The events on Episimos III were nothing more than a minor interlude. Everyone tacitly agreed not to mention that planet, which had been utterly annihilated by orbital bombardment, again.
It was merely one of the worlds corrupted by the powers of the Warp. In this vast galaxy, how many planets had fallen beneath the forces of Chaos in the same way?
No one knew, nor did anyone care. The Warp's erosion of realspace had never been gentle. Every second, countless humans struggled as they died—or fell into fates more terrible than death.
The war between The Empyrean and realspace was no theoretical discussion. It was a fight to the death.
They had to move faster.
Only by resolving the matter of Davin as quickly as possible and destroying that utterly fallen planet could they save as much of humanity as they could.
Lox noticed a detail. Even Lion El'Jonson, who appeared indifferent and employed ruthlessly cold methods, had grown agitated after witnessing so much human suffering.
During the journey that followed, the Lion once again ordered the fleet to destroy six worlds that had been completely corrupted beyond salvation.
Some had been tainted by the Blood God's power, their entire populations slaughtering one another to determine the ultimate champion, with blood flowing like rivers and corpses strewn everywhere. Others had been polluted by the Prince of Pleasure, where everyone indulged in endless, frenzied debauchery, committing acts that constantly pushed beyond what humans could bear to witness.
The closer they drew to Davin, the more severe the signs of Warp corruption became. For those irredeemable worlds, the Lord Protector of the Second Imperium had only one answer: Exterminatus.
The expedition fleet never once attempted to deploy troops to save those planets, because that was unrealistic.
The utter destruction of Exterminatus was