In just one year, in the Segmentum Obscurus, on the industrial world of Nyssel, 2 billion Astra Militarum were gathering, and 5,000 Space Marines from various Chapters were ready for deployment.
On the Forge world, the Titan Legions roared their war cries across the land.
Knights from three houses boarded warships; the Adeptus Mechanicus of the Segmentum Obscurus granted him two Titan Legions, the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars granted him two Titan Legions, and House Yaeger granted him six Titan Legions.
The Adeptus Mechanicus of the Segmentum Obscurus provided 20 million Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii and several Archmagos, while Mars dispatched 40 million Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii and dozens of Archmagos.
House Yaeger sent one legion of 1 million Space Marines, and two Iron Legions with 2 million combat Iron Legionnaires, to follow his command.
Zeke dispatched two assault legions of 2 million Space Marines, and one Psykic Legion of 1 million super Psykers, to counter the invasion of Warp daemon.
This vast army deprived Nyssel of night, as countless streams of light illuminated Nyssel's night sky.
Rogue Traders, the Imperial Navy, Battle Sisters, Space Marines, Astra Militarum, the Ecclesiarchy, pilgrim knight houses, the Adeptus Mechanicus—countless forces began to converge with the Warmaster at their center.
At the military conference, hundreds of Lord Generals, veteran naval officers, Chapter Masters, Archmagos, the high king, Iron Legion commanders, and others awaited the Warmaster's orders.
In the distance, tens of thousands of merchant fleet cargo ships were already prepared, loaded with the supplies needed by the army.
Even though he had already prepared himself mentally, even though he had long wanted to reclaim victory and offer it to the Emperor of the Imperium of Man.
But when that colossal army had finished assembling, the gazes awaiting orders still filled Karl Reiss with terror.
He wanted to escape; so many troops made him afraid to make any decisions.
Even during the Great Crusade era, the Imperium had never deployed so many Space Marines, and there were even Iron Legions and Psykic Legions.
The number of Space Marines exceeded a full 3 million, an army that the Imperium had never assembled even during the Great Crusade period.
Zeke had fulfilled his promise, and his naval fleet was even larger than he could have imagined.
A total of 1,000 emperor-class battleships and 1,000 Glorious gloriana-class battleships from House Yaeger joined his fleet, with a phalanx serving as his flagship.
With such military strength, he received treatment far exceeding that of any Primarch.
The former armies of the Imperium of Man, before him, apart from the endless numbers of Astra Militarum, no high-end force could surpass his.
Even to ensure the sustenance of his vast army, within the merchant fleet, he also saw a full 1,000 emperor-class battleships responsible for escorting and transporting his supplies.
A full 500 Glorious gloriana-class battleships were also deployed for this transport mission.
And for all of this, his goal was singular: to reclaim the Imperial worlds corrupted by the Warp energy seeping from the Eye of Terror.
To retake the Imperial worlds previously occupied by those Black Crusades, to reclaim those Imperial worlds long ago seized by chaos.
His mission was one: to reclaim those worlds, to bring them back under human control!
Karl Reiss looked at the fleet before him, which far surpassed the Imperium of Man's fleet during the Great Crusade era, and he was truly terrified.
For a year, he had been in the Astra Militarum, and now, completing the required procedures in the Astra Militarum took him only three days and nights!
Because the one who affixed the final seal was him!
Once, he was merely an ordinary Lord General; his subordinates were only an Astra Militarum of 20 million, and his flagship was merely an emperor-class battleship.
And now?
His main ship had transformed from an emperor-class battleship into a phalanx-class titan warship.
Although he had only mobilized 2 billion Astra Militarum at this time.
But this was not the limit of the Imperium of Man; more Astra Militarum were continuously being transported from other worlds.
If he needed, even if he required trillions of Astra Militarum, the Imperium of Man could provide them.
The Imperium of Man, truly, had no shortage of anything else, but most of all, it had people.
Karl Reiss was afraid; he was afraid that the deployment of those forces shifted solely by his will.
Even the millions of Space Marines would obey his commands, completely obey his commands, shifting by his will alone.
He was now terrified by the unprecedented pressure that this responsibility brought, because an army of this scale, to this day, had only been led by one person in the Imperium of Man: the Emperor!
Only the Emperor had led an army of this scale, and now he too was leading an army of this scale!
Under so much pressure, he once again retreated into the sanctuary to pray.
Just as last time, when he knelt at Lion's Gate and received no revelation from either Zeke or the Emperor, this time too, he received no revelation.
The two Emperors he prayed to: one was mobilizing the Terran Dominion's fleet, preparing for an upcoming battle with the Tyranid Swarm.
The other continued to sit on the golden throne, recuperating from the suffering he had endured over the past ten millennia.
The Emperor actually wanted to intervene and guide him, but every time he thought of doing so, he would recall what Zeke had told him.
"I need him to figure all of this out himself. I need him to become a true Imperial Warmaster, a true military commander. Therefore, none of us should interfere; let him figure it out himself."
Every time the Emperor recalled Zeke's words, he would retract his energy, merely watching this new Lord Solaris and Imperial Warmaster kneel in the sanctuary.
He knelt for 7 days, during which he neither ate nor drank, merely kneeling there, praying, contemplating, and adjusting his mindset.
In his contemplation, countless thoughts delved deep into him, scrutinizing his innermost being.
Deep within his heart, flashes of vain praise flickered, angry hymns resounded, he traversed muddy swamps, and walked through lost halls.
Countless times his inner voice told him, "Lie down, you cannot complete such a grand undertaking."
Countless times, he told himself that as long as he stopped, even death would be better than future failure!
Countless times he saw prophecies: his fleet sinking in the flames of heresy, countless people cursing his mistakes—millions of Space Marines, the phalanx, thousands of Glorious Queen and emperor-class battleships.
Everyone in the Imperium of Man was blaming him, for he had squandered the colossal fleet and army that the Imperium of Man had never before assembled.
His cowardice had torn countless houses apart, casting countless people into the abyss of destruction.
Countless times in his contemplation, he thought of giving up.
Each time he thought this, he would suddenly see the investiture from the time at Lion's Gate.
The Emperor and Zeke, the two Emperors of the Imperium of Man, stood before him, touching his shoulder with a ceremonial sword.
Each time this happened, he would always persevere, and continue to think and move forward with determination.
He did not want to disappoint the expectations of the two Emperors, and countless times he firmly expressed in his heart that he would return victory and glory to the two Emperors who believed in him.
After 7 days, he once again adjusted his mindset, becoming the commander Zeke needed.
He had already had one experience, the experience at Lion's Gate, where the two Emperors had already told him.
They needed a strong, resolute, and faithful commander, not a commander who needed guidance.
This thought once again appeared in his mind, making him stand up firmly again.