Rhodes agreed—Zett's reasoning was sound. Someone had to remain behind on the Forge World, which was still under construction.
The Golden Throne upgrade was already designed by Rhodes' scientists; this trip was just for installation. Even Salome alone could handle the work.
"Zett, you and Mefilas stay here—you're old partners, get along well," Rhodes said.
"Haha! Master, if you want old partners, you should send Babarue and Zarab too. Then we'll have a true Evil Alliance!" Mefilas said hopefully.
Their Evil Alliance had been scattered for a long time. When would their master finally reunite them?
"Hahaha! No problem. I'll leave Barbarue here too. As for Zarab, maybe a bit later!" Rhodes smiled and summoned the long-idle Barbarue from his system space.
He wasn't in a hurry for Zarab—Barbarue's shapeshifting was far superior.
"Master! Is it finally my time to shine?" Barbarue appeared, striking a pose and flipping his golden hair.
He'd been training in the ship's dojo, growing stronger.
He'd been waiting for a mission to show his worth.
"Ryuji! Let me introduce your colleagues: Mefilas and Zett. You three will be working together here for now. Get along," Rhodes said.
"Oh! Mefilas! I've long heard of you—the legendary high-IQ psychic alien. Your fighting power is said to rival the Ultra Warriors?" Barbarue greeted Mefilas.
"Hahaha! Welcome, brother. Our Evil Alliance will be complete soon."
Rhodes chatted a while longer, then left with Salome and the new Ultra Warrior and King Joe robots for his ship.
These robots would replenish the ship's lost forces from the Tyranid war—even with two fortress ships, Rhodes was down to just 20 King Joes and needed more.
The night passed uneventfully.
…
The next morning, Rhodes and Elena packed up and went to the plaza. Rhodes' troops had boarded the space fortress the night before.
One fortress was left empty for Guilliman's troops.
"You're here, Rhodes," Guilliman greeted as Rhodes arrived.
"Looks like you haven't prepared many ships," Rhodes said, noting the almost empty starport.
Indeed, apart from his own two fortresses, there was just Cawl's Ark Mechanicus, Guilliman's flagship Macragge's Honour, and four cruisers—not even ten ships in total.
"At least we'll move faster this way. Have you contacted the Harlequins?" Guilliman asked.
"Why contact the Harlequins? We needed them before to use the Webway and avoid Chaos, but now we're traveling through the Warp! Have you forgotten our plan?" Rhodes winked.
Back then, they had no weapons, no cosmic beasts, and weren't super-beings, so the Webway was necessary to avoid Magnus and the Thousand Sons.
But now, Guilliman was a minor god of the Warp, so they wouldn't get lost. They were ready to teach Magnus a hard lesson!
"Ahem! Traveling the Warp, Magnus isn't a problem. But I know you've hidden Horus. If Horus and Sanguinius meet in the Warp, get ready for fireworks!" Guilliman whispered.
Rhodes' plan to trap Magnus was no secret. He'd deliberately left Horus in the Macragge system, clearing Chaos fleets.
But if Sanguinius discovered Horus while traveling the Warp, he'd go ballistic.
"Don't worry! Even if Horus stood before Sanguinius now, Sanguinius wouldn't recognize him," Rhodes assured.
"Primarchs have unique senses for each other, and Sanguinius is fully awakened like me. Horus's soul was mostly destroyed by the Emperor. He'll never fully recover," Guilliman said.
Even revived, Horus's soul was badly damaged; he'd never match the other Primarchs.
"Really? Then why haven't you noticed Horus standing right beside you?" Rhodes smiled slyly.
Guilliman looked at Rhodes, then at the guards around him. He'd seen these guards before—they were Rhodes' gene-son, and nothing seemed unusual.
"Horus's soul, even weakened, is unmistakable. Only Sister Elena has a Primarch-level soul, the others are ordinary," Guilliman insisted.
"That's why I say you should never underestimate change. When was the last time you saw Horus? Are you sure he's still the same?" Rhodes said.
The Dark Warlord had fused with the Dark Giant for six months now. Never underestimate a human fused with a giant for half a year—this was like the late stages of a TV series!
Horus's soul had been mostly repaired by the Dark Giant Daram, and now they could even tear open the Warp together to absorb energy and heal Horus's soul.
One of Rhodes' guards glanced at Guilliman. That look alone made Guilliman's eyes widen—he recognized his brother Horus.
But how? Horus now seemed utterly ordinary!
"Don't be surprised. Don't let anyone notice. Horus's identity is secret—he's our hidden weapon," Rhodes said.
"What's going on, Rhodes? Why does Horus feel so different? What happened?" Guilliman asked.
"You know of the Dark Giants, right? I've told you—they're even more special than cosmic beasts. They can fuse with other beings, and as long as there's a bond, the giant's power can heal both parties' wounds," Rhodes explained.
Ultra Warriors had revived dead humans many times by bonding with them; after a year, a dead man could be full of life.
"That's a huge benefit! Can I have a Dark Giant too?" Guilliman joked.
Indeed, without Rhodes' hint, he'd never have recognized Horus standing before him.
"Horus's appearance and soul have changed. In battle, he's an 80-meter-tall Dark Giant. Unless he reveals himself, no one will know he was once the Warmaster," Rhodes said.
"I see—you want to use him as a secret weapon against Magnus. Are you planning to take Magnus alive? What did he do to you?" Guilliman asked.
Rhodes' team was stacked: a fully awakened Primarch, two super-beings (Rhodes and Elena), and Horus in hiding. Not even Magnus, or all the Traitor Primarchs together, could stop them.
"He didn't offend me. I just like to be cautious, so I'm bringing an overwhelming force.
Capturing a traitor Primarch alive for public trial will hugely boost Imperial morale," Rhodes shrugged.
"You mean to broadcast a public trial of Magnus across the whole Imperium to inspire resistance against Chaos?" Guilliman immediately understood.
No wonder the heavy lineup—Rhodes wanted to capture Magnus alive, bring him to Terra, and use the Emperor's Sword to execute him on camera. This would shake the galaxy!
A traitor Primarch was finally punished after ten thousand years—a historic event.
"What do you think?"
"Perfect! But Magnus won't fall for it easily.
Still, if we capture him, I can seal his soul. We'll need a plan and a trap," Guilliman said.
"The trap's been set. All that's left is for him to walk into it," Rhodes grinned.
"Alright, let's move!" Guilliman led Rhodes aboard Macragge's Honour.
The two fortress ships, carrying hidden troops, followed in stealth behind Macragge's Honour and the Ark Mechanicus.
The rest of the escort and destroyer fleet lifted off, soon tearing open the Warp and entering.
…
As Rhodes' fleet entered the Warp, somewhere in the Warp, Magnus sensed it and set out with his Thousand Sons.
This time, the Thousand Sons gathered under their gene-father—over a hundred Chaos warships.
Countless Thousand Sons warriors assembled around Magnus, all now empty shells.
With them were many lords of Tzeentch, most notably Kairos Fateweaver.
This two-headed daemon was fascinated by the awakened Guilliman.
They were joined by many Greater Daemons, several Daemon Princes, and many Chaos sorcerers.
"Great gene-father, we've prepared the trap—just waiting for Guilliman's fleet," a Thousand Sons commander reported.
"Good. Prepare," Magnus replied, now a towering daemon, with huge bird wings and massive horns.
"Magnus, be careful—your brother is no longer the same. For some reason, Guilliman is now the most perfect, powerful Primarch. My master wants him!" said Tzeentch's Lord of Change, Kairos.
"That's just a rumor spread by Guilliman to mislead us. He's always been like that.
He'll never surpass any of us," Magnus sneered.