"Everyone, get inside the fortress! Now!"
Perturabo's voice thundered across the battlefield, drowning out the roar of artillery and the cries of the wounded.
He held Calliphone in one arm and pointed toward the nearest fortress with his free hand.
It was a defensive position they had just seized from the rebels. Though damaged in the fighting, its main structure remained intact, its thick metal walls and blast doors capable of withstanding most attacks.
"Shut the gates! Seal the blast doors!"
His gaze swept over the crowd around him—the warriors of the Iron Warriors Legion, the Emperor's Children Legion warriors who had just assembled on the ground, and the warriors of the White Scars. They all heard his orders and began moving toward the fortress.
Footsteps, shouts, and the metallic scrape of armor mingled into a chaotic yet orderly din.
"Into the fortress, Emperor's Children!"
Perturabo's gaze settled on a massive Dreadnought.
It was the Emperor's Children's Contemptor Dreadnought, the Ancient Rylanor.
This ancient war machine had proven its worth in countless battles. Its armor was covered in battle scars, and its weapon systems bore the souls of countless slain enemies.
Now he lumbered toward the fortress, each heavy step leaving a deep footprint in the ground.
"Get inside! Rylanor!" Perturabo shouted at the Dreadnought, his voice brooking no argument.
He paid no heed to these Emperor's Children warriors' allegiance, even though they were still at war with the Iron Warriors Legion.
But he had received Tarvitz's message and knew that the Emperor's Children warriors deployed to the surface belonged to the "Loyalist Faction," those who had refused to follow Fulgrim into rebellion.
They were in the same predicament as he was, betrayed by their own Primarch, abandoned by their former comrades, and trapped on a planet about to suffer