The transaction with the necrons was merely a small interlude, nothing of great importance.
Acquiring liquid metal was just a convenient side task, though obtaining enough of it would also benefit him.
Although Zeke had always found Ecumenopolis quite ugly,
It had to be said that Ecumenopolis was genuinely effective for manufacturing alloys.
Therefore, Zeke was already preparing to build an Ecumenopolis planet to produce alloys for himself.
During the construction of this Ecumenopolis planet, using liquid metal would undoubtedly accelerate the building process.
Current development must be expedited.
No one had a precise figure for when the Terran Dominion would arrive; even Weiss couldn't estimate it.
There were simply too many universes, one after another.
Here, there was no so-called sea of void bubbles; instead, universes were tightly interconnected.
Often, you would need to break through one universe before you could discover traces of another.
One could also use a universe jump drive for FTL travel, but the Terran Dominion was simply too far from the Warhammer Universe, so distant that it was immeasurable.
When the main forces of the Terran Dominion would arrive was an unknown.
Thus, Zeke would not place his hopes on this matter; he preferred to create power that he could use now.
After all, the development speed of Stellaris was quite fast; even if he developed by himself, it would only take one or two hundred years to directly punch the Emperor and kick chaos.
After the necrons left, Zeke began searching for Cawl's whereabouts using his locator.
This Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus could be said to be one of the few with an enterprising spirit in the Warhammer Universe.
He was one of the rare individuals who didn't rely on archaeology for all technology but genuinely developed technology himself.
This point was truly excellent.
Compared to those who only engaged in archaeology, an Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus with an enterprising spirit was an entirely different existence.
Moreover, this fellow should already be on his way to find the 13th Primarch; since the Emperor asked him to help his son, he had to lend a hand.
Just as Zeke was still looking at his detector, preparing to search for Cawl's trace, a divine radiance belonging to the Emperor rose from the planet's surface.
In terms of power, this force was pathetically small; Zeke only needed to extend a pinky finger to crush him, but this also meant he had found Cawl.
The Emperor naturally couldn't fail to help his son, so he also dispatched his Living Saint, and this Living Saint could be said to be a compass.
"Let's go check out where that golden light is, and see if Cawl is there."
Now, Zeke's retinue had expanded significantly because Trazyn had handed over all his collectibles to Zeke.
So, besides the Custodes, there were also many mortal troops and Space Marines units by his side.
More importantly, there was also Ussakakrid, the high king of Cadia. Ussakakrid had met Zeke before.
However, when he saw the Custodes surrounding Zeke, he dared not approach and speak with him.
They were not blind; they could see that there were ten thousand Custodes here, meaning the Ten Thousand Strong Custodes Regiment had been deployed in full force. Who exactly was Zeke, standing in their midst?
Of course, among these people, the most bewildered was the Custodes released by Trazyn.
A released Custodes could not fathom what situation would lead to the full deployment of the Ten Thousand Strong Custodes Regiment, and most importantly, he didn't know where he should stand.
He didn't know whether he should join the Custodes ranks or continue standing with this mortal force.
As the troops were about to move, Zeke turned his head and issued an order to those behind him.
"High king Ussakakrid, besides the Custodes, the other troops here will follow your command."
"And you, I don't know your name, Custodes, but you will also obey the high king's orders and be responsible for protecting him."
"You protect him here; it won't be long before another 100 Custodes arrive at your location to protect the high king with you."
For a moment, both the Imperial Custodes and the high king felt their cerebellum had died.
When Zeke first gave him the order, the Custodes hesitated; he didn't know if he should execute this order, as Custodes only obeyed the Emperor's commands.
However, the ten thousand Custodes surrounding Zeke explained everything to him.
Since these Custodes obeyed Zeke's orders and protected him, then Zeke should have a valid reason to command him.
So, he originally intended to accept the order, but as Zeke spoke his next sentence, he was truly bewildered.
Even though there were already tens of thousands of Custodes, the Ten Thousand Strong Custodes Regiment, in front of him, even if fully reinforced, there should only be about this many people.
But why did that person just say he could deploy another 100 Custodes?
The Custodes was bewildered, but he chose to remain silent. He chose to execute the order. However, high king Ussakakrid was different.
Although he was the high king of Cadia, he had never imagined that Custodes would protect his safety.
More importantly, it wasn't just one Custodes; soon, another 100 Custodes would arrive here.
101 Custodes guarding him, a mere mortal—what an honor! Even as the high king of Cadia, he felt he couldn't bear such immense favor.
But it was clear that Zeke was not prepared to listen to him.
After Zeke finished speaking, the Custodes legion and he activated their jump drive together and appeared before Cawl.
Only the Imperial Army and the high king of Cadia, along with a bewildered Custodes, were left behind.
And before they could react, another jump appeared, and 100 Custodes materialized beside Ussakakrid.
"By the Emperor's command, your safety is assured!"
The Custodes' words echoed far into the ears of the high king and the original Custodes.
Now, both of their brains were even more frozen; what had they just heard? "By the Emperor's command."
The Emperor's command?
Wasn't it Zeke who just issued this order?
"Do you know the name of the person who just left? Who exactly was he?"
With so many questions piled up, the Custodes collected by Trazyn asked high king Ussakakrid beside him.
As an excellent Imperial commander, Ussakakrid, after his initial shock, had calmed down even earlier than the Custodes.
Facing the Custodes' inquiry, he answered clearly.
"That person just now was Zeke, the successor to the next high king of the Yaeger knight house.
The Yaeger knight house came to assist during the previous defense of Cadia."
Alright, no problem then.
Upon hearing the words "Yaeger knight house," the Custodes soldier showed an expression of understanding and did not continue speaking.
When the Yaeger knight house signed the alliance agreement with the Emperor, their Ten Thousand Strong Custodes Regiment was also present.
As a veteran of countless battles, he knew very well what the Yaeger knight house meant: it meant the strongest army and combat power in the Imperium of Man.
It also represented the other head of the Imperial Aquila. Many people mistakenly believe that one head of the Imperial Aquila is the Adeptus Mechanicus, but in reality, it is not; it is House Yaeger.
When House Yaeger appeared, the first Fabricator General had already chosen to pledge allegiance to House Yaeger, becoming an affiliated unit under their command, solely for the knowledge House Yaeger provided them.
Regrettably, the Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus had limited learning ability. House Yaeger had tried very hard to teach them, but they found it difficult to truly master this knowledge.
Moreover, if anyone in the entire Imperium of Man could command the Custodes, then besides the Emperor and the Custodes Commander, only the Yaeger knight house could do so.
Although, saying "command the Custodes" isn't entirely accurate.
It should be said that they can request Custodes support.
The Custodes Commander would respond to the Yaeger knight house's request and immediately dispatch Custodes forces for support.
Furthermore, this response to a request for support was 100%; as long as the Custodes had spare capacity, their fleet would arrive at House Yaeger to assist.
Of course, if the Yaeger knight house had anything they needed the Custodes to do, and their orders were issued, the Custodes would generally carry them out.
This was a family that had personally signed an alliance with the Emperor.
He was completely different from other houses in the Imperium of Man.
The Custodes understood. Although he felt that the number of Custodes forces deployed by this knight house's high king might be too large.
He also didn't understand why so many Custodes were around this knight house, but he would fill in the blanks himself.
After all, the other Custodes had just spoken, saying it was by the Emperor's command, which meant this person was, in all likelihood, a Chosen of the Emperor, or an emissary of the Emperor walking among men.
Then, he only needed to execute the orders.
Thus, 101 Custodes surrounded high king Ussakakrid of Cadia, responsible for protecting his safety.
Meanwhile, the other Imperial Army troops watched this scene dumbfounded.
A mere mortal Imperial commander actually received the protection of 101 Custodes; such an honor was simply unheard of.