The Bizarre Adventure of the Warhammer Guard

The Great Expedition began, and with the Emperor's command, the Moon became the first target to be reclaimed.

The moon was once humanity's genetic laboratory, housing vast amounts of genetic modification equipment that allowed the Empire to mass-produce Space Marines more quickly. Now, the moon is controlled by a cult called the Selena.

"The Order of Selena has rejected the Emperor's proposal." Upon seeing the battle order issued by the Emperor, personally delivered by the Imperial Guard, the commander of the Sixteenth Legion said, "Prepare for battle and let the Emperor's wrath fall upon these audacious scoundrels."

"I propose that we launch a frontal assault, break through the enemy's lines, and win the first victory of the Great Expedition," said the commander of the 13th Army Corps.

"No, the Sixteenth Army Corps will launch a direct surprise attack. We will use landing craft and airdrop pods to directly airdrop into the enemy base, precisely and quickly dismantling their defenses." The commander of the Sixteenth Army Corps was in high spirits, eager to win.

"Alright, the Seventh and Thirteenth Legions will draw enemy fire from the front, creating conditions for you. After the surprise attack is successful, we can attack the enemy from both sides," the Seventh Legion commander added to the battle plan.

They then looked at Elpis, who was listening to their battle meeting. Elpis nodded, indicating that he had no objection to Astartes' battle plan.

For the Empire’s first foreign war, the Emperor sent Elpis to the front lines, both to ensure victory and to observe the combat capabilities of these nascent Space Marines.

Inside the operations command center, the commanders of the three legions were developing more detailed battle plans. Elpis, meanwhile, looked through the warship's glass at the ever-approaching moon; they were currently en route to lunar orbit.

Upon reaching the designated orbit, countless landing craft were instantly released and headed towards the Selena Order's fortress complex.

The Space Marines of the Seventh and Thirteenth Legions charged ahead, leading the charge against the enemy's defensive fire. The newly formed Astartes coordinated seamlessly, providing cover for each other and relying on their explosive rifles and armor to eliminate one firing point after another. The enemy was forced to deploy more personnel and weapons to deal with such a formidable opponent.

At this moment, the 16th Army Corps, which had been waiting for an opportunity, made its move. They first used the airdrop pods to smash through the fortress and enter the enemy's territory. The vanguard troops in the airdrop pods poured out like a pack of wolves, searching for and destroying the heavy firepower points hidden in the fortress.

Then, the modified landing craft passed through the outer defensive fire at high speed and dropped the 16th Army Corps' reinforcements through the gap smashed in the airdrop compartment.

Faced with a pincer attack from three Astartes legions, the Serena Order finally succumbed to their pressure after just six hours and surrendered.

The highest leader and other members of the Selena Order were captured. Terrified, they submitted to the Empire and sent a surrender statement to Terra.

"Your Majesty, we surrender and beg you to take back your wolf pack..."

Elpis also arrived at the fortress of the recently surrendered Serena Order by landing craft. He needed to collect all the religious superstitions of the Order and bring them back to Terra to be destroyed by the Emperor.

Elpis stepped out of the landing craft; the fortress was littered with the mangled corpses of the enemy. These cult members were obsessively obsessed with genetic modification, transforming their servants into twisted humanoid monsters—some with four arms, some with three eyes, and some even with three heads—but now they had all fallen to Astartes's explosive muskets.

The higher-ups of the cult, however, were all normal humans who had simply enhanced their strength and extended their lives through genetic engineering. These people believed themselves to be creators, able to arbitrarily piece together and modify humans.

After directing the Astartes to collect the tomes, Elpis stepped outside the fortress and onto the surface of the moon. This was his first time on the moon. Unlike Terra, the lunar surface, untouched by buildings, was desolate and lifeless, and the vast universe was easily visible, as was humanity's home planet—Terra.

Elpis saw Terra, unlike the bountiful blue planet he remembered. This planet was mostly yellowish-black, as if it were dying. But in one area, a colossal complex of buildings forged from steel and gold was clearly visible on the moon—the Star Torch and the Imperial Palace situated beside it.

Elpis gazed at Terra for a long time, motionless, like a silent guardian. After an unknown amount of time, Elpis turned, returned to the landing ship, and took the tome back to Terra.

After handing the scriptures over to the relevant personnel, Elpis went to the training ground to begin his training. He sat cross-legged, placed his Moon Spear flat on his lap, and closed his eyes to meditate. He could feel a power within him resonating with the mysterious symbols on the Moon Spear.

Elpis could feel himself conversing with the Spear of the Moon. As the conversation deepened, he became more adept at using the Spear of the Moon, and a power, like psionic energy, was generated within him. However, this power was very weak at the moment, and he couldn't even mobilize it.

Elpis had also asked Macardo about this, but he only received one sentence: "Make good use of your talent, Elpis."

-

With the moon returning to the Empire's embrace, the Astartes Incubation Center was subsequently established on the moon. Elpis also heard that the Sixteenth Legion, which used surprise tactics in the moon reconquest operation, was given the name "Shadowmoon Wolves" by the Emperor in recognition of their outstanding achievements in this battle.

On the moon, more and more Astartes warriors were being trained, and the people of the Empire took pride in becoming one. They did not disappoint the Emperor; several lost human worlds near Terra were conquered and incorporated into the Empire's territory.

At this time, the Imperial fleet also encountered a fleet from Mars.

Long ago, Mars was an important industrial base for humankind. Nowadays, all we see are tech priests who have undergone extensive mechanical modifications and shout the name of the god of machines. They are followers of the cult of machines and worship the "god of machines".

The Imperial fleet, witnessing such a violation of Imperial principles, nearly opened fire on the Mechanicus fleet, but a message arrived from the Emperor: he would personally travel to Mars to reach an agreement with the Mechanicus there.

Elpis, along with Diocletian and Ra, will accompany the Emperor to Mars to negotiate with the Mechanicus.