From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 608 The Eighteenth Space Gate

After the initial integration of the Star Wars universe numbered "One-Seven", the size of the human empire has experienced a qualitative leap.

The huge population base and developed interstellar civilization of this universe provide unprecedented development momentum for the main universe.

Millions of colonized planets, a developed interstellar trade network, and mature cloning technology have increased the empire's overall strength several times in just a dozen years.

Currently, the Empire has a total of 17 legions, each with a large number of company fleets stationed here to jointly govern this newly conquered territory.

The expeditionary force composed of the Thousand Sons, Imperial Fists, War Hounds, Iron Warriors, Word Bearers and Night Lords occupies the main star fields. After all, the Star Wars universe was initially integrated by the expeditionary force.

Among them, the Word Bearers developed the fastest, and Lorgar's outstanding management skills were fully utilized in this "fertile soil".

They established a complete conscription system in the core world and used local advanced technology to greatly improve the overall strength of the legion.

The latest statistics show that the number of Astartes in the Word Bearers Legion has exceeded 2.2 million, making it the third largest legion after the Ultramarines and the Luna Wolves.

The Midnight Lords Legion has established a strict ruling network in the Outer Rim Star Region.

They took in many Mandalorian recruits and trained a group of elite night hunters.

Although not as large as the Word Bearers, the millions of Astartes, combined with the auxiliary forces recruited locally, are enough to firmly control this vast star region.

In contrast, the size of the four legions, the Thousand Sons, Imperial Fists, War Hounds and Iron Warriors, expanded relatively steadily.

They are respectively responsible for professional fields such as scientific and technological research and development, defense fortification construction, rapid response and industrial production. Although the growth of their military strength is not as rapid as the previous two, they have made breakthrough progress in their respective fields of expertise.

The orbital defense platforms built by the Imperial Fists using local resources and the automated production lines developed by the Iron Warriors laid a solid foundation for the Empire's long-term rule.

This cosmic integration process has also given rise to many innovative initiatives.

Each legion adjusted its conscription standards according to local conditions and absorbed the local excellent military traditions, which greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the Astartes.

Additionally, the Empire's seventeenth legion was formed from the youngest Primarch, the Iron Hands of Ferrus.

In the vast military system of the Empire, the Iron Hands Legion, as a young fighting force, displays qualities commensurate with its Primarch, Ferrus.

This legion, which currently consists of only 200,000 Astartes, is not as large as the Ultramarines or the Luna Wolves, but is unique in quality.

Their main base is located in the industrial hub of the Star Wars universe, and every Astartes recruit undergoes five years of mechanical transformation training.

The latest combat readiness report shows that the Iron Hands warriors’ mechanical prosthetics adaptation rate has reached an astonishing 99.8%, far exceeding the average level of other legions.

As for the Flame Lizards led by Vulkan, they maintain a special strategic positioning.

Although many company fleets have been dispatched and stationed in the Star Wars universe, their core responsibility has always been to protect the main universe and cooperate with the Imperial Guard to ensure the safety of the Imperial Palace and the Emperor of Mankind.

Therefore, the Flame Lizard Territory in "Star Wars" is jointly governed and managed by company commanders, and only when major decisions are made will they discuss with the Primarch through holographic conferences.

This governance model also ensures the coordination of Flame Lizard with the main universe and the colonies.

So far, the total number of Astartes owned by the Human Empire of the Main Universe has reached an astonishing 20 million.

In terms of paper strength alone, the Human Empire of the main universe has far surpassed the Human Empire of the Warhammer 40k universe, and has surpassed the records of its peak and heyday.

Of course, if there weren't so many episodes during the Great Crusade period of "Warhammer 40k", the great rebellion launched by Horus Lupercal, and Magnus's "psychic telephone", the human empire in "Warhammer 40k" would actually be even more glorious.

Such a huge military force brings overwhelming strategic advantages.

In the counterinsurgency operation in "Star Wars", the Imperial Fists only deployed a standard company to suppress the "small-scale" rebellion that was caused by Chaos in the entire galaxy.

Battlefield records show that the rebels often lose their fighting spirit the moment they see the orbital drop.

Because those steel giants that fell from the sky have become a symbol of the empire's military power.

Smart Intelligence's analysis report pointed out that this psychological deterrence effect increased the efficiency of counterinsurgency by 60% and reduced resource consumption by 45%.

Of particular note is the collaborative combat capabilities of the various corps.

In various performances and actual combat, the distinctive arms of each legion cooperate perfectly with each other, demonstrating the high degree of specialization of the imperial army.

This complementary layout enables twenty million Astartes to exert an actual combat power three times their number, truly achieving absolute suppression of aliens and heretics.

Of course, this is absolute suppression in the physical universe. With the current human empire, it is still unable to launch a large-scale attack into the void and chaotic subspace.

At this moment, that is, the main universe on May 0050, 05 of the Imperial Calendar;
The meditation hall was shrouded in a solemn golden halo.

Sui Yang still sat on the golden throne, the folds of his black robe flowing like water under the fluctuations of spiritual energy.

The light golden light flowing in his eyes had lasted for a long time, like two suns that never set.

It seems that since the establishment of the empire and after he sat on the throne, Sui Yang has been releasing his spiritual energy all the time and has never had a chance to relax and rest.

Various hard-light screens appeared around the throne, weaving the data of various star regions of the empire into a brilliant galaxy before the emperor, and displayed general information on the current status of the empire.

In this regard, Sui Yang felt a flash of "satisfaction" in his heart, but also a lot of fatigue.

From the "Western Cowboy" era to today's cross-multiverse empire, only Sui Yang knows the bitterness involved.

As for those relatives and friends who had traveled to the main universe from him, they had long since returned to dust and their tombstones had all been moved to memorial cemeteries.

Even the grandson of his adopted son (Arthur Morgan) has white hair and no longer holds important positions in the army. He has chosen to return home to enjoy his retirement and spend his old age in peace.

This made Sui Yang feel satisfied with the current state of the empire, but his loneliness and fatigue became more "serious".

Those "scenes" that have long been lost in the long river of time——

Fights in western bars, "simple" business struggles, and leading children to enjoy the afternoon sun
These fragments of memory caused the golden light in Sui Yang's eyes to fluctuate slightly.

He stretched out his hand to touch the scenes "in front of him", but they turned into particles of light and dissipated the moment his fingertips touched them.

The broken memory images receded like the tide, and the golden light in Sui Yang's eyes became sharp and focused again.

"."

He raised his right hand slightly, dimmed most of the hard light screen, and sighed calmly.

Data shows that in the past three standard months, the frequency of the Imperial Legion's military operations in the "One Seven" universe has dropped by 78%, and security battles have turned into routine patrols.

This means that the universe has finally reached the expected stable state.

The World Eaters and various heretics in the Cholera "One Seven" universe were purged by various legions and were few in number, and could no longer cause any waves. Therefore, Sui Yang thought it was time to open the next space gate.

If there is no intention to connect to the Warhammer 40k universe, Sui Yang is also confident that he can form an expedition fleet and rush to that long-corrupted universe to carry out integrated operations.

Although Chaos and Traitors are the main enemies, aliens such as the Necrons, the Eldar, the Green Orks, the Tyranids, etc. are the biggest threat.

Especially the Tyranids.

Just one "tentacle" is enough to sweep across the Milky Way in "Warhammer 40k", so the scale of the main body must be even larger, even comparable to the entire galaxy.

With the current strength of the Main Universe Empire, it is still very risky to confront all the Tyranids head-on.

Therefore, deep down in Sui Yang's heart, he was unwilling to link up with "Warhammer 40k" too early.

As for the Alphas who successfully sneaked into the Warhammer 40k universe through the chaos incident on Harvest, they have been out of touch for a long time.

Although Sui Yang has confidence in those children, he can't help but worry about them.

Sui Yang's deep golden eyes swept across the two intelligent AIs standing solemnly below the pedestal, and his deep and majestic voice broke the silence:
"Apu, Melissa, tell Constantine to lead the Imperial Guards immediately and cooperate with the reconnaissance team to the standby area of ​​​​Space Gate No. 18."

"Yes, your majesty."

The two intelligent AIs bowed and responded at the same time, and their electronic eyes were flashing. It seemed that they were issuing various orders and mobilizations, asking all relevant units to prepare for opening the space gate.

After a moment of silence, Sui Yang slowly closed his eyes.

In an instant, the outline of his body gradually burst into a soft, dazzling and eye-catching golden light, like a miniature star blooming in the throne room.

Countless fine Chinese characters could be vaguely seen flowing in the light. It was obvious that Sui Yang had "paid" a lot of spiritual energy to the Golden Throne in advance, which would allow him to regain his freedom.

When the light faded, Sui Yang had already stood up.

His black robes trailed down the steps to the throne, each step leaving a brief streak of golden light on the staircase.

The hundred imperial guards in the Meditation Hall turned at the same time like sophisticated mechanical devices. Their black-gold armor shone coldly under the palace lanterns, and the tips of their lightning halberds trembled slightly with their orderly steps.

Then, two intelligent AIs and a hundred imperial guards followed the Emperor out of the Meditation Hall and headed towards the core area of ​​the ruins where the space gate was located.

Soon after;
The central altar in the ruins area was shrouded in an eerie silence.

Sui Yang stood at the center of the skull formation, his black robe fluttering without wind.

He raised his right hand, and in the blink of an eye, a tiny wound appeared on the palm of his right hand, and the golden blood of the emperor dripped onto the skull mark in the center of the altar.

The moment the blood touched the mark, the ground in the entire ruins area began to tremble.

The depression in the altar was like a hungry throat, greedily devouring every drop of blood. The blood lines spread along the ancient ravines, soon outlining a complete bloody skull.

Buzz————! ! !
A harsh resonance sound suddenly rang out, and every line on the space door frame burst out with dazzling white light.

The light was like a supernova explosion, instantly engulfing the entire ruins area.

The imperial guards instinctively knelt on one knee. Apu and Melissa's quantum cores calculated rapidly, maintaining basic visual functions in the strong light.

As the light faded, a towering space gate suddenly stood.

The surface of the giant 6km×6km door frame flows with a liquid metal-like luster, and the energy vortex in the center shows mercury-like ripples.

In the waiting area in front of the space gate, there were also hundreds of imperial guards, more than a thousand elite reconnaissance troops equipped with mortal power armor, and a large number of technicians standing in front of simple operating tables.

The technicians looked solemn, their eyes fixed on the towering space gate.

"Detection protocol has been initiated, all units are on standby."

The technical director's voice spread throughout the area through the communication channel.

As the words fell, a large number of biological and mechanical units rushed towards the space gate first.

The biological department's mass-produced weapons that have undergone a comprehensive upgrade, namely the Cerberus that carry a large number of various wired instruments, are the first units to be immersed in the "Mercury Mirror".

Next came the aerial reconnaissance hunter, and the Terminator, which also carried wired instruments.

This group of soulless weapons, regarded as "cannon fodder", go "exploring the way" on behalf of human troops to find out the environment and conditions on the other side of the space gate.

The various instruments they carry will quickly transmit real-time data back to the technicians' simple control terminals.

On the screen, the numbers kept jumping—

Gravity coefficient, atmospheric composition, energy fluctuations, etc. everything is being analyzed rapidly.

If the detection results meet the safety standards, the Imperial Guards and reconnaissance forces will follow closely and officially launch the exploration operation.

Sui Yang stood on the altar, staring at all this with his golden eyes.

His psychic perception had already spread to the edge of the space gate, ensuring that there was no abnormal energy leakage.

Although he has the ability to cross dimensions and directly peek into the other side, caution is still the first rule of imperial expansion.

Before long, the real-time scene on the other side of the door appeared in front of the technicians.

The environment on the other side of the door seemed to be a desert, with Gobi terrain in the distance.

At the same time, the brief data there are also presented one by one.

For example, "Gravity: 1.09g", "Temperature: 34℃", "Atmosphere: Suitable for humans", etc.

Various data indicate that the other end of the space gate is not the Earth, but an Earth-like planet that allows humans to breathe and move freely.

Moreover, the biological and mechanical forces have not found any moving targets within their field of vision. This may be because the planet on the other side of the gate is sparsely populated, or some kind of change may have occurred to the humans over there, or other civilizations.

"Data is stable, no threats detected, can cross."

A technician reports on the communication channel.

The imperial guards and reconnaissance troops who received the instructions headed towards the space gate one after another and immersed themselves in the "mercury mirror" one by one.

At the same time, a large number of suspended trucks carrying construction materials also arrived at the waiting area. It seemed that once the Imperial Guards and the reconnaissance troops confirmed the safety of the other side of the gate, they would directly start the construction of the front-line base.
(End of this chapter)