The king and the stray dog

It had all been a trap!

A trap laid specifically to lure him in. Now he was a lamb awaiting slaughter!

Around the bridge's command hall, sturdy, heavy bulkhead doors reinforced with vast quantities of adamantium alloy had sealed off the Black Legion's only retreat.

Guilliman had even ordered priests of the Ecclesiarchy and Sisters of Silence to coat the doors beforehand with copious amounts of Blank ashes and holy oil to ward off Chaos Sorcery.

Meanwhile, the main force of the Black Legion, its advance blocked by the heavy adamantium doors, had been engulfed by masses of vines and forest that had suddenly appeared from nowhere. Amid the spreading mist, ghostlike figures seemed to launch ambushes from the shadows.

For a time, the Black Legion on both sides of the doors suffered attacks of varying severity, unable to extricate themselves.

But none of that was the worst of it.

Briefly blinded by one apparent victory after another, Abaddon had never expected to find himself trapped.

The Ultramarines who had suddenly burst forth were on an entirely different level from the "Ultramarines" routed earlier. Their coordination was flawless, as though they were a single entity.

"For the Emperor—attack!"

As the horns sounded, Ultramarines poured out of hidden passages on every side and launched their counterattack!

Abaddon, Warmaster of the Black Legion, immediately became the center of this storm. He was also the primary target of the Ultramarines' Terminators, assault squads, and even their Librarians.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The roar of bolt rounds tore through the air of the hall.

Several Terminators advanced in formation through the profane flames unleashed by the Chaos Legion, raining searing Assault Cannon fire and bolt rounds onto Abaddon's position.

The surface of his heavy Power Armor, blessed by all Four Gods, was instantly covered in