Datch fought alone amid a tide of enemies, holding back an endless Chaos force to buy time for the Imperial evacuation.
Among the attackers were Chaos Space Marines, each blessed by the Chaos Gods.
They had honed their skills for untold years within the Eye of Terror, aided by daemons.
Datch was no match for them. The moment he resurrected, he was hacked to pieces by the swarming enemy.
If not for Easy Mode—where he could resurrect instantly without death penalties—Datch truly wouldn't have been able to hold out.
"No gear… this is so damn hard."
"When will I finally get a full set of god-tier gear and just slaughter everything?"
To be honest, Datch still preferred mortal Traitors—for no other reason than they were easy to bully.
The Chaos side was also losing its mind.
They didn't know what was up with this guy, but he could resurrect infinitely.
No matter how many times he was killed, he always came back and threw himself at them again.
"Are you the one blessed by the Gods, or are we?!"
"You're such a BUG—does your Corpse Emperor know?!"
The port was protected by walls and ringed with trenches, making it impassable for Chaos vehicles. They were all funneled into the only passage—guarded by Datch.
"Open fire! Provide support for that Emperor's Angel!"
Creed shouted continuously, dumping their last ammunition to halt the advance.
The barrage bought enough time. Allied forces retreated into the port, boarded transports, and launched for the ships in orbit.
When the Forces of Chaos flooded his entire field of view—and no more Imperial troops were arriving—Datch finally retreated into the port.
[You have successfully completed the mission. The survivors of Cadia have safely evacuated.]
[Rewards Gained: 700 EXP, 700 Points, Reputation +30, Pattern Terminator Armor ×1]
A set of green-quality Terminator power armor appeared in his inventory.
This Pattern Terminator Armor set also carried a blessing affix:
[Indomitable Protocol: When activated, gain 90% ranged damage reduction, but movement speed is reduced by 50%, melee attacks are disabled, and you automatically roar: "We are the Fortress!"]
Without hesitation, Datch swapped into the Terminator armor. The defensive jump was enormous.
Creed had been watching him the entire time. He saw only a flash of light around the mysterious warrior—then, suddenly, the man stood encased in a heavier suit of Terminator plate.
Creed's heart filled with confusion.
How did he do that?
He crushed the thought. Now was not the time.
He strode up to Datch.
"Most soldiers and civilians have evacuated. It's time for us to leave too, but the enemy is pressing hard. I don't know how many of the remaining rear-guard troops can get out. Can you help us?"
A mission prompt appeared before Datch.
[Mission: Find a way for the final troops to evacuate safely.]
Castellan Creed is troubled over how to evacuate the last of the troops from Cadia. Stop the pursuers from entering the port so the rear guard can evacuate safely.
Reward: 800 EXP, 800 Points, Reputation +40, Power Weapon: Ruyi Jingu bang ×1
"Stop the pursuers rushing into the port?"
Datch looked around—then pulled out the mithril pickaxe again.
He knocked down everything he could and built wall after wall at absurd speed.
When the Forces of Chaos rushed into the port and saw wall after wall after wall, their mental state completely collapsed.
Are these Imperial bastards possessed by the spirit of Dorn?
Are they addicted to building walls?!
By the time Chaos had hacked through the barriers and reached the landing pads, Datch and Creed had already boarded the last transport craft—lifting off and punching into the hellish sky.
…
Somewhere in the port, a pair of eyes glowing with eerie green light watched the departing transport.
"How interesting."
It was none other than Trazyn the Infinite, Necron Lord—who had released Greyfax and the other human reinforcements, and guided Archmagos Cawl toward the secrets of the Blackstone Fortress.
He had originally intended to collect Ursarkar E. Creed as a specimen to commemorate The Fall of Cadia—a moment that changed the galaxy.
But the appearance of that mysterious warrior made him abandon the idea.
Clearly, this Castellan's story was not yet over—unfit for collection.
Trazyn withdrew his gaze, glanced at the Chaos Marines and cultists roaring on the landing pad, and tossed out a cube radiating inscrutable light.
The entire platform fell into stasis. Every Chaos Traitor froze like a statue.
"I'll take you as my harvest for this trip, then."
He retrieved the cube—taking away the first wave of boarders as collectibles, naming them:
The Fall of Cadia.
When the next Chaos wave swarmed the pad, he was already gone—leaving only frustrated commanders and daemons howling at the sky.
…
The heavens were a mess of flak and fire.
Imperial Fists Stormhawk Interceptors fought in dust-storm dogfights, desperately covering the retreat.
But their numbers were too few.
Datch stood by the transport window, watching yellow fighters fall under the siege of Heldrakes—spiraling down in flaming wreckage.
Creed approached, mistaking Datch's stare for grief.
"These are necessary sacrifices."
Datch glanced back at him, then ignored him—focusing instead on the shop interface.
After a moment, he found what he wanted.
[Item: TIE Fighter (1 Day) — the standard starfighter mass-produced by the Galactic Empire. Full name: Twin Ion Engine Fighter.]
Combat Performance: Void-capable flight. Two laser cannons mounted beneath the spherical cockpit.
Evaluation: A piece of flying scrap metal.
This aerial battle was rendered so realistically it would be a waste not to participate.
Datch spent points on a one-day trial card.
He planned to have a proper dogfight with the Traitors.
A flash of light.
Creed watched a strange black fighter appear outside the transport—like a sphere with solar panels bolted to either side.
Datch vanished from the hold—
—and reappeared inside the TIE cockpit.
"How in the Throne…" Creed's eyes widened. "How does he keep doing that?"
Both Imperial and Chaos forces stared at the bizarre fighter. None had ever seen such a design.
"Hahaha! Here I come!"
Datch's laughter died the instant he looked at the controls.
The panel was a dense forest of switches. Everything was labeled—but there was no way to master it in seconds.
"They said it's VR, but I didn't ask you to copy every single design! Don't you know what 'user-friendly' means?! F—!"
The TIE lurched and pinballed through the air—
—then plunged, screaming, toward the ground.
BOOM!
It exploded into fragments.
The Chaos Traitors who had been watching were speechless.
Are you a clown from the Imperial Theater Troupe?
Is your plan to make us die laughing?!
Creed: "…"
A flash of light, and Datch appeared back inside the transport.
[Congratulations, you have earned the achievement: "Fastest Crash."]
Datch: "…"
Devs, are you trying to humiliate me?!
After that, Datch behaved. He watched the dogfights in silence and stopped buying new fighters.
But he swore to himself he'd learn to pilot properly—one day.
The transport broke through the atmosphere and docked with Archmagos Cawl's ark mechanicus: Iron Revenant.
Once the last Imperial survivors boarded, the fortress-ship Phalanx slowly pulled away from Cadia's orbit. With overwhelming firepower, it carved a route through the void for the rest of the fleet—retreating toward a region where space-time remained stable.
Behind it followed battered Imperial Navy ships, a handful of surviving civilian vessels, and finally Belisarius Cawl's Adeptus Mechanicus fleet.
Cadia had fallen.
The Eye of Terror raged out of control.
Warp currents churned into lethal turbulence—making Warp travel a death sentence until they could put distance between themselves and the storm.
So they ran at sub-light, praying their engines could hold.
Meanwhile, Abaddon's captains swarmed like locusts, hunting the retreating Imperial armada.
…
On the Vengeful Spirit, Abaddon—Dark Warmaster chosen by the Four—admired his masterpiece.
The world that had obstructed him for ten thousand years was coming apart.
The Eye of Terror was unbound.
A noose tightened around the throat of the Corpse Emperor's realm.
Just a little more, and it would all end.
The strategium doors rumbled open.
His chief sorcerous advisor, Zaraphiston, entered.
"My lord. We should pursue them immediately."
Abaddon sneered. "They're beaten. Let the carrion do the gnawing. Those routing fools aren't worth my attention."
Zaraphiston frowned. "But one ship carries a precious object. If we do not stop it in time, complications will arise."
"There is nothing on the Phalanx worthy of my attention," Abaddon scoffed.
Zaraphiston's third eye blinked—then curved into a thin smile.
"My lord. I do not speak of the Phalanx."
"I speak of Belisarius Cawl's ark mechanicus—Iron Revenant."
"Within it lies a relic… the key to resurrecting Roboute Guilliman."
Unease crept across Abaddon's face.
"What did you say?"
"Yes. The Archmagos of Mars possesses armor capable of resurrecting Roboute Guilliman. If he reaches Macragge, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"No!"
Abaddon roared and smashed his fist into the table, shattering it.
"The era of Primarchs is over."
"I will never allow Roboute to ruin my plans."
"Order every ship to pursue at full speed."
"We intercept Iron Revenant at all costs!"
…