Segmentum Ultima, the Feral World of Humara.
The Legio Furreans abandoned their old, primitive pre-battle rituals and launched their offensive directly.
Magos Neto's effort to abolish the barbaric totem rituals of animal worship had not gone smoothly, but with the support of the savior of Incaladion, Lord Nareth, he ultimately succeeded.
The Shira-Gar strode forward, its cannons thundering as they opened fire on flocks of avian-headed war beasts in the skies.
On the ground, a shaman of a primitive tribe, hair tangled like seaweed, clutching a bird-feathered staff, his mouth warped into a beak, emerged from hiding and shrieked in praise of his god.
A violent cold wind suddenly swept across the battlefield, and frost formed over rocks still burning beneath the starlight's heat.
As he waved his staff, great boulders shot through the air like cannonballs, smashing into the Titan's steel left leg.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The stones crashed into the void shield, rippling its invisible surface with waves of force.
When the shield finally shattered under the assault, from the Titan's shadow surged a Punisher-class Viper Knight, Abomination Rebellio.
It swung its massive blade, striking the shaman's psychic barrier.
The struggle lasted only seconds; Victor Mordred triumphed. His giant sword cleaved through the psychic field and reduced the shaman to a mist of blood.
Through the comm channel, Victor spoke:
"Prencips Anton, half a century later, House Mordred rides beside the Furreans again. What a glorious moment!"
The Mordred Knights were originally founded to compensate for the Legio Fureans' reckless assault tactics, protecting their flanks and vulnerable rears.
Anton replied with a sigh of nostalgia:
"Indeed, it brings back memories. The last time I fought beside a Mordred was with your grandfather."
Then, solemnly:
"Advance. We must follow Lord Nareth's will and the Magos's decree, purge the heretics."
"The Tarellians have fled here, mixing with these savage tribes…"
Anton felt the Titan's machine-spirit roaring within, the hunger of the hunt.
He barked to his moderati:
"Continue the hunt."
The Titans of Incaladion, over centuries of battle, had accumulated a predatory instinct.
Their forges even crafted Augury-of-the-Hunt systems, blending machine and beast.
Suspended in his amniotic pilot pod, Anton saw the hunting markers glimmer.
The Warlord-class Titan was his body, its systems an extension of his own senses. It locked onto its prey, and the hunt began.
After long years confined in defense, the Fureans, who lived for attack and the chase, finally ran free again, sounding the horn of war.
The Shira-Gar longed for a greater prey, to declare the Fureans' return to true predation.
Anton knew that the 7th Chapter of the Shadow of Order was also on the hunt
He wanted to claim the head of the barbarian chieftain before those black-armored hunters did.
Captain Thibault of the 7th Company, leading his command squad, stormed the camp of Humara's largest barbarian tribe.
Before leaving Incaladion, their Gene-Father had issued clear orders: all tribal faiths and corrupt rites must be purged.
Those who rejected the order they brought were to face annihilation.
In the camp, Thibault found the ground painted in strange, bloody symbols,
Two concentric rings pierced by eight arrows, with barbed spikes between each outer arrow.
The barbarians were naked, their faces and bodies smeared in the same blood patterns.
Then came a roar. Thibault turned to see a hulking brute charging him, muscles bulging, a massive axe raised high.
Behind the barbarian hung brass ornaments shaped like the bloody sigil, each arrowhead pierced with a human skull.
A seasoned Hunter, Thibault instantly recognized the brute as the tribal chieftain.
The "Pyromaniac" raised his left arm, and two serpents of flame burst into being, whipping toward the axeman.
"RAHHHH!"
The barbarian bellowed, charging straight through the "Wall of Fire". His burning body did not fall. The flaming giant roared in agony, axe descending toward Thibault.
Thibault blocked with his Catachan blade. The blow shook him; the barbarian's strength surpassed even his own, his burning form still advancing.
Before the axeman could swing again, the "Pyromaniac" clenched his fist, and a spear of blazing white fire formed in his palm.
He thrust it forward.
The "Blazing Spear" streaked toward the barbarian's chest.
The chieftain swung his axe to parry,
the spear burst on impact, searing a gaping hole in the weapon.
A volley of flame-bolts followed, passing through the gap and striking the barbarian's torso.
Crack, Boom, Boom!
Explosions peppered his body like fireworks. His chest was shredded open, and the burning giant collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.
Forge World Incaladion, First Forge Temple.
Magi and Tech-Priests watched with reverence as Magos Neto stood before them.
The long civil war and invasion had left Incaladion weaker than ever; countless manufactoria lay in ruins, and even several temples had been defiled.
But in this dark hour, Neto had received from Lord Nareth, the Great Liberator, the sacred Standard Template blueprints of the Blyek Battle Tank and Fortress-class Shield.
The light of the Omnissiah shone upon them once more.
Twelve fortress-grade shields now protected the temple and surrounding manufactoria.
The engines of the Omnissiah roared back to life.
Neto looked around at his peers, then nodded to Reaper Lord Sanchez, who stood as the guest of honor.
"The Legio Fureans and the Knights of Mordred once again fight side by side."
"They march from Incaladion, alongside Lord Nareth's noble sons, purging the desecrations of this holy land."
"The Tarellian war-beasts are burned by the Omnissiah's righteous flame. The tribes of Humara abandon their savage rites and embrace a new order."
With every sentence, the Great Bell of the Omnissiah tolled once.
"I proclaim: Incaladion is reborn."
"The former Preceptor-General was slain by assassination."
"Today, we gather to elect a new one, to lead us in the pursuit of the Omnissiah's glory."
A red-robed Magos mechadendrites twitched as a synthesized voice intoned:
"Lord Nareth believes in Magos Neto. He brought us the sacred templates."
"Therefore, he should be Preceptor-General, to guide us forward."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
Sanchez nodded in satisfaction. He had fulfilled the Black Emperor's command.
After the ceremony appointing Neto as Preceptor-General, Sanchez returned to the Void Hunter.
He bathed in perfumed oils to cleanse himself of the lingering incense of the Omnissiah, then went to his altar.
After attuning the chamber to the spiritual frequency, he knelt upon a black onyx mat and invoked the name of the Black Emperor.
Moments later, black mist engulfed him, and he beheld the Black Emperor himself.
Nareth listened to Sanchez's report and nodded in approval.
Incaladion was the first Forge World under his control, and a sizable one at that.
With the threat of Humara purged, the Legio Furean and the Mordred Knights would no longer fall to Chaos.
Once the 7th Chapter finished the Incaladion campaign, they could move on to new conquests.
Soon, the Dice of Prophecy would recharge, ready for a new divination.
"Have your Chapter rest and refit," Nareth ordered.
"I will give you new orders soon."
"As you command, my lord."
Nareth dismissed Sanchez back to the Void Hunter, then returned to the realspace himself.
He boarded a Stormbird and set course for the Emperor's flagship, Bucephalus.
.....
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