The outskirts of the Woles Galaxy had become a boiling forge of steel.
The massive main fleet of the Imperial Navy charged into the Black Legion's carefully laid blockade like an enraged beast.
The roar of the Macro-cannons' volley tore through the Void. The deadly beams of the Lance Arrays wove a web of destruction, while swarms of torpedoes trailed long plumes of fire as they descended on the twisted hulls of the Chaos ships like a Swarm.
Explosions blossomed again and again against the cold backdrop of space. The shattered wreckage of ships tumbled and collided amid the shock waves like broken stars.
Abaddon's fleet crouched over the battlefield like poisonous spiders on a web, using their numerical advantage and home-field advantage to intercept the Imperial forces at every turn.
The blasphemous cannons of the raiders tore through the armour of Imperial cruisers. Assault craft driven by Daemon Engines swarmed like maggots, ramming and boarding, turning steel corridors into bloody slaughterhouses.
The roars of the Chaos Space Marines and the battle cries of the Imperial troops mingled over the comms as a dance of death unfolded among the stars.
Guilliman held the bridge of the Macragge's Honour. His blue-and-gold armour looked especially grim in the red glow of the alarms.
He calmly analysed the tactical holomap, directing the fleet's difficult advance through Chaos's deadly encirclement. Their target was the orbit of the planet Volus.
Yet his gaze kept drifting to an inconspicuous area at the edge of the battlefield. There, a Chaos battlecruiser of abnormally immense size, its structure twisted and its hull covered in blasphemous runes and writhing flesh, struggled to avoid the main battle. It looked like a bloated venomous insect, escorted by several heavily armoured frigates as it tried to slip unnoticed toward a precise set of coordinates in Volus's orbit.
Aboard that ship was the final piece of Abaddon's blockade of the Solar System: a corrupted Blackstone Spire! Once it reached its designated position and activated, the Warp routes near the entire Woles Galaxy would be twisted beyond recognition and sealed off. An impassable "Iron Ring" core node would form, locking Guilliman's fleet—and the entire Solar System—in place!
Inside the Profane Maw, flesh and steel had long since melded into a living hell.
A Custodes squad that had deployed ahead of time, along with several Sisters of Silence, were fighting a desperate and heroic battle inside the ship.
They darted through the twisted corridors like golden lightning and silent shadows.
The Custodian champion swung his Guardian Spear. Every thrust tore through foul flesh and shattered metal, cleaving apart the charging Chaos Space Marines and twisted Daemon Engines.
The Sisters of Silence's Soulless Field ground through the air like an invisible millstone. Chaos sorcery dimmed and dissipated wherever it passed. Daemon projections vanished with agonised shrieks, severely weakening the traitors who relied on the Warp's blessings.
"For the Emperor! For Terra!" The Custodian champion's roar echoed through the corridors, thick with the stench of sulphur and blood. His golden armour was already scored with scorch marks and deep gouges, and his comrades were falling one after another.
They had only one goal: destroy the ship's engines, or else destroy the corrupted Blackstone Spire, which was being guarded in the core chamber and radiating an ominous glow! Stall them! Stall them at any cost!
But the Chaos defenders came in endless waves.
Abaddon had given them orders to protect the Spire at all costs.
The Daemon Engines sealed off the key corridors with their fire, while the blasphemous spells of Chaos Sorcerers exploded along the edges of the Sisters of Silence's field, steadily draining their strength.
The Custodes squad was like a tiger mired in a swamp. Every step forward cost them blood, and the core chamber remained far away.
The Imperial cruiser Swift Blade, carrying Glory and the others, had barely emerged from the Warp when it received a fragmented distress call and coordinates from the Custodes squad, sent over a covert channel and riddled with interference.
"Target confirmed: the Chaos flagship Profane Maw. Confirmed to be carrying a corrupted Blackstone Spire!" the captain reported urgently. "The Custodes squad is sabotaging the ship from within, but they've taken heavy casualties and urgently need support! They can't stop the Spire from reaching its designated orbit!"
"Top-priority target!" Glory's voice instantly turned into a drawn blade. All elegance was gone, leaving only cold resolve. "Stop that ship from reaching Woles Orbit at any cost!"
"Launch the assault pods! Organise a boarding party to support them immediately!" the captain ordered.
"There's no time!" Prinz Eugen's languid voice carried a note of urgency. "By the time you've prepared and flown over, it'll all be over!"
"We'll go ourselves!" Nimi's eyes gleamed with the excitement of battle.
Glory made her decision at once. "Agreed! Swift Blade, keep your distance and provide covering fire! Spirit of Fire, this is Glory. Target coordinates sent. Top priority! Requesting immediate tactical intervention!" As she sent an urgent call through the Mind Network to the Spirit of Fire, still in transit, she exchanged a glance with the other Valkyries.
No words were needed. They understood one another perfectly.
"Deploy ship rigs! Full speed ahead!" Glory commanded.
Vmmm—!
Five dazzling lights flared outside the observation windows of the Swift Blade! The Valkyries were instantly enveloped in their own distinctive ship rigs.
Five streaks of light tore through the Void, ignoring the battlefield's chaotic stray fire and energy turbulence. Like five swords hurled by the gods, they shot straight toward the Profane Maw as it slowly but steadily made its way toward Woles Orbit!
"My God..." On the bridge of the Swift Blade, every human crew member who witnessed the scene was stunned. They had heard the Valkyries were formidable, but they had never seen them in action.
Crossing the void of space with their bodies? Charging toward an enemy ship at such ferocious speed? It completely overturned everything they thought they knew about humanoids!
"Open fire! Cover them!" The captain was the first to react, bellowing at the top of his lungs.
The cruiser's Macro-cannons and laser turrets swung around, unleashing their fury on the escorts surrounding the Profane Maw and the Chaos gunships trying to intercept the Valkyries.
Inside the Profane Maw.
The few Custodes and Sisters of Silence still standing had been driven back into a relatively wide chamber, crowded with massive energy conduits and blasphemous altars.
They stood with their backs against the cold metal walls, battered and wounded. The golden armour had lost its lustre, and the Sisters of Silence's field was on the verge of collapse.
Before them surged a tide of Chaos Terminators, frenzied Chaos Cultists, and twisted Daemon Engines.
"For the Blood God! Crush them!" A Chaos Lord clad in blasphemous Power Armour let out a bloodthirsty roar and charged, swinging a blazing Chainaxe.
The Custodian champion gritted his teeth, ready to face the final charge.
The Sisters of Silence tightened their grips on their weapons, their eyes filled with nothing but pure resolve.
At that desperate moment—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Five deafening crashes rang out from different directions, as if they would tear the entire ship apart! Thick adamantium armour was violently breached! Five massive holes burst open in the walls, and the cold vacuum of space rushed in, sucking nearby Chaos Cultists straight out. They twisted and burst apart in the vacuum without a sound!
Blinding light poured through the breaches. Amid the smoke and flying shards of metal, five figures radiating powerful energy strode across the shattered deck and stormed into the hellish chamber like Valkyries descending upon the battlefield!
"Take them down!" Glory's voice rang out like a call of judgement, and the main guns of her ship rig instantly locked onto the charging Chaos Lord!
"Annoying trash!" Prinz Eugen's languid voice was laced with icy murderous intent. She thrust her massive force-field shield forward, sending several charging Daemon Engines flying like toys before crushing them!
"For Order!" Prince of Wales's cool voice rang out as her triple-barrelled cannons unleashed a devastating roar, blasting a bloody hole through the packed ranks of Chaos Terminators!
Joan of Arc's holy light washed over the exhausted Custodes and Sisters of Silence, soothing their battered bodies and driving away the taint around them.
Nimi's secondary guns scythed through the Chaos Cultists exposed to their fire with the precision of the Grim Reaper.
The Valkyries' arrival turned the tide in an instant!
Their powerful firepower, sturdy defences, and precise coordination tore through the Chaos Daemons' encirclement!
"Reinforcements!" The Custodian champion's spirits soared, his fatigue swept away. The Guardian Spear blazed once more with golden light that banished daemons. "The Spire is beneath the core engine room! They're trying to force the engines online and rush into orbit! Stop them!"
"Understood!" Glory replied. Her ship rig unleashed its full firepower, sending countless bolts of light into the Chaos Daemons and inflicting heavy casualties, clearing a path for the Custodes and Sisters.
The group surged forward like an unstoppable torrent, fighting their way toward the deepest part of the ship—the core chamber where the Blackstone Spire lay.
On the main battlefield.
Guilliman sat steady as a mountain, calmly directing the fleet as it held back the Black Legion's ferocious assault.
Every volley from the Macro-cannons of the Macragge's Honour turned a Chaos ship into a burning wreck.
He was in no hurry. On the tactical holomap, the Valkyries' signal was locked tightly onto the Profane Maw.
He was waiting.
"Warmaster! The Profane Maw is under heavy attack by boarders! The Custodes have joined up with them, and they're fighting their way toward the Spire's core!" a panicked voice cried over the Chaos comms.
Abaddon's crimson augmetic eyes snapped toward the location. His tactical screen clearly showed five powerful energy signatures racing through the Profane Maw.
Alarm bells rang in his mind. "Damn it! Order the Claw of Destruction squadron to break off from the main battle and support the Profane Maw at once! Protect the Spire at any cost!"
A squadron of several well-equipped Chaos Strike Cruisers immediately tried to turn away.
"Going somewhere?" A cold smile curled Guilliman's lips. "Concentrate fire! Pin that squadron down! All assault craft, keep them engaged! Don't let them get in the way!"
The Imperial Fleet's fire instantly grew more precise and ferocious, clamping down on the Claw of Destruction squadron. Swarms of assault craft pounced like mad dogs, ramming their hulls into the enemy and closing in to fire torpedoes, holding them back from reinforcing the flagship.
Furious and alarmed, Abaddon was about to commit more forces when an unfamiliar signal suddenly lit up the tactical screen! Its position was near the Profane Maw!
"Unknown vessel emerging from the Warp! Class unidentifiable! Stable! Not Chaos, not Eldar, not the Imperium!"
The next moment, a warship with sharply angular lines and a massive Crystal Cross emblem on its prow tore through the rippling space and appeared!
The Hilling Empire cruiser—the Spirit of Fire!
As soon as its immense hull appeared, it brought with it the weight and oppressive presence of a veteran of countless battles.
Its armour was heavy and its turrets numerous. It looked nothing like an Imperial or Chaos ship, radiating the utilitarian strength of steel.
"The Spirit of Fire! It's the Spirit of Fire!" On the bridge of Guilliman's flagship, Carter and the other Spartans, who had been standing like boulders behind Obi-Wan, nearly cried out in unison at the sight of the familiar ship and its unmistakable Crystal Cross emblem.
Guilliman keenly noticed their reaction and asked curiously, "Captain Carter, is that ship special?"
Carter turned to Guilliman, his voice brimming with pride and belonging. "Lord Regent, that's the Spirit of Fire! It's our home! Our entire company is aboard!" He clenched his fist. "They're here. That Chaos flagship is finished!"
Guilliman's eyes flashed, and his confidence returned.
He looked at the tactical screen, his smile deepening.
"Excellent!" Guilliman's voice brimmed with confidence. "Then our task is to keep Abaddon and his main fleet from going anywhere!" He looked toward Abaddon, who was frantically redeploying his fleet and trying to break through the blockade to reinforce the Profane Maw. "Hit him hard! Keep him pinned down!"
The Spirit of Fire's arrival drenched Abaddon in cold water.
His crimson augmetic eyes remained fixed on the unfamiliar vessel. Streams of tactical analysis data flashed wildly, but he still couldn't determine its exact combat capability.
Yet an intensely ominous premonition seized him.
"What is that ship?! Open fire! Sink it!" Abaddon roared in fury.
But the Spirit of Fire reacted faster!
Several massive missile silos along its flank snapped open!
"Friendly signals identified. Main guns charging! Magnetic accelerator coils ready!" the intelligence officer reported calmly from the bridge.
"Fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several massive solid metal slugs, fired from super-heavy magnetic accelerator cannons, tore through the Void with terrifying kinetic force. Like spears of divine punishment, they slammed precisely into several heavy frigates surrounding the Profane Maw!
At the same time, a dense swarm of missiles surged out like bees from a hive, trailing flames as they rushed toward the Profane Maw's engine exhausts and weapon arrays!
Precise! Efficient! Deadly!
Before Abaddon's reinforcements could even draw near, the Spirit of Fire's ferocious, accurate fire stunned them in an instant!
One frigate was pierced straight through and torn apart!
Several others were hit in critical areas by missiles. They burst into flames and lost their combat capability!
The Spirit of Fire stood like a steadfast giant, barring the only route from the Profane Maw to Woles Orbit. Its icy gun barrels remained trained on the Chaos flagship carrying the deadly Spire.
Its arrival had begun the final countdown to the collapse of Abaddon's Iron Ring plan!
Before you continue