Chapter Summaries

Lucius joined Nimrod and the Imperial forces as they launched an assault on the Rangdan artificial War Satellite. The attack reached the satellite, where Lucius fought an Overlord and Akurduana displayed his extraordinary skill with twin sabers.

• Lucius followed Akurduana onto the bridge and froze when he first met Nimrod’s gaze.
• Glenn Worsoto and Luther briefed Nimrod on the battle plan, and Nimrod ordered the forces to execute it.
• Squat fortress ships pushed toward the artificial War Satellite while Ultramarines and Emperor’s Children fighters attacked the Rangdan drones.
• Nimrod ordered the boarding assault, and Lucius eagerly joined him alongside the Honor Guard and Dark Angels.
• Lucius destroyed an Overlord’s shield with precise bolt-pistol fire, then killed it in close combat.
• Akurduana charged four Overlords with Timur and Athena and defeated them without being wounded.

Luther led the Knights of Caliban into battle on the War Satellite, rallying them to fight the xenos and Slaugth forces. As their circular defense faltered under the Brain-Eaters and constructs, Luther’s armor neared collapse, and a black-armored giant with golden wings landed before him.

• Luther rallied his followers and charged through the human slaves and xenos, leading the Knights of Caliban into battle.
• A knight commander and the knights used coordinated sword attacks to defeat a tiger-like Overlord.
• Luther killed two Brain-Eaters, then spotted Slaugth constructs emerging from a silver-white building and reported them to his lord.
• Luther ordered the knights into a two-ring spiral defense as Brain-Eaters and constructs attacked from all sides.
• Neurotoxin incapacitated many Dark Angels, but Luther drew strength from his fallen followers and killed several Brain-Eaters.
• Constructs struck Luther with green rays and triggered his armor’s Thermal Diffraction Field warning before a black-armored giant with golden wings landed before him.

Lucius and Akurduana fought their way toward Nimrod, whose swordsmanship inspired Akurduana to abandon his instincts and defeat a Brain-Eater. After Zahariel and the others joined the battle, the Slaugth Destroyer wounded Akurduana, and Nimrod intervened, leaving Akurduana fixated on his blazing sword.

• Lucius watched Nimrod's swordsmanship as he and Akurduana fought through the aliens, and Akurduana charged a Brain-Eater to study Nimrod's movements.
• Akurduana followed the pattern of Nimrod's swordplay, killed the Brain-Eater, and felt his movements grow lighter.
• Zahariel used a poem to daze and kill a Brain-Eater, while Balthasar Quturi and Glenn Worsoto supported him against others.
• Zahariel sensed an evil will that forced Balthasar to his knee, while Worsoto killed a fallen Brain-Eater and saw Lucius and Akurduana press forward.
• The Slaugth Destroyer struck Akurduana down, but Nimrod appeared and cut into the Destroyer with the Sword of Vaul as Baron of Corruption slowed its attack.
• Akurduana rose and watched Nimrod's sword carve through the Slaugth Destroyer, with the sight of the blue-white blade branded in his mind.

Lucius challenged Thierry to a duel, but Stevens intercepted him with an honor duel on the artificial War Satellite. Stevens defeated Lucius with traps and venom, leaving Nimrod to realize that his plan to influence Akurduana had drawn Lucius in first, while Akurduana stepped forward to face Thierry.

• Akurduana brought Lucius to meet Thierry, and Lucius asked Nimrod for permission to challenge him to a duel.
• Stevens challenged Lucius first, and Nimrod arranged their honor duel on the artificial War Satellite.
• Nimrod ordered Rian Ramillies to move the captured War Satellite to Carium Gate.
• Stevens used traps and battlefield tactics to slow Lucius, then poisoned him with his Catachan Fang and won the duel at the cost of a severe shoulder wound.
• Lucius realized Stevens had drawn power from Nimrod, while Akurduana asked Thierry to continue the honor duel in Lucius's place.

Thierry defeated Akurduana in an honor duel, and Nimrod demonstrated overwhelming power before Akurduana pledged the Second Company’s loyalty to him. Nimrod accepted Akurduana and Lucius as his vassals and granted them strength, leaving both newly promoted to Warriors.

• Thierry overwhelmed Akurduana with superior swordsmanship and disarmed him using the Gekuafu Style.
• Akurduana asked Nimrod to demonstrate his power, and Nimrod shattered his sword and armor with a single blow, leaving him unconscious for five days.
• After waking, Akurduana brought Lucius to Nimrod and pledged to lead the Second Company in swearing loyalty to him.
• Nimrod accepted Akurduana and Lucius’s fealty, promising to strengthen them and improve their swordsmanship.
• Nimrod granted them power, and Akurduana and Lucius knelt to thank him as newly promoted Warriors.

Toby led the Alicia Airborne in a drop assault on a Xenos laboratory in the Steel-Break Fortress sector. After they captured a hill overlooking the target, a Slaugth construct attacked, and Toby realized the Slaugth had reached the surface despite not being aboard the ship.

• Toby rallied the Alicia Airborne and ordered them to prepare for the assault on Steel-Break Fortress.
• The Alicia Airborne descended under fire and landed with most of their forces and vehicles intact.
• Toby directed the five regiments toward the Xenos laboratory in D-1 sector.
• The 1st Regiment’s assault company captured a hill after its tanks destroyed nearby bunkers.
• A sniper shot a Xenos on the laboratory balcony, then a strange construct attacked the summit with green beams.
• Toby recognized the construct as evidence that the Slaugth were on the surface and wondered how they had arrived.

Howard Fender and the Alicia Airborne fought Slaugth Constructs on Steel-Break Fortress until Howard and the “Judges” arrived and captured the Slaugth destroyer. Afterward, Howard reported the discovery of a xenos laboratory, and Nimrod hurried to hear an important finding from the Biologist.

• Howard confirmed that Slaugth was absent from his ship and rushed to support Toby Bandak on Steel-Break Fortress.
• Toby led the battered Alicia Airborne against the Constructs, sacrificing troops and vehicles to hold them back until Howard arrived.
• Howard and the “Judges” defeated the Constructs, confronted the Slaugth destroyer, and imprisoned it in amber after its regeneration resisted their prohibitions.
• Howard reported that Steel-Break Fortress held a laboratory containing imprisoned xenos and research materials, and Nimrod ordered Malena to take it over.
• Nimrod boarded an Aquila Shuttle after the Biologist said she had discovered something that could affect the battle.

Glenn Worsoto accompanied Nimrod to Malena Scala’s laboratory, where she demonstrated a treatment that countered the Brain-Eaters’ neurotoxin. Nimrod rewarded her research and then learned that the Word Bearers had arrived in the Pulheim System, leaving him asking who commanded their fleet.

• Worsoto followed Nimrod to the Emerald and saw Malena Scala’s laboratory filled with strange creatures and living vines.
• Malena demonstrated a treatment for Brain-Eater neurotoxin, and Worsoto volunteered to test it, confirming that it cleared his mind.
• Malena reported that each drop protected an ordinary soldier from the toxin for one minute and said the treatment could be mass-produced.
• Nimrod praised Malena’s discovery and promised her access to Slaugth laboratories and research materials at Steel-Break Fortress.
• Arsena Dunn reported that the Word Bearers’ fleet had arrived in the Pulheim System, and Nimrod asked who was in command.

Nimrod summoned Zadkiel and planned to bring him into the fleet, hoping to win over the ambitious Word Bearer and take command of the Furious Abyss before it was built. Meanwhile, Sanchez and the Space Wolves prepared to attack the xenos-held Stafford System as Skarsen struggled against his resentment and the influence of the Russ Wolf Helm.

• Nimrod learned Zadkiel commanded the Word Bearers and resolved to make him captain of the Furious Abyss, while arranging for Zadkiel to meet him.
• After two days, Zadkiel arrived late at Nimrod’s office, explaining that he had spread the Emperor’s faith on the way; Nimrod ordered him to join the fleet heading for Bastion Fortress.
• Five days later, Skarsen brooded over Sanchez possessing the Russ Wolf Helm and Kraken Sword, and vowed to recover the helm and protect the Wolf King’s cloak.
• As the Space Wolves and Sanchez planned their assault on the Stafford System, Skarsen demanded that his Great Company attack Stafford Prime, but accepted Sanchez’s assignment to the third planet.
• Wodmek asked to travel with Okafor, the Librarian of the Shadow of Order, and Okafor agreed.

After the allied fleet landed, Valdemar watched the Attila Rough Riders and Okafor’s Librarians break apart the xenos slave army, freeing many enslaved humans. Okafor defeated a xenos Overlord, and Sanchez arrived on his Thunderwolf as Valdemar realized the battle was unfolding very differently than he expected.

• Othere Wodmek tried to win Okafor’s trust by discussing Fenrisian ideas about psychic power, but Okafor warned him about discipline and mastering the will.
• Valdemar told Wolf Lord Skarsen that Okafor was cautious, and Skarsen insisted the Shadow of Order would reveal its sorcerous power during the war.
• Twenty-five ship cycles later, the allied fleet defeated the xenos fleet and began its landing.
• Valdemar watched more than a hundred thousand Attila Rough Riders charge the slave army and scatter it into isolated groups.
• Okafor and the other Librarians used their staffs to disrupt the Neural Collars, causing many enslaved humans to hesitate or drop their weapons.
• Okafor fought and killed a xenos Overlord, while Valdemar recognized Sanchez arriving on his Thunderwolf and guessed he was targeting the xenos commander.

Sanchez fought the Brain-Eaters on Stafford Prime while Valdemar tried to find evidence that he used witchcraft. After the battle, Valdemar questioned the wounded Skarsen and resolved to keep looking for a chance to accuse Sanchez.

• Skarsen led the Space Wolves' Fifth Great Company in a furious assault against the enemy on Stafford III.
• Valdemar followed Sanchez, hoping to catch him abusing witchcraft and use the evidence to win their wager.
• Sanchez killed a Brain-Eater commander with fire and the Wolf King's Sword, then continued fighting while sensing Valdemar watching him.
• Twenty-five stellar days later, Valdemar left Stafford Prime after Sanchez had ended the battle, while Skarsen was wounded and poisoned during his own assault.
• Valdemar questioned Skarsen, learned that Sanchez had killed sixteen pale aliens, and concluded that he still had to wait for another chance to obtain evidence.

Nimrod gave Zadkiel command of the mixed fleet, and Zadkiel coordinated the assault that rescued Bendregg’s battered Dark Angels fleet and enabled the attack on the Artificial War Satellite. After Bendregg killed the xenos commander, Nimrod healed his poison wounds and asked him to keep a secret with Luther.

• Nimrod appointed Zadkiel commander of the void battle, and Zadkiel led the fleet to the Bastion Fortress.
• Zadkiel arranged the Squat fortress-ships into a defensive ring, allowing the Dark Angels fleet to escape the xenos attack and strike back.
• Bendregg led his forces onto the Artificial War Satellite and killed the Brain-Eater, causing the xenos army to collapse.
• Nimrod healed Bendregg’s poison wounds with a vial of green liquid and asked him to keep the secret for him and Luther.
• Bendregg agreed to keep Nimrod and Luther’s secret.

Urian Bendreg’s enhanced combat performance demonstrated the value of Nimrod’s elixir, while Nimrod empowered Zadkiel and sent him to help Wilshire seize the Song of Slaughter. As Zadkiel’s fleet departed, Zso Sahaal arrived at Bastion Fortress to receive orders from Nimrod.

• Urian Bendreg used Nimrod’s green liquid to stay sharp and defeated a Brain-Eater with ease.
• Nimrod gave Zadkiel a black elixir that awakened a unique ability, accepted his fealty, and ordered him to return to Carium Gate and help Wilshire seize the Song of Slaughter.
• Nimrod learned that Zso Sahaal would arrive with the Eighth Legion task force and considered whether he might become loyal to him.
• Two days later, Zadkiel led his fleet away as Zso Sahaal arrived at Nimrod’s office and pledged to await his orders.
• Nimrod welcomed Zso Sahaal and promised to lead him to honor, while Arsena Dunn prepared his quarters.

William observed Psy-Titans battle the Bone-Eaters, then carried out his second mission by drawing one into range of an experimental Void Claws weapon. The weapon erased the Bone-Eater, and William concluded that both it and the Psy-Titans could kill Bone-Eaters, though each had different costs and limitations.

• William used Spirit Sight to observe the Psy-Titans and learned that the Psykers trapped inside them were being consumed as fuel.
• The Psy-Titans killed the five Bone-Eaters, but fourteen more arrived and attacked them.
• William lured a Bone-Eater along a narrow mountain road while dodging its beam attacks and sent the canyon's locator rune to the Tech Sergeant.
• The Tech Sergeant fired the experimental Void Claws weapon, which formed a black hole and swallowed the Bone-Eater and nearby mountain rock.
• William reflected that Psy-Titans attacked faster but consumed Psykers and Pariahs, while Void Claws took longer to prepare and had more limited uses.

Nimrod reviewed the weapons used against the Bone-Eaters and planned to corrupt the World Eaters’ Butcher’s Nails so he could draw some of them away from Khorne. He dispatched Wilshire to seize the Song of Slaughter and summoned Galan Surak to begin his plans, while preparing for the Battle of Thramas and an early rescue of Omega.

• Arsena Dunn reported that Psy-Titans and experimental Void Fist weapons had killed Bone-Eaters, and Nimrod approved the new weapon’s name.
• Nimrod planned to recruit Galan Surak to develop corrupted Butcher’s Nails that would restrain the World Eaters’ bloodlust and make some loyal to him.
• Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to locate Tovendis and ordered Wilshire to purify the planet, seize the Song of Slaughter, and decide whether to issue Exterminatus.
• Nimrod prepared to bring forward the Battle of Thramas and planned to rescue Omega from Baal-Savol more than ten years early.
• Galan Surak reported to Nimrod, who assigned him to study the xenos threat and told him to report daily.

Ignis used Arcane Calculus to direct the Thousand Sons and Shadow of Order fleets against the xenos Artificial War Satellite, inflicting heavy losses while keeping the combined fleet’s casualties low. As the satellite’s drone production outpaced their ability to destroy it, Ignis devised a boarding opportunity, and Hathor and Ramsey prepared to lead the assault.

• Hathor asked Ignis to command the void battle, and Ignis accepted with the resources and support he needed.
• Ignis coordinated the Thousand Sons and Shadow of Order fleets through the Pavoni Cult’s thought-network, using his calculations to maneuver their ships and target the xenos forces.
• The combined fleet destroyed dozens of xenos capital ships and tens of thousands of drones while losing only one sluggish battleship.
• Ignis noticed that the satellite was producing drones faster than the fleet could replenish its losses and proposed opening a passage for a boarding action.
• Hathor told Ignis to draw up the assault plan and contacted Ramsey, while destroyers overloaded their reactors to draw away the drone swarm.
• The black-and-red warships advanced into the Artificial War Satellite’s orbit as Hathor and Ramsey prepared to lead the boarding assault.

Ramsey and Hathor Maat tested their biomantic abilities against the xenos and a Bone-Eater. Ramsey killed the Bone-Eater alone, leaving Hathor to concede his superiority in biomancy while resolving to rely on his own mastery of the mind.

• Hathor Maat led the Pavoni in healing their wounds and destroying a Bone-Eater with combined psychic attacks.
• Ramsey raised fallen xenos as Flesh Servants and reshaped their bodies, astonishing Hathor and the Thousand Sons.
• Ramsey infiltrated a rhinoceros-shaped xeno and used Flesh Bombs and his servants to attack the Bone-Eater.
• Hathor believed Ramsey had died when the Bone-Eater struck back, but Ramsey resurfaced and killed it with a Flesh Curse.
• Hathor acknowledged Ramsey as the greatest biomancy master among the Astartes and reminded himself that he excelled in the field of the mind.

Omega endured captivity in a Slaugth laboratory on Baal-Savol while Nimrod led a teleport strike to rescue him. Nimrod’s team fought through the constructs outside Haidana, where Zahariel sensed the Slaugth’s unified evil presence.

• Omega resisted the Slaugth’s attempts to drain his blood and force him to submit, then wondered whether the Imperium had launched a counterattack.
• Nimrod arrived aboard the Shadow of the Throne, assigned Mikel to acquire Slaugth research, and prepared to teleport to Haidana to save Omega.
• The Imperial fleet destroyed five Slaugth warships as Nimrod led eleven companions, including Luther, onto the teleportation platform.
• Nimrod’s group materialized near Haidana’s power plant and came under attack from Harvester Constructs firing green Necrotic Beams.
• Nimrod burned several constructs, Galan and Balthasar struck back, and Zahariel used the Fear Mask to kill more before sensing the Slaugth’s combined evil presence.

Zso Sahaal and Nimrod's allies battled the Slaugth, while Nimrod confronted a powerful Baron of Corruption. Nimrod imprisoned his opponent and concluded that the Slaugth who had once defeated Alpharius was not so formidable after all.

• Zso Sahaal charged into the fight and helped the others attack the Slaugth-kin.
• Lucius and Akurduana defeated Slaugth foes, while golden light sealed their captured offerings in amber.
• Luther fought a Slaugth Destroyer, and Thierry Vieira rescued him before destroying several enemies with Light Storm.
• A powerful Slaugth-kin broke Zso Sahaal's Lightning Claws, but Nimrod intervened and imprisoned it.
• Nimrod battled the Baron of Corruption, used Geometry and Distortion to restrict it, and sealed it in amber.

Nimrod rescued Omega, a newly discovered Primarch, from the Slaugth and prepared to escort him to Terra. After testing whether he could create Worm Charms through the Kingdom of Disorder, Nimrod recruited Galan and Zso Sahaal as followers while planning for the coming battle at Talos.

• Nimrod broke Omega free from the Slaugth’s force field, and Omega explained how he had reached the planet while searching for The Emperor.
• Nimrod arranged for Mikel and Galan to treat Omega and collect biological samples, then imprisoned the Slaugth in the Seventh Layer Space of the Kingdom of Disorder.
• Nimrod tested his ability to pass power through the amber cage surrounding the Tear of Silence and successfully created a Worm Charm.
• Three days later, Nimrod set out with Omega for Terra while the remaining forces searched Baal-Savol and studied the Slaugth ships.
• Nimrod summoned Galan and Zso Sahaal, gave them the Sleepless and Apothecary potions, and accepted their fealty.