The Collapse of Horus

On the way back to the Vengeful Spirit, Horus saw the Sons of Horus diligently constructing fortifications, their armor gleaming with a cold black and gold luster under the sun.

"Why are only our people here? Where are the World Eaters, Emperor's Children, and Death Guard?" Horus frowned, clearly displeased.

"The other Legions are tied up with their Primarchs," Erebus said, his own face darkening.

"Lead the way, I want to see what's going on."

This was probably the sentence Horus would regret the most today.

The two first went to the Death Guard Legion. Before they even got close, they smelled a pungent stench, like a pair of socks that hadn't been washed in thirty days, soaked in water and left to rot for another half a month.

From afar, they could hear the content of the argument inside.

"Mortarion, embrace the All-Father! The All-Father will give you everything." This was the Death Guard's First Company Captain, Taifeng, the seams of his Power Armour constantly spewing foul-smelling gas.

"Fine! Have your All-Father come out and defeat the Emperor, and then I'll believe! Can he do it!" Mortarion, the Death Guard's Gene-primarch, roared in anger.

"Who gave you permission to bring them to Istavan III without my consent!"

Taifeng: "As long as they believe in the All-Father after death, they can still attain eternal life! I am helping them understand the All-Father!"

"Get out! I don't want to see you! Get out!"

"..."

Witnessing all this, Horus let out a long sigh, then turned and left.

"Phew~ There's really nothing that can be done about this. It's clear this was handled very poorly."

"Is Angron alright? If he takes action, none of his subordinates will dare disobey." Horus asked.

"Uh, Angron's subordinates don't dare disobey him, but his mental state isn't great~"

As they spoke, they arrived at the World Eaters Legion's location.

"I hate! I hate why it's me!"

"Why did those damned xenos attack me!"

"I hate! Why did the Emperor stop me! Ahhhhhh~"

With each roar from Angron, he swung his fists, each blow accompanied by the wails of the World Eaters. His every charge was like a mountain collapsing and the earth cracking.

Countless World Eaters rushed forward one after another, only to be struck down again, leaving them injured everywhere.

However, they still couldn't stop Angron's rampage, and the sounds of bones breaking and muscles tearing echoed continuously.

"Primarch, only you can stop him now. What do you think?" Erebus awkwardly scratched his head, as only a Primarch could stop a Primarch.

"Sigh~ Fulgrim should be fine, right? He's usually the most reliable and steady."

Horus turned and walked towards the Emperor's Children Legion's area.

"Perhaps we shouldn't watch anymore. They're really busy~" Erebus tried to stop Horus, but was pushed aside.

"No matter how busy, they should still be participating in construction! That's no excuse, I just need obedience." Horus's anger continued to build; he felt things shouldn't be going so poorly.

Arriving at the Emperor's Children's location, a massive group party was in full swing.

Bottles of super-dopamine hormone were scattered everywhere, and even the party's centerpiece, the Super Pineal, was hung high up. A group of people were playing games below, and whoever won got to use the Super Pineal for a while.

"To Dorn! Cheers!"

"Cheers! To the Primarch!"

The air was filled with the smell of alcohol and various decaying foods. Fulgrim lay naked on a large cushion, reclining on his arm, which extended beyond the cushion. The Emperor's Children knelt there devoutly, like a scene from a medieval oil painting.

Horus watched all this expressionlessly. If the loyalists were to arrive now, could they really resist?

"It's fine, the Word Bearers are still lurking in the shadows. When the time comes, we'll cooperate from the inside and outside, and annihilate the three Legions in one fell swoop."

"Then, we'll march on Terra, and it will be as easy as turning our hands over!"

Horus took a deep breath and patted Erebus, as if everything was under his control.

Just then, Abaddon rushed over again and shouted.

"Warmaster, something's gone wrong!"

"The Word Bearers have been discovered!"

"They're already fighting the Salamanders, Iron Hands, Raven Guard, and White Scars!"

"???"

"Why are the White Scars involved? How were they discovered?" Horus's breathing quickened, his eyes turning red.

"I heard it was Francis who gave the rebels the information."

"When the Iron Warriors were heading here, they encountered the White Scars who had just put down a rebellion..." Abaddon didn't finish.

Horus felt as if struck by lightning, taking two involuntary steps back.

From making Angron so abstract, to plunging Fulgrim deeper into his desires, and to letting the loyalists know his plan in advance.

The shadow of Francis was behind all of this.

"Then, the plan to rescue those loyalists on Istavan III was also prepared by Francis long ago?" Horus asked, his voice trembling, unwilling to admit that Francis had done all this.

He looked so pure and innocent, how could he...

"Yes, Erebus said that Leman Russ, that mad dog, attacked them. Just when they had the upper hand, he revealed himself."

Abaddon's final words struck his heart like a heavy hammer.

Horus roared, blood seeping from his eyes and ears.

"Bastard!"

"Francis, you bastard! May you die a horrible death!"

"Tell all the Sons of Horus to stop construction immediately and attack the Martian Adeptus Mechanicus. Capture Francis alive!"

The furious roar even stunned all living creatures within a hundred meters.

At this moment, Horus no longer cared about them. Even if he had only one Legion left, he would tear Francis apart!

At this moment, Horus hated Francis even more than he hated the Emperor!

Alas, misfortune always strikes the weakest.

Rumble~

Countless explosions erupted from the Vengeful Spirit.

"What's going on? Can anyone tell me what's going on?" Horus roared furiously, looking around. Abaddon and the others shook their heads.

By the time they reached the scene, fires raged everywhere, illuminating the dark sky. Each burning warship was like a fallen meteor, trailing a long tail of flame.

Explosions echoed one after another, deafening, accompanied by the mournful wail of twisting metal. Wreckage of warships lay silently on the ground.

Horus grabbed a Tech-Priest and roared, "What's going on? How can warships explode during maintenance! What's wrong with you Adeptus Mechanicus!"

The Tech-Priest was equally furious. "I want to ask you! Who is randomly unscrewing parts of the machinery! How long have you been here, and machines break down every day!"

"Do you think it was your people deliberately sabotaging them, or do you think we deliberately sabotaged them?"

Hearing this, Horus recalled the scene where he had Francis and Fulgrim build fortifications together.

He had also asked Francis why his warriors liked to wander around, and Francis's answer was a lingering effect of being confined on Terra for too long.

Horus felt a fire burning in his chest, wanting to erupt. "Francis!!! You betrayed me! Cough~"

"Warmaster!"

"Warmaster! What's wrong!"

"Warmaster! Don't scare us!"

On the Dictator-class Battleship.

"Hmm? Why do I feel a sense of unease?" Francis's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

As the demon horde surged like a tide, the Soul Drinkers met them without fear. They wielded power hammers and engaged in fierce combat with the demons.

They utilized the maneuverability of their Power Armour and the firepower of their bolters to strike the demons with precision.

The demons, with their coarse, hard claws, swiped fiercely at the Power Armour. After a piercing screech of twisting metal, a massive gash appeared instantly on the armour.

The largest demon among them raised its bone scythe and swung it down, repelling dozens of Soul Drinkers.

Just as it prepared to charge forward again, the Soul Drinkers parted, creating a path.

Then they saw Francis, half-seated, with dozens of huge eyes on his body beginning to emit a terrifying aura.

Buzz~

Before it could even react, a thick stream of Chaos energy slammed into it. The powerful thrust sent the demons behind it flying off the warship.

At the same time, the Soul Drinkers raised their power shields, continuously charging into the demons and driving them off the battleship.

"Phew~ It really was too stifling being with Horus and the others. I feel much better now!"

Francis stood up, a scent of roasting meat emanating from him.

"This is a Navigator's Eye, isn't it! Respected Primarch, where did you get it?"

Fabius, who had been hiding behind, now stood before Francis, constantly examining the bio-armour on his body.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you."

Francis's voice came from above him. Fabius looked up at him.