Daqi’s exploits upon the city wall spread very quickly:
a wondrous angel blessed by the Emperor, whose hammer could repair anything.
By his strength alone, he had inflicted grievous losses upon the traitors of Chaos, preventing them from breaking through even a single defensive line of Hera Fortress.
Daqi skipped and hopped all the way toward the Sanctuary, encountering no questioning or obstruction.
On the contrary, everyone along the way saluted him. This was the respect due to the Emperor’s messenger.
After entering the Sanctuary, Daqi felt the weight of history.
The chamber itself was immense, an arched tomb so vast that even a Warlord-class Titan could enter with ease.
Marble pillars towered upward, supporting a ceiling inlaid with colored glass and obsidian.
Upon those enormous walls and the ceiling, grand murals depicted the past deeds of the father of the Ultramarines.
The entire hall radiated a solemn, majestic, and sacred atmosphere.
Seated motionless upon the throne was the Primarch within the stasis field—Roboute Guilliman.
The Primarch still wore the damaged armor from his battle ten thousand years ago against the Daemon Primarch Fulgrim.
The silent Emperor’s Sword was also placed at his side.
Behind the throne hung banner after banner, representing the Chapters that had once come here to pay homage.
“The timeline in this game is pretty well done. Everything looks real.”
Inwardly, Daqi silently gave the development team a thumbs-up.
“Martian, have you colluded with the xenos witch to plot the Primarch’s life?”
Calgar angrily denounced the lies of Archmagos Cawl.
“That is baseless speculation,” Archmagos Cawl said calmly. “Ten thousand years ago, the Primarch once made an agreement with me: should anything happen to him, I was to resurrect him at all costs. Now I have merely come to fulfill that pact.”
“Heretics, every word you speak is a lie.” Greyfax glared furiously at Cawl and Celestine.
Amarich and Galain of the Black Templars, along with the other Astartes, also stood on the side of the Ultramarines.
Yet Diglas, Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines Chapter, walked over to Cawl and Celestine’s side.
With eyes filled with psychic radiance, he looked straight at Calgar.
“My lord, the galaxy has been torn apart. The armies of Chaos are unstoppable, their offensive mad beyond measure. Cawl and the others are our final hope.”
“This is the Emperor’s will. It is absolutely not an attempt to murder the Primarch,” Celestine also said, hoping Calgar would calm down.
“Absolutely unacceptable!” Calgar roared. “Leave the Sanctuary at once. None of you shall ever set foot here again.”
Daqi hopped and skipped through the crowd, making his way to Archmagos Cawl’s side.
Through his various displays, Daqi had already become an incarnation of the Emperor in the hearts of the people.
His appearance slightly eased Calgar’s rage, but it still did not make the Ultramarines yield.
Just then, two anti-air positions of Hera Fortress were suddenly crippled.
An Ultramarines Thunderhawk gunship plunged headlong into the Sanctuary, skidding out of control across the temple floor.
The aircraft had suffered severe damage. Flames spilled from rents in its hull, and one wing had been torn open.
It smashed through several marble pillars in succession before finally coming to a stop after knocking down a statue.
Just as everyone was filled with uncertainty and alarm, Daqi took out his chainsword and hopped forward.
“All traitors must die! For the Emperor! For the Horde!”
On the minimap, he had seen that this Thunderhawk gunship was marked as a red dot—which meant it was an enemy aircraft.
Before the others could react, they saw the Thunderhawk’s hatch open.
A group of Chaos Space Marines wearing twisted black-and-red armor and spiked jump packs rushed out.
“Slay the sons of the false Emperor!”
“Take Guilliman’s head and offer it to the Blood God!”
“……”
They let out blasphemous war cries.
The Ultramarines reacted with great speed. Bolters and assault guns roared as they opened fire.
A dense hail of shells poured toward the enemy, and the traitors’ bodies convulsed and fell under the volleys.
But the Ultramarines were still not fast enough. Three Chaos Space Marines drove a Chaos icon smeared with daemonic flesh and blood into the floor of the Sanctuary.
Warp energy erupted instantly. Reality was torn apart by the thunderous roar of teleportation.
Immediately afterward, a group of Black Legion Terminators appeared.
Each one was a veteran blessed by the Chaos Gods, clad in spiked and fanged Tactical Dreadnought armor, their firepower terrifyingly fierce.
The moment they appeared, they cut down several Ultramarines.
A fierce battle erupted between the two sides.
The Sanctuary was the resting place of the Primarch. If the Sanctuary fell, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Calgar had no time to pursue matters with Archmagos Cawl and the others. After warning them not to act recklessly, he went to organize the Sanctuary’s defense.
The others followed closely behind, joining the battle one after another.
“Go complete your mission.”
The appearance of Daqi and Celestine made Diglas even more certain that the prophecy he had seen was the Emperor’s guidance.
Only by believing in Archmagos Cawl and Yvraine of the Ynnari could the Imperium of Man be saved, and the gene-father rescued.
Archmagos Cawl delivered the reliquary containing the Armor of Fate beneath Guilliman’s throne and began configuring it.
At his side, the Chief Librarian and the two Ynnari, including Yvraine, eliminated the enemies who came to interfere.
The battle worsened at a speed visible to the naked eye. More and more Black Legion warriors entered the Sanctuary through teleportation.
Twisted Chaos sorcerers chanted evil spells, using Warp energy again and again to shake the foundations of the Sanctuary and diminish its holy power.
Khorne-worshiping berserkers shouted the name of the Blood God and launched wave after wave of ferocious assaults.
Both sides fought with everything they had. They all knew that the outcome of this battle would determine the fate of the entire Imperium.
Daqi, who had charged at the very front, fell into a desperate situation where he was besieged from all sides.
Under the coordination of these enemies of Chaos, he was killed again and again.
Occasionally, he could use his stomp skill to send enemies flying, but he would soon be trapped within the encirclement once more.
Yet his ability to resurrect infinitely tied down many Chaos warriors of the Black Legion, reducing the pressure on the others.
However, there were far too many enemies.
Casualties on the Imperium’s side continued to mount. Celestine’s attendants fell one after another.
Greyfax was seriously wounded and could only hide behind cover.
Galain roared again and again, yet was still drowned beneath the enemy tide, his fate unknown.
And at this moment, Archmagos Cawl’s work entered its final stage.
The enormous reliquary unfolded like a man-eating flower, enveloping Guilliman within the stasis field.
Archmagos Cawl withdrew as if a great burden had been lifted and looked toward Yvraine. “It is your turn.”
Calgar, fighting bitterly, also noticed the abnormality at the throne at this moment.
“No!” he roared, then looked toward Diglas. “Stop them. I beg you, my brother. Do not let them harm the Primarch.”
Diglas shook his head. “This is our only hope, my lord. We must choose firmly, and we must believe.”
Calgar’s fury reached its limit. He raised his bolter and aimed it at Yvraine, but her blade fell like lightning, severing the cable that powered Guilliman’s stasis field.
The device ceased functioning, and a gloomy sigh rang out.
“What have you done?”
Calgar was utterly despairing. Rage burned like wildfire in his heart.
He forcibly suppressed his impulse, turned his muzzle, and fired at the traitors.
In his heart, Calgar swore silently.
If the Primarch fell because of this, he would take vengeance upon them all.
Not only would he raze every Aeldari craftworld, he would also make Mars pay the price.
If the Primarch was dead, then right and wrong no longer mattered to the Ultramarines. Let the galaxy burn completely.
The Chaos Space Marines, seeing the actions of Cawl and the others, were also greatly provoked. Their offensive grew even more frenzied as they charged toward the throne at any cost.
The loyal Space Marines abandoned their cover and stood between the enemies of Chaos and Guilliman’s throne, buying time for Archmagos Cawl with their lives.
“For Guilliman!”
An Ultramarines veteran roared. Plasma shockwaves and searing bolts struck his body, instantly piercing through his chest and taking his life.
The Chaos Space Marines attacked madly, sparing no price.
Yet just as they were about to break through the defense,
the reliquary completed its work, emitting a crisp notification chime, and its indicator light changed from red to green.
As the mechanical arms slowly withdrew, a scene that shook the hearts of all present appeared before them.
The Emperor’s true son, the rightful master of Ultramar, the gene-father of the Ultramarines, had returned.