Lion El'Jonson stood before the floor-to-ceiling window at the front, gazing at the distant xenos construct.
"The xenos Void Bastion is even more magnificent than a Gloriana-class Battleship. Even Dorn's Phalanx is not as immense as it."
Perturabo nodded. "I discovered traces of it before you did."
"But—" He paused, making no mention of Olympia.
"But I returned to the Imperium to deal with matters."
"But I found it first." Lion changed the subject. "I heard Horus has launched a rebellion."
Perturabo knew that Lion had lingered on the fringes of the galactic west for a long time, while the Segmentum Pacificus was the primary direction of the Warmaster's campaigns.
Most worlds had sided with the Warmaster. Communications relays across the sector had been severely cut off, and with interference from those allies the Warmaster claimed to have, Lion's understanding of the Imperium's situation still remained at a point before Isstvan V.
"That's right. Dorn ordered us to proceed to Isstvan V."
"When I heard of Horus's rebellion, I knew his path would inevitably lead to Terra," Lion said sharply.
"Even if he somehow defeated the Iron Warriors and the other Legions, so long as the Imperial Palace remains intact, he cannot claim complete victory."
"If he wants to win, he will have to lay a long and costly siege to Terra."
Perturabo glanced at Lion and praised him with a smile.
"My brother, your strategic assessment is correct. You need not confront Horus directly to defeat him."
"I am beginning to think the Warmaster's crown was placed on the wrong head," he said slyly.
A smile appeared on Lion's stern face. "Brother, what do you mean by that?"
"Still, thank you. I thought—"
Perturabo spoke before he could hear "Nimrod." "Would you be willing to accompany us to Isstvan?"