71: Chapter 71 Pre-Battle Preparations.

"Brothers, I feel that Dante is lonely, having lived for so long all by himself."

"There's no helping it; this is their duty."

The descendants of Sanguinius who had gathered at Baal were no longer like the Ninth Legion of ten thousand years ago. They had each cultivated their own Chapter cultures, and therefore, they required a supreme Commander. As a legendary hero renowned throughout the Empire, Dante could certainly demand this using his prestige, and the majority of them would agree.

But this was not the way Dante wanted it, primarily because it would cause resentment among some of the Chapters. Although he wore the mask of the Father of Genes, he knew clearly that he was not the true Archangel Sanguinius; he was merely a Space Marine who had fought for 1,500 years.

He stood as an equal to the Chapter Masters of these successor Chapters. Dante also knew that he could not, like the Father of Genes, perfectly merge bloodlines separated for ten thousand years into a single entity. Yet, he still hoped to reduce the barriers between the Chapters so that they could achieve victory in the coming battle. Therefore, Dante had to secure supreme command of the campaign in a more dignified manner.

To achieve this goal, Dante engaged in a series of political maneuvers to win hearts and minds. First, he treated everyone who responded to the parent Chapter's call with courtesy, whether they were Chapter Masters, Sanguinary Priests, or their Captains; Dante would personally meet with every representative of the successor Chapters.

"Brothers, what else is there to say? Incredible!"

"But brothers, I have a question: what if one's own father is together with the Father of Genes—who should we call Father? It wouldn't do for our fathers to lower their generation and become sons, would it?"

Dante would express his sincere gratitude to them as a blood brother. In order to allow the Commanders of every Chapter to participate in war councils, Commander Dante rebuilt the Blood Angels' Red Council Chamber. It was in this vast council chamber that Commander Dante confirmed his leadership position.

Although their enemy was nearly impossible to defeat, they believed that the light of the Archangel would lead them to victory. This battle would undoubtedly be a bloodbath, and they had to annihilate the enemy on Baal; there was no other choice. If Baal fell, the entire northern border of the Eastern Fringe would be left wide open, and hundreds of millions of humans would become food for the Tyranids.

Dante swore by the bloodline of Sanguinius that he would never allow such a catastrophe to occur, no matter the cost. You might think he would ultimately be cut in half on Baal.

Just as the Blood Angels in the audience were filled with passion, Dante raised the issue of supreme command. Dante also promised that he would never forcibly seize command from other Chapters and stated that those who truly did not wish to follow orders could leave. Consequently, they held a vote; except for a few Chapters that opposed it, the majority supported Dante's decision. Those who opposed it did not leave either; they chose to accept the council's result and accepted Dante's command. All the brothers of the successor Chapters handed over the command of their forces to the Commander.

"Brothers, this should be a sure thing, right? After all, according to the data, this is nearly 30,000 Space Marines."

"Exactly, exactly. With this lineup, I don't even know how we could lose."

As for those Astartes Space Marines who had never set foot on Baal, they visited various ruins on the planet, viewed the remains of the Father of Genes together, and paid their respects to their father one last time.