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Chapter 170: Get Moving
🕑 Added 2025-09-25 11:18:57 +0000 UTCChapter 170: Get Moving
"This Chapter Master isn't bad."
Not appearing in the visual feed, Rann, who was listening in, commented. "He has the shadow of Roboute Guilliman's cunning."
That's right. How can you be limited by the rules you set yourself? There are always more solutions than problems.
"..."
The younger generation around them couldn't hold their expressions.
"Indeed."
"Correct."
The Phalanx Warders all agreed. These guys, when they were guarding the Imperial Palace on Terra, had cursed Guilliman's ambition in front of their Primarch, Dorn. Ten thousand years later, they naturally wouldn't hold back.
Especially now!
They knew clearly that while they and their Primarch were fighting to the death against the Alpha Legion on Pluto, the other side was holding a coronation ceremony for the Imperium Secundus!
Too charitable!
If the four lords hadn't reviewed the entire Great Betrayal with these old veterans, they would have really thought that Lion and Guilliman were traitors.
The Invictarus Suzerains were all a bit embarrassed, including some of the Dark Angels who had traveled far and wide with the Lion.
One side was embarrassed about their Primarch's misjudgment, which had caused a huge misunderstanding. The other was embarrassed about the Ordinatus Majoris that the Lion had given to Perturabo.
Many of these Phalanx Warders had been killed by the Ordinatus Majoris.
And the Lion, at that time, had thought that Terra had already fallen. He had chosen to destroy the traitor legions' homeworlds and had not gone to Terra.
These two legions, the strongest on paper, their performance during the Great Betrayal was like they were sleepwalking.
Throughout the entire process, only the eight Crimson Paladins were as calm as their Angel.
They had a liquidation exemption.
"It's really hard on Calgar," Karna whispered to Arthur, squeezing cream onto a fruit platter.
On one hand, he had to agree with Romulus's combat plan against the Tyranids. On the other, he had to take care of the feelings of the Codex-adherent faction within his Chapter. And on top of that, he had to fight with豬 teammates.
And then, in the mess of the Tyranid fortress planet being breached, he had reorganized the defensive line.
You had to know that the Tyranids' activities were always accompanied by a shadow in the Warp. Even a small fleet would greatly interfere with the astropathic communication that the Imperium relied on for survival. To be able to block the main force of the Hive Fleet Behemoth outside of Macragge... that was already quite something.
"Yes," Arthur nodded.
The transmigrators were lucky. They had the power to, to a certain extent, correct the world according to their own ideas.
For this reason, he always held a sense of respect for warriors like Calgar, who were far more steadfast than his "young" self, and he never hesitated to share his own power with them.
The Ultramarines had always upheld the Codex Astartes because they knew better than anyone else that this was the last legal shackle to restrain the other Chapters.
But ten thousand years had passed like sand through the fingers. Now, most Chapters had long since cast the Codex to the back of their minds.
With the power of the Ecclesiarchy spreading like a vine, even within the Ultramarines, a trend of deifying their Gene-Primarch had emerged. In their sanctums, there were not a few figures who would pray to the statue of Guilliman and the Codex before a battle.
Even Calgar himself was no exception.
When a decision reached a stalemate, this Lord of Macragge would walk alone into the Primarch's place of slumber, and in the light of the stasis field, he would close his eyes and meditate, trying to draw strength from "forward-looking wisdom, unyielding will, a firm goal, and a decisive judgment."
And the Codex Astartes was undoubtedly the personification of Guilliman's will and wisdom.
Even if Calgar wanted to make a change, the internal resistance would be great.
Amidst the muttering of the old veterans and the sweat-drenched new recruits, the plan for the reclamation war of the Eastern Ultramar sector was gradually perfected in the conversation between Romulus and Calgar.
Calgar couldn't help but discover a depressing fact—
In this brief communication, Romulus's superhuman brain, relying on limited data, had completed a preliminary assessment of the situation and had sorted out a series of countermeasures.
And he was like a tool, constantly providing information. The words he had prepared, which had been discussed in many tactical meetings, were all replaced by the plans that Romulus had casually tossed out.
The combat plan had taken every detail into account. Through the safe Warp-channel, it was continuously inputted into the cogitator arrays of the Boros Minor fortress. It even included the combat plan for the troops who were, at this very moment, on the planet's surface, fighting the Hive Fleet. The moment those orders reached the hands of the commanders at all levels, the entire planet's defense force began to operate with an unprecedented coordination.
This made Calgar unconsciously think of his Gene-sire, who was lying on the Samothrace, the one who was known in the historical legends as a master strategist.
"...Very well. The crusade fleet will proceed with the operation according to this strategy. If there are any adjustments needed in the middle, I will communicate with you in a timely manner."
His thoughts paused for a second. After confirming that there were no omissions, Romulus let out a breath and said, "Thank you for your generous aid, my Lord!"
Calgar was somewhat ashamed.
At first, the smoothness of the Tyranid defense line had made Calgar think that the meeting between the Ultramarines and the crusade fleet would be held at a grand ceremony on Macragge.
After all, the other party had warned them of the scale of the Hive Fleet's invasion, had provided tactical guidance that even considered the Codex, and had sent a Librarian to assist with the necessary long-distance communication. The war was going smoothly, stable and improving.
But now, the battle had turned into this, and they needed the crusade fleet to come and put out the fire.
"Thank you for your persistence, Chapter Master Calgar." Romulus shook his head. After witnessing the abstractness of the Imperium, his requirement for the current Imperium was just to be a little better than before.
He couldn't find any fault with Calgar's series of measures. And this war was not about settling scores.
In the original timeline, although the Ultramarines had successfully held off the attack of the Hive Fleet Behemoth, they themselves were a shadow of their former selves. The most elite First Company had even been wiped out. And the eastern part of the Ultramar sector was a complete mess. The fast-moving splinter fleets of the Hive Fleet had even entered Tarasha. A hundred years later, a second Hive Fleet would arrive, and the entire Ultramar sector was a picture of chaos.
And now, the defensive line in the eastern sector was stable, the resistance on the various planets was strong, and the various Chapters, because of their understanding of the Tyranid Hive Fleet, had not suffered too many casualties in the initial defeat.
Compared to that tragic scene, although the current result was still not very satisfactory to the Dawnbreakers... considering this was the Imperium, then so be it.
Ramesses, who was maintaining the spell, made a gesture.
"By the way, Chapter Master Calgar." Romulus, who was about to say goodbye, seemed to suddenly remember something and reminded him. "According to the information we have, the Hive Fleet has already devoured a world where the Exodite Eldar were located. You must be careful of any new psychic units the enemy might have. The relevant templates have already been transmitted."
He had already sent over the detailed templates for various Zoanthropes. These races, which had been specialized by referencing the galaxy's use of psychic power, had huge flaws in their physical structure, but in exchange, they had gained an unparalleled psychic power. If an Astartes with a slightly lower psychic resistance got close to these creatures, their nervous system would be instantly fried.
"Understood." Calgar nodded seriously.
His conversation with Romulus had already raised his level of trust in this "Primarch" quite a bit. After all, the other's meticulous thinking and consideration of details filled people with a sense of security.
"Goodbye."
Romulus said goodbye to the other.
Calgar clearly hadn't expected this. He was stunned for a moment, and then he quickly said, "...Goodbye, my Lord!"
Goodbye. In this deep, dark universe, how many people had a chance to say goodbye again?
The psychic communication was closed. Romulus scanned the crowd, which had at some point fallen silent again. They were looking at him with expectant eyes.
[Life is the Emperor's currency. Spend it well.]
This Imperial proverb was widely spread. Unfortunately, there were very few people who could understand what it meant.
Often, humans did not know what was right and what was wrong. It was just that sometimes, in the face of this massive and bloated Imperium, many people were helpless.
If humanity wanted to get back on the right track, it would probably have to fight a galaxy-spanning civil war.
So here, on this one ship, the four vibrant "Primarchs," their power, their character, were a real encouragement to all the Imperial people present. Even though their magnificent fleet was insignificant compared to the vastness of the entire Imperium.
In an unnamed star system, the fleet set sail, splitting in two in the void.
One half went straight for Boros Minor. The other half went straight for the Calth system.
(End of Chapter)
