74: Chapter 74 Mephisto's Prophecy.

Mephiston witnessed it in his dreams. Cadia was engulfed in the flames of war, and the armies of Abaddon the Despoiler were already bearing down upon it. The fortress world of Cadia was on the brink of falling. The Eye of Terror would soon split open, tearing the entire galaxy asunder.

Therefore, Dante had previously ordered Captain Arenas Kararan of the Blood Angels, who had finished the battle in the Pluto Galaxy, to lead approximately two companies of troops to reinforce Cadia against the 13th Black Crusade of the Chaos Archenemy.

"The 13th Black Crusade. Cadia, brothers, the mystery is solved; this is how Cadia was destroyed."

"Poor Cadia, their home is gone."

However, this level of resource allocation was already the limit. After all, the Blood Angels themselves still had to face the massive Tyranid Hive Fleet. According to the prophecy Mephiston saw, half of the members of this detachment would be consumed by the Black Rage during the battle in the Diamor System.

What caused Dante even more of a headache was that in his dream, Mephiston also saw that the presence of a large number of Sanguinius's sons on Baal had already attracted the attention of their nemesis: the Bloodthirster KaBandha. This mortal enemy of Sanguinius's sons was the very same KaBandha who, ten thousand years ago during the Signus Prime campaign, had broken the legs of the Sanguinius and, through his violent rage, ignited the Red Thirst in the hearts of the Ninth Legion warriors—a thirst that had always been kept in check by the Archangel Sanguinius.

"So the Blood Angels have a nemesis too."

"I wonder if they can survive this calamity."

Some believe that the genetic flaws of Sanguinius's sons might be linked to KaBandha in some way, which is why this Greater Daemon of Khorne is also known as the Bane of Angels. The reconvergence of the Ninth Legion's bloodlines was undoubtedly a fatal attraction for KaBandha. This Bloodthirster was attempting to pierce the veil between the material realm and the immaterial realm to come to Baal and taste the blood of the Archangel's sons.

If KaBandha were to descend upon the battlefield while the sons of Sanguinius were engaged in full-scale combat with the Tyranids, the terrifying power he wielded would undoubtedly cause countless frenzied brothers to fall into the abyss. Upon receiving this news, Dante demanded that Mephiston and his team of Librarians do whatever it took, even if it meant touching upon forbidden knowledge and dark realms, to prevent the arrival of this Greater Daemon.

"Dante's approach is a desperate gamble; he's determined to stop this disaster no matter what it takes."

"A desperate gamble, a fight to the death—he has guts; truly worthy of being Dante."

Dante could never allow a large number of Sanguinius's sons to be consumed by madness without glory under his command. To tip the scales of victory in his favor as much as possible, Dante included the local Civilian population when planning the defense of the Baal System. Previously, to halt the advance of Hive Fleet Leviathan, the Blood Angels had already enacted Exterminatus on numerous planets around the Baal System. Countless Civilians had died under Dante's orders.

"Sigh, this is the only way."

"Indeed, in this world, death is truly a mercy."

And now, the Commander needed the people of the Baal System to make their own contributions as well. Among the population, apart from those under the age of 10 and their mothers who were allowed to evacuate the planet, everyone else was to be armed. They would be issued laser guns by the Blood Angels to arm themselves.