Emerald Serpent counter attack at Slaydon

Following Kutuzov's advance, the imperial army was exhausted. However the imperial forces were keen to finish the chaos forces before they were able to launch a counter attack. This proved impossible, as the forces of tzeentch, led by Ahriman and manifesting a daemonic shard of Magnus the Red, launched an assault from the hills straight at the heart of Slaydon.

The Imperium reacted swiftly, sending in the Imperial Fists to defend the heart of the city. Unfortunately the Emerald Serpent had the initiative and the momentum, and no sooner had the astartes taken up their defensive positions, the thousand sons attacked.

Magnus immediately charged, flying over the Fists' defensive screen and unhinging the Fists' normally stalwart defence. With the space marines dealing with the daemonic incursion, the rest of the Emerald Serpent were able to move into the city relatively unmolested. Magnus, or at least one of his shards, was eventually banished back to the warp, but the strategic position for the Imperium had become critical. The remaining Imperial Fists fell back in good order to the Spaceport, which was successfully defended from the chaos forces.

Kutuzov received the news of the defeat with his usual sigh. Disappointed with the loss of the capital, the Imperial general realised that the war had been extended, but the overall position on Mordecai Tersius still heavily favoured the Imperium. The chaos forces were still unable to effectively reinforce their positions, and the imperial armies were now advancing on two fronts.