Chapter 409: Ignoring Warp Influence! Another Universe! Landing!
"Report! Warp fluctuations are rapidly weakening!"
At that moment, a new message came from the Ultramarines below.
Guilliman was utterly confused. What exactly were the daemons and Chaos Gods trying to do? Why had they appeared, only to vanish just as quickly?
What in the Emperor's name was going on?
"Report! It looks like... the Warp has disappeared!"
One bizarre development after another completely blindsided Guilliman. The Warp—disappear? That was simply impossible.
In the Warhammer universe, the Warp is a mirrored dimension of realspace. The two constantly affect each other. As long as one exists in the material universe, it's impossible to escape the Warp's influence.
"That's impossible! Scan again!"
No sooner had Guilliman spoken than a voice came through the command bridge's screen—it was Marshal Terrence, fleet commander of the Megacorp .
"Lord Guilliman, to prevent Warp psychic leakage, we've sealed off the surrounding Warp region."
"You don't need to worry."
Terrence's words made Guilliman feel like his brain was exploding. They sealed off the Warp? That shouldn't even be possible.
In Guilliman's memory, the only species in the galaxy capable of ignoring the Warp's influence were the Necrons.
But that was only because Necrons had no souls—they weren't affected much to begin with.
And even then, their so-called "immunity" wasn't true Warp negation.
What the Necrons did was use null-field matrices to interfere with psychic energy in the Warp. That made daemons in the area flicker in and out of existence, unable to manifest fully.
Alternatively, they used Blackstone Spires to suppress the Warp in a given region—creating a "dead zone" where daemons were weaker and Warp travel became difficult.
But neither method could completely erase the Warp. At most, they could interfere with it locally.
There was no way the Warp could actually vanish.
So what kind of technology did the Megacorp use to accomplish this?
If the Imperium had access to this, Terra would be absolutely secure. The Chaos Gods would never threaten the Golden Throne again!
In that moment, Guilliman gained a new appreciation for the Megacorp 's technological capabilities. This was a technology the Imperium had to acquire.
"Relay my orders. All Ultramarines are to stand down from high alert. Resume standard patrols only," Guilliman commanded.
His standing orders were to act as he saw fit—which meant he could decide whether to go to war with the Megacorp or not.
Given everything he'd just seen, that was clearly off the table.
"Understood." The response had barely ended when a massive spacetime vortex appeared just ahead of the Imperial fleet.
That... is that a Stargate?
Staring at the awe-inspiring cosmic structure, Guilliman took a deep breath—then gave the order for his fleet to follow the Megacorp 's ships.
Soon, the Ultramarines' fleet moved steadily through the Stargate.
But the transition wasn't anything like the Warp jumps Guilliman was used to. There were no violent shifts, no twisted passage through a hellish dimension.
It was smooth. Seamless. Trouble-free.
And that made Guilliman realize just how primitive Imperial space travel was. Like a caveman stumbling out of a cave.
Every time an Imperial fleet made a Warp jump, it cost time—and usually lives. Daemonic attacks were common. Entire fleets had been lost.
But the Megacorp 's interstellar jumps were safe, stable, and perfectly controlled.
It left Guilliman feeling more than a little humbled.
Before long, the Imperial fleet emerged from the Stargate, arriving at their destination.
"Where are we now?" Guilliman asked. The journey hadn't lasted long. Judging by Imperial standards, they'd only traveled a few dozen light-years at most.
He began to speculate—maybe the Megacorp 's territory was near the edge of the galaxy. If so, it might be possible for the Imperium to seize it.
"Report! I think we've... arrived at the Solar System!"
The Ultramarine answering him sounded hesitant. Based on the data, they were indeed in a star system identical to the Solar System—but something felt off.
"What? The Solar System?!" Guilliman's eyes widened. Terra—the throne world of the Imperium—was located there. Why would the Megacorp bring them here?
"No... this isn't our Solar System."
Very quickly, Guilliman noticed something was wrong. While the orbits and parameters of the planets matched their own Solar System almost perfectly, there was a key difference—
This one was far more developed. The infrastructure and technology were light-years ahead of what the Imperium had.
"This is... another universe!"
That thought hit Guilliman like a bolt of lightning. It was the only explanation that made sense, yet it sounded completely impossible: the Stargate had brought them to a parallel universe.
A universe with no Warp. No Chaos Gods. No daemons.
A universe of peace—and unlimited potential.
If the Imperium had this technology, it could conquer the galaxy in twenty years—not two hundred.
And more importantly, interstellar travel without Warp interference meant virtually zero losses in transit.
Entire fleets could arrive intact. Troops could fight at full strength.
That kind of efficiency was priceless.
And the Imperium didn't have it.
In fact, Guilliman didn't know this, but back on Terra, the Emperor himself was currently experimenting with the ancient Webway left behind by the Old Ones.
This long-lost network of faster-than-light tunnels stretched across the Warhammer universe.
So far, only two races knew how to use it: the Necrons—who once fought the Old Ones—and the Aeldari(Eldar), who were their former allies.
Now the Emperor hoped to make Humanity the third race to harness the Webway.
According to original lore, the Emperor became so focused on his Webway Project that he neglected his sons. That failure eventually triggered the Horus Heresy—the Imperium's great civil war.
In the end, the Emperor became a shattered husk kept barely alive on the Golden Throne.
He sacrificed the Imperium, his sons, and the future of mankind... all to escape the Warp.
But to the Megacorp , that kind of technology was just another line item on their tech tree.
And it was precisely for that reason that Li Ang planned to slowly lure the Emperor in—until even the Master of Mankind had no choice but to serve the Megacorp .
Of course, getting the Emperor to submit to the Megacorp was only part of the plan.
What Li Ang truly wanted... was access to the STC modules from humanity's Golden Age.
These so-called Standard Template Constructs were actually sophisticated AI-driven analytical and processing systems—effectively the core of the ancient Men of Iron.
They contained massive caches of Golden Age human technologies.
Unfortunately, ever since the fall of that era, the Imperium had universally banned artificial intelligence, which meant that all the priceless data stored in STCs had remained locked and undecipherable.
But the Megacorp had a massive advantage in the field of AI. Matrix, Europa, and the Infinite Engine could all participate in the decryption process.
Even if they managed to extract only a portion of what was inside, the Megacorp would walk away with priceless tech blueprints from humanity's peak—perfect for bolstering their own scientific ecosystem.
But to obtain those STC modules, they first had to form a diplomatic relationship with the Imperium: an alliance, formal negotiations, and reciprocal trade.
And if Li Ang wanted a peaceful alliance—as equals—with a peak-era Imperium, he couldn't just walk in with empty hands.
He had to show strength.
The ability to block the Warp... to travel faster than light without daemonic interference... These were technologies the Emperor dreamed of.
Over the years, thanks to breakthroughs from Halo's neurophysics, the Creator civilization from Transformers, and help from Amon and Kerrigan, the Megacorp had already achieved stable short-range FTL travel without using the Warp—up to about 100 light-years.
With Warp-assisted travel, they could cross distances of tens of thousands of light-years with ease.
This level of speed allowed them to completely avoid most Warp predators—daemons, entities, and other Warp-based threats.
To put it simply: if Warp daemons were wild animals darting across a highway, the Megacorp 's fleet was a rocket traveling sideways through the sky.
Most daemons couldn't even see what just shot past, much less stop it.
The only drawback? High energy consumption—so it was currently limited to intra-galactic use.
But even that was more than enough.
At least from the Imperium's perspective, this tech was a miracle—a rediscovery of humanity's lost Golden Age.
Li Ang was confident that this one piece of technology alone would be enough to make the Emperor serve under him—as an interstellar governor, no less.
Once the Megacorp had siphoned off enough tech from the Imperium, they could take full control anytime.
At this point, Guilliman had no clue about Li Ang's intentions. Even if he began to suspect something later, it would be too late to resist.
After all, the Imperium had suffered under the Warp's influence for far too long.
Warp storms, daemons, and the Chaos Gods were the greatest obstacles to the Imperium's expansion.
If they could just find a new route—or develop faster, safer travel—the Imperium might one day rival its Golden Age.
At that point, maybe it would be humans invading the Warp to hunt down the Four Chaos Gods.
"Lord Guilliman, please proceed to the designated area. A shuttle is waiting to take you to Ideal City for your scheduled visit."
Marshal Terrence's message pulled Guilliman out of his thoughts. He shook his head, pushing the flood of ideas and speculations aside for now.
"My lord, we should be cautious. Until we've scouted the area, it's safer for you to remain here."
His loyal Ultramarines urged him to be prudent, volunteering to go ahead and secure the location before he arrived.
But Guilliman shook his head and rejected the idea.
The Megacorp 's technological prowess was already far beyond their own. If they'd wanted to crush the visiting Imperials, they could have done so in the blink of an eye.
This was their home turf—a different universe altogether. If something truly went wrong here, not even the Emperor could save them.
So he might as well maintain dignity. Even if they died, they'd die standing tall.
"No need for unnecessary caution. We'll follow their arrangements."
Guilliman rose from his towering seat and strode down the red carpet, heading toward the great hall's exit and preparing to proceed with Terrence's itinerary.
Yes, he deeply distrusted the mysterious Megacorp . But for the sake of the Imperium—for the sake of the Emperor—Guilliman would not allow even a flicker of fear to show on his face.
"Yes, my lord!"
The Ultramarines sprang into action, preparing a ship to carry Guilliman to the designated zone.
"Send the word: this is a diplomatic mission, not a battle. No one is to act recklessly—just remain alert."
Though the Ultramarines were the most disciplined of all the Primarch-led Legions, Guilliman left nothing to chance.
"Understood!"
The Primarch's command sent these veteran warriors into coordinated motion. With precision and discipline, they boarded their ships and set course for the designated star sector.
Seeing Guilliman bring thousands of Ultramarines with him, Marshal Terrence remained perfectly calm—watching every move without the slightest anxiety.
In Warhammer, ten thousand Ultramarines could easily take over an entire planet.
But this wasn't the Warhammer universe.
This was the Megacorp 's core universe.
Orbiting the planet were colossal megastructures, massive fleets, layered defenses, and elite legions from countless universes.
If Guilliman had any foolish ideas, the automated Stellar Spear AI turrets alone could vaporize his entire force in moments.
And if that happened, the Megacorp could use Guilliman as a bargaining chip—demanding the Emperor hand over STC modules in exchange for his life.
Either way, Li Ang had already planned for every outcome. No matter what choice Guilliman made, he was walking a predetermined path.
"Is there something special about pure human bloodlines? Why does the Emperor value them so much?"
One Ultramarine, voice low, whispered to a fellow brother as they marched.
Even though they were trained killers—battle-hardened machines of war—they were still human. And humans are curious.
"There are two types of psychic traits in pure human blood," the other replied. "Some are low, making them resistant to Warp influence."
"The other type is strong—those people can cultivate their psyker abilities and draw energy from the Warp."
Pureblood humans were like opening a mystery box: you either got a Warp-resistant citizen, or a powerful psyker destined to serve the Imperium.
Both were valuable.
The only real problem? People who had neither trait—weak-willed and easily corrupted, but with no gifts to offer in return.
And unfortunately, that was what most people in the current Imperium had become: bloodlines diluted and chaotic. True pureblood humans were almost extinct.
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