Hearing his subordinate's question, Magnus raised the staff in his hand, and Aetheric light surged forth, the boundless power belonging to the Crimson King manifesting before the eyes of all.
As a master of Aetheric power and a seeker of arcane truth, Magnus' might was beyond human comprehension.
He was the most adept among the Primarchs at wielding psyker power.
He had once shattered the Emperor's Webway barrier beneath the Imperial Palace with a single psyker communication.
Following Magnus' will, a glowing rune-orb appeared.
Innumerable tendrils of light danced upon the orb, then slowly settled, becoming like a mirror, displaying scenes from countless light-years away.
A man with a bloated physique and trembling fat on his face appeared within the rune-orb; his voice was inaudible, but his moving lips, colliding together, allowed his lip-reading to be deciphered.
The man was conversing with someone, attempting to further prolong his life.
"My brother thought every one of the guardians he chose was utterly loyal, unaware that under the distortion of desire, any loyalty would inevitably curdle."
"This man, for the sake of eternal life, has made a deal with the warp. A blood sacrifice will help us open a portal to Pharos. The void shield that Guilliman placed there is intricate and powerful, even I find it hard to find a flaw. But he won't expect me to break through from the inside."
"The Corpse-Emperor's armies are formidable, but facing a sudden attack, they will inevitably be caught off guard, only able to watch as we achieve our goal and then depart safely."
"When that xenos lighthouse is destroyed and turned into scattered wreckage, Guilliman will surely become hysterical and rage madly. Just think, how exciting that will be. At that time, I will appear before him and humiliate his pride and arrogance."
Magnus' single eye revealed a mocking gaze, holding his staff, his face full of self-satisfied smiles.
What a perfect plan.
Guilliman would surely be driven mad with anger.
When he saw the wreckage of the Pharos lighthouse, what agony and sorrow would be on that disgusting face?
Magnus had plotted countless schemes, but this one was absolutely the most exhilarating.
Guilliman's impotent roar would be the most exquisite reward of this plot.
"Master, your plan is indeed a very perfect one."
Sharo said fawningly.
"Haha, let us wait and see, prepare yourselves, and await the other party's summons. I will let my brother know that his revival changes nothing; the age of the Imperium has passed."
Having said this, Magnus looked towards the distant hive city; the colossal metropolis was still functioning.
Some silver-bright points of light were rapidly flying towards their location, clearly, the defenders of the hive city had detected the daemonic fluctuations and were attempting to prevent their subsequent terrible actions.
"A group of ants, what can you achieve with these toys?"
Magnus slammed the staff in his hand onto the ground, and a massive crack appeared above the hive city.
His will churned in the Aetheric Ocean, infinite power surged from the rift, and a large number of daemons came at his command, slaughtering within that hive city.
Those flying vehicles were also all destroyed, falling to the ground and burning fiercely.
Listening to the wails of the dead, Magnus revealed a hint of a ferocious smile, which then quickly vanished.
Guilliman, I am coming.
After leaving the secure chamber, Guilliman returned to his strategy room.
He formally signed the order for war.
He authorized the expeditionary fleet to launch a war against the orks, preparing to first eliminate the unstable element in the Zarathur Sector.
The colossal fleet departed from the Steel Ball System, heading towards different star systems.
They were led by different Chapters, executing Guilliman's strategic arrangements.
These Chapters had all undergone Primaris upgrades, possessing powerful combat strength, sufficient to hold their own.
Forge Master Krolen also departed with the fleet, providing technical services to Guilliman.
Accompanying the Forge Master were the Legio Cybernetica, the Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii, Mechanical Arks, and many other war units.
As an old relic who had lived for centuries, Forge Master Krolen's wealth was undeniably vast.
This time, he brought this wealth to campaign with Guilliman, to avoid being purged by the latter in the future.
The necrons showed no signs of uniting for the time being.
Guilliman thus prioritized dealing with the orks; these fellows were close to becoming a serious threat.
Once a Great WAAAGH! was launched and the other Ork Warbosses were united, it would truly be the end.
The appearance of an ork Emperor would surely be a terrible catastrophe capable of shaking the galaxy.
Meanwhile, the orks showed no signs of panic due to the humans' acts of war.
The death of an Ork Boss would not make the orks fearful, only make them more excited, more WAAAGH!
Under the leadership of the Ork Warboss 'Arsonist', the orks assembled a large number of warships, and even a massive War Moon, preparing to engage the Imperium in a head-on conflict.
The flames of war spread quickly; Guilliman launched a full-scale offensive, and the orks also poured out in full force.
Soon, dozens of star systems were plunged into meat-grinding bloodbaths.
Numerous Chapters were committed to this war under Guilliman's command, striving to crush the Great WAAAGH! stirred up by this Ork Warboss.
The Silver Skulls Chapter was one of them.
As a successor Chapter of the Ultramarines, their conduct was distinctly different from other Chapters.
They would take the skulls of their enemies after victory, and the Chapter's specialized Techmarines would remove the flesh before plating them with a layer of silver, displaying them in the Fortress Monastery.
Besides this custom, they also heavily relied on divination.
The Chapter's Librarians, psyker advisors, and Chaplains formed a professional team of prophets.
These warriors would read Imperial Tarot or rune stones to help the Chapter gain an advantage in upcoming battles.
The Silver Skulls Chapter had been active on Imperial battlefields multiple times, possessing countless achievements.
Guilliman had admonished them, attempting to make them abandon this custom of divination, but the effect was not obvious, and he later let it be.
This time, they were also entrusted with an important task, responsible for clipping the wings of an ork force.
The Zarathur Sector had been in a state of conflict between multiple forces for many years.
A star system named Yeliya had fallen into the hands of the orks twenty years ago.
The Imperium had never sent troops to retake it.
After a series of massacres, the desperate local humans could only be forced to submit, becoming miners, in order to survive at the hands of the orks.
The mission of the Silver Skulls was to reclaim this star system.
As the reality of the universe twisted, distorted light surged forth, turning into tendrils of light attempting to grasp the ships trying to escape the warp.
It wasn't until the physical laws of the real universe smoothed out the warp rift that the light gradually faded in the dark universe.
Aboard the Battle Barge 'Silver Hammer'.
The Chapter Master of the Silver Skulls, Argentius , stood in the strategy room, reviewing the mission assigned by the Primarch and the main intelligence on the Yeliya system.
"We haven't detected any ork warships, only some transport barges; the fleet can easily handle them. They don't seem to care much about this system," the Chief Librarian stood before Argentius, looking at the holographic projection of the star system suspended before the Chapter's key personnel, saying in a deep voice.
The faint light emanating from the holographic projection enveloped everyone's faces, making them appear slightly pale.
"Those orks are only interested in violence; they don't like construction," the Chapter Chaplain said.
"This planet has been corrupted; the humans have been forced to submit to them, which means we can only conduct ground operations. Using orbital bombardment would likely result in the deaths of a large number of innocent humans."
The Chapter Librarian clicked on the projection, enlarging it, allowing them to see the points of light flying in the system, which were the ork transport barges.
"There's no need; they have already defected to the orks and are no longer worthy of salvation," the Chaplain shook his head, refuting the Librarian's words.
"It was our fault as protectors that they fell into the hands of the orks in the first place. How can we abandon them again because of such a thing? Do not forget what we fight for; this is the Primarch's admonition," the Librarian looked at the Chaplain, saying angrily.
"You are risking the lives of our Chapter brothers to save some useless people," the Chaplain retorted just as sharply. "Necessary sacrifices are acceptable; we need to achieve the mission objective faster. Only by doing so can we defeat the orks and save more people."
"Enough, stop arguing," Argentius stopped the two from continuing their conflict. His voice was deep and low, full of power, like a clap of thunder that silenced the two.
"I have made my decision. We cannot abandon those who are suffering innocently, nor can we overly delay our time and affect the Primarch's strategy. This is a delicate balance; we only need to find a way to preserve most of the people and ensure they survive."
"Chapter Master, what do you intend to do?" the Librarian asked the Chapter Master.