The ten-kilometer-long Blood Angels flagship was cruising dead even alongside the Macragge's Honour. Her crimson hull gleamed with a bloody luster under the starlight, the aquila on her prow striking an imposing profile.
On the central command bridge, Sanguinius stood before the massive observation window. His resplendent golden armor cast a soft glow under the overhead lights, while the folded white wings on his back twitched slightly.
Right now, his flawless face carried an incredibly complex, indescribable emotion.
Azkaellon stood by the comms array, having just killed the feed with the Crimson Drake Gate Defense Force. He turned around, looking at the golden figure standing before the throne.
"Father, the transmission is complete." His voice was deeply respectful and steady. "The Crimson Drake Gate Defense Force has agreed to open up docking bays and dispatch harbor pilots to assist our approach."
Sanguinius gave a slow nod.
His perfect face was utterly mask-like, but deep within those pale golden eyes, a storm of conflicted emotions churned. He stepped closer to the observation glass.
Without looking back, he asked softly, "Azkaellon, do you see it?"
Azkaellon paused for a second. "See what, Father?"
Sanguinius raised a hand, pointing at the planet growing larger outside the window. "That world. What did it look like twenty-four years ago?"
Azkaellon fell silent.
Twenty-four years ago, when he first followed his father to this world, he remembered a bleak, sickening yellow-gray hellscape. The hive city walls had been caked in grime and fractured with cracks. Toxic industrial smog choked out the sky, and the air permanently reeked of biting sulfur.
The city ruins of the City of the Holy Anthem, invaded by the warp, the warriors who sacrificed their lives in the Battle of the City of the Holy Anthem...
Azkaellon's fists clenched slightly.
Sanguinius's voice continued, as if talking to himself: "But what about now?"
"Continents covered in green, clear oceans, surface cities, orbital starports..."
"Crimson Dawn..."
Sanguinius murmured softly, so softly that only he could hear: "Do you guys have anything to do with that Titus?"
Azkaellon listened to his father without speaking.
But he could feel that his father's mood at the moment was much lighter than before.
Perhaps it was because he was about to find the answer.
Perhaps it was because he saw the changes in this planet.
Sanguinius turned around and looked at his sons who were busy on the bridge.
His gaze swept over Azkaellon, Raldoron, Dak'ir Belus, and Meros.
Finally, it landed on the grumpy old man standing in the corner, trying to make himself invisible.
Amit was leaning against the corner of the wall at the moment, his rugged face full of the awkward expression of "I don't want to come but I have to."
Sanguinius looked at him and couldn't help chuckling lightly: "Amit, relax."
"We are here for an inspection, not for war."
Amit's face became even more awkward: "Father, I'm just afraid in case..."
"In case of what?"
"In case that Titus is really down there, I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself and rip his head off on the spot."
An unrestrained burst of laughter echoed in the bridge.
Azkaellon rubbed his forehead.
Raldoron turned his head expressionlessly, pretending not to know this person.
A trace of helpless smile flashed through Dak'ir Belus's aged eyes.
Sanguinius looked at this grumpy son of his and shook his head with a smile: "Alright, let's wait until we find him."
He turned around and looked out of the window again.
On that perfect face, the smile slowly faded, replaced by a kind of seriousness. He murmured softly:
"Crimson Dawn, then let me see for myself!"
"Let's see if you can surprise me!"
"And let me forgive you when I can't find Titus."
Meanwhile, in the regional channel [Light of the Emperor] of the Blood Angels fleet, screen spamming had already started.
In a rest cabin on the bottom deck of a cruiser of the Blood Angels.
Several players wearing the uniforms of the Imperial Auxilia were sitting together slacking off.
[Who in the Hall is Suing This Official] quickly said in the regional channel: "Brothers, brothers! Big intel! Big intel!"
"You will definitely be shocked when I say it!!"
[We Blood Magpies Never Steal] lazily leaned against the bulkhead, slowly nibbling on a nutrient bar in his hand:
"What big intel?"
"Which planet are we going to destroy this time?"
"I made over 300,000 last time, and I'm just waiting to save enough to buy a gene-seed and be modified into an Astartes."
"Will this planet allow me to gather enough?"
[Nurgle's Cookhouse Squad Leader] chimed in:
"Yeah, yeah!"
"The game time recently has really been boring as hell."
"Fortunately, Blood Magpie got promoted to Second Lieutenant and became our platoon leader."
"Under his cover, we can still go AFK for a while, and the day is gone."
"Otherwise, patrolling there every day would really be slow as hell."
[The Stars of Baal are Twinkling] said with drool:
"Over 300,000 Imperial Coins!"
"Blood Magpie, you are taking off!"
[We Blood Magpies Never Steal] replied modestly:
"Low-key, low-key, it's all because of everyone' s good cooperation."
[Who in the Hall is Suing This Official] watched the reaction of these people, the corner of his mouth twitched.
He suddenly became a little anxious: "Can you guys listen to me finish!!!"
The channel was quiet for a second.
[We Blood Magpies Never Steal]: "Alright, alright, you say it."
[Who in the Hall is Suing This Official] took a deep breath:
"This time we are not going to destroy a planet!!"
"Two major Primarchs are in a joint operation..."
"It's an inspection!!"
[We Blood Magpies Never Steal] froze for a moment:
"Inspection??"
"What place can attract a collective inspection from two major Primarchs?"
[The Stars of Baal are Twinkling] was equally puzzled:
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Could it be going to inspect the Eye of Terror?"
"These are combat Primarchs, Sanguinius and Guilliman who can basically spawn troops infinitely!"
"This lineup is enough to fight into the Eye of Terror!"
[Who in the Hall is Suing This Official] looked at the imagination of these people and shook his head helplessly.
"Your imagination is still too poor."
"I just learned from my superior."
"The planet we are going to inspect is called Aurelian IV, and the organization we are inspecting is called Crimson Dawn."
The channel was completely silent for a full three seconds.
Then...
[We Blood Magpies Never Steal]: "Holy shit??"
[The Stars of Baal are Twinkling]: "Holy shit??"
[Nurgle's Cookhouse Squad Leader]: "Holy shit??"
[We Blood Magpies Never Steal] jerked upright:
"Are you kidding me??"
"It's the third faction other than the Imperium and the Chaos factions..."
"That Crimson Dawn??"
[The Stars of Baal are Twinkling]'s mouth fell open in an O shape:
"Holy crap!!"
"Is it the faction established by the Alpha test players??"
"The faction where the legendary top player [Paul Dawn] is located??"
[We Blood Magpies Never Steal] swallowed his saliva:
"After the offline multi-party communication among us, everyone has long known that Crimson Dawn is a force established by the Alpha test players."
"And through communication with the Imperium faction players in the Emperor's Children fleet, we learned that the top player among them, Paul Dawn, possesses the power to one-shot Lucius!!"
[Nurgle's Cookhouse Squad Leader] gasped:
"And now we are actually going to inspect Crimson Dawn??"
[We Blood Magpies Never Steal] spun around in excitement:
"Holy shit holy shit holy shit!!"
"I finally get to see with my own eyes what the base camp built by the Alpha test players looks like!!"
[Who in the Hall is Suing This Official] watched the reactions of these people in the channel, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
He knew why these guys were so excited.
In reality, they had long wanted to communicate with the players of Crimson Dawn.
But those Crimson Dawn players completely ignored them, whether it was the veteran Alpha test players or the new players, they were all incredibly mysterious.
This created extreme mystery for this faction among the player community.
And now...
They finally had the chance to see with their own eyes what that mysterious faction had built their planet into.
[Nurgle's Cookhouse Squad Leader] had already started fantasizing:
"To what extent do you think Crimson Dawn has developed now?"
"Judging by their faction declaration, they should be managing their planet very well, right?"
"Are the people in their territory really living a good life?"
"After all, it's described as 'determined martyrs'."
"For sure!"
"The faction attributes are even recognized by the game system and directly displayed on the selection entrance."
In the channel, over a thousand golden IDs were discussing passionately.
What they didn't know was that at the exact same moment.
In another regional channel of the Blood Angels fleet, people were also discussing the same thing.
--
TL/N: Since there are too many people with unique name in this fic I may sometimes mistranslate them! Please comment any such mistakes.
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