Bordeaux Town was brightly lit.
"Brothers! Get to work!"
[Execute War Criminal Weasels] stood in the center of the town. The cutting tools on his modified mechanical arm buzzed loudly.
"Paul said that this underground manufactorum and all the surrounding buildings were cast from solid steel by the Blaec house back in the day! Even the residents' houses have steel mixed in. It's all money!"
The players' eyes were practically glowing green with greed.
They had surveyed it during the day. Bordeaux Town had originally been built and expanded around the manufactorums; the whole place used to be a Blaec asset.
Although most of the equipment had been destroyed or hauled away during the unrest eighty years ago...
The structure of the factories and the surrounding houses themselves, the piping systems, the support frames... they were all high-quality alloy!
The System's salvage price was at least 1200 Imperial Coins per ton!
And the entire underground complex and surrounding buildings contained an estimated tens of thousands of tons of steel!
"Let me do the math..."
Soul of Cadia counted on his fingers. "One thousand two hundred per ton. Ten thousand tons is twelve million...!"
"Hurry up and tear it down! Once this is scrapped, we'll all be able to afford Power Armor!"
"I'm upgrading to a Bolter! That thing packs a real punch!"
The players morphed into an elite demolition squad. The Machina players spearheaded the operation, slicing through entrances and load-bearing structures.
The manual labor teams followed behind, breaking down the steel with hydraulic shears and plasma cutters redeemed from the shop, while the logistics teams hauled it all out in modified transport trucks.
The entirety of Bordeaux Town looked like a massive construction site.
The screech of cutting tools, the crash of falling metal, and the roar of engines continued incessantly through the night.
Occasionally, hiding bandits were dragged out from dark corners. They had planned to hide until the players left, completely unprepared for the fact that these maniacs were literally tearing the town apart down to the foundations!
Their fate went without saying—executed on the spot.
Zeke stood on a small hill at the edge of the town, watching everything unfold.
With his faceplate retracted, the night wind blew across his resolute face.
"How does it feel?"
Schrödinger Bro's voice came from behind him.
After finishing up in Red Town, he left G Bro in charge of the guard detail and rushed over through the night with over two hundred players.
"It's alright." Zeke replied, "Just a bit... surreal. A month ago, I was in the real world stressing over my mortgage. Now, I'm commanding thousands of men and deciding the fate of a town of over ten thousand people."
Schrödinger Bro walked up beside him, also looking down at the brightly lit demolition site below.
"This is power."
Schrödinger Bro said calmly. "It's also a responsibility. Don't feel guilty about the high body count. You did the right thing."
He paused, then added:
"Crimson Dawn saves the people who deserve to be saved. For those who don't deserve it, let God save them. Your job is just to send them to meet God."
Zeke chuckled. "You sure have a way with summaries."
"It's the truth."
Schrödinger Bro said, "In the Warhammer world, the cheapest thing is human life, but the most precious thing is also human life. The key is distinguishing which lives are precious."
The two fell silent for a moment.
Schrödinger Bro suddenly spoke. "Tax Bro sent word. Helovia suffered severe psychic overexertion and collapsed. She's been rushed back to the base. Blood Angel and Cogboy are doing everything they can to treat her. Her life shouldn't be in danger."
Zeke nodded. "That kid... went way too hard."
"But she proved that you made the right choice." Schrödinger Bro said. "You gave her hope, and she used her life to protect that hope. Saving this world can't be done by us alone! We need countless people like Helovia. This is a virtuous cycle. Who knows, maybe one day, a Primarch will see our efforts and join us!"
Schrödinger Bro's eyes glimmered.
"I hope that day comes—that an incredibly powerful Primarch will be willing to join us! Not only would it be a massive boost in power, but it would be the ultimate proof that our path is the right one."
Zeke took a deep breath, looking toward the east.
On the horizon, Aurelian IV's two moons—one red, one white—hung high in the sky.
Tomorrow, nearly twenty thousand residents from these three towns would begin their migration.
Added to the two thousand-plus people already at the base, Crimson Dawn would boast a population base of over twenty-two thousand.
And this was only the beginning.
Once the four major factions and Chaos battered each other to pieces in the industrial zone, and once the Imperial reinforcements arrived...
Their opportunity to sweep across the entirety of Aurelian IV would finally come.
"Schrödinger Bro."
Zeke suddenly spoke.
"Yeah?"
"How far do you think we can actually walk down this path?"
Schrödinger Bro thought for a moment, then smiled.
"You're always quoting Pavel Korchagin, aren't you? A person's life should be spent so that, when looking back, they will not be tortured by regrets for wasted years, nor feel shame for a petty and trivial existence."
"We've already accomplished the first half of that."
"As for the second half..."
He patted the shoulder of Zeke's Power Armor:
"That depends entirely on how far we can lead these people."
–
Early the next morning.
Bordeaux Town, Merida Town, and Red Town. The three massive migratory columns converged on the wasteland, forming a river of humanity stretching for several kilometers.
A total of nineteen thousand four hundred and twenty-three people.
Players drove the transports at the vanguard, clearing the way and providing flank escorts. The residents carried their meager belongings, helping the young and supporting the elderly as they marched along the compacted dirt road.
Zeke walked at the very front of the procession.
When the morning light arrived, Red Town, Merida Town, and Bordeaux Town had already been reduced to absolute ruins. Not a single building remained standing.
Every piece of usable material had been ripped away. They didn't even spare the steel rebar in the foundations.
To the players, these so-called strategic locations meant absolutely nothing!
They didn't currently possess the strength to hold multiple bases, nor did they need to divide their forces to garrison them!
All they needed to do was convert the salvaged materials into Imperial Coins, rapidly translate those coins into combat power, and begin their sweep across Aurelian IV.
"Do not miss that place!"
Zeke turned around and shouted to the migrating crowd:
"You will have a better home! You will have a better tomorrow! You will have a beautiful everything! Sturdy houses, clean water, and full stomachs!"
His voice carried far on the wasteland wind:
"And for all of this, you will not have to bow to anyone! You will not have to sacrifice your loved ones! You will not have to endure oppression! It only requires your labor, your sweat, and your responsibility to one another!"
In the crowd, people wept.
Adela held the hand of her newly recovered brother, Luka, and whispered to him:
"Luka, remember this. That giant uncle, and all those uncles and aunties holding weapons—they are good people. When you grow up, you have to join them, okay? Your big sister is going to join them before you do."
"Hehe." Luka nodded cluelessly. "Yeah, they give us food."
Tax Bro sat in the truck, his leg wrapped in thick bandages. Even with the ridiculously overpowered medkits provided by the shop, he still needed a day or two to heal completely.
White Scars led the mobile troops scouting ahead, clearing out any potential mutant beast threats.
Schrödinger Bro and Blood Angel walked among the residents, talking to the people, soothing their emotions, and answering their questions.
[Have You Been Loyal Today?], [Soul of Cadia]... Every player performed their assigned duties, maintaining order within the massive column.
Watching it all, a deep sense of solid reassurance swelled in Zeke's heart.
Just over a month ago, the five thousand of them had been desperately struggling to survive on the wasteland.
Now, they had a base. They had over twenty thousand followers. They had a sustainable source of resources, and a crystal-clear path forward.
Though the road ahead was still perilous—the four major factions, the Chaos incursion, and the impending arrival of Imperial reinforcements were all monumental challenges...
At the very least, their path was clear. Their growth was guaranteed. And their future now stood on a solid foundation.
Zeke raised his head, looking toward the east.
In the direction of the Crimson Dawn base, the morning sun was rising above the horizon, painting the sky a warm, vibrant orange.
That sun looked exactly like the emblem on his chest plate.
The Crimson Dawn would inevitably arrive.
--
Next Goal = 400 Powerstones.
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