Hope, Then Despair!

The Lion King wasn't the only one who stormed into this Chaos Battleship; the entire Sons of the Forest Chapter was involved.

After reorganization and restructuring, the Chapter, known as the "Sons of the Forest" by the Lion King, comprised approximately three hundred members, including the "Dawn Watch" who originally served under Alvin and the former Blade Legion. They were commanded by Afkar, Zabriel, and Ollsen.

This raid also serves as a test for this brand-new Chapter.

As it turns out, the Chapter of the Sons of the Forest did not disappoint Lion King or Alvin.

Even though they once bore the names of traitors and Fallen Angel, they were still the most elite warriors, the First Legion, and the proud offspring of the Lion King.

Using his Warp properties, the Lion King leaped back and forth between the various Chaos Battleship.

Whenever the mysterious forest from Caliban slowly unfolds before the damned traitor, what awaits them is the wrath and judgment of the Imperium and the Lion King, after many years!

Mysterious, swift, and deadly!

That's their motto; every action they take is like a wild beast in the forest, searching for the enemy's fatal weakness.

Then—a fatal blow!

"Watch out for the warships!" Ollsen, gripping his still-dripping Power sword, decapitated his enemy, then blasted his chest cavity with a blast of explosives in his left hand. Wiping the blood from his helmet visor, he coldly stated, "His Highness Alvin specifically instructed us not to damage these warships."

Around him lay fallen Chaos Interstellar warriors, whimpering, their eyes wide, their faces filled with confusion and bewilderment.

They couldn't understand how these interstellar warriors of the Imperium managed to bypass detection and appear on the warships like ghosts.

In the command center of the Skullcrown Axe Gang, a crimson and blinding alarm sounded. The Sons of the Forest, who had suddenly boarded and stormed the warship, slaughtering most of the Chaos Space Marine, Daemon, and Dark Tech-Priest, were all huddled in this last sanctuary.

The faces of these people were filled with unease, fear, and deep doubt.

Why did it turn out like this?!

Their lord had just led the elite of his entire warband, including Terminator and Chaos Dreadnought, to raid the Hive City of an Imperium, only to have their own stronghold overrun by this group!

In a head-on confrontation, they were confident they wouldn't be crushed, but the problem was—they were completely unprepared.

They weren't even armed, and suddenly, while they were resting, they were ambushed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The violent sounds of bombs slamming into the gate, like a death knell, instilled fear in those hiding in the bridge command room.

They knew very well that this gate alone couldn't stop those lunatics!

"Quickly, contact the other warships!" the commander roared, ordering the Dark Tech-Priest to send distress signals to the other warships.

As long as we can stall them!

If they can hold on a little longer, and wait for the people on the other warships to discover the anomaly, they will be able to turn the tide of battle.

The lights, symbolizing communication, remained dimmed as they waited anxiously.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!"

The commander grew increasingly agitated, grabbing the Dark Tech-Priest who was still trying to make contact, gripping his neck, his eyes bloodshot. "Why haven't you made contact yet?! Is it blocked?!"

"Cough cough cough-"

The Dark Tech-Priest, his eyes wide, his prosthetic Prosthetic limb twisting in agony, uttered a mechanical voice. "Our communications—we've sent them out, and there's no jamming, but—they're not replying! There's only one possibility in this situation: they...can't reply!"

These words stunned the commander.

A terrifying thought suddenly began to frantically grow in his mind.

Could it be—as he peered through the porthole at the distant shadows of warships in the dark sea of stars, swallowed hard, and was unable to reply?

Does that mean that their warship wasn't the only one attacked by these lunatics?

He stared blankly outside. In this pitch-black sea of stars, even fear was impossible to utter, let alone a sound.

A chill ran through his mind.

"This is a trap!" He realized suddenly, his pupils contracting sharply. He abandoned the gasping Tech-Priest and frantically shouted to those around him, "Quick, contact the lord! Tell him what happened here! We've been tricked! The Imperium anticipated our plan! Tell them to come back immediately!"

Return?

If these Warband Lords could hear his voice, they would probably only be able to tell them, "Good luck to you all; I don't have time to worry about them."

A deafening roar echoed throughout the entire sky.

Cedric on the Imperium warship had gone completely mad, his eyes bloodshot with rage, repeating monotonous commands over and over again.

Launch! Launch! Launch!

That was awesome!

He couldn't remember the last time he felt this good.

There's absolutely no need to hold back. Just dump all the ammunition in the warehouse and let those damned Chaos scum taste what the Emperor's wrath really tastes like.

In the desert, where there was no cover and the area was open, the elite forces of the Chaos Gang numbered approximately three thousand.

Just a few rounds of shelling inflicted heavy losses on them.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

"Traitor! Traitor! You damned traitor— Zane!!!"

Amidst roars filled with rage and resentment, they viciously cursed the Chaos Lord who had plunged them into this peril... - Zane.

They didn't understand even until their deaths.

Zane, already a high-ranking Chaos Lord and Zane by Khorne, why would he betray Chaos?!

The Imperium absolutely cannot accept a space warrior who was once corrupted by Chaos, let alone a high-ranking Chaos Lord.

They didn't understand, and they couldn't figure it out.

But the relentless Macrocannon overhead left them no time to think about anything else; they could only run wildly across the open, exposed desert, trying to break into the Hive City.

This is the only way out!

It must be said that the Chaos Interstellar Warriors are truly difficult to kill. Even though Alvin had revealed the coordinates in advance, a considerable number of them still managed to escape the range of the Imperial Navy's bombardment.

The gates to the Hive City are right before us.

This gave the desperate Chaos Gang a glimmer of hope in their predicament. They wished they had more legs and rushed towards what they saw as their path to survival.

But unfortunately...

When they rushed to the edge of the Hive City, they discovered that it wasn't Hive City, but a giant "fortress"!

Then, to their astonishment, that enormous fortress actually stood up!

"Titan?"

The Chaos Gang, who had just escaped death, felt their hearts sink to the bottom, their hopes shattered.

Wait, Titan?!

They were completely dumbfounded. Could someone please tell them why there were Titans in this godforsaken place?!