"My Lord, I've chosen a meticulously crafted Power Whip, forged by the Mechanicus Archmagos himself. Do you find it suitable?" Valdor swiftly presented the finely made weapon, retrieved from the Emperor's Dream's armory, for the Emperor's inspection.
"Hmm, while not perfect, it's barely enough to match a Primarch's status, especially since I've personally blessed it," the Emperor shamelessly added, mostly to reassure himself.
After all, he was still the Omnissiah, the Mechanicus's acknowledged incarnation of the Machine God in the mortal realm.
"Let us go, to bring my son back into the Imperium of Man," the Emperor declared, waving a hand, believing everything was prepared. He then began to move towards Lycaeus.
"Yes, My Lord," Valdor replied, immediately ordering the Custodian Guard fleet to escort the colossal Emperor's Dream into sub-light speed travel, racing towards their destination.
At sub-light speed, they would reach Lycaeus in just over half an hour.
Lycaeus, The Tower.
"Hmm, can truly unifying a planet actually summon the invincible Golden Big Guy?" Swain carefully registered the psychic energy that had just washed over him, confirming it was the Emperor's own.
Though that brilliant golden psychic energy was expertly concealed in its application, it still captured Swain's attention. The reason was simple: the dark, gold-wrapped bead embedded within Swain's body reacted distinctly.
"I wonder if Corax sensed it?" Swain was a little uncertain. While Corax's Shadow Assassin power was impressive, in terms of sheer psychic energy application and concealment, the Emperor was miles ahead.
"Corax, did you feel it?" Swain walked into the former Tower Lord's chamber and asked.
The Tower Lord's body had already been removed, and as for his guards, they had naturally perished during the encirclement by the Dark Raven Guard and Shadow Assassins.
"Feel what?" Corax asked, puzzled. He'd been preoccupied with other matters and hadn't noticed anything unusual.
"Hiss, is this... this Emperor really that powerful?" Swain mused inwardly, a shiver running down his spine.
"Leader, Kiavahr has announced its unconditional surrender," Nekser's voice came through on the comms.
"Uh, your dad's here," Swain blurted out.
"Ah…" Nekser, who had just connected, was bewildered. His dad? His dad had died long ago, hadn't he?
"Oh, oh, I wasn't talking about you. I meant, Corax's dad has found us," Swain quickly clarified.
"Ah, my dad, the monarch who rules a vast empire and possesses countless massive fleets?" Corax was also taken aback. Although Swain had mentioned these things to him before, it still felt incredibly sudden.
"Yes, he's here. I sensed his psychic power, and he'll be here soon. Look at the sky," Swain said, pointing upwards.
A golden fleet, seemingly forged from pure gold, abruptly appeared in the void. The colossal aircraft carrier at the forefront, as massive as a small planet, brought with it an unparalleled sense of overwhelming power.
The anti-aircraft systems on both Lycaeus and Kiavahr were already blaring alarms. Compared to the oppressive force of the terrifying fleet overhead, the anti-aircraft defenses on these two planets seemed comically like toys.
"Deactivate the anti-aircraft system alarms and send them a message in clear code: 'Welcome, great Lord of the Imperium of Man'," Swain suggested to Corax.
"Alright, we'll do as the leader says," Corax didn't object.
"Let's go, we'll welcome the great Lord of the Imperium of Man. It just so happens I have questions to ask my fellow countryman!" Swain said, gritting his teeth and emphasizing the last two words.
At Swain's suggestion, Corax walked with him to the helipad outside the Tower.
A massive, elongated spacecraft flew towards them. Laser turrets, heavy bolters, and missile nests were mounted on its top and sides, all signaling to enemies that this was a heavily armed, large transport vehicle.
This terrifying war beast was the Stormbird transport, a versatile workhorse for the Imperial Legions during the Great Crusade, performing transport and various aerial missions.
Clearly, the Stormbird flying towards them was on a transport mission. This type of Stormbird could transport fifty fully armed Astartes warriors or five Dreadnoughts at once.
"Thud…" The Custodian Guard's piloting skills were incredibly reliable. The massive craft landed very smoothly, without any turbulence.
As the Stormbird's front hatch opened, two teams of gold-armored guards descended and lined up on either side. One team was entirely clad in gleaming golden armor. On their slender helmets, bright red plumes swayed in the wind, and the Custodian Guard Spears in their hands emitted a chilling glint.
The other team's armor was slightly duller, and their stature was noticeably shorter than the Custodian Guard beside them. Their most distinctive feature was that this team was composed entirely of females. Their smooth foreheads bore a bundle of hair tied up and rising straight into the air. Unlike the Custodian Guard, they wore no helmets, only light gold respirator grilles covering the area below their noses.
These two teams were the Emperor's left and right hands, collectively known as the Custodian Guard, the Emperor's Claws, and the Sisters of Silence.
"Good heavens, are these the finely crafted figurines the Emperor personally made?" Swain looked at these golden "corn cobs," whose height was clearly more than half a head taller than the Sisters of Silence, with great curiosity.
Every Custodian Guard in this era was personally modified by the Emperor, and there were only about ten thousand of them in the entire galaxy.
As for the other team, the Sisters of Silence, who made the surrounding Dark Raven Guard feel uncomfortable, they were the Warhammer universe's renowned professional anti-psychic unit, composed entirely of female Blanks.
Blanks, also known as Soulless, have no presence in the Warp, as if they have no souls. They even create a psychic black hole around them. If ordinary people stay near them for too long, their souls can even be swallowed by this black hole. They are the natural enemies of all psykers. Their unique anti-psychic field makes psykers extremely uncomfortable, and powerful Soulless can even prevent psykers from manifesting any power at all.
Swain's eyes immediately lit up as he looked at the Sisters of Silence before him, practically screaming "I want them, give them to me!" with his expression.
"Compared to the Grey Knights, I still prefer professional units like the Sisters of Silence," Swain's gaze, without any hesitation, was fixed on the Sisters of Silence beside him, even completely ignoring the Custodian Guard.
His fervent gaze even caused the Sisters of Silence squad leader to turn her attention towards him.
"Thump…" With a distinct sound, the Sisters of Silence leader retracted her gaze and became serious.
Clearly, the Emperor was about to emerge.