The Malz campaign drew to a close, with the magnificent Imperial Fleet undergoing repairs and resupply in the void.
Large numbers of supply ships and trade vessels crossed the Warp, bringing with them the manpower and resources needed to rebuild this world.
As the administrative planet of the Malz sector, the Malz Hive World naturally could not be abandoned.
The reconstruction project was swiftly approved and entered the construction phase.
Battlefield remnants were removed, the bodies of traitors were incinerated, and the enemy's remaining fortresses and temples dedicated to the Chaos Gods were all demolished by explosives.
After erasing the traces of war, reconstruction officially began.
Swarms of auto-chanting servitors flew over the ruins, singing hymns.
Priests on floating pulpits called out, bestowing Purification blessings upon the contaminated land.
Magnificent engineering machinery dismantled the ruined buildings, converting them back into different materials, which were then transported to the construction machinery behind.
The engineers and Players responsible for the reconstruction provided several design proposals.
Alex chose a futuristic city design full of sci-fi style.
The Warhammer wars are endless.
Constantly focusing only on war would make the social atmosphere heavy and conservative, leading the entire civilization towards isolation and backwardness, becoming a rigid corpse.
Appropriate enjoyment helps alleviate the pressure of survival, unleash human nature and talent, and also allows the Human Empire's soldiers to realize that their sacrifices are meaningful, made to protect beautiful things.
Of course, while pursuing art and aesthetics, it is still necessary to ensure the necessary military strength.
Military engineers provided the Malz Hive World with detailed fortress designs to resist external invasions.
Various new technologies will be applied to this Hive World, and powerful floating fortresses and strongholds will become the nightmare of invaders.
Alex only participated in the early decision-making.
For the later specific construction, he chose to delegate authority to the engineers and Players.
After consoling the populace and encouraging them to rebuild their homes, Alex set off back to the Imperial Glory.
He gathered numerous military commanders, assigned them tasks, and prepared for the next campaign.
Next, they had to simultaneously deal with the Xenos invading the Calixis Sector, suppress the threat they posed, and restore peace to the sector.
To achieve the next strategic objective, the Calixis Sector needed stronger military power.
Thus, a new round of production orders was issued, and the various Forge Worlds of the Calixis Sector would go all out to produce and build more war engines.
The war bonds previously sold were all redeemed, and many people received generous returns, which made them look forward to the next round of war bond sales.
Alex struck while the iron was hot, having Feng prepare personnel to establish the Imperial Bank according to the plan provided by Tenjiro and other Players, to improve the Human Empire's financial system, and to issue a new round of war bonds to raise funds for the upcoming war.
At the same time, Alex also launched version 5.0 of the update for the Players, putting some of his previous ideas into action.
[Version 5.0 Update Announcement:
Hello!
Do you miss Cortana?
If not,
Cortana will be very angry.
Do you know how terrifying it is to anger a Star God??
"Evil Dragon Star God Roaring .jpg"
See, it's that terrifying.
Alright, no more nonsense, let's talk about this update.
After sacrificing countless bald programmers, we successfully launched version 5.0 and updated more data packs and maps.
In the new version, the game will unlock more factions and gameplay.
You must explore them well.
Here is the full content of this update:
First: The loan and credit systems have undergone major upgrades, and the official Imperial Bank has been officially launched. This department will be responsible for financial services within the Human Empire.
Players' credit and reputation are also included in the jurisdiction of the Imperial Bank.
In the future, everyone can go to the Imperial Bank's NPCs to handle related business.
To encourage the enthusiasm of farming Players, the official will provide multiple low-interest or even interest-free loans for Players to expand their industries and increase production.
Second: In response to the expectations of the majority of Players, an achievement system has been launched. Players can obtain different achievements through challenges.
In addition, the official will open a Hall of Fame. Players who complete amazing achievements can be listed in the Hall of Fame after review and will have their own achievement sculptures in the game.
Third: Adventure exploration missions will be released irregularly to improve the game experience and increase freedom.
Players who don't like war or farming, and just want to wander around and adventure in various ancient ruins, are in luck.
Want to search for the ruins of the Old Ones and explore the lost secrets of civilization?
Want to explore mysterious derelict ships and search for lost treasures?
Want to see more Xenos races and go on adventures with NPCs to fight ancient darkness?
Warhammer OL official will satisfy all of you and officially launch the adventure and treasure hunt gameplay.
"Do you want countless treasures? Do you want eternal magic? Do you want immortal technology?"
"If you want them, they can all be given to you. Go, rush to the vast starry sky, and explore endless worlds with the will of freedom and adventure."
Fourth: Upgrade the Beast Taming and Mount systems, allowing Players to capture pets and mounts with psychic powers.
The game will introduce different levels of Beast Taming Controllers. The higher the level, the higher the level of pets and mounts that can be captured.
In addition, Players who venture into the Menagerie will have a certain probability of obtaining rare exotic beasts from within.
Friendly reminder: It is recommended to increase your mental resistance first, otherwise if you lose all sanity and are eaten alive by your pet or mount, the official will not be responsible.
Fifth: The teleportation system has been upgraded, adding a new teleportation location: Atoma Hive World.
Sixth: The trade system has been upgraded.
With the activation of the beacon, the commercial development of the Calixis Sector will enter a new stage.
Players who like trade should not miss it.
Alright, these are the main updates for version 5.0. We wish everyone a happy game.
+++ Daily Thought: Words cannot win victory, but actions can +++
]
The update announcement was released on the official website at 6 PM as usual.
Adilance: "Good news, good news, the game has been updated again and again!"
Gai Shixiongshi Feitou Quantou: "Is this the start of the Age of Sail for Warhammer 42k? Who will be the new Pirate King??"
Lost Krieg: "This game is truly heaven-defying. You know that everything in the game is rendered at a 1:1 scale."
"Now that Players are encouraged to explore freely, does that mean the official has created the Milky Way, which is 100,000 to 180,000 light-years in diameter and has hundreds of billions of stars?"
Sky Braid is a Symbol of the Strong: "Heaven-defying doesn't take years, great official, please accept my injured knees from Whiterun."
Dora is the Lord of Myriad Machines: "The Age of Sail has begun, brothers, hurry up and order ships. There's a big discount now, only a 50% markup per ship."
Pig Head Strong: "Damn it… you profiteer, raising prices at this opportunity."
MC Myth: "Beast Taming Controller technology has been upgraded! We have obtained authorization from the Guide to develop version 2.0. You'll soon be able to catch Warp creatures as pets."
"......"
On the Imperial Glory,
Alex stood in front of the control console, a smile on his face as he watched the rapidly refreshing information in the forum.
The rebels in the Calixis Sector had been defeated.
Next was to deal with the Xenos, which would likely be a long war of attrition.
There was no need for all Players to constantly participate in the war.
After all, the local army was not to be underestimated; they could handle many enemies themselves.
Even before Guilliman's revival, Alex had wanted to let Players go on adventures.
He wanted them to explore ruins, search for various technologies and knowledge left behind by ancient races, and bring those ancient technological creations back for Cortana to analyze.
He wanted to reverse engineer the technological principles of those creations to complete the Human Empire's incomplete technology tree.
It should be known that there are many good things in the galaxy.
For example, the Three Artifacts are rumored to be the Old Ones' Webway tunnel boring machines, just disassembled.
If they could be reverse-engineered, humanity would be able to rebuild the Webway.
Perhaps it could even make the Emperor stand up again.
By analyzing all the good things left behind by the ancient races, humanity could not only return to the technological level of the Golden Age but also advance even further.
Those ruins are full of dangers; a slight misstep could lead to one's demise within them.
But for the Players, it just means a few more resurrections and map runs.
Players are the most suitable group to explore ruins and special locations.
For them, alien tombs, dimensional spaces, and Warp derelicts, which are full of dangers, are just instances.
If they can't clear it once, they'll try a few more times, and sooner or later, they'll beat it and get the final reward.
Who would have thought that as soon as he returned from Macragge, the Calixis Sector situation would collapse?
He had to help the Calixis Sector resist the rebels and push for reforms while also going to support the Pilgrim Crusade, keeping him so busy that he couldn't attend to this matter.
Taking advantage of the current situation, having just defeated the rebels and before other xenos cause any major crisis, he decided to send out Players who enjoy adventure and exploration.
Let them explore, collect various ancient artifacts, and bring them back to feed Cortana.
......
The Warp, where storms raged.
The research fleet, ordered to study the Star Gate, was struggling through the etheric tides.
Warmaster and other Players also learned about the 5.0 version update, but they didn't pay much attention to it.
Because there was a more important task to attend to: finding the Star Gate and bringing the Star Gate technology back.
Combining the information at hand and their analysis of the current predicament of the Human Empire, they speculated that the Star Gate might be related to the next version update.
If they could complete this mission, they would surely receive generous rewards and further gain the Guide's trust.
After several days of navigation, the research fleet arrived at its destination.
Accompanied by the ringing of bells and the prayers of the Mechanical Priests, the research fleet's vessels began to exit the Warp.
The conversion between Reality and the illusory caused everything around them to appear as double images.
The vessels vibrated wildly, forcing the Players to activate magnetic boots or restraints to stabilize themselves.
It wasn't until the vessels truly entered Reality's void and adjusted their attitude that things returned to normal.
"Warp jump complete, Geller Field offline, void shields up, blast shields raising."
As the crew broadcasted a series of reports, the blast shields on the viewports slowly rose.
The light of a distant star poured into the vessel from outside.
The research fleet had arrived at an unknown star system on the edge of the Calixis Sector.
"Activating auspex array, scanning range 160,000 kilometers, expanding to 10 million kilometers in 10 seconds."
"Receiving feedback signal from a solid object, classified as an artificial construct."
"Targeting feedback coordinates: 30 degrees above left, distance 4.8 million kilometers, estimated contact in 30 minutes."
The auspex officer continuously shouted, broadcasting the information detected by the survey vessel.
"Weapon systems entering combat readiness."
"Nova Cannon loaded."
"Target locked, attack craft squadron ready, can be deployed at any time."
"......"
The other crew members on the Bridge became busy and tense.
They quickly adjusted the vessel's heading, loaded shells, and charged energy weapons, bringing them to combat readiness.
"Look outside." Warmaster's voice came.
Old Bird, Wu Mou, and other Players looked in the direction of the voice.
They found Warmaster standing by the observation window, his face full of shock.
He pointed outside, signaling his companions to look.
Old Bird and the other Players walked over and looked out in the direction of his finger.
They were all curious about what could surprise Warmaster so much.
When they saw what was outside, their faces also showed astonishment, and they all gasped.
In the vast, boundless void, an incomparably magnificent artificial structure floated.
"Is this the Star Gate?"
Tenjiro's face was filled with shock.
The Star Gate was enormous, divided into two parts, upper and lower.
Each part was only slightly smaller than the Imperial Fists Warband's Phalanx.
The overall structure of both parts was identical.
Both had a majestic giant pillar as a central axis.
A huge metal ring surrounded the central axis.
The ring was connected at equal distances to three massive suspended arms.
They faced each other, as if pulled by some invisible force.
After scanning, the Players discovered that the entire Star Gate structure was made of an unknown metal.
The energy readings were very low, clearly indicating that the Star Gate was not activated; it was merely floating there.
Twisted person: "This thing is really big."
The other Players showed expressions of agreement.
This Star Gate was comparable to a small asteroid.
"Who do you think built this thing? Humans from the Golden Age?" Warmaster asked.
"Hard to say." Tenjiro said, "Many races in the Warhammer Universe can build Star Gates."
The survey fleet slowly approached the Star Gate, finally stopping at a distance of 80,000 kilometers.
Any closer, and they would fall into the Star Gate structure's inherent gravity field.
"We need to go up and investigate, see if we can find the central control room." Old Bird said.
"I'll go with you." Warmaster volunteered.
"I'll go too!" Tenjiro shouted.
"And me!"
"I'll also go help out."
"......"
The Players were very eager; they all wanted to see what the inside of the Star Gate looked like.
Even the Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus enthusiastically signed up, wanting to be the first to board the Star Gate structure to see if they could find any rare knowledge or technological artifacts.
Old Bird didn't take everyone; he only selected a small portion of people to form a team and enter the Star Gate structure for inspection.
The remaining personnel stayed with the research fleet, guarding against potential attacks and conducting a comprehensive scan of the Star Gate structure.
After preparations were complete, Old Bird and Warmaster led the team, taking a transport shuttle to the magnificent Star Gate structure.
After they flew out of the ship's bay, the attack craft formation accompanied them, performing escort duties.
They only turned back after the research team successfully reached the Star Gate structure and entered through a large entrance.
Old Bird and the others successfully stepped onto a grand metal platform.
There were traces left by humans here.
Clearly, the rebels had discovered this place and had stationed personnel here to research and attempt to activate this Star Gate.
Of course, there were not only human traces here.
The helmet's analysis module, by scanning the surrounding traces, identified signs of multiple xeno activities.
"Prepare for combat." Warmaster ordered, "This place has been abandoned for so long; it wouldn't be surprising for any strange things to appear."
The other Players disengaged the safety on their boltguns, preparing for battle.
The research team explored deeper into the Star Gate structure, hoping to find the core control room.
The depths of the structure were dark and silent.
A group of xeno organisms parasitic in the darkness attacked the research team.
Warmaster and the other Players engaged in fierce combat with them.
.........
After the Atoma Lighthouse was activated and functioning normally, the development speed of the Calixis Sector seemed to hit an accelerator.
The entire sector burst with vibrant vitality.
Trade, economy, humanities, education, and other fields developed rapidly, filling everyone with fighting spirit.
With the communication problem solved, Human civilization was quickly getting back on track, recovering its rightful economic and cultural strength.
No matter how bad the Human Empire was, it was still an interstellar civilization empire.
Its current military strength, cultural level, and scientific research capabilities were not what an interstellar empire should be.
Over the past ten thousand years, inefficient communication severely hampered the Human Empire's development and made it distorted and fanatical.
Due to inefficient communication, Reality's rule over various worlds in the galaxy was almost nonexistent.
As long as sufficient tithes were paid and there were no problems like heresy or rebellion, the Empire generally adopted a laissez-faire attitude.
This led to the rulers of various sectors and planets having great autonomy.
In a normal universe, this feudal system, though inefficient, would not be a major problem.
As long as the Empire maintained its military might to suppress the various worlds, it would be fine.
The problem was that the Warhammer Universe had the Chaos Gods, heretical traitors, and powerful xenos that were difficult to guard against.
This led to institutions like the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition growing powerful, giving rise to various fanatics, which in turn made the entire Empire fanatical.
Another point was that inefficient communication caused the Empire's process for handling certain matters to take a very long time.
Some lords applied to inherit family properties, queuing for over a hundred years, and by the time the process was complete, they had already died of old age.
The same applied to urgent requests for aid on the battlefield and the amount of tithes to be paid.
Some Imperial armies waited until they died, never receiving support, while others received aid decades after the battles had concluded.
Some worlds were overflowing with wealth but only had to pay extremely low tithes, while other worlds were practically eating dirt yet still had to pay high tithes.
With the lighthouse, and the establishment of an instant communication network, everything changed.
Relying on the Planet Atoma Lighthouse, Feng quickly established effective rule over the various worlds in the Calixis Sector.
He adjusted tithes based on the economic conditions of each world, strengthened the authority of Imperial law, abolished private laws on those worlds, and demanded that rulers act according to Imperial law.
He enhanced the education of the Human Empire's citizens, promoted compulsory education, and strengthened the welfare of the lower-class populace, safeguarding their vital interests.
He unified many concepts of the Ecclesiarchy, abolishing extreme ideologies, such as the Redemptionist cult that enjoyed burning people, and the Ascetic cult that believed humans should suffer.
He standardized the image of the Emperor, no longer allowing mutated Emperors with four arms, four legs, or other variations to appear.
He intensified the Purification of heretical thoughts and cults.
Furthermore, he synchronized the wanted posters for Heretics to every world, ensuring those individuals had nowhere to escape.
In the past, Heretics always committed crimes by moving from place to place.
Due to inefficient communication, many worlds had difficulty communicating with each other, and information could not be shared.
Those Heretics only needed to take a ship, escape to another world, and then spend a small sum of money to transform into loyal citizens of the Human Empire.
After some time, they would stir up trouble again, causing various destructions and spreading heretical ideas, constantly wasting the Human Empire's manpower and resources, making Inquisitors utterly exasperated.
After experiencing such troublesome matters too many times, the Human Empire's way of doing things became bloody and cruel.
As soon as something went wrong on any world, the planet would immediately be blockaded, and everyone would be Purified.
After synchronizing criminal information across various worlds, those Heretics could no longer act with impunity, and the Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchy would not be so fanatical.
In addition to various institutional reforms, personnel appointments in the Calixis Sector also underwent significant changes.
Incompetent hereditary rulers were stripped of their authority, making way for new powerful figures who rose through meritorious service.
As the reforms deepened, the previously dire situation in the Calixis Sector greatly improved.
People's lives improved at a visible rate, a stark contrast to before, like heaven and earth.
It is believed that before long, it will become another shining pearl of the Human Empire after Ultramar.
At this moment, a golden light screen appeared before Alex.
"Task: Save the Calixis Sector, improve the living environment of the Human Empire's citizens (Completed).
Related rewards have been issued; please proceed to the Praying Sanctuary to claim them in a timely manner."
This was the main quest the Emperor gave Alex after he completed the task of rescuing the Planet Atoma.
"Main Quest: Save the Calixis Sector.
The Calixis Sector is plagued by Heretics, xenos, and corrupt bureaucrats, and the lives of the common people are miserable.
Please help these people escape their suffering and find happiness.
Task 1: Expel hostile human xeno forces within the Calixis Sector.
Task 2: Clear heretical forces within the Calixis Sector, eradicate those cults hidden in the shadows.
Task 3: Eliminate corrupt bureaucrats within the Calixis Sector government and implement reforms to ensure the people live happy lives.
Task 4: Reverse the conservative trend of the Adeptus Mechanicus in the Calixis Sector."
So much time had passed in a flash.
After wasting so much time and effort, it was finally completed.
As the task completion prompt appeared, Alex's faith value suddenly soared.
It reached an extremely exaggerated number before slowing down, but it was still increasing at an astonishing rate.
"The black-hearted boss finally paid the project fees."
Alex looked at his faith value balance and secretly grumbled.
The importance of faith value goes without saying.
It can be used for both skill enhancement and temporary strength boosts.
Previously, when fighting against Greater Daemons like Skarbrand, Kairos, and Mara Bass, Alex had to rely on consuming faith value to boost his strength to barely fight them to a standstill.
His faith value came partly from quest rewards and partly from the devout believers who worshipped him.
And now, the faith value rewarded to Players for quests was all fronted by Alex.
Only after an area was well-managed would the Emperor settle the total account with him and share the faith from that area.
This was truly a contractor system.
After Alex completed his prayer to the Emperor's statue, a light portal opened, and a Cherub flew out, handing a box to Alex.
This was his reward for completing the mission to save the Calixis Sector.
This box, like the previous ones, had a double-headed eagle emblem and a flame symbol, but its volume was much smaller than the last one.
"Such a small box, could the reward be a bolter?"
Alex examined the box, his face full of anticipation.
He placed his hand on the box.
Light flowed, and a pleasant mechanical sound came from inside the box, which then slowly opened, revealing its contents.
A golden Crying Mask was secured on a soft silk padding.
The tears were blood-red, standing out remarkably on the gold-based mask.
Alex: "......"
Isn't this the Crying Mask?
Sanguinius's iconic item.
Ah, no!
Is His Majesty the Emperor really making me Sanguinius 2.0?!
After putting on this thing, besides his hair, he would truly be indistinguishable from Sanguinius.
Alex reached out and picked up the Crying Mask; it was heavy and capable of blocking psychic detection, clearly made of some special material.
Once worn, others would not be able to know the true appearance of the person beneath the mask.
"Is this to play 'True and False Sanguinius'?"
Alex recalled the Second Imperium.
To counter Curze's assassination attempts, the Sanguinary Guard created Saint Geleno, playing the game of true and false Sanguinius.
Making him impersonate Sanguinius, the one on the Golden Throne must be plotting something bad!
Could it be that he wanted to use himself as bait to lure those four Chaos Gods?
(Emperor: "Four Lords, you didn't get Sanguinius last time, but here's a brand new one, with beautiful wings, just the same.")
Alex tried on the Crying Mask and took out his power spear and Holy Judgement Blade, beginning to cosplay Sanguinius.
The Armor of Kings, the Crying Mask, the pure white wings, plus the golden radiance that enveloped his entire body—
Honestly, he looked more like the Sanguinius imagined by the Human Empire's citizens than Sanguinius himself.
"Master."
Cortana's voice rang out.
"What's wrong?" Alex asked.
"The Primarch wishes to speak with you to discuss matters regarding the Human Empire's reforms."
Since the Planet Atoma Lighthouse was activated, Guilliman had been paying close attention to the Calixis Sector.
Seeing Alex's reforms achieve such great success, he was somewhat restless.
The Human Empire now was like a decaying corpse; if strong medicine wasn't administered, it would be hard to escape the fate of death.
"Connect the communication." Alex said.
"Understood, Master."
Accompanied by a mechanical hum, the communication projection opened.
Guilliman, who was about to speak, looked up and saw Alex wearing the Crying Mask, holding a spear in one hand and a sword in the other.
Guilliman: "......"
Good heavens, you still dare to say you're not the Emperor of the Second Imperium, my Ninth Brother.