The question from the High Marshal of the Black Templars caused everyone to look towards Magos Regulus.
If it were truly possible for the Emperor to communicate with the world, it would undoubtedly be an event that would shake the entire Imperium.
It might even cause an earth-shattering upheaval throughout the Imperium.
It would trigger a storm in the political arena.
The old nobles and senators of Terra would likely tremble because of it.
During the ten thousand years the Emperor slept, the actions their families had taken would mean that being put on the pyre would be getting off lightly.
Especially regarding the Ecclesiarchy.
Black marks like the Apostasy and the Reign of Blood are impossible to wash away.
For the current upper echelons of the Imperium, the Emperor's awakening would bring nothing but harm.
For the common people, however, it would be beneficial.
Humanity would once again receive the Emperor's guidance, no longer struggling in the darkness.
After the Great Rift appeared, the situation of the Human Imperium became increasingly dire.
In the warp, vast amounts of distress signals drift every moment.
Xenos, mutants, Chaos.
Many worlds are deeply harmed by these cancers.
Magos Regulus' mechanical face showed a hint of human-like expression.
The sound of mechanical gears turning came from his neck.
He shook his head a few times.
"What you speak of, we cannot achieve; the Emperor's power is too strong, we have no way to guide the Emperor's will to converse with us."
"Why would that not be possible? You can even leverage his power; guiding his will should not be an issue," Amalrich pressed, unwilling to give up.
The Emperor's awakening is a disaster for the current Imperial bureaucracy.
For humanity and the various Chapters, the benefits of the Emperor's awakening are truly immense.
Before coming to Ultramar to seek the Primarch, he had participated in many battles.
The power of Chaos has grown stronger.
The Dark Angels' Rock base was attacked by minions of the Lord of Change, suffering heavy casualties.
The Space Wolves' homeworld was destroyed by Magnus, the civilians were almost all killed, and the monastery was reduced to ruins.
On planets near the Great Rift, paranormal events caused by Chaos are increasing.
People worry daily that their souls will be completely devoured by Chaos.
Clovis was not saying that Guilliman was incapable of leading humanity.
Rather, the enemy is too strong, and the threats humanity faces are too numerous.
No matter how powerful a Primarch is, he is still only one person.
If the Emperor could return, humanity's strength would also greatly increase.
The pressure on the Primarch would not be so great either.
"Being able to use his power does not mean being able to withstand the descent of his will," Regulus opened a holographic projection, displaying various monitoring data from when the Emperor's projection descended.
Every item of that data far exceeded normal values, with many items displayed in red font, indicating danger.
"These are just the detected data; there are also some data that cannot be quantified.
That trace of the Emperor's power manifested has already overloaded the spatial structure, and traces of purification have even appeared on people's souls."
"If the Emperor's will were to descend, everyone on the entire planet would be instantly vaporized by the Emperor's immense power."
Magos Regulus' words caused those who had held expectations to feel somewhat disappointed.
They had thought they could make the Emperor lead the world again.
Unexpectedly, it was still impossible to do so.
Their feelings were like those of a traveler lost in the desert, thirsty and weary, who discovers an oasis, only to find that the oasis is a mirage.
How terrible and disappointing such a feeling is.
"Alright, this planet has now lost its value for guarding.
The traitors of the warp are exceptionally cunning; they will never step into the same trap twice.
It is time to fulfill new duties."
Ventris stepped forward and waved his hand to close the holographic projections.
The questions had been answered; it was time to make the next arrangements.
The planet Pharos no longer needed such a massive force to guard it.
Warp daemons would not be foolish enough to step into the same trap again.
"The Pharos can summon the Emperor's power; it is a divine artifact.
Why do you say it has no value for guarding?"
Inquisitor Ridge looked at Ventris, her tone full of confusion.
Even if it could no longer lure warp daemons, leaving the Pharos here would still be a good thing.
In the future, if the Pharos Sector were to suffer a Chaos invasion, this Pharos could still be used to expel the enemy.
"The Pharos is overloaded; most of its components are already scrapped.
It has lost the function of maintaining a stable warp entry point."
Celestine, who had been silent, spoke.
"We can continue to repair it," Amalrich said.
"Being able to borrow the Emperor's power will give us a huge advantage and can effectively counter the enemies of Chaos."
"This is xenos technology," Ventris said.
"The danger is too great.
This Pharos can not only borrow and amplify the Emperor's power but can also be used by other evil powers.
Lord Guilliman left orders long ago that if it were triggered, it is not recommended to keep the Pharos, but to completely destroy it."
Hearing that it was Guilliman's intention, the others, who had originally wanted to try and keep the Pharos, could only agree.
If it had been before, they might have objected.
But having experienced the battle just now, they really couldn't object.
Lord Guilliman planned ahead, strategized effectively, and easily toyed with and severely wounded the traitor primarch.
This caused a surge of veneration and trust towards him in their hearts.
The Primarch doing this must have a deep meaning.
Just like concealing the various arrangements on the planet Pharos from them, the final result would greatly surprise them.
"The guarding mission here is over.
Completely dismantle the Pharos; after ensuring it cannot be restored, you will continue to dedicate yourselves to the Crusade."
Ventris said.
"Bring the Primarch's reforms and will to the entire galaxy."
Everyone nodded and began discussing the related work of dismantling the Pharos.
The dismantling was thorough; all components had to be taken apart to ensure it could not be restored.
Many Imperial heroes felt regret, but out of trust in Guilliman, they proceeded with the dismantling.
Many people did not understand this action.
Guilliman had never explained the reason for doing this.
In the eyes of those who did not know the inside story, the Pharos was indeed a powerful weapon against Chaos and a tool for navigating Imperial ships in the warp.
But the problem was that the Pharos was a creation of the C'tan.
They were not so kind as to build lighthouses for humans.
The C'tan are very special life forms.
According to the Aeldari, the C'tan are gods of reality, different from the gods of the warp.
The C'tan's connection to reality is very close; once the warp invades reality, they will also perish.
To counter the warp invasion, the C'tan devised a vast plan and entrusted it to the necrons to execute.
That is the Pariah Nexus.
By arranging Blackstone Obelisks throughout the galaxy, they would construct a large-scale Pariah Nexus, vast enough to cover the entire galaxy.
This Pariah Nexus is similar to the soulless nature of the Sisters of Silence.
Any individual with a soul within it will slowly weaken, like flowers that don't get water and slowly wither.
Biological souls are like flowers, and the warp is water.
Too much water, they'll rot.
The Pariah Nexus is the desert; the flowers will die of thirst.
Once the Pariah Nexus is activated, no race except the necrons can be spared.
The C'tan's original intention was to use this method to completely annihilate the living beings in the galaxy, thereby starving the warp and causing it to die.
And the Pharos was the switch for the Pariah Nexus.
There was not just one such Pharos.
Pharos devices were distributed throughout the galaxy, forming a giant navigation network.
It was just that the other Pharos devices were guarded by the necrons.
Although they had betrayed the C'tan, they were still quite happy to use the things left behind by the C'tan.
The necrons also had plans to activate the Pariah Nexus, but the time had not yet arrived.
The Pharos' related data has already been transmitted to Macragge.
After research, it will be absorbed into the Imperium's technological system.
There is absolutely no need to keep the Pharos created by the C'tan.
Doing so offers little benefit and leaves behind hidden dangers.
When the Pariah Nexus is activated, it will be an extremely terrifying disaster for humanity.
Destroying the xenos Pharos and establishing humanity's own Pharos system is the best strategy.
**********
Edge of the Charadon Sector.
Ramillis System.
This system appears somewhat lonely.
A brown dwarf emitting a red glow hangs in the void.
Compared to its peers, this brown dwarf is much smaller, and the light it emits is slightly dimmer.
The Ramillis System has only one terrestrial planet, Ramillis I.
This planet doesn't even have a companion natural satellite, orbiting the star in a lonely circular motion, like a widowed father and son depending on each other in a corner of the galaxy.
Today, this cold and silent system welcomed a rare period of liveliness.
The Imperial Fleet and the ork fleet will engage in battle here.
The Ramillis System is located on a stable warp route.
It is close to the Charadon System, controlled by an Ork Warboss, and can be considered the ork heartland.
It is only a Terran week of warp travel away from the Charadon System.
This system holds a certain strategic position.
To attack the Charadon System, this system must first be captured.
Controlling this warp route.
Only in this way can the main Imperial force be guaranteed not to be suddenly backstabbed by the orks.
After strategic arrangements and deployment, the Silver Skulls Chapter and their auxiliary fleet were responsible for capturing this system.
Void combat unfolded at the edge of the system.
Three naval fleets responsible for assisting the Silver Skulls were divided into four battle groups, forming a tower-like formation.
The Silver Arrow strategic battleship, as a mobile support unit, operates independently of the four battle groups.
Silver Arrow Battleship Control Room.
Naval High Command, the highest-ranking naval officer assisting the Silver Skulls Chapter's fleet, Iser, sat in her command chair.
Numerous neural interface cables were connected to her cerebral cortex.
Vast amounts of data and information were being processed by her brain through these neural cables.
A dozen or so naval commanders sat in their positions around Iser, also connected to consoles via neural cables, constantly receiving updated data.
They each monitored every aspect of the battlefield, assisting Iser in making various tactical adjustments.
Ensuring her tactics could be smoothly implemented.
Iser, seated in her command chair, watched the data scrolling across the holographic projection.
All battleships transmitted data here.
The control room was the brain of the entire fleet, responsible for overall strategic planning.
She gazed down at the holographic projection, her vision godlike, observing a realm composed of data and shimmering images.
The Imperial fleet was marked by green runes, each representing a battleship.
The ork battleships were marked by red runes.
Most of them were composed of various derelict warships and plundered civilian vessels.
Their numbers were far greater than the Imperium's.
The tactical projection screen was densely packed with red dots.
It was immediately apparent that the two sides were severely mismatched in strength.
"Rescan, update the enemy fleet data," Iser ordered.
The servitors arrayed behind the command chair trembled slightly.
Flashing indicator lights showed that the dead brains of the servitors were calculating and analyzing Iser's command.
Along with the servitors' twitching.
The projection before Iser flickered for a moment.
The number of enemy battleships and their movement range showed a completely new change.
Every few minutes, Iser would issue such an order to ensure she could always track the position of enemy vessels.
The number of enemy ships was far greater than the number of Imperial ships.
The dense red dots almost covered the entire holographic projection interface.
Iser had to proceed cautiously.
Generally speaking, ork battleships were not as strong as Imperial battleships; their parameters were slightly inferior.
But no matter how poor their performance, they couldn't withstand the sheer force of the enemy's numbers.
"We need support from a unit," Iser thought.
The Primarch had promised to provide assistance when the battle began.
But so far, there was no sign of any fleet appearing.
This made Iser feel a little uneasy.
With the current limited forces, the chances of success against the massive number of ork ships were very low.
One slip-up could lead to a complete defeat and heavy casualties.
"Are there any new Astropathic messages?" Iser opened the communication channel to the psyker Communication Officer, her voice filled with anticipation.
Logically speaking, the Primarch would certainly not break his promise.
But where was the support she needed?
"There are no fluctuations in the Immaterium; we have not received any messages."
The voice of the Communication Officer sounded in the communication channel.
A hint of disappointment welled up in Iser's heart.
Was the Primarch also like those corrupt officials, deceiving the army with lies to send them to their deaths!!
Iser could not accept this.
She didn't believe such a thing would happen.
The Primarch's support must be on its way.
Suppressing the disrespectful thoughts in her heart, Iser focused her mind on the battlefield, searching for weaknesses in the ork fleet.
According to the Primarch's plan, she needed to launch an offensive against the orks today.
But so far, there was no support.
This made her hesitant about whether to launch the attack.
Before she could make a decision, the ever-changing battlefield presented a new development.
"Detecting the ork fleet is approaching us; they can no longer hold back. They are expected to enter lance weapon range in twenty-five minutes."
The Battlefield Intelligence Officer, sitting behind a row of machines, shouted.
"Synchronize immediately," Iser said.
"Data is being accessed," the Intelligence Officer said.
The equipment buzzed continuously, dispelling the silence in the control room.
The holographic image before Iser first became blurred, then flickered and gradually refocused.
Iser looked at the scene before her and couldn't help but blink.
The edges of the rotating image were dotted with patches of crimson; the ork fleet was approaching.
Her enhanced brain quickly analyzed the marked runes and abstract data.
She absorbed the latest battlefield data, building her comprehensive understanding of the battlefield.
The tactical logic regulator embedded in the back of her neck also diverted her thoughts accordingly, assisting her in processing the information.
A mortal mind could hardly support the massive computational load required for a void battle.
Ship coordination, the speed of enemy torpedoes, the maneuverability of friendly ships, and the distribution of space mines, and so on.
The data stream generated by the battlefield was enough to burn out a mortal's brain.
For this reason, naval officers required certain auxiliary machinery to help with thought diversion and control the variables on the battlefield.
"Expand the observation range," Iser said, "Show me the full scope of the battlefield."
The mechanical buzzing that had just subsided started up again, and the view of the holographic projection was pulled back.
The Ramillis system was shrunk to the size of a basketball.
At this scale, the image lost the details of the battlefield.
The fleets also all became points of light.
The points of light condensed all their information.
Iser didn't care about this.
For a naval officer.
The most important thing was to control the overall battlefield, not to focus on battlefield details.
Her assistants would handle that problem.
"Prepare to meet the enemy," Iser said, "Use operation plan number three - kite tactics, to stretch out their formation. Also, don't let the ships get too close to each other, to avoid the orks boarding. We need to make the most of the forces we have to inflict maximum casualties on them."
Iser's forces were too few; if they engaged in a frontal confrontation, they would quickly be defeated.
She decided to fully utilize the mobility of the Imperial fleet.
Mobile warfare.
When the enemy retreats, we advance; when the enemy advances, we retreat.
"Operation plan number three, mobile maneuvering warfare," the Communication Officer repeated to each numbered communication window opposite him.
The crews of each battleship became busy.
The technical personnel responsible for maintaining the force fields recalibrated the energy matrix stabilizing the hull, adjusting parameters for the impending battle.
The tech-priests in the engine room transmitted time synchronization and reactor output standards and data to their colleagues in the engine hall deep within the ship.
The captains began maneuvering according to the commander's orders, accelerating or decelerating to lure the ork fleet to disperse.
The battle quickly erupted.
Thousands of battleships engaged in combat in the vast void battlefield, chasing and hunting each other.
The diameter of the battlefield quickly expanded by millions of kilometers.
Inside the control room, the array of cogitators emitted a rapid beeping sound.
Indicator lights flashed rapidly.
Tech-priests chanted prayers nearby, praying that the machine spirits would not go on strike.
Battlefield data surged, and Iser weighed the value of each battleship, ensuring that before they were destroyed, they could earn enough advantage for the Emperor and lay the foundation for victory.
The battlefield was so cruel.
The sacrifice of warriors became a string of data.
The only meaning was to tip the scales of victory as much as possible to their side.
Iser poured all her effort into controlling the battlefield, exchanging the smallest losses for the greatest gains.
But the disparity in forces was too great, and this battle was very difficult.
The Silver Arrow, as a battleship, was also targeted by the orks as a primary objective.
From time to time, it would be targeted by concentrated fire, experiencing violent tremors.
Alarm bells constantly rang throughout the ship.
Various systems emitted noisy beeping sounds.
Crews shouted, rushing to their posts.
Battles in the void usually lasted a long time.
Unless the defending force was too weak and was overwhelmed and destroyed by the attacking force.
The Imperial fleet led by Iser was weaker than the ork fleet.
But they were the attacking force; they didn't need to stubbornly withstand the enemy's attacks to protect strategic objectives.
Fight if they could, run if they couldn't.
The battle in the void continued for a day.
The battlefield was stretched to a diameter of hundreds of millions of kilometers.
The Imperial battleships, using their superior mobility compared to the orks, would fire a few shots and then run, opening up enough distance before firing a few more shots.
The orks roared in frustration, relentlessly pursuing, wanting to kill these annoying shrimp, but they could never catch up.
Casualties on both sides were not severe.
The Imperium was unable to contend with the vast number of ork fleets.
The ork fleet also felt powerless against the Imperial fleet that was running around everywhere.
The stalemate lasted for a day.
Both sides could be said to have achieved nothing.
Iser looked at the tactical projection before her; both the Imperial and ork fleets were extremely dispersed, like scattered sand.
If there were a unit now to strike directly at Ramillis I, the orks would immediately collapse.
The only regrettable thing was that she didn't have one.
A hint of bitterness appeared in Iser's heart; she clearly saw the opportunity for victory right before her eyes, but she couldn't seize it.
It was like seeing the enemy stretch out their neck in front of her, inviting her to cut it, but she didn't even have a knife.
"My lady, we have detected fluctuations in the warp," the Communication Officer said, looking at the faintly glowing tactical panel; the warp data captured by the augurs had changed from stable to violently fluctuating.
Hearing this, Iser's face immediately showed joy.
At this moment, a deep, powerful voice resounded throughout the control room.
The voice was full of faith and power, like a light bursting forth in the darkness, giving people hope and belief.
"I hope I'm not too late, my colleagues."
At this time in the void, fierce fighting was erupting.
The overflowing energy interfered with communication between ships.
But this voice was so clear, as if the person speaking was standing among them.
Everyone in the control room showed ecstatic joy upon hearing this voice.
Iser was even more overjoyed; she had sent a communication to the main fleet, hoping to receive support so that she could seize the Ramillis system.
She had never thought that she would have such an honor, to fight alongside that Lord.
Accompanied by a series of rapid beeping sounds from the augurs.
The cold, dark void seemed to have been cut open.
Amber light surged from the rift, as bright as a thousand suns, assaulting people's senses.
The colossal battleship that had cut through the barrier between reality and illusion emerged through the passage it had created.
Seeing that battleship appear in the real universe, everyone in the control room cheered.
Victory was already assured.
Humanity would seize the Ramillis system.