Lycaeus, South of the High Tower.
The miners swung their shovels, scooping sand from a nearby cart to cover the crimson blood. Even after a night and the covering of sand, the strong smell of blood still couldn't be concealed. Through the dust-filled air, Corax could still see that the camp's population had decreased by nearly a tenth overall.
"Decimation!!!" Corax became enraged at the sight before him. He knew casualties were unavoidable, but this scene still deeply pained the sensitive heart of the Primarch.
"Corax, you must understand that benevolence does not command troops. These sacrifices are insignificant compared to the victory we achieved," Giovanni said, putting down his shovel and comforting the Primarch who was much taller than him.
"I understand, but I cannot accept it," Corax said calmly.
"Prepare to relocate. I plan to abandon these small camps and only keep one or two large camps in each district to cope with potential retaliation from the High Tower," Corax commanded, looking at the blood on the ground that had already turned dark red. At this moment, Corax's identity had begun to shift towards that of a ruler. Previously, he had primarily served as a liaison between the various camps, but now he understood.
"Yes, Lord Corax," Giovanni affirmed his attitude and support for the Primarch with his address.
"You are also my teacher; there's no need to address me that way," Corax said with a wry smile to Giovanni.
"Corax, an organization must have corresponding hierarchical relationships. This is essential for the healthy development of an organization, and it does not change with human will," Giovanni emphasized once again the teachings he had given this gifted child in the past.
"I understand, teacher. Organize the brothers and sisters in the camps to relocate," Corax said, then disappeared from the spot again.
For the next period, Corax quickly traveled to the mining camps around various areas of the High Tower, issuing his orders to the large and small camps. As Swain had expected, Corax's proposals were approved by everyone on Lycaeus.
In the following time, the miners began a life of both mining and relocating, finally completing Corax's plan two months later.
"The camps on Lycaeus have finally been integrated. Next, we can draw strong laborers from the camps to form our army," Swain said, looking at the new situation map hanging on the wall.
The large and small camps, originally spread out like dog teeth, now only remained as a few large gathering points, with the western area still appearing chaotic. Corax had no mind to care about the fate of those criminals on Kiavahr, as long as they didn't raid his camps.
It was foreseeable that once the camps were integrated, these criminals would quickly find themselves at a dead end. At that time, new unrest would inevitably arise internally. Currently, this group of criminals in the west was like a Gu pool isolated by the east, south, and north areas. To survive as much as possible, it was only a matter of who was stronger. It was cruel, but very realistic.
No mining camp would accept these people, who were covered in sin, even if the new material exchange ratio was enough to guarantee their minimum survival needs. However, Lycaeus did not support idlers. The criminals in the background only contacted Crow King later, when Corax was about to launch his uprising, expressing their willingness to join the cause of liberating the mining planet and requesting Corax to pardon their mistakes. The benevolent Corax ultimately agreed to their request, and these criminals later joined the uprising. After the Primarch took command of the Legion, some even joined the Dark Raven Guard and participated in the grand Great Crusade, ultimately perishing in the Great Slaughter.
"Approximately half a year remaining is enough. Have all camps submit all but a necessary portion of their ore to the High Tower. What do you think?" Swain asked Corax for his opinion.
"It's certainly enough. I've already prepared the defense maps for all critical nodes of the High Tower. As soon as we have weapons, we can launch the uprising," Corax said.
The biggest problem facing the miners now was weapons. This time, the forces they faced were not just the disorganized armed overseers, but also the regular Kiavahr troops stationed in the High Tower, and the Tower Lord's private army.
"Weapons are easy to handle; we can just seize them from the armed overseers. We can't do anything about protective gear," Swain said.
In the Warhammer universe, firearm damage is always excessive. For example, the short-barreled laser guns primarily used on Lycaeus could easily tear through the protective gear of ordinary Kiavahr soldiers. Not to mention the neural-linked power armor used by Astartes and the force-feedback power armor used by mortals, even the Solar Pattern Void Armor of the Solar Auxilia was extremely precious.
The Solar Auxilia, comprising about 20% of the Imperium of Man's total military, were the most elite mortal troops in the Imperium of Man. Besides being able to adapt to various battlefields, they were also proficient in void warfare. Their various equipment was also the best, aside from the Astartes Legions. The Solar Auxilia assigned to the Dark Raven Guard was a powerful Solar Auxilia Legion called the Sacred Beast Infantry Regiment.
But how could such equipment be issued to ordinary planetary defense forces? Kiavahr, not to mention whether it had the capability to produce the kind of elite armor used by the Solar Auxilia, even if it could, they wouldn't produce such things. This place had been peaceful for too long.
Besides protective gear, what the miners also lacked was firepower. An army wouldn't just have laser guns; there were also frag grenades, meltabombs, plasma weapons, and important defensive nodes were equipped with heavy stubbers or twin-linked laser cannons. Without boarding shields or Astartes, these mass-killing weapons could clear an entire corridor of infantry with a single burst.
"Then it will be up to Shadow Assassin," Swain said with a smile. His purpose in cultivating Shadow Assassin from the beginning was precisely for this goal.
Every Primarch would push their most proficient area of expertise to the extreme, and coincidentally, the planet Corax descended upon happened to be able to maximize his greatest strengths. Swain laid the foundation beforehand, and Corax's teachings made them even more outstanding in stealth, infiltration, and penetration. Especially some psykers, even the Imperium of Man's psychic detection considered them stable, legitimate psykers.
In the entire human race, aside from a few individuals, no one's application of psychic powers could surpass that of a Primarch.