City of the Holy Anthem Mid-Hive, Solar Auxilia Drop Zone.
Erich Krause currently stood inside a hastily constructed command bunker.
The thirty-five-year-old veteran had his right arm wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. His Land Speeder had self-destructed during a battle with the corrupted two days ago, killing the rest of the crew. He had miraculously survived and taken command of this defense sector.
"Sir! Look!" The spotter's shout made him look up.
Erich Krause—a veteran who had participated in twelve campaigns and witnessed both Ork Waaaghs! and xenos invasions...
Saw over dozens of Thunderhawk gunships and transports descending slowly in a neat formation from the sky.
Of course, that in itself wasn't strange.
What was strange was what walked out of those transport cabins.
The first wave to land were Astartes warriors.
But Erich had never seen so many different Astartes.
Dark Angels, Imperial Fists, White Scars, Iron Warriors, Salamanders, Ultramarines, Iron Hands, Luna Wolves, World Eaters, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, Night Lords...
Erich recognized the livery of at least fourteen different Legions.
"Emperor above..." he muttered.
An Astartes force comprised of a mixed formation from multiple Legions?
This was almost completely unprecedented in Imperial history!
Every Legion had its own combat style, command structure, and even different gene-seed. How was a mixed combat deployment even possible?
But immediately after, something even more shocking appeared.
The second wave to land were the warriors clad in silver-grey psychic power armor.
Erich had never seen their armor pattern before, and their pauldrons were etched with some sort of complex emblem resembling the Aquila. Every man wielded a Nemesis force halberd or sword, carried distinctly non-standard bolters, and their weapons flowed with azure energy.
"Are those... psykers?" Erich was uncertain.
The Imperium indeed possessed psyker units, but they were typically Librarians clad in blue robes, or Mechanicus units with psychic amplification devices. This kind of standardized psychic power armor...
The third wave were warriors clad in matte black.
They walked off the transports in absolute silence. Wherever they passed, the psychic corruption permeating the air receded rapidly, as if meeting its absolute bane.
Erich even saw a few Tzeentchian Horrors crawling through the nearby ruins begin to convulse violently as the black-clad warriors passed by, before disintegrating into clouds of blue-purple energy dust.
"What is...???"
The fourth wave were Contemptor Dreadnoughts.
Sixty 4.5-meter-tall gods of steel stepped out of the transport ramps, making the ground tremble. The muzzles of twin-linked heavy bolters, assault cannons, and multi-meltas pointed in all directions, and the cold, mechanical augmetic eyes of their pilots gleamed behind the observation viewports on their chests.
The fifth wave...
Erich didn't want to look anymore.
Those figures clad in skin-tight optical camouflage suits, wielding long-barreled sniper rifles, slipped off the transports like phantoms, vanishing into the shadows of the ruins the moment their feet touched the ground.
And there was another type.
Erich didn't recognize them. These assassins looked like skeletons, wielding terrifyingly designed shredder pistols and lightning claws.
"Sir..." his adjutant's voice sounded in his ear, equally laced with disbelief. "Where... where did this force come from?"
Erich didn't answer.
He just watched the army rapidly assemble at the drop zone, and then...
Begin to advance.
Two thousand Astartes in a wedge formation, Brothers of Silence in the center, Grey Knights on the flanks, Dreadnoughts bringing up the rear, and the Assassin team fanning out like hunting hounds.
They did not exchange a single word with the Solar Auxilia, nor did they even spare them a second glance.
Like a highly trained machine, they charged straight into the Corrupted tide deep in the mid-hive according to a preset program.
Wherever they passed, the Corrupted fell like stalks of wheat.
Blue-purple blood stained the streets red.
"Relay orders..." Erich finally found his voice. "All functional units, coordinate with the allied advance. Repeat, coordinate with allies."
He paused, adding, "Do not ask who they are. Follow orders, and then..." Erich looked at the figures currently executing highly efficient slaughter. "...thank the Emperor we are still alive."
--
City of the Holy Anthem Upper Hive, Landing Plaza Cleared by Tobias.
Tobias stood at the edge of the plaza, watching the final wave of Corrupted get shredded in a hail of bolter fire.
He had personally hacked down seventeen blue, manta-ray-like warp entities with his chainsword, his power armor caked in thick, blue-purple blood.
"Area clear!" a sergeant's voice reported over the comms. "Zone is secure, cleared for landing!"
Tobias looked up.
In the sky, the Thunderhawk gunship formation was descending.
The first Thunderhawk touched down, and the ramp slid open.
Tobias prepared to step forward and welcome them.
Then, he saw the figure stepping out from the ramp.
Standing 3.55 meters tall, clad in Custodes Terminator armor, the Aquila baton on his pauldron displaying a divine luster. The Watcher's Axe leaned at his side, foul blood still clinging to the blade. A storm shield hung on his left arm, the Aquila emblem in the center glowing faintly.
Tobias Fane, Captain of the Blood Angels Second Company, stopped breathing.
It was actually an Imperial Custodian.
The Emperor's personal bodyguard, the ultimate creation of human biological enhancement.
And not just a standard Imperial Custodian.
That Praetor's baton on the pauldron...
Almost instinctively, Tobias slammed his right fist against his left chest, his master-crafted power armor emitting a dull thud.
"Captain Tobias Fane of the Blood Angels Legion, Second Company, greets the Praetor!" His voice carried an unconcealable awe.
So this was what Azkaellon meant by 'special'!
An Imperial Custodes Praetor personally leading a reinforcement force!
This wasn't just special; this was practically a manifestation of the Emperor Himself!
Paul gave a slight nod.
"Captain Tobias," Paul's voice echoed through his Custodian faceplate. "Battlefield briefing."
Tobias immediately snapped back to reality. "Yes, Praetor!"
He pulled up his tactical dataslate.
"City of the Holy Anthem corruption level: NU-class and steadily climbing. Confirmed presence of two powerful Warp entities. Type: Avian. Psychic Characteristics: Trickery and Incineration of Order. Our Legion's Primarch, Lord Sanguinius, is currently engaged in combat with them in the airspace above; engagement has lasted two hours and seventeen minutes.
"Defensive line status: Upper Hive Seventh Arterial Route line is stable; Mid-Hive line is stable; Lower Hive has completely fallen."
As soon as Tobias finished, Paul spoke, "Grey Knights Company, ascend with me and reinforce Lord Sanguinius. All other units coordinate with the Blood Angels and clear the ground Corrupted. Move out."
After the orders were issued, a hundred Grey Knights behind Paul activated their jump packs simultaneously.
Their psychic levels had all been elevated to Master-class through System upgrades. Combined with the short burst from their jump packs, it was enough to achieve short-range hovering ascent.
One hundred silver-grey figures shot into the sky.
Tobias was stunned once more.
Grey Knights?
Is that what those psychic warriors were called?
And they could actually use psychic power in tandem with jump packs to fly? He had never seen a tactic like that!
But before he could think further, Paul looked at him.
"Captain Tobias. The ground battlefield is yours to command. My forces will coordinate with you."
Tobias nodded heavily. "Understood, Praetor!"
Paul said no more.
Azure psychic energy surged from his body. Combining psychic power with his jump pack, he ascended vertically like a rocket. He gripped the Watcher's Axe tightly, azure psychic light beginning to flow across the blade.
The one hundred Grey Knights followed closely behind.
--
City of the Holy Anthem Upper Hive, High Airspace.
Sanguinius forced Mist-Weaver Calidus back with a single strike, the Blade Encarmine tracing a pale golden arc through the air.
Fighting 1v2 against the Greater Daemons of Tzeentch was an immense burden, even for the Great Angel. The Mist-Weaver's mist illusions constantly interfered with his senses, while the Cinder-Burner's order-disintegrating flames continuously whittled away at his psychic defenses.
But Sanguinius did not retreat.
Because he knew that for every second he stalled these two Greater Daemons, the pressure on his gene-sons below lessened.
"Give up, Sanguinius..." The Mist-Weaver's voice echoed directly in his mind, blending tens of millions of pitches. "Your gene-sons are dying, your fleet is isolated and helpless... and the mighty power of the Changer of Ways is endless..."
Sanguinius didn't respond; he simply swung his sword time and time again.
And right at that moment, a streak of golden light shot up from below!
Its speed was so great that it even left a brief vacuum trail in the air!
Sanguinius's amber-gold slit pupils contracted slightly.
He saw the figure.
A 3.55-meter-tall golden giant, the Terminator armor of a Custodes Praetor, the psychic light flowing across the Watcher's Axe...
Imperial Custodes?
And not an ordinary Custodian guard.
That Praetor's baton on the pauldron signified a high-ranking commander within the Custodes.
Why would one be here?
And what surprised him even more...
Behind that golden figure, one hundred warriors clad in silver-grey psychic power armor were following him up, utilizing psychic levitation!
These silver-grey warriors... can actually use psychic flight?
A psyker unit of this scale, uniformly equipped with standardized psychic power armor and weapons—he had never seen anything like it in his entire memory.
Countless questions flashed through Sanguinius's mind.
But there was no time to ponder them right now.
Because the golden figure had already arrived before him.
"Demetrian Titus, Praetor of the Imperial Custodes' Covert Inquisition." An icy voice echoed through the Custodian faceplate. "Greetings, Lord Sanguinius."