Chapter 155 - New Generation
Space ripped open in a brilliant flash. The Emperor's Grand Design came through the portal, its golden hull shining against the void. Behind the flagship came the Imperial armada, four hundred of humanity's most powerful second-generation battleships.
The fleet attacked immediately. Lance batteries fired, cutting deep holes into the alien ships. Torpedoes and macro-shells covered the void in coordinated waves of destruction.
The Rangdan fleet turned desperately to face the sudden attack.
Too late.
The Imperial armada cut through them like a knife through paper.
Isolated and outnumbered, the alien vessels fell one by one. The survivors gathered around their massive mothership while the Imperial fleet chased them without mercy.
When the space battle ended, the Emperor turned to his four gene-sons. His voice carried absolute authority.
"Now we extract the blood-price they owe to mankind. These creatures slaughtered our brethren for pleasure. They will know the same terror they inflicted on our kind."
"Will you join your gene-sire in bringing cleansing fire to these abominations?"
The four Primarchs knelt in perfect unity. Their actions spoke louder than any oath.
"Signal the teleportarium chambers," the Emperor commanded. "Assemble boarding parties. We take their mothership and make it a monument to Imperial justice."
The surviving Custodians and Astartes formed ranks with military precision. Under the Master of Mankind's direction, they prepared to carry his wrath into the enemy's heart.
This was more than tactics; it was a statement written in blood and fire for the galaxy to witness. No one who raised a hand against Terra's children would escape the Emperor's judgment.
The teleportation field collapsed with a loud crack. The Imperial boarding party appeared inside the alien mothership, and fighting broke out instantly.
The Emperor's body blazed with golden light. His eyes burned like twin suns. No alien warrior could survive even a glancing blow from his blade. Where his sword passed, cleansing fire followed. The alien corruption dissolved completely.
Step by step, the Master of Mankind advanced toward the ship's core. Only drifting ash marked where he'd been. The Primarchs and Custodians followed behind him.
In the command chamber sat the Rangdan lord. Its throne floated in the air, held up by psychic power that made reality twist around it. The alien's voice scraped against the Emperor's mind like claws on metal.
"Your species has reached its end, primitive creatures. We are evolution's chosen inheritors."
"As the alpha of your pathetic pack, you possess adequate strength. But this place will serve as your tomb."
The creature's mental attack hammered against the Emperor's psychic defences like waves against a cliff. The Master of Mankind's response was measured and terrible.
"I cast you down to whatever darkness spawned you, creature."
Their minds clashed with incredible force. The alien lord's psychic power shook the stars around them. Reality bent and warped under the pressure, but the Emperor stood firm. His will remained unbreakable.
In the end, the creature fell to Imperial steel. Its death scream tore a hole in reality itself. A collapsing black hole born from uncontrolled psychic energy tried to drag everything into nothingness.
The gravity storm grabbed the Emperor, trying to pull him into the darkness with the mothership's wreckage. Lorgar saw this impossible sight and reacted without thinking. His flight systems roared to life as he threw himself into the void.
"Father!"
The Word Bearer reached through the crushing forces to grab his gene-sire's hand. His voice shouted defiance against physics itself. "Activate overload protocols!"
His Gene Engine strained beyond all design limits. He fought against the cosmic forces, determined that nothing could separate him from the Master of Mankind.
The Raven's wings spread across dimensions. Protective light wrapped around both figures before bringing them back to the flagship's safety.
The Battle of Valf had ended.
Hours later, on the bridge of The Emperor's Grand Design, the Emperor stood with his four gene-sons. They watched the final alien vessel die under Imperial firepower.
"This marks merely the beginning," the Emperor said. "They will learn the true meaning of destruction and despair."
The First Expedition Fleet would keep hunting the Rangdan xenos. They would attack their home worlds until not one survived to spread their corruption among the stars.
Terra's factories would increase production of second-generation battleships. The Battle of Valf had proven their superiority beyond question. Wide deployment of these vessels would give humanity control over space warfare. Even the Necrons would face defeat.
First-generation warships would be gradually moved to civilian service. Their role in the Great Crusade was finished.
The Biological Magi received permission to deploy advanced Gene Engine technology. They would enhance those Astartes who had proven themselves in battle. These warriors would become the Imperium's second-generation super-soldiers.
The new Gene Engines were far better than their predecessors. First-generation implants simply multiplied an Astartes warrior's physical abilities several times over, letting them survive wounds that would kill normal men.
Second-generation systems made the user immune to regular bullets and most conventional weapons.
These enhanced systems could control basic forces like gravity and energy. Combined with the traditional nineteen Astartes modifications, recipients became nearly unstoppable within normal reality.
Conquering the galaxy had become inevitable rather than just ambitious.
The Emperor had initially planned to unify the galaxy and stabilize Imperial rule before implementing second-generation enhancements. However, the Rangdan threat had forced him to speed up the timeline.
Future generations would remain restricted to those of proven loyalty. Third, fourth, and the ultimate Light Giant technology would wait until the Imperium began expanding into other realities.
Meanwhile, the perfected Captain America enhancement serum began to be distributed among Imperial auxiliary forces. It improved baseline human endurance and stamina without any bad side effects.
With these enhanced legions, destroying both Rangdan and Greenskin threats became certain.
After the Primarchs and senior commanders left, the Raven started talking privately with the Emperor.
"Big Guy, we need to select our next destination!"
The First Expedition Fleet would focus on alien extermination. The Raven figured this campaign would take a lot of time. During the fleet's brief break, they should set up their next temporal anchor and explore another reality for additional power.
"What options have you identified?" the Emperor asked.
"I've narrowed it down to several candidates." The Raven's gaze shifted away, trying to hide his real motives. "I recommend the Covering the Sky universe."
"It operates on fantasy metaphysics. We might acquire soul-healing techniques or memory-severance methods that could resolve the Second Primarch's condition."
The Second Primarch remained tormented by his experiences on Majie. Forced memory erasure would likely cause catastrophic psychological damage. The solution required guiding him to free himself from those influences voluntarily, or helping him cut away the memories through mystical means common in fantasy realities.
"Will such techniques function within our universe?" The Emperor looked at the Raven with skepticism.
The Raven straightened confidently. "Absolutely."
Different universes worked in different ways, some focused on technology and science, others on magic and emotion.
The Three-Body universe represented extreme technological focus. The barrier between reality and illusion stayed nearly impossible to break. This made faster-than-light travel extremely difficult and prevented supernatural phenomena entirely.
Fantasy universes operated with mystical focus. Reality-illusion barriers were weak or didn't exist at all. Native beings could absorb spiritual energy, magic, or elemental forces to achieve incredible power.
Three-Body weapons like droplets and light particles grew stronger in technologically-focused realities. Mystical cultivation techniques gained power in fantasy universes. Cross-universal travelers would find their abilities either boosted or weakened depending on dimensional compatibility.
Additionally, certain fantasy realities went through periodic "magical decline" ages. Supernatural inheritances nearly disappeared during these periods.
This occurred when excessive mystical usage weakened the reality-illusion barriers. Universal correction mechanisms would strengthen the veil and cut off mystical connections in response.
[End of Chapter]
Cough, cough, we have a bonus chapter.