The battlefield was utter chaos the Bloodied Visage and Emperors Judgement lines crashed together with the peal of ceramite crashing together like a bell of epic proportions and there and then Ultio Ultionis knew how his legion would be forgotten. Despite the fact that he would never turn from his father's light, the Emperor of Mankind could not let this warp on Cypra Mundi with daemons of chaos come to light. But none of that mattered anymore for Uvall Jormungand had a means of being able to endanger the life of the Emperor from an infinite number of places and an infinite number of times, all that mattered now was the fact that Uvall Jormungand had to die and the infernal time machine had to be destroyed.
But that was easier said than done for a third army was making planet fall a daemonic legion of Khorne, right now the Emperors Judgement were locked in battle with the Bloodied Visage, the Mechanicus maniples of battle robots and Warhound titans of the Legio Astorum and Kerakian Knight Houses were laying waste to the daemons falling out of the rift torn into reality. For the moment the greater portion of daemons were being slain but many were making planet fall and running amok killing astartes of both legions. Behind Ultio Ultionis' position the Kerakian Feudal Guard and the Myrmidon Lancers were setting down before the immense walls of the hive city Krimisha, they would bring the wall weapons online and shut the gates in preparation for a fall-back position if the battle did not go their way.
For Ultio Ultionis he stood in the eye of the storm nothing had attacked him yet, the giant daemon that was Skarbrand the Exiled One's attention was firmly fixed on smiting Uvall Jormungand who was wielding the mighty halberd Ra fending off blows from the beasts twin axes. Ultio had a choice he could wait for Skarbrand to kill Uvall Jormungand then engage the Khornate daemon in single combat but Ultio dismissed the thought for he would risk suffering the same fate. Despite everything Uvall had done Ultio would fight with his brother to defeat the daemon then Uvall would suffer the same fate.
With a roar of anger Ultio charged up what was left of the mound of skulls to the left of his position a squad of Rakshasa charged him firing on the run with bolt pistols as they sought to close the distance so they could use their khopesh power swords. Before they could get within two hundred paces they were ambushed but not by the Emperor's Judgement by a pack of red daemons sporting horns and long black flaming iron swords fell upon them. A frenzied fight erupted between the Rakshasa and the daemons but three astartes managed to escape the melee and charged Ultio head on, they dropped their bolt pistols took their khopesh power swords in two hand grips and roared their war cries.
Without skipping a beat Ultio swung his mighty Warhammer in a wide arc and smote the three astartes too bloody ruin in one swing. Ultio did not pause to look upon the human wreckage he had created, instead he charged forth and within ten strides he was amongst the melee of astartes and daemons. Sensing the greater threat both sides fell upon Ultio, their uneasy alliance did not last long for Ultio roaring in anger killed every single one of them with vicious swings of his Warhammer. Like the times they had fought warp entities with the Luna Wolves the Khorne daemons disappeared into nothingness but the Bloodied Visage lay where they fell broken, twisted and pulped.
Ultio hefted his Warhammer in a high two handed grip, he roared in anger then charged up the rest of the mound, he leapt onto half of the obsidian throne then leapt with all his might at Skarbrand. The Exiled One saw the blow coming but too late, he swung one of his axes around to parry the blow but Ultio was too high he sailed over the axe and struck Skarbrand across the head with all his might. There was a thunder crack a sickening sound to behold, Skarbrand began to topple like a freshly felled tree, the Khornate daemon collapsed into the mound of skulls. Uvall Jormungand sauntered to stand beside Ultio Ultionis, looking at the felled Skarbrand.
'Well struck brother-' began Uvall.
Uvall Jormungand never got to finish whatever he was going to say for Ultio Ultionis struck him in the midriff with such force with his Warhammer that Uvall was thrown twenty paces through the air. 'You are not my brother, you never have been.'
Skarbrand was not down for long, no sooner did he hit the mound of skulls did he force himself back onto his hooved. With a bestial war cry Skarbrand turned back around he looked down to Ultio.
'A lucky strike.' Snarled Skarbrand, the blow hadn't hurt the behemoth it had just made it angrier. 'It matters not for I will split you in two and feast upon your entrails.'
'No you will not.' Countered Ultio Ultionis, he gestured to the Emperors Judgement astartes beating back the daemons that made it past the titans. 'My sons have all but made planet fall we are slaughtering your daemon bastards before you can gain so much as a foothold, we will send them back to whence they came and I will rip your head from your skull before I cast you back into the warp.'
'You think this is all I have little man.' Snarled Skarbrand. 'This is just a drop in a puddle compared to the ocean of bloodshed in this ritual, behold the legions of Khorne!'
Skarbrand the Exiled One then threw his bestial head back to the heavens and roared with so much might that the ground shook, then Ultio felt something wet hit his face, Ultio wiped the liquid from his face then held his palm up to look at it. It was blood then more droplets hit his palm, then it turned into a shower then it became a storm it was torrentially raining blood. Then something grabbed his ankle, Ultio looked down to see a crimson arm gripping his leg grasping from the dirt, Ultio shook it off then splintered the hand with his Warhammer.
The blood soaked muddy ground was squirming, there were countless crimson beasts mewling and snarling clawing their way out of the ground, Ultio knew then and there that there would be millions upon millions of these demonic beasts free from the earth and ready to tear the flesh from his sons. Ultio knew he was going to be surrounded, despite the burning need to banish Skarbrand, he would not do so at the expense of his legion.
Ultio accessed a command vox channel while backpeddling from the still screaming Skarbrand. 'Regroup, I repeat regroup! We are to conduct a fighting withdrawal! We are to strike for Krimisha!'
'You will not deny me my blood little manling!' roared Skarbrand. 'I have waited an epoch to taste the vitae of the Anathema's bastard!'
Ultio did not rise to the bait he continued to move away from Skarbrand checking over his shoulder seeing that his sons were fighting back to the hive-city in good order, the Bloodied Visage did not follow instead they rallied to their liege lord who was just now getting to his feet. The crimson daemons were giving chase cutting down his sons with their black blades or raking them with their claws.
Skarbrand roared a challenge then began to thunder towards Ultio his mighty hoofed tread shaking the very ground setting the ground ablaze in his wake. Skarbrand would not let Ultio escape and Ultio would not flee like wet hen. Ultio stood his ground and ordered his shield guard to retreat but they refused the order standing before him a wall over four hundred astartes. Around the charging Skarbrand's hooves were hundreds of daemons eager to spill blood, Ultio knew that many of his sons would die in the next few moments, perhaps even he would die.
Skarbrand and his horde got to within a hundred metres then the ground between two forces when the ground erupted into explosions tearing apart the daemons, emerging from the edges of the fray was a Warhound Titan of the Legio Astorum. The Warhound was hammering the demonic scum with its Vulcan Megabolters, the daemons did not falter but their front ranks were obliterated every time they tried to close on the Emperor's Judgement. Ultio would not look a gift horse in the mouth he ordered his Shield Guard to fall back and this time he followed the but he could not take his eyes from Skarbrand who now turned his attention on the Warhound.
Sensing the danger Skarbrand presented the princeps of the titan turned its megabolters on the daemon lord, but to little avail for Skarbrand closed the distance before he could be fired upon. With a downward arcing swing Skarbrand struck the right shoulder mount of the Warhound sheering off its megabolter with such force that the titan was overbalanced, then with a swing of Skarbrand's left axe the Warhound was decapitated. The Warhound hit the ground and daemons scurried over its metal carcass to get at the crew inside, Skarbrand roared a challenge to the heavens then charged forward once more. But Ultio was long gone he was into the rear echelons of his legion but he realised that his sons were moving forward but barely, nearing the front of the vanguard before long he found himself next to Lord Commander Tiberius, whose armour was cracked and pitted.
'My lord!' roared Tiberius, over the din of battle. 'We are being ground to a halt the daemon scum are too many, we are going to be surrounded and cut to pieces!'
Ultio did not reply for the roar of Skarbrand stole any possibility of retorting the bestial daemon lord for he and his daemon horde was attacking their rearguard.
Ultio placed his hands on Tiberius' shoulders. 'Divide our forces we are more than capable of fighting on two fronts, order the titan legions to engage in close quarters bombardment by our rear-guard.'
'My lord they would never risk bringing you harm!' countered Tiberius.
Ultio looked to Skarbrand who was reaving astartes life like they were no more than a summer harvest, he then looked back to Tiberius. 'If they refuse tell them there won't be anything left of me to harm.'
