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

This is a circular hall with a diameter of about fifty meters. A huge holographic projector is suspended high in the dome, currently projecting a real-time situation map of the orbit of the Qiankun Star.

A group of duty officers in dark gray uniforms sat around a central circular control panel, their screens flashing with dense streams of data and tactical markings, while the air was filled with the aroma of a mixture of instant coffee and tea.

Zhao Zheng walked to the main control position in the center of the circular platform and quickly scanned the holographic interface floating in front of him.

The vanguard fleet has completed its formation. At the forefront of the arrow-shaped array is a reconnaissance wing composed of 42 destroyers, followed by an air defense barrier composed of 120 frigates, then the core strike group composed of 20 main cruisers, and finally the logistics echelon composed of 50 transport and supply ships.

The entire fleet is moving at sub-light speed toward the first Earth-like planet on the edge of the Qiankun Galaxy, and is expected to arrive at its target in thirty-seven days.

Unfortunately, Zhao Zheng had no idea about warp drives or how to build warp drives. Even if he did have warp drives, he didn't have any psionicists to burn them for. Every survivor and psionicist from the Dragon Kingdoms was incredibly valuable.

They can die on the battlefield, or on any territory they defend, but they absolutely cannot be burned alive as expendable material inside the warp engine.

Therefore, we can only use this relatively "primitive" method of navigation to carry out the first "voyage to the stars".

On the holographic star map, that planet was labeled "Yuanshuo-1".

The name was given by Zhao Zhengqi, meaning the first ray of dawn in the new year. As for what the natives call this planet, that is no longer important.

This is the seventh Earth-like planet that his long-range telescopes and probes have identified around Qiankun Star in the past five years, and it is also the closest one. Its orbit is about 1.7 astronomical units away from Qiankun Star. Its atmosphere contains nearly 21% oxygen, and its surface is covered with a large area of ​​liquid water and green vegetation.

From any perspective, this is a world suitable for human colonization.

However, in the Warhammer universe, places suitable for human habitation are often the most dangerous places.

Aliens, human regimes that fled the Age of Conflict, mutated mutants, or even the earliest Chaos cultists may all be lurking beneath this lush green exterior.

Therefore, Zhao Zheng was in no hurry to take action and first had the fleet gather information about the situation on the outskirts.

"Your Majesty, the communications officer reports that the vanguard fleet has entered patrol formation mode."

A duty officer turned around, his voice steady.

"We expect to reach the first gravitational bend in twelve hours. At that time, the fleet will temporarily escape the gravitational influence of the star and enter an inertial gliding state. The communication delay will increase by about four minutes."

"understood."

Zhao Zheng responded and then turned his attention to the screen on the other side.

There, the latest monthly report of the Qin Empire's surface arsenal was displayed.

The monthly production of the Red Guard-I power armor has exceeded 100,000 units, the Marauder armor has exceeded 10,000 units, the Golia mech has reached 2,000 units, and the monthly production of the Sky Cover main battle tank has been fixed at 800 units.

In terms of air power, the combined monthly production of Banshee and Ghost fighters is 1,200, and the monthly production of Thunderhawk gunships is 300.

The numbers were impressive, but far from enough for Zhao Zheng. In his view, the industrial system of the Qin Empire was too young and too fragile, and had not undergone the test of truly large-scale and sustained consumption.

The production line has very low redundancy, and the inventory cycle for core components is only three months. If any disruption occurs in the supply chain, the entire military industry system will be paralyzed.

Although the planet Qiankun is somewhat strange, with its underground mineral veins seemingly inexhaustible, where once one vein is exhausted, another will continue to generate, the current level of technology is still too low.

The dome of the bridge of the starship "Lishan" was low, and a cold white light flowed along the edge of the circular control console, making every face in the command cabin clearly visible.

Zhao Zheng stood on the elevated platform behind the main control position, his fingers lightly resting on the edge of the metal handrail. His gaze passed through the huge observation porthole in front of him and landed on the bottomless starry sky.

The vanguard fleet has completed its formation assembly. Forty-two destroyers have deployed in an arc-shaped reconnaissance array at the front, followed closely by frigates to set up air defense barriers, while the main cruisers maintain a steady advancing posture at the core of the formation.

The relative speeds between the starships have been precisely synchronized. From a distance, the entire fleet looks like a faintly glowing arrow pointing straight at the Earth-like planet marked "Yuanshuo-1" on the outer edge of the Qiankun system.

Zhao Zheng heard the soft sound of a pneumatic door sliding open behind him. He didn't need to turn around; he could tell who it was from the rhythm and weight of the footsteps.

“Father, the forward reconnaissance team has just sent back preliminary gravitational survey data. The space environment around Yuanshuo-1 is relatively clean. No large-scale artificial orbital structures or obvious energy signal sources have been detected.”

"The thickness of the surface atmosphere is as expected, the oxygen content is basically close to that of Qiankun Star, and the surface temperature ranges from -5 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius. According to the existing model, humans can move around normally without auxiliary equipment."

Zhao Zheng did not respond to Li Jing immediately. His gaze lingered on the slowly rotating blue-green planet for a moment. The Primarch's vision penetrated the surface of the images transmitted by the optical sensors, as if trying to read more from the outlines of the clouds and continents.

He didn't have many doubts about the planet itself; the data was already sufficient. What really concerned him were the things that couldn't be observed.

After all, what he cares about most are the Greenskins and the Chaos Corruption.

The green-skinned ones need no further explanation; although troublesome, Zhao Zheng is confident he can handle them. But the Chaos Corruption…

To be honest, Zhao Zheng was a little afraid of becoming the next Fogrim.

"Maintain orbital blockade. All transport ships must remain in geosynchronous orbit and not re-enter the atmosphere."

"Send three teams of Thunderhawks and Banshees down with ground detection equipment. The landing point should be on the edge of the continent on the shadow side of the planet. Make sure they have enough fuel and ammunition. Keep the communication links silent and only use repeaters to relay signals."

"Yes, Father."

Li Jing turned and walked toward the communications station to relay the instructions, while Zhao Zheng remained standing in place, his gaze never leaving the planet that was getting closer and closer outside the observation porthole. The clouds swirled slowly in his field of vision, like a semi-transparent veil obscuring the unknown surface below.

When Li Jing's instructions were transmitted via encrypted relays to the nine Thunderhawk gunboats and twelve Banshee fighters in the fleet sequence, the formation had just completed its final orbital fine-tuning.

The aircraft, coated in dark gray, slid out one by one from the hangar on the side of the flagship. The blue-white exhaust plumes of their engines stretched silently in the vacuum before turning and cutting into the atmosphere of the blue-green planet below.

Zhao Zheng remained standing in front of the observation porthole, watching the eighteen points of light gradually disappear into the arc-shaped shadow at the edge of the planet.

He did not return to the main control position on the bridge; he continued to browse the tactical data stream floating in front of him.

He needed real, firsthand intelligence. Although he trusted his descendants, he honestly wanted to keep a close eye on things during the first war. He was genuinely afraid that the Chaos would launch a major attack against him.

After all, he clearly remembered how much Chaos coveted him.

Their own offspring might also be targeted by them.

Three hours later, the first Banshee fighter jet broke through the clouds.

The sensor array inside the cabin suddenly became active the moment it broke through the top of the troposphere, with the data stream on the screen refreshing thousands of times per second, ranging from atmospheric composition and surface temperature to electromagnetic spectrum distribution.

Real-time footage is transmitted to the flagship in orbit via repeaters.

Zhao Zheng stood in front of the tactical holographic console on the bridge, his finger hovering in mid-air as he watched the image data unfold frame by frame, from blurry to clear.

The surface of Yuanshuo-1 was not the wild jungle or primeval forest he had imagined; instead, a piece of land cut by regular geometric lines unfolded before him.

Regular grids of farmland extend inland from the mainland coastline, the road network shows obvious signs of artificial planning, the town settlements are not dense but well-organized, the houses are uniform in style and the streets are of consistent width.

Based on what can be seen with the naked eye, it can be determined that the planet is in the early stages of the steam industrial revolution.

The only jarring element is the gray barrier that winds around the town on the large map; the thickness and height of those barriers far exceed what is needed to defend against fellow countrymen or any ferocious beasts.

Zhao Zheng's gaze narrowed for a moment.

Humans live there, but they live in isolation, are self-isolating, and are highly vigilant.

Zhao Zheng almost instantly figured out the reason for this situation.

There is a very high probability that those black bean sprouts robbed and slaughtered these humans here!

Chapter Nine: The Dark Spirit Clan

Dusk came quickly for Yuanshuo-1.

Zhao Zheng stood in front of the holographic projection on the bridge of the Lishan ship, watching the real-time images transmitted back by the first ground reconnaissance team pass through the clouds and be stitched together frame by frame by the satellite repeater into a complete tactical image.

The outer gray walls stood out starkly against the infrared spectrum. The walls were nearly 15 meters thick and over 30 meters high, with a watchtower every 500 meters. The firelight atop the towers flickered slightly in the night wind.

Zhao Zheng did not look away; his gaze was fixed on the outer side of one of the walls, where an area had a temperature on thermal imaging that was much higher than the surrounding environment, like a scar that had been repeatedly burned.

The reconnaissance captain sent back an encrypted audio message. Zhao Zheng opened it, and the calm and collected voice spread across the quiet bridge.

“Father, we have found a large number of high-temperature burn marks and energy weapon remnants on the surface outside the wall. The carbonization depth is more than 15 centimeters. The marks are distributed along the entire line of the wall, with regular intervals, in a sweeping pattern.”

"We also discovered a large number of newly buried pits on the outskirts of the nearest town, about two meters deep, without any markers or signs, totaling about 420. Upon inspection, the human skeletons inside showed extensive comminuted wounds, some with burn marks from energy weapons."

Those must be human remains. It seems my guess was right. I think I've encountered a disgusting alien, and it appears my speed and agility aren't quite there yet.

"Continue the search, remain silent, expand the search radius, and watch out for any moving heat sources and unusual electromagnetic signals."

After the communication link was lost, he turned around and looked at Li Jing behind the main control panel.

"Order all warships in the fleet to enter Level 1 combat readiness, preheat weapon systems, pressurize shields, and put warp engines on standby. Deploy all transport ships to low Earth orbit, and load the Thunderhawk gunboats with marines. If anything goes wrong, immediately release incendiary and fragmentation bombs, followed by heavy artillery bombardment. Burn them first."

"Yes, Father."

The reconnaissance formation advanced for about thirty kilometers, and the data stream transmitted from the ground suddenly became denser.

In the infrared band, about twelve kilometers ahead, a region of thermal signal jumped out of the background noise, distributed in a scattering pattern, with irregular spacing between them and an extremely high movement rate.

Zhao Zheng's brow twitched slightly.

The heat signals were traveling at nearly 90 kilometers per hour and were constantly changing direction, frequently weaving and turning back, like a swarm of disturbed bees hovering at low altitude.

What alarmed him even more was the temperature distribution of these thermal signals. The temperature at the center far exceeded the heat generated by the normal metabolism of a living organism, while the temperature at the edges rapidly decreased. The characteristics were almost completely consistent with the firing residue of the Star Dart weapon.

It's definitely those black bean sprouts, no doubt about it!

Zhao Zheng's fingertips slid rapidly across the main control panel, and the map on the tactical interface was magnified layer by layer. The distribution patterns of those heat signals were quickly deconstructed and reconstructed on his retina.

They are hunting, and it's an organized and premeditated hunt.

Dozens of signal sources were spread out in a fan shape, with each pair of signal sources about fifty meters apart, maintaining a tacit understanding of synchronous movement. About five kilometers ahead, there was another group of even weaker signals fleeing in the same direction, numbering around two thousand, moving slowly and in a disorderly direction.

The Eldar were driving the humans away, herding them in a certain direction like prey, then flanking and reaping them.

It's unclear whether they intend to take these people back to Comoros or to torture and kill them on the spot, but there are definitely lurking enemies ahead of these humans.

Zhao Zheng straightened up, his voice steady but covering the entire bridge.

"First Marine Battalion, Thunder Eagle gunboats take off within five minutes, landing coordinates locked on an open area nine kilometers ahead of the reconnaissance formation."

"The raiders and SCV squads go first, followed by the Red Guard Battalion to the high ground. Xiang Ji, you lead the first company to flank from the side. Don't let them have a chance to create distance."

Confirmation messages from various units quickly came through the communication channel, crisp and clear, without any unnecessary noise.

The hangar doors of the Lishan slid open along the guide rails to both sides, and the engines of the Thunderhawk gunboat roared suddenly in the enclosed space, their blue and white exhaust flames illuminating the entire hangar as if it were daytime.

The moment the first Thunderhawk detached from its pylon, the fuselage dipped slightly before being steadily supported by the anti-gravity engine, propelling it at a near-vertical angle toward the open hatch and into the atmosphere of Yuanshuo-1.

Zhao Zheng did not stay on the bridge to wait for the battle report. He passed through three airtight doors and went down the elevator shaft to the lower hangar of the Lishan, where a Stormbird reserved for him was parked, with the imperial insignia painted in dark gold on the side of the fuselage.

Five minutes later, on the ground.

The cargo hold floor of the Thunderhawk gunboat suddenly sprang open at a height of sixty meters, and the hydraulic struts unfolded with a sharp metallic hiss, while the gunboat's engine was still roaring as it hovered.

The first batch of Astartes, clad in special-model armor, leaped from the hatch. Upon landing, their knees slightly bent to cushion the impact, and the shock absorption system on the soles of their armored feet emitted a dull thud. They then immediately spread out to the sides, forming a defensive formation at the edge of the landing zone.

Zhao Zheng silently descended to the ground. His six-meter height made him appear like a mobile tower on any battlefield. His dark brown eyes swept across the undulating hills and sparse woodlands ahead.

At the edge of the horizon, those rapidly moving heat signals were approaching, the distance had shrunk to less than three kilometers.

He could arrive in an instant.

"Father, the flank deployment is complete, the first company is in position, the raider squad has deployed into a suppressive formation, and the Red Guard battalion is advancing to higher ground."

Xiang Ji's voice came through the communicator, carrying a hint of suppressed excitement; he couldn't wait to kill his enemies.

Zhao Zheng nodded slightly, his gaze never leaving the horizon ahead.

"Wait until they are within range, then don't let them get too close."

"Yes."

About two kilometers ahead, a sharp whistle shattered the tranquility of dusk.

The sound was extremely piercing, like a metal sheet scraping against a glass surface at high speed, with a frequency so high that it almost exceeded the upper limit of human hearing.

Then came the second and third choruses, the howling sounds growing more and more intense, surging in from different directions simultaneously, weaving together an invisible sound network, attempting to undermine the target's judgment at the sensory level.

The Dark Eldar's sonic stun device is a weapon specifically designed to disrupt the perception of its prey and create panic. It can cause several minutes of cognitive confusion in untrained humans, somewhat similar to the Laughing Banshee.

But for superhuman warriors who have undergone genetic modification and Astartes surgery, this level of sonic interference is not even comparable to the psionic shock tests simulated in the training field.

Xiang Ji stood at the very front of the first company, his 3.8-meter-tall body encased in the newly issued "White Tiger" power armor. It was a standard battle armor designed by Zhao Zheng specifically for the offspring of Astartes. It was entirely black, with dark gold patterns inlaid on the edges of the shoulder armor, and the psionic resonance crystal of the same origin as the Red Guard-I was embedded in the center of the breastplate.

Zhao Zheng designed four types of armor for his descendants, named after the four mythical beasts.

Since they haven't been able to manufacture ceramic steel power armor yet, Zhao Zheng can only use this high-strength alloy as a temporary substitute. After returning to the Empire, Zhao Zheng will incorporate the Empire's technology into his own fold and continue to make some upgrades.

The moment the sonic howl swept in, Xiang Ji's auditory filtering system automatically completed the compensation calibration, requiring no manual intervention whatsoever.

He raised his right arm, and the target locking system integrated into the arm armor detected the first high-speed movement signal within 0.3 seconds.

It was a figure entirely black, slender and tall, wearing a set of streamlined armor that clung to its body, the surface of the armor gleaming with a dark purple metallic sheen, and the face of the helmet was covered by a hideous bone face.

Its movement resembles that of a cheetah flying close to the ground, with its legs alternating at an extremely high frequency, almost without pause between each step, drawing strange zigzag lines on the undulating hilly terrain.

It was fast, but for Xiang Ji it was incredibly slow.

He pulled the trigger on his right forearm, and the twin-barreled explosive gun integrated under the arm armor spat out two streaks of orange-red fire.