A Year of Shocking Dorn

This was the first star system with intelligent life they encountered in the Night Haunter Sector.

Unfortunately, due to the long period of separation and the encirclement of Warp Storm, the humans in the galaxy have fallen into a ridiculous exceptionalism, believing that these beings that emerged from the evil storms are all the embodiment of extreme evil.

They will bring countless unspeakable machines and weapons to transform the planet into a terrifying infernal realm.

That's too much talk.

Of course, the greatest confidence of the people from the Night Haunter Sector lies in their invincible fleet—an invincible fleet that has roamed for countless years without ever having a rival.

As for those foolish behemoths of the Imperium of Man...

They believe that this seemingly enormous ship is simply a target, a product of foolish "bigger is better" thinking.

What era are we living in?

Did you think this was a traditional naval war, where large ships and cannons could dominate the oceans?!

Building such a huge ship is just like making ourselves a target for others to shoot at!

In space naval warfare, flexibility and stealth are of paramount importance!

During battle, ships must conceal their movements as much as possible, and after launching a surprise attack, they must use their unique acceleration devices to retreat before the enemy can react.

Only in this way can we gain a significant enough advantage in naval battles!

A warship like Horus's Vengeful Spirit would certainly not meet the standards of a modern warship.

Such a massive and cumbersome warship could be torn to shreds with just a simple missile—

Call out!

The missile was launched at the massive Vengeful Spirit, hurtling toward the enemy warship at an unavoidable speed!

At this distance, a warship of this size simply could not dodge such a fast missile!

They've already won!

—Then these people saw the Void Shield hovering over the ships.

The missile struck the invisible membrane of the Void Shield and vanished instantly, as if swallowed up.

"Not good!"

Under the combined attack of Horus and Fulgrim's dual fighter squadrons, the spaceship fleet that dared to attack the Expeditionary Fleet was instantly scattered and destroyed.

Although their warships were indeed smaller and more agile, this did pose a significant challenge to the fleets of the two Primarch.

But this was no challenge for the powerful Lunar Wolves and the Sons of the Emperor fleet.

Under the coordinated artillery fire of the two sides, the agile enemy ships scattered like birds and beasts, choosing to abandon their surface sections and flee in all directions.

Seeing that their invincible fleet had been routed, the surface troops also chose to raise white flags and surrender.

And so, the Expeditionary Fleet easily occupied the Hive World of this unknown star system.

"But this is not the end of the war, but only the beginning."

After landing on the planet's surface aboard the Firebird to complete the reception work, Fulgrim spoke to Kasgar beside her.

"Just the beginning?"

"Yes. It's quite obvious that I saw traces of Warp jumps when they escaped, right there in that flash just now."

The battle has been won, but the war has only just begun.

"If we cannot find their hiding places, our future Warp routes will continue to be harassed and threatened by these flies and pests."

[Okay, let's continue extracting information.]

As he spoke, Fulgrim suddenly manipulated the communication device in his ear and then turned back to face Kasgar.

"The results of our interrogation of the prisoners have arrived. They revealed the true name of their Imperium —the Great Malien Empire, a powerful entity spanning dozens of star systems in the Night Haunter Sector."

"Under the prolonged onslaught of Warp Storm, the warp jumps they developed will be accomplished through several small Warp jumps over extremely short distances. Although this will significantly reduce speed, it is safer,"

Although this human Pocket Imperium is no match for the Combined Fleet of the two Primarch Legions, if these guys only harass without launching any offensive...

They will tirelessly deal with the other party's endless harassment.

This is very detrimental to the Expeditionary Fleet's subsequent operations.

For them, who had just entered the Night Haunter Sector, everything here was unknown.

Between the open and the hidden, if their path is cut off in the future, all communication and connections between the Expeditionary Fleet will be lost.

At that point, you'll only be able to type blindfolded.

"We can drive it away now, but if we really let the tiger return to the mountain, we may never have peace in the future."

Fulgrim expressed her concerns about this.

We must find the capital of this human Pocket Imperium as soon as possible, whether by annihilation or recapture, we must eliminate this threat.

That being said, with the raging Warp Storm blocking the way, finding their trail largely depends on luck.

Moreover, the primary mission of the current Pride of the Emperor fleet is to escort the Mount Array fleet as it advances forward.

If the Mount Array deviates too far from its planned route, and its pursuit deviates from the current course, causing it to become lost in Warp and unable to communicate with other fleets, then it would be truly dangerous.

"We can only pray that today's battle will scare them so much that they will never dare to attack our fleet again."

While relying on luck on the battlefield is an irresponsible choice, it seems that Fulgrim has no better options.

"And Horus," she said, clenching her right fist in anger, "He kept talking about having a surprise, and now he's vanished without a trace. Really..."

"Irresponsible. I'm sorry, I really have to take the blame, sister."

Not far ahead of them was the landing point of the Lunar Wolves.

Horus, clad in silver-white armor, approached the landing point of the Emperor's Children Legion with an apologetic smile.

"Is this the ultimate technique you mentioned? All I saw was Lunar Wolves and the Sons of the Emperor winning another battle, just like always."

That's all.

"Haha, thank you for your praise, but the Emperor power I want to demonstrate has not even begun yet."

"Oh? Brother, you've kept us in suspense for far too long. I'm starting to doubt whether I should trust you as much as I have before."

"Don't worry, Fulgrim, this is definitely the last time."

"However, it's best not to send too many people."

As he spoke, Horus turned around and commanded his troops, including an entire company of Gatling Terminator, to follow Horus.

Seemingly to keep the secret, he dispersed his Imperial Truth Proclaimers, Adeptus Mechanicus members, and other Imperium bureaucrats to various Hive City on the planet to appease them.

He led only his direct Astartes towards the upper echelons of the Hive City.

"Very mysterious."

Fulgrim was getting impatient, but she still chose to call on Kasgar, who also had a bad feeling, and followed behind him.

Upper Hive.

"This is pretty much it. With the fighting just over, the bureaucrats are still handling countless administrative tasks."

"This period of chaos may be my opportunity to shine."

As he spoke, Horus commanded the fully armed Lunar Wolves around him to scatter in all directions. Although Abaddon seemed somewhat reluctant, he still led his men to do as he was told.

Then, the Lunar Wolves suddenly started coordinating with each other in pairs, as if they had practiced this many times before.

They removed the gauntlets from each other's left hands, revealing their matching left hands adorned with some kind of gold jewelry.

Then, they raised their fists high, and the Lunar Wolves, along with the Horus, looked up at the sky at that moment.

Not only that,

Their lips seemed to be muttering incantations: judging from the expressions of many Astartes who had removed their helmets, they were closing their eyes in a fanatical manner, their lips trembling rapidly, as if they were reciting with exceptional familiarity.

What does this mean?

Fulgrim and Kasgar, who were watching from the sidelines, were wary of this.

This is not something Astartes warrior who follows the Imperial Truth should do.

Compared to techniques, everything Horus is doing now is more like witchcraft.

But Fulgrim did not intervene.

Almost all Primarch trusted Horus's character.

There shouldn't be any problems, right?

However, just as these Lunar Wolves were displaying their Golden Ring to the distance, Horus, standing in front of them, seemed to be following suit, muttering something under his breath.

"Were they reciting lines from the script of 'The Centaur gold ring'?"

Fulgrim could not believe the words she heard.

She laughed in exasperation.

Not brothers?

Even if you were really performing some kind of witchcraft ritual, you wouldn't go so far as to use the Centaur gold ring to prank me, would you?

"That Horus is really infuriating, Kasgar, don't you think?"

"Kasgar?"

Fulgrim was about to ask Kasgar beside him, but the fear and confusion on Kasgar's face suggested that Horus was not joking.

Is he serious?

Could there really be witchcraft rituals in this world that can be activated through a theatrical performance like the Centaur gold ring?

Do you know what they're doing?

"I don't know, but I think it's definitely not good news."

"Is he really practicing witchcraft? Should we stop them?"

"It might not be that bad, let's wait and see."

Kasgar was also very uneasy.

On the one hand, he also wanted to see Horus's latest research findings on the Centaur Spirit.

On the other hand, Kasgar was also very nervous if something truly outrageous happened, turning the Emperor's Imperial Truth into toilet paper.

Horus, stop messing around!

As the originator of the Centaur gold ring, if the Emperor were to truly hold him accountable, Kasgar doesn't believe he can escape the guilt of playing with witchcraft.

Horus, you really need to act normal!

Even if you've become mentally disturbed, you still have to act like a normal person!

Kasgar prayed frantically in his heart.

"Emperor".

"Emperor! Emperor! Emperor!"

The strange behavior of the Lunar Wolves did not last long.

As Horus cried out the word "Emperor" with increasing urgency, he finally threw a punch forward with his eyes closed.

"Emperor's Thought Fist, thoughts flow like a spring!"

Bang!

As the Choir of Lunar Wolves sang, Horus suddenly threw a punch at the distant sky.

With a powerful Psychic Power explosion, the punch shot out from Horus's left hand towards the distant sky, reaching the edge of the atmosphere before disappearing into the invisible distance.

An unimaginable golden Guanghua stretched outwards from Horus's fist.

What's this?

(The Golden Path)

It was an absolutely bizarre scene.

Those standing behind him, Horus remained in his previous punching stance until he opened his eyes and looked at the distant sky that was constantly extending with golden Guanghua. Only then did he reveal a relieved smile and lower his outstretched right fist.

How could Horus, without any Psychic Power, actually unleash such a powerful attack brimming with Psychic Power energy?

Fulgrim and Kasgar couldn't understand it.

But they were deeply shocked.

"Alright, all the Warp Storm we encountered have been completely cleared up, and we can now continue our pursuit of those fleeing ships."

"Notify the navigators of Vengeful Spirit to check again whether the Warp Storm has subsided since then."

"However, based on my previous experiments, this golden light path doesn't seem to last very long. We need to complete the launch as soon as possible."

A golden waterway not only appeared before them at this moment, but also stretched into the distance of the Warp, calming the raging storm there.

Not only was the raging Warp Storm dispersed by Horus's strange fist technique, but the thin golden line also appeared in the Warp's field of vision, becoming a beacon guiding the navigators forward.

In the short term, the Expeditionary Fleet's navigators will have another anchor point to refer to besides the Astronomican, which will greatly improve the accuracy of future Warp jumps!

"How is it, Fulgrim?"

"Would you like to learn this move of mine?"

Horus looked towards the distance with a show of pride, then looked away and raised an eyebrow at Fulgrim and Kasgar.

Just when everyone thought the strange ritual was over, a portion of the Golden Light that Horus had unleashed from his fist suddenly turned back and returned to Horus's side.

"This is.?"

Just as Horus was still marveling at the miracle, the golden Psychic Power Guanghua suddenly changed shape, transforming into something else.

Palm?

Snap!

The next moment, the Guanghua rushed in front of Horus and delivered a dazzling Psychic Power slap to him.

Even Primarch-level physical strength was left with a bright red handprint after that Psychic Power slap.

It seems to have been intentional.

"Although I don't know why this is the case, the technique I learned while watching the [Centaur gold ring] can not only dispel the raging Warp Storm, but can even tear apart a powerful enemy in front of me."

As for the Psychic Power sinus strike Horus delivered earlier, it was a natural punch emanating from the image of the Emperor in his memory, imbued with his longing emotions.

That golden light must also be the work of the Emperor.

It was he who slapped Horus.

What does this tell us?

This shows that the Emperor cares about me!

"Hehe, hehe."

Horus tried his best to suppress the corners of his mouth, but found that he couldn't.

He could only helplessly wipe the drool from his mouth with the hand he had just taken off his boxing glove.

Hehe, Emperor. Hehe

"So... this isn't actually witchcraft?"

"You didn't use any witchcraft; you only threw that punch out of your love for the Emperor?"

After stroking his chin in deep thought for a long time, Fulgrim, who was standing to the side, concluded.

"That's right."

Horus certainly did not use simple Psychic Power magic.

Just like the madwoman from Sisters of Battle who could withstand the exorcism debuff of the Pariah Nexus by relying on her faith in the Emperor.

(Phaeron 13 Necrons were stunned and exclaimed that Old Man Huang was invincible.)

Although it does seem illogical, sometimes miracles are not achieved through Psychic Power.

The power of faith, isn't it amazing?

Although the gap between the Warp and the real world was quite deep in the 30k era, his love for the Emperor offset that.

"So, does that mean that as long as our passion is strong enough, we can all unleash this punch?"

As if struck by a thought, Fulgrim asked Horus a question.

"That's right!"

"That's right, sister! That's why I'm sharing this with you, as long as your love is enough," Horus said, glancing at Kasgar, who looked utterly dejected beside Fulgrim. "Anyone can quell Warp storm with their own power, and our future routes will only be safer!"

This is indeed a remarkable discovery!

The reason why humanity declined from the Dark Age of Technology of dark technology is largely due to the obstruction caused by Warp Storm!

"How about it?"

"Alright! Horus, tell me how to use this move!"

Fulgrim's eyes lit up.

"I see, I understand now."

After Horus finished explaining his thought process in developing this move, Fulgrim nodded thoughtfully.

Then, she closed her eyes, her mind filled with the thirty years she and Kasgar had spent together on the Chemos—

"Stop!!!"

However, she was interrupted by the real person beside her just as she got into the zone.

"Now that the Warp Storm has dissipated, it's the perfect opportunity to pursue the enemy ships. We can't afford to waste time here!"

That was Kasgar's expression of wanting to cry but having no tears.

Don't do that!

Please, please, you absolutely mustn't learn this!

"Good, good, good. Kasgar is right. We should indeed hurry up and finish the pursuit of that fleeing enemy ship."

Horus, we'll be going now.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade the tearful Kasgar, Fulgrim chose to memorize the [Ful-Ka's Three Absolutes] that suddenly came to mind.

Let's try it when we have the chance later.

After all, once the Warp Storm have dissipated, the threat to the Dark Night New District will naturally disappear, won't it?

[Mount Array]

At the central core of this enormous spaceship, comparable in size to some satellites, Dorn listened to reports from his subordinate company commanders and navigators.

"The situation from the left has been largely determined."

"The Combined Fleet of Lord Horus and Lord Fulgrim, after encountering the human fleet from the local star system, successfully occupied more than ten nearby star systems, and the Imperium chose to submit to us."

"On the right is Lord Lion's fleet. Their report states that they did not encounter many human star systems suitable for cooperation, but they did acquire some planets worth modifying after the war."

"—According to the explorations of the Adeptus Mechanicus members, the surfaces of these planets all seem to possess some kind of scorched earth formed by high-temperature vitrification."

"Lion Ryan said he was unaware of this, and that he had never used the Exterminatus provided by the Imperial Navy ships."

That means it was used.

Rogal Dorn nodded slightly. "Continue. Is our future warp -Warp environment still functioning smoothly?"

"Unlike before when it was on the outskirts of the sector, the Astronomican is not almost unaffected by the Warp."

The navigator shook his head slightly, somewhat pained. "The deeper we go into the sector, the stronger the impact of the surging Warp Storm on the Astronomican becomes."

As the Mount Array penetrated the area, they now needed more time to discern the surroundings between each jump. To prevent excessive errors in the jumps, the jump distances were shortened accordingly.

They certainly don't want to suddenly discover that they've actually jumped a hundred years into the future.

"So, our task is still very challenging."

Rogal Dorn, still expressionless, concluded, "The key to this battle lies in whether our Expeditionary Fleet No. 343 can successfully capture it—Navigator, is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Seeing that the navigator seemed to have something to say but hesitated, Rogal Dorn asked.

"Our Astronomican light has indeed been blocked, but..."

"But what? Navigator, we've already penetrated deep into the core of the Night Haunter Sector, a place where even the Emperor's Radiance cannot reach."

"That's right! But just a few days ago, when I was observing Warp in preparation for finding a new jump point, I seemed to observe an anomaly."

"Strange phenomenon?"

"That's right! Everything was exactly the same back then. I was still carefully using the light of the Astronomican to determine my location when the raging Warp Storm suddenly—"

"I saw His presence—the presence of the Emperor."

"He dispelled the Warp Storm before us with golden light, and also shone and healed the gaps in my body caused by the genetic mutation with golden Radiance!"

"That's why we leap so quickly—it's the Emperor guiding us—"

"Shut up, navigator!"

The Chief Imperial Truth Preacher attending the meeting immediately stood up and interrupted him.

"This is utter fallacy and heresy; we need to examine whether there's something wrong with your way of thinking!!"

"Our Emperor has never been a god, and he could never perform miracles!"

"Do not project your false dreams onto our great Emperor!"

"I'm not lying! It really was the Emperor intervention!"

The navigator seemed to be getting a little anxious.

"Who in the Imperium of Man would not respect the Emperor? I have always held this human leader in the highest esteem, and I truly witnessed his manifestation right then and there!"

"Back then? Who can prove that you were—"

The tension was rising, and the two sides were on the verge of a heated argument.

Call out!

The Mount Array, which was still traveling in Warp, suddenly emitted an indescribable and intense fluctuation.

"What happened?"

What's happening outside?

"Quickly connect to the external projection screen!"

The commotion in the Mount Array lasted only a moment.

Soon, what the group saw rendered them speechless, leaving them utterly unable to utter a single word in rebuttal to the navigator.

If what was previously just the navigator's personal experience was now the most realistic scenario unfolding before everyone's eyes.

The golden thread, just as the navigator had described, appeared clearly before everyone's eyes, splitting the originally raging Warp Storm in two like Moses parting the Sea!

The Warp Storm that had enveloped the Night Haunter Sector were all dispelled, and the light of the Astronomican was in the distance!

"On the throne, my Emperor. This is..."

As the Chief Orator gazed at the black Warp Storm that had subsided slightly and the thin golden lines that were still stretching into the distance, he was filled with boundless awe.

Weeks later.

Never before has the expedition ended so beautifully.

For the expedition to the Night Haunter Sector, after the Warp Storm split it in two, the fleets led by the four Primarch were completely Macro Cannon.

Any fleet that dares to resist the Expeditionary Fleet will be blasted to dust by the powerful firepower of the Mount Array.

Of course, Dorn was considered one of the more approachable people in the Imperium; he liked to weigh the pros and cons before making judgments.

If Dorn judges that the losses from attacking would be greater than the losses from negotiating, they will generally choose to surround the enemy on three sides and leave one side open, giving the enemy room to surrender, rather than fighting to the bitter end.

As the entire Night Haunter Sector was subdued, Rogal Dorn received an explanation from Horus regarding the golden thread and the cause of the Warp Storm.

It was a machine that recorded and stored data.

Highly confidential; only the Primarch himself can view it.

Rogal Dorn took this matter very seriously.

[Emperor]

[Emperor! Emperor! Emperor!]

Then he saw Horus standing in the center of the stage.

[Emperor's Thought Fist, thoughts surge like a fist!]

Rogal Dorn: "."

Rogal Dorn: "?"

"If I could, I really wouldn't want to part ways with you all here."

Horus exclaimed as he returned to the land of Scathia after completing his expedition to the Night Haunter Sector.

"Recently, it seems that due to the increasingly detailed exploration of the planet, the return of the Primarch is nearing its end."

"If I remember correctly, our fleet is about to go with the Emperor to meet Number Eleven, whose existence has also been discovered by the Emperor."

"However, I heard that their current situation is not very good. I hope he is okay."

And it's not just one Primarch.

Recently, there has been news of a new Primarch on Lycaeus, but the Emperor is currently engaged in some business with Primarch Eleven and is therefore unable to leave.

The task of welcoming the Primarch's return fell to the Emperor's Children Legion and two other legions that were still available at the time.

As a guard of honor, they are equally professional.

Kasgar welcomed this.

Lycaeus! This is the homeworld of Corvus Corax!

Hey!

I finally made it to the bonus level!

Kasgar finally smiled.

Raven King, what a good man!

He has a good temper, a good personality, and good character. We can even play VR games together sometime!

This line of work shouldn't become too complicated.

Moreover, two other Primarch Legions also went there together.

"Two more Primarch Legions are with us! Praise the Emperor! But which two Primarch Legions are they?"

"Iron Warriors, Perturabo".

"Death Guard, Mortarion."

Kasgar will never laugh again.