As Guilliman listened to the guard's report beside him, his understanding of the Dark Angels' foolish behavior reached yet another new low.
When a Dark Angels representative who had been recovered from space came to seek an audience, Guilliman asked him about it.
But the Dark Angels veteran's response left Guilliman silent.
"We cannot determine whether the Primarch has been corrupted by Chaos. The only thing we can be certain of is our loyalty to the Imperium. Some of the things the Primarch did in the past make it impossible for us to trust a Primarch who may already have been corrupted. Even if he is still alive."
Guilliman could not fault their loyalty to the Imperium, but behavior that resembled that of rebellious sons gave him a genuine headache. He even put himself in Lion El'Jonson's position and imagined what would happen if his own Ultramarines were all just as obstinate.
The conclusion was that the Imperium might have collapsed completely long ago.
Setting those wandering thoughts aside for the moment, Guilliman had to establish the location of the enemy's main force and the Rock Monastery. Above all, he needed to find out where the Wrath of Baal was.
As for whether Lion El'Jonson had been corrupted, Guilliman scarcely entertained the possibility. If even Lion El'Jonson could fall to corruption, the Warp Daemons would have destroyed the entire world long ago.
Knowing his elder brother's character, Guilliman had ample faith in him.
"Energy discharge detected. Weapons fire confirmed."
The warning from the vox array rang out across the entire fleet.
Several frigates scouting at the very front exploded into showers of sparks in space almost instantly.
Space began to warp, and an immense rift appeared.
A vast shadow blotted out the light cast by the nearby star.
Systems aboard