Setting Foot in the Imperial Palace

"Terra is the place I chose for my coronation. I will defeat my hypocritical father on the Throne World."

"Take Terra for me, fearless warriors! For the liberation of humanity, for humanity's future!"

Horus's cries echoed in the ears of every rebel. The Chaos power contained within them instantly and utterly altered the perceptions of the first wave of landing forces.

Naturally, Perturabo could not deploy his elite troops directly in the first wave. Thus, these vanguard forces were mixed formations of mortal cultists, mutants, and abhumans.

All the mortal cultists still alive had undergone severe mutations of flesh. Horns, bone spikes, and extra limbs grew from their bodies, while filthy scales and bristles clung to their skin. The corrupting power of Chaos had seeped into their very bones.

The mutants and abhumans looked even less related to humanity. Shouting "For Horus!" at the top of their lungs, they charged into Dreadclaw drop pods made of warped flesh and hideous bones.

The metal creations of old had all been corrupted by Warp daemons. After their Machine Spirits fused with daemons, they became incomparably cruel and violent.

Some mortal cultists watched helplessly as the drop pod they rode opened an abyssal maw filled with sharp teeth, crunching several bull-headed abhumans to pieces before swallowing them.

The abhumans' powerful bodies offered no resistance whatsoever. Their flesh was torn apart, their bones ground to dust, and even their souls were devoured by the daemon within the Dreadclaw.

Yet in the eyes of the others inside the drop pod, their comrades had merely vanished. Blessed by the gods' summons, they had been elevated into the divine paradise.

They muttered Chaos scriptures, true words personally written and spread by the Great Word Bearer.

"By the Warp, we fight side by side for humanity's future. We