The Isstvan system lay within the Segmentum Obscurus. It contained many planets, among which the two most important were Isstvan III and Isstvan V.
The former was an industrial world of the Imperium of Man, pouring an endless stream of blood into the Great Crusade. The latter was a standard feral world.
When the planetary governor of Isstvan III launched a rebellion, Horus found the perfect opportunity to call multiple Legions into the same campaign.
In a way, that governor had truly made his life worthwhile. One rebellion had successfully drawn in a host of Astartes Legions, and not only that—Primarchs were personally leading their forces, with attendance at one hundred percent.
The Third Legion, the Emperor's Children, Primarch—Fulgrim.
The Eighth Legion, the Night Lords, Primarch—Konrad Curze.
The Tenth Legion, the Iron Hands, Primarch—Ferrus Manus.
The Twelfth Legion, the World Eaters, Primarch—Angron.
The Fourteenth Legion, the Death Guard, Primarch—Mortarion.
The Sixteenth Legion, the Sons of Horus, Primarch—Horus Lupercal.
The Eighteenth Legion, the Salamanders, Primarch—Vulkan.
The Nineteenth Legion, the Raven Guard, Primarch—Corvus Corax.
The Twentieth Legion, the Alpha Legion, Primarchs—Alpharius/Omegon.
Aside from them, the Seventeenth Legion, the Word Bearers, had also answered the call. Their Primarch, however, had not arrived.
As for the Iron Warriors, who should have been present, they had still not responded to Warmaster Command, so for now they could only be left aside.
In any case, having a full ten Legions serve this rebel governor was quite the blessing.
And, unsurprisingly, the governor who had started the rebellion was easily crushed on Isstvan III.
Because he had vigorously promoted xenos faiths while alive, in order to prevent those beliefs from spreading again—and more importantly, to make an example of him—Warmaster Command directly issued an Exterminatus order, sending the entire planet and its more than eight billion inhabitants straight to hell.
But the destruction of Isstvan III was only the beginning.
Afterward, Horus ordered an attack on Isstvan V.
As the fortress world of the rebel army, so long as it was conquered, the enemy's psychological defense line would be utterly shattered, forcing the surrounding traitors to abandon resistance entirely.
This strategic plan, along with Horus's attack order, received unanimous approval from all ten Legions.
After all, this was the Warmaster's command!
Besides, for such an easy suppression campaign, everyone simply treated it as an outing.
Thus, the ten Legions completed their assembly in Isstvan V's planetary orbit, awaiting the Warmaster's deployment.
Because many of the participating Legions had not arrived with their main forces, orbital control was essentially handed over to the Sons of Horus. Everyone was also perfectly willing to entrust their backs to their allies.
This gave Horus's various plans room to operate.
All warships belonging to the [rebel faction] were dispersed and placed under strict supervision, while the warships of the suspected [neutral faction] were positioned along the edges.
Then came the main event.
The Primarchs with close personal relationships would be summoned in advance, while the Primarchs scheduled for elimination would be ordered to attack Isstvan V.
Once those Primarchs and their Legions landed on Isstvan V, they would discover a very serious problem.
On this empty feral world, there were no enemies of the kind the Warmaster had described.
Then...
On a planet with no enemies, yet one that required rebellion to be suppressed, who would the target be?
How hard to guess.
At this moment, aboard the Vengeful Spirit, seven Primarchs had gathered in response to Horus's summons. The two sides each sat in separate groups.
The sense of incongruity immediately appeared.
On one side were three beautiful girls who might not even reach the height of the table.
On the other were four muscular giants with brows twitching again and again. One of them was even taller and stronger than the average Primarch giant.
Strange.
Far too strange!
Even Vulkan, who had always been known for his gentle temper, found it extremely difficult to maintain himself at this moment, because he could not bring himself to call the brother before him "Warmaster."
My brother cannot possibly be a rabbit-eared girl!
"As you can see, my current appearance has undergone a slight change."
Horus met her Primarch brothers in her true form and explained the situation directly.
She tossed out a certificate protected by an exquisite frame and pushed it toward her Primarch brothers.
"This bears Father's personal signature. It also proves that He knows and acknowledges my current appearance."
The four Primarchs first fell silent.
Then Ferrus, who had been wearing a sour expression the entire time, was the first to pick up the frame. He carefully examined its contents, as well as the two most important pieces of evidence.
The first was the Emperor's signature.
The second was a drop of the Emperor's blood.
The former would be easy to forge. The latter was not so simple. And with the Primarchs' astonishing observational abilities, they could tell whether the blood had perfectly fused with the paper.
In other words, there was no possibility that this object had been forged, much less swapped with a fake.
Father knew what the Warmaster looked like now.
Not only did He see no problem with it, He even acknowledged it?
Heavens.
Am I dreaming?
"Lord Warmaster, my brother, how did you become like this?"
Mortarion exhaled poison gas in unease and horror, then asked.
Compared to the Emperor's acknowledgement, Mortarion trusted the bloodline resonance between herself and the Warmaster more. Therefore, no matter what form Horus took, even if Horus became a xenos, Mortarion would still believe in the Warmaster.
It was just...
A little girl with ears that looked like either rabbit ears or donkey ears acting as Warmaster was far too strange.
The other two were also indescribably strange!
Both were little girls with red eyes, sharp fangs, and wings.
What exactly had happened to the three of you?
Heavens!
"That is a long story..."
Horus's feelings suddenly became complicated. At the same time, however, she was very glad she had specifically called Mortarion here.
Bruce had told her not to show any womanly weakness and to send Mortarion straight down to Isstvan V as well. Yet she had never expected that the first to acknowledge and care about her would be Mortarion.
By comparison, Ferrus was instead the most unstable one, because anyone could see that he was suppressing himself.
"Is it some kind of curse?"
Vulkan asked considerately.
"If so, is there any way to undo it?"
Horus steadied herself and turned to the key point of the meeting.
"This is not some simple curse. It is an organized, premeditated rebellion targeting me, the Imperium of Man, and Father Himself."
"What?"
Corax, who had been staring at Curze with a gloomy face the entire time, cried out in shock.
A rebellion?
And one involving...
Primarchs and Astartes Legions?!
"Who?"
Ferrus clenched his silver fist.
Although he already had a rough answer in his heart, he wanted to know what right Horus had to say this, and what evidence she had to accuse the absent brothers.
Most of the time, Primarchs were intelligent people.
From the moment the invited Primarchs stepped aboard the Vengeful Spirit, they already understood that the brother who had not been able to attend must have a problem.
It was only their subconscious that refused to think in that direction.
But once Horus laid everything bare, that balance was naturally shattered.
"This matter is very complicated. We need some time to sort through it properly."
"I can state clearly that the rebellion did not exist from the beginning. It is more like a subtle, gradual corruption. Some people may not yet be aware of it, but in truth, it has already happened."
"Whether Primarchs or the interiors of Legions, from very early on, you—or perhaps we—were already being watched."
"As Warmaster of the Imperium, I have the duty and responsibility to reduce these risks to the minimum. Brothers, I am very glad that powerful beings such as you stand on Father's side."
At this point, Horus snapped her fingers.
The lights in the conference room shut off.
Immediately afterward, a holographic projection appeared. An Astartes wearing Primarch power armor emerged, dragging a chamber behind him.
"?!"
When the Primarchs saw this somewhat unusual Astartes, they were curious at first.
Then came shock.
Because they discovered that lying inside that chamber was another Astartes, and that this Astartes had undergone extremely severe mutation.
Who?
Who dared commit such blasphemy?!
Who dared turn Father's great warrior into this state?!
"Bruce, I'll leave it to you. Tell my brothers the truth."
Horus nodded to Bruce.
"As you command, Warmaster."
After taking his position, Bruce bowed to everyone and said:
"I will not disappoint any of you, my lords."
Whether he could persuade the Primarchs to clean house, and whether they could face these many truths, would now depend on Bruce.
This would also determine just how many traitors could be annihilated on Isstvan V.
Join here to read ahead.
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