mtlumby2d Chapter 385: The Establishment of the Light Fortress
Chapter 385: The Establishment of the Light Fortress
**Terra Palace, Triumph Hall**
Robert Guilliman stood before the magnificent throne, golden sunlight streaming through the enormous stained-glass dome, illuminating the entire hall as if it were a burning sanctuary. Beside him stood the newly awakened Lion King, Lane Eljonsson—the former Primarch of the First Legion, now completely free from the corruption of Chaos, donning his deep green armor once more, his gaze piercing, his majesty undiminished.
On either side of the hall, the Empire's high-ranking lords, chapter commanders, Archsages of the Mechanicus, and generals of the Imperial Guard stood solemnly, their gazes all fixed on the tall figure in the center—
Russell.
The armor of the Imperial Guard Commander was stained with the marks of battle, and the greatsword "Judgment" hung silently at his waist. His face was more weathered than before, and although the golden psionic radiance had been subdued, his eyes still shone like burning stars, containing unfathomable power.
"Commander Russell," Killieman's voice echoed in the hall, "you have accomplished the impossible."
He raised his hand, and a holographic star map unfolded in the air—every chapter in the galaxy that had once resisted the Primcasters had now accepted new blood. The Iron Serpents, the Crimson Fist, the Nightguard… even the once most stubborn Dark Angels had now, under Lion's will, fully embraced the Primcasters.
“You not only quelled the chapter’s rebellion, but you also uncovered a lurking, chaotic conspiracy,” Guilliman continued. “You even brought back our brother—Lane Aljonsen.”
The Lion King stepped forward, his voice deep and powerful: "Russell, you not only fulfilled the duties of the Imperial Guard, but you also saved my legion. This achievement deserves to be engraved in the Empire's eternal annals."
Russell knelt on one knee and bowed his head in acknowledgment: "I was merely carrying out the Emperor's will."
Guilliman nodded slightly, then took a gleaming medal from the attendant—the highest honor in the Empire, the "Imperial Glory," which only a handful of people have ever received.
"In the name of the Emperor and Lord of Mankind, I, Robert Guilliman, bestow this honor upon you." He pinned the medal on Russell's breastplate. "From this day forward, your name shall be inscribed on the Eternal Wall of the Temple of Terra, alongside the Emperor's greatest warriors."
Thunderous applause erupted in the hall, as all the lords and chapter leaders paid their highest respects.
However, Russell's expression remained calm. He slowly raised his head and looked at Guilliman and Lane.
“My mission is not over yet,” he said.
Killieman frowned slightly: "What do you mean?"
Russell's gaze was fixed on the distance, as if piercing through the walls of the palace and looking directly into the dark depths of the Milky Way.
“The threat of chaos has never disappeared, and the unity of the chapter is only the beginning,” he whispered. “The real war… has only just begun.”
After the investiture ceremony, Russell stood alone on Terra's highest observatory, overlooking the homeworld of the human empire. The brightly lit cities, magnificent cathedrals, and bustling starports—all symbolized the empire's prosperity, yet also concealed a deep-seated crisis.
"So you really were here."
A familiar voice came from behind him. Russell didn't turn around, but he knew who it was—Valian, his most trusted captain of the Imperial Guard.
"Lord Guilliman and Lord Lane are devising a new strategy." Valerian walked to his side. "They believe the next step should be a full-scale counter-offensive against Chaos."
Russell paused for a moment, then slowly said, "They are right, but it's not enough."
"What's the meaning?"
"Chaos is merely a facade," Russell said in a low voice. "The real enemies are those beings that even the Emperors failed to completely eradicate."
Valerian didn't press the matter. He knew that Russell's vision of the future might have already transcended mortal comprehension.
"So...where do we go next?"
Russell finally turned around, and golden psionic energy once again flowed in his eyes.
“Go to the darkest corners of the empire,” he said. “Go to places where even the light of the starlight cannot reach.”
"Because there... the real war awaits us."
…………
Unknown star system!
Judge Carleon Vessos never imagined he would find hope here.
His reconnaissance fleet, originally pursuing a Chaos Warband, veered off course due to a warp storm and plunged into a dark realm impenetrable even by starlight. As his fleet recovered from the turbulent warp jump, an unusual signal suddenly appeared on his sensors—a stable, pure light source, **like a miniature starlight**.
“This is impossible…” The navigator on the bridge trembled as she removed the black veil covering her eyes, blood seeping from their empty sockets. “The guidance of the Starlight… has appeared here?”
Vessos immediately ordered a landing.
On the barren, rocky surface of the planet, they found it—**a pyramid-shaped structure suspended in mid-air**, its surface covered with undecipherable ancient runes. It had no visible energy source, yet it continuously emitted a soft, blue-white glow, like a imprisoned star.
The moment Vessos's hand touched the pyramid, his psychic vision was forcibly pulled into an illusion—
He saw the Ancient Ones, those legendary ancient rulers of the galaxy, forging this device; he saw the fleet of the Fearful Ones attacking it relentlessly; he even saw the Emperor himself, before humanity had even set foot on Earth, standing before the same device in deep thought…
“This isn’t the Starlight…” Vessos murmured to himself, “This is the **Ancient Beacon**, older and more powerful than the Starlight.”
Even more astonishing is that this device appears to be able to **replicate**—provided enough psionic energy, it can generate secondary beacons anywhere in the galaxy to guide lost fleets.
Vessos immediately realized: **This will be the key to the Empire's conquest of the dark side!**
Upon receiving the news, Guilliman personally ordered: **To capture and protect this ruin at all costs.**
Within three short months, the Titan legions of the Cult of Mechanics, entire chapters of Space Marines, and millions of Imperial Guards amassed here. Using an Old One as their core, they constructed a superfortress spanning the entire galaxy—**"Fortress of Light"**.
The towering walls, forged from a mixture of adamantite and black stone, were strong enough to resist the corruption of chaos; hundreds of void cannons formed an impenetrable defensive network; the Silent Sisters' psionic shielding arrays surrounded the ancient device, ensuring that no proto-being could interfere with its operation.
When the first secondary beacon lit up at the edge of the Dark Side, the entire Empire erupted in jubilation—for the first time in five hundred years, humanity possessed a stable shipping lane in the Dark Side!
However, light inevitably attracts the hostility of darkness.
In the chaotic realm of the warp, the four evil gods unusually ceased their eternal struggle and turned their gaze to that single point of starlight in the real universe.
Tzeentch’s labyrinth of transformations trembled violently, and countless prophetic crystals shattered simultaneously.
**Khorne**'s bronze throne was shaken by an angry roar, and a sea of blood surged forth with towering waves;
In the plague garden of Nurgle, the blooming flowers withered instantly;
In Slaanesh's palace of pleasure, sweet music turned into piercing screams.
"**That device must be destroyed!**" The voices of the four gods echoed in the warp, reaching a rare consensus.
An unprecedented coalition of chaos has begun to assemble—
- The Black Legion's Raider Fleet
- **Death Guardian's Plague Ark**
- **Thousand Sons Wizard**'s Psionic Battle Clan
- The Pleasure Apostle of the **Slaanesh's Army**
They shared only one goal: **to restore darkness to the empire's shadowy side!**
In the command center of the Bright Fortress, Russell stared at the ever-expanding network of beacons on the holographic star map, his brow furrowed.
“We’re moving too fast,” he said to Guilliman’s hologram. “The technology of the Ancients is not something humans can easily master.”
Guilliman's projection flickered slightly: "We have no choice, Russell. Thousands of lost human worlds on the Dark Side await rescue."
“Have you ever considered—” Russell’s voice was low, “why the ancient saints ultimately disappeared? Why did the devices they left behind end up here?”
This question silenced the command center.
Just then, an alarm suddenly sounded—**a warp rift was forming outside the Fortress of Light!**
Russell whirled around, golden psionic energy erupting uncontrollably from his eyes: "Too late... They're here."