Warhammer begins in 2026

The work on the complete data comparison, inclusion, and template completion of the Pharos beacon is progressing steadily.

As the mechanical teachings continued to analyze the operational logic of the complete beacon, the adaptive voltage regulation module, and the global resonance array, Huang Feng became increasingly aware of the strategic importance of this ancient lighthouse.

In the future, if we want to deploy nearly a thousand Pharos beacons and weave a subspace stability network covering the entire Milky Way, this intact first-generation beacon is the foundational machine for all replicas, iterations, and upgrades, and is the core source of the entire galactic stability project.

Such a crucial strategic pivot planet must not be allowed to experience any accidents.

Ordinary fleet orbital garrisons and conventional planetary defense fortifications are simply insufficient to protect this core world that holds the key to humanity's future galactic destiny. Huang Feng directly deployed the most advanced mobile strategic defense forces currently available for the Great Expedition, two super-armament systems originating from the Dark Ages of technology, to comprehensively lock down the planet's offensive and defensive lines.

The void jump light exploded one after another, and five enormous fortresses emerged from the warp and slowly appeared in the outer orbit of the planet.

It was the Ramirez-class mobile star fortress.

Each star fortress starts at five kilometers in diameter, constructed entirely of thick, ancient alloy, and is a super-powerful orbital fortress specifically built during the Dark Ages for interstellar mobile defense. Unlike fixed planetary fortresses, the Ramirez-class possesses independent subspace jump capabilities, allowing for mobile deployment across star systems at any time, and can be directly established wherever strategic importance lies.

Each Star Fortress is equipped with four independent Void Shield zones, which are stacked, powered by zones, and overloaded by zones. Even if three layers of shields are breached and destroyed, the remaining shields can still stably support the defensive barrier, and there is no risk of collapse due to a one-time breach.

The outer walls of the fortress are densely packed with heavy macro-cannon arrays, long-range annihilation spears, and void torpedo silos, providing firepower coverage across the near, medium, and long ranges of the void battlefield. The firepower of a single star fortress is enough to crush a conventional alien fleet. The five star fortresses, arranged in a pentagram array, lock down the planet's orbit, with their firepower linked and their shields coordinated, completely sealing off all angles of attack from across the entire star system.

From this day forward, this planet, possessing the fully-formed Pharos beacon, will directly become a permanent defensive stronghold of the Hengxing system, impregnable and difficult for external enemies to invade.

Following closely behind the five mobile star fortresses, a true void behemoth slowly emerged from the warp, its size far exceeding that of all the interstellar warships and star fortresses, its body blotting out the sky and stretching across the starry sky.

Ark-shaped mobile dock.

Stretching over 40 kilometers, it is a floating military industrial fortress from the golden age of mankind, equipped with a complete industrial STC system. From light frigates to Titan-class warships, from military equipment parts to core power modules, everything can be built, repaired, and upgraded on-site.

In the aftermath of the long, dark night storm, most of the Ark shipyards were stranded, destroyed, or lost in the void. The Martian Mechanicus only managed to retrieve incomplete blueprints, unable even to replicate them. Only Huang Feng, possessing complete ancient data, could mobilize such a strategic weapon.

The colossal ark-shaped shipyard is anchored at the core of the Star Fortress defense perimeter, immediately deploying a floating industrial platform, with the Mechanicus engineering force fully deployed. From this day forward, this planet will no longer need to rely on supplies from rear star systems; it can directly build ships, repair them, and upgrade its military equipment on-site, forming a self-sufficient and complete theater system.

With the super-armor deployed and defenses completed, Huang Feng immediately issued the order for the legion to garrison.

The Fourth and Seventh Legions immediately dispatched 5,000 elite space warriors each to land and garrison the Pharos Beacon Planet, participating in all defensive tasks including global defense reinforcement, underground facility repair, beacon perimeter security, and space defense line patrols.

The two legions operate, are stationed, and undergo assessments simultaneously.

Huang Feng established an exclusive reward mechanism, which is also the highest-level and rarest honor in the entire Great Expedition—the Legion Eagle Banner Star-Level Merit Award.

This reward has extremely high authority; in the entire human empire, only Huang Feng and Neos have the qualification to grant it. Macardo, the Legion Primarchs, and various generals have no right to interfere.

The rules are simple and absolutely fair: in all the work of this garrison reinforcement, long-term defense, elimination of hidden dangers, and improvement of the defense line, the legion with the highest completion rate, the most stable defense, the strictest discipline, and the most thorough elimination of hidden dangers will be awarded a legion eagle star badge, collectively recognized as a great merit, and permanently engraved on the legion battle flag.

This is by no means an ordinary military achievement.

To date, across countless legions, battlefields, and battles throughout the entire Great Expedition, only a few hundred Star Eagle Banner Medals have been distributed.

These hundreds of medals were awarded to top individuals and a very small number of core special operations units.

To date, no main force corps or no corps company has ever received the collective Star-level Eagle Flag Medal.

This is the first time that star-level merit awards have been delegated to the collective assessment of the entire main force legion.

Upon hearing the news, the fighting spirit of all soldiers in the Fourth and Seventh Legions instantly soared.

Everyone knows what this means.

Once this star is captured, the eagle banner of their own legion will surpass all other main legions, making them the first main battle legion in the history of the Great Expedition to achieve collective star-level merit, with glory passed down forever and their status completely elevated.

On the ground, the two legions began to carry out reinforcement work in full swing.

Above the stars, five Ramirez Star Fortresses stand formidable fortresses, while the Ark Shipyard's industrial facilities roar incessantly.

Possessing the Pharos beacon planet, which is powerful enough to alter the galactic landscape, it has since been protected by humanity's most advanced military equipment and elite legions, remaining as stable as a rock.

With the garrison orders fully implemented, the silent yet dramatic contest between the Fourth and Seventh Corps officially began.

The two legions each occupied a defense zone, carrying out operations with completely unified defense standards and reinforcement indicators. There was no favoritism or shortcuts. All results would be fully quantified by the Mechanicus's precise survey data, defense system self-inspection records, and hidden danger investigation logs, and then submitted to Huang Feng for final judgment.

The Fourth Legion is known for its steady and reliable style, renowned for its meticulous fortifications and zero-defect defenses. All five thousand soldiers were divided into groups: some ventured deep into the core corridor of the underground beacon to reinforce the rock foundation, repair ancient and damaged energy pipelines, and reconstruct the isolation and protective barrier to prevent any possibility of underground distortion and infiltration; others laid out the surface defense zone, organized the outer perimeter alert line, and installed a full-area detection array and void fluctuation monitoring nodes, eliminating every terrain blind spot and every airspace blind zone. They proceeded with meticulous care, adhering to strict procedures. Even the smallest protective seam or a loose component was repeatedly inspected, compacted, and reinforced, striving for absolute safety and zero errors.

The Seventh Legion is renowned for its swiftness, efficiency, and exceptional execution. This time, in its quest for the first-ever Legion Collective Star Badge, every member displayed unwavering fighting spirit. The soldiers avoided unnecessary delays, acting decisively and swiftly to complete the construction of a comprehensive defense line, the deployment of outposts, and the planning of mobile patrol routes, establishing a multi-layered, three-dimensional defense network. They emphasized mobile emergency response and conducted targeted drills for various extreme scenarios, including void attacks, mental infiltration, data intrusion, and sudden underground fissures. Their entire defensive system was both offensive and defensive, with a rapid response time and a very high tolerance for error.