Upgrading the Imperial Glory was listed as Alex's top priority.
He ordered the metal reserves of Las Forge World to be inventoried for Cortana to consume.
Regarding this order from Alex, members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, including Moriou the Sage, had significant objections.
They believed that Cortana was a creation of heretical technology and that, as emissaries of the omnissiah, they should remain vigilant against her.
However, when Alex shared the Pharos Lighthouse technology and Gauss Rifle craftsmanship in Cortana's name, and promised to provide more new technologies in the future, they quickly changed their tune.
They declared that Cortana was also a sacred Machine Spirit blessed by the omnissiah and should not be excluded.
Massive amounts of metal resources were inventoried from warehouses across Las Forge World and transported via transport ships to the Imperial Glory in near-orbit, cartload after cartload, into the roaring furnace core, to be consumed by Cortana.
Misty radiance surged along the cables and steel structures, reshaping their forms and properties, upgrading the entire vessel.
After the previous upgrade, the Imperial Glory was already a twelve-kilometer battleship.
This time, with the massive resources supplied by Las Forge World, the Imperial Glory was upgraded into a twenty-four-kilometer large battleship, comparable to a Gloriana-class vessel.
If a professional cyclist were to ride a bike on the Imperial Glory at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour, without braking or slowing down, it would still take nearly an hour to ride from bow to stern.
As the warship's size increased, the Imperial Glory's various systems were also upgraded.
The macro cannons arrayed along both sides of the hull increased in size and number, with the largest macro cannon reaching an exaggerated scale, large enough to accommodate a small frigate.
The ramming prow below the bow became even thicker; at full acceleration, it could easily cleave an enemy ship in two.
The Nova Cannon and Lance array in the mid-section of the bow were enhanced and could easily penetrate the shields of small battleships.
In the ship's belly, a blade-like structure extended downwards, equipped with secondary main guns and torpedo tubes, with a spaceport at the bottom for escort frigates and fighter squadrons to dock and be maintained.
Besides these externally visible areas being comprehensively upgraded, the ship's internal fire control system and augury arrays also received comprehensive upgrades.
They could allocate firepower more precisely, and their detection range and types increased.
Most importantly, the Lighthouse was upgraded to Version 2.0, which could provide Players with health regeneration and dispel negative statuses.
More importantly, the Lighthouse's coverage increased, and it could operate in multi-threaded mode.
Version 1.0 of the Lighthouse could only communicate one-on-one, pointing to a specific planet to communicate with it, while other planets had to wait for the Lighthouse to point at them.
Version 2.0 of the Lighthouse did not require this; it could point to multiple targets simultaneously.
Upgraded to Version 2.0, only one Lighthouse was needed for Cortana's will to cover the Calixis Sector, as well as the Koronus Expanse, Scarus Sector, Ixaniad Sector, and even extend to the edge of the Halo Stars.
This way, the Players' activity radius would be much larger.
In the future, only a few more Lighthouses would need to be established in other areas of the galaxy to cover the entire galaxy, allowing Players to freely traverse all parts of the galaxy.
The connection with other Lighthouses also became much closer, allowing for real-time communication regardless of time, space, or Warp Storms.
Moriou the Sage and many priests watched the entire process of the Imperial Glory's ascension with stunned expressions.
"I always thought that having lived this long, I had seen all sorts of strange things. Only today do I realize that the vastness of the Hall of Truth is beyond my imagination; I have truly never seen such a thing."
Moriou the Sage felt his logic core was about to overload and burn out.
After a period of overloaded thinking that nearly fried his brain, he came to a conclusion that was very consistent with Holy Terra (Earth/Reality)'s logic.
"This must be the great power of the omnissiah, capable of creating such a miracle."
Representatives from the Titan Warband, Knight Houses, Imperial Navy, and Ecclesiarchy also looked on with shock as they witnessed this scene.
They all prayed to the Emperor, marveling at His supreme power.
On the other side, Kasareth the Prophet and many Eldar who accompanied the expedition also witnessed the entire upgrade of the Imperial Glory, so shocked that their jaws nearly dropped to the ground.
"The power of the Star Gods is truly terrifying; merely by using raw materials, they can complete the upgrade of a warship in such a short time."
Too much time had passed since that mythical era.
Even though the Eldar had very long lifespans, it was impossible for them to have lived that long.
The current active Eldar's understanding of the Star Gods was all derived from ancient texts.
The Star Gods once waged a great war against the Eldar's creators, the Old Ones, which ultimately left both sides severely wounded, allowing the Eldar to rise and replace both races.
"We must maintain a good relationship with this Saint," an Eldar Farseer said.
"The Human Lord's power grows stronger, and this Saint has received the help of the Star Gods; the rise of humanity is an inevitable trend."
"At that time, the Chaos Gods will absolutely not tolerate an overly powerful humanity; the conflict between them will be irreconcilable, and war is bound to happen."
"When humanity and the Chaos Gods are both severely wounded, we will be able to rise, just like our ancestors during the Paradise War, and restore our former glory."
Kasareth the Prophet nodded, "Mandela, what you said makes a lot of sense."
"I will do that. He once entrusted me to find a way to send the God Chosen into special domains like the Menagerie."
"Now that everything is ready, it's time to show him our goodwill and let him know our value."
"......"
As the Imperial Glory upgraded, the Players were also rapidly refreshing chat messages in the regional channel.
"The Imperial Glory is getting bigger and bigger. It's already 24 kilometers now. Next time, won't it be 48 kilometers, and then 96 kilometers the time after that? A few more times and it'll become a colossus itself."
"A colossus controlled by a Star God, just thinking about it is terrifying. At that point, who would dare to disobey?"
"I suggest the officials install Planet Buster and Neutron Sweeper."
"The Star Destroyer can't be missing either."
"So many extinction-level weapons, it's too terrifying. We should love peace and promote anti-war ideology. I suggest transferring control of the Imperial Glory to me, so I can dedicate myself to achieving peace."
"I can hear your abacus from the island. You still love peace? First look at your ID: 'Isn't Starfish Canned Food Delicious?'"
"Are you discriminating against P-game Players? I'm so angry, do we P-game Players not love peace? We are also a group of kind big children, a group of big children who love peace and beauty."
"Is it the kindness of making starfish into canned food? Or the peace of treating Neutron Sweeper as a daily routine?"
"Making starfish canned food is a necessary sacrifice to achieve universal peace, do you not understand the bigger picture? Neutron Sweeper, that's an efficient means to peace."
"You damned war criminals, go to Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) quickly and ask the High Lord to judge these bastards."
"Emperor: Huh? If genocide counts as a war crime, then wouldn't I be the number one?"
"High Lord: Your Majesty, why are you rebelling?"
"......"
The Players' topics always veered off course as they chatted.
They quickly moved from discussing the Imperial Glory's upgrade to whether the Ecclesiarchy could reach the Eye of Terror within five minutes after the Emperor awakened.
Alex was lurking in the regional chat channel, checking the Lighthouse's various functions.
The Players' regional chat function was provided by the Lighthouse.
After the Lighthouse upgrade, chatting became smoother and could support emojis and pictures.
Just as he was about to lament the Players' erratic thinking, Kasareth the Prophet came looking for him.
"Saint, I have not failed in my mission. What you instructed us to do earlier has been completed."
...
The Eldar occupied an area behind the Imperial Glory, using it as their living quarters and workshop.
The moment Alex stepped into this area, he could feel the surrounding temperature instantly drop by several degrees.
The air he exhaled turned into white mist, and soon condensed into frost.
The power of the Warp was flowing here.
He was led into a special hall.
Inside, complex ancient runes were carved, and an archway made of spirit bones stood in the center of the hall.
Alex could see that the archway was covered with complex and ancient characters, obscure and difficult to understand, possessing incredible psychic power.
"This is the Warp gate that leads to the Menagerie."
Kasareth pointed to the spirit bone archway.
"Just by injecting psychic power, the archway can be activated, allowing entry into the mysterious Menagerie."
"This act is very dangerous. Although the Menagerie is not the domain of the Lord of Change, it was shaped by many Great Daemons."
"Can it be used now?" Alex asked.
"Of course, do you want to try it?" Kasareth said.
"But there are some things I need to tell you in advance. Once this Warp gate is opened, the Menagerie can also trace and lock onto this location in reverse, and then an endless stream of Daemons will pour in."
Upon hearing this, Alex's eyes lit up.
Isn't that a monster-farming cage?!
Previously, he was worried that the Players wouldn't have enough monsters to farm.
There were many messy wars in Warhammer, but the galaxy was vast. Once spread out, the Players would have to run around.
He also couldn't let the world he managed fall into chaos again just so the Players could farm monsters,
allowing Genestealer and Cultists to cause trouble.
Therefore, how Players could quickly find 'monsters' to level up became a big problem.
With this thing, wouldn't the experience and faith values for new Players be all taken care of!
Thank you for the gift of the Warp.
"Saint, are you sure you want to activate it?" Kasareth asked again.
"Wait a moment, I need a few God Chosen to accompany me inside."
Alex was not in a hurry. He had Cortana issue a quest.
[Limited Time Quest: Adventure
Guide and the Eldar Seer from the Usvej Ark World have found a way to go to the Menagerie, but he needs some God Chosen to accompany him.
Players who want to adventure in the dark world and hunt Daemons, hurry up and sign up.
First come, first served. If you're late, you'll miss the opportunity.
Limited to 15 Players, level must reach 14.
Rewards: 35000 Contribution Points, 4000 Honor Points, 7500 Faith Points.
]
Soon, Little Alpaca, carrying a greatsword, was the first to arrive.
Watching a beautiful girl in power armor, carrying a greatsword, bouncing over, with an excited expression,
Alex's mouth twitched slightly.
He felt that as the game spread, there wouldn't be few female Players like this.
He wondered if there would be a group of Ecclesiarchy Battle Sisters wielding pink boltguns in the future.
Just imagining that art style, Daemons would probably feel their worldview collapsing.
Following closely were the Warmaster, Tenjiro, and other Emperor Niuma Battle Group members,
as well as the Hammer and Sickle Battle Group wearing exoskeletons,
and Old Bird and Wu Mou, equipped with numerous mechanical prosthetics, also arrived.
During this time, the two of them hadn't participated much in combat.
They had been busy with research and implanting new prosthetics.
Now, the weapon prosthetics installed on them were comparable to a heavy firepower squad, quite in the style of Cawl.
The regional chat channel was also discussing the quest Alex had issued.
"It must be a dungeon mode. Now that they're looking for Players to test, it should be officially launched soon."
"Are low-level Players not even qualified to be test subjects?"
"Upstairs, Guide said, 'Yes, I'm sorry, you're indeed not qualified.'"
"Ah ah ah, rage, rage."
"..."
After gathering fifteen Players, Alex looked at Kasareth.
"It's ready, Seer."
Kasareth's mouth twitched.
These God Chosen were elites, and they had their own anti-Daemon characteristics.
The Emperor Saint was taking people to raid a Daemon's lair.
Kasareth took out some ancient runes, tossed them into the air, and then chanted an ancient spell.
The runes suspended in the air emitted a silver glow.
They trailed luminous wakes as they moved through the air, finally forming an intricate pattern.
The spirit bone gate was activated, and a shimmering glow appeared out of nowhere within the gate.
Alex gripped the heavy Staff of Retribution and stepped in first.
The Players and many Eldar followed closely behind.
Accompanied by a distortion of space and time, they instantly arrived within a cluster of urban buildings enveloped in an eerie light.
A blood-red moon floated in the sky, grinning with a terrifying smile.
Looking around, all they could see was endless desolation and crimson.
The buildings were all abandoned, concealing indescribable darkness.
In front of them stood a magnificent zoo.
As they approached, the Players saw the sign at the entrance.
The words 'Menagerie' were scrawled crookedly on it.
Next to it was a warm notice.
[Welcome to the Menagerie,
This place houses countless magical animals,
From the distant genesis of the universe to the present, all kinds of ancient creatures are available.
The safety measures of this park are perfect, so you don't have to worry about your and your family's safety. Please visit with peace of mind.
Discard the negative reviews you've heard about this park; they are merely afraid of you seeing the 'truth'.
Lies are sweet, truth is cruel.
But only truth can allow people to continue to progress.
Welcome to the 'Menagerie'. You will see the truth and have a wonderful time.
]
"Holy crap, it really is a zoo." Little Fatty grumbled, "Even the little Daemons of the Warp need enlightenment, huh?"
"Hahaha, if it's not unexpected enough, how can it be called Chaos!" Tenjiro shrugged, "No matter what it is, we just need to charge and kill."
"Let's go." Alex stepped into the Menagerie.
The next second, exclamations rang out.
"Holy cow, these bastards are displaying Chaos Spawn as animals!"
"My goodness, the literal meaning of 'seeing the truth,' right? Directly displaying the monstrous creatures of the Warp."
"If those mortals can get out of here alive, I'll have to shout 'Awesome 666,' that's too powerful."
"Look, there seems to be a staff member over there."
"Quick, rush over, don't let him run away."
"Huh, why is there a rabbit here? Never mind, activate the winning chess move, give it a sword."
...
In the middle section of a certain Hive City,
Ellie, a clerk in the Ministry of Interior, hummed a little tune, sweeping away his previous pessimism and despair.
After the Emperor Saint emerged, the arrogant rebels were repeatedly beaten.
Everyone could see that the rebels were just small-time thugs in front of the Saint, destined to cause no major waves.
As long as the Saint continued to launch attacks, the Imperium would easily win the victory.
After completing 999 documents, the shift bell rang.
Ellie quickly packed his things, and as soon as his replacement arrived, he walked out of the Ministry of Interior building with cheerful steps.
"Should I go eat some barbecue? Or go to the One-Eyed Bar for a drink?"
Ellie pondered his upcoming plans.
His salary wasn't much, but it was just enough for his current single status, and he could occasionally splurge.
"Let's go see some novel animals."
A flyer was placed in Ellie's hand.
It had text and some pictures, introducing a touring zoo that had just arrived in this Hive City.
Many merchants would collect rare animals and plants from various planets and then tour and exhibit them everywhere, earning money from citizens.
Many citizens lived their entire lives in the oppressive Hive City, having seen few green plants.
They were full of curiosity about the animals and plants from other planets,
Therefore, this kind of business was also quite profitable.
"Just to pass the time, I hope to see something interesting."
Ellie went to the address on the flyer.
He walked through a dimly lit alley and arrived at the 'Menagerie' advertised on the flyer.
There were many people, and it was lively.
A girl wearing a double-headed eagle emblem on her chest greeted Eli.
After paying, she gave him an identity tag with '999' on it and let him in.
The various exotic animals excited Eli, making him feel the money was well spent.
There were countless animals, and he wandered for a very long time.
As time passed, Eli forgot how to leave.
The animals on display became increasingly bizarre.
The surrounding environment grew more eerie, and strange whispers echoed in his ears.
Some had faces covered in eyes, their lower bodies were tentacles, and their upper bodies were human.
Others looked like a mixture of an octopus, a human, and many other jumbled things.
They appeared increasingly distorted and let out strange laughter.
Eli unknowingly began to cry, feeling an indescribable sensation in his heart, as if his soul was quietly fragmenting.
There were many people around him, yet no one noticed his abnormality, as if they were not in the same space-time.
"Don't cry, this is Holy Terra (Earth/Reality), you are just seeing Holy Terra (Earth/Reality), accept it, and you will feel much better."
A voice came.
Eli looked up.
A man in a work uniform walked up to him, smiling, his blue eyes twinkling.
The man also wore a double-headed eagle emblem on his chest.
But this time, Eli saw that it was not an Imperial emblem at all, but a monster with two bird heads.
The man reached out his hand, indicating friendship.
The crying Eli also reached out his hand; he desperately wanted to end all of this.
However, the next second, the man in the work uniform was kicked to the ground from behind.
A Sister in Power Armor, carrying a greatsword, appeared before Eli.
"How is there a human here? Where is the BOSS? Where is the BOSS?"
Eli's eyes widened.
The shock in his heart overwhelmed his previous curiosity.
Realizing it belatedly, he hurriedly clasped the Emperor statue in his hands and prayed.
Then, he looked up again, and everything around him changed.
There were no animals, no staff, and no Sisters.
He was in a dimly lit alley, and on a nearby wall were painted an eerie eye and many blasphemous symbols.
"The Emperor above! No! This is too terrifying!"
Realizing what he had encountered, Eli fled in a panic.
A few minutes later, Inquisition forces cordoned off the area.
...
Inside the Menagerie,
Little Alpaca was stunned for three seconds, looking at the vanished human, then continued to shout.
"Where is the BOSS?"
"Where is the BOSS?"
...
Kasareth the Prophet's mouth twitched, watching the God Chosen smashing, looting, and charging at the Chaos Beasts and Tzeentch demons, howling.
He inexplicably felt a bit sorry for the guy who relied on the 'Menagerie' to swindle souls.
Running into this bunch of God Chosen, that guy could only be considered to have terrible luck.
"You pawns of The Cursed ones have gone too far in bullying a demon."
A gigantic blue bird-headed Greater Demon appeared.
He was the controller of the Menagerie, Mara Bass.
He was also one of the seven great demons of Calixis Sector legend.
He was the most capable subordinate of Kairos, the Weaver of Fate.
Mara Bass enjoyed using the Menagerie to corrupt targets.
The chosen would have their curiosity piqued by alien animals, which would drive them deeper into the zoo, eventually seeing the truth of the Warp's infinite changes.
They would break down, cry, and howl.
Ultimately, they would inevitably become slaves and followers of the Lord of Change.
Today, these pawns of The Cursed ones had ruined everything, which was why Mara Bass appeared in anger.
The appearance of the Tzeentch Greater Demon thrilled the Players; their eyes showed no fear, only a craving for the BOSS.
"It's a dungeon, and there's even a BOSS."
"Brothers, charge! It's time for the first clear."
"Kill! Kill! Chop! Chop!"
...
The Players swarmed forward, launching an attack on Mara Bass.
Mara Bass: "..."
This is too much bullying for a demon.
Although he wasn't ranked in the Changing Maze, a group of mortals daring to cause trouble in his territory truly showed they didn't respect him.
The administrator of the Menagerie unleashed a barrage of incomprehensible sounds and raised his staff.
The Players didn't understand, but they felt he was swearing quite badly, but they didn't care; their eyes only held a craving for the first clear.
Mara Bass originally intended to severely punish this group of humans, then capture them to ravage and toy with them at his leisure.
But soon, he realized he had thought too much.
With Alex, who was blessed by the Emperor, Cortana, the Star God infant who simultaneously controlled the Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) and Warp authorities, plus the Aeldari who understood the Warp very well,
And a group of Players who weren't afraid of death at all.
He was no match at all and was quickly pinned to the ground and beaten by the group.
Punches and kicks, sword stabs and hammer blows,
They beat Mara Bass's originally somewhat attractive bird face until it was disfigured.
Many of his feathers were plucked too.
If he hadn't run fast, he would have likely met his end there!
The Menagerie was a Warp domain; even if destroyed, it would quickly recover.
So, after giving Mara Bass a good beating, Alex left with the Players, even leaving a message that they would come back again next time.
Kairos, upon hearing about this, was so angry that both of his heads twitched.
These pawns of The Cursed ones not only ruined his perfect plan but were also so arrogant.
If he weren't busy scheming against Guilliman with Magnus,
He would have definitely led the Tzeentch Daemon legions to sweep away those pawns of The Cursed ones.
To let those bastards know that the names of the Four Chaos Gods were not picked up off the street.
Alex didn't know Kairos's thoughts, and even if he did, he would have scoffed at them.
After returning from the Menagerie and distributing the rewards,
He and Cortana went to prepare for the 3.0 version update.
[3.0 Version Update Announcement:
Dong! Dong! Dong!
With a mighty sound from the sky, Cortana makes a dazzling appearance.
It's great to see everyone again, do you miss Cortana?
Through our efforts during this period, Warhammer OL has ushered in a major upgrade. Below are the update contents.
First: The financial system has been updated again, optimizing the exchange between Contribution Points and Aquila Coins, and simultaneously adding more local currency exchange options.
Added personal big data to review loan qualifications. Everyone must complete more tasks to improve their credit score!
Second: Optimized the war score calculation model to ensure greater fairness and impartiality.
Third: Updated new gameplay — Limited-Time Dungeons. The game will irregularly open Limited-Time Dungeons, and Players can participate according to the prompts.
Currently developed dungeon: Menagerie (This is a Warp area shaped by a Chaos God: Tzeentch, which will draw innocent people into it for corruption and bewitchment. Players can form teams to challenge it. The BOSS has super high intelligence and will even run away if beaten too much, so everyone must hurry!)
Fourth: Updated the Lighthouse function. Lighthouses built in the future will have a certain chance of providing healing and dispelling negative buffs.
+++Daily Thought: Pious faith is our strongest weapon+++
]
Alex checked it, confirmed there were no issues, and then updated it.
In addition to updating the rules and new gameplay, he also, as usual, uploaded some recent videos and footage.