"The second," the Chief Librarian said, pointing toward another part of the star map, the Damocles Gulf, "is an... invitation. From the high command of the Imperium's newly formed Damocles Crusade fleet. They invite us to join the final crusade against the T'au Empire. The objective is... to eradicate this xenos civilization completely and reclaim every human world it has occupied."
The atmosphere in the hall instantly grew somber.
Two directions, two battlefields, two equally important and equally formidable missions.
The Ultramarines were exemplars of the Imperium, and Macragge was a sacred world worthy of being called a Second Terra. Neither could be allowed to fall. Meanwhile, the T'au Empire, a xenos civilization entrenched on the Imperium's frontier for centuries, was a grave threat. Its ever-expanding territory and seductive "Greater Good" had long since convinced the Imperium's leadership that it was a cancer that had to be excised.
How were they to choose?
Everyone's gaze instinctively turned toward the golden figure who had remained silent throughout.
Saul slowly walked to the center of the star map.
He studied the two red regions, his eyes gleaming with wisdom and resolve. As Liu Zhipeng, he understood the significance of these two wars better than anyone-and knew better than anyone the heartbreaking tragedies in the original story.
He could not let those tragedies happen again.
He wanted it all.
"My brothers," Saul began, his voice calm yet powerful, instantly soothing everyone's restless hearts, "why do we fight? Why do we exist?"
"To protect the innocent!" Karen, the Second Company Captain, was the first to roar his response. Once a hotheaded warrior, he had become a veteran as steady as a mountain.
"To protect the innocent!" The voices of thousands of Sons of Sorrow Commanders merged into a torrent of steel that thundered through