Although the eternal crusade had been handed over to the Black Templars, this legendary battleship, once the flagship and Primarch's personal vessel of The 7th Legion, still attracted attention from all sides.
Its unusual deployment and the Black Templars' military movements quickly alerted many factions on Holy Terra.
However, this time, Rogal Dorn displayed a long-unseen resolute stance, suppressing all prying eyes and suspicions with an undeniable will.
At this sensitive moment, Dorn made a decision that surprised everyone—he personally went deep into the Imperial Palace to meet the Captain-General of the Legio Custodes.
During the meeting, Dorn, with rare solemnity, requested the deployment of some Custodians to assist in maintaining order on Terra and to stabilize the Imperial situation if necessary.
This request deeply puzzled the Captain-General. Not long ago, it was Dorn and Guilliman who jointly issued an edict prohibiting the Custodians from stepping half a pace outside the Imperial Palace.
The Custodians themselves, still consumed by self-reproach for failing to protect the Emperor during the Battle for the Imperial Palace, had voluntarily confined themselves deep within the palace. Dorn's uncharacteristic request now was indeed perplexing.
However, something even more shocking occurred.
Just as the Captain-General was preparing to politely decline this untimely request, a familiar and majestic consciousness suddenly descended upon the audience chamber.
A clear perception emanated from the direction of the Golden Throne—it was the Emperor's will, faint but undeniable.
This consciousness contained a clear directive: the Custodians must assist Rogal Dorn.
The Captain-General immediately knelt on one knee, bowing his head in acceptance.
For the Custodians, the Emperor's will was the highest law, even if this command contradicted their previous decisions.
When they looked up again, Dorn saw a long-lost trace of determination on the Captain-General's face, weathered by millennia.
Hours later, a squad of gleaming Custodians made an unprecedented appearance outside the Imperial Palace.
They marched in silent formation, their golden power armor shimmering under Terra's sun.
This was the first public appearance of the Custodians since the Battle for the Imperial Palace.
Their emergence immediately sent shockwaves through the higher echelons of Terra—everyone understood that there had to be a significant reason far beyond the ordinary behind it.
Dorn stood on the highest terrace of the Imperial Palace, watching the Custodians divide into several squads and head to various key points.
His knuckles, gripping the railing, were slightly white.
The Emperor's manifestation was both a support for his actions and an indication that what was about to happen might far exceed his initial estimations.
This endorsement from the Lord of Mankind was both a talisman and a heavy responsibility.
—
Just as Sigismund was rushing at full speed towards the Death World, Osiris' base suffered a sudden attack.
Several massive meteorites, wreathed in green psychic flames, brutally tore through the atmosphere and slammed into the wasteland surrounding the base.
Pouring out from these crude space pods were roaring green-skinned Orks.
As soon as these beasts landed, they charged ferociously towards the laboratory, like a swarm of locusts scenting blood.
Their numbers were not particularly vast, but their primal and pure desire for destruction, coupled with their highly unusual method of appearance in this environment, immediately prompted Osiris' computational core to flag an extremely high threat level and a fleeting judgment of "conspiracy."
However, at this moment, he had no time to delve into the strangeness behind it.
The base's standing Adeptus Ministorum Troops and servitor constructs quickly organized a defensive line, and flashes of laser and bolter fire lit up the wasteland, constantly tearing apart the Orks charging at the front.
But the Ork assault was like a tide, relentless and unending; their crude but powerful weapons and their fearless charge were rapidly depleting the numbers and ammunition of the defending forces.
The defensive line was retreating step by step, and at the current rate of attrition, a breakthrough was only a matter of time.
Osiris did not hesitate.
He simultaneously sent a top-priority distress signal to the escort ships in orbit and forcibly stabilized the dimensional parameters near the base, reopening the rift to Night City.
"Astoria Squad, return immediately," his command instantly reached them through the communication channel.
At the same time, the escort ships in orbit received the order, and their ship cannons began to adjust their angles, locking onto the densest Ork impact areas.
After a brief charge, several thick beams of energy, like spears of divine wrath, suddenly pierced down from the sky!
"Boom—!"
Deafening explosions resounded in succession, and the earth trembled violently.
At the points where the beams landed, several massive, scorched craters were instantly purified, and the Orks within the radius, along with the rocks beneath their feet, were instantly vaporized.
The violent shockwaves sent more distant Orks flying in swathes.
The orbital bombardment temporarily curbed the Orks' most ferocious assault, granting the defensive line a moment of respite.
But the Orks' vitality was extremely tenacious; those not directly hit quickly recovered from the shock, letting out even more furious howls, and continued their charge.
Just as the defensive line was about to be overwhelmed by the green tide once more, the spatial rift behind Osiris stabilized.
Accompanied by heavy, rhythmic footsteps, distinct from the Ork clamor, Margaret and Maria, piloting their knight mecha, were the first to cross the dimensional gate.
"Clean them out," Osiris' command was concise and cold.
"For the Archmagos, purify the xenos!" Margaret's voice, steady and powerful, came through the knight mecha's loudspeaker.
The lancer's shock lances instantly lit up, and its ion shields deployed, forming a steel dam against the green frenzy.
Maria's punisher, meanwhile, raised its bolter cannon, providing suppressive fire in conjunction with the orbital bombardment, precisely covering the Ork reinforcements.
With the addition of this fresh force, especially the powerful firepower and impact brought by the two knight mecha, the situation on the battlefield instantly reversed.
Although the Orks remained frenzied, under the triple assault of orbital bombardment, knight mecha, and elite infantry, they could no longer advance a single step.
Osiris calmly assessed the battlefield data stream; the constantly flickering parameters in his optical lens confirmed the stability of the defensive line.
With the fire suppression from the orbital bombardment and the addition of the Astoria Squad as a fresh force, holding out until Sigismund's arrival was no longer an issue.
However, the timing and manner of this Ork appearance were too peculiar.
They precisely crashed outside the base and launched a targeted attack without hesitation; this was definitely not the aimless raiding behavior common to Orks.
The computational core quickly ruled out accidental factors, and a clear judgment emerged—this was a premeditated attack, and some power must be guiding or manipulating it from behind.
"Someone... or something, is plotting against me," Osiris' synthesized voice resonated deeply in the command center.
He no longer regarded this as a mere accident.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately sent a top-priority Astropathic distress call to Neksum Forge World through a highly encrypted, secret communication channel exclusive to him and Fabricator-General Vox.