Cawl watched the battle erupting in the arena with a calm mind.
The hooded, mysterious Saint Doraemon guard and the Primaris Head clashed.
He wasn't worried that the Primaris Head would lose; he was one of Cawl's most perfect creations, his genes directly from the twenty Primarch gene sequences stored in the Primordial Blood Stack, enhanced with many biological techniques Cawl knew and had forgotten.
Cawl's initial purpose in shaping the Primaris Head was precisely to recreate the Emperor's process of creating the Primarchs.
Although he ultimately failed, leaving the hidden danger of continuous pain within the Primaris Head, the Primaris Head still possessed abilities far exceeding those of a typical Space Marine.
Even Seth, the Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers, who was extremely strong and utilized his genetic flaw, the Bloodthirst, could not match the Primaris Head in physical prowess, only able to contend through combat skills.
That mysterious hooded Astartes, presumably, would also be unable to contend with the Primaris Head.
So Cawl's thoughts had already turned elsewhere.
His invitation to Saint Doraemon to visit the Explorer King this time, besides showcasing the Primaris to him and other important figures, actually had another purpose.
Cawl had prepared a small gift that he hoped to present to Saint Doraemon.
He had noticed that Saint Doraemon seemed to have a particular fondness for certain special Astartes.
For example, Saint Doraemon requested the Deathwatch to send an Astartes named Titus.
For example, Saint Doraemon asked Cawl if he could create automata in the image of Sigismund.
And Cawl happened to have an Astartes from the Great Crusade era who was a legend, and Saint Doraemon would surely be interested.
As Cawl was deep in thought, a sudden metallic snapping sound rang out, accompanied by exclamations and gasps of admiration from all around.
Cawl was momentarily stunned, only to see that in the arena, the master-crafted power sword in the Primaris Head's hand had been forcefully cleaved open by the hooded Astartes.
Khârn moved instinctively, the axe blade in his hand roaring, sweeping the fragments of the broken blade violently towards the Primaris Head's head.
The Primaris Head held his breath, using the broken sword to block Khârn's attack.
Khârn's strength and the intensity of his killing intent were so great that the Primaris Head momentarily felt as if a bloody beast was pressing down on him.
He brandished the broken sword, and powerful Psyker energy twisted reality, as the fragments of the blade flew back to the broken sword, instantly restoring the power sword that Khârn had destroyed to its original state.
For a moment, sword and axe intertwined, the ringing sound incessant.
What astonished the Astartes and Primaris most was that Khârn actually slightly suppressed the Primaris Head in terms of speed, skill, and strength.
One must know that the Primaris Head had previously crushed Seth, a first-rate Chapter Master, in all three of these aspects.
Khârn, however, could even suppress the Primaris Head, which indicated that Khârn was at least on par with the Imperium's three pillars, namely the four legendary Chapter Masters: Dante, Calgar, Logan, and Azrael.
When did the Imperium have such a figure? How did Saint Doraemon find such a guard? Did he pull him out of his magical four-dimensional pocket?
The Primaris Head even had to use his Psyker powers to avoid being beheaded by a single axe blow.
"This guy is actually so strong?"
Seth was also shocked; he had sparred with Khârn a few times before, but now it seemed Khârn had held back then.
"This level of strength, let alone among the loyal Astartes, even among the traitors, would be on the level of Ahriman, Khârn, Lucius, Typhus, and Abaddon," Seth exclaimed involuntarily.
How could this be? Cawl's modified brain was bewildered.
From his physique, this mysterious hooded Astartes was undoubtedly a regular, old-model Astartes.
His theoretical performance might not even be comparable to that of a regular Primaris, so how could he be fighting the Primaris Head to a standstill?
Could it be... a blessing?
Is he a Saint?
Cawl's eyes lit up, as if he had suddenly understood.
So that's how it is.
He was blessed by Saint Doraemon.
He is Saint Doraemon's Saint.
This makes sense, this makes sense.
Cawl instantly felt his logic was self-consistent.
Just as Cawl achieved logical self-consistency, the Primaris Head's expression was not good.
He could feel that Khârn still exuded a sense of ease; he had not yet used his full strength.
The Primaris Head's sense of smell also told him that there was no smell of blood on Khârn, which would be present during a bloodthirsty fight.
"Am I not worth your full strength?" The Primaris Head suddenly mobilized his Psyker energy, and his scorching Psyker power abruptly lit up the power sword in his hand, bright flames burning on the sword, drawing a scorching arc as it slashed towards Khârn.
Khârn positioned the bloodson horizontally, directly blocking the Primaris Head's heavily Psyker-powered sword strike.
The Primaris Head's sword strike did have some substance, making Khârn feel a throbbing pain in his arm.
The Butcher's Nails on his head hummed, urging Khârn to unleash himself and direct boundless killing intent towards the Primaris Head.
But Khârn was a bit dejected; it wasn't that he didn't want to use his full strength.
It was that the powers he could still use were either the raw Blood God's blessings or the power of the demon possessing him.
He couldn't just suddenly transform into a demon here, in front of tens of thousands of Astartes, could he?
But the Primaris Head seemed to have misunderstood Khârn's silence.
He sighed, drew his sword horizontally, and lightly cut a bloodline across his face.
"Then I lose, I have fought my best." The Primaris Head took his own first blood, using it to concede to Khârn.
The Primaris and Old Astartes only expressed admiration for this, with no mockery or judgment of the Primaris Head.
Because the battle between Khârn and the Primaris Head was on too high a level; among those present were Chapter Masters, Chief Librarians, and excellent Company Captains.
But to comment on their engagement, one would at least need to invite Dante or Calgar.
However, Calgar was currently working overtime in Ultramar, and Dante was working overtime in the Imperium's dark side; neither had much time.
"Both are first-rate masters." Seth praised in his unique style: "Both are capable of taking a slap from a Primarch and surviving."
This was indeed a compliment, as some Primarchs could even punch an Astartes' head off with a single blow.
But Khârn was still silenced by Seth's praise, because he had indeed taken a slap from Dorn.
So Khârn ignored Seth and looked at the Primaris Head: "You are an excellent warrior, better than me, but I can feel that your talent has not been truly unleashed."
"That Archmagos is not a good mentor; you should find someone else to learn how to fight."
Khârn's words were sincere; in fact, if possible, Khârn would even be happy to teach the Primaris Head himself.
He saw something in the Primaris Head that he himself had almost forgotten.
The aura of the old War Hounds lingered on the Primaris Head.
It's just that Khârn still has a grudge to settle.
According to Alexander's plan, once the Indomitus Crusade began, they would simultaneously act to hunt down Erebus.
He didn't have much time to teach the Primaris Head.
"It's not easy to catch up to your level of combat skill." The Primaris Head said in a humble tone.
"Both are good men, both are heroes, good men against good men, heroes against heroes." Alexander said with a slight smile as he watched this scene.
Just now, Sanguinius had communicated his thoughts to Alexander via Psyker communication.
Removing the natural rift between the Primaris and the Old Astartes, so that the Astartes would not feel they would be replaced, nor would they belittle the Primaris, and similarly, so that the Primaris would not feel they would replace the Astartes or belittle the Old Astartes.
Saying that, Alexander turned to Cawl.
"Cawl, tell me, do you have the technology to convert Astartes into Primaris Astartes?"
Cawl bowed respectfully to Alexander: "The development of all technology cannot escape your eyes and wisdom."
"Essentially, Primaris Space Marines simply have three new modified organs compared to regular Astartes: the Tendon Steel Cable, the Chant Pituitary, and the Belisarius Furnace."
"I can implant these new organs into regular Astartes; as long as they dare to cross the Primaris Rubicon, regular Space Marines can also be transformed into Primaris."
This matter caused a small commotion among the Astartes.
Quite a few Astartes were tempted; although they still harbored a little wariness towards the Primaris, who wouldn't want to become stronger and better serve the Emperor and the Imperium?
But some Astartes still felt concerned; was this act of modifying the Emperor's creation somewhat sacrilegious?
"I have an edict here, personally signed by the Emperor, allowing Cawl to perform Primaris modifications on Astartes." Alexander said lightheartedly, pulling out an Emperor's edict he had just written from his four-dimensional pocket.
Although he had just written it, the Emperor's Psyker power and the Emperor's signature on it were genuine.
Cawl's expression froze for a moment; he didn't even know such an edict existed.
But when the Astartes saw this edict, their hearts immediately settled down.
Cawl hesitated for a moment, and out of the rigor of an Omnissiah worshipper, he cautiously spoke:
"The technology to convert original Space Marines into Primaris is not yet mature."
"It cannot be 100% successful; it's approximately sixty-six percent."
Sixty-six percent success rate? Most Astartes felt that was acceptable.
"Sixty-six percent mortality rate." But after Cawl finished speaking, their enthusiasm instantly plummeted.
They could accept dying on the battlefield, but they were less able to accept dying on an operating table.
After all, their current bodies could still contribute to the Emperor, but dying on the operating table would prevent that.
"I'll do it."
Just then, Khârn spoke in a low voice.