Daniel's performance left everyone stunned.
"Praise Him!"
Celestine and her Battle Sisters sang praises to the Great God-Emperor. Greyfax frowned slightly. Daniel's display was so shocking, it was giving her pause—she was starting to think this might be the real deal; a genuine miracle.
The soldiers on the ground cheered. The spectacle was too shocking, bringing genuine comfort to hearts that were on the verge of despair. Their morale shot through the roof as they shouted the Emperor's name and launched a full-scale counterattack.
Eldrad and Yvraine of the Eldar stared at Daniel soaring in the sky, their faces a mix of surprise and doubt. This wasn't the way their crystal ball showed things going; the whole script was out of whack.
"The Eye of Terror expands, and the power of the gods grows stronger," Eldrad mused. "As humanity's most powerful psyker, the one sitting on the Golden Throne must have gained unprecedented power."
Eldrad recalled the Battle of Terra. In that fight, the Emperor was only a stone's throw from apotheosis. At that time, the entire galaxy echoed with one name: the Lord of Darkness.
The Emperor's former companion, Oll, came to persuade Him to defeat Horus as a human. Otherwise, humanity would crash and burn like the Eldar did after the birth of the Chaos God.
The Emperor listened, giving up the power of the Dark Lord and choosing to fight Horus as a man. At that moment, Eldrad was extremely glad he had nipped the secret cult in the bud.
If they had followed the theory of Tantric Buddhism and allowed humanity to become extinct, the Emperor, having lost all hope, would inevitably choose to destroy everything. The Dark Lord would be born.
Not only would Chaos be wiped out, but the entire Galaxy would be completely pulverized. All races would be eradicated, and only after the passage of endless ages would new races be born among the desolate stars, allowing the galaxy to come back to life.
"No matter what, for now, it's money in the bank if humanity gets stronger. Only by continuing to pressure the gods will we have a chance to snatch the Crone Sword from the Prince of Pleasure."
Yvraine comforted her people. They had gathered four of the five Crone Swords that awakened the Four Gods. As for the last one, it was in Slaanesh's domain. The only way to steal or seize it was to lure the Prince of Pleasure away or force his hand and make him use the sword.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Daniel destroyed Heldrakes and Traitor Fighters in succession, causing them to explode into fireballs in the air. The loyalist gunboats and fighter planes also began to fight fire with fire, forcing the enemy to beat a hasty retreat.
The airdrop capsules hit the ground with a thunderclap. Terrible cracks appeared on the surface. The hatches opened, and out stepped a group of Astartes.
"For the Guide! For the Emperor!" Warmaster led the charge, arms raised, shouting.
Thousands of Astartes rushed with fury toward the enemies of Chaos. The transport boat slowly docked on the surface, and the Atomal Corps stepped out. Members of the Hammer and Sickle faction controlled the Zaku 01 Enhanced Titans, whose heavy footsteps shook the battlefield as they joined the fray.
With the roar of cannons, the plasma fire cloud, shining brightly, surged and expanded, turning hordes of enemies into dust.
Cawl looked at these Titans, his eyes flickering with interest. After spending the past few days together, Cawl already knew that these Titans were not products of the STC. They were a new, independently developed creation.
The conservatives in the Adeptus Mechanicus would have a fit over this, as it was a direct challenge to Mars, the Mechanicus, and the existing rules.
As for why Cawl didn't speak up? Nonsense! He was a radical and was tickled pink to have someone act as a pioneer to break the mold of the Mechanicus rules. The spokesperson for the Emperor's will was thumbing their nose at the pedantic rules of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It was truly exciting to see what kind of storm it would stir up.
"For the Omnissiah!"
Rigby had lost his original Zaku 01 Enhanced Titan fighting Khorne. Now, he was wearing a set of heavy Tomorrow Series exoskeleton armor, serving as the Titan's guard, preventing the enemy from getting close and attacking the Titan's joints.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The automatic shoulder guns continued to fire, the explosive shells roaring. In an instant, the bodies of several enemies with the Eightfold Chaos Mark exploded.
"The wrath of Omnissiah has come! Despair!" Rigby shouted, running toward the enemy's position.
On the other side, Warmaster, wearing a set of CMC power armor, was charging toward the Chaos Space Marines, chainsword in hand. The chainsword roared, piercing through a Black Legion warrior.
He drew the sword, swung it, and took the head off another foe. After his duel with Lucius, Warmaster's combat skills had been significantly improved. Though his two-handed sword skills hadn't yet broken through the Grandmaster level, he had made major progress.
"As expected, I still need a strong sparring partner to sharpen my edge."
"By the way, who will Lucius find to revive?" Warmaster thought of Lucius and was curious about how he would come back from the dead this time.
Since Daniel was the Emperor's Saint and had the Emperor's blessing, for Lucius to parasitize him would be equivalent to Slaanesh defeating the Emperor. Therefore, Lucius definitely couldn't use his usual resurrection trick.
After thinking for a while, Warmaster couldn't figure it out, so he simply let it go and got back in the game. Slaanesh would definitely resurrect the guy anyway. If they met again, he had to win fair and square and then humiliate the snot out of him.
Boom!
Daniel folded his wings and crashed into the enemy group like a cannonball. The huge impact force scattered the surrounding enemies. He took his spear and began to harvest the lives of his foes. The Chaos Space Marines also swarmed over, intending to chop off his head and claim the credit.
Daniel's skills were simple and deadly effective. The spear swung like a thunderbolt, aiming straight for the enemy's vital points. Whoosh—with a sound of breaking the air, the Chaos Space Marine was pierced through.
Before he could even let out a wail, Daniel had already drawn his spear and charged toward another target. None of these ordinary Chaos Space Marines were his match. In front of him, they were lambs to be slaughtered. A pile of corpses fell beside Daniel before he rushed toward other enemies.
Celestine, Amalrich, and the others also joined the battlefield. The Chaos forces' morale collapsed, and they retreated in a panic, leaving behind a large number of casualties.
Daniel and the others turned around and headed toward Hera Fortress.
Hera Fortress covered a vast area and was protected by void shields. The tall, thick city walls were covered with anti-aircraft artillery. A moment later, the armored portal at the bottom of the fortress hissed, and the heavily armored door opened.
Calgar, the current Chapter Master of the Ultramarines and Lord of Macragge, stepped out. He was extremely tall, wearing azure, finely crafted power armor, and had a halo of iron thorns behind his head.
When the players saw Calgar, they immediately started making a ruckus.
"Papa Smurf! Papa Smurf is here! Now the blue sky will follow!"
"Wow, is this the invincible Calgar?"
"Quick, quick, call the stretcher team!"
"Calgar: I swear, I can't catch a break with these 'God of War' jokes!"
Rigby's mouth twitched as he looked at this bunch of goofballs. "You guys need to get your heads in the game and stick to the script! Don't mess around, or the Guide won't take you along for the ride next time."
Hearing that, the players immediately toed the line. They knew it took blood, sweat, and tears to earn the favor that allowed them to move with the Guide.
"Welcome to Macragge," Calgar said, looking around. "Why are you chummy with Xenos?"
Calgar was considered moderate when it came to dealing with aliens. If it were the radicals, they would have taken a swing long ago.
"I am Belisarius Cawl, the Archmagos Dominus of Mars." Cawl stepped out of the ranks. "We are here for the Lord of the Ultramarines."
"I don't know you from Adam," Calgar shook his head. "I didn't put out a call for Martian priests."
"Correction," Cawl corrected Calgar in a mechanical voice. "The Lord of Ultramar is Roboute Guilliman, and I come by his command."
"You better choose your next words carefully," Calgar stared at Cawl. "You're joking about our Gene-Father. Have you considered the consequences?"
"I come by order of Roboute Guilliman. Take me to him," Cawl stated.
"We are indeed here for Roboute Guilliman. Please take us to him first," Celestine also spoke. "We have come halfway across the galaxy... and now, only—"
Calgar shook his head. "I won't let anything happen to the Primarch. Your request is out of line."
"You have two choices. One is to stay and help Macragge crush the invaders; the other is to leave."
Tigurius, the Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines, stepped forward. "My Lord, I had a dream before the enemies of Chaos invaded Macragge."
"Those dreams represent the Emperor's omens. Perhaps you can listen to them before making a decision."
Calgar suppressed his anger.
Tigurius began to tell his dream: He saw the planet and a huge portal covered with chains. A terrible hand struck the door, shattering the chains. Countless beasts emerged from the dark world behind the portal and swept across the world.
An iron bird made of mechanical gears escaped from the ruined portal, clutching a sword in its metal claws, and flew toward Ultramar. Behind the broken portal lay a terrifying eye, watching the iron bird fly away.
As the Iron Bird approached Ultramar, a maw full of bloody fangs opened around them, ready to bite down with devastating force.
It was through this dream that Tigurius predicted Chaos's preparations for an invasion of Macragge. The Ultramar garrison fleet was recalled in advance, which was how the Chaos army was stopped.
"I am willing to vouch for this, my lord. Let them go to see the Primarch," Tigurius said.
While Calgar was hesitating, Greyfax spoke. "I also guarantee on behalf of the Imperial Inquisitor that if Cawl is proven to have any ulterior motives, I will execute him without hesitation. But before that, I hope you can give him the benefit of the doubt."
Just as Celestine was about to speak, Calgar cut her off. "Fine. Since you insist so much, I will allow you to enter the temple."
"But don't let me find out that you have any bad intentions, or you will all pay the price."
After Calgar finished speaking, he turned to look at Daniel. "Before we go to the temple, you must first tell me who you are."