Chapter Summaries

Alvin ordered Char to keep the artillery firing until the infected’s street-battle cover was destroyed, then unleashed further aerial bombardment as they emerged. The infected faced a second wave of incendiary and explosive weapons after hours of shelling.

• Char asked Alvin whether the First Auxiliary Army should stop the artillery and engage the infected, but Alvin ordered him to keep firing until no buildings remained in sight.
• Char directed the Artillery Armored Division and Rocket Division to saturate the area with continuous dense barrages.
• Thousands of rocket launchers and more than ten thousand cannons bombarded the Middle Hive for nearly three hours, destroying the infected’s shelters and cover.
• The infected crawled out after the artillery stopped, preparing to attack the enemy.
• Aircraft dropped napalm, white phosphorus, and thermobaric bombs on the exposed infected.

Alvin used overwhelming artillery and CIWS fire to devastate the Gene-infected assault, then ordered Megatron and the Decepticons to attack the Hell Dragons. The Decepticons surged into the sky to face the Warp-tainted machines.

• Alvin used the accelerated production of three worlds to bombard Middle Hive, expending 600,000 shells in four hours.
• Grand Sage Drakris watched the bombardment and ordered his subordinates to contact the army’s commander.
• Hell Dragons attacked Alvin’s forces, destroying aircraft and setting artillery positions ablaze.
• The Gene-infected charged again, but concealed CIWS machines cut down tens of thousands of them.
• Alvin assigned the Hell Dragons to Megatron, who led the Decepticons into the sky to attack.

Megatron led the Decepticons into battle against Chaos’s Hell Dragons, using their ability to transform in midair to turn the fight around. As the Decepticons continued attacking, Haarken Worldclaimer ordered Chaos to target the army outside the Hive City.

• Megatron rallied the Decepticons to prove themselves and escape their lives as miners.
• Megatron transformed in midair and killed a Hell Dragon with his Plasma Melta Cannon, while Jetfire slew another with his Melta blade.
• Ronin and Skyquake sacrificed an arm each to hold a Hell Dragon in place, allowing Megatron to kill it and rally the Decepticons.
• Haarken Worldclaimer ordered his forces to shoot down the flying Decepticons and arranged for Chaos to attack the army outside the Hive City.

Alvin drew Haarken Worldclaimer’s forces into a trap while Char and Arno’s troops held off the Genestealer attack. When Chaos Space Marines broke through toward Alvin’s command tent, Optimus Prime and the Iron Legion appeared to counter them, leaving Drakris horrified by the prospect of the Imperium discovering the machines.

• Alvin refused Vesa’s request to deploy the Punisher Legion and waited for Chaos to commit its forces.
• Char ordered Arno to send the Bioroid Auxiliary Army and Tyrant Legion to stop enemies attacking both flanks.
• Bioroids and exploding Tyrants held back the infected, but five hundred Chaos Space Marines and dozens of Terminators broke through the auxiliary army’s defenses.
• Alvin revealed that the Chaos assault had fallen into his trap as the attackers advanced on his command tent.
• Optimus Prime led the Iron Legion into battle, cleaving apart a Chaos Terminator and ordering the Autobots to protect Alvin.
• Drakris saw the Iron Legion and feared the consequences if the Imperial Inquisition discovered it.

Belisarius’s Chaos Raptors were trapped by Alvin’s Transformers, but the two sides fought to a standstill as the Chaos Marines mounted a defense. Meanwhile, the flanks collapsed under Genestealer attacks, and Alvin ordered Char’s First Auxiliary Army to hold its ground at any cost.

• Belisarius recognized that his Chaos Raptors had been surrounded by the Iron Men and ordered them to retreat.
• Alvin ordered Optimus Prime, Sentinel Prime, and the other Transformers to destroy the Chaos Raptors and prevent any escape.
• Nightblade and Optimus Prime led the assault, but Belisarius rallied his Marines to defend themselves, leaving both sides at a standstill.
• Alvin received reports that the Bioroid legion had been reduced to three Chapters and that the Tyrant Legion’s fifty thousand test subjects had been wiped out as the right flank was breached.
• Alvin ordered Char and the First Auxiliary Army not to retreat until they received new orders, regardless of the cost.

Alvin ordered Char and the Holy Terra auxiliary army to hold a crucial pass against the Genestealers while the army’s wings collapsed. As the defenders rallied to protect their homeland, Alvin kept the Punisher Legion in reserve and gambled that the Revered Ancestor Dragon would let Chaos and his forces weaken each other.

• Vesa warned Alvin that the Holy Terra auxiliary army might not hold, and Char reported heavy casualties as enemy forces pressed both wings.
• Alvin ordered Char to hold the position regardless of losses, and Char rallied the troops by reminding them that their homeland lay behind them.
• A Commissar’s cry of “For the motherland, hurrah” inspired the soldiers on the right wing to fight back against the infected.
• Nearly six hours into the battle, Vesa asked Alvin to send in the Punisher Legion, but Alvin ordered it to stay put.
• Alvin gambled that the Revered Ancestor Dragon would let both sides wear each other down before the Hive City fell, while the infected threatened to break through the wings.

Sentinel Prime arranged for Bumblebee to draw enemy fire, and Bumblebee was killed, triggering Optimus Prime's fury. Armed with a powerful greatsword, Optimus tore through the Chaos Raptors and killed their commander, Belisarius.

• Sentinel Prime signaled Bumblebee to charge out and draw the Chaos Raptors' fire, and their Heavy Bolters riddled Bumblebee with shots.
• Optimus Prime saw Bumblebee fall and charged the enemy in a rage, melting a Terminator with his Plasma Cannon.
• Ironhide unleashed heavy cannon fire to suppress the Chaos Raptors while Sentinel Prime disrupted the Terminators' aim and tossed Optimus Prime a greatsword.
• Optimus Prime cut through the Terminators and Chaos Raptors, reaching Belisarius and smashing his Power Sword.
• Optimus Prime struck Belisarius down and cleaved him in two.

Alvin refused to retreat when Haarken Worldclaimer led a large Chaos force toward his position, revealing that he had lured Haarken into the fight to target him. He called on the Punisher Legion and Honor Guard to follow him into battle.

• The Chaos Raptors shifted to a defensive stance after their commander died, while the Transformers struggled to break through.
• Char reported that Dreadnoughts had breached the line and that Haarken Worldclaimer was advancing on Alvin with roughly two thousand Space Marines.
• Vesa urged Alvin to evacuate, but Alvin declared that Haarken had fallen into the trap he had prepared.
• Alvin rose in his Sky-Shaking Unicron armor with a spear and sword, then called on the Punisher Legion and Honor Guard to follow him into battle.

Alvin led fewer than a hundred Punisher Legion Space Marines in a prepared charge through Haarken Worldclaimer’s Chaos Raptors, using enhanced armor and Sky-Shaking Unicron’s spatial displacement to break their lines. After Alvin’s force destroyed an Ironclad Dreadnought and pressed toward Haarken, Haarken refused his adjutant’s advice to retreat and waited for Alvin to reach him.

• Alvin led the Punisher Legion and his Honor Guard into the Chaos Raptors’ ranks, relying on their enhanced Bio-armor and Cybertronian support modules.
• Alvin hurled the Spear of Song into the enemy’s first line, then drove forward with his warriors and ordered them to keep charging.
• Alvin used Sky-Shaking Unicron’s spatial displacement to evade an Ironclad Dreadnought’s attack and reappear behind it, where he destroyed it.
• Alvin fixed his attention on Haarken Worldclaimer’s base and urged his men onward as they widened the breach through the Chaos force.
• Haarken Worldclaimer dismissed his adjutant’s suggestion to avoid Alvin’s advance, planted the Spear of Hell in the ground, and waited for Alvin to come for him.

Alvin and the Punisher Legion fought through the Chaos Raptors to reach Haarken Worldclaimer, with Vesa and the surviving Punishers withdrawn and Alvin’s Honor Guard sacrificing themselves to clear the way. Exhausted and alone before Haarken, Alvin revealed a Daemon Artifact blessed by the Blood God, whose power shocked the Chaos warlord.

• The Honor Guard repelled Chaos Raptors who broke through the Punisher Legion’s line, while Vesa rallied his warriors to hold their formation.
• The Punisher Legion advanced through the Chaos Raptors’ defenses and reached a point one hundred meters from the enemy banner, losing nearly half its warriors.
• Alvin sent the surviving Punishers back with the Space Bridge and ordered his ten Honor Guard to make the final charge.
• Kurlis, Chief Librarian of the Chaos Raptors, killed one Honor Guard, but Alvin teleported behind him and slew him with the Spear of Song.
• Alvin sent the surviving Honor Guard away and faced Haarken Worldclaimer alone, then summoned a blood-red great axe that revealed itself as a Daemon Artifact blessed by the Blood God.

Alvin faced Haarken Worldclaimer in a blood-red arena created by his Daemon Artifact, where Khorne ensured neither side could interfere. After Haarken badly wounded him, Alvin decided to gamble and provoked the Chaos Lord to attack again.

• Alvin’s Daemon Artifact enclosed him and Haarken Worldclaimer in a deadly arena, killing Chaos Raptors who touched its boundary.
• Haarken recognized the axe as a powerful artifact forged by the Blood God and vowed to claim it by killing Alvin.
• Haarken charged Alvin and attacked with his Hell Spear, but Alvin swung his axe in an attempt to trade a wound for Haarken’s life.
• Haarken dodged the axe, stamped on its blade, and slashed Alvin’s chest with his Power claw, overcoming the protection of the Sky-Shaking Unicron Armor.
• Alvin acknowledged the gap in their strength, then taunted Haarken into attacking as he prepared to take a gamble.

Alvin deliberately let Haarken Worldclaimer nearly kill him so his Divine Protection would awaken, then survived the Hell Spear and turned the fight around. He pulled the spear from his chest and prepared to face Haarken again, who remained convinced that the Blood God could not have cheated.

• Haarken Worldclaimer overpowered Alvin, struck him with the Hell Spear, and pinned him to a wall with a grievous chest wound.
• Alvin nearly lost consciousness, but his Divine Protection activated when he reached the brink of death, doubling his fighting spirit and physical strength.
• Alvin's blood flowed back into his body as he pulled the Hell Spear from his chest and hurled it at Haarken, narrowly missing him.
• Haarken rejected the idea that the Blood God had cheated and blamed the Imperium's corpse emperor for Alvin's recovery.
• Alvin told Haarken he had awakened and thanked him for the blow as he prepared to continue the fight.

Alvin used Divine Protection to return from the brink of death with greatly enhanced speed and strength, then overwhelmed Haarken Worldclaimer in a series of attacks. He ended the exchange by breaking Haarken’s Hell Spear and smashing through his shoulder armor with the Blood-red Great Axe.

• Alvin deliberately risked his life to activate Divine Protection and revive with greater power.
• Haarken Worldclaimer sensed Alvin’s newfound strength and eagerly accepted the challenge.
• Alvin dodged Haarken’s spear, punched him in the face, and kicked him into the ruins’ wall.
• Alvin threw his great axe to distract Haarken, then followed with a flying kick and caught the weapon.
• Alvin leaped forward and brought the Blood-red Great Axe down, breaking Haarken’s Hell Spear and striking through his shoulder armor.

Alvin survived Harken’s brutal assault and used Khorne’s blessing to grow stronger with every near-fatal blow. After transforming the Daemon Artifact into a blade, Alvin revealed signs of Khorne’s Holy Bestowal, leaving Haarken Worldclaimer stunned by the power facing him.

• Alvin and Harken traded hundreds of punches until Harken kicked Alvin away and asked what he was.
• Alvin credited his survival and growing strength to Divine Protection and Born to Die.
• Alvin complained that the Daemon Great Axe was awkward, and the Daemon Artifact transformed into a Miao Dao-like war blade.
• Haarken Worldclaimer challenged Alvin, but the oppressive bloodlight and brass mask around Alvin made him realize Alvin had received Khorne’s Holy Bestowal.

Haarken Worldclaimer realized Khorne had chosen Alvin and turned their fight into a trial, then tried to defeat him with a concealed bolt. The bolt curved away from Alvin, leaving Haarken convinced the arena was rigged and ready to retreat.

• Haarken Worldclaimer concluded that Alvin was Khorne’s Chosen and that he himself had become part of the god’s trial.
• Haarken charged Alvin, but Alvin summoned crimson bloodfire and struck through Haarken’s armor with his blade.
• Alvin’s strength surged under the Hand of Khorne, and Haarken revealed a concealed explosive bolt in his Power claw.
• The bolt curved past Alvin’s cheek because Khorne’s blessing deflected it, and Haarken decided the contest was unfair and began plotting to quit.

Alvin and Haarken Worldclaimer negotiated an end to their fight, with Haarken agreeing to withdraw and surrender his forces’ weapons in exchange for his life. After Haarken left, Alvin revealed he had never intended to honor his oath and attacked him with the Spear of Song.

• Haarken Worldclaimer realized Khorne’s interest in Alvin was no reason for him to sacrifice himself, so he offered Alvin a deal to spare his life.
• Alvin swore by the Emperor to spare Haarken if he left Celerus, and Haarken ordered his forces to withdraw.
• Alvin demanded that Haarken’s Chaos Raptors surrender all their weapons and equipment, and Haarken agreed.
• After confirming the Chaos forces had withdrawn and disarmed, Alvin let Haarken leave and put away the Miao Dao, causing the blood-red Veil to fade.
• Haarken threatened Alvin as he fled, but Alvin admitted he had never planned to keep his oath and hurled the Spear of Song after him.

Alvin drove Haarken Worldclaimer off Celerus, then used another world’s time to treat his catastrophic injuries before heading back to save the city. With the Chaos Raptors Chapter withdrawn, Drakris seized the chance to launch a counterattack against the Genestealers.

• Alvin impaled Haarken Worldclaimer with the Spear of Song, and Haarken fled Celerus after vowing revenge.
• Alvin collapsed from his injuries, used his navigator to spend fifty minutes in another world recovering, and then set out for Celerus Hive City.
• Genestealers flooded into Celerus’s inner city to seize the Annihilation Torpedo and threaten the Forge Factory’s Titan, Dominator Overlord.
• Drakris noticed that the Chaos Raptors Chapter had withdrawn and suspected Alvin was behind their retreat.
• Drakris ordered the Diet Guard to counterattack the Genestealers.

The Genestealer Cult launched a full assault on Celerus Hive City with Hybrid Mutants, Aberrants, and Tyranid forces, forcing Drakris’s defenders back. Inquisitor Marshall’s group was cornered by Greenskin Orcs in the desert, but Marius Calgar arrived with Ultramarine reinforcements.

• Revered Ancestor Dragon changed the Cult’s plan after the Chaos Raptors Chapter retreated and sent Hybrid Mutants and Aberrants pouring into Celerus Hive City.
• An Aberrant Overlord broke the Diet Guard’s defensive line, and a Swarm Lord led Tyranid Warriors in crushing the Iron Hands’ defenses.
• Drakris retreated and regretted ignoring Alvin’s advice as the Genestealer Cult overwhelmed the city’s defenders.
• Inquisitor Marshall and his companions encountered Greenskin Orcs while crossing the desert toward Deadwood District.
• A transport ship landed amid the Orcs, and Marius Calgar introduced himself as the Ultramarines’ Chapter Master, sent by Robert Guilliman to reinforce Alert Star.

Alvin struggled to save Celerus as Genestealers overwhelmed the defenders and the Forge Factory. After he requested Imperial reinforcements, the Kalon Family arrived in Drop Fortresses and sent its Knights crashing into the battlefield.

• Alvin rallied the Holy Terra Auxilia, Punisher Legion, and Honor Guard to charge toward Celerus Hive City, but Genestealer cannon fodder blocked their advance.
• With the Forge Factory surrounded, Alvin prepared to send the Transformers into battle, then received a communications check from arriving Imperial forces.
• Alvin identified himself and urgently requested reinforcements, and the Imperial database confirmed his identity and marked his troops as friendly forces.
• A communications order told friendly troops to fall back as the Kalon Family took over the battlefield.
• The Kalon Family's Drop Fortress descended from the sky and launched Knights into the Genestealer hordes, then declared its command of the battlefield.

The Iron Knights and their Knight Aspirants joined the battle against the Genestealer Cult, overwhelming the mutants with their weapons and sheer force. The pure white Knight charged toward the Genestealer Patriarch, seeking a worthy target.

• The Iron Knights and Knight Aspirants arrived, turning the battle against the Genestealer Cult.
• The pure white Knight impaled the Swarm Lord with its lance and charged through the mutants.
• Yorn’s Expeditionary Crusader Knight pinned down enemies with heavy gunfire and crushed an Aberrant that attacked it at close range.
• The other Knight Mechs joined the assault, shrugging off the Cult’s heavy weapons with their ion shields.
• The pilot of the pure white Horned Kui Class Knight chose the Genestealer Patriarch as his next target.