Guilliman saw a terrifying sight: giant monsters, 20 meters tall, dragging huge tails.
Their upper bodies were dinosaur-like, their lower halves eight Tyranid insect legs, bodies covered in thick chitin armor.
These monsters rampaged across Baal, smashing Imperial Titans like toys—though there were only a dozen or so, it was enough for despair.
Astartes could not resist. The monsters' defense and strength were monstrous.
If Rhodes were present, he'd shout,
"Damn! Red King!"
A group of mini Red Kings, only 20 meters tall, deeply fused with Tyranid genes—a hybrid of Tyranid Hive Tyrant and Red King.
Upper body Red King, lower half bug—a new kind of Tyranid titan.
"Is this a bio-Titan? I know the Tyranids have a Hive Tyrant Titan unit, about 15 meters tall. Is this their new creation?" Guilliman frowned at Sanguinius.
He'd learned about the Tyranids since awakening—this fearsome race that Rhodes deeply feared. The Behemoth fleet had even attacked Ultramar and Macragge, so the Ultramarines had plenty of data.
Rumor was, that Tyranids were great at absorbing genes, even copying Astartes' black carapace.
"I don't know where the Tyranids got the genes for such giant beasts—this bio-Titan can't be perfectly replicated.
But the Hive Mind used some method to combine it with their own, hatching a weakened version of a bio-Titan.
These things weigh over 3,000 tons, covered in thick chitin, with terrifying defense, far greater than normal Hive Tyrants.
Now they've replaced all Hive Tyrants with these monsters. Next time the Tyranids attack the Imperium, these new Titans will lead.
My gene-sons can't resist them—I estimate they'll be wiped out in less than a day," Sanguinius said.
"My brother, I'm sorry, but with only a day, even if I wanted to help, I couldn't get there in time," Guilliman sighed.
Even if he'd awoken earlier, without a divine soul, he couldn't have communicated with Sanguinius through the Warp.
He now understood Sanguinius's despair.
"No! You are the hope. Today, I suddenly sensed your soul. I had already lost hope.
Remember what I just said? I used my psychic power to accelerate time there—seven days on Baal equals 100 years outside.
But if I want, I can slow Baal's time, buying my sons a bit more time.
And now we can communicate—if we use the Warp, we can bring a fleet straight to Baal.
You only need 20 days Warp travel to reach Baal," Sanguinius said.
He could speed up or slow down Baal's time, buying time for rescue.
The Great Rift's opening hit the Imperium hard but made it easier for Sanguinius to influence the material universe.
If not for the Rift and Guilliman's ascension, he'd have watched all his sons die, his home destroyed.
"I see. Don't worry, brother—I'll gather an army and come help you. Buy me some time to assemble a fleet," Guilliman nodded.
Luckily, he'd called back many gene-sons for the new Primaris upgrade.
Macragge had plenty of forces—otherwise, by the time an army was gathered, Baal would be gone.
"Thirty days! I can hold out for at most 30 days. During this time, I'll slow Baal's time so that one minute there equals a day outside.
You have 10 days to gather troops, my brother—please, save my children, save my home," Sanguinius pleaded.
"My brother, I promise—I'll save your gene-sons, your home, and you as well.
You may not know, but we have a powerful new brother—he has strength beyond your imagination.
I was able to get a matching body thanks to him," Guilliman told Sanguinius about Rhodes.
"I look forward to meeting this new brother, but for now, I must go.
Guilliman, every minute I speak here, more of my sons bleed and die. I'll slow Baal's time.
Thirty minutes on Baal equals thirty days outside. Hurry!" Sanguinius's soul nodded and flew away, focusing all his power on controlling time.
After speaking with his brother, Guilliman's soul returned to his body.
He snapped open his eyes, threw on some clothes, and rushed to find Rhodes.
Rhodes was asleep with Elena when a frantic knock woke him.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Get up, Rhodes! Something big's happened—I need your help!" Guilliman's voice was urgent.
Rhodes sat up with a sigh, pulled on some clothes, and opened the door to see the anxious Guilliman.
"It's late, Guilliman—can't this wait until morning?"
"Sorry to disturb you, Rhodes, but this is urgent!"
Rhodes nodded and brought Guilliman to his guest room.
"What's the matter, why so anxious? Chaos fleet attacking again?" Rhodes asked.
"No—not Chaos, it's the Tyranids!
This time I need your help against the Tyranids. We must hurry to Baal," Guilliman said.
"The Tyranids? To Baal?" Rhodes was shocked.
Baal had indeed suffered from Hive Fleet Leviathan, but because of the Rift, time there slowed.
After seven days of battle, Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade arrived just in time to save Baal.
But not now! Why would Guilliman want to go to Baal right now?
It'd take over a hundred years to get there!
"I saw Sanguinius! He asked me for help—Baal is in grave danger," Guilliman said.
"Wait, what? You saw Sanguinius? Isn't he dead?" Rhodes was dumbfounded.
"Thanks to you, my soul ascended, so I heard Sanguinius's call in the Warp.
I just went into the Warp, talked with him, and learned about Baal.
Sanguinius originally sped up Baal's time—seven days there, a hundred years here.
He didn't want to trouble me, planning to wait until I'd stabilized the Imperium before asking for help.
But now things have changed—his sons can't hold out that long!" Guilliman summarized.
Right—Mephiston, Tigurius, and other powerful Librarians had time acceleration and pausing abilities.
A Primarch's soul could slow an entire star system's time, especially during the Great Rift.
So, thanks to Rhodes, Sanguinius could contact Guilliman and ask for rescue.
If time could be controlled, going to Baal to farm coins would be ideal—the Tyranid swarm there was massive.
Rhodes hadn't wanted to go before because the time flow was too annoying.
I'm developing for a century outside, just to fight monsters there for seven days? Not worth it!
"Don't worry, take your time! What exactly did Sanguinius say?" Rhodes asked.
"I'll just show you!" Guilliman used his psychic power to show Rhodes the scene on Baal.
Rhodes' expression went from surprise to shock, mouth agape at the bug-like mini Red Kings.
"Damn! What the hell!"
Never underestimate Tyranids! Next time I fight them, I'm not using any bio-kaiju.
They even stole Red King's genes—though the copy isn't perfect.
"These are new bio-Titans made by the Tyranids, with extremely strong bodies.
That's why Baal can't hold out!" Guilliman explained.
"Ahem, got it. Don't worry, I'll help you," Rhodes said.
Time to tangle with his old enemy, the Tyranids, again.