Whether the 40k fleet would be sufficient was a question no one knew the answer to; at least, in the eyes of the current governors and naval commanders of the Terran Dominion, it was definitely not enough.
But the problem was, having something was better than having nothing!
Weiss did not deliberate for long before making her decision.
"Whether it's useful or not, whether it's enough or not, having something is better than having nothing.
Order the colossal shipyards to begin constructing battleships now."
"The scale of construction will be 4 battleships, 8 strike cruisers, 16 destroyers, and 32 frigates."
"For technology, use the technology from when the Emperor was still active."
As one of the Terran Dominion's greatest governors, Weiss's mind quickly calculated the required number of 40k battleships and the optimal ratio.
Under her command, a colossal shipyard received this order and began producing battleships.
After Zeke left his empire, and after the empire completed its ascension, there were a total of 120 colossal shipyards within the entire Dominion.
These colossal shipyards were the main force for producing battleships for the entire Terran Dominion; they could simultaneously construct the most advanced fleets available to the Terran Dominion at its current stage.
A single colossal shipyard could simultaneously construct 20 of the most top-tier battleships.
If constructing the Dominion's most advanced battleship, a colossal shipyard would need a full 120 days to complete the production of 20 battleships.
However, if it was just producing old battleships from 20,000 years ago, it was a different story.
Within moments of Weiss's order being issued, the required fleet ships were already completed.
These old battleships were simply too easy to construct for the current empire.
The Terran Dominion could build them in just a few seconds.
Just as Weiss was about to order this fleet to pass through the spatial rift and for the Dominion to begin injecting Warp energy into the spatial rift, the Custodes leader found him.
"Governor Weiss," Custodes Commander Levi Ackerman saluted Weiss.
"May we arrange a contingent of our Custodes on the departing fleet? We need to protect the Emperor's safety."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Dominion's chief scientist, Hange Zoë, raised an objection.
"No! The Custodes cannot cross this rift. Did you not hear me before? Didn't I say that no unit within the Dominion can cross this Warp rift?"
"All members of the Dominion have completed ascension. If any ascended personnel enter this Warp rift, it will instantly collapse."
Zoë's words did not deter Levi; instead, he spoke with neither arrogance nor humility.
"I understand what you mean, which is why I am not preparing to deploy active Custodes units. To protect the Emperor's safety, I have just used genetic technology to restore a batch of Custodes units from when the Emperor was still active. Their numbers are not large, only 10,000, which is not even one-tenth of a legion. It should not have too much impact."
"You should also know that the Emperor needs to fight on the ground. The current Emperor has lost his power, and it seems the Emperor cannot even effectively use these psychic powers. Therefore, the Emperor's safety needs to be guaranteed. I request that our Custodes provide protection!"
Undoubtedly, the Custodes commander's request was reasonable and fair.
Moreover, he had made ample preparations for it. He was not planning to send active Custodes but had gone back to create a batch of older Custodes.
Hange Zoë hesitated. The Custodes' words made sense, so she once again contacted the scientists of the entire Ministry of Technology for precise calculations.
"It's possible. We've calculated that if it's only 10,000 Custodes from the mid-period when the Emperor was still active before ascension, they should be able to pass through this rift. However, you must ensure that their technological equipment is also from the older era and absolutely not current active equipment."
"We cannot afford any risk. The Emperor needs our assistance."
"Understood!" Levi saluted Hange Zoë.
In any case, the Custodes could finally be by the Emperor's side to protect him.
At least they wouldn't be upstaged by a group of ordinary Assault Teams.
The duty of protecting the Emperor and serving as his personal guard should belong to the Custodes, not those Assault Teams.
The Custodes must fulfill their duty.
After saluting, Levi departed. He needed to bring that one-tenth Custodes legion here.
Because the spatial rift was located here, and the fleet would also need to pass through it, bringing the Custodes here would allow them to board the battleships directly.
The Terran Dominion's speed was very fast.
A small fleet consisting of 4 battleships, 8 strike cruisers, 16 destroyers, and 32 frigates arrived within the Governor's Hall.
As the Terran Dominion's Governor's Hall, it had been imbued with dark energy technology, allowing it to expand the internal size of the entire space indefinitely, to the extent that a fleet from a previous era could actually sail in.
The entire Federation Fleet possessed an anti-gravity system, meaning their existence would not affect any gravity or planetary gravity.
One by one, the Dominion battleships docked in the Governor's Hall, awaiting the activation of the Warp rift.
At the same time, a conventional Custodes force, minuscule to the point of being almost invisible, also appeared at their edges: a Custodes legion of 10,000 men.
Although the Terran Dominion had phased out these ordinary battleships, it did not mean that these battleships were obsolete.
Frigate: Largemouth Bass-class frigate: Size 1.4 km
Destroyer: Miranda-class destroyer: Size: 2.5 km
Cruiser: Avalon-class cruiser: Size: 7.6 km
Battleship: retaliation-class battleship: Size 28.9 km
All battleships used null-material armor, high-energy shields, and advanced reactor superchargers that met this technology standard and had not undergone too many research cycles.
The weaponry primarily consisted of gamma lasers, plasma cannons, phase disintegration cannons, whirlwind missiles, gauss cannons, and phase Lances.
For the ship's reactor, all ships used zero-point reactors.
The engines used jump drives.
This engine allowed battleships to jump between star systems and sectors without needing to enter the Warp.
Thrusters used pulse thrusters, and sensors used tachyon sensors.
Of course, because they were unaware of Zeke's AI ban, the battleships and other warships at this time were still equipped with intelligent combat computers.
In Warhammer terms, these were Iron Men AI, and of a relatively high-grade kind.
In addition, battleships were also equipped with one more weapon than other warships: the Warp Trap.
This device could directly generate the Warp in the physical universe, thereby weakening enemy shields and other weapons. The Warp had no effect on the Imperial Dominion.
Due to having intelligent combat AI, the Dominion's fleet did not require too many naval crew members.
Even the largest battleship did not have more than 1,000 naval crew members serving on it.
These crew members were humans who had not ascended before, directly manufactured using current genetic technology.
Their physical fitness and condition were roughly comparable to the Astartes in Warhammer, slightly higher but only marginally so.
"Custodes, board the ships! Prepare to support the Emperor!" With Levi's command, the Custodes beside the battleships began boarding the battleships.
There was no need to worry about poor conditions inside the battleships; the conditions were not bad. Ecospheres could be equipped on every battleship, and living on a battleship was not significantly different from living on a Gaia world.
Of course, Gaia worlds were larger.
Once the Custodes had finished boarding, the Empire's Warp energy began to be injected into the small rift Zeke had created, gradually making the rift larger and larger.
The Dominion Fleet began to take off, flying towards the spatial rift—