After Axis finished his slaughter of the Orks, a large number of Imperial drop pods descended onto the planet's surface, and the mortal regiments began their assault.
What awaited them could only be described as a scene of utter calamity, like a planet swept clean by relentless aerial bombardment.
The surface and environment had been completely reshaped, and the mortal soldiers numbly started their task of cleaning up the battlefield.
But there were only a few areas that really needed to be cleared.
The entire surface had already been "washed" once, and in such conditions, the Ork spores would have no chance to take root and grow into new fungi.
"What a disaster… Just what happened on this planet?" one Imperial officer asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
The devastation Axis had unleashed upon the planet had not been witnessed by the mortal regiments themselves as only the senior officers of the Imperial Navy, observing from the command bridge, had seen everything.
"No idea. Maybe the Imperium issued an Exterminatus," suggested a member of the Imperial Army.
[A/n:At this time, the term "Astra Militarum" hadn't been coined yet. It was only after the Heresy, proposed by Guilliman and the High Lords, that the Imperial Army was reorganized into the Astra Militarum.]
They could only think of Exterminatus as the explanation for such devastation, yet that didn't feel right.
"But that can't be. We were all aboard the ship the whole time, and didn't feel anything the entire time. They shouldn't have used Exterminatus," another soldier, busy cleaning up the battlefield, replied.
"If they really had used Exterminatus, the entire planet would have been torn apart by cyclonic torpedoes. There'd be no need for us to come down and mop up the remains."
Exterminatus was not invoked lightly. It required a lengthy process. And once enacted, it meant the planet was a total loss, reduced to a dead world, or even shattered entirely.
But here, every inch of the world seemed to have been bombarded by enormous macro-cannons, rather than the cyclonic torpedoes of Exterminatus.
"If this was macro-cannon bombardment, it's still impossible. Our fleet could, at best, encircle half a planet for a bombardment, but this whole world has been devastated, and our ships didn't even move," another noted.
"Stop speculating," their squad leader finally ordered, "Soldiers, focus on your task and clean up the battlefield. If you see anything green, destroy it. Don't worry about the rest, and don't ask questions."
Just what weapon the Imperium had used this time was not something for ordinary soldiers to guess at.
Their job was to fulfill their assigned duties, nothing more.
The Imperial soldiers promptly fell silent.
The same scene repeated itself across the planet. Legions of Imperial troops deployed and began clearing the fields.
Meanwhile, Axis himself returned to the Imperial fleet aboard a transport.
When he returned, every mortal naval officer stared at him with undisguised fear.
They had all witnessed, via the command bridge, Axis's destruction of the planet and his massacre of the Orks.
There were Billions of Orks. It was a campaign that would have taken the Imperial Army months to prosecute. But it had been wiped out by this single man in a matter of hours.
The strength of one man, equalled or eclipsed that of an entire fleet, just what kind of being was he?
All of the Imperial Navy officers looked at Axis with a mixture of awe and terror.
Everyone gave Axis their utmost respect, even moving aside to make way for him. This was the respect reserved only for the truly powerful.
"Hahaha! That was a beautiful massaccre!" Russ exclaimed, gazing at Axis with admiration.
"Axis, every single time, I think I have overestimated you enough, but you defy my expectation.
"Judging by the readings we were getting here, you could very well destroy an entire planet on your own."
Who would have thought? The little boy he'd found 25 years ago had now become this formidable.
During the Great Crusade, the Imperium truly needed strategic-level powers like Axis. No, more like campaign-level weapons.
"Haha, you flatter me!" Axis replied with a laugh.
"I mean it. Your strength really is, astonishing," Russ said.
"Looks like we've finished this mission ahead of schedule," Axis shifted the topic. He was, for his embarrassment, feeling a bit queasy inside.
"That's right. If things had gone as expected, this campaign might have taken months, maybe even half a year," Russ agreed.
"So, what next? Do we rest, or continue the Crusade and attack a new target?" Axis asked.
"Of course we press on!
"We'll rest here briefly, and leave some of the mortal regiments to hold this planet," Russ answered.
"If, after a few months, no more Ork fungi sprout up, then the planet will be secure, and the Martian Mechanicum can start their reclamation work."
The Great Crusade's tasks were divided clearly.
They were the spearhead, only responsible for conquering new worlds. The rest would be handled by others.
Axis nodded, chatted with Russ for a while, and then returned to his ship.
This time, the Space Wolves Astartes hadn't even had a chance to shine as it had been Axis's one-man show from start to finish.
…
Three days later, millions of mortal troops swept the entire planet with a carpet search, confirming the extermination of all the Greenskin Orks.
With that, the mission to conquer the planet was considered a complete success.
The Imperium would soon dispatch engineering units to begin reconstruction throughout the system at the fastest possible speed.
Seven days later, the Space Wolves' fleet, along with some mortal auxiliary forces, once again set out on the journey of the Great Crusade.
It was another voyage through the Warp.
More than a month later, they arrived at a new destination.
It was, like before, another planet that had been out of contact with the Imperium for many years.
But, there were no notable xenos threats on this world.
Upon observing the arrival of such a massive fleet, the planetary human government immediately capitulated.
Russ sent an envoy to offer terms of surrender, to accept Imperial rule and become a hive world under the Imperium, obligated to pay regular tithes.
In exchange, the planet would be allowed a degree of autonomy and retain the right to free trade.
A few days later, the entire planet formally submitted to Russ's fleet and to the Imperium.
This world possessed no real space-borne military power, not even a single proper warship. Its level of civilization was unimpressive, and the handover went quickly.
Within Russ's fleet, aside from a large number of warriors, there were also Imperial officials specifically assigned to such duties.
These officials would remain stationed on the planet, leaving behind a ship or two as a deterrent.
Next would come the modernization efforts, gradually transforming the world into a proper Imperial planet.
"I thought this planet would at least put up some token resistance. My Wolves haven't even had a chance to get their hands dirty!" Axis remarked.
The last time, Axis had handled the Orks on his own.
This time, the enemy had simply chosen to surrender.
"This is the norm. You'll have to get used to it. During the Great Crusade, most human-settled worlds surrender once they see our fleet," Russ explained.
"If they refuse, we simply remove their nobility. The ordinary folk hardly care who rules them."
There were still tough battles from time to time, but those were rare.
"So, most of the time, we avoid unnecessary battles if we can? Our main goal is to reclaim humanity's lost colonies," Axis asked.
"Exactly! We'll stay here a few days, then move on. Get used to it, Axis, this is the norm of the Great Crusade," Russ replied.
"Serve the Imperium, or be crushed by it, huh!" Axis said with a chuckle.
"Haha! I couldn't've said it better," Russ laughed.
…
Ten days later, Axis and Russ led the Wolves' fleet onward, exploring the next unknown system.
The Great Crusade was in full swing, the vast Imperial war machine gaining new cogs every day.
In just a few years, Axis and Russ had brought dozens of human worlds into the Imperium's fold!
Axis's warriors finally had their chance for real battle experience.
Some human governments who refused to submit, or tried to resist Imperial authority, suffered consequences they sought.
The Space Marines stormed their fortress-palaces.
For those who dared to resist, in accordance with the Emperor's orders, once a world was conquered, its noble rulers would be executed, with entire bloodlines wiped out.
If the resistance was too fierce, too fierce for normal standard, all who resisted would be put to death, or in extreme cases, all civilians on the planet would be put to death.
It was increadably rare as most cilivians did not care for who rule them, at least not to the point of throwing away their lives like moths to a flame.
But where theology interfered things changed.
The seeds of hatred could not be allowed to remain as the Imperium had plenty of people to send in and repopulate the world.
While Axis had some opinion on the matter, their conquers hadn't come to such extremes, yet.
Axis continued to grow during the Great Crusade, tempering his body.
Although the Emperor had said his body had already been strengthened to the utmost, Axis still had the Mechanicum construct a gravity chamber aboard ship.
Whenever he had spare time, he would immerse himself in training.
Beyond physical and Ki training, Axis also practiced his psychic powers daily, under the guidance of Kasha.
Along the way, Axis encountered all manner of xenos, and even some abhuman and half-beast races.
Submission or annihilation, this was the question the Crusade always posed. If annihilation was chosen, the Space Marines would descend and take the planet by force.
In the blink of an eye, more than a decade had passed.
The Space Wolves, with astonishing speed, continued to bring human colonies to heel, with over a hundred worlds conquered in just a few short years.
Their rate of conquest far surpassed that of any other Primarch.
...
Have a great day/night! we only need about 80 more powerstones for the bonus chapters!