"Alright then…"
Zhou Ye fell silent for a moment as he looked at Guilliman. He agreed that readily?
Guilliman had chosen well. Among all of Zhou Ye's forces, excluding his Grey Knights, the Emperor's Children were the most potent on the offense. Under Rylanor's tutelage, this group's offensive power was maxed out.
However, Rylanor had quickly returned to his slumber after coming back from Macragge. Although Zhou Ye was using his own black technology to help restore the Dreadnought's damaged soul, it had to be a slow and lengthy process. After all, what happens when you try to force a miracle with overwhelming power? One only needed to look at Horus for the answer.
The only unfortunate thing was their low numbers, only four or five thousand so far. The Iron Warriors were the most numerous; their gene-seed was just too compatible. Then came the Ultramarines and Iron Hands, each numbering around twenty thousand. After them were the Imperial Fists and a mix of others, totaling around seventy to eighty thousand.
Now, factoring in the reinforcements from Cawl, his total legion strength was approaching one hundred thousand.
Add to that roughly ten million Solar Auxilia and an uncounted number of Planetary Defence Force troops—likely six or seven hundred million across his forty-five worlds—and the ammunition consumption was staggering.
Furthermore, he completely forbade his troops from foraging for their own supplies and provided them with exceptionally luxurious equipment loadouts. One of Zhou Ye's forge worlds was already running itself into the ground, and a second one had just been established.
Initially, he was using a group of Genestealers to get it started. Those creatures, corrupted by his Imaginary energy but still retaining the powerful Tyranid genome, were truly resilient. They were working with less than two hours of rest a day, building his second forge world around the clock.
It got to the point where Zhou Ye's conscience bothered him, so he increased their rations. They might be xenos, but they were damn useful and durable.
It was just like in modern society: you only see the prosperity and convenience of a city, but you don't see the countless people toiling away on dangerous construction sites to build it. His forge worlds were the same. The initial construction was fraught with difficulty, but once they were built and integrated into their respective ecosystems, the standard of living for the people within wouldn't be too bad.
So, the living conditions on his worlds were genuinely good. As the saying goes, the Imperium is incredibly wealthy. Their productive capacity was countless times that of modern Earth. As long as the problems of transport and communication could be solved, the standard of living for people within that network's reach would improve visibly. Even so, Zhou Ye still felt like a capitalist pig.
"Have them assemble."
In any case, Zhou Ye couldn't be bothered to say more about Guilliman's choice. As for the Grey Knights…
Give me a break. Why would anyone pick the Grey Knights for no reason? Besides, Zhou Ye had banned psyker units, so they naturally couldn't participate, even though they used Imaginary energy instead of psychic powers.
Moreover, there were fewer than thirty Grey Knights currently stationed here, and they were mainly for liaison with their Imperial counterparts. The other two hundred-plus were all out on missions.
His domain was right next to the Great Rift, and Chaos was erupting everywhere. They were simply too busy. In fact, Zhou Ye was already planning to double their numbers. Now that the link to Macragge was established, the Star Rail's energy capacity had increased significantly.
The only downside was that forcing the connection to Macragge had drawn a considerable amount of power, despite the numerous batteries. It was now slowly recovering, but once the network expanded from Macragge, both the energy recovery rate and the total capacity would increase dramatically.
---o---
Soon, the two groups of muscular men, stripped of their armor, were ready. This time, none of the mainline Ultramarines—including Calgar and Cato Sicarius—were participating. Whether the invincible Captain of the 2nd Company was originally on Macragge or not, Zhou Ye didn't know, but considering how he had already scrambled the timeline, it was best not to dwell on it.
Of course, the Emperor's Children, Shadow Moon Dire Wolves, and Dreadnoughts from Zhou Ye's own Honor Guard also sat this one out.
"There are two armories inside. You can choose your own equipment once you enter. The time flow in that room is twenty times faster than out here."
Zhou Ye looked at the two groups and added another point. They were not allowed to bring their own wargear. The equipment inside was constructed directly from Imaginary energy. Initially, Zhou Ye had let them use their own weapons, but the aftermath was a complete mess.
The entire simulator was riddled with craters and littered with all sorts of debris. The cleanup was a hassle, and repairs consumed a massive amount of extra energy.
These Imaginary weapons and munitions had boundaries and wouldn't damage the internal environment.
And…
"By the Emperor, the equipment here is so luxurious! There are so many melta weapons! Hehe, melta… AGH!!!"
A soldier from the Macragge auxiliary was exclaiming in awe when he was slapped by his company commander.
"Focus! Only take what you are familiar with! Can you perfectly master these advanced weapons? Don't lose us points."
As they were Macragge's auxiliary forces, and the Smurfs had deep pockets, their equipment was already top-tier even among the Astra Militarum.
Because of Guilliman's Codex, there were very few Space Marines permanently stationed on Macragge. Even the Ultramarines' own Chapter had not yet fully mustered. Thus, the true defenders of Macragge were these mortals.
Naturally, these were true elites. They didn't grab the fanciest weapons, but stuck to what they knew. The Space Marines did much the same, as none of them were Primaris yet.
---o---
Meanwhile, outside…
"This is the data on the Primaris Space Marines. I heard from Cawl that your relic is very special. It can increase the safety of the surgery to nearly one hundred percent. And I've experienced it myself. My old wounds are all healed now; I can even take off the Armor of Fate."
After being continuously healed by the Abyss Flower for so long, and with a little help from Zhou Ye, Guilliman's injuries had completely recovered. He no longer needed to wear the Armor of Fate constantly. He was now discussing the Primaris conversion process for standard Space Marines with Zhou Ye.
Having seen the combat effectiveness of the Black Templars and the Space Wolves contingent, the entire Ultramarines Chapter and its successors were eager for the upgrade.
Even in the original timeline, most Chapters were initially resistant to the new Primaris marines. But after an initial adjustment period, they couldn't get enough of them.
Many veterans even risked undergoing the conversion themselves. So, Guilliman intended to promote the Primaris project now. He still had over ten thousand unassigned Primaris recruits training on Macragge. To ensure they could integrate smoothly into their future Chapters, Guilliman planned to implement the Primaris upgrade for his existing Space Marines as well.
"Here. This is the price list."
Zhou Ye quickly produced another price list. Guilliman gave it a cursory glance before tossing it to Calgar, who, after a moment of consideration, did not object.
In fact, this simulation had another purpose: to see the overall difference between standard Space Marines and Primaris Marines. In the previous battle, it had basically been Zhou Ye's forces doing all the fighting while they guarded the spawn point.
And Zhou Ye's guess was correct: Macragge was very wealthy. Once the Star Rails were established, they could fully unleash the foundation the Ultramarines had built over ten thousand years. So, Calgar agreed to Zhou Ye's price without even a second glance.
After all, Zhou Ye had saved all of Macragge and their gene-father. As the most astute of Chapters, the Ultramarines would naturally repay the favor.
---o---
As time passed, both forces were in position.
Then…
As the countdown finished, time began to flow, and the daemons of Slaanesh and Khorne began to move.
In an instant, a fierce battle erupted. Zhou Ye, Guilliman, and the others watched from the highest level, observing everything from a god's-eye view thanks to the special system. Guilliman's expression grew stern.
He wasn't the only one; Calgar's did as well.
"Father, can we also be equipped with this device? This is too important. While it's not a real battlefield, there is no battlefield more realistic than this."
Watching his men get judged as 'failures' and ejected from the simulation, Calgar finally understood why Zhou Ye's forces were so skilled. To gain this kind of combat experience, they had to risk their lives. The survivors learned; the dead were just dead.
Although they had internal traditions and teachings, nothing was as effective as direct, hands-on experience.
"Don't be hasty…"
Guilliman remained relatively calm and looked at the scoreboard.
Trailblaze: 36582.
Ultramarines: 21456.
A significant gap had already opened up. It became especially apparent when Guilliman watched the Emperor's Children.
Seeing the daemons charge them, they simply dropped their firearms, drew their twin blades, and began to cut them down. Their coordination was flawless. Like elite, ancient heavy infantry facing a disorganized mob, they pushed back against the daemonic tide.
The perfect synergy between the Space Marines and their auxiliary troops was something even the notoriously battle-crazed Bloodletters of Khorne couldn't withstand.
In contrast, the performance of the successor Chapters could only be described as… a mess.
It wasn't that they were routed on first contact; in fact, their organization was excellent, top-tier among other Space Marines. But comparisons are odious. That aside, the difference in the auxiliary troops was stark.
The Macragge auxiliaries were considered one of the better mortal armies at coordinating with Space Marines, far better than the Death Korps of Krieg in that regard. The main reason the Krieg could coordinate with Astartes was their fearlessness; they would literally charge through minefields alongside them.
But in terms of actual tactical synergy, they were still lacking.
And compared to Zhou Ye's troops, they weren't even in the same league. The situation was this: the auxiliaries following the Emperor's Children were able to interrupt the movements of Khornate Bloodletters or Slaaneshi Daemonettes with every precise burst of fire, creating an opening for their Astartes. On a battlefield like this, striking first often meant victory.
So, while the Ultramarines were desperately holding their ground behind cover and taking casualties, Zhou Ye's dual-wielding Emperor's Children were already pushing the front line back. As for the Shadow Moon Dire Wolves… they were behaving themselves for once, providing defensive support from the rear.
The main reason was that this battle's objective was to protect the radish—er, protect Guilliman. And there was no clear commander among the daemon army for them to target.
Otherwise, you would see a pack of Shadow Moon Dire Wolves using the variety of bullshit vehicles provided by Zhou Ye to execute their most traditional high-speed advance and decapitation strike—a tactic that both Horus and Abaddon were masters of.
Abaddon, in particular, had a brilliant track record. During the First Black Crusade, he killed the then-strongest warrior in the Imperium (with most Primarchs gone), High Marshal Sigismund of the Black Templars.
Of course, the main factor then was that Sigismund was incredibly old, while Abaddon had, to some extent, inherited Horus's mantle and grown even stronger. Even so, Abaddon had nearly been chopped to bits himself.
In fact, Zhou Ye estimated that without a Primarch's intervention, no one in the entire Imperium could defeat Abaddon in a one-on-one duel.
---o---
"This simulation is over. Can you build a laboratory like this on Macragge?"
Seeing this, Guilliman lost interest in watching further. The outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt. He found a genuine leather sofa, sat down, and took a sip of red wine from the table.
And don't even bring up the fact that the Ultramarines' main Chapter didn't participate; Zhou Ye's Honor Guard didn't take the field either.
Of course, the genuine leather sofa belonged to Zhou Ye. And it was made of actual cowhide, not human skin.
"Can't be done. This facility is rather special. However, if you are willing, I can open a dedicated simulation chamber here, exclusively for the use of the Ultramarines and their successors."
"Deal. As for the resources, Calgar, you can handle the negotiations."
"Klee, you go."
"…"
Staring expressionlessly at the two men who had just delegated all responsibility, and then at the sacred abhuman across from him—who was barely as tall as his shin and looked suspiciously like a xenos—Calgar fell silent.
But then he saw the dark bags under her eyes and her exhausted, wobbly posture, and for some inexplicable reason, Calgar felt a sense of kinship, like they were fellow sufferers.
Of course, there was a reason why Zhou Ye and Guilliman were delegating. Klee was essentially Zhou Ye's grand steward; she knew better than anyone what resources his domain needed. The same was true for Calgar. Guilliman had just woken up; he certainly didn't have a better grasp of the situation than his Chapter Master.
---o---