Warhammer, I really didn't intend to form a second empire!

The Astartes of the Imperial Dragon Legion infiltrated the ranks, and the dwarves they encountered were basically crushed like speed bumps within a second.

Bai Qi's fleet launched a direct frontal assault, reaching the skies above the seventh fortress planet. The formation, in a dense column of attack, penetrated the firing range of the dwarven turrets. After suffering some losses, it reached its target position and began a pinpoint strike towards the command center of the Wotan Alliance.

The attacks from all directions created three simultaneously expanding zones along the dwarven defensive line, dividing their defensive forces into several unconnected sections.

At the same time, after completing their formation, Wang Jian's fleet established a blockade line consisting of six layers of warships at the exit of the retreat passage.

The exits of the waterways marked as potential evacuation routes were cut off one by one, and any ships attempting to escape from the shaded side of the fortress were intercepted by precise fire shortly after entering the blockade zone.

The Wotan Alliance's command center began to show obvious signs of chaos after the first round of orbital strikes, losing unified command and coordination between the fortresses began to break down.

The dwarven defenders faced pressure from three directions simultaneously: the front, the backlight, and the command center. They fought individually and were gradually compressed into an increasingly smaller area.

After completing the first round of channel blockade, Wang Jian's fleet began to clear out the small docks near the exit of the evacuation route.

The dwarven transport barges moored in the docks were unable to complete effective loading and departure procedures after losing their evacuation platforms and coordination commands, and most of the barges remained silent in the docks.

Wang Jian also ordered some of the landing troops to board and inspect the shipyard. The cargo holds of those transport barges were already loaded with some supplies and personnel, but the quantity was far from enough to support a complete interstellar migration.

The Wotan Alliance's escape plan has completely fallen through.

On the sixth day after the start of the general offensive, the last dwarven stronghold on the surface of the thirteenth fortress planet was eliminated.

The dwarven defenders trapped in the lower part of the fortress made several attempts to regroup and break out in the underground tunnels, but each attempt failed in the face of the heavy firepower of the Qin Dynasty. They were eventually compressed into the narrow spaces such as the water tanks and pipe rooms at the bottom.

At the end of a pipe deep underground, the Imperial Dragon Legion discovered the location of the Wotan Alliance's secret warehouse where the Ancestral Cores were stored.

A long, narrow space, about 700 meters in diameter and 90 meters in height, lies buried deep beneath a layer of gray armor, extending several kilometers underground.

The floor of the space was covered with a dense alloy plate, and dozens of heavy metal supports were arranged at equal intervals on top. Each support held a giant device that looked like a supercomputer mainframe, encased in a gray metal shell.

When Han Xin and his group arrived, the dwarves and Grimnir Sage Priests had already been wiped out by the Imperial Dragon Legion and the Astartes of the Nineteenth Legion.

"Pack all these ancestral cores back with you. Remember, keep a close watch on them and make sure there are no losses."

"Yes, Marshal."

Han Xin's final actions continued over the next few days.

The remaining resistance on the surface of each fortress planet has been cleared, and a large amount of dwarven wartime supplies and technological equipment in the evacuation platforms and docks have been sealed and packed into boxes, ready to be transported back to the rear of the Qin Dynasty for research and deployment.

The Wotan Alliance's escape plan failed completely due to the loss of these Ancestral Cores. Without the Ancestral Cores, the dwarves lost their strongest asset for establishing themselves in the galaxy.

The genes and blueprints of memory that they once inherited are now all in the hands of the Qin Dynasty.

Chapter 43 Let's go, let's welcome our new brothers.

The last artillery barrage in the river region fell silent when Zhao Zheng received confirmation from Han Xin that the entire region had been purged.

On the bridge of the Lishan, the river center area on the holographic star map that was once covered by gray markings has now turned into green, representing occupation, and light yellow, representing development.

Tens of thousands of star systems, mining worlds, industrial planets, and the weapons, equipment, and ancestral cores buried deep beneath the gray armor layer—all belong to the Qin Empire.

These spoils are being systematically transported towards Qiankun Star via the newly established transport routes.

The first fleet of ancestral core transport ships set sail on the same day that Han Xin completed the sealing of the land.

The giant devices, encased in gray metal shells, were loaded one by one into specially designed shock-absorbing transport compartments, escorted by two Great Wall-class battleships, and sailed at the highest safe speed along the newly opened River Heart-Qiankun Star direct route.

When the transport fleet arrived at the orbit of Qiankun Star, Zhao Zheng personally went to the airport.

He stood in front of the transport capsules that had just been unloaded, looking through the semi-transparent casing at the gray metal devices inside. The casing had no extra decorations, only some fine heat dissipation grooves and interface panels. The overall design style was extremely simple, so simple that it was almost impossible to see any deliberate carving.

The technical team from the Academia Sinica, led by Zhang Heng and Zu Chongzhi, immediately began preliminary inspections upon the arrival of the transport fleet.

They removed the first Ancestral Core from the transport capsule, carefully moved it into a dedicated laboratory beneath Crimson Sun City, and then connected the basic energy supply lines and external data interfaces.

The Ancestral Core reacted calmly after being powered on; the indicator lights came on and the cooling system started, but no abnormal signals or data outputs were emitted.

Zhao Zheng knew that these storage machines actually had a certain degree of self-awareness, and coupled with the fact that the dwarves had been uploading the memories of every dead dwarf over the years, these ancestral cores exhibited a phenomenon that was different from artificial intelligence.

They have emotions, and sometimes they can be temperamental.

Zhang Heng brought up the detection program on the control panel and gradually tried to send standard format query commands to the ancestral core. No response was received after the commands were transmitted, and there seemed to be no mechanism for active response inside the device.

Zu Chongzhi stood in front of another terminal, using passive listening mode to record all the electromagnetic signals generated by the ancestral core after it was powered on.

But clearly, they couldn't figure it out at all.

Although the dwarves exerted great pressure on the ancestral core, it does not mean that these beings, who are not exactly artificial intelligence, can accept the Qin Dynasty.

Especially after slaughtering the entire dwarf race, the Qin Dynasty was practically blacklisted by the core of the ancestors.

Finding valuable data from these golden-age storage devices (STC) will take some time for the Qin Dynasty to recover.

After the smoke cleared in the river's heart region, the orbit of Qiankun Star became busier than ever before.

Transport barges shuttled back and forth day and night along the newly opened river-Qiankun Star direct route, transporting the spoils recovered from the Wotan Alliance's central fortress back to the core world of the Great Qin Empire in batches.

Crates upon crates of dwarven technology equipment, perfectly preserved industrial modules, and ancestral cores being loaded one by one into specially designed transport pods…

These high-value goods are sorted and registered at a large transfer station in the synchronous orbit of Qiankun Star, and then sent to the layered storage warehouses and laboratories underground in Chiyang City.

Three days after the first batch of ancestral cores arrived, Zhao Zheng once again entered the dedicated laboratory of the underground research institute.

Zhang Heng and Zu Chongzhi were standing in front of the control panel, discussing something in hushed tones. When they saw Zhao Zheng enter, they both stopped what they were doing and turned to greet him.

Zhao Zheng waved his hand, signaling them to continue, and then walked to the ancestral core that was fixed on the experimental table and stopped.

The gray metal casing gleamed faintly under the cool white lights of the laboratory, and the heat dissipation grooves and interface panels on the surface of the casing remained in the same state as when it was first powered on.

The indicator light flashed at a steady frequency, and the cooling system continued to emit a low hum, but there was still no active data output signal inside the device.

Zhao Zheng didn't rush to do anything. He simply placed his palm flat on the surface of the outer shell, feeling the cool touch of the metal in his palm, and then closed his eyes.

His psionic energy slowly seeped in through the cracks in the outer shell, penetrating the dense gray metal and reaching the deep data storage structure inside the device.

The moment the spiritual energy touched the surface of the storage structure, it sensed a thin layer of resistance.

A low-strength data encryption layer with an exceptionally sophisticated logical structure, but it is not inherently offensive or exclusionary; rather, it serves as a standard layer of protection to prevent unauthorized external access.

It must be a "firewall" set up by humanity during the golden age to prevent these storage devices containing valuable data from being breached by certain individuals.

Zhao Zheng's psionic energy did not forcefully break through the firewall; it merely lingered around its perimeter for a moment, slowly circling along the logical boundaries of the encryption layer, attempting to understand its structure and operation.

The firewall was designed to a very high standard; the depth of its nested logical chains and the complexity of its redirection paths far exceeded any data protection system Zhao Zheng had ever encountered before.

Even with his psionic processing speed, it would take a considerable amount of time to analyze and complete the analysis.

It's a pity that the Star God fragment in his body isn't a fragment of the Void Dragon; otherwise, deciphering such a memory wouldn't have required much effort.

However, Zhao Zheng couldn't possibly go all the way to Mars or the entire galaxy to search for Void Dragon fragments. Even if he found one, he didn't know if he could defeat it. Obtaining a Star God fragment would already be very good.

At best, the piece that Ferrus obtained only strengthened his pair of iron hands, while Zhao Zheng obtained an energy fragment that could continuously enhance himself and absorb external energy, which was already a great gain.

When Zhao Zheng withdrew his hand, the edge of the data encryption layer's logical structure still lingered on his fingertips.

This firewall is incredibly sophisticated, resembling an extremely fine metal mesh. Each wire is embedded in a precise position, and the spacing and tension between them are precisely calculated, leaving virtually no gaps that could be exploited by external forces.

He took a half step back, his gaze still fixed on the gray metal casing.

"The logical structure of this firewall is very complete. Judging from the design concept, it should have existed since its inception and has not been damaged by natural wear and tear or program crashes over the long years."

Zhang Heng stood to the side of the control panel, his tone conveying a restrained admiration.

"The complexity of this structure far exceeds what our current technology can achieve independently. If we can analyze its underlying logic, it will greatly improve our own data encryption system."

Zhao Zheng nodded.

He didn't continue trying to break through the firewall, but instead turned to Zhang Heng and asked...

"What's the status of the other Ancestral Cores? Have they all been powered on and tested?"

"All seven units have completed the initial inspection. Four of them were in the same state as this one after being powered on: the indicator lights were normal, the cooling system was running, but there was no active data output."

"The other three units showed brief data transmission pulses when they were first powered on. The pulses were very short, lasting less than a fraction of a second, and the data was incomplete. But this at least shows that their internal storage systems are active to some extent."

"These artificial intelligences seem to be resisting us."

Zhao Zheng's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Were the data pulses from those three units recorded?"

"Yes, it has been stored in the analysis database and is currently being analyzed frame by frame. Judging from the waveform characteristics of the pulses, it looks like a status report signal sent when some kind of self-test program starts. Because the signal is truncated, it is impossible to determine what it wants to report."

Zhao Zheng stood there for a moment, then shifted his gaze from Zhang Heng to the row of transport pods parked on the side of the laboratory.

The outer shells of those transport cabins still bore minor scratches and condensation stains left during their return journey from the river center, but each one was perfectly sealed.

“Mark those three ancestral cores that are emitting pulses separately and place them in an isolation laboratory for continuous monitoring.”

"In addition, have Kongming and Zifang rearrange the transportation schedule, prioritizing the extraction of devices that exhibit pulse signals from subsequent batches, and temporarily storing the remaining devices in a long-term storage warehouse, awaiting the determination of the subsequent analysis plan before proceeding to the next step."

Zhang Heng noted down the order without asking any further questions.

Zhao Zheng did not linger in the laboratory. He walked along the corridor toward the elevator shaft, his pace neither hurried nor slow, and he even deliberately made some noises to indicate that he was leaving.

As he left the lab, his psychic senses touched the venting grooves on the surface of the Ancestral Core's outer shell one last time, like a silent hand touching the locked window one last time before the door closed.

Although the sensation was brief, Zhao Zheng noticed it and sensed a subtle response within the touch, as if something inside the firewall had been moved.

It's so slight it's almost negligible, but it does exist.

Zhao Zheng did not stop or look back, but his psionic energy had already memorized the location and form of the response.

It seems that the emotions and consciousness within the ancestral cores are concentrated there. I'll find some time to see if all these ancestral cores are like this, and then I'll clear away all of these consciousnesses!

If you're just a storage device, just do your job as a storage device. What's the point of all that messy free will and emotions?

As Zhao Zheng stepped into the elevator shaft, the door, crafted from a mixture of living metal and refined gold, slowly closed behind him.

The transport barges on the orbit of Qiankun Star continue to travel back and forth without interruption, bringing back the spoils of war from the river center area in batches.

The research on the ancestral core made no breakthrough progress in the following weeks.

Zhang Heng and Zu Chongzhi's team installed highly sensitive passive listening devices on the three ancestral cores that emitted pulse signals, recording all the electromagnetic signals they generated when powered on day and night.

Weeks passed, and those data spikes never reappeared.

Zhao Zheng was not surprised by this. He knew that such advanced equipment could not be fully analyzed in a short period of time, so he did not urge them. He simply asked them to continue to observe and record according to the existing procedures, while shifting some research resources to other technological equipment recovered from the dwarf world.

Some of those devices have relatively simple structures, and their basic principles can be understood without relying on the ancestral core's data interface.

According to the preliminary analysis by Zhang Heng's team, the industrial equipment recovered from the river center area was likely based on standardized modules from the Golden Age.

Many of the dwarves' industrial equipment have components whose structure and interface specifications are compatible with the existing industrial system of Qiankun Star.

These devices of the Qin Dynasty were basically built according to Zhao Zheng's memories, but Zhao Zheng's memories came from the emperor.

Where did the emperors' skills come from?

This means that the Qin Dynasty can directly copy and improve some of the equipment left behind by the dwarves without relying on the core data output of their ancestors, especially those relatively independent functional modules such as power units and smelting furnaces.

Zhao Zheng relaxed the research resource quotas for Zhang Heng and Zu Chongzhi's team, allowing them to call upon the Central Research Institute's backup equipment and personnel at any time as needed. At the same time, a number of backup workshops specifically for the dismantling and replication of dwarf equipment were newly built in the large spaceport and arsenal on the Qiankun Star orbit.

The joy of capturing the River Heart region did not cloud Zhao Zheng's judgment; he knew that Warhammer was by no means a safe place.

Therefore, you can't let your guard down. Once you do, you'll be the one who gets into trouble.

Two months after the end of the battle in the River Heart region, the Central Research Institute underground on Qiankun Star was still immersed in a period of restrained busyness.

Zhao Zheng did not disrupt their rhythm.

Researching the ancestral core takes time, and dismantling and replicating the dwarven equipment also requires considerable patience; these things cannot be accelerated by urging.

He delegated the daily operation of the laboratory to Zhang Heng and Zu Chongzhi's team for coordination, only checking the progress report once a week at a fixed time to ensure that there were no gaps in resource allocation.

But there was one thing he didn't neglect.

The complete occupation of the river center area meant that the Qin Empire's territory expanded outwards by a large circle, and it also meant that every fleet that participated in this battle paid the price.

Some losses were due to the consumption of supplies, some to casualties, and others to losses that were even more difficult to quantify.

At the military conference in the second week after the war, Zhao Zheng clarified a principle: all combat units that participated in the Battle of the River Center, regardless of their original order of command, shall be evaluated and rewarded according to the standards of the Imperial Dragon Legion (except for military rank).

When this decision was communicated, the Space Marines of the Fourth, Ninth, Thirteenth, and Nineteenth Legions did not immediately react much.

They had become accustomed to the Emperor Dragon Legion's generosity in logistics and equipment, and to receiving a detailed supply list and equipment upgrade plan after each battle.

On the evening of the day he received the assessment notification, Frix read the document twice in his cabin.

The Fourth Army's performance in the Battle of the River was listed in detail, so much so that even Fricks almost didn't recognize it as his own army.