Meanwhile, in the phase space:
A grand and magnificent Emperor-class battleship, leading a colossal fleet consisting of a New Era carrier, two Brave-class super-heavy cruisers, and over twenty other ships like the Paris, Phoenix, and Kingfisher-class vessels, was speeding through the space tunnel.
This fleet moved like a claw, tearing through the shimmering "space tunnel" as it cut through the sky.
It wasn't just the Emperor-class battleship; every ship in the fleet had an imposing and powerful appearance, as if they were ready to "devour" every speck of stardust in the galaxy.
The ships were painted in deep crimson, accented with dazzling gold, which outlined their unique and magnificent contours.
On the side and hull of each vessel, the symbol of the Scourged Children's 1st Division was imprinted—a soaring raven, seemingly a messenger passing through death and darkness, with a blood-red tear or ruby embedded in its chest.
As the main fighting force of the Scourged Children, the 1st Division was undoubtedly the most powerful and influential, and it had its own unique designation—"Blood Ravens."
The Blood Ravens were not only far superior in combat power compared to the typical divisions of other legions, but they also had overwhelming advantages in terms of equipment and resources.
Although the Scourged Children's legion wasn't large—only four major divisions—its strength and influence were enough to shake the entire Human Empire.
Because of this, the Blood Ravens had a particularly special status, often assigned the most dangerous and difficult tasks, which they faced without fear.
The designation "Blood Ravens" was not based on any mysterious symbolism but purely because every member of the division, including Commander Gabriel Angelo, had a deep affinity for the raven, a creature associated with death and destruction, just like the Scourged Children's "combat philosophy"—resilient, cold, and possessing great survival instincts.
They moved through the fire and smoke of battle, becoming symbols of fear and death to their enemies.
And the Blood Ravens not only possessed terrifying combat power but were supported by a range of cutting-edge weapons and numerous ships.
After all, their homeworld was the newly reborn Earth in the "06" universe (Ring of the Pacific).
With a powerful industrial base, they could not only equip themselves with top-tier combat gear but could also rapidly produce large numbers of ships, vehicles, and weapons, ensuring the Blood Ravens always maintained an edge in warfare.
This made the Scourged Children one of the "wealthier" legions, despite its relatively small size.
Of course, the Blood Ravens would occasionally enter into contracts or trade agreements with other legions, exchanging rare resources from different universes or legions.
With abundant funds and resources, the Blood Ravens didn't need to "steal" or "conquer" to grow their strength.
The main force of the Blood Ravens had already completed a rapid assembly before the space gate opened, ready to engage in battle at any moment.
The initial plan was well-organized, and the Blood Ravens were supposed to pass through the space gate at a scheduled time to carry out their mission.
However, with the sudden changes, the situation drastically shifted.
First, the Death Star's destruction of Jedha's holy city created an immediate impact on the main universe Empire's operations regarding Jedha, and it heightened the tensions among the local cosmic forces.
Furthermore, the news of the Rebel Alliance's plan to assassinate high-value researchers also escalated the already tense situation.
These events forced the Blood Ravens to alter their plan, deploying their main fleet to cross the space gate early and position themselves in low orbit around Jedha in preparation for the coming large-scale conflict.
Soon after the fleet completed its deployment, Gabriel Angelo gave the order to proceed, and the fleet entered phase space, heading straight for Scarif to engage the Galactic Empire's main forces in their first real large-scale battle.
——
At this moment, within the flagship's bridge:
The room was filled with a heavy metallic feel, and through the bridge's observation windows, a ripple of dim light poured into the room.
In the center of the bridge, a Blood Raven observer, dressed in lightweight Titanium Titan armor, was intently watching the instruments in front of him.
As the real-time data updated, the observer reported to one of the "giants" standing behind the observation window:
"Father, we are expected to leave phase space in twenty minutes, entering the gravitational range of Scarif."
"Hmm."
The "giant" gave a brief acknowledgment but didn't issue further orders.
His deep gaze remained fixed outside the window, staring at the rippling phase space, as though he could "see" everything within the universe through it.
He was massive, exuding an air of authority, his heavy, exclusive armor making him resemble an unshakable mountain, and his very presence was a massive threat to any enemy.
The "giants" that could be recognized by the Astartes were none other than the Emperor of the main universe and his progeny—the Gene-Primals.
In fact, Magnus, the Gene-Father of the Scourged Children, was one of the "giants" standing behind the observation window.
Magnus still appeared as a typical well-built man, neither "sunburned red" like the Orgrins nor mutated in any significant way, although his hair was now a deeper, more vibrant shade of red.
Upon learning of the extremely powerful force-users in the "17th" universe (Star Wars) and the significant threat they posed to the Scourged Children, he also received a request for aid from Gabriel Angelo, so he led the Honor Guard aboard the Blood Ravens' flagship, preparing to rush to Scarif.
At the same time, Magnus's eyes revealed a hint of "excitement," as if eager to face the powerful beings of this universe head-on.
From the moment he crossed into this universe, he immediately sensed an invisible force that permeated every corner of the cosmos, enveloping everything above—a force known as the Force.
Although the intelligence department had shared detailed information and he had received a general understanding of the Force from his father, upon stepping into Jedha and feeling the all-encompassing Force, Magnus had new insights and sensations.
When first encountering this power, Magnus's mind stalled as he tried to understand how it differed from the psionics he was familiar with.
Psionics referred to energy drawn from the subspace by psionics users, allowing them to perform "supernatural" abilities in the physical universe.
These abilities included precognition, environmental awareness, elemental manipulation, psionic teleportation, telekinesis, time manipulation, mind control, and much more.
While these supernatural abilities were powerful, they came at a steep cost.
Whenever a psionics user employed their abilities, their soul projection in the subspace burned like a raging fire, drawing the attention of demons and potentially leading to the user's death, or their body and soul being consumed by these demons.
Thus, psionics and subspace represented endless chaos, disorder, and entropy.
Unless one was a special psionics user like their father, capable of using psionics without severe backlash, could they wield it safely.
As their progeny, Magnus and his siblings naturally had strong resistance to subspace corruption.
However, if the demonic gods took "direct action," such as "physically invading" the body or "corrupting the soul" in the most blasphemous ways, the Astartes of the main universe would still be at risk of corruption.
As for other potential psionics users, they had to undergo harsh training under the Empire's state religion, with their father's protection, to safely wield psionics.
Looking at the Force—it seemed deeper, more ethereal, like the essence of the natural world of this universe, connecting everything but difficult to grasp, with similarities to subspace.
Father had once explained that the Force consisted of the Light and Dark sides, like the two extremes of this universe.
After arriving on Jedha, Magnus was able to feel more intuitively that the Light side represented balance, healing, and protection, aiming to maintain order and harmony in the universe. Whereas the Dark side, like corrosive fire, consumed everything, filled with desire, anger, and an endless hunger for control.
What intrigued him was that the power exhibited by the Dark side was remarkably similar to psionics.
Its power was not only immense but also swift, fueled by the outburst of emotions and the indulgence of desires.
Comparing the Dark side to chaos seemed fitting, both being driven by inner desires and negative emotions, transforming them into powerful energy.
However, after some reflection, Magnus didn't agree with the moral division between the Light and Dark sides of the Force.
The intelligence department had classified the Force in this universe into two types, judged by moral standards.
True "power" or "essence" shouldn't be bound by such simplistic labels.
As Magnus turned his gaze toward the so-called Light and Dark sides, he realized—whether guiding others or using violence and anger to control everything—they were both part of the universe, manifestations of the Force.
In Magnus's eyes, the Force had no inherent right or wrong, no Light or Dark—it was simply the power itself.
In the face of this power, the Light and Dark sides were merely perspectives limited by the physical and mental realms, not the eternal essence of the universe.
Therefore, Magnus believed that Darth Vader's fall into the Dark side was more of his own "corruption" than the influence of the Force itself.
Of course, this was Magnus's personal view.
He didn't want to be constrained by either side—he sought to control the power himself.
With his father's teachings and protection, Magnus felt confident and strong enough to confront the abyss of the universe's origin.
Beside Magnus stood two other towering Gene-Primals.
Their auras radiated the same overwhelming power as Magnus, but each had their own distinct temperament.
To his right stood Curze, a handsome "youth" with fair skin, a grown version of Curze, whose eyes always seemed to carry an innate sense of melancholy, even without experiencing complex emotions or confusion.
On Magnus's left was Lorgar, slightly older than Curze, with a poised appearance, not particularly striking compared to other family members like Fulgrim or Sanguinius, but Lorgar's straight posture and cold demeanor exuded an unmissable aura.
In the Blood Ravens flagship:
Magnus silently gazed at the phase space outside, his mind filled with complex emotions.
He turned to look at his brothers—Curze and Lorgar.
Technically, Curze and Lorgar should call him their older brother, or "Fifth Brother."
Magnus should address Curze and Lorgar as "Sixteenth Brother" and "Seventeenth Brother."
But they weren't particularly close, and from an outsider's perspective, Magnus and his brothers always maintained a certain distance.
After all, Magnus, Curze, and Lorgar had barely met a handful of times.
The reason why these two youngest Gene-Primals were on the flagship was because they needed to participate in an integrated war, to gain more experience for their legions.
Magnus had no objections to this.
After all, their father's orders indicated that unless it was an emergency, Curze and Lorgar would not interfere with the Scourged Children's decisions, and would merely act as "observers" to learn from Magnus.
As for the legions led by his two brothers, they had already formed: the Sixteenth Legion, the Whisperers, and the Seventeenth Legion, the Lords of Midnight.
The Whisperers Legion deeply cooperated with the Imperial Cult, excelling in infantry tactics, logistics, and reconstruction, and they were also proficient in the use of psionics.
The Lords of Midnight Legion specialized in infiltration, psychological warfare, and decapitation strikes behind enemy lines, using "fear" to impose the Emperor's will and crush their enemies with absolute force.
Additionally, the Lords of Midnight would broadcast their actions publicly, showing potential traitors and hostile aliens what would happen if they defied the Emperor's will.
In Magnus's view, the Whisperers were "normal," but the Lords of Midnight were more like executioners, specifically trained to use fear to intimidate enemies both within and outside the Empire.
Although he didn't particularly like excessive slaughter, the Empire did need a "negative image" to maintain absolute control.
"Father."
At this moment, a Blood Raven communications officer interrupted Magnus's thoughts:
"Commander Angelo reports that the Death Star and a main fleet of the Galactic Empire have completed hyperspace travel and arrived in the Scarif system."
------------------
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Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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