"Snap some pics and record the footage! This historic moment has to go viral on the official forums."
"Out of all of Khorne's guys, you gotta say this one has the biggest set of brass balls."
"What's his name? The guy's got no quit in him!"
"Before you upload it, leak it to Old Thirteen."
"Wow, that's cold-blooded. Old Thirteen is going to lose his mind."
"Khorne: 'Warrior, I'm totally down for your blessing!'"
"Warrior: 'Nah, you're not worthy.'"
"You guys are going off the rails, aren't you? You're saying Khorne can't even get a shout-out?"
The players, battered, wounded, and bloody from the fight, were nevertheless having the time of their lives. It would be a crime not to record such a classic scene.
In the players' footage, the Khorne Berserker in scarlet armor launched himself through the air, heading straight for the Primarch. It was like fighting the God of Destruction alone.
Guilliman moved. The flaming sword drew a shadow in the air. The lone Berserker was split right down the middle. The two halves were thrown clear by the sheer force of the blow.
Among those present, only Daniel and the Eldar clearly saw this thunderous strike. Thousand Faces, the chosen champion of the God of Death, and Yvraine, the daughter of shadows who had interned in Commorragh, were both shocked. They had both delved deeply into the warrior path and mastered the art of killing.
Yet, they discovered a sad truth: all the art in the world is meaningless against absolute power and speed. The Primarch's speed was too fast; even they could only just catch the afterimage.
No wonder the Lord of Mankind could rely on the Primarchs to launch the Great Crusade. In just over two centuries, a magnificent empire was established. Had it not been for the Horus Heresy, the Imperium would have owned the whole galaxy, no sweat, because the Primarchs are demigods walking the earth.
The sound of the body hitting the ground broke the spell of silence.
"Kill him!" A ferocious Sorcerer in bone-spiked armor gave the word with a wave of his staff.
The Chaos Space Marines charged without hesitation, firing plasma, melta, and other weapons. They'd pay any price to kill Guilliman. Several wizards chanted ancient evil spells, drawing on the energy of the Warp, planning to summon Chaos Fiends to take the Primarch out.
Before launching the attack on the Primarch's Temple, the Chaos faction sacrificed over 100,000 captured Imperial slaves. This was why the Masked Dancer and her maids were able to enter the real universe. With the spells cast by the Sorcerers, the effect of the blood sacrifice was utilized to the extreme.
The sky was ripped open, emitting a paradoxical brilliance. Impure energy flowed out through the gap. The whole temple began to shake to its foundations. The pillars cracked from top to bottom, and large chunks of the dome shattered and fell.
Shadows danced through the temple, rolling and spreading along the walls, swallowing all form and dissolving all light. The spreading shadows roared, their voices like the whistling of wind through a skull's teeth. Hideous Daemons began to take shape at a visible speed.
Daniel swung his spear and stabbed the Masked Dancer fiercely, forcing her back. He flapped his wings and flew up.
"Protect your faithful flock, Lord of Mankind."
Following Daniel's whisper, a golden light suddenly burst out. A golden sun slowly rose, causing the forming Daemons to scream in agony. The golden sun did not exist for long; it turned into a golden rain of light that washed over the entire Hera Fortress. With the veil between reality and the Warp torn, it wasn't just the Daemons who gained power; Daniel also received the Emperor's blessing.
The exhausted loyalists of the Empire suddenly felt an infinite power surge into their bodies. Fatigue evaporated, replaced by abundant energy. Fear dissipated, blood boiled, and guts of steel were born from within. Their weapons were blessed, too. Damage to Daemons was doubled, and they could now land critical hits like it was nothing.
"Called it! The strongest healer, the Guide is GOAT!" Mordecai shouted, ecstatic.
"With that kind of healing output, going into the Warp for a resurrection spell is not just a pipe dream," Fred nodded in agreement.
"I suddenly remembered Anduin Wrynn. The Queen was fierce as a tiger, but her track record was zero wins and five losses. She finally wiped out some Alliance minions, but the enemy just used a Holy Light spell and revived the whole squad," Yuji said, casually releasing a bolt of lightning that knocked back a charging Chaos Space Marine.
"We have to step up our game! The harder the players work, the faster the Guide's strength will increase. Before, he could only fight mutants, but now he can go toe-to-toe with Khorne Daemons and use huge AOE skills like that."
"We're grooming a Living Saint!" WrongHammer shouted. "Feed the Guide the kills! Charge!"
"That's called assisting," Warmaster corrected. "Watch out for the Guide's friendly fire."
Sometimes, having good hearing is not a good thing. Some things are better left unsaid, or it gets way too gross. These guys actually dared to frame me like this. They are truly rebelling, Daniel complained silently in his heart.
When I return, I'll send these chuckleheads to the boonies to suffer. He decided to issue a task; that way, these little grunts won't complain. In fact, they'll be kissing the Guide's ring for the assignment.
Guilliman looked at Daniel with some surprise. "What the heck happened while I was asleep? Why does this person look so much like my brother? And how can he perform such miracles?" His mind was swimming with confusion. If he were not on the battlefield, he really wanted to corner the guy and get the full scoop.
Guilliman decided to table the questions for later. His immediate focus had to be the fight. His eyes burned with rage, and he went in hot with the Emperor's Sword in hand.
The Chaos Space Marines opened fire, and a torrent of explosives swept in. The powerful explosives detonated harmlessly on the surface of the Primarch's armor. Nothing was getting through that invulnerable plate.
With a roar of pure, unadulterated fury, the Primarch charged into the enemy horde. The Emperor's Sword swung, severing the axe of a Berserker. Half of the opponent's body was cut open, and bright red blood spurted out.
The fist, equipped with the Fist of Dominion, slammed into a Chaos Terminator, whose corpse flew out like a cannonball. It smashed several marble columns, and when it landed, it was toast.
Guilliman's every strike was lightning-fast. The Traitors, who had the gift of the Emperor and the blessing of the Dark Gods, possessed superhuman senses, yet they couldn't even keep track of the Primarch.
He moved like taking a walk in the park, a tiger in a flock of sheep. Wherever he went, the Traitors were instantly transformed into pieces of flesh wrapped in armor. The speed of the slaughter was mind-boggling.
"Is this the power of the Primarch?" Warmaster looked shocked. "It takes me forever and a day to kill one guy! Guilliman just makes it look so easy!"
No one could defeat him, not even close.
Even those Chaos Traitors who were lucky enough to successfully counter-attack before their death only succeeded in bouncing bullets off the Primarch's Armor of Fate or shattering their own blades.
"Guilliman isn't even the most ferocious fighter. Imagine the Lion El'Jonson being here!" The Bald Custodian sighed softly, then shouted, "Heads up!" as he tossed a melta grenade at the enemy.
"The Lion will definitely be resurrected, but he's old. I don't think his combat power will be comparable to Guilliman's," Yuji shook his hand, causing the helmet of a distant Chaos Space Marine to cave in, liquefying the brain inside.
Warmaster disagreed with Yuji's assessment. "The Lion was able to fight the Daemon Angron and even expel him. How could he not be able to defeat Guilliman?"
Witnessing the invincible demeanor of the Primarch, and with Daniel's blessing, the loyal soldiers were refreshed and rushed toward the enemy. Calgar followed his Primarch, roaring like a madman as he charged. His power fist, which was huge and had an under-slung grenade launcher, was nicknamed the Titan Killer Fist by the players.
He apologized to everyone for his earlier bad call. If it weren't for the insistence of Librarian Tigurius, the Primarch would never have returned. "That almost blew up in my face." Calgar felt guilty, then channeled that guilt into a fierce, destructive anger he poured out on the Traitors.
Celestine hummed a hymn, killing the enemies while keeping an eye on the Primarch. As a believer, her long-cherished wish was once again realized.
A son of the God-Emperor, a demigod on the battlefield, would hold power and lead the Imperium to victory over the darkness that consumes humanity 24/7. The Sisters of Battle followed closely at her side.
"Thank you," Celestine prayed to the God-Emperor. "Thank you for sending him back to us, my Emperor. How could we possibly deserve your love and care?" The fire of faith burned in Celestine's body, and her eyes cast a golden light. She once again held the flaming sword and attacked the enemy in the name of the God-Emperor, slaying the enemies of Chaos.
Greyfax watched this scene, continuously pulling the trigger of her bolter, shooting heretics from all directions. "I stand corrected," she admitted. "You and the Guide are clearly on the same page with the Emperor's will. I was a fool."
"Vigilance is not a sin," Celestine said unconcernedly. "Your loyalty has long been recognized."
Amalrich and the others looked excited. The return of a Primarch was going to flip the script and tip the scales in their favor.
As the Grand Master of the Grey Knights, Voldus ran a daemon with a slender, spindle-like body through with his halberd. He then hacked at a vicious, bloody-mouthed dog made of smoke and blood. Other Grey Knights arrived from all over Hera's Fortress to provide him with support.
"Kill those Sorcerers," Voldus pointed at the Chaos Wizards. "They are anchor points. If they aren't dealt with, Daemons will continue to pour in."
On the other side, Daniel, having used his large-scale skill, held the spear and the Blade of Holy Judgment, fighting the Masked Dancer once more. Thousand Faces, Yvraine, and the other Eldar proficient in the way of warriors assisted.
They hated the Masked Dancer's guts—she had polluted the soul circuit of the Biel-Tan Craftworld, and countless souls were devoured by the Prince of Pleasure. They would never forget such a deep blood feud. The Masked Dancer danced with weapons in her hands, combining killing with art, fighting Daniel and the others with her unique strength.
Just as the Empire gradually regained control of the battlefield, Boom! Boom! Boom!
More than a dozen Hell Claws screamed out of the sky and hit the ground with a deafening thud. The hatches opened, and dozens of Chaos Space Marines poured out. They came from various legions; their only common denominator was their hatred for the Empire.
A massive Chaos Warlord stepped out of the Hellclaw drop pod. Five three-meter-tall war robots equipped with destructive weapons followed closely behind. He was none other than Warsmith Honsou, one of the Chaos Warlords leading the invasion of Macragge.
Honsou looked around, his gaze finally settling on Guilliman.
"The Great Despoiler said the age of the Primarchs was done and dusted, and I'm sticking to that."
"Who cares if you're resurrected in this day and age? I, Honsou the Warsmith, am going to take your head."
The players' eyes nearly popped out of their heads when they heard the newcomer's words.
"Wait, is this the legendary 'bad boy' Honsou?"
"The Chaos villain rumored to be able to hang with guys like Erebus, Kor Phaeron, Fabius Bile, and Lucius?"
"Seriously? This is the only psycho who had two bullets and didn't waste both of them on Erebus."
"When I first read about the Daemonculaba, I felt physically nauseous."
"Isn't this dude getting a little too big for his britches? Shouting that the Primarch's age is over right to Guilliman's face?"
"Honsou never saw the Great Crusade or the Horus Heresy, never felt the power of the Primarch. How would he know?"
"Another source of entertainment. I think Honsou is finally worthy of Khorne's blessing."