Rhodes already possessed the Emperor's psychic power for protection, allowing him to communicate remotely with Guilliman.
Guilliman, in turn, could establish a communication channel and contact Sanguinius within the Warp.
"Lord Rhodes, please ask the Gene-Father for his opinion. If he agrees with our transformation, we will accept your special neural core. If not, we will continue to endure this pain." Dante spoke up.
This matter, if possible, should indeed be decided by their Gene-Father.
"Wait a mont, I'll contact Sanguinius now."
Rhodes nodded, sat down cross-legged, cleared his mind, and let his consciousness enter the Warp to contact Guilliman.
...
Far away on Macragge, Guilliman sensed Rhodes' psychic signal, imdiately put down his work, and projected his spirit into the Warp as well.
"Is sothing wrong, Rhodes? Why the urgency?" Guilliman asked.
"I have good news: the war for Baal is over. I have annihilated the Leviathan tendril fleet. Once things stabilize here, I'll return to Macragge via the Warp and rendezvous with you."
Rhodes then explained the events of the Battle of Baal in detail.
"I knew you could do it, Rhodes! With six hundred thousand Space Marines, if you couldn't win, I'd be surprised!"
Upon hearing of the Tyranids' defeat, Guilliman was quite excited.
By his estimation, it had only been five or six days since Rhodes arrived in the Baal system—less than a week to repel and even annihilate the Tyranid swarm. This was beyond his expectations.
He had thought that even if Rhodes could win, it would take at least a month, perhaps more, and could delay the Terra Crusade.
Now, all his concerns had vanished.
"Let's just say I tried sothing new this ti, which is why the Tyranids lost.
Every ti you fight Tyranids, you'd better have sothing new up your sleeve—their rate of evolution is terrifying," Rhodes said.
He had to keep growing stronger and co up with new monsters for each larger-scale battle against the Tyranids.
"Understood. After this battle, you must write a detailed report—I need to analyze it thoroughly," Guilliman's spirit said.
Know your enemy and yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat!
The more he understood the Tyranids, the more confident he would be in facing them in the future.
"Don't make it hard for —I'll have Dante, Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, write your report! He'll make it detailed. As for , I'll just give you an oral account," Rhodes said.
Writing a detailed combat report was the last thing Rhodes wanted to do.
"It seems internal affairs are still my forte. Fine, when you get back to Macragge, tell all about the battle in detail.
As for the Blood Angels, have them submit all reports from the Phlegethon and Baal campaigns to ."
"Got it. Aside from the Baal war update, there's another matter—let explain."
Rhodes explained, in detail, the Blood Angels' request to use his special neural core to solve their Red Thirst and Black Rage.
"So, you're saying your special neural core can control this blood transformation, but the Blood Angels will irreversibly beco another species—vampires—because of their thirst for blood, right?"
Guilliman, far away on Macragge, frowned.
This was a bit like the Wulfen's curse, but the Red Thirst was even more terrifying.
After awakening, he had read many Blood Angels records. The Ultramarines had also discovered that so Blood Angels successor Chapters drank human blood.
The most serious case was the Flesh Tearers, who were even declared heretics by the Imperium due to their slaughter of mortals.
Because of this Chapter, the Blood Angels' greatest, darkest secret was fully exposed.
He had always wondered why the noble and holy Sanguinius had such ghoulish descendants.
But after awakening his god-soul and becoming a minor god, Guilliman understood:
Angels and demons are just two sides of a coin!
Sanguinius's descendants were as noble as he but also fell prey to the sa blood madness.
The oldest vampire legends on Earth originated from angels.
Turning into a vampire was unacceptable!
Vampires, after fully transforming, lose all humanity and even fall into Chaos, becoming terrifying monsters.
Although they claid the transformation would only be used in extre circumstances, if they couldn't control their bloodlust and used it frequently, they would inevitably beco vampires—and fall to Chaos.
Worse, vampires have the power to Embrace—turning mortals into vampires through their blood.
The Blood Angels' gene modification was the best example.
Unlike other Chapters, they consud Sanguinius's blood, lay in a sarcophagus, grew superhuman organs, and finally implanted the black carapace.
This was almost exactly like a vampire's Embrace. Guilliman could foresee: if even one mber fell, vampires would breed endlessly—a new xenos threat to humanity.
Guilliman conveyed all his concerns to Rhodes.
"That's why I haven't agreed to their request. They don't know how terrifying vampires are.
So, how about you contact Sanguinius directly? I promised to discuss this with their Gene-Father," Rhodes replied.
"Rhodes, just refuse them outright. This transformative ability must not be given to them.
They can't guarantee the safety of all Blood Angels or their successors. This blood transformation must not happen," Guilliman said.
There was one thing he hadn't told Rhodes: all the Primarchs' arrival points were, in a way, predestined. For example, he landed on Macragge—a city-state reminiscent of ancient Ro.
Sanguinius landed on Baal, a world with vampire legends. In a sense, Sanguinius himself was the progenitor of vampires.
The Blood Angels' unique blood modification was proof; the blood transformation would only make the infection more terrifying.
"Aren't you going to discuss it with Sanguinius?" Rhodes asked.
Rhodes was eager to et Sanguinius and see what kind of person this archangel truly was.
Although he had the Emperor's psychic power, he was not a Warp god or a gene-son of Sanguinius, so he could not directly contact the archangel's soul.
"All right! It's ti for you two to et. Sanguinius is curious about you and Sister Elena, but I must warn you, Rhodes!" Guilliman said seriously.
"What is it?"
"Sanguinius was killed by Horus. Never ntion him or say Horus is resurrected."
Guilliman continued.
Sanguinius usually seed gentle and holy, but in battle, he was a bloodthirsty madman.
His rage toward Horus at death beca a dark consciousness. According to Sanguinius, it was born from Baal—a great evil.
But Guilliman knew this darkness ca from Sanguinius himself, just like the Blood Curse.
Now, this Black Rage was sealed in a gene-seed descendant.
If Sanguinius learned Horus was alive—the one who forced the Emperor onto the Golden Throne and caused his death—he might go dark instantly, or even fall to Chaos.
He knew how close Sanguinius and Horus had been.
Of all the brothers, their relationship was the best.
Horus had even promised to help solve the bloodlust problem, but after turning traitor, stabbed Sanguinius in the back.
Thus, Sanguinius's hatred for Horus reached unimaginable heights.
"Understood! Don't worry, I won't ntion Horus. But I plan to resurrect Sanguinius—what do you think will happen if he ets Horus in the future?"
Rhodes gave Guilliman a heads-up.
"Resurrect Sanguinius? How? Where will you find a body suitable for him?"
Guilliman was shocked.
He knew how demanding a fully awakened minor god was regarding a physical vessel.
But with Rhodes, surprises were possible.
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