Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 405 Secret Meeting (Part 2)

The importance of this document is self-evident, because in the past ten thousand years, since the emperor sat on the golden throne, no decree has ever been personally issued by Him, let alone left a handwritten signature.

That was a legend that existed only in the era of the Great Expedition, the highest honor that only the outstanding people of that era could obtain.

Now, the appointment letter in Chen Xi's hand has become the only document in ten thousand years to be personally signed by an emperor.

Every letter on this document embodies the Emperor's will, and its sanctity far surpasses that of any state religious relic, unless it was used by the Emperor himself or another Primarch.

In a sense, the authority represented by this document even surpasses that of the High Lords Council and the Primarchs—because it directly carries the will of the Lords of Man.

When the six Astartes saw the gleaming golden signature, all doubts vanished.

Garadon, the Imperial Fist Company Commander, knelt on one knee, while Tycho Brahe, the Blood Angels Company Commander, devoutly made the Eagle Salute gesture on his chest.

The existence of this sacred document makes carrying out Chen Xi's orders no longer an option, but a sacred practice of the emperor's will.

In fact, both the Imperial Fist and the Holy Blood Angels have loopholes and loopholes in their military expansion and recruitment.

Imperial Fist has a unique advantage in this regard – the special existence of the Black Templar.

As the most unique of all the Astartes Chapters, the Black Templars are completely unrestricted by the Codex's personnel limitations.

The size of this battle group, which is always on expedition, remains a mystery.

One of their standard expeditionary forces is equivalent to the full strength of an ordinary battle group, and only the Supreme Marshal of the Black Temple probably knows the full truth about how many such expeditionary forces there are.

Therefore, if Imperial Fist wants to expand its army, it can cleverly utilize this mechanism.

All they had to do was form a new "expeditionary force" in the name of the Black Sanctuary and then incorporate all the newly recruited warriors into it.

This new force can be openly stationed near the Imperial Fist's fortress monastery, receiving training and command from the parent organization, but is completely free from the restrictions of the Holy Codex.

If handled properly, the High Lords Council will be unable to raise any objections.

After all, this is a "traditional privilege" of the Black Sanctuary.

Of course, all of this is predicated on striking the right balance—neither expanding too obviously nor openly challenging the authority of the Highlords Council.

A moderate degree of discretion and disguise is the best long-term strategy.

As for the Blood Angels, they possess a unique organizational structure that no other chapter can match—the Death Company.

This cursed force carries the deepest pain and glory of the children of Saint Gilles. Warriors who fall into black rage are assigned to this special force.

Their crimson armor was painted a deathly black, for they had forever lost their minds; the curse in their genetic seed rendered them beyond redemption, and their only option was to die gloriously on the battlefield in the most heroic manner. This unique tradition created a delicate gray area for the Blood Angels chapters.

According to the long-standing tradition, soldiers of the Death Company are usually not counted in the total number of members of the warband. They exist outside the organization, but they do fight for the warband.

Of course, there may be some issues to discuss regarding the specific implementation.

However, for the descendants who have the blood of Saint Gilles flowing through their veins, the existence of the Death Company cleverly circumvents the thousand-person limit stipulated in the Holy Scriptures, becoming an unspeakable part of the chapter's strength.

Now, with the widespread use of the Holy Blessing Wine, the Death Company of the Holy Blood Angels is undergoing a revolutionary change—more and more warriors are gradually regaining their sanity, and the light of reason is rekindling beneath their black armor.

This means that the true combat power of the Blood Angels chapters far exceeds the data on paper, and those warriors who should have died in battle can now be reintegrated into the regular army.

Of course, this increase is also limited. After all, it is already quite amazing that a battle group can maintain a death squad of one or two hundred people. This is almost equivalent to adding an extra company of soldiers.

Apart from exceptional cases like the main Blood Angels regiment, which is extremely large, most sub-regiments' death companies are ultimately only the size of a single company.

After all, Black Fury is a secret that the Holy Blood Angels cannot reveal, and not everyone who falls into Black Fury is that common; the number of people in the Death Company will never be particularly large.

The addition of one or two companies of troops is merely a negligible error in the organizational chart for the entire battle group, and is far from worthy of special attention from the High Lords Council or the Inquisition.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, the Blood Angels could have adopted a more radical approach—having all the battle-hardened veterans don the Death Company's iconic black armor, thereby freeing up positions in the official ranks.

However, such a practice is far too blatant, violating the honor code that the Sons of Saint Gilles are proud of, and also bringing unnecessary political risks to the chapter.

Neither the highly respected Dante's Legion Commander nor the shrewd and calculating Chen Xi would actually resort to such a simple and brutal method.

In contrast, cleverly utilizing the explicit provision in the holy book that "there are no restrictions on the number of personnel during expeditions" is not only more respectable and compliant, but also provides greater flexibility in specific operations.

This gray area is a perfect solution because it allows the warband to gain substantial expansion authority without giving others any ammunition against it.

For this reason, after a brief discussion, the representatives of the Holy Blood Angels and the Imperial Fist quickly agreed to Chen Xi's request to expand the army.

After all, they knew perfectly well that in this turbulent era, having more elite troops would not only better protect the empire's territory, but also provide more room for maneuver in the face of sudden crises.

However, just as everyone reached a consensus on expanding the army, Chen Xi suddenly turned his gaze to the silent Caul and asked a question that made the faces of the six Astartes present change drastically: "Lord Caul, how many Primitive Astartes do you have available in the Solar System?"

This question, which directly addressed the empire's most sensitive topic, instantly made the atmosphere in the meeting hall heavy.

Faced with Chen Xi's question and the gazes of the six Astartes, Caul thought for a moment before asking in return, "On what grounds are you asking me this question, Lord Chen Xi?"

"Imperial Envoy, with full authority appointed by imperial decree, I wonder if this title is sufficient?" Chen Xi looked directly at Kaul, without bothering with any beating around the bush, and said frankly, "I need you to provide some troops for the Imperial Fist, to assist the Mountain Array when it leaves Holy Terra, and to attempt to rescue a group of Ultramarines veterans from the Great Crusade era on Kadia."

(End of this chapter)