I have now initiated an awesome boarding action, leaping into an Ork Super Gargant on par with an Emperor Titan.
You'll never guess who wasn't invited. Answer: all of you.
Of course, it wasn't that Zhou Ye didn't care about his Honor Guard. In fact, he cared a great deal. They were a matter of prestige, true prestige.
Besides, one should never underestimate an Honor Guard. Take the Ultramarines' Honor Guard, for example. They were truly capable of pulling their Primarch out of the fire, though the cost was immense. Look at the Sanguinary Guard of the Blood Angels; they all perished alongside Sanguinius aboard the Vengeful Spirit. They undoubtedly fought with all their might to save him, only to fall at Horus's hands.
As for the Iron Hands, the only Legion whose Primarch perished while they survived to return, they were bullied internally for a very long time.
While Zhou Ye didn't think he would fail—at worst, it would just be an unprofitable fight—he still chose to bring them along this time. After all, there was a big one in here.
An Ork Warboss, or perhaps something even greater. Possibly a Warlord, a Beast, or even an Ancient Ork.
Of course, an Ancient Ork was virtually impossible, but a Beast was a real possibility. During the War of the Beast, those things were terrifyingly capable of suppressing the Primarch Vulkan. And while it was best not to dwell on the War of the Beast, Zhou Ye had to be cautious. Who knew what kind of ridiculous nonsense these Orks might pull?
So he was bringing his men down with him. This way, he could ensure that no one would interfere when he had his one-on-one duel with the Ork leader.
After all, in the wars to come, especially after the Great Rift opened, Angron, empowered by Khorne, could shatter a planet with a single blow. His own Honkai energy was ultimately finite, and Zhou Ye couldn't be certain of his opponent's resistance.
Don't be fooled by how easily he had destroyed the Super Gargant; if there was some strange factor that could weaken his power, things could get ugly.
But just as the duels between Kings in Dragon Raja were always blade-to-flesh, close combat was the most noble form of warfare.
After all, even Magnus's planet-shattering psychic power hadn't been very effective when used directly on Guilliman. He mostly used his powers to hurl mountains like a catapult rather than blasting Guilliman directly.
These beings could not be underestimated. And while the Great Rift had not yet opened and the Chaos Gods' support for their Primarchs was far weaker than it would be later, Zhou Ye, out of an abundance of caution, needed his men to help him create a space where he could duel the Ork leader undisturbed. This, too, was part of the plan.
"My Lord!!!"
So Zhou Ye hovered in mid-air, waiting for them to catch up.
But as they drew closer, Zhou Ye realized that apart from Asmodai and Rylanor, who seemed to be in good spirits, everyone else looked like they were about to cry. It was only then that Zhou Ye realized he had made another huge mistake.
When he had designed their Gene-seed, he had perhaps over-engineered it. They had all seen the memories of Sanguinius boarding the Vengeful Spirit alongside the Emperor.
"Why do I always feel like my sins are piling up? Whatever, this must be Tzeentch's fault."
Zhou Ye decisively passed the buck to Tzeentch, then grabbed his men and led them slowly down into the Battle Moon below.
However, the Battle Moon was currently a hive of activity. A massive battle seemed to be raging within.
"Who's in there?" Zhou Ye muttered, watching the battle below.
He was a little confused. Who could be so bold, even more so than himself, to charge directly into a Battle Moon and start a brawl?
---o---
Outside...
Thump, thump, thump!!!
With a series of heavy footsteps, Aslot finally rendezvoused with the main Star of Trailblaze force.
He had spotted the other reinforcements, and especially noted their numbers. After all, Chris had brought his Storm Troopers, one of the most powerful mortal legions in the Imperium. So the two groups had joined forces. Their enemies, aside from the Greenskins, included a massive horde of Genestealers and, in the distance, the Slaaneshi daemonic legion.
They had temporarily changed their strategy. Zhou Ye's final order before leaving was for them to establish a fortified position and hold it. So the Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors here had begun using everything at their disposal to construct defenses. Now that new forces had arrived, they were more than welcome.
Seeing the familiar liveries and insignias, Chris finally let out a long sigh of relief. He had found his target. His eyes quickly scanned the area, searching for familiar faces and that damned Magos 010 Omega, but unfortunately, he found no one. While there were plenty of Cogboys here, none of them were his target.
Nearby, Metaurus also breathed a sigh of relief, hoping to find his Chapter's Ancient. But before either of them could speak...
Clang, clang, clang.
With the grinding of machinery, Aslot charged over.
"Where is the Lord? Where are the others? The Old Lion, the Old Stone, the Old Schemer?" Aslot demanded, looking utterly frantic as he arrived at the defensive line and grabbed an Imperial Fist who was directing the construction.
This time, he refrained from performing an Aruba. After all, the man hadn't done anything to him.
"Ancient, the other Ancients, along with our champion, have accompanied the Lord in boarding the Battle Moon. We are under orders to establish a defensive perimeter here and hold against all attacks until his return. With the fortifications we are constructing, not even a Daemon Primarch will be able to break through in a short time."
The Imperial Fist was momentarily stunned by the bright yellow Contemptor Dreadnought before him, but he recognized him nonetheless. Wasn't he the one who left with the Lamenters, temporarily loaned to them to watch over things? Why has he changed his livery now? A look of pity crossed the Imperial Fist's face.
Ah, he's been abandoned by the Lord.
"NO!!!"
Hearing this news, Aslot released the Imperial Fist. He then fell to his knees in utter despair. Such a holy boarding action, and they didn't take him.
He quickly retreated into a gloomy corner, curling up into a self-pitying ball, the very picture of a teary-eyed cat head.
"Ancient, you are now the most senior warrior here. Until the Lord returns, please take command. We must hold back the Daemon Primarch and not allow him to interfere with our Lord's battle."
"Leave it to me."
Looking at the Imperial Fist, Aslot's spirits were instantly lifted.
That's right! If the Lord left me here, it means he planned for this! He entrusted me with this heavy responsibility! The Lord still values me!
Thinking this, Aslot cheerfully began to direct the defensive preparations. To be fair, with an Emperor Titan and a Warlord Titan at the center of their position, the defensive line they could build around those two cores would have more than enough firepower.
"Is that a son of Rogal Dorn?" Malakim asked, dumbfounded, watching the Imperial Fist with the explosive emotional intelligence. He had been about to go and comfort the Dreadnought, but the senior Imperial Fist had already handled it. This completely defied his stereotype of the sons of Rogal Dorn. But it was for the best.
At this moment, no one, not even Metaurus of the Ultramarines or Seth of the Flesh Tearers, had any objections. By the way, they had also deployed their entire Chapters. Under the direction of the Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors, the group began to rapidly dig in. But...
"This is wrong. It should be like this."
"That's useless. It should be like this..."
They had all grown accustomed to the bickering between these two. Of course, while they argued, it was purely verbal sparring and didn't affect the construction progress. The defensive line was being rapidly constructed by the combined efforts of the Astartes and the Astra Militarum's finest.
Aiswei'er was the only one with nothing to do. After all, no one here was ordinary. Even Captain America would be considered bottom-tier in this crowd. Naturally, no one would let an Ecclesiarchy priestess, and a female one at that, do manual labor.
So, Aiswei'er was staring blankly into the distance. At the edge of her vision, she could see a brilliant pink-purple light. That was the Slaaneshi daemonic legion, the great enemy of the Imperium of Man for ten thousand years.
But at this moment, Aiswei'er was silently weeping. She could feel a wave of deep sorrow and hatred. The emotion was so strong that it brought tears to her eyes, though she had no idea why she felt this way.
"Which Primarch do you follow?"
At that moment, Chris finally found an opportunity to question the other Star of Trailblaze Space Marines. But for some reason, they all ignored him.
This annoyed him, and he was about to say something, but Metaurus pulled him back, signaling him not to ask.
"Huh?"
"These are veterans. Veterans older than me."
"..."
Chris fell silent. He then glanced at the gleaming gold studs on Metaurus's forehead. One stud for every hundred years. This man had four. He was a veteran of over four hundred years, and possibly even more.
Older than him? How is that possible...
Chris felt he had discovered a secret. But as a representative of the Golden Throne, he felt he needed to be wary of them.
Hearing this, however, Aiswei'er turned her head to look. A holy golden light flickered in her pupils.
But this only made her tilt her head in confusion. In her vision, these Star of Trailblaze Space Marines appeared grayish-white, as if something special were shielding her sight, or as if some filth had gotten in.
This made her pause for a moment, and she couldn't help but rub her eyes. When she looked again, the holy gold in her eyes was gone. The figures of the Space Marines had returned to normal.
"?"
She was bewildered. But just then, she felt a wave of excitement. That inner consciousness seemed to have discovered a new continent, and was now filled with a sense of wonder.
"Astartes... nearly immune to Chaos corruption..."
In a daze, a voice echoed in her ear. This felt incredibly strange. As Astartes who fought against Chaos, wasn't being immune to Chaos normal?
Aiswei'er was full of doubt, but she said nothing. Instead, she continued to pray to the Emperor, helping to maintain a massive faith barrier for everyone.
Faith was a mysterious and ridiculously powerful thing, even more so than the psychic powers of the Warp. After all, psychic power followed certain rules, but faith was another matter entirely.
"Mario, could you perhaps reveal a little information about that Lord?"
Since the Star of Trailblaze marines wouldn't talk to him, Chris approached the Lamenters. The company commander was currently leading a large group of little yellow chicks, taking orders from an Imperial Fist and manning the fortifications.
He was also explaining things to his own Chapter Master. After all, suddenly gaining over a hundred new battle-brothers, a ten-thousand-year-old Ancient, and their lavish equipment required an explanation.
So Chris casually sidled over, hoping to listen in.
"After the battle, if we are still alive, come back with me to see that priest for the Primaris surgery. It's a technology developed by the Emperor ten thousand years ago, but for various reasons, it was never implemented."
"?"
Just as he got close, Chris heard Mario pitching the Primaris surgery to his Chapter Master. This made him freeze. He was quickly reminded of that man, Magos 010 Omega.
This wasn't surprising. It was Magos 010 Omega, after all. As for why the Emperor never implemented it, the reason was simple. First, the technology was probably only completed late in the Great Crusade. Second, if he had implemented it, it would have meant a completely new type of soldier, making the original Astartes obsolete. The relationship between the Astartes and the Imperium was already strained enough; there was no need to add fuel to the fire.
But unfortunately, as soon as Chris got close, Mario stopped talking.
Their Chapter Master, Malakim, simply nodded. Primaris conversion sounded good. The Lamenters had no strange traditions to uphold; they could fully convert.
This made Chris's face darken. He suspected these tin cans were deliberately shutting him out.
---o---
"Who the heck is so brave?"
As Zhou Ye landed, he was surprised to find that someone was already fighting the Orks. The area was riddled with blaster marks.
---o---