Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor-Chapter 325 - 326: Saving Dante, the Savior Dominates the Battlefield
Chapter 325 - 326: Saving Dante, the Savior Dominates the Battlefield
Amid the ruins.
Blue and violet arcs of psychic lightning clashed and bit at each other violently.
The Blood Angels suddenly realized—a powerful presence had descended upon them, aiding their Chapter Master in resisting the xenos monstrosity!
That figure, clad in dark golden armor, stood tall and imposing. He radiated a presence unlike any other, an overwhelming vitality surged from within his frame.
And with it, a calm yet commanding authority.
His very existence brought peace of mind and kindled a faint hope in all hearts.
Then—
A psychic storm erupted from this figure and immediately suppressed the crushing psychic pressure of the alien creature!
At the same time—
The burden on Dante lifted.
The old warrior's armor was nearly shattered. Even his helmet had crumbled. His aged, weary face was stained with blood.
He looked up at the figure now standing before him.
A young presence—black hair, skin as pale as a son of Sanguinius, a life aura strikingly similar to that of his gene-father.
Such distinct features made the old warrior instantly think of him—an equal of the great Sanguinius and the Regent of Terra.
The Primarch recently returned to the Imperium—
The Savior—Eden Grant!
"The Savior?" Dante murmured the title, almost involuntarily.
Eden floated in midair.
Lightning of pure psychic might coiled around him. The power surging from him made his eyes crackle with raw electricity. The residual energy even formed a crown above his head.
Wings of thunder arced out behind him.
Hearing Dante's voice, Eden turned, looking upon the Chapter Master, who was even older and more haggard than he'd expected.
He could barely imagine the trials this warrior had faced for his genetically enhanced body to be worn down to such a degree.
Maintaining the flow of psychic energy, Eden spoke gently, "Lord Dante, this xenos creature... I'm afraid I'll need you to finish it."
He had no choice.
He was already fully engaged in restraining the psychic output of the Tyranid psyker beast and couldn't spare a hand to fight directly.
Fortunately—
He could sense that Dante, though gravely wounded, still retained the will to fight.
This Chapter Master of the Blood Angels had once repelled Skarbrand, the favored of Khorne, and crushed the Ork Warlord Grakka the Skullbreaker.
It was only due to his lack of psychic ability that he was being suppressed by the Tyranid's psionic assault.
"As you wish. I will fight to the very end!" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Dante gave a firm reply.
Now that he saw a sliver of hope for victory, he would hold nothing back—until this alien monstrosity was no more!
For centuries, Dante had been a legend among his Chapter and the people of the Imperium—a savior shouldering the heavy burden of resisting darkness.
He had fought for far too long. His spirit and body were long past the point of exhaustion.
But he had no choice.
There was no one to rely on. He himself was the one others relied on.
As Chapter Master, as a leader, as a living legend of the Imperium, Dante had to lead from the front, always placing himself where the battle was fiercest.
He had to save humanity from fire and flood.
He had earned countless honors.
In the ancient scrolls of the Chapter's library, there was once a prophecy—
A future engulfing war would consume all, and during that time, a golden warrior would stand between the Emperor and the encroaching darkness.
The Blood Angels—and many others—believed:
That golden warrior was Dante. That the duty to protect the Emperor would fall upon him.
That he was the Imperium's hope.
However—
Dante himself disagreed with this interpretation of the prophecy.
He had already lived far longer than any man should. The burden he carried for centuries had only grown heavier.
He didn't believe he could bear more.
Sometimes Dante wondered—
If only his gene-father still lived... then he wouldn't have to carry this crushing destiny alone.
He could simply follow that noble angel's lead, obey his orders, and fight on under his guidance.
But alas—
Such thoughts were mere fantasy.
Dante had to keep carrying the burden—until the moment of his death.
Yet no one knew—
This old warrior was close to breaking under the weight.
Each time he lay near death, he thought he was finally free.
That his mission was finally done.
But at the brink of death, he would fall into a vision—Sanguinius would appear, urging him to live on.
Telling him that his time had not yet ended.
Every time, Dante would cry out in despair, begging Sanguinius to let him go and take his soul.
Every time, he was refused.
And so—
Dante lived on again and again, enduring the pain and burden.
But this time...
Looking at the Savior before him, Dante felt something he hadn't felt in centuries.
Relief.
At long last, someone great had stepped to the front. All he had to do was follow their lead.
For the first time in countless centuries of battle, Dante felt truly at ease.
He resolved to fight to the death.
Dante let go—bloodlust surged in his heart. This curse, a shame upon the Emperor, now fueled his killing intent.
He would plunge into the enemy ranks and kill until none remained.
More importantly—
He believed in the Savior's ability—
To protect him, even under the crushing psychic onslaught of the Tyranids.
Zzzzzap—
Dante activated the ancient disruption field of his Axe Mortalis. Crackling blue arcs danced along the brutal blade.
He struggled violently, breaking free from the remnants of the psychic bonds.
SCREECH!
The Tyranid psyker beast's central synapse creature sensed danger.
It shrieked. Its massive chitinous skull unleashed savage purple arcs of electricity, and more psychic tendrils lanced forward.
A greater psychic assault surged toward Dante.
But—
Eden was ready.
He unleashed even more power to form a barrier, blocking all the high-pressure psychic blasts.
Hssss~
Eden inhaled sharply.
"Tyranid psionics... are brutal. This is getting tough!"
His dark golden armor groaned, faint cracks spreading across it. His body, too, was under immense stress.
Even a Primarch's strength was strained when facing Tyranid psychic pressure.
Such was the horror of the Tyranid swarm. And this was only one of the Hive Mind's tendrils—merely a vanguard of Hive Fleet Leviathan!
What terror would it bring if the Hive Mind itself ever descended upon the galaxy?
He even suspected—
That if the Hive Mind truly arrived, its shadow could grind the Chaos Gods into the Warp's floor.
Eden held his ground, trying not to appear disheveled.
A Savior who collapsed right after arriving would only crush the morale of the warriors!
On a battlefield—
A leader's influence on morale was enormous.
Therefore—
The entrance of top warriors had to be overwhelming and invincible.
Only then could the tide be held.
Eden drew more power, gradually suppressing the high-pressure psychic field.
Under his overwhelming might, the synapse beast behind the Tyranid psyker grew unstable—some screeched as they fell to the ground.
They didn't rise again.
The synapse creature trembled, seemingly unable to withstand the pressure.
But it quickly changed tactics. Many of its tendrils stabbed into the brains of its own lesser synapse creatures, ignoring their screams.
It crazily siphoned more psychic power.
By sacrificing the lives of its own kind, the synapse creature fueled its growing strength.
In moments—
Eden was under even more pressure, nearing his limit.
Gritting his teeth, he endured:
"This is bad.
Fighting alone is really tough. If only the War Angels were here... With their Librarians, we could've suppressed this Tyranid psionic will."
The War Angels had a high proportion of Librarians—some squads were entirely psykers.
They could've significantly amplified Eden's psychic power.
Just as Eden struggled to hold on—
Suddenly.
He felt a strong psychic resonance.
It was the Blood Angels' Librarians!
At some point, Mephiston had risen again.
He floated in the air, channeling the combined might of all the Librarians and poured it into the Savior.
"Savior... we're counting on you..."
With that—
The Chief Librarian collapsed in exhaustion, smiling with hope as he fell into a deep coma.
"This changes everything!"
Eden could feel the roaring psychic surge within. With the amplification of the Blood Angels' Librarians—
His psychic capacity rose another tier!
Hummmmm—
Eden tapped into the energy of the Little Sun, pouring it into himself. The surging power blew away the nearby rubble.
His psychic power transformed—shifting from azure to a brilliant gold.
He now looked like a celestial figure descending from the heavens—wearing a golden crown, with golden wings unfurled.
A true god-giant.
Not special effects—pure, unfiltered power!
At this moment—
Golden psychic energy from the Little Sun spread outward.
All despair on the battlefield was instantly swept away. Everyone's gaze was drawn to this divine scene.
"The God-Emperor..."
"By the Emperor's light!"
The mortal warriors felt as though they were witnessing a divine—
Sun!
The Blood Angels, however, thought of something else—the prophecy long whispered within their Chapter.
"The Golden Warrior!"
A Blood Angel blurted it out.
The warrior who would stand between the Emperor and the darkness—the hope of humanity's future!
Eden remained unaware of the change among the troops. His focus was fully on the Tyranid synapse beast.
He surged his power forward, pushing back the high-pressure psychic field.
Then—
He raised a hand wreathed in golden lightning and clenched it tightly.
BOOM—
An invisible psychic shockwave surged back at the enemy.
The synapse beast shrieked. The ruins below collapsed under the pressure, showing the terrifying weight of the psychic blow.
The remaining synapse creatures didn't even have time to react—they fell to the ground.
Their heads burst under the pressure, becoming heaps of crushed chitin and brain matter.
That one mighty blow shattered the Tyranid psychic defense network!
The synapse beast's massive head oozed pus and blood, trying to gather strength once more.
"Dante!"
Eden was dizzy.
He had nearly exhausted all usable psychic energy in one go and couldn't muster another strong attack for a while.
Fortunately—
He had created the perfect opening.
Dante had been watching the Savior and the synapse beast intently. When the Savior's golden power erupted—
He seized the opportunity.
The old warrior broke free from the last psychic restraints, unleashing the full bloodlust of his curse.
"For Sanguinius!!"
He nearly lost himself in rage, leaping high with his Axe Mortalis raised.
He slashed at the synapse beast!
The beast sensed death approaching and desperately directed its minions to block him.
But they couldn't stop a bloodthirst-driven Dante. Under the brutal might of his axe, they became heaps of shattered chitin and brains.
He moved with incredible speed.
After clearing the way, he struck the synapse beast's skull with a heavy blow.
It shrieked, psychic tendrils slashing at Dante, tearing through his armor and leaving fresh wounds on his already battered body.
But—
It was too late.
Dante stood atop the synapse beast's skull, tanking the psychic damage, launching even fiercer attacks.
His axe's disruption field tore through the beast's chitin, cutting deep into its brain, shredding its flesh.
At the same time, he drew his Pistol of Absolution...
Dante fired relentlessly at the synapse beast's exposed brain tissue, blasting it into atomic fragments.
That final, fatal strike—
Caused the beast to seize mid-writhe and collapse heavily to the ground with Dante.
With the death of this crucial synaptic node—
A psychic wail rippled across the entire battlefield, and the Tyranid swarm's formation faltered in chaos.
Dante struggled to crawl out of the fallen synapse beast's corpse—and suddenly realized:
He had unknowingly ended up in the very heart of the swarm.
Even though the node creature was slain—
The Tyranid numbers remained vast. The remaining synapse creatures quickly mutated into new node organisms, leading the feral swarm as they surged to encircle Dante.
The aged warrior was on the verge of being completely cut off.
Zzzzrak!
Thunderous psychic lightning rained down from above.
Countless golden bolts struck the ground around Dante, incinerating the onrushing Tyranids in divine flame!
Accompanied by this psychic storm—
A figure slammed into the ground like a meteor, golden lightning surging outward from him in all directions.
More of the swarm was obliterated.
Eden, having used the last of his psychic energy, reached out and pulled Dante to his feet, then drew his dark golden power sword.
With a gentle voice, he said:
"Perhaps... it's time we fought side by side."
Dante suppressed his bloodthirst, wiped the blood clouding his vision, and solemnly replied:
"It would be my honor!"
The old warrior took a deep breath and once more raised the Axe Mortalis.
Eden and Dante stood back to back, facing the swarm now closing in once again.
They swung their blades and axes with all their might, cleaving the xenos beasts one after another—like immovable bastions amid a tide of chitin.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The thunder of Earthshaker cannons erupted. The Astra Militarum's Vostroyan Firstborn had arrived.
Shell after shell rained down, exploding amidst the swarm.
"For Sanguinius!!"
The Blood Angels charged as well, determined to rescue their Chapter Master and the Savior.
Chainswords shredded flesh, bolt rounds blew apart skulls, and power claws tore through alien throats!
"For the Savior!!"
Carter too had arrived, leading the Savior's personal guard onto the battlefield.
They carried banners bearing the Savior's symbol, crashing into the swarm like an unstoppable thunderstorm.
They charged toward Eden.
Leaving behind a wake of gore and mangled limbs.
"Lord Savior! Big Barrel is here to protect you!!"
Big Barrel's roar rang out across the battlefield.
He led the Centurion Destroyer squad, striking from the flank and forming a devastating web of heavy firepower.
Their volleys painted the sky with blood.
A swath of Tyranids fell in droves.
At the center of the battlefield—
"Yep. You really do need numbers in war..." Eden murmured, crushing the skull of a leaping Ravener with a single squeeze.
With the reinforcements pouring in, he finally breathed easier.
The battle was won.
Before long—
After suffering massive casualties, the swarm lost its cohesion and retreated into the ruins of the city.
The Tyranids had been repelled.
The surviving warriors erupted into cheers.
But—
This was not the end.
Eden sheathed his power sword.
He looked around at the ground, now entirely blanketed in chitin, gore, shattered armor, and human remains.
He let out a long sigh.
The Tyranids were terrifying beyond words.
And this... this was just the first wave of the vanguard from the Leviathan Hive Fleet.
Had he not joined the battle—who knew how many would have died among the Imperial reinforcements and Blood Angels—
Just to push them back?
At that moment—
Eden couldn't help but doubt whether the defenses in the region could truly hold off the Tyranid vanguard.
But regardless—
They had to.
They must break the vanguard's assault.
Leviathan, after its long journey and the obstruction of the Adamant Shield and Fortress Ring, was starving.
It was desperate to replenish biomass.
That was why it had hastened to deploy its vanguard ahead of the fleet to seize planets quickly.
If they couldn't stop the vanguard—
It would mean Leviathan could harvest multiple biomass-rich worlds, breeding endless new swarms.
And they'd be able to hide on the planetary dark side—
Shielded from orbital-scale weapons like the Grand Prism.
Therefore—
Eden had to hold the line. Evacuate the population. Then obliterate the planets.
Force Leviathan to keep moving, searching for other prey.
That way—
He could travel with Dante to find the Necrons, activate the Grand Prism, and strike Leviathan while it was still in space.
Inflicting catastrophic damage.
While Eden contemplated all this—
The eyes of all those around him had already turned toward the Savior.
He now stood atop a high mound of rubble, flanked by several bannermen of his honor guard. At that moment, the clouds briefly parted.
The sun's light bathed his figure.
Eden sensed their gazes.
He looked up.
Wherever his gaze landed, mortal soldiers bowed and knelt. The Blood Angels stood solemnly, heads lowered.
All offering reverence to this mighty being.
This—was one of the key reasons Eden had embraced his identity as a Primarch.
In this age of the Imperium—
With the Emperor confined to the Golden Throne, a Primarch naturally held the highest authority and legitimacy.
He was the Imperium's rightful heir, and humanity's beacon of hope.
Wherever he went—
Countless would bow.
The moment Eden arrived on the planet Higanbana, it signified the arrival of Imperial legitimacy.
This war would now be in his hands.
He would command the entire conflict.
Suddenly—
Cries of alarm rang out from the Blood Angels.
Eden turned to look—at some point, Dante had collapsed amidst a pile of corpses.
The Blood Angels quickly gathered, carrying their Chapter Master to a clear area.
The old warrior's body, worn and wracked by bloodthirst, was no longer recognizable.
He was on the brink of death.
"My Lord..."
The Sanguinary Guard were in tears. "If you don't drink blood, you won't survive!"
They tried to pour human blood into his mouth.
To ease his bloodthirst.
To help him survive and recover.
But—
"I'd rather die than accept the shame of the curse!"
Dante kept his mouth shut tight.
He refused the crimson temptation.
Every time he smelled blood, he remembered the loss of control from his youth.
He would never forget awakening, surrounded by dismembered corpses—his shame and horror unbearable.
He had killed them. Drunk their blood.
A disgrace he could never forgive—an insult to the Emperor.
From that moment on—
Dante had sworn an oath of abstinence. To resist the curse that shamed the noble sons of Sanguinius.
Until death.
Seeing him still resisting the thirst, many Blood Angels wept openly.
Unsure what to do.
Witnessing this, Eden was filled with deep respect.
He walked toward Dante.
"Let me handle it..."
The Blood Angels hesitated, then stepped aside.
The earlier battle had earned their trust.
They believed—
This Savior might have a better solution.
Eden knelt beside Dante and placed a hand on the old warrior's chest.
Then—
A warm wave of psychic life energy flowed from his hand into the warrior's body.
Using his divine authority over life, Eden began healing him.
Then—
He injected Dante with an Elixir Panacea.
Under its effects—
Dante's wounds and mind began to recover. His appearance visibly grew younger.
And his bloodthirst... was suppressed.
Of course—
This was only the beginning. Follow-up treatments would require the help of STC and further research into the curse.
The Elixir would need fine-tuning—
But it offered a chance for full recovery.
When Dante awoke—
And felt the changes in his body, he couldn't help but break down in sobs.
For countless centuries, the Blood Angels had endured shame and torment, desperately searching for a cure to the curse.
They had found nothing.
Now—this Savior had brought redemption.
Dante knelt on one knee, followed by the Blood Angels.
The sons of Sanguinius bowed in deepest gratitude and reverence to the Savior.
Eden hurried forward to lift the old warrior:
"Your strength should be returning. Come fight with me.
We still have a difficult war to wage—until every last xenos is purged in flame!"
He turned his gaze skyward.
Countless spore pods were falling from the sky—another wave from the Leviathan Vanguard was imminent!
But among the falling spores—
Countless streaks of fire descended.
The Savior's reinforcements—
Had arrived!
(End of Chapter)
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