"No problem, the Ork horde has also been completely cleared out. Let's set off immediately!" Rhodes nodded as he spoke.
Time had almost run out, but this time not only had Rhodes successfully delayed the Archmagos, but he had also made a huge profit. After over twenty days of bloody fighting against the Orks, Rhodes had earned more than 1.3 million system coins, and the Ork ranch had brought in another 300,000. In addition, the Grey Knights contributed 100,000, and the Dark Eldar about 50,000 system coins, bringing Rhodes' total system coins to 1.7 million.
"Lord Rhodes, we should act quickly. Let's use the Webway to travel there and remind the Lord Castellan of Cadia just how important the Blackstone Obelisk is," Belisarius Cawl said.
He had been holed up underground for over twenty days, researching the Blackstone fragments and doing nothing else. He had finally figured out what Blackstone was for, and at last understood Abaddon the Despoiler's secret. The previous twelve Black Crusades, which had seemed pointless, each had their purpose. Even though Abaddon's apparent gains were minimal, even laughable, all these things added up: Abaddon's power was growing, and his plan was only one step away from completion.
"Archmagos, I have bad news for you. About a dozen days ago, I connected with the Astropath and learned that about half a month ago, Abaddon launched the 13th Black Crusade. He gathered a massive army, including a Blackstone Fortress, and attacked the fortress world of Cadia," Rhodes said.
Calculating the time, all branches of the Imperium's reinforcements were already heading to Cadia. The nearest were the Space Wolves and some units of Battle Sisters, who should have already arrived.
"What? My worst fears have come true. Damn! Lord Rhodes, we must hurry to Cadia Fortress," Belisarius Cawl said anxiously. He hadn't expected that just as he'd figured out what Abaddon was up to, the enemy would move first!
Rhodes nodded, notified the Harlequins to open a Webway portal, and after retrieving all surface personnel, Rhodes' space fortress and the Mechanicus ark slowly entered the Webway, heading for Cadia Fortress.
"At our current speed, it'll take us half a month to arrive. If we used the Warp, it would take over a month," Rhodes said.
"Let's hope we're not too late. Creed, the Lord Castellan of Cadia, is a rare military genius, extremely wise, and if anything goes wrong, the nearby sectors will send reinforcements. Taking Cadia won't be easy," said Archmagos Belisarius Cawl.
This great hero of the Cadia Fortress World resisted to the last moment, but his end was tragic—he was ultimately collected by the Necron Trazyn. Rhodes thought this was the most miserable ending. Even dying heroically in battle and returning to the Golden Throne would have been better. Being collected and put on a display was the greatest humiliation for a warrior! If he could, Rhodes wanted to change that—mainly because he couldn't stand that Necron, who wanted to collect his monsters.
The two ships traveled quickly through the Webway, and Rhodes once again received a huge number of reward points—tens of thousands at a time. Through the system, Rhodes saw that the two Ace Killers he lent to the Emperor had received His golden blessing. Wearing imposing armor and wielding massive golden swords, they appeared as the Emperor incarnate and were teleported to Cadia to face the Chaos horde. Alongside these Emperor Avatars was Living Saint Celestine, the angelic woman who also appeared on the battlefield.
"Is that... Is that the Emperor? Is that the Emperor Himself?" a regular Guardsman asked, his voice trembling.
Abaddon the Despoiler had suddenly launched his attack on Cadia. The sons and daughters of Cadia immediately counterattacked, holding back the Chaos horde pouring out of the Eye of Terror. After more than half a month of fierce fighting, reinforcements from across the Imperium arrived: White Scars, Space Wolves, Black Templars, Imperial Fists, and other Chapters all sent aid. In the darkest moment, Living Saint Celestine, with her white wings, appeared and gave hope to the defenders. The arrival of the two Emperor Avatars further boosted morale.
The Emperor Avatars' appearance shook all of Chaos. Some of the Black Legion's ten-thousand-year veterans showed disbelief.
"This can't be... The False Emperor, the False Emperor can't be here; He can't leave the Golden Throne."
"It can't be him. He isn't that huge."
"This must be an illusion. Fake! All fake!"
Countless Black Legion veterans shouted in terror and doubt.
Rhodes had placed the two Avatars beside the Emperor Himself, so the Emperor could modify their golden armor. Previously, they only looked somewhat like the Emperor, but now, the golden armor was almost identical to what the Emperor wore ten thousand years ago: a red cloak, majestic golden armor, and a golden greatsword burning with unimaginable fire. The giant sword cut down countless Chaos daemons, and Chaos Space Marines trembled in fear.
"Chaos will lose!"
"Cadia stands!"
"Defeat these Chaos dogs! The Emperor watches us."
"For the Emperor!"
Countless Sisters of Battle, Space Marines, and regular Guardsmen, as if seeing a savior, grabbed their weapons and counterattacked.
With the two Emperor Avatars on the field, the tide on the ground turned in the Imperium's favor. The Chaos horde Abaddon sent to attack Cadia's surface suffered unimaginable losses; the Emperor's golden light devastated them. Behind the two Avatars followed a vast army of Chained Legionnaires—warriors returned from death, joining the battle. Abaddon's corrupted Titans were powerless against the two Avatars, and quickly reduced to scrap. Heldrakes, Daemon Engines, and Hellbeasts fell too, for the Avatars could fly.
Even Abaddon himself was bewildered—the combat power of these two golden giants was enough to make him curse. They're even more powerful than the Emperor himself was back then! Ranged attacks, terrifying melee, able to cleave Chaos Titans with their swords—how absurd is this? But, worst of all, these things could fly, and at ridiculous speed.
Helpless, Abaddon deployed his ace forces. The four Chaos Gods assigned each of their champions a powerful Daemon Prince and a Chosen of Chaos, plus countless other daemons. During the Cadia war, one of Abaddon's commanders was chosen by Khorne and promoted to Daemon Prince. Abaddon sent all these forces to stop the two Emperor Avatars.
In the Warp, the four Chaos Gods, watching this battle, recognized the Emperor Avatars and were not surprised. There were three of these Emperor Avatars: one with the Grey Knights, two controlled by the Emperor Himself. The four Chaos Gods began to lend even more power to Abaddon's attack. In addition to the Chaos Cults, Chaos Space Marines, and mortal Chaos worshippers under Abaddon, uncountable Chaos armies entered realspace from the Warp to aid him.
Rhodes gave a bitter smile. These two Emperor Avatars are a bit too strong! Especially for the morale of ordinary Imperial troops—previously, when the Avatars appeared, there were no regular human armies present. But this time, on Cadia, their presence and power raised Imperial morale to unimaginable heights. Every Cadian, and all the Imperial reinforcements, now firmly believed that victory was certain.
With the Emperor leading them, they could not lose!
"Children of Cadia, do you see? The Emperor watches us. He sent His Living Saint and two Avatars! We must not lose this battle. If we do, we'll have let the Emperor down!" the Lord Castellan roared.
"Space Wolves! The Allfather watches us—fight! Destroy these daemons, slay the traitors!" the Space Wolves' Great Wolf bellowed.
"Black Templars! Our Crusade never ends! Now is the time—the Emperor watches us!" Black Templars Space Marines erupted with a terrifying desire for battle.
As the Emperor Avatar's sword swept over the battlefield, golden light shone on every Imperial Guardsman, granting the Emperor's blessing—restoring stamina and increasing combat power. The Chaos horde began to collapse, the Avatars utterly changing the course of the battle, even flying into space to attack Chaos ships.
At that moment, on the battlefield, a pair of skeletal eyes stared intently at the two Emperor Avatars, filled with unimaginable longing.