Chapter 510

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Protagonist:

Lin En

Lena

Ayla knelt in the repair bay of the Hei Tie Cheng Underground Factory, clutching a scorched power armor control module in her hand.

The blue-white fire tongue of the welding torch flickered between her fingers as she remelted the three severed data lines, then removed an overloaded, burned-through capacitor entirely and tossed it into the parts box at her feet.

She had been sitting here for nearly a day, from the morning prayer at dawn to the shift-change whistle late at night, never leaving this corner.

Mei stood at the doorway, watching her for a long time.

"...... When did you last sleep?" the old man asked.

Ayla didn't lift her head, the welding torch steady as it finished the last seam: "I have a short-cycle sleep plan, combined with medication, which can......"

"I'm asking you, when did you last sleep."

Ayla finally raised her head, meeting those eyes full of wrinkles but carrying a few more points of authority from a superior. She thought seriously, then found she couldn't answer.

When was the last time she closed her eyes? Was it the night she repaired the Titan core circuit, or earlier when she handled the pipelines at Water Purification Plant Number Three?

She answered truthfully: "I don't remember."

Mei was silent for a moment, then said only two words.

"Sleep."

Ayla was silent for a moment: "...... Alright."

She put down the welding torch; since Mei said to sleep, she would sleep. Just then, the communicator beside the factory gate rang.

The secretary's voice, carrying a barely contained excitement, came through the static in fits and starts:

"Governor, the Molok Settlement has formally accepted the Unified Government's terms."

Ayla blinked. Molok, Wade Tower's last large settlement still maintaining independence.

For three years, Ayla's armies had crossed one wasteland after another; some places were taken by force, others chose to submit after seeing the Unified Region once again had water, electricity, food, and trade.

Now, the last large settlement had also lowered its flag.

Three years had passed, and Wade Tower was finally unified.

Early the next morning, Ayla rode in a standard military vehicle through the city's main thoroughfare. Outside the window was already a scene completely unseen three years ago.

The Qi Diao Zhe who once carried waste guns and wore pieced-together armor scavenging ammunition in the ruins now stood at intersections, snapping to attention and saluting rows of fully armed patrol soldiers.

The road surface where a single rusted armed truck could once run rampant now saw standard military vehicles, armored personnel carriers, and towed artillery passing in an endless stream.

The industrial districts on the city's edge, once haunted only by wild dogs and mutants, now had chimneys rising in forests; engineering corps were laying new transport rails, and unified communication relay towers connected one urban district after another.

The vehicle drove past a newly completed barracks, where rows of simplified power armor stood parked at the doorway.

This was one of Ayla's most important achievements over these three years.

Military power exoskeletons, heavy armor, life-support systems, plus a set of control modules she had repeatedly reduced the cost of.

It couldn't compare to Astartes power armor, but it could be mass-produced, and ordinary soldiers could operate it after training.

Several thousand sets had already been put into active service. The elite units equipped with them were called the Steel Knights.

And in the deepest part of the city, in an armory hidden under layers of camouflage, sat an Imperial God Machine.

A Warhound-class Titan.

Of course, it was far from the original.

A large number of components in the machine were patched together by Wade Tower itself, with rough welds and some circuits even exposed.

If the Machine Cult saw it, they would probably first recite a prayer blaspheming the machine soul.

But it could already be put into use; a usable Warhound-class, no matter how poor the quality, was still a Titan!

Ayla treated it as a strategic weapon, never letting it be exposed unless truly necessary.

The secretary flipped through a data slate in the passenger seat, her tone unable to contain her excitement:

"Governor, after completing the unification, our......"

"Don't get excited too soon," Ayla said, her gaze not leaving the window.

That afternoon, Wade Tower captured a ship signal from outside the star system for the first time.

When the news was transmitted to the command center, many people's first reaction was: the Empire had finally found them again.

For three years, archives dug from underground ruins, repaired ancient equipment, and that massive Titan constantly reminded them that there was a Human Empire in the galaxy on a scale far beyond their imagination.

That was where they truly belonged under the highest regime!

But Ayla did not fall into blind joy; instead, she took the Communications Department and quickly began confirming the other party's true identity.

The results were soon transmitted back. No response from the Empire, no identification code, not even a single reply.

Immediately after, the orbital monitoring station reported a long string of data. Several armed ships were entering planetary orbit.

Several minutes later, the first round of orbital strikes fell.

A military spaceport in the Outer Areas exploded into a ball of fire, the shockwave kicking up a dust cloud hundreds of meters high.

Wade Tower's core, the Hei Tie Cheng Command Center, fell into chaos instantly.

Dozens of officers sent messages simultaneously, reporting losses to military facilities. Ayla stood by the tactical table, watching the red alarms jumping on the screen, and asked only one question:

"What about the water purification system?" The hall fell silent for half a second.

"...... The main city water source has not been attacked."

"Confirm all water purification nodes." She looked back at the deployment map.

"Power grid, granaries, hospitals, personnel evacuation status."

One data point after another was rapidly compiled. Only after confirming that the main cities' water sources and infrastructure could still be maintained did Ayla raise her head.

"The entire army enters a war footing."

Outside the starport, the fleet had already finished assembling.

Brevis's sky had always been a hazy gray, but today, beneath that layer of gray clouds, there was an entire expanse of steel silhouettes.

Lin En stood on the highest level of the starport command tower, looking through the porthole at the fleet below.

The cruiser-class capital ship lay quietly in the center of the shipyard; its massive hull almost obscured half the starport.

Twenty-odd escort ships and several destroyers lined up on both sides; farther off were transport ships, engineering ships, supply ships, and landing ships.

Ground regiments were boarding the ships in sequence.

Mechanicus priests led servitors to inspect the final batch of equipment, while colonial and administrative personnel carried crates of data slates, rushing back and forth between the various gangways.

Three years.

Lin En had pulled Brevis's industry back up from the ruins, built shipyards, raised troops, stockpiled supplies, and finally scraped together this expeditionary fleet capable of truly leaving the homeworld and fighting independently.

On a galactic scale it amounted to nothing, but this was his own nest egg.

That Merchant Rogue Permit lay in the most secure room on the bridge.

It gave Lin En the legal authority to voyage, conquer, and reclaim lost worlds outside Imperial territory.

It likewise meant that his every move would be watched by the Empire.

Especially the relationship between him and the Tyranids.

Even if Guilliman and the Emperor turned a blind eye, that did not mean he could brazenly bring the Bug Race into the open.

"All registered ships have completed assembly." The staff officer stood at attention and reported.

Lin En looked out the window; after two seconds, he spoke calmly.

"The registered ones have indeed all arrived."

Isud raised his eyes and glanced at him; the two did not explain.

Although the staff officer felt this remark was a bit strange, he tactfully did not press further.

Soon, the port sirens sounded three times.

The berths unlocked in sequence; one ship after another, guided by tractor beams, left the shipyard and headed for orbit.

Brevis grew farther and farther away.

Lin En stood on the bridge, watching the world he had stayed in for three years gradually shrink into a gray planet, and inexplicably let out a breath of relief.

He couldn't help recalling the Great Crusade records he had read in his previous life.

The Emperor led the Primarchs and Legions, fighting from Terra across the galaxy.

Reading the story back then, he only thought it was cool.

When it truly fell to himself, the first thing Lin En felt was not the heroic passion of "conquering the star sea."

It was logistics.

How many supplies does a cruiser consume in a day? How much ammunition does a Legion need? How much fuel, medicine, and spare parts does the entire fleet need?

The list the Ministry of War sent over was so thick it could almost be used to bludgeon someone.

After flipping through it, Lin En only felt a pang of distress.

"When I read novels before, how come no one wrote about this..."

Lena turned her face: "What?"

"Nothing."

Lin En closed the data slate.

"Depart!"

The fleet entered the Warp.

Outside the porthole, the familiar starlight of the reality universe rapidly vanished, replaced by the distorted, surging scenery of the Warp.

The Navigator chanted prayers in a low voice; the whole fleet advanced slowly along the predetermined course.

Just at this moment.

Lin En suddenly felt his 【Dominion】 authority lightly brushed by something.

Extremely light, almost fleeting in an instant.

He fiercely raised his head.

It was not a summons, nor a clear coordinate.

Merely something extremely close, yet separated by a vast distance.

Like a drop of blood falling into water, sending out a ring of almost imperceptible ripples in the deepest place.

Lin En closed his eyes and tried to capture it again; it had already disappeared.

Beside him, Lena simultaneously raised her head; the two looked at each other. But neither could describe that feeling just now.

Lin En could only silently commit that direction to memory.