Warhammer 40: My Fiancée Fulgrim.

Chapter 234 Nobigasaga and Doraemon
Casgar: "."

Belisarius Caul appeared out of nowhere in the basement of Chemos, the homeworld of the Emperor's Sons.

Is this possible?

Especially considering that Belisarius Caul himself served as regent Guilliman's assistant for thousands of years.

Even though Guilliman was wary and cautious that Caul might do something heretical, he never agreed to let Caul take the position of Mars Forging General.

But in terms of the honor of developing and improving a large number of mechanical weapons and equipment in the Mechanicus over the past thousands of years, Caul's own prestige is even higher than that of the Mars Forging General himself.

It's impossible that such a top figure in the Mechanicus would appear when there wasn't even a single Mechanicus Ark around him.

"Are you the artificial intelligence on Chemos?"

“I am not artificial intelligence, I am Belisarius Kaul.”

“I recognize you. Ten thousand years ago, we communicated in an abandoned underground facility?”

"The Emperor's people have been separated from you by your door. If you have anything to say, just say it."

"."

After Casca finished speaking, the steel behemoth fell silent.

“But I am still Belisarius.”

Back when Kasgar and Fugrim were about to embark on the Great Crusade with the Emperor, Kasgar had considered whether to move the artificial intelligence to another location.

According to the other party, it no longer has any reason to continue existing in this era.

Since humanity is no longer willing to believe in artificial intelligence, he is willing to continue waiting for the right opportunity underground in Chemos, hoping that he can emerge from the ground again after the times change in the future.

This change occurred thousands of years later.

Belisarius Caul, who was then a renowned sage of the Mechanicus under Guilliman, traveled to Chemos during an academic conference in Melusin and discovered the ancient artifacts deep underground.

An ancient, abominable intelligence from the dark age of technology.

As a high sage of the Mechanicus, this clearly sparked his research interest—therefore, he made a deal with the Emperor's son using the "Planet Reshaping Technology," which could restore habitability to dead planets caused by extinction orders or similar extinction events, as leverage.

His mechanical guild will help turn the surrounding world into a vacation paradise for the emperor's sons, and the only thing they will do in exchange is deal this ancient artificial intelligence machine.

Needless to say, the Emperor's battle commander naturally agreed to the request.

"Then?"

Then, the artificial intelligence on Chemos, just like the personality data that Caul had absorbed before, joined Belisarius Caul's family.

Indeed, Caul, the Martian sage of the Mechanicus, was never alone.

Kaul's brain is essentially a complex computational system consisting of himself, countless AI copies of himself, and the souls (or personality data) he has absorbed that also possess thinking abilities. He likens himself to the conductor of an orchestra, while all these artificial intelligences and programs are the musicians.

After combining with the local artificial intelligence in Chemos, Kaul, now above Chemos, is both the former artificial intelligence and a slice of Belisarius's personality.

While providing the Great Sage with a wealth of Dark Age technology, it also serves as a backup personality for Belisarius Caul in case the original body encounters misfortune.

A mechanical being capable of uploading or downloading backups of its own personality at any time.
"This is... way too undead."

After all, given the amount of flesh Caul has now, he's practically a space necromancer.

Space is alive.

"Alright, enough with the pointless small talk—what exactly do you want from me?"

"Casgar said."

The armor he wore was the result of the other party's painstaking creation—if it weren't for Kaul, he would probably still be lying in the static field, continuing to sleep.

"soon."

"Ok?"

“My true body is very close to here,” Belisarius’s backup said slowly. “He will arrive in person soon.”

"When?"

“Soon,” said the AI ​​version of Belisarius Caul. “Right now.”

As he spoke, he turned his head and turned on a projection screen—in the center of the projection, a giant mechanical ark, far larger than a battle barge, was floating in the void.

"Since you disappeared, we have been searching for you all over the galaxy."

Shortly after Casca arrived in Chemos, Caul and his Mechanicus Ark learned of this—or rather, Caul's Destiny Armor finally connected to the local network upon arrival in Chemos.

"Now, let's have a friendly chat while we wait."

The AI-generated electronic audio seemed to contain laughter.

As the conversation progressed, Casca learned a fair share of the identity of this great sage of the Mechanicus.

Kaul's experiences over the past ten thousand years are quite similar to the original timeline.

As a secret researcher placed by Guilliman, he has been using his wisdom to develop and improve some of the Empire's existing weapons and equipment. For example, plasma, explosive weapons and thermoelectric weapons have all been improved to a certain extent.

As for deeper research...
Kasgar stared at the machine that was communicating with him and fell into a brief silence.

“I see your confusion, but I would like to clarify something again.”

"I am not an artificial aversion to intelligence."

Fine.

If you say it's not, then it's not.

Only another super scientist of the human empire, the great apothecary Melusin, knew exactly how treasonous the research that Caul was conducting would be in the eyes of the Inquisition.

They're both equally bad.

Currently, Belisarius Caul is working with Melusin on technological improvements to the Space Marines' modifications, known as Prototype.

"Actually, if we're talking about improvements to Space Marine technology, I've already completed improvements to the original casting."

"But it seems the Grand Pharmacist has his own opinion on this."

Melusin stated that the original forging was merely an improvement and minor tweak to the original technology. Although it could make Space Marines taller, faster, and stronger, it still couldn't meet Melusin's requirements.

However, it seems that the research has recently hit a critical bottleneck. Melusin and some of her pharmacists have left Chemos and disappeared without a trace.

Bio-modification technology is mostly within the scope of pharmacists' work, and they don't know much about it.

"And this armor you're wearing is the product of a great deal of my effort—in order to suppress your spiritual power from bursting out of your body while ensuring that it won't affect your use, I—"

Just as "Karl" was still boasting about himself, his voice suddenly became a little lower.

As if it had been processed again, the display screen behind them, which originally showed the giant ark of the Mechanicus, suddenly changed, revealing the mechanical face of the steel behemoth itself.

"Nice to meet you."

Belisarius Caul.

My true self.

"Welcome, hero Casgar."

"Since the day you disappeared, we have been searching for your whereabouts every moment."

Caul's Mechanicus Ark was enormous. As he and Titus boarded this super warship made of giant steel machinery, the Mechanicus sage, the steel behemoth Belisarius Caul, dressed in a red robe, stepped forward to greet them.

"please."

Guided by the other party, Casca and his adjutant Tytus were led into one of the rooms.

Even at its current height, the Great Sage is still a super-large machine with very little flesh.

"I believe my clone has had in-depth exchanges with you, great ancient hero."

"Could you tell me what your plans are for the future?"

Belisarius chuckled, seemingly gloating over his observations of Casca's homeworld: "Consider this your assessment of the current Son of the Emperor?"

"Enough, Great Sage. There's no need to ask such questions."

"I do not want to answer."

"Heh, those pathetic guys."

If it weren't for Melusin's request, he wouldn't have spent a thousand years designing a suit of armor for a dying person so that he could move freely.

This is a huge waste of resources.

But soon after, Guilliman also entered the stasis field for similar reasons, which prompted him to accelerate his research on the Armor of Fate.

The customization work for the Casca special edition was only completed not long ago.

Once it is successfully launched, his hard work can be verified, and then...
—And then it was lost.

Kasgar and his armor were suddenly captured by Abaddon and his Black Legion, who then fled.

From then on, there were no more clues about Casca in the world.

This ancient hero, along with the creations that Caul had poured his heart and soul into, vanished from the world.

Even with Caul's good temper (at least most of his personality is good-tempered), he consistently fell into a state of extreme anger when faced with this situation.

"Ugh"

Kasgar simply sighed. "Originally, I only wanted to rebuild the Son of the Emperor, but now..."

It's utterly exhausting.

Even now, Casgar doesn't want to mention rebuilding the Sons of the Emperor's Legion.

To save the Emperor from his current state of decline, he needs to draw suitable warriors from other sub-units and carry out a thorough overhaul of the Emperor's army from top to bottom, weeding out those who are unfit.

Then, without the notice of the court or the Ministry of the Interior, Ai gradually corrected the atmosphere of the entire group bit by bit.
Casca simply doesn't have the time for that.

It would take far too much time. The human empire is currently beset by internal and external threats, and Casca doesn't have the time to stay on Chemos and slowly work on the Emperor's son's mindset.

—There is even a possibility of being betrayed by an insider.

Even Casca himself didn't know whether the Emperor's son was involved in the incident when he was rescued by Caul and suddenly broke into Abaddon and the Black Legion.

Otherwise, without any intelligence, it would have been almost impossible for Abaddon to break through the Mechanicus's defenses and snatch him and the armor covering him at the crucial moment when he was about to awaken.

“Integrating the Sons of the Emperor is already a pointless endeavor,” Casgar replied.

"I need to rebuild a new battle group."

Let the emperor's son do whatever he wants.

I don't want to save them anymore; it's too much trouble and too dangerous.

You should hurry up and open a new account.

“Belissau Caul, I need your help.”

Nobikasgar said to Dorakor, "I need the name of a chapter that has been registered in the Imperium of Man, preferably currently missing, so that we can pretend to have just returned from a warp voyage."

"Ideally, it should be the offspring of the emperor's son."

"Any other requirements?"

"It would be best to call him the Son of the Phoenix."

"?"

Kaul raised his head slightly and looked at the other person with some doubt through his mechanical eyes.

Is this requirement a bit too specific?

"Is there?"

"There really is."

As he spoke, he activated a projection screen on his body, which displayed a Space Marine painted in white and purple with a golden eagle emblem (single-headed eagle) in the center.

Son of the Phoenix

The Phoenix Sons, like the Black Templars, are a glorious chapter, eternally on a perpetual expedition.

They were brave and fearless in battle, showing no mercy to either humans or the Emperor's enemies. As descendants of the glorious Emperor's sons, they possessed a spirit that Casca hoped their offspring would have more than the current Emperor's sons.

However, according to the Empire's current records, the Phoenix Chapter disappeared without a trace after one expedition in M36.

"it is good!"

Nobi Kaska nodded slightly as he looked at the message handed to him by Doraemon.

The negotiations lasted for several days.

As a great sage of the Mechanicus, Belisarius Caul, having spent a millennium designing the Armor of Fate and awakening Kasgar, naturally hoped that this ancient hero could inject new vitality into the stagnant human empire.

If things continue as the High Lord of the Interior intends, his innovative actions as a member of the Mechanicus will soon be classified as heresy. At that point, not only will he be unable to revive Guilliman, but even his own research will be in jeopardy.

As for Casca's plan to rebuild the Phoenix, Caul will naturally provide all his support.

Whether it's the imperial seed he currently possesses or the best Space Marine candidates he's cultivating in petri dishes, Caul can provide them to Casgar.

It can be said that the all-powerful Doraemon can currently provide them with approximately three thousand new recruits.

"But it is clear that three thousand is a number that violates the Astartes Codex."

Moreover, the reborn Phoenix Sons currently lack the equipment, weapons, ammunition, and training programs to equip these three thousand people.

Blindly expanding the number of members will only increase the unnecessary burden on the battle group.

“One thousand.” Caul chose to change his plans. “These one thousand new recruits will all be joining your battle barges in the coming weeks.”

"If you are able to acquire more weapons and equipment to equip more Space Marines in the future, you may contact me or my clone at any time."

The beach at Chemos.

During this time, Caul was nurturing Phoenix recruits for Project Casca in his private incubation chambers.

With this new force, although the entire battle group was still very rudimentary, it could be considered to have taken initial shape.

"But sir, what brings you here?"

While waiting, Casca did not stay in the princes' playground as requested, but instead walked out of the tower alone and stared blankly at the vast but poisonous ocean outside.

As for the little boy who had just appeared beside him.
Clearly, he had once again inadvertently displayed his psychic talent.

"Would you believe me if I told you that this place used to be a beautiful place?"

This used to be a beautiful beach, at least 10,000 years ago.

Casca remembers how he helped the Imperial Son veteran, who was suffering from wilt disease, through his final moments.

He promised that he would always remember their sacrifice and would forever ensure that they could rest in peace in this beautiful place.
But now.
Nothing else existed; he was still staring blankly at the dirty ocean in the distance.

To ensure that the poor cannot enjoy the beautiful sea view, let alone live a relatively prosperous life by fishing.

Just to prevent them from getting even the slightest bit of enjoyment, everything on Chemos was completely corrupted.

No fish or algae in the ocean can survive in such a highly toxic environment.

Here, only utter silence remained.

"The emperor's son has gone astray. If that's the case, let's set off again from here."

"As for you"

Casca prepared a special modification surgery for this little guy.

The psionic potential he previously displayed was quite remarkable. With proper training, he could grow into a qualified think tank member, or even the chief think tank member.

"Come on, soon you will become that tall and strong."

"Let's go back to our spaceship and talk about it now."

"Yes, sir. However, I have another question I would like to ask you."

Is our goal space?

The little boy's eyes shone with intense anticipation, as if he were soaring freely in the sky at that very moment.

“That’s right,” Casca said, smiling as she looked at him.

"Our goal has always been the stars."

On the battle barge.

"Commander, our first batch of new recruits has been delivered."

His adjutant, Titus, brought him some good news.

Kasgar's current title has become Chapter Master of the Phoenix.

As for the paint on his own combat barge, it was naturally replaced during this period as well.

"Commander, now that we've replenished our personnel, what's our next goal?"

"Next goal?"

Casca looked at the projection screen in front of him.

"We urgently need weapons, ammunition, and genetic seeds."

"A large number of genetic seeds."

Three thousand gene seeds sound like a lot, but it's still far too few compared to the number needed to unlock Holy Terra.

As for the Emperor's sons, even if Casca threatened them with fire and their lives, they could only provide him with about a thousand of them.

According to the warband leader, although the Emperor's son doesn't have many tasks, the gene seed tax is the heaviest.

Even Casca thought that the Ministry of the Interior and the Mechanics were using the Emperor's Sons as incubators.

As a result, after paying taxes, the number of gene seeds remaining is not very large.

"But if we really want to force the High Lord to submit, we'll need at least tens of thousands of Astartes."

Equipment can actually be sourced from anywhere; their sub-group, Red Scorpion, is even capable of mass production.

However, as the lifeblood of each warband, it is almost impossible for outsiders to obtain the gene seed.

However, in order to form a Space Marine chapter with a scale approaching that of a legion, Casca also legally obtained more gene seeds as a backup.
At that moment, a former storage vault appeared in his mind.

"That Endless One, Tarasim, still owes me a whole shipload of gene seeds."

(End of this chapter)