Did You Guys Just Finish a Great Expedition?

Colonel Kovek had his reasons for drilling the troops.

Once the soldiers were proficient with their modified bodies, he intended to lead them to clear the heretics and xenos from the other sections of the ship.

Only by relying on such military merit would he have the face to propose to Librarian Ramesses that they use Astropathic communication to contact the nearest Administrum supply depot on Armageddon to reinforce his troops.

According to Administrum regulations, the Astra Militarum is not supposed to have Astartes interfering in their operational decisions; theoretically, a Lord General of the Astra Militarum is equivalent in rank to a Chapter Master of the Astartes.

But regulations are regulations, and actual execution must depend on the reality of the situation.

Take the current situation, for instance: Colonel Kovek felt it was absolutely necessary to keep the angels informed.

He just hadn't expected that the moment he opened his mouth to speak, he would be interrupted by a sudden inquiry from Romulus.

"?"

Though puzzled, Kovek responded quickly.

"Absolutely, Lord Romulus."

The Cadians were naturally trained in Armored Vehicles; as long as there were sufficient supplies, every Cadian infantry regiment could seamlessly transition into an armored regiment.

For the Cadian Shock Troops, it had always been a case of men waiting for equipment—there was no such thing as equipment waiting for men.

"Follow us, and Sister Arabella as well."

Having received his answer, Romulus turned first, leading the group toward a warship compartment they had cleared not long ago.

It is common knowledge that the stats of an Astartes are far superior to those of an ordinary mortal.

Therefore, in many cases, a battlefield that is manageable for an Astartes is hell for a mortal.

This is because mortals lack the reflexes to avoid damage, sufficient mobility, and the protective capabilities to withstand the vast majority of incoming fire.

And what could allow the Astra Militarum to compensate for these disadvantages while still coordinating with the Astartes' advance on a high-intensity battlefield?

It would inevitably be sufficient armored strength.

Armored strength sufficient to arm every single person.

"Emperor, is that a Stormblade? Is that a Falchion? And a Baneblade... and what is this?... By the Emperor! It's a Glaive super-heavy tank; I have only ever seen such creations in the Administrum's military manuals."

The Commissar was, after all, a veteran who had seen the great horrors; he had managed to keep a straight face during the First War for Armageddon, at least.

But the young Colonel Kovek could no longer control his expression. He gasped as he looked at the super-heavy vehicles with their elegant, angular lines in the warehouse, so much so that he didn't even notice the Leman Russ Executioner in the corner.

In his memory, there had never been a fragment of time where so many relic-level vehicles appeared in one place.

"Why are they all Plasma versions?"

Romulus, who was already familiarizing himself with the characteristics of various Imperium units, asked in a low voice.

"No choice, these tech-priests are from Ryza. When I retrieved the blueprints from the Warp, the database only unlocked these variants. But the Plasma versions are actually more powerful than the originals—at least the ones produced by Ryza are."

Ramesses shrugged.

"Soul Materialization only looks at the composition of materials, not the technical complexity. If the mass is the same, one wouldn't choose the inferior version; that would be an even greater loss."

He then pointed to the few Glaive super-heavy tanks and the troop transports.

"Besides, it's not like there aren't others. Look at that Glaive; I just pulled the blueprint from the Warp. It has an invincible Volkite Mortar—one shot, one behemoth-class unit down."

"And that Mastodon transport; once the Void Shield is up and it charges into the enemy position, a whole bunch of cans can pour out and wipe the floor with the opposition. You could swap in twenty Land Raiders and they wouldn't be as reliable as this one."

Romulus nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

"It's as if we're still fighting the Great Crusade."

Arthur couldn't help but scratch his head.

Compared to the current Imperium, where everything is either a Land Raider or a Rhino, with the occasional Leman Russ or Chimera being a big deal, the equipment they could pull out now was far too luxurious.

Of course, this was a necessary measure in the pursuit of combat effectiveness. As Ramesses said, if you're spending the same amount, why choose the inferior option?

And once they finished re-equipping the Space Marine, that sea of Mk.II Crusade and Mk.IV Maximus armor would surely make those in the know drool with envy.

One can only say that being able to perform Soul Materialization is just like that.

"The Cadians should be able to operate these vehicles, right?"

"Absolutely, my lord."

Colonel Kovek replied.

Excluding the Glaive, which currently only Astartes Chapters possessed in small numbers, Colonel Kovek had full confidence that his troops could master the other armored assets in a short time.

"That is good."

Romulus led the way to another compartment and pointed to the many combat armors arranged neatly.

"This is the Solar Pattern Void Armor. It can provide better protection for the soldiers. You may also choose one for yourself."

"These armors?"

Kovek instinctively refused.

"I do not need these. My duty is to command the battlefield from the rear. Take them and distribute them to the boys on the front lines; they need them more than I do."

"Everyone gets one, and if they are damaged, they can be replaced."

Romulus pointed again toward the warehouse storing the weapons.

"Right, one more thing: go over there and collect the matching weapon loadouts. There are instruction manuals for everything, including the vehicles, so make sure to read them."

"...My lord."

Kovek looked at Romulus, who was acting as if his equipment was incredibly powerful and top-tier, and now he was just handing it all over to them. He couldn't help but offer a word of caution.

"This equipment is simply too precious."

His gaze landed on the Solar-pattern Void Combat Armor; he had only ever seen similar gear on the Adeptus Arbites tithe squads.

One had to understand that those people from the Adeptus Arbites were honor students from the Schola Progenium, practically supermen among mortals, much like the Commissar. Even the Tempestus Scions, known as the pinnacle of the Astra Militarum, were merely the underachievers among them.

"No matter how precious it is, it still needs someone to use it."

Romulus couldn't help but reach out and stroke the 1:1 scale, authentic equipment that he could never have gotten his hands on in his past life.

If he had possessed this kind of capability in his previous life, he would have driven those black-hearted companies, Bandai and gw, into bankruptcy one way or another. Damn it, the weight of a single model was almost worth as much as precious metal.

Yet, this action appeared to Kovek as if he were fondly remembering someone through the objects.

"I understand, my lord!"

"Good, that's settled."

Romulus withdrew his hand, looking somewhat surprised at Kovek, who seemed to have been infected by some sort of sense of mission.

"Have your troops equip the weapons from the warehouse and familiarize yourselves with the vehicles. We need an armored force capable of providing us with sufficient firepower."

He then turned to Arabella.

"Sister Arabella, we have also prepared replacement equipment for the sisters of the Order of the Sacred Rose. Before reinforcements arrive, we will work together to purge the remaining enemies within the ship to coordinate our tactics."

"Understood, Lord Romulus!"

"Then, I leave this place to you."

Having said that, Romulus turned and left with his comrades.

Their meeting was not yet over.