Chapter 294: Signing an Alliance with the Forge World Lucius

829. M30, the Forge World Lucius welcomed the black fleet of the "Order Shadow."

Sage Wojciech Belik used binary tech-language to transmit information regarding the Primarch Ninglu, the Imperium, and the Human Empire to Lucius.

Upon learning that Mars had signed the "Olympus Agreement" with the Imperium to join the Human Empire, and that the Primarch had recovered several types of sacred templates, Forge Director Mathieu-12 agreed to the meeting request.

Ninglu led Arsena Dunn and Wojciech, along with a portion of the Honor Guard, and boarded a Stormbird to fly to the surface.

Through the viewing port, he saw the ornate letters that made up Lucius—"Lucius"—carved into the planet's surface by ablation, with the details of each character stretching over ten kilometers from top to bottom.

The golden wings behind Ninglu trembled slightly; he felt the pulsing power of the planet, an artificial sun that never ceased.

His gaze shifted toward the landing zone, where he then saw the neatly arrayed Skitarii.

The Stormbird's landing gear deployed, and amidst the cooling cycle of the landing jets, the Honor Guard formed up behind the Primarch.

Servo-skulls hung with ribbons, and sound arrays emitted mechanical High Gothic.

"Lucius pays respects to Primarch Ninglu; we welcome your arrival."

Amidst the pervasive scent of incense, Ninglu stepped toward the waiting Lucius Sages.

He saw that the Lucius Sages wore red robes with black trim; he knew that black held significant meaning on Lucius, representing the charred symbol of being scorched by the underground artificial sun during rituals blessed by the sunlight.

The Lucius Tech-Priests viewed this as a blessing from the Machine God, and they would not switch to the deep red of Mars until the future schism of thought ended.

The emblem on the Lucius contingent consisted of an ornate variation of the initial "L" combined with a skull, the symbol of pure humanity.

Mathieu-12 walked up to Ninglu, and a synthesized sound from the sound array emanated from his faceplate.

"Welcome to your arrival / Ninglu."

"It is a pleasure to see you, Forge Director Mathieu-12," Ninglu responded.

Ninglu boarded the welcoming vehicle, and the pitch-black transport moved slowly forward.

Mathieu-12 sat opposite Ninglu, "Ninglu / Lucius is a furnace that never stops / Aside from Mars / Few Forge Worlds / possess production capacity comparable to Lucius."

"We can produce Lucius Pattern Warhound Scout Titans / with agility unrivaled among the same type // Lucius Pattern Drop Pods / with excellent performance / short preparation time / and convenient recovery."

"The Skitarii's Steel Walkers are precision-forged."

Ninglu looked through the viewing port and saw vast factories and assembly workshops flashing by.

Wisps of light smoke rose from vents and chimneys, dyeing the sky of the entire Forge World a heavy black.

The massive steel gates never closed for a minute, devouring ore, fuel, and time that was never enough, like the gaping maws of giant beasts.

Amidst the piercing sound of the shift-start bell, people walked out of the shanties like walking corpses, dragging thin and heavy bodies toward the gates wrapped in spikes.

As they passed the overseers, they silently collected the day's soup and the food blocks at the bottom of the soup, then went to work.

The Primarch's superhuman vision allowed him to see the servitors, covered in tubes and welded to their workstations, laboring under the drive of the foremen.

The strict hierarchy kept the entire factory in perfect order; rows of machines roared day and night in the sweatshop, and piece after piece of war weaponry rolled off the production lines.

He heard Forge Director Mathieu-12 introduce Lucius's two main flagship products as soon as they met, and his heart stirred.

【The Forge Director seems to have a request of me.】

"I have previously visited Mars and the Crown of Miracles on Graia; compared to them, Lucius is also impressive."

Although Huangquan Ba Hao and Griffin IV were also allies, Ninglu had not yet visited these two Forge Worlds.

After confirming that Mathieu-12 had a request, Ninglu was in no rush to speak.

After the vehicle shuttled through countless factories, it drove onto the passage leading to the Forge Temple.

On both sides of the road, furnaces surged and boiled, and rotating ventilation fans were set to maximum power to cool the visiting guests.

Cargo passages, hydraulic transmission devices, accompanied by the rotation of gears and load-bearing wheels.

The Forge Temple was deliberately shaped like a hollow furnace, with the dome pieced together from individual Sun-fire Alloy shutter panels.

Amidst the rolling sound of tracks, the humming of hydraulic presses, and the roar of power packs, the servitors parted to both sides, and the gates of the Forge Temple roared open.

Lucius Skitarii clad in black armor stood in formation to welcome them.

The entire ceremonial hall of the Forge Temple shone brilliantly under the reflection of the searing light and the Sun-fire Alloy.

In stark contrast to the light were the black long table and chairs, where the Primarch and the Forge Director sat opposite each other.

Unlike usual, the Primarch Attendant sat by his side, and Wojciech sat in the seat next to him.

"Ninglu / Welcome to your visit," Mathieu-12 said.

"I learned from Sage Wojciech Belik / that you have recovered sacred templates such as the Ramirez-class Star Fort // and the Belik Battle Tank."

"Lucius is willing to form an alliance with you / to forge equipment for you / 'Void Walkers' and 'Order Shadow' fighting side by side / Skitarii fighting for you."

"I // this unit // Forge Director of Lucius / have only one request // authorize the templates for the Lucius Ramirez-class Star Fort // and the Belik Battle Tank."

Upon hearing this, a flash of realization crossed Ninglu's eyes.

【As expected, Lucius wants two types of STCs.】

Ninglu remembered that although Lucius was a Forge World with a long history and its production capacity ranked in the top tier, it lacked battle tank categories.

To obtain tanks, the Lucius Sages spent ten thousand years researching the tank's STC before naming it after Makarius.

They then spent another three hundred years obtaining permission from Mars.

However, before the Sages could be happy for long, Mars authorized numerous worlds to mass-produce the Emperor Titan super-heavy tanks, making Lucius's long efforts seem somewhat ironic.

【Compared to the future Mechanicus, the current one is still much more efficient.

Of course, this is because I am a Primarch and do not need to worry about the certification for the Ramirez-class Star Fort and the Belik Battle Tank.

If it were an ordinary person, they might have died before passing the certification and receiving the reward; just like the lifespan of Commissar Trast, who discovered the 145XX22, did not support him through the hundreds of years of review time.】

Ninglu thought of the paint produced by the 145XX22 STC, which had a unique chemical composition that could complete the painting of combat equipment in a very short time, and decided to get his hands on it as well.

However, this STC was still far from being discovered and was not urgently needed, so it would have to be placed further down the list.

He collected his thoughts and said, "That is not enough."

"Lucius must supply one-third of the average annual production capacity of Sun-fire Alloy to Vostonia; in return, I will authorize Lucius to use the Standard Template Construct for the Belik Battle Tank."

"Authorization for the Ramirez-class Star Fort requires Lucius to provide me with the corresponding Standard Template Construct."

The logic engine of Mathieu-12 spun at high speed, evaluating the Primarch's request.

"This unit //Forge Director of Lucius// agrees to the exchange of Sun-fire Alloy for the authorization of the sacred template of the Berek battle tank."

"This unit //Forge Director of Lucius// offers Gas Fractionation Technology //the technology to convert organic raw materials into Promethium// in exchange for the authorization of the sacred template of the Ramirez-class Star Fort."

Ninglu knew of Gas Fractionation Technology; in the future Koronus Expanse, the Winterscale family, the most powerful among the three great Rogue Trader dynasties, possessed this technology.

The endless production of Promethium not only supplied energy to Winterscale but also brought them immense wealth.

【Lucius excelled in the field of energy, so it was reasonable for them to master this technology.

However, compared to the authorization for the Ramirez-class Star Fort, and compared to the three Gloriana-class Battleships that Mars used for the exchange, the value difference was not small.】

Thinking of this, Ninglu spoke up: "I agree, but the Ramirez-class Star Forts built by Lucius must be provided with priority to my allies and designated targets."

Mathieu-12 took a shorter time to weigh this, and he quickly made a decision.

"This unit //Forge Director of Lucius// agrees."

The "Lawyer" and the Techmarine represented Ninglu to negotiate the alliance treaty with the Lucius side.

Fifteen stellar days later, Ninglu reviewed the alliance treaty.

The "Void Walkers" would provide eighty-five Titans to fight alongside the "Order Shadow".

【Lucius was not as conservative as other Forge Worlds that insisted on keeping half their strength in garrison; the "Void Walkers" would only keep fifty Titans in reserve.

Before the Great Birthday, the total number of Titans for the "Void Walkers" would reach one hundred and sixty-two.】

The Omnissiah's great bell tolled twelve times, and Ninglu and Mathieu-12 wrote their respective names and imprinted their digital signatures on the parchment and Data Slate.

(End of this chapter)