Blade of Penance

The veil of the Warp was suddenly torn apart, and three immense, grim, angular silhouettes slowly entered realspace in the Azure Dawn system like vengeful warships sailing out of ancient myth.

Their hulls gleamed with a cold, hard luster beneath the starlight. Massive turret batteries and launch silos had already opened, radiating icy killing intent.

They were the Indomitable Faith, the Sword of Redemption, and the Scar of Oblivion—Strike Cruisers of the Dark Angels successor Chapter, the Blade of Repentance Chapter.

Almost at the same moment, near the system's Mandeville Point, the fabric of reality stirred once more as an even larger Imperial fleet completed its translation.

An Imperial Navy escort formation led by the aging Gothic-class cruiser Steadfast Will emerged first, followed by a vast transport fleet of bloated vessels that looked as though they had been riveted together from countless steel plates.

Their cargo holds were packed with the fastest-response forces the Departmento Munitorum could muster—the Astra Militarum Regiments drawn from across the Imperium.

Though they were not at full strength, they carried an unshakable will that had crossed the stars.

The bridge of the Gabbro immediately detected the familiar signatures of Imperial engines. Auregana's voice sounded through Chen Xi's private channel. "Inquisitor, reinforcements have arrived. Three Strike Cruisers of the Blade of Repentance Chapter have been identified, along with an Imperial Navy escort fleet and troop transport convoy."

Chen Xi was at a position in the southern part of the island that had just repelled an assault, his Power Sword smeared with viscous purple blood. He raised his head toward the smoke-shrouded sky, where he could still sense the fleet's presence, and silently exhaled a long-held breath.

It was not relaxation, but the burden of responsibility shifting onto a far larger war machine.

"Establish a highest-priority communications