The Patriarch's massive body was like a hill, exuding immense pressure.
Thick bio-armor covered its body.
Even being hit by bolter rounds could barely cause any damage.
At most, it would only leave a few white marks on the surface.
The Patriarch observed the slaughter of its offspring by the humans in power armor.
A strange, indescribable feeling welled up in its heart.
It felt a degree of pity for its dead offspring.
This feeling made it sense a slight abnormality.
Perhaps it had spent too long in the human world, acquiring some unnecessary things.
It knew where these things came from.
They came from memories long ago.
From the dead who were buried instead of being consumed.
From the souls that had not returned to the Great Hive Mind.
This was an echo of the past, remnants of individual thoughts within the gestalt collective will.
Moments later, the Patriarch suppressed this absurd notion.
Within the Hive Mind, where all things are one, there is no need or possibility for emotions to exist.
All things eventually return to death, all things will eventually be consumed, becoming part of the whole, gaining new forms, new meaning.
Those ignorant humans still had not learned or understood this point.
They were destined for extinction.
Of course, the Great Hive Mind maintained tolerance for their ignorance and would consume them all, absorbing them into that great will.
It was a pity, however, that they showed no gratitude for the Hive Mind's tolerance, even hating it in every possible way.
Was this not a case of biting the hand that feeds?
"For the Lord of Ultramar, for the Holy Emperor!"
Calgar let out a mighty roar and charged forward, power fist in hand.
His power fist was crafted by the foremost tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
When Macragge was invaded by the tyranids, the bravely fighting Calgar lost his four limbs, most of his torso, and his left eye.
These missing parts were all replaced with bionic mechanical prosthetics.
The power fist was also crafted at that time.
It utilized the most advanced technology of the Mechanicus, possessed the most perfect power field, and was equipped with a bolter of a special caliber.
This was also one of the reasons why Calgar needed a servitor to help reload.
The bulky fist made the action of reloading quite cumbersome.
Calgar's eyes met those red eyes.
He could feel the xenos' purely evil thoughts assaulting his conscious mind.
Ancient memories surfaced under the erosion of the opponent's terrifying will.
He recalled the distant past.
Memories of himself before he became an Angel of the Emperor, before he became a son of Guilliman.
Mental images of his training in various extreme environments.
However, these were not what the opponent sought.
Non-human, surging will like a tidal wave rushed in madly, attempting to excavate deep secrets.
Trying to dig out all the evil thoughts he once had, those that nearly led him to ruin.
Those dark pasts, those thoughts he was ashamed of.
Every single thought was close to rebellion and blasphemy.
"You won't control me!" Calgar roared, his will transforming into an unyielding wall, blocking the opponent's intrusion.
Weapons on the battlefield were not just swords and bullets; thought could also become a terrifying weapon.
Calgar focused his mind, following his past training.
He had lived for over a thousand years.
His will was as hard as steel, unshakeable.
Calgar withstood the genestealer's psyker attack, charged forward, and punched the opponent's heavy bio-body.
The power field of the power fist crackled, tearing through the bio-armor and causing it to roar in pain.
The Patriarch also swung its limbs, attempting to kill this human who dared to challenge it.
Calgar dodged the lethal strike with a roll, then activated the giant bolter integrated with his fist.
With a thunderous roar, the bolter round struck the exact spot he had just punched, causing a massive explosion.
The genestealer Patriarch let out a shriek louder than before.
Being heavily wounded in the same spot repeatedly caused it immense pain.
The Patriarch's cries also made the other genestealers uneasy.
If the Patriarch died, their doom would soon arrive.
A massive Aberrant Hybrid, wielding a hammer-like bio-weapon, smashed towards Calgar's position.
Calgar took two steps back, dodging the terrifying blow.
He watched the heavy bio-weapon hit the ground with a loud bang, creating a crater.
Seeing the Aberrant Hybrid lower its head, he grabbed its skull.
He clenched his other hand into a fist, activated the power field of his gauntlet, and punched it, directly smashing the opponent's head to pulp.
The heavy body crashed to the ground.
Having dealt with the minor interlude, Calgar turned and saw the Patriarch, whom he had heavily wounded, attempting to flee.
The opponent dragged its massive body, trying to escape the battlefield.
Unfortunately, this was destined to be a pipe dream.
The Primaris-upgraded Calgar, bolstered by the Heart of Guilliman, felt infinite strength surge through his limbs.
After a bolter round dealt with a genestealer attempting to ambush him, he took two steps to build momentum, leaped, and punched the colossal body of the Patriarch.
With a cry of pain, one of the Patriarch's thick limbs was directly broken, and the bio-armor on its back was also torn.
The heavy impact caused the Patriarch to wail and collapse onto the ground.
"It's over, xenos," Calgar said, walking over. He grabbed the spike on the opponent's hideous head, pulled hard, tearing it out, and then immediately plunged it back in.
The massive Patriarch let out a frantic death shriek.
Calgar shoved the bolter into the opponent's maw filled with sharp teeth and pulled the trigger point-blank.
With a roar, the Patriarch's head was directly blown apart, scattering blood and flesh everywhere.
Without the Patriarch, the remaining genestealers seemed to have had something suddenly stripped away; their frenzied momentum vanished.
Some mutants even turned and fled in fear.
"Cleanse them," Calgar ordered.
The primaris space marines advanced steadily, and with the ground forces providing containment, they killed all the genestealers, using high-energy explosives to destroy the entire area, ensuring no hidden dangers remained.
Without the Patriarch, the rebellious cultists also scattered, no longer acting madly, becoming timid and fearful of death.
This made the work of suppressing the rebellion much easier.
Large numbers of traitors and cultists were executed, and the rebellion in the Vitoria system was quelled.
However, this was not the end.
It was merely the beginning.
Calgar's mission for this trip was to establish the defenses of the Vitoria system, to hold back the tyranids until the Primarch dealt with the necrons, then gather all forces to annihilate the tyranids invading Charadon in one swift strike.
Suppressing the rebellion was just a minor interlude.
Far from the main course.
Calgar returned to the capital administrative district, where Anna had already prepared a new administrative team.
All of them were radical supporters of the Primarch's reforms, which pleased Calgar greatly.
The Imperium urgently needed reform, and supporters like Anna were far better than the dissenters.
"Very good, excellent," Calgar praised, and Anna beamed with joy.
Calgar was an important lieutenant of Guilliman.
Gaining his approval was undoubtedly a step up to the heavens.
As long as he could mention her favorably to the Primarch, the benefits would be endless.
Anyone with eyes could see that the Primarch was the legitimate ruler of the Imperium.
He was the Emperor's son.
The Senatorum Imperialis was also established by him ten thousand years ago.
Whether by legal right or bloodline, Guilliman was the de jure ruler of the Imperium.
Even if he only held the title of Regent, what did it matter?
The Emperor had occupied the throne for ten thousand years.
Whether the title of Regent was used or not, it did not affect Guilliman's control over the Imperium's power.
Even if other Primarchs returned, they would have to acknowledge this.
This was why Anna decisively sold out the planetary governors and others.
Their era had passed.
The era of the Senatorum Imperialis had also passed.
Now was the era of the Primarch.
Only by following the Primarch could one have a chance to climb to the highest levels of the Imperium.
As long as she performed well now and left Calgar with an impression of being steady and capable.
In the future, entering Terra and becoming a core member of the Imperial hierarchy was also a possibility.
"Serving the Emperor and serving the Primarch is our duty," Anna said.
"It's good to have such awareness. Next, you will be responsible for logistical work, properly arranging related supplies, and evacuating women and children who cannot fight from this battlefield. Only men and women of suitable age must remain; we must hold out until the Primarch arrives," Calgar said, looking at Anna and issuing instructions.
"Understood, sir," Anna replied respectfully.
"Do a good job. I hope to see you at the celebration when the Primarch defeats the tyranids, not on the gallows," Calgar said, displaying a rare hint of humor.
Anna also smiled; it was a joke, but also a warning.
If she messed up, Calgar would truly execute her.
***********
Sautekh Dynasty, Crown World.
"Shameless, utterly shameless!" The Phaeron of the Sautekh Dynasty roared furiously, pounding the table with his metal fist, making crashing sounds.
The dynasty's high-ranking officials standing nearby all dared not speak, no one daring to provoke the angry Phaeron.
That would undoubtedly be courting death.
"The Sarkon Dynasty is despicable and shameless, betraying the interests of their own kind," Imothek's voice was thick with suppressed rage, even through the vocoder, his anger was palpable.
The human fleet advanced like a hot knife through butter.
Currently, their fleet surrounded the dynasty's Crown World, the warships hovering in low orbit; the general assault would commence soon.
The dynasty's fleet suffered a crushing defeat against the human fleet, without even the ability to fight back.
All of this was attributed to the actions of the Sarkon Dynasty.
They had betrayed the core defense codes of the necrons and provided humans with some necron technical information.
Leveraging their massive scale, the Imperium quickly developed equipment tailored against the Sautekh Dynasty based on this information, causing the dynasty's fleet to be routed all the way.
This was blatant treachery.
In the past, the Sarkon Dynasty would have been attacked and destroyed by all other dynasties combined.
It was a pity that the Triarch Council no longer existed, and those ancient alliances were no longer adhered to by any dynasty.
It was precisely because of this that the Sarkon Dynasty dared to be so arrogant.
Colluding with outsiders so openly.
Unforgivable.
Imothek roared a few times, venting the anger in his heart.
Suddenly, urgent alarm sounds blared.
The flashing red alerts all shrieked a single message.
The humans had arrived, for revenge.
They would tear apart the dynasty, avenging the humans who died when the Sautekh Dynasty invaded human territory.