A full Chaos Space Marine Chapter
A thousand Chaos Space Marines!!!
Cyrus fell silent.
After Horus's rebellion, the loyal Primarch Guilliman issued the Codex Astartes to prevent the Imperium from once again descending into endless chaos at the hands of traitor Legions.
The Legions, which had originally numbered between tens of thousands and a hundred thousand, were split into Chapters of no more than a thousand warriors each. The decision sparked fierce resentment among the other Legions and even vehement opposition from Guilliman's Primarch brothers, but for the sake of the Imperium, they accepted it. Afterward, only one successor Chapter was permitted to inherit the original name; the rest had to adopt new names, homeworlds, and monasteries.
A full Chapter of Space Marines did indeed number a thousand.
In practice, however, most Chapters in the Imperium fell far short of that number. More Space Marines died in war than could be recruited to replace them, especially in a Chapter as renowned for its mercy as the Salamanders, whose casualty rates were shockingly high.
Some Salamander companies had only a little over twenty Astartes brothers.
And the Salamanders Chapter had only seven companies in total.
The dozen or so Salamanders before him—less than a full company—had been enough to defend Tangle Planet and repel the enemy's attacks time and time again.
But now, they were facing an entire Chapter.
A thousand Chaos Space Marines!
There were a thousand hulking brutes like Cyrus on the other side.
That was nearly seventy Salamander companies, or two hundred of Cyrus's scout squads.
And on Ozrax, the only one with real combat capability who could stand against the Chaos Space Marines was probably Governor Cisrain.
No matter how powerful he was, no matter how brave the other mortals were, no matter how powerful their armor or force fields, their abilities had limits. How could they possibly withstand this Chaos Warband's invasion?
And that was without considering the Chaos Beacon nearby, which would continue drawing more enemies to them even after they fought the Chaos Warband.
"Wait."
"Yalta, contact the research ship. I need to speak with Governor Cisrain immediately."
"Governor Cisrain, what happened?"
"I need to know the situation on Ozrax first. Then I can tell you."
If his guess was right,
Ozrax was in grave danger.
A thousand Chaos Space Marines.
That was enough to conquer a small sector of the Imperium.
And the governor didn't have enough soldiers under his command to fight them. Cyrus needed to warn him to be cautious. If necessary, they might have to return.
"Governor."
"The Battle Barge has been repaired."
"Mm, understood."
Cisrain set down the Conscience in his hand and headed outside.
Thud, thud.
His heavy footsteps, accompanied by the flickering lights,
plunged the entire planet of Ozrax into the opening stages of an emergency mobilization. A tense atmosphere settled over the planet, leaving everyone solemn, grave, and weighed down.
Thud, thud.
Inside the Research Station, researchers hurried past in droves. Laboratory hatches blared urgent alarms, and every experiment was reaching a critical stage. Grim, silent expressions appeared on every face.
Holding their breath, they worked to accelerate the experiments.
Inspecting the critical results.
Thud, thud.
On the ground, infantry raced into position, setting up defenses and digging deep trenches. In the training grounds, rows of formations stood in solemn array.
Gearing up for war, making solemn declarations.
Soon, the fighting would begin.
Thud, thud.
Inside the church, prayers echoed once more. Whispers drifted through the air, leaving behind only an oppressive silence and uncertainty about the future.
The maidens gave themselves; the Sisters prayed.
Purity Seals were stamped.
Thud, thud.
Cisrain's footsteps never stopped. Once Ozrax, this vast flesh-and-blood gear, learned of the Chaos Warband, it did not dare pause for even a moment.
Orders to build Skyships, weapons of war, electromagnetic railguns, space trenches, and dense networks of first, second, and third defensive lines poured out without end. The Synapse Condenser was running beyond capacity.
Two of the three research ships were heading toward Ozrax.
They continuously supplied production lines and equipment from the factories on Gamma Homeworld.
Vast quantities of war materiel. Troop deployments.
Everyone could feel the approaching war.
But even with such intensive preparations, the fortifications remained as flimsy as paper against this planet's threat, ready to be pierced at any moment.
Cisrain stopped.
The door to the control room opened directly in front of him.
Inside, the room was already filled with projections from Gamma World. The figures flickered beneath the interstellar signal, and the vast distances involved caused delays in communication.
The interstellar signal was still as bad as ever.
But the good news was that Cyrus's squad had taken Tangle.
And they had acquired a wealth of technology.
[Reverse Engineering: Supercomputer-Controlled AI Drone (4 Gamma Days at Full Power)] [Reverse Engineering: Pilot Suit—Complete Iron Pilot Plan (17 Gamma Days at Full Power)] [Reverse Engineering: Plasma Cannon (0.5 Gamma Days at Full Power)] [Reverse Engineering: .]
All of this could be developed using the Synapse Condenser, then mass-produced in integrated factories, provided they had enough power.
"Governor."
"Keep doing what you're doing. Don't mind me."
"Yes."
"Governor."
Cisrain walked toward the central seat in the combat analysis room.
Brown sat in the second seat from the left.
The mechanical chair slowly rose, allowing Cisrain to see that Brown was still in his seat.
At the center, the star map showed the Chaos Warband's location, detected by probes left behind by the research ships.
A red dot flashed continuously.
And it was rapidly closing in on them.
The enemy had arrived.
And they had come in fury.
"Governor, Cyrus's squad reports that they've defeated the invading Xenos and secured Tangle Planet. They also encountered Vulkan, the Salamanders company captain."
"They've sent us the news."
Brown glanced at Cisrain before lowering his head and continuing his report. "A Chaos Warband is heading our way. Their numbers amount to a full-strength Chapter."
"..."
"They're requesting to return immediately and reinforce us."
Cyrus's squad had already gone to conquer the two fortress worlds for him.
Tangle had been taken.
And on the other Oceanic Planet, those Xenos were preparing to take the other one.
If Cyrus and his squad left now, they'd practically be handing Tangle right back to the enemy.
So,
Cisrain didn't even hesitate.
"Denied."
Brown looked up at Cisrain. "Governor, a thousand—"
There would be no point in their returning now.
Whether they returned or not, it wouldn't change the course of the battle.
"Tell them to take the other planet. We'll hold out until they return."
One day, after Abaddon cut off his topknot, he went to his barracks to see what his men thought of his new look. But he found them staring at him strangely. Just as he began to suspect a mutiny was brewing, a veteran Terminator who'd served for ten thousand years ran up to him and dropped to his knees, weeping as he cried, "Warmaster! We're innocent, Warmaster! All thirteen Black Crusades were carried out by that bastard Abaddon alone!"
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