Imperial Palace, Garden.
Rogal Dorn was wearing wide denim overalls, a yellow hard hat on his head, and his pockets were stuffed with dirty work gloves, various tools, and ballpoint pens.
Over the past year, the Terra environmental transformation project, for which Dorn was responsible, had been largely completed; all parts requiring manual intervention were finished, and Rogal Dorn had been as reliable as ever.
This year, four Primarchs returned to the Imperium. The two "barbarians" went back to their homeworlds to reorganize their troops. Russ was rebuilding his Legion, and the Space Wolves' successor Space Marine Chapters were undergoing a complete overhaul on Fenris. It was said that even the toilet paper on Fenris was printed with the "codex astartes."
Jaghatai Khan, on the other hand, maintained the Space Marine Chapter structure, as his children were naturally skilled in guerrilla warfare, and breaking into smaller units best suited their combat style. So, Khan merely returned to establish a command hub centered around himself, while everything else largely remained the same.
Rogal Dorn met with his children; the Space Marine of the Imperial Fists and Black Templars immediately joined the Terra environmental transformation work. These children of Dorn instantly became civil engineering brothers, putting on their hard hats and getting to work.
And Konrad Curze, with the permission of His Majesty The Emperor and Sanguinius, despite his extreme reluctance, rebuilt a Space Marine Chapter of a thousand men. The name was given by Li Feng:
"Dark Knights."
Li Feng also designed a set of power armour for Konrad Curze. Konrad Curze had always envied Corax's Warp essence, which allowed him to completely hide in shadows and appear unpredictably.
Li Feng couldn't achieve that, but the power armour he designed for Konrad Curze had complete optical camouflage, allowing him to become completely invisible. Although Konrad Curze himself said he didn't need it, that he no longer needed to use terror to... Then Konrad Curze, alone in his room, put on the power armour, repeatedly turned his optical camouflage on and off, and played by himself... Dorn arrived here now because he had received a message from his Stepfather, Li Feng, saying he needed to see him about something important. As soon as Dorn arrived, he saw Li Feng and Sanguinius sitting in the garden having a barbecue, with a Sister of Battle, a Navigator, a Female Aeldari, and... Sanguinius's Daughter nearby.
"Dorn! Come, come! Have some freshly grilled skewers! These are grilled with fruitwood charcoal and red willow branches!"
Rogal Dorn took the skewer from Li Feng, then looked at Celestine, who had white wings, and asked his question:
"Are you my brother, Sanguinius's Daughter?"
Looking at the woman with white wings, beautiful features, and a heroic demeanor, Rogal Dorn remained expressionless, his tone calm. But his "stone heart" was in torment; he subconsciously looked at his hands, as if transported back ten thousand years... He stood beside Sanguinius's corpse, using a shovel to scoop his brother into a barrel... Broken flesh and pure white feathers stained his entire body...
"No, I am Celestine, the Imperium's Living Saint."
"Oh, so it's Father's great power? I understand." Dorn nodded, then turned to Sanguinius. He was about to call her 'Mother,' but Sanguinius glared at him, indicating there were people nearby...
"Madam Sanguinius, may I ask why you called me here this time?"
Li Feng chuckled, picked up a document from the table, and handed it to Dorn. Dorn took the document, opened it, and browsed it carefully for a few minutes, his brow furrowing slightly.
"This is... a Cadia defense mission?" he asked, looking up, a hint of inquiry in his tone.
Li Feng nodded, his voice serious: "That's right, we discussed it with your old man, ah no, His Majesty The Emperor. The Eye of Terror is stirring, and the situation on Cadia requires an absolutely reliable commander. And the only one we can think of is you."
Dorn's fingers lightly caressed the edge of the document, seemingly in thought.
"The defense of Cadia is one of the Imperium's lifelines. If I take over, I will re-plan all defensive facilities and thoroughly eliminate potential vulnerabilities," he said in a low but firm voice.
"That's why we need you." Sanguinius smiled faintly, "The environmental transformation of Terra is complete; now is the time for you to demonstrate your wisdom and strength."
Dorn looked up, his gaze firm. He gently closed the document, then knelt on his right knee, straight as a sword, his left hand clenched into a fist against his chest.
"Understood. I will carry the will of His Majesty The Emperor and defend every inch of Cadia."
Li Feng nodded with satisfaction: "Good! With you there, we are at ease."
Li Feng picked up another skewer of grilled meat and handed it to Dorn: "Eat this skewer before you go; there won't be such good fruitwood charcoal grilled meat on the way."
Dorn took the skewer, a rare gentle expression appearing on his face. He took a bite and nodded: "It is indeed good. The defenders of Cadia might like this; I will modify some grilling equipment for them."
Sanguinius laughed: "Dorn, if you can turn trenches into barbecue stalls, that will definitely be Cadia's most unique defense line."
Dorn didn't reply, simply showing everything through his actions. He stood up, put on his hard hat, straightened his overalls, then turned and left.
"Till we meet again," he said concisely.
Sanguinius watched Dorn's retreating back and sighed softly: "Reliable, as expected, it's just his personality that needs a bit more work."
Li Feng leisurely picked up a freshly grilled chicken wing and whispered: "With Dorn there, Chaos won't easily cross Cadia's gate of hell."
But Li Feng looked at Dorn's retreating figure and suddenly felt... if Dorn was sent to be the city defense commander, would his archenemy and 'frenemy,' Old Fourth Perturabo, join in...
In the Warp,
Perturabo sat on his flagship. These past few days, he had received news from the physical universe: Rogal Dorn had returned to the Imperium... and had even taken on the work of Terra's environmental transformation!
Perturabo gritted his teeth at the thought, "Why! Why do all these important, beneficial works that earn flowers and applause always go to that Rogal Dorn guy!"
In terms of civil engineering ability, he, Perturabo, was far better than Dorn! Rogal Dorn could only build things with no aesthetic appeal! While he, Perturabo, was the true artist!
Suddenly, his projector received an incoming signal, and a man with a spiky hairstyle appeared on the screen...
"Speak, child of Horus, why have you come to me?" Perturabo had no fondness for Abaddon. He was clearly Horus's child, yet he dared to declare himself Chaos Warmaster.
"Uncle Four, I hope you can join my upcoming Black Crusade."
Hearing this, Old Fourth Perturabo laughed:
"How many times have you launched that broken Black Crusade? Have you ever won? It's just old wine in new bottles! My brother Horus, if he were alive, would have reason to say, 'What kind of people am I leading?' They were the main force of the Great Crusade! What kind of people are these you have?"
At this point, Perturabo was rambling, "venting his inner emotions," but Abaddon ignored him, simply replying:
"Rogal Dorn has been appointed City Defense Commander for the Cadia region."
"I'm in!"
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