Warhammer: Empire Reboot

High in the sky, four Raptor fighter jets flew over the camp in formation.

The 45-meter-long fuselage left a condensation contrail below the clouds, the belly weapons bay opened, and precision-guided munitions fell one by one to the ground firing points.

Before the chaotic air defense positions on the ground could even turn around, they were precisely eliminated by the munitions raining down from the sky.

After the Raptor cleared the air defenses, the roar of its engine could be heard from low altitude.

The Flying Bear motorcycle swooped in at low altitude to enter the perimeter of the camp.

The rammed head cleaved through the barbed wire and sandbag walls, and the vehicle-mounted weapons were aimed at the mutated orcs, chaos chariots, and ammunition tents inside the camp, taking them out one by one.

After Flying Bear Motorcycle cleared out the heavily armed targets, a gray wave surged up from the ground.

Thousands of light motorcycles cut along the ground at such high speeds that they were left as mere gray streaks in the footage.

They divided, drove away, and compressed the infantry, cultists, chaos militia, and mutants in the camp into groups.

The Chaos infantry, compressed together, then launched a frontal assault on the battle line.

With the shield in front and the explosive gun held horizontally, it flattens everything in its path.

Chaos Space Marines attempt to organize a counterattack.

The seven Mourning Guards formed a battle formation in the center of the camp, their chain blades and bomb guns pointing in the direction of advance.

Two White Tiger assassins flanked the enemy, and within fifteen seconds, all seven members of the Mourning Guard fell to the ground.

Raptors clear anti-aircraft defenses, Flying Bears remove heavy armor, Hurricanes cut off infantry, and the battle order pushes forward.

The process is progressive, with almost no gaps between each step.

The Lion King's gaze shifted to the second screen.

This is a world of industrial ruins.

The battle here is over.

In the footage, the bodies of the Chaos garrison have not yet been cleared away, and smoke is still rising from the ruins of the camp.

However, the focus of the image is not on the battlefield.

Behind the battlefield, tens of thousands of gray figures were pouring out from different places.

The first batch of Cornerstone suicide soldiers carried standardized supply boxes, with numbers and contents printed on the boxes: water purification equipment, medical supplies, standard rations, communication repeaters, and temporary generators.

The second batch of Cornerstone suicide soldiers immediately began constructing temporary facilities.

The water purification station's frame was erected in just over ten minutes, with pipeline laying and filtration system installation proceeding simultaneously.

One after another, transport trucks drove up from behind, loaded with sacks of grain and barrels of drinking water.

The Cornerstone suicide squad distributed food and water according to headcount, acting quickly and efficiently.

Each distribution point has a designated person to register the population, record the injuries and illnesses, and mark any special needs.

At the same time, a pre-recorded broadcast began looping across all available frequencies on the planet's surface:

"The Dark Side of the Empire has reclaimed this planet. All civilians, maintain order and proceed to the nearest distribution point to collect food and water. The wounded should remain where they are and await the medical team. Chaos remnants, surrender immediately or be killed on the spot."

The Lion King's gaze continued to sweep across the remaining screens.

Similar things are happening on every screen.

Battles are still ongoing on some planets, and the battle sequence is advancing towards the last Chaos stronghold.

On some planets, the battles have ended, and the foundational sequences are being deployed on a large scale.

Some planets have already entered the second stage, with the base of the air defense towers completed and the communication relay network being connected to the orbital nodes.

The Lion King saw something he had never seen before during the Great Crusade.

During the Great Expedition, the Empire's efficiency had reached the pinnacle of human history.

Twenty Primarchs, each leading a legion, swept across the galaxy and reclaimed millions of worlds.

But even in that golden age, the task of governing a reclaimed planet was long and arduous.

Legions are responsible for fighting, while administrators are responsible for governing.

There is a huge gap between the two.

The legion has left, but the administrator has not yet arrived.

Or the administrator arrives and finds that the local situation is completely different from what was reported.

There is no gap in Lawson's system.

Once the combat sequence has finished killing someone, the keystone sequence immediately fills the gap.

There was no handover, no approval, and no waiting in between.

The Lion King noticed another detail.

On a screen, in the image of a newly reclaimed planet, dozens of engineering drones, each over two meters tall, are busy working amidst the ruins.

They salvage scrap steel and gravel from the rubble, melt them down on the spot into building materials, and quickly assemble walls and pipelines according to a pre-set template.

Next to the water purification station, the framework of a simple warehouse has already taken shape.

Less than three hours had passed since the battle ended.

The Lion King tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.

Before he went to sleep, the Tau Empire didn't exist; back then, the Tau were probably similar to monkeys.

"These construction machines are yours too?"

Lawson nodded: "Nest system, combat sequence clears the field, cornerstone sequence takes over the population, construction matrix unfolds simultaneously, all three lines run at the same time."

The Lion King watched for a long time.

He turned to look at Lawson.

"Has the Empire become this efficient now?"

Lawson smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, this is the efficiency of the dark side."

PS: 1.2 words updated today.

Chapter 239 Dark Angels, take note: Your father is in my hands!

The efficiency of the dark side of the empire is not the efficiency of the empire itself.

The Empire is Terra, the Golden Throne, the behemoth that has operated for ten thousand years on the framework of superstition.

The Dark Side of the Empire is something Lawson is building himself. It is connected to that empire and shares its banner, but its core is different.

This is not the tone of a loyalist!

The Lion King gave Lawson a deep look, but Lawson made no attempt to hide anything.

The image of eleven planets synchronously restoring order on the projection wall is the best illustration of this.

This system, from military to administration to infrastructure, from combat sequence to cornerstone sequence to nesting matrix, bypasses the Empire's old administrative institutions, the Mechanicus monopoly, and the state religion system at every stage.

The Lion King withdrew his gaze and leaned back in his chair.

He might have been furious ten thousand years ago.

The Lion King of the Great Expedition era was cold, proud, and had zero tolerance for any behavior that deviated from the Emperor's will.

He was shaped by Caliban's chivalric code and the First Legion's ironclad rules; the Emperor's orders were the only law, and any act of arbitrariness was a threat to the order.

But that was ten thousand years ago.

Now he is an old man who has just come out of the forest.

White hair hung down the sides of his forehead, and the lines on his face were etched deeper by the years and sleep.

The scratches on his armor came from countless battles from much earlier times, times he couldn't recall exactly.

He is tired.

He looked down at his hands.

The Primarch's body underwent some slow transformation during its long slumber in the Dragon Forest.

He is no longer the conqueror in his prime ten thousand years ago.

"Young and impetuous!"

The Lion King smiled and shook his head, recalling something from long ago.

At the start of the Great Crusade, the twenty Primarchs each led their armies into battle, each believing they could conquer the entire galaxy.

Back then, they were all young and ambitious, and they all believed that the bright future their father had described was within reach.

Lawson smells like that.

That sense of certainty that "I can do it" is a confidence built on actual ability and existing achievements.

To be honest, the Lion King didn't trust Lawson.

Trust cannot be built through a battle fought side by side or a projection screen.

Lawson's words were partly true and partly false, but he believed in the Emperor's choice.

It is a fact that Angron's Battle Axe and Horus' Claw were reforged by the Imperial Goldenfire.

It is also true that the golden flame at Lawson's fingertips is connected to the star torch.

The emperor chooses to trust those he trusts, and the lion king will naturally trust them as well.

He was the emperor's eldest son.

He has never forgotten this identity.

Even though Horus was the emperor's favorite son, and even though the brothers privately discussed who their father loved most, the Lion King never wavered on one thing: he was the first one to be created.

The First Legion, the very first one.

This pride doesn't need to be proven by a father's favoritism.

The emperor's choice is his choice.

He just needs more time.