Sejanus's Negotiations
Among Horus's landing forces, the Fourth Company Astartes Space Marines under Captain Sejanus were undoubtedly the strongest, alongside the mortal auxiliary troops, the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the armored legions. The total number of troops committed and landed over time reached an astonishing several million, far exceeding the forces at the other landing sites and those led by the other commanders.
And that was hardly surprising.
Unlike the cities and fortresses assigned to the other Astartes commanders, Sejanus had been given the most heavily fortified and powerful positions on Canopy Star, with the largest garrisons: the mine base and the second base outside Guixu City!
Put simply, they were the core of Canopy Star's ground defenses and the elite of the elite!
And yet, despite commanding the largest force and receiving the most comprehensive support from Horus's fleet, Sejanus had suffered the heaviest losses and made the slowest progress.
According to the original plan, he and his forces should have taken the second base outside Guixu City within a month, then gone on to attack the mine base in the mountains west of the city and secure a final victory in the ground war.
But the outcome...
Nearly a month of fighting and struggle had passed, and his company and mortal auxiliary troops had suffered severe casualties. Worse, they had failed to complete their assigned mission—to capture the base outside the city and launch the final assault on the mine base.
Worse still, they had not even reached the second base's inner defenses!
After all that effort, they had done nothing but repeatedly clash with the tenacious, elite garrison defending Guixu City, fighting over and wearing down its outer defenses.
It was plain that, given the current situation, neither side was likely to get the better of the other