The Warhammer OL official website forum was absolutely buzzing. People were flocking to various websites and the comment sections were going ballistic, with comments surging past 999+ per second.
"Holy smokes, are all Warhammer players eating this kind of five-star content these days?"
"What are you calling chaff? This is clearly a Michelin-star feast!"
"The graphics, the immersion—it's mind-blowing."
"This is undoubtedly the start of the next technological revolution."
"Can someone throw me a bone? How do I play? Where's the download link?"
"This is straight-up awesome. Sign me up, and make it snappy!"
"That settles it. From today, I'm ride-or-die for the Emperor."
"What a waste of tech! With this kind of genius, why build a Warhammer game? They should have gone with Star Wars or American comics—they'd be making a killing by now."
With the massive influx of people, the number of pre-orders went through the roof, and the game's popularity soared like a rocket.
The private chat groups were just as lively, and the members who hadn't pre-ordered were wailing like banshees.
Guilliman is the sun: "It took me just a coffee break to fall behind by three million pre-orders. I'm dead. Looks like there's not a snowball's chance in hell of getting into the closed beta now. I hope it goes public soon."
GuillimanRules: "Seriously spooky. This game has officially broken the mold."
LobsterSauce: "Hey, I was the first one to share the news!"
Guilliman is the sun: "@LobsterSauce, I'm gonna end you."
Warmaster: "With the quality of Warhammer Online, it's a guaranteed hit. It was only a matter of time. The Warhammer IP is probably on fire now, and you know other game companies are lining up to poach it. I wonder how Games Workshop is reacting."
Pinocchio vs. Snow White: "Insider info says GW's editors and senior execs are still out of the office. Some domestic companies have tried to reach out about agency rights but got crickets. One company has already sent someone to GW headquarters to kick the tires."
Output Slaanesh: "Why are we talking shop? Let's talk about the update! Let's hash it out here, and then we'll light up the forums."
(The group manager muted Output Slaanesh ten times a night for repeated vulgarity.)
"The timeline adjustment in this update probably means the devs realized the event span in the Warhammer universe is too big to swallow. If we kept the old timeline, Guilliman would only be talking about the Indomitus Crusade after our grandchildren are pushing up daisies."
Warmaster: "When the Imperial Army finally tames the Milky Way, don't forget to pass the memo to your father during your family rituals!"
Spaceking: "The ratio is now 1:2—one day for us equals two days in-game. Fingers crossed I get to see Guilliman fight the Plague War in my lifetime."
"Of course, the 'tentative' part means it will likely be revised later. It could easily hit 1:5 or even 1:10."
"But the bigger the time adjustment, the wider the chasm between the pros and the casual players. This huge gap will likely make most casual players throw in the towel."
"Because most Warhammer fans have day jobs—they can't afford to drop everything for the game. Professional gamers, however, make their living here; they can be online 24/7."
"The pros make bank off the casual players. If the casual base shrinks, they'll jump ship without hesitation. Therefore, the time flow is a delicate balancing act: how to keep the casual players happy without making them feel completely out of their league."
"The second big item in the update is the EXP Points quest. Early on, you only got EXP by killing enemies, but as the game goes on, the mobs dry up, making it hard for farming players to grind enough EXP for class advancement."
"This quest will likely open the floodgates, letting players gain EXP through daily objectives, which is crucial for requirements like class changes, equipment binding, and teleportation."
"Also, the updated loot distribution and war score models are all tweaks to the original system, aiming to keep things as fair as possible. That much is obvious."
"There's one more thing I want to preach about: be straight with your NPC Guide and Arale. Report everything you do first. Don't try to exploit glitches and cause trouble, or the admins will come down hard and you'll be blacklisted for life. That would be a huge shame."
ILoveNurgle: "Old Eleven is on fire as usual—sharp as a tack."
John Warhammer: "The War MVP gives you two thumbs up?"
Warmaster: "...I can't even."
Holy Blood Dove: "Send me your coordinates. Tonight, we duel."
IloveNurgle: "Today, it's either you or me."
Fulgrimnation: "I'm not accepting this loss. I need to practice more!"
Daniel kept an eye on the chat group, watching the group administrators bicker, while he planned the reconstruction of Sintila. The planet had taken a serious beating—the Hive Cities were practically ruins.
But the basic industrial infrastructure was still there, and plenty of skilled workers had survived. It only needed to be rebuilt to get it back in the game and serving the war effort.
Daniel quickly drafted a "Sintila Reconstruction Plan" and sent it to Fax, the Governor of Atomal, instructing him to organize human and material resources to support Sintila.
Arale quickly completed a task and reported, "Master, I have thirty-two messages for you, all from the former nobles of Hive Sibelius and Hive Tarsus. They want their old lives back—regain their family property and restore their former positions so they can continue to serve the Imperium."
"Tell them to take a hike," Daniel said without hesitation. "And tell those fools to watch their backs. If those rebels can cause trouble, so can I."
If those idiotic nobles were allowed to seize power again, everything Daniel had accomplished would be for nothing. The top priority was supporting the lower classes and the emerging military aristocracy. As for those clinging to past glories and constantly harping about bloodlines and inheritance, they could die in a ditch for all he cared.
"Understood, Master," Arale replied. After Arale left, Daniel sat at his desk, considering his next move.
The reform of the Ecclesiarchy had to be promoted ASAP. He needed to use his status as a Living Saint to restrict and ban certain sects that preached human suffering and torture. Faith was humanity's shield against the Warp, but too much of a good thing was dangerous.
The Administratum also needed a complete overhaul. Redundant staff had to go, the structure needed to be streamlined, and work processes had to be accelerated. He needed to increase the speed of the cogitators so they could handle a greater workload.
The outcome of the Sintila War would soon be making waves. The rebel forces led by the Colin family would definitely see him as a thorn in their side, and a new series of wars was likely to kick off. It was essential to improve the welfare of the lower classes and solidify their loyalty to the Imperium and the Emperor.
Daniel listed his tasks, prioritized them, and prepared to tackle them one by one.
Somewhere in the Warp...
A three-kilometer-long cargo ship trudged through the Warp storm.
"This war is a crisis, but it's also a golden ticket," mused Haglund, a merchant. "With the help of this reconstruction, our family business will soon be able to expand to Sintila."
"After I get back from this trade trip, our eldest daughter should be done with her exams. Last time she said she wanted a beautiful dress, so it's time to make good on that promise. That naughty second daughter wants a ship model; I'll have to get that sorted, too."
"Our tenth wedding anniversary is just around the corner, so I need to nail down a gift for my wife."
Haglund was full of hope for the future. When he thought of his wife and kids, the corners of his mouth turned up, unable to hide his happiness. He had a gentle, beautiful wife and a pair of lively, lovely twins.
When the Colin family first started the uprising, Haglund felt like the sky was falling down. After the Great Rift opened, the Astronomican's light no longer consistently covered the Calixis Sector.
Dark storms enveloped everything, and the Astronomican kept flickering on and off, making Warp travel insanely dangerous. On top of the difficulty of doing business, they now had a rebellion. One wrong move and the whole family could be wiped out.
Haglund abandoned his business and fled with his family to Atomal, a place rumored to be under the protection of a Saint. He lived in constant terror, worried that the enemy would suddenly show up on his doorstep.
Those days of despair vanished with the Saint's return. When the Battle of Sintila ended, the news was sent back immediately. Countless merchants heard the news and were chomping at the bit to get a piece of the action.
As for the problem of Warp travel, that had already been solved. The Saint had brought back a special navigational beacon that illuminated the Warp. All they had to do was follow the light to Sintila.
"Sir, our ether resonator is picking up strong vibrations, and the Gellar field is taking a hit."
The merchant ship exited the Warp and returned to the real world. However, Haglund and his crew quickly realized that this was a boneheaded move. They had barely exited when the Gellar field was breached, and they didn't even have time to confirm their position.
An alarm blared inside the ship, indicating a large warship was nearby. Then, a beam of psychic energy lit up, and a terrifying aura spread. Several warriors in Power Armor strode out of the light.
Haglund's eyes went wide as he stared at the Warp emblems on those figures, sheer terror in his eyes. He had heard stories about Cadia and the Great Plunderer. In those tales, the Fallen Angels—those who betrayed the God-Emperor—were the most common words.
It was obvious: these were the Fallen, the traitors.
"Fire!" Haglund used every ounce of strength to order the armed crew to open fire.
But the very next second, the scepter in the leader's hand glowed, and every crew member who tried to attack was blown to smithereens.
"Resistance will only bring more death," a commanding voice resonated in Haglund's mind. He knew the name of the man: Azek Ahriman.
"You have the information I need," the voice said again.
"No!" Haglund cried, completely unable to resist the other man's will. "I'll never tell you anything! Never!"
"I don't need you to give it to me."
The voice sounded again, followed by a sharp scream. Haglund felt as if his mind was being ripped to shreds.
How could an ordinary man resist a legendary master Psyker?
Ahriman shattered Haglund's mental defenses and plundered the information he needed from his memories.
"So many Astartes? Did I stumble back into the Great Crusade?"
"Wait, is this Sanguinius?"
Seeing the memories and images in the merchant's mind, Ahriman's eyes widened, and his face registered profound shock.