According to intelligence reports—
A scouting vessel had discovered a planet deep within the Charalton region, shrouded in Chaotic warp energy and on the verge of collapse.
Unfortunately, that vessel was soon attacked and completely destroyed.
Thankfully, it managed to transmit back valuable footage and data just in time.
The intelligence agency, in collaboration with the Daemonology Institute and others, analyzed the recovered footage and data.
They discovered—
That planet hovered dangerously close to the Veil, sitting within the rift between the Warp and realspace, and housed numerous Chaos forges and armies.
In the footage, they even spotted a terrifying black daemon—
It was none other than the Dark Lord himself.
In another blurry video, bizarre machinery behind the Dark Lord bore countless twisted, struggling human bodies, hanging like grotesque fruit.
"Be'lakor, you truly deserve to die…"
Eden took a deep breath and stopped watching.
Any war between the Imperium and Chaos inevitably led to countless human deaths.
Even the smallest fluctuation in such battles—
Could mean tens or hundreds of millions of lives lost.
The scale of suffering and sacrifice was so immense that most of it never even made it into records.
At best, the Imperium would document that some heroic warriors had repelled the enemy or perished in battle.
But the lives of common people?
They'd be summed up in brief entries: "Planet X fell," "System Y destroyed."
Just a few short words—
Representing billions upon billions of lost lives.
This was the hell that was the galaxy.
And what could Eden—the Savior—do?
He could only grow stronger, defeat more Chaos daemons, and save more worlds…
He swiftly finished reading the report, brow furrowed.
He had only one thought:
The situation was getting worse.
This war wouldn't just affect the Charalton region—there was a real risk it could shake the entire Imperium!
According to data analysis from related institutions—
Deep beneath that planet's surface was a dark machine powered by Blackstone technology, pounding the Veil between realspace and the Warp.
Cracks were already forming.
Eden was stunned.
Wasn't this exactly how Warp rifts were created?
This was the typical tactic of powerful Chaos entities.
Like Magnus the Red and Abaddon the Despoiler—they had all, in various ways, created or widened Warp rifts before.
And the Imperium had paid dearly for it.
The only question now was—
What scale of rift was Be'lakor trying to create?
Could he be trying to forge a permanent Warp portal like the Eye of Terror?
Eden quickly dismissed that notion—he didn't think Be'lakor had that level of power.
But even a temporary rift would be terrifying.
The daemons that could pour out would be enough to engulf Charalton and the neighboring sectors, spreading like wildfire across the stars.
Only now did Eden understand—
Why Be'lakor had gone quiet all this time, avoiding direct confrontation.
That bastard had been secretly charging up a massive move!
Luckily, Eden had discovered it in time.
Had they waited until the rift was open, and the daemons surged forth—
The result could've been a disaster that would shake the entire Imperium.
And for him, as a first-time commander in a major campaign, it would've been a crushing failure.
Charalton would be lost.
They'd have to retreat in disgrace, abandoning a completely corrupted warzone.
Eden rubbed his temples and looked at the intelligence officer from the Department of Naval Affairs—Tako.
"How long until that Warp rift fully forms? How much time do we have?"
Tako wiped the sweat from his heavily receded hairline and answered grimly, "Savior, based on the current energy readings, we estimate… no more than two months."
Eden fell silent.
That wasn't much time.
But no matter what, they had to stop Be'lakor and destroy the dark machine at the source.
After some thought—
Eden opened a comm line to Admiral Kaes.
"Savior, what are your orders?"
Kaes' upper body appeared in a flickering hologram above the command bridge, respectful as always.
Eden spoke with firm resolve:
"Change of plans. We're launching an early assault. We're going straight for Be'lakor's lair—and we'll obliterate it."
According to the original strategy, the Savior's fleet would advance cautiously—reclaiming planets, building supply routes, and shrinking Chaos' sphere of influence.
Only after securing these would they launch a decisive battle.
But now, there was no time for that.
The longer they waited, the more danger Charalton would face.
The Savior's fleet had to move fast—strike straight at the enemy's core.
Use overwhelming firepower to destroy the planet, kill Be'lakor, and annihilate the dark machine!
…
Savior's Third Fleet
Flagship – Command Bridge
Fleet Commander Volradi attended the strategic briefing chaired by Admiral Kaes and received shocking news.
Due to Be'lakor's nefarious plan, nearly a thousand warships from the Savior's fleet and their battle groups were to join in the final assault on his lair.
Volradi, in particular, was assigned a critical and dangerous task.
To conceal the movements of the main fleet—
Volradi's Third Fleet, along with the Fourth Fleet and Vanguard Fleet, would first advance into Be'lakor's star system alone.
Only after confirming there were no traps—
Would the Savior's hidden main fleet warp into the system using psychic beacons and launch an all-out attack.
This was for safety.
The enemy might have Warp-based weapons or Chaos ritual circles that could generate storms, dragging the entire fleet into a Warp vortex.
If caught—
The entire fleet could suffer severe losses or be lost in the Warp forever.
Even if they resisted—
It would still delay their assault.
Thus, sending in a fleet as bait and scout was the best course of action.
But also the most dangerous.
Volradi, like his fellow commanders, accepted the mission with unwavering determination.
After Kaes issued the order, the entire Savior's fleet mobilized and moved according to the updated strategy.
Soon—
The Third, Fourth, and Vanguard Fleets formed up.
Together, over a hundred capital ships and their support vessels gathered, forming a spearhead under Volradi's command—
And set course for Corevax, Be'lakor's stronghold.
Their advance was swift.
Almost too swift.
As they neared the shadowy system—
The silence became deafening.
No enemy resistance.
Nothing but tension and dread.
Volradi's face was haggard.
That damned elusive enemy fleet had become his obsession.
To come this far in a major campaign—
And not even glimpse the enemy was a humiliation.
He felt mocked.
Days passed, and all they encountered were a few pirate bands.
Even the scouting ships found no trace of the main enemy force.
"If I survive this war…"
Volradi's gaze burned with fire, "I'm signing up for extreme combat training!"
This young commander blamed himself for being too weak.
That's why the enemy dared to toy with him.
Only by growing stronger—
Could he one day command the battlefield.
Their path was empty.
Only the occasional Chaos-tainted region broke the monotony.
They were sailing—
Straight into a bottomless abyss.
But Volradi had no choice.
He had to press forward and complete his objective.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A pirate force was detected and swiftly annihilated by synchronized salvos.
The Savior's fleet was equipped with semi-automated systems.
Thanks to these—
Volradi could receive combat data in real time and even issue commands down to individual cannons.
Of course, mastering this system took immense effort.
Volradi was one of the best.
Outside of battle, he was always training.
The pirates barely delayed them at all.
——
Corevax
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The dark machine continued draining human souls and striking the Veil using Blackstone components—
The veil teetered on the brink of rupture.
Warp energy swirled with choking black fog, casting an eerie pall over the entire planet.
Atop the fortress-city—
Be'lakor, the Dark Lord, grew more arrogant.
He lounged on his throne, clawed hand propping up his head, waiting.
Recently—
His great plan had progressed smoothly, and he'd received support from many factions.
He had borrowed more warships, conscripted Chaos pirates, and expanded his fleet massively.
Now, Be'lakor commanded over 300 capital ships—not counting countless support vessels.
Enough firepower to crush most of the Imperium's regions!
Recently, the Devourer's scouts had found this planet—
Which surprised Be'lakor. He hadn't expected to be discovered so early.
Still, it didn't affect his plan much.
He had intended to lure the Devourer's fleet here.
According to reports, they were en route.
Perfect.
To maintain the illusion—
Be'lakor had sent fleets to harass the enemy and fabricate a sense of normalcy.
If the Devourer's fleet encountered no resistance—
They might grow suspicious.
He now waited for news.
But time passed—
And no updates came.
"What's going on?"
He tried contacting his fleets—no reply. That made him uneasy.
Finally, one surviving warship responded.
"O-our fleet is gone…"
The captain was trembling with fear: "Dark Lord… That fleet is a nightmare!"
Be'lakor: ???
The captain described the incident.
They had just approached to harass the Devourer's forces—
When they were instantly obliterated by precision volleys.
Be'lakor didn't seem too bothered.
Though the harassment failed, they'd still gathered valuable data.
"Useless trash."
One Chaos commander, clad in full armor, scoffed coldly.
He had long despised the rabble of pirates and traitors in their allied fleets.
They were nothing compared to his elite forces.
Just a bunch of opportunists.
He looked at Be'lakor:
"My lord, my elite fleet is more than enough to crush the Devourer. We don't need those clowns."
He was eager for war.
His warband, devoted to the Despoiler, thirsted for slaughter!
But Be'lakor's cold gaze made him flinch.
This arrogant fool had no idea how strong the Devourer truly was.
Letting him charge in alone might ruin everything.
Be'lakor shifted his attention back to the others:
"Be patient. Once the Devourer's fleet steps into the trap—"
"You can all feast!"
This was the plan:
Once the enemy entered the system, hidden fleets would warp in—
And encircle them with three times the firepower.
Crush them completely.
But that was just part of the plan.
The true objective—
Was the planet itself.
Tzeentch's armies had ravaged this region and shattered most of the Imperial defenses.
Be'lakor had exploited this, found a weak point in the Veil, and used Blackstone tech to tear it open.
The Warp and realspace now stood on the brink of collision.
BOOM—
More cracks tore through the void, spewing Warp energy.
Be'lakor watched the scene with a sinister smile.
This was his great work.
A massive temporary rift was forming.
He would summon forth daemons from the gods themselves—
And launch a Black Crusade under the Chaos Gods' gaze.
Slay the Devourer.
Open the path.
Lead the hordes of Chaos to ravage the Imperium.
Their final destination— Holy Terra.
This would be his Dark Crusade.
Be'lakor had always despised Abaddon.
That fool had spent ten thousand years on thirteen failed crusades.
Pathetic.
Now he would show the Despoiler—
What a real crusade looked like.
The gods would watch.
And when he triumphed—
His prestige would eclipse Abaddon's.
He would be Chaos' true warlord in the galaxy.
Everything was falling into place.
…
The Warp
Khorne's Domain
A blood-red sky, dyed by endless slaughter.
Lava flowed, bones piled high.
Sulfur choked the air.
Within the Brass Fortress—
A massive shadow lounged on a throne, watching his daemons slaughter each other for sport.
Suddenly, the shadow stirred.
"What is it, my lord?" asked Baal, the demon informant, fawning over him.
Since the Navy's spy network had upgraded, specialized training had even been provided to infiltrators among the Chaos realms.
Baal used to brute-force his way up the ranks—
But now, he also knew how to flatter.
And it worked.
He'd become the right-hand of the First Daemon General.
"Something's wrong… I sense a threat," growled Ka'Bandha.
His heart—the Daemon Heart—was beating faster.
That feeling—
Was familiar.
"Shall I investigate?" Baal offered quickly. (Remeber that Baal is the Daemon that Eden made, and then sent to the Warp)
He had built a shadow network of informants.
Ka'Bandha nodded. A useful, deadly minion like him was hard to find.
Soon—
Baal gathered fresh intel and passed it to Ka'Bandha.
And to Eden.
The report said—
Be'lakor had sent an envoy to the Blood God.
Which, in light of current events in realspace—
Could only mean one thing: Khorne might join the war.
"Devourer…"
Ka'Bandha's fury rose like a storm, making all nearby daemons tremble.
That being had been his nemesis for over 22 years.
He had studied every possible way to resist the weapon.
Perhaps now—
He would finally defeat him?
Ka'Bandha trembled with anticipation.
…
Within the Brass Fortress—
Be'lakor's envoy had left. His request had been granted.
The Blood God would lend a vast daemon host—
To fuel the Dark Crusade.
The time was perfect.
The Lord Regent of the Imperium was deep in the frontlines.
If a rift could be torn in Charalton—
They could march straight into the heart of the Imperium.
A river of blood would follow.
HOOOONNNN—
The horn of war echoed across the realm.
The Blood God's call thundered through every corner of his domain.
Khorne's Greater Daemons.
Armored, burning with eternal battle lust, gathered from all directions.
Within the grand brass hall—
A dozen terrifying daemon lords assembled, their auras forming a wave of hellfire.
The Blood God opened His eyes—
Only to notice—
Ka'Bandha was missing.
A ripple of surprise passed over His massive form.
"…Where is Ka'Bandha?"
(End of Chapter)
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