Guilliman's attention shifted from his thoughts.
He scanned the senior officers of the expeditionary force gathered around the conference table.
The repaired tactical projector was running at high speed.
The stark white projection displayed the Empire's desperate situation to the many attendees.
During the expedition, the astropaths under Guilliman's command had been continuously receiving information from other sectors of the Imperium.
The Fenris Sector, ravaged by Magnus and numerous daemons.
The Armageddon battlefield, where numerous ork armies gathered and rampaged.
The Attila and Barnos systems, torn apart by the claws of Chaos.
The horrifying Great Rift.
Innumerable warp rifts were spreading on an unprecedented scale.
Nightmarish and terrifying anomalies were eroding reality like erupting volcanoes.
Evil light flickered among the stars.
Filth lurked beneath the veil.
Abominations peered into reality.
Every corner of the Imperium's territory was suffering from the invasion of darkness, with entire sectors falling.
The expeditionary force had achieved good results, but now was not the time to relax.
"The war in the Charadon Sector has come to an end for now. We have successfully crushed the ork empire and the necrons rampaging on the Imperial frontier, and repelled the tendrils of the tyranids, the Behemoth Hive Fleet."
Hearing the Primarch's words, many senior officers smiled.
They were saving the Imperium of Man alongside the Primarch; what an honor it was.
Guilliman's tone shifted, becoming serious.
"But humanity's crisis is not yet over. We still face unimaginably severe challenges. The Imperium's situation is precarious, and the future of humanity remains bleak. Many sectors have fallen, and many loyalist defenders are still holding on with difficulty."
"Our next target is the Naflia Sector. The main problem in this sector is the impact of the rise of Chaos. The increase in daemonic and cultist incidents has thrown the sector into chaos, so the primary task in the Naflia Sector is to suppress the rebellion."
"The current expeditionary force will be split into different teams to improve efficiency and complete the suppression mission better and faster."
Guilliman's tone became serious, his gaze fixed on everyone present.
"The key to suppressing the rebellion, I will reiterate it to you here, must be to prioritize the interests of the vast Imperial citizens, to take care of them first. Do not pay attention to those nobles who claim to be loyal. Loyalty is action, not just words."
"If they constantly pledge allegiance to the Emperor but disregard the Emperor's painstaking efforts, wantonly exploiting those who have suffered greatly, then what is the use of such loyalty? Are they loyal to the benefits granted by the Emperor? Or are they loyal to the Emperor's ideals?"
"I hope you are all the latter. Glory and wealth are merely rewards for following the Emperor's ideals, not the ultimate goal. Inspection departments will subsequently visit the planets you claim to have liberated to conduct inspections.
If it is found that the planet has not promoted reform but has allowed the original model to operate, allowing those Imperial citizens to be ravaged in hell, you will witness firsthand the eruption of my wrath."
"There are three kinds of evil in this universe: one is harming innocent people, and the other is negligence of duty, law enforcement officers who sit idly by while evil people harm the innocent. The third, of course, being chaos."
Guilliman scanned the crowd, his tone solemn.
No one dared to doubt the Primarch's words.
Even less did anyone dare to doubt whether the Primarch would truly hold them accountable.
Reform was something the Primarch had always insisted on.
Now, the benefits of reform were immediate.
Across the Ultramar Sector and the Charadon Sector, support for the Imperium was increasing dramatically.
Large numbers of soldiers, armaments, and believers flocked from all directions, and the expeditionary force grew stronger day by day.
"Next, we will discuss issues related to technological upgrades. Let Fabricator-General Kren explain the new technologies recently acquired and the upgrades available to your forces."
Kren's shadow loomed over the tactical conference table.
His metal body, covered in weapons, was like a metal tower, full of unchallengeable majesty.
"Diagrams of the relevant devices for teleportation technology have been sent to important Forge Worlds such as Chalybsphera. According to the latest reports, the relevant Forge Worlds have assembled the corresponding production lines and are producing teleportation devices. Relevant ships can go to the Forge Worlds for upgrades."
"Next is the matter of the Warp Beacon. After research by myself, Lord Guilliman, and many tech-priests, we found a hint of inspiration and technology from the Pharos. However, due to the Imperium's inadequate material science, the scale is too large to be installed on ships for the time being. For this purpose, members of the Adeptus Mechanicus will accompany you to various places to build beacons for warp communication."
"The warp communication network is very important. Currently, the influence of the Warp on reality is becoming more and more severe. Astropathic communication often suffers from distortion by Chaos daemons, causing the Imperium's information to be received late or incorrectly.
A new means of communication is essential; we cannot overly rely on astropaths. In addition to communication, the beacons can also establish a corresponding navigation network, which will be an important method for the Imperium to maintain its routes."
Fabricator-General Krane explained the latest research results from Macragge to everyone.
Warp communication and Warp beacons.
These two were the most important reliance of the expeditionary force.
Of course, the beacons had another function that Guilliman had concealed.
That was, the beacons could allow believers to borrow the Emperor's power to sweep away daemons.
Magnus had been ambushed by Celestine using the Pharos.
He was probably still recovering on the planet of the Sorcerers.
But these beacons also had drawbacks. While loyalists could use the beacons to borrow the Emperor's power, traitors could also use them to borrow the power of the Chaos Gods.
This was a double-edged sword, meaning this double-edged sword had to be firmly controlled by humanity.
Once it fell into enemy hands, it would cause unimaginable and terrifying consequences for humanity.
Guilliman and Cawl had placed restrictions on these beacons, adding a self-destruct function.
But Guilliman also knew that the Chaos Gods could never be underestimated at any time.
These beings possessed unimaginable wisdom and power.
Any act of underestimating them would result in an extremely heavy price.
Next, Guilliman and the senior officers of the expeditionary force discussed the subsequent war strategy and the allocation of teams.
Inquisitor Greyfax, Saint Celestine, Grand Marshal Amalrich, and other Imperial heroes were already active in the Naflia Sector.
The problems in this sector were not too severe and would be resolved quickly.
Guilliman gave clear instructions that each expedition fleet could act freely.
They didn't necessarily have to be active in the Naflia Sector; they could also go to other severely affected sectors to provide support as appropriate.
As the meeting neared its end, a senior officer of the expeditionary force proposed holding a grand parade in Vitoria.
Then, the related images would be broadcast throughout the entire Imperium, allowing people in despair to see hope and continue to persevere.
Guilliman did not refuse.
Such a parade could strengthen people's confidence and boost morale; there was no reason not to.
The related work was assigned to Phicris.
After the meeting, Guilliman dismissed everyone and sat alone in the hall.
At this moment, the auxiliary AI, which had been silent for a long time, sent a notification.
**Detection indicates that the host's application of the first level database has reached its limit. The industrial level and scale meet the conditions for activating the second level database. The second level database activation mission is officially released.**
**Activation Mission: Control Terra, take charge of the Imperial authority. As the homeworld of humanity, controlling this place has extraordinary symbolic significance.**
"Are you god damn serious?"
Guilliman was stunned when he saw the mission notification.
Go to Terra now??
He wasn't ready yet.
**Auxiliary AI, never jokes.**
"Forget it, put the mission aside for now. I'll deal with it after I finish other things. What if I go to Terra now and can't come back?" Guilliman said.
**According to auxiliary AI calculations, the success rate of this mission can reach 98%.**
"Ninety-eight percent?" Guilliman raised an eyebrow.
**Yes, host, 98%. Please trust the auxiliary AI's calculation ability.**
"Ninety-eight percent, rounded up, in this universe means death??" Guilliman's expression was solemn.
**...**
The auxiliary AI paused.
**The second database contains knowledge to resolve Chaos erosion and can promote the level of Imperial material science, allowing the host to achieve resistance against Chaos and miniaturization of Emperor's weapons.**
"You should have said that earlier!!" Guilliman's tone changed, and he smiled again. "Isn't 98% a sure victory??"
**...**
"Can you briefly reveal some knowledge from the second database?" Guilliman asked. "How can we resist the erosion and poisoning of humanity by Chaos."
During the Great Crusade, the Emperor once proposed an idea: to starve the daemons in the Warp to death.
To this end, the Emperor smashed temples everywhere, promoted the Imperial Truth, and built Webway entrances on Terra.
It was precisely because of his various actions that the Four Gods were forced to unite and trap him on the Golden Throne.
Guilliman also had to ask first and see what method the database provided.
If the method given by the database was for him to learn from the necrons and undergo complete mechanical ascension, becoming immortal and undying.
Guilliman would be instantly dumbfounded.
The necrons were still thinking about how to restore their flesh and blood bodies.
And he was rushing towards mechanization? That would be completely idiotic!!
**Any individual with a soul is connected to the Warp. The aether in the Warp is the source of all power beyond the laws of nature and the nourishment for souls. Any soul that is separated from or does not contact the Warp for a long time will gradually wither.**
**The host possesses the Command Template and can use this template to establish a Warp firewall, connecting and controlling all human souls under the host's soul, filtering harmful information for them through the host, and constructing a sub-realm in the Warp that belongs exclusively to humanity. In simple terms, it is building a human local area network in the Warp.**
"This sounds familiar, auxiliary AI."
Guilliman muttered to himself.
**This is currently the best method. With the Command Template, the host does not need to build the Webway to isolate humanity from feeding the Chaos Gods. The only requirement is that humanity as a whole must trust the host.
According to calculations, the overall trust level of humanity in the host needs to reach above 90% to establish the human Warp local area network and become immune to the poisoning of humanity by the Chaos Gods.**