Honsou's words rubbed Calgar and the Ultramarines the wrong way. How dare this 'bastard' declare the Primarchs' age was over, especially right in front of the returned Lord of Ultramar? Such gall and arrogance, acting like Guilliman was yesterday's news.
Guilliman looked at the Chaos Warlord and responded with a mocking tone, "You say the time of the Primarchs is done and dusted?"
Honsou raised his battle-axe, settling into a fighting stance. "Cadia has fallen, and the Empire's collapse is inevitable. You can't change anything, so why don't you let me take your head off and put you out of your misery."
Such trash talk made Daniel, who was deep in a bloody fight, glance at Honsou again. As an old Warhammer hand, Daniel knew the backstory of this Chaos Warlord.
Honsou was the first half-breed Space Marine in history, one of the Warsmiths of the Iron Warriors (the 4th Legion), the creator of the infamous Daemonculaba, and the lifelong nemesis of Ultramarines Captain Uriel Ventris.
Honsou carries the DNA of both the Imperial Fists and the Iron Warriors, which is why he was dubbed a 'bastard'. His mixed lineage was thanks to that mad scientist Fabius Bile of the Emperor's Children Legion.
Bile murdered Iron Warriors Apothecary Soraka 'The Glorious' during the Horus Heresy, fusing his gene-seed with that of Imperial Fists Captain Felix Kassandar. A lab accident blurred the container holding this mixed seed, leaving only the name "Honsou."
After being bred, Honsou was despised by his Iron Warrior brothers because of his Imperial Fists genes and was frequently called the insulting nickname "bastard." Despite the discrimination, Honsou used his outstanding tactical skills and sheer courage to carve out his own territory in the Eye of Terror. He became one of the three champions under Warsmith Barban Falk.
The title of Warsmith is special in the Iron Warriors Legion, given to company commanders with exceptional performance, and a path to becoming one of Perturabo's closest Trident members. Falk, a veteran of the Great Crusade and the Aeons of War, was ordered by Abaddon to plunder the Imperial Fists gene-seed stored in the "Heart of Hydra" fortress. Honsou followed Falk into the war.
After successfully capturing the fortress and taking the gene-seed, Falk was promoted to Daemon Prince. Before he returned to the Warp, he named Honsou his successor. The two other unlucky champions who served Falk also died in the Battle of 'Heart of Hydra'.
Honsou inherited everything from Falk, handed over most of the gene-seed to the Great Despoiler Abaddon as agreed, but secretly kept a portion. He then developed that monstrous production system, the 'Daemonculaba', in cooperation with the Dark Mechanicum.
The Daemonculaba involved fixing female "tools" to a "production machine," feeding them a nutrient solution mixed with gene-seed powder, and infusing conduits with Warp energy to catalyze mutations. Young recruits were then forcibly stuffed into the uterine cavity and stomach sac of these "tools."
The Warp energy and gene-seed fragments allowed the candidates to grow rapidly and mutate into a Space Marine, who was born upon maturity. New soldiers produced this way were born without skin. The soldiers that passed inspection had the skin of living people peeled off and used as a "film" for the new recruits. Those that failed were flushed down the drain to become so-called skinless monsters.
The Daemonculaba was eventually destroyed by Captain Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines 4th Company, who nearly killed Honsou. Furious, Honsou launched the First Ultramar War. However, he was handed his hat by the Ultramarines on the planet Calth and started to doubt his life choices.
Honsou had Ventris and his companions dead to rights, but then Ventanus, the Imperial hero who died on Calth during the Heresy, intervened as a Cursed Warrior. Under the attack of the Curse Legion, Honsou was defeated and forced to play dead to escape, hiding in the ruins for years before finally escaping on a spaceship. This incident got under his skin.
He felt the Imperial "bastards" resorted to cheating by summoning Cursed Warriors when they couldn't beat him fairly. Honsou had been itching for revenge against the Ultramarines, so when Abaddon invited him to invade Ultramar again, he agreed in a heartbeat.
"Heh! Heh!"
A sharp, vicious, whip-like laugh rang out. The air turned colder. Shadows quickly gathered, forming a twisted, demonic shape.
"M'kar the Reborn."
Voldus recognized the Daemon at a glance. M'kar the Reborn is a Daemon Prince, originally named Malok Kalto, a Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers during the Horus Heresy and a commander at the Battle of Calth.
The gods rewarded him for his genocide at Calth by elevating him to Daemon Prince. He was later expelled by Ventanus, then the Captain of the Ultramarines' 4th Company.
M'kar ignored everyone else and stared straight at Calgar. Those scarlet eyes were filled with malice and hatred. The last time he invaded Ultramar with Honsou, Calgar used the dagger of malice left by Ventanus to destroy his essence, killing him for good. If the Eye of Terror hadn't expanded and the Warp Storm hadn't intensified, echoing with his remaining soul essence, M'kar would still be dead.
Seeing M'kar's appearance, the players were surprised.
"Oh, wow, look who showed up! It's a demonic has-been."
"M'kar the Reborn? More like M'kar the Shameful One."
"Get pictures, get pictures. We need to keep this as a souvenir."
Garry then used a funny voice in the comms channel, imitating M'kar.
"This time, I won't lose again!"
"Do you know how painful it is to be chopped by Brother Zha? You don't know!"
"Do you know how fast the Second Captain's sword is? You don't!"
"Do you know how hard Calgar's fist is? You don't!"
"Do you know how terrifying Mephiston's psyker power is? You don't know either!"
"And I know all of it because every single one of them screwed me over!"
Garry's spot-on impression made many players laugh.
M'kar didn't hear the players' conversation, but he sensed contempt and humiliation. His scarlet body shook with pure anger.
"Today, you will all pay the price!" M'kar's voice was vicious and thick with hatred.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening sound continued as Hell Claws continued to hit the ground, and groups of Chaos Space Marines poured out, surrounding the temple. More Daemons emerged from the Warp cracks, torn open by the blood sacrifice rituals. If the Primarch had not been resurrected, such a terrifying force would have been more than enough to wipe out Macragge.
"Then let's see who settles the score," Guilliman declared.
The Primarch's gaze swept over the enemy, and he charged forward with the Emperor's Sword. A Daemon pounced on him. A single sword strike reduced the opponent to ashes, its soul utterly destroyed and beyond resurrection. M'kar's eyelids twitched at the sight.
The sword in the Primarch's hand was even more terrifying than Erebus's dagger of hatred! But he was backed into a corner; this was his last chance. If he failed again, he might fall completely. A Daemon that cannot inspire fear and despair is worthless, just like Samus when the noble Luna Wolf warrior, Loken, stopped being afraid.
Although there were many enemies, for Guilliman, it was just a matter of time. He was like a man in an empty space, nobody could touch him. The Emperor's Sword flashed, the Fist of Dominion crushed everything. Every blow from the Primarch was accompanied by flying fragments of limbs.
"I want to see just how much heat a Primarch can bring!" Seeing his men falling like grass being mowed, Honsou couldn't hold back anymore. He charged forward with the war robots he created.
After the defeat in the First Battle of Ultramar, Honsou had reflected on his mistakes and created war robots in the Eye of Terror to imitate the iron ring of his own Primarch, Perturabo. These robots were so powerful they could easily kill Chaos Space Marines. Five war robots followed Honsou and launched an attack on the Primarch.
However, after a few seconds, Honsou finally got a taste of what a Primarch was. In one encounter, a war robot was cut in half and turned into scrap metal. Immediately after, the Primarch's gauntlet unleashed a barrage of bullets, destroying another war robot. The remaining three were chopped into burning remains like slicing through butter. They were wiped out before they could even launch an effective offensive.
Honsou swung his battle-axe, but before it could land, he was kicked in the chest. He flew out like a cannonball, smashing several marble columns. When he tried to get up, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, his breastplate was shattered, sharp fragments piercing his flesh. He didn't even know how many ribs were broken—he looked like he'd been run over.
Honsou's face turned pale. He finally understood that the Primarch was out of his league. Only the most powerful Daemons under the Gods could stand against him.
"Lock my coordinates and beam me up!" Honsou communicated with the warship in orbit. He must have been out of his mind to think of coming down here.
M'kar launched a sneak attack on Guilliman, letting out an eerie howl. Guilliman didn't even look; he simply stabbed the sword M'kar's body with his backhand. Scorching flames wrapped around the Daemon, making it burn fiercely.
"This is revenge for the Battle of Calth. I will settle accounts one by one. You are only the first" Guilliman said, slowly drawing the Emperor's Sword.
M'kar screamed in despair. The Daemon Prince was burned to ashes. The Primarch looked around and set his sights on a new target: the Masked Dancer, who was exiled for angering the Prince of Pleasure.