Shadow Hand Mephrit began a detailed investigation among the Necrons, but the final result made him frown deeply.
After all, since it was a limited edition body for top nobles, Noah had prepared features like eyebrows for these Necron aristocrats.
"This is big trouble. Why is it the Storm King?"
It was almost common knowledge that the Storm King was at odds with the Triarch Council.
More importantly, this guy never concealed his desire for the galaxy, and he was the most openly defiant regarding Szarekh's order to abandon the galaxy.
While all the major Necron Dynasties that had revived were evacuating, only his Sautekh Dynasty continued to expand within the galaxy.
Now, the Sautekh Dynasty, which controls hundreds of Tomb Worlds, has become the most powerful Necron force within the galaxy, making it impossible even for Szarekh to directly compel him to leave.
"No, this won't do. If we let this guy act so recklessly, the agreement between us and humanity might need to be renegotiated, and that absolutely cannot happen."
Shadow Hand Mephrit began to grow anxious.
"Connect me to the Sautekh Dynasty's communication line. I need to ask Imotekh what exactly he is thinking. Does he want to become a criminal of the Infinite Empire?"
When the communication connected, the holographic image of Storm King Imotekh showed clear arrogance: "Mesophet, esteemed member of the Triarch Council, revered Ancient Archmagos, have you finally deigned to contact me?"
"Imotekh!" Mesophet's tone was angry. "What is the meaning of your attack on the Human colony? Do you want to provoke an all-out war?"
The Storm King let out a sound like grinding metal: "War? So what? Do those little human insects dare to launch a full-scale war against us?"
"Have you forgotten who this galaxy originally belonged to?"
"What? Are you really going to surrender this galaxy to those damned, lowly insects, just because they can provide us with that insignificant souls?"
"I think you've all gone senile. It's just a small souls, isn't it? Even without it, aren't we, the Infinite Empire, doing just fine?
Besides, if we destroy the Imperium of Man and threaten humanity, can that Human Warmaster really refuse to provide us with souls?"
"You three last Archmagi of the Ancient Sacred Council are truly regressing the longer you live. If you cannot save the Infinite Empire, then let me do it! I absolutely forbid the loss of the galaxy!"
"I will lead our Infinite Empire to regain control of the entire galaxy. I will lead our civilization back to greatness. You cannot stop me."
"Mesophet, seeing as you are a member of the Triarch Council, one of the three Sages of our Infinite Empire, I ask you: Are you willing to support my great endeavor."
"If you can support Szarekh, the cowardly Silent King, then I don't think supporting me should be a problem, right?"
Mesophet never expected that Imotekh would harbor such unrealistic fantasies.
He had come to interrogate the other party about why he launched a war against humanity.
But this guy actually dared to question him in return, and even try to recruit him to rebel against Silent King Szarekh?
"Imotekh, I hope you understand what the words you just spoke imply. Is your Sautekh Dynasty preparing to defy the Triarch Council? Are you preparing a rebellion?"
Mesophet was truly enraged by this guy.
But Imotekh clearly didn't see it that way.
"Enough!"
"Imotekh, I am warning you one last time: Do not provoke those humans again. It concerns the very survival of the Infinite Empire. If you do, the Triarch Council will have reason to wage war against you!"
"Go immediately and apologize to that Warmaster of the Imperium of Man, and present your compensation, or else don't blame us for being impolite."
After dropping his final words, Mesophet cut off the communication with Imotekh.
"Heh, I shouldn't have held any hope for the Triarch Council. They have truly lost the original spirit of the Infinite Empire."
Imotekh shook his head with a trace of self-mockery.
"These guys have abandoned all the glory of our great Infinite Empire, and they have trampled all our past pride underfoot.
They even stand by and watch the galaxy be eroded by these damned human pests."
"Since the Triarch Council is unwilling to shoulder their responsibility, then I shall."
Imotekh made this declaration to all the Necron nobles around him.
Following his words, the surrounding Necron nobles cheered.
These individuals were all aligned with the Sautekh Dynasty; some were assimilated by the Sautekh Dynasty, while others joined the Dynasty because they agreed with its principles.
These guys didn't have many opinions regarding souls, nor did they have strong feelings about their subjects; they preferred their troops to be entirely devoid of souls.
After all, if the troops under their command possessed souls, wouldn't they gain the ability to think independently? What if they rebelled then?
Since only they themselves needed souls, they easily acquired their own souls and even stored a batch of souls Seeds.
With what they needed, and even sufficient reserves, the next step was to forget their origins.
"Alamak, the Triarch Council wants us to compromise with the hateful Imperium of Man. Do you really intend to compromise with them?"
"My answer is no. Conflict between us and the Imperium of Man is inevitable. To regain dominion over the galaxy, we must not show any concession to humanity."
"You were once shattered by the Imperium of Man's forces during the Siege of Sha'ros. Now, I order you to seek vengeance."
"The Triarch Council wants us to go and apologize to the Imperium of Man, but I refuse. You can find a suitable target among the Imperium of Man's worlds, launch an attack, and destroy it.
As for the pressure from the Triarch Council, disregard it."
"Szarekh needs to face the Tyranid Swarm on the outskirts of the galaxy, and so do his followers.
He doesn't have enough troops to fight our Sautekh Dynasty. Those massive Tyranid Swarm forces clearly deserve the Silent King's attention more than we do."
Imotekh was not preparing to offer gifts or admit fault to the Imperium of Man; instead, he was preparing to launch a counterattack.
Mesophet wanted him to apologize to humanity, right? He would answer that demand by destroying a Human colony world.
The Necrons will never bow to humanity!
"Yes, Your Majesty the Phaeron, I will not disappoint you."
A unit of Necrons began to mobilize.
With Overlord Aramakh as the core commander, it brought three Destroyer Lords, five Lich Lords, and their respective guards.
Two Stellar Overlords served as the left and right wing commanders of the fleet, and four Work Overseers served as technical directors to maintain the combat effectiveness of the Necron legion.
The fleet dispatched two Tomb-class Tomb Ships as the core of the fleet.
A Tomb-class Tomb Ship is approximately 15 kilometers long, equipped with gauss main cannon arrays and dimensional pulse cannons, with firepower sufficient to destroy an Imperial battleship.
It comes with an energy shield to protect friendly ships and, as a mobile tomb, can rapidly deploy elites such as Immortals and Lich Guards.
Four Scythe-class Harvester Ships, six Elegy-class Raider Ships, four Shroud-class Light cruisers, and thirty Shadow Hunter-class frigates.
As for the ground forces, they made corresponding adjustments to counter the powerful Astra Militarum forces and the vast Space Marine troops of the Imperium of Man.
The number of Necron Warriors reached 400,000, Immortals 100,000, and Flayed Ones 20,000.
There were 4,000 Deathmark Warriors specifically deployed against Space Marines, 8,000 Canoptek Wraith units, and 2,000 Hexmark Destroyers.
6,000 elite Necron Lich Guard warriors were deployed, along with a full complement of other heavy and light combat vehicles.
This force could almost destroy any world in the Segmentum Obscurus, except for Misty Sector 108 World.
At this time, this force was dispatched by the Necrons, who were preparing to destroy another human world as retaliation against humanity and their final answer.
Noah was unaware of all this; after entrusting the matter to Shadow Hand Mephrit, he confidently resumed his experiments.
This continued until another human world was attacked by the Necrons.
"Warmaster, the industrial world of Solontex in the Segmentum Obscurus has once again been struck by a Necron fleet. Their attack was extremely fierce. If not for a 5,000-strong Space Marine force stationed on that world, it would have completely fallen by the second day.
Even so, Industrial World Solontex is already half-fallen and is expected to hold out for only three more days at most before completely falling under the Necron attack."
"Surrounding Imperial Worlds have dispatched forces for support, but the Imperial battleships are no match for these Necron fleets; they have two battleship-class Tomb Ships."
"Just one volley will cause the Imperial Navy to lose a battleship directly. The Imperial Navy has tried its best but cannot conduct any effective coordinated operations."
A report from the Departmento Munitorum sounded on Noah's emergency communication port, and Noah answered the call.
"I understand. I will send a patrol fleet to support them and bring sufficient reinforcements."
"I will also mobilize the nearby Custodes, sending small units first for support, to ensure our industrial world can continue to hold out."
After Noah finished speaking, he issued one command after another on his personal terminal. The Imperium of Man's forces, under Noah's deployment, began to head towards the industrial world for support.
After issuing the orders, Noah once again contacted the Necron commander.
At this moment, Noah's face showed clear anger, in addition to deep confusion and bewilderment.
Even with his Scientist's brain, he couldn't figure out why all this was happening.
He couldn't understand why, despite having already contacted Mesophet.
And the other party had also given their word and provided the compensation that should have been given.
In terms of value alone, the compensation offered by the Necrons was far more valuable than an industrial world.
Such behavior by the Necrons was a losing proposition, completely unnecessary to continue, but why did such a thing happen again?
With such doubts and confusion, Noah reconnected the communication with Oberon.
After the communication connected, he didn't waste words with Oberon but directly said, "I need to contact Mesophet; connect the call directly to him."
Noah's face was grim the entire time he spoke. Seeing this, Oberon didn't dare to say much and immediately connected the message to the Triarch Council.
But after the call was made, the Triarch Council immediately answered. This time, it was not Mesophet who appeared, but the Silent King Szarekh.
"Oberon? Your father was a Phaeron loyal to me, so I believe you will also be a loyal person. Now, transfer your communication to that human Warmaster; I will speak with him personally."
The Silent King's appearance overwhelmed Oberon. Although he was a Phaeron of a medium-sized dynasty, he couldn't help but be incredibly excited upon seeing the Silent King in person.
This was the Silent King!
The true leader of the Necrons' Infinite Empire.
He never expected that he, a mere Phaeron of a small to medium-sized Necron dynasty, would have the honor to meet the great Silent King. What an honor!
Oberon bowed repeatedly, his hands not slowing down, and quickly connected the Silent King's communication with Noah's.
Noah was visibly stunned when he saw Szarekh.
"You are?"
"Allow me to introduce myself, Your Excellency, the Warmaster of the Imperium of Man. They all call me the Silent King. I heard you wanted to meet me before. Now that I have returned to the galaxy, I am very pleased to meet you. On behalf of the Infinite Empire, I thank you for your contributions to the Infinite Empire."
Szarekh knew that Noah didn't recognize him, so he first introduced himself to Noah.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency, the Silent King. Since you are speaking with me personally, I presume the Necrons who attacked us are not your doing, Your Majesty."
Noah, meeting Szarekh for the first time, observed the Necron Silent King before him through the communication.
Since the Necron Silent King had come forward to meet him, it was conceivable that this attack was not the work of the Triarch Council.
"Yes, Your Excellency Noah, this is indeed not the work of our Triarch Council, but of a traitor, the Storm King of the Sautekh Dynasty."
"I apologize, Your Excellency Noah, I had intended to send my own forces to deal with him, but the threat of the Tyranids is too formidable, and my forces cannot spare their main strength."
"His strength has grown considerably, and dealing with him would require mobilizing a large number of troops."
"Please believe me, if not for the current troublesome threat of the Tyranids, I would have already dealt with him."
"After all, his actions are also in defiance of my orders and a challenge to my authority."
"Since the Infinite Empire is temporarily unable to suppress its internal strife, which has had a certain impact on the Imperium of Man, I am willing to offer certain compensation to the Imperium of Man for this impact."
The preceding words were all nonsense, or rather, just an explanation. The latter sentence was the most important.
"I am willing to provide the Imperium of Man with resources for 10 star-class battleships, which, according to your eternity coins system, is approximately 14,000 eternity coins."
Szarekh's words made Noah's expression brighten once again.
Excellent. Although two of his colony planets had been attacked by the Necrons, the resources he could obtain from the Silent King far exceeded the losses from the attacks.
Shadow Hand Mephrit had only provided resources from the moon of war.
All of it combined didn't even exceed 1,000 eternity coins, but Szarekh directly offered 14,000.
No wonder he was called the Silent King; he was truly generous!
"Then I trust you, Your Excellency, the Silent King." Noah expressed his understanding and smiled again.
Szarekh seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
He had finally appeased the Imperium of Man. If Noah had objections, the Necrons' hard-won turning point would be directly scrapped, which was not what Szarekh wanted to see.
Noah hung up the communication with Szarekh, satisfied.
And when Szarekh hung up, Mesophet, who was standing beside him, spoke.
"Silent King, isn't the wealth we've given too much? If we give it out so directly, who knows what that fool, the Storm King, will do next?
How much more compensation will we have to give?"
14,000 eternity coins was not a huge fortune for the vast Infinite Empire.
The Necrons had plenty of wealth and controlled large star sectors beyond the galaxy.
Although their wealth was primarily derived from their famous tomb world economy, this economy had also provided them with sufficient income.
This compensation could easily be provided by the Necrons' Triarch Council.
But why would they offer so much wealth?
This matter clearly had nothing to do with the Necrons belonging to the Triarch Council.
"Don't be impatient, Mesophet."
"You must understand that every sum of money we give has its own value and significance."
"Although Imotekh of the Sautekh Dynasty has broken away from the Triarch Council's command and is openly preparing to launch a great rebellion, it needs to be suppressed.
But our attention is now mostly drawn to those damned bugs. We don't have enough troops to fight those bugs, but can we ignore the rebellion?
We cannot. And now he has just provoked the Imperium of Man... it's time for this inner-galactic empire to fight the Storm King. On the one hand, the Imperium of Man can help us suppress the Storm King's rebellion.
On the other hand, it also demonstrates the Infinite Empire's military might to the Imperium of Man."
"You mean?" Mesophet seemed to understand something, but not entirely.
"Nothing. This star sea is inherently dark. The honeymoon period for both the Infinite Empire and humanity is brief.
Sooner or later, our honeymoon period will be torn apart, and then war will come."
"To make our cooperation with humanity more suitable, I think it's also time to show humanity our military strength.
The Storm King's rebellion can just demonstrate a part of our Infinite Empire's combat power."
Politics.
There has never been any so-called emotion in the interactions between nations.
Nor does signing peace and alliance agreements now mean becoming true allies.
Everything is actually in constant flux, changing with interests.
The Necrons can sign long-term peace and alliance agreements with humanity over the issue of souls.
They can even engage in large-scale cooperation across the galaxy and yield the galaxy to the Imperium of Man.
However, they can also fall out with humanity over the issue of souls.
"Alright, Mesophet, stop thinking about these messy things. How is our progress on cracking the souls?
The lifeline of the Infinite Empire should not be in the hands of an alien race, especially when that person is a human.
Most importantly, behind him is a civilization."
Szarekh did not intend to continue the current topic. He turned his attention to his side's progress on cracking the souls.
souls being in Noah's hands was not good news for the Necrons.
Although cooperation had begun, having one's lifeline controlled by another was tantamount to being slapped in the face.
A mature civilization absolutely cannot face such a situation.
If Noah were just one person, without the Imperium of Man behind him, the Silent King would absorb him into the Infinite Empire.
He would make him an existence like his own people, and he would even be willing to open up another authority for Noah in the Triarch Council, turning it into a Quadriarch Council.
But Noah was not alone; he was the Warmaster of the Imperium of Man.
"Regarding soul technology, our Scientists have not made much progress in cracking it.
We haven't thoroughly researched soul seeds yet. Our Scientists estimate that it will take us at least 100 years to fully grasp this technology."
Mesophet respectfully reported the current progress in soul development.
It was not so easy for the Necrons to crack the soul seeds and finished souls, these two core products in Noah's hands.
Although the Necrons were at the pinnacle of the physical universe, how could something reinforced with space-based engineering be so easily cracked?
While not entirely uncrackable, it would take at least a century of research by the Infinite Empire's top Scientists.
"Just a century. We can afford to wait. We can very well maintain a century of peace with humanity. There's nothing to it. In fact, during these hundred years, we can provide them with even more aid."
"The Infinite Empire does not fear these things, nor does it care about this little bit of time.
Tell them to continue their research, and they must proceed steadily."
Szarekh had a good mindset. Being able to develop and crack Noah's soul devices within a century was something the Necrons could definitely wait for.
"Alright, Mesophet, you will be responsible for transporting the resources to the Imperium of Man. I will go and deal with those damned bugs now."
"Also, order our subordinate dynasties to continue expanding into other alien star sectors, to acquire more resource worlds, so that we can provide humanity with resources to purchase more souls."
After completing his final deployment, Szarekh motioned for Mesophet to leave.
For a century, until the souls were cracked by the Necrons, their relationship with humanity would be one of absolute peace.
But who could say what would happen after a century?
While Szarekh was doing that, Noah, after hanging up the communication, did almost exactly the same thing.
As soon as the communication ended, the smile on Noah's face vanished.
"This time, we got about 14,000 eternity coins worth of supplies from the Necrons again.
Guilliman, you handle it when the time comes. Make sure all these supplies are used properly; don't store them, use them all up."
"We need to develop our World as much as possible; we don't have much time..."
Who is Noah?
He is a Level 10 Scientist of the Terran Dominion. How could the souls he created not have any contingencies?
Although considering the uniqueness of the Necrons and their peak achievements in physical science, Noah did not add too many terrifying contingencies, but he did add small anti-cracking measures.
As early as the second year after the soul seeds were sold, Noah already knew that the Necrons were cracking his soul seeds.
And Noah even knew the time it would take for the Necrons to crack their souls earlier than the Necron Scientists did.
140 years!
Even if all the elite Scientists of the entire Necron Dynasty were assembled to crack the soul seeds.
Noah could guarantee that it would take these guys at least 140 years to crack them!
This is the most advanced civilization in the entire galaxy, assembling all its Scientists to crack it.
The rogue nature of orbital engineering lies in this.
At least in Noah's view, within 140 years, he doesn't need to worry about Szarekh and their issues.
But what will happen after 140 years?
That's another matter.
After 140 years of development, the Imperium of Man will also be much stronger than it is now, and by then, it will be more confident in dealing with the Necrons.
Guilliman, sitting opposite Noah, breathed a sigh of relief as imperial regent when he heard that Noah had once again brought back 14,000 eternity coins worth of supplies.
It is known that the cost of one moon of war is 600 eternity coins. 14,000 eternity coins are equivalent to being able to build more than 200 moons of war.
Although after building more than 200 moons of war, their annual maintenance cost would exceed 12,000 eternity coins, which the Imperium of Man simply cannot afford.
However, having money and not having money are two different things. eternity coins do not necessarily need to be all used to build weapons of war; they can continue to develop the Worlds within the Empire.
Moreover, at least the upcoming war with the Orks will definitely not cause the Imperium of Man to be unable to sustain itself; the Necrons have sent a good reward.
Guilliman was very happy now, but after the initial excitement, Guilliman's expression gradually became solemn.
"Since the Necrons have given us so many resources, does that mean they don't want to get involved in the upcoming matters?
The Necron Dynasty that attacked our colony World needs to be dealt with by ourselves."
As an experienced politician, Guilliman naturally understood.
The meaning behind the Necrons giving so many supplies.
"Yes, that's right, but when fighting against that Necron Dynasty, we can still demand more resources from the Necrons."
"This is how cooperation between civilizations in the Star Sea works; we don't need to consider the Necrons our eternal allies."
"Just focus on development. In any case, we've got the money. Remember to allocate 1,000 eternity coins worth of supplies; we're going to build another Planetary Shipyard."
"Only being able to build one moon of war at a time is still too few."
"The entire Imperium of Man needs our army to guard and suppress everywhere, and the situation on Starfish must also be resolved."
"Our military pressure is still immense; we need more troops."
Guilliman nodded: "Understood, I will allocate the resources you need and send them directly to Misty Sector 108 World."
"No, don't send them to Misty Sector 108 World." Noah unexpectedly rejected Guilliman's suggestion. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."
"Then what do you mean?" Guilliman asked, puzzled.
"The next Planetary Shipyard will be built near Mars, so this Planetary Shipyard will be protected by Terra and Mars."
"The Planetary Shipyard is one of the most important facilities for us going forward."
"Misty Sector 108 World, although it is the shining star of the Empire, its location is simply too dangerous."
"On one side, it needs to face the threat of Chaos, and on the other, it needs to face the threat of Orks. More importantly, it may also need to face the threat of the Necrons."
"There are too many dangers there; we cannot place all our main high-precision industries there."
Guilliman understood, and he nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"Alright, I understand. I will personally handle these industrial development issues next."
After saying this, theoretically, Guilliman should have gotten up and left by now, but this time, Guilliman did not get up and leave; instead, he remained seated opposite Noah.
"Is there something wrong, Guilliman? Normally, you would have already gotten up and left by now."
Guilliman's unusual behavior immediately caught Noah's attention.
Since they were already discussing things here, Noah simply asked him.
"Warmaster, don't you think our current warships are a bit too scarce?"
"The available warships are simply too scarce. Although patrol fleets are being produced in formation, as you know, the peak production capacity of Misty Sector 108 World can only provide two patrol fleets to the entire Imperium of Man per year."
"I'm not saying this production capacity is small, but rather that within the entire Empire, such output is too small. The number of mainline warships in the Empire is also too small. I think the Empire needs other warships to fill the gap."
"Just as you, Warmaster, said before, in wars between Star Sea Empires, the navy is the most important, and the army is secondary."
"Since we have obtained so many resources now, Warmaster, why don't you research other warships and allow other Worlds of the Empire to also produce our latest model warships?"
...Noah fell silent.
Coming up with new warship manufacturing plans was not difficult for Noah, but the difficulty lay in the dismal industrial standards of the Imperium of Man.
The patrol frigate formations he currently developed could be properly produced by Misty Sector 108 World.
But for other Worlds, it was pure nonsense; they couldn't even produce the planetary frigates that were handed over to planets for self-production.
Guilliman suggesting that he come up with warships that other Forge Worlds of the Empire could also produce was purely making things difficult for him... "I will seriously consider this issue and try my best to select warship technologies."
The omnipotent Level 10 Scientist Warmaster Noah was stumped at this moment.
Since Noah had said so, what else could Guilliman do?
Naturally, he had to give the Scientist enough time.
Guilliman chose to return and continue handling his duties, preparing to allocate the large batch of resources he had just acquired.
The Necrons' resources absolutely needed to be allocated properly, but besides distributing resources, Guilliman also needed to set aside a portion of this batch to prepare for the upcoming war against the Storm King.
Although the resources provided by the Necrons were indeed tempting, Guilliman had to admit that the subsequent war against the Necrons would consume a tremendous amount of the Imperium of Man's energy.
Moreover, the Imperium of Man couldn't afford not to fight this war.
The Necrons had provided 14,000 eternity coins worth of resources in one go, and their meaning was clear. This sum of resources was compensation for the Storm King's attack on humanity.
Since the Necrons had stated they needed to resist the Tyranid Swarm, Noah naturally couldn't ask them to handle the Storm King's matter. Compared to the Tyranid Swarm, the Storm King's issue became minor.
As the imperial regent, Guilliman had to properly allocate this batch of resources to prepare for the potential upcoming war against the Necrons.
If one thought carefully, how many enemies did humanity currently face?
There was no need to count ordinary xenos, as their combat power was limited.
So far, the major enemies faced by the Imperium of Man included the Chaos Daemons, the Starfish Empire in the Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxy, and the Drukhari / Dark Aeldari who still occupied the Webway with vast military strength.
The Necrons Sautekh Dynasty, which occupied large numbers of Tomb Worlds on the edge of the Eastern Galaxy and possessed immense military power.
As well as the powerful Orks, the Legendary Ork, Fierce Beast, who was spawned during the fighting in the Pioneer Sector.
The Legendary Ork, Fierce Beast, was the one who had clearly torn off all pretenses and could start a war at any moment.
As well as the Necrons Sautekh Dynasty, which occupied large numbers of Tomb Worlds on the edge of the Eastern Galaxy and possessed immense military power.
Humanity was frantically searching for the traces of the Legendary Ork, Fierce Beast, but this was difficult to achieve due to the concealment provided by the Chaos Daemons.
The opponent was almost certainly destined to succeed in starting a Green Tide; it was only a matter of time.
As for the Necrons Sautekh Dynasty... the war between the two sides had already begun, but it was still in a small-scale probing phase and had not yet escalated into a full-scale confrontation.
Even so, the ongoing conflict with the Necrons undoubtedly required more resources.
In the subsequent military budget, Guilliman personally allocated 4,000 eternity coins worth of supplies to prepare for the war against the Necrons.
Furthermore, he also allocated 1,000 eternity coins worth of supplies to prepare for the potential outbreak of war with the Orks.
Although he didn't know when this war would erupt, the budget had to be prepared first.
As for the remaining funds... Guilliman thought for a moment and invested all of it into the development of the Imperium of Man. Compared to the Imperium of Man, which possessed a Million Worlds, this small amount of eternity coins was merely a drop in the ocean.
But if every planet completed its transformation, it would significantly increase the Imperium of Man's tax revenue, so Guilliman understood which was more worthwhile.
Meanwhile, Noah had returned to his laboratory. He was currently selecting a suitable warship for the Imperium of Man from the fleet previously used by the Terran Dominion.
Originally, he intended to, but considering the current state of the Imperium of Man, its lagging industrial capacity, and various changes, Noah ultimately selected a Missile Arsenal Ship that he modified and improved based on the Federation's former warships within 6 hours.
Missiles could be said to be the least technologically demanding weapon among all types, similar to torpedoes.
Relying on the Imperium of Man's current small missile engines, the speed of these missiles could be directly boosted to twice the speed of light.
Don't underestimate twice the speed of light.
It might seem insignificant compared to warships capable of FTL travel.
But one must know that few of the enemies currently faced by the Imperium of Man have mastered light-speed flight.
The Daemons in the Warp absolutely cannot engage in FTL combat, and the Orks are even less capable.
The Orks' current technology does not yet allow them to engage in FTL combat.
Although the Aeldari Golden Ark Fleet does possess FTL flight capability, ordinary Aeldari fleets do not.
The only ones capable of FTL combat are the Necrons and the Starfish.
But so what? Noah only needed to add some Warp jump capability to the small missiles, and they could still strike the relatively unprepared Necron fleets.
As for the Starfish, they essentially have no intention of fighting in the short term. Thus, for the Imperium of Man at this time, a missile ship designed to counter ordinary enemies became the best choice.
Missile manufacturing is relatively simple, and the Imperium of Man has so many Forge Worlds available.
This would allow for ample supply to the Imperium of Man. Noah began to immerse himself in the research and development of a new type of missile.
Because a large number of the Adeptus Mechanicus's Archmagos had undergone advanced training and had been successfully cultivated by Noah, after two months of collective effort,
A missile suitable for Imperial domestic production, the Hive Cyclone Missile, was finalized.
The Hive Cyclone Missile flies at 2.5 times the speed of light. A single Hive Cyclone Missile is enough to destroy an ordinary Imperial frigate.
More importantly, the production cost of this Hive Cyclone Missile was only 1/10th that of an Imperial frigate.
This perfectly met the current needs of the Imperium.
At the same time, even the un-reformed Forge Worlds of the Imperium of Man could undertake a portion of the missile production.
Such a missile almost perfectly fit the current requirements of the Imperium of Man. Furthermore, after modifications by the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Adeptus Mechanicus discovered that the emperor-class battleship had excellent potential for improvement.
Under Noah's guidance, the Archmagos utilized their Orky Logic, and soon a new Tier 1 Missile battleship was completed through their modifications.
The original hangar bay was directly converted into a Hive Missile Bay. The missile variant of the emperor-class battleship could launch over 4,000 missiles in a single full-power salvo.
Its firepower was so immense that it could wipe out an entire Imperium of Man Stellar System Patrol Fleet in a single round.
The Stellar System Patrol Fleet is a patrol group anchored by two Lunar-class cruisers.
Two Lunar-class cruisers, paired with eight frigates and sixteen destroyers, constitute the standard configuration of an Imperium of Man patrol fleet.
The emperor-class battleship only needed a single missile salvo to completely destroy this small-scale fleet.
A new missile-type emperor-class battleship was developed. Noah then packaged the research report along with all the technology and sent it directly to the Mars Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World.
At the same time, he would personally travel to the Mars Forge World, and together with the Archmagos of Mars Forge World and representatives from various Forge Worlds, he would guide the research and production of the first missile-type emperor-class battleship at the Uranus Forge World.
Guilliman previously stated that he needed warships that the Empire's Forge Worlds could manufacture and warships that could be supplied with ammunition.
Therefore, direct production in Misty Sector 108 World was unrealistic, and even the Mars Forge World wouldn't suffice.
The Mars Forge World, as the homeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus, had already been transformed into the Ideal City World by the Imperium of Man.
The Mars Forge World had become a well-deserved holy land among Forge Worlds, possessing an industrial system similar to that of World 108 in Segmentum Obscurus, making manufacturing there also unrealistic.
After much consideration, the chosen Forge World was finally designated as the Pluto Forge World. This Forge World was the only Imperial World in the Solar System's Forge Worlds that had not yet undergone transformation.
According to the Empire's transformation plan, the Pluto Imperial Forge World would enter its modification period two years later.
Before then, the Pluto Forge World would not receive any Imperial modifications; the Adeptus Mechanicus Archmagos would have to rely on their own efforts.
However, with the arrival of resources from the Necrons, the Pluto Forge World would also begin its full transformation into an Ideal City World next year.
Due to the limited technical personnel and technology of the Imperium of Man, the Imperium could only simultaneously transform six planets at a time.
This was not related to resources, but simply the limited number of technical personnel.
Given sufficient resources, the time required to transform a Forge World into an Ideal City World was eight years.
The fact that Pluto was scheduled for Forge World transformation starting next year was already quite favorable.
As the new plan was implemented, the transformation plan for the Pluto Forge World was also advanced synchronously.
With Noah personally allocating personnel and manpower this year, the Pluto Forge World was already preparing to undergo transformation into an Ideal City World in two months.
One month later, inside the Imperial Navy Shipyard of the Pluto Forge World—
A missile-type emperor-class battleship was already taking shape. Vast numbers of engineering robots and engineering ships were loading device after device onto the missile-type emperor-class battleship, installing various black technologies onto it.
While these engineering robots and engineering ships were constructing, the entire shipyard was also filled with numerous Adeptus Mechanicus Archmagos and Adeptus Mechanicus Priests.
Their gaze never left the missile-type emperor-class battleship; they continuously focused on this powerful battleship, conducting round after round of technical analysis and research on it.
The power of multi-person collaboration was immense. Even Noah, a Level 10 Scientist, found several shortcomings in the missile-type emperor-class battleship under the scrutiny of numerous Archmagos teams.
"Respected Omnissiah, according to our predictions, the final module assembly of this battleship will be officially completed in two months."
"At that time, the Empire's most powerful emperor-class battleship will enter service."
Fabricator-General Belisarius Cawl, the current Fabricator-General of the Mars Forge World, respectfully saluted Noah.
Ordinary military personnel in the Empire referred to Noah as Warmaster, while members of the Adeptus Mechanicus referred to Noah as Omnissiah.
"Cawl, just call me Teacher," Noah replied, turning his head while observing the production of the emperor-class battleship.
"Thank you for your hard work. I think there's nothing more to observe regarding the battleship's production. How is the research and development work for the Hive Whirlwind Missile progressing?"
For a missile cruiser, the most important factor has never been the battleship's production capacity, but rather the progress of missile production.
Noah walked through the shipyard, asking Cawl, who was following closely behind him.
"There have been some minor issues with missile development, Teacher. When replicating your technology, most Forge Worlds cannot meet your requirements."
"With your help, Teacher, the Adeptus Mechanicus has currently compiled statistics on the number of our Forge Worlds.
According to our statistics, the entire Empire has 180,000 established Forge Worlds, and 160,000 of these 180,000 Forge Worlds cannot meet your requirements for missile manufacturing."
The "Million Worlds of the Imperium of Man" was just a general term; the Imperium had never accurately counted how many millions of worlds there truly were.
Even with Noah's appearance, the Imperium of Man still couldn't accurately count how many Imperial Colony Worlds it possessed.
To date, the Department of the Interior of the Imperium of Man has included 3 million Imperial Worlds into the taxation system.
These Imperial Worlds are locations reachable by the Webway, stargates, and faster-than-light travel, but there are still many star systems within the Milky Way that lack the Webway or stargates.
Relying solely on faster-than-light travel, it is extremely difficult to count them given the vast extent of the Milky Way.
Out of 180,000 established Forge Worlds, a full 160,000 cannot meet the required standard for missile production.
Moreover, this only accounts for the established Forge Worlds; it is even less possible for ordinary Forge Worlds.
Noah fell silent regarding the current situation... Even after being in the Imperium of Man for so long, every time he faced the abstract industrial system of the Imperium of Man, Noah couldn't help but want to severely scold that fellow human sitting on the Golden Throne.
"Forget it, Cawl. So, what is the production capacity of these 20,000 Forge Worlds that can produce missiles? Can they supply the Empire's fleet operations?"
"According to your statistics, how many Earth Ring-class Missile battleships can these 20,000 Forge Worlds supply for full fire capacity when operating at full throttle?"
Once the warships can be manufactured and there is a certain ammunition supply, the next consideration is how many warships should be built.
And how many warships to build depends on the ammunition supply situation.
Cawl took a data slate from his robes and reported a precise figure to Noah.
"Teacher, among the 20,000 Forge Worlds, some can produce more, and some can produce less. After our calculations, the full production capacity of all Imperial Forge Worlds should be able to supply 800 emperor-class missile battleships."
"800?" Noah was slightly surprised.
He wasn't surprised that the number was large, but rather that it was too small.
"Yes, Teacher. We can only produce enough ammunition to supply 800 warships for continuous firing."
"Among the 20,000 Forge Worlds capable of producing these missiles, only 1,400 can actually produce them in large quantities."
"Production at the other Forge Worlds is possible, but the difficulty remains quite high."
"I suggest, Teacher, that you propose to His Excellency the regent to allocate a batch of resources for industrial upgrades to some of the Forge Worlds. This would increase our capacity, roughly doubling it."
As Fabricator-General, Cawl offered his opinion.
"Understood. I will present this requirement to Guilliman when the time comes, and a special batch of resources will be allocated to the Adeptus Mechanicus, strengthening your Forge Worlds and making them more efficient."
800 ships are far too few; 1600 would be more appropriate. 1600 emperor-class missile battleships would provide the best assistance in dealing with the Green Tide.
"Based on our current manufacturing capabilities, how many emperor-class battleships can the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Imperial Navy's Imperial Shipyards construct simultaneously? What is their construction speed?"
After considering the ammunition issue, Noah shifted his attention to the battleship production capacity.
battleship production capacity and ammunition reserves are never conflicting; they are complementary.
One ensures how many emperor-class missile battleships can operate at 100% effectiveness, while the other ensures how long it takes to replenish forces after battleship losses.
Cawl once again brought up his data panel: "Teacher, based on our current technical analysis, we can simultaneously begin construction on 60 emperor-class missile battleships.
Each emperor-class missile battleship requires three years to build, after which they can leave the shipyard and enter service with the Imperial Navy."
Three years to build an emperor-class battleship—what an incredibly fast manufacturing speed!
Cawl was very satisfied with this manufacturing speed, and most Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus felt this speed was simply blessed by the Omnissiah.
This was indeed true, for Noah was right beside them, and the gaze of the Chaos Gods could not touch this domain belonging to Noah.
Moreover, with the appearance of Noah, the God of All Machines, it became increasingly difficult for the Chaos Gods to touch and spread Chaos code to the battleships under Noah's command.
"Three years?"
"That's a bit slow, but considering the differences between Forge Worlds, this speed is barely acceptable. However, 60 ships are far too few. How long will it take to form a proper fighting force at this rate?"
"We don't have time to slowly produce these emperor-class battleships; the Orks won't give us a full 90 years."
"Furthermore, these missile battleships may suffer losses in the upcoming pacification wars. We don't have time for slow development."
"I will only give you three years. After three years, you need to provide me with 60 missile-type emperor-class battleships.
"As for the remaining emperor-class battleships..."
"For the remaining 340 battleships, the Adeptus Mechanicus's Forge Worlds that have completed the Ideal City World Transformation will be responsible."
"For the 1400 ships, I will order the shipyards of Misty Sector 108 World and Core 28 World to construct them. It is imperative that 1800 missile-type emperor-class battleships are completed within three years."
"Time waits for no one; we must seize the moment. Other Forge Worlds capable of producing Hive Cyclone Missiles should continue to produce them. Those that cannot produce Hive Cyclone Missiles but can produce some components should unite to produce them, ensuring sufficient ammunition reserves."
"Time!
Time is our most important asset; there must be no delays. Others will not give us that much time, understand?"
Although Noah is a Scientist, don't forget that his master in the Imperium of Man is the Warmaster!
The war with the Necrons has already begun. Although both sides are still in a probing phase, the Necrons have already destroyed two Imperial colonial worlds.
When reinforcements arrived at the second Imperial colonial world, the local Necron forces had already completely destroyed it, and the impact was severe.
Although the Necrons made no further moves during the period Noah was developing the missile variant of the emperor-class battleship, the Imperium of Man could not simply swallow this insult.
Revenge must be exacted!
Once the research and development here are complete, Noah will return to Misty Sector 108 World and mobilize all deployable patrol fleets to form a United Fleet, preparing to directly attack a Necron Tomb World.
At that time, the pressure on the Imperial Navy in various regions will significantly increase, as all patrol fleets will be drawn away by Noah. For better protection, the Imperial Navy will require more Imperial fleets for support.
"Yes, Teacher, I understand. I will do my best to ensure all battleships are launched smoothly!"
As Noah's disciple, Cawl knew what his teacher intended to do next, so he solemnly pledged.
"Hmm," Noah nodded gently, showing his trust, and then the two stopped speaking and continued their tour of the shipyard.
Whenever they arrived at a location, the busy Adeptus Mechanicus Archmagos and Tech-Priests would reverently kneel and salute them.
One was the God of All Machines, the Omnissiah, walking on the earth, and the other was the Fabricator-General of Mars for the Adeptus Mechanicus, and even a disciple of the God of All Machines, the Omnissiah.
The status of each of them was supremely exalted within the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Their tour naturally caused the Archmagos and Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to continuously salute.
While Noah was busy, Guilliman was also mobilizing a large number of troops for Noah's operation.
The Imperium of Man truly is a star empire plagued by disasters; it is either fighting or on the way to fight. Before even a year of rest, Guilliman had to once again begin mobilizing large batches of resources.
A large-scale war is destined to erupt. Noah will not swallow this insult; he will never accept the Necrons having ambushed humanity's two colonial planets and then peacefully enjoying their lives.
Human retaliation is inevitable, and after this retaliation, a larger-scale war will begin at the edge of the galaxy. Guilliman must prepare for this war and raise a large army, ready to provide support at any time.
Numerous Phase Obelisks began to be deployed towards the galactic edge. The Imperium of Man would use these means to restrain the Necrons' Phase Translocation technology, preventing them from making too many spatial jumps.
It would also restrict the Necrons' faster-than-light travel, preventing them from escaping the control of the Soul-Exiling Dead Zone and cutting off their routes between the Real Universe and other star systems.
At the same time, to prevent the Necrons from infinitely regenerating after gaining souls, Noah even prepared a large amount of blackstone material technology for them.
Under the blackstone technology specifically researched by Noah, the Necrons' souls would be completely shattered after several body changes.
Furthermore, under the influence of these blackstone fortresses, they would naturally shatter within a maximum of 4 years, and ordinary Necrons would revert to those without reason or souls.
In response to the Necrons' actions, Noah planned this war, naming it the Soul-Exiling Dead Zone!
The human army will utterly crush the capital Tomb World of the Sautekh Dynasty, Mandragora.
No one has ever attacked humanity and gotten away unscathed. Let the war begin!
From Holy Terra to the galactic edge, the Soul-Exiling Dead Zone war will engulf the entire Sautekh Dynasty, demonstrating humanity's power to the Necrons.