Chapter 223: The Buyer of the Battle Moon

In the final month of 820, the Eleventh Legion concluded the clearing of Planet No. 2.

The Sixth Legion also finished the cleansing of Planet No. 5, while Leman Russ only launched his offensive against Planet No. 6 later in the middle of the year, and the fighting there has yet to end.

As time flowed on and the new year arrived, just as Ninglu was preparing to launch a new round of offensives, he received an astropathic communication sent by Huang Laohan.

821. M30, the Primarch of the Second Legion, Hannibal, returned to the Imperium.

Huang Laohan's order was that after Hannibal finished the welcoming ceremony on Terra, Ninglu would be responsible for his tutelage.

After listening to the report from Arsena Dunn, Ninglu thought to himself.

【Huang Laohan previously handed the Second Legion over to me for command; now, having me teach Hannibal is also reasonable.

Hannibal, is he more like a silent lamb, or the commander of ancient Carthage, Hannibal Barca?】

Thinking of the strange conditions of Suarez and Erlin, Ninglu thought to himself.

【Perhaps he is both.】

While Ninglu was deep in thought, the silver-haired Primarch Attendant spoke again.

"My lord, the Master of the Forge has arrived."

"Let him in."

A moment later, Rosicky Cech walked into the Primarch's office.

"Father."

After the Master of the Forge saluted, he began his briefing.

"Adams and I excavated a ruin from the Dark Age of Technology and obtained a large number of Data Crystals from it."

"As of now, the Techmarines and I have completed the analysis of one thousand three hundred and ninety of them."

"The most critical harvest is mastering the technology used by the Spider Alliance to build, operate, and maintain Portals."

Upon hearing this, Ninglu immediately became interested.

The Eleventh Legion was still continuously expanding, the Legion's territory was constantly growing, and it was scattered across the galaxy.

Although the sixty-three conquered star systems centered around Vostonia were connected, there were also key nodes "isolated" like Sepra Mundi and Modian.

There were even the six star systems of Necromunda in the Solar Segmentum at the center of the galaxy, and Tanis in the Segmentum Pacificus in the west of the galaxy.

Considering Catachan, which was about to be expanded into in the Ultima Segmentum, and Posul, which he wanted to expand into in the future, the territory of the Eleventh Legion was quite dispersed.

Establishing a Portal network to connect the scattered territories together was of great significance.

Moreover, the Portal technology of the Spider Alliance could navigate during the Old Night when Warp Storms raged, which would play an important role at moments like the future "Horus Heresy."

"Compared to Warp travel, what are the similarities and differences of the Portals?"

Rosicky took out a Data Crystal that shone with a dazzling blue light and placed it into the Holographic Projector in the office.

"The Portal technology of the Spider Alliance and the Warp travel technology used by the Imperium are both faster-than-light travel technologies, but they are completely different in principle and other aspects."

The "Archaeologist" said, operating the holographic projection to display a point of light.

"Humans who had not yet stepped out of Terra once believed in ancient times that matter could not exceed the speed of light."

"But scientists soon discovered that faster-than-light matter had existed in the universe from the very beginning; they called it Tachyon."

"An interesting characteristic of the Tachyon is that it always travels backward in time; the technology of the Spider Alliance is precisely based on the research and application of Tachyons."

Ninglu frowned slightly; according to his understanding, the application of Tachyons required the consumption of massive amounts of energy.

The mechanical tentacles behind the "Archaeologist" reached out and tapped lightly on the touch screen.

The Tachyon in the holographic projection disappeared, and the image split in two, showing a set of comparative data.

"After mastering the method of using the Portals, I dispatched ships of the same class, departing from Necromunda, to conduct a total of twenty-five comparative voyages to the other five star systems."

"For each comparative voyage, two ships departed simultaneously, traveling through the Warp and the Portal respectively."

"As of before I departed, nineteen voyages had been completed; the Portal was faster than Warp travel, on average about a week faster."

Ninglu nodded slightly; this sample size was already enough to draw a preliminary conclusion that Portal technology was faster than Warp travel.

"Building a Portal requires a large amount of resources, and each time a transfer is performed, it also consumes a large amount of energy; this is also the reason why the Spider Alliance built them close to stars."

"Portal technology also has a drawback: the travel direction is fixed; one can only go from one interstellar Portal to another."

"When traveling through the Warp, one can temporarily change the destination, even if doing so is dangerous and unpredictable."

After hearing the report from the "Archaeologist," Ninglu did not feel surprised.

Overall, Warp travel was more flexible and consumed fewer resources, making it more suitable for humans to conduct interstellar travel and large-scale expansion.

Portal technology indeed had many drawbacks, otherwise it would have long since replaced Warp travel as the primary method of interstellar travel, and Huang Laohan would not have gone to work on the "Webway Project."

But Portal technology also had its unique aspects, capable of establishing an interstellar travel network exclusive to the Eleventh Legion, he said.

"Your research is highly effective; it is a major discovery."

The "Archaeologist," having received feedback and having his research results recognized by the Primarch, suddenly felt as if stars were exploding within his body; his spirituality became more vibrant.

Having had similar experiences, Rosicky knew that he had become a true "Archaeologist."

"Star Map."

After the Primarch Attendant signaled to the Master of the Forge, he turned off the Holographic Projector and used the Control Staff to bring up the Star Map.

"Portals consume a large amount of energy and are not suitable for large-scale deployment, but they can be deployed at key nodes."

"Vostonia, Modian, Sepra Mundi, Triken, Jingjie System, Necromunda, Tanis."

"Build Portals in these seven star systems first."

Ninglu said, pushing a Data Slate toward Rosicky.

"The Arbiter Lord discovered the construction template for the Fortress-class Energy Shield on Jingjie Star, and all the data is backed up on this Data Slate."

"While building the Portals, deploy Fortress-class Energy Shields in the important cities of these worlds and arrange for Techmarines to maintain them."

The Fortress-class Energy Shield was a powerful shield capable of protecting an entire Hive City, but it required those versed in the arts of the Omnissiah to maintain it.

"Your will be done."

After the Master of the Forge received his orders, he continued his report.

"Besides the Data Crystal, the Death Lord and I have also discovered an Atomic Disintegration Weapon and an Archaeotech Pistol, and we have already begun organizing research."

"As of now, progress has been made on the Archaeotech Pistol; we are now able to manufacture a Scorching Killing Ray that draws energy from a planet's radiation layer."

When Ninglu had previously listened to Adams's report, he had a preliminary understanding of this, but he naturally did not know the progress of the technical research as clearly as Rosicky.

"Manufacture some experimental samples, and let the mid-level Commanders choose for themselves."

"What are those factions that want to obtain the Battle Moon willing to pay?"

The Knower recalled all the conditions proposed by the various factions in an instant, and he began to introduce them one by one.

"The Fabricator General of Mars is willing to build a Gloriana-class Battleship for you and dispatch a Titan of the Flame Legion to fight alongside the Legion."

"That's it?" Ninglu asked; the offer from Mars was far less than he had expected.

"There are many factions within Mars, and they have disagreements regarding the study of Xenos tactics."

"There are also some who believe that, according to the Olympia Treaty, all technology should belong to the Adeptus Mechanicus, and you should hand over the Battle Moon to them for processing."

Ninglu curled his lip; those oil-heads were truly wishful thinkers.

He was aware of the conflicts between different factions within Mars; during the Horus Heresy, they even erupted into civil war.

A Gloriana-class was barely enough; he might consider an Abyss-class.

"The Forge World Mezean is willing to sign an alliance with you and provide supplies for the Legion."

"The Forge World Graia is willing to sign an alliance with you and provide supplies for the Legion, and dispatch the Morning Star Titan Legion to fight alongside you."

"..."

Among the conditions offered by the various Forge Worlds, the one that interested Ninglu the most was the offer from Graia.

Known as the Crown of Miracles, Graia's main forge factory network, the Crown of Graia, is capable of independent flight.

The massive nuclear fusion engines on the Crown of Graia can allow it to escape a planet's gravity and travel to the nearest Mandeville Point, where it can traverse the Warp.

【This has strategic significance in those ongoing wars where supplies are inconvenient, allowing the Legion to obtain continuous supplies.

Moreover, the Eleventh Legion could also gain an ally in the Fengbao Xingyu in the southern part of the galaxy and possess a supply base.】

Although Ninglu was satisfied with Graia's offer, he did not make a decision immediately; he continued to ask.

"What about the Exploration Sages?"

The Knower searched his memory again, and only after confirming did he speak.

"After Mars signed the Olympia Treaty with the Emperor, they obtained the support of Navigators and Astropaths from the Imperium before they began to organize exploration fleets on a large scale."

"The Sages responsible for commanding the Machine Arks have all promised to share their future discoveries with the Legion, but as of now, there have been no major discoveries."

Ninglu nodded slightly and asked.

"What about Archmagos Rian Ramirez? Has he discovered any Standard Template Construct?"

"No," the Master of the Forge replied.

In other words, the Archmagos had not yet discovered the STC for the Ramirez-class Star Fort, so Ninglu made a decision.

"Graia's conditions satisfy me the most, but I have one additional requirement."

"I want to share their research results, and for this, I will send five Techmarines to research with them."

Upon hearing this, Rosicky immediately understood that the Gene-Father intended to adopt the same method used previously for the Fulao Battlecruiser—collaborative research and development.

"I will convey your request to the Forge Director of Graia."

By asking questions and observing the aura, Ninglu confirmed that Rosicky had digested the Archaeologist Potion.

He had the Master of the Forge send the message, returned to the Kingdom of Disorder, and used the cybernetic eye of the Master of Iron found on Necromunda to concoct the Appraiser Potion.

Immediately, Rosicky Cech advanced to Sequence 7.

The next day, Ninglu received news that the Space Apes had completed the modifications to the Frigate.

(End of chapter)