Survivors

The surface of this concealed planet was far more complex than any of the Ultramarines had imagined.

Their reconnaissance of the surrounding area had revealed the presence of at least Orks, Khorne Daemons, and Drukhari.

"By my Emperor, why have so many enemies of the Imperium gathered here?"

A Battle-Brother beside them stared at the staggering mountains of corpses and seas of blood, at a loss.

Iax studied the strange Altar to Khorne before him. Through his energy vision, he could see a fissure embedded in space.

Faint Warp energy was slowly seeping through it.

"This enormous skull Altar doesn't seem to have completed its ritual."

Calando quietly picked up where Iax had left off.

"Of course it hasn't. Otherwise, we'd be seeing enough Daemons and Bloodthirsters here to cover mountains and fill seas. With an Altar this size, even the arrival of a Daemon Prince wouldn't be surprising. There must be hundreds of thousands of skulls here."

As he spoke, Calando waved a hand.

The Battle-Brothers scattered nearby swiftly gathered.

"Though we don't know where all those damned Daemon scum have gone, this Altar is dangerous. Destroy it, then withdraw immediately. The Daemons will sense what's happened to it."

Several Battle-Brothers carrying Melta Bombs immediately set their charges, then hurled them like discuses onto the Altar's layers of skulls.

The others pulled out their Krak Grenades and threw them after the bombs.

Boom! Boom!

The massive explosions shattered the entire enormous Altar.

Skulls flew through the air, and fragments of bone struck ceramite armour with sharp cracks as they splintered.

Once they confirmed that the Altar had been destroyed, the group withdrew almost immediately. Along the way, Battle-Brothers carrying MK.IIIA "Heretic" flamers burned every smaller pile of skulls they passed.

The intense heat reduced the skull piles to shattered