A little surprise for Nurgle (extra-long chapter-please subscribe)

Ultramar was the heart of the Five Hundred Worlds once ruled by the Imperial Regent and Primarch, Roboute Guilliman. It was also the recruiting homeworld of the Ultramarines Legion and the capital of the Second Imperium, founded during the Horus Heresy to preserve the flame of human civilization.

At its height, it could supply the Ultramarines Legion with more than two hundred and fifty thousand Astartes Space Marines and billions of mortal soldiers for the Emperor's Great Crusade, along with the vast numbers of warships and other weapons and equipment needed to build such an enormous army.

And unlike planets elsewhere that squeezed every last drop of productivity out of their civilians through ruthless exploitation, this was one of the few places in the Imperium that deserved to be called a beacon of civilization.

Although it was a densely populated hive world, it was not one of those hopeless places where ordinary people might spend their entire lives without ever seeing the sky. It boasted extensive parks, green belts, libraries, and other public facilities, while everyday life had always remained relatively prosperous.

Even during the Imperium's decline known as Old Night, it had maintained a relatively rational outlook rather than degenerating into the rotten, backward feudalism, slavery, or theocracy found on most other planets.

Quite the opposite!

Ultramar had carried on the proud traditions left behind by the lord of the Ultramarines Legion, governing its people according to the Imperial Truth advocated by the Emperor. Its ordinary citizens' average level of education was perhaps second only to Terra's, far above the Imperial average.

That was why, throughout ten thousand years of darkness, this planet had endured invasions by countless terrifying enemies without falling.

Its well-educated population understood what they were fighting for and what defeat would mean. They therefore did