Bronze door through time and space

Chapter 893 The Twenty-Second Legion
The Twenty-Second Legion, the last Space Marine Legion personally formed by the Emperor, carried a unique mark from its inception, as it was the only all-female Space Marine Legion in the entire Imperium.

When their organization was officially established, many high-ranking officials secretly speculated about the Emperor's intentions, since the selection of Space Marines had never been open to women before.

What surprised the empire's high command even more was their composition. The compatibility of the gene seed was like an invisible sieve, and without exception, all the warriors selected were of noble birth. Even if they were not nobles, they had pure noble blood and were truly high-quality women from the upper class.

The magnificent family crests were once the most striking identifiers on their bodies. The exquisite etiquette and privileged upbringing made it difficult for outsiders to associate these women with the title of Space Marine, which is full of iron-bloodedness and fortitude.

In fact, even the Emperor has expressed his dissatisfaction with this. At present, the Empire is in a critical stage of rapid expansion, and every Space Marine Legion that is built with a lot of resources is a valuable force.

To put it bluntly, what emperors need are sharp blades that can tear through enemy lines on the battlefield, war machines that can execute orders at the fastest speed, not a group of vases with aristocratic auras.

The gossip surrounding the legion's encampment, such as the idea that their tactical meetings were perhaps better suited to discussing afternoon tea sets, became an open joke.

However, the moment the gene seed was implanted and fused into their bodies, all doubts were completely shattered.

As if suddenly awakened, these women, who were once considered delicate, suddenly displayed astonishing resilience in both body and will, and the elegance in their eyes was replaced by a cold sharpness.

Although their strength, speed, and endurance are not top-tier based on their basic attributes, and even seem somewhat inferior compared to other legions, their performance in actual combat has overturned everyone's perception.

They are natural-born stealth masters, able to blend into various environments like shadows, and adept at extracting important clues from the slightest traces.

Moreover, if they wished, they could even precisely destroy the enemy's core without alerting the guards, clearing the biggest obstacle for the subsequent large-scale attack.

This almost ghostly stealth ability is something even the Legion, known for its reconnaissance skills, can only admire.

What's even more astonishing is their tactical talent, their composure and precision in multi-tasking, as if each of them has a sophisticated tactical computer in their brain. They are also very good at using the strengths and weaknesses of both sides to set traps, and their command is almost an art, elegant and deadly.

The Twenty-Second Legion's outstanding performance surprised even the Emperor. However, what pleased the Emperor the most was their resistance to warp contamination, which was the highest among all the legions.

Unmoved by temptation, refusing corruption, with an iron will, comparable to the emperor's meticulously crafted imperial guard, he was given even more trust, for he needed such an excellent tool.

However, the emperor's behavior gave some people the wrong impression, such as the nobles.

The Emperor's greatness is undeniable, but he had too little time and faced too dire circumstances, which led to many of his actions being somewhat hasty, such as his handling of the Thunder Warriors and his concern for the Primarch larvae. Later, as the situation worsened and more and more hidden dangers emerged, the newly revived human empire gradually decayed and died.

The emperor's rule was not perfect; he simply possessed supreme military power and made an incredibly grand promise, which allowed him to consolidate his forces and launch this great expedition.

However, these are only the powers wielded by the emperor, not the powers of the entire human empire.

The 22nd Legion's unique nature was seen by the imperial aristocracy as a compromise by the emperor, but it was also full of temptation.

The Great Crusade has generated astronomical wealth and profits since it just began, but due to the Emperor's urgency and the Empire's inefficiency, the various legions only require the conquered planets to acknowledge the Empire's rule and pay tithes. The legions have no interest in who the ruler of the planet is or how it is managed. All their energy is focused on the seemingly endless Great Crusade.

To the imperial nobles, this was an immense fortune, but they couldn't directly intervene in the legions, nor could they influence the emperor. Even if they saw the benefits, they couldn't reap them.

Now the opportunity has arrived: a Space Marine legion composed entirely of noblewomen. This is no legion; it's a chance to make a name for yourself.

The Warhammer universe also exhibits a strong preference for sons over daughters, especially among noble families.

Unless the male heir is truly incapable of fulfilling his duties, the only role of female members is to arrange marriages.

However, the emergence of the Twenty-Second Legion gave the aristocratic class a way to intervene in the military, and it also involved huge future interests, so... kneel down and call her Princess!

Emperors don't care who rules the planets they conquer, but nobles do.

So they spent money like crazy, wanting to equip the women of their families with the same power armor as the Imperial Guard. They also upgraded the Martian-customized warships as much as possible. What did they care about spending more money? They were afraid they hadn't spent enough. Keep in mind that a legion has at least several thousand Space Marines, and behind each princess is one or even several noble families. The combined wealth they control, even if it doesn't compare to the Emperor's, far exceeds the imagination of any single legion.

This incident did not attract the Emperor's intervention, but instead drew the attention of the Twenty-first Legion, which had maintained close ties with the Martian Mechanicus.

The Twenty-first Legion has not only conquered many planets, but has also acquired many rare artifacts from the Golden Age, which has made them increasingly dissatisfied with their existing warships.

However, as the main force of the Great Expedition, the Emperor may allow them to have some hobbies, but he will not tolerate them neglecting their duties, so it is difficult for them to complete the warship construction plan independently.

But with the help of the noble groups behind the Twenty-Second Legion, these problems were no longer problems.

What's even more interesting is that as the cooperation deepened, the two sides discovered that the two legions were a perfect match.

One excels in technology and business, the other in strategy and politics; one is adept at direct confrontation, the other at covert operations. The effect of their collaboration is far more than just one plus one equals two.

Beyond the battlefield, the two sides have also established in-depth cooperative relationships in other areas, such as commerce, economy, politics, technology, and resources.

With the help of the 21st Legion, which had taken the lead, the noble group behind the 22nd Legion not only built a powerful fleet for their princess, but also an auxiliary legion and a knightly order that were no less formidable than the Imperial Guard.

To put it bluntly, the idea is to prevent the princesses from seeing themselves as ordinary interstellar soldiers. Ideally, they should be elegant commanders, sitting on safe warships, leisurely sipping red tea while commanding their soldiers in battle.

For nobles, what they lack is never weapons or cannon fodder, but rather a noble cause and legitimacy.

Now that they have the Twenty-Second Legion, they can intervene in the Great Expedition and reap the greatest benefits from it.

The cost of conquering a single planet will yield returns a thousandfold. Expanding to a star system or a star field, the wealth becomes indescribable; only the phrase "great ambitions" can truly capture its essence.

Therefore, the legion slots representing immense wealth and power were extremely precious, and these nobles were willing to sacrifice an entire Astral Army legion to prevent any potential harm to their princess.

This mindset is also reflected in other areas, not just the battlefield.

For example, when other legions obtain supplies, regardless of whether the process is smooth or not, they only need to ensure their basic needs. Even for Space Marines, the only improvement is in the calories and nutrition of the food; taste is never the primary consideration.

But the 22nd Army Corps was afraid that not eating well would affect their mood.

Most of the natural foods that humans in the Warhammer universe have never seen are just a trivial part of their daily lives. Various ingredients that are rare even for nobles are still plentiful.

The noble groups behind the Twenty-Second Legion wanted their chosen female Space Marines to live a life of luxury, leaving war to their subordinates.

The emperor was pleased with this outcome. For the sake of stability and to buy time, he could not possibly eliminate all the nobles or extract all their resources. Therefore, he naturally would not stop the noble class from sponsoring his grand expedition with their own money.

In fact, the Emperor had no interest in who ruled the conquered planets. If the Web Path Project was not completed, it would be pointless to worry about it. If the Web Path Project was successful, there would be no need to worry about such trivial matters.

Whether in ancient times or in the future, the strength of an empire's control over a region increases with the improvement of roads and efficiency; the more convenient the passage and the higher the efficiency, the stronger the control.

It would take decades or even centuries just to walk through it all; talking about ruling it is no different from trying to catch fish by climbing a tree.

When the time spent on a single command going back and forth is long enough for the ruler to die and the successor to take over, then the so-called rule completely loses its meaning.

But if one travels from morning till night, it becomes even less important who rules, because they can be replaced at any time.

Moreover, the emperor is immortal, and as long as the ultimate strategic goal is achieved, minor flaws can be repaired later; he has plenty of time.

(End of this chapter)