Recaps

Lin En and the Imperial forces fought the Behemoth Tyranid main force in orbit, but overwhelming enemy numbers destroyed half the defense platforms and forced a retreat to the inner ring. Lin En found that his healing aura could protect only the Ultramarines aboard his Thunderhawk, leaving him unable to affect the vast battle.

• Macragge's Honour and the orbital guns destroyed most of the Tyranid vanguard before the Behemoth main force arrived.
• Calgar ordered the fleet to fire at full strength as the Tyranids advanced under the Hive Mind's presence.
• The Ultramarines, Imperial Navy, and Thunderhawk squadrons attacked the swarm, targeting Synapse Ships while the Tyranids assaulted the defense line.
• The Tyranids overwhelmed the orbital defenses, destroyed half the platforms, and inflicted heavy losses on the Imperial Navy.
• Orbital Defense Command ordered a retreat to the inner ring while Macragge's Honour stayed behind to cover the regrouping ships.
• Lin En discovered that his Group Healing aura could protect only the Ultramarines aboard his Thunderhawk and could not sway the battle at large.

As the Tyranid assault devastated the fleet, Lin En replaced Thirty Days with Machine Spirit Resonance and discovered he could control a ship through its Machine Spirit. He asked Chapter Master Calgar for authority to commandeer evacuated civilian ships for suicide attacks, and Calgar approved.

• Lin En watched ships and Astartes die as the fleet's defenses faltered, then replaced Thirty Days with Machine Spirit Resonance.
• Lin En awakened a silent Thunderhawk Gunship's Machine Spirit, restoring its power and weapons despite its crew being dead.
• Lin En directed the Thunderhawk to attack a Tyranid synapse ship, then sent it on a suicide charge that destroyed both ships and nearby Tyranid vessels.
• Lin En told Fabian and Castor nothing, then contacted Chapter Master Calgar to request control of requisitioned merchant and privately armed ships.
• Calgar granted Lin En command authority after Lin En guaranteed he could control the ships.

Lin En evacuated the crews from the outer-perimeter fleet, then used Machine Spirit Resonance and Tactical Rehearsal to make their abandoned ships attack the Tyranid swarm. The unmanned vessels destroyed a Dome Ship and rammed Spikers, while Lin En continued directing the assault from the Lightning Shadow Gunship.

• Lin En ordered the crews of the outer-perimeter civilian ships evacuated, and the Ultramarines cleared every vessel in less than three minutes.
• Lin En awakened the ships' Machine Spirits, causing the abandoned vessels to form an assault formation and aim their weapons at the Tyranids.
• Imperial forces watched the civilian fleet's markers change to engaging as Lin En pressed his hands downward and strengthened his power over the ships.
• Lin En chose to combine Tactical Rehearsal with Machine Spirit Resonance, allowing the ships to calculate battlefield outcomes and fight independently.
• A dozen converted merchant ships fired into a Tyranid Dome Ship's maw, plunged inside, and destroyed it in an explosion.
• The remaining unmanned civilian ships transferred their shields forward and rammed Tyranid Spikers, piercing their carapaces before exploding.

Lin En used Machine Spirit Resonance to turn evacuated civilian ships into a Ghost Fleet that devastated the Tyranids, but the ability initially capped him at one hundred ships. With the battlefield overwhelmed elsewhere, he sacrificed Immortal Body to enhance Machine Spirit Resonance, raising his control limit to two hundred ships.

• The awakened civilian ships attacked the Tyranids without hesitation and self-destructed when surrounded, astonishing the Imperium's commanders with their power.
• Lin En sensed the Machine Spirits through Machine Spirit Resonance and controlled the ships as they charged into battle.
• When Lin En tried to control a one hundred and first ship, he discovered that his ability's limit was one hundred simultaneous links.
• The Tyranids avoided Lin En's ships and attacked elsewhere, overwhelming parts of the battlefield and destroying Imperial ships.
• Lin En decided to sacrifice Immortal Body to strengthen Machine Spirit Resonance and confirmed the irreversible trade.
• The enhanced Machine Spirit Resonance increased Lin En's control limit from one hundred ships to two hundred.

Lin En’s unmanned Ghost Fleet used waves of expendable ships to halt and push back the Tyranid Hive Fleet near Macragge, allowing the Imperial Navy to counterattack. The Tech-Priests aboard the Octavius hailed the fleet’s machine spirits as the work of the Omnissiah, while the humans gained hope that they could keep the Tyranids off the planet.

• Lin En added a hundred ships to the Ghost Fleet and sent the two hundred vessels to fire their ammunition and ram the Tyranids before detonating.
• The unmanned ships formed a defensive wall near Macragge, destroying Tyranid Bio-ships and forcing the Hive Fleet’s advance backward.
• Calgar ordered the Imperial Navy to coordinate with Lin En’s fleet and counterattack, and the Navy’s Macro Cannons struck the exposed Tyranids.
• A Tech-Priest aboard the Octavius knelt and proclaimed the fleet’s machine spirits a manifestation of the Omnissiah, prompting the other Tech-Priests to kneel as well.
• The Ghost Fleet targeted Dome Ships, Synapse Ships, and Spore Ships, holding the Hive Fleet between the outer and middle rings without allowing it to reach Macragge.

Tyranid Spore Pods breached Macragge’s orbital defenses and began spreading across the planet, forcing Calgar to abandon pursuit of the fleeing Hive Fleet and order the Ultramarines back to defend their homeworld. Lin En descended with Third Company as First Company’s Arctic Fortress defense faced overwhelming odds and sent a distress signal.

• The Fourth Company captain reported that Tyranid Spore Pods had bypassed the blockade and landed on the far side of Macragge, where they rapidly spawned Tyranid forces.
• Calgar ordered the Imperial fleet not to pursue the damaged Hive Fleet and commanded the Astartes to return to the surface to defend Macragge.
• Lin En surrendered control of the ships to the merchant convoy commanders, armed himself, and joined Third Company’s descent to the planet.
• Third Company received orders to reinforce First Company at the Arctic Fortress, where the Tyranid assault had overwhelmed the Warlord Titan Eternal Saint before its crew detonated the reactor and destroyed the Titan and a Hierophant Bio-Titan.
• Invictus and First Company held the passage to the underground shelters as Tyranids surged toward the fortress, and First Company sent a distress signal.

Lin En and the Third Company diverted to the Arctic Fortress to rescue the besieged First Company, whose commander Invictus was Fabian’s mentor. As the Thunderhawk prepared to land amid the Tyranid assault, Lin En gave the company a pre-battle address by filling the cabin with golden light.

• The Third Company commander redirected the company from its original mission to support the First Company at the Arctic Fortress.
• Castor told Lin En that the First and Third Companies shared close ties, and that Invictus routinely lent Terminator Squads to them.
• The Thunderhawk approached the breached fortress while Gargoyles and Tyranids swarmed around the drop zone.
• Lin En asked Castor to let him give the pre-battle address, then activated Group Healing and Emperor's Gaze.
• Golden light flooded the Thunderhawk, and every Ultramarine felt an unfamiliar sensation.

Lin En chose to protect the Ultramarines with the Mass Healing Aura while using Machine Spirit Resonance to revive abandoned Imperial vehicles. As the Third Company fought through the Tyranids near the Arctic Fortress, hundreds of vehicles gathered under Lin En’s control and advanced toward the swarm.

• Lin En rallied the Ultramarines with the Emperor’s Blessing, promised to keep them alive within his healing aura, and urged them to rescue the First Company.
• Lin En chose the Mass Healing Aura over Tactical Rehearsal and activated it alongside Machine Spirit Resonance.
• The Third Company landed, formed a skirmish line around Lin En, and fought off the Tyranids while the aura healed their wounds and restored their stamina.
• Lin En resonated with abandoned Chimeras, Rhinos, Sentinel Mechs, and tanks scattered across the battlefield, restarting their engines and weapons.
• Two hundred Imperial vehicles converged on the Ultramarines and crushed Tyranids beneath their tracks as the Battle-Chaplain called Lin En the Machine God.

Lin En and the Third Company destroyed the Tyranid vanguard with unmanned vehicles, firepower, and healing support, then pushed into the Arctic Fortress. They reached the underground passage and found the First Company still fighting and alive.

• The Third Company commander ordered the unmanned vehicles to charge through the Tyranid swarm while Fabian led the warriors behind them with flamethrowers and melt weapons.
• Lin En controlled Machine Spirits and maintained a healing aura, helping the Ultramarines defeat the Tyranids and burn their biomass to ash.
• Lin En arranged the vehicles into front and rear waves as the force entered the fortress corridors, using drones to scout, attack, and self-destruct against packed Tyranids.
• Lin En and the Third Company reached the underground passage and found the First Company fighting back to back, with several wounded warriors still alive.
• Fabian called contact, and the Third Company opened fire on the Tyranids surrounding the First Company.

The First Company was rescued from the Tyranids by Fabian’s Third Company and Lin En, whose golden aura healed the wounded. After greeting Invictus, Lin En was immediately courted by the First Company commander, who tried to recruit him as their chaplain.

• Invictus and the First Company held the blast door against an overwhelming Tyranid swarm as their ammunition and strength dwindled.
• Fabian’s Third Company arrived with a host of self-driving vehicles and destroyed the Tyranids attacking from behind.
• Lin En’s golden aura healed the First Company’s wounded, restoring them to full health.
• Fabian reunited with Invictus, joked that Third Company should be called the most elite company, and clasped hands with his former teacher.
• Lin En emerged from a Leman Russ Tank, and Fabian explained that Lin En had become Third Company’s priest.
• Invictus asked Lin En to join the First Company as its chaplain, arguing that its missions were especially dangerous.

The First and Third Companies coordinated a counterattack to break through the Tyranid swarm and defend the millions of civilians behind the blast door. Lin En supported the assault with his healing aura and Machine Spirit Resonance as the Astartes pushed into the higher-tier Tyranids.

• Invictus tried to recruit Lin En to the First Company, but Fabian and Castor refused to give up their Chaplain.
• Fabian and Invictus coordinated the First and Third Companies’ breakthrough, and Lin En returned to his tank to support the battle.
• Lin En’s Healing Aura bolstered both companies as their vehicles charged the swarm and flamethrower troops burned the Tyranid biomass.
• Higher-tier Tyranids destroyed several vehicles, prompting the First Company Terminators to charge into the swarm with enhanced speed and strength.
• The First and Third Companies fought the higher-tier Tyranids while vehicles, Sentinel Mechs, and other units continued cutting down the surrounding swarm.

The Ultramarines used Lin En’s Healing Aura to slaughter the Tyranids at Arctic Fortress and drew out a Tyranid Tyrant. After one Terminator survived a pierced chest and counterattacked, the Tyrant mistook the aura for Hyper-regeneration and decided to retreat and alert the Hive Mind.

• The First Company and Third Company left squads to guard Lin En while the remaining Astartes pushed beyond the aura’s range to attack the Tyranids.
• The Astartes used the Healing Aura to recover from wounds as they cut down the swarm, then burned the corpses to deny the Hive Mind their biomass.
• The Tyranid Tyrant emerged from the fortress after the swarm’s biological signals went dark and found the Astartes dominating the battlefield.
• The Tyrant pierced a Terminator’s chest, but the Terminator stayed upright and shot out the Tyrant’s eye.
• The Tyrant mistook the Healing Aura for human Hyper-regeneration and resolved to retreat and warn the Hive Mind.

Invictus and Fabian killed the Tyrant, breaking the Tyranid assault on the Arctic Fortress. The Astartes cleared the remaining swarm and restored the fortress, while Lin En watched his kill count approach five million.

• Invictus and Fabian trapped the Tyrant, wounded it repeatedly, and killed it by severing its neck.
• With the Tyrant dead and the Hive Overlord absent, the Tyranid swarm lost coordination and scattered.
• The First and Third Companies hunted down the remaining Tyranids while Techmarines restarted the fortress defenses.
• The Arctic Fortress's shields, weapons, and communications came back online, and the Astartes suffered no deaths.
• Lin En climbed out of the Leman Russ Tank and saw his kill count racing toward five million.

After the Ultramarines retook the Arctic Fortress with no Astartes casualties, Lin En realized Chapter Master Calgar might be trapped by the Hive Overlord in the Cold Steel Mountains. He alerted the First and Third Companies and requested reinforcements as they rushed to rescue Calgar.

• The First Company decided they wanted Lin En with them in future battles after he helped them defeat the Tyranids without losing anyone.
• Lin En watched his kill count rise, celebrated atop the Tyranid Tyrant’s corpse, and realized Calgar might have gone to the Cold Steel Mountains to face the Hive Overlord.
• Lin En contacted Hera Fortress and learned that communications with Calgar’s force had been lost after its last transmission an hour earlier.
• Lin En warned the First and Third Company captains that Calgar might be surrounded and preparing to fight the Hive Overlord alone.
• Fabian ordered the Third Company to board its transports, while the First Company captain led the Terminators toward the Thunderhawks.
• Lin En requested reinforcements from Hera Fortress as the companies set out for the Cold Steel Mountains.

Lin En led the First and Third Companies south from the Arctic Fortress in nine Thunderhawk Gunships armed with two hundred Firestrike Servo Turrets, shredding Tyranid swarms along the way. As the force headed to rendezvous with Calgar at the Cold Steel Mountains, Lin En drew the golden trait Psychic Absorption.

• Lin En gathered the First and Third Companies, nine Thunderhawks, and two hundred Firestrike Servo Turrets for a southward counterattack.
• The Thunderhawk formation flew toward the Cold Steel Mountains, passing through the Tyranid airdrop corridor.
• The Firestrike Servo Turrets destroyed Gargoyles and ground-based Tyranids, allowing the force to advance with little resistance.
• Lin En earned a draw for reaching one million kills and used it during the flight.
• Lin En drew the golden trait Psychic Absorption, which converted 30% of psychic attacks he received into his own psychic power.

Lin En realized Psychic Absorption could turn psychic damage into power, then flew with reinforcements toward Calgar’s battle at the Cold Steel Mountains. Calgar and the last ten Honor Guard were surrounded and weakening when Lin En’s Thunderhawk arrived and unleashed overwhelming firepower.

• Lin En discovered that Thirty Days and Psychic Absorption could let him convert psychic attacks into psychic power and expand Group Healing’s range.
• Lin En boarded a Thunderhawk with Priest Castor and the Ultramarines, preparing to reinforce Calgar at the Cold Steel Mountains.
• Calgar’s plan drew the Hive Overlord away from Arctic Fortress, but Tyranid forces separated him and the Honor Guard from the main force.
• Calgar and ten Honor Guard held a shield-wall formation against the surrounding swarms and Tyrant Guard while Calgar saved his strength for the Hive Overlord.
• As Calgar prepared to provoke the Hive Overlord, a Thunderhawk roared overhead and a barrage of firepower struck the battlefield.

First Company and Third Company returned from securing the Arctic Fortress and brought air support that wiped out the Tyranid swarm around Calgar. Lin En arrived and empowered the loyalists with healing and combat boosts, leaving Calgar ready to face the Hive Overlord.

• Invictus told Calgar that First Company and Third Company had retaken the Arctic Fortress, destroyed the Tyranid main force in the north, and were heading south to reinforce him.
• Nine Thunderhawk Gunships covered in Firestrike Servo Turrets attacked the Tyranids, while detached turrets self-destructed to wipe out the gargoyle swarm.
• The Thunderhawks cleared the Tyranids from the battlefield and landed, bringing Lin En and the commanders of First Company and Third Company to Calgar.
• Lin En activated Group Healing and Emperor's Gaze, healing nearby loyalists and increasing their attributes.
• Lin En urged the empowered Calgar to slay the Hive Overlord and provoke it into using psychic attacks.

Golden Light empowered Calgar and the Honor Guard with Emperor’s Gaze, leaving them convinced they had received the Emperor’s blessing. Calgar challenged the Hive Overlord and punched through its chest, but the battle remained unresolved.

• Golden Light enveloped Calgar, the Honor Guard, and the companies, doubling their attributes and healing their injuries.
• The Honor Guard believed they had become Emperor’s Champions after feeling the Emperor’s Gaze strengthen them.
• Calgar sensed love for humanity in the Emperor’s power, then challenged the Hive Overlord in the name of Guilliman.
• The Honor Guard and Tyrant Guard cleared the field as the Hive Overlord charged Calgar with four Boneswords.
• Calgar blocked the Hive Overlord’s attack with the Axe of Ultramar and drove his Fist of Hera through its chest.

Calgar and the Ultramarines fought the Hive Overlord and its Tyrant Guard while Lin En’s healing and enhancement powers kept the human warriors in battle. The Tyrant Guard were destroyed, and Calgar continued fighting the Hive Overlord without showing signs of exhaustion.

• Calgar struck the Hive Overlord repeatedly, endured its psychic blast, and kept fighting after its Boneswords damaged his armor.
• Lin En regretted missing the chance to take the Hive Overlord’s psychic blast head-on.
• The Honor Guard, First Company, and Third Company warriors overwhelmed and killed the six Tyrant Guard with enhanced attacks and healing support.
• The Ultramarines gathered around Lin En, while the Third Company captain kept the Honor Guard from recruiting him.
• The Honor Guard and Terminators joined Calgar, who continued battling the Hive Overlord as it grew furious at his repeated recovery.

Lin En deliberately drew the Hive Overlord’s psychic attacks, expanding his Healing Aura until the Ultramarines could withstand the monster’s blows. Calgar killed the Hive Overlord, ending the Tyranid command threat on Macragge, and the surviving warriors celebrated their victory.

• The Hive Overlord unleashed a Psychic Blast that struck Lin En and expanded his Healing Aura by ten meters.
• Lin En urged the Ultramarines to attack, and repeated blasts grew his aura to a hundred and fifty meters as he sheltered behind a boulder.
• The Hive Overlord identified Lin En as the source of the healing but could not escape Calgar and the Ultramarines.
• The Hive Overlord stabbed Calgar with all four Boneswords, but Lin En’s aura healed his wounds.
• Calgar smashed the Hive Overlord’s head apart, destroying the Tyranid command node on Macragge.
• The Ultramarines celebrated their victory, having lost no one in the fight against the Hive Overlord.

After the Ultramarines defeated the Tyranids and returned to Hera Fortress, Calgar honored the surviving warriors by carving their names into the Hall of Honour. Lin En chose a modest place for his real name, and Calgar ordered an award ceremony before they continued clearing the southern hemisphere.

• The First and Second Companies finished eliminating the Tyranids around the Cold Steel Mountains and Arctic Fortress, while Lin En checked his turrets and noted his rising kill count and expanded healing aura.
• Calgar and the returning warriors flew to Hera Fortress, where the Ultramarines welcomed them after learning they had reclaimed the Arctic Fortress and killed the Hive Overlord without losing anyone.
• Calgar commended the battle's heroes and carved their names into the Hall of Honour as Lin En asked for his name to be placed where mortals could see it.
• Lin En taught Calgar to carve his real name in two ancient characters and requested a modest spot near the entrance, about one-point-six meters above the floor.
• Calgar told the Honor Guard captain to prepare a quick award ceremony before the Ultramarines resumed clearing the southern hemisphere.

After the Ultramarines cleared the Tyranids from Macragge’s surface, Calgar led the fleet in pursuit of the Behemoth Hive Fleet as it attacked Velydia. The Imperial warships emerged from the Warp between the planet and the Hive Ship, beginning their counterattack.

• Calgar honoured the defenders of the Arctic Fortress, promoted Lin En to lieutenant, and led the Ultramarines south toward the Antarctic Fortress.
• Calgar, Lin En, and the Ultramarines destroyed the Antarctic swarm, killed three Tyrants, rescued the shelter’s civilians, and wiped out the main Tyranid invasion force on Macragge’s surface.
• Calgar learned that the escaped Behemoth Hive Fleet was attacking Velydia and ordered Macragge’s orbital fleet to pursue it.
• The Hive Fleet prepared to bombard Velydia’s Void Shields when Macragge’s Honour, the Octavius, and hundreds of Imperial warships emerged from the Warp between the Hive Ship and the planet.
• The Imperial fleet launched a barrage of explosive charges at the Tyranid Hive Ship.

Lin En and the Ultramarines turned a swarm of abandoned ships into explosive weapons, devastating the Tyranid vanguard while losing only scrap. The Hive Mind feared further losses but chose to gamble on breaking through and consuming a small amount of biomass.

• The Macragge Fleet attacked the Hive Ship, causing it to order the Tyranid warships to charge the Imperial Navy.
• Lin En activated [Machine Spirit Resonance] and [Tactical Rehearsal], awakening the Machine Spirits of abandoned ships.
• The junk ships rammed and fired on the Tyranid fleet, then exploded and destroyed numerous Tyranid warships, including Escort Frigates and Synapse Ships.
• The Ultramarines laughed as the Tyranid vanguard was devastated while the humans lost only obsolete ships.
• The Hive Mind weighed retreat against the danger of losing its fleet and decided to gamble on reaching a human settlement for biomass.

Lin En used Machine Spirit Resonance to hijack a Tyranid Escort Frigate and turn it against the Behemoth fleet. The chapter ended with the Frigate damaging a Tyranid cruiser, proving Lin En could disrupt the Hive Mind’s control.

• The Hive Mind scattered the Behemoth fleet, sending some ships to distract the Imperial forces while others raced toward Velydia.
• Lin En pursued the fleeing Tyranids with junk ships, but their slow transport ships and Gun Emplacement modules fell behind.
• The Astartes offered to take over the pursuit, but Lin En refused and searched for another solution.
• Lin En realized Machine Spirit Resonance might interfere with the Tyranids’ will-links and tested it on a Synapse Ship and its subordinate ships.
• Lin En severed a small Escort Frigate’s link to its Synapse Ship and ordered it to attack a nearby cruiser.
• The Escort Frigate fired on the cruiser, rupturing its armor and sending it crashing into another ship.

Lin En seized control of Tyranid warships and turned the Behemoth fleet against itself, helping the Ultramarines destroy the invasion with limited casualties. The battle ended with Velydia and Macragge safe, while Lin En looked over the wreckage and celebrated his success.

• Lin En used Machine Spirit Resonance to seize control of up to two hundred Tyranid warships, which attacked their own fleet and threw it into chaos.
• The Hive Mind ordered a retreat and sacrificed the Hive Ship’s biomass to accelerate its escape.
• Macragge's Honour, Calgar's fleet, and the Imperial Navy battered the Hive Ship until its plasma chambers ruptured and destroyed it.
• The Ultramarines and Imperial Navy pursued and wiped out the remaining Tyranids, after which Lin En ordered his captured ships destroyed as well.
• Calgar and the fleet celebrated their victory, having defended Macragge and Velydia without the catastrophic losses of the original battle.
• Lin En watched the Tyranid wreckage drift outside Velydia and felt that his transmigration had paid off.