With the help of the magical ray gun and Pugh, the Crimson Moon Chapter Astartes—who had mutated due to Chaos corruption—all returned to their original forms.
They looked around at the corpses, recalling their defeat, their faces showing a mix of shame and pain.
After a while, they suppressed their pain and other emotions and expressed gratitude to Datch and the chubby Pugh.
Without their master and servant, they would never have regained their sanity.
When they turned their gazes to the Dark Angels, Black Templars, and other Astartes, they also expressed thanks.
They were astonished when they saw Lion.
The Primarch had suddenly appeared before them, alive and in good health.
The only question was why this Lion King had become so aged.
However, they refrained from asking too many questions about what seemed like a private matter.
Lion was led by the Red Moon Chapter warriors to the armory and food stores.
He wanted Zabril to change into new armor and bring back food for the ordinary people in the camp.
Meanwhile, Pugh remained under Datch's command, dealing with the corruption in the Red Moon fortress.
In areas heavily contaminated by Chaos energy, the walls looked as if they were alive.
They were covered in vein-like pulsating patterns and even had eyes and mouths. A nauseating, sweet rotting stench filled the air.
It emitted rich life energy. Wherever its emerald-green halo reached...
The pulsating vein-like patterns on the walls instantly dried, carbonized, and crumbled into ash at the slightest touch.
The oozing black liquid evaporated with a hiss, leaving only the clean, slightly lighter-colored newly formed stone.
The stifling rotten odor in the air was completely replaced by a fresh scent of post-rainforest air mixed with ozone.
Datch did not stop there. To quickly reclaim Planet Kamas, he first needed to bolster their forces.
He took out Golden Hammer and walked toward an automatic turret whose barrel had been twisted and melted by shaped-charge weapons and whose base was broken.
A few light taps straightened the twisted barrel instantly, making it as smooth as new.
The damaged base was repaired immediately, looking brand new.
The dim control panel lit up with a green beep, and smooth servo sounds came from the turret's base as it automatically calibrated.
Next was a vehicle's side armor torn open by a HEAT round.
Next to the Land Raider, exposed internal wiring was burning, and the tracks were shattered into pieces.
Two loud "Bang!" sounds!
The edges of the breaks were repaired instantly. The electrical arcs crackling inside vanished, and all instrument lights returned to normal.
The damaged track sections reconnected and locked firmly on their own.
The heavy chassis trembled slightly, and the engine emitted a deep, powerful roar.
He continued hammering, restoring broken alloy doors to their original state, rebuilding collapsed communication array towers, clearing debris blocking energy pipelines, and returning the malfunctioning gravity generator to a stable low hum.
The entire Red Moon fortress transformed at astonishing speed from total destruction back into an iron stronghold. All systems functioned normally—more perfectly than in its most meticulously maintained pre-war state.
The Lion King Lion and Zabril witnessed the entire process, their faces showing shocked expressions for a long time.
The ability to restore an Astartes' sanity could perhaps be explained by powerful psychic energy.
But with just a few tweaks and adjustments, could he turn a half-ruined Space Marine fortress—and the complex, advanced weaponry inside—into something completely new?
Lion and Zabril felt that their worldview had been shattered by this nameless man.
They also understood Mordachi's statement that the nameless one did not submit to the Warp but mercilessly beat it into submission.
They had never seen anyone destroy Warp space like this.
Yet this man was literally defying the laws of physics.
"For the great Second Empire! For the great Warmaster!"
After restoring the Red Moon fortress to normal, Datch mounted his mechanical warhorse, raised his sword, shouted, and prepared to begin a new campaign of world conquest.
Lion was rendered completely speechless by the sight.
Nameless one, please stop talking about the Second Empire.
...…
For Datch, reconquering Kamas was not difficult.
Even in the planet's urban areas, large rebel forces still existed.
All that was needed was to eliminate every Chaos Space Marine. Then those traitors would reveal themselves as the weaklings they were.
Most of them were misguided mobs, opportunistic criminals, and pathetic cultists bound by fanaticism and fear.
They followed their lords to conquer cities, burning, killing, and looting.
Their faces twisted with rage as they cheered, reveled in joy, indulged in frenzies of destruction and debauchery, and praised the Chaos Gods.
But when the tide of battle turned—with Astartes including Dark Angels, Black Templars, and the Crimson Moon Chapter launching surgical tactical strikes...
And with the overwhelming individual power of Skabrand, the Masque of Slaanesh, and Zarhulash...
Their fighting spirit became incredibly fragile.
They often collapsed at a single touch, cried out for their parents, scattered in all directions, and became targets for the Imperial forces' massacre.
During the battle to reclaim Kamas, Datch and his companions discovered the Mechanicus sage Valdax, who had been hiding in an underground sanctuary.
This man was different from other Mechanicus sages.
Most of his body had been replaced with mechanical prosthetics engraved with complex prayers, yet he still retained most of his human emotions.
When he realized he had been saved, his face filled with joy at having survived the disaster.
Sage Valdax was overjoyed to see Lion El'Jonson.
The Primarch's return could accelerate the great cause of the Omnissiah.
However, this excitement did not last long.
When Valdax saw Datch swinging the golden hammer at multiple plasma reactor regulators sparking and flickering with data projections, as well as automatic defense cannons—
A few "Bang! Bang!" taps healed complex, delicate damage that would normally take weeks or months to repair.
The machines returned to optimal operating condition, humming, with all readings even more perfect than factory specifications.
The sage nearly fell over from the shock.
"By the Machine God, this… this is impossible."
"Oh, Messiah, this is a manifestation of your divine power!"
"It is the Machine God of All walking among humans, praising the infinite power of the Machine God of All."
"Praise to Your Eminence."
"Please, in my humble position, allow me to follow in your footsteps and witness this gospel that is transforming reality!"
Valdax completely forgot about Lion and fawned over Datch, behaving like a complete sycophant.
This scene irritated Lion a little.
You're a Primarch, aren't you? How can you ignore me like this and fawn over the nameless one? Is that really acceptable?
Now that I'm old, if I were young, I would have shouted, "You're bullying the original body too much!"
Moreover, the nameless one was far too popular.
Now, his appeal was even greater than the original's.
He feared that eventually the world would only know the nameless one, and no one would remember the Emperor.
...…
With the reclamation of Karia City's spaceport, the Imperial Aquila banners fluttered proudly throughout the city.
The last organized Chaos forces were also uprooted.
After Datch's intervention, the chaotic shadows that had spread across Planet Kamas were completely eradicated in a very short time.
At this moment, Datch received the mission completion notification.
[Mission Completed. Congratulations on successfully expelling the Chaos forces occupying Planet Kamas.]
[Quest Rewards: 1300 EXP, 1300 Points, Reputation +200, Doom Summon Card ×5]
Datch took the card out of his game inventory.
The card had a metallic texture with dark red energy patterns along the edges.
In the center was an engraved emblem of an expressionless green helmet.
Honestly, Datch wanted to put his hands on his hips and laugh like a villain.
With Doom's hands, his shotgun had already demonstrated terrifying power, inflicting immense pain on the daemons.
Now that Doom himself had arrived, even with a time limit, he could make the daemons question the meaning of their existence.
It was time to show the Warp world's NPCs what the strongest escort team and map-clearing team looked like.
On Lion's side, after reclaiming the spaceport, they utilized the surviving astropaths...
They sent interstellar messages to surrounding star systems, announcing his presence to those planets.
He also sent messages to the Fallen Angels scattered across the galaxy, urging them to return to him.
After talking with Zabril, Lion realized that he bore at least half the responsibility for the betrayal on Kaliban.
He had left warriors loyal to the Emperor on Kaliban. They deeply distrusted him and at one point believed he had sided with Horus.
When he returned to Kaliban, the scene of gunfire had driven him insane. He hadn't realized at all that someone had deliberately split the Dark Angels and incited them to kill each other.
Therefore, he confessed his past mistakes to Zabril and promised to forgive the Fallen Angels who hadn't known the truth.
They even gave the group of Fallen Angels a new name: the "Angels of Forgiveness."
...
Meanwhile, deep in the Warp, news of the First Legion Primarch's return was like pouring ice water into a pot of boiling oil, triggering a violent reaction.
The four Chaos Gods had just suffered setbacks on the Ax battlefield and had their plans thwarted.
Their ineffable wills were stirred by ever-increasing fury and resentment.
They felt as if some invisible force was pushing them toward the abyss of failure and ruin.
The nameless man had become a major concern for them.
His physical abilities weren't particularly high; an ordinary powerful daemon could probably kill him.
However, this man possessed infinite revival ability. Even if turned to ash, he would come back to life the next moment.
Even more terrifying was that he constantly succeeded in creating bizarre artifacts that ignored the laws of the Warp and physics.
This rendered all clever schemes against him or the Imperium meaningless.
This left the four of them in despair.
If they couldn't find a way to stop this man, not only would their grand ambition to erode realspace vanish, but their own authority—and even the foundation of their existence—might collapse.
All would be shaken, stolen, or erased by these absurd variables.
In addition to the Supreme Ruler's anger, many Chaos forces hostile to the Imperium also harbored complex emotions and unease at this news.
The Blade of Truth was a terrifying living battleship and the flagship of the Thousand Eyes fleet.
The strict lines carved by the Imperium of Man were now completely covered by writhing, proliferating, foul-smelling purplish-black fleshy shells.
Its turrets resembled bony spines growing from tumors.
Observation windows had turned into blinking evil eyes. The massive hull looked like a horrifying monster gasping in the waves of Warp space.
This powerful combat barge originally belonged to the Ash Blade Chapter but was swallowed by the Warp storm that destroyed the Chapter.
When it reappeared, it already belonged to the Thousand Eyes warband.
Inside the bridge, which resembled a palace of flesh and blood, a heavy atmosphere prevailed.
Several senior officers of the Thousand Eyes warband surrounded their leader, Seraphax, who sat on a bone throne.
Seraphax wore Terminator armor embedded with peeping eyes, brandished a twisted staff, and wore a stern expression.
Just moments ago, they had received news of the fall of Planet Kamas and the Primarch's return.
"Another Primarch has risen from the grave of the past."
Seraphax's voice was hoarse and filled with uncontrollable anger.
"The decaying empire of the Corpse Emperor is in its death throes."
Kamas was not only strategically important but also one of the key planets he had occupied early on, thanks to the unique plant compounds produced there.
It was also a valuable resource for him to perform certain important Chaos rituals, refine enhancement drugs, or trade with other Chaos forces.
This defeat had shaken the very foundation of their strength.
"Could it be… fake rumors spread by Imperial agents to cause confusion?"
Chaos Lord Wakan frowned suspiciously. His armor was covered in blasphemous psionic runes.
"As far as we know, the loyalist lackeys are long dead. Only Primarchs embraced by the gods can live forever."
"Then how do you explain the awakening of Roboute Guilliman and the reappearance of Sanguinius?" Seraphax coldly cut him off. The tip of his staff struck the throne's armrest with an eerie sound.
Wakan fell silent, his expression grim.
"Then what should we do? Should we abandon the territories around Kamas and retreat?" another Chaos Lord asked anxiously.
A flash of ruthlessness and ambition appeared in Seraphax's eyes.
"Primarchs are not immortal. With the right plan and weapons, they can be killed." He paused, his tone turning cold.
"Very well. Let's use one of the Chaos artifacts we recently acquired to eliminate this awakened Primarch."
"If our new empire can use the skull of the Emperor's son in its founding ceremony, that fame will echo across the galaxy, drawing even the gods' attention. That glory will surely last for millennia."
Seraphax was filled with excitement and could hardly wait to put it into practice.
...…
On the opposite side of the galaxy, above the orbit of a huge city conquered by Chaos forces, the Black Legion's flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, floated in space.
Chaos Warmaster Abaddon sat on a magnificent throne adorned with countless trophies and the skulls of the defeated.
News of Lion El'Jonson's return reached him through mysterious Warp channels.
In contrast to the fury he felt upon learning of Guilliman's return or the anger at Sanguinius's reappearance, this time Abaddon simply sat in silence.
His thick fingers unconsciously tapped the throne's armrest slowly, producing a monotonous, heavy "thump thump" sound.
His seasoned eyes stared fixedly at the huge mural in the strategy room.
No intense emotion showed on his face, but his heart pounded violently.
"I spent ten thousand years organizing thirteen massive Black Crusades."
"I destroyed that accursed fortress planet Cadia, shattered the countless ancient blackstone obelisks the Necromancers of the universe used to contain the Warp, and tore open this crimson scar piercing the galaxy—the Great Rift—with my own hands."
"We are on the verge of pushing this decaying giant of the Imperium of Man into the abyss and realizing a dream spanning millennia…"
"Yet in the end, Guilliman rose from the stasis field, and Sanguinius awakened from his coffin."
"Now, even Lion El'Jonson, commander of the First Legion, has returned."
"Not to mention the nameless entities emerging from some rift—they are even more troublesome than the Primarchs. Their methods are far too bizarre; even daemons doubt their own existence, and the Chaos Gods have suffered defeat after defeat at their hands."
"If I had known that opening the Great Rift would liberate so many people, I should have left the Imperium hidden as it was!"
If this trend continued, the complete collapse of the Imperium of Man was inevitable.
In a few years, they might lead Imperial forces to push back the Black Legion's strongholds and settle all scores!
This… was too difficult.
The more Abaddon thought about it, the angrier he became.
Those four in the Warp were now completely useless.
Ever since that nameless man began his activities, that useless quartet had achieved no notable accomplishments.
Where had the ruthlessness and cunning gone that corrupted Horus, turned half the legions against him, and dragged the galaxy into eternal war?
Were they all now food for dirty flies?!
Bang!!
Abaddon's anger grew. He slammed his fist on the railing.
"I am not the commander of a defeated army. You are all incompetent gods."
The era of the Primarchs has ended—and it bore rich fruit.
...
Kamas Planet, Karia City Spaceport.
With a single strike from the magical golden hammer in Datch's hand, the spaceport—which had been filled with wreckage, damaged runways, and non-functional facilities—quickly regained its vitality.
Damaged transport ships, gunboats, and even small frigates were repaired and returned to operation.
The collapsed control tower rose from the ground. Data streams began flashing again. Landing guidance lights lit up one after another, like stars guiding ships' routes.
Sage Valdax became Datch's most loyal little fanboy.
Every time Datch finished a repair, this big oil magnate would lead several small oil magnates in repeatedly prostrating before the repaired machines.
They also continuously chanted hymns praising the Emperor and the nameless one.
"Praise to the Omnissiah. Praise to the creative works of the divine envoy."
"This is clear evidence of the gospel of the Machine God of All."
Their fervor was so strong that even priests of the Ecclesiarchy would say they were overly pious.
Meanwhile, Lion made full use of the communication and transportation convenience brought by the reopened spaceport.
Leveraging his Primarch authority and efficiency, he quickly integrated the remaining local defense forces, surviving tech-priests, and volunteer civilians who had been liberated.
Equipped with captured and repaired gear, they formed a newly organized defense force and began showing discipline and high morale.
At the same time, he continuously broadcast his presence and calls through the astropaths.
After most of the facilities were repaired, Datch rode his beloved horse to find Lion.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
Hearing this and already knowing the nameless one's temperament from Mordachi, Lion immediately became excited.
"Please restore me to my youth…"
"Skip. What do you need?"
Lion: ...
No, is it possible to skip this?
With no other choice, Lion had to switch to another mission. There must be some reason why the nameless one wouldn't help him regain his youth.
As long as that reason wasn't resolved, the other party wouldn't assist him.
"Help me find the Fallen Angels. As long as they haven't fallen completely, I will accept them and allow them to return to the Imperium."
…
…
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