Rhodes nodded to Ahriman, then turned to Mefilas:
"Mefilas, is this the planet you chose for the Dark Gate?"
"Yes, Master. I selected a barren world, similar in mass to Mars, on the edge of the system.
If there's any incident—say, a daemon breaking free from the Dark Gate—I can instantly shatter the planet with my psychic power, destroying the gate as well," Mefilas said.
"Very good. Ahriman, begin establishing the Dark Gate!" Rhodes ordered.
Mefilas had understood his intentions, picking a safe, hidden world on the system's periphery.
If anything happened, Rhodes could have Mefilas handle it immediately.
The Dark Gate wasn't like the Emperor's webway—it connected permanently to the Warp and couldn't be shut. It was a stable Warp portal.
Very convenient—but if something unexpected occurred, breaking the gate would solve it.
"Lord Rhodes, who do you plan to assign to daemon hunting? Once the portal is opened, thousands of lesser daemons will pour through," Ahriman asked.
Rhodes smiled. He had over two million system coins. Before coming here, he had spent a million to summon ten Ace Killer, imbuing each with the Emperor's psychic power.
These ten had become Emperor Avatars, wielding the Emperor's psychic might—the deadliest weapon against daemons.
These ten new Emperor Avatars would be stationed here permanently, doing nothing but killing daemons.
They'd work in shifts—five fighting, five resting, constantly battling the daemons.
A flash of light—ten Emperor Avatars, each fifty meters tall, appeared before Ahriman.
Each wore golden armor, wielded a golden greatsword, and looked like living Emperors!
Their bodies radiated terrifying golden psychic power, making Ahriman feel immense pressure.
He'd heard of the Emperor Avatars before! The Grey Knights had used them against daemons; at the Thirteenth Black Crusade, they shone on the Cadia battlefield—two nearly destroyed the Black Legion, almost changing Cadia's fate.
If not for Necron Overlord Trazyn's sudden betrayal and attack on the Avatars, the Great Rift might never have opened, and Abaddon might not have succeeded.
Even half a year ago, during the battle on Terra, several Avatars appeared. So were these Emperor Avatars created by the Emperor as daemon princes or greater daemons, handed to Rhodes, or…?
A more frightening thought occurred: perhaps these Avatars were Rhodes's own work, with the Emperor merely supplying power.
Though they wielded the Emperor's psychic might, in all else they differed—perhaps their giantized power came from Rhodes.
Just as Rhodes had empowered Ahriman, these Avatars might be bioweapons—and now mass-producible.
"With these ten Avatars, plus you stationed here, Ahriman, I doubt any daemons will cause trouble.
If there's an emergency, Mefilas will assist immediately. If even he can't handle it, I'll arrive myself," Rhodes said.
"Truly foolproof, Lord Rhodes! Let's begin then!" Ahriman nodded, stepping up to the huge Dark Gate and channeling his psychic power.
Like a key, his power opened a Warp portal—a green ripple appeared.
The daemons in the Warp instantly sensed an opening to realspace.
They were ecstatic—a precious entrance!
Through it, they could enter realspace, harvest souls and flesh!
Countless Chaos daemons howled and surged toward the portal, only to be blasted apart by golden light as they emerged.
The Emperor Avatars stood in a row, golden swords raised, unleashing golden energy. Daemons emerging from the portal were instantly obliterated.
They were utterly annihilated—Emperor's psychic power destroyed them completely.
Still, countless daemons charged the portal, howling into realspace.
These lesser daemons had little intelligence; they only craved souls!
"Looks effective. Ahriman, you'll be stationed here for now.
You may recruit some psykers from nearby regions, implant them with my gene-seed,
and turn them into Astartes. Mefilas and Zett will help.
Train them as Librarians, and have them help guard this portal.
If needed, they can also hunt daemons," Rhodes assigned.
Ahriman was a top psyker—one of the best in the galaxy, not far behind Magnus now.
Stationing him here to guard the Dark Gate, while training legion Librarians, was ideal.
"I understand, Lord Rhodes. May I summon some old warband members and attempt to purge their Warp taint?" Ahriman asked.
That was his main concern—could he save his old comrades?
"As long as nothing happens to the gate, I won't interfere. But remember, if anything does, I'll make you wish you were dead," Rhodes warned.
"I understand, Lord Rhodes. I will guard the gate with all my heart," Ahriman promised.
During the four months transporting the gate, he had studied it—a true artifact, likely forged by the Life Goddess and Rhodes together. It was extremely stable, unlike the Emperor's webway, with a different mechanism.
Even if a greater daemon or daemon prince tried to break through, he could beat them back—now that he possessed the cosmic phantom beast's power.
"Good. Watch over things. In a few months, I'll take you to Mars to further enhance your cosmic phantom beast power.
I'll give you whatever you want. In return, you owe me only loyalty!" Rhodes said.
Ahriman knelt and bowed to Rhodes.
The Dark Gate was now operating safely. In just a few minutes, it provided Rhodes with a huge amount of system coins—at this rate,
he'd earn a million coins per month; in less than two years, he'd have enough to upgrade the advanced shop.
Having ensured the gate's safe operation, Rhodes left.
"Mefilas, report on my territory's status. I've been gone almost a year," Rhodes said.
"Yes, Master. Three of the five systems have been fully terraformed; all planet-sized worlds have been moved into habitable zones,
and transformed into forge worlds, hive worlds, or agri-worlds.
The remaining two will be handled as soon as I finish my current tasks," Mefilas reported.
"Good progress. Halt further expansion for now and focus on developing our base.
During the Indomitus Crusade, I don't want any trouble at home. If trouble does come, I want you to be able to handle it yourselves," Rhodes instructed.
After the first phase of the Indomitus Crusade, the Plague War would break out—the main battlefield would be in Ultramar, but his own territory might be affected.