Why is the Emperor the big brother?

The Night Lords' fleet, the Salamanders, and the Ultramarines, including elements of the Imperial Fists stationed in the Sol system, all had portions of their forces redeployed to reinforce the front lines against the Rak'Gol.

Not only that, but the rear echelons of the main Legions fighting on the front lines, such as the Raven Guard, were also fully committed. The Lion, Lion, intended to gather all his available strength for a single, decisive push to crush the Rak'Gol's front-line forces!

When Sandman's clone fleet returned to the battlefield, the war-torn landscape, thick with smoke, surprisingly found a moment of quiet. Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priests and Legion Tech-Marines, however, were busier than ever. Crowds of them were constantly working on the maintenance and repair of warships and various war machines, and the air was filled with a more oppressive atmosphere than during the height of the fighting.

Even the Rak'Gol's defenses were eerily quiet. Both the Rak'Gol and the Imperium of Man knew that the final battle, which would decide the fate of their two species, was approaching its most critical moment. From the first contact between the Dark Angels and the Rak'Gol forward positions to this day, the war between the Imperium of Man and the Rak'Gol had raged for nearly twelve years.

Countless Imperial soldiers had spilled their blood on the battlefield during this time, yet still, an endless stream of Imperial soldiers continued to advance towards the front lines, their surging numbers filling the Rak'Gol with despair.

Especially when the markings of the Night Lords, Imperial Fists, Salamanders, and Ultramarines reappeared on the battlefield, the morale of the Rak'Gol army plummeted to its lowest point. After such a long period of engagement, they had come to understand the organizational structure of the Imperium of Man's forces.

Each fleet bearing these unique markings signified an entire Legion of hundreds of thousands of Astartes behind it. These warriors, whose combat effectiveness rivaled that of the Rak'Gol xenos themselves, seemed to be an inexhaustible force within that colossal empire.

This meant that the Imperium could potentially muster four entirely new Legions to throw into the war against the Rak'Gol at any moment. At this stage of the war, neither the Rak'Gol nor the Imperium could afford to hold back any longer. If this was the situation for the Imperium of Man, the Rak'Gol's predicament was even more dire.

During this period, Lion had deployed forbidden weapons from the Dark Angels Legion's armory, destroying another Rak'Gol War Moon. This included a highly prized nanite swarm capable of devouring an entire planet, codenamed "The Hive." While Sanguinius and Angron failed to destroy the War Moon on the left flank, they succeeded in heavily wounding it.

On the front lines, the Dark Angels had even deployed exterminatus-class vessels, demonstrating the immense pressure the Rak'Gol had placed on Lion. Of the 300,000 Dark Angels, only about 150,000 remained. The other Legions were in a similar state, with losses exceeding half their strength.

Corvus Corax had even transferred 50,000 of his 60,000 veteran soldiers from the Legion's homeworld and other fiefdoms, forming a 100,000-strong fleet that was sent to the front lines. The remaining new recruits were all assigned to the Legion's homeworld and other fiefdoms. This meant that the Raven Guard truly had no more experienced veterans to provide to the front lines. The casualty rate for inexperienced new recruits thrown into such a meat grinder of a battlefield was far too high.

If this was the situation for the Raven Guard, the conditions for other Legions were even worse. This was why the Imperium was redeploying forces from other Legions. They couldn't possibly allow the core of all the main Legions on the battlefield to be annihilated, could they? The recovery of the Legions in the future would take an extremely long time, and this wasn't the end of the wars after defeating the Rak'Gol.

On the contrary, after defeating the Rak'Gol, the Legions would have even more to deal with. The Imperium of Man's Great Crusade would truly enter its peak after the Rak'Gol War, and there would be plenty of xenos for the Astartes Legions to handle.

"So, the current Raven Guard strength on the front lines is only 160,000." Sandman's heart ached as he looked at the data Corvus Corax gave him after emerging from seclusion. When they departed from Savior Star, they had brought 120,000 troops, plus the 40,000 advance force led by Fal, totaling 160,000. By now, only a little over 60,000 remained. Corvus Corax had nearly emptied his rear bases of veterans to barely replenish the Legion's strength to its initial numbers at the start of the war.

What did this mean? It meant that the Raven Guard had already lost 100,000 Astartes on Rak'Gol, and this didn't even include the mortal auxiliaries and the Adeptus Mechanicus's Protectorate Army.

"That's why Lion decided to launch an unprecedented all-out offensive. We're almost at our limit, and the Rak'Gol are even less able to sustain this! According to intelligence from the Alpha Legion, apart from the forces stationed in the capital system, the Rak'Gol have essentially withdrawn all their internal forces," Corvus Corax said.

It was clear that Alpha Legion was excellent at intelligence gathering. In such a short time, they had established communication channels with the Imperium within Rak'Gol territory. This made Sandman wary of Alpha Legion.

"Since that's the case, why are the Night Lords still engaging in terror tactics? Just send them to the rear to attack Rak'Gol's supply lines and equip them with various weapons for exterminatus missions. Let them do whatever they want!" Sandman immediately changed his mind.

As the largest Legion on the battlefield, the Raven Guard could not disengage from the front lines to conduct behind-the-lines sabotage missions. However, it didn't matter; the Night Lords were also adept at infiltration and sabotage tactics. Their only drawback was lower efficiency without Sandman leading the way.

"What's the situation with Mortarion's Death Guard?" Sandman asked.

"The Death Guard's situation isn't optimistic. After replenishment, they only have 90,000 troops, and they have many more new recruits than we do," Corvus Corax said with a grim expression.

The ratio of veterans to new recruits in the Raven Guard's replenished forces was 1:1. After deployment on the battlefield, it was roughly three veterans to one new recruit. The Death Guard likely required one veteran to two new recruits.

"Damn Rak'Gol. When we launch the general offensive, let's shrink the Death Guard's front line a bit," Sandman said helplessly. For now, he could only help Mortarion as much as possible. Otherwise, after the war with the Rak'Gol, the Death Guard wouldn't just be crippled; they would be nearly incapacitated.

"I know," Corvus Corax replied without refusal. After all, the relationship between the Raven Guard and the Death Guard was quite good. Helping within their capabilities was not a difficult matter.

"What's the situation with the White Scars' fleet?" Sandman asked, noticing that the number of Khan's fleet had been reduced by more than half. The White Scars had always been responsible for reconnaissance; surely they hadn't been ambushed by the Rak'Gol?

"Khan has taken half of his fleet to Ullanor on a mission. I heard the situation there is also very intense, and Horus and the others have suffered heavy losses. We don't know when it will end," Corvus Corax explained the reason for the White Scars' reduced numbers. It went without saying that this order must have come from the Emperor.

"Damn, are the Orks on Ullanor that strong? Horus, with so many Legions, still hasn't crushed them?" Sandman was also very surprised. He hadn't expected the enemies on both battlefields to be so formidable.

"Did you gain anything during your seclusion?" Sandman quickly asked Corvus Corax while the general offensive had not yet begun.

Ever since Sandman's battle with the Rak'Gol Supreme, Corvus Corax had entered seclusion and had not even attended the previous meeting. He only reappeared after dealing with issues concerning the Koz and the Night Lords. Sandman was naturally very interested in Corvus Corax's gains.

"I seem to have felt a strange connection with something in the Warp. This feeling becomes even stronger when I travel through the Warp, and my Shadow Power seems to have undergone a significant transformation. Now, I can infiltrate Rak'Gol's psychic War Moons without being detected," Corvus Corax said with great confidence.

"That's amazing! Doesn't that mean you can directly destroy Rak'Gol's War Moons?" Sandman immediately thought of various clever tactics. He still had a few Necron Hypercube Mazes. Loading them with some double-strike Cyclone Torpedoes or vortex weapons and then having Corvus Corax bomb the War Moons seemed like a very good option.

It just sounded a bit strange, like using Corvus Corax as a kamikaze pilot.

"The problem is their shields are too thick. We'll still have to airdrop troops first," Corvus Corax's words dispelled Sandman's idea, as it would be too troublesome.

"Since it's come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore. That entity in the Warp that has a strange connection with you is your Warp essence. You can think of it as similar to my Warp projection. When you were in seclusion, I told the other Primarchs that you would all eventually reach my current level. This is the reliance of you gene-forged Primarchs; in a sense, you are all born gods," Sandman's words struck Corvus Corax like a thunderclap, leaving him speechless. He had never imagined that this was the true identity of the gene-forged Primarchs.

"Alright, stop being so shocked. This is just the beginning. Listen carefully to what I have to say! Listen to every word without missing a single one," Sandman said sternly, closing Corvus Corax's mouth, which was wide enough to fit several eggs. Then, a dark, deathly power enveloped the two of them, isolating them from any possible prying eyes. This deathly power was the divine power of death condensed by Sandman, not ordinary psychic energy, which fully demonstrated the importance of what Sandman was about to say.

"Your father's ambition is immense, so much so that even the Chaos Gods have invested heavily in him. Even though your father has toyed with them time and time again, they continue to increase their stakes because they have seen the possibility of their realization through you," Sandman began to unravel the mystery of their origins and the unseen entanglement of fate with the Chaos Gods behind them.

"What is Father doing? Something that allows the Chaos Gods to repeatedly be toyed with by him and still willingly invest?" The seals on Corvus Corax's memories were broken, and those dusty memories began to surface in his mind: Warp demons, Chaos Gods...

"In this regard, I must say your father's boldness far surpasses mine. The gene-forged Primarchs created byneus are essentially artificial replicas of unawakened Chaos Gods. He has succeeded in mass-producing living gods," Sandman said, his words causing shock after shock.

"So, in essence, we are born Chaos Gods? And there are 21 born gods in the Imperium?" Corvus Corax was utterly stunned by this information.

With 21 born gods, what was the Rak'Gol Supreme? Any one of them could make the enemy beg for mercy, so why was the war so arduous now?

"Yes, of course, if it were only to this extent, it wouldn't be enough to make the Chaos Gods continuously increase their stakes. Before that, you need to have a general understanding of the classification of gods. Simply put, there are two types of gods in the galaxy: physical gods of the material universe, which are the Star Gods shattered by the Necrons, and they control the rules of the material universe.

The other type is Chaos Gods, or it's more appropriate to call them Warp Deities. For example, the Rak'Gol Supreme, if he ascended to godhood, would be a racial god. Additionally, Chaos Gods are also called born gods. These two types of gods are like the material universe and the Warp; they each have their own territory, and it's difficult for them to cross into each other's territory." Sandman paused here for a moment to let Corvus Corax digest the information.

"And then?" Corvus Corax asked.

"Chaos Gods feed on the negative emotions of sentient beings, you know that. So, what's the fastest way to have a feast?" Sandman began to ask.

"That would naturally be to go to the other's territory and have a grand feast," Corvus Corax was beginning to understand why the Chaos Gods were continuously increasing their stakes. The temptation was too great.

"Precisely. To put it more elegantly, it's like going on a spontaneous trip to the other's territory. If your father's plan succeeds, for the Warp deities, there will be no distinction between the material universe and the Warp in billions of years, and it will be a one-way street!

Only Chaos Gods can come over, while physical gods still cannot! What an unprecedented and monumental achievement! Do you think the Chaos Gods can resist this temptation? The Emperor's deception of them is insignificant.

If it were you, with such a powerful ally, would you join?" Sandman asked Corvus Corax.

"I would join, of course, I would invest everything!" Corvus Corax replied without hesitation.

"But now there's a problem: your father has made up his mind to renege on the deal. What do you think the Chaos Gods will do?" Sandman then dropped another bombshell on Corvus Corax, and this time Sandman did not intend to seal his memories again. He would have to face these things sooner or later, so it would be good for Corvus Corax to be prepared in advance.

"If it were me, I'd naturally storm their doorstep, but the Chaos Gods can't enter the material universe, can they? They... they wouldn't be...?" As Korax spoke, his face turned incredibly pale, and he painfully closed his eyes, having understood what Sandman was about to say.

What the true nature of a Primarch is, what a one-way channel to a Chaos God entails, what divine beings are all about, what investment Chaos Gods make – the infighting among siblings is what the other party truly wanted to remind him of!

"Who else? How large is the scale?" Korax painfully forced his eyes open and asked.

"I don't know, anyone is possible. At most half, at least no fewer than four. I can only guarantee your safety; for the others, I can only say I'll do my best." Sandman did not tell Korax about the memories in the background. Those memories would now have very little effect, lacking any reference value.

"What are Father's plans? And what should I do?" After a long silence, Korax had no choice but to accept the reality.

"We've made some preparations, but they can only be considered preventative. Ultimately, we'll have to wait until the enemy reveals themselves to be certain. As for you, what you need to do is master your Warp essence as quickly as possible. This is why I brought you to the heart of Rak'Gol to witness a war between gods firsthand. It's the fastest way to make you feel your Warp essence," Sandman said apologetically, as he had kept these matters from the other party.

"I'm sorry, Korax, but this galaxy is just that cruel. Telling you now is better than facing sudden betrayal when the time comes," Sandman said, looking at the usually obedient Primarch.

"Mortarion is one of them, isn't he? Your attitude towards Typhon is off." Korax recalled the necklace Sandman had given him. Mortarion had one just like it. From these connections, Korax formed his own judgment.

"It's hard to say. Right now, I only suspect Typhon. Mortarion can be trusted. Chaos Gods don't directly corrupt Primarchs; their corruption occurs through the gradual infiltration of important figures around the Primarch. This process is very secretive and takes a very long time," Sandman told Korax.

"I will diligently comprehend my Warp essence until I am capable of helping you share this immense pressure," Korax stated firmly.

"Yes, that's the best approach. Korax, remember that Primarchs do not need to seek power externally, whether from the Emperor, me, or the Chaos Gods. The power that Chaos Gods can give you, while making you stronger, essentially takes away your most important possession. They fill your body with their discarded scraps, making you mistake it for their gift. Never do such a foolish thing, or you will greatly disappoint me." This time, Sandman revealed everything to Korax without reservation.

"Don't worry, I won't be that foolish. I don't want to end up looking disgusting, oozing greenish-yellow pus and crawling with maggots. I imagine the Chaos Daemons from the other factions aren't much better!" Korax vowed.