The Silent Overseer writhed on the deck, brain fluid mixing with blood to pool across the floor, leaving it slick and greasy.
It breathed heavily, forever unable to banish the encroaching shadow of death.
Lifting its left eye with great effort, the Silent Overseer saw the Lion aiming his blade straight between its brows.
It offered no plea for mercy nor any other emotional outburst. Looking up at the giant, its gaze passed over his shoulder to take one final look at the vast expanse of the void.
In its final moments, the Silent Overseer looked toward the edge of the inverted world, where the tribal fleet had already engaged its warp engines and departed the local sector.
"The Rangdan endure eternal!"
Its mouthparts twitched, a heavy sigh escaping alongside a gush of blood—a sigh filled with an absolute, unyielding frustration, yet tinged with an inexplicable sense of poignant realization.
The Lion's blade thrust downward. The lightblade pierced effortlessly through the Rangdan Overlord's forehead, extinguishing the alien leader once and for all.
"Take its corpse." The Lion shook the blood from his shield, looking down at the Silent Overseer as all traces of life faded from it: "The Rangdan Overlord—it is the most valuable trophy I have claimed since my return."
The Dark Angels swarmed forward, several warriors binding the xenos' colossal corpse with chains and shackles, preparing to drag it back to the human command center.
"Let's go." The Lion picked up his helmet and walked over to Selene with a look of pure, unadulterated satisfaction: "The siege cannons' beams will obliterate this place shortly."
With his vengeance fulfilled, the violent fury in the Lion's eyes dissipated, replaced by a radiant smile.
Selene raised his staff and nodded with a wry chuckle: "I'll take my leave first!"
Before the words fully faded, the tall silhouette vanished without a trace, departing the Rangdan command post without warning.
---
With the command hub destroyed, the Rangdan army was left completely headless. The legions that had been assaulting the human stronghold lost their planetary shields, leaving them like lambs waiting for slaughter.
Following a carpet-bombing barrage of blanket artillery fire across the human base, the counter-offensive began.
The Lion's second-in-command, Luther, seized the tactical window, launching an assault directly from the landing zone to form a sweeping pincer formation alongside the main forces, wiping out the final remnants of Rangdan troops on Planet VII.
With three Primarchs taking the field in person, it took a mere seven Terran days to sweep away the remaining Rangdan forces like dried leaves before a gale.
After fifteen years of grueling warfare, the Dark Angels had paid a heavy sacrifice, but they had finally defeated the Rangdan on Planet VII!
Aside from those who fled into the void, all fifty thousand Rangdan elites were utterly annihilated, along with countless slave-attendants.
The moment the battle on Planet VII concluded, the fighting on Planet IX reached its final curtain as well.
Vulkan led the Salamanders and the Iron Hands—two legions possessing an unmatched, overwhelming momentum—to breach the defenses of the Rangdan fortress, driving their spearhead straight into the Rangdan command hall.
The Lord of the Drakes swung his warhammer, his savage strength shattering the filthy Sage into pulpy fragments. Planet IX was liberated, removing the threat to the outer rim of the J-11 system.
"We have completed the encirclement. We will assemble the fleet within six days and launch our assault on Planet VI."
In the command posts across every planet, the atmosphere was grave and solemn. Countless personnel meticulously recorded the meeting notes.
Their fingertips trembled slightly; the titanic war that would decide the fate of the Imperium was finally drawing to a close.
Ferrus's holographic projection appeared in every command room. He rose from his life-support sarcophagus, his skin waterlogged and pale, his resolute face carrying a faint trace of a smile.
"Our ground forces have secured an absolute advantage. We can now rely on planetary defenses to strike the enemy fleet."
With his silver arms, he unplugged the life-support tubes, and the holographic projection shifted rapidly.
Across the grand theater of war, three planets driven by gargantuan engines broke away from their original orbits, locking into synchronous motion around the Rangdan stronghold of Planet VI!
Enwreathing the planet were dense, countless fleets of human warships, pointing their bows directly at Planet VI.
In the orbital space above the Rangdan homeworld, the garrison forces and surviving troops had gathered into a massive armada, standing toe-to-toe with the human fleet.
On either side of Planet VI gleamed two "pearl chains"—the Rangdan Empire's battle moons, forming a void-wall of absolute bastion defense that safeguarded their crumbling lines. It was these battle moons that locked down the void with overwhelming firepower, ensuring no human warship could breach the sector of Planet VI.
Behind them lay the shattered debris belt of Planet V.
The largest fragments had been transformed into cosmic islands, systematically shifting to slowly close in upon the reverse side of Planet VI.
From a macro perspective, humanity had completed its strategic encirclement!
The holographic projections continued to shift, simulating future military maneuvers and deployments.
The Imperial Fists and Ultramarines had been released from garrison duty, their main fleets currently navigating the warp and about to arrive in the J-11 system.
The Blood Angels and the Nineteenth Legion were still operating behind enemy lines, having transitioned from harassment to interception.
However, times had changed; the mission of these two legions was no longer merely to sever enemy supply lines.
They were also tasked with intercepting retreating Rangdan forces, maximizing combat outcomes by wiping out any remaining viable enemy elements trying to pull back.
Amidst the shifting lights, the Primarchs remained silent.
Ferrus's strategic deployment carried thorough prudence to its absolute limit. At the final hour of the war, he still dispatched two fresh legions to the field, cementing the fruits of victory.
"I have no objections." The Lion's voice was stiff. Though he had his own reservations, for the sake of the greater strategic picture, he ultimately agreed to the next phase of military deployment.
The war was practically over, and those two legions were only now entering the fray. In the Lion's eyes, this move reeked of harvesting the fruits of others' labor, dividing the honor earned through blood and sweat in J-11 with forces that had barely bled.
Though deeply displeased in his heart, the Lion could not refuse the assistance of Guilliman and Dorn.
Aside from the Doom Marines, every front-line combat legion was suffering from massive structural vacancies.
The Dark Angels Legion had lost over half its strength, while the Salamanders, Iron Hands, and Eleventh Legion had undoubtedly sustained severe casualties as well.
Viewing the battlefield from a macro perspective, Ferrus's decision to deploy fresh forces aligned perfectly with the interests of the Imperium of Man—securing the victory was what mattered most!
"I have no objections," Vulkan's projection nodded, indicating he held no counter-proposals. "This deployment is excellent; it gives us a chance to get some well-deserved rest."
Compared to the Lion, Vulkan harbored no ulterior thoughts; he simply wished to bring the war to a swift close.
He was acutely aware of the crushing pressure weighing down upon the Imperium.
Ever since the Second Rangdan Xenocide began, the Administration had relentlessly squeezed the Imperium's territories, driving the human populace to the brink of utter destitution. Under the weight of unlimited tax pressures, an average of dozens of planets rebelled every single day.
The Eighth Legion, the Emperor's Children, and the Seventeenth Legion had practically abandoned the Great Crusade entirely, bogged down in endless pacification campaigns.
Ending the war even a single second earlier could save the lives of countless mortals.
The tightly strung bowstring was long overdue for release.
"I have no objections either," Blazkowicz nodded resolutely, crossing his arms as he agreed to the operational plan: "The Doom Marines and the Night Guard will, per your instructions, land on the Rangdan homeworld from the rear to launch a pincer attack alongside the Dark Angels."
Selene stepped forward as well to state his position: "The Eleventh Legion will not detach from the combat sequence until the Rangdan War is over."
He said to Ferrus in a friendly tone, "Brother, you don't need to worry too much about me."
"I certainly don't presume to have the talent to second-guess your mature command over trillions of troops and millions of coordinating ships, unlike you."
Having returned from the void, Selene did not believe he possessed the expertise to criticize his brother's refined tactical deployment.
At such a crucial juncture, trust was the greatest form of support.
"Since that is settled," Ferrus massaged his stiff neck muscles, a divine radiance bursting within his eyes as he gazed at his brothers' faces through the holograms: "Execute the master plan!"
"Understood!!"
The Primarchs straightened their postures, their low roars echoing through every command room like beating war drums.
"Brother," Blazkowicz turned to face the Lion and Selene, waving a hand in farewell: "I must depart for the debris field of Planet V."
"This battle is too critical; I must oversee it in person."
A trace of reluctance flashed in Selene's eyes as he spoke with genuine concern: "You're going alone? You must be careful."
Though the Lion was not one for tender expressions of concern, the look in his eyes as he watched Blazkowicz held no less warmth.
"No need to worry," Blazkowicz laughed heartily: "I am not fighting alone."
He raised his arm, calling up a recorded transmission in light projection: "The Space Wolves have licked their wounds and will arrive on the battlefield shortly—"
Suddenly, Blazkowicz's smile froze, a look of regret passing over his heroic face: "Russ once swore an oath that he would personally subject the human traitor to white phosphorus execution—"
Recalling the banquets aboard the Majesty of Kings where they had shared drinks and laughter, Blazkowicz felt a lingering wave of melancholy.
Back then, he never could have imagined that Solas truly was a traitor to humanity.
With bared fangs and vicious snarls, Russ had sworn to severely punish the traitor with white phosphorus, and now the Wolf King was coming to fulfill that vow.
The three of them fell silent. The Emperor's mighty power had already erased Solas's betrayal from human consciousness.
Yet discussing him still brought an inevitable sense of sorrow to the Primarch brothers, casting a shadow over their memories.
Decisive as the Lion was, he had no particular desire to kill another brother. Yet that self-appointed, savage executioner was already howling as he charged toward them.
"Ah—" Selene sighed softly.
Having returned just before the war's conclusion, he knew only the bare outlines of the events and had yet to grasp the full picture.
Aside from a sigh, Selene felt no other lingering emotion; there was no room for pity in his heart.
To him, anyone who colluded with xenos was utterly unworthy of being called his brother!