The explosion and destruction of a Hive City had already cast a shadow over Richard's chessboard.
Visibility across all major fronts was extremely low.
The smoke and dust thrown up by the blasts caused the planet's temperature to plummet.
Parts of the Boiling Sea froze over… and many daemonic forces could even cross the ice directly to attack the remaining Hive Cities.
Profane Daemon Engines began joining the battlefield in ever-increasing numbers… ever since Richard had directly twisted Khorne's Angron away, Khorne had intensified his investment in this planet.
On a single front alone, dozens of warlord-class Titans might appear… and Warhound-class and Reaver-class Titans would outnumber the warlord-class ones.
Both sides on the front lines had already produced iconic scenes of the Apocalypse War: Titans dueling across vast battlefronts, surrounded by death and destruction.
At this time, Richard did not command his pieces to join the fray… and Lion King also chose not to enter the battlefield, instead remaining in a state of rest and reorganization.
They contacted the Astartes Council and confirmed that a new Chapter would be joining the battle.
When Lion King first heard this news, he was optimistic.
At the very least, he wouldn't be holding the line alone… and he could see how the sons of another Primarch were performing these days.
However, when he learned the name of this Chapter, Lion King's face turned a bruised, iron-blue.
He felt as though the Astartes Council was playing a joke on him… of the nine loyalist Legions, which one couldn't they have sent? Why did they have to send this lot just to spite him?
Lion King's expression was extremely ugly, and Richard's expression was equally grim.
[Apocalypse War: Armageddon.]
[Fortified Defense Battle initiated!]
[You will garrison the remaining 5 core areas. Each time the enemy captures a strategic point… task rewards will decrease and task duration will increase.]
[You may also reorganize an offensive to retake lost points… but if you lose all points, this campaign will be judged a failure.]
Soon, all Hive City locations on the chessboard lit up… various troop deployments were displayed above each point.
Clearly, one could also judge the progress of the enemy's offensive by the yellow and red bars above.
Once the red bar overtook the yellow bar, it was clear that Khorne's forces held the advantage.
At such times, troops had to be urgently deployed to specified areas to help defenders hold the line.
Once the yellow bar completely overtook the red bar, the defense was clearly successful.
That point would not suffer Chaos incursions or threats in the short term.
However, as it stood, every single point was currently being contested.
The Hive worlds in the core regions and the main continent were holding up well, with yellow bars mostly maintaining a significant lead.
Local Titan Legions and Knight Houses were successfully garrisoning several important nodes.
As long as the Planetary Governor didn't waste these legions, they could basically hold out.
But near the sub-continents and jungle sections, the situation was more precarious.
Khorne had clearly committed more strength there than on other fronts.
The power bars for both sides were locked in an intense struggle. Some points were even actively contested.
[Current Mission Objective: Defend Armageddon. Failure Condition: Lose all Hive Worlds on Armageddon.]
[If the failure scenario is triggered, you will be forcibly transmigrated into the Warhammer world… you will personally play as a piece, struggling to survive in that harsh universe.]
[Survival duration: 30 days. During this period, you must escape the Imperial kill-zone.]
[Normal Scenario: You successfully defend Armageddon. Subsequently, the Grey Knights will destroy the Gate of the Red Angel…]
[Upon completion, you will receive rewards of Telepathy and Prophecy, and gain the psychic strength of a Beta-level Psyker.]
[Simultaneously, successful players… will be gifted life-extension surgery from the Adeptus Mechanicus, a Void Shield pendant, and expandable mechanical prosthetics.]
[Special Condition: Losing a Hive City will grant you an additional 2000 deployment points…]
[The Most Difficult Task: Turn the defensive war into an offensive one and destroy the Gate of the Red Angel ahead of schedule.]
[Ensure 30% of the planet's population survives… and put all demons on the planet to the torch.]
[Extra Rewards: One panacea STC construction template, one Artificial Womb from the Dark Age of Technology, and one set of Gene-Editing technology.]
"Huh?"
Richard hadn't even popularized the laser technology he had on hand… and now some expert arrives to reward him with a panacea STC template, plus an Artificial Womb and gene-editing tech from the Dark Age.
What was he supposed to do with these rewards in his hands? Change the world?
If these two technologies were spread, it would be a massive transformation for this world.
However, it would also likely bring moral disasters and a serious risk of societal collapse.
"Whatever, I'll take them first. Whether to use them or popularize them is a matter for later!"
"At the very least, that panacea STC template is an absolute divine artifact!"
Richard stuck to his usual approach… first ensuring he could complete the defense mission for Armageddon.
As for directly destroying the Gate of the Red Angel, that would depend on whether he had surplus troops.
Furthermore, the mission for this defensive campaign was very interesting; losing a point would add a full 2000 extra deployment points!
Across all of Armageddon, there were only 5 Hive Cities that needed defending now.
If he lost 4 points, he could practically become the Emperor himself.
Suddenly, Richard's eyes lit up!
He thought of a flashy strategy: deliberately allow the daemonic forces to occupy 4 Hive Cities at the critical moment.
Meanwhile, he would move most of the population to the Volcanic Hive on the main continent… then he'd have extra deployment points to drop a batch of troops and take out the Gate of the Red Angel directly.
This way, he could complete the original campaign mission and also earn the extra reward mission.
It would be far better than the original lore, where the Grey Knights purged the entire planet.
Richard didn't hesitate; he acted immediately.
He sent the strategic deployment map of the entire planet to Lion King and transmitted his strategic plan directly into Lion King's mind via thought.
[Lion King: Concentrate on defending the Volcanic Hive while evacuating and saving over 30% of the population?]
[The defense mission isn't that difficult, but ensuring over 30% of the population survives… that truly is a bit difficult!]
In a rest area of a military camp, Lion King calmed his heart and emotions, temporarily ignoring the fact that the Space Wolves were about to join the battlefield.
In any case, the Space Wolves were technically allies now… as long as the two sides didn't come into contact, anything else was fine.
He just hoped no idiot would interfere with his mission… after all, the task assigned by Father this time was extremely hard, requiring the preservation of over 30% of the Hive population.
[Richard: Yes… if we don't do this, the traitors' goal will be achieved!]
[They come to the material universe specifically to harvest mortal souls.]
[Only by stopping them can I help you. Only then will I have the chance in the future to resurrect the Emperor of the Second Empire, right?]
Looking at the sand table in his hands, Lion King almost lost it again… hearing "Second Empire," his head thudded heavily against the edge of the sand table desk.
The surrounding Dark Angels hurriedly pulled their Primarch up… from the Primarch's expression, one could see his face was truly strained.
[Lion King: Say no more, say no more!]
[That was all an accident. We didn't know your condition. At the time, Guilliman, Sanguinius, and I all thought you were dead…]
[That's why we reluctantly agreed to Guilliman's proposal to establish the Second Empire. It was all an accident!]
Seeing Lion King's reaction on the chessboard, Richard was truly about to burst out laughing.
It looked like he had found the Little Lion's weak spot; just a little squeeze and the little guy would bristle.
"My Lord Primarch, what's wrong?" The surrounding Dark Angels were worried about the Primarch's state.
Although the Primarch had awakened some superpowers he didn't have before… his mental state seemed even more peculiar.
Genetically, they were certain this person was their Primarch.
But from their current feeling, this Primarch before them was truly… strange…
"It's nothing…"
"Sigh, it seems the secret regarding the Second Empire has been fully exposed!"
"But fortunately, only Father knows. Others don't know yet!"
The Knight Commander was slightly stunned but said righteously:
"Doesn't that mean the Emperor has permitted our actions?"
"And the Emperor also believes that we were doing it to save the Empire!"
"My Lord Primarch, this is a great thing!"
"If it's truly as you say, and the God-Emperor has a way to resurrect Sanguinius, then there's no reason we couldn't re-establish the Second Empire!"
"Stop, stop right there!" Lion King poked his palm with his finger; he didn't want to mention this mess anymore.
It was all a confused account from the era of the Great Heresy; he didn't want to touch it now.
Are you kidding? Father is right inside my head, and you want to build your damn Second Empire?
Are you trying to roast your own mother-figure over a fire?
These brats must be starving for trouble to even think of such a sacrilegious thing!
"Let's just finish the upcoming mission first!"
"Having received enlightenment, our mission this time is to ensure the survival of over 30% of the Hive World's population and destroy the Gate of the Red Angel if possible!"
"Currently, our forces are very thin. Relying solely on ourselves, we certainly won't be able to destroy the Gate of the Red Angel!"
At this point, Lion King paused slightly.
Then, he had his children look at the sand table again. He placed the pieces representing the Space Wolves around the Gate of the Red Angel.
"I have two proposals here!"
"One is to cooperate with the Space Wolves for a joint assault on the Gate of the Red Angel. If we do that, there's a probability of destroying it directly."
"However, we'd need to send a representative to negotiate with the Space Wolves."
"Who among you is willing to take this mission?"
Lion King looked around at the brats who were staring at each other blankly.
Their hearts were filled with bitterness. Asking the Space Wolves for help? Were those words that could actually come out of a Primarch's mouth?
"My Lord Primarch, what is the second option?" the Knight Commander asked.
"The second option is to migrate the vast majority of the population to the Volcanic Hive!"
"They'll have to pass through the dense jungles, and we must ensure at least 30% of the population reaches the Hive!"
"Then, if any Hive City falls along the way, Father will use his influence to send reinforcements!"
"Once the reinforcements arrive, we can strike and destroy the Gate of the Red Angel… during this time, we only need to ensure the Volcanic Hive doesn't fall and that most of the population survives!"
Lion King laid out the two simple mission paths before every one of his children.
It was better to discuss things, or at least that's how Lion King intended to act on the surface.
Two choices, two answers.
The first choice was extremely risky and required swallowing their pride and begging the Space Wolves for help.
In comparison, the second was clearly more reliable. Not only would they have the God-Emperor's support… but the mission pressure overall seemed easier.
Of course, for the Dark Angels, compared to sucking up to those Space Barbarians, they were much more willing to choose the second option, even if it was harder.
"Lord Primarch, I believe the second option is more reliable!"
"Those Wolf Pups are just a bunch of savages. Fighting alongside them, we're only likely to fail!"
"These aren't two choices; there's clearly only one choice!"
"Exactly!" another veteran Terminator nearby couldn't help but chime in.
"The Knight Commander is right!"
"Executing a mission with a bunch of uncivilized savages… no matter how you think about it, it's just wrong!"
"His Majesty is still too kind to those barbarians. The God-Emperor surely doesn't know how unreliable those guys are!"
Pfft!
Watching this little drama unfold, Richard couldn't keep a straight face.
That first plan wasn't even his idea; it was clearly Lion King using such tactics to provoke his children.
As expected of being born from the same mother… these brats' grievances against the Space Wolves were still at a maximum.
Rather than being teammates with the Space Wolves, they'd rather go it alone to protect the vast majority of the Hive population.
The Dark Angels had a strong aversion to cooperating with the Space Wolves… when the two Chapters met, it was a miracle if they didn't start fighting each other.
"Mm." Lion King nodded with satisfaction, a hint of a successful scheme flickering in his eyes.
Clearly, he was extremely pleased with his children's performance. If any child had actually dared to suggest cooperating with the Space Savages…
…Lion King was prepared to immediately judge that veteran as a Fallen Angel and lock him up first.
"Sigh…" Although Richard didn't have Telepathy yet, how could he not guess the Lion's thoughts?
One could only say the Lion's heart was narrower than a needle's eye. Couldn't he be a bit more magnanimous and show some conscience?
Though… if he did open up his heart, Slaanesh would probably die of laughter.
However… to complete this mission, Richard couldn't simply let Lion King use brute force to move the population.
Richard had to take a curved path to loyalty, utilizing the Orks in the forest to further deplete Khorne's offensive forces.
As the saying goes, the essence of Warhammer 40k is one big chaotic brawl.
As someone who could deploy countless pieces, Richard naturally couldn't just use Imperial pieces.
At this moment, Richard actually had a squad of Orks in his hand… he even had a Warboss like Ghazghkull.
But if he released standard Orks, it would inevitably lead to conflict with the Empire, which would have a serious negative impact on his mission.
But what if he could command these wild Orks?
Then wouldn't they become his helpers?
Richard focused his gaze once more on that Hulk figurine.
Why couldn't he be a Warboss?
It would be quite reasonable to let the Hulk be an Ork Warlord, wouldn't it?
Picking up the Hulk piece, he walked over to the chessboard.
Then, Richard used his Designate ability on the piece.
"You are the strongest Ork Warboss!"
"You will lead these greenskins to complete a massive Waaagh!"
"You will kill those red-skinned daemons to prove you are the biggest and most Waaagh, and you always believe you are a person, but that doesn't stop you from feeling like the chosen of Gork and Mork."
[Designation successful. Deploy directly?]
[This deployment of a special piece will consume one thousand deployment points!]
"Yes!"
With a smile on his face, Richard placed the piece into the dense jungle.
At this moment… there just happened to be an Ork tribe resting and recuperating there.
"If you want to read advance Chapter.
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