While the Emperor was still engrossed in his game, Zeke was incredibly busy.
He was constantly taking over one human imperial planet after another, replacing their officials with suitable ones and installing a series of supporting facilities.
Although he had already begun manufacturing planet-sized warships like the War Moon, considering the immense size of the Imperium, his human citizens could still only enjoy the most basic living guarantees.
Currently, the colonies established by Zeke himself totaled 48, and when combined with the 160 hidden Terran Dominion colonies of the Yaeger family, there were a grand total of 160 worlds!
Among these were Ringworlds, Gaia worlds, Hive Cities, and Ideal Star Cities.
This series of worlds was providing Zeke with vast amounts of supplies and resources, supporting his warship mass-production plan.
However, these 160-plus worlds were still just a drop in the ocean compared to the entire Imperium.
The Imperium claimed to have 1 million worlds, but in reality, the number even exceeded that.
The worlds Zeke had brought under his rule currently amounted to a mere 1/10,000; he still had much to do.
More importantly, the outbreak of the Public fleet War forced him to once again attend a High Lord meeting, bringing along all the High Lords, as well as Rogal Dorn and Roboute Guilliman.
The High Lords, of course, knew Zeke's current identity: the Emperor of the Imperium.
Ah, no, it shouldn't be called the Imperium anymore; it should be the Terran Dominion.
So, when the High Lords saw Zeke appear, they immediately stood in unison and gave him the Aquila salute.
Rogal Dorn and Roboute Guilliman did the same, though Rogal Dorn looked much better than Guilliman.
Guilliman had been jointly appointed as the Imperial Regent by Zeke and the Emperor, meaning that while Zeke focused on his development, the political affairs of the Imperium were still handled by Guilliman.
Although Zeke had assigned him a large number of subordinate officials and AI assistants, the tasks generated by 1 million worlds still left Guilliman physically and mentally exhausted.
In stark contrast to him was Rogal Dorn, whose tasks were relatively light.
All he needed to do was continue commanding his Imperial Fists Legion.
Zeke's order to him was to lead his Imperial Fists Legion back to guard Cadia.
Therefore, apart from watching his legion grow stronger and more numerous each day, and acquiring more and more warships, he had nothing else to do.
At most, he would observe how wars were fought and learn from them.
The Imperial Fists had developed incredibly quickly during this period, thanks to Zeke's resource allocation to them; they had undergone a massive expansion.
The Imperial Fists had completely shed their previous impoverished appearance, growing from their original 1,000-man battle group to a staggering 1.8 million.
1.8 million fully-fledged Imperial Fists, and the completely revamped Mountain Array.
The Mountain Array was massive, which meant it had ample room for improvement; after being refitted by Terran Dominion scientists, it had become a qualified Titan-class battleship.
It was no longer the simple Mountain Array space hotel it once was; it had become a true Titan battleship.
To equip this battleship with sufficient main gun firepower, the scientists of the Inter-Dominion worked tirelessly, finally managing to arm this space hotel with the weapons a Titan should possess.
Hellfire Ray!
This was enough firepower to destroy an ordinary planet with a single shot, and its shields were also upgraded from void shields with an additional layer of dark matter deflectors.
As for the energy core, it was replaced with a dark matter energy core to provide sufficient power for the entire Titan ship.
As Zeke acquired more and more planets and star systems, he could now readily utilize his own dark matter.
Dark matter was no longer as scarce as it was when he started; it could not only be extracted from black holes, but also produced on planets.
The Mountain Array had become a qualified Titan battleship, capable of unleashing humanity's wrath upon any enemy that dared to stand in its way.
At the same time, to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Fists, Zeke also equipped them with 28 Counter-class battleships, along with 48 cruisers and 96 destroyers.
The Imperial Fists' current naval fleet surpassed any period in their history.
It was precisely because of these continuous changes and improvements that Rogal Dorn's mood became increasingly cheerful.
1.8 million Astartes—he had never even dreamed of such a thing before, nor had he ever considered upgrading the Mountain Array into a true Titan battleship during the Great Crusade.
But now, all these things he had never imagined before had truly come to pass; Zeke had made them a reality for him, and his Imperial Fists had been restored to Legion strength.
The High Lords naturally observed the vastly different Dominion of the two Primarchs, and they understood perfectly why there was such a significant disparity between them.
With everyone present, the first phase of the High Lords' Council began.
The first to speak was not Zeke, but rather Guilliman.
"Uncle Yaeger..."
At that address, Zeke nearly got goosebumps.
He should have known better than to tease Guilliman so much before; now the boomerang had come straight back to hit him.
The High Lords had no objection to Guilliman's address, as Zeke and the Emperor were of equal standing, treating each other as peers, so Guilliman's way of addressing him was perfectly fine.
As for Zeke's father, Grisha, being elevated a generation out of nowhere, the High Lords were even more tactful, with no one daring to speak up.
Only smart people survive; don't say what shouldn't be said, and don't ask what shouldn't be asked.
If one dared to joke about the Imperial Regent, that would be courting death.
Guilliman seemed not to notice Zeke's actions or expression, and continued speaking to himself, "Uncle Yaeger, the Empire, as it stands, cannot be maintained by me alone as Regent. With your changes, more and more worlds under the Empire's control, and the improving efficiency of the Ministry of Administration—"
"—and with the communication equipment you've replaced, more and more planetary matters can reach the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Terra in a timely manner, and the number of issues to be dealt with is increasing at an extremely absurd rate."
"Although the Ministry of Administration is improving, it's still far from enough to handle everything. The equipment you've provided isn't sufficient, and even if you supplement it, I still won't be able to keep up.
I think we need to bring in a new 'worker'."
Guilliman had spent enough time with Zeke that he also started using terms like "worker," completely disregarding the decorum expected of an Emperor's son.
Of course, what did it matter if a Son of God lacked decorum?
The High Lords continued to act deaf, hearing nothing.
They also continued to act blind, seeing nothing.
Listening to Guilliman's words and looking at the noticeably haggard Guilliman before him, Zeke nodded after a long period of thought.
"Since you've found a new worker, then by all means, speak up.
I'll see if I can bring him back to work with you, and alleviate some of your pressure."
Although Zeke got goosebumps from Guilliman's direct address, it was ultimately his own doing.
And looking at the Primarch's weary body and face, Zeke's heart softened.
Guilliman was still very useful; the Imperium's political affairs were handled in an orderly fashion under his care.
Such a good worker couldn't be wasted; he would still be needed when Little Gray arrived.
Whether he and Little Gray could go on vacation depended on Guilliman.