Warhammer: Empire Reboot

Er Gou stroked his chin: "If you were to put your face inside the Lion King's body, there would be two ice blocks at the boss's door from now on, no, two War Generals!"

"That's still better than you stuffing yourself into Horus's body."

"how?"

"The dark side of the empire will have one more Horus who knows how to cheat at cards."

Aoqi nodded immediately: "Catastrophic risk."

Er Gou was so angry he wanted to kick someone again, but a guard next to him quickly said, "Then who would be suitable for Ao Qi?"

Before Aoqi could speak, Ergou answered first: "Luojia".

Ao Qi's expression changed: "Second Brother, this insult is too much."

Laughter erupted all around.

Er Gou finally got the better of him and laughed heartily: "You're good at logic, aren't you good at changing the subject, aren't you good at calling logistics vehicles strategic reserves? Luojia is perfect for you. With just a few words, an entire legion will kneel down and write scriptures."

Aoqi said seriously, "I am applying for Peturabo."

San Gou looked at him: "Why?"

“Engineering capabilities, computing power, strategic planning, and the ability to deduce rules.” Ao Qi paused for a moment, “And at least he speaks logic.”

Er Gou sneered: "What nonsense is he spouting? He's just feeling frustrated."

Aoqi retorted: "Being able to hold it in for ten thousand years is also a kind of stability."

The more they talked, the more outrageous their statements became.

Someone wanted the Saint Gilles template, saying the wings were useful and convenient for aerial combat, but Er Gou immediately retorted: "What do you need wings for? To flutter around in front of the boss?"

Some people say the Wolf King template is also good, as it is wild, tough, and suitable for charging into battle. Aoqi reminded, "The Wolf King template may have canine behavioral tendencies."

Er Gou immediately said, "That suits your Mastiff character."

Aoqi said seriously, "Second brother, judging from the name, you are also called Ergou (Second Dog)."

The scene fell silent for a moment, and then all the guards looked at Er Gou.

Er Gou's face darkened, and San Gou also looked over.

Aoqi continued: "Therefore, in terms of canine naming adaptation, the second and third brothers of the Rus template have the highest priority."

Er Gou grabbed an empty magazine from the ammunition box and threw it at the target: "You fucking say another word and see what happens!"

Aoqi was knocked off balance by the blow, but still maintained its foul mouth: "I'm reverting to the canine category and renaming it Wolf Tactical Affinity."

Er Gou has already started looking for an axe.

San Gou reached out and stopped him: "Let's get down to business."

Er Gou finally calmed down and looked at the gate of the Royal Court.

“I’m not kidding. The enemies the boss is facing now are not things that can be dealt with on ordinary battlefields. Abaddon, Vashtor, the Primarch, the Chaos Gods, the Necromancers, the Old Ones’ legacy, and they will only get bigger and bigger. We can beat the Custodians and beat up the Tavar now. It sounds pretty cool.”

He turned to look at the four golden-armored figures at the door: "But what are the Imperial Guards anyway?"

These words made Taiwa tighten his grip on her hand again.

Two Dogs acted as if they hadn't seen it: "The Imperial Guard couldn't protect the Emperor, the Astartes couldn't protect the Empire, even the Primarchs can betray, so who does the boss rely on?"

No one spoke.

Er Gou pointed to himself, then to all the guards around him: "We're here, not because we're the strongest right now, but because we're closest to the boss."

San Gou said softly, "The person closest to us cannot be the weakest."

“Yes.” Er Gou nodded. “So we have to climb higher. When conventional enhancements reach their limit, we switch to unconventional ones. If the physical body is not enough, we replace it. If the neural bandwidth is not enough, we expand the neural network. If the consciousness can’t hold up, we let the swarm of bees hold the line. If the original template is risky, we dismantle it one by one and try it one by one.”

"If that madman Bayer can reach the door in ten thousand years, and the boss gets all his results, can't he just kick the door open?"

Aoqi said, "Theoretically, it's possible. But the boss might not agree."

Who will go and say it?

Everyone looked at Er Gou at the same time.

Er Gou was taken aback: "Why are you all looking at me?"

"The person who proposes the plan is responsible for reporting; this is the rule you set last time."

Er Gou's eye twitched: "When did I say that?"

"Last time the Crimson Dragon Legion requested to mount the Melt Cannon on melee shields, you scolded them. Whoever came up with the bad idea should go to the boss and get scolded."

Er Gou opened his mouth; these words did indeed seem like something he would say.

San Gou looked at Ao Qi: "The citation is valid."

Er Gou cursed, "You dog brain of yours doesn't need to be used for fighting, it's only for remembering the bullshit I've ever said."

Aoqi corrected: "This is called a tactical file."

Er Gou put the unlit cigarette back in his mouth and suddenly stopped laughing.

"Okay, I'll go tell them."

Er Gou raised his hand and straightened the collar of his combat uniform.

This action was rarely seen on him, and even seemed a bit awkward.

Aoqi looked at him and said, "Second brother, why don't you tear off the paper strip on your face first?"

Er Gou was stunned. He then remembered that he had lost a card game and had two pieces of paper stuck to his face, one hanging on his chin and the other on his left cheek.

The guards were all trying to suppress their laughter.

Er Gou tore off the note with a blank expression, then pointed at Ao Qi.

"Once I get the Horus body, you'll be the first person I test my punches on!"

Aoqi nodded: "I will apply for Peturabo's body in advance and build a fortress to hide inside."

Teva finally couldn't help but ask, "You want to transform yourselves into Primarchs?"

Er Gou looked at him and nodded, saying, "Your Imperial Guards are different from us."

"As long as the boss lives, the Dark Side of the Empire lives. If the boss moves forward, we will follow. If the boss wants to fight the Primarch, we will find a way to grow strong enough to bite the Primarch. If the boss wants to fight the Chaos God, we will find a way to sharpen our teeth until we can chip off a piece of the god's skin. Even if it's still not enough in the end, at least when the boss looks back, he won't see a bunch of useless people behind him who only say 'For absolute safety, we killed them all.'"

The gates of the Domination Court slowly opened, and the light from the strategic projection inside shone on Er Gou's face.

Lawson sat behind the desk and glanced up at him.

"Boss, we'd like to apply for a Guardian Sequence Upgrade Experiment, Primarch level."

San Gou stood behind Er Gou, while Ao Qi, Ao Jiu, and several other guards also stood ramrod straight.

Lawson looked at them and smiled.

“Sure, even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have upgraded the Guardian sequence.”

"But it's not as simple as you think."

A prototype-level human body structure model appeared on the strategic projection platform, with bones, muscles, nerves, organs, endocrine system, and psionic adaptation layer. All the structures unfolded layer by layer and rotated in mid-air.

Lawson said, "Bayer's technology can indeed reproduce the original body framework, and even get very close to the original, but Bayer has never been able to solve the most critical problem."

San Gou whispered, "The soul."

Lawson nodded: "Yes, if we only give you a Primarch-level body without a soul structure large enough to support it, you'll just be a bunch of stronger, more resilient larger Astartes, which isn't very meaningful."

Er Gou understood.

Angron's rage can tear the battlefield apart; Mortarion's very existence is a moving plague realm; the Lion King standing there is like a sword drawn from the old era; Guilliman can put a crumbling empire back into operation.

The Primarch's physical body is merely an outer shell; what truly makes them Primarchs is their soul, their dominion, and what the Emperor once placed deep within their essence.

Aoqi immediately asked, "Boss, can we use swarm intelligence as an external stabilizer?"

That's just the first layer of insurance.

Lawson glanced at him. "If the Sentinel Sequence is to undergo Primarch-level upgrades, it must solve two problems at the same time."

He held up one finger: "Physical template, which Primarch-level blueprint to choose, and how to remove the Primarch's own subspace contamination, genetic memory, and bloodline dominance residue."

The second finger: "The soul bears the burden. You need stronger soul resilience, otherwise if the body is too strong, the consciousness will be crushed."

The people in the hall seemed to be deep in thought.

Er Gou suddenly grinned: "Boss, there's also the issue of loyalty. Oh, we're suicide squads, so we don't need to consider that. Even if I were to switch to Horus's body, I'd still be Er Gou. At most, I'd be more intimidating when playing cards."

San Gou said calmly, "Whether you change your body or not, you'll still lose at cards."

Aoqi added, "If Second Brother possessed Horus-level dominance, perhaps the poker table could readily concede the win to him."

Er Gou turned his head and glared at him: "Shut up."

Lawson looked at the group of people, shook his head and smiled.

"Alright, I've approved the application, but not immediately. The research team will first establish a Guardian Primarch-level upgrade project. Bayer's Primarch cloning technology is just a draft. I will have them incorporate the Swarm Soul Stabilization Framework, the Golden Flame Purification Layer, the Black Stone Anti-Pollution Constraints, and your existing organ enhancement data. We'll do a simulation first, then create an empty shell, and finally, consciousness transfer."

Er Gou immediately stood up straight: "Understood."

Lawson looked at him: "Also, don't stare at Horus right away."

Er Gou's expression froze.

Lawson said calmly, "I heard everything you were discussing at the door."

Er Gou's face twitched.

Aoqi took a half step back very naturally, while Sangou acted as if nothing had happened.

Lawson waved his hand: "Go down first, I'll take care of this."

Er Gou and the others bowed in unison: "Yes, boss!"

They turned and left.

After the gates closed, the Imperial Court fell silent once more.

The Guardian sequence's Primarch-level upgrade is just one of the future plans; the real troubles are still piling up.

The original structural model on the strategic projection platform disappeared, replaced by a huge star map of the edge of the Milky Way.

Forty-one star systems, seventy-three Bayer Laboratories, nineteen clone storage sites, hundreds of hidden transit stations, dozens of New Human tribal worlds, and a large number of flesh factories being cleared one by one by the White Tiger Chapter, the Lurker Chapter, the T-Sequence, and the Cornerstone takeover forces.