Warhammer: Don't Call Me the God of All Machines

Chapter 813 Legion Commander Danteok (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
“By leveraging the close relationship between gravity and space, we can manipulate the fundamental forces of the universe.”

"When space becomes a weapon in our hands, there will be no defense in the world that we cannot break through. After all, if even space is severed, how can the matter attached to space continue to exist?"

As Loxi leisurely described his concept, a holographic projection of the ideal battle white dwarf star soon appeared before him.

The completed combat white dwarf star demonstrated high-speed movement and long-distance jumps using its onboard dimensional engine.

Its own super-strong gravity, under the control of the gravity control instrument, is condensed into an even stronger gravitational field.

The battle white dwarf, relying on its extremely strong gravitational field, directly tore space apart in the universe, creating a long, narrow black rift.

The existence of this black crack is so abrupt that it greatly violates human visual logic.

If we compare the real universe to an oil painting, this crack is not the black paint on the canvas, but a fissure that spreads directly across the canvas.

Its movement speed cannot be described using the conventional concept of "speed," because the definition of speed itself is the amount of time taken to travel a certain spatial distance.

In the simulation of holographic projection, this spatial rift travels through the universe at faster-than-light speed, and its duration is closely related to the stability of the universe.

The universe itself rejects the existence of spatial rifts, because the existence of these rifts interferes with and affects the normal operation and evolution of the universe.

However, if the white dwarf in battle can continuously exert an extremely strong gravitational field, it can maintain the existence of the spatial rift indefinitely.

The spatial rift swept across a terrestrial planet that served as a target, and in an instant, the rift penetrated the planet's interior and reappeared on the other side.

The existence of a massive celestial body naturally stabilizes the surrounding space. Therefore, after the planet was cut open, the spatial rift became much weaker and was quickly eliminated by the self-healing power of space.

The planet that was cut open gradually developed an incredibly smooth crack, and the diameter of the crack was increasing at a visible rate.

The planet was split in two from the inside, and the geological structures fractured directly, creating terrifying earthquakes powerful enough to tear the celestial body apart.

The planet, which was orbiting and rotating around the star, suddenly shattered into two huge fragments, which continued to collapse and disintegrate under the gravitational pressure of their own mass.

Guilliman stared at the scene before him, and his breath caught in his throat.

A few seconds later, he seemed to have calculated how much energy it would take to cause such damage, and his eyes lit up again.

"This is it! This is exactly what I wanted!" Guilliman exclaimed excitedly.

"A true faster-than-light weapon possesses indestructible attack capabilities, making it superior to conventional naval weapons such as light spears, macro cannons, and torpedoes."

"In the face of space weapons, even if the enemy is several light-minutes away, there is no need to calculate the opponent's evasion trajectory, because faster-than-light weapons simply will not give you a chance to evade."

Weapons like light spears, while capable of hitting enemies at the speed of light, are not fast enough in the vast galaxy, even at that speed.

The Empire's Light Spear system hit, strictly speaking, the location of the future enemy.

After all, if the light spear is aimed at the current location, the enemy will have already changed positions by the time it reaches its destination.

And who says this ability can only be used for offense?
By using super gravity to warp the surrounding space, a space-warping shield can be formed, thereby weakening the lethality of enemy beam weapons.

Such offensive and defensive capabilities could undoubtedly greatly change the existing mode of warfare.

“I know you’re in a hurry, but don’t rush,” Luo Xi said helplessly. “All of this is still just a concept; it hasn’t become a reality yet.”

"To realize these things demonstrated, I certainly can't just rely on myself to create them by hand. It still requires the Advanced Technology Community and the Cult of Mechanism to slowly spend time and effort to research them."

"Everything must be done step by step, one step at a time," said Rosie.

However, upon hearing Roche's explanation, both Vulcan and Guilliman had only one word in their eyes—disbelief!
You can tell me what to do, but I just don't believe you.

Since you've already turned the sun in the Anvil Galaxy into a white dwarf, modifying and upgrading the dimensional engine and installing a space weapon generator would be a piece of cake.

"How long will it take to install the dimensional engine on the combat white dwarf?"

"According to estimates, it will take about a Terra month. After the Dimension Engine is installed, it will need to be tested and a dedicated commander will be assigned to operate it."

After hearing Roche's answer, Guilliman immediately made the decision to have the fleet stay in the Anvil system for another month.

Although time is quite tight right now, if spending a month can add a combat white dwarf unit to the fleet, it would undoubtedly be a worthwhile deal.

“Vulcan and I will do our best to help. Just tell us what you need, and we’ll do everything we can to find it,” Guilliman assured him, patting his chest.

"I am also honored to have participated in the creation of the combat white dwarf, which is the largest and most powerful war machine I have ever built."

Vulcan was even more excited. He was already the Primarch who was most skilled in forging, and now, under Roche's guidance, his horizons were broadened.

While the Undying Ember is a good ship, it lacks the ability to deliver a decisive blow in the current intensity of warfare.

The green-skinned orcs have battle moons and battle planets, while the space necromancers also have similar world engine units, whose combat power is even much stronger than that of battle moons.

The thought of these things filled Vulcan with a sense of crisis.

But from the white dwarf in battle, he saw the kind of power that humanity lacked.

Perhaps once the technology to build combat white dwarfs matures, the ultimate units of each Astartes Legion will transform from massive fleets into freely mobile combat planets.

The fire lizards from Nocturne are naturally extremely interested in these gigantic creations, whose every move can cause cataclysmic destruction.

During their growth on their home planet, they came to a profound understanding of the power of nature.

Now that we have the opportunity to harness this power of nature, we certainly won't let any possible opportunity slip by.

……

While Roche and his team were stationed in the Anvil Galaxy, working hard to build a combat white dwarf, the western front, thousands of light-years away, was also engulfed in war.

This land in the northern frontier of the Milky Way had already suffered countless wars during the Great Expedition Era.

The death and cries of agony from the devastating wars between the human empire and the Randan empire seem to still echo in this barren cosmos.

After a century of development and recovery, the northern frontier of the Milky Way should have been slowly recovering, but the rise of the orc empire among the ghoul stars has disrupted this momentum.

Under Guilliman's orders, the Imperium of Man created the Southern Front and the Western Front, thus keeping the Ghoul Stars, this malignant tumor, outside the Imperium's sacred territory.

Although the western front covers a slightly smaller area than the southern front, the situation is by no means optimistic.

The southern front is, after all, close to Nostrama and Guilliman's Five Hundred Worlds, where humanity has a very high degree of control.

The shorter spatial distance makes it easier to transport supplies and troops, a principle that remains unchanged even in the interstellar age.

The area where the western front is located, where the extreme star field and the hazy star field intersect, is mostly a barren human world.

After the war in Randan, Lion King Ryan Johnson led his First Legion to spread an extermination order across this region of space.

Any planet with any suspicious characteristics will be reduced to a dead world, burned to the size of glass spheres, by the First Legion's devastating attacks.

Furthermore, since the Astartes Legion's homeworld does not exist in this region of space, the Imperial Expeditionary Force's control over this area is exceptionally weak.

Under Guilliman's orders, Luther, the chief magistrate of the Dark Angels Legion, became the supreme commander of the Western Front.

Under his command, the Dark Angels, the Iron Hands, the Space Wolves, and a portion of the Raven Guards constitute the majority of the human army, all of whom nominally obey Luther's orders.

But just because it's nominally like this doesn't mean it actually is.

The biggest disadvantage of the western front compared to the southern front is that there is no Gene Primarch stationed there.

Although Luther's prestige was enough to intimidate the entire Dark Angels, he did not have strong control over the other legions.

Even for the Primarch, it is difficult to cross the line and command other legions, let alone Luther, who is not even a complete Astartes.

The most difficult legion to command under Luther is not the Space Wolves, the old rival that has always been at odds with the Dark Angels.

Although the sons of Ruth may seem unreliable at times, they are exceptionally calm and composed in critical moments, and they will not allow minor conflicts between legions to affect the overall situation.

What troubled Luther the most was the Iron Hand of the Tenth Legion.

In fact, the Iron Hand's problem wasn't simply disobeying Luther's orders; rather, there was no one within their ranks who could truly represent the Legion.

Since Felus's death, the once mighty Iron Ten Legion has been completely divided.

Some clans obeyed Luther's orders, some doubted them, and some ignored them.

They split into an organizational structure similar to warbands, based on the divisions of the various Medusa clans.

These chapters convene members of the Feralas bloodline through the Iron Council to discuss and make decisions.

If they are so cold and distant to their own brothers-in-arms, let alone Luther, who is outside the Legion.

Aside from the numerous internal conflicts within the Human Expeditionary Force, Luther's biggest headache was dealing with the allies of the Necromancers in space.

Tarasin, the ruler of Solemnas and the Endless One, serves as a diplomat for the Necromancers, responsible for liaising with Luthor on matters related to the Necromancer allies.

The Nihilarchian emperor dispatched their crowned general Claudius as supreme commander to join forces with human allies against the surging orcish green tide.

However, rather than being allies, the two sides are more like hostile forces that have signed a non-aggression pact.

Luther had repeatedly invited General Crown to cooperate in battle, but only received cold, arrogant replies in return.

"Only the weak need to unite."

Even someone as magnanimous as Luther was infuriated by these stubborn and arrogant space undead.

It was only thanks to Tarahim's intervention that the situation wasn't so ugly.

Currently, humans and space undead maintain a relatively restrained way of coexisting, each fighting their own battles without interfering with the other.

However, even though Luther was very unhappy, he couldn't help but be secretly shocked by the terrifying combat power displayed by the space necromancers.

Those space undead not only possessed an extremely large and incredibly high-quality space fleet, but also a planetary-level mega-fortress known as the "World Engine".

This war fortress, capable of long-distance faster-than-light movement using an inertial-free engine, able to clear the battlefield with planetary-level Gauss weapons, and possessing a field shield of unknown technological system, is an invincible presence on the battlefield.

Yes, after learning the specifics of the World Engine, Luther's answer was that it was invincible.

Even the battle moons exposed by those Ork Orcs were not particularly resilient when facing the World Engine.

The Necromancers' advance is much faster than that of the human expeditionary force led by Luther, which is closely related to the existence of the World Engine.

As a battle-hardened commander, Luther envisioned how humans and space necromancers would deal with the World Engine if they became adversaries.

However, Luther thought for a long time but couldn't come up with an effective solution. Apart from relying on fair and square strength to wear each other down, all other methods were futile.

Even Astartes' most commonly used boarding tactic fails when faced with the World Engine's field shield.

Under such complex circumstances, Luther's command on the Western Front was extremely difficult.

However, Luther soon had another problem: his adjutant, Garland Spencer, had just reported important intelligence.
"Lord Luther, we have made progress on the unfamiliar Astartes Chapter that suddenly appeared during the battle with the Orks in the Harad system."

"These are the materials I prepared; please take a look."

Lieutenant Garland handed Luther a stack of parchment with a message written on it.

This knight commander, who came from Caliban, preferred this primitive method of recording.

In Luther's view, intelligence written on parchment is more reliable and stable than that recorded on data tablets or in information storage devices.

"They are very mysterious; their combat order and unit number are not in our database."

“This is very unusual. In theory, I have enough authority to investigate the vast majority of the Empire’s combat orders, but since it’s not in the database, it may not be because my authority is insufficient.”

"It is more likely that they may be a newly formed Astartes Chapter, which is why we know nothing about them."

Luther spread the stack of parchment flat on the command table, his sharp eyes moving quickly across the surface like knives.

"Moreover, it would be more accurate to call them 'legions' rather than 'warbands'."

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Garland's expression immediately turned serious; a warband and a legion are completely different concepts.

"Haven't you noticed? There are just too many of them."

Luther memorized all the information; it was as simple as instinct for him.

"In the Harad system, our forces were ambushed by the Orks. A full 20,000 Astartes were surrounded by those damned aliens."

"These savage beasts were beaten senseless by those space undead, so they prepared this trap, intending to vent their anger on us."

Luther's eyes were lost in memories; the Battle of Harad was indeed a blunder on his part.

In that battle, he encountered the monster Battle Moon for the first time and was caught off guard.

"Yes, at a critical moment, while our reinforcements were still on their way, these unfamiliar Astartes appeared."

"Excuse me for speaking frankly, although there is no concrete evidence to prove it, these Astartes give me the feeling of the former Fourth Legion."

Garland probed, knowing that Commander Luther preferred definitive answers; any possibility, probability, or vagueness seemed blatant dereliction of duty to him. Normally a mild-mannered man, Luther's temper during wartime was hardly better than that of the Caliban Lion King.

“Yes, I agree with your intuition,” Luther replied.

"The most obvious point is that the average height of that Astartes Legion is much shorter than ours, not to mention that we have completed the original casting modification."

"This is the hallmark of the Iron Warriors. The Fourth Army has the shortest stature and the most sturdy and heavy build of all the armies, which makes them naturally more suitable for trench warfare."

"In addition, during the Battle of Harad, we also witnessed the firepower of these Astartes... which was even more outrageous than ours."

"Heavy artillery bombardment, firepower coverage, followed by infantry and tank coordination, and a torrent of mechanized advance, smashing the enemy to pieces like an iron hammer. This is also the characteristic of the Fourth Army Corps."

"Not to mention that their team also has a large number of Ironmen."

The two men stared at each other in silence. Although they were both certain that it was the Iron Warrior, they couldn't explain why.

"At the end of the Siege of Terra, Trident Fricks chose to surrender with the Fourth Legion after Peturabo was captured."

"Aside from a small number of Iron Warriors who fled with the rebels, most of the Iron Warriors either died on the battlefields of Terra or were killed during trials, while the rest were placed on a crusade for redemption under supervision."

"As far as I know, that Fricks has already died in the Redemption Expedition. After all, they had no way to obtain supplies and no fresh blood to join the legion. It is not surprising that they died in the continuous Redemption Wars."

"Besides Fricks, who else is capable of commanding the Fourth Army?"

Luther looked at his adjutant, then asked seriously.

"How many Astartes were there in the Battle of Harad?"

“At least fifty thousand, sir,” Garland replied.

“Yes, 50,000 Astartes. This is not 50,000 Groxmon. 50,000 Astartes is already a huge force that cannot be underestimated.”

"This is a legion-level existence; we don't even know how many more they haven't revealed yet."

Luther is now in a difficult position. Within his control, there is an Astartes Legion-level entity operating in a precarious situation, which makes him feel like he has a thorn in his side.

If they are traitors of the Fourth Legion, then why are they helping the Empire fight the Ork?

However, Luther had already ruled out this option, because there was no trace of warp contamination on those Iron Warriors.

Their power armor and weaponry are also quite different from those of the Empire, which means that their supply sources are different from theirs.

Even the production capacity of a whole casting world could not supply this scale of consumption.

Moreover, all the forging worlds within the Hazy Starfield and the Limit Starfield are closely connected with Luther.

How could he not know that these forged worlds had the ability to secretly supply a strange Astartes Legion without his knowledge?

What puzzled Luther even more was that after the Battle of Harad, this Astartes Legion, which was supposed to be composed of Iron Warriors, disappeared without a trace in some way that he couldn't understand after quickly cleaning up the battlefield.

Their fleet did not pass through Mandeville Point, which means they did not use a warp jump.

If one were to examine it closely, Luther felt that it bore some resemblance to those space necromancers.

The Necromancers primarily use a propulsion system called an inertial-free engine.

This mode of transportation, which allows for faster-than-light travel without needing to enter subspace, made Luthor extremely envious.

However, he learned from Tarasin that spaceships without inertial engines would crush the passengers inside into a pulp the moment they started up, and ordinary organic bodies simply could not withstand such enormous acceleration.

Only those damn metal skeletons can withstand the side effects of an inertial-free engine.

If they are using an inertial-free engine, how do they maintain the safety of the occupants?

Even Astartes' extraordinary physique could not withstand the immense pressure from the inertialess engine.

"However, although we don't know exactly where they came from, one thing is certain."

"They have no ill intentions towards us; at present, they are friends, not enemies."

Luther sighed. Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided to put the problem aside for the time being.

This is also a skill he honed while assisting Ryan.

If he were to take everything so seriously, he would probably have been driven crazy by Ryan long ago.

For those who work with the Lion King, the most dangerous place is not the enemy, but Ryan, one of their own.

In the past, Nemir was killed when he angered Ryan by having his head smashed off by the Lion King's Flying Head Punch.

Even without using his fists, Ryan has nine ways to make the blood pressure of those around him explode.

"When we encounter them again, we can send an envoy to establish contact with them. Even if they are steel warriors, as long as they are loyal to humanity, we can fight side by side."

"Everything is negotiable, isn't it?"

Luther knew that a significant portion of the Iron Warriors were actually loyalists, and that not all Iron Warriors were willing to tolerate Perturabo's tyranny.

It wouldn't seem so unreasonable for an Astartes Legion composed of loyal, iron-willed warriors to suddenly appear.

In any case, given the super stability and adaptability of the Iron Warrior gene seed, it would be too easy for them to mass produce troops.

If it weren't for Perturabo's extravagant and wasteful practices in the past, which greatly depleted the number of Iron Warriors, the Ultramarines probably wouldn't have been able to hold onto their position as the legion with the largest number of members.

“I understand. If they reappear, I will contact them personally,” Garland replied.

……

"Adam, I know you long to return to Lord Roshi's side, and I also long to visit him and see if this great man is still as radiant as ever."

"But our fundamental logic is objective and rational. Compared to the southern front, the situation here needs us more."

"Humans, orcs, space necromancers, and even some hidden Chaos traitors—the situation here is more complex and dangerous than on the southern front."

"Moreover, there is no Primarch of Genes here."

"Don't you want to achieve something independently before you go to meet Lord Roshi?"

In a vast, empty space, Barabbas Danteok earnestly advised a four-meter-tall iron figure beside him.

The strange space they were in was completely different from the physical universe in conventional understanding.

In the universe as perceived by humankind, the rules have long since evolved into a complete and self-consistent form.

Just as planets orbit stars, and stars continuously release light and heat, there are complex rules that interact with each other, perfectly nested together.

Human beings' scientific research is an effort to see through the appearance of the world and get to the essence of its rules.

However, within this dimensional space, the rules are still in the process of being conceived and changing; it is far from forming a self-consistent and stable state.

This means that when humans enter dimensional space as observers, their brains are completely unable to understand the things there.

To humans, everything here appears as a kaleidoscope of lines, intertwined and shifting, seemingly without any discernible pattern.

Listening to Danteok's advice, Adam also fell into deep thought.

"Okay, what you said makes sense."

“My father had high expectations for me; he always hoped that I could become a bridge between humans and the Iron Man.”

"But I am ashamed to say that I have not achieved anything worth mentioning in the past hundred years."

In fact, a long time ago, Adam had already received a message from the controlling AI of the advanced technology community, informing him that Rosie had returned from the multiverse.

However, at that time, Adam, who was secretly developing and expanding the strength of the Iron Legion in the Five Hundred World according to the orders left behind by Loxi, happened to encounter Danteok.

Adam's database contains detailed information about Danteok, after all, this war blacksmith has a close relationship with Lothie, so Adam naturally pays special attention to him.

However, after some interaction, Adam realized that his database contained a serious error.

Danteok's body was perfectly healthy, showing no signs of having been exposed to the Hrud's entropy energy rays.

Furthermore, Adam, through his own scanning instruments, also discovered the unusual and peculiar power within Danteok.

It is not psychic power; Danteok has no psychic talent whatsoever. His power is purely material.

Even the Iron Man leader, whose thinking was extremely rigorous and rational, had an instinctive fondness for Danteok.

Danteok did not explain where his power came from, but he did express his sincerity.

He took Adam to a strange place called Dimensional Space, which was neither the real universe nor subspace, but a place beyond both.

The flow of time and spatial relationships here are vastly different from those in the real universe. Danteok even took Adam to experience what it's like to travel faster than light in pure physics.

To Adam's even greater surprise, Danteok concealed from the Empire and recruited the Iron Warriors who were on a redemption expedition in the eastern galaxy.

Based on the Iron Warriors, Danteok rebuilt an Astartes Legion of around 80,000 men, known as the "Steel of Rebirth".

Danteok took some relatively resource-rich unclaimed planets from the desolate star system in the eastern part of the galaxy and stuffed them into a dimensional space, transforming them into a forging world belonging to the Nirvana Steel.

They produce their own power armor, weapons and ammunition, and space warships; they are almost entirely self-sufficient.

Danteok approached Adam for two reasons: firstly, to find a reliable ally, and secondly, to secure a stable and reliable workforce for the forging worlds within the dimensional space.

Danteok knew that if the Empire found out about his actions, he would inevitably face suspicion and punishment.

The sins of the Iron Warriors can only be ended by fighting to the death on the crucible of redemption.

However, he changed the fate of these steel warriors and incorporated them into the Steel Legion of Rebirth.

Adam's Iron Legion is also extremely sensitive. Humanity can tolerate the existence of some Iron Men, but Adam's behavior of frantically expanding his legion in the Five Hundred Worlds is also likely to arouse suspicion.

So, at Danteok's invitation, Adam chose to travel with the Steel of Nirvana.

The Iron Legion can conceal themselves using the dimensional space controlled by Danteok, while the Steel of Nirvana can also use the Iron Legion to assist in its production.

This is a win-win cooperative relationship.

Dimensional space is a place where the rules are not yet mature, and it will assimilate all existences that enter it.

Danteok conducted an experiment where he released some captured alien races into a dimensional space without taking any protective measures. Before long, all of these aliens suffered mental breakdowns and became insane.

Even the wild beasts, which have little intelligence, die in madness.

Only those with stronger wills and more powerful bodies, like the reborn steel, and the iron men whose bodies are entirely made of steel, can better adapt to this environment.

“I’m not forcing you to stay, my friend,” Danteok said.

"You and I are similar in many ways; pride flows in our veins."

"I do not want the Fourth Legion, a body with a glorious history, to simply disappear from human history."

“Petulabo led us down the wrong path, and now I’m going to correct it.”

"We will eventually rise from the ashes and completely wash away the shame and stain of our past betrayal."

"And you also want Iron Man to become humanity's most reliable sword and shield once again, just like in the Golden Age, don't you?"

After Danteok's analysis and persuasion, Adam finally gave up the idea of ​​leaving immediately.

"Do you have a plan, a plan that can completely prove yourself?"

Upon hearing Adam's question, Danteok finally smiled.

Because he had been banished by Perturabo and forbidden from ever returning to the Legion, Danteok once covered his face with a mask of molten metal.

That was Danteok's way of showing that he would remember the humiliation.

However, after he successfully seized the power of the Star Lord Zahurash and completed his rebirth, Danteok removed the shameful iron mask.

Even Peturabo was not qualified to let him walk the world in a mask.

“I am aware of the progress on the western front. With our defeat of the Ork Warmoon at the Battle of Harad, Luther will surely prepare a decisive blow against the Greenskins.”

"The supreme leaders of the Ork, those Ork warlords known as the Beasts, are based on their battle planet."

"This is our chance. While Luther's army is locked in a fierce battle with the Ork, my Nirvana Steel and your Iron Legion will appear in the heart of the enemy."

"We will prove our worth through the death of wild beasts!"

(End of this chapter)