Chapter Summaries

Lorgar fought Corax on a volcanic death world, overpowering him despite Corax’s Chaos-fueled attacks. Lorgar banished Corax to the Warp again and vowed they would settle their score there in the future.

• Lorgar hurled Corax onto a volcanic planet, where Corax struggled to rise and attacked him.
• Lorgar kicked Corax into a volcano, but Corax emerged from the lava and launched an all-or-nothing assault.
• Their clash shattered half the planet and left Corax badly mutilated while Lorgar remained standing.
• Corax mocked Lorgar’s loyalty to the Emperor and accused him of becoming the Emperor’s tool.
• Lorgar declared that Corax was no longer his brother and banished him to the Warp with a strike of golden psychic energy.

Lorgar confronted Mortarion after seeing the Death Guard join the Sons of Horus fleet, but Mortarion revealed that he had secretly protected key industrial worlds and sent Garro's Seventh Company to Terra. Lorgar accepted Mortarion's choice and asked him to wait as he prepared to address the Death Guard's lack of manpower.

• Lorgar saw the Death Guard fleet join the Sons of Horus and connected Mortarion's incoming call, suspecting that his brother had turned traitor.
• Mortarion sent Lorgar records showing that he had arranged for Garro to lead the Seventh Company to Terra and secured industrial worlds targeted by the Sons of Horus.
• Mortarion explained that he had acted to repay his debt to Lorgar and the Word Bearers from the Rangdan Xenocides, declaring that they were even.
• Lorgar understood Mortarion's actions, thanked him, and asked what he needed.
• Mortarion hinted that his Legion had only 170,000 men, and Lorgar told him to wait before ending the call.

Mortarion withdrew the Endurance from Bakka, while he and Lorgar silently vowed they would meet again. Lorgar ordered the Word Bearers to avoid direct conflict with the Death Guard and considered Bakka a local victory as the larger war continued to gather force.

• Mortarion ordered Naberius recorded as executed for undermining morale and Storas as a loyal sacrifice killed by the enemy.
• Mortarion sent the Endurance into the Warp on a course away from Horus and quietly wondered whether he would meet Lorgar again.
• Lorgar watched the Endurance disappear and promised they would meet again, even ten thousand years later.
• Lorgar ordered the Word Bearers to prioritize withdrawal and avoid direct confrontation whenever they encountered the Death Guard.
• The Word Bearers retook Bakka, but Lorgar recognized the victory as temporary while Horus’s forces and the wider threat of Chaos remained strong.

Horus learned that Lorgar had won at Bakka, then revealed that the victory was a deception used to draw the Imperium’s attention away from the Sons of Horus’ true target. He ordered Anlosian to follow him as the fleet changed course toward its next objective.

• Anlosian told Horus that the battle of Bakka had been lost, and Horus remarked that Corax had faced Lorgar.
• Horus admitted that even he could not be certain of defeating Lorgar and said that Lorgar would belong to him as well.
• Horus left his study with Anlosian and watched the Sons of Horus destroy the Imperial Fleet formations.
• Horus explained that Anlosian’s Chaos prophecy had led him to use Bakka as a feint while the main fleet struck elsewhere.
• Horus declared that the Imperium would soon realize its victory at Bakka was an illusion, and the fleet changed course toward another target.

Lorgar ordered the worlds under his rule to raise soldiers for the war against Horus and his rebels. On Merilla, the population eagerly answered by mobilizing troops and sending recruits from every social class into the Planetary Defense Chapter.

• Lorgar issued a conscription order requiring everyone capable of fighting across the Millennium Worlds to prepare for war.
• Merilla’s Planetary Defense Chapter was presented as a force formed from the planet’s indigenous people and experienced in rainforest combat.
• An officer delivered Lorgar’s sealed order to the nobles of York, and they approved the call to arms.
• Merilla’s nobles mobilized their private troops and enrolled their children under the order’s expanded recruitment rules.
• The conscription order spread across Merilla, prompting people from the hive city and rural settlements to seek places for their children in the Chapter.

Corax and the Raven Guard reformed aboard the Shadow of the Emperor, and Corax considered making his legion stronger by transforming its warriors while preserving their wills. Ferrus Manus then offered to deal with Lorgar, leaving Corax to challenge whether he could defeat Lorgar alone.

• Corax and the slain Raven Guard regenerated in the Warp aboard the Shadow of the Emperor.
• Corax studied Narat Kiling's controlled transformation and considered turning his legion into a smaller but more powerful force.
• Ferrus Manus appeared on the bridge's screen and said he would deal with Lorgar.
• Corax insisted that Lorgar was his prey, and Ferrus questioned whether he could defeat Lorgar alone.

Alpha Legion infiltrator Zorge secretly gathered intelligence on Gungnir, a weapon capable of striking any planet in Imperial territory, but his attempts to send the information failed. Kroge confronted him after growing suspicious, and Zorge faced exposure as Kroge moved to reveal the face beneath his armor.

• Zorge infiltrated the Raven Guard guarding Gungnir and rose to command them while secretly recording the weapon’s capabilities and weaknesses.
• Zorge’s attempts to transmit his intelligence failed, leaving him isolated and unaware that civil war had cut off his contacts.
• Kroge grew suspicious of Zorge and waited for an opportunity to confront him.
• Kroge and more than a dozen Raven Guard trapped Zorge in the hangar and accused him of being a spy.
• Zorge claimed he was a Son of Corax, but Kroge rejected his answer and drew a dagger to uncover his true face.