26 City State War Parties.

(There have always been Female Custodes.---RESIST TEMPTATION BROTHERS! FOLLOW THE LIGHT OF EMPEROR JUSTINIAN! DON'T FALL FO-. Look on the bright side; now, no one can shame me for having these images. Wink, Wink)

Once they started, Justinian and Remnosh spent nearly a week staring at each other. When he was still a regular human, Justinian avoided long-term relationships, but he didn't let that stop him from enjoying sexual hookups.

He was only very safe to avoid catching some illness or making any unwanted children. When he became a Custodes, his Emotions became severely muted, and he had become nearly emotionless.

That changed when he became a Psyker, and his soul evolved into a Dragon Soul. This caused his emotions not to become as extreme as those of Psykers or Dragons but still far more active than the emotions or lack of emotions that most Custodes had.

Since this was the first time he had sex ever since becoming a Custodes, he hadn't known what to expect. It wasn't helpful that his partner was Remnosh, who had just gone through Atavism and reverted to her ancestral race as a Burning Martian.

She was as resilient and enduring as he was, and in bed, that was wild. Justinian also learned why having a shapeshifting lover was a blessing since she could do things no other individual could.

At the end of the week inside the Hotspring Dimension, only an hour had passed outside in the real world. When they finished and left the dimension, he stopped supporting the existence of the small pocket Dimension, causing it to cease to exist.

Once out, they dressed, donned their armor, and returned to his throne room, where his Honor Guard had been left behind. He had told them he was going to experiment with the Spear of Destiny, and they were expecting good news.

He didn't address them for now and merely took his place on his Crystal Throne. When he did so, his new Perpetual Status and the enhancement of his Psychic and Magical prowess caused his presence in the Psychic Net to become like a bright star.

If some of the Martians of Cadia City had worshiped him before, none doubted his Divinity. Lauralina, who was always close to him with shaking hands, removed her helm to show her crying eyes.

From the look of it, she was not the only one. The rest of his Honor Guard removed their helmets and fell to their knees, openly weeping at the sight of him. Remnosh, who, as usual, proudly sat on his lap, turned to the rest of the Martians.

She could no longer call them her 'fellow' White Martians since she was no longer a White Martian. She watched as all 39 of these 'Elites' formed the Draconica on their chests and lowered their heads to Justinian.

"What are you all doing?"

Lauralina went a step further and prostrated herself while still weeping.

"We are just so moved by the sight of our Lord and his divine ascension. Just feeling his presence through the Psychic Net is a blessing."

The rest of his Honor Guard seemed to feel the same way, which made Justinian smile at their loyalty.

"You 40 are not just my Honor Guard; you are my Companions now. As such, you all deserve to partake of this blessing."

He summoned his Guardian Spear, the perfect fusion of Archeotech technology, magic, Psyker, and Divine blessings. Seeing the weapon alone caused his guards, aside from Remnosh, to gaze at it reverently.

"Remnosh here has received Atavisim, and now the rest of you shall receive the same."

From the spear, 39 orbs of power, which glowed with the brightest of gold and the darkest purple in the center, entered the chests of his Elite Honor Guard. Since he had established the concept of an Honor Guard, all of them had received personal training from him and enhancement from many rituals he created with aid from his two partners.

Now that a week had passed since he had ascended past his 'mortality,' his control over his abilities had returned. Rather than the painful transformation Remnosh underwent, they didn't experience that.

Justinian carefully used his access to Conceptual Energy from the Concepts of Domination from Dragon God Ddraig and Supremecy from Dragon God Albion. Using this power, he amplified his Biomancy and directly cleared his Guards from the genetic tampering of the Guardians.

Each of the 39 Elites burst into dark purple flames before they began transforming into their actual Burning Martian forms. Appearance-wise, they looked like burning humanoid monsters in Power Armor, as each had weapons and armor bound to their souls like him and Remnosh.

He also made sure to purge their ability to reproduce asexually or absorb negative emotions, as it was a self-destructive skill. What took him and Remnosh several agonizing minutes took them a few painless moments.

He patiently waited for them to settle into their new forms before they quickly reverted to the appearances he had given them.

"How does it feel to become true Martians now?"

When they all focused on his words, they fell to their knees as he placed the truth of the Martian species in their minds. When they learned what they had become, their beliefs about his divinity became cemented in their minds.

As one, all of them spoke

"We live to serve your will, our divine Lord and King."

Remnosh waved them off.

"That doesn't sound like what companions would say, right?"

Justinian nodded.

"I am your King, but I have given you this power for a reason. You are to keep me focused on the path forward; if you disagree with my actions, you can tell me what you believe I should do. You are my Honor Guard, meant to guard me at all costs. Now, you have the Psychic, Magical, and physical ability to do that. Use it well."

They all rose from their knees and bowed deeply, as this evolution made them the greatest Honor Guard on this side of the Galaxy. Burning Martians were such a terror, and Justinian currently had all 40 as his Honor Guard.

With a deep grin, Justinian looked ahead.

"Now, let us get to war."

---

Justinian knew precisely when the tunnels into the sealed city-states were finished, and when they were, he gave out the order to mobilize from his Crystal Throne. When exposed to his power, the Psychic Pillar started to grow larger.

The crystals that made up its material began to fuse with Conceptual Energy, causing the power of the Pillar to grow. While sitting in it, his Psychic ability, which was already nearing the power of the Emperor, was enhanced.

It allowed him to coordinate the movements of his forces. 6 Space Marine Chapters were going to be moving at each of the City States still sealed away in Bounded Fields. That was 6,000 Martian Warriors in powerful Power Armor.

To increase their numbers, they would be accompanied by 3 Battalions of Scions, mostly Laborers in Carapace Armor. The attack plan had to be slightly changed as his 5 Predators were evolving since they were also bound to him.

Initially, to avoid losses on his side, he had wanted to send 5 of his Honor Guard to each City, but that no longer became necessary. Only one was needed; the lucky ones chosen were Sigismund, Titus, and Dorn.

When they heard they were chosen, the three newly evolved Burning Martians were in a bid to prove themselves. They bowed, and they went to join the forces that would be moving against the city-states.

Preparations took 12 hours to ensure everything was accounted for. The 5 Mastodons and 10 Baneblades were fully armed and ready to move. The odd numbers caused a bit of a squabble between Sigusmind, Titus, and Dorn about who could use them in their attacks.

Remnosh decided for them and let Sigismund control 2 Mastadons and 3 Baneblades. Titus would also control two, while Dorn was only given command of one. As for Baneblades, to make up for it, he was given control of 4 of them, while Sigusmind and Titus received command of 3 Baneblades each.

Once the heavy tanks were distributed, the troops organized everything. While sitting on his throne, Justinian closed his eyes as he used his powerful Psychic ability to keep track of his troops.

"Advance with the attack."

At those orders, Sigismund, Titus, and Dorn put on their helmets as they linked them to the troops and the three A.I in control of the tanks. The Shapers had widened the tunnels by a large margin, enough for the three assault teams and more.

The tunnels had been prepared to allow the troops to be moved, but the Psymage, the Shaper in charge of the 500 Warshapers coming along the attack, brought up a good point with Titus.

"My Lord, I understand the merit in expanding these tunnels, but wouldn't opening a gate to the city be faster? We could

Justinian, who had been listening, had ordered the tunnels expanded before his ascension. Now, though, that did sound like a better idea. He communicated with that Psymage directly.

'An excellent idea, B'limnan.'

The female Shaper bowed when she felt the presence of Justinian descends on her.

'I beg for your forgiveness your majesty, I am sure you have-'

'I said it was a good idea; I will open the gates for your assault forces. Originally, I would have had some trouble maintaining three gates to three locations, but that is no longer an issue.'

Justinian cut communication and, in front of the three assault forces, opened three giant gates of shimmering gold and dark purple. Seeing the portals open, Sigismund, Titus, and Dorn turned to each other as they were still part of Justinina's Honor Guard.

However, this was a chance to show who was the better Commander. Determined, the three split up to join their attack forces, starting with the tanks. Sigismund entered one of his Mastadons. At the size of the War Machine, it could hold up to 50 Martians without difficulties. The one Sigismund entered had three Chapter Masters and their own Honor Guards.

The other three were in the second Mastodon, which also functions as a Command Station. He sat himself down in the cockpit as the Machines A.I synchronized to his suit.

"Advance."

With that word, the 2 Mastadons and three Baneblades tracks began to spin as the massive war machines thundered forward. Behind, the 6,000 Power Armor-wearing Space Marines marched with their weapons ready.

Behind them, the 3,000 Tempestus Scions and 500 Warshapers marched toward one of the three portals opened by Justinian. The same amount of forces aside from the tank numbers moved through the portals to the three cities they were targeted with taking.

---

When Sigismund's forces went through the portal, the A.I of the Mastodon sent him information on the state of the Bounded Field.

Sigismund tapped his armored fingers on the command chair he was seated at.

'Our forces enter and leave as we wish while they are trapped inside. Can you and your brethren fire into the Bounded Field from outside?'

Behind his helmet, Sigisumind's eyes began to burn a deep purple like his master.

"Aim all weapon batteries at the city and begin to bomb it. I want them softened for when our troops move."

The A.I of the Mastodon relayed the order to its fellow Mastodon and three Baneblades. The 5 Super Heavy Tanked lined up together while still advancing. They aimed their weapon batteries at the City and waited for Sigismund's call.

"FIRE FOR EFFECT! WAR SHAPPERS, I WANT SIEGE SPELLS FLYING!"

The 5 Super Heavy Tanks immediately began to unleash a full barrage from their weapon batteries.

(Mastodon Armermants-Siege Melta Array, 2 Lascannons, 2 Heavy Flamers, Skyreaper Battery, Smoke Launchers, Powerful A.I, 2 Void Shield Generators, Chruster Tracks)

(Baneblade Armaerments- The standard Baneblade complement includes a turret-mounted Mega Battle Cannon, also known as the Baneblade Cannon, which includes a coaxial Autocannon.

Three sets of twin-linked Heavy Bolters (one sponson-mounted set on either side, and one turret-mounted on the front hull slope), two turret-mounted Lascannons on either side, mounted directly above the side sponsons, and lastly, a fixed-forward hull-mounted Demolisher Cannon.

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