Exterminatus and Shaking Down

"Muscle Dissolvent, huh. Clean and simple. Check on the farming areas on the other planets." Sandman's tone carried a hint of finality.

Nekser quickly contacted the forces on the other planets through the command platform. Soon, he received a definitive reply: all farming areas were the same. The humans left in the incubation pods, not yet transferred, had been injected with various agents. All that remained for the Raven Guard were pools of pus or corpses inside the pods.

"Good. At least they died cleanly. Saves us the trouble of re-educating them later." Sandman's words were flippant, but the battlefield around him had turned bitterly cold, betraying his true feelings.

"Korax, stop the occupation of the central zone. We're pulling out. Then deploy the Exterminatus." Sandman patched into the Primarch's comms as he assaulted the central fortress and sent him the compiled data.

"What a sinful land," Korax said on the other end of the line, his tone heavy as he reviewed the information.

"Yeah. A sinful land. Let the flames burn it all clean." Sandman returned to the Stormbird sent to pick him up, his spirits low.

"Prepare the Exterminatus," Korax ordered, halting the Legion's advance. The vast front line began a slow retreat. Amid the Krav Xenos' desperate relief, transport shuttles reloaded troops onto the warships. Deathclaw Drop Pods reignited, their massive reverse thrust carrying the Astartes back to the vessels.

The battlefield, once roaring with artillery fire, now echoed only with the sounds of the Imperium's withdrawal. Countless Krav emerged from every shadow, but no one fired. No one knew why these butchers had suddenly stopped their invasion of their home.

Space.

"In the name of the Raven Guard Chapter Master, I, Sandman, hereby issue the Exterminatus on the five central planets of the Kanta System. With fire, we deliver the death sentence to the Krav Xenos, enemies of mankind.

With fire, we cleanse the countless billions of human souls who suffered in this system. May they return to the Golden Throne." Sandman read the Exterminatus decree over the Legion-wide channel.

Korax had intended to issue it himself, but under Sandman's insistence, he reluctantly ceded the authority to sign the decree to him.

At that moment, the Kanta Central District entered its death countdown. Destruction was inevitable. Following Sandman's will, the vast Raven Guard fleet began its precise, methodical operation.

An immensely complex encrypted order was decoded layer by layer. Atmospheric Incineration Torpedoes, stamped with the great cog symbol, had their safeties disengaged one by one. Massive mechanical arms lifted them and slowly loaded them into the warships' torpedo bays.

On the screen, five warships shifted from green to red, signaling that all Atmospheric Incineration Torpedoes were ready for launch.

"Fire!" Sandman's command was absolute.

Five lone Atmospheric Incineration Torpedoes moved with a deliberate yet swift grace, delivering the flames of death to the planets below.

As the torpedoes reached the polar atmospheres, the detonators within the warheads activated.

"Boom..." Like a spark dropped into a barrel of oil, the nuclear inferno of the Cyclone Torpedo ignited the atmosphere from the planet's north pole.

A magnificent ring of fire slowly burned its way toward the south pole. The immense heat released by the burning planetary atmosphere roasted the entire world. Countless xenos, still celebrating their survival from the war, were ignited by the terrifying temperatures before they could reach underground shelters. Those who had burrowed underground soon suffocated as the atmosphere was consumed.

The towering, densely packed incubation pods, along with the pus and corpses inside, evaporated under the flames' caress. The hard steel frames melted into molten iron.

The collapse began.

"May you return to the Golden Throne." Sandman watched the entire process on Kanta 1, from the flare of light to its extinction, until the atmosphere was completely burned away. He spoke again to the souls of the dead, though he knew those humans had no knowledge of the Imperium of Man or what the Golden Throne represented.

But he had to say something.

Sandman turned and walked into his quarters, resuming his study of Malcador's writings on psychic knowledge. Issuing an Exterminatus always carried some repercussions—that was why Korax had wanted him to sign it. As a Primarch of the Imperium, no one would dare target him.

But Sandman didn't care. Anyone who caused him trouble would find themselves in a living hell.

The campaign to reclaim the Kanta System ended the moment the Exterminatus was issued. What remained were the tedious tasks of reconstruction and population relocation. At the same time, the Legion received applications from a second wave of Forge Worlds to join the Raven Guard's Great Crusade expedition. Archmagos from the Eighth of the Dead and the Lucius Forge World represented their factions in joining the Raven Guard.

Sandman also received a transmission from the Emperor. The Space Wolves and Iron Hands Legions, after suffering heavy casualties, had successfully taken the Ork Empire in the Wheel of Fire Sector. Ork warp-jump technology was now in the process of being deciphered.

The Raven Guard now had slots to offer to the Forge Worlds that had joined their war effort, allowing them to participate in this project critical to the Imperium.

"Heh. Time to squeeze them dry." Sandman's foul mood over the Kanta System evaporated the moment he saw the Emperor's message.

"Archmagos Anselm, thank you for your long years of service maintaining the Styx. Now it's time to fulfill my promise. Prepare yourself. Join the detachment from Griffin IV heading to the Wheel of Fire Sector. A path to Archmagos has been paved for you." Sandman summoned the Mechanicus Sage, who had served the Styx since his days as a mere Tech-Priest.

"Thank you for your generosity. May the friendship of the Eighth of the Dead Forge World endure with the Raven Guard. Praise be to you. Praise be to the great Omnissiah." Archmagos Anselm offered Sandman a sincere Gear Salute. Within the Adeptus Mechanicus, knowledge was priceless, governed by the principle of equivalent exchange. Sandman's promise was, for Anselm, a debt of rebirth.

The difference between Sage and Archmagos was a chasm. Only by becoming an Archmagos could one have a voice in a Forge World.

"Go. The days ahead are long. There will be plenty of room for cooperation." Sandman smiled as he saw Anselm off.

Now came the time for the Raven Guard to bleed these two Forge Worlds dry. Anselm was from the Eighth of the Dead, but that didn't matter.

Sandman had given him the slot as a reward for his years of maintaining the Styx—it wasn't a slot for the Eighth of the Dead itself. If they didn't cough up something good, they could forget it. Even Griffin IV would have to offer something valuable, but since they were the first to follow the Raven Guard, their price wouldn't be as outrageous.

Sandman sent the information to Korax and washed his hands of it. Korax knew what to do. At the very least, they'd have to dig out all the black-tech from their vaults.

Especially the Eighth of the Dead's black-tech. They could split a single Machine Spirit through dark rituals to control multiple Titans. Vulcan I and Vulcan II used this technology. Those two Titan Legions had followed Horus, but the Eighth of the Dead still had a Glorious Titan Legion. That was Sandman's target.

As for the Lucius Forge World, the Voidwalker Titan Legion had to be handed over. That Legion's Titans were too mobile—they could teleport into battle and cover several kilometers in a few strides. Other Titan Legions' sluggish pace was nothing in comparison.

Sandman didn't think the Forge Worlds would refuse the Raven Guard's proposal. After all, this was a golden opportunity to bolster a Forge World's strength. Every additional Archmagos meant a significant increase in power.

Why was Mars the holy land of all Forge Worlds? Not because it was closest to the Omnissiah, but because it had the most Archmagos. That was a truth acknowledged by all Forge Worlds.

Even the Adeptus Mechanicus, that twisted hybrid of science and religion, had to rely on force to speak.

Time flowed quietly. A Terran Week passed in the blink of an eye. Sandman finally finished reading Malcador's intermediate-level knowledge of psychic powers. Deeper knowledge would require practical experience to understand.

It was also time for Sandman to bid Korax farewell. After participating in the Raven Guard's first campaign, he needed to set out for Macragge to find Robert Guilliman.

"So? Did the Eighth of the Dead and Lucius Forge World accept our terms?" Sandman poured Korax a cup of tea.

"Just as you predicted. The Glorious Titan Legion and the Voidwalker Legion will both be transferred to the Raven Guard—the entire Legion. On top of that, they've handed over various Forbidden Weapons from their armories that they'd never been willing to part with. All moved to the Legion's arsenal." Korax accepted the tea with a broad smile.

"Of course. A Titan Legion follows whoever it follows. Only they know how much good stuff they're still hiding. Better to trade it for tangible benefits than let it gather dust in storage." Sandman smiled too. A few slots had already fattened the Raven Guard considerably.

"Boss, where do you get all this intel? How do you know before I do?" Korax asked, puzzled. As the Legion's Primarch, information should have reached him first. Yet he still hadn't received any reports about the Wheel of Fire Sector. It seemed all information had been deliberately blocked.