Chapter 291: Preparations for Suppressing the Rangdan War Satellites

Ninglu returned to the Shadow of Sovereignty and met Archmagos Rian Ramirez in the palace.

"Lord Ninglu." As soon as they met, the Archmagos addressed the Primarch with an honorific.

He now believed that the Machine God favored Ninglu.

"The sacred template of the Star Fort is breathtaking; even I cannot comprehend the ultra-plasma energy conduction system within it."

"But by relying on the sacred template, we can still proceed with construction, and its basic lifespan is expected to exceed three thousand years."

"Of course, the time required for its construction is long; without affecting other production capacities, a small Forge World would need several centuries to complete the construction of one Star Fort."

"..."

The Archmagos spoke incessantly about his major discovery, his excitement evident in his words.

Ninglu watched with a smile as Rian finished explaining the twelve standard ship divisions, and only after he stopped did Ninglu speak:

"Rian, you shall announce the major discovery of the Star Fort to the outside world yourself."

"But I have one requirement."

"Lord Ninglu, what is your requirement?" Rian asked.

【No matter the condition / I will agree / Only then will there be an opportunity in the future / To continue following Ninglu // And witness more sacred templates.】

"Only I can decide which Forge World is authorized to manufacture," Ninglu paused for a second, then emphasized his tone: "the Ramirez-class Star Fort, named after you."

"I agree to your requirement." Rian did not hesitate and immediately accepted.

"Then, I have a mission for you," Ninglu said again.

"What are your orders?" Rian asked.

"I have previously obtained relevant Standard Template Constructs, and I wish to combine them with the Ramirez-class Star Fort to serve as a special Star Fort unique to the 'Order Shadow'."

Ninglu had already decided that while the Ramirez-class Star Fort could be authorized for external use, the models specific to his Legion would remain exclusive to his own Legion.

"My Lord, if I may be so bold, the Ramirez-class Star Fort..." Rian paused for a second, savoring the electrical signals produced by having a sacred template named after his own surname.

"The Punishment-class Reactor, serving as the power heart of the Ramirez-class Star Fort."

"The Auto-charging Void Shield, guarding the entire Star Fort."

"The Fortress-class Energy Shield, protecting the four quadrants and the central area that make up the Star Fort."

"The Simulacrum Sanctum, allowing the entire Star Fort to become a single entity during wartime."

Even without the Archmagos's introduction, Ninglu knew that the Ramirez-class Star Fort was as large as a small moon.

Traveling from one quadrant to the opposite quadrant by shuttle took one Terra-hour.

In a star system illuminated by a star, each quadrant had its own independent day.

When one quadrant slept, another quadrant awoke.

Although the command and control system communications of the Ramirez-class Star Fort were even superior to those of a standard warship, there was a difference of several orders of magnitude compared to the Simulacrum Sanctum.

Ninglu then ordered a Techmarine to lead the Archmagos to visit the Punishment-class Reactor, the Auto-charging Void Shield generation system, and the Simulacrum Sanctum of the Shadow of Sovereignty.

Three hours later, the Archmagos returned to the Bridge and looked at Ninglu.

"My Lord, I had never imagined before that someone could recover so many sacred templates."

"The Machine God guides you, leading us to find the sacred templates."

"I will certainly follow your orders to combine the four sacred templates with the Ramirez-class Star Fort to give birth to an even more powerful Star Fort."

Rian said respectfully; he was now completely convinced, and even if the Primarch said there were twelve more sacred templates, he would not doubt it.

Twelve was the sacred number of the Machine God, and Lord Ninglu was the favored one of the Machine God.

"Rian, I want you to go to Sepra Mundi and build the first Star Fort by the year 837."

Ninglu needed the Ramirez-class Star Fort to suppress the Rangdan's war satellites during the "First Rangdan War" in 839.

In his memory, the Imperial fleet, centered on three Gloriana-class Battleships of the "Dark Angels," engaged in a bloody naval battle with the Rangdan fleet.

In the end, the Gloriana-class Battleship Abominable Exemplar, severely damaged by drones, rammed into a war satellite.

It was only by overloading its Plasma Reactor that it managed to destroy the artificial war satellite.

After this battle, only two of the "Dark Angels'" three Gloriana-class battleships remained.

Ninglu anticipated that the Emperor would send his Pegasus—to deal with the Rangdan himself, and he also needed a Randang Brain-Eater to ascend to Sequence 6, "Corrupted Baron."

Therefore, he would oppose the Rangdan, but he did not want to pay the price with the Shadow of Sovereignty.

Ninglu had the Ramirez-class Star Fort to give him an advantage, stemming from the battle in his memory that best exemplified the power of the Star Fort: the "Arrakis Campaign" during the "Horus Heresy."

Before this campaign, the "Space Wolves" fleet had only four Capital Ships left, one of which was the Gloriana-class Battleship Rafinke.

The other ships consisted only of two rapid-response fleets composed of Strike Cruisers, Missile Ships, Light Cruisers, Frigates, and twelve Destroyers.

The Space Wolves' fleet was still a powerful fleet, but their opponents were even stronger.

The "Alpha" fleet possessed the Gloriana-class Battleship Alpha and six Heavy Battleships, with swarms of Frigates and Strike Cruisers.

Just as the Space Wolves fleet was about to suffer a devastating barrage of fire, the Ramirez-class Star Fort Chimera, stationed in the Arrakis Nebula, appeared and displayed its powerful firepower as a fleet-killer.

Alpha was almost destroyed by Chimera in the first wave of fire.

Only after sacrificing a large number of ships, including three Strike Cruisers, did Alpha manage to flee in a panic from Chimera's firing range.

Deploying the Ramirez-class Star Fort would allow Ninglu to suppress the Rangdan's war satellites and powerful fleet during the "First Rangdan War."

Requesting it two years in advance was, firstly, to leave sufficient time, and secondly, because of the time required to deploy a Ramirez-class Star Fort.

"Lord Ninglu, this is a difficult requirement to achieve," the Archmagos said.

"According to my calculations, building a Ramirez-class Star Fort requires at least fifty Terran standard years."

"I believe that with the Archmagos and your Explorer, you will certainly be able to build the first Star Fort by 837." Ninglu naturally knew that the normal construction cycle for a Ramirez-class Star Fort was several centuries.

But the Arrakis Nebula, while important to the Imperium, did not rank at the top.

Since it could be deployed in the Arrakis Nebula, it showed that the Imperium's construction capabilities during the "Great Crusade" far exceeded the future.

Ninglu estimated that over the course of more than a century, at least ten Ramirez-class Star Forts would be manufactured.

He demanded that Rian Ramirez complete the construction of the Star Fort in a short time, which was also a test of his ability and loyalty.

"I authorize you to mobilize all resources of Sepra Mundi to complete the construction of the first Star Fort." Ninglu gave the Archmagos the necessary support.

"You may suspend any other projects."

Upon hearing this, Rian's logic engines whirred at high speed, and twelve seconds later, he spoke: "Lord Ninglu, I will certainly not let you down."

The Archmagos returned to the Explorer, carrying the files containing copies of the four sacred templates.

Ninglu looked toward the Primarch Attendant and issued an order.

"Have Merson select a squad to garrison Osenkes, govern the local area, and command the miners arriving subsequently to extract ore."

The fleet of the Eleventh Legion set sail to return to Vostonia three days later.

After a voyage of ten months in ship-time, Ninglu returned to Vostonia and, on that very day, listened to the report of Wojciech Belik within the palace.

"My Lord, the Forge World Griffin IV is willing to provide the manufacturing technology for the Hunter Suit in exchange for the authorization for the Belik Battle Tank."

Ninglu knew of the Hunter Suit; in his memories, the nobles of Necromunda equipped such suits to participate in activities of the same name to prove themselves.

But he also knew that the Hunter Suit was not manufactured locally, and many nobles of the Imperium worlds had obtained Hunter Suits.

【So the Hunter Suit comes from Griffin IV.

Hmm, the defensive capabilities of Griffin IV are the most outstanding in the southern part of the galaxy, so this is reasonable.】

"I agree."

Ninglu knew that the Hunter Suit not only possessed an internal self-circulating system but also an "experience point" system; as the user continuously accumulated experience through combat, the suit also self-adapted to the user.

"My Lord, many worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus are going mad over the discovery of the sacred template for the Ramirez-class Star Fort."

"I have received a request from Mars; the Forge Director is willing to build two Gloriana-class Battleships for you in exchange for the authorization."

Upon hearing this, Ninglu thought to himself: 【Compared to the Battle Moon trade, Mars is much more sincere, offering two Gloriana-class Battleships right away.

Once I agree, the "Order Shadow" will, like the "Dark Angels," become one of the Legions possessing the most Gloriana-class ships.】

"Not enough, four." Ninglu's bottom line was three, but he decided to ask for one more; if the other party agreed, he would gain an extra one.

Although the Ramirez-class Star Fort possessed powerful firepower, once deployed, they were difficult to move and were not suitable as fleet flagships.

The Gloriana-class Battleship remained the most suitable choice for the core of a fleet at present.

(End of this chapter)