"..."
Seeing Curze before him, the very lubricant in Belisarius Cawl's systems seemed to congeal. He was all too familiar with this infamous Primarch. For the man to have discerned his purpose in a single glance through his prophetic abilities was undoubtedly a dangerous development. After all, Curze's relationship with Guilliman was one of mortal enmity.
If he were to do something…
At that thought, Cawl instinctively looked around, searching for that tall, imposing figure. It was clear that the mysterious Primarch was capable of suppressing the being before him.
However, it was also clear that Curze currently had no interest in him or Guilliman. He had more important things to do—namely, educating his batch of clear-eyed yet foolish new Night Lords. Curze was completely speechless when it came to them. As for Guilliman, he couldn't care less anymore. The man was a blockhead in a fight.
But before anyone could say more, a figure emerged from a room behind them.
He was clad in grayish-white power armor, clearly the type designed for Primaris Marines, but it was a pure gray model, completely unpainted. The wearer was, of course, the Black Templar Emperor's Champion. Zhou Ye couldn't be bothered to paint their armor for them. They could grab the pigments and handle it themselves instead of wasting his time.
Right now, however, the Emperor's Champion was utterly bewildered. He had no idea what had just happened. He went in, took a nap, and woke up having completed the Primaris transformation. Then, he was unceremoniously carried out and dumped by a group of robed midgets. He had seen their appearance; while they didn't look entirely human, their skulls were shaped differently. But since they served under a glorious Primarch, he didn't dwell on it. The Black Templars were fanatical, not complete idiots. They were just a bunch of abhumans, nothing more to say.
"Wait a minute…" The Emperor's Champion paused. He noticed a slight change in his body, which was…
"My Betcher's Gland and Sus-an Membrane... they're restored?" he stammered, dumbfounded. This was a major problem that had plagued the sons of Dorn for ages. He had heard their Chapter had just recently acquired a complete gene-seed, but how had he recovered so quickly?
"So fast?" Cawl stared at the Emperor's Champion, flabbergasted, as he calculated the time. Less than half a day had passed. How was this possible?
"A time-dilation chamber. This Magos possesses ancient technology."
In an instant, Cawl understood. A time-manipulating device was his only explanation.
Thud, thud, thud!!!
Just then, more bewildered Black Templar marines were tossed out like garbage. Zhou Ye emerged, clapping his hands together. He scanned the group. Excellent. All one hundred or so of the Black Templars had successfully become Primaris Marines.
Clank, clank, clank…
In that moment, Cawl transformed into a blur of motion, rushing in front of Zhou Ye.
"A temporal artifact?"
"Yes." Zhou Ye nodded. In reality, it was created using his authority as the Herrscher of Finality. But since Cawl had already filled in the blanks himself, Zhou Ye saw no reason to correct him.
"Why is the success rate one hundred percent?"
"Another special artifact. It can release a powerful life force."
Clang!!!
Zhou Ye immediately produced a battle standard and slammed it onto the ground in front of Cawl. It was the nominal holy relic of Trailblaze, but in truth, it was a variant of Abyss Flower that Zhou Ye had created. With this Divine Key present, the chances of casualties during such a modification were practically zero. Of course, it couldn't help those who were completely unsuitable; many people simply lacked the innate capacity to become an Astartes. This was the reason Zhou Ye couldn't mass-produce them indefinitely. For pre-screened candidates, the success rate of the surgery was nearly perfect. But if he were to grab random people off the street, many would be unable to withstand the process. If nothing else, if the gene-seed was rejected by the host's body, even Zhou Ye couldn't save them. It happened too fast; they'd be gone in an instant.
But for upgrading existing marines to Primaris, there were no issues whatsoever.
"Another artifact! Wait, this thing..." Cawl's mechanical eyes suddenly widened with a look of intense desire. He guessed that the Magos before him had used this very standard to survive the ten thousand years.
"Ahem. My actual age is not that great. We were searching for something and drifted in the Warp for a few centuries. When we emerged, we found that ten thousand years had passed," Zhou Ye said with a placid smile. "What is it, little one? Do you wish to restore your fleshly body?"
Zhou Ye's opinion of Belisarius Cawl was similar to his own. Neither of them was particularly fond of mechanical modification, but they had been forced to change themselves for the sake of their promises—in Cawl's case, to Guilliman and the Emperor.
For the current Zhou Ye, however, restoring his body was not an overly difficult task. One had to remember the iron law of the Honkai universe: the world allows a consciousness to match a new vessel, but it does not allow a vessel to collect a dissipated consciousness. Zhou Ye wasn't sure if souls existed in the Honkai world, but he knew that once someone died, their consciousness was scattered to the winds.
Warhammer was different. They explicitly had souls. As long as the soul remained and a certain amount of original tissue was preserved, he could reconstruct a person.
And so, Zhou Ye looked at Cawl, intending to make a deal.
"I can help you restore your body, but on one condition. I want a large portion of your knowledge in exchange."
"The knowledge you possess is no less than my own. You must have access to a great deal of Golden Age technology."
"But no one ever thinks they have too much," Zhou Ye said dismissively. In truth, he didn't know that much, but his Herrscher authorities more than made up for it. Combined, the authorities of Finality effectively made him a creator god. Creating an entire universe might be a stretch, but turning a barren planet into a paradise was well within his capabilities.
"Deal. As long as you can restore my body," Cawl agreed after a moment's thought. Once Guilliman was revived, the majority of his burden would be lifted. He too wanted to return to his original self. From there, he would have the chance to modify himself again, based on his original plans. He possessed a much higher potential.
"Not a problem. Do you still have any fleshy parts left?"
"Yes…" Cawl fell silent for a moment before nodding. The two of them then re-entered the chamber.
Moments later, the group of Black Templars began to stir, waking up in a daze. Marshal Amalrich wiped the dust from his helmet and saw his brothers lying scattered about like refuse.
"This power…" He was about to say something, but then he realized his entire being felt different. Greater strength, faster reflexes, enhanced agility.
But just then…
Hiss.
A sudden chill went down Amalrich's spine, and he leaped to his feet. A tall, melancholic-looking middle-aged man was staring at them with an extremely dangerous expression.
"Traitors!!!"
By the Emperor's grace, he'd almost forgotten. There was a traitor Primarch here.
"Sons of Dorn. Interested in a little competition with my cubs?" Konrad Curze said with great interest, looking at the Black Templars.
"A duel of blades? A son of Dorn never refuses a challenge."
"How boring. Come, let's have a real, practical battle. That champion of yours is excluded. Care to try?" Curze wasn't about to have his fledglings engage in a duel with these fanatics; who knew if the madmen would hold back. But he had something far more interesting in mind: the simulator Zhou Ye had built. He had just managed to secure two slots. It was time to see how his cubs measured up.
"What?" a few of the Black Templars asked, confused. Seeing that Curze had no intention of attacking, and considering they had been saved by 'That Lord' who had allowed Curze to roam freely in his domain, they decided to see what the traitor Primarch was up to.
Soon…
"By the Primarch!!!"
A series of gasps erupted from the Black Templars as they all gathered together, staring in shock at the intense battle unfolding in a large chamber. A squad of Imperial Fists Space Marines, leading an Astra Militarum regiment of fifty thousand, was fighting a horde of Nurgle's minions. There were Nurglings, Plaguebearers, Death Guard, and even a Great Unclean One.
On the other side, a squad of Iron Warriors faced an identical force.
On the screen, the scores for the two chambers were skyrocketing, neck and neck.
The Abyssal Battlefield, a simulator designed specifically for large-scale legion combat. Zhou Ye couldn't endlessly produce Space Marines, but pairing them with the Astra Militarum or Solar Auxilia was a different story.
The Black Templars immediately recognized the situation. Without a second thought, they drew their weapons and charged in.
Click.
In an instant, the entire room shuddered, and then…
Beep. Beep. Beep.
As a rapid series of tones sounded, everything in the room froze. Before the Black Templars' stunned eyes, the forces of Nurgle vanished, and the Imperial Fists and their auxilia froze in place.
"Notification: Personnel count exceeded. This session of the Abyssal Battlefield has concluded. Tallying scores."
"Imperial Fists, 7th Company and attached Auxilia. Overall Score: 326,985."
"Iron Warriors, 8th Company and attached Auxilia. Overall Score: 423,652."
The entire hall fell into a deathly silence. Then…
"Hahahaha! Looks like we won!" The sergeant of the Iron Warriors squad burst into wild laughter. He and his brothers, along with their auxilia, left cheerfully, whistling and taunting as they went. Soon, they had cleared out their side of the battlefield and exited the simulation.
"..."
Even the dimmest of the Black Templars now understood what had happened. This wasn't a real battlefield. It seemed the Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors of Trailblaze were having a competition, and their interference had just caused one side to lose.
Feeling the man-eating glares from the Imperial Fists and their mortal soldiers, the Black Templars instinctively flinched.
And then…
Whirr. Clank. Clank.
With the sound of grinding machinery, a massive black shadow fell over them. The Black Templars turned their heads stiffly.
Heh heh. An ancient, holy Dreadnought of the Imperial Fists.
"WHAT ARE YOU LITTLE BRATS DOING!!!"
In the next instant, Amalrich felt himself flying through the air. Then, his body began to frantically ram against a nearby pillar.
Aruba!!!
"Sigh…"
Watching the Dreadnought hold the Black Templar Marshal in one hand and the Emperor's Champion in the other, subjecting both to the frantic punishment, Konrad Curze couldn't help but rub his forehead. He could only conclude that his mysterious brother's legion was a bit... abstract.
He then led his own fledgling bats back to the Memory Battlefield. They might be clear-eyed and foolish, but their potential for being molded was truly high.
…
Meanwhile, in another location…
"Pfft!!!"
Although Zhou Ye had mentally prepared himself, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Appearing before him was a chubby-faced young boy. This young boy's real name was Belisarius Cawl.
"Hahahaha…"
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Cawl said, a deeply constipated expression on his face as he looked at himself in a mirror. After a series of transactions, Zhou Ye had extracted his soul and used that tiny bit of flesh to reconstruct his body. Now, Cawl was a four or five-year-old boy. While he was shocked by the man's powerful techniques and strength, he couldn't quite handle his new body.
"It's not a big deal. Your old body is still here. Just modify it with a cockpit, climb inside, and pilot it. Think of it as piloting a Dreadnought."
Zhou Ye would never admit he did it on purpose. The main issue was that the bit of flesh he had to work with was so ancient that some problems were bound to arise. However…
"Captain, an Eldar fleet has been detected. They are requesting to negotiate. Should I grant them permission?"
Just then, Klee's voice sounded in Zhou Ye's ear again. He paused what he was doing and then said slowly, "Let them come!!!"
---