Chapter Summaries

Rotigus abandoned his plan to visit the believer after Grandfather Nurgle summoned him to help spread a great plague. Meanwhile, Fran brought clean water, education, and hope to Train Town, then departed with Little Brown for the Main Hive; months later, Ron learned several Missionary Saints had infiltrated Matila and prepared to visit.

• Rotigus prepared to personally bring loving care to the fleeing believer, but Grandfather Nurgle summoned him to spread a great plague, so he returned to Grandfather's side.
• Fran promised Train Town clean water, and the residents welcomed him as a Saint after Little Brown recovered and announced his arrival.
• Fran and the town's maintenance workers built Small Water Collection Devices, easing the residents' thirst; Fran also preached, treated the sick, and taught practical skills.
• Fran prophesied that The Savior would arrive in eight years to drive out the Tyrant, then left aboard a Titan Train with Little Brown, who entrusted his siblings to the townspeople.
• Months later, Ron learned through Psyker Power that several Missionary Saints had infiltrated Matila's Main Hive and entered the Hive Network to visit Matila.

Ron possessed Fran through the Hive Network and witnessed the Suppression Force crush a rebellion in the Lower Hive. Khorne Warriors joined the slaughter, forcing Ron to reconsider his attack plans as Fran faced imminent death.

• Ron entered the Hive Network and possessed the Missionary Saint Fran to observe the Lower Hive through his senses.
• Fran and Little Brown fled as the Suppression Force attacked the rebels, who fought back with Molotov cocktails and anti-tank weapons.
• Assault Gunships deployed crimson Bloodthirsty Warriors, who slaughtered rebels and Suppression Force soldiers alike.
• Ron recognized the warriors as servants of Khorne and realized his plans for attacking the sector needed stronger preparations.
• A Khorne Warrior raised its Flesh-Cleaver over Fran, leaving Ron to act before his informant was killed.

Fran prayed to The Savior as Khorne Warriors cornered him and Little Brown, and Ron granted him a costly burst of power that let him fight back. Fran escaped through the Lower Hive’s underground pipes, while witnesses spread the story of the miracle.

• Fran pulled Little Brown into a dead-end corner and prayed aloud to The Savior while Khorne Warriors closed in.
• Ron spent three million Power of Hope to channel power into Fran, who received a golden blessing and gained Psyker Power.
• Fran killed two Khorne Warriors, then used his fading power to repel others and help people escape.
• Fran led Little Brown into the underground pipes and vanished into the darkness.
• Survivors spread word of the miracle, and a legend about The Savior began to circulate through the Lower Hive and beyond.

Ron organized nearly eight hundred Saints to infiltrate Matila, spread hope, and prepare the people to resist when the Savior arrived in eight years. Meanwhile, the Black-Robed Mechanicus advanced his slaughter-fueled plan to summon a Daemon, and the chapter ended with Ka'bandha raging in Khorne’s Brass Fortress.

• Ron sent Matila intelligence to the Administratum, the Departmento Munitorum, and the Ecclesiarchy, then ordered the Saints to infiltrate society, gather military intelligence, spread prophecies, and restrain resistance until the Savior’s arrival.
• The Black-Robed Mechanicus watched thousands of candidates fight to the death in the Arena and ordered his assistant to use the survivors as the standard for future test subjects.
• To obtain more test subjects and protect himself, the assistant falsely claimed that Lord Priest had ordered the Planetary Defense Force to supply soldiers for Marius IX’s Bloodthirsty Warrior Transformation Project.
• The Black-Robed Mechanicus entered a hidden chamber, where Arena victims’ remains filled a Blood Pool beneath a Skull Altar he intended to use to summon a powerful Daemon.
• In Khorne’s Brass Fortress, Ka'bandha tore apart a Daemon in anger while his warriors kept their heads lowered.

Ka'bandha answered a summons from a fringe sector, eager to slaughter and rebuild his standing among Khorne's Greater Daemons. Months later, Ron received Cawl's special Bolts and discovered that Cawl had secretly begun researching a weapon against Greater Daemons of Chaos.

• Ka'bandha brooded over his defeats by Sanguinius and the threat to his standing, then accepted a summons from a fringe sector and planned a campaign of slaughter.
• Ron visited Cawl's Black Mechanicum Workshop, where an experiment exploded and Cawl emerged unharmed.
• Cawl showed Ron the first-generation special Bolts, designed to suppress Khorne Warriors with sedatives and hallucination-inducing potions.
• Ron worried that Harris might summon a Greater Daemon of Khorne and asked Cawl whether he could make a weapon to fight one.
• Cawl revealed that he had already begun secretly researching such a weapon and assured Ron that the project was safe.

Ron helped Cawl develop Holy Ash Bombs by supplying his own bone and blood tissue and arranging for Cawl to siphon energy from the God-Emperor's Golden Sun. Eight years later, Earth Planet’s forces assembled as the war to seize Matila began.

• Ron praised Cawl’s dangerous weapon research and learned that its Holy Ash Bomb design needed a powerful, stable energy source.
• Ron let Moss extract much of his bone and blood tissue so Cawl could turn it into Holy Ash Bombs.
• Ron asked the God-Emperor for permission to siphon energy from the Golden Sun, and the God-Emperor agreed.
• Cawl stabilized the Golden Sun’s energy with energy from the Little Sun and successfully tested a Holy Ash Bomb that destroyed a Chaos Warp Creature’s body and soul.
• Ron ordered Earth Planet to prepare for war and direct its resources toward capturing Matila and taking control of the sector.
• Eight years later, Ron woke to the sound of his assembled forces as the war began.

Ron prepared his forces for war, approved Sahim as Admiral Kais's assistant, and boarded the fully refitted Dreamer. The fleet departed for the sector capital, with Ron leaving the coming campaign and planetary takeover in his commanders' hands.

• Ron watched troops and war machines gather near the Space Elevator as the Hive City greening project neared completion.
• Ron approved Sahim's request to serve as Admiral Kais's assistant and brought him to the prewar council meeting.
• Ron heard reports on the assembled forces, including the Thunder Custodes, Adepta Sororitas, Navy Fleet, and elite Storm Legion Army Groups.
• Ron and the Palatine District's principal officials boarded Dreamer, which had been refitted into a massive golden warship.
• Ron told Saint Fran that the Psyker Navigation Beacon could be activated, and Dreamer departed the Spaceport.

The Dreamer entered the Warp and headed for Matila, where tyrant Harris awaited the prophesied Savior while rebels across the planet prepared for his arrival. As hymns praising the Savior sounded across the planet, the people sensed that his descent had begun.

• Admiral Kais activated the Dreamer's Warp engines, and the ship entered the Warp with Ron aboard.
• Harris killed two seers who gave him prophecies he did not believe, then prepared his forces to destroy the approaching Savior.
• Saint Fran told Brown that the Savior was near, and Brown discreetly spread the news among the planet's hidden rebels.
• A Suppression Force officer beat a worker and ordered his soldiers to kill the gathered people for anticipating the Day of Redemption.
• Space rippled over the district, and hymns praising the Savior began broadcasting across the Lower Hive and the planet.

The Savior’s arrival sparked a rebellion on Matila, while Harris ordered his fleet to destroy the Dreamer. Kais commanded the Dreamer through a fierce space battle, and the chapter ended with the enemy Admiral realizing the ship had destroyed the Far-Orbit Defense Space Station and was charging its Nova Cannon again.

• A Suppression Force adjutant killed his officer and rallied workers and soldiers to rebel, while soldiers who resisted the uprising were killed.
• Rebels attacked the Tyrant’s controlled zones and anti-air positions as Harris ordered total suppression and sent his fleet against the Dreamer.
• Kais commanded the Dreamer as its Lance beams annihilated the enemy vanguard Frigates and its layered Void Shields endured the fleet’s concentrated fire.
• The Dreamer fired a huge Nova Cannon Plasma Shell that destroyed dozens of Frigates, damaged Cruisers, and weakened the enemy battleship’s Void Shield.
• The Admiral learned the Dreamer had destroyed the Far-Orbit Defense Space Station and saw its Nova Cannon gathering energy again.

Kais persuaded the commanders of the enemy fleet to cooperate, then sent the War Angels to seize their ships. Ron learned that seventeen capital ships had joined The Savior’s forces, and the fleet prepared to attack Matila.

• Kais ordered the fleet commanders to expose weaknesses in their defenses so the War Angels could board their ships.
• The commanders adjusted their artillery defenses, allowing most of the Boarding Torpedoes to reach the enemy warships.
• War Angels boarded a battleship, killed the Royal Court Guards, disabled its Self-Destruct Mechanism, and took control of its systems.
• Tyrant Harris activated the fleet’s self-destruct mechanisms, but the War Angels secured all the capital ships except two cruisers that exploded.
• Ron received Kais’s report that seventeen capital ships had submitted to The Savior and would attack Matila in three hours.
• The fleet assembled behind the Dreamer and headed toward Matila.

Ron prepared to enter the battle for Matila as Dreamer’s fleet attacked the Main Hive and deployed forces into the Royal Court district. The chapter ended with Ron arriving on the surface as Khorne Warriors charged toward him.

• Storm Army Group soldiers, Void Angels, War Angels, and Adepta Sororitas prepared to deploy under their commanders.
• Ron donned his ornate Power Armor, armed himself with a powerful Holy Ash Bomb, and traveled toward Matila with the Thunder Custodes.
• Kais ordered Dreamer’s fleet to destroy the orbital defenses and attack the Main Hive, but its Void Shield withstood the bombardment.
• Resistance Army fighters led by Saint Fran and Brown helped destroy anti-air positions so the fleet could deploy ground forces.
• Duke led Void Angels out of their Drop Pods, activated a Teleport Homer, and brought Ron and the Thunder Custodes to the surface.
• Khorne Warriors poured out of the Royal Court Hall and charged toward Ron.

Tyrant Harris gave in to Chaos and transformed into a Daemon as Ron’s forces fought their way through the Khorne Warriors to the Royal Court. Ron confronted Harris in the corrupted hall, where Harris set the Blood-Slaughter Warriors against him before allowing a challenge.

• Harris tore out the sedative tubes, embraced Chaos, and sacrificed the attendants and officials trapped in the hall.
• Khorne Warriors attacked the Royal Court Guards, and Ron led the War Angels and Void Angels in a counterattack using Potent Sedative Bolts and Psychic Lightning.
• Ron and the Thunder Custodes charged into the Royal Court Hall, where they found the dead and the chambers corrupted by Chaos.
• Harris revealed that he had become a Daemon empowered by Khorne and told Ron to defeat the Blood-Slaughter Warriors before challenging him.

Ron’s forces overwhelmed Harris’s Blood-Slaughter Warriors and advanced on the Mechanical Throne, where Harris’s defenses initially held off their attacks. Carter used a dangerous stimulant to break through, killed Harris, and reported the execution to Ron.

• Harris surrounded Ron’s group with Blood-Slaughter Warriors, but Duke and Pulu arrived with the Void Angels and War Angels to reinforce them.
• Ron and Carter led the Thunder Custodes through the battle and reached the Mechanical Throne after the Blood-Slaughter Warriors around it were slain.
• Harris’s force field and crimson mechanical arms thwarted the Thunder Custodes’ attacks and overwhelmed Carter.
• Carter injected a stimulant made with Biologis Magos Moss and Duke, then used his enhanced strength to cut through Harris’s mechanical arms.
• Carter drove his Chainsword into Harris’s chest and killed him, then saluted Ron and announced that the heretic had been executed.

Ron confronted the revived Harris, who had transformed into a Bloodthirster, and fought him inside the Royal Court Hall. After Ron gained the upper hand, Harris tried to escape, but a dark golden figure appeared and grabbed him.

• Ron ordered the Crimson Flesh Mountain burned, but the Mechanical Throne activated and Harris emerged as a Bloodthirster.
• Harris kicked Carter through a wall, then revealed that he had slaughtered ten billion lives and planned to become a Greater Daemon.
• Ron released the Little Sun's faith power and fought Harris, trading devastating blows as the Royal Court Hall collapsed around them.
• Ron pinned Harris down and battered him with Psyker Power, but Harris eventually kicked him away and flew toward the glass Dome.
• A dark golden figure suddenly sprang into the air and grabbed Harris as he tried to escape.

Carter wounded Harris and helped Ron drive the Daemon into the sky, where Ron pursued him with newly manifested golden wings. Harris slaughtered the fighters sent to intercept him, but Ron caught up and appeared before him.

• Carter attacked Harris with his War Blade and sedative bolts, then endured a brutal beating before a Krak Grenade tore apart one of Harris's wings.
• Ron caught the falling Carter with Psyker Power, treated his injuries, and told him to recover while he pursued Harris.
• Ron spent ten million Faith Power to manifest golden wings and flew through the Dome to chase Harris as the Storm Army Group attacked across the Hive City.
• Harris evaded fighter fire, scattered incoming missiles with a bloodwind, and killed several pilots by clinging to their aircraft and breaking into their cockpits.
• Harris destroyed a fighter that rammed him, slaughtered dozens of interceptors, and then spotted Ron approaching.

Ron defeated Harris and killed him on the Mechanical Throne, fulfilling the prophecy and preparing to take power as The Savior. He broadcast Harris's death and offered the Tyrant's remaining forces a choice between surrender and devastating strikes, but felt an ominous premonition as he left the burning Royal Court Hall.

• Ron rejected Harris's offer to submit and fought off his attempts to escape, tearing off one of his daemon wings.
• Ron kicked Harris into the plaza, where the Storm Army Group and other forces bombarded him until his Chaos power was nearly exhausted.
• Ron brought the wounded Harris to the Mechanical Throne, where Harris briefly regained his sanity and mourned his sins.
• Ron promised Harris that he could restore the Goli Sector, then drove his Great Sword through Harris's heart and killed him upon the Throne.
• Ron had the Thunder Custodes record Harris's death and broadcast it planetwide, announcing the Tyrant's defeat and ordering his remaining forces to surrender.
• Ron left the blazing Royal Court Hall and felt a faintly ominous premonition.

Ron investigated a premonition by sending Lord Inquisitor Devere and half the Thunder Custodes to search for danger while his forces continued occupying the Main Hive. In the Lower Hive, Saint Fran and Brown’s Resistance Army fell into a trap in Central Avenue’s Grand Plaza.

• Ron ordered Lord Inquisitor Devere to investigate the hidden danger and temporarily sent half the Thunder Custodes to assist him.
• Tako reported that Ron’s forces controlled about one-third of the important nodes in the Royal Court area and Upper Hive, while the Lower Hive remained unoccupied.
• Thunderbolt Bombers destroyed the final anti-air position in the Upper Hive, allowing the Dreamer to enter the Hive City’s airspace and transport more personnel to the surface.
• Saint Fran and Brown led the Resistance Army’s assault on the Central Administrative District, and its fighters advanced into Central Avenue’s Grand Plaza.
• A giant hologram of Harris appeared in the plaza as armored tanks burst through nearby buildings and surrounded the Resistance Army, revealing that Fran and Brown had walked into a trap.

The Resistance Army struggled against Tyrant’s Super-heavy Tanks until Brown’s defiance rallied the fighters, but the enemy’s counterattack pushed them to the brink of defeat. Fran promised Brown that redemption was possible, and a hymn and new image suddenly disrupted Tyrant’s projection as the senior official ordered the device destroyed.

• Brown destroyed several Super-heavy Tanks with anti-tank weapons, inspiring the Resistance Army to resume its charge across Central Avenue.
• Brown escaped a bombardment with his rocket pack and field protection, but the Resistance Army was driven back and nearly surrounded.
• A senior official ordered the Suppression Force to charge under threat of execution, costing the Resistance Army nearly a quarter of its fighters.
• Brown asked Fran whether they could find redemption, and Fran firmly assured him that they could.
• Dreamer’s information projection equipment infiltrated Tyrant’s display and broadcast a hymn to The Savior, prompting the senior official to order the Super-heavy Tanks to destroy the device.

After Tyrant Harris's death was broadcast across Matila, his forces collapsed and Ron gained nearly three hundred million Power of Hope. As Ron considered using the power to retrieve a Webway Blackstone Gate, Devere reported that the Inquisition had found a Heresy stronghold where a dangerous ritual was underway.

• The holographic projection showed Ron announcing Harris's death, promising to liberate Matila, and ordering the Tyrant's forces to surrender, prompting celebrations and mass disarmament across the planet.
• A senior official ordered the projection device destroyed, but the commander and Commissariat refused; the commander killed soldiers who threatened the official, then committed suicide, and Resistance Army soldiers captured the official.
• The people executed the captured Riot Control Force officials beneath the torture devices they had created.
• Ron received reports that most of the Tyrant's forces had surrendered and that his forces controlled Matila's major strategic points.
• Ron gained nearly three hundred million Power of Hope and considered using it to retrieve an ancient Webway Blackstone Gate for faster travel.
• Devere reported that the Inquisition had discovered a Heresy stronghold where a terrifying ritual appeared to be taking place.

Devere and the Imperial force entered Agul’s underground research base to stop his dangerous ritual, guided by Pulu’s ability to extract memories from a mutant beast. Datong followed the force after fighting a mutant fish in the sewage pool and carried the creature’s fin in his storage case.

• Devere learned that Agul was conducting a dangerous ritual and searched the underground pipes for an entrance with Duke and the others.
• Pulu found the route by extracting memories from a mutant beast he had eaten, then led over a hundred Adeptus Astartes and elite Thunder Custodes to a drainage outlet.
• Pulu melted and blasted open the alloy manhole cover, and Devere led the force into the base while Pulu covered the rear.
• Datong ate mutant creatures as he followed, then a Dark Red Mutant Fish dragged him underwater in the sewage pool.
• Datong killed the fish with Psychic Lightning, stored its fin, and used his Jump Pack to catch up with Pulu and the main force.