‘Then we should go to Iax,’ said Calgar.

‘Not yet. The creatures there will be too powerful to overcome. First, I shall lead Imperial forces to Espandor. It was there that the war began. It is there that we shall begin the finishing of it.’

The hololith shut off. A collective sigh of relief whispered from the mortal members of the quorum.

‘Espandor lies closest to the Scourge Stars,’ continued Guilliman. ‘It is a corridor for war materiel, a conduit through the warp. Through that system, Mortarion’s armies come, riding fast upon the empyrean tides of this filth we saw upon Ardium.’ Guilliman leaned back from the table, his eyes glinting with the prospect of revenge against his brother. ‘By retaking the system, we will cut off Mortarion’s ability to resupply his fleets. If we can locate these machines upon Espandor and disable them, the torrent of power sickening the soul of Ultramar can be closed off. His daemon legions will struggle to remain manifest. The dead will not rise so easily.

‘Once his mortal forces are isolated from one another, and we can be sure they will not be reinforced by uncanny means, then we might begin their piecemeal destruction. From what Captain Ventris told me at Raukos, the warriors of Espandor Prime still hold out, but their days are numbered. I say now is the moment to lend them the full strength of our armies and retake the system completely. I name this endeavour the Spear of Espandor. Let it be noted.’

There was no discussion, no semblance of inviting debate. The Imperial Regent stated his intention, and it was accepted. The Space Marines in the hall would follow without question.

Guilliman looked down at the map again. ‘I swear it shall be so, for all the people of Ultramar, and the Imperium.’

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Espandoria Tertio

Espandoria Tertio’s spires were tantalising vertical lines on the horizon. Three weeks of fighting had pushed the Imperial advance closer to the city, through minefield, defence line and trench network. The city was almost won, and with it the eastern part of the main continent. All that lay between the primarch’s forces and victory was the final defence line, moated by a sea of mud that was formerly the River Oderia. The river’s flow was blocked in many places, causing it to back up and its waters to seep into the earth. The result was an expanse of muck where solid and liquid were indivisible.

Within Espandoria Tertio was the last, and the most powerful, of Mortarion’s warp engines on Espandor.

Void shields and defence batteries made an aerial assault impossible. The battle for Espandoria Tertio would be won the way wars had been won since one man had hit another with a rock on the dusty plains of old Afrik.