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

The outer ceramic steel coating is 40 mm thick, the middle layer is a honeycomb alloy buffer structure, and the inner layer is a carbon fiber fragment barrier mesh.

The cost of a single unit, calculated in terms of standard industrial man-hours in Chiyang City at that time, was roughly equivalent to the cost of two freight trucks, making it more than an order of magnitude cheaper than the Astartes Power Armor.

More importantly, the pilots of the Red Guard-I do not need to undergo surgical modifications.

Any adult male who has undergone three months of basic military training, and with a certain degree of genetic modification, can complete adaptation training within 48 hours of putting on this suit of armor and be deployed in actual combat.

That's where its value lies.

However, when compared to Space Marines' power armor, the difference is indeed too great.

Despite their imposing size and the fact that their weapons can indeed penetrate power armor, Zhao Zheng is certain that if they were to actually fight those much shorter, stocky creatures, the Astartes would dismantle them in less than three seconds.

A few million Astartes are enough to roam the galaxy. Do you really think the war machines designed by the Emperor are inadequate?

That's normal, though. How can equipment that requires surgical modifications to operate be compared to equipment and drivers with extremely low barriers to entry?

At this moment, Zhao Zheng had another idea. He wanted to design a set of exclusive power armor for his Astartes offspring. He would need to design it carefully to give them stronger firepower and survivability.

As for the Red Guard-I, he still decided to treat it as a general-purpose auxiliary force, relying on quantity to win. If the quality was not good enough, quantity would make up for it. As long as it was cheap enough, there was no problem that quantity could not solve.

We can upgrade this series of systems later when our technology advances.

He continued walking along the final assembly line, past the section for the Chiwei-I type, and arrived at a line where the assembly progress was significantly slower.

The armor here is wider and taller than the Red Guard-I type, with a square and solid overall outline. The thickness of the outer armor has increased by one-third, and the shoulder platform extends outward in a rectangular shape.

He named this armor Marauder, and it was developed based on his memories. It can be considered an imitation of the Terminator power armor.

Zhao Zheng also modified its design to adapt to the battlefield environment of the Warhammer universe. The core design concept of the Marauder armor can be summed up in two words: frontal firepower and battlefield survival.

It's fair to say that the Terminator is tough enough in close combat, and the Marauder armor is indeed inferior. However, in terms of firepower and cost, the Marauder completely crushes the Terminator.

It is equipped with two triple-launcher miniature missile pods on its shoulders, and can quickly switch between armor-piercing and high-explosive missiles, with a range of 200 to 1,000 meters.

The chest armor was thickened by 22 millimeters, and its frontal ballistic protection was sufficient to withstand the sweeping attack of the orc leader's single-shot powered claw.

The leg hydraulic system has been reinforced to withstand heavier loads, allowing the driver to maintain normal walking and running speeds while carrying additional ammunition boxes and heavy weapons.

More importantly, Zhao Zheng added a miniaturized automatic ammunition reloading system to the back of the raider. It is connected to the main weapon in the driver's hand via a short conveyor belt and can automatically replenish ammunition during continuous firing.

As for the ammunition capacity?

Zhao Zheng could only say that as long as the gun barrel didn't overheat, he could fire at full power for a whole day and night without any problem.

Pilots of this suit must undergo genetic modification because its weight and power feedback are still too much for the bones and muscles of ordinary people; it would be impossible for anyone other than a Space Marine to operate it.

"His Majesty."

A voice came from behind; it was Ou Yezi.

Zhao Zheng turned his head and saw Ou Yezi standing at the end of the plunderer's assembly line, holding an alloy sample that had just been taken out of the quenching tank, the thick calluses on his fingers glowing red in the furnace fire.

"Try this."

Zhao Zheng took it and rubbed the surface of the sample with his fingertip. It was a new alloy formula. The carbon content and the ratio of trace elements had been repeatedly adjusted by Ouyezi. The hardness was nearly 10% higher than the standard configuration, but the toughness was not significantly reduced.

"Can it be mass-produced?"

"A new quenching line needs to be built in the workshop, but it is absolutely worth it. Using this material on the front of the armor can reduce the thickness by two millimeters, reduce the weight by two hundred kilograms, and increase the frontal ballistic resistance instead of decreasing it."

"Submit a proposal, and I will approve it."

"Yes."

He didn't linger and turned to walk deeper into the assembly hall, where there were still production workshops waiting for his inspection. On the third final assembly line, an SCV mech was being assembled.

This mech was much taller than the raider, with an overall height of over seven meters, and its compact shape resembled a square-headed iron box.

Two robust robotic arms extend forward from both sides of the machine body, with quick-change multi-functional grippers at their ends, currently equipped with standard welding heads and hydraulic clamps.

The cockpit has been moved forward, providing a wide field of vision. The outer armor is 122 millimeters thick, three times thicker than the Chiwei-I type.

Zhao Zheng stood in front of it and reached out to pat the bulletproof glass on the front of the cockpit.

The SCV has many uses, with battlefield engineering being the most basic. It is the most fundamental engineering unit of the Terran race, responsible for resource gathering, building construction, and repairing machinery...

Zhao Zheng simply moved it over and then slightly modified the power unit, replacing the original gas turbine with a small fusion reactor that met the standards of Chiyang City, thus increasing the endurance to 108 hours.

SCVs have no direct combat capability, but why would Zhao Zheng give up such a useful machine?

What do you mean by "the machine gunners are all dead and you're telling me to go in"?

This is the mecha designed by Zhao Zheng to rival the Fearless. It is a dual-use military and civilian combat armor. In peacetime, it is used for engineering operations. In wartime, it can be directly equipped with cannons, missile systems, and powered claws to serve as an siege mecha, or it can serve as a logistical support in the trenches.

This is much better than the Fearless; as I said before, it offers excellent value for money.

Of course, this is not the strongest battle armor that Zhao Zheng has invented so far.

The Golia Mech is a standard heavy mech unit that walks on two legs, has automatic cannons mounted on its shoulders, and can switch between different types of weapons in its hands depending on the mission.

Zhao Zheng's version is a size larger than the original, with an overall height of 10.4 meters, specifically designed to compete with the Knight Mech.

It is equipped with a twin-barreled rapid-fire cannon on each shoulder, with the caliber increased to 255 mm, and the ammunition type can switch between armor-piercing rounds and high-explosive incendiary rounds.

The ends of both arms have standard interfaces that can be used to mount chainsaw swords, power hammers, power claws, flamethrowers, or heavy explosive guns, which can be changed at any time according to battlefield needs.

The cockpit is located in the center of the chest and is covered by three layers of composite armor plates, providing sufficient frontal ballistic protection to withstand a blow from the orc Gargant's heavy hammer.

The leg hydraulic system adopts a parallel redundant design, so even if one of the two legs is completely paralyzed, the remaining hydraulic units can still support the mecha to continue moving at half speed.

The most crucial factor is still the cost; it remains the king of cost-effectiveness.

If the Empire could still make a profit by exchanging ten Knight Mechs for one Nether Knight Mech, then Zhao Zheng could also make a profit by exchanging twenty of his Golia Mechs for one Knight Mech.

This is what you call value for money!

The real problem is still the current technological limitations.

The cost of a single Goliath is eight times that of a Raider and twelve times that of the Red Guard-I. Moreover, its manufacturing process is complex and requires extremely high precision in its parts. With the current industrial level of Red Sun City, the monthly production capacity is optimistically estimated to be no more than three hundred units.

However, Zhao Zheng still decided to include it in the mass production plan because Goliath's role on the battlefield was irreplaceable.

It is an anti-armor and fire suppression platform, with its shoulder-mounted twin rapid-fire machine guns capable of turning a city wall into powder in three seconds.

Without Titan units, the Goliath mechs are the strongest offensive force on the battlefield, and even Space Marines can't get the better of them.

More importantly, Goliath can carry a genetically modified elite pilot, without requiring Space Marine-level modifications; a human enhanced by gene serum is sufficient.

Brain-computer interfaces are incredibly easy to operate.

In fact, Zhao Zheng originally wanted to design Viking, Thor, and Odin, but unfortunately, the current technological capabilities are still a bit difficult to achieve, so he can only wait until later.

Zhao Zheng turned and walked towards the exit of the assembly hall.

But at the exit, he stopped and his gaze fell on a giant blueprint hanging on the side wall of the hall.

The blueprint was 15 meters long and 8 meters high. It depicted a steel tank with eight pairs of road wheels. The hull was square and straight, the turret was low and wide, and the main gun caliber pointed to a daunting number. The thickness of the armor on the front of the hull was marked with a striking number.

"Sky Cover" main battle tank.

It incorporates a large number of design ideas from the Warhammer Empire's military equipment, especially in terms of armor layout and firepower configuration, referencing the mature designs of the Leman Russ main battle tank in the later stages of the Great Crusade and the Empire's heavy scimitar main battle tank.

The vehicle is 15 meters long and weighs 268 tons. Its frontal main armor is a 3-meter-thick composite steel plate, which is sufficient to withstand most of the heavy anti-armor firepower of the aliens.

The main gun is an 800mm smoothbore cannon with 2,000 rounds of ammunition, including armor-piercing shells, high-explosive shells, and a special projectile he had just designed. The projectile can be filled with incendiary agent, which will form a continuous jet of metal and a high-temperature zone after hitting the target.

Six twin-barreled heavy explosive rounds are mounted on the roof of the vehicle for suppressing infantry and lightly armored targets.

In non-combat mode, the Tianfu tank can deploy four sets of hydraulic spades on both sides of the hull to fix the hull to the ground. Then, the elevation angle of the main gun is greatly increased, switching to indirect fire support mode, and the range is extended from five kilometers for direct fire to eighteen kilometers.

Switching between mortar mode and direct fire mode takes only 45 seconds.

All eight pairs of road wheels are equipped with independent torsion bar suspension, allowing for off-road speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour and up to 90 kilometers per hour on standard roads.

If all goes well, the Sky-Covering Tank will become the main assault force of his ground troops on the future battlefield, forming a light-heavy firepower system with the Marauders and Goliath.

Following this was a wheeled troop carrier, six-wheel drive, with the engine compartment and driver's cab at the front and a sealed troop compartment at the rear, capable of accommodating sixteen fully armed Red Guard-I type armored infantrymen.

A remote-controlled bomb gun is mounted on the roof of the vehicle, which can be fired remotely by an operator inside the cabin via an external camera and screen.

The troop compartment has six firing ports on both sides, allowing infantry to fire outwards from inside the vehicle. The doors are hydraulically controlled, opening and closing in just three seconds.

Zhao Zheng's research, based on the chimera's ideas, is not worth mentioning.

There are also some aerial units, such as Banshee fighters, Ghost fighters, and Thunderhawk gunships...

These aerial units are equally essential. The importance of air superiority goes without saying, so Zhao Zheng never intended for his legion to lack technological support from the beginning.

The empire is large and powerful and is not afraid of consumption, but Zhao Zheng is not. The Dragon Kingdoms only have so few people. Even if Zhao Zheng colonizes other planets in the future, even if we include the Great Expedition, it will only take more than two hundred years. How many humans can be developed?

Therefore, Zhao Zheng did not want to do that.

The Qin Empire is now expanding at a rate that even Zhao Zheng himself is surprised by.

War is imminent, and a complete war system, from infantry to armor to logistical support, has been established. At the forefront of this system, his Astartes are undergoing brutal training day after day in the center of Lungmen, awaiting his order to march.

"almost."

Zhao Zheng spoke in a low voice, the wind carrying his voice towards the sea, where it disappeared into the surging waves in the distance.

Chapter 8 Yuanshuo-1

The indicator lights on the airport's take-off and landing platforms flickered in the thick fog, like a string of phosphorescent lights suspended on a night sea.

Zhao Zheng stood on the open-air observation platform at the top of the control tower, his fingertips resting on the cold metal railing, watching the last transport barge break free from gravity and disappear into the clouds, trailing a pale blue ion tail flame.

Thus, the first interstellar fleet of the Qin Empire set sail in the deepest darkness before dawn.

Zhao Zheng did not hold any ceremony. Before boarding the ship, the captains and crew simply gave him a standard military salute, then silently turned and walked through the pressure cabin door.

After giving a military salute, the offspring silently entered the cabin.

The first principle taught to them by the military academy is: a true soldier does not need slogans and flags to prove his loyalty; he only needs to execute orders without hesitation the moment they are given.

This was the kind of discipline Zhao Zheng wanted, and his sons and soldiers carried it out very well.

Five years is but a blink of an eye for a Primarch, but for the people of the Qin Empire, it means the rapid change of an era.

In just five years, they went from a backward feudal era to the era of interstellar travel. No one knows how much effort Zhao Zheng and his researchers put in, but everyone knows that almost all the researchers eventually had to undergo gene enhancement and modification surgery to withstand that kind of workload.

Since Zhao Zheng ascended the throne, he has established 1,689 comprehensive military academies and 567 engineering and technical colleges. Zhao Zheng has devoted tremendous effort to building these colleges.

He not only pushed those SCV armors to their limits, but the workshop also produced one large engineering machine after another day and night under his command.

The fact that an emperor personally accompanied a group of workers and used psychic powers to help build the academy caused quite a stir at the time.

Every year, over a million technical talents graduate from Red Sun City, and the industrial capacity of the entire Northern Hemisphere has expanded to a level that would leave the ancestors who fled from Terra speechless.

In the air, a hovering mechanical spaceship, trailing a long array of sensors, skimmed along the bottom of the clouds.

That was a low-cost high-altitude patrol unit designed by Zhao Zheng last year. Essentially, it was an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a small fusion engine and radar array, with an endurance of up to 300 hours, responsible for all-weather monitoring of the airspace thousands of kilometers around the airport.

He didn't even bother to come up with a proper name, simply writing "Sentinel" on the blueprint and tossing it to the production line.

As dawn broke through the thick veil of clouds at the horizon, Zhao Zheng descended from the tower, and his descendants quickly came to greet him.

This descendant was named Li Jing. He was one of the first 5,678 people to complete the Astartes modification surgery and was also one of the expeditionary fleet commanders personally appointed by Zhao Zheng.

He stood still in front of Zhao Zheng, his boot heels clicking together with a crisp, clean sound, his back ramrod straight.

"Father, the vanguard fleet has completely escaped the atmosphere and is assembling in formation on the predetermined orbit. Communication links are stable and all fleets are in good condition."

Zhao Zheng nodded slightly, his gaze passing over Li Jing's shoulder and landing on the cloud layer that was slightly whitened by the ion tail flame.

"Let them continue according to the original plan. After reaching the first target planet, do not rush to land. First, complete a full-domain orbital scan to confirm the surface conditions and the level of possible threats before proceeding."

"Remember, if it's a human, then we can send out a message to persuade them to surrender. If it's an alien, then there's no need for further words. Make a plan and exterminate them directly. I don't want to see any aliens appear in our world in the future."

"Yes, Father."

Without saying anything more, Li Jing turned and walked towards the communications station, his steps swift and silent, carrying the lightness and precision unique to a superhuman warrior who had undergone modification surgery.

Zhao Zheng watched his figure disappear behind the airtight door at the edge of the tarmac, and then walked towards the main airport building.

He walked along the corridor through three airtight doors, where the surrounding air pressure and temperature were gradually adjusted, and the residual sea salt smell in the air was gradually replaced by humid, circulating air through the filtration system.

The walls on both sides of the corridor are made of uniform gray-white alloy plates, with rivets arranged in a neat array. Every ten steps, a cold white light is embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the entire corridor without a trace of shadow.

Zhao Zheng pushed open the blast door at the end of the corridor, which was marked with the words "Strategic Command Center".

The space behind the door suddenly opened up.