Chapter Summaries

The Sarkhen Dynasty faced humanity’s advancing Expeditionary Fleet and decided to seek aid from the Novokh Dynasty, while the Phaeron of Sautekh met Guilliman to negotiate peace. Guilliman offered protection for the Sautekh Dynasty only if it helped the Imperium identify hostile Necron factions, leaving the Phaeron to choose between compromise and solidarity with other Overlords.

• The Phaeron of Sarkhen decided to seek assistance from the powerful Novokh Dynasty as humanity’s fleet neared the Crownworld.
• The Phaeron of Sautekh traveled to Macragge's Honour to discuss an alliance with Guilliman, uneasy about both humanity’s power and the Sarkhen conflict.
• Guilliman welcomed the Phaeron of Sautekh aboard Macragge's Honour and said the Imperium would not casually attack the Sautekh Dynasty if it did not harm humanity’s interests.
• Guilliman asked the Phaeron of Sautekh to provide information about other Necron dynasties, arguing that shared interests were necessary for peace.
• The Phaeron of Sautekh objected to betraying other dynasties, and Guilliman challenged him to choose between compromise and supporting Overlords who sought to annex the Sautekh Dynasty.

Guilliman secured the Sautekh Dynasty’s cooperation by offering help against rival Necron dynasties, while arranging to test their alliance against the Sarkhen Dynasty. In the Vitria System, Calgar arrived to find a system-wide rebellion already underway and received a plea for help from the Planetary Governor.

• Guilliman showed the Phaeron of Sautekh footage of the Wrath Colossus destroying an Ork Attack Moon and warned that the Imperium could build more such warships.
• Guilliman offered the Necrons an alliance and assistance uniting their dynasties in exchange for defensive codes, intelligence, and the Master Control Protocol for the Sarkhen Dynasty.
• The Phaeron of Sautekh and the other Necron leaders agreed to cooperate, with the Sarkhen Dynasty set to test whether Guilliman would deliver the promised protocol.
• Guilliman told Phicris and Kren that protecting the Imperium’s people mattered more than honor, then ordered the fleet to hasten its attack on the Sarkhen Dynasty.
• Calgar’s fleet entered the Vitria System and learned that rebellion had spread across its planets and installations.
• The Planetary Governor contacted Calgar, reported killings and Xenos sculptures, and begged him to suppress the rebels and protect the remaining Loyalists.

Calgar arrived on Vitria and condemned its leaders for failing to contain the rebellion. After Anna Kajelias revealed the Genestealer infiltration and gave him evidence, Calgar appointed her ruler of the Vitria System and stripped the old nobles of authority; he then led the Primaris Space Marines into the underground corridors to hunt the Genestealers.

• Calgar confronted the Planetary Governor and the dignitaries, blaming their incompetence for Vitria's chaos and promising punishment.
• Anna Kajelias confessed that she had helped launch the rebellion to expose the Genestealer Cults and explained that the Tyranids threatened the system.
• Anna gave Calgar a data-slate documenting her investigation, and he verified the information before appointing her ruler of the Vitria System.
• Anna told the Planetary Governor and nobles that Calgar and the Primarch had taken away their power, leaving them without their wealth and protection.
• Calgar and the Primaris Space Marines followed Anna's information through an abandoned underground corridor and encountered attacking Mutants.

Calgar led his Space Marines through Vitria’s tunnels and a hidden Genestealer factory, fighting toward the Synapse Creature behind the uprising. The Patriarch emerged with Aberrants, and Calgar ordered the attack as the battle reached its climax.

• Calgar’s squad fought through waves of Genestealers and Cultists, searching for the Synapse Creature while their ammunition dwindled.
• Calgar ordered wounded Space Marines to withdraw, then led the remaining warriors deeper into the tunnels.
• The squad discovered and attacked an abandoned factory where Genestealers were producing weapons; Shuke charged with the hybrids and was killed without Calgar recognizing him.
• A towering Patriarch emerged from the darkness with Genestealer Aberrants, and Calgar’s warriors charged to kill it.

Calgar killed the Genestealer Patriarch, crushed the rebellion in the Vitria System, and tasked Anna with preparing the system’s defenses against the Tyranids. Meanwhile, the Sarkhen Dynasty faced a human attack driven by revenge for its invasion of human territory.

• Calgar resisted the Patriarch’s mental assault, killed it and its Aberrant Overlord, then ordered the remaining Genestealers destroyed.
• With the Patriarch dead, the Cultist rebellion collapsed, and Imperial forces quelled it in the Vitria System.
• Calgar praised Anna’s new administrative team and ordered her to organize supplies, evacuate women and children, and prepare to hold out until Guilliman arrived.
• The Phaeron of Sarkhen blamed the Sautekh Dynasty for giving humanity Necron defense codes and technology, which helped the human fleet defeat Sarkhen’s forces.
• Alarms warned the Phaeron that human forces had reached the Sarkhen Crownworld to avenge the Necrons’ invasion of human territory.

The Imperium launched a massive assault on the Sarkhen Dynasty’s Crownworld, with Cass leading Astra Militarum troops and Sicarius spearheading the attack on the Necron Tomb Citadel. Sicarius’s force fought through the tomb’s defenses and advanced against a Scarab swarm as a Dreadnought led the charge.

• Imperial warships bombarded the Crownworld, but the Necron shield held, so Guilliman ordered an airborne assault under fighter cover.
• Cass prepared her troops for the landing, then led them into battle with upgraded combat suits after their transports reached the surface.
• Imperial Titans, tanks, Mechanicus forces, and Primaris Space Marines joined the ground offensive, driving toward the Tomb Citadel.
• Sicarius and several thousand Primaris Space Marines charged into the tomb to capture the Sarkhen Dynasty’s Phaeron, but Necron fire stopped their advance.
• Canoptek Scarabs poured from the passage walls and ceiling, and Sicarius cut through them while his battle-brothers fired Plasma Reaper Cannons.
• Sicarius ordered a Dreadnought to clear the way, and the warriors charged forward behind their battle-brother’s battle cry.

Sicarius and the remaining Primaris Space Marines fought their way into the Sarkhen Dynasty’s core chamber to confront its Phaeron. As Sicarius’s comrades fell in battle, his rage awakened the deeper power of the Heart of Guilliman, and his enhancement began.

• Sicarius pushed through the tomb while a Dreadnought stayed behind to battle a Canoptek Spyder and urged the others to continue.
• Sicarius killed a Canoptek Wraith by striking its control center, then led fewer than a hundred surviving Primaris Space Marines deeper into the pyramid.
• Sicarius’s forces blasted open the core chamber’s gate and confronted the Phaeron of Sarkhen and his personal guard.
• Sicarius and the Primaris Space Marines fought the Phaeron’s guards, who killed several Chapter brothers and struck down the Librarian.
• Sicarius let rage surge through him, activating the Heart of Guilliman’s deeper code and beginning a powerful genetic enhancement.

Sicarius used his awakened power to defeat the Sarkhen Dynasty, and Guilliman executed its Phaeron after the Necrons surrendered. The Phaeron of Sautekh warned Guilliman that the stronger Novokh Dynasty might retaliate, and Guilliman pressed him to share intelligence and join the fight.

• Sicarius overwhelmed the Necron forces, forced the Phaeron of Sarkhen to shut down the Tomb Defense and Master Control Protocols, and secured the Sarkhen Tomb Pyramid.
• Guilliman arrived on the battlefield, heard the Phaeron of Sarkhen’s warning about humanity’s eventual downfall, and killed him with the Emperor’s Sword.
• Guilliman praised Sicarius for awakening his power and crushed the Phaeron of Sarkhen’s skull beneath his boot.
• The Phaeron of Sautekh warned Guilliman that the Novokh Dynasty, led by the Crimson King, had a C’tan fragment and might rally other dynasties against humanity.
• Guilliman argued that the Phaeron of Sautekh had to ally with humanity and offered the prospect of gaining the Novokh Dynasty’s Master Control Protocol; the Phaeron of Sautekh hesitated at the temptation.

Guilliman secured the Sautekh Phaeron’s cooperation after promising humanity’s ambitions extended beyond the Milky Way, then ordered his forces to prepare for a Tyranid defense at Vitria. A message from Cawl brought news of promising Beacon and anti-Daemon technology, and Guilliman ordered further research while pledging to solve the materials problem.

• Guilliman convinced the Phaeron of Sautekh to continue cooperating and hand over the Master Control Protocols so the Necrons could unite and leave the Milky Way.
• Guilliman sent Sicarius and the victorious forces to recuperate aboard their warships before heading to the Vitria System to face the Tyranids, while Fabricator General Kren studied the Necron wreckage.
• Guilliman met Degraded Cawl, who reported that the human Beacon was being tested on five worlds and could transmit messages and small objects, though it could not yet transport armies at scale.
• Degraded Cawl told Guilliman that new Imperial warships would use the Beacon’s teleportation principles and that the risk of Necron interference was extremely low.
• Degraded Cawl reported that the Department of Supernatural Research had activated the Emperor’s power through faith and equipment, but the devices were too large to serve as battlefield weapons.
• Guilliman ordered research into miniaturizing the anti-Daemon devices and said he would find a solution to the materials needed.

Guilliman ordered research into teleportation and medical technology while preparing to face the Behemoth Tyranid fleet at Vitria. A transport carrying the 502nd Regiment landed troops on the threatened world, with Remembrancer Old Yorn joining them to record the coming battle.

• Guilliman instructed Degraded Cawl to establish a battlefield technology team to develop teleportation for wounded soldiers and to continue work on the Wrath Colossus, Dark Matter Biological Editing Technology, and Primaris Space Marines.
• Guilliman left to prepare for the Behemoth hive fleet's approach to the Vitria System, recalling the devastation caused by the Tyranids and Kryptman's desperate efforts to slow them.
• On a troop transport, Remembrancer Kakar recited poetry to soldiers including Khaine, while Old Yorn encouraged him and amused the troops with a tale about the Space Wolves.
• The 502nd Regiment traveled to Vitria to hold back the Tyranids until Guilliman arrived with reinforcements.
• Old Yorn boarded the landing craft with Khaine and the soldiers, insisting that he needed to witness the danger firsthand to record their stories accurately.

Khaine’s 502nd Regiment reached Vitria and prepared its defenses against the approaching Tyranids, while its soldiers worried about being used as cannon fodder. In the city, Old Yorn and Kakar encountered a man denouncing Guilliman as a traitor.

• Khaine led the 502nd Regiment from Vitria’s spaceport to its assigned position on the second line of defense.
• Khaine questioned the adjutant about civilians remaining in the city and learned that able-bodied residents would be kept as reservists.
• At the mess hall, Khaine and other officers discussed the coming Tyranid battle and feared the regiment would be sacrificed before the Primarch arrived.
• Old Yorn and Kakar entered Vitria to seek inspiration and came across a ragged man shouting that Guilliman had betrayed the Emperor.

Old Yorn and Kakar uncovered why a former Planetary Governor denounced Guilliman, while Anna used the incident to advance her ambitions. Meanwhile, Calgar prepared Vitria’s defenses against the Tyranids as Warp interference left the expedition’s fate uncertain.

• Old Yorn questioned the former Planetary Governor about his loyalty, then punched him after he insulted Guilliman; a security soldier revealed the man had allowed Genestealers to spread and tried to foment rebellion.
• Security soldiers arrested the former Governor, and Old Yorn and Kakar resolved to learn more about Lady Anna and tell others about Guilliman’s reforms.
• Anna ordered the former Governor sent to the slums, hoping Yorn and Kakar would publicize her actions and attract Guilliman’s attention.
• Calgar told his advisers that Vitria would need a ground defense against the Tyranids and that they must hold out until Guilliman arrived.
• An Astropath told Calgar that the Shadow in the Warp had disrupted communication, leaving them without news of the Expeditionary Fleet’s attack on the Necron Crownworld.

As the Tyranids approached Vitria, Calgar organized the planet’s defenses while Khaine prepared his regiment amid the Shadow in the Warp and the prospect of heavy losses. Old Yorn and Kakar compiled a book praising Guilliman’s changes and the people defending Vitria.

• Calgar ordered commanders to prioritize killing Tyranid Synapse Creatures, screen Hive City residents for Genestealers, and guard critical facilities as they prepared to defend Vitria.
• Khaine watched his regiment build fortifications while the Shadow in the Warp severed communication and Warp travel, then studied the assigned defensive positions and worried about his soldiers’ survival.
• Commissar Abel assessed Khaine’s mental state, asked whether he feared the coming battle, and warned him that desertion would mean immediate execution.
• Old Yorn and Kakar organized interviews into a book titled The Great Guilliman, intending to preserve stories of the people and commanders who had helped change Vitria.

As Hive Fleet Behemoth approached the Vitria System, Aruken prepared his Warmaster-class Titan for battle while the Tyranids' presence cut off astropathic communications. The Astropaths confirmed the enemy had arrived, and Calgar received the warning as the defenders awaited his orders.

• Aruken entered his Warmaster-class Titan, underwent neural connection, and merged his senses with the machine as it powered up and marched toward the battlefield.
• Astropaths linked their souls to probe the Warp near Hive Fleet Behemoth, but the Tyranids' shadow blocked their messages and grievously hurt them.
• A Chapter Librarian ordered the Astropaths' connection severed, and one surviving Astropath reported that the Tyranids were there.
• A Primaris Space Marine entered Calgar's Tactical Center and told him the Astropaths had observed the Tyranids' arrival.

Calgar and El led the Imperial defense of Vitria as the Behemoth Tyranid fleet arrived and overwhelmed the system’s three void defense lines. With the fleet shattered and Spore Pods descending, the battle shifted to the planet, where billions faced the coming ground war.

• Calgar learned that the Tyranids were less than a day away and organized Vitria’s defenses into three successive void lines, backed by Imperial ground forces.
• The Tyranids arrived, triggering alarms across Vitria as soldiers fortified positions and Primaris Space Marines prepared for battle.
• El ordered the Storm Falcons’ first defense line to attack, and the Imperial fleet initially inflicted heavy losses on the Tyranid Bio-ships.
• The vastly more numerous Tyranids broke through all three defense lines, while Imperial crews and commanders died fighting to the end.
• Several Imperial Cruisers crashed onto Vitria, and Spore Pods began falling as Calgar prepared for the ground offensive that would claim billions of lives.

Khaine and the Imperial forces faced an overwhelming Tyranid assault as the swarm broke through the aerial defenses. Taigo sacrificed his chance to return safely to rescue another pilot, then charged back into the swarm, while the Hive City's Void Shields forced the Tyranids toward its outskirts, where Khaine's unit met the first wave.

• Khaine watched the Tyranid Spore Cloud engulf the sky and urged his company commanders to prepare for the first impact.
• Imperial aircraft and ground defenses destroyed many Spore Pods, but the Tyranids overwhelmed the fighters and killed pilots.
• Taigo received permission to return to the spaceport, but diverted to rescue a damaged fighter requesting assistance.
• Taigo's fighter was badly damaged during the rescue, and he charged into the Tyranid swarm after deciding he could not make it back.
• The Tyranids broke through the aerial defenses, while the Hive City's Void Shields blocked fast-moving organisms and directed the swarm toward the outskirts.
• Khaine's unit saw the first wave of Tyranids arrive.

Khaine and the Imperium forces fought a massive Tyranid invasion, initially holding the swarm back with artillery, tanks, Knights, and Aruken’s Warmaster-class Titan. As the battle overwhelmed the defenders, Calgar committed the Primaris Space Marines, who charged in to reinforce the collapsing line.

• A Stormbird crashed as Tyranid Spore Pods and swarms struck the defenders, and Khaine ordered his troops to fire on the advancing creatures’ weak points.
• Imperium artillery, tanks, Adeptus Mechanicus forces, and Knights slaughtered Tyranids while Aruken’s Warmaster-class Titan entered the battle.
• A Hierophant confronted Aruken’s Titan, and the two enormous war machines exchanged devastating attacks.
• Khaine and the Natal soldiers fought desperately as Tyranid waves broke the regiment’s chain of command and pushed the defenders back.
• A Primaris Space Marine saved Khaine from a Termagant, and Calgar sent the Primaris Space Marines into battle as the Astra Militarum line neared collapse.

The Storm Falcons and Imperial defenders repelled repeated Tyranid assaults on Vitria while Calgar trusted the fortress’s defenses to hold until the Primarch arrived. Genestealer infiltrators then attacked the Void Shield Generators, and their sabotage disabled the shields and anti-air systems.

• The Storm Falcons led by their Chapter Master and the 502nd Regiment rallied against the Tyranids, driving the first assault back at heavy cost.
• Calgar repeatedly repelled Tyranid offensives as the defenders grew confident, while the Hive Mind sent Genestealers and a Ravener through forgotten underground tunnels toward strategic targets.
• Calgar and more than ten thousand Primaris Space Marines held the fortified Hive City behind its Void Shields, grinding down the Tyranid attacks.
• Calgar received word that Genestealers had breached the area around the Void Shield Generators and left the front to reinforce it.
• Calgar and his honor guard killed the Tyranid Warriors attacking the generators, but an explosion destroyed the Energy Conduits and overloaded the Energy Core, shutting down the Void Shields and anti-air fire systems.

The Tyranids overwhelmed the Hive City after destroying its Void Shields, forcing Calgar’s defenders to retreat as Aruken sacrificed himself to protect their withdrawal. The Imperial fleet also neared defeat until a transmission announced Macragge’s Honour was entering realspace.

• Calgar learned that the Void Shields had fallen and ordered the forces to shut down power systems and withdraw toward the core district.
• Tyranids poured into the Hive City, overwhelming Imperial defenses and forcing units and Knights to retreat.
• Aruken charged his Warmaster-class Titan into the Tyranid Bio-Titans, killing them and buying time for the other Titans to escape before he and his crew were overwhelmed.
• El watched the Imperial fleet suffer heavy losses as the surface defense failed and the flagship’s Void Shields weakened.
• A voice announced over every warship’s comms that Macragge’s Honour was about to enter realspace.

Guilliman arrived with an overwhelming fleet and routed the Tyranids in space, then prepared to lead the fight on the surface. Calgar and his warriors faced the swarming Tyranids in the Hive City until Calgar fell, but Guilliman reached him before he died.

• El learned that Guilliman's fleet had emerged from the Warp and brought hope to the besieged survivors.
• Guilliman commanded the Imperial fleet and four Wrath Colossi as they devastated the Tyranid swarm and destroyed a colossal Bio-mothership.
• Guilliman prepared more than forty thousand Primaris Space Marines, Astra Militarum regiments, and a Titan Legion to attack the surface.
• Calgar prayed before the statues of Guilliman and the Emperor, rallied his remaining warriors, and charged into battle against the Tyranids.
• Calgar fought with strength enhanced by the Dark Matter Engine, but the overwhelming Tyranid numbers wore him down until he fell.
• Guilliman appeared beside Calgar and urged him to hold on.