Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor

Chapter 801 - 801: 800

???The virtual projection of the distant airspace left Eden and the others inside the Chaos temple completely stunned.

No one had expected Guilliman, the nine-hour specialist, to arrive in time with reinforcements, much less charge alone straight into the faces of Horus and the other fallen traitors.

It was hard to say whether that brother was lucky or unlucky.

Good news: Brother Guilliman had arrived in time as support and could participate in the great final duel between Primarchs.

Bad news: he was warming up and about to go in alone.

"This is trouble, brothers." Eden took a deep breath and nearly failed to keep his composure. His heart was heavy with worry.

He knew that no matter how reckless Guilliman could be, he would never be reckless enough to charge alone right up to Horus and the other fallen Primarchs.

The most likely explanation was that the man's luck had been terrible. He had tragically translated into the Chaos coalition's position, and in the enemy's rear at that.

Without question, Guilliman was facing extreme danger. Horus and the other fallen Primarchs would surround and beat him down.

There was even a risk he might fall.

Even more troublesome was that Eden and his other brothers could not simply abandon their main base and run into the rear of Horus's Chaos coalition to fish Guilliman out.

That would seriously affect the entire battle. Even more human armies would die because of it, and it could even lead to the fall of New Dragonwood.

In a war of this scale, any fluctuation meant hundreds of millions of lives. One move could affect the entire front.

Of course, this could not be blamed on Guilliman. Any kind of accident could happen in war. That was unavoidable.

All that could be said was that this brother was a little unlucky. Perhaps being surrounded and beaten down was simply his daily routine.

"Old Roboute may not be much of a fighter, but he is pretty good at taking a beating and staying alive, right?"

Eden frowned deeply.

He was thinking through how they should respond to this situation, as well as that brother's chances of survival.

To Eden, as long as Old Roboute did not die, any result was acceptable. After all, that brother had been surrounded and beaten down more than once or twice.

The man had a strangely metaphysical constitution where every time he deployed, he was guaranteed to run into an ambush. Perhaps he could even draw some enemy fire.

"We cannot change the plan. That would be far too dangerous." A trace of pain crossed the Lion's face, but he gave the rational answer.

This was an important battle between humanity and Chaos. They had to consider the bigger picture.

The Khan, Dorn, Corax, and the other Primarch brothers all fell silent when they heard that.

They also knew that going out to save Guilliman at this moment would be a terrible decision. They could not act on impulse.

Compared with the Savior, who understood the situation better, these Primarchs were even more worried for that brother's safety, but there was nothing they could do.

"Brothers, I have reached the battlefield.

"Hope remains. We will fight side by side and settle our grudge with Horus..."

At that moment, Guilliman's firm, battle-hungry voice came through the communication system. Faintly, there was even a trace of satisfaction, as if he had finally fulfilled a long-held wish.

But his voice cut in and out. Clearly, the message had been delayed before arriving at the command core.

Eden and the other Primarchs heard the transmission, then looked again at the image in midair.

The Vengeful Spirit and the other Chaos Gloriana-class flagships were closing in around the Eternal Soul, where Guilliman was located.

What followed would be an extremely brutal beating, one almost too painful to watch.

Even if they rushed to rescue him now, it was already a little too late.

"Poor Roboute." Perturabo shook his head. He could already imagine what that loyalist Primarch was about to suffer.

"I hope he can hold out and escape the encirclement." The Lion stared at the small ship where Guilliman was, murmuring under his breath.

He was worried about the fate of that old rival.

As for the other Primarch brothers, they could not help mourning for Guilliman as well. Even if he managed to escape, he would most likely be viciously beaten and severely wounded first.

Calgar and the other genetic sons of the Ultramarines Primarch closed their eyes in pain, unable to keep watching.

Their gene-father was about to face a crisis he could hardly withstand. If they could, they would rush up to support him this instant.

But they also carried military orders, and they knew that without a full-scale sortie, charging in themselves would only mean dying for nothing.

"The battle plan remains unchanged. I will think of some other way." Eden let out a long sigh and said that.

He still decided to find a way to pull Old Roboute out without affecting the larger plan.

The current situation was dangerous, and there was indeed a possibility that Old Roboute might fall, but the odds were not absolute.

After all, the Eternal Soul's defensive capability was not bad. If Guilliman was lucky, perhaps he could break out of the encirclement.

After the Savior made his decision and issued his orders, everyone began moving one after another and took up their respective duties.

They would carry out their own missions, giving everything they had, even their lives, to win this decisive battle against the traitors of Chaos for humanity.

It was a war of vengeance that had lasted ten thousand years, and a battle for humanity to wash away its shame.

...

Not long before.

The Eternal Soul burst out of the Warp, stirring ripples through the void. The spreading Warp energy even covered the hull.

"...we will fight side by side and settle our grudge with Horus. Humanity endures!"

Guilliman sent the message of his arrival to the Savior's channel, unable to stop himself from making a declaration.

His entire body trembled with excitement, and his voice was firm.

Ten thousand years. He had finally arrived in the Sol System on time to provide support, without being blocked by Chaos.

This time, there was no Warp labyrinth, no Vengeful Spirit. He had truly arrived at the target region.

There was no helping it. In the past, the Lord of Ultramar had been repeatedly obstructed by Chaos and had never managed to provide support smoothly.

Ten thousand years ago, during the Siege of Terra, the Vengeful Spirit had trapped him in circles.

Two hundred years ago, when he awakened and returned to Holy Terra, he was besieged and intercepted again. His entire fleet was dragged into the Maelstrom, where Greater Daemons of Chaos, the Red Corsairs, and many other Chaos entities battered him until he fell again and again.

The fleet had held on inside the Maelstrom's chaotic space-time for hundreds of years before finally crawling out. It had been a brutal ordeal.

Not long ago, when he returned from the Warp turbulence region, he had run into an enhanced version of the Vengeful Spirit trap.

If Brother Eden had not helped him, he likely would have been dragged under and failed to reach the Sol System.

These experiences flashed through Guilliman's mind, and his brows knitted together.

Yet even after arriving in the Sol System, he had still been affected by turbulence while supporting Holy Terra. By the time he arrived, not only had all of Terra been transferred away, but there was not even a single person in sight.

Those Primarch brothers, the Imperial armies, and the Chaos coalition had all moved to the New Dragonwood battlefield.

"Fortunately, this time I reached my destination smoothly. No obstruction, and no lateness..."

Guilliman still felt a lingering fear, but also a trace of relief.

He, the Lord of Ultramar, the Ultramarines Primarch, had not missed the great decisive battle between Primarchs.

Fate had changed.

"Brothers, I have arrived." Guilliman looked at the hazy New Dragonwood in the distance and clenched his fist, murmuring to himself.

His heart was full of battle intent.

Yet in the next instant, the ship's radar let out a piercing alarm.

"Warning. Large number of high-risk signals detected. This vessel must evade immediately..."

The ancient machine-spirit recovered from intense overload, scanned the enemy signals around them, and rapidly issued a warning to Guilliman.

With the Eternal Soul's current capabilities, it would be difficult to withstand so many high-risk targets at once.

If they did not leave this dangerous region immediately, the ship could face destruction.

When the ancient machine-spirit issued its warning, an immense shadow had already swept over them, oppressive beyond words.

???

Guilliman sensed the threat and quickly turned to look.

Through the dome, he saw a Chaos flagship speeding toward him from nearby. Its shape was painfully familiar.

The vessel was like a black mountain in the void, sharp-edged and heavily armored, covered in the finest ceramite plating and weapons arrays.

Most of its once-shining golden trim and aquila reliefs had peeled away or been scraped off. In their place were rough-painted crimson wolf heads and twisted Chaos runes.

The hull was lined with numerous abominable weapons arrays, while the prow was fitted with three rows of giant macro-cannons, their dark muzzles like the fangs of some colossal beast.

Black fell energy flowed along its edges, radiating a powerful pressure that made the heart sink.

"That is the Ven... Vengeful Spirit?!"

Guilliman's voice went hoarse. He even stammered. He would never forget that ship, the mount of the traitor Horus.

The Lord of Ultramar's PTSD flared again. The shadow of being trapped by the Vengeful Spirit surged back into his mind, making his body tremble involuntarily.

He was completely numb. It was as if he had fallen into an inescapable fate and once again encountered that hateful Chaos flagship.

Even more terrifyingly, beside the Vengeful Spirit were the Gloriana-class flagships of Mortarion, Angron, and the other fallen Primarchs.

Behind the fallen Primarchs' flagship mounts were dense ranks of Chaos warships and void creatures. It was clearly a massive Chaos fleet.

"Not good. This is Horus's assembly point!"

Guilliman realized he had blundered into the Chaos coalition's gathering area, and the central gathering point at that.

Horus and the other fallen Primarchs were all here, nearly surrounding the Eternal Soul.

This act of directly charging into the enemy's core region was even worse than Abaddon running into the Imperium's main fleet at the start of the Fourteenth Black Crusade.

That unlucky incident had caused the Despoiler's Fourteenth Black Crusade to collapse on the spot.

But the Lord of Ultramar had fallen straight into the Chaos nest. His fate would probably be even more brutal.

After all, Abaddon had brought a fleet at the time. Guilliman had only one lonely old ship, and it did not even have many shipboard weapons.

Forget breaking through. Even staying alive would be extremely difficult.

"Am I still unable to escape the fate of being intercepted?"

Guilliman swallowed. His resolute face twisted slightly, as if he had put on a mask of pain.

This support attempt of his seemed to have failed again. Again, and again, and again.

"Roboute, it has been a long time. What a pity that when I conquered Terra ten thousand years ago, you failed to return in time to fight me..."

Before Guilliman could react, the phantoms of Horus and the other fallen Primarchs were projected onto the bridge, staring tightly at him.

The Dark Emperor opened with a critical hit, making Guilliman's mask of pain burn even hotter.

When Horus saw Guilliman, he was almost overjoyed. He had finally found a breakthrough point in this battle.

Earlier, he and the fallen Primarchs had struggled past the xenos obstruction and used the dark rift to reach New Dragonwood's perimeter.

But by then, New Dragonwood had already been occupied by the Savior and armed at terrifying speed.

The dense defensive arrays and land-based long-range heavy cannons were enough to make anyone recoil, and they had already destroyed the Chaos fleets that drew near.

Horus and the other fallen Primarchs discovered, to their misery, that it would be very difficult for them to return to the Chaos coalition's main base in the Sol System in the short term.

That was an unbearable humiliation.

More importantly, the Savior's fleets were still arriving without pause. They had to rely on New Dragonwood to break out of the Sol System. Otherwise, under relentless attacks, the Chaos coalition would be...

Annihilated.

Just as Horus and the other fallen Primarchs were anxiously organizing an offensive plan, Guilliman had appeared in his little battered ship, clear as day.

It was simply the arrangement of fate.

Horus knew that the Lord of Ultramar had deep bonds with the Savior, the Lion, and the others.

As long as he captured this man, he might be able to use him as bait to disrupt the Imperium's defensive plan.

At worst, he could use Guilliman as a living shield and charge into New Dragonwood. He refused to believe the Savior could harden his heart enough to fire on a Primarch brother and let him die under Imperial attack.

"Roboute, you may run now, but I will catch you and turn you into a weapon for my attack."

Horus stared at Guilliman as if he were looking at a weak beast trapped in a cage. With that little strength of his, Guilliman had no way to escape his claws.

As he spoke, the Vengeful Spirit, the Endurance, and the other Chaos flagships had already opened fire.

The Chaos barrage was terrifying. It directly covered the region where the Eternal Soul was located.

They intended to destroy that old little ship, then seize the Ultramarines Primarch once he had nowhere left to run.

"How is that possible?!"

Yet after one round of bombardment, Horus and the other Chaos entities discovered in astonishment that the old little ship had blocked every attack, merely losing its outer void shield.

A small vessel the size of a frigate had actually withstood the full-strength attacks of several Chaos flagship mounts?!

Even more troublesome, it had already turned course and was trying to break free from the blockade and escape this region.

They would not have time to launch another round of attacks.

"Damn it!" Beneath the red glow, Horus's expression grew even more savage. He glared at the Eternal Soul as it slowly moved and tried to flee.

Inside the Eternal Soul's bridge.

Arcs of electricity sparked through the hull in this area from the overload, but it remained intact. Half of the void shield still remained.

Guilliman checked the data before the control console, and a trace of hope rose in his heart.

This ancient ship from the Dark Age had actually resisted the interference of Chaos and could still set sail.

"I still have a chance. As long as I reenter the Warp route, I can leave this region!"

But before he could feel pleased, the hull suddenly shuddered. After that, even more violent arcs of electricity erupted.

Soon, the entire ship slowly stopped, and the rumble of the engines vanished.

"Warning. Engine room has suffered unknown attack. Damage level: ninety-nine percent. Vessel will lose propulsion..."

Amid falling sparks and piercing alarm sounds, Guilliman sensed a threat behind him.

He turned to look at the heavy sealed hatch of the bridge. The high-strength alloy was slowly melting, and a pitch-black daemonic body covered in heavy armor stepped through, leaving footprints burning with black flame on the metal floor.

That terrifying presence surged toward him like an invisible wall, making the air itself grow heavy.

"I told you I would catch you. No one can stop me. Not even that Savior..."

Horus's voice rang out. Just now, he had breached the hull with unstoppable force and destroyed the engine room.

He walked forward, dragging his claws along the machinery as if a searing blade were cutting through butter, completely unobstructed.

With the Chaos Gods' unreserved support, the Dark Emperor was more powerful than ever before. He had already become the true king of the galaxy.

For one instant, Guilliman even felt that the Horus before him was much stronger than his Savior brother had been at his peak.

Before the battle had even begun, he discovered in despair that the other man was nearly unbeatable.

Guilliman's expression turned grave. Facing that towering daemonic body pressing toward him, he had nowhere left to retreat.

Even turning to run was impossible. In that instant of opening, the other man could drive his claws into Guilliman's body from behind.

He abruptly raised the Hand of Dominion and fired several bone-ash rounds.

The sudden burst of sacred light scorched the Dark Emperor's eyes, forcing him to raise a hand to block it.

"Ho-rus!"

Guilliman roared and unleashed all his strength, throwing himself toward Horus. The Gladius Incandor swept fiercely toward the other man's head.

That was his final chance.

But the Gladius Incandor failed to cut down. Horus raised a hand and caught the blade, his face savage.

"You think a weapon made from the False Emperor's bones and an attack of this level can deal with me?!"

Guilliman's blade had been restrained, but he reacted with great speed. The Hand of Dominion fired another bone-ash round, striking Horus directly in the face.

This time, Horus did not dodge. He took the shot head-on without even blinking.

Crack!!!

Horus suddenly exerted his strength. His black-flame-wreathed hand crushed the force field of the Gladius Incandor together with the blade itself.

(End of Chapter)

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