"Damn it!"
Guilliman roared a curse.
He consistently maintained a distance of seven to eight meters from the sprinting Magnus, but this distance felt like an insurmountable chasm; no matter how much Guilliman accelerated, he couldn't catch up.
Guilliman gradually realized that Magnus wasn't simply running with his body but was using some strange Warp power.
This was normal for Magnus; he was, after all, a master in the field of psyker.
However, Guilliman felt that Magnus' current method of utilizing psyker was somewhat akin to the Green-skinned Orks' 'I Think Therefore It Is' power.
It carried a crude, clumsy, yet highly efficient style.
What made Guilliman even more uncomfortable was his own poor condition.
It wasn't just the fatigue left by Kairos' spell, but also the kick Magnus had just delivered to his knee.
That kick also contained psyker power, directly shattering the complex mechanical structure within the ceramite and causing a problem with the Fate Armor's leg propulsion system, which in turn slowed Guilliman's pace.
This caused him to gradually fall further behind Magnus.
And Magnus...perhaps it was an illusion, but in Guilliman's eyes, Magnus seemed to be gradually starting to fly towards Terra.
He truly seemed capable of reaching Terra just by running!
Guilliman, of course, couldn't let Magnus do that. He suddenly swung the Hand of Dominion at Magnus.
The bolter hidden within the power fist roared, and scorching bolter rounds shot towards Magnus like fiery meteors.
"Hmph!"
Magnus merely let out an angry roar, his back muscles rippling like pythons, and a strong wave of air burst forth between his flesh and blood. That airwave, like a force field, blocked the bolter rounds flying towards him.
"How can mere bolter rounds contend with my well-trained physique?!"
Magnus laughed heartily, speaking with pride.
To hell with 'well-trained'!
Guilliman cursed in his heart.
This statement would be reasonable for Angron, Leman Russ, Lion El'Jonson, or Ferrus; their bodies had indeed been forged through long periods of training.
But Magnus' crimson body was clearly an external manifestation of his psyker power. During the Great Crusade era, Magnus was also more inclined to stay in the library studying knowledge rather than training his body.
Watching Guilliman fail to catch up, Magnus laughed freely.
He felt the Muscle Power within him surging even more, and Terra in front of him grew larger and larger. He suddenly took a step into mid-air.
With a look of 'physics no longer exists' on Guilliman's face, Magnus ran into the sky as if stepping on the thin air of the moon.
But just then, a red-and-pink wooden door suddenly appeared in front of Magnus.
Small, whistling missiles shot out from the door, heading straight for Magnus' head.
Magnus roared again, activating his Muscle Power to try and block the missiles.
But the missiles exploded in mid-air, and a cloud of ash-like dust splattered from the missiles, dispersing in all directions.
"Roar!!!!" Magnus let out a wail.
The moment the dust touched him, the surging Muscle Power within his body suddenly weakened by a significant margin, and there were faint signs of losing control, making Magnus feel dizzy.
"In the name of the Emperor and Saint Doraemon!"
"Heretic! Go back to your blasphemous master! There is no longer a place for you on Terra."
An angry shout rang out, and a Battle Sister in Paragon power armor appeared on the battlefield like a metal giant forged from ceramite, gold, and silver.
The holy power spear, a gifted relic from the Adeptus Custodes, pierced the thin air, pointing directly at Magnus' face.
But even in pain, Magnus' reaction speed was still far superior to that of mortals; he almost instantly dodged the Battle Sister's spearhead.
However, the Sister had already anticipated that she couldn't keep up with the Primarch's speed, even with the powerful propulsion granted to her by Saint Doraemon's sacred clockwork.
She had no intention of keeping up. The missile launcher mounted on the Paragon armor's shoulder roared again.
Dust, mixed with the ashes of Pariahs and Star Beacon Court ashes, suddenly exploded, once again rushing towards Magnus.
Magnus only felt his Muscle Power being suppressed once more, his footing loosened, and he returned to the lunar surface.
Guilliman seized the opportunity, wielding the Emperor's Sword and striking down, leaving a hideous scar on Magnus' muscular body with the scorching Emperor's Fire.
Alexander, flying in mid-air with a Take-copter, watched this scene unfold.
He had encountered Battle Sisters, Adeptus Custodes, and Sisters of Silence Valkyrie gunships on the way, and quickly used the anywhere door to enter them, intending to take them directly through the anywhere door to reinforce Guilliman.
He had initially expected to expend some effort explaining, but to his surprise, the leader of the Battle Sisters, Great Canoness Morven Vahl, immediately knelt before Alexander in excitement, piously stating that she had come by the Emperor's command and would obey all orders from Saint Doraemon.
They had also made preparations in advance, with Magnus as the hypothetical enemy.
High Sister Kellam Purion, the Astra Telepathica's overseer, delved deep into the Star Beacon Court and retrieved the ashes remaining after the Star Beacon's burning.
This ash possessed a strong anti-psyker effect, capable of causing psyker and daemons to suffer a backlash from their own psyker.
Kellam Purion mixed this ash with the bone ash of Pariahs, who possessed anti-psyker talent, to create a potent anti-psyker explosive, which was loaded into Morven Vahl's Paragon power armor missiles.
Of course, they had more than just this one method prepared.
The Sisters of Silence, wearing half-face metal masks, glided across the dust-shrouded lunar surface like ghosts.
These silent warriors were all Pariahs, possessing an innate anti-psyker talent, or rather, a negative psyker talent.
If psyker were torches in the Warp, mortals were candles, and the Tau were small sparks, then the Sisters of Silence were black holes.
Their mere presence on the battlefield made anyone with psyker talent uncomfortable and suppressed psyker reactions around them; they were natural psyker-bane.
Traditionally, the Sisters of Silence were companions to the Emperor's Adeptus Custodes, but after the Great Crusade ended, the Sisters of Silence gradually declined.
However, summoned by the return of the Primarchs, these psyker-bane once again gathered on the moon to confront Magnus.
Their mere presence made Magnus feel a discomfort.
And those strange ashes...
These things caused the Muscle Power within Magnus to weaken by about ten percent.
What were these things, and why could they affect his well-trained Muscle Power?
Could it be...
Intense anger surged in Magnus' eyes, and he let out a deafening roar:
"Shameless!"
"Too shameless!"
"You actually attacked my well-trained muscles with inferior carbohydrates!"
"You are Leman Russ! You are Mortarion! You...you are ambitious!"
"You fed me low-quality carbohydrates!"
"How could you do this to someone who loves fitness!"
"You're too evil!!!"
Magnus' angry curses made the Sisters of Silence, Battle Sisters, and Guilliman present all slightly stunned.
They didn't understand what Magnus was saying,
but their actions didn't stop.
Morven Vahl, enhanced by Alexander's Speed-up Clockwork, took the lead, her gleaming spear aimed straight at Magnus' roaring throat.
But something unexpected happened to Morven Vahl; Magnus stood still, took a deep breath, and tensed the muscles in his throat, actually using his Muscle Power to withstand the spear gifted to Morven Vahl by the Custodes.
This situation was completely beyond the young Great Canoness' expectations!
"Muscles! Amazing, aren't they!"
Magnus laughed heartily:
"Abandon these low-quality carbohydrates and embrace Muscle Power with me!"
Before his words had even faded, Magnus' crimson giant claw slammed into the missile launcher on Morven Vahl's Fate Armor.
With a sound of ceramite cracking, Morven Vahl felt as if she had been hit by a full-speed Leman Russ tank; she flew diagonally through the air, crashing heavily into the grey lunar soil, carving a long furrow on the ground.
She looked in horror at the missile launcher on her Fate Armor, which was protected by thick ceramite and a force field, now largely torn apart by a single blow from Magnus.
Is this the Emperor's divine progeny? Even after betraying, he is still so powerful!
But… but according to records, shouldn't Magnus be a blasphemous sorcerer?!
Before Morven Vahl could think further, Magnus, like a crimson behemoth, charged in front of Morven Vahl, raising his sharp giant claw once more.
But a blue and gold figure instantly appeared between Morven Vahl and Magnus.
The Son of War roared and wrestled with the Crimson King.
The Hand of Dominion roared with power, striking Magnus' crimson face heavily, the collision of fist and face shattering the thin air around them.
Following that, the Blade of Flame, imbued with the Emperor's holy power, cut across the cold void, directly cleaving into Magnus' chest.
This extremely swift blow directly tore Magnus' chest, and the Emperor's fire gnawed at the daemon Primarch's flesh like a wild wolf.
But the daemon Primarch was equally unyielding, his crimson fists directly unleashing upon Guilliman's head.
In the blink of an eye, the helmet of the holy power armor was torn apart by the daemon Primarch's fists, exposing Guilliman's head to the deadly thin air.
But Guilliman was unexpectedly unaffected by the surrounding environment; Morven Vahl guessed this was the great power of Saint Doraemon.
In an instant, the two collided several more times, too fast for Morven Vahl's mortal eyes to follow.
Finally, Magnus angrily realized that Guilliman was completely unaffected by the surrounding environment, and with a low growl, he extended his crimson claw towards Guilliman.
Guilliman tried to dodge, but sparks burst from his damaged power armor leg, which suddenly slowed his movement for a moment.
"How can external things like armor be as reliable as one's own muscles!"
Magnus roared, grabbed that leg, and heavily pulled Guilliman up, throwing him towards a distant crater.
The immense power sent Guilliman flying like a blue meteor, crashing heavily onto the surface of the crater, and for a moment, the entire Moon seemed to tremble.
Magnus seized the opportunity to pursue, but a golden light descended from the sky, and a burning silver sword slashed down heavily.
The Crimson King reached out to block, but he suddenly caught sight of the winged figure's face—
The moment he saw that face, Magnus was startled and abruptly retreated several steps.
Even with his mind full of emptiness, he recognized that somewhat terrifying face instantly.
Sanguinius!!
But a moment later, Magnus realized something was wrong.
Not only Magnus, but Morven Vahl also noticed something amiss.
Why was that Sanguinius much smaller, and a woman's body?
Is Sanguinius a woman? Magnus tried to search his mind for relevant knowledge.
No!
Morven Vahl immediately reacted; this wasn't Sanguinius, this was the Living Saint Celestine wearing Sanguinius' face.
This was, of course, Alexander's doing; he quickly smeared Body Clay on Saint Celestine's face, making her, the only winged figure besides Sanguinius, wear Sanguinius' face, startling Magnus.
Meanwhile, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl also hurried out of an anywhere door, appearing beside Guilliman, and quickly began repairing the Fate Armor damaged by Magnus.
Realizing he had been fooled, Magnus roared and punched Saint Celestine directly.
The Living Saint swung her sword to block, but even as a Living Saint, she could not withstand a Primarch's heavy punch.
Moreover, the Sisters of Silence around her also weakened her power.
The silver sword in the Living Saint's hand shattered, the Body Clay on her face was torn by Magnus' punch, and blood seeped from her wings as she fell among the lunar soil.
The Custodes also seized the brief aerial window Celestine had created, deploying troops onto the battlefield from their Valkyrie gunships via the anywhere door.
In the planning, the Custodes' importance was no less than Morven Vahl and the Sisters of Silence, who possessed anti-psyker powers, so they were deployed last.
Shield-Captain Valerian led a squad of Custodes in a charge against Magnus.
They were warriors chosen from the best, guardians of the Emperor's throne, each a unique divine creation, they were —
"Too slow."
"You are the Custodes, aren't you?"
"As my father's guards, haven't you trained properly?!"
Morven Vahl watched with a twitching face as the Custodes were almost instantly knocked down by Magnus bare-handed; only Shield-Captain Valerian managed to hold on for a few rounds.
She even felt a hint of despair; besides a Primarch, was there truly nothing that could contend with this crimson giant?
But just then, Morven Vahl suddenly felt the unruly the machine spirit in her Fate Armor tremble.
Without Morven Vahl's control, the missile launcher, which had been broken, moved on its own.
Those missiles, mixed with low-quality carbohydrates—oh no, mixed with the ashes of untouchables and Astropath ashes—whizzed out, exploding on Magnus' face.
In an instant, the surging Psyker power on Magnus was greatly weakened again.
"Yours is mine!"
"Mine is still mine!"
All Imperial soldiers, including Morven Vahl, felt a portion of their strength suddenly drained away the moment they heard this sentence.
A baseball bat, burning with fierce flames, suddenly swung out from the shadows, striking Magnus' face and his single eye directly.
The immense force made blood stream down Magnus' face; he was violently sent flying like a giant crimson baseball, crashing not far from Morven Vahl.
Morven Vahl saw the muscular man with a buzz cut, a tiger-like face, and a baseball bat standing on the lunar soil.
To be able to send a daemon Primarch flying with one swing of a bat?!
This… this must be the great power of Saint Doraemon!
Magnus, who had fallen not far away, cried out in pain and struggled to get up from the lunar soil.
Just then, a book suddenly dropped beside his hand.
Magnus looked blankly at the book; the title on the cover read "Magnus' book"
Strange, this book had clearly been discarded along with Magnus' armor and weapons when he wanted to lose weight, so why was it still here?
Magnus couldn't help but pick up the book.
He opened it and saw that most of the pages were inexplicably blank and covered in black ink stains.
The remaining text… well, Magnus suddenly realized he was illiterate.
But just holding the book, he suddenly felt a peculiar sensation.
He felt his Muscle Power flowing smoothly within the book, as if the book was a part of him, the source of his Muscle Power, his essence, something that could not be abandoned or severed.
Magnus suddenly understood.
Could this book actually be his fitness and muscle-building diet plan?
So, so…
"So, you were always with me!!!"
Magnus let out a joyful roar.
Watching Magnus pick up that blasphemous sorcery book, Morven Vahl instantly thought Magnus was finally going to use his blasphemous sorcery, but—
But to Morven Vahl's bewildered gaze, Magnus' book, as if sensing the Crimson King's will, grew ramming horns that gleamed with adamantium-like light, and extended a long chain, like a World Eaters' weapon from a gladiatorial pit, wrapping around Magnus' powerful arm.
Magnus roared, throwing Magnus' book heavily like a meteor hammer.
The muscular figure holding the baseball bat was not to be outdone, clashing with the bat, leaving only Morven Vahl looking somewhat bewildered at the battle.
She now suspected that the records in the Battle Sister's library had been secretly tampered with by the Inquisition.
Who said Magnus was the Primarch of the Thousand Sons, a blasphemous and powerful sorcerer?
By the Emperor! This was clearly the Primarch of the World Eaters, a giant crimson Ogryn!
Morven Vahl was not the only one feeling bewildered.
The three Warp gods watching the situation near Terra were also bewildered and confused.
But the Emperor and Khorne were still clashing, neither having much energy to focus on the battle on the Moon.
Only Tzeentch, Tzeentch, stared at the Moon, looking left and right.
Finally, after a long time, he gritted his teeth and managed to force out a sentence:
"All of this… all of this… all of this was part of the plan."
A heavy book, glowing with an adamantine light, cut through the thin air of the Moon, bringing with it sharp, piercing sonic booms, as if reality itself was wailing.
The heavy book collided with the Greater Daemon's baseball bat. Magnus' Psyker power transformed into a pure physical impact, clashing with the Emperor's Psyker flames on the bat.
That was the power of 'Death' that the Emperor had carved out for Alexander, but to Alexander's surprise, Magnus' pure power quickly suppressed the Greater Daemon's bat.
Magnus fiercely tightened the chain wrapped around his wrist, flying towards Magnus' book in a way that completely defied the laws of physics.
He grabbed the heavy book and swung its sharp, ram-horn-equipped corner at the Greater Daemon's head with exquisite skill, far surpassing Alexander, who was a combat novice.
Alexander hastily raised the bat in his hand to block, barely deflecting the strike.
How exaggerated! Is this a Primarch going all out?
What struck Alexander as even more exaggerated was the martial artistry Magnus displayed; it didn't quite align with the Magnus Alexander knew.
Could it be that he just 'thought' up a set of exquisite martial arts for himself?
That would be a bit too convenient.
And this was Magnus after being doubly weakened by the Sisters of Silence and anti-Psyker missiles, no longer using those blasphemous sorceries.
Alexander had not been without encounters with Primarchs before; he had sparred with both Sanguinius and Guilliman several times.
But sparring is sparring; a real fight to the death is another matter entirely—
The Greater Daemon took a deep breath, and his power extended in all directions, enveloping the entire Moon.
That seemingly tyrannical power, which sought to plunder everything, reached every corner of the Moon.
The Moon was not an uninhabited place. Beneath this cold satellite, in the underground hive cities, lived billions of humans.
The vast majority of these people were workers who produced industrial goods for Terra; every one of them had bodies hardened by training, making them strong and robust.
They were all friends of the Greater Daemon!
Since they were friends, they should lend their strength to the Greater Daemon!!
Of course, it wasn't just these workers; the Astartes who had followed Guilliman to the Moon, the Custodes, Battle Sisters, and Astra Militarum who had not yet arrived—
Their power was all lent to the Greater Daemon.
The Greater Daemon forcibly pushed the bat back, maintaining a dangerous balance with Magnus.
"What strong muscles! What powerful muscular strength!"
Magnus couldn't help but exclaim in praise:
"You must have undergone a lot of training, eaten a lot of protein powder, and taken a lot of steroids, right!"
"I'm all-natural!"
The Greater Daemon fiercely swung his bat, creating distance from Magnus, and growled:
"At most, I borrow some strength from my friends; every friend is a muscle fiber of mine!"
"Huh?" Magnus didn't understand the meaning in Alexander's words.
The Greater Daemon quickly seized this brief window, switching the bat to his left hand and heavily striking Magnus' head.
Magnus' speed was indeed faster; he immediately raised Magnus' book in his right hand, intending to block.
"Fus!!!!"
"Ro!!!"
"Dah!!!"
A Curse suddenly burst from the Greater Daemon's mouth, and reality vibrated rhythmically.
The Greater Daemon's right hand exploded, but simultaneously, Magnus' right hand also exploded.
Magnus' book fell from Magnus' shattered arm, and the bat in Alexander's left hand then slammed hard into his face.
Magnus' head snapped to the side, and blood flowed uncontrollably from his face.
But Magnus' book, at some unknown point, reappeared in Magnus' left hand, swinging heavily towards the Greater Daemon's head.
However, at this moment, a strong gravitational pull suddenly emanated from the ground beneath Magnus' feet, and the greyish-white dust floating in the air also plunged sharply towards the ground.
Alexander, hidden in the shadows, took a few minutes to tame the machine spirit of the terraforming engine within the Moon's core, successfully activating its gravity manipulation function.
Magnus couldn't completely overcome the effects of gravity; the trajectory of the heavy book in his hand suddenly veered off.
The Greater Daemon quickly distanced himself from Magnus.
Magnus almost just shook his severed limb, and his powerful Psyker energy surged into it, completely repairing it.
"How could powerful muscles disappear from a mere severed limb injury!"
Magnus roared loudly, once again swinging the heavy book as he lunged at Alexander.
"..The content within Magnus' book is diminishing, and Magnus' knowledge is also constantly weakening."
"Both are continuously approaching ignorance, which seems to bring Magnus and his essence closer together."
Sanguinius' somewhat strained voice sounded from Alexander's four-dimensional pocket, the weakness in his voice slightly diminished:
"This is also why Magnus' book suddenly appeared in his hand; the two are now almost inseparable."
"Theoretically, he will no longer use those sorceries, and his essence has indeed been weakened, but this weakening also allows him to wield his power more smoothly."
Alexander listened to Sanguinius' words, simultaneously controlling the terraforming engine to reduce the gravity around the Greater Daemon, making the Greater Daemon's body lighter, allowing him to swiftly dodge the heavy book swung by Magnus.
And at this moment, a longsword burning with golden flames suddenly thrust out, striking Magnus directly in the chest.
The Emperor's Sword pierced straight into the crimson muscle, but Magnus' muscles seemed to come alive, squeezing the Emperor's Sword, preventing it from penetrating deeper.
Roboute Guilliman, whose Fate Armor had been quickly repaired by Belisarius Cawl, rejoined the battle.
Seeing that the Emperor's Sword could not penetrate further, he slammed a heavy punch into Magnus' face.
Magnus tried to swing the heavy book to block, but Alexander, controlling the Greater Daemon, grabbed his left hand, restraining his movement while taking the opportunity to lean close to his ear.
The Hand of Dominion made zero-distance contact with Magnus' face; the force, enough to fell a Titan, was applied to Magnus' face, while the bolter, modified by the Archmagos, whistled, causing Magnus pain.
But more than the punch, what caused Magnus greater agony was—
"I am!!! I am the King of Muscles!!"
"I am invincible! A true man!!!"
Deafening singing erupted in Magnus' ear; the sound directly pierced Magnus' eardrums, penetrating his brain, causing blood to involuntarily flow from Magnus' nose.
Even a Primarch, facing the Greater Daemon's singing, was forcibly dealt damage.
Guilliman seized the moment, pulling the Emperor's Sword from Magnus' chest and heavily striking his legs.
The Emperor's Psyker flames ignited Magnus' legs, and the pain caused Magnus to fall forward. Guilliman took advantage of this, using the newly repaired knee of his Fate Armor to brace Magnus' chest.
Alexander also seized the opportunity, controlling the Greater Daemon to step forward, raising his baseball bat high.
Magnus struggled to get up, but the gravity around him suddenly intensified, and Guilliman also pressed down on his head, slowing Magnus' movements for a moment.
The bat, condensed from the death thrown to Alexander by the Emperor, slammed heavily into Magnus' back.
The crisp sound of a breaking spine echoed across the Moon's dark sky, and Magnus let out a heart-wrenching wail.
At this moment, Tzeentch, sprawled on the curtain between reality and the Warp, was sweating profusely with anxiety.
He had already lost Chief Greater Daemon Kairos and could not afford to lose another daemon Primarch.
Chief Greater Daemon could be reshaped; although he certainly wouldn't be as good in quality as Kairos, he wouldn't necessarily be inferior to the other three.
But Primarchs were different; there were only a few powerful Warp entities capable of cultivating Primarchs.
The order of the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, the echo generated by Sanguinius' death, Magnus' book which collected countless knowledge from the Great Crusade era, the Old Ones' artifact ouroboros, the reconstructed experiments of ancient ice fire and monster myths, the Dark King's offerings, the eternal flame of death, the last cornerstone of the last church, the raven's shadow left by liberation and revolution in the Warp through guerrilla warfare, the purest and most terrifying yearning for simple justice, the lingering echoes of the Yin-Yang balance era between the Warp and reality—
These things were almost irreproducible, more precious than Kairos emerging from the Well of Eternity.
Tzeentch did not want to lose one of them, even if Magnus was already practically intellectually disabled.
However, Tzeentch's current power was mostly used to guard against Nurgle and Slaanesh.
If he projected power to Magnus, Slaanesh and Nurgle would surely take the opportunity to bite a piece of flesh from him.
Moreover, Magnus' will was now largely beyond Tzeentch's control.
Trying to tempt him with knowledge again would probably be useless...
But Tzeentch knew how to manipulate Magnus' mind again; only one sentence, just one sentence would suffice.
Only this sentence made Tzeentch grit his teeth.
He was indeed a deceiver, but deceiving like this was simply too undignified...
The pain of a broken spine was so intense that it almost awakened memories deep within Magnus' flesh.
The experience of having his spine broken by the Wolf King Leman Russ constantly stimulated Magnus' mind, causing him immense suffering.
He struggled to get up, but a wave of powerlessness washed over his body with its broken spine.
And at the same time, Guilliman and Alexander both raised the Emperor's Sword and the bat, respectively, seemingly ready to deliver the final blow to Magnus.
But just then, a faint bird call sounded in Magnus' ear.
"You, who are you?!" Magnus asked in his heart, feeling that the bird call seemed to want to inject something into his body.
"..I am Gaa Gaa."
The bird call hesitated, then cawed twice and said:
"I am the muscle god, your fitness coach."
"Come, apprentice, let me give you this set of Nine Bird Acupressure, to awaken your muscle strength."
"Trenbolone Acetate Bird, Methenolone Bird, Stanozolol Bird, Turinabol Bird, Methenolone Bird, Oxandrolone Bird, Nandrolone Decanoate Bird, Oxymetholone Bird, Mibolerone Bird, penetrate!!!"