In the vast assembly hall, only Guilliman and Cawl remained; everyone else had left.
As a Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus, with his mechanical body, Cawl was in no way inferior in height to Guilliman, who was a Primarch.
Over the past ten thousand years, Cawl had undergone multiple rounds of technological modification, and there was little flesh left on his entire body.
On his back was a massive shell-like metal construct, upon which stood a force field generator, and from which extended several active mechanical arms and several suspended metal skulls connected by nerve cables.
Besides those, numerous high-energy weapons collected from across the galaxy were also embedded on him, connected to his brain and spine.
His lower body had also been completely molded into machinery, and with every step, it emitted a mechanical hum and the sound of pistons moving back and forth.
Cawl's chest emitted light, clearly indicating that this madman had implanted a nuclear fusion power source in his chest to provide energy for his many weapons.
Even though it wasn't his first close encounter with a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Guilliman was still amazed by his appearance.
He truly embodied the saying: 'Flesh is weak, mechanical ascension!'
The Adeptus Mechanicus really hated it; women had been completely abandoned by them.
"Cawl, come before me," Guilliman said, his tone quite gentle.
Cawl was key to his own resurrection and one of the people he could trust the most at present.
At least for now, Cawl would not betray him.
A single promise had driven him for ten thousand years, wandering through various star systems for his resurrection.
Searching for technology lost in the river of history, buried in ancient ruins.
If such a person wasn't worthy of trust, what loyalty could exist in the world?
Of course, in this fucked-up universe, everything changes with the passage of time, and Guilliman also had to be prepared for the possibility of everyone betraying him.
"Regent, what are your orders?" Cawl stepped forward, his heavy metal body leaving marks on the marble floor, his eyes emitting a mechanical glow, and if you stared into his eyes, you could faintly see the turning of mechanical gears.
The eyes of the Magos were no longer purely flesh and blood, but electronic eyes mixed with machinery and flesh, possessing multiple scanning functions.
Guilliman was silent for a moment, then took out a data storage device and said, "The contents of this storage device are knowledge I secretly collected ten thousand years ago. This knowledge can help us possess a completely new army, and this new force will help us regain the initiative in the galaxy."
The contents of the data storage device were, of course, not knowledge from ten thousand years ago.
They were compiled by Guilliman from a database.
Saying it was knowledge from ten thousand years ago was simply to find a legitimate reason to fool the potential obstacles from the Adeptus Mechanicus in the future.
If they didn't believe it, the Adeptus Mechanicus could go back ten thousand years to verify it!
Wait, you can't verify it!! Fools!
Well, that's not my problem; this is technology from ten thousand years ago.
Bypassing the Adeptus Mechanicus to build a completely new force was also one of the most important reasons Guilliman needed to stay in the Ultramar 500 Worlds.
As an important ally of the Imperium and the main provider of mechanical equipment, the Adeptus Mechanicus had become increasingly isolated and rigid over the past ten thousand years, with a new product taking hundreds of years from testing to establishing a production line.
Guilliman didn't have that much time to wait for the Adeptus Mechanicus to verify the technology he provided.
By the time they finished verifying it, the Imperium would be finished, and he would probably have become a plaything of the Chaos Gods.
He might as well stay in Ultramar; this was his base, and the influence of the Adeptus Mechanicus wasn't as severe here.
With the support of Calgar, Celestine, and others, he had more room to maneuver and could quickly build a powerful new army with the strength of the 500 Worlds.
This powerful army would be the force that pulled the Imperium back from the abyss.
Given the current complex situation of the Imperium, this was Guilliman's best option.
The Imperium was too vast, with intricate and interdependent forces.
The High Lords of Terra, the Planetary Governors in various regions, the noble class of various worlds, the Astra Militarum, the Imperial Navy, as well as the Custodes, the Inquisition, other space marine Chapters, and so on—the internal struggles within these forces were quite intense.
On the other side, the Adeptus Mechanicus considered itself an ally of the Imperium, with a strong sense of hearing orders but not necessarily obeying commands.
The infamous War of the Beast had repeatedly caused problems, almost leading to the Imperium being overrun by the orks.
Besides this, there was also the great pit of the Ecclesiarchy, where power struggles were equally severe, and they had several times launched so-called Penitent Crusades, throwing over a dozen Chapters into the Eye of Terror each time, purely offering large gift packages to Chaos.
The Chapters that entered the Eye of Terror were basically loyal, but due to the suspicion of the Ecclesiarchy, they were forced to their deaths, becoming pawns of the Chaos Gods.
To maintain the rule of the Imperium, successive rulers had constantly applied patches.
Now the entire Imperium was covered in patches, both ugly and making it appear bloated and unwieldy.
The Imperium was already terminally ill; patching it up could no longer save it. Only thorough reform, a radical overhaul, could make the Imperium vibrant again.
And the prerequisite for doing all this was that he must have an absolutely formidable army.
Cawl looked at the data storage device given by Guilliman, his expression confused; he didn't believe Guilliman possessed any extraordinary technology.
Out of respect for the Primarch, Cawl still accepted the storage device and inserted it into the data port located at the back of his head.
The data from the storage device instantly flooded into his processor, and his initially confused face showed a look of ecstatic joy.
This was knowledge he had never encountered before.
It contained blueprints for genetic modification and the construction of entirely new warships.
Seeing the construction plans for the Death Star, a flush of excitement appeared on Cawl's face.
This is!!
This is a world-destroying weapon!!
This type of warship called the Death Star was definitely not technology possessed by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
The current Adeptus Mechanicus had lost a lot of knowledge, and even more critically, this knowledge was irreplaceable.
Once lost, it meant the Imperium had completely lost that technology.
Most of the Adeptus Mechanicus' technology was not obtained through research and development, but by excavating STC templates.
This is the so-called technology relying entirely on archaeology, and there is innovation, but those innovations are minor adjustments based on STC template technology, not touching the fundamentals. If modified too much, it is easily suspected by the Adeptus Mechanicus of blaspheming the Omnissiah, and thus executed.
"Does this technology not have an STC template??" After reviewing the information inside, Archmagos Cawl raised his head and looked at Guilliman.
"No, these were obtained through ten thousand years of learning," Guilliman did not hide it, speaking frankly.
If a technology did not originate from an STC template, the Adeptus Mechanicus would absolutely not allow it to be applied.
Otherwise, they would wage war against the industrial planet using this technology in the name of blaspheming the Omnissiah, annihilating the opponent and preventing them from applying these technologies.
Guilliman looked at Archmagos Cawl; if he remembered correctly, Cawl was a radical, also known as a reformist.
Nowadays, another group of voices had emerged within the Adeptus Mechanicus, advocating for no longer blindly following ancient dogma and for revolutionary innovation in various technologies to strengthen the Imperium's power.
The conservatives stubbornly believed that the radicals were betraying and blaspheming the glory of the Omnissiah, and the struggle between the two factions was quite intense.
"Then what do you need me to do? Regent."
Hearing this, Guilliman showed a slight smile; as he understood him, Cawl was not among the conservatives of the Sol system.
Regarding technology, he did not care whether it came from an STC template.
"I need a completely new army, from warships to individual equipment, all requiring an upgrade and replacement, ensuring that we can decisively crush Chaos traitors and xenos.
I will grant you the authority to mobilize all industrial planets in the Five Hundred Worlds and have them cooperate with you.
Cawl, give me a confident answer, tell me you can easily handle all this.
After I complete the cleansing of the remaining Chaos forces in the Ultramar Sector, I will have an army ready to open the path for me to Terra."
"I will fulfill your trust, Regent, and replace the equipment for your army as much as possible," Cawl bowed slightly, his mechanical body emitting the unique clanking sound of metal as he moved.
"Very good, remember, this Mind Imprint technology needs to be prioritized for research and development, and strictly confidential, no related information is allowed to be disclosed," Guilliman said in a low voice.
"Understood, Regent."