Corwin had raised a very practical question.
That was with the Grey Knights' maximum available strength, could they actually break through the Custodes' lines?
The Grand Master of the Seventh Brotherhood very clearly believed the Grey Knights were weaker than the Custodes, and that the assault plan would fail.
His tone was utterly certain.
"Corwin, the Grey Knights will not be crushed by any enemy, not even the Custodes!"
"You may need to prove whether you still follow the Grey Knights' code, rather than having become the Savior's pet hound!"
"The Emperor entrusted the Grey Knights with the Terminus Decree. That alone proves we possess the ability to fulfill it. Nothing can shake that..."
That kind of talk, boosting others while belittling themselves, only made the Grand Masters even angrier. Psychic arcs crackled more fiercely around them.
If the Supreme Grand Master had not been present, some of those who already disliked the Seventh Brotherhood might have dragged Corwin into a man-to-man fight right there.
The Grey Knights were also warriors shaped by the Emperor's gene-craft. Even if the Custodes had the Sisters of Silence aiding them, that did not mean the Grey Knights would be hopelessly outmatched.
Kaldor Draigo paused slightly. Then he seemed to realize something, and his ash-white eyes fixed on Corwin.
"You... do you know the troop strength inside the Palace?"
If the Grand Master of the Seventh Brotherhood was this certain, then he had to know something.
"Yes. The Seventh Brotherhood has a general idea of the Custodes' troop strength inside the Palace, because we... possess a special source of information."
Corwin met Draigo's gaze and answered like that.
In these circumstances, it was not exactly convenient for him to openly say that the Seventh Brotherhood was in the Savior's good graces, practically counted as insiders under His Majesty, and held high-level access to the psychic network.
What if the other Grand Masters got angry and rushed him?
Corwin understood the new Imperium and the Savior. He knew many things from inside the system.
Given the current situation, he trusted the Savior more to resolve the crisis. He believed that being could help the Grey Knights carry out the Terminus Decree.
If the Grey Knights insisted on storming the Throne Hall by force and placed themselves in direct opposition to the Savior, then things would become truly troublesome.
I just hope the Grey Knights don't go that far, Corwin thought, shivering despite himself.
He had personally seen how the Savior dealt with heretics, traitors, and enemies.
The methods were terrifying.
The Grand Master of the Seventh Brotherhood even had a faint suspicion that the Savior had long been on guard against the Grey Knights and had already laid relevant plans.
That was the most dangerous possibility of all.
He did not think the Grey Knights could withstand the Savior's wrath.
Even if the Master of Mankind came forth to stop Him at that point, the Grey Knights would already have suffered heavy losses under the Savior's methods.
No matter what, he had to stop the Grey Knights from acting blindly.
"By the Emperor, then we have even greater hope of victory. The mission will be fulfilled in the end."
One of the Grey Knights Grand Masters felt a flicker of joy upon hearing Corwin's answer.
Under these circumstances, accurate information about Custodes troop strength could determine whether the assault succeeded or failed.
The Grey Knights could use special ritual arrays to interfere with Custodes reinforcements, allowing them to reach the Throne Hall more quickly.
As long as the Supreme Grand Master and the remaining Brotherhood Grand Masters entered that region, victory would be within reach.
Even if a Primarch were guarding it, no one could withstand the combined might of the Supreme Grand Master, Malcador's sacred remains, and more than ten high-order psykers.
"If your Seventh Brotherhood knows the Palace troop strength, then why did you conceal it?!"
Another Grey Knights Grand Master demanded sharply, his tone openly hostile.
The Grey Knights had always stood united and beyond outside influence.
But the Seventh Brotherhood's closeness with the Savior had already altered the internal atmosphere of the entire order.
Especially now, with the Terminus Decree on the verge of being enacted, no one could be sure whether the Seventh Brotherhood still possessed a pure will.
That alone warranted every ounce of suspicion and vigilance.
"My apologies. I never had a chance to report any of it."
Corwin rolled his eyes at that.
Those Brotherhood Grand Masters guarded against the Seventh Brotherhood like thieves. They did not even include him in the meeting with the Supreme Grand Master.
How exactly had he been supposed to report anything?
From what he had heard, if Grey Knights protocol had not required every existing Brotherhood to be present when the Terminus Decree was revealed, they probably would not even have called the Seventh Brotherhood back at all.
But Corwin could not be bothered to argue over any of that now.
At this point, the important thing was correcting the flawed plan so the Grey Knights could successfully carry out their ultimate mission.
He activated the communications apparatus and projected the latest Palace troop data into the air.
Naturally, it was only broad troop information, not the more secret defensive deployment details.
But it was enough.
"These past years, the Grey Knights have recovered quickly. Our numbers now stand at more than three thousand.
"Under normal circumstances, a force of three thousand psykers would indeed have a chance to break through the defenses of the old Custodes..."
Corwin looked up at the others and spoke slowly.
"But that was before. Now the Custodes have recovered even faster than the Grey Knights and expanded even further.
"According to data obtained by the Seventh Brotherhood, there are currently around twenty thousand Custodes in the Palace. In addition to that, there is also a force of three thousand Sisters of Silence."
As Kaldor Draigo and the other senior Grey Knights listened, their expressions changed.
But Corwin was not finished. He dropped even more shocking numbers.
"And even that is already terrifying enough.
"What is worse is that there are dozens of psi-Titans within the Palace, as well as even more god-machines of other patterns. Their approximate number is around three hundred.
"That means that when necessary, the Custodes can also bring overwhelming psychic might and firepower to bear in order to suppress the Grey Knights."
When he finished laying out those figures, every senior Grey Knight had gone wide-eyed, their bodies trembling slightly.
They had never imagined that so many god-machines were hidden inside the Palace, let alone dozens of psi-Titans.
Kaldor Draigo, especially, had only recently returned from the Warp.
"Unimaginable... so many Titan war machines..."
The Imperium in his memory was still the old Imperium of centuries past. The scale of the new Imperium's Palace armament hit his old assumptions like a hammer blow.
Kaldor Draigo took a deep breath.
Wasn't it supposed to be that the Custodes had only built twenty psi-Titans? Especially after the Horus Heresy, only a handful of functioning psi-Titans had remained.
So where had dozens more suddenly come from, along with several hundred other god-machines?
But before the Supreme Grand Master and the senior Grey Knights had even recovered from that shock, Corwin delivered yet another devastating blow.
"Besides that, we may also have to face two Primarchs and more than ten Chapter Masters.
"That is the strength the Grey Knights would have to fight through if the assault goes forward. Every one of our warriors would be facing enemies several times their own number."
By that calculation, each Grey Knight could expect to be matched against seven Custodes, one Sister of Silence, and 0.1 of a Titan.
As for the Grey Knights' senior figures, each of them would be entitled to 0.2 of a Primarch, plus a matching pile of other elite enemy warriors.
And that did not even include additional supporting forces.
This was unmistakably hell difficulty, the kind that would grind the entire Grey Knights order into the dirt over and over again.
Once Corwin finished, the entire Chambers of Purity fell silent.
No one dared keep insisting the Grey Knights could still win.
Any Imperial warrior with a functioning brain knew this battle was simply unwinnable. The odds of a successful assault were effectively zero.
Even a boarding assault required local superiority to have any hope of success.
And the Grey Knights would be facing two Primarchs, the entire Custodes, and numerous Chapter Masters.
The defenders of the Palace were not fools. The Custodes likely had far more experience with defensive warfare, and they also held the natural advantage of walls, redoubts, and fortifications.
How exactly was that supposed to be fought?
???
Kaldor Draigo and the Grand Masters looked at the comparison of forces and went numb.
They had no idea what to do.
Then, in the next moment, a new upheaval struck. They felt fresh Warp disturbances.
This time, the disturbance appeared in the skies above Titan itself.
Hummm...
A vast Imperial fleet dropped out of the Warp and appeared brazenly in the skies above the Grey Knights' headquarters, their homeworld.
And not at the edge of the defensive perimeter, but directly inside it.
Those steel behemoths filled the sky so densely they blocked the sunlight from reaching the fortress-temples of the Grey Knights below.
The sky over that small continental mass darkened at once, leaving only the sight of black, heavy armor plating and the glimmer of warship batteries.
As for Titan's anti-air defenses, they did not dare move at all.
That was, after all, an Imperial fleet.
If they opened fire rashly, the consequences would be far worse. And besides, the fleet's size had already exceeded the upper limit of what the near-orbit defense grid could repel.
Any resistance would be futile.
"That is... the Savior's fleet?"
"Why didn't Titan's concealment array take effect? The fleet should never have been able to reach our airspace. Who exposed all this?"
"Emperor above, what exactly does the Savior intend to do?!"
The moment Kaldor Draigo and the Grey Knights Grand Masters saw the brilliant insignia displayed upon those massive ships in near orbit, their faces went slightly green.
There was no point discussing how the Savior's fleet had reached Titan.
The fact was already there.
More importantly, they had just been discussing how to assault the Palace's Throne Hall and move against the Savior.
And now the Savior's armed fleet, the fleet of the Emperor of the Imperium, had arrived over the Grey Knights' headquarters.
Before their plan to storm the Palace had even begun, the Savior had already struck first and threatened their homeworld.
Every life on this planet now lay under the guns of that fleet.
"There is no need to worry. His Majesty the Savior is only here to deliver cargo to us. This is merely a technical transport matter!"
Within the Chambers of Purity, the only ones who remained calm were Corwin and the elites of the Seventh Brotherhood.
They even looked faintly pleased.
They knew the Savior had planned to deliver a large shipment of war materiel to Titan, including new arms for the Seventh Brotherhood.
The only slightly odd thing was that the number of warships in the convoy was just a tiny bit high.
But that was understandable. Armed escort had already become standard for the Savior's transport fleets.
The firepower on some of His important transport fleets even exceeded that of most Imperial sector battlefleets.
That was perfectly normal.
In any case, the Seventh Brotherhood believed completely that the Savior would never attack them.
At most, He was just showing the Grey Knights how rich He was.
After all, the Savior, the Emperor of the Imperium, had always enjoyed doing things on a grand scale. If it was the first time He was sending cargo to Titan, then a larger show of force was only natural.
At this point, all that could really be said was that the Seventh Brotherhood had grown used to the Savior's style.
"The Savior needs this kind of display just to deliver supplies?!" Kaldor Draigo did not believe that for a second.
He was far more inclined to think the Savior had come with ill intent.
Above them, the Savior's fleet radiated a terrifying deterrent. The Grey Knights could even see the cold gleam of massive ship guns.
If the Savior truly decided to destroy the Grey Knights, then what awaited them would be total devastation.
Complete annihilation.
What do we do now?! Kaldor Draigo and the other senior Grey Knights could not help thinking.
They had originally believed that once the Terminus Decree was revealed, the Grey Knights would enter an age of unprecedented glory and greatness.
But before they had even begun to act, they had already run into one obstacle after another, each one impossible to break free from.
The Savior's towering power and authority had reduced the Emperor's will, and the Terminus Decree itself, to little more than scrap paper.
Now the Grey Knights were trapped in a dilemma.
If they all teleported to the Palace, they would be beaten down by the Custodes and the other terrifying defenders there.
They would end up like Pedron, perhaps even worse.
But if they remained on Titan, then they still faced the threat of bombardment from the Savior's massive fleet.
That was no less dangerous.
This was a pincer squeeze from both sides.
Of course, the Grey Knights still had one last option.
They could collectively teleport away from Titan and abandon it.
But that would mean giving up the Chambers of Purity's great sorcerous teleportation array and losing their only chance to enter the Palace and carry out the Terminus Decree.
If that happened, then the Grey Knights would have failed the expectations of the Emperor, the Master of Mankind, and would no longer remain pure.
The figure of the Savior, the Emperor of the Imperium, hung over the whole Imperium like an iron curtain, so oppressive it was hard for them to breathe.
And for the first time, they felt a thread of despair.
These daemon hunters, the Emperor's unbreakable shield, had never felt such despair even when facing the corruption of the Chaos Gods or being hunted by daemons.
Inside the Chambers of Purity, flickering arcs of psychic light illuminated the faces of the senior Grey Knights, all of them gone faintly green.
It was a silence like death.
"Perhaps... we should reconcile with the Savior?"
Suddenly, one of the Grey Knights Grand Masters said that in a hoarse voice.
This was a man who had once disliked the Savior.
The moment he spoke, the eyes of the other conservative Grand Masters dimmed, but they slowly nodded as well.
This was probably the only way to preserve the Grey Knights and still carry out the Terminus Decree.
For the sake of the final mission, there was no shame in it.
The iron fists of the Custodes and the Savior's massive fleet had made them recognize the Imperium's reality.
Perhaps the Grey Knights truly had to show the Savior due respect.
Under the questioning gazes of the other Grand Masters, even Kaldor Draigo slowly, painfully nodded.
He realized he could not refuse the Savior.
If the Grey Knights wanted even the slightest chance to enact the Terminus Decree, they had to ask for His forgiveness first.
"I will go and try.
"But I cannot guarantee that His Majesty will forgive us or accept the Grey Knights' request."
Corwin met the others' gazes and spoke those words.
At this point, he was the best candidate within the Grey Knights to negotiate with the Savior.
Soon after, the Grand Master of the Seventh Brotherhood led several Paladins through the great sorcerous teleportation array and arrived inside the Palace.
Kaldor Draigo and the other senior Grey Knights watched Corwin's situation through the psychic curtain.
They were extremely tense.
If the Grand Master of the Seventh Brotherhood failed in his negotiation with the Savior, then the Grey Knights would face unimaginable consequences and lose every shred of purity they still possessed.
Yet in the psychic images transmitted back from the Palace, Corwin and his men encountered the Custodes and met no obstruction at all. There was not even a trace of hostility.
The Custodes were astonishingly polite. They even exchanged greetings with Corwin, like old comrades.
Then they used Ares gunships to transport Corwin and his men to the Throne Hall.
Everything went smoothly.
After that, the link between Corwin's team and the Chambers of Purity was cut off, and no further psychic images could be transmitted back.
Likely because of interference from specialized machinery and the Sisters of Silence.
Though they could no longer contact Corwin, Kaldor Draigo and the other senior Grey Knights knew that the negotiation would probably succeed.
They could not help feeling that familiar sense that having someone on the inside really did make everything easier.
Fortunately, the Seventh Brotherhood had ties to the Savior. Otherwise, things might already have passed the point of no return.
After going through all this, the Grey Knights had become much more obedient.
"Praise the Emperor!"
Not long afterward, delighted expressions appeared on the faces of Kaldor Draigo and the others.
The Savior had permitted them to go to the Palace Throne Hall and carry out the Terminus Decree left behind by the Emperor.
...
Throne Hall.
Dozens of senior Grey Knights arrived in this most heavily defended region of Holy Terra without the slightest obstacle.
The Purifiers bore the remaining bones of Malcador the Sigillite in their arms, their faces full of fervor and devotion.
Kaldor Draigo and the Grey Knights Grand Masters stood ready.
All of them could feel the endless darkness beyond the massive gates ahead.
It was coming from the Golden Throne.
In only moments, the Grey Knights would face the Emperor, and the dark soul-fragment birthed by the Master of Mankind.
They would carry out the Grey Knights' final command without hesitation and drive that dark aspect of the Master of Mankind completely back into the Warp.
Kaldor Draigo and the others drew deep breaths and stepped with uneasy strides into the Throne Room.
No Imperial warrior, knowing he was about to face the Emperor and even launch an attack against that being, could possibly remain calm.
BOOM!!!
Inside the Throne Room, the immense Throne convulsed violently once more, and several giant mechanical cabling lines snapped apart.
Fragments exploded in all directions.
"With will as armor, and loyalty as our shield, we are the Hammer of the Emperor..."
Kaldor Draigo murmured the words to himself, hardening his resolve, then slowly lifted his gaze.
But in the next instant, his whole body froze.
Even his voice lost control, and his face went from green to almost black.
"Emperor above... where is the Master of Mankind?!"
The Supreme Grand Master stared at the Golden Throne, his face filled with utter disbelief.
The withered skeleton of the Emperor had vanished from the great Throne at some unknown moment.
In its place sat the Savior, clad in the True One Armor, his face twisted in agony.
(End of Chapter)
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