After deciding who would remain behind to cover the position, Lion El'Jonson and Roboute Guilliman led the remaining troops toward the portal. They were attacked by daemons along the way, but escaped every danger and successfully reached the newly formed accretion belt around the portal.
Lion El'Jonson saw the other Legions arriving by way of the eight great roads. Each had suffered losses.
After connecting to the secret battlefield channel used by the Primarchs, Lion El'Jonson learned of the other Legions' battles. Some Legions had fewer men than the Ultramarines and poorer equipment than the Dark Angels, yet the threats they faced were no weaker for it.
Take the White Scars. Their prized mobility was useless on the Brass Road, leaving them no choice but to clash head-on with the daemon horde. Their losses had been severe.
Some Legions had already been devastated before the eight great roads even unfolded. Perturabo's Steel Legion could no longer hold a defensive line and could only gather around him as a firefighting force.
But even more deadly were the endless betrayals. The Primarchs and their sons had lost themselves in the lies woven by the daemons, turning their guns on former comrades. As with Ferrus and Fulgrim, or Roboute Guilliman and Lion El'Jonson, if either Primarch hesitated even slightly too long, the battle would collapse beyond recovery.
For all these reasons, Lorgar decided to contract the defensive line and gather every remaining combatant around the portal for one final stand. This also made it easier for him to use the newly born power of faith to shield their minds from the whispers of the Warp.
Sanguinius redeployed the Legions, placing the severely battered ones in the rear and those still largely intact and skilled at defensive warfare in the front. He formed the