Talk Tough, Get Hit Hard

It had to be admitted.

Abaddon had a certain talent for making people angry. Otherwise, back on Alert Star, Calgar wouldn't have been so enraged that he challenged Abaddon to a duel, only to get beaten into the ICU and carried away on a stretcher by his bodyguards, who barely managed to save his life.

But here was the problem.

You might get away unscathed after provoking Chapter Master Calgar, but could you do the same after provoking a Primarch?

"Good! Good! Good!"

Guilliman was so furious that he laughed.

He said the word three times in a row. Each one carried immense weight, seeming to shake the air and suddenly make the atmosphere across the battlefield much heavier, as thick and cloying as oil.

There had to be a limit to how much contempt one could show!

Guilliman was a Primarch, after all. So what if he'd lost a few duels? Did Abaddon really have to keep bringing it up?!

Abaddon's intentions were plain as day.

Anyone with eyes could see that he was deliberately trying to provoke the Primarch. Once anger took control, Guilliman would lose his reason—and give Abaddon an opening.

But Abaddon, driven into a corner and desperate to prove himself, had once again overlooked one thing: provoking a Primarch was hardly a good idea, especially in their current, precarious situation.

"If that's what you think, then you can learn the truth firsthand!" Guilliman's eyes narrowed. He took an enraged step forward, his immense frame exuding an overwhelming presence. Like a mountain collapsing, he swung his blade through layer upon layer of air. Empowered by golden flames, he seemed like a god reborn!

BOOM!

No metal deck, however sturdy, could withstand a Primarch's full-force step. Dense, web-like cracks spread in every direction.

At the same time,