Primaris Space Marines were the key to the second step of the Crusade plan.
Guilliman needed these warriors to help him quickly crush the ork warlords and necron dynasties, reorganize the Imperium, and strengthen humanity's fighting power.
Thanks to the Guilliman's Heart, which integrated dark matter bio-engine technology.
The danger of upgrading from old-style Space Marines to Primaris Space Marines was not as terrifying as in the original storyline, and the risk was greatly reduced.
In the original storyline, upgrading old-style Space Marines to Primaris Space Marines often led to problems, resulting in casualties or becoming lost.
Now, this problem no longer existed.
The Guilliman's Heart, this entirely new organ, possessed powerful nano-level repair capabilities and tightly controlled the entire upgrade process, ensuring no non-human mutations occurred.
With the help of this special organ, the process of uplifting was greatly simplified.
The success rate was significantly increased, and the upgrade time was compressed several times over.
In the original storyline, it took six months for a space marine to upgrade to a primaris space marine.
Nowadays, the upgrade could be completed in just half a month.
Becoming a Primaris space marine from a recruit was even simpler; in the original storyline, it took at least six months for a mortal to become a Primaris space marine.
Now, the time required was only one and a half months.
The speed had increased fourfold.
More importantly, despite the shortened time, stability was not only not an issue but was even better.
The only reason preventing Guilliman from mass-producing troops was the need for psychological screening and tempering of new recruits to avoid leaving behind the potential for corruption.
To reduce the possibility of corruption, Cawl had already attempted to strip away the characteristics of the Primarchs.
Enhancing the Primaris Space Marines' resistance to Chaos.
He was also preparing to introduce entirely new power armour, designed to suppress the warriors' emotions when necessary, making them more indifferent, ruthless, and efficient.
With these multiple measures, the possibility of being tempted to betray humanity would be infinitely close to zero.
Furthermore, under Guilliman's authorization, Cawl had already prepared a secret research team.
Preparing to use pure human genes for the creation of Primaris Space Marines,
Humanity had been using genetic technology for tens of thousands of years.
Even before the Emperor unified Terra, powerful genetic modifications were everywhere.
Each warlord, to ensure their strength, frantically used genetic serums to enhance themselves; punching through a tank was a common feat.
But these modified bodies were unstable and could not be mass-produced; the slightest mistake would lead to flesh mutations.
Only then did the Emperor create the Primarchs to mass-produce Space Marines for the Great Crusade.
The existence of the Primarchs was like an anchor, keeping the mutations of the Space Marines within a certain range, preventing them from going out of control.
Of course, the effect of this anchor was also very limited.
The Blood Angels Chapter's Bloodthirst and the Thousand Sons Chapter's flesh mutations were all manifestations of uncontrollable genetic modification.
With the emergence of entirely new technology, genetic modification also had another, more powerful anchor.
That was the Guilliman's Heart.
Through the combination of dark matter and flesh cells, humanity's genetic sequence could be edited like a program.
As long as all the original data was input into Guilliman's Heart, controlling the genetic modification and stabilizing it at the cellular genetic level, it would not spiral out of control.
With this anchor, the Imperium abandoning the Primarchs and using pure human genes to create Primaris Space Marines became a reality.
Of course, only Guilliman and Cawl knew about this matter; it was not made public.
Now was not the time.
If it were publicized, some would inevitably think Guilliman was attempting rebellion.
Each Chapter had a strong sense of identity regarding their origins and culture; rashly introducing a pure human version of Primaris Space Marines would inevitably cause resentment.
This matter had to proceed slowly.
Slowly introduce pure human Chapters to replace the old ones and reduce the influence of the Primarchs.
"Everything has to be done slowly."
Thinking of this, Guilliman felt like complaining.
But there was no alternative; overly radical actions would cause the Imperium to collapse.
The war in Ultramar had ended.
The Five Hundred Worlds had regained stability and were steadily implementing Guilliman's reforms.
The Ecclesiarchy, the Inquisition, politics, economy, and culture all had a new appearance.
New armies were being shaped, and they were imprinted with a psyker conditioning, demanding absolute hatred for Chaos and loyalty to humanity.
A large number of Chapters and armies heading to Macragge were also undergoing comprehensive upgrades with the help of Archmagos Cawl.
More war engines and powerful warriors were being created.
The vast Crusade fleet had waited in the Konor system for a month.
Guilliman used the free time to re-examine the reforms in Ultramar and future plans.
He also sought out a group of scholars, granted them extremely high authority, and formed a team for historical research to compile a complete history for the Imperium.
During this period, forces from various parts of the Imperium, having crossed the Warp storms, continuously joined Guilliman's ranks.
These included the Adeptus Titanicus, radical members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Sisters of Silence, the Sisters of Battle, Knight Houses, and so on.
Guilliman made time every day to meet with representatives of these groups, encouraging them to join his cause and not resist reforms excessively.
This busyness continued until the fleet departing from Macragge delivered the Primaris Space Marines he needed, along with the relevant Primaris knowledge and tech-priests.
Only after receiving the fruits of Cawl's year of work did Guilliman shift his attention back to war.
Preparing to set out for the Charadon Sector to eliminate the orks and necrons.
After a year of organization and application, Archmagos Cawl had completed the integration of the relevant technology.
The various Chapters could now upgrade to Primaris Space Marines themselves.
After injecting the new organ, the Guilliman's Heart, there was basically no possibility of upgrade failure.
The upgrade only took half a month, which was merely the time for a few Warp jumps.
Guilliman instructed the various Chapters to upgrade themselves, striving to form a fighting force before the campaign in the Charadon Sector.
Subsequently, he convened a comprehensive military conference aboard the Macragge's Glory.
All Chapter Masters, Warmasters, and high-ranking fleet commanders were to participate in this meeting.
Guilliman chose the Triumph Hall aboard the Macragge's Glory as the venue for the meeting.
The Triumph Hall was where other Legions were received during the Great Crusade; it was spacious enough to accommodate over a thousand people.
Generals of the Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy gathered together, conversing in low voices.
The Sisters of Battle were silently praying, waiting for the meeting to begin.
The tech-priests and Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus also paid no heed to people from other departments.
They had mostly undergone extensive modifications, with machinery and intricate gears encasing their remaining flesh.
The tech-priests and Archmagos used binary code to discuss the Regent's and Cawl's technology.
Those who were approved by Guilliman to board the Macragge's Glory were all radical members of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
They didn't care whether the technology was based on an STC.
If a Primarch endorsed it, then it wasn't heretical technology.
The Sisters of Silence stood a bit further away.
As nulls, they constantly emitted an unsettling aura, causing those closest to them to feel uneasy and tremble.
People from the Ecclesiarchy gathered around Celestine, whispering and discussing what kind of omen from the Emperor the miracle of a living Saint and a Primarch appearing simultaneously was.
Members of the Adeptus Titanicus and Knight Houses stood side by side, discussing the latest tactics and the battles that had recently erupted throughout the Ultramar systems.
Every department under Guilliman's command, including those involved in logistics, guidance, and support, sent representatives to attend.
Some departments sent real people, while others were represented by holographic projections cast from the servo-skulls clustered overhead.
There were many people participating in the meeting, bustling about and filling the entire hall.
It was very noisy.
Until Guilliman arrived.
Only then did everyone turn their respectful gaze towards him, awaiting the Primarch's address.