wants to do horror resurrection, then we'll let them know who the real natural disaster in this universe is."
Transport ships and escort fighters flew out from the warships, heading straight for the planet's surface.
The bizarre, flesh-covered high towers on the ground shot bright beams of light into the sky.
Once hit, one would instantly turn to dust.
From high altitude, the Players chose to jump directly out of the transport ships, which would minimize casualties to the greatest extent.
The target of a transport ship was always much larger than that of a single person.
Little Alpaca was the first to activate the propulsion engine of her back-mounted flight pack, and the immense thrust sent her plummeting to the ground like a meteor.
The other Players followed suit, rushing towards the surface like heavenly fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
When the Players landed, the immense impact created deep craters in the ground, emitting deafening sounds.
Bang! Bang!
The moment they landed, the Players pulled the triggers on the bizarre-looking creatures.
Desert, in an instant, killed several Cultists with multiple eyes and limbs. The defenders here had mutated due to the corruption of Chaos power, looking terrifying and grotesque.
After eliminating the enemies at the landing point, Desert led a squad of Players towards the central temple.
The enemy had constructed many strange buildings here, covered in Chaos runes and overgrown with writhing flesh and eyes.
Eerie ghosts lingered in the darkness, and Warp creatures made low sounds out of sight.
Everywhere were brutally slaughtered corpses.
These bodies were nailed to inverted crosses, bound by sharp spikes, hung by hooks, or dismembered.
Every death was extremely tragic.
Each broken face bore deep despair and fear.
"It feels like we've stumbled into a ghost domain from a horror novel," Little Alpaca said over the comms.
She was breaking into the temple from another direction.
"Hahaha, so should we be scared now?" A Bowl of Lobster Soup teased.
"Should we scream a few times?"
Desert's tone was disdainful, "What a joke. Look at the double-headed eagle on our shoulder pads. Are we going to shy away from them?"
"Today, even if a knocking ghost comes, I'll beat the shit out of it and then beat it back into the shit."
"Haha, indeed, as Primaris Space Marines, being afraid of those ghosts would be an exaggeration," A Bowl of Lobster Soup said.
Among the Player group, there were many powerful psykers.
Even ghosts, to some extent, could be forcefully pushed through.
The path to the temple was filled with enemies.
Cultists, Chaos Space Marines, Warp Daemons, and various strange and terrifying entities.
These monsters, if thrown into any horror movie, could easily be the B0SS.
Yet, on this brutal battlefield, they were merely cannon fodder.
The sacred prayers inscribed on their power armor glowed from the moment they stepped onto the battlefield, never dimming.
The prayer scrolls affixed to their bodies constantly burned, emitting a bright light.
A fierce battle erupted between the two sides.
However, the Players ultimately proved superior, slaughtering the Chaos traitors until they were routed.
Even the Warp Daemons and strange creatures met the same fate.
Facing high-dimensional beings protected by the Emperor's power, they were utterly defenseless, slaughtered and scattered, returning to the Warp in despair.
After the Players breached the final line of defense, they arrived at the deepest part of the temple.
Exaggerated dark power surged here; the Warp seemed to have completely merged with this temple.
Erebus and Kaligos, the ruler of Saronis World, had long been waiting.
"I have been waiting for you for a long time," Erebus looked at the Players who rushed in with cold eyes, his gaze becoming extremely malicious.
"This time, I won't let you escape again."
Desert took out the Dimensional Cube from his pocket and threw it into the air, sealing the entire temple space.
Even if Erebus tried to cut through space-time with his ritual dagger as he did before, he wouldn't be able to leave.
If he forced it, he might be sent to some terrifying place by the chaotic flow of space-time, for example, inside some ancient extra-dimensional god.
"Escape?" Erebus sneered.
"You are the ones who should escape, not I."
Erebus looked at Kaligos, the malevolent wizard with a distorted face.
The latter chanted a spell, and a violent surge of Warp energy instantly erupted.
A sphere of energy, imbued with the hatred and despair of hundreds of millions of living beings, slowly rose from the ground, radiating an evil glow.
Infinite Chaos power surged into the bodies of Desert, Little Alpaca, and the other Players.
If it were ordinary people, they would likely be mutated into Chaos spawn within seconds.
However, something Erebus least expected happened.
The Chaos power, containing the despair and suffering of hundreds of millions of living beings, was transformed into another power—Vengeance—after entering the God Chosen's bodies.
The Players heard the screams of the dead in their ears, filled with despair and pain.
However, beneath the despair and pain, there was another, stronger emotion: vengeance.
Vengeance against the source of their suffering.
An indescribable power instantly filled the Players' bodies.
The roaring pleas for vengeance from the dead continued to echo in their ears.
"So strong!" Little Alpaca's face showed pleasant surprise.
"What kind of tactic is this? They just power us up right at the start?"
Desert was also stunned, unable to understand Erebus's thought process. Was he implying they were too weak?
Erebus looked at the God Chosen before him, his self-confidence long turned to ashes.
He simply couldn't comprehend why things had turned out this way!
Things shouldn't have developed like this!
Shouldn't these guys have been corrupted by Chaos power and twisted into monsters?
How did they receive the blessings of the dead and suddenly become stronger?
"Take down Erebus!" A Bowl of Lobster Soup was the first to charge towards Erebus.
A host of possessed warriors and Chaos warriors rushed out of the darkness, and some Daemons also shrieked as they charged towards the Players.
Kaligos raised his staff, unleashing powerful psychic spells.
However, with the blessing of the vengeance of hundreds of millions of dead, the Players' combat power soared, slaughtering these Chaos enemies like cutting through melons.
Kaligos was terrified when several of his psychic spells failed to cause any deaths, and he secretly cursed Erebus as an idiot.
Before the battle, he had sworn that this ritual was flawless.
Instead, it backfired, making these high-dimensional outsiders even stronger, and psychic spells became ineffective. Kaligos opened a portal, wanting to escape at all costs.
However, in the next second, a psychic bone blade pierced through his chest.
A warrior from Koror Ark World seized the opportunity to ambush this Chaos traitor, killing him with a single strike.
Kaligos was slain.
Erebus didn't last much longer either, besieged by a group of Players, punched and kicked until his face was bruised and swollen.
Finally, amidst desperate screams, he was sealed inside the Dimensional Cube.
Meanwhile, on a Daemon World called Sicarus in the Eye of Terror,
This was a sacred place for the Word Bearers Legion, filled with countless strange temples.
Within the holy site were countless slaves, toiling day and night, carving idols and building temples.
Some devout Chaos Cultists knelt on the ground, chanting Chaos scriptures day and night, offering their devotion to the Chaos Gods.
If Guilliman were here, he would surely recognize that this ancient temple was a replica of the Perfect City.
The only difference was that the sculptures that once honored the Emperor and human heroes had been replaced with twisted Chaos Gods.
Within this city of faith, the most magnificent temple was called the Sanctuary of Torment, where Lorgar, the Primarch of the Word Bearers Legion, had always resided.
He did not serve any one god, but Chaos itself.
Years of contemplation had allowed him to discern the secrets of the Chaos Gods.
At this moment, he was infinitely close to godhood.
When Erebus let out a scream of defeat on Saronis, Lorgar, who was meditating in the deepest part of the Sanctuary of Torment, opened his eyes.
He heard his son's final desperate scream. Although he no longer felt a father-son bond with Erebus, the Chaos Gods still needed him.
Lorgar had to save him; he absolutely could not allow him to be sent back to Terra.
The Primarch walked out of the Sanctuary of Torment, his entire body enveloped in light.
As he crossed the temple threshold and stepped onto the platform outside, the Chaos Gods cast their gaze upon him.
But Lorgar was no longer as devout as before; instead, he treated them with an equal attitude.
To be honest, he somewhat understood his father now.
Once one reached a certain realm and deeply understood Chaos, one would realize the true nature of the Chaos Gods.
If he could truly destroy the Imperium of Man and plunge the galaxy into eternal torment, he too would have a chance to become a god.
The universe was vast; he could no longer confine his gaze to a small galaxy.
And destroying the Imperium of Man, achieving another sublimation, would be when he truly gained freedom.
"I will help you," Lorgar's voice was calm.
"The final battle will surely end with Chaos victorious."
Hearing Lorgar's words, the Chaos Gods bestowed their blessings, then withdrew their gaze.
Lorgar felt the surging power within him, an illusion that he could destroy everything and control everything.
This power was so strong that it allowed him to easily destroy stars and reshape laws.
The blessings of the Chaos Gods granted him powers and authorities that only a god could wield.
If he were to encounter Corax, the Lord of Ravens, again, he would definitely not lose.
He thought of one of his brothers, his father's first son, and his father's most trusted son—Horus.
After the battle on Molech, Horus defeated the local guardian forces and entered an ancient portal, gaining the power of the Chaos Gods.
But they were different.
Horus was merely a pawn of the Chaos Gods from beginning to end; only through complete surrender was he qualified to fight the Emperor.
But he was different.
He had already discerned the true nature of the Chaos Gods; if they did not choose him blindly, then he could choose other gods.
This universe was not limited to just the galaxy.
"Let's deal with this fool Guilliman first."
A chilling smile appeared on Lorgar's scripture-etched face.
"This brother of mine was the luckiest among us; he fell on Macragge and had his own mother and father."
He chanted ancient incantations.
Several terrifying-faced Daemons appeared before Lorgar. They knelt respectfully before the Primarch, awaiting his command.
"Go find the souls of Guilliman's adoptive parents and bring them to me."
The Daemons flew away in obedience.
"This time, let's settle all our grievances, Roboute Guilliman."
Lorgar stepped forward.
Although he had the blessings of the Chaos Gods, he alone was not enough to contend with the combined might of Lion El'Jonson, Guilliman, and that outsider.
He still needed to unite with his other brothers.