Chapter Summaries

Ron forced Fulgrim to submit, then discovered that the God-Emperor was dangerously burdened by humanity’s faith and planned to ease the strain with Holy High Towers. After receiving intelligence about Perturabo’s threat, Ron oversaw preparations to turn the captured C’tan Shard Nyadra'zatha into a Battle Satellite for the coming Leviathan attack on Baal.

• Ron made Fulgrim admit his inferiority and beg forgiveness, recorded the humiliation, and sent his soul fragment back to the Palace of Slaanesh.
• The God-Emperor briefly manifested a terrifying, emotionless state, warned Ron that Warp dangers were growing, and dissipated after urging him to fight beside the Guilliman brothers.
• Ron concluded that the Golden Sun’s faith energy was overwhelming the God-Emperor and planned to build more Holy High Towers in Savior's Territory and the Webway.
• Fulgrim smashed the mirrors in his bedchamber, drove Perturabo away, and secretly informed Ron that the Lord of Iron was targeting Savior's Territory.
• Ron ordered Fulgrim to report intelligence about Slaanesh, passed Perturabo’s plans to the Departmento Munitorum, and continued overseeing Webway construction.
• Ron visited Datong and the Ork Big Mek, inspected their captured C'tan Shard Nyadra'zatha, and ordered it installed as an energy source in a Battle Satellite for the defense of Baal.

Ron inspected Rog Fortress, tested the Ron-Kong Dreadnought’s energy macro-cannon, and ordered the Orks to complete the battle station and head for Baal. After learning that many Space Marine Chapters would aid the defense, he told Tako to prepare the stored equipment and vehicles for them.

• Ron arrived at Rog Fortress and saw the massive Ron-Kong Dreadnought Crowbar had designed, including its spinning drill and a launch system powerful enough to threaten the Webway.
• Ron stopped Crowbar from firing the drill, ordered the Orks to use the Dreadnought’s weapons cautiously, and planned further education for Ork graduates.
• Ron placed Nyadra'zatha the Burning One in the fortress’s energy machinery and tested the energy macro-cannon, which destroyed a derelict Cruiser and damaged nearby Webway ruins.
• Ron ordered the Orks to finish Rog Fortress and move it near Baal before returning to the Dreamer to prepare defenses against Leviathan.
• Tako told Ron that Guilliman and many Chapters would come to Baal, and Ron ordered him to gather the stored Adeptus Astartes equipment and vehicles for them.

Ron oversaw the evacuation of Baal’s neighboring worlds and prepared to bring equipment and supplies to Baal. Meanwhile, the impoverished Carcharodons arrived nearby, and Chapter Master Tyberos demanded a large supply of new Terminator Armor for the coming battle.

• Tako reported that the Redemption Fleet, allied forces, and Savior’s Territory were mobilizing for Baal, while evacuation teams removed people and resources from nearby worlds.
• Ron inspected the evacuation work, ordered Tako to proceed to Baal, and learned that thousands of suits of armor, vehicles, and Centurion Armor were being shipped there.
• Ron entered the Miniature Garden to rest as the Dreamer traveled into the Warp.
• The Carcharodons’ cruiser White Maw emerged from the Warp, and Tyberos carefully maintained his Chapter’s ancient relic weapons.
• Te Kahurangi reported the Chapter’s recent trade gains, including Bolters, Land Raiders, and six suits of Terminator Armor, along with children won by the Third Company Captain in an arena challenge.
• Tyberos prepared to support Baal and demanded that Dante provide at least twenty-four new suits of Terminator Armor.

Tyberos struggled with the Carcharodons’ worsening poverty as they traveled to aid Baal, while the Blood Angels prepared to face the Tyranids. The Savior’s transport fleet arrived with an enormous delivery of wargear, leaving Karan to wonder whether the shipment exceeded its listed quantity.

• The Chief Librarian told Tyberos that the Carcharodons’ battle losses exceeded those in the Outer Dark, and Tyberos regretted returning to Imperial space after finding its worlds too poor to support them.
• Tyberos described how he had helped a destitute Governor seek a tithe reassessment by making the Carcharodons take the blame, then decided to return to the Outer Dark after supporting Baal.
• The White Maw entered the Warp, and the chapter’s aging cruiser shook as Tyberos told the Chief Librarian to warn its crew to handle the ship more gently.
• Dante summoned the Blood Angels’ successors to defend Baal, while the Savior Transport Fleet arrived and was allowed through the system’s defenses.
• Karan admired the Centurion armor already given to the Blood Angels, then found the warehouse plaza filled with equipment as Fuli reported that twenty thousand gear sets and two thousand five hundred Centurion Armors had arrived.
• Karan suspected the shipment contained far more than its listed amount, and Fuli worried that a logistics error would leave someone accountable.

As the Savior’s forces prepared Baal for Leviathan’s imminent assault, Ron took command of the war preparations and rallied the Blood Angels and their allies. He promised the Lamenters recognition and equipment, while the White Maw emerged from the Warp only to suffer an engine breakdown.

• Fuli confirmed the cargo included twenty thousand standard Astartes equipment sets, and Karan learned that a third of it, plus three hundred Centurion suits, was for the Blood Angels.
• Construction Titans expanded Baal’s landing grounds as the Savior’s fleet unloaded supplies, and Karan spotted Ron’s flagship and hurried to pay his respects.
• Ron took charge at the Blood Angels’ war council, named Tako and the Departmento Munitorum to coordinate the campaign, and revealed that Orks and a T’au fleet would also fight Leviathan.
• Ron rallied the gathered Chapters at the Red Blood Sanctuary, recognized Lamenters Chapter Master Malakim, and promised the Chapters equipment and vehicles.
• Ron led Malakim and the other Chapter Masters to distribute supplies, while the White Maw emerged from the Warp near Baal and suffered a Ship Engine breakdown.

Ron oversaw a lavish equipment distribution on Baal, outfitting the gathered Chapters and especially restoring the impoverished Lamenters with armor, weapons, vehicles, and a Battle Barge. Three days later, the Carcharodons arrived to find Baal transformed and Tyberos decided to demand twice as much Terminator Armor.

• Ron led the Chapter Masters and tens of thousands of Space Marines to the plaza, where Savior's Territory had piled up enough equipment and vehicles to arm far more warriors than expected.
• Ron ordered the supplies distributed, and logistics officers assigned each Chapter equipment quotas while Tech-Artisans explained the gear.
• Ron gave Malakim and the Lamenters four armor sets per warrior, fifteen Centurion Armors, masterwork weapons, vehicles, ammunition, and a new Battle Barge, prompting them to swear loyalty.
• Tech-Artisans painted and customized the Chapters' new equipment, and three days later the warriors offered Ron their respect and loyalty before dispersing to learn their gear.
• Tyberos brought four Carcharodons companies to Baal aboard a cramped Battle Barge after the White Maw's engines failed, then saw the planet's massive supply and construction operations.
• Tyberos concluded Baal had become wealthy, decided to increase his request from twenty-four to forty-eight sets of Terminator Armor, and noticed the Lamenters had arrived.

Tyberos brought the impoverished Carcharodons to Baal for supplies and was stunned by the other Chapters’ new equipment and abundant ammunition. After the Lamenters retaliated against his ship, Malakim led his newly equipped warriors to confront the Carcharodons, expecting a brawl.

• Tyberos mocked the battered Lamenters ship, then led the Carcharodons ashore to ask Lord Dante for supplies.
• Tyberos and the Chief Librarian saw thousands of lavishly equipped Space Marines and wondered if they had arrived in a wealthier era.
• Clade told Tyberos that the Red Wings had received their equipment from a great existence, then left for a training mission and gave the Carcharodons ammunition that fell from a transport.
• A luxurious Lamenters Battle Barge shoved the Carcharodons’ ship, and Tyberos recognized it as belonging to the Chapter he despised.
• Malakim recalled how The Savior had ordered the Chapters to train with their new gear and expend ammunition, then prepared his warriors to meet the Carcharodons at the gangway.

Malakim defeated Tyberos with his superior equipment, and the Carcharodons discovered they had missed the Savior’s initial gifts. Ron welcomed them, promised fair treatment, and opened a reserve armory so they could equip themselves before the approaching Leviathan invasion. The chapter ended as Leviathan encountered a barren planet where green smoke tainted its biomass.

• Malakim used his master-crafted weapons and armor to knock Tyberos down, then revealed the Lamenters’ Centurions and Terminator-armored warriors, forcing the Carcharodons to stand down.
• Tyberos learned that the Savior had already distributed equipment to every Chapter, and he rushed with his warriors to offer their allegiance to Ron.
• Ron promised the Carcharodons fair treatment, and Tyberos offered their collection of technological fragments from the Outer Dark.
• Ron showed Tyberos a reserve armory stocked with enough new equipment to outfit the Carcharodons several times over.
• Ron reviewed plans for the defense of Baal as Leviathan destroyed a troop transport and devoured its passengers before advancing toward the planet.
• Leviathan found a barren world, released Tyranid spores to consume what biomass remained, and encountered green smoke that fouled its biomass.

Leviathan’s memories of the disastrous Ork-Tyranid hybrids made it retreat from modified Ork Spores, though some spores secretly returned aboard its Bio-ships. Ron assembled a coalition at Baal for the coming war, while an Astra Militarum convoy approached and rumors of a Bloodletter spread aboard one of its ships.

• Leviathan recalled how its Ork-Tyranid hybrids rebelled, forced it to destroy them, and cost the Hive Fleet roughly a third of its Swarms.
• After modified Ork Spores contaminated a planet near Baal, Leviathan ordered its Tyranids to destroy the spore sacs and withdraw, but some spores came back aboard Bio-ships and began growing mushrooms.
• Ron reviewed the Carcharodons’ training, awarded them an Honor Banner, and received reports that the T'au fleet and Steel-Tooth Tribe had arrived to join the defense of Baal.
• Ron noted that the defenses and allied forces were assembling while Leviathan’s location disappeared from the star chart, and he waited for the Astra Militarum troops and Ka'bandha to arrive.
• An Astra Militarum convoy raced toward Baal as its young commander prayed and prepared for the mission, while shipboard trooper Eli heard rumors that the crew would be sent into battle.
• A gruff voice behind a corridor door identified the rumored red-skinned, horned monster as a Bloodletter daemon.

Astra Militarum Veterans aboard a troop transport discovered that a quiet Death Korps of Krieg Soldier had survived an Apocalyptic-class battle and learned they were being sent to an even harder war at Baal. As the ship prepared for the Tyranid threat, a vast shadow engulfed the fleet.

• Draining and other Veterans shared their military histories in the prayer hall before the Death Korps of Krieg Soldier revealed he had survived an Apocalyptic-class battle.
• The Krieg Soldier said his commander had ordered them to follow a great being into an even harder war, frightening the Veterans and prompting Draining to realize they were headed for another Apocalyptic-class battle.
• The chapter explained that the Imperium had urgently conscripted soldiers and civilians for the Battle of Baal against Leviathan, and the Company Commander ordered the Veterans to keep the destination secret.
• Draining asked the old Chaplain to pray for the Emperor's Blessing as the troop transport distributed weapons and tension spread among its passengers.
• The Bridge received a warning about nearby Tyranid threats and an offer of fleet assistance, but a massive shadow soon covered the troop transport fleet.

Draining and other Astra Militarum soldiers were transferred from vulnerable troop transports to Savior’s Territory, where they were registered, housed, and inspired by a recording of The Savior. Draining learned that he and the other veterans would become a new type of unit equipped with field-testing Power Armour.

• Draining was jolted awake when his troop transport stopped, then followed the emergency order to assemble and boarded a Landing Craft.
• Draining confronted the recruiter who had conscripted him, but let him go after deciding the man was also bound for the battlefield.
• Draining arrived aboard a Super-heavy Troop Transport in Savior’s Territory, where a projection of The Savior rallied the assembled soldiers.
• Servo-skulls registered the soldiers, issued them identity cards, and assigned them to new units in Savior’s Territory.
• Draining reached his clean quarters, reunited with a Cadian Veteran, a Catachan man, and a Death Korps of Krieg Soldier, and learned they would test new General-Purpose Mortal Combat Armor.

Draining and other Astra Militarum veterans settled into the Storm Army Group, received Combat Armor, and trained before being deployed to Baal. As the armies gathered for the war against Leviathan, Ka'bandha assembled an enormous daemon host, and Ron learned that he had committed even more forces than expected.

• Draining and the other veterans followed the camp regulations, bonded over their first night in the barracks, and discovered the Storm Army Group's plentiful food and supplies.
• Ron approved funding for Combat Armor trials, and Draining received armor and mastered its basic functions during training.
• The Imperium's forces, the T'au Protector Fleet, Ork forces, and other allies assembled around Baal for the approaching war against Leviathan.
• Ka'bandha prepared a vast daemon army to attack Baal and destroy the Sons of Sanguinius, while admitting he still wanted to kill the Demon Eater.
• Ron received Bael's report that Ka'bandha had sent every daemon army under his command and borrowed additional troops from other Bloodthirsters.

Ron arranged Baal Secundus as the main battlefield for his plan to make Ka'bandha's Daemon Army and the Tyranids weaken each other. After the Leviathan Hive Fleet arrived and Ka'bandha's forces entered the Warp above Baal Secundus, Ron and Mephiston prepared to redirect the Daemons elsewhere.

• Ron ordered Tako to implement Plan 13, making Baal Secundus the focus of the defenses and preparing it as a trap for the Tyranids and Ka'bandha.
• Ron accompanied Mephiston into the Tomb of Malefis, where Mephiston used Sorcery to search the Warp for Ka'bandha's arrival.
• Ron protected Mephiston from an Aeldari witch in the Warp, and they saw Ka'bandha leading his Daemon Army toward Baal.
• Leviathan's Hive Fleet arrived around Baal, and Ron instructed the fleet at Baal Secundus to hold its defensive line.
• Mephiston and Ron activated the trap on Baal Secundus as the Tyranids concentrated on the planet's biomass.
• Ka'bandha's Warp rift opened above Baal Secundus, and Ron told Mephiston they would send the Daemon Army somewhere else.

Ron and Mephiston activated the Sorcery Array on Baal Secundus, redirecting Ka'bandha's Warp passage from Baal while Ron escaped the approaching Tyranids. Ka'bandha arrived amid the Leviathan swarm, summoned Khorne's daemons, and began a vast battle; Ron watched as Ka'bandha led an assault toward the Hive Fleet's main tendril.

• Ron used a Concussive Thermobaric Missile to clear Tyranid organisms from the airspace while Mephiston sustained the Sorcery Array.
• Ron and Mephiston activated the array, redirecting Ka'bandha's Warp passage to Baal Secundus, then teleported away as Tyranids closed in.
• Ka'bandha landed on Baal Secundus, where Khorne's power threw the Leviathan swarm into chaos and the Blood Angels were nowhere to be seen.
• Ka'bandha summoned Khorne's daemons down a Skull Staircase, and they joined the Tyranids in a planet-wide battle.
• Ron watched the battle footage from Temporary Savior Sanctuary as Ka'bandha led eight Bloodthirsters and other Greater Daemons toward Leviathan's main tendril.

Ka'bandha tore through Leviathan's fleet and invaded the Hive Mind's body, but the Hive Mind's defenses and a plasma blast nearly killed him. After surviving, Ka'bandha realized someone had lured his forces into a trap and suspected an insider had leaked their attack plan.

• Ka'bandha destroyed the command Hive Ship and charged toward Leviathan, while Ron watched in astonishment from the Blackstone Lounge.
• Ka'bandha wounded Leviathan's eye, fought through its interior, and reached the Leviathan Hive Mind, but Hive Lords and Psyker organisms drove him into a Digestion Pool and expelled him into space.
• Leviathan's Bio-cannon blasted Ka'bandha into a crater on Baal Secundus, where the Blood God's protection kept him alive.
• Ka'bandha assessed the heavy losses to his daemon army and Leviathan's forces, then concluded that someone had set them up and leaked their attack plan.

Bael helped Ka'bandha blame the Blue-Feathered Birdmen for the leaks and burn Tyranid biomass, but Ka'bandha abandoned his plan to invade Baal after sensing Ron and instead joined the Redemption Fleet in attacking Leviathan. After withdrawing from the Baal System, Ka'bandha summoned himself to an Ork-infested Hive World to recover souls and victories, while Ron considered how weakened Leviathan had become.

• Ka'bandha accused the Blue-Feathered Birdmen of planting a traitor and tasked Bael with finding and killing the supposed spy.
• Ka'bandha ordered his Daemons to burn Tyranid biomass on Baal Secundus, then planned to lure Leviathan's pursuing swarms toward Baal.
• Ron waited on Baal beside a Superheavy Holy Ash Bomb as Ka'bandha sensed his presence and decided not to risk their duel.
• After a Tyranid missile struck a Daemon vessel, Ka'bandha ordered his army to attack Leviathan alongside the Redemption Fleet, while T'au and Ork forces also joined the space battle.
• The Orks found Little Steel Cannon aboard a Bio-ship, recruited him, and dragged the vessel away as the allies devastated Leviathan's forces.
• Ka'bandha withdrew through the Chaos Rift, then summoned himself to an Ork-held Hive World to seek souls and victories; Ron reviewed reports showing Leviathan badly weakened.

The Steel-Tooth Orks crushed the Tyranids on Baal Primus, forcing the Leviathan Hive Mind to abandon the planet and throw its remaining strength against Baal. Ron’s forces prepared to meet the assault, while a human fireteam’s quiet days at the front ended when a theater-wide alarm sounded.

• The Steel-Tooth Orks destroyed the Tyranids’ trap and Crowbar’s command center survived a Lictor attack with help from Ork guards and T'au Empire stealth troops.
• The Leviathan Hive Mind withdrew from Baal Primus and redirected the remaining Hive Fleet toward Baal to replenish its Biomass.
• Ron reviewed the favorable battle situation and ordered Tako to strengthen central defenses and watch for a Tyranid decapitation strike.
• Draining and his comrades questioned whether their comfortable, uneventful deployment counted as an Apocalyptic-class battlefield.
• An alarm rang throughout the ground theater before the Cadian Veteran could finish speaking.

The Savior’s forces held back the Leviathan Hive Fleet with disciplined troops, abundant supplies, heavy weapons, and research support, while Draining’s squad fought through repeated Tyranid assaults. As the campaign’s prospects improved, the Hive Mind aboard a Leviathan Hive Ship began seething with rage at the Savior.

• Draining and the other new Combat Armor warriors initially reacted to alarms, then followed their training and stayed at their posts until the Savior announced that the Leviathan Hive Fleet had sent more Tyranids.
• The Savior’s forces increased food deliveries as the war escalated, and Draining’s squad fought in Small Defense Zone No. 2354 until Lamenters led by Malakim killed a Hive Tyrant and the squad was ordered to rotate out.
• Saru used a repaired Forbidden Mechanical Relic to unleash a miniature black hole on a dangerous Tyranid unit, then posted footage of the weapon’s success to the Mechanicus Forum.
• The campaign’s defenders and researchers gained ground against Leviathan, while other Tyranid tendril fleets continued attacking human worlds and the Adeptus Custodes prepared to urge local authorities to carry out Exterminatus.
• Aboard a Leviathan Hive Ship, the Hive Mind seethed with rage at the Savior.

The Hive Mind struggled against The Savior’s defenses on Baal and learned that humans were researching, cooking, and preparing to mass-produce Tyranid meat. After seeing The Savior detect and kill its scout, the Hive Mind considered retreating to safer feeding grounds.

• The Hive Mind blamed The Savior for Leviathan’s repeated defeats and attacked Baal, but fortifications, artillery, and human countermeasures stopped the swarms.
• Ron’s Mechanicus Forum coordinated Tech-priest research across the Imperium, helping develop weapons that exploited Tyranid weaknesses.
• The Hive Mind discovered that The Savior’s forces were testing ways to remove Tyranid toxins and cook Tyranid meat, so it ordered bio-ships to increase the swarm’s toxins.
• A Scout Bug showed the Hive Mind a tasting and production seminar for Tyranid canned food, where The Savior praised the product and the humans applauded.
• The Savior spotted the Scout Bug, which humans killed, and the Hive Mind considered retreating from Baal to find other feeding grounds.

The Leviathan Hive Mind chose to launch a decapitation strike against Ron, taking personal control of a mutant Hive Tyrant and sending assassins toward Baal. As Ron prepared to exploit Tyranids commercially and checked the warzone’s defenses, an alarm announced that Tyranids had breached a key defensive area.

• The Leviathan Hive Mind learned of a weakness in Baal’s defenses and decided to kill Ron and destroy his command system, committing its advanced mutant forces to the attack.
• The Hive Mind took control of a Mutated Hive Tyrant, then sent a concealed Bio-ship toward Baal with three Hive Tyrant Assassins and supporting units.
• Ron met merchant representatives who had brought supplies to Baal, granted them commercial opportunities, and considered future uses for Tyranids.
• Ron archived reports on the Tyranids and ordered heightened vigilance after Leviathan’s reconnaissance units infiltrated the Central District.
• Yor and other Rogue Traders left Ron’s office discussing the promised Galactic Commercial Center, but an explosion and alarm revealed that Tyranids had breached a key defensive area.