Time remained like a wild mule, unstoppable once it started running.
Thirteen days passed in a flash.
For the twenty thousand-plus native residents of Aurelian IV, these were the first thirteen days of their lives where they truly felt alive.
They no longer had to worry about whether there would be food the next day. They no longer had to shiver in the freezing night, waiting for death.
For the five thousand players, these were thirteen days of frantic construction, augmentation, and training.
[Regional Channel]
[Iced Old Man Yellow's Golden Radish]: "Paul!! The four major factions are about to go to war with the daemons! I just saw it through my binoculars from the observation post on the edge of the corruption zone. It's a dense sea of people! There's so many, at least seven or eight hundred thousand!"
[Tax Bro]: "Seven or eight hundred thousand? Did they just dump the entire PDF in there?"
[Did White Scars Speed Today?]: "Not just the PDF. The reinforcements from the four major factions have arrived too. I scouted the perimeter of Aru City the day before yesterday and saw them."
–
Crimson Dawn Base, Seventh Floor of the Central Building.
Paul sat cross-legged in the center of the training room, his body enveloped in a pale gold, spiral-shaped energy field.
Beginner Spiral Energy Resonance Guidance Technique—one of the five Wondrous Items Cogboy had bought for five hundred thousand Imperial Coins.
Paul had been practicing it for ten days.
"Hoo."
He slowly exhaled. The spiral energy field surrounding him retracted like a receding tide, sinking completely into his body.
When he opened his eyes, tiny golden spirals seemed to flash deep within his pupils before vanishing.
"It's finally here."
Paul stood up. He walked to the window and looked out over the base.
In thirteen days, the Crimson Dawn base had completely transformed.
The wall had been raised from its initial three and a half meters to nine meters, its thickness expanded to five meters, and the exterior had been comprehensively reinforced with alloy steel plating.
The eight watchtowers had been upgraded to thirty-two. Each watchtower was equipped with two heavy machine guns, one rocket launcher emplacement, and a makeshift laser anti-air array modified by Cogboy's engineering team.
While they couldn't shoot down aircraft, they were barely sufficient to deal with flying daemons.
Inside the walls, the previously chaotic camp was now meticulously organized:
In the East Zone, under the catalytic effect of the Compassion trait, two thousand acres of potato fields had reached maturity. Dark green vines blanketed the earth. The estimated total yield was six thousand tons—enough to feed fifty thousand people for more than half a year.
In the West Zone, the newly constructed industrial district had taken shape.
Three makeshift blast furnaces operated day and night, smelting scrap metal scavenged from across the wasteland into standard steel ingots.
The engineering team led by Cogboy had hammered out their very first lasgun production line. Although it only produced ten rifles a day, it was a breakthrough from zero to one.
In the North Zone, the expansion of the residential district was complete.
Standard dormitory buildings had sprung from the ground. Although they were just simple six-story prefabricated buildings, they had running water, electricity, and basic heating systems. In the Warhammer universe, this was already the living standard of the middle class in a Hive City.
In the South Zone, the training grounds had been expanded to fifty acres.
Five thousand members of the Aurelian Youth League were undergoing basic military training, their chants shaking the heavens:
"Food, glory, equality! The citizens of the Imperium are the greatest!"
"The citizens of the Imperium stand united! Crimson Dawn marches forward!"
In the central plaza, Blood Angel was giving an ideological class to a new batch of residents.
His psychic power had reached the Official tier. Amplified by his psychic energy, his voice carried clearly to every corner of the plaza:
"...Therefore, equality is not a gift; it is the right to choose! Survival is not charity; it is dignity! Eighty years ago, why did the Iron Hands Legion destroy the Blaec House? Because the house, driven by selfish desires, betrayed humanity and worshipped heretical Chaos Gods! The path we walk today is the true path of the citizens of the Imperium: unity, equality, labor, dignity, and hope!"
Listening to these words, the eyes of over twenty thousand people shone brightly. They understood.
Paul withdrew his gaze and pressed his vox-communicator:
"All Chapter High Command. Sixth-floor conference room. Five minutes."
Four minutes later, all members were present.
Paul didn't sit down. He spoke directly:
"You've all seen the intel. The decisive battle between the four major factions and the daemons will happen in the next few days."
He looked at Schrödinger Bro:
"According to the plan we discussed earlier, I will take Tax Bro and one thousand players to join the battle. You guys hold the fort."
Schrödinger Bro replied calmly:
"Understood."
"These one thousand players have all completed Type-III physical augmentations. They are equipped with lasguns, basic armor, and assorted gear. The vehicle allocation for this operation: fifty transport trucks, three rocket artillery trucks, and two mortar trucks."
"What about tanks?" Tax Bro asked.
"We're not taking them." Paul shook his head. "Tanks are too heavy and their mobility is poor. We're going there to observe, learn & experience, not to fight a pitched battle."
He paused, then added:
"Besides, tanks are too big a target. The attention of the four major factions is currently entirely on the daemons. We'll sneak over, play some guerrilla warfare, gather intel, and... see if we can scoop up some loot along the way."
Cogboy's mechanical eye flashed:
"I recommend focusing observation on two areas: first, the tactical weaknesses of the daemons; second, the equipment level of the four major factions. Especially the latter. If we are going to war with the four major factions in the future, we must understand their true strength."
Blood Angel nodded. "I've already mobilized the players participating in the operation."
"There are three principles for this operation: no fighting to the death, no exposing our presence, and no being greedy for kills. Coming back alive, and coming back with intel, is a victory." Paul looked at everyone: "Any other questions?"
White Scars raised his hand. "if... I mean if, an opportunity presents itself on the battlefield? Like an elite unit of the four factions gets isolated, or a daemon gets injured..."
"Depends on the situation." Paul's answer was ice-cold. "If we have a seventy percent certainty of eating them alive and a guarantee of a clean withdrawal, we fight. If we're not certain, we watch. Remember, our core mission right now is development, not playing hero."
He looked out the window:
"No matter who wins or loses this war, the paradigm of Aurelian IV is going to change. What we need to do is seize the opportunities amidst that change."