On the outskirts of the Volcano hive city, within that endless sea of crimson jungle.
A massive number of Khorne Daemons finally launched a total assault on the last stronghold.
The size of the Blood God's army was so immense that the number of Daemons far exceeded that of the actual Armageddon war.
Both sides poured unimaginable forces into this place, and the entire surface of the planet was almost dyed red with blood.
The Boiling Sea, once filled with vast industrial pollution, had now also turned blood-red.
The heavy stench was overwhelmed by wave after wave of metallic tang; the survivors now seemed to have grown accustomed to the smell of blood.
"Praise the Omnissiah, praise the Machine God and bio-electricity!"
A large number of god-machines were deployed along the defensive line, and numerous orbital defense turrets poured out shells under the prayers of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Hundreds of millions of people sacrificed themselves every day, and these corpses covering the mountains and plains were merely the sacrifices the Imperium had to pay.
On the defensive line, the Death Korps of Krieg constantly launched charges toward enemy positions, hoping to use offensive strategies to halt the enemy's advance into the hive city.
Further out, the strangely-horned Skarbrand was leading his Blood God army, constantly slaughtering survivors who were unwilling to leave the hive city.
Their heads were tossed high into the air, subsequently becoming offerings for the crimson altar.
Their skulls would be piled upon the Skull Throne of Khorne, and this influence would slowly erode the realm where the real universe resided.
Now, only two Hive Cities remained on the entire planet: one was the frontline Hell hive city, and the other was the Volcano hive city in the rear.
The Hell hive city had been pushed to the very front of the battle line; with the help of massive Imperial reinforcements, this hive city had now been completely fortified, turned into a fortress, and militarized.
There were almost no civilians left here; it was all Astra Militarum or Planetary Defense Forces.
If an ordinary person held a gun, they could effectively be called Planetary Defense Forces.
With the war situation at this point, any ordinary person who still believed in the Emperor had to go to the battlefield.
"Sigh, playing this game of chess is just too much of a grind!"
Caleb yawned; he could even hear the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears now.
If he didn't have a Second Heart and a weaker constitution, he reckoned he would have died from sudden cardiac arrest from staying up all night!
Caleb originally wanted to make a cup of instant noodles, but when he opened the curtains, he realized, damn it, the sky had already brightened!
There was no other choice but to go to the butcher shop downstairs to buy some breakfast.
Just this one apocalypse-level campaign on a single planet was already an extreme grind for him, let alone the later wars that would last longer and be larger in scale!
Looking at the battlefield filled with artillery fire on the gameboard, Caleb couldn't help but complain: "If I didn't have a good constitution, I wouldn't even have the qualifications to finish a whole game of chess in the future!"
If Caleb remembered correctly, the Battle of Baal lasted for decades, and the tens of thousands of Blood Angels were almost wiped out.
From the moment the Great Rift was about to begin until Guilliman's return, the Battle of Baal lasted as long as the time interval between those events!
Caleb didn't dare to imagine how much of a grind the upcoming battles would be; without that physical stamina, he wouldn't even have the qualification to stay up for a few days.
He had a lot of remaining points now, and he planned to use his pieces to deal with Skarbrand first!
At this moment, Skarbrand was constantly roaring on the front line, commanding his Blood God army to continuously assault the Imperial defensive lines!
"Continue the charge, Blood for the Blood God!"
On his twin axes, those densely packed eyes constantly watched every enemy on the battlefield, and every one of his heavy blows could accurately strike the Imperial soldiers.
No one knew why hundreds of headless corpses appeared on the battlefield every time he swung his axe.
They only knew that when this daemon swung its axe, countless lives would be reaped.
Compared to the miserable Angron, the corrupted weapons in Skarbrand's hands were much stronger than the things Angron wielded.
He used to be the most capable Greater Daemon under Khorne; if not for Tzeentch's instigation, which caused his great axe to turn against the Blood God...
...he would not have earned the title of the Exiled One.
On the Imperial side, when the Commander reported these terrifying casualty figures...
...even the Chapter Master of the Astartes was astonished by these terrifying death tolls.
This terrifying daemon killed more people in a single day than an entire Chapter killed in battle.
The Black Templars even dispatched a company to try and intercept the daemon, yet Skarbrand only swung his axe a few times.
And there were nearly a hundred headless Astartes corpses on the battlefield.
Through observation of the gameboard battlefield, Caleb finally understood that this Skarbrand had been buffed by Khorne.
Skarbrand's combat power was not weak to begin with; for him to kill Astartes was simpler than killing chickens.
Now, the veil between the real universe and the Warp was becoming thinner and thinner; one could even say that stepping on this blood-drenched territory was equivalent to being inside the Warp.
Daemons could perfectly unleash their power on such land, and even the Astartes had no way to subdue these terrifying daemons.
When Bloodletters in the real universe could trade blows with Astartes, the disparity in strength between the two sides had reached a point of heaven and earth.
The defensive lines composed of mortals simply could not shake these daemons.
The lasguns in the hands of the Death Korps of Krieg had truly become "Imperial flashlights" now.
The crimson laser beams hit the skin of the Bloodletters, only causing minor burns.
And once a Bloodletter wounded a mortal with its blade, the blood from the mortal would nourish its body.
Seeing this scene, Caleb could only say this was truly like an Aatrox ultimate; the mortal army fought for half a day only to find that the damage they dealt was less than what the enemy healed.
Glancing at Lion in the hive city, Lion El''Jonson was currently gripping her sword, wanting to strike.
Her cold gaze was fixed tightly on the daemon that was constantly slaughtering...
"That, Primarch!"
The knight captain originally wanted to report some news, but Lion glared at her knight captain with some anger.
"How many times have I told you? In the current situation, do not call me Primarch, call me Miss Artoria!"
"My existence must remain a secret; no one can know, understand?!"
"Yes!" The knight captain was clearly not yet accustomed to this form of address, especially when meeting the Primarch; he found it impossible to accept such a strange title.
There was no help for it; when calling her Lion, he could remind himself that the Primarch was his gene-father, but calling her Artoria really made him think in the direction of a gene-mother.
Now, every Dark Angels warrior could only suppress the emotions within their hearts.
Even Caleb could tell that the state of these Dark Angels veterans was a bit poor.
Caleb: Perhaps you shouldn't let your Legion be so repressed; sometimes you have to let your children release some steam!
Lion El''Jonson: Release?
Forget it, with how I am now, those rebellious sons are more excited than anyone!
Don't look at them as if they are dazed and acting like tin cans with no reaction; in reality, they are all happy inside!
As the saying goes, only a riddle-master can understand a riddle-master.
As a top-tier riddle-master, Lion naturally knew very well what the situation with her children was.
On the surface, they highly respected their Primarch.
In reality, these veterans were probably already chanting gene-mother in their hearts!
Caleb chewed on some jerky, not knowing what to say.
As expected, it was better for him to speak less.
However, while eating the jerky, Caleb still reminded Lion El'Jonson not to be impulsive.
Skarbrand was still charging forward, and it looked like he was about to hit the core area of the hive city.
And at this moment, the Grey Knights, who had been AFK for who knows how long, finally appeared.
Their movements were extremely crisp, rapidly slaughtering a large group of Khorne Daemons.
The sword light in their hands constantly flickered, and the power swords glowing with blue luster were continuously tearing open the physical shells of these daemons.
They held mysterious scriptures in their hands, constantly chanting strange incantations.
And under the banishment of these incantations, many daemons seemed to have their true names struck, causing them to vanish into smoke.
"It's here!"
Seeing the efficiency of the Grey Knights in killing daemons, Caleb was truly eye-opened.
As expected of the unit that specializes in attacking daemons, the efficiency of these Grey Knights in killing daemons was indeed much higher than that of ordinary Astartes.
These guys were not only all-psyker Astartes.
Furthermore, the scriptures and holy words in their mouths allow them to fully know the true name of a lesser daemon.
Through this method, they have a high probability of hitting upon a daemon's true name, causing them to vanish.
This method of banishment is far more efficient than hacking away with a blade.
At this moment, the leading Grey Knights Grand Master focused his gaze entirely on Skarbrand.
Within a certain profane ancient tome, he found the entity's true name. Although he could not be certain if it was indeed the true name, he had to attempt to chant it.
Strange syllables issued from the Grand Master's mouth. However, after eight bizarre syllables, the daemon before him not only failed to vanish but, under the influence of some power, was actually strengthened!
It was as if some entity had manipulated the threads of fate; the incantation that should have banished the daemon had been tampered with by some force into a ritual that enhanced it.
"Not good!"
The Grand Master hurriedly burned the blood-colored ancient tome in his hand. He had not expected the daemon before him to be capable of such schemes and trickery.
Meanwhile, in the corner, a daemon that looked like a Bloodletter was laughing playfully.
He continued to appear extremely manic, and a Grey Knight was standing in confrontation before him.
"Is there another one?"
"It seems I did not chant your true name!"
The Grey Knight raised his power sword, intending to banish the Bloodletter before him completely.
However, it was a pity that this Bloodletter was actually Kooqi Jarvis, whom Caleb had deployed.
It was normal for the Grey Knight not to have chanted the entity's true name, because no matter which tome you used, even with more profound incantations, you would likely only be able to chant half of its name.
"Then come on!"
At this moment, the Bloodletter's shrill laughter ceased, replaced by an extremely violent expression.
His countenance looked even more ferocious than that of a standard Bloodletter, and his power was even more immense.
The great sword in his hand was replaced by a massive blood axe.
Then, with what looked like a mere gentle swing, he directly hammered the Grey Knight to death upon the adamantium-paved core furnace.
In the final moment of his life, the Grey Knight seemed to hear the Bloodletter murmuring to himself.
"This is too crude, not strategic at all!"
"Mind your own business. I said, within 8 days, I just want this kind of satisfying slaughter!"
"Next, I will cooperate with your actions to challenge the former Chief Greater Daemon. I want the great Blood God to understand that I am the true strongest!"
"Boring!"
Kooqi, the Lord of Change, was naturally uninterested in such things, but at the thought of being able to surprise Skarbrand later, a cunning smile appeared on the Bloodletter's face.
"It doesn't matter, as long as you cooperate with me to complete the scheme!"
"I must make the great Lord of Change acknowledge that I am the most cunning Lord of Change!"
Together, the two Greater Daemons had a total of 801 schemes; the Tzeentch Greater Daemon accounted for 800 of them, while the Khorne Greater Daemon had one.
However, due to their telepathic connection, the Khorne Greater Daemon did not need to worry about being tricked by the other.
The only drawback was that they had to abide by the oath they had sworn to each other.
One was that they must participate in an extremely satisfying slaughter within 8 days, and the other was that they must participate in an interesting scheme within 9 days.
As long as the two could continuously cooperate and complete one fun event after another, they could continue to exist in this form.
Moreover, they could receive blessings from both gods in the process; one could say they were feasting well.
Even Caleb could not have imagined that this stitched-together piece would have such a function.
After dealing with the Grey Knight before him, Kooqi Jarvis had already surged along with the tide of Bloodletters behind Skarbrand.
On the surface, it seemed as if he was adding momentum to Skarbrand, but in reality, he was already holding an axe, ready to strike him.
"Interesting challenger, I will sever your head as a blood sacrifice to the Blood God!"
Skarbrand was particularly fond of the Grey Knights Grand Master before him; the vast majority of Astartes, including Grey Knights, were unworthy of being his opponents.
However, this guy before him had actually withstood his blow.
The blood-colored battle axe in his hand hummed incessantly. He swung it at the air, but in reality, it had already struck the opponent's neck.
The sudden spatial fluctuation put the Grand Master on alert.
He immediately released his psychic powers, using them to protect himself.
The great axe that had been swinging in the air paused for a moment.
It was as if this massive axe had struck something very hard.
"I will banish you back!"
"In my prophecy, I have already foreseen your failure!"
"You will be banished before my eyes, This is fated; you cannot defy it!"
The Grey Knights Grand Master clearly possessed absolute confidence; even though he was facing the former Chief Greater Daemon of Khorne, he felt no fear.
This stemmed not only from confidence in his own strength but also from confidence in his own prophecies.
Over the centuries of fighting for the Imperium, he had made prophecies hundreds of times.
Every single time it had been incredibly accurate; even if the process had twists and turns, the outcome was always the same.
However, clearly, compared to those Aeldari seers, it was impossible for this Grey Knights Grand Master to know the process.
He foresaw that Skarbrand would definitely fail, but as for why he would fail, he did not know.
"Bang!"
The violent great axe, with just a single hammer-blow, sent the Grand Master flying along with his weapon.
Even though the Grand Master had raised the sword in his hand to parry.
That unreasonable brute force still sent him flying.
"I admit you are strong!" The Grey Knights Grand Master supported his body and stood up from the ruins!
His master-crafted power armor had sustained much damage, even his respiratory circulation system had developed some issues.
At this moment, he had to remove his helmet, revealing his aged face.
Due to using special psychic powers too much, his actual age had long since become terribly aged.
Primarchs would have graying hair after ten thousand years, let alone what kind of impact ordinary Astartes would suffer after experiencing such a long time.
Longevity does not mean eternity; perhaps only by throwing oneself into the embrace of Father Nurgle can such a life be frozen.
"Could it be that something went wrong with my prophecy? Perhaps my remaining life is no longer enough for me to unleash another divination spell!"
The Grey Knights Grand Master, Morvans, sighed with emotion, thinking it was his life force that was insufficient, which had caused the divination spell to go wrong.
Then, in the next second, his prophecy came true.
Because a great axe suddenly appeared on Skarbrand's forehead.
"Damn it, who is it!"
He turned his head with difficulty!
Blue feathers slid into his eye sockets.
Skarbrand was just about to roar in anger.
However, when he actually turned his head, a Khorne Daemon's head was shoved right into his face.
"All is fair in war, Skarbrand!"
"I think I am more suitable than you to lead this daemon legion!"
"GG!" Watching this highly successful assassination by his chess piece, Caleb didn't know what to say for a moment.
One could only say this was very Tzeentchian; it was just unclear how the Khorne part would be expressed.
"Skarbrand, I, Jarvis!"
"Challenge you!"
"Let's have a fight; I am more qualified than you once were to be the Chief!"
When the word "once" was mentioned, Skarbrand's rage was ignited!
Khorne does not care who you are; as long as your desire for battle is ignited, you will receive the blessings of Khorne.
As the saying goes, Heretics guard the gates, Xenos die for the domain.
Now, such a classic scene appeared once again within the Imperium.
When the Greater Daemon before him was using magic, Skarbrand was dumbfounded.
When the opponent's blood-red great axe hacked into his waist, Skarbrand was even more caught off guard.
Especially since this Greater Daemon was using spells while engaging in melee combat with him.
As a Greater Daemon, Skarbrand didn't even know if he was fighting a Bloodthirster or a Lord of Change!