Chapter Summaries

Mortarion found Angron battling a demonic version of himself in Khorne’s arena and tried to take him away, but Angron insisted on facing his possible fate and defending his fellow gladiators. Mortarion chose to stand beside him, while Han Mingxuan began beating the drums for the final contest.

• Mortarion opened the brass-colored door and found Angron wounded and fighting a demon wearing the Butcher’s Nails in Khorne’s arena.
• Angron refused Mortarion’s offer to leave, declaring that he would face his fate and would not abandon the gladiators who fought beside him.
• Mortarion recognized Angron’s resolve and joined him, holding back the demons so Angron could continue his duel.
• Han Mingxuan and the three evil gods watched the arena as their final contest began.
• Han Mingxuan picked up the drumsticks and beat the drums while Mortarion and Angron fought the demons.

Han Mingxuan, Lorgar, and Necron reinforcements defeated Khorne’s forces and reclaimed Nuceria. After Khorne withdrew, Han Mingxuan arranged for the planet to be rebuilt and invited Angron to meet him on Terra once it was ready.

• Han Mingxuan played war drums that stirred Angron’s martial spirit, while Khorne warned that the contest over him was not over.
• A Blackstone Obelisk activated its field, and Lorgar arrived with golden flames to fight Khorne’s daemon.
• Imotekh arrived with a Necron army, agreed not to destroy Nuceria, and sent his forces to battle the daemons.
• Lorgar and the arriving Primarchs helped secure victory, and Khorne vanished after insisting fate could not be changed.
• Han Mingxuan spoke with Magnus, Mortarion, and Angron, then told Angron that Nuceria would be rebuilt and asked him to come to Terra afterward.

Han Mingxuan helped Imotekh launch an expedition to purge Warp Daemons near the Peaceful Star System, while Angron prepared to return to Terra and Han arranged to resurrect half of Trazyn’s dynasty. The chapter ended with Trazyn stunned by Han’s plan to use his available resurrection slots.

• Han Mingxuan offered Imotekh encrypted consciousness backups so the Stormlord could lead his dynasty’s armies into the Warp without risking the loss of their minds.
• Imotekh announced an expedition to destroy every Warp Daemon within 1,300 light-years of the Peaceful Star System, and his people rallied to the cause.
• Futia arrived on Nuceria with a fleet to help Angron develop the planet, and Han advised Angron on meeting the Emperor and his brothers on Terra.
• Han told the Emperor that Curze had taken command of his legion, renamed the Midnight Reapers, and warned him that Necrons were purging the Warp near the Peaceful Star System.
• Han asked Lao Xin to go with him to Solemnace, then told Trazyn he could resurrect half of the Solemnace dynasty, leaving Trazyn astonished.

Han Mingxuan returned to Nostramo, reviewed the growing Evernight Legion and its armaments, then went to Terra to check on Curze and meet the Emperor. Curze admitted he wanted to return to the Great Crusade, and Han Mingxuan reached the Throne Room, where Endymion was waiting.

• Han Mingxuan returned to the Peaceful Star System and learned that Nostramo had built up a four-hundred-thousand-strong fighting force, with more recruits in training and reserves.
• Angrak told Han Mingxuan that Nostramo could eventually support three million elite troops, and identified Futia as the head of military logistics.
• Han Mingxuan met Hawk Hasanti at the Arms Factory and approved his work managing the Legion’s armaments.
• Han Mingxuan went to Terra while Trazyn and Jia prepared bodies for the Necrons of Solemnace, and Curze returned to greet him.
• Curze told Han Mingxuan that he wanted to leave the judicial system and fight in the Great Crusade, and Han Mingxuan encouraged him to go when ready.
• Han Mingxuan went to the Throne Room and greeted the Emperor, with Endymion waiting outside.

Han Mingxuan scolded the Emperor for neglecting his Primarch sons and ordered him to take responsibility for them. The Emperor agreed to speak with Angron and set out to find Corax himself.

• Han Mingxuan criticized the Emperor for keeping the truth of the Warp from the Primarchs, including Mortarion and Magnus.
• Han Mingxuan reminded the Emperor that he was the Primarchs’ father and urged him to build relationships with his sons.
• The Emperor asked Han Mingxuan what he should do, and Han Mingxuan told him to learn from his work with Curze and speak properly with Angron.
• Han Mingxuan ordered the Emperor to find Corax himself, arguing that Corax did not need the special intervention Angron had required.
• The Emperor agreed to find Corax, and Han Mingxuan told him to leave immediately rather than wait for fate’s guidance.

Curze learned from Sevatar that Mortarion had attacked their father during the journey to Nuceria, and he decided to punish him by summoning him to repair a broken Octagon. Mortarion, who had begun reflecting on how to improve his legion, accepted the Eighth Legion’s request to investigate a suspected biological virus.

• Sevatar told Curze that Mortarion had changed for the better on Nuceria but had attacked their father aboard the ship.
• Curze became furious when he heard about the attack, then decided Mortarion would be punished despite his improvement.
• Curze and Sevatar arranged to summon Mortarion by claiming a broken Octagon had been contaminated by a biological virus.
• Mortarion began considering how to manage the XIV Legion differently after returning from Nuceria.
• An Eighth Legion messenger told Mortarion that Curze wanted him to inspect the contaminated Octagon, and Mortarion agreed to go.

Sevatar gathered broken Octagons and a Virus Bomb to lure Typhus and the XIV Legion into repairing them, giving Agrid a chance to fight. He praised Laxus and Weiss for helping and urged them to train for a nomination to the Eight Hundred.

• Sevatar returned to the barracks and learned that Laxus and Weiss had become the Legion's Octagon experts while he was away.
• Sevatar told Agrid and Shen what had happened on Nuceria, and Agrid looked forward to confronting Typhus when Mortarion brought him over.
• Agrid and the Evernight Judges discussed their frustration with Imperial laws that protected nobles and their stalled efforts to reform the legal system.
• Sevatar found Laxus and Weiss, who smashed several Octagons to create the broken ones he needed.
• Laxus and Weiss gave Sevatar a Virus Bomb, claiming it was contaminated ordnance, and Sevatar told them to train for a nomination to the Eight Hundred.

Sevatar and Curze arranged for the damaged Octagon to be repaired, and Mortarion discovered that a standard-issue weapon had leaked a virus. Curze invited Mortarion and the others to spar, and the chapter ended with the gathered Legionaries wondering how Curze had become such a formidable fighter despite his limited combat experience.

• Sevatar praised two Legionaries and left with the Octagon, then Mortarion arrived with his First Company captain and Nathaniel Garro.
• Mortarion identified the Octagon’s illness as a virus leak from a standard-issue weapon, and Curze ordered Laxus and Weiss to guard Dad’s gate for a month.
• Curze asked Mortarion to spar without Psychic Power, and Mortarion agreed; Curze kept him on the defensive with precise attacks.
• Garro, Typhus, Agrid, Talos, Cyrion, and others entered the Octagons to spar with their cousins.
• The Legionaries watched Curze dominate Mortarion and wondered whether Nostramo explained Curze’s unusual strength.

Gulsartu brought his grandchildren Nobira and Renato to Han Mingxuan, asking him to help reform the corrupt family by teaching them. Han agreed to let the two stay with him and gave them rules and texts to study, leaving their training to begin.

• Endymion stopped Gulsartu at Han Mingxuan’s residence, but Han allowed the noble to come in.
• Gulsartu asked Han to take in Nobira and Renato, explaining that he hoped the young pair could restore the Gulsartu Family’s former honor.
• Han questioned Gulsartu’s motives, then asked Endymion to contact Malcador, who confirmed the family’s loyalty and purity.
• Han agreed that Nobira and Renato could stay, stopped them from bowing, and laid out three rules for them.
• Han gave Nobira and Renato booklets of Old Terra writing and told them to learn and recite the contents for their first assessment.

Han Mingxuan taught Renato and Nobilia to question authority, then learned that friction over logistics was growing between the Imperium’s officials and the Astartes. After finding Curze and Mortarion’s Legions sparring, he arranged for the Eighth Legion to join the Department of General Affairs as a Special Transport Corps, combining judicial work with battlefield logistics.

• Han Mingxuan told Renato and Nobilia to question things, and Nobilia considered how far that might extend.
• Han Mingxuan learned that mortal officials and the Astartes were clashing over authority and logistics, and that he was expected to act as a buffer.
• Two Astartes arrived to guard Han Mingxuan and revealed that Curze’s and Mortarion’s Legions were sparring in the barracks.
• Han Mingxuan visited the barracks and found Curze beating Mortarion while Agrid and Cyrion fought Typhus and Garro in other Octagons.
• Han Mingxuan stopped the sparring and heard Curze complain that his Legion had been assigned to the Judicial System without permission to reform Imperial law.
• Han Mingxuan offered to transfer the Eighth Legion to the Department of General Affairs as a Special Transport Corps, responsible for judicial work and transporting war supplies.

Han Mingxuan pressured Malcador to transfer the Eighth Legion to the Department of General Affairs so Curze could escort supplies to the front. Malcador agreed in exchange for retaining part of the Imperium’s judicial authority.

• Han Mingxuan sent the others to collect benefits, then told Malcador he wanted the Eighth Legion placed under the Department of General Affairs.
• Malcador resisted because Curze and the Eighth Legion had eased the burden of the Imperium’s judicial system.
• Han Mingxuan argued that using the Eighth Legion for supply transport would reduce the resources wasted on shipments and accused Malcador of tolerating corruption.
• Han Mingxuan threatened to take Curze back unless Malcador signed the transfer order within five minutes.
• Malcador negotiated to retain part of the judicial authority, and he and Han Mingxuan settled on thirteen percent.
• Han Mingxuan finalized the deal, and Curze prepared to take the Eighth Legion to the front to escort supplies.

Han Mingxuan secured permission for the Eighth Legion to support the Great Crusade, while assigning Perturabo and the IV Legion the task of fortifying conquered worlds. The chapter left Perturabo accepting a challenging new duty under threat of court martial.

• Han Mingxuan and his father left Malcador's office after securing permission for the Eighth Legion to go to the front and manage supply ships for the Department of General Affairs.
• Curze told the Eighth Legion that it would escort supply convoys, and explained that only qualified judges would accompany them to bring Imperial law to conquered worlds.
• Han Mingxuan visited Perturabo, discussed his inner conflicts and lack of recognition, and told him that the IV Legion now answered to the Department of General Affairs.
• Han Mingxuan ordered Perturabo and the IV Legion to build fortifications on conquered worlds, warning that failure would lead to a court martial.

Han Mingxuan arranged for Perturabo to build defenses for conquered worlds and urged him to act honestly, then discussed the assignment with the Emperor. As the IV and Eighth Legions rushed to aid the Salamanders and Dark Angels, their mobilization caused a new path of order to appear in Tzeentch’s labyrinth.

• Han Mingxuan assigned Perturabo to build defenses for conquered worlds and gave him a wrench engraved with “honesty.”
• Han Mingxuan told Perturabo to follow his conscience and left him to decide whether to keep the wrench.
• Han Mingxuan met with the Emperor, who agreed not to issue Perturabo orders, and explained that the primarchs’ futures depended on present choices.
• The Eighth Legion prepared to resupply and aid the Salamanders and Dark Angels, while the IV Legion also mobilized for the front lines.
• The Midnight Judges Legion set out, causing the Peaceful Star System’s blue sphere to radiate tranquil energy in the Warp.
• Tzeentch saw an azure, gold-tinged line form an exit through his labyrinth and recognized it as an answer.

Konrad Curze’s supply convoy raced through the Warp under Sandamel’s reckless but remarkable piloting, with the Nightfall’s Machine Spirit helping drive the accompanying ships. As the convoy neared its destination, Curze gathered the Council of the Long Night to discuss what lay ahead.

• Sandamel took control of the Nightfall’s navigation and ordered the fleet to accelerate through the Warp.
• Curze, Sevatar, and Agrid reacted to Sandamel’s high-speed piloting as the ship’s crew struggled with the ride.
• Sandamel maximized the Nightfall’s settings, and its Machine Spirit took over piloting while an Adeptus Mechanicus priest praised the result.
• The Nightfall’s influence spread to the escort ships, turning the entire supply convoy into a high-speed fleet.
• Curze told the Council of the Long Night they would reach their destination in three days and asked for their battle-plan thoughts.
• A Council member reminded Curze that they were delivering supplies, not heading to war.

Curze arrived with supplies for the Dark Angels and Salamanders, whose costly battle against the Xenos had left them close to running out of resources. After learning that the enemy used Psychic Power for reconnaissance, he prepared the Evernight Legion to launch ground operations.

• Pusilock proposed using precision Macro-cannon strikes against key targets, and Shen approved the plan while warning against using Annihilation Weapons unless necessary.
• Lion El'Jonson learned that the Dark Angels and Salamanders were suffering heavy losses and running low on supplies, while the Salamanders were still evacuating civilians.
• Curze contacted Lion El'Jonson from the Nightfall, offered supplies and fire support, and agreed to avoid high-yield weapons until the evacuation was complete.
• Curze arrived aboard the Unyielding Truth and learned that the Xenos used Psychic Power for reconnaissance, causing Imperial infiltration and covert operations to fail.
• Curze ordered Cyrion to find the enemy's psychic observers and burn their webs, then told Lion El'Jonson that the Eighth Legion was escorting Department of General Affairs supply shipments.
• The Evernight Legion reported that it was ready, and Curze ordered ground operations to begin in ten minutes.

Cyrion and the Evernight Judges Legion introduced the Dark Angels to their Psychic Power and technology-based Evernight battlefield network, then joined them in an assault on the Xenos. Evernight detected a Salamanders squad trapped deep in the enemy nest and relayed that ground support was entering the area.

• Cyrion established the Evernight network and connected the Dark Angels to its real-time battlefield feedback system.
• The Nightfall and the Unyielding Truth synchronized their battlefield data, bringing the Unyielding Truth's weapons into firing readiness.
• Cyrion and the Evernight Judges Legion concealed themselves in the shadows as the Dark Angels charged the Xenos.
• Sandamel expanded Evernight's exploration and located a Salamanders squad deep inside the Xenos nest with mortals in tow.
• The Salamanders received a message that ground support from the First and Eighth Legions was entering their target combat zone.

Cyrion’s Eighth Legion squad rescued the Salamanders and Dark Angels from a Xenos nest, then destroyed the planet with a Macro-cannon salvo. Curze and Lion El’Jonson discussed when exterminatus was justified, while Vulkan urged caution.

• Agrid blasted open the Xenos nest with a Macro-cannon, and Cyrion led the Eighth Legion squad inside to fight alongside the Salamanders and Dark Angels.
• Cyrion’s squad slaughtered the Xenos and Sandamel used the Evernight Network to plant psychic charges in their network.
• The squad evacuated the Salamanders and Dark Angels, and Agrid fired Macro-cannon shells at the planet as they escaped.
• Curze praised exterminatus, and Lion El’Jonson offered to explain his standards for using it.
• Vulkan joined the discussion and urged Curze to be cautious, but Curze argued that exterminatus could purge all non-human races.

Curze defended the Evernight Code’s provisions for Exterminatus against Xenos and Abhumans by contrasting them with an Old Terra daemon’s racial persecution. After the Eighth Legion received another supply mission, Malcador realized the Department of the Interior had assigned them enough escort work to last fifty years.

• Curze argued to Lion El'Jonson and Vulkan that the Evernight Code permitted Exterminatus against nonhuman races, and told them a story about an Old Terra daemon who classified people by race.
• Curze received urgent orders to take supplies to the Blood Angels in the C2 Sector and departed to meet Sanguinius.
• Malcador relaxed in his office, grateful that the Eighth Legion’s work in the Imperium Judicial System had eased his burden and hopeful that he could eventually retire.
• Malcador learned that an emergency resolution had assigned the Eighth Legion enough supply-escort work to last fifty years and realized Old Han had set him up.

Malcador sought the Emperor's help after Curze's escort assignments pushed his return fifty years away, then proposed an anti-corruption campaign to ease the Imperium's burden. Han Mingxuan refused to lend Nostramo's officials, leaving Malcador to shoulder the work and long for Curze's return.

• Malcador told the Emperor that Curze's assignments were booked fifty years in advance, leaving the judiciary short of help.
• The Emperor agreed that an anti-corruption campaign was worthwhile but insisted Han Mingxuan's safety came first, and Malcador accepted responsibility for the effort.
• Malcador visited Han Mingxuan and announced his plan to fight corruption, but Han refused to let Nostramo's officials be taken for Imperial logistics work.
• Han had Kamon show Malcador out, and Malcador left wishing Curze would return and give him a chance to rest.

Sanguinius and Dante received an unusually swift supply response, only to discover that Konrad Curze and the Eighth Legion were escorting the fleet. Curze arrived at the front with supplies and his personal troops, the Evernight Judges Legion, and offered to break through the rebels’ defenses.

• Dante told Sanguinius that the Department of General Affairs had quickly approved their supply request and that the Eighth Legion was escorting the fleet.
• A sudden surge of Warp energy alarmed the Blood Angels, who prepared to fight the fleet approaching their rear.
• The Nightfall emerged from the Warp at astonishing speed, and Sanguinius confirmed that Konrad Curze was aboard.
• Curze’s fleet delivered supplies, including fruit from Nostramo, and he told Sanguinius to rest while his troops took over the attack.
• Curze revealed that he had brought the Evernight Judges Legion and promised to open a way through the rebels’ strong defenses.