Warhammer: Just unified the Empire, you said it was 40K

Chapter 281 Return
Near Terra in the Empire.

A subspace supply station that had existed for ten thousand years suddenly cracked open.

That was the gap created by the warship opening the passage between the warp and the real universe. Looking through the warp passage, a huge warship, larger than a typical moon-class battleship, and even larger than a typical ocean-going Imperial warship, slowly emerged from the warp rift.

Its prow was covered with chaotic corpses.

Even while crossing the warp rift, from the nearby watchtower maintenance station, one could see Imperial Space Marines fighting and battling on the decks of battleships, as well as mortal support troops.

"Enemies have appeared!"

"Not the enemy, the ship is the mark of the Steel Hand Chapter."

"The Steel Hand Chapter, what are they doing on Terra? Every time these chapters come to Terra, they cause a lot of trouble. Make them return immediately, or our planetary orbital cannons will be aimed at their fleet."

"This is troublesome, Commander Desia, the other side has refused to communicate with us!"

A female judge approached, her face cold as she looked at the signal sign before her. "Refusal to communicate! Has the Steel Hand inside betrayed the Empire? The Steel Hand, this chapter, has yet to heed the Astartes Codex's orders to restrain the chapter. It seems they have truly betrayed us."

Within the watchtower were people from various empires, such as certain administrative officials from the Ministry of the Interior, certain cardinals from the National Footballers' Guild, or some judges from the Inquisition.

They have the authority to inspect all warships that come to the Empire.

No one could refuse their demands for review. This was not only a responsibility bestowed upon them by the Emperor, but also by all humanity in the galaxy. Inquisitor Desia's gaze was filled with scrutiny of Chaos, Heresy, and Traitors.

They had reason to suspect the other side was a chaotic force, and at the same time, they also had reason to eliminate such a warship, regardless of the internal strife within the empire: "Stop them."

"Wait! Commander Desia, it's not just the Iron Hand!"

A gasp escaped Desia's lips as she heard the shocked exclamations of others, "Not just the Iron Hand? There are other chapters too! What are they trying to do?!"

The judge was immediately filled with fear.

So many warbands, coming to Terra.

What do they want?
What do they want to do!
These people are not the most useful henchmen among the high lords, nor are they necessarily absolutely loyal to the Empire. However, these neutral individuals may be loyal while also having some conflicts with the high lords. Such people are the best tools the high lords currently have at their disposal.

On the Empire's side, there are clearly significant disagreements regarding the return of Macado.

Regarding Macardo, on the one hand, the Empire is trying its best to keep everyone in the dark about Macardo's return, while on the other hand, it is waiting for Macardo's return to see if it can bring about some changes to the Empire. Amid this disagreement, there is also a large number of opportunists.

Despite Macardo's low-key return.

Before his official return, before he returned to the Empire, before he returned to the Terra he was loyal to, everyone kept the news of Macardo's return under the same level of secrecy.

However, their voyage still encountered some problems.

On the way, they encountered countless chaotic enemies, and even the Geller Force Field could not completely protect them.

On an Imperial Queen-class battleship imbued with the power of Geller, sixteen macro cannons were arrayed on either side, not yet retracted, clearly having just been used. To either side, a varying number of Imperial Moon-class battleships accompanied them, each battleship covered in what appeared to be blood, adorned with fragments of Chaos and Space Marines hacking and slashing at Chaos.

During their voyage, before they even reached Terra, they were targeted for assassination by at least one group of mysterious assassins.

A group of shapeshifters, suspected to be from the Assassin's Court, disguised themselves as their comrades, and during a meal, Macardo nearly suffered a horrific assassination attempt.

Although the enemy was caught before they even got close to Makado's room.

However, the enemy's poison still managed to assassinate three Astartes soldiers.

This experience taught them a lesson.

They need to be careful of the people in their ranks. It's quite possible that a group of people in their ranks don't want them to return, so they replaced the mortal support troops and stationed the Space Marines near Macado.

Then, they encountered attacks from Chaos, Xenomorphs, and even Eldar assassins.

These orders may not necessarily be from the high lords of Terra, but the return of the human Makador is clearly not in the interests of other races. Therefore, the number of people assassinating Makador has been increasing, to the point that they have to be on high alert to prevent the enemy from getting close to Makador.

If Macardo possessed all the power he had in life, they naturally wouldn't have anything to worry about.

However, Macardo's current status is more symbolic than his actual power. Although the power granted by the Emperor is strong, the Emperor cannot lend him that power at all times, so he needs to be extremely careful.

Upon entering Terra, the nearby outpost began contacting them, requesting information about who was being transported and their destination. They knew this was a standard procedure, a registration process required for every warship to prevent the possibility of enemy ships being unloaded onto Terra.

But now, in order to bring Macardo back to the Empire, they must be extremely careful and cannot let their guard down at any time.

Success was within reach, and if they were to abandon their plans at the crucial final moment, wouldn't that plunge the empire, which should have been on the right track, back into a predicament?

So they won't tell these guys that they're going to talk to someone who can actually speak.

For example, the commander of the Imperial Guard, a high-ranking official sent by loyalists of the Empire, or monks from the Brotherhood of Astartes might come to greet them.
They were certain that as soon as they informed these people of Makado's return, these people would immediately demand that they verify his identity and delay them indefinitely. However, if they waited until Makado's identity was verified, even if it was very soon, the whole situation would be out of their control.

Therefore, their method was to call upon the fleet they could muster to return to Terra immediately.

Even if they are not in Terra, they should wait in a place where they can be supported at any time.

Because Makado's imminent return is of absolute importance to them, surpassing any other task or project they have to accomplish now. Nothing is more important than Makado's return, and nothing is more important than Makado regaining control of the empire.

So the Father of Steel, along with the other chapter leaders, all gathered together.

Around Macardo, and with Macardo heading back towards the Empire, they discussed everything together, planning to re-elect Macardo as the leader of the Empire, regent, and military leader.
At the same time, they also believed that Macardo's presence would improve the current divided atmosphere within their Astartes Chapter. Before coming here, they had already had many exchanges with Macardo, whose outstanding insights had deeply impressed them. Macardo's various plans had also rekindled their hope for the future of the Reich.

Learning from Makado that the Primarch was gradually reviving filled them with immense excitement.

In their eyes, Macardo's return was the beginning of the Empire's prosperity and revival. Things would gradually get better. As long as they allowed Macardo to return to Terra and meet the Emperor, everything would change.

Within the empire, those in high positions do not wish for their return, but they cannot prevent it.

They have brought an unimaginable number of Imperial chapters here.

These chapters, upon hearing the call to arms from chapters such as the Iron Hand, the Imperial Fist, and the Dark Angels...

They quickly assembled.

Even if the Highlords were to completely betray the Empire, these warbands could guarantee that they would not allow any of the Highlords' schemes to be carried out, nor would they allow the Highlords of the Highlord Council and their subordinates any room for rebellion.

They are ready.

If we cannot directly capture the High Lord.

Then.

Let's wage a thorough civil war, wipe out all the offspring of the high lords and those who betrayed the empire, and let the empire return to the hands of the true empire.

In front of the watchtower.

The enormous warship, like a giant whale in space, struggled to navigate.

On the massive space station, the ordinary people working there watched in utter shock as the battle raged above the warships. The Gayler force fields on those warships had not been completely shut down, and blood was even being flung off the warships by the flow of space.

The massive cannon muzzle was emitting some kind of scorching metallic ash, and the machine spirit let out an angry roar.

And behind.

Several more cracks appeared in succession.

"What it is?"

"Battleship?"

"How can there be so many warships, and all of them are those strange warships!"

The Imperial descriptions of the Astartes, especially on Terra, are tinged with hostility. Only those actually on the battlefield refer to these people as the Emperor's angels.

When the Imperial Ministry of the Interior and its bureaucratic staff stood before these Space Marines, they exuded contempt. Even though they outwardly showed respect, deep down they harbored resentment and hostility.

And this is especially true for those who are more detached from the battlefield and more confined within the empire, receiving elite education from the high lords.

However, these Astartes had no time to pay them any attention.

(End of this chapter)