Astartes Second Legion Retributors, Serial Number Conquered World—Universe No. 117, beyond the Honkai Dimension.
Within the pitch-black cosmic expanse suffused with violet nebular radiance, millions of Imperial Navy medium and large warships floated silently in the still void, resembling an endless cluster of steel palaces stretching into infinity.
Among them were Legion space carriers, floating fortresses, battleships, cruisers, battlecruisers, frigates, destroyers, and more. These steel behemoths varied in length, purpose, width, and classification, yet they all shared one unmistakable characteristic...
One word—massive.
With the continuous advancement of Imperial science and technology—especially the rapid evolution of military innovation—the scale of the Imperial Navy's fleets could be said to expand with every passing moment.
The production capacity of military industries grew larger and larger. Forge worlds rose like mushrooms after rain across the resource-rich star sectors under Imperial rule.
And because the Empress of the Empire, Selene, possessed power akin to that of a creator god, resources could be regenerated at astonishing speed.
Combined with mastery over Honkai energy—this efficient and "harmless" universal power source—the forge worlds had no concern whatsoever about resource depletion. So why hold back? They produced without restraint.
Under such measures, the results were far beyond a simple one plus one effect. Imperial armament production capacity increased geometrically without cease.
Even when the available industrial area within a star sector reached saturation, it did not mean production would decline.
When a particular forge world temporarily reached its peak output due to land limitations, it would naturally shift toward qualitative research and horizontal development.
During this process, senior technical officers from the Imperial Science Bureau headquarters would often arrive to provide guidance.
Whether newly established or long-standing, no forge world remained stagnant. The newer ones focused on expanding output volume, while the veteran worlds maintained or gradually increased production scale while relentlessly improving product quality.
Scaled across the Empire's vast stellar domains, the total growth per moment was terrifying.
On the specification reports submitted to the Imperial Forge under the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs headquarters, the numbers changed dramatically almost every month, and within a single year, they could multiply several times over.
In short, from the Empire's official perspective, there was never such a thing as restricting production capacity. However much you could produce, the Empire would absorb—and the gap only continued to widen as Imperial territory expanded.
As a result, the technological standard of newly commissioned Imperial military equipment steadily rose, and the size of individual warships grew ever larger.
Even light frigates categorized as roaming escort types had already reached the ten-kilometer class. As for destroyers, cruisers, and battleships higher in the Imperial Navy's operational hierarchy, their hull lengths were pushing toward thirty kilometers, sixty kilometers, and even over one hundred kilometers.
Because the Imperial Navy was currently in a phase of dynamic development, there was no rigidly fixed ship pattern for standard commissioning.
After all, you might finalize a production model today, only for a newer, better, more mature, and larger design to roll out tomorrow. What would be the point?
Return them to the yard for retrofitting? Too troublesome. Just replace the old with the new.
In this regard, the Holy Selene Empire's Imperial Forge stood in stark contrast to certain oil-smeared mechanics from a distant red planet—those who relied on archaeological excavation, and who repeatedly suffered technological regressions due to both internal and external factors.
Of course, the Imperial Navy's commissioned warships still had detailed regulations regarding operational scope.
For example, battleships were classified as massive combat starships within the Imperial Navy hierarchy, second only to space carriers and floating fortresses. They were equipped with immense weapon arrays and shield systems, typically serving as flagships for Imperial Auxilia or Servitor Army sub-fleets, or as the personal vessels of Astartes Lord Commanders and senior commanders.
They could be refitted according to operational demands: boarding-assault configurations loaded with vast numbers of strike craft, assault boats, and drop pods; heavy assault variants famed for their powerful main batteries; and retribution-class modifications known for formidable broadside artillery and extensive torpedo launch systems.
Armed with planet-destroying weaponry and possessing overwhelming firepower, their crew complements ranged from twenty-five thousand to five million personnel. (Imperial Navy Manual: To fully activate and realize the value of a battleship-class naval vessel, twenty thousand crew members is the minimum requirement.)
Under special circumstances, even greater numbers could be deployed depending on resource capacity.
A fully manned standard battleship could deploy a corps-level offensive force—though certainly not composed entirely of Astartes—and launch a campaign sweeping across an entire planet. It stood as the backbone of Imperial Navy siege operations.
The trade-off, however—aside from the preparation time required for trans-spatial webway navigation and space-time transitions—was that battleships were relatively slow under normal operational conditions.
Cruisers, by contrast, formed the mainstay of fleet composition. Though not as heavily armored or as overwhelmingly powerful as battleships, and incapable of deploying corps-level offensives independently, they were far more agile and still carried equally lethal weaponry.
Cruisers likewise possessed numerous variants. Most shared the same hull foundation but were fitted with different broadside cannon systems, naval artillery arrays, and hangars for interstellar strike craft.
...
Thus, driven by these many factors, the rate of warship iteration within the Imperial Navy was extraordinarily rapid. In response, the Imperial military established a distinctive yet rational procedural system.
Three-tier phased retirement. Newly developed models were naturally assigned to frontline Astartes Legions. Slightly older ones were transferred to the Imperial Auxilia. Older still went to the Servitor Army.
If a vessel fell another tier beyond that, only ships bearing special merit and distinction would be returned to the yards for specialized refitting. The rest would either be retired as museum relics, dismantled on site, or stripped of most of their lethal armaments before being sold to colonial world merchant guilds to serve as deterrent assets for civilian commercial ventures.
Incidentally, these merchant guilds also acted as pathfinders. After applying for extragalactic exploration permits, they could venture beyond the current reach of the trans-spatial webway, serving as "well-intentioned interstellar traders" while prospecting for fortune.
Whether they survived, perished, or were wiped out entirely after departure—that was none of the Empire's concern.
As for discovering new worlds, resource planets, or alien species coveted by the upper echelons of the Empire—such as elves, sirens, or orcs—and attempting to carve out independent dominions?
Impossible.
They would obediently submit unified tribute and receive standardized rewards. All land belonged to the Empress. Even for enfeoffed nobles, official documentation merely stated that the Empress temporarily granted them stewardship.
They possessed the right of use—never ownership.
Even if that right of use was permanent—nearly granting full authority to manage every affair within their domain—the fundamental ownership beneath it all belonged to one being alone: the God-Empress.
Whoosh!Whoosh whoosh!Whoosh!
In the endless void, every hovering Imperial Navy capital vessel resembled a colossal hive, where countless diligent "little bees" moved ceaselessly in and out of their decks and hangar bays.
Pulling the view farther back, the number of carrier-based fighters and assault craft reached into the billions. The lights shining from the portholes and engines of the giant warships echoed one another across the darkness. Meanwhile, within the hangar decks, storage bays, and landing platforms, an intense bustle of activity unfolded.
Inside their steel bodies were mountains of armaments, mechanical equipment, and supplies. Under the frontline command of innumerable Imperial Navy technical personnel and junior officers, crews operated at full capacity in organized precision.
Astartes, Imperial Auxilia, and Servitor Army units cooperated seamlessly.
Like the differentiated cells within a living body—each performing its own function—they were unified and organized to drive and operate the Empire's colossal war machine.
Not far from this star cluster, where the main forces of three Astartes Legions had assembled, the violet-red vortex light curtain of the webway continued to bloom with tens of thousands—no, even hundreds of thousands—of transition exit flares.
Unlike the ceremonial "return in glory" procession undertaken in response to the Will of the Honkai's summons, that previous operation—though it mobilized all twenty Astartes Legions—had only involved a small fraction of their true strength. It had been little more than symbolic display.
In crude terms... that had been an armed parade to demonstrate authority. This time, however, was the real thing—steel and blood.
At the very center of the fleet stood three Legion space carriers, each over three hundred kilometers in diameter, guarded by innumerable frigates. Of the three, the largest was painted iron gray, bearing a massive Legion insignia—two hydraulic iron fists crossed.
It was the emblem of the Teigu: Thunder God's Rage · Adramelech. Its identity needed no explanation.
The flagship of the Astartes Second Legion Retributors—the Imperial Fury.
Torrential rain shrouded the artificial rock garden beside the flagship's central palace. Under the ship's internal climate control systems, one felt not the slightest hint of a vessel's motion. Aside from the palace chambers being somewhat "smaller," it was scarcely different from being on a planetary surface.
...If one ignored the faint blue diamond-shaped defensive field array radiating outward.
Outside the windows, rain cascaded in sheets. A brown-yellow velvet carpet covered the entire hall. Each archway was inlaid with golden trim, and a gilded chandelier hung above the center of the chamber. Under its illumination, the Empire's double-headed aquila gleamed brilliantly.
Every droplet of water trickling down the windowpanes seemed bathed in a layer of golden light.
Drawing her gaze away from the gradually weakening artificial rainfall, Selene gently poured herself a glass of specially supplied brandy and leaned against her private bar counter.
"So. What have you managed to extract?"
The woman with crimson diamond-shaped eyes held her crystalline glass. Her slender, fair arms were exposed beneath the soft golden glow. The patterns woven into her platinum gown shimmered like galaxies strewn across the night sky, layers of gradient gold turning her figure into something dreamlike.
Before her stood three towering Astartes Legion Commanders. Though they appeared far more imposing than Selene, in the presence of the Empress they were as docile as housecats.
One of them, clad in meticulously crafted bronze-yellow power armor, drank heartily. His thick brows arched boldly above deep-set eyes that revealed a straightforward, unrestrained temperament.
His handsome, sunlit features bore no chaotic war paint, nor did he sport those ridiculous "dreadlocks." Instead, he wore a sharp brown crew cut.
Angron's gaze seemed fixed upon the projection displayed on the table, yet his mouth never stopped moving as he devoured his food with gusto.
The projection showed the combat record reports from reconnaissance units already dispatched and having made contact with alien forces.
"Hey, Angron. In front of Her Majesty—show some restraint," Konrad Curze said from barely a meter away. His pale face, framed by pitch-black hair and eyes, appeared even more ghostly under the contrast. The Legion Commander of the Night Lords spoke with solemn composure.
"I say, Curze, when did you become as uptight as the Great General? It's just a private drinking gathering between Her Majesty and the three of us. Why're you acting like an outsider?"
Crunching straight through the alloy-hard bones of a Special-class Danger Beast, Angron mumbled around a mouthful of food. "Didn't you see Her Majesty and Great General Budo haven't said anything... ow!"
Bang!
"Hmph..." Budo blew lightly across his iron fist and said darkly, "Asking you is pointless anyway, you brute. Keep eating."
It wasn't the first time. Angron's tactical command ability was actually quite solid. The problem was that whenever joint operations were involved, he tended to slip away into a posture of "Just tell me what to execute."
Her refined silver-white hair still draped across her shoulders as Selene leaned forward against the bar, chin resting in her hand, watching the Legion Commanders' interaction with amused interest.
Without the torment of the Butcher's Nails, this was how Angron should have grown.
That unfortunate Angron had been born with a psychic ability capable of sensing and absorbing the negative emotions of those around him. He could genuinely empathize with others. He should have been gentle and kind.
Yet fate had twisted cruelly. Such a person became the most furious, most savage, most brutally violent butcher in the entire galaxy—slaughtering indiscriminately, even his own people and the sons who swore loyalty to him.
Emperor... what am I supposed to say about you? Selene sighed softly, swirling her glass. Within the amber liquid, faint starlight seemed to revolve, breathtakingly beautiful. Imperial statecraft isn't meant to be used like that. You knew. You could have avoided it. Yet you chose the worst possible option.
"Enough," Selene said at last, setting down her crystal glass as her smile faded. "The Covenant. So many alien species. How do you intend to deal with them?"
"I'd like to hear your opinions."
"..."
The three Legion Commanders exchanged glances.
Angron immediately spoke up. "No opinion. I'll follow Her Majesty's decision!"
"Get lost and keep eating!" Selene snapped with an exasperated laugh.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"All right, the freeloader's out. You two continue."
"Your Majesty."
Konrad Curze, who had remained silent until now, closed the folder before him and spoke gravely. "If we insist on a policy of total extermination, alien resistance will undoubtedly reach unprecedented intensity. It would severely slow our conquest efficiency. The cost would outweigh the gains."
"Therefore, I propose a moderate relaxation of policy. Conduct selection. Recruit those alien species that are valuable, docile, and harbor no hatred toward humanity."
As he spoke, Konrad Curze glanced at Budo beside him. "Leave them a sliver of hope. This will reduce resistance to some degree and enhance conquest efficiency. For the Empire, the benefits would outweigh the drawbacks."
"Mm." Selene nodded slightly and turned her head. "And you, Budo?"