Horus swung his heavy Warhammer, smashing it towards Sanguinius.
The The Great Angel's wings spread in the air, dodging the terrifying blow from his enraged older brother.
Immediately after, he rushed towards Horus with a terrifying surge of energy.
Clang!!
The spear swung down with immense power, and Horus raised his Warhammer to block.
The collision between the two created a terrifying shockwave.
The ground trembled violently, and powerful energy swept through, briefly dispelling the shadows of the battlefield and sending both daemons and Imperial warriors flying.
This strike caught Horus off guard; caught unaware, he stumbled back a few steps.
Immediately after, a pure burst of energy erupted from Sanguinius's hand, sending Horus flying.
With a thud, Horus landed in the distance, making a dull impact sound.
"Surrender," Sanguinius said calmly, looking at the fallen Horus.
"You've said that before," Horus replied, getting up, and with a flick of his hand, Worldbreaker flew back into his grasp.
"Times have changed," Sanguinius said, "Humanity has gained the upper hand; the tides of attack and defense have reversed."
"Is that so? I don't think so."
As his words fell,
Horus charged at Sanguinius with sudden and ferocious speed, so much so that he barely had time to react.
The Worldbreaker hammer contained the power of Chaos.
The heavy hammerhead was enveloped in an unnatural light of sorcery, incredibly evil.
As the hammerhead moved, cracks appeared in space.
His attacks rained down on Sanguinius like a storm,
Each blow was heavy and full of power.
Sanguinius could only defend passively.
"You can't defeat me," Horus roared, "Even without the blessings of the Chaos Gods, you can't defeat me."
"I am destined for victory, both in the past and now."
"You still have a choice, Sanguinius, if you don't want to repeat the past, then kneel and submit to me."
"You still haven't recognized the situation," Sanguinius said, a smile playing on his lips, "You are indeed very powerful, and I may not necessarily defeat you, but do you really think I would fight you one-on-one?"
No sooner had he spoken than Leman Russ, the Wolf King, wielding the Spear of Dionysus, suddenly appeared behind Horus.
The sharp spear instantly pierced his body, making him cry out in pain.
"Have you become so despicable now? Do you actually want to gang up on me?"
Horus was both shocked and enraged; black blood gushed from the wound, spilling onto the ground, a gruesome sight.
"You didn't give me a fair duel on the Vengeful Spirit back then either."
"You used the home advantage the Chaos Gods gave you, and you really gave me a beating."
Sanguinius looked at Horus, his gaze cold.
"See, I told you Sanguinius is quite scheming."
Desert, who was slaying daemons nearby, overheard the Primarchs' conversation and said to his companion.
"I agree with you."
"Sanguinius has always had that scheming persona!! That guy often stirred up trouble and watched the chaos during the Great Crusade."
"..."
Sanguinius: "..."
My reputation is ruined, all because of those scribes who recorded everything.
It made these God Chosen know all his secrets.
Horus, on the other hand, had no time for such thoughts; after forcing Leman Russ back with his Warhammer, he adopted a defensive stance.
Facing two supremely powerful Primarchs at once made him feel extremely troublesome.
He was not afraid to fight any single Primarch,
But if they teamed up, it would be very problematic.
"Fenrisian mongrel, your opponent is me."
Magnus, high in the sky, let out a deafening roar,
His wings spread, creating a terrifying surge.
He dove towards Leman Russ's direction, attempting to deal with Leman Russ for Horus.
The next second, Vulkan, the Lord of Drakes, wielding his Warhammer, leaped up and, with a heavy swing, slammed Magnus, who was diving towards the ground, into the earth with a thud.
"I didn't hit you hard enough in the Webway, did I? You still dare to appear in Reality."
Boom!!
The deep pit where Magnus landed turned into a pillar of light that shot skyward, bright and dazzling, stirring the dark clouds in the sky.
The Daemon Primarch flew out from it, hovering in the air.
He stared at Vulkan on the ground, his eyes burning with sorcerous fire, revealing a terrible hatred.
"Vulkan, how dare you strike me??"
"Magnus," Vulkan looked at Magnus, his voice calm, "You are still as arrogant and foolish."
"You are the foolish one; this time, I will utterly kill you."
Magnus stared at Vulkan, intending to crush his heart with sorcery, then burn him to ashes with psychic fire.
However, a green energy surged from Vulkan's body,
No matter what Magnus did, his sorcery had no effect on Vulkan.
"Your tricks are useless now," Vulkan pushed off the ground, which instantly cracked.
He used the force to leap up, swinging the Warhammer in his hand and smashing it down on Magnus.
Magnus conjured a magical shield, intending to block Vulkan's hammer.
Bang!
The hammerhead and the shield collided, unleashing a terrifying wave that rapidly spread out, creating a dreadful storm.
The next second,
The shield shattered, and Magnus was sent flying like a cannonball,
With a crash, he slammed into the ground again, creating a horrifying crater.
Vulkan's speed was so fast that he left afterimages, stirring up a terrifying wave of air, and instantly appeared before Magnus.
Magnus had just gotten up when Vulkan, putting all his strength into it, swung his hammer upwards, hitting him squarely on the jaw.
The Daemon Primarch's body flew up, then crashed heavily back to the ground.
When Vulkan charged over again, Magnus roared.
"Enough."
He shouted, releasing a psychic hand to grab Vulkan's heavy hammer.
"You cannot defeat me; my power is already comparable to a god's; I have already embarked on the path to godhood."
Green flames surged from Vulkan's body, and the heavy hammer in his hand felt as ponderous as a star; he crushed the psychic hand and once again smashed the hammer onto Magnus's head.
The heavy hammerhead shattered half of his face, revealing gruesome white bone.
"No!" Magnus cried out in pain.
Vulkan, however, did not stop; his eyes burned with rage.
During the Webway War, Magnus had used every means to torture him.
Crushed heart, burning, suffocation, shattered bones—every conceivable death in this universe, Magnus had made him experience.
Vulkan no longer had any thought of persuading his former brother to turn back.
Now, he only wanted to beat this former brother to death.
Magnus wildly swung his staff, delivering a desperate blow, but Vulkan swatted it away with a wave of his hand.
Then, he swung his heavy hammer, delivering another powerful blow to Magnus's head, making him cry out in pain.
Magnus knelt on the ground, blood gushing from his wounds, shattered bones protruding from his flesh, a gruesome sight.
He tried to get up, trembling and utterly weak.
Magnus tried to support his body with his broken arm,
But Vulkan's heavy hammer fell again, this blunt strike shattering his shoulder.
He collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain.
"Before, I always fantasized about bringing you back, about having you stand with us again."
"But after ten thousand years of contemplation, I realized that some things, once lost, are lost; even if you try to restore them to their original state, they are no longer the same."
Vulkan swung his heavy hammer, striking Magnus over and over again,
Like beating a dog, swinging the hammer repeatedly, smashing it down again and again,
No skill, no patience, only anger, anger accumulated over ten thousand years.
Magnus's armor was shattered, his ribs pulverized, and his face was utterly broken, revealing ghastly white bone, a horrifying sight.
Tzeentch's power blessed Magnus, giving him an unimaginable, tenacious life force, and this also became the source of his pain.
Vulkan did not stop; no matter how many times Magnus tried to resurrect, he would beat him to death again and again, reducing him to a bloody pulp.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Guilliman and Angron were also fighting.
Guilliman, having awakened his true nature as the Avenger of Souls, had become incredibly powerful.
He feared no Primarch, nor any daemon apart from the four Chaos Gods / The Four Gods of the Warp.
Angron, blessed by Khorne, also possessed astonishing combat prowess.
His massive and muscular body, wielding a battle-axe and a longsword,
Immediately unleashed a storm of blows on Guilliman.
Their fight was earth-shattering,
Each collision released shockwaves like a storm, sweeping in all directions, raising countless clouds of dust.
Their battle ended with Guilliman's victory,
Though it wasn't really a victory.
Because when Cegorach had previously invaded Khorne's domain, he had stolen Angron's stripped humanity.
During the fierce battle, Guilliman seized an opportunity and forcefully returned Angron's humanity to his body.
When his humanity returned, Angron, for a rare moment, broke free from the eternal rage.
In a daze, his consciousness fell into a blank world,
The souls of the gladiators who had fought alongside him were all there,
They smiled at Angron and told him.
They were happy to have seen Angron taken away during the final battle with the slave masters, and they bore him no ill will.
"Death is not the end, Angron. The end of will is death; you are the embodiment of the gladiators' free will, and no matter where you are, we are with you."
"Rise up and fight, Angron, just as before; whether it's gladiators, the Emperor, or so-called gods, none should surrender. The gladiators of Nuceria will always fight for freedom."
"..."
The gladiators embraced Angron one by one, hoping he would resist the powerful slave masters as he had on Nuceria.
His adoptive father reached out and placed his hand on Angron's head, just as he had when they first met.
At that time, Angron had just been captured and given to the gladiator Oenomaus to raise.
"Never give up your desire for freedom, my child, no matter what torments fate inflicts upon you, never yield."
"..."
When his consciousness returned, the Butcher's Nails were still frantically gnawing at Angron's brain, constantly generating pain, trying to force him to kill.
The intense pain made Angron's mouth and eyes twitch uncontrollably, but he did not, as usual, indiscriminately go on a rampage.
"Why?" Angron looked at Guilliman.
"This is all I can do, to give you one more choice before everything ends. To be a slave to the Gods, or to fight for freedom."
Guilliman spoke calmly.
After the Horus Heresy erupted, he had argued with Angron on Nuceria.
He had angrily denounced Angron as a coward, believing he lacked the courage to face difficulties and blamed all his faults on others.
But when he truly understood Angron's upbringing, he understood the despair of his Primarch brother.
Fate had been too cruel to Angron.
Therefore, returning humanity to Angron, allowing him to make one final choice, was all Guilliman could do.
"I should have died on Nuceria," Angron looked up, his eyes filled with struggle.
Khorne's blessing had strengthened the Butcher's Nails, and Angron's humanity shattered again, becoming fuel for rage.
"If only I had been a little braver back then, and firmly resisted Father, how wonderful that would have been."
Angron looked up at the sky, where the Emperor, Cegorach, the Void Dragon, the Supporters, Eldar, and a host of other god-level beings were besieging the Four Chaos Gods, led by the four Four Chaos Gods of the Warp.
The two sides fought fiercely, displaying various bizarre forms,
Space-time was shattered, then reshaped, then shattered again.
In the end, the fabric of space-time ceased to exist, leaving only eternal nothingness.
Khorne, as expected of the God of War and Blood, single-handedly fought against multiple Star Gods without falling behind, even destroying several Star Gods.
"It's just a pity that nothing can ever be repeated. Today, let everything end."
"I will no longer be anyone's slave, whether god or father."
Angron spread his wings, creating a huge surge, then soared into the sky.
In the name of the Gladiators of Nuceria, he charged towards Khorne, towards the shackles that bound him.
The Butcher's Nails shrieked, gnawing at his brain with even greater frenzy, trying to force him to change direction.
Angron roared continuously, his painful cries echoing across the battlefield, but he did not change direction.
For the freedom he once pursued.
Boom!!
Angron crashed into the massive Khorne, his battle-axe fiercely hacking into the God of War's body.
The Crimson Lord's resistance was like the uprising on Nuceria back then,
From the very beginning, it was destined to lose.
Angron's resistance ignited an unprecedented rage in Khorne,
A mere gaze burned away Angron's soul and flesh, making it impossible for him to ever resurrect.
But Angron's impact bought the Emperor and others an opportunity.
The Emperor plunged his longsword into Khorne's body,
Annihilation flames fiercely burned within the blood-red body,
Khorne let out an excruciating scream.
But the next second, the Emperor was thrown back by Khorne,
Then, Khorne forcefully pulled out the longsword, but his aura visibly weakened considerably.
His previous advantage was gone, and he was now in a predicament of being besieged.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Slaanesh was being hunted by the Spirit Race God of Death.
The five Crone Swords were resurrected, and the God of Death was fully born.
Because Slaanesh was born from the demise of the Aeldari Empire and its Pantheon,
The birth of the Spirit Race God of Death precisely represented the end of all things for the Spirit Race, and thus could restrain Slaanesh.
Coupled with the help of other Star Gods, Slaanesh was beaten into a sorry state.