"Hopefully, I'll never have to use this. Honkai Beasts are definitely not good things. As for breeding a Tyranid swarm, I don't walk the Path of Propagation."
Zhou Ye muttered to himself, looking at the special reagent in his hand. The mention of Tyranids immediately brought to mind the Path of Propagation from another universe, but that was something he couldn't create. There were no such Paths here; he was a Trailblazer, and trying to create things from other Paths was a joke. The only things he could create were related to Honkai.
He would absolutely never use this against Chaos, but it was perfect for dealing with the Tyranid swarm. More importantly, Zhou Ye was, in essence, the Herrscher of Finality. He had absolute control over these creations and would never let them get out of hand.
In the world of Warhammer, you should never casually use something you don't understand, because you have no idea what it truly is. A prime example would be Ollanius Persson, who had directly backstabbed the Emperor.
The incident occurred because the Emperor wanted to use a set of powerful "dark words" of unknown origin. To be fair, even when used by an ordinary man like Ollanius Persson, those words were effective against Horus.
So, there was no doubt it was most likely some conspiracy hatched by Chaos. As for the ultimate reason, no one knew.
That's just how Warhammer is. Things you don't understand can cause immense destruction.
"You've finished your discussion?"
Casually putting the object away, Zhou Ye turned to look at Guilliman and Calgar as they emerged from the conference room.
"We have. I hope you can help all of my sons complete the Primaris conversion."
"I can."
Everything had been settled. As for the Trailblaze Jump Drives, Zhou Ye would provide them for free. He desperately needed to expand the Star Rail network, so he had no plans to charge for that aspect for now. The more people who used it, the more it benefited him.
In the future, if anyone angered him, he could simply kick them off the network.
However, everything else would be charged, and at a steep price. Guilliman agreed with little thought. After all, the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar were practically semi-independent and not entirely under the jurisdiction of the Administratum.
Furthermore, although Zhou Ye was installing the Jump Drives for free, Guilliman decided to repay him in other ways. The Primaris surgeries this time would be handled by Zhou Ye and his Magi. All of their successor Chapters would come to undergo the procedure.
The main reason many didn't undergo the Primaris surgery in the original timeline was due to the high risk. But with Zhou Ye, the success rate was virtually one hundred percent. There was nothing more to be said—everyone would be upgraded.
As for what other changes would be made, Zhou Ye had no interest in asking. He didn't care about that toilet paper codex; it held no power over him.
"Who will be first?"
"I will!!!"
At Zhou Ye's words, Calgar stepped forward. As the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, colloquially known as "Blue Papa," it was natural for him to set an example.
Of course, he himself was also eager for the upgrade. They had all seen the great battle before. Aside from their unfamiliarity with such a meat-grinder battlefield, a more important reason for their performance was that their basic physiology simply couldn't keep up.
Although the current Calgar, even without the Primaris upgrade, would be a formidable opponent even in Zhou Ye's Trailblaze Sector, no one could refuse the chance to become stronger.
"Very well. Go and prepare. This is a technological relic from the Golden Age. The time flow inside is faster than out here. And with our technology, you will recover quickly. You'll be fully ready in time for the grand parade."
Zhou Ye did not refuse. It was unrealistic to complete the surgery for everyone before the parade, but finishing a batch was no problem. Since Calgar wanted to be the first, so be it.
After sending Calgar off to the surgery chamber, Zhou Ye walked out with Guilliman, and then…
"Sob, sob, sob…"
A series of cries rang out, making Zhou Ye's eyebrow twitch.
"What nonsense are those Kriegsmen up to now? Isn't it a good thing they all survived since it wasn't their turn to be deployed?"
Zhou Ye glanced over and saw a group of Death Korps of Krieg commanders weeping on the Platform of Sacrifice.
These men had all accompanied him here and had been integrated into the order of battle. But unfortunately, while two Primarchs had shown up, the Chaos invasion hadn't expanded much, and he had shouldered the greatest pressure. As a result, these Kriegsmen were never sent into combat.
And so, they had returned without a single casualty. But the moment they got back to Zhou Ye's garrison, they had started crying their eyes out.
Zhou Ye could only shake his head helplessly. They were truly unsuited for complex, mobile warfare. Their training couldn't keep up, and sending them in would be pure suicide. Zhou Ye wasn't bullying them; they were genuinely not a good fit and might even hinder their allies.
While the Krieg fought in many brutal wars, a lot of those battles were just messy wars of attrition. They were truly unsuited for the kind of complex, mobile warfare that required a high degree of coordination.
But keeping them here wasn't a solution either. The Imperium was vast and wealthy; it wouldn't care about the lives of a few hundred thousand ordinary Krieg soldiers.
"Alright, arrange for them to be stationed on a certain number of node worlds."
Zhou Ye rubbed his forehead as he looked at the wailing Krieg. These men weren't really his, and he hadn't corrupted them. So could they please stop being so abstract? Don't all Kriegsmen charge in silence?
Why were they so emotional now? What happened?
Zhou Ye couldn't be bothered to figure it out. In truth, they hadn't changed much; they were still the same as before. Well, with one small difference: they were even more fanatical.
---o---
He temporarily parted ways with Guilliman, who wanted to tour Trailblaze. In any case, the only real secret here was the Custodian deep within his palace, which Guilliman couldn't access anyway.
And Guilliman had no interest in his palace. He wouldn't go rummaging through Zhou Ye's rooms. He was genuinely curious about Zhou Ye's Space Marine legions, which were so full of life yet tinged with a hint of absurdity.
As for Zhou Ye, he took a turn and entered another area: the Grey Knights' chapel, Hogwarts, located in an inconspicuous corner of his palace.
As he entered, the atmosphere in the depths of the massive chapel shifted.
Clank.
The stationed Grey Knights all knelt at once. The psykers in the surrounding Imaginary Cages, all wearing explosive collars, did the same.
Zhou Ye said nothing. He was so awkward he wanted to curl his toes. The Golden Fiend was a super-ancient human who had seen such scenes countless times. Zhou Ye, on the other hand, truly couldn't stand it. He quickly passed through the outer chambers and entered the deeper sections.
This area wasn't as large as the outside, but the Imaginary Cages here held Astartes.
"Father!!!"
The Grey Knights, who had been reading books and studying the performance data of Zhou Ye's wargear, all knelt simultaneously, giving Zhou Ye an even bigger headache.
His purpose for coming here was simple. A new batch of three hundred Grey Knights had just completed the initial twenty-two surgeries. They were now Astartes, but only standard Astartes.
They were not yet Zhou Ye's ultimate mobile force, the Grey Knights. Now, it was time for the final surgery. This was something only Zhou Ye could perform personally; not even the Magi he had created could do it.
"Watch closely. You have now completed the other three surgeries and are now Primaris Space Marines. But to become 'my' Grey Knights, there is one additional step. Now… watch carefully. I will give you one last chance to choose."
Zhou Ye began to cautiously perform the final surgery, directly washing away their original psychic powers and replacing them with Imaginary energy. Only then could they perfectly utilize his equipment and use the Star Rails to perform direct jumps, delivering surprises to the children of Chaos.
---o---
"Trailblaze… it feels completely different."
Watching Calgar enter the surgery chamber, Guilliman decided to take a tour of Zhou Ye's planet. He looked at the map in his hand, which showed the general layout of Zhou Ye's cities. What struck him as strange was how different Trailblaze was from Macragge.
There were so many academies here: the Law Academy, the Agricultural Academy, the Political Academy, the Mechanicus Academy…
But unlike typical academies, these institutions were enormous, each one the size of a large city. Guilliman quickly decided on his destination.
The Law Academy.
The recruitment grounds for his good brother Curze and the Night Lords. Of course, Guilliman didn't know what to make of Zhou Ye's recruitment methods. The man was similar to him, but not entirely the same.
Why were the Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors in the same academy, a Civil Engineering academy no less? Wouldn't they fight daily? But more than anything else, Guilliman was concerned about Curze.
He had seen Curze's new sons. To be honest, he was a little envious. His new sons were completely unlike the old Night Lords; they were more like something entirely new.
Soon…
"Waaaaah, Sanguinius!!!"
The moment he stepped into the academy, Guilliman's brow twitched as he saw a group of little yellow marines wailing their eyes out. Before them stood a statue of Sanguinius. These were, of course, the Lamenters.
Although their entire Chapter had been swept away in one go, Zhou Ye, considering their unique luck, had left a few on Trailblaze. If the main force were to be wiped out, these would be the new seeds.
For now, these few Lamenters had no other choice but to pray. After all, not everyone treated the Codex Astartes like toilet paper like Zhou Ye did; they were still very compliant.
When Zhou Ye had replenished their numbers to two thousand, the Lamenters' Chapter Master, Malakim Phoros, had literally knelt and begged him to stop recruiting. In the end, Zhou Ye had to relent. The Lamenters had stated that they would not recruit any new members until they received news that their Chapter had been annihilated.
Of course, their recruitment grounds were the Law Academy, but because their numbers were so small, it was only a temporary posting. They got along well with Curze. After all, Sanguinius's gene-seed had a completely different compatibility from his own.
Unlike the Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors, whose recruitment pools overlapped, the Lamenters had no such conflict, especially since they had temporarily suspended recruitment.
"The Lamenters?" an Ultramarine from Trailblaze, who was acting as Guilliman's guide, asked with some confusion. This batch of marines had already been processed by Zhou Ye. While they had some connection to Guilliman, it was nowhere near as strong as the others.
Guilliman knew they had been modified with something extra by Zhou Ye, possibly even mixed with his own genes. After all, this brother of his gave him the impression of a super-tech-nerd who would become visibly awkward when faced with worship and kneeling.
And his technical skills were far superior. Although he claimed the simulator was a Golden Age relic, Guilliman didn't believe everything Zhou Ye said. Possessing Golden Age technology was not surprising.
But to make Golden Age technology run so perfectly, and even add new features to it—that was something Guilliman had never seen before.
So, by Guilliman's guess, even if the machine was from the Golden Age, it was most likely built by this brother of his. After all, everything he saw in Zhou Ye's possession told him one thing: this individual was likely a terrifyingly brilliant scientist.
And then…
"I am very sorry, future Grand Judge. You have failed your assessment. You will need to continue your studies."
As he approached a large gate, Guilliman's eyelid twitched. He peeked his head around the corner and saw a towering figure inside the room.
It was Konrad Curze. But his face was currently a mask of displeasure.
"Father, don't be discouraged. It was only because of the war."
A large group of Knights of the Night were behind him, offering encouragement. Konrad Curze's mouth twitched. He might be a Primarch, but his terrible educational background made him unskilled in this area. More importantly, he had a mountain of other tasks to attend to.
So, he had some problems in this area. He had failed the course. Curze looked incredibly awkward. In every other case, it was the parents urging their children to study. Here, the tables had completely turned; he was being urged on by his own sons.
And then…
"Guilliman, my brother. Have you come here to laugh at my misfortune? Is it amusing, top student among us?"