Chapter Summaries

The Duke of Shadow Blades tried to keep the Drukhari coalition fighting the growing Ork forces, while Orks destroyed a Drukhari cruiser. When a Kabal chapter master demanded payment and threatened him amid a brewing coup, the Duke revealed that his psychic power and control of the Mother Terminal still made him dangerous.

• The Duke of Shadow Blades offered the Kabal chapter masters fertile lands and threatened them with the consequences of leaving the war unpaid.
• Little Slick and Boss Copperhead trapped a Drukhari cruiser with a Gorkanaut, blasted through its hull, and destroyed it from within.
• Drukhari forces continued firing on the Webway entrance, but their losses mounted as Orks overwhelmed their defenses.
• A Kabal chapter master demanded payment and warned the Duke of Shadow Blades that the Kabals would take matters into their own hands if he refused.
• The Duke of Shadow Blades recognized that conspirators had isolated him because he possessed the Mother Terminal, then severed the chapter master's sword with a tug on the impaled battle report.

The Duke of Shadow Blades used the Webway Terminal to overwhelm the Drukhari attacking him and reached the edge of his psychic endurance near a colossal tower. When the tower ignored his plea, he lost control and tore out the Terminal, revealing that most of the Drukhari had been driven mad.

• The Duke of Shadow Blades evaded the Kabal leader’s attack and rendered the Drukhari unable to harm or move him.
• The Duke of Shadow Blades walked through the Webway and saw colored threads converging into a colossal tower.
• The Duke of Shadow Blades stopped when the pressure and risk of corruption became too great, then shouted a wish toward the tower.
• After the tower failed to answer, the Duke of Shadow Blades succumbed to anger and pulled the Webway Terminal from his belly.
• The Duke of Shadow Blades used the Terminal to show that most of the Drukhari attackers had been left witless by the psychic forces.

The Duke of Shadow Blades accepted Kairos’s challenge to prove himself by defeating Little Slick, while Kairos gave him power and a force of soulless Drukhari. As the Orks pressed their attack, Little Slick and Boss Copperhead argued about Waaaghs and Boss Slick.

• The dying Duke of Shadow Blades asked Kairos to save his descendants’ souls, and Kairos promised the wish could be fulfilled if the Duke proved his worth.
• Kairos set the Duke the task of defeating Little Slick, left him some of his power, and sent him back to his room.
• The Duke took control of the soulless Drukhari attackers and ordered them to fight for him.
• Little Slick repaired a Gorkanaut while the Drukhari fleet suffered heavy losses and considered forming a Control Terminal to challenge their boss.
• Boss Copperhead urged Little Slick to hurry, and Little Slick claimed Waaaghs came looking for him before Copperhead praised Boss Slick’s influence over the Tyranids.

Little Slick and Boss Copperhead survived a Singularity Bomb and fought off successive Drukhari assaults. As the endless attackers overwhelmed the battlefield, Little Slick faced a powerful Drukhari warrior who withstood his psychic blast and sent him flying.

• A Singularity Bomb cleared the battlefield, and Little Slick recognized it as the Drukhari’s weapon as he and Boss Copperhead prepared for an attack.
• Drukhari warriors landed from spacecraft, but Little Slick and Boss Copperhead slaughtered nearly all of the first elite force.
• More Drukhari attacked with increasingly powerful troops and war machines, keeping Little Slick and Boss Copperhead fighting for hours.
• Little Slick realized Boss Copperhead had disappeared amid a vast swarm of Drukhari and was confronted by a heavily armored warrior wielding a Great Axe.
• The Drukhari warrior overpowered Little Slick, and his armor survived Little Slick’s point-blank psychic blast, which sent Little Slick flying.

Little Slick fought the Drukhari illusion while Kairos considered ways to use the Relic Tower against him, and Vashtorr’s trap drew the Dark Angels into a war against Chaos. The Dark Angels reached Evil Dragon Forest, where Angron appeared and proved stronger than before.

• Little Slick used his fighting skills and mechanical talent to gather scrap and build weapons and Power Armor while the Duke of Shadow Blades watched for a chance to kill him.
• Kairos watched through the duke’s eyes and considered luring Little Slick and the Orks to the Relic Tower to attack his soul.
• Supreme Grand Master Azrael summoned the Dark Angels’ successor Chapters, and their fleet entered the Blind Obedience Star System to face Chaos forces.
• The Dark Angels broke through the Chaos fleet and landed on Evil Dragon Forest, where they fought Vashtorr’s Iron Daemons.
• Blood priests summoned Angron, who killed one Grand Master and grievously wounded another in a single exchange.

Azrael's Dark Angels were nearly overwhelmed by Angron until Lion El'Jonson arrived and ordered them to retreat while he confronted the Red Angel. In orbit, Abaddon and Vashtorr pressed their attack on The Rock despite the arrival of Blood Angels and Ultramarines reinforcements, as Vashtorr sensed an unknown interference.

• Azrael ordered a retreat after Angron proved immune to ranged weapons and slaughtered the Dark Angels' rearguard.
• Abaddon and Vashtorr's fleet surrounded the Dark Angels in orbit, but Blood Angels and Ultramarines fleets arrived with Lion El'Jonson aboard.
• Lion El'Jonson used Ghost Walk to reach Evil Dragon Forest and rescued Azrael from Angron.
• Lion El'Jonson told Azrael to lead the Dark Angels away while he stayed to face Angron.
• Abaddon ordered his fleet to attack The Rock, and Vashtorr sensed that something had crossed The Veil and interfered with his war.

Luo Wen arrived in Mork's Grin at the Blind Obedience Star System and opened fire on the battle between Abaddon's, Vashtorr's, and the Loyalist fleets. The catastrophic salvo destroyed nearby ships, while the full extent of the damage remained unclear.

• Luo Wen brought the metal planet Mork's Grin through a spatial rift into the Blind Obedience Star System.
• Luo Wen recalled that he and Kidd had searched for worthy enemies and found the hidden system using a mysterious Warp signal and gravitational calculations.
• A Mekboy urged Luo Wen to activate the Guidance Beacon, but Luo Wen ordered him to operate Mork's Grin's Bombardment Matrix instead.
• Dante, Abaddon, and Vashtorr saw Mork's Grin's guns open and realized the ships caught in the battle could not escape in time.
• Vashtorr tried to disable Mork's Grin by infusing its weapons with Warp energy, but the Battle Moon was too vast for him to stop the salvo.
• Luo Wen fired the entire Bombardment Matrix at once, and the blast annihilated a nearby Ultramarines Strike Cruiser and hit the outer Blood Angels and Ultramarines fleets hardest.

After the bombardment devastated the Imperial and Chaos fleets, Luo Wen sent the Greenskins into battle, but Perturabo and the Iron Warriors arrived as Vashtorr’s reinforcements. Perturabo hesitated to help until the Greenskins launched a massive attack on his fleet.

• The Greenskins’ bombardment destroyed half the warships on both sides, while Luo Wen learned that most of the firing array needed repairs.
• A Mekboy persuaded Luo Wen to leave the array repairs to him and take the Greenskins out to fight the Humies and Daemons.
• Warp Rifts opened across the star system, bringing Perturabo and more than ten thousand Iron Warriors ships to reinforce Vashtorr.
• Perturabo questioned Vashtorr’s demand for help, but Vashtorr offered him the power of steel if he ascended to godhood.
• The Greenskins launched rockets and landing ships at the Iron Warriors fleet, which opened fire to intercept them.

Perturabo signed Vashtorr’s pact and watched the Orks overwhelm his fleet, while Luo Wen’s Mighty Big Boss struck the Iron Blood with a devastating Melta Beam. The beam was stopped by Perturabo’s Warp Energy Reactor, whose damaged machinery revealed the risks behind the technology he had developed.

• Perturabo signed the pact with Vashtorr as Ork ships launched from Mork's Grin to join the battle.
• The Orks boarded and destroyed much of Perturabo’s fleet, and he began to regret taking them on.
• Luo Wen piloted the Mighty Big Boss and attacked the Iron Blood with its Heavy Melta, but a gray force field stopped the beam.
• Perturabo inspected the Warp Energy Reactor and found that the excessive power draw had damaged it and killed a daemon bound inside.
• Perturabo’s research had applied the idea of merging Warp Daemons with machinery to create an energy reactor.

Perturabo used his Warp energy reactor to power the Iron Blood, but Luo Wen’s Mighty Big Boss tore through the ship to reach it. Perturabo transformed into a three-headed metallic demon dragon and attacked Luo Wen, preparing to unleash Warp energy as the chapter ended.

• Perturabo installed a Warp energy reactor aboard the Iron Blood and resolved to protect the prototype.
• Luo Wen’s Mighty Big Boss broke through the Iron Blood’s Force Field and began tearing apart its hull while Iron Warriors warships attacked it.
• Perturabo saw Luo Wen inside the Mighty Big Boss and transformed into a metallic demon dragon using his Warp Essence.
• Perturabo’s dragon heads seized the Mighty Big Boss, and he shoved it away from the exploding Iron Blood.
• Luo Wen damaged the Warp energy reactor as he was pushed away, and Perturabo gathered Warp energy in his red dragon head to attack.

Luo Wen survived Perturabo’s Warp-energy blast after a voice empowered the Mighty Big Boss and awakened its machine spirit, beginning the next phase of their fight. On Evil Dragon Forest, Dante rescued Azrael’s Dark Angels but insisted they retreat, while Azrael struggled to leave Lion El’Jonson behind.

• Perturabo blasted Luo Wen’s Mighty Big Boss with Warp energy, but it emerged intact after a voice promised to watch Luo Wen’s back and awakened its machine spirit.
• Luo Wen’s empowered Mighty Big Boss kicked Perturabo’s dragon form away and charged into the second phase of their battle.
• Azrael faced encircling Khorne and Nurgle daemons as Lion El’Jonson remained locked in battle with Angron.
• Dante led Blood Angels reinforcements through the Nurgle daemons and opened an escape route for the Dark Angels.
• Azrael rejected Dante’s order to retreat and called him a coward, but a Blood Angels Strike Cruiser exploded overhead while saving their allies.
• Dante reminded Azrael that retreat was necessary to escape the trap, grieving that his own Gene-Father, Sanguinius, would never return.

Dante and Azrael united their forces against the Daemons, but the Orks’ overwhelming assault forced them to plan a retreat. Meanwhile, Vashtorr located the Charalatu Engine aboard The Rock and began moving it so he could reunite it with its other components.

• Azrael apologized to Dante, and they joined forces with the Blood Angels, Dark Angels, and some Fallen against the Daemons.
• Ork warships and meteor-like Ork Rocks struck the battlefield, overwhelming the Daemons and then attacking the Space Marines.
• Dante and Azrael fought off heavily armored Orks and decided to contract their defensive line and evacuate their surviving forces.
• Vashtorr fought his way into The Rock while Ork boarding parties disrupted his Daemon engines.
• Vashtorr’s Locator found the Charalatu Engine, and the Servitor connected to it agreed to go with him.
• Vashtorr began moving the Charalatu Engine to reunite it with its other two components.

Vashtorr ordered the Key of Truth to draw power from Evil Dragon Forest as its energy destabilized, putting the planet and nearby fleets at risk. While Lion El'Jonson escaped Angron's attack and warned the Loyalists to flee, Luo Wen aimed Mork's Grin's superweapons at the planet, leaving Vashtorr alarmed by the cannon's power.

• Vashtorr reunited the three Sacred Relics as the Key of Truth, then ordered it to destroy Evil Dragon Forest to gather enough energy to open the Gate of Truth.
• Lion El'Jonson fought Angron with the Emperor's Shield and Ghost Walk, but the forest's energy weakened as Angron wounded him and the planet neared explosion.
• A Blood Angels orbital bombardment gave Lion El'Jonson a chance to sever one of Angron's horns before he escaped, while Angron remained surrounded by arriving Orks.
• Luo Wen learned that Evil Dragon Forest's explosion could devastate the planet and nearby fleets, then devised a plan to cut out its unstable core with Mork's Grin's C'tan Shard Cannons and contain the blast with its Dimensional Rumble Cannon.
• Perturabo retreated through a Warp Rift as Luo Wen's Mekboys turned Mork's Grin toward Evil Dragon Forest, and Lion El'Jonson ordered the Loyalist fleet to withdraw through the Warp.
• Vashtorr recognized the power of Mork's Grin's Dimensional Rumble Cannon and realized it could tear Evil Dragon Forest apart.

Vashtorr sabotaged the destruction of Evil Dragon Forest before escaping with his forces, while Luo Wen remained to attack the stranded Chaos fleet. In the Webway, Little Slick discovered that an illusion had turned the Orks against him, killed its caster, and was cut in two by Boss Copperhead before he could explain what had happened.

• Vashtorr interfered with the C'tan Shard Cannons and Dimensional Rumble Cannon, but the Orks destroyed Evil Dragon Forest's core and shattered its outer ring.
• Vashtorr escaped with his daemon fleet and Abaddon's Dark Legion, while Luo Wen attacked the Chaos ships left behind.
• Little Slick realized that the supposed Drukhari were Boss Copperhead and the Orks, and that he had been fighting his own people under an illusion.
• Little Slick trapped Boss Copperhead with waaagh threads and used his transformed Mother Terminal to locate and kill the Duke of Shadow Blades, who had cast the illusion.
• Boss Copperhead struck Little Slick in two before Little Slick could explain that a Dark Twig plot had made them fight each other.

Kairos severed Boss Slick's connection to his repaired Ork body, triggering an unwanted ascent to godhood and drawing him into a battle with Vashtorr in a hidden white realm. As their war continued and their powers grew, Boss Copperhead waited in vain for Little Slick to awaken.

• Boss Copperhead removed Little Slick's antenna and took him to Painboys, unknowingly severing Boss Slick's connection to his main body as Kairos performed a spell.
• Boss Slick awoke in a white realm and began ascending to godhood, while Kairos died from the strain of altering his fate.
• Vashtorr entered through the Key of Truth, and he and Boss Slick mistook each other for rivals scheming to claim divine power before fighting.
• Boss Slick battered Vashtorr until Vashtorr's body exploded, then recovered and fought his newly formed avatars and vast army of daemonic machines.
• Their battle continued as divine mechanical authority gathered above them and the Void Dragon's shards lost vitality; both demigods felt their power increase.
• Boss Copperhead had Painboys stitch Little Slick's body together and fit a new antenna, but Little Slick remained motionless for more than a month.

Boss Copperhead blamed the Drukhari for Little Slick’s failure and sent Orks slaughtering through the Webway toward Commorragh. There, Ovisus’s Craftworld Aeldari party negotiated with Drukhari smugglers, and she offered to solve Archon Theoro’s crisis to prevent a fight.

• Boss Copperhead accused the Drukhari of tricking the Orks, attacked the Painboy, and ordered his troops to kill the Drukhari.
• The Orks overran Drukhari defenses across the Webway and advanced toward Commorragh.
• Parker Pan offered Spirit Stones to a Drukhari warrior, who demanded at least ten filled with souls instead.
• Ovisus challenged the Drukhari’s changed price, and the warrior propositioned her, prompting Tyranda and the others to prepare for battle.
• Ovisus said Archon Theoro was facing a crisis and offered enough Spirit Stones to resolve it, making the Drukhari warrior reconsider.

Ovisus used her psychic power to persuade the Blood Blade Kabal to let her meet its Archon, Theoro, and she traveled with Parker Pan, Tyranda, and Hols to his arena. Theoro received them by suddenly killing their Drukhari guide.

• Ovisus admitted to Parker Pan that she had invented her connection to Theoro but believed she could uncover his thoughts in person.
• Theoro agreed to receive Ovisus and her companions, and Hols flew off the boundary wall before Ovisus called him back.
• The group entered Theoro’s arena, where Ovisus avoided watching the bloody performance while Hols watched eagerly.
• The Drukhari guide introduced the visitors to Theoro, who drew his sword and cleaved the guide in two.

Ovisus and Parker Pan met Archon Cicero, who revealed that Slaaneshi Daemons had invaded the Webway and threatened to expose his military defeat to Vect. Cicero promised them a Portal to Realspace and a Webway Control Terminal if Ovisus could help him survive, while explaining why Vect's power had weakened.

• Cicero killed his rude subordinate before receiving Ovisus and Parker Pan, and Parker Pan asked him for access to the material universe and a Webway Control Terminal.
• Cicero demanded that Ovisus explain how she would solve his predicament, then ordered his Incubi to kill the Drukhari beauties to protect his secrets.
• In a secluded chamber, Cicero revealed that Slaaneshi Daemons had invaded the Webway and that Vect might kill him if he learned of Cicero's defeat.
• Cicero offered Ovisus a Portal to Realspace and the Webway Control Terminal in exchange for help, but Ovisus realized the Daemon threat was beyond her ability to resolve.
• Cicero explained that Vect's flight during the disaster at Khaine's Gate had weakened his authority, while Yvraine gained support from Kabals, Wych Cults, Lelith, and Lady Malys.

Cicero and Ovisus sought a way to stop the Daemons invading through the Gate of Khaine, and Ovisus identified Lady Malys’s ancient Spear of Isha as their best chance. Lady Malys agreed to lend the device and support, though her glowing sword and attention toward Hols hinted at a hidden purpose.

• Cicero explained Vect’s plans to close the Gate of Khaine with ancient devices powered by psykers, while Hols suggested assassinating him.
• Ovisus rejected Hols’s proposal and, after consulting the threads of fate, urged the group to seek Lady Malys and use her device to sever the invaded section of the Webway.
• Cicero decided to trust Ovisus and brought her and their companions to Lady Malys’s Palace.
• Lady Malys agreed to let them use the Spear of Isha and offered military aid from the Kabal of the Poisoned Tongue.
• Lady Malys’s sword glowed in its scabbard as she repeatedly watched Hols during the meeting.

Lady Malys, Cicero, and Ovisus faced a mutiny while preparing to sever the Webway, and Lady Malys led the fight against the rebels. A sniper shot struck her heart, leaving Ovisus and the Incubi struggling to keep her alive as the defenders’ morale collapsed.

• Lady Malys, Cicero, and Ovisus confronted tens of thousands of rebels who refused to fight the Slaaneshi Daemons or accept the plan to cut off their retreat.
• The rebels attacked with vehicles and mechs, but Lady Malys’s forces, the Beastmasters’ creatures, and the Warlocks halted their advance.
• Lady Malys, Cicero, Parker Pan, and Hols joined the battle, and their counterattack inflicted heavy losses on the rebels.
• Smoke from Hols’s attack concealed a sniper’s purple shot, which pierced Lady Malys’s heart and sent her falling from the sky.
• The Kabal of the Poisoned Tongue began to retreat while the Incubi sheltered Lady Malys, and Ovisus pressed on her chest to try to save her.