Numenas's sky exploded.
At the edge of the atmosphere, flash after flash erupted. Fireballs devoured fireballs, tearing apart the clouds that had gathered for so long, as though new stars were rising in Calth's sky.
"Did you see that? Our warships are exploding!" The mortals in the Universal Museum screamed.
The light arrived first, followed by the blast wave and thermal radiation. The Universal Museum's windows and iron doors slammed down their blast shutters. Everyone inside immediately felt the agonizing effects of the violently shaking air, as if their eardrums and chests were about to rupture.
"We've lost warships—more than one!" Ventanus said.
"Why? We clearly sent the warning. Didn't the primarch and Legion command receive it?"
Before a scene like the coming of doomsday, no one could answer that question.
The shockwave destroyed buildings and streets that were not sturdy enough. Mortal armies still assembling on the ground, armored vehicles, and tanks were tossed into the air like rubbish, before the fiery wind, carrying the blast's immense heat, swallowed those people still frozen in shock and panic.
It was as though a forge of the gods had fallen upon the world.
Then came the shattered warships and orbital docks from space. Some of the smaller fragments fell fastest; their dense materials and structure prevented the atmosphere from burning them away completely. Chunks as large as high-rise buildings plunged down at forty-five-degree angles.
One struck the earth of Calth, unleashing a new shockwave far greater than a nuclear blast. Building complexes were torn apart, while farmlands and forests became drifting ash amid the flames.
Water vaporized by the heat became torrential rain. Boiling rain fell back upon the world, making the fires burn even more fiercely.
More wreckage came. Small fragments slammed into the ground like missiles, blasting out crater after crater, while larger pieces punched straight through the surface, creating earthquakes powerful enough to shake entire cities. Thunderous roars terrified every human still alive.
A half-section of a cruiser's wreckage struck the river of Numenas. The steel hull blocked the river's course, while the instant heat and shockwave vaporized nearly half its water and drove the remainder into towering waves toward the city.
Only when truly caught in such a situation could humanity realize how insignificant it was. When those starships fell, everyone would understand: it was not ships that were falling, but the entire sky.
"Shelters! Everyone needs to get into the underground shelters!" Ventanus roared, urging everyone through the sealed passages of the Universal Museum and underground. If a large piece of wreckage struck here, everything would be over.
The mortal soldiers of the 61st Company awoke from unconsciousness. They could not endure that horrifying impact. Had the Universal Museum not shielded them from most of the damage, the vast majority would have died from massive internal bleeding caused by ruptured organs.
Lox, Tassa, and the others immediately sprang into action. They supported the still-dazed mortal auxilia, along with the utterly helpless staff and servants, into the underground passageways.
The air underground was cold and damp, yet to those who had just experienced the brutal heat on the surface, it offered a chance at survival.
"One blessing amid disaster: before everything happened, we had already notified every Ultramarine on Calth. They did not sit waiting for death," Lamiad said. "But so many troops on the surface received no warning. Their chances of survival are very low."
"I'm sorry. We still came too late." Lox was somewhat dazed. That apocalyptic sight had been carved deep into his soul. This beautiful, prosperous world had likely become a living hell.
"No, you've already done very well!" Yingjie shook his head. He knelt on one knee so that he could meet the eyes of the mortal who had brought the warning.
"Listen to me. Your efforts were not in vain. The Word Bearers' betrayal was a carefully woven trap; knowing about it did not mean we could avoid it."
"I firmly believe the XIII Legion has already responded. Although orbit has been devastated and our fleet has suffered grievous losses, everything is only beginning."
Lox nodded. Even deep underground, he could still feel the ground trembling beneath his feet, while fine dust and grit fell from the shelter overhead.
Once the shaking had largely subsided, Lamiad and Ventanus immediately decided to act.
At that moment, there were only five squads of Ultramarines in the Universal Museum's underground shelter, and they needed to gather all the Ultramarines scattered across the planet and launch a counterattack against the enemy.
"Our communications are completely destroyed. We can't contact the other companies." In the midst of chaos, information and the ability to communicate were paramount. But the Chaos Scrapcode that had erupted earlier, along with the electromagnetic interference generated by the explosions, had rendered everything on the surface inoperable.
Abut, the mortal administrator of the spaceport, finally woke up. He clutched his chest and abdomen, where his ribs had already been fractured, but he remained calm.
"There is a listening station in the plaza at the port. It was part of the old traffic-control system before the port was upgraded. There are some ancient but extremely powerful transmitters we can use." Speaking made his lungs ache sharply. "I believe that if it was not hit directly by wreckage, the transmitters, being sealed away, may have survived the earlier disaster."
Ventanus nodded to the mortal administrator. Lord Yingjie had already left, leading a squad to gather the nearest Ultramarines he could remember.
Just as the Ultramarine captain was preparing to lead his battle-brothers to the port and activate the sealed transmitters, the silent Lox finally stepped forward.
"Leave the communications system to me. Don't waste any more time or lives. The enemy is already here."
Weapon in hand, Ventanus silently waited for Lox to continue. Perhaps this mortal could create another miracle, just as he had delivered news of the betrayal from Isstvan to Calth.
Still cloaked, the Red Alert remained in orbit. The aftermath of the Clocktower's destruction had not affected this artifact from a bygone age.
Upon receiving Lox's order, the Cogitator immediately printed a machine capable of transmitting across an entire star system, then teleported it, along with the Iron Hands who had remained behind, into the Universal Museum's underground shelter.
Even with a Space Marine's vision, they only noticed a flash of white light before the machine, over three meters tall, appeared in the shelter's underground chamber.
"Incredible technology." A strange glint flashed through Ventanus's eyes. He did not understand where this thing had been teleported from.
But understanding was unimportant. What mattered was that with it, Ventanus could now transmit orders to the Ultramarines and mortal auxilia on the surface.
"Can it send messages to warships in space?"
Lox smiled faintly as well. He casually pointed, and Ventanus stepped forward in understanding.
The Cogitator had already cleared the Chaos Scrapcode's interference. Though the Scrapcode still ravaged Calth, Lox was no longer constrained by it.
An invisible stream of information passed through the burning sky and entered the bridge of Macragge's Honour.
And the Tech-priest, who had been doing everything he could to establish contact with Calth, naturally did not miss this transmission. The connection soon stabilized, and Ventanus's face appeared on the bridge's holographic display.
"How are things below, Ventanus? I'm glad to see you're still alive," Guilliman said.
"Bad, but not hopeless. We received warning in advance. Most of the Ultramarines took shelter underground, and we are assembling under Yingjie's command."
Ventanus's words carried bone-deep hatred. "Father, the Word Bearers betrayed us! They caused this disaster."
"Can you confirm that?" Guilliman continued to question him. He understood that this was the most plausible explanation. Lorgar's arrival, the spread of Chaos Scrapcode, and the Clocktower's sudden loss of control all formed a chain of clues.
But that was his brother, after all—the Emperor's seventeenth son.
Why had he done this? Was it because of his hatred for the Perfect City?
Before you continue