Chapter Summaries

Cheng Mingrui met a daemon called Hops in the Warp, then led his Ork fleet to the Tarrok System, where Orks, Tyranids, and Khorne’s forces had fought a bloody war for half a year. As a Tyranid assault began against an Ork stronghold, the Orks prepared to defend their fortress.

• Cheng Mingrui refused to make a pact with Hops and left the collective Waaagh! field to oversee construction of the super Gargant.
• Cheng Mingrui’s Ork fleet followed the green threads to the Tarrok System, where Orks, Tyranids, and Khornate forces were fighting.
• Voda Bloodglory became a Daemon Prince after leading his World Eaters warband through the fighting in Octarius.
• The Tyranid swarm consciousness kept its Bio-ships out of the Ork and Chaos fleet battle while attacking the planets to delay Ork reinforcements.
• Tyranids attacked an Ork stronghold, and the Orks opened fire on the incoming spore pods with their anti-aircraft guns.

Vorda’s blood sacrifice ritual drew Khorne’s power, strengthening his followers and transforming the unworthy into Chaos Spawn. The chapter ended with Vorda wielding new divine armor and a deadly sword as he reveled in the altar’s destruction.

• The Swarm Consciousness judged that Vorda’s ritual would take eight days, giving it time to defeat the Orks and harvest their biomass.
• Vorda obeyed Khorne’s command and sacrificed the Psyker, accelerating the ritual and drawing more Warp energy into reality.
• Khorne’s power strengthened the cultists and Chaos Space Marines, empowered daemonic machines, and turned weaker followers into rampaging Chaos Spawn.
• Vorda subdued the Chaos Spawn and received armor that resisted attacks and the Sword of the Weakling’s Scorn, which killed a Chaos Spawn with a shallow cut.
• Vorda laughed as blood covered him and collapsed the altar with a gesture.

Vorda opened portals that unleashed Khorne’s Daemons into the battle between the Tyranids and Orks, and Khorne’s power infected the Swarm Consciousness, turning the battlefield into a three-way slaughter. After the Swarm Consciousness abandoned its infected forces and detected the Screw Clan fleet entering the Tarrok System, it and the Great Devourer reconsidered how to confront the Warp.

• Vorda and the Khorne Cultists summoned Bloodletters, Steel Bulls, War Skull Cannons, and Bloodthirsters through eight portals, then charged the Tyranids.
• Khorne’s influence infected the Swarm Consciousness, disrupting the Tyranids’ coordination and sending them into a frenzy against both the Orks and Khorne’s army.
• The Swarm Consciousness severed its links to the infected Tyranids, abandoning over a hundred Bio-ships and a billion Warrior Bugs to preserve its collective consciousness.
• The Swarm Consciousness detected the Screw Clan fleet entering the Tarrok System through Warp Rifts and decided to withdraw its remaining forces.
• The Great Devourer received the reports of Khorne’s infection and the Ork fleet, and recognized that it needed a different approach to fighting the Warp.

The Great Devourer rejected ascending into a Warp god and focused on the decisive battle for Octaria III while the Screw Clan arrived in the Tarrok System. Cheng Mingrui led the Ork Fleet against the Tyranids, opening fire as Khorne’s forces joined the pursuit.

• The Great Devourer considered greed, propagation, and gluttony as possible Warp authorities but chose to postpone becoming a god.
• The Great Devourer concentrated its forces on Octaria III, where the Hive Tyrant led another assault on the Ork Great Warboss.
• Cheng Mingrui arrived in the Tarrok System with the Ork Fleet after a two-month Warp journey and divided his ships among the Shipyard Platform and three planets.
• The Tyranid Fleet withdrew from the Shipyard Platform, and Cheng Mingrui redirected his main force to pursue it.
• Daft used the Krakka Teleporter to propel Boss Slick’s Ship ahead, and Cheng Mingrui fired the Dimensional Rumble Cannon into the Tyranid Fleet.
• Khorne’s ships pursued the Orks, and several Warp-energy beams struck Boss Slick’s Force Field.

Cheng Mingrui’s Boss Slick’s Ship fought off Khorne’s fleet until a mysterious force turned the surrounding starfield crimson and disrupted the ship’s most powerful weapon. With Khorne’s forces breaching the ship and Chaos Space Marines teleporting aboard, Cheng Mingrui prepared to fight them himself.

• Khorne’s fleet concentrated its fire on the Boss Slick’s Ship, but the ship’s weapons destroyed many attackers as Cheng Mingrui pursued the fleeing Tyranids.
• Cheng Mingrui noticed the starfield had turned red, ordered the Ork Warbosses to guard Hols and the bridge, and teleported outside to investigate.
• Cheng Mingrui realized a strange force had enclosed the ship and Khorne’s fleet in a crimson region of space, while the Tyranids had escaped.
• Cheng Mingrui tried to fire the Dimensional Rumble Cannon, but Machine Deconstruction showed the ship was intact even though the cannon would not activate.
• Khorne’s fleet rammed the Boss Slick’s Ship, and blood-red portals appeared as Khorne’s Chaos Space Marines teleported aboard to confront Cheng Mingrui.

Cheng Mingrui and the Screw Clan fought off Khorne’s boarding forces aboard the Boss Slick's Ship as the Warp kept bringing in more enemies. Elsewhere, Daemon Prince Vorda battled Orks until he spotted a space fleet above the mountains.

• Cheng Mingrui cut down waves of bloodletters, Steel Bulls, and Chaos Terminators, while noticing Khorne’s attacks could damage his Power Armour.
• Khorne’s daemons and Chaos Space Marines teleported into the Boss Slick's Ship, but Hols, Daft, and the Kill Team’s Nobs contained them around the bridge portal.
• As the boarding assault continued, Cheng Mingrui’s guards and other Greenskins joined the fighting, and Heavy Nobs teleported away when the bridge battle grew dull.
• More powerful daemons surrounded Cheng Mingrui, so Boss Slick's Boys teleported in to support him, and the Screw Clan roared a Waaagh beneath the Morkanaut Statue.
• Daemon Prince Vorda fought through Tyranids and charged into an Ork green tide, then spotted a space fleet above the mountains.

Boss Copperhead united the local Orks with the Screw Clan and led a massive assault against Khorne's forces on Abyss III. Vorda faced the newly arrived Orks’ overwhelming firepower and advanced troops, then charged into battle against them.

• Boss Copperhead brought a thousand Ork warships to Abyss III, won over the local Orks, and ordered the fleet to attack Khorne's Chaos Fleet.
• Boss Copperhead directed the Orks to land in Ork Roks and join the fighting on the planet.
• Vorda killed an Ork Killa Kan and its pilot before an Ork Rok struck the Plains with devastating force.
• The Screw Clan teleported in enormous numbers of Junkyards, Gorkanauts, and armored kans, quickly outnumbering the daemons.
• The Ork Titan mechs bombarded Vorda, who survived and charged at the Junkyard that attacked him.
• Vorda fought the Screw Clan's well-equipped Choppa Boyz and faced their heavy Shoota Boyz fire.

Vorda rampaged through the Ork army, destroyed the Junkyard Titan, and gained more power from Khorne before Boss Copperhead challenged him. Copperhead gradually overpowered Vorda and promised him a place on his rack.

• Vorda burned and slaughtered Orks, but missiles from the Junkyard struck him and knocked him into a crater.
• Vorda attacked the Junkyard, breached its defenses, and destroyed its head with his sword.
• Boss Copperhead punched Vorda into a crater, claiming the right to fight him under Boss Slick's rules.
• Vorda and Copperhead clashed their weapons and fought, but Copperhead's strength grew with the waaagh energy and drove Vorda onto the back foot.
• Copperhead knocked aside Vorda's sword, broke several of his teeth with a punch, and said he would put Vorda on his rack.

Boss Copperhead killed Vorda as the Orks drove the daemons from Abyss III and the surrounding battlefields. Cheng Mingrui defeated a Bloodthirster, but his divine blood summoned Angron, who appeared before him.

• Boss Copperhead smashed Vorda's head with a punch, then took the Chaos Space Marine helmet as a trophy.
• The Screw Clan and the Waaagh! Field turned the battles on Abyss III, Abyss II, and Abyss I in the Orks' favor, banishing daemons and destroying hostile forces.
• Orks teleported onto Boss Slick's Ship and fought Khorne's daemons and cultists inside the Red Mist.
• Cheng Mingrui killed a Bloodthirster, but its axe wound kept bleeding despite his armor's healing systems.
• Cheng Mingrui's divinely imbued blood formed Khorne's Symbol and summoned Angron, who appeared before him in golden armor.

Cheng Mingrui battled the newly manifested Angron, whose axe and enchanted longsword damaged his armor and shattered several Phase Greatblades. Cheng Mingrui learned to channel Waaagh energy through his weapons and launched a counterattack, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Angron manifested in the Material Universe and attacked Cheng Mingrui with his axe and longsword.
• Cheng Mingrui blocked Angron's attacks but suffered a chest wound, and Angron's weapons repeatedly damaged his Phase Greatblades.
• Angron's transparent longsword cut Cheng Mingrui's face and split his helmet, forcing him to retreat.
• Angron leaped into the air and shattered Cheng Mingrui's paired Phase Greatblades with a powerful axe blow.
• Cheng Mingrui used Waaagh energy to block Angron's axe, shove him back, and counterattack with extended energy-coated blades.

Cheng Mingrui struggled to overcome Angron’s blessings and superior combat skill, then rallied the Orks through the waaagh! field to empower himself. He shattered much of Angron’s upper-body armor and blasted away part of the red fog, but Angron remained alive and eager to continue fighting.

• Cheng Mingrui tried dirty tricks and a sleeve dart against Angron, but Angron’s blessings nullified his attacks.
• Cheng Mingrui and Angron traded wounds, leaving Cheng Mingrui badly injured while Angron suffered only shallow cuts.
• Cheng Mingrui asked Kuka to connect him to the Orks, then declared that he would defeat Angron and challenge the daemon’s master.
• The Orks erupted into a waaagh!, flooding Cheng Mingrui with energy and making him bigger and stronger.
• Cheng Mingrui’s empowered strike shattered much of Angron’s upper-body armor and blasted apart part of the red fog, but Angron survived and delighted in the fight.

Cheng Mingrui defeated Angron after a three-day battle, survived a wound through his heart, and claimed Angron’s head as a trophy. He returned to his Medical Pod to recover, unaware that a crimson thread from the Demonic Sword entered his heart as Big Blade treated him.

• Cheng Mingrui and Angron fought across Boss Slick's Ship for three days while the Orks killed the Khorne Daemons and Cultists, causing the Red Mist to fade.
• As the Warp energy weakened, Angron grew weaker and Cheng Mingrui grew stronger, eventually breaking their weapons and driving his fist into Angron’s neck.
• Angron pierced Cheng Mingrui’s heart with his sword, but the Mechanical Heart restarted; Cheng Mingrui seized Angron’s spine and ripped off his head.
• Cheng Mingrui raised Angron’s head in victory, mounted the skull on his Boss Rack, and the Screw Clan’s Orks cheered as the Red Mist disappeared.
• Cheng Mingrui teleported to Big Blade, returned to his Medical Pod, pulled Angron’s Longsword from his chest, and fell unconscious after telling Big Blade to check his heart and keep Hols safe.
• As Big Blade stitched Cheng Mingrui’s heart, a crimson thread from the Demonic Sword slipped into it.

Trazyn and Afentis debated the danger posed by the Tyranid fleet as the Necrons fought a larger force in the Octarius Sector. Trazyn revealed his fleet’s power by killing a Hive Ship and leading a counterattack that broke the Tyranid vanguard.

• Afentis warned Trazyn that the Necron fleet was suffering losses while the Tyranids continued to threaten their mission in the Tarrok System.
• Trazyn dismissed the Tyranids as mere bugs, while Afentis questioned the Silent King’s plan to build Pariah Nexuses and restore the Necrons’ flesh.
• Trazyn said his preparations were complete and invited Afentis to watch his performance against the Tyranids.
• Trazyn killed a charging Hive Ship from within as living metal tore through its body.
• Trazyn’s fleet unleashed Canoptek Scarabs and Gauss Beams, then advanced to break the Tyranid fleet apart.

Trazyn’s Necron fleet annihilated the Tyranid bio-fleet and swept across the star system while searching for the Singularity Gate. After Afentis activated its guidance device, a square black object erupted from beneath the planet’s surface.

• Trazyn’s forces rebuilt their scarabs and warships with energy from a C’tan Shard, destroying the Tyranid bio-fleet at the cost of only a dozen or so warships.
• Afentis warned Trazyn that using C’tan Shards without the Silent King’s permission risked their escape and resurrection, but Trazyn defended his use of them and revealed he had prepared three C’tan Shard Cannons for Gork and Mork.
• Trazyn and Afentis agreed that Trazyn would claim the peculiar Ork Warboss while Afentis received the research results and valuable creations.
• Trazyn’s fleet purged Tyranids across the star system as the swarm fought back with corrosive units that damaged the Necrons’ living metal.
• Trazyn and Afentis used their staffs to fire an activation beam into the ground at the suspected location of the Singularity Gate.
• After waiting, Trazyn and Afentis teleported away as a square black object burst from the ground.

Afentis and Trazyn assembled a Necron force of six thousand ships to confront the Ork Mutant near Octaria. Meanwhile, Yriel’s Aeldari fleet realized the Tyranids were surrounding them in Octarius.

• Afentis and Trazyn opened a wormhole by using the Singularity Gate Guidance Device to consume a moon.
• Afentis brought three thousand Sphinx Dynasty warships through the wormhole and explained how he had taken control of the fleet.
• Afentis worried that four thousand combined ships would not be enough against the Ork Mutant, so Trazyn offered another two to three thousand ships.
• Yriel convened a War Council after Tyranid forces found the Aeldari fleet, and Osuwiss reported visions of hostile shadows covering the sector.
• Yriel concluded that the Tyranids were encircling the Aeldari fleet and wondered whether they had already killed the Ork Great Warboss.

Osuwiss’s Aeldari fleet pressed on toward the Octaria System despite the danger, but Tyranid scouts exposed their concealed ships and led a force of Bio-ships into an ambush. The Aeldari escaped the encirclement with heavy losses and continued to flee while striking back at their pursuers.

• Parker Pan urged Osuwiss to avoid risking the fleet, but the prophecy’s pull toward the Octaria System left her torn over whether to proceed.
• Tyranid scout organisms detected the concealed Aeldari ships in the Asteroid Belt, and Aeldari escorts destroyed several scouts before more arrived.
• The Tyranids exposed the fleet of twenty capital ships and fifty escort ships, then surrounded it with five hundred Bio-ships.
• The Aeldari concentrated their forward firepower to break through, but Tyranids destroyed two cruisers and several escorts as Osuwiss watched her people die.
• Parker Pan told Osuwiss to face the cruelty of war, while the surviving Aeldari ships turned to kill more than a dozen pursuers before teleporting away.

Yriel’s Aeldari fleet destroyed a Tyranid force with an ambush, only to find itself surrounded by an overwhelming swarm. He chose to sacrifice himself by placing the Tears of the Old Ones in the heart of the Flames of Vengeance, preparing its ancient weapon to defend his people.

• Yriel’s Aeldari fleet lured the pursuing Tyranids into an ambush and annihilated their ships.
• A radar operator warned Yriel that more than twenty thousand Tyranid ships were closing in from all directions.
• Yriel reminded the Malan'tai refugees that their relics should be used to protect their people, then ordered the Tears of the Old Ones placed in the Flames of Vengeance.
• Osuwiss sensed that Yriel was going to die, while Parker Pan recognized the importance of the Tears of the Old Ones.
• Yriel carried the Tears of the Old Ones into the Flames of Vengeance’s core, where its most powerful weapon was housed.

Yriel merged with the Flames of Vengeance and used immense fire and ice powers to destroy the Tyranid fleets surrounding the Aeldari. Exhausted and communicating only with Ovisus, he ordered the fleet to escape through the Ghostgate, and the Flames of Vengeance entered the Webway last.

• Yriel entered the miniature sun, and the Tears of the Old Ones transformed him into a being of living fire.
• The swarm consciousness detected Yriel's energy as he appeared over the Aeldari fleet and destroyed five thousand Tyranid Bio-ships with a sweep of his hand.
• Yriel struck the Tyranid Bio-ships approaching from three directions, freezing their fluids and devastating the fleet.
• Yriel told Ovisus that his power was fueled by his soul and ordered her to activate the Ghostgate.
• Ovisus relayed Yriel's order, and the Aeldari fleet withdrew through the Ghostgate into the Webway, with the Flames of Vengeance entering last.

Ovisus decided to travel alone to Octaria to witness the prophecy, while the Ork Great Warboss fought the Tyranid Swarm on the planet. After killing a Hive Tyrant and being cut off from his main force, he fortified a valley as the Great Devourer committed elite Tyranid troops to overwhelm him.

• Ovisus chose to go to Octaria alone after Yriel lost the strength to guide her.
• The Ork Great Warboss killed a Norn Brute, rallied his Boyz, and pursued a retreating Hive Tyrant.
• The Great Warboss killed the Hive Tyrant but realized he and several million Boyz had been isolated from the rest of the Orks.
• The Great Devourer surrounded the isolated Orks with billions of elite Warrior Bugs to prevent reinforcements and kill the Great Warboss.
• The Great Warboss led his Boyz to a defensible valley and built a steel fortress while Tyranid burrowing creatures began attacking it from underground.

The Tyranids failed to break the Ork defenses after three days of fighting, and the Great Devourer faced a new psychic intrusion into the Octaria System. Magnus and the Thousand Sons entered the system and offered to help destroy the Ork Great Warboss's equipment, leaving the Great Devourer to decide whether to accept their proposal.

• The Tyranids and Orks fought for three days, suffering heavy casualties, but the Tyranids failed to capture the fortified positions and lost a new Hive Tyrant.
• The Great Devourer detected a powerful Warp force trying to breach the Shadow in the Warp and reinforced its psychic defenses.
• Magnus led the Thousand Sons fleet through a blue portal into the Octaria System while the Thousand Sons trapped advancing Tyranid ships in a crystal labyrinth.
• Magnus told the Great Devourer that the Thousand Sons could destroy the Ork Great Warboss's weapons and armor or teach Tyranid psykers the necessary spells.