Within the monastery of the Trailblaze Grey Knights, the Grand Master brought out a book. It was the Book of Daemons, provided by their Imperial counterparts, containing the true names of countless daemons. They had made a copy.
However, unlike the Imperial Grey Knights, who typically operated in small squads and often fought alone, relying on a Greater Daemon's true name to weaken it was a necessity. The Trailblaze Grey Knights were different. As demonstrated before, they tended to smash into their enemies' faces by the dozen. While perhaps not seventy at once, they charged while simultaneously calling for reinforcements. This made the book's primary function less critical, but it still had other uses.
"This book records the great enemies of the Imperium of Man over the last ten thousand years! Our mission now is to hunt these great enemies. With every one we hunt down, we will strike its name from these pages. One day, we will make this book disappear entirely!"
"In the name of the Father, for Humanity and the Emperor, we shall purge all that is unclean!!!"
"For the..."
Watching the Trailblaze Grey Knights roar with morale, clashing their Nemesis force halberds until they rang like thunder, the Imperial Grey Knights were left speechless. The weapons in their counterparts' hands could, to some extent, truly and permanently kill daemons. The Ruinous Powers might be able to resurrect their most favored Greater Daemons, but the lesser ones would be gone for good.
This was a concept they had never dared to imagine before. To hunt down and empty the entire registry... what kind of bizarre game was this?
DING! DONG!
With the tolling of a great bell, all the Grey Knights knelt in perfect unison.
Soon...
"All units, assemble! I am proceeding to the lowest level, to Azkaban, to deliver the fallen and insane psykers to the Father as fuel. To let them simply die would be a mercy they do not deserve. Brothers, you too should prepare. We may be heading to Macragge. The Chaos Gods are brewing a conspiracy there; they intend to kill a Primarch once and for all."
"For the Emperor!!!" the Imperial Grey Knights responded instantly. No Astartes could refuse such a glorious war.
However, they noted the slight disgust in the Trailblaze Grand Master's voice when he mentioned the psykers on the lowest level. The Imperial Knights had no interest in asking; they could only imagine it was nothing good.
---o---
It wasn't just them. The entire world of Trailblaze was mobilizing.
Squad after squad of Astartes assembled. The Shadowmoon Wolves, having just finished their brawl with the Dusk Raiders and been hung up for punishment, were cut down. Aided by Armed Puppets, they swiftly donned their wargear. The whole planet began to stir.
While Zhou Ye was uncertain if reinforcements for Macragge were truly necessary, he assembled the army just in case, ready to decide how many to jump in based on the situation. As for concerns about the cost and effort of a full military mobilization—please, this was Warhammer. This was a world where Zhou Ye could tax half the populace's output and run an economy based on a ration system without any major issues.
---o---
Elsewhere, at the Law Academy.
"Abba, abba, abba..."
Inquisitor Eli Morgan stood frozen, drool trickling from his lips as he stared blankly at a towering figure. The figure was sitting in a classroom, listening intently to a professor's lecture, holding a stack of books and taking notes. It was, of course, the Emperor's eighth son, the traitor Primarch, Konrad Curze.
At this moment, Inquisitor Morgan felt like he was dreaming. He had managed to infiltrate the Law Academy and slip into a classroom during a lecture, only to find a group of Night Lords studying alongside mortal humans. He had already grown accustomed to the close integration of mortals on Trailblaze; he'd even seen Word Bearers in the cathedrals.
But what in the warp was this? The Night Haunter, sitting quietly and learning the law?
Weren't you the master of flaying and terror? Wasn't your form of justice one where the default sentence is death? Why have you started studying law?!
The world began to twist around Eli Morgan. He desperately wanted to ask if he had, due to some Warp anomaly, not only traveled to the wrong time but also to a parallel universe—one where the Great Heresy never happened and the Astartes had laid down their arms to return to civilian life.
Of course, Konrad Curze's presence here was Zhou Ye's doing. The Primarch was born on a world of crime and had never received a formal legal education. If Zhou Ye were to make him a Grand Judge or Inquisitor, there was no doubt Curze would start handing out death sentences like a social media mob. Therefore, Zhou Ye had decided he needed a systematic education. Besides, Curze's future role wouldn't just be about passing judgment, but about handling many complex matters. Zhou Ye didn't care about power; he just wanted someone who could share his immense burden.
He certainly wouldn't follow the Imperial model where law enforcement only dealt with heretics and xenos, leaving grassroots governance to be haphazardly thrown to gangs—a method Zhou Ye found utterly ridiculous, yet one that was practiced by many nations even in his previous life.
This was precisely why he was so eager for Roboute Guilliman to wake up. With that man around, his own pressure would be significantly reduced. Empires are fleeting, but Guilliman is eternal.
As for the Inquisitor, Curze had noticed him, of course. But he couldn't be bothered to care. Just a mere Inquisitor. He was already filled with anticipation for his new position, his new life. Who could have imagined that the life he had dreamed of would finally appear ten thousand years later? He felt his ten-thousand-year imprisonment had been worth it. Though he had imprisoned himself willingly—the Emperor had never forced him.
But...
VMMMM!!!
At that moment, the entire school began to vibrate. Hearing the alarm, all the Night Lords—or as they were now called, the Knights of the Night—put down their materials and charged out, one after another. The other students looked on with envy, all of them aspiring to become Astartes one day.
Curze frowned. He wanted to stop these new recruits. Based on his understanding, the wars his mysterious brother fought were never small. The intensity of those conflicts was such that even a Primarch like himself could perish if he wasn't careful. But then he remembered the recent war and took a deep breath. He immediately left the classroom, transforming into a black shadow and streaking toward Zhou Ye's palace.
"The Horn of War! Macragge!!!"
Hearing those words, Eli Morgan snapped out of his worldview-shattering stupor. Seeing the Astartes begin to assemble, he felt a sense of familiarity return. He too wanted to go to Macragge. From there, he would find a way back to Holy Terra and report what he had seen to the Inquisition. At this point, he no longer wanted to think about loyalty or treason; he simply wished to be a chronicler of these events.
---o---
Inside the palace, Zhou Ye had transformed back into his four-meter-tall, power-armored form and entered the grand hall. But...
"Where did these Krieg come from?"
Zhou Ye stared, dumbfounded, at a group of Death Korps of Krieg soldiers who were prostrating themselves deeply the moment they saw him.
"Your Rogue Trader, after cleansing the corruption on several worlds, encountered a Krieg regiment stationed there. They had completely lost contact with the Departmento Munitorum after the Astronomican went out and recognized your Chapter's livery from the wargear of your warriors."
"Huh?"
"You forgot. You absolved them of their sins and awarded them the cloak of a Daemon Primarch as a trophy. Now, they are almost fanatically loyal to you."
"Fine, in that case," Zhou Ye sighed. "You will all assemble immediately! Board the ships and prepare for departure to Macragge!!!"
Seeing the Krieg soldiers, who remained silent and simply continued to bow, Zhou Ye knew how to motivate them. He did a quick scan. There were over twenty colonels. If he remembered correctly, a Krieg regiment was about fifty thousand strong. Even if they were all battered and understrength, that still amounted to several hundred thousand soldiers. They would have to do, though he hoped it wouldn't come to the point where they needed to be deployed.
"..."
The Krieg troopers said nothing. They simply trembled, performed a solemn Aquila salute, and immediately turned to carry out their orders. To serve under this great lord's command was enough. They would die without regret, for they no longer needed to seek atonement, but could now pursue new glory.
"A rather cute bunch," Zhou Ye mused. "Place their battle echelon at the rear. Do not deploy them unless the enemy's numbers are overwhelming. Also, three Emperor Titan battlegroups have been moved from Forge World Svartalfheim 1 into the Ark Mechanicus foundries and are ready for immediate deployment."
"Excellent." Zhou Ye nodded. He currently had five Emperor Titan battlegroups at his disposal. Two were stationed at his palace and were essentially immovable. The other three would suffice. His standard battlegroup composition was one Emperor Titan supported by two Warlord Titans, and dozens of Reaver and Warhound Titans. Unlike the palace guard battlegroups, these Titans, while equipped with AIs, also had human crews. After all, in the coming war among the stars, he couldn't rely solely on AIs; it would be impolite if discovered. The two battlegroups guarding his home base, however, were fully automated and under the direct control of Prometheus. She was, after all, his most precious asset on this planet.
"Curze?" Zhou Ye said, waving a dismissive hand as the black shadow arrived. "You prepare as well. Come on, let's go to Macragge and see Old Thirteen!!!"
"???"
Konrad Curze, who had been about to say something, was left completely bewildered. But he clearly had no way to refuse, as the Knights of the Night had already been integrated into the order of battle.
This time, Zhou Ye mobilized a massive force. His total Astartes count was around seventy thousand. Twenty thousand were currently deployed on various missions; with the Great Rift open, his Trailblaze Sector, which bordered the rift, was in chaos. Those Astartes were needed to handle the turmoil, especially the emerging corruption and opportunistic xenos. The remaining forces had defensive duties.
Thus, Zhou Ye mobilized forty thousand Astartes, which was practically the limit of what he could field. The number of auxiliary troops was dozens of times greater. This force included three Titan battlegroups with their supporting Skitarii and Knight houses. Anyone who knew what was happening would say he was reinforcing Macragge. Anyone who didn't would think he was going to pay respects on Guilliman's birthday.
Soon, a vast fleet began to gather in orbit above Trailblaze, and Zhou Ye boarded the Hyperion.
---o---
Meanwhile, deep in the dungeons beneath the palace, one crazed psyker after another was thrown into a converter, where they were rendered into the purest form of energy and channeled directly to Zhou Ye.
"Father, ten thousand insane psykers have been processed."
"Excellent. You will board the cruisers assigned to you. This jump is exceedingly far. For this first attempt, you will use a vessel."
The destination, Macragge, was tens of thousands of light-years away. Zhou Ye didn't know if his Demon Hunters could withstand such a jump on their own. Everything had its limits, so using a cruiser was the safest option.
"Yes, Father!!!"
"Prepare for jump..."
Feeling the abundant energy coursing through him, a dazzling golden light flashed in Zhou Ye's pupils.
---o---
At the same time, on Macragge.
When Cawl and Calgar entered the grand hall, they were stunned by the scene.
A ten-thousand-year-old Contemptor Dreadnought was throttling Metellus while shouting at him. Iron Hands were brawling with the Ultramarines guarding the sword fragments. The Imperial Fists and Dark Angels were watching the spectacle with amusement, while Space Wolves were howling and running wild everywhere.
"Huuuh..." Calgar felt his blood pressure skyrocket, barely suppressing the violent urge to smash something. "How do we resurrect my father?!"
"To resurrect Guilliman," Yvraine began, "he must first be killed, and then revived."
"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!" Calgar roared. All around them, the Honour Guard instantly drew their blades and leveled them at Cawl's retinue.
At this, the chaos in the great hall screeched to a halt. Everyone stared, dumbfounded. This female xenos had some nerve. Letting her enter was the greatest indulgence; how dare she say something so audacious?
"Sigh..." Looking at the Ultramarines, who were now bristling like enraged cats, Yvraine let out a deep sigh. She was starting to miss the Lord of Trailblaze. They were both human; how could the difference be so vast?
"Guards! Arrest them immediately! And please escort Archmagos Cawl and the Living Saint..." Calgar ordered slowly, but just as the situation was about to explode...
High in the orbit of Macragge, a crimson figure executed a diving cleave, smashing down upon the planet's defense shield.
KRA-KOOM.
Loyalty!!!
---o---