The Primarch led the expedition in person

Upon learning that all the Rogue Traders had perished, Lorgar felt not the slightest stir of emotion.

Sacrifice? Yes, it had indeed been a sacrifice.

But in Lorgar's grand design, their sacrifice had not been without value.

With their lives, they had confirmed the extreme danger of that region; with their destruction, they had eliminated more unknowns for the operations to follow.

Their deaths had paved the road to the ultimate objective for the Word Bearers Legion, and for Lorgar himself.

For those Rogue Traders, was that not an honor in its own right?

To give their lives for a Primarch's great undertaking was an end many mortals could only dream of.

"Gene-Father." Rockefeller, Chapter Master of the Word Bearers Legion's First Chapter, stepped forward, the joints of his Power Armour grinding softly.

He struck his chest with one hand, producing a ringing clang, and spoke in a resounding voice.

"Please allow me to lead the First Chapter as your vanguard! With the enemy's blood, we will cleanse this Star Cluster of its filth and brand the Emperor's glory and your will upon that xenos construct!"

Lorgar slowly turned his gaze toward Rockefeller, then shook his head gently. His voice was steady, his resolve beyond question. "Your loyalty and courage, Rockefeller, I have never doubted. But the main body of the Expeditionary Force needs a dependable commander at its helm. Beyond this Star Cluster, many worlds still await our salvation, and the Imperium's vast territories also need your protection."

Lorgar paused briefly before continuing, "For this operation, it will be enough for me to take one Chapter in person."

At that, Rockefeller could hardly say anything more.

The orders were swiftly issued, and the man who received them was the Third Chapter's Chapter Master, William Theras.

Unlike the fiery Rockefeller, Seras was renowned for his composure and efficiency in carrying out orders.

He wasted no words. The instant he received the order, he used the Chapter's internal encrypted channels to translate the Primarch's will into precise operational instructions.

Soon, the Third Chapter's elite warriors, including the Terminator Squad, Tactical Squad, and heavy weapons support units, began assembling in orderly ranks on the embarkation deck of the Chapter's enormous Battle Barge, the Unyielding Faith.

When Lorgar's towering figure appeared at the entrance to the Unyielding Faith's deck, every space marine already assembled there, regardless of rank, snapped to perfect attention.

Chapter Master William Theras stood at the head of the formation. He raised his right arm, encased in a Power Fist, and slammed it against his left breastplate with a deafening crash.

The next moment, hundreds of warriors of the Astartes Chapters roared as one, shaking the compartment:

"Great Gene-Father! We shall fight for your honor! Death is our duty, loyalty our reward!"

Lorgar's calm gaze swept across these mighty warriors. They were extensions of his strength, embodiments of his will. He gave a slight nod, a small movement that nonetheless carried supreme authority.

"Enough. Let us go."

There was no impassioned speech before battle, no lengthy tactical briefing.

Those few simple words were enough.

For the Adeptus Astartes, the Primarch's presence was itself the greatest inspiration and the clearest command.

Lorgar did not linger. Under the eyes of Chapter Master William Theras and the others, he turned and boarded his dedicated transport shuttle, heading for the Emperor-class Battleship already prepared to serve as the operation's flagship—the Tooth of Boraus.

Then, as the Law of Faith and the surrounding vessels watched, a portion of the Warships broke away from the formation.

One after another, the enormous Warships slowly pulled away from the main expeditionary fleet's formation, like giant beasts awakening from slumber.

An Emperor-class Battleship, Strike Cruisers, Armed Freighters...

With more than a dozen capital Warships at its core and scores of cruisers and Escort Frigates of varying sizes forming a protective screen, a powerful Task Force capable of easily crushing a medium-sized sector's defenses settled into formation in the void.

Engines spewed dazzling blue flames, driving this torrent of steel resolutely toward the deep and dangerous fringes of Segmentum Pacificus.

Yet before Lorgar's fleet reached the designated Star Cluster, another force had already arrived on the outskirts of the Blackstone Fortress.

It was an immense fleet of a markedly different design, led by an Ark Mechanicus so vast that it rivaled a small Star Fortress.

The ark resembled a mobile industrial temple combined with a laboratory. Countless sensor arrays shaped like cathedral spires and massive industrial arms protruded from every part of its hull, which was covered in enormous Cog-skull emblems and reliefs of Binary Scripture.

Within the central observation sanctum of the Ark Mechanicus Eye of Discovery, Archmagos Cawl Grut studied the target through a complex, precision optical zoom assembly capable of bringing sights tens of millions of kilometers away before his eyes.

His mechanical eyes flickered with the light of computation, streams of data cascading across his retinas.

"Great Omnissiah... this... what a marvel... what splendor..."

Even the Archmagos, renowned for his composure and logic, could scarcely conceal his excitement.

His optical lenses clearly revealed the construct concealed behind the vast graveyard of Warships. The Blackstone Fortress—its geometric structure that utterly defied known physical laws, its pitch-black material that swallowed light, its awe-inspiring scale—all pointed to an ancient pinnacle of technology far beyond humanity's present understanding.

"All thanks to the precise coordinates provided by the Primarch," Grut's vocalizer transmitted binary praise laced with static.

"Otherwise, locating it in this chaotic graveyard by ourselves would likely require standard years of calculation and scanning."

Lorgar's promise to the Adeptus Mechanicus was immensely enticing. Beyond the Blackstone Fortress itself, the priceless "graveyard" surrounding it, composed of countless ancient Warship wrecks, would be fully opened to the Adeptus Mechanicus for archaeological research, without any interference from the Word Bearers Legion.

In exchange, the Adeptus Mechanicus would use its specialized equipment and technology to clear a passage through the tangled debris field, broad and safe enough for even the Imperium's largest Warships to sail directly to the foot of the Blackstone Fortress.

For an Archmagos, especially a scholar as obsessed with the mysteries of ancient technology as Grut, the offer was almost impossible to refuse.

Each fragment of those Warship wrecks, silent for millions of years or even longer, might hold lost knowledge, point to fragments of an STC, or reveal the rise and fall of an ancient civilization.

After conducting the necessary risk assessments and sending an encrypted report to headquarters on Mars, Grut had eagerly led his Ark Mechanicus and a detached Escort Fleet ahead of the others to this Star Cluster filled with unknowns and opportunities.

"Begin operations." Grut hesitated no longer, issuing the order through a data link.

In an instant, the immense Ark Mechanicus became a hive stirring to life, countless engineering vessels, probes, and Servo-skulls swarming out of its docks.

Powerful gravity projectors came online. Like enormous invisible hands, they carefully dragged aside the vast Warship wrecks blocking the way, many of them several kilometers long.

Small but sturdy engineering vessels used laser cutters and drills to break apart the obstacles ahead, laboriously clearing a path to the Blackstone Fortress through the tightly packed debris field.

Several days later, the Word Bearers Legion's Warships emerged from the warp and arrived directly at the Adeptus Mechanicus fleet's clearance site.

But to Lorgar's surprise, a faction he had never expected had also appeared there.