Chapter 220: Investiture Ceremony

On the Shadow of Sovereignty, in the Primarch's office, Ninglu listened to Sanchez's briefing.

"Father, Lord Russ did not make things difficult for me; I have obtained the hunting reward—the Russ Wolf Helm."

As Sanchez spoke, he moved the helmet he had been carrying on his left arm to his chest, then held it up with both hands before the Primarch.

Ninglu activated his Spirit Vision and glanced at it; there was no spiritual radiance on the Russ Wolf Helm.

After staring for a moment, he spoke in praise.

"A fine helmet."

"You have defended the honor of the Legion and earned your reward."

"Those wolf pups of Russ will come looking for you again; you may accept their challenges at your discretion."

Ninglu emphasized his tone: "But you must make them cough something up; if there is no good prize in a hunting competition, let them play by themselves."

"I understand; I am already looking forward to the next hunting competition."

Sanchez replied with a smile, and Ninglu asked again.

"How is the Seventh Battle Company?"

"Father, before the Battle of the Seventh Planet began, the Seventh Battle Company had a total of six thousand nine hundred and fifty-four men."

Before the Battle of the Wheel of Fire began, the Eleventh Legion had approximately eighty-five thousand men, but the twelve Battle Companies were not equal in size.

After the Primarch determined that the recruitment worlds for the Third Battle Company and the Seventh Battle Company were Modian and Catachan respectively, he successively halted reinforcements for both companies.

The Third Battle Company was the first to stop receiving new recruits, so it had the fewest men, numbering less than four thousand.

Once the Modian recruits joined, the number of men in the Third Battle Company would begin to grow gradually.

The Seventh Battle Company only stopped receiving reinforcements after departing Fenris, so it had a larger number of men.

The First Battle Company and the Eleventh Battle Company, because their source of troops came from Vostonia, were the first two companies to reach eleven thousand men.

Ninglu divided the structural development of the Eleventh Legion into two stages; in the first stage, each Battle Company would first form eleven companies, with one thousand men per company as the standard.

In the second stage, the eleven companies of each Battle Company would continue to expand in scale.

The First and Second Battle Companies had already completed the first stage of construction and had entered the second stage.

"In the Battle of the Wheel of Fire, the Seventh Battle Company suffered a total of one thousand four hundred and eighty-three casualties."

"In the battle for the Battle Moon, five hundred and twelve were killed in action."

"On the Seventh Planet, nine hundred and seventy-one were killed in action."

As Sanchez spoke, his smile faded, unable to hide his grief.

Ninglu's eyes were also filled with sorrow; after both men and Arsena, who was recording on the side, remained silent for over ten seconds, Sanchez continued.

"Among the dead, seventy-four veterans have been interred into Dreadnoughts to continue fighting for you."

"Of the remaining five thousand four hundred and seventy-one, nine hundred and twenty-three have already headed to the Ninth Battle Company."

These nine hundred-plus men were all "Tyrant" path transcendents; they accompanied Szczesny to the Ninth Battle Company to assist the Storm Lord in taking control of the Battle Company as quickly as possible.

Ninglu nodded and pushed a Data Crystal on the table toward Sanchez.

He had used the Prophecy Dice to divine the Star Map of Catachan and input the information he knew into it.

"This is the Star Map to the Catachan System; its primary planet is a Death World, and in some respects, it is even more dangerous than Fenris."

"Those who pass the death hunt without dying are excellent hunters."

"Catachan will be the future recruitment world for the Seventh Battle Company."

Seeing Sanchez pick up the Data Crystal, Ninglu continued.

"Your Battle Company's mission in the Wheel of Fire has ended; set off for Catachan after the investiture ceremony."

"The Techmarine has already designed and manufactured medals for the Seventh Battle Company to commemorate the Battle of the Wheel of Fire."

"Tomorrow, I will hold the investiture for the Seventh Battle Company on the flagship."

Sanchez bowed slightly, "Thank you, Father."

"This is the honor you deserve."

Ninglu turned the topic back to Catachan.

"Mikel will accompany you to assist in the training of new recruits and conduct research on the flora and fauna of Catachan."

Although he regretted not being able to follow his Gene-Father to continue the crusade, he was able to obtain a recruitment world exclusive to his Battle Company.

And since that world sounded very suitable for his tactical thinking, Sanchez said with a fairly good mood.

"Father, I will certainly follow your will and let Catachan integrate into the Seventh Battle Company."

Ninglu nodded, sent a Mind Pulse to Sanchez with the flow of the ceremony, and then told him.

"You are to establish an Altar on the Void Hunter, hold the ceremony after arriving at Catachan, and report to me."

Ninglu decided to have Sanchez conduct an experiment to verify whether he could receive information across star systems.

After Sanchez left, Arsena Dunn reported to Ninglu.

"My Lord, the Master of the Forge has sent an astropathic message; there are many factions interested in the Moon."

"Among them are Mars, the Forge World Mezean, the Forge World Graia..."

"Besides the Forge Worlds, there is also an Adeptus Mechanicus exploration fleet that has expressed its intentions to Mikel, among whom is the Archmagos Rian Ramirez..."

Ninglu heard of over a dozen Forge Worlds and dozens of Archmagos; the name Rian Ramirez caught Ninglu's attention.

He remembered that Rian Ramirez discovered the STC for the Ramirez-class Star Fort; such a powerful Star Fort has a volume comparable to a small moon.

In the void, compared to a Ramirez-class Star Fort, a Gloriana-class Battleship is like a Frigate to a Capital Ship.

In the next ten thousand years, more than one thousand two hundred of these Star Forts would be built, serving as the core of intra-system defense networks, as well as maintenance, command, and supply facilities for expeditionary fleets.

Among the Astartes Chapters, there was no shortage of Chapters that obtained Ramirez-class Star Forts.

The "Death Guard's" watch fortress Erioch, the "Fire Hawks Chapter's" Fortress Monastery, the Raptor Rex...

Ninglu gathered his thoughts and asked.

"What are they willing to pay?"

"Astropathic communication cannot detail it."

"The Forge Master reports that his research on Necromunda is showing initial results; he has departed and will report to you in person."

Ninglu nodded, thinking to himself.

【If cross-galactic prayer can succeed, I can further attempt sacrifices.

In a situation like this, as long as Mikel sacrifices a Data Slate or Data Crystal to me, I can receive the information quickly, and it will be complete.】

The next day, the Order Shadows of the Seventh Legion stood in neat formation on the boarding deck of the Shadow of Sovereignty.

Ninglu pinned medals on them one by one.

The medal named Fire Wheel Seven comes in two types.

Order Shadows who killed more than ten Orcs in battle are eligible to receive the medal.

Everyone in the Seventh Legion killed more than ten Orcs, so all members received the honorary medal.

The "Tyrant" pathway Beyonders who joined the Ninth Battle Company also rushed over to attend this award ceremony; this is their bond with the Seventh Legion.

The pattern branded on the medal is seven red arrows piercing a green viper, with the viper representing the Snakebite Clan.

They will also all be members of the newly formed Orc Hunter Order.

After Ninglu pinned the badge on each recipient, he would encouragingly pat his progeny on the shoulder and state their battle record.

"Klaus, you used a Chainsword to kill twelve Orcs, displaying excellent skill that is worthy of praise."

Klaus puffed out his chest, his face full of pride and honor.

Among them, the elites received a higher-tier medal.

The pattern of the medal is flames scorching a green viper, and only Order Shadows who have killed over one thousand Orks are eligible to receive it.

Ninglu pinned the medal on the Seventh Legion's new First Captain, "Provocateur" Tibo, and said admiringly.

"You killed ten thousand seven hundred and twenty-four Orks; your battle record is worthy of praise."

In the entire Seventh Legion, Tibo's battle record is only lower than Sanchez's and that of Szczesny and Jorginho, who were transferred to the Ninth Battle Company.

"Father, I will certainly carry out your will and strive to kill the enemy."

At the end of the award ceremony, Ninglu pinned a medal on Sanchez.

"I await your good news."

"Father, I will certainly not fail your expectations."

The Seventh Legion's fleet set sail toward Mandeville Point.

At the same time, Ninglu sent the newly born Space Ape into the third layer of space of the Kingdom of Disorder.

He brought another Space Ape, which had just established a connection with him, back to the real world.

Ninglu said to Arsena, "Issue the order: prepare a Frigate, leaving only the necessary crew."

One hour later, he boarded the Frigate with the Space Ape.

(End of this chapter)