"Map all the lanes! Check the device! Tell the Astropath to test the lane! Call Lady Vilini here! I need her expertise as a Navigator!"
We are busy. The reason? As we get near the Cicatrix Maledictum, or the Great Rift, we need the Hyperlanes even more. We are approaching the Nachmund Sector, and we are making sure all the lanes are mapped and ready for use.
According to Roboute, we need to go through a small corridor to reach the other side of Segmentum Obscurus. This part of the galaxy is divided into two, with much of it located in the Imperium Nihilus.
I did not read this in the book or the wiki page. I thought there were only two wars, but I was wrong. It looks like we need to secure the corridor from a warband of Traitor Space Marines. According to the local Commander, the leader of the warband is called Haarken Worldclaimer.
Lucky for us, we arrive just in time to defeat the scouting units of the warband and prevent them from prodding the Fortress World of Sangua Terra.
Now we are preparing to counterattack. Well, Roboute has already done that part. Me? I stay behind to maintain morale and ensure the proper infrastructure to defend the sector against traitors.
"Your Holiness."
I snap out of my thoughts and see Lady Vilini, the navigator of this ship, walking toward me. I give her a nod and say,
"Lady Vilini, thank you for coming."
"It is not a problem, Your Holiness. It is my pleasure to help you."
"This is not an order, but rather a request. I need you to look into the Warp briefly and see if the Hyperlane pierces through the Great Rift."
This is something we need to know. If the Hyperlanes are not affected by the Great Rift, it will be a great boon. If not… I think it is time for me to build a proper wormhole portal. It will take some time to build, but with the army of Mechanicus we bring, it will be faster than my quick calculations.
"Of course, Your Holiness. With you on our side, there is nothing we fear from the Warp."
"Right."
The sound of confidence because I am here is not something I can get used to. However, I need to make sure she does not get affected by the Warp. I summon [Banishing Fire] and coat her entire body with it.
This lets her know if the Warp manages to sneak past the Shroud around the ship. Of course, it will purify the taint before it gets worse, but it is better to let her know that the Warp has arrived so she can cut her connection.
I watch as her third eye opens, and it begins to glow blue. After a few seconds, my fire begins to flicker, purifying the taint and waking her. She pats herself a little and says,
"I have bad news, Your Holiness. The lanes do not penetrate the Great Rift. There are a few lanes going through the rift, but they are immediately cut off. We will be stranded in the darkness if we use the lanes going through the rift."
"I see. That is a shame. However, that is not a problem. You can rest now, Lady Vilini."
"Of course, Your Holiness. However, I think I will stay here in case you need me. We are not moving at the moment, after all. Your presence calms me."
"Right. You can stay, but please don't get too close. I need to do something."
"Of course."
I walk toward my makeshift workshop and start tinkering. My [Tinker–Travel] is working overtime and starts to give me all kinds of blueprints. However, I focus on one. I focus on the wormhole teleportation gate.
With a deep breath, I start to move and scribble. Formulas, equations, and all kinds of things that I don't truly understand flow through me. This is what happens when you push Tinker powers to the limit. It skips giving you knowledge and instead immediately leaps into creating the blueprint for the idea you have.
At the moment, it is creating a blueprint for a massive gate that establishes a stable wormhole connecting two points in space. It will be almost instant travel, with only a 0.007-second delay.
After half an hour, two hundred books sit on the table. This is the step-by-step instruction for creating the device. With a wave of my hand, I use ROB's power to turn the stack into a proper STC.
I look at one of the message couriers and say,
"Call Magos Hadron. I need to give her something and tell her something important."
"Yes, Your Holiness!"
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|3rd POV|
Haarken Worldclaimer looks at the map in front of him with a hint of concern. Something has changed in the tide of war. He knows that his opponent is a Primarch, a being equal to his father, Conrad Kurze.
He is among the few who know what kind of monsters the Primarchs are. He saw them during the Great Crusade and knows how powerful Roboute Guilliman is.
He is among the many who saw how Guilliman led his legion, genociding an entire race. He might not be the most powerful Primarch, but he is still a monster that even twenty Space Marines under him cannot defeat.
In his mind, he thought that while he could not win against the new force, he could cause as much damage as possible to the reinforcements before sneaking away and hiding in the darkness, then attacking the area once again.
Haarken has a plan—a plan that fits fighting against someone like Roboute, who uses a structured battle plan. In the end, the Primarch will win, but he will make sure they come out bloodied and tired so the others can feed on the carcass.
However, that changes when he notices the battle flow shifting. It is no longer a structured and stable battle. It keeps changing and, ironically, is chaotic.
"My Lord! Ten warships coming out of the Warp!"
And once again, Guilliman takes an action he cannot predict. With that in mind, he decides to do something that all former Night Lords know and have perfected.
"We will retreat. Sacrifice the slaves, the cults, and the Khornate Space Marines. They should buy us enough time to retreat."
Just like true Night Lords, they move into the darkness and manage to retreat into the depths of the Great Rift, hiding from others and preparing to raid worlds on another day. The Rift War will continue, but it will not be something he can predict.
They do not escape without injuries, however. Roboute and Kael meet them and attempt to destroy them. However, Haarken and his people are more than willing to sacrifice all the fighters they brought and use everything they have to retreat.
They successfully retreat, but they are injured. Their ship needs repairs and will take time before they can resurface.
Sadly, their retreat only alleviates a small part of the burden the people of Nachmund are carrying. Now they need to worry about the Orks. The War of Beasts is happening nearby, and the Orks are more than happy to attack their sector if only to get a bigger fight.
At least they will have an easier time reinforcing the separated sectors. Kael and his army of Mechanicus successfully construct the second Worm Gateway. After another twenty-four Terran hours, the gate activates, and a ship flies through it with ease.
Some of the Mechanicus demand an explanation of Kael being the Omnissiah, but with Roboute's help as a Primarch and great negotiator, they relent and decide to trust Kael as the Omnissiah for now. However, they demand a full meeting later.
Kael promises to leave this universe when he and Roboute are done taking care of the Imperium Nihilus.
Not only that, but within a matter of a few months, they finish mapping the hyperlanes on the Imperium Nihilus side. With this, they have mapped sixty-two percent of Segmentum Obscurus's hyperlanes.
It happens just in time, as all Astropaths in the Segmentum scream in pain when an image of a massive shadow full of teeth and hunger fills their vision.
The Shadow in the Warp envelops the Segmentum.
The Hive Fleet is getting serious and is ready to devour all biomass in the galaxy.
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