"Huh...?"
Bruce stared blankly at the sudden change in planetary orbit.
He had imagined that the rebels would not simply sit there and wait for death. They would definitely do something.
But he alone had never expected them to punch straight through the defense line Horus had so carefully arranged!
Since when were Lorgar and the Word Bearers this powerful?
Did they turn on cheats or what?
"Lord Warmaster? What's going on?!"
"Hello?"
"This is Bruce Wayne calling the Vengeful Spirit. Respond if you receive this! Repeat, respond if you receive this!"
"Anyone there? Hello? Hello?"
After a brief moment of panic, Bruce switched repeatedly between communication devices, trying to contact Horus, who had gone silent. His instincts told him that something extremely serious had happened.
Otherwise, Horus had absolutely no reason to issue an order to evacuate Isstvan V.
Please.
They were the ones with the advantage right now. The Emperor's Children had surrendered. Fulgrim had been captured. The Word Bearers had basically been cleared out almost completely.
Only the Alpha Legion and their two riddle-loving Primarchs remained. In a little while, they could just drop an Exterminatus on them and the matter would be over.
In such a massive winning position, she wanted him to run?
Run, my ass!
This was like having already pushed to the enemy high ground while several of their players were AFK, only for the mid-laner to turn around and say, "Let's surrender at fifteen."
If he surrendered now, Bruce would never forgive himself for the rest of his life!
What, did the enemy suddenly reconnect with some hard-carry monster and bulldoze mid lane?
What kind of bullshit joke was that?
However, the continued silence across the communication channels made Bruce extremely uneasy.
If there was no response for this long, then either the command center had a problem, or his own equipment had a problem.
But clearly, his equipment was not the issue.
Through the dedicated commander system, Bruce could detect that nearby Astartes soldiers were also attempting to contact their superiors.
And their situation was exactly the same as his. Within a limited range, they could indeed communicate with one another, but once that range was exceeded, everything went completely silent.
Suddenly, Bruce picked up a broadcast from the Remilia.
He decisively increased the power of his signal reception, and only then did he hear the warning clearly.
"Detected: large numbers of unidentified units approaching Isstvan V. Situation unclear. Confirming information..."
At the same time, from the channel belonging to Warmaster Command, the voice of Mortarion, Lord of the Death Guard, also sounded.
"Everyone! The situation at Isstvan is complicated. Now, I will relay the front line's—"
Bzzzt——
A series of overloaded electrical crackles rang out.
Then the communication channel was answered by a deep voice.
It was low and profound, constantly influencing the minds of those who heard it, standing in perfect contrast to the Emperor's psychic voice.
"No need to trouble yourself, Mortarion. Your voice is as irritating as ever. A clown through and through."
That disdainful demonic voice interrupted Mortarion, while also invading everyone's communication devices.
Then the voice began speaking on its own.
Experienced warriors immediately destroyed their communication devices and ordered everyone nearby to do the same. Yet strangely, even after removing their tactical helmets, that voice still echoed by their ears.
This meant that the other party had not invaded some communication channel.
Rather, through some unknown power, he had hijacked everyone, forcing every living being in the Isstvan system to listen to his speech.
"I am Roboute Guilliman, King of the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, master of the Eye of Terror, destroyer of the galaxy, Chaos Warmaster, and lord of the Omegon Legion."
"From this moment onward, Isstvan V is under the full authority of my Omegon Legion. Those loyal to Horus, you have only two choices: obedience or death."
"You will become nourishment for Chaos, aiding me in destroying this rotten empire filled with lies. The false Emperor, who deceived all of you with his so-called Imperial Truth, will receive my judgment."
"I will open a new age belonging to humanity, and make that damned false Emperor pay the price!"
"Horus, Imperial Warmaster, if you know what is good for you, order your people to surrender quickly. I do not wish for meaningless sacrifices."
"Remember: any resistance from any of you is meaningless. I am the one who defines the endgame!"
As he spoke, the surging tides of the Warp began sweeping through the entire Isstvan system.
Isstvan V in particular was covered by a dark purple shadow that blotted out the sky, like a night curtain hanging over everyone's heads.
Countless eyes opened in the heavens and began rotating rapidly. Every moment, they radiated terrifying Warp energy outward.
And the ground forces affected by it, whether loyalist or rebel, all began to mutate without exception.
The most obvious cases were the mortal soldiers. They began going mad, roaring and screaming before attacking the nearest friendly forces. Having lost all reason, they were completely reduced to slaves of Chaos.
The Astartes were not doing much better. Quite a few resisted briefly before falling into madness as well, and that number continued to expand.
In contrast, a portion of loyalist Word Bearers managed to resist the corruption of Chaos through their absolute faith in the Emperor. They even attempted to fight back and save the battle-brothers around them.
Even though they had still been enemies moments earlier, before an even more hateful heresy, they could temporarily set their hatred aside.
"Omegon Legion? Guilliman! You bastard, do you even know what you're saying?!"
Bruce withstood Chaos's erosion of his sanity and immediately drank a bottle of transformation drink.
In the next moment, a golden sacred domain opened, carving out a small safe zone amid the malicious Warp tide.
At the same time, he used psychic power to counter Guilliman's hijacking and transmitted the Emperor's voice to the Imperial forces trapped in despair.
Although he was not the true Emperor, at this moment, the Emperor's voice really could inspire them!
The situation had not yet become that hopeless!
"And who are you? A fellow I have never seen before. You carry that false Emperor's power, but you are not him, are you?"
Guilliman asked patiently.
"Heh. Same to you. You aren't that Guilliman either. If I'm guessing correctly, the Chaos Gods summoned you into this world, didn't they?"
Bruce directly exposed the truth behind this impostor "Guilliman."
The real Guilliman was being watched specially by the blue fat cat on Bruce's orders!
Forget suddenly dispatching a fleet to attack Isstvan. Even if Guilliman arrived a few minutes late to a morning meeting because of constipation, Bruce would know it clearly.
And when he thought of Tzeentch's capacity for causing trouble, the sudden appearance of an apocryphal Guilliman was not exactly strange.
His safety redundancy had not been thorough enough!
Otherwise, I would have killed you along with the rest!
"Chaos... hehehe..."
Guilliman could not help laughing coldly.
"Look. Listen. Soldiers of the Imperium. Your Master of Mankind, the Emperor you serve, has always deceived you with the so-called Imperial Truth."
"This world is nowhere near as simple as he claimed. And why would that be?"
"Because He is a god. And the stairway to godhood requires sacrifices. You, and we, are all part of those sacrifices. That is the truth."
"Heh! You're a mouth full of lies. After saying so much, all you're doing is adding a fig leaf over your rebellion."
Seeing that the situation was turning bad, Bruce immediately struck back and seized control of the conversation again.
He cursed:
"Your actions constitute betrayal against the Imperium of Man! You will pay the price for this!"
"Price? Perhaps. What about you? Will you also pay the price for your lies?"
"I have already reported this to the Council of Terra. Even if you seize control here, you absolutely cannot win. Soon, the other Legions will arrive!"
Bruce once again tried to rouse morale.
"The Council of Terra? How laughable. Did you forget? I too am a member of the Council of Terra. I, Roboute Guilliman, King of the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar."
"I provided endless resources and manpower for your Great Crusade, yet what I received in return was a fraud filled with lies and conspiracies."
"Your era is destined to end. And I will personally embrace a new world where humanity and the Warp are fused as one."
"Rebellion is rebellion, Guilliman. No matter how much you say, you cannot change that fact!"
Bruce gnashed his teeth.
"My rebellion is not a process. It is the end of the galaxy. My Legion is the executor of that end. As for all of you, you are merely expendable material along the road to the end."
Guilliman declared.
"You will pay for your shameful betrayal! I guarantee it!"
"Imperial soldiers who can still hear my voice! In the Emperor's name, I summon you here. I need your strength! Destroy every traitor within your sight as much as you can!"
"And then..."
"Break out!"
"I will fight to the death! And you must go to Holy Terra! Protect her! Protect the homeworld of humanity!"
"You are my pride!"
Hiss—
The psychic voice ringing in everyone's ears suddenly cut off.
Immediately afterward, the loyalists answered the "Emperor's" call through action.
The Emperor is fighting to the death as our rearguard?
Damn it!
What kind of joke is that?!
Even if someone must die, that is our duty!!!
"Are you all right?"
Ferrus watched Bruce suddenly drop to one knee and cough up a mouthful of blood, then hurried forward to ask in concern.
Although he still was not certain why Bruce could transform into the Emperor, he understood that this Astartes, deeply trusted by the Emperor and the Warmaster, was now absolutely the key to breaking the situation.
"I'm... fine..."
Bruce wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and endured the intense pain as he said:
"I only overused my psychic power."
In order to completely shut Guilliman up, Bruce had personally closed off part of the Warp field covering Isstvan V. But to him, that was a tremendous burden on his hardware.
The use of any power required a price.
Bruce was no exception.
One had to remember that in the 41st millennium, the Emperor had once possessed a little girl. After using the Emperor's power as His vessel, she had died completely.
Now, as a vessel himself, Bruce could not escape that rule either. Even though he was an Astartes and possessed a much stronger body, the principle was the same.
"We have to find a way to evacuate. This is not a place humans should stay. The enemy's home-field advantage is too great. We are very passive right now."
Bruce turned to Ferrus and said.
"Evacuate? Are you sure?"
Ferrus asked in confusion.
To him, the enemy merely held the upper hand in psychological warfare. No matter how strong Guilliman's Legion was, could it really be stronger than all of them?
At worst, the Primarchs gathered here could board his flagship together, join hands, and butcher him. Wouldn't that end things?
Was there any need to be this cowardly?
"Evacuate!"
Bruce looked at Ferrus and emphasized:
"The enemy this time is special! We must have the Emperor personally deal with this matter. Aside from Him, no one can handle this fallen one who has thrown himself into Chaos."
This was Guilliman from the Great Heresy, a ruthless man who had sacrificed half of Ultramar as his bargaining chip.
He had received blessings from all four Chaos Gods at the same time and killed Be'lakor, becoming Chaos Warmaster.
In a certain sense, this Guilliman was even more terrifying than the canon Horus chosen by the Four Gods.
That was why Bruce felt that, aside from the Emperor Himself, no one could deal with this Guilliman!
"Evacuate..."
Ferrus was still somewhat hesitant.
But when he looked at Fulgrim, half-dead on the ground, and at some of his sons who had fallen into madness and been executed, that unwillingness to admit defeat suddenly withered.
Furthermore, Warmaster Horus's condition was unclear, and the command layer had been completely severed. Unless they regrouped and redeployed, even more Legions would not be able to become a single fist and smash the enemy to death.
Reason finally overcame impulse.
"Pass down the order. Retreat immediately!"
"Have the Emperor's Children take up their weapons again. Protect their Primarch and return to the fleet! From now on, they will be under my command!"
Ferrus, unable to bear it, issued another order.
Considering that the worst-case scenario might require close combat against Guilliman's Legion, the unarmed Emperor's Children would certainly become fish on a chopping board.
They might as well return their weapons.
Even if an unexpected situation truly occurred, they would at least have the strength to defend themselves.
"Yes!"
Under Ferrus's self-built, highly efficient command chain, the order was soon conveyed.
The Emperor's Children, who had been prisoners, regained their arms. They would also accept Ferrus's instructions unconditionally.
"I need to gather my troops too."
Bruce looked toward the Night Lords who had boarded with him, only to discover that only three of them remained now.
"Come here..."
"!!!"
The three Night Lords did not dare delay. They immediately ran over and knelt on one knee.
"I have a mission for you. Notify our company. First, gather together! Then withdraw toward the Remilia! Remember: gather first, then withdraw! No one is to be left behind!"
"If I die, Alfred takes command! If Alfred dies, Wuzhi takes command! If Wuzhi also dies, Warfarin takes command!"
"If you understood, then go carry it out!"
As he spoke, Bruce handed three Remilia badges flickering with starlight to them. They were tokens, as well as military seals proving Bruce's order.
"Then... what about you, Acting Commander?"
"Me? Don't worry about me. I'm with Lord Ferrus. He'll protect me."
Bruce took a deep breath and answered.
"Go! Don't waste time! If you fly over to find them now, there's still time!"
"I can't move."
"This is an order!!!!!"
Bruce roared. The three Night Lords Raptors were so frightened that they shuddered, immediately rose, activated their jump packs, and carried out the command.
"Can you really manage?"
Ferrus looked at Bruce's sickly appearance and shook his head.
"I'm fine... I'm used to it..."
Bruce stood and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Then he stated:
"Let me make this clear first. In the worst-case scenario, I will only take you and Fulgrim away from here to an absolutely safe place."
"Hm?"
Ferrus tried to analyze the confidence behind Bruce's statement.
But very soon, Ferrus stopped thinking about it.
Because large-scale drop pods marked with the Q symbol and the eight-pointed star of Chaos were descending. Immediately afterward, large numbers of Chaos Astartes began trying to seize the landing zone.
It was exactly the same thing the loyalists had done to the rebels several hours earlier.
Only now, the roles had been reversed.
"I will protect you as we break out. Do not think of the situation too pessimistically."
Ferrus gripped the warhammer in his hand.
Then he issued a loud order.
"Iron Hands! Emperor's Children! Hear my command!"
"Assemble!"
"Break through!"
"Slaughter the traitors!"
"For the Emperor!!!!"
The Iron Hands and Emperor's Children raised the weapons in their hands and roared battle cries loud enough to drown out the shriek of descending drop pods, answering Ferrus's call.
Then Ferrus fired a conspicuous, brilliant red flare into the sky.
That signal represented the highest alert state.
It was also the signal for all-out war.
Allied forces would gather toward him.
So would the enemy.
But Ferrus did not believe he would lose.
He had confidence that he could kill his way through the encirclement woven by the enemy.
In the Emperor's name!
It was only a traitor.
Watch how I smash you to death!
The hammer in my hand is not just for show!
Join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 180)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 285
"Is this chat group even serious?" 150
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 255
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 305
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (This matter is completely finished.)
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 155
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 96
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi 51
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 105
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (This matter is completely finished.)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 90
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 100
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 120
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 105
After Maxing Out Every Class 110
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 95
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 60
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 69
From Trilobites to Titans 57
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 75
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 86
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 70
Honkai: The Fire Devil 70
Honkai Transformation Cards Volume2/30
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 60
Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 74
At age 8, she co-starred with 45
Honkai: Schicksal Media 53
An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 30
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin