Chapter 55: Curse of the Blood Angels
He bet these tech-madmen couldn't resist the temptation, so he was going to give them a proper 'knocking' for the Warmaster.
Keelbor Hal, already in a huff, felt an unknown rage surge within him.
These days, any Tom, Dick, or Harry dared to threaten him! How could he, a Fabricator-General, endure such humiliation!
The more Keelbor Hal dwelled on it, the angrier he became. His mechanical parts roared continuously until he finally bellowed.
"Yes! I don't want it! Without your STCs, we still have Ork technology!"
"It's not like only you have STCs, you can give them or not! If you push me too hard, I'll join the Imperium and wipe you out!"
"Then all the STCs will be mine! All mine!"
Bang. Keelbor Hal ended the communication.
The feeling was unprecedentedly exhilarating!
All the frustration he'd endured from Francis vanished. He could happily research technology again.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the communication, Erebus was stunned.
The Adeptus Mechanicus had not rebelled. No new battleships had been acquired.
The Warmaster's planned grand operation on Isstvan V had ended before it even began.
The turn of the battle left Erebus bewildered. Had the Warmaster's plan been flawed?
No, in fact, the Warmaster's plan was executing well. The Blood Angels Legion remained trapped on the main world of Signus, fighting the Nephilim xenos and daemon hordes, unable to break free.
Even the Ultramarines Legion was still slowly making its way back from the Veridian system.
"So where exactly did it go wrong?" Erebus murmured, turning to look at Lorgar, the Primarch of the Word Bearers Legion.
Lorgar, bald and clad in gilded armor, prayed devoutly in a corner, awaiting the enlightenment of the gods.
It seemed all of this was a game of the gods. All he could do was obey their will.
"Primarch, what should we do? The Adeptus Mechanicus has betrayed us, and the new battleships have been impounded."
"This is very disadvantageous for our upcoming battle!"
Erebus paced anxiously, but Lorgar remained calm. "Proceed according to plan. Head to Calth in the Macragge system."
In Lorgar's view, since the gods had chosen Horus, he would follow their will.
He would hold back the Ultramarines Legion for the Warmaster, even sever them from the Imperium entirely.
The planet Signus, once full of life and peace, was now shrouded in the shadow of Chaos.
The daemon hordes, led by the Twisted Kairus, surged like a tide, turning the land into a bloody battlefield.
The Imperium's Ninth Legion, the Blood Angels, were locked in fierce struggle with the ambushing daemon hordes.
Countless Astartes, clad in crimson MKIV power armor, wielded multi-melta guns and furiously swept away the charging Flesh Hounds.
Gigantic Dreadnoughts and Titans trampled daemons constantly, rampaging across the battlefield like wild beasts.
The Bloodletters, hidden behind the Flesh Hounds, extended blood-stained venomous tongues. Their cruel eyes gleamed as they raised their wicked Hellblades high.
Then a Land Raider tank blasted them away directly!
The Librarians waved their staves, continuously unleashing psychic attacks on densely packed daemon formations.
For a time, the sky filled with countless lightning bolts, flames, and hurricanes.
At the center of the battlefield, Sanguinius encountered the elite of the Chaos forces—the Khorne Greater Daemon Ka'bandha.
The daemon wore brass armor, his eyes like burning flames. Each swing of his massive daemon blade took the lives of dozens of Blood Angels.
"Do you know who I am, Sanguinius of Baal? I am Ka'bandha, the Great Daemon of Khorne, and by the wrath of my Master, you and I are brothers."
Ka'bandha grinned. Crimson blood flowed from his mouth.
"Who is your brother! Filthy Chaos daemon, you will never be my brother!"
Sanguinius, eyes bloodshot, charged at the daemon and raised his hand to unleash a bolt of Retribution Lightning.
It seemed to have little effect.
"Magic is useless against me! Hahaha! You are destined to become my brother!"
"Don't struggle, embrace the Lord!" Ka'bandha swung his daemon blade at Sanguinius.
Seeing that psychic powers were ineffective, Sanguinius drew the Blade Encarmine and roared in fury. "Even if I die, I will not join you!"
"Moreover, it is you who will die!"
Every swing of his sword was precise and deadly. Even amidst Ka'bandha's tidal attacks, he responded with ease.
The two clashed furiously, stirring up an invisible aura. The unseen sword-light swallowed anything that approached.
Others were completely unable to help, only able to unleash psychic powers to destroy other daemons from the outside while keeping watch on the Primarch's movements.
Just as the two were locked in fierce battle, Ka'bandha suddenly stopped, taking a sword strike directly to his body.
Pfft.
Sanguinius's sword pierced through Ka'bandha. Just as surprise flickered across his face, Ka'bandha turned and charged toward the Astartes.
As Sanguinius pursued him, Ka'bandha suddenly threw a massive axe with a backhand swing.
Bang!
Sanguinius severed Ka'bandha's arm with a single sword strike, but at the same time, his own legs were broken by the daemon's blow.
Even so, Ka'bandha continued charging at the Blood Angels warriors, swinging his daemon blade and reaping their lives.
"Stop! Our battle is not over! Ah ah ah ah!"
Sanguinius roared in immense fury. Just as he was about to pursue, a strange psychic flame knocked him unconscious directly.
In the instant he fainted, the Blood Angels sensed their Primarch's abnormality.
"Primarch!!!"
Accompanied by angry shouts, all the Blood Angels entered a strange state.
They suddenly became incredibly strong, abandoning their ranged weapons for chainswords, power swords, and their fists. They roared with bloodshot eyes.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
They began attacking indiscriminately, furiously tearing at all living creatures, constantly gnawing to reach their blood.
Even daemons were not spared. A group of Blood Angels pounced on a Bloodletter, tearing off its tongue and biting continuously!
At this moment, they resembled daemons more than the daemons themselves.
Fortunately, the Librarians suppressed this impulse and immediately went to Sanguinius's side to begin emergency treatment.
Soon after, Sanguinius awoke. His legs gradually recovered with their assisted treatment.
As soon as Sanguinius opened his eyes, he saw Ka'bandha furiously slaughtering Blood Angels in the distance, hanging their heads on his body.
Looking at the mountain of his sons' corpses on the ground, Sanguinius let out an even angrier roar. "No!!!"
Ignoring the Librarians' obstruction, he flew out directly, striking at Ka'bandha.
Ka'bandha turned his head. Seeing Sanguinius's incredibly angry expression and thinking he had succeeded, he shouted happily, "Oh! You're awake! From now on, we'll be brothers..."
Unfortunately, the Angel did not respond to him. He continued hacking at the daemon.
"Die! Die! Die!!!"
Sanguinius's eyes gradually turned black. His strength grew with each sword strike, cleaving directly at Ka'bandha.
Ka'bandha's hands, gripping his war axe, trembled. His opponent had fallen into a terrifying fighting style.
"What is going on!"
Amidst Ka'bandha's disbelief, a slight moment of distraction allowed Sanguinius to decapitate him directly.
Sanguinius did not stop there. He continued hacking the daemon into mincemeat.
When he came to his senses, he saw his sons looking at him in confusion, their mouths stained with blood.
They kept burping. Some Blood Angels who saw themselves gnawing on their comrades broke down directly.
"Why is this happening?!"
"Ugh—I didn't do this! This isn't me!"
"Wake up! Please wake up!"
Bodies were everywhere, many of them victims of internecine conflict. In some places, only corpses remained, their blood drained by the living.
The daemon hordes, deprived of their Greater Daemon, were banished back to the Warp one by one by the powerful psychic abilities of the Blood Angels.
Sanguinius felt immense fear. If the Emperor knew of this condition among his sons, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Subsequently, Sanguinius led the Legion into the Cathedral of the Chaos Mark on Signus.
The empty cathedral housed strange statues.
An old man in a priest's robe appeared in the center of the cathedral. He smiled. "Young Primarch, offer yourself. The gods will remove the curse from them."
"As long as you offer yourself, your sons will be saved."
"Offer yourself, and you will receive the blessing of the gods."
[End of Chapter]