Chapter 939 - 938: The Future of the Thousand Sons Rests Upon My Lord

The first bombardment of the Space Wolves tore through the shroud of mist before dawn, striking Prospero without warning.

The orbital defense systems gave no alert. All scanning instruments were silent.

The Corvidae Cult's psychic divination crystals showed no sign of destruction.

Raining torpedoes, unopposed, overwhelmed the orbital missile platforms and gun batteries. Most defensive systems were reduced to rubble without firing a shot.

The sparse, hasty counter-attacks were quickly overwhelmed.

The punitive fleet, meeting no resistance, passed through the fire and tightened its formation.

Iron-grey ships deployed in attack formation in synchronous orbit. Thousands of weapons aimed at the planet below.

The Hrafnkel fired the first shot, a blinding ice-blue beam lancing towards the surface.

The Nidhogg followed, plasma beams sweeping the port northeast of Tizca.

Six hundred meters of seawater evaporated into superheated steam, a scalding, toxic fog blanketing the sea.

Hypersonic bombs, their multiple sonic booms shattering the pre-dawn silence, woke the sleeping populace.

Melta torpedoes screamed into the mountains surrounding Tizca, mushroom clouds rising as peaks crumbled.

Gravity bombs and kinetic warheads rained down, leveling the new settlements established by the Shadows of Order after their hunts for Psychenium.

Energy beams rained upon the towering canopies and the ruins beyond Tizca.

The terrible destructive energy spread, tearing Psychenium apart, leaving behind sinister, dark-green shadows.

Wave after wave of bombardment hammered Prospero's surface.

Yet, amidst the devastation, not a single building in Tizca was damaged.

Though Magnus had ensured his sons remained unaware of the punishment, the Raptora Cult Thousand Sons maintained their psychic shield over Tizca, day and night.

Among the Imperium's planetary defenses, only the fortress-class void shields used in Nareth's domains could compare to the Raptora Cult's psychic shield.

The invisible barrier was tougher than the thickest adamantium, more resilient than layered void shields.

Even Magnus could not deactivate it without being noticed.

Beams of light, like the fingers of gods, struck the shimmering psychic shield.

Rumble!

Sparks erupted from the Raptora Pyramid. Static lightning arced across the sky.

Inside the Raptora Pyramid, fourteen Thousand Sons maintaining the shield burst into clouds of blood.

Brilliant light tore through the grey pre-dawn sky from within.

Every second, several Raptora Cult Thousand Sons burned out their lives.

The citizens of Tizca emerged from their homes, looking up at the sky in confusion.

Blinding energy beams shrieked, striking the invisible barrier, erupting in ripples of ominous light.

Inside the Pavoni Pyramid, Chief Librarian Hathor Maat pressed his hand against a great eye made of Reflecting Cave crystals.

A brilliant beam shot from the oval crystal eye, striking the pyramid's dome.

The light pierced the Pavoni Pyramid, shooting skyward, then splitting into streams of light.

The light scattered, plunging into the Pyramid of Photep and the pyramids of the other four cults, and the pyramids of the other conclaves.

Hathor felt the resonance from the crystals in the other pyramids. He spoke, "Father, your sons need your guidance to survive this crisis."

The crystal hummed. Magnus's voice echoed.

"My son, this is our punishment. We must accept it."

"What punishment?" Ahzek Ahriman, asked, confused.

"Who is attacking us?"

"Russ and his Wolves, along with the Custodes and the Sisters of Silence." Magnus said, calmly.

'Just as my Lord prophesied. The False Emperor's punishment.'

'Magnus did not resist. He dispersed the fleet, he clouded the Corvidae Cult's foresight.' Hathor thought.

"Why? What crime have we committed?" Ahriman pressed.

"I am the cause of all this. My end has come." Magnus said, guiltily.

"Russ hates us, but he would never dare launch an attack on his own authority," Ahriman said.

"The only possibility is that the order came from the Emperor."

"What have you hidden from us?"

His tone was no longer respectful.

"When you saved us, you made a bargain with something within the Great Ocean. Is today the price of that bargain?"

"You are correct." Magnus replied.

"To save my sons, I made a pact with a daemon."

"I thought I had the upper hand. But from beginning to end, I was merely a puppet of the Dark Gods, toyed with and manipulated."

Hathor's eyes flickered. 'The Black Emperor's power saved me without cost. Only a god can oppose a god.'

'The future of the Thousand Sons rests upon my Lord.'

He demanded, "And for this, we must accept destruction?"

"I have lost over four hundred warriors of my cult. The psychic shield will soon fail." Phosis T'Kar, Magister Templi of the Raptora Cult, called out anxiously.

"Lower the shield. The Wolves are already unleashed." Magnus said.

"None of us needs to be destroyed! Since those rabid dogs want a fight, then I will give them one." Kalophis roared.

"I'll show them how the Pyrae Cult wages war!"

"No!" Magnus shouted.

"The powers of darkness want our two Legions to destroy one another. They want hatred to cripple both sides before the coming great war even begins."

"We cannot allow their conspiracy to succeed."

"The Emperor needs his loyal Wolves."

"We must accept our fate and allow destruction to come."

Ahriman cried out: "You think accepting fate is noble. In truth, it is nothing more than cowardly folly."

Hathor's crystal blazed. The Chief Librarian declared.

"The Thousand Sons will fight!"

"Brothers, will you stand with me as one?"

"The Pyraes stand with you!" Kalophis's voice was like a roaring flame.

"The Athanaeans stand with you!" the young Uthizzar declared.

"The Corvidaes will resist the invaders!"

"The Raptoras will fight!" T'kar said.

"The Great Library will not be defiled by Wolves!" Ankhu Anen, Guardian of the Great Library, shouted.

"The 7th Fellowship stands ready!" Captain Phael Toron gripped his staff.

"The neophytes will grow into true Thousand Sons in battle!" Auramagma, Captain of the 8th Fellowship, said.

"The blades of the Khenetai are drawn." Sanakht, the Thousand Sons' First Swordmaster, his voice sharp.

"I have awakened the warriors of the House of the Jackal." Hethra Tormarak, Guardian of the Jackal Order, said, his voice low.

....

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