"How long was I asleep?"
As Zhou Ye opened his eyes, he glanced around his room. Good, not a single thing had changed. After all, time was frozen here when he was not present.
"About a hundred days, I believe."
Just then, Ai-chan emerged from the darkness and explained.
She had noticed the change in Zhou Ye but said nothing. She knew what it signified.
"Just enough time. It's time to perform the surgery on those Grey Knights."
"Will that child be alright?"
Ai-chan was still a little worried about the new entity. After all, this was Warhammer 40,000.
"No problem. First, I have absolute authority over her. Second, because of that, if any of those monsters want to try anything, they have to go through me. The Stigmata Space is not the warp, nor is it connected to it. In essence, I bear the weight of it all."
"You, without even realizing it, have become deeply bound to the people of this world."
Ai-chan sighed deeply. In her new body, she exuded a mature charm.
"It also gives me the option to flip the table. If worse comes to worst, I can just activate the Stigmata Project, gather everyone's souls, and get out of here."
"You wouldn't."
"…"
Hearing the words of Ai-chan, who could now be called Ai-yi, Zhou Ye did not deny it. Now was not the time for that. The situation was more or less settled.
Over on his end, Guilliman had mustered more troops. To be fair, his original journey back to Terra was in a pitiful and somewhat shameful state, but he'd had no choice. That was the maximum force he could mobilize at the time. Cawl's large batch of frozen meat and his other reserve forces were mostly in the Sol System.
But because of Zhou Ye's Star Rail, Guilliman's logistics had become much more convenient. He was now on Macragge, rapidly processing countless documents as a flood of resources was shipped out. A continuous stream of materials flowed through the Star Rail into Zhou Ye's Trailblaze Sector. Guilliman had placed several large orders this time.
He had bought out every single unassigned ship Zhou Ye had built and stored in his warehouses. That included dozens of Strike Cruisers and several Battle Barges, all of which were meant for his upcoming new companies. Now, Guilliman had bought them all at several times the original price.
Combined with the fleet he could muster himself, he had also "borrowed" five thousand Astartes and over a hundred thousand auxiliary troops from Zhou Ye.
After some consideration, Zhou Ye had agreed to lend him these men. Sending his own people to Terra served a special purpose: to intimidate the High Lords and prevent them from pulling any stupid stunts.
While Guilliman was no slouch, considering all the chaotic nonsense that happened when he first returned to Terra, Zhou Ye was worried Chaos might be brewing another big plot. There was also a deeper reason.
These men were his followers. Now, because of the Stigmata Space, he could maintain a certain level of consciousness link with them in a different way.
For Zhou Ye, this was equivalent to placing wards all over the universe. It might not be useful now, but who knew when it might come in handy.
And…
Seeing Guilliman's one-on-one duel with Fulgrim, Zhou Ye was genuinely afraid he'd get himself killed.
In any case, he was in no hurry to head to Baal. He still had a few years to develop slowly. According to his calculations, a day in the Dark Imperium was equivalent to more than a year here.
Besides, the fighting wouldn't start at full intensity right away. He had enough time to complete his preparations. Sending away five thousand men was not a big deal. The resources Guilliman had provided were enough for him to arm another hundred thousand troops.
Furthermore, with the link to Ultramar established, the potential of the richest region in the Imperium was gradually being unleashed. While not yet at its full capacity, it was already terrifyingly vast.
The Imperium does not lack resources; the Imperium is rich. The Star Rail was now like the blood vessels connecting the Imperium together.
"By the way, Guilliman is waiting for you outside."
"Oh?"
Zhou Ye blinked, and his figure vanished.
---o---
Inside Zhou Ye's grand hall, Guilliman was anxiously rubbing the armrests of his chair. This brother of his had been gone for nearly a hundred days. During that time, a graceful, green-haired woman had been handling administrative affairs.
Guilliman had a very strange feeling about this woman. She was different from anyone else in Zhou Ye's retinue. Even the haughty Honor Guard were well-behaved in her presence. They had a rough idea of her identity.
Coupled with the fact that she and Zhou Ye were, to some extent, bound together, they all tacitly acknowledged her status. When Zhou Ye was present, it was one thing. When Zhou Ye was absent, she was the absolute regent.
As for competing with Prometheus for favor, that was impossible. Prometheus was also very docile in front of her.
After all, she was the Hyperion, the one who had first arrived with Zhou Ye to swim the butterfly stroke in this cesspool of a galaxy.
So, Guilliman had a very strange feeling about her, different from how he felt about his adoptive mother, Euten. (Incidentally, he had already dispatched people to find the collector-king, Trazyn. As for when they would find him and bring him here, only the ghosts knew.)
This lady felt more like… his sister-in-law. And her presence was quite imposing.
But the more he thought about it, the more a sense of familiarity washed over him. He had seen this situation once before. A man called the Emperor had suddenly withdrawn from the Great Crusade, and then vanished from the face of the galaxy.
They, the Primarchs, had used every method at their disposal but couldn't find him. In the end, they could only see their "Uncle" Malcador.
And then…
The Webway exploded.
So Guilliman was nearly scared to death right now. He was convinced Zhou Ye was working on some other earth-shattering grand plan. He couldn't even bear to stay on Macragge any longer and had rushed over immediately.
"Is your Terra Expeditionary Fleet mustered?"
But soon, a voice that put Guilliman at ease rang out as a slightly drowsy-looking Zhou Ye walked out.
"Phew…"
Seeing Zhou Ye, Guilliman let out a long sigh of relief.
"I thought you were working on some grand plan. That's what Father did back then. He withdrew from the Great Crusade without a word, and we couldn't find him anywhere. Then the Webway exploded… You aren't actually working on some grand plan, are you?"
But before Guilliman could finish, he saw Zhou Ye's expression turn a little unnatural.
"It wasn't a grand plan, just an unexpected situation. It's been handled perfectly. How are your preparations?"
"The Terra Expeditionary Fleet will set sail in one month. After I leave, I'll have to trouble you with Ultramar."
"Not a problem. Right, you should go back and prepare. I'll give you one last batch of forces. I'll be drawing on Ultramar's vast resources in the future anyway. Don't worry, it won't be too much of a burden on you."
"No problem. Seeing the lives of the people on your fifty worlds and the Imperial planets you influence, I am at ease."
"Ho ho ho…"
Zhou Ye nodded as he watched the reassured Guilliman depart.
He then quickly left his palace and went to the Grey Knights' chapel.
Inside a chamber, a group of men knelt. They were the Imperial Grey Knights. Since the upcoming threat was the Tyranid swarm, whose advance was accompanied by a deep shadow in the warp that greatly suppressed psykers, and since they weren't daemons, the Grey Knights would not be participating in that battle.
They would continue to hunt daemons using the Star Rail. As for these Imperial Grey Knights, Zhou Ye planned to have them leave with Guilliman. Although the Stigmata Space had caused some unforeseen changes, the connection it provided was still too fragile for now. His own will was too immense compared to that of an ordinary person, or even an Astartes. Forcibly descending into one of them would likely burn their soul to cinders.
So, the plan remained unchanged. These Grey Knights were still the best option for planting his "wards."
"Since you are all prepared, the surgery begins."
Looking at the Grey Knights before him, Zhou Ye activated his Authority of the Imaginary. In an instant, every Grey Knight clenched their teeth. This final step was not a physical surgery, so anesthesia could not be used. They had to be fully conscious to complete this transformation.
The Grey Knights felt their souls being torn apart. They all clenched their jaws and remained silent, not even trembling.
Having endured the most brutal selection process in the Imperium, their resilience was beyond question. They completed the initial steps smoothly. The moment their psychic powers were completely washed away and replaced with Imaginary energy, they all passed out.
It was an instinctive self-preservation response from the body, unrelated to willpower.
All of them passed. Zero casualties.
Zhou Ye then looked at the only one who remained conscious: Grand Master Aldrik Voldus, the "Lord of the Sentinels" of the 3rd Brotherhood. The old legend himself, Draigo's successor, had managed to endure it.
"Very good. Come with me. I will perform for you the 23rd Experimental Surgery, which is different from the Primaris conversion."
"Gasp…"
A murmur went through the room. The Trailblaze Grey Knights looked at Voldus with envy. He was only the second among them to receive this honor.
With the expansion of his Star Rail, Zhou Ye had increased the number of his Honor Guard to ten. One of them was a Grey Knight. According to the plan, one of them would lead the five thousand men accompanying Guilliman back to Terra.
"Father, it is my utmost honor!!!"
Voldus's face was filled with immense pride. He would become a being closer to his Father. As for the title, Zhou Ye was too tired to explain anymore.
After this surgery, he would, to some extent, be his son. This was also the final insurance policy Zhou Ye was giving Guilliman. As a Grey Knight Grand Master, he could withstand Zhou Ye's divine descent.
With the assistance of the Trailblaze Grey Knights, Voldus entered the operating chamber. This surgery could only be performed by Zhou Ye alone; no one else could do it.
---o---
The next day, inside the Hogwarts Chapel.
"What an honor! We can finally use it!"
A group of Imperial Grey Knights accepted their new wargear with tears streaming down their faces: Aegis Terminator armor that could perform direct jumps via the Star Rail.
"This is what it means to be a true Grey Knight. A complete Grey Knight."
Tears streamed down all their faces. They were finally complete, no longer deficient. The only unfortunate thing was that when they returned to Terra, their resupply would be a bit problematic.
They would be away from the Star Rail, and they could no longer draw power directly from the warp. To restore their energy, they would have to harvest warp daemons. As for ammunition and equipment maintenance, that wouldn't be a problem in the short term.
Zhou Ye had equipped them with a large amount of subsequent maintenance equipment and had assigned a team of Cherub-Automata as technicians. As for ammunition, they could continue to use their original supply.
"SILENCE!!!"
With a stern roar, all the Grey Knights instantly composed themselves and knelt.
In the center of the room stood their Grand Master, Voldus.
He was now over three meters tall, and his body had no interface ports. It was clear he could no longer wear standard power armor. A group of Cherub-Automata brought over a brand-new suit of armor.
It was a special, hand-crafted suit of Aegis Terminator armor, modified by Zhou Ye and now released as a compatible model. There were only two suits of this type in existence: the one before them, and the one belonging to the Grey Knight in the Honor Guard.
"Commence arming sequence…"
Zhou Ye's voice echoed as Voldus, under the envious gazes of all present, accepted this ceremony personally presided over by Zhou Ye.
---o---
Soon, the time came. The entirety of Macragge was bustling with people.
The Terra Expeditionary Fleet had assembled. This time, Guilliman was leading a force nearly ten times larger than his original one.
Aside from the Primaris Space Marines Cawl had left on Macragge, which he didn't have before, there were also five thousand of Zhou Ye's Space Marines.
"I swear I will do everything in my power to protect your sons' safety! I will not allow them to be harmed by conspiracy or betrayal!!!"
Looking at the massive force behind him, Guilliman made his final promise to Zhou Ye. He then departed from Macragge with the enormous fleet, entering the warp through a Mandeville Point.
"He's finally gone. Now, my next target is Baal in the Dark Imperium."
Watching Guilliman leave, Zhou Ye let out a long sigh of relief. The messy business here was finally over. Now he could focus on entering the Dark Imperium.