"Titan Prime, thirty years of service, fought in every campaign…"
Emperor Titan-01 said nothing more, its laments continuing unabated.
"I am the Creator's favorite! My body was meticulously crafted by him! You are all just blank-slate Armed Puppets! Hahahaha…"
But just then, Prometheus's tone shifted, and it suddenly began to show off. It didn't forget to take a screenshot of the custom body Zhou Ye had painstakingly crafted for it and post it in their internal AI channel.
"NO!!!"
The chat channel erupted once more, but the uproar was quickly suppressed by Prometheus.
After all, Malcador had once advised the Emperor that it would be best if half the Primarchs were female. If not, then at least the firstborn should be a woman, as this would help balance the relationships between the various Primarchs.
And so, without even realizing it, Zhou Ye had achieved a strange kind of peace.
Of course, all of this took place in the Titans' internal AI channel. Not even Zhou Ye himself knew about it. Or rather, it had never occurred to him that these imposing, awe-inspiring Titans were also a bunch of abstract weirdos.
Or perhaps, he had simply grown accustomed to the fact that none of his creations had inherited an ounce of his own composure.
---o---
Macragge was in an uproar. Nearly every noble and dignitary from across the Realm of Ultramar who could make it had come.
Many nobles would liquidate their entire family fortunes to board a voidship and spend generations on a pilgrimage to Terra. The final destination they could reach was merely the Lion's Gate before the Imperial Palace; they could never hope to enter.
Now, there was no need to go to Holy Terra. Although there were no Custodes or a Lion's Gate here, there was a Primarch—a son of the Emperor from myth itself.
Of course, the official story was that there was only one. Zhou Ye had forcefully struck his own name from that title. He only wanted the Golden Fiend to be his son. Although, given that man's shamelessness, he would lose out no matter what.
After all, the Emperor was already at the bottom, morally and factually. Any direction he went was up.
So, to once again gaze upon the Primarch of Ultramar, nearly everyone had come.
Even members of the Adeptus Mechanicus had arrived. At this moment, however, they were on Zhou Ye's ship, kowtowing.
They were kowtowing to Zhou Ye's Jump Drive. There was no other reason. These Tech-Priests had been left dumbfounded by the powerful jump technology.
They now believed it to be a miracle of the Omnissiah, and one that belonged to a Primarch who had formed his own faction. They wouldn't dare try to seize it. In fact, many Tech-Priests were already putting in applications for the Trailblaze Jump Drive.
They weren't Navigators or Astropaths; there was no fundamental conflict of interest. Furthermore, Zhou Ye's Jump Drive was perfectly compatible with all Imperial vessels; it could be used with only minor modifications.
As for the Navigators and Astropaths, those psykers, the Mechanicus looked upon them with some disdain. Of course, they wouldn't dare to actually kick them out. No one knew when an accident might send them tumbling into the warp.
And so, Zhou Ye was now receiving a blizzard of orders. He didn't refuse any of them, but his production capacity was limited. Their demands would have to be queued for a year later. What he didn't quite understand was that when the gearheads heard this, they all had an orgasm and exclaimed how efficient it was.
Regarding these Tech-Priests, Zhou Ye could only say that the cog-boys were truly rich. It would be a disservice to himself not to reap a bountiful harvest of their leeks.
Zhou Ye had now officially entered his money-making phase. Compared to the struggling worlds of the greater Imperium, the Adeptus Mechanicus, the wealthiest faction in the Imperium, was clearly the best business partner.
"By the Emperor, that is the great Primarch!"
"Sob, I will gouge out my eyes, so that they may forever remember this sight!"
"What holiness is this!!!"
Following the fanatic's words, the surrounding crowd erupted in heartfelt praise.
"My lord, my lord, wake up! You spent more than half your family's fortune to get this spot!"
"…"
As the parade of floats continued, it wasn't just Zhou Ye who was cringing hard enough to curl his toes. Guilliman was in a similar state. Unlike Zhou Ye, who had simply shut off his hearing, these conversations were all flooding into his mind. He couldn't understand why someone would spend their entire fortune just to see him from afar.
He understood even less why someone would want to gouge out their own eyes after seeing him.
But unlike Zhou Ye, who looked completely lifeless, he was still forcing a smile. He discreetly signaled his Honor Guard to stop the man from digging his eyes out. This was too much.
Finally, as the parade concluded, the group arrived at the grand viewing platform of Ultramar. The troops were already assembled below: some belonged to Zhou Ye, some were Guilliman's Ultramarines. There were also the Iron Hands, Space Wolves, a "Blood Angels" contingent (the Lamenters), the Imperial Fists, and the Black Templars.
Naturally, Zhou Ye's own auxiliary forces and the Macragge local auxiliaries were also present. Further back was a contingent of Krieg that Zhou Ye had thrown in. Although they hadn't participated in the recent defense, Zhou Ye believed that the Krieg had sacrificed so much for humanity that they deserved a spot in the victory parade.
And so, Zhou Ye had watched as hundreds of thousands of Kriegsmen started a massive free-for-all, just to secure these three hundred spots.
They were all products of genetic engineering, identical in height and build.
Zhou Ye was utterly speechless at their abstract behavior. They're not my creations, so can't they learn some composure from me? Why do they have to start a massive brawl at the drop of a hat? Though there were no casualties, it was still too much.
Further back still was a contingent of Bolter Babes, or rather, Sisters of Battle.
These were from Zhou Ye's forces. Their numbers were not large, but their combat prowess was absurd. This was what puzzled Zhou Ye the most. Why were the Battle Sisters produced by him all shining with golden light? He had preemptively "corrupted" them all.
The Emperor absolutely could not use them to spy on him. But even so, these Battle Sisters were terrifyingly powerful. These crazy women were stronger than many Space Marines and even had a special advantage against certain daemons, making them like miniature Grey Knights.
The main difference between them and a top-tier Living Saint like Celestine was that when they died, they were truly dead. They now marched out with the other parade formations.
With a command from Guilliman, all the formations began to march forward slowly, just like in the old CGs of the Emperor's Ascension Day on Terra.
At the very front was, naturally, Zhou Ye's Honor Guard. To outsiders, they were towering Space Marines. To insiders, they were Custodes. To those who knew the truth, they were Astartes of unknown origin. Led by them, hundreds of Honor Guard members marched, followed by two Contemptor Dreadnoughts.
These were not the original Dreadnoughts. After so many battles, some had inevitably been interred. These were the only two, however. As long as a marine was still breathing, Zhou Ye could usually save them.
But if the gene-seed was damaged, that was another matter. He could create new gene-seed, but repairing a damaged one was out of the question. Better to just put them in a Dreadnought.
"Your troops must have spent a lot of time in the Memory Battlefield and the Abyss. That's why they're so elite."
As Zhou Ye was spacing out, Guilliman's sour voice piped up beside him.
"You should be glad your mom isn't here right now."
"…"
Guilliman fell silent. His hand gripped the armrest so tightly that a small crack appeared on it.
After a long moment, Guilliman finally spoke slowly, "You know about that matter?"
"Yes."
Zhou Ye did not deny it. The series of almost surreal shenanigans he and the Lion had gotten up to on Macragge had nearly made Zhou Ye die of laughter when he first read about them.
"Miss your mommy?"
"…"
Seeing the silent Guilliman, Zhou Ye couldn't help but tease him. This time, Guilliman didn't get defensive and deny that Lady Euten was his mother. Instead, he asked in a suppressed tone, "Do you know where she is? I want to… see her again."
A glint of tears flashed in Guilliman's eyes. Ten thousand years had passed. No matter what, she would be gone. She was just an ordinary human. Even if Guilliman could find the best rejuvenation specialists in the Imperium, he couldn't have kept her alive until now.
He was now certain that this mysterious brother of his possessed a prophetic ability that was perhaps no weaker than the Emperor's.
"I do not know. Based on the likely outcomes, if you happen to encounter the Necron Overlord, Trazyn the Infinite, you might be able to find your mother there… alive."
Zhou Ye couldn't help but add this reminder. As is well known, there are three great "erasers" in Warhammer.
One is Trazyn the Infinite. Another is the old doctor, Fabius Bile. The last is Belisarius Cawl.
When the editors want to introduce some strange new element but don't know where to get it from, they can just pick one of these three.
So, as long as it wasn't explicitly written that she was dead, one could just look to Trazyn the Infinite. And Zhou Ye had something that the Necrons couldn't refuse: he could grant souls to these AIs.
He could access the memories in their original data terminals and, with the help of a few Authorities, grant them new souls. The Necron Hierophant of Aestia was a case in point. The fact that he could be corrupted and blessed by the Golden Fiend meant he already possessed a soul of a certain strength.
This was something Zhou Ye had realized later. So he was confident he could get Trazyn to agree. He might even be able to bring half of the entire Necron Dynasties under his sway. But just as he didn't want to show a bunch of cog-boys how the Omnissiah could hand-craft an STC template production line, he didn't want to deal with the bizarrely-wired Necrons.
After all, looking at Yvraine beside him, if Zhou Ye wanted to, he could permanently snatch the soul of the Eldar who played the role of Slaanesh in the Harlequins' plays from Slaanesh's grasp right now.
As long as he wasn't completely pushed into a corner, there were many things that were simply not worth doing.
"Trazyn the Infinite…"
Guilliman fell silent. His mind began to race, and he soon found a small snippet of information about him in a forgotten corner of his memory.
Necron Overlord. And that was it.
"Who is he?"
"A Necron Overlord with a penchant for collecting. If your mother's whereabouts are unknown, it is highly likely she was captured by him. If that is true, then she would have spent the last ten thousand years in a stasis field. If not, then she has likely returned to…"
Zhou Ye trailed off. Some things didn't need to be said aloud. As long as the meaning was understood, it was enough.
Of course, Zhou Ye was now curious what that guy was up to. When he had first arrived, it was around the time of the 13th Black Crusade, so he was certain Trazyn's attention was on Cadia at that time. The Great Rift had now opened. He wondered what had become of him.
It was also possible that he was in the Dark Imperium, and due to the different time flow, he was still admiring his newly acquired collection and hadn't noticed the events here yet.
In any case, Zhou Ye was certain that he would meet that fellow sooner or later.
As the two were talking, the parade continued, but the real climax…
"OH!!!"
"WOW!!!"
"Look what that is! The Battle Sisters! They are the Battle Sisters of the Trailblaze Sector! Look!!!"
"If only I could have one…"
The uproar from Macragge was about to shatter the heavens, because Zhou Ye's Battle Sisters were now marching out. Perhaps it was his subtle influence, or some other reason unknown to him.
But the art style of these Battle Sisters was completely at odds with the "middle-aged auntie" style of Warhammer. These Battle Sisters were all heroic and beautiful. And they were all wearing power armor, with only their heads exposed.
The sight sent the entire venue into a frenzy. Zhou Ye was speechless.
Turns out perverts are the same everywhere. And the standard of beauty is basically universal.
The feeling was like seeing a bunch of conventionally attractive heroines dropped into a sea of grim, stylized designs. While not that extreme, that was essentially the effect.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
Seeing the dark lines on Zhou Ye's forehead, Guilliman pushed aside his complex emotions and couldn't help but laugh at Zhou Ye.
"Ahem. Man is an animal, and his nature is lustful."
Zhou Ye just gave a dry cough and said nothing more. This wasn't his harem, after all.
---o---