Emperor's Bane

Chapter 599: Far East Ten Thousand Stones

Chapter 599: Far East Million Stones

The last order of the Wolf Lord was sent to the Aurora only three days after Morgan ordered a partial mobilization throughout the northern Far Eastern Frontier: the Primarch read it out in front of twelve senior officers.

[The content is reasonable: and it was sent not too late. ]

After reading these few hundred words in public, Morgan bent his knuckles and tapped the recording board in his palm. The crisp sound swept across the faces of every participant: the mortal officers all had serious expressions, but the Astartes looked particularly relaxed.

This is true for Rana, Bayar, Hector, Davout...

The same is true of Ahriman and Dantioch.

That's right, these two [Three-Quarters Dawnbreakers] had been qualified to participate in even the highest-level Avalon Military Council more than a decade ago: as special advisers to the Primarchs and Legions.

This sounds unsafe, but after Morgan's descendants discussed it with each other, they were shocked to find that among the topics that could be brought up for the meeting, nothing was important enough to be hidden from the two outsiders.

And they are indeed trustworthy.

Let’s talk about Dantioch first. This war blacksmith has been traveling in the Salamas sector for a full eighty years. It seems that the Dawnbreaker Legion’s rule over this pearl of the Far East will always be inseparable from his name: there are more than thirty worlds named after Dantioch alone.

The son of Perturabo won the respect of everyone with his usual silence, hard work and efficiency. The increasing manpower, food production and tax revenues in the Salamas sector also made the voice of the Grand Duke of Salamas louder and louder on the Aurora.

Compared with Dantioch, Ahriman was undoubtedly the more trustworthy one. There was no need to say more about what he had done for Morgan and the Second Legion. Moreover, as the actual controller of the Avalon Academy of Psychic Powers, most of the think tanks in the legion would respectfully call Ahriman the principal when they saw him.

Of course, there are also some people who would like to call Ahriman the [Crimson Duke].

But apart from that, what really made this Thousand Sons warrior gain unanimous recognition and respect from all the Dawnbreakers was another rumor, a confirmed rumor: that was the reason why Ahriman, who should have left the Dawnbreakers and returned to the Thousand Sons, chose to stay in the Far Eastern frontier after the Battle of Shrike where the Dawnbreakers and the Thousand Sons fought side by side.

Ahriman did not know what the rumor had become, he did not even know the existence of the rumor itself, but he could clearly feel that after several senior company commanders, led by Rana and Bayar, secretly held a party for him and stood up to toast him a glass of wine, his situation in the Second Legion seemed to have become different.

The respect still exists, but there is also a natural sense of trust, just like treating real blood brothers.

Ahriman did not become flattered by this special treatment. Although he had already been ranked among the highest in the temple of Avar, he would never speak outside of areas of professional knowledge: unless the Primarch set his eyes on him, and the same was true for Dantioch who sat next to him. They were both silent in the meetings.

So, as the two of them remained silent, the Spider Queen's gaze first fell on her [Grand Duke of Camelot].

【Marshall.】

The Primarch addressed the semi-retired Captain of the First Company with respect: Although the Captain of the First Company, Marshall, who once commanded the entire Dawnbreakers, had retired to the second line since Morgan returned to the Legion, the entire Legion still maintained respect for him.

"grown ups."

The captain of the first company stood up. The other people present felt a little unfamiliar when they looked at the face of this legendary figure. Only Rana and Bayar, who had rich experience, smiled quietly at their old comrades who also came from Holy Terra: they had not seen each other for at least ten years.

【My Luther. 】

Morgan drummed his fingers on the table.

[Tell me, how is the progress of the partial mobilization order I issued? ]

"Everything is in perfect order, my Lord."

Marshall's voice was sonorous and powerful, forming a sharp contrast with his extremely old appearance: this veteran with outstanding military achievements had once suffered a heavy blow from a time weapon from the Dark Age of Technology during the Terra Unification War. His entire body aged rapidly and he once hovered on the brink of death.

The Lord of Avalon had called upon all his knowledge for him, and had sought the help of the Emperor, Perturabo, and even Magnus, but all that could be done was to delay Marshall's death: there was no cure for his aging.

The Spider Queen was even prepared to cross some of her own bottom lines and use the alien technology on Commorros to try to restore her Captain to youth: but even if such technology could really allow him to return to the battlefield again, Marshall still firmly refused.

As a veteran soldier who had followed the Lord of Mankind when he launched the first battle of the Terra Unification War, Marshall refused to allow any technology containing alien technology to appear on his body: even if it meant that his life would always hang at the finish line.

The Primarch respected his will and handed over the task of coordinating the rear-line armaments to him.

Captain Marshall of the First Company did a great job in this regard and earned himself the title of "Luther of Avalon": considering that the "Real Luther" of Caliban has now become a master of statecraft known throughout the galaxy, and even Malcador and the Emperor have heard of him, this title is the best affirmation of Marshall.

Marshall proved time and again that he lived up to the title, including the densely packed numbers on the report board in front of him: these numbers represented all the military forces that were about to follow Morgan and the Dawnbreaker Legion into the Ullanor front.

"It includes 2,000 warships of various types, led by two Queen of Glory-class ships. Most of them are battleships, such as battleships, battlecarriers, and large cruisers. A small number are combat transport ships exclusively used by the legion, but they also have the firepower to fight on the front line."

[Amazing numbers.]

The Primarch nodded in satisfaction, and the faces of the attendees were filled with pride.

[If I remember correctly, before this, the largest legion fleet people talked about was the Imperial Fists, which had 1,300 warships. However, that was at least fifteen years ago. Now it may be 1,500 or even more.]

“But it’s not as good as us.”

The thousands of wrinkles on Marshall's face were wrinkled by his arrogant smile.

"Congratulations, my lord. You have the largest fleet in the entire Great Crusade, except for the Emperor. Our void force has surpassed the Imperial Fists. And this is not all the power we have, not even half of it."

He deliberately cleared his throat before continuing to read.

"The two thousand warships are only the numbers directly under the Dawnbreaker Corps. This means that each of these two thousand warships has at least one Dawnbreaker stationed on board for a long period of time and can maintain stable communication with the Aurora. The warships without Dawnbreakers stationed on board are collectively referred to as the Avalon Auxiliary Fleet."

"They are very complex, including Rogue Traders who are loyal to you, the Primarch, the Skitarii who have fought alongside us for a long time, patrol fleets and garrison fleets stationed in various places, armed transport fleets that can be recruited when necessary, and the planetary governor's private fleet. Even the Loyal Inheritors Academy has a simulated fleet that is used for actual combat training on weekdays, and can be deployed to the front line when necessary."

"The power these fleets can provide us is even more vast. To this day, we are unable to fully count how many ships there are in the Avalon Auxiliary Fleet, but what is certain is that they are mainly small warships and auxiliary warships, used to make up for the shortage of the main fleet in this regard."

【very good. 】

The Primarch stretched out his hand and stopped Marshall who wanted to continue explaining.

[First, tell me, since the main fleet has 2,000 ships, what is the size of the auxiliary fleet accompanying the expedition? ]

"Eight thousand, my Lord: a considerable portion of the force comes from our Mechanicum allies."

【I know. 】

The primarch nodded.

[In addition, they also provided me with at least 800 Titans.]

Then, the Spider Queen turned to look at Lana, who was sitting on her right.

[How many did Guilliman mobilize? ]

"The expeditionary fleet of the Five Hundred Worlds has at least 15,000 ships of all sizes."

【That's fine.】

Morgan was satisfied.

[Continue, my captain of the first company, what about the mortal auxiliary army? ]

"According to your request, the northern star regions of the Far East Frontier have completed mobilization. Most of the field corps and frontier corps will stay in their respective defense zones to ensure the safety of Avalon when the corps goes on an expedition. The Queen's Guard Corps, the Royal Guard Corps, and the field corps at the front of the sequence will arrive at the preset assembly point in succession within a month."

"The number of troops will exceed 18 million, one third of which will be the Royal Guards and the Praetorian Guards, and the remaining two thirds will be the field army. There will also be millions of Skitarii troops coming to help us. The final total number of troops may exceed 25 million."

[What about the logistics supply? ]

"Totally adequate."

Marshall picked up another form.

"Sir, as early as the first decade after the Far East Frontier was established, you required that strategic warehouses of corresponding scales must be established in each star region and even each galaxy. Today, there are more than four digits of storage planets throughout the Far East Frontier. The inventory in just a few star regions in the north is enough to support this army for more than ten years."

Morgan did not reply. She turned her gaze to the only Dawnbreaker in black armor, who was the representative sent here by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After noticing the Primarch's gaze, the mysterious man uttered the only words in the entire venue.

"We have inspected every storage world in the northern region according to your request. We have sent different teams to inspect three times in succession. Ninety-eight percent of the storage worlds have fully met the standards. Only a small number of storage worlds have not met the expected goals due to unavoidable unexpected factors, but they have also passed."

"The only three people who have committed dereliction of duty have also received your [Gift]."

【Not enough.】 The Primarch said coldly.

[Count their families in too: whatever they have done for us before, it won't work this time.]

"Your will, my lord."

The Black-Armored Dawnbreaker lowered his head.

Then, Morgan's gaze returned to Lana once again.

[Then, what about my descendants? ]

"Can't wait, my Lord."

Lana replied with a smile.

"Twenty thousand of the most elite warriors have been selected. Another twenty thousand will be stationed in the northern star regions during the expedition, ready to support the expedition fleet at any time. The remaining thirty thousand will be stationed in various star regions of the Avalon star region to ensure the national security of Avalon."

Morgan said nothing, and she turned her gaze to the silent Dantioch: the warsmith smiled weakly and only uttered a brief answer.

"My camp will make the same effort as the Dawnbreakers, my lord."

The hidden meaning of this sentence made all the Dawnbreakers present raise their brows.

"There are 20,000 of them?"

Bayar turned his head and asked Hector beside him with his eyes.

"At least 20,000 people."

Hector also answered with his eyes.

【very good. 】

Morgan then smiled with satisfaction. When she lowered her head, the Spider Queen was rapidly doing calculations in her mind. She recalled the promises her brothers had made to her during the previous period of time, and calculated the strength she could exert.

Dawnbreakers, 20,000 men.

Iron Warriors... 20,000 of them.

Thirty thousand Midnight Lords: Sevatar and his men just arrived yesterday.

Dark Angels, 20,000 men: It is true that Corswein only brought one order of knights, but it was a special order specially prepared by Jonson for the Ullanor expedition. Considering that the main forces of the First Legion are also active in the northern part of the galaxy at this time, Morgan can also count on their help if things go wrong.

After all, no one said that other legions couldn't volunteer to join the Ullanor Crusade.

Then, including the Raven Guard who had just reunited with Corax, they could almost piece together a force of 10,000: this legion had suffered considerable losses under Horus over the past few decades, and these 10,000 people were all the forces Corax could now reluctantly trust after a brief period of interaction with his heirs.

Unlike his brothers, the Raven King does not intend to use war to purge those who disobey him in the Legion. On the contrary, he plans to join Morgan's Ullanor expedition, and then, under the arrangement of his blood brothers, let these forces he trust win merits sufficient for promotion on a safe battlefield. He will use this gentle method to gradually replace the conservatives in the Legion with his loyalists until these stubborn Terrans are squeezed out.

The above-mentioned legions, except for the Dawnbreakers, were not included in the Emperor and Horus' Ullanor Crusade plan: that is to say, the Morgan side alone would provide 100,000 Astartes for the so-called Eastern Front Legion, and with the Ultramarines, White Scars and Emperor's Children, there would be at least 200,000 people in total...

With an army of three hundred thousand men at his disposal and no brothers to worry about, Morgan was confident that he could achieve a victory on the Eastern Front that could compete with Horus' main offensive line.

Although she didn't have to do that.

Thinking of this, the Spider Queen lowered her head and took another look at the letter in her hand. This was the last letter Horus sent her before he set out, and it was highly personal in nature: the Wolf God in the letter was not so much the commander-in-chief of the Battle of Ullanor appointed by the Emperor as he was speaking to Morgan in the tone of an older brother.

His suggestion is still very pertinent.

Firstly, the Wolf God expressed his understanding for the current form of the Dawnbreaker Legion. He stated that it was not himself, but the Second Legion chosen by the Emperor himself that joined the Battle of Ullanor. The reason why Morgan was allowed to join the Eastern Front Legion was only because he needed to guard Avalon. So staying in the Far East Star Region to fight would naturally be more beneficial than going to the Hazy Star Region.

After all, although the power of the Ullanor Orc Empire has not yet reached the territory of the Far Eastern frontier, it is indeed not far from the border line: if Morgan leaves Avalon at this time, it will indeed cause a considerable territorial crisis for Avalon.

As the Lord of Avalon, Morgan had to accept this friendship.

Afterwards, Horus also expressed to Morgan his thoughts on the Eastern Front Legion, and more specifically, on Guilliman, in the most obscure way possible: he hoped that Morgan could cooperate sincerely with Chagatai, be vigilant about the movements of Guilliman and his Thirteenth Legion, and take care of Fulgrim's mentality.

The Wolf Lord admitted in the letter that he was not sure what had happened to the Primarch of the Emperor's Children recently, but Fulgrim's mentality was obviously not stable: Horus pleaded with Morgan to help.

Incidentally, in his letter he apologized in advance to his Avalon blood relatives for any possible offense caused by Chagatai Khan.

After saying all this, the Wolf God expressed his opinion on military deployment: Horus was obviously well aware that Morgan valued the lives of his offspring more than achievements, so he did not force Morgan to set any strategic goals: although the power given to him by the Emperor allowed him to do so.

The wolf shepherd's orders were clear.

Whether it is the Dawnbreakers, the White Scars, the Emperor's Children or even the Ultramarines, their main task in this expedition is to preserve their strength as much as possible in the frenzy of the Orc Empire. There is no need to pay too many casualties, just hold on firmly.

It would be best if they could achieve some results, and even join forces with Horus' main attack fleet to attack Ullanor. But if they couldn't do that, there was no need to force their legion: the Dawnbreakers' main mission had always been to maintain stability on Avalon's borders, and Horus could understand that.

Therefore, before he could deal with the Ullanor Empire, the Eastern Front Legion had to defend the Empire's territory in the Far East as much as possible without launching any active offensive: but if he believed that they were strong enough, Horus would be happy to accept help from his brothers.

After all, compared to taking all the credit in this so-called Ullanor Crusade, the Wolf God now values another thing: that is, how to make the Lord of Mankind complete the final battle of the Great Crusade to perfection and leave his name in history before the Emperor returns to Terra.

[To accomplish this, I need your help, my sister of Avalon.]

Morgan smiled as he softly recited the last sentence of the letter. Finally, he looked at his fingers thoughtfully, recalling the power he could mobilize at this moment.

Four Primarchs.

Eight legions.

Three hundred thousand Astartes.

Eight hundred Titans.

Tens of thousands of warships.

Tens of millions of mortal auxiliary troops.

Plus...herself.

[…Hehehe…]

[Of course, Horus, I will help you fulfill your wish. ]

[After all, if we don't do anything with such power, wouldn't it be a waste? ]

[But, I just hope you won’t regret it then…]

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