This is the bonus chapter for reaching 600 Powerstones.
--
At 4:00 AM, the shrieking alarms inside the Tenth Company's camp ripped through the pre-dawn silence.
"Assemble! This is the signal for the final assault!" Tarvitz's voice echoed across the camp. His purple and gold power armor gleamed under the harsh floodlights.
When Paul pushed aside his tent flap and stepped out, the entire camp was already blazing with heavy illumination.
The Astartes of the Emperor's Children Tenth Company poured out of their tents, rapidly forming up in the clearing.
They moved like lightning. Gear checks, weapon priming, power armor diagnostics... everything was locked in and completed in under thirty seconds.
Over in the Imperial Auxilia camp, tens of thousands of mortal soldiers were scrambling into formation as their officers barked orders.
The high-pitched whine of lasguns powering up blended into a single continuous hum, joined by the rolling thunder of transport vehicle engines.
At the Iron Hands' temporary staging area, the five hundred players were also mustering at top speed.
[Selling Flatbreads at the Terra Palace Gates] was finally able to stand up from his military cot.
Even though he was still stumbling a bit, he gritted his teeth and hauled himself into his silver-grey power armor.
"Flatbread Bro, is your body gonna hold up?" [Selling Cola at the Terra Palace Gates] asked as he jogged over.
"No shit, it has to." [Selling Flatbreads at the Terra Palace Gates] flashed a cocky grin. "I busted my ass to make it to the final chapter of this raid. You think I'm just gonna lie in bed and watch you guys get all the glory?"
"Not a chance in hell."
[Have You Been Loyal Today?] clapped him on the shoulder. "Fucking legend, bro."
--
Vance followed closely behind Darius Stanton, weaving through the chaotic, bustling crowds until they reached the Tenth Company's muster zone.
His mentor was wearing his standard Imperial Navy officer's uniform today, tightly gripping the data-slate that never left his side.
"Stellan Kowalski," Darius Stanton said without looking back. "Once the shooting starts, stick close to me."
"Don't play hero, and don't wander off. Surviving is all that matters."
"Understood, Teacher." Vance replied, though his eyes were busy scanning the crowd.
He spotted the Loyalist players with their gold IDs, scattered throughout the various Solar Auxilia phalanxes.
Every single one of them was calling out their coordinates and status in the regional chat.
He also saw the Chaos players with their black IDs, similarly blending into the masses. Some were whispering among themselves, while others were quietly exchanging looks.
But the real scene-stealers, of course, were the five hundred silver-grey figures.
They stood on the edge of the Tenth Company's formation, shoulder-to-shoulder with the real Emperor's Children Astartes.
Their aura, their posture, those ice-cold stares... If he didn't know their secret, Vance would have bet his life they were genuine Iron Hands.
"[Paul Dawn]..." Vance muttered to himself, locking onto the silver-grey figure at the very front of their ranks.
The man was standing with Vespasian and Tarvitz, seemingly hashing out some tactical details.
His posture was totally relaxed and his voice calm, showing absolutely zero signs that he had literally beaten Lucius into a bloody pulp just a few hours ago.
Vance withdrew his gaze and pulled up his system interface.
[Faction Quest: The Perfect Sons of the Phoenix - The Beginning of the Fall]
[Current Progress: 31%]
He let out a breath. 31% was still lagging behind the Chaos faction, but at least they had cleared the penalty threshold.
He glanced at the Chaos faction's progress on the quest board... 48%.
Fuck. Still trailing by that much.
Vance took a deep breath and opened the [Light of the Emperor Regional Chat].
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "Bros, did you all see?"
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "Quest progress is at 31%. We've secured ourselves above the penalty line."
The channel went quiet for exactly one second before the chat started absolutely flying.
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood]: "Saw it! We didn't bleed for the last twenty-plus days for nothing!"
[I Eat Tomatoes]: "31% versus 48%. We're down, but we're still in the fight!"
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]: "I just wanna know, how the hell is Chaos doing it?"
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]: "We're out here busting our asses killing enemies every single day, and they just skulk around trolling, yet their progress is higher?"
[Sanguinius Is My Husband]: "They have a faction advantage. Plus, griefing and trolling is way easier than actually putting in the work. You really can't compare the two."
[Loyal Battle Sister of the Imperium]: "Cut the chatter and get to the point."
Vance took a deep breath and quickly typed back into the regional chat.
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "Bros, the final chapter of this raid is about to kick off."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "We're participating in the battle that marks the beginning of the Phoenix's fall. We've poured over twenty days of hard work into this, and we have to hold the line until the bitter end."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "Right now, Fulgrim is about to personally lead the assault on the Laer city."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "That sword is right there in the temple at the center of the city."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "Our objective is to do absolutely everything in our power to stop him from grabbing that sword."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "Remember, keep your eyes glued to the Chaos players."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "They're definitely going to try and sabotage this."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "If you spot anything suspicious, report it in the channel immediately."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "And if we can't stop him..."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "Then we execute the final backup plan."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "We destroy this entire platform."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "Destroy that city."
[The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]: "Destroy that sword."
The channel went completely dead for three seconds. And then, over a thousand gold IDs replied in perfect unison.
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood]: "Understood! For the Imperium of Man!"
[I Eat Tomatoes]: "Understood! For the Imperium of Man!"
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]: "Understood! For the Imperium of Man!"
[Sanguinius Is My Husband]: "Understood! For the Imperium of Man!"
[Loyal Battle Sister of the Imperium]: "Understood! For the Imperium of Man!"
--
At that exact same moment, in the [Wings of Freedom Regional Chat].
[All According to Plan] was hiding in a corner, eyeing the 48% progress bar on the system quest board. A smug smirk crept onto his face.
48% to 31%.
The advantage is completely ours.
[All According to Plan]: "Bros, is everyone locked and loaded?"
Over eight hundred black IDs began to reply.
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Ready to go! We can start griefing whenever!"
[I Just Like Sleeping In]: "Ready! Just waiting for the bullets to fly!"
[Number One Handsome of the Soul Hall]: "Heh heh heh... I've been dying for this!"
[Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing]: "Everything is proceeding according to the plan."
[All According to Plan] nodded in satisfaction and kept typing.
[All According to Plan]: "We're executing the pre-set strategy today."
[All According to Plan]: "First, keep prodding at Fulgrim's emotions."
[All According to Plan]: "Wait for the right moment and get a few Emperor's Children killed right in front of him."
[All According to Plan]: "Second, keep a tight leash on the Loyalist faction."
[All According to Plan]: "Any move they make, we have to sabotage it instantly."
[All According to Plan]: "Especially that [The Imperium's Purest Inquisitor]. He's been rubbing shoulders with the Crimson Dawn guys lately; he might have an ace up his sleeve."
[All According to Plan]: "Third, absolutely no wildcards or deviations from the script."
[All According to Plan]: "As long as this city is taken smoothly, Fulgrim is guaranteed to go grab that sword."
[All According to Plan]: "Once that happens, our mission is complete."
Right then, a specific black ID suddenly popped up.
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "..."
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "I feel like you're sub-tweeting me."
The channel went quiet for a second.
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Oh hey, if it isn't our god-tier strategist??"
[All According to Plan]: "I'm not being subtle, I'm calling you out directly."
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "..."
[All According to Plan]: "Alright, enough trash talk."
[All According to Plan]: "Just execute the plan properly today and don't pull any more stupid stunts."
[All According to Plan]: "Remember, we're all in the same faction. If this completely crashes and burns, we're all getting our accounts deleted."
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "...Got it."
[I Just Like Sleeping In]: "Bro, don't be mad. Lucius already got blasted completely bald by that crazy guy's rocket launcher."
--
Next Bonus at 800 Powerstones.
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