Before his departure, Axis had explained to Kasha and the others that he was going to request permission from the Aeldari Harlequins to use the Webway for a major army advance.
Consequently, Kasha, Kratos, and their followers were already waiting with two fleets in a designated star system for Axis's return.
Axis had not revealed his relationship with the Laughing God to Kasha or Kratos. Publicly, he claimed to have formed a partnership with the Harlequins, not with the deity who lurked in the shadows.
"Father! Have you come to an agreement with the Aeldari? Will they permit us to use the Webway?" Kratos asked, his voice edged with urgency.
He had just sent a signal to Holy Terra via his psychic abilities, and the news from the Throneworld was grim.
Horus's Chaos hordes had already begun their assault on Holy Terra. The fleets of his uncles, Guilliman and Jaghatai Khan, were pinned down by the traitor armada. Only Sanguinius, leading the elite of his Legion, had managed to break through the blockade to race towards Holy Terra, while the other two primarchs provided covering fire.
The defence of Holy Terra had begun. If they travelled through the Warp, they would likely miss the battle entirely. To reach the Throneworld in time, they needed another path.
"The situation is indeed dire, but do not worry," Axis said. "I have made arrangements with the Harlequins. They have agreed to let us lead our army through the Webway to Holy Terra."
"That's wonderful, Father! At this rate, we can reach Holy Terra in a matter of days," Kratos said.
He marveled at his father's strong relationship with the Harlequins, who were willing to grant passage through their realm to an army of several hundred thousand.
"Axis, the Harlequins must have demanded a heavy price for this," Kasha questioned, "They would not allow a legion of nearly three hundred thousand souls to pass through the Webway otherwise."
"They did ask for something in return," Axis confirmed, "I will give them a portion of the Tree of Might Fruits we have been cultivating." This was part of his agreement with the Laughing God, a promise to supply the Harlequins with a share of the fruits.
"That seems acceptable. Are you giving them the inferior version of the fruit?" Kasha asked.
Over the past while, Axis had experimented with planting the Tree of Might seeds he had harvested from the Warhammer galaxy. He found that these new trees only absorbed the life energy from a limited area, roughly two hundred kilometers in radius, draining all plants and animals within.
A single planet could sustain hundreds of such trees without being rendered a completely dead world. A smaller Tree of Might would grow to a few hundred meters and yield over a hundred fruits, only turning its immediate vicinity into a desert. With the Imperium's current technology, even desertification was reversible. As a result, Axis had amassed a large harvest of these lesser Tree of Might Fruits, tens of thousands of them in total.
The effects of these fruits were not as potent as those from a tree that had consumed an entire planet's life force. Their restorative power was more akin to a simple rejuvenat treatment. Their main advantage, however, was their sheer quantity.
"I will give them about three thousand of the inferior fruits, and one hundred of the true Tree of Might Fruits," Axis explained, "After all, we are moving an army of hundreds of thousands through the Webway. A significant price must be paid."
"You must be cautious with these xenos, Axis," Kasha warned. "The Harlequins may be tolerable, as are the Craftworld Aeldari. They have no major, direct conflict with humanity. But the Drukhari are another matter entirely."
Kasha had no issue with giving the fruits to the Harlequins, but she worried they might share them with other Aeldari factions, such as the Craftworlders, the Exodites, or the Drukhari. The first two were of little concern, but the latter were an immense threat to humanity, considered among the most malevolent xenos in existence, fit only for extermination.
"Father, Mother is right. The Drukhari are the foulest of xenos," Kratos added, "You haven't seen how they slaughter our people." These dark-hearted fiends frequently raided human colony worlds, abducting vast numbers of the populace to be tortured for sport in their gladiatorial arenas.
"Rest assured, I will make the Drukhari pay every debt they owe to humanity," Axis declared. "Furthermore, I have made it clear to the Harlequins. If they dare to provide any of these Tree of Might Fruits, now or in the future, to the Drukhari, they will face my wrath."
This was no idle threat.
Axis had already agreed with the Laughing God that the Drukhari, those who had betrayed the Aeldari pantheon to embrace the temptations of Slaanesh, would be utterly annihilated in the future.
"Good. Father, let's depart at once. Holy Terra cannot wait," Kratos urged.
Axis nodded and gave the order for the entire fleet to advance.
Guided by the ships of the Aeldari Harlequins, the two celestial-class vessels, Solus Prime and the Golden King, entered the Webway and set a course for Holy Terra.
As the fleet journeyed toward the Throneworld, Khorne maintained a constant, real-time link with Axis, reporting on the progress of the Chaos Legions.
Horus's grand army had already entered the Sol System. They were now engaging the Imperial Fists and the three battered loyalist Legions that had returned to Terra, clashing fiercely across the defensive lines of Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune.
This time, Horus led a massive force, including vast numbers of mortal auxiliaries. A faction of the Mechanicum had also betrayed the Imperium, establishing the Dark Mechanicum and providing their support.
Countless Imperial worlds had already declared for the Warmaster. The common citizens of the Imperium had long lived in misery and oppression, so the betrayal of so many planets was, in truth, an expected outcome.
"Axis, I have terrible news," Khorne's voice echoed in his mind, "Horus has gathered an unimaginably large legion and has swollen the ranks of his Chaos Space Marines. The number of Chaos Space Marines under his command has reached three million, all of them fully altered."
"You mean to tell me Horus has over three million Space Marines? How is that possible?" Axis demanded, his face a mask of shock.
It made no sense. Even with his own appearance altering the timeline of the Great Crusade, the total number of Space Marines had never surpassed three million; it had peaked around 2.7 million.
How could Horus have possibly assembled three million Chaos Space Marines? The combined strength of all the traitor Legions did not even approach one million. Mustering a few hundred thousand would have been an impressive feat on its own.
"The matter is connected to Nurgle and his plague-blessed Legion," Khorne explained, "They have developed a new method for Space Marine implantation, a Chaos ritual that artificially accelerates the maturation process. They call it the Daemonculaba. They abduct pregnant mortal women and implant gene-seed directly into their bodies, causing the fetus within to mutate. The birthing process is violently expedited, producing a fully-formed Chaos Space Marine in a fraction of the normal time. The Dark Mechanicum then provides them with equipment and a skin-graft to cover their monstrous forms, allowing Horus to rapidly assemble a massive army. That is why the pressure on Holy Terra is so immense."
Within the Warp, where time flows differently, Horus had used the Daemonculaba to create a legion of horrifying proportions.
"The Daemonculaba!" Axis's expression turned grim. "That deviant Horus… how could he use such a thing?" He had never imagined Horus would resort to such a vile creation.
The Daemonculaba was a grotesque technology that, in his original timeline, would not be developed by the forces of Chaos for another ten thousand years. The process was exceptionally cruel.
Each successful Chaos Space Marine required the sacrifice of a dozen or more pregnant women, as the procedure's success rate was far from guaranteed. The failed offspring, malformed infants of Chaos, would grow into terrifying, twisted monstrosities. These creatures were cast into the sewers of daemon worlds, left to fend for themselves in the darkness.
"They also created a vast number of Helbrutes," Khorne added, "The principle is similar to your Imperium's Dreadnoughts, but far more twisted. They take the failed Chaos spawn and fuse them directly into mechanical shells, allowing corruption to merge flesh and steel. The number of these abominable Helbrutes is also in the millions. The only good news is that these mass-produced Chaos Space Marines and cobbled-together Helbrutes are significantly weaker in combat than their genuine counterparts."
Axis's brow furrowed. This was by no means good news. The forces now at Horus's command utterly overwhelmed those of the Imperium.
"Can you help? Find a way to get Guilliman's or Jaghatai Khan's armies to Holy Terra sooner," Axis requested.
The Imperium's defense rested on three depleted legions and one half-strength Imperial Fists legion.
Even with the arrival of Sanguinius's Blood Angels, it was only two full legions. Facing millions of Chaos Space Marines and millions of Helbrutes would be a brutal, desperate battle.
"I cannot be too obvious, Axis," Khorne's voice was laced with something akin to frustration. "And why would I? It would only tip our hand and interfere with our ultimate plan."
"If Terra's defenses collapse and the Imperial garrisons are annihilated, our plan will be nothing but dust!" Axis retorted sharply, "I shouldn't need to remind you of the importance of the God-Fruit!"
"...Very well," Khorne relented after a moment of silence, "I will do what I can. But at most, I can only help Jaghatai's fleet break through the blockade to reach Terra. As for Guilliman… Horus and the other three are watching him too closely. His legion is second in size only to your Golden Legion. The difficulty is too great."
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ps?