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Chapter 223: The Blackstone Fortress and the Ark of Omen
🕑 Added 2025-08-15 14:00:56 +0000 UTCChapter 223: The Blackstone Fortress and the Ark of Omen
And in his psychic vision, Tigurius even saw Macragge burning.
But within this vision, he also saw hope.
He immediately informed Calgar, who was out hunting for Vashtorr, of this unusual sight. And Calgar's trust in Tigurius made him immediately abandon his current mission and return to Macragge with all his strength. No place was more important than this.
As the Chief Librarian, Tigurius was definitely among the top psykers in the Astartes Chapters of the Imperium. He could even glimpse a corner of the powerful Tyranid Hive Mind; a normal psyker's brain would likely be burned out by the Hive Mind if they were to face a Norn-Queen. And Tigurius had a unique and powerful ability in the psychic art of divination and prophecy.
He had a feeling that this so-called hope might come from the few people before him.
And Lucan also looked at the Tigurius before him.
"How could Guilliman's kids produce a psyker of this level... it shouldn't be."
Lucan could sense the psychic power on Tigurius. The psychic power of the Blood Ravens' Chief Librarian was simply not enough to be seen in his presence. In Lucan's eyes, the supposedly most stable gene-seed was either excessively unstable or produced some absurd existences. A gene-primarch with negative magic resistance, yet he could still produce a Captain Titus with maxed-out magic resistance.
Lucan then looked at the psychic staff in Tigurius's hand. This thing was a true relic. There were far too many relics in the world of Warhammer. Most of them were actually useless; even a cup used by a gene-primarch could be treated as a relic. But the staff in Tigurius's hand had its special function. The reason his psychic power was so strong was inseparable from this staff.
The great Malcador the Sigillite, a being who could rival gods with a mortal body. In Tigurius's hand was the psychic staff he had once used. This staff would from time to time bring Tigurius some psychic hallucinations. In the idealistic world of Warhammer, Lucan even suspected that a wisp of Malcador's soul might have been attached to this staff due to people's reverence for him.
If the Blood Ravens were here, would they not try everything to "acquire" it and take it home?
"Honored Custodian, and great Archmagos from the Mechanicus, I am the Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines, Tigurius. May I ask why you have suddenly visited Macragge?"
As Tigurius walked before the group, his gaze was immediately drawn to Lucan. Lucan had activated his own psychic probe on him, causing him to suddenly lose his connection to psionics for a moment. The surrounding warp energy seemed to have suddenly become a vacuum.
"An Untouchable? No... it's not," Tigurius quickly denied his own speculation.
"Astartes, we have come to complete the Emperor's command! We need to see your Chapter Master!" the accompanying Custodian spoke first. And Cawl followed closely.
"Tigurius, I have come to fulfill my agreement with the Lord of Ultramar!"
"The Emperor's command? An agreement with the Lord of Ultramar?!"
Tigurius was also shocked by their words.
"Chapter Master Calgar is not on Macragge at this time. He is on his way back."
"Calgar is not here? Where is he? Tigurius, our time is very urgent. This concerns the life and death of the Imperium."
"Lord Calgar has taken a company of warriors to hunt a Chaos fleet."
Hearing this, Lucan also knew why Macragge was so tense. It seemed the Red Corsairs that Cypher had mentioned had already launched their attack on Ultramar.
"Then he definitely won't be able to make it back in a short time?"
"I believe so... it will take at least two to three days."
Tigurius had not expected Lucan's tone to be so urgent. And an interjection from a Rogue Trader was not stopped by the Custodes or the Archmagos.
Lucan then looked at the Custodes and Cawl beside him. They also understood his meaning.
"Tigurius, as the Emperor's representatives in the Imperium, the Custodes, on behalf of the Emperor, now demand that you take the Archmagos and Lord Lucan to the sacred shrine where the Emperor's son, Lord Guilliman, slumbers. They will awaken the sleeping Primarch and have him once again join the Emperor's grand plan for the revival of humanity."
The Custodian's words stunned Tigurius. He had seen hope in his vision, but he had never expected it to appear in this form. To awaken the great gene-primarch? The Ultramarines had never stopped searching for a way to awaken their primarch, but all attempts had failed. And now, some outsiders had suddenly arrived and said they could awaken him?
But Tigurius did not have the authority to let these people into the sacred shrine where the primarch slumbered, even if they were the Custodes.
"I am sorry, even with the accompaniment of the Custodes, I do not have the authority to agree to your request. This matter is of great importance. I must report it to the Chapter Master and obtain his permission!"
"Tigurius! There is no time for you to hesitate! The Red Corsairs' attacks on the other planets are just a bait! Their target is me! It's Macragge! And it's your gene-primarch!"
Lucan had originally thought that the appearance of the Custodes would allow him to go to Guilliman's side without any obstruction, but he hadn't expected these Ultramarines to be so disciplined.
"Astartes! Obey Lord Lucan's command! His word is the will of the Emperor!"
The Custodes also felt a slight anger at the Ultramarines' reaction. Even these loyalists could not stop them from completing the mission given to them by the Emperor. They walked toward Tigurius, and the Ultramarines Honour Guard beside him also placed their hands warily on the power swords at their waists. The nearby Ultramar Auxilia also aimed their weapons at Lucan and his party.
Loyal to the Imperium or loyal to the Ultramarines? They would probably choose the latter. This was an inevitable drawback of the Imperium's loose system of governance.
Just as Tigurius was struggling, Lucan looked up at the sky of Macragge. An urgent communication came from the Stellar Pioneer.
"They're here."
"They?"
The next second, Tigurius also felt a disturbance in the warp.
In the immaterium, an Ark of Omen sailed at the forefront of the Red Corsair fleet. A blasphemous creation called a Soul-Guiding Pillar, which required the burning of psykers for fuel, guided all the Chaos fleets behind it. The Soul-Guiding Pillar was like a small, mobile Astronomican for Chaos. And Tzeentch, having recovered his strength, was using his divine power to calm the warp storms that the Red Corsairs would not have been able to cross.
A huge warp rift was torn open by the impact of Tzeentch's divine power. The power of Tzeentch washed over the veil between realspace and the warp. One Chaos warship after another poured out from the rift that had torn through the veil of reality. This Chaos fleet, mixed with xenos pirates, immediately threw themselves at the nearest Ultramarines fleet.
And the entry of the Blackstone Fortress and the Ark of Omen brought an unprecedented pressure to the Ultramarines.
"Sir! It's the Chaos fleet!"
Tigurius and Lucan received the report from their respective fleets at almost the same time.
Lucan had thought that the Chaos offensive would be fierce, but a Blackstone Fortress and an Ark of Omen still exceeded his expectations. The Imperial side had never seen an Ark of Omen before. The entire vessel was like a huge warp energy radiator. The physical laws of the void where it passed all began to twist.
The defense fleet of Macragge immediately began to engage the Chaos forces. Countless defense platforms opened fire at the same time. And the Ultramarines stationed on Macragge also joined the battle.
