Not all World Eaters chose betrayal. Even after the purge within Isstvan III, there were still Astartes within the Twelfth Legion who remained loyal to the Emperor.
The World Eaters Legion was beyond saving. Lhorke harbored a thought that was almost a delusion: if the Butcher's Nails could be removed, then those World Eaters who remained loyal might return to being War Hounds. They could carry on the legacy of that glorious War Hounds Legion.
To the former lord of the War Hounds Legion, the Legion was, in some sense, more important than the primarch.
He had devoted everything to the Twelfth Legion, yet after being interred within a Dreadnought, he could only watch as it continued to fall, losing all its glory.
Lox fell silent for several seconds, withholding judgment. "I can't give you a definite answer, but I'll try to find a way. There is still hope."
He added, "But my advice is not to place too much hope in it. This thing was never meant for humans, and as you have seen, it causes irreversible damage to the human brain. Even if the Butcher's Nails can be removed, it cannot bring back lives already lost."
"Dying on the operating table while having the Butcher's Nails removed is still better than becoming its muddled, mindless slave."
"No matter what, the War Hounds thank you for your help." The Dreadnought expressed his gratitude. It was the only good news Lhorke had heard in all those years.
Unfortunately, the news had come too late.
There was no concept of space or time within the Warp. Everything was chaos.
When the fleet's Navigators announced that the Nuceria system lay ahead, the massive fleet began gradually translating out of the Warp.
The smaller warships were the first to jump to the Mandeville