The Rejuvenation Surgery itself wasn't particularly difficult, especially with the detailed operational manual and special Rejuvenation Potion provided by Alex. Any qualified professional physician could follow the steps to complete the entire procedure.
However, considering the subjects of this surgery were Alex's parents, the medical team was exceptionally cautious.
Relevant authorities specially assembled a luxurious expert consultation group, comprising top domestic minimally invasive surgery specialists, endocrinology authorities, and professors in anti-aging research.
These experts, who were usually incredibly difficult to consult, were now intently guarding inside and outside the operating room, ensuring the smooth progress of this special surgery.
With such a powerful medical lineup supporting it, the entire surgical process went exceptionally smoothly.
What was even more ingenious was that the medical team perfectly integrated the Rejuvenation Surgery into a routine physical examination process.
Alex's parents thought they were only undergoing a comprehensive health check-up the entire time. Aside from being slightly puzzled by a few "examination items" that required injections, they didn't notice anything unusual at all.
After the surgery, Alex cleverly arranged follow-up anti-aging monitoring projects, using the excuse that their physical examination report indicated his parents needed conditioning.
He gently persuaded his parents to temporarily stay for observation in a beautiful sanatorium, while he returned home first to prepare for subsequent matters.
The professional medical team and comfortable environment in the sanatorium prevented the two elders from suspecting anything. Instead, they felt it was a display of their child's filial piety.
——
Because of his parents, Alex did not spend much time in 40k during their recuperation period. He basically only ensured he checked in once a day, arranged work, and then returned.
Others were also affected, but the problem was not significant.
After all, Alex's parents were both staying in the sanatorium, and he just needed to pay more attention to the elders, so he didn't have as much time to go to 40k.
As for the others, if they wanted to go, Alex naturally wouldn't stop them.
However, even though he didn't go to 40k much, Alex was still extremely concerned about what was happening.
During this period, the overall war situation in the Rostov Sub-Sector was relatively calm, with no major changes.
As the Ork forces attracted the primary attention of the Necrons, the fighting across the entire Sub-Sector largely remained stable. Frontline reports indicated no major battles worthy of special attention had erupted recently.
Marshal Sigismund and Commander Loken successfully constructed a strong new defensive line with Kharkov as a strategic fulcrum.
This defensive line consisted of multiple layers of fortifications, equipped with powerful firing points and newly organized Astra Militarum, becoming an important barrier against the Necrons.
Although there were still sporadic military skirmishes between the two sides, the overall war situation showed a clear trend of easing.
With the Imperial Army maintaining restraint and not actively attacking, the Necrons correspondingly reduced their military operations.
Observation post reports indicated that the Necrons not only reduced their patrol frequency, but their actual control areas even showed signs of shrinking.
However, the Imperial military was not deceived by the superficial calm.
Under Alex's strict requirements, all units were diligently preparing for war.
Commanders Sigismund and Loken were secretly planning a new large-scale offensive, and the relevant operational plans were in their final stages of refinement.
At the same time, Ventanus in Kherson was also fully supporting the frontline preparations.
In addition to continuously stockpiling various strategic materials, he was also accelerating the training of new legions.
The training grounds echoed day and night with the shouts of new recruits, and the furnaces of the military factories remained red-hot, continuously producing weapons and equipment.
Alex cleverly utilized a special clause in the codex astartes—when a Chapter is on an Expedition, it can temporarily expand its forces without being restricted by the usual thousand-man limit.
Based on this, he ordered all Astartes Chapters participating in the Rostov Expedition to immediately launch large-scale recruitment drives.
Although the various Chapters had some concerns about such an order, the brutal battles with the Necrons had caused them to lose a large number of elite warriors. Now that they had the opportunity to replenish their forces, they naturally wouldn't refuse.
However, doubts still lingered in their minds.
How long would it take for the newly recruited warriors to complete gene modification and combat training and truly become effective fighting forces?
More importantly, would such a military expansion attract interference from the Terra High Lords Council and the Inquisition?
After all, Astartes Chapters had always been objects of vigilance for the High Lords of Terra, and the Inquisition constantly monitored their movements.
Large-scale recruitment could easily be seen as an overreach, or even interpreted as a signal of some form of military centralization.
However, Alex was unaware of the High Lords of Terra's attitude, and the Inquisition did not interfere much due to his strong stance.
Or rather, the Inquisitors did try to obstruct him, but Alex directly pushed back.
His reasoning was simple: the Expeditionary Force needed sufficient troops, and the various Chapters had suffered heavy losses, so they had to replenish their combat strength to continue fighting.
Although this excuse was barely plausible, to those with discerning eyes, it was clearly just a facade.
However, the Star Sector Tribunal knew how terrifying the enemy Alex faced was, so after a brief warning, they did not delve deeper, merely reminding him to "know when to stop" and then tacitly approved the action.
Alex had no intention of infinitely expanding the Chapter's size. He strictly controlled the scale of the expansion, immediately halting this large-scale replenishment operation once all participating Chapters of the Expeditionary Force had been replenished to a size of 1500 men.
This number ensured the effective recovery of the Chapters' combat strength without overly irritating the sensitive nerves of the High Lords of Terra.
For the remaining candidates who had been rigorously screened, Alex also made proper arrangements.
He sent all these candidates who failed to be selected for the regular Chapters, along with those disqualified in the final stage, to the Ashen Knights Chapter.
As Alex's secretly cultivated direct force, the Ash Knights Chapter was not bound by the strictures of the Codex.
This hidden force maintained great flexibility in terms of organizational structure, tactical application, and troop replenishment.
Chapter Master Shi Dong was very satisfied when he received this batch of over three thousand candidates.
It is worth mentioning that these transferred candidates had all completed the basic Primaris Space Marines modification surgery. Although they belonged to the rapidly conscripted "rapid recruitment force," after Gene-Seed implantation and intensive training, their combat qualities were no less than those of regularly recruited new soldiers.
Alex also secretly arranged for these new recruits to perform various combat missions on the front lines. Under the coordination of the three Commanders, they quickly accumulated rich combat experience. Given time, they would be able to grow into qualified Space Marines.
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