Warm-up, Chaos Beacon

"They're here!"

"Governor, we've detected a massive number of unknown organisms approaching."

"The count is at one hundred—no, five hundred—no, no, no, it's a thousand. No, the number is still rising steadily. They are gathering!"

"All research personnel, fall back. Imperial soldiers, protect the Governor. Everyone, activate your Brown Force Field Shields." Brown activated the force field shield on his armor. Although it was power-hungry, facing so many enemies, there was no harm in turning it on early. "Governor, you must be extremely careful. If it comes to it, we should perform a surgical strike on this planet before we slowly explore it."

"."

"I'll have to make those research station teams prioritize weapons of mass destruction later. These natives are truly quite unfriendly."

The soldiers who activated their force field shields closed in around Cisrain.

The mortals inside the church had also been dragged into the vortex of war. Their utility on the battlefield was minimal; they might even become a liability. However, since Cisrain still intended to inherit the Emperor's Empire, he needed them.

Cisrain looked at the Astra Militarum soldiers behind the church. "Soldiers, take them and hide."

"Leave the rest to us."

Outside Vulkan Castle, the minions of Chaos poured in one after another.

Their blood-red skin exuded a repulsive stench.

Their grotesquely mutated forms desecrated every inch of the Empire's land.

These corrupted mortal soldiers, auxiliary troops, and politicians had completely lost their loyalty, becoming soulless puppets under the control of Chaos as they launched their charge against the church.

Inside Vulkan Castle, those mortal soldiers who had been influenced by Warp powers finally remembered the duties the Empire had required of them decades ago.

Hide? What an unloyal word!

Even if they were mortal auxiliaries, they were still soldiers of the Empire. There was only death in battle; there was no such thing as hiding.

"My lord, we can still fight!"

"My lord, we can still serve the Empire! Please, give us your orders!"

Seeing they would not retreat, Cisrain gave a casual command. "Soldiers, hold the line."

"Brothers, hold the line! Let the Governor see that we haven't lost our fighting spirit. Provide cover for his operations!"

"Hold the line, for the Emperor!"

"For the Emperor!"

Among the crowd, children opened their eyes wide, watching the Astra Militarum soldiers in front of them spring into action. Some hoisted ammunition crates that hadn't been moved in years, others set up machine guns, and some climbed to the church's strategic vantage points.

In front of these warriors stood the soldiers in silver-gold power armor, their force field shields fully engaged.

The arrival of these people reminded them of the battles of the past.

The roar of loyalty collided instantly with the blasphemy of Chaos, like two opposing waves.

The gate outside the church shattered with a boom.

A thick wall was pulverized by the minions of Chaos. From the shadows cast from outside, a giant Chaos creature emerged.

It was a Chaos entity fused into a massive machine. It was the one that had blasted through the thick fortress walls and broken the blockade of Vulkan Castle. Chaos servants poured in through the breach it had created.

Among those Chaos servants, three Chaos Space Marines with blood-streaked armor appeared.

But they were vastly different from the previous Chaos warbands.

Their equipment was far more sophisticated.

A single Chaos Space Marine was difficult enough to deal with, let alone a monster fused with a giant mechanical Chaos entity, while dense swarms of Chaos servants continued to pour in behind them.

"Is this a planet occupied by Chaos? If I had relied solely on the research ship and these scientists, this expedition team would have been wiped out by Chaos before they even began exploring."

"Whether you are Chaos or xenos, you are blocking my path."

"Push the front line out!"

Fighting inside the church was useless; the cover was restrictive and hindered them too much.

It was better to push the front line outward.

Cisrain cracked his neck.

Chaos, is it?

Let's get to it!

Let's see who is more chaotic.

The silver-gold Planetary Governor took the lead.

The soldiers beside him raised their kinetic weapons, firing high-energy particle shells as they followed closely behind Cisrain.

Peng!

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Although the technology of the Gamma Empire where Cisrain resided had developed over a short period, it was bolstered by the Stellaris Template; once industry reached a certain scale and internal cycles began, it would become a fourth natural disaster.

Of course, the key was to colonize a large number of planets to acquire critical resources.

And the Chaos before him was blocking his access to those resources.

"Crush them!"

Outside.

On a barren mountain.

A purple light rose into the sky.

It seemed to signal something.

The purple light ignited, shocking the Astartes fighting in the bloodbath.

A Blood Raven Chapter warrior crushed the last Chaos servant attempting a death throe, its severed limbs hanging from a tree branch, as he looked up at the purple pillar of light.

"Captain Cyrus, what is that? The Chaos forces are fleeing in that direction."

"A Chaos beacon." Cyrus narrowed his eyes, watching the glowing purple pillar. "That is Chaos summoning its minions. The beacon will cause the surrounding Chaos forces to converge endlessly. Regardless of the reason, letting Chaos gather is no benefit to us."

Chaos!

Even for some Space Marines who had spent years fighting abroad, it was an absolutely taboo term.

In the Empire, the word was something that could not even be mentioned.

A significant portion of Space Marines knew nothing about Chaos.

Only those in the Blood Raven Chapter, who spent years mixed in external campaigns, knew the true horror of Chaos. When uncovering certain top-secret Imperial information, they had vaguely sensed the darkest history regarding the relationship between Chaos and the Empire.

Even Cyrus, who had served for over two hundred years, had only seen a Chaos beacon twice.

And each time, it had been a massive war—a war that could even draw out the ultimate melee of a Chapter Master.

Who were these Chaos forces trying to deal with?

To the point of needing to use a Chaos beacon.

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several torpedoes fell from the sky.

They detonated more than ten kilometers away from them.

The violent explosion was enough to force them to brace against the distant shockwave.

"The explosions are near the location of the Chaos beacon. There must be a faction engaging Chaos."

"Talon, abandon the battle barge for now and head to the explosion site. I have sent the rendezvous coordinates to you." Inside his heavy armor, Cyrus calculated the blast trajectory and yield.

"Captain, disengaging the battle barge now. Preparing to rendezvous at the coordinates."

Cyrus stared at the Chaos beacon.

"Chaos. Vile traitors."