Chapter Summaries

Yvraine and the surviving Aeldari returned to Realspace after Liu Zhipeng sacrificed himself to cripple Slaanesh, giving the galaxy a temporary reprieve. Reborn in a new life, Liu Zhipeng gained Primordial Divine Fire, which bound his followers’ souls to him so they could return and reincarnate alongside him.

• Yvraine led the surviving Aeldari out of the Warp, and Guilliman honored them for their sacrifice.
• Yvraine told Guilliman that Liu Zhipeng had acted to let everyone live, then returned to the Webway with the last seeds of hope.
• Yvraine’s followers formed the Death God-Ember sect, while Slaanesh’s weakness sparked a war among Khorne, Nurgle, and Tzeentch.
• Liu Zhipeng awoke in a new reincarnation and learned that his sacrifice had earned him the permanent ability All as One.
• The system fused All as One with Primordial Fire into Primordial Divine Fire, allowing his followers’ souls to return to him and reincarnate alongside him.

Liu Zhipeng escaped the Gorkanaut’s grip and used Golden Judgment to slaughter the Orks in the workshop. He left the last surviving mechanic trapped in the cockpit, trying to start the machine against him.

• Liu Zhipeng broke apart the Gorkanaut’s mechanical finger and leaped free.
• Liu Zhipeng smashed the Ork overseer’s knee with a wrench and killed a nearby mechanic with a blow to the chin.
• Liu Zhipeng punched an attacking Ork, causing its body to collapse and disintegrate under Golden Judgment.
• Liu Zhipeng darted through the workshop, erasing the charging Orks with punches and kicks.
• The last Ork mechanic tried to start the Gorkanaut, and Liu Zhipeng bent his knees as he looked up at him.

Liu Zhipeng slaughtered the Orks in the workshop and sparked a rebellion among thousands of Gretchin, founding the first Ember Company. He assigned Ghazghk, Sharpfang, and Snot leadership roles and turned the Gretchin toward technology, combat, and reconnaissance.

• Liu Zhipeng killed the Orks in the workshop, then rallied the terrified Gretchin by asking whether Ork Warbosses were born to rule.
• Liu Zhipeng's Primordial Divine Flame awakened the Gretchin's defiance, and they attacked the Ork corpses as the first Ember Company formed.
• Liu Zhipeng decided the Gretchin would rely on technology rather than melee and planned to combine Ork machinery with Necron principles.
• Liu Zhipeng named Ghazghk his first Mekboy and ordered him to gather Gretchin interested in tinkering.
• Liu Zhipeng appointed Sharpfang his first warlord to organize fighters and maintain order among the Gretchin.
• Liu Zhipeng made Snot his scout leader, tasking him with mapping the workshop and locating Orks, scrap, food, and water.

Liu Zhipeng transformed the Gretchin workshop by teaching Ghazghk and his apprentices to build Mini Power Armour and unstable Gauss Rifles. The Gretchin organized into disciplined squads and sang of their march toward victory over the Orks.

• Liu Zhipeng dismantled the Big Mek's inventions and taught Ghazghk and the mechanic apprentices to modify Ork technology.
• Ghazghk and the apprentices built crooked but functional Mini Power Armour that let Gretchin lift heavy iron plates.
• Liu Zhipeng tested his Gauss Rifle: Youth Edition by having Sharpfang fire at a scrap block, which disintegrated after a grazing hit.
• Liu Zhipeng promised every Gretchin a rifle, and the Gretchin cheered at the prospect of fighting from a distance.
• Ghazghk's Engineering Department produced rifles and armour while Sharpfang's Combat Department trained the Gretchin to form ranks and fire together.
• The Gretchin stopped fighting over food and supplies, formed disciplined ranks, and sang together through Scrap Canyon.

Liu Zhipeng learned that Gurlok “Ironhead” was marching on the Ember Company with a huge Ork army, Killa Kans, and a Morkanaut. He rallied the frightened Gretchin to fight for their lives as the attack approached.

• A Big Mek saw the Gretchin rebellion and roared for his Orks to march against it.
• Liu Zhipeng planned to spread word of the Gretchin uprising, but first prepared to face retaliation from the workshop’s former owner.
• Snot reported that Gurlok “Ironhead” was advancing with tens of thousands of Orks, many Killa Kans, and a Morkanaut.
• The Gretchin panicked at the size of the approaching force, but Liu Zhipeng reminded them that they now had weapons, armor, and a reason to fight.
• Sharpfang and thousands of Gretchin shouted that the Orks would pay the price of blood, and Liu Zhipeng began giving orders.

Liu Zhipeng organized the Gretchin into layered defenses as Big Mek Gurlok’s Ork horde advanced on the workshop. Once the Orks entered the Gauss Rifles’ optimal range, Liu ordered the Gretchin to fire, and their beams began disintegrating the front ranks.

• Liu Zhipeng ordered Ghazghk to build three breastworks, Sharpfang to organize the combat Gretchin, and Snot to scout the Orks.
• The Gretchin took positions behind the defenses while Liu waited for the Orks to enter the rifles’ lethal range.
• Big Mek Gurlok led an Ork horde, Killa Kans, and a Morkanaut toward the workshop, expecting an easy victory.
• When the Orks reached fifty meters, Liu Zhipeng gave the order to open fire.
• Thousands of Gauss Rifle beams struck the Orks, silently disintegrating their bodies and armor.

Liu Zhipeng’s Gretchin used rotating volleys of Gauss fire to decimate the Ork charge, but Big Mek Gurlok’s Morkanaut smashed through their defenses and sent them fleeing. Liu Zhipeng launched himself at Gurlok, passed through the stasis field unhindered, and continued toward the cockpit.

• Liu Zhipeng ordered the Gretchin firing squads to rotate volleys, disintegrating waves of Orks as they charged.
• Big Mek Gurlok sent Killa Kans forward and activated the Morkanaut’s Void Shield.
• Gurlok’s Morkanaut smashed through the breastwork and burned hundreds of Gretchin, causing the defenders to flee.
• Liu Zhipeng launched himself toward Gurlok’s cockpit, and Gurlok activated a Stasis Field Generator to stop him.
• Liu Zhipeng’s Temporal Wraith ability let him pass through the stasis field as he continued toward the cockpit.

Liu Zhipeng destroyed Big Mek Gurlok and led the Ember Company to victory over the Orks at Scrap Canyon. His propaganda spread among oppressed Gretchin, and thousands fled to join the Scrap Workshop, swelling his army to tens of thousands.

• Liu Zhipeng broke through the Morkanaut’s Void Shield, dragged Gurlok from the cockpit, and disintegrated him with a Gauss Rifle.
• The Gretchin rallied under Liu Zhipeng’s command and slaughtered the Orks, while the enemy army fell into confusion and collapse.
• Liu Zhipeng ordered the Ember Company to kill all surviving Orks and leave none alive.
• Liu Zhipeng sent Snot’s selected Gretchin to spread the story of the Gretchin Savior among nearby Ork tribes.
• Gretchin escaped from mines, rubbish heaps, and kitchens to join Liu Zhipeng at the Scrap Workshop, growing the Ember Company to tens of thousands.

Liu Zhipeng equipped his Gretchin army with nutrient paste, rocket artillery, Killa Kans, and Liberator Gundams before leading them to attack Rust Fungus Mine. The chapter ends with Warboss Dok Ripsaw spotting the advancing army and its four steel giants.

• Liu Zhipeng showed Ghazghk plans for Katyusha Squigs, a nutrient paste synthesizer, and Liberator Gundams rebuilt from the Morkanaut and Gorkanaut.
• Ghazghk and the mechanics completed the synthesizer, rocket launchers, Killa Kans, and the first crimson Liberator Gundam, which knelt before Liu Zhipeng.
• Liu Zhipeng gathered his tens of thousands of Gretchin and ordered them to march on Rust Fungus Mine.
• Dok Ripsaw heard that a Gretchin army was approaching and climbed the lookout tower to see its artillery and four steel giants.

Liu Zhipeng’s Gretchin Liberation Army seized the Rust Fungus Mine in a swift assault, freeing its slaves and killing the Ork Warboss Dok. The victory supplied the army with resources and recruits, and Liu’s forces spent the following month conquering nearby Ork strongholds.

• Dok ordered the Orks to prepare their defenses, but hundreds of rockets devastated the mine’s walls and scattered his forces.
• Liu Zhipeng ordered a full assault, as the Red Comet and White Devil Gundams broke through the defenses for the Killa Kans, Ember Veterans, and Gretchin recruits.
• The attackers overwhelmed the Orks, and the mine’s Gretchin slaves joined the rebellion against their overseers.
• Dok tried to make a final stand, but the Red Comet killed him as the battle ended in less than fifteen minutes.
• More than ten thousand freed slaves pledged loyalty to Liu Zhipeng, bringing his army close to sixty thousand and giving it the mine’s equipment and supplies.
• Over the following month, Liu Zhipeng used the Rust Fungus Mine as a base to attack nearby small and medium-sized Ork strongholds.

Liu Zhipeng’s Gretchin army swept across Scrap World, growing to tens of millions and surrounding Grob Muchcoin’s final stronghold. As Liu prepared to attack Ironfang Fortress and proclaimed the planet would become Hope Star, Inquisitor Valerius ordered Imperial forces to the planet and considered a decapitation strike.

• Liu Zhipeng’s forces captured the Sour Swamp Refinery and surrounded the remaining fortresses under Grob Muchcoin’s control.
• Inquisitor Valerius learned that Liu’s army had grown beyond thirty million and ordered the Silver Spear Third Company to Scrap World.
• Valerius planned to observe Liu himself and authorized a decapitation strike if the Gretchin leader proved impossible to contain.
• Liu announced the final offensive against Ironfang Fortress and called for Grob Muchcoin’s death.
• Liu declared that Scrap World would become the Gretchin’s first home, Hope Star, as tens of millions of Gretchin roared in response.

Grob Muchcoin prepared Ironfang Fortress to withstand the approaching Gretchin army, trusting its defenses, Gorkanauts, and WAAAGH! field to secure victory. In orbit, Inquisitor Valerius sent Sergeant Maximian and the Silver Spears to assassinate the Gretchin leader, the Liberator, during the battle.

• Grob Muchcoin rejected a direct charge and ordered his Orks to defend Ironfang Fortress with every gun and all ten Gorkanauts.
• Grob activated the WAAAGH! totem, spreading a psychic field across the fortress and empowering its Orks.
• Inquisitor Valerius watched the approaching battle from an Inquisition frigate with Sergeant Maximian and his Silver Spears.
• Valerius ordered Maximian to strike the Gretchin command tower and kill the Liberator once the fighting reached its fiercest, then withdraw.
• Maximian and his squad pledged their readiness and began the operation at Valerius's command.

Liu Zhipeng’s army launched a massive rocket bombardment and assault on Ironfang Fortress, smashing its defenses and fighting into the city. Globb sent ten Gorkanauts to counterattack the Liberator Gundams, setting up a clash between the steel behemoths.

• Maximian led his squad toward the hangar while Liu Zhipeng prepared his army for battle below.
• Liu Zhipeng explained the WAAAGH! field to his commanders and rallied millions of Gretchin to attack Ironfang Fortress.
• Liu Zhipeng ordered a saturation rocket barrage that devastated the fortress’s walls and artillery positions.
• Liu Zhipeng followed with a creeping barrage and sent the Liberator Legion and Killa Kans through the breaches to attack.
• Globb ordered the Gork Legion into battle, and ten Gorkanauts advanced against the four Liberator Gundams.

The Liberator Gundams dismantled Grob Muchcoin’s Gork Legion while Space Marines launched a surprise attack on Liu Zhipeng’s command tower. Liu Zhipeng prepared to meet them and ordered his forces not to fire, hoping to change the Imperium’s view of him.

• Red Comet crippled and destroyed a Gorkanaut by attacking its knee joint and neck conduits.
• Infinite Freedom and Blue Lightning disabled two Gorkanauts’ weapons, while White Devil blinded another with a sniper shot.
• Grob Muchcoin watched his Gork Legion fall apart and realized his forces faced a formidable enemy.
• Sergeant Major Maximian led nine Space Marines in a high-altitude drop toward the skull command tower for a decapitation strike.
• Liu Zhipeng spotted the incoming Space Marines and ordered Sharpfang’s guards not to fire while recalling White Devil to the tower.
• Liu Zhipeng adjusted his trench coat and waited atop the command tower to meet the Space Marines.

Liu Zhipeng confronted Sergeant Maximian and his Space Marine squad, stunning them by speaking High Gothic and manifesting a golden flame that resembled the Emperor’s presence. Maximian halted the attack and decided the encounter required verification by the Imperium’s highest authorities.

• Maximian and his squad surrounded Liu Zhipeng on the command tower, but froze when he spoke flawless High Gothic and identified Inquisitor Valerius and his beliefs.
• Liu Zhipeng summoned a golden flame that the Space Marines recognized as carrying the Emperor’s presence and claimed he served the Emperor’s will.
• A Space Marine accused Liu Zhipeng of using a Warp illusion and raised his Boltgun, but Ghost appeared in a Liberator Gundam and warned him to lower his weapon.
• Maximian ordered his squad to stand down and chose to report the encounter for verification by the Chapter Master, the Inquisition, and possibly Terra.
• Liu Zhipeng extinguished the flame, accepted Maximian’s doubts, and told the Space Marines they could leave.

Liu Zhipeng forced Maximian and the Space Marines to withdraw after requesting diplomatic relations with the Imperium, then confronted Grob Muchcoin atop Ironfang Fortress. He killed the Ork warlord with a golden-powered punch as the battle for the planet continued.

• Liu Zhipeng invited Maximian to report his diplomatic proposal to Inquisitor Valerius and warned that the Imperium could face the same fate as Grob Muchcoin’s forces.
• Maximian ordered the ten Space Marines to withdraw, and Liu Zhipeng reflected that he had planted doubt in the Imperium and gained precious time.
• Liu Zhipeng placed Sharpfang, Ghazghk, and Snot in command, ordering them to defeat the remaining Orks, free the enslaved Gretchin, and seize Ironfang Fortress.
• Liu Zhipeng launched himself to the fortress summit and mocked Grob Muchcoin’s golden tusk statue, provoking the warlord into attacking.
• Liu Zhipeng dodged Grob Muchcoin’s autocannon fire and power claw, climbed onto his shoulder, and annihilated his head with a golden-powered punch.

Liu Zhipeng led the Gretchin to conquer Ironfang Fortress and ordered every Ork killed, while Inquisitor Valerius condemned the Gretchin leader’s golden flame as heresy and assembled an Imperial crusade against Scrap World. The fortress became the Gretchin capital, renamed the City of Hope, as the approaching threat gathered in the Warp.

• Liu Zhipeng ordered the Gretchin to occupy Ironfang Fortress and eliminate every Ork after the Warboss fell.
• Inquisitor Valerius watched a recording of Liu Zhipeng’s golden flame and declared it a scheme of Chaos that had to be purged.
• Valerius summoned Imperial Navy ships, Space Marines, Astra Militarum regiments, and Sisters of Battle for the Sin-Cleansing Crusade against Scrap World.
• Over the following year, Valerius’s Expeditionary Force assembled and sailed into the Warp toward the planet.
• Liu Zhipeng renamed Ironfang Fortress the City of Hope and declared it the capital of all Gretchin.

Liu Zhipeng imposed a brutal Hygiene and Order Act and organized the purging of Ork spores to protect the new City of Hope. Despite the city’s growing order and safety, a Gretchin squad discovered newly spawned Ork Boyz in an abandoned sewer.

• Liu Zhipeng issued the Hygiene and Order Act and created the black-armored Enforcement Squad to punish Gretchin who broke its rules.
• The Enforcement Squad executed violators, and the Gretchin gradually embraced the cleaner, safer city and began reporting those who disrupted its order.
• Liu Zhipeng established the Spore Purification Department under Snot to burn Ork corpses, fungal colonies, and contaminated soil across liberated areas.
• A Gretchin squad found newly sprouted Orks in an abandoned sewer, including several aggressive-looking Ork Boyz.

Liu Zhipeng advanced his plans to protect the Gretchin by building an interstellar fleet, mass-producing Vanguard mechs, and founding a religion centered on his godhood. The Gretchin Ecclesiarchy promised its followers that those who died fighting for him would return to his side, binding the population to his cause.

• A Gretchin veteran burned Ork hatchlings during a sewer purification, establishing a policy that prioritized Gretchin survival and eliminated Ork hatchlings.
• Liu Zhipeng ordered the construction of orbital shipyards from salvaged wreckage and designed the Ember-class Assault Cruiser for his first fleet.
• Ghazghk's Mekboy team developed the four-meter Vanguard mech, and one hundred units paraded through the City of Hope.
• Liu Zhipeng appointed an elderly Gretchin as High Priest, who proclaimed that the Big Boss was a god who would liberate Gretchin everywhere.
• The High Priest declared that Gretchin who died gloriously in battle would return to Liu Zhipeng's side, and the Gretchin Ecclesiarchy was formally established.

Liu Zhipeng discovered that Deep Shaft Number 7 had pierced the outer wall of a sleeping Necron Tomb World, then ordered the mine sealed and Hope Star’s fleet and evacuation preparations accelerated. As Hope Star became a vast war machine, he prepared to flee with his people and resources if the Imperium refused his offer of goodwill.

• A Gretchin foreman reported strange black metal, glowing runes, and whispers from Deep Shaft Number 7, so Liu Zhipeng halted the excavation and investigated with Enforcement Squad veterans.
• Liu Zhipeng found a hole in an immense metal wall and saw a sleeping Necron army and its weapons beyond it.
• Liu Zhipeng ordered Ghazghk to seal and bury the mine, while Snot suppressed information about Number 77 Deep Well and designated it a restricted zone.
• Liu Zhipeng ordered fleet construction accelerated, nonessential projects suspended, and evacuation preparations made in case the Necron Tomb World awakened.
• Over the following year, Hope Star’s army surpassed three hundred million, more than a hundred Ember-class assault cruisers were completed, and millions of Vanguard-pattern mechs entered production.
• Liu Zhipeng prepared to demonstrate goodwill to the Imperium but planned to evacuate his people and possessions if it refused, leaving Valerius stripped of resources above the sleeping Necron Dynasty.