Seeing Corvo publicly propose to the Primarch that he would lead his Chapter brothers to destroy the Battle Moon, the many Chapter Masters belatedly regretted their hesitation.
They followed closely behind Corvo, each opening their mouths to request the honor of the first strike.
They hoped the Primarch would send them to assault the Battle Moon and pave the way for the main Imperial forces.
"The Silver Skulls Chapter is willing to destroy the Battle Moon for the Primarch."
"The Genesis Chapter is willing to lead the charge."
"The Fire Hawks are willing to share the Primarch's burden."
All the Chapter Masters were vying for the right to strike first.
They wanted to add another glorious chapter to their Chapter's history.
In many previous battles, assaulting an ork Battle Moon was extremely dangerous.
A slight misstep could lead to the complete annihilation of the entire Chapter.
But those situations occurred without a Primarch present.
The current situation was completely different.
To resolve the problems in the Charadon Sector, Guilliman had mobilized a total of thirty Chapters.
All of them were Space Marines who had undergone Primaris upgrade.
The strength of the primaris space marines alone exceeded thirty thousand.
Such a scale was common during the Great Crusade.
However, since the end of the Horus Heresy and the Second Founding, Space Marines had generally operated in Chapter-sized forces of just over a thousand, rarely gathering together.
In the ten thousand years of history, the number of times such a large number of warriors had gathered was few and far between.
In addition to the thirty Chapters, new Chapters continued to arrive from across the galaxy.
This brought the number of primaris space marines under the Primarch's command to over forty thousand.
This was already an overwhelming force.
There were not enough forces in the galaxy to resist over forty thousand primaris space marines to count on one hand.
The Ork Warboss was indeed powerful.
But facing over forty thousand primaris space marines, he still seemed somewhat insufficient.
The Imperium of Man was destined to achieve victory.
Whoever could destroy the ork Battle Moon would achieve the greatest achievement for the final decisive battle, adding a significant mark to their Chapter's achievements.
Guilliman watched the many Chapter Masters, naturally guessing their thoughts, but he would choose none of them.
Regarding the Battle Moon, he already had his own arrangements.
Seeing the crowd arguing incessantly, Guilliman smiled, raising his hand to stop their quarrel.
He ordered a tech-priest beside him to project a holographic display that enveloped the entire hall.
He showed everyone the orks' massive, threatening Battle Moon.
The surface of the Battle Moon was a chaotic overlap and interweaving of massive melted wreckage and connected metal plates.
It looked like a giant half-rusted clockwork structure or a complex planetary toy, its bright paint scraped away to expose its internal workings.
The Battle Moon was the pinnacle of ork technology.
Its sheer size was enough to affect a planet's gravity.
Compared to the Battle Moon, the kilometer-long ork ships looked like swarming insects.
In the many campaigns between the Imperium and the orks, once a Battle Moon appeared in the void battlefield, it signaled the beginning of the Imperial fleet's defeat.
There were no exceptions.
During each cyclical WAAAGH! wave, the Imperium also paid extreme attention to whether a Battle Moon appeared.
If there was one, it had to be disabled and destroyed at the first opportunity, no matter the cost.
Otherwise, the Imperial fleet would be utterly defeated.
"This time, no Chapter needs to conduct a raid; we will directly defeat the ork Battle Moon on the frontal battlefield."
Guilliman spoke after everyone had quieted down.
"My lord, in that case, the Imperial Navy will pay a heavy price," Ither said. "The Imperial fleet is almost powerless against a Battle Moon; before even getting close, they are already affected by the gravity devices on the Battle Moon. Weaker warships can even be directly torn apart by the chaotic gravitational storms."
"My lord, I beg you to reconsider. It is not that we fear death, but the ork Battle Moon is too terrifying. I fear that even with heavy sacrifices from the Imperial fleet, we may not be able to break through the enemy's defenses head-on."
Another naval general also spoke.
"Let the Raven Guard handle it," said Verano, the captain of the Raven Guard, who had remained silent until now. "The Imperial Navy's strength is precious; wasting it on the orks is completely unwarranted."
"That is indeed the case," Corvo agreed with the idea of not wasting the Imperial Navy's strength.
"Are you all worried that the Navy cannot defeat the Battle Moon?" Guilliman looked around at everyone and asked with a smile.
"Yes, my lord. Based on the Imperial battlefield records, the Imperial Navy indeed has no way to defeat the Battle Moon. Each time, it has been by relying on the suicidal attacks of various Chapters to disable the Battle Moon."
Captain Brehek of Macragge's Glory also spoke.
He also disagreed with the Primarch's idea of confronting the Battle Moon head-on.
Sicarius did not speak, but he noticed that Guilliman did not show any annoyance at the opposition from the crowd.
On the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying their current doubts.
"My lord, perhaps you should explain the reason," Sicarius said. "Share your wisdom with us. There must be a deeper meaning behind doing this."
"With your strategic wisdom, you would never make such a decision to throw an egg at a rock."
As soon as Sicarius said this, everyone suddenly realized.
From his awakening until now, the reforms implemented by the Primarch and the innovations in various technologies, as well as the continuous victories achieved on the battlefield, all indicated that his wisdom was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Now, contrary to his usual approach, he wanted the naval fleet, whose strength could not compare to the orks, to confront the Battle Moon head-on.
This was quite unusual.
They had only thought that the Primarch was not very familiar with the ork Battle Moon.
After all, he had never participated in a campaign against an ork Battle Moon.
But now that they thought about it, something seemed off.
The Primarch had never made a mistake; it was impossible for him to misjudge such information.
"Does my lord have other means to allow the naval fleet to destroy the Battle Moon?"
Corvo's tone was puzzled. He could not imagine what kind of thing could help the naval fleet defeat the Battle Moon on the frontal battlefield.
The other Chapter Masters, naval generals, army generals, Abbesses, Knight Household leaders, and many other Imperial heroes all turned their gaze towards Guilliman.
Their eyes were filled with confusion.
They completely failed to understand why the Primarch was so insistent on having the Navy fight that battle.
Guilliman did not answer their questions; instead, he turned his head and looked at the Astropath-Roshan beside him.
"May I ask how much longer it will take?"
Roshan, the Astropath responsible for Macragge's Glory, a thin figure in a light-colored robe, rarely smiled.
"It is imminent, my lord. Once it arrives, the latest information will appear in your database immediately."
"What is going on here?"
Hearing the conversation between the Primarch and Astropath-Roshan, Phicris, who had been silent, also showed a puzzled expression.
"The existing naval fleet cannot contend with the Battle Moon, but what if the Navy had a ship that could destroy a planet with a single shot? Could they destroy the Battle Moon?"
Guilliman revealed a hint of a playful smile, unveiling a small part of the mystery for everyone, allowing them to see a corner of the answer.
"My lord, this!!" Brehek was speechless for a moment.
He didn't know how to express the many emotions in his heart.
Because of the Primarch's words, confusion, curiosity, and doubt were all mixed together.
A ship that could destroy a planet with a single shot??
If such a weapon truly existed, then the Navy would indeed be qualified to confront the Battle Moon.
But did such a ship truly exist??
Such a terrifying ship, why had he never seen it, or even heard a rumor about it?
"Lord Kren, does the Adeptus Mechanicus have such a weapon??"
Chapter Master Corvo looked at Forge Lord Kren of the Charadon Sector and asked.
The technology of the Imperium was in the hands of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
All ships were also forged by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
The best way to verify the Primarch's words was naturally to ask Forge Lord Kren of the Charadon Sector.
As a Forge Lord, even if he didn't possess such technological knowledge, he would have heard of it.
Forge Lord Kren's mechanized face showed a hint of confusion.
He searched his memory banks, trying to find technology that met the Primarch's requirements.
Among the many Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus, there were indeed some who possessed ark Mechanicus capable of destroying an entire planet.
Those powerful ark Mechanicus were irreplicable creations.
Some ark Mechanicus were half-finished products left over from the Age of Technology, which were then perfected by the Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
"Could it be that my lord has obtained an ark Mechanicus controlled by a certain Archmagos?" Kren asked.
If it was an ark Mechanicus of a certain Archmagos, then it was indeed possible that it possessed the power to contend with the Battle Moon.
Guilliman smiled and shook his head. "What I am talking about is not an ark Mechanicus, but a naval ship that has just been completed in the Macragge shipyards."
As soon as he said this, Forge Lord Kren, who had lived for centuries, was also stunned.
A newly forged naval ship possessing the power to destroy a planet with a single shot.
Such technology did not exist in the Adeptus Mechanicus he knew of.
Even if it did, it would be fragmented and impossible to restore.
The vast archives of the Adeptus Mechanicus contained countless technical knowledge.
But much of that knowledge was fragmented and unsystematic.
To build such a ship, the technology involved must be systematic.
If even one link was missing, it would be impossible to forge such a weapon.
The Primarch said that he had a ship in his possession that was capable of destroying a planet with a single shot, and it had just been built.
This meant that he possessed systematic construction technology.
Such technology was definitely not from the Adeptus Mechanicus.
As the Adeptus Mechanicus became increasingly bound by dogma and tradition, a large amount of technology had been lost in the vast piles of paper.
Not to mention building a ship capable of destroying an entire planet with a single shot.
Even for many pieces of equipment from the Great Crusade, the Adeptus Mechanicus had already lost the relevant manufacturing technology and could not build them at all.
"How could such technology exist?" Forge Lord Kren's mechanical voice also held some confusion and bewilderment.
Why would the Primarch possess technology that even the Adeptus Mechanicus did not!!
Seeing the Forge Lord's appearance, everyone looked at each other, clearly indicating that Kren also did not know of such technology.
"Is this true?" A naval general, his face bewildered, couldn't believe that the Imperium currently had the capability to build such a planet-destroying weapon.
The others didn't speak, but from their expressions, they also thought the same.
In the current Imperium, as time passed, the loss of technology became increasingly severe.
Many things were gone once they were used up.
Many pieces of equipment could no longer be manufactured.
"It seems your hearts are filled with doubt," Guilliman looked at everyone and smiled. "Don't worry, you will soon be able to verify the truth of my words."
At this moment, a crisp sound rang out.
A special rune appeared on the holographic projection in front of Guilliman.
Clearly, the thing he had been waiting for had arrived.
"Now, I present to you the sword of the Imperium - the Retribution-Class Battleship. It will cleave through the void and become the source of fear for the enemies of the Imperium."
Guilliman ordered the observation windows and the visual capture devices in the void to be opened.
A million kilometers away from the gathering point.
The divination probes continuously moved their reinforced void lenses to better capture the images.
Within a radius of fifty thousand kilometers, intense spacetime distortion fluctuations were visible in the void.
Light bent in the ultra-wide-angle lens of the detector, as if distorted by the grip of a black hole.
The aetheric witchfire from the Empyrean flashed and quickly extinguished, scorching the barrier between reality and illusion.
The spacetime structure twisted several times consecutively, eventually causing the barrier between reality and illusion to become overwhelmed.
A rift appeared.
Intense light gushed out, quickly widening the rift.
Real space vibrated violently, twisting and stretching at the same time, and then was quickly torn open like a gaping wound.
After a moment.
An incredibly massive ship, beyond human imagination, rushed out from within, making its appearance under everyone's gaze.
The golden double-headed eagle emblem, hundreds of kilometers in diameter, indicated that this was a ship belonging to the Imperium.
Its scale was so terrifying.
It was larger than all the Imperial ships gathered here.
It wasn't even a ship anymore, but more like a floating continent wrapped in armor and rock.
The ship's appearance was also completely different from the many ships of the Imperium.
It was spherical, with a special triangular structure composed of three giant metal columns at the very front.
Unimaginable muzzles extended from the warship's spine, and launch bays dotted its surface.
Its massive structure had even begun to compress the spatial structure, forming its own gravity.
It could be said that it was the manifestation of human might among the stars.
Even more terrifying was the fact that there was not just one such behemoth.
Two similarly sized Retribution Class Battleships emerged from the warp, proving Guilliman's words were not false.
These giant ships, comparable to a continent, were indeed forged on Macragge.
Everyone's eye's widened
Fabricator-General Kren's bionic eyes buzzed.
His eyes were wide.
The data processing center in his skull continuously issued warnings.
The others were also so shocked that they couldn't recover for a long time.
"How do you feel about the Retribution Class Battleships that Cawl and I designed??"
Guilliman smiled, looking at the shocked and speechless crowd, and asked.
"I have never heard of such engineering."
Fabricator-General Kren was stunned, unable to utter a single word from the shock.
He was completely in a daze.
The calculation module in his skull had overloaded and was in protective mode.
He frantically searched all the information he had stored, trying to find information about this giant ship.
But no matter how he searched, the result was always that there was no such data.
"Of course you haven't heard of it. This project only started after I awoke."
Guilliman smiled, a hint of smugness in his tone.
"How is that possible?"
Fabricator-General Kren shook his head, unable to believe it was true.
The Primarch had only been awake for a few years, how could he possibly build two such massive ships?
The diameter of the sphere alone was estimated to be over a thousand kilometers.
How could that be possible!!
The others also wore expressions of shock and disbelief.
An Imperial Luna Class Cruiser takes over a decade to build.
Such a massive ship, comparable to a continent, taking only a few years, was simply unbelievable.
"Nothing is impossible."
Guilliman smiled.
According to the Adeptus Mechanicus' way of doing things, this kind of thing would of course be impossible.
But according to Guilliman's character, anything was possible.
His pursuit was to be both fast and good, putting other things aside.
In fact, many of the main components of the Retribution Class Battleships were not built from scratch.
Instead, they were selected and optimized from existing parts on the Forge Worlds.
The Imperium's technological level was difficult to describe.
But the Forge Worlds still had quite a few good things.
The Retribution Class Battleships utilized new technology, assembling the existing components and adding key technology to build them.
For example, the Retribution Class Battleships needed a power supply device.
This device did not need to be specially built.
It could be selected from existing power supply devices, optimized, and then installed into the Retribution Class Battleships.
The same applied to other parts; if necessary, disassembling parts from a few warships to supplement them was also possible.
Furthermore, although the Retribution Class Battleships were large.
Many areas were built using marble or other building materials, not entirely welded steel.
There is one point worth mentioning.
That is the issue of the material composition of starships.
Under normal circumstances, starships cannot be entirely made of metal.
When traveling in space, there are only two problems that need to be solved.
First, how to maintain the ship's life support system, ensuring oxygen circulation and providing food and water.
Second, how to provide power for the ship.
With these two problems solved.
It doesn't matter what the ship's outer shell is made of.
As long as it can be sealed, that's fine.
You could even build it with ice.
Many Imperial ships have skeletons built from adamantium or other excellent materials.
Other areas are filled in with marble or other building materials.
The hull is not entirely welded using metal.
Unless the defense needs to be enhanced, heavy metal armor is added.
The warships in many science fiction movies are made of metal.
That's actually misleading.
Starships don't necessarily need to be made of metal.
In short, the Retribution Class Battleships are standardized products built with efficiency in mind.
Various existing components of the Imperium are assembled to allow them to achieve the intended function.
This is completely different from the current production model of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Ships produced by the Adeptus Mechanicus are each overseen by different tech-priests.
Each one is unique.
For some parts, the tech-priests will even hand-craft them to please the Machine Spirit.
This is also why the construction period for Imperial ships can sometimes be several years, or even decades.
After all, polishing parts is a delicate job, and prayers are also required during the process.
The speed is naturally slow.
"Incoming communication."
The communications officer walked into the hall and reported to the Primarch.
"Connect it."
Guilliman said.
"Yes, my lord."
After the communications officer finished speaking, he instructed the assistant who followed him, "Synchronize all data to the conference hall here."
A moment later, the projection in front of everyone flickered.
Calgar's image appeared before everyone, facing the Primarch's position.
"My lord."
Fully armed and ready for battle, Calgar respectfully knelt on one knee in the video communication.
"Dispense with the formalities, report your situation."
Guilliman said.
Having shocked a group of Imperial heroes, he was in a rather good mood.
"According to the orders transmitted by Archmagos Cawl, I was commanded to bring the completed Retribution Class Battleships to participate in the Charadon Sector War. Currently, two Retribution Class Battleships are completed, and four more will be completed in six months.
Besides participating in the war, these two Retribution Class Battleships also have a testing mission. Archmagos Cawl will optimize the subsequent warships based on the data obtained from these two Retribution Class Battleships."
"Currently, these two Retribution Class Battleships are ready for battle and can be deployed into the war at any time. The relevant crew members have completed weapon charging and are ready to lock onto hostile targets and attack."
As Calgar reported, the shock in everyone's hearts grew even stronger.
Four more similarly massive Retribution Class Battleships would be completed in six months.
Putting aside such industrial power, to what terrifying extent would the Imperial Navy's strength expand by then?
The necrons, who claimed to have the strongest technology in the galaxy, would likely not be able to compare with humanity in terms of naval power.
Fabricator-General Kren even swallowed.
He knew that the Thirteen Primarchs had certainly violated many of the Adeptus Mechanicus' prohibitions.
But in the face of such powerful Retribution Class Battleships, the Adeptus Mechanicus' opposition seemed somewhat insignificant.
It was truly as the Primarch said, possessing the power to destroy a planet with a single shot.
Never mind the Adeptus Mechanicus, even if the Imperium opposed the various actions of the Thirteen Primarchs, they would likely be powerless and could only condemn them verbally.
Many high-ranking Imperial officials who had just questioned Guilliman.
Their expressions at this moment were all astonishment.
They couldn't say a word.
The appearance of the Retribution Class Battleships had shocked their hearts beyond measure.
They simply couldn't calm down.
Based on size alone, the Retribution Class Battleships were much smaller than the Battle Moon.
But they were fierce; they could destroy a planet with a single shot.
Even if there were a few more Battle Moons, they would likely be unable to resist the attack of the Retribution Class Battleships.
"Let's go to war. The Battle Moon will be left to the Navy to destroy."
Guilliman stood up and said to everyone, "Let us clear out the tumors in this place for the Emperor, for the Imperium, and for humanity."
After delivering his declaration of war to the many high-ranking Imperial officials, Guilliman turned and looked at Calgar's projection.
"Win me victory, Calgar. Lock onto that Battle Moon and destroy it, clearing the way for the main Imperial forces."
"As you wish, my lord."
Calgar saluted with a clenched fist.
I thought that writing seven or eight hundred characters would be enough to explain the matter of the Retribution Class Battleships, but now I realize I was wrong.
The Retribution Class Battleships are just welded frameworks, and the basic generators are pieced together from existing ones. Everything else is made of building materials like marble.