When the Emperor went to the Super God Universe, Malcador, ever the model worker, had remained busy.
The seven continents, four oceans, and Luna—every affair, great and small, of the entire Human Empire rested on his shoulders.
He established Terra's High Lords council and rebuilt the ruined Terra.
He assisted the War Committee in allocating all kinds of war materiel, producing military equipment, and rebuilding orbital stations and void platforms.
He urged the Gene Cult to invest resources into the Astartes project, selecting suitable candidates and implanting them with the Empire's first-generation Gene Engine.
Waldo, meanwhile, secretly carried out the institute project while also seeking ways to purge rebels from within the Empire.
Terra remained a world ruled by violence, caught in the birth pangs of a new age.
The old powers crushed by the Emperor had not submitted. They lurked in the wilderness and the dark corners of cities, secretly cultivating their strength.
Some of them could not face reality or accept the arrival of a new age.
Others understood perfectly well. They swore to destroy the dawn's first light and return Terra to the chaotic dark age.
The followers of the gods still spread their faith in secret, intending to inject the poison of corruption into the foundations of the Empire.
Waldo had no choice but to use certain extreme measures to solve these problems and defend the newborn Empire.
At the same time, Waldo supervised the construction of the Imperial Palace.
Built upon the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, the palace was an unprecedentedly magnificent structure.
The climate atop the Himalayas was unpredictable, and the air was thin and freezing.
Simply stabilizing the climate required processors to operate at full power day and night.
The Tower of Hegemony, the Imperial Senate, and other buildings that would one day become centers of power were still only at the foundation-laying stage.
Both men were busy defending and strengthening the newborn Empire.
When the Emperor returned, they reported on their work during this period and, following his orders, assembled the great army.
When Raven returned to the real universe,
the great army had already assembled in Terra's low orbit.
Hundreds of majestic warships floated in the cold void.
The most eye-catching was a magnificent golden warship, the fleet's flagship, named the Emperor's Grand Plan.
"This was a warship left over from the Golden Age. Before it was completed, it was abandoned due to the outbreak of war."
"We salvaged it from the void and refitted it."
Malcador explained the origins of the Emperor's Grand Plan.
"I have to say, it certainly looks the part."
Raven looked at the golden eagle on the Emperor's Grand Plan and nodded.
The Emperor was also satisfied. He reviewed the information on the Emperor's Grand Plan.
"The Emperor's Grand Plan uses plasma propulsion engines in realspace. For faster-than-light travel, it transitions through the Warp. Unfortunately, we still haven't found a suitable method to replace the Warp."
Using the Warp for faster-than-light travel had the lowest cost and required little technological sophistication.
Many civilizations in the galaxy could not even build a complete warship, yet they could still use the Warp for faster-than-light travel.
The wormhole technology commonly used in the Super God Universe was, in essence, not much different from Warp travel.
The Emperor had realized long ago that the void and sub-biological entities spoken of by those civilizations were actually the Warp and the Void Realm.
The only difference was that their reality barrier was exceptionally strong, while their Warp was extremely calm, with no Unborn at all.
That was why their wormhole technology was so effective. Even without any protective measures, they could easily reach any place in the known universe.
The only truly remarkable thing was the displacement technology Carl had used when designing the Emperor and Keisha.
It changed a target's relative position and forcibly transferred them elsewhere.
This technology was more advanced than Warp travel or wormhole technology.
If it could be applied militarily, the Human Empire would no longer be traveling beneath the watchful eyes of the gods.
The Emperor planned to return to the Super God Universe after finishing matters here and obtain the technology in Carl's possession.
"The Destiny Node of the Super God Universe has changed by more than thirty percent. Its predetermined fate has completely collapsed. If you go in again, you'll be able to use all of your power."
After learning of the Emperor's plans, Raven explained this to him.
The Emperor nodded. "The Super God Universe has serious problems. The entire universe might be a breeding ground for void creatures. If I can use all my power, I'll have greater confidence."
After returning, the Emperor analyzed all the intelligence he possessed.
The so-called ultimate fear was either a group of powerful, terrifying evil gods raising all the civilizations of the known universe like livestock.
Or those ancient civilizations, after developing to a certain point, were systematically harvesting the civilizations that arose afterward for some evil purpose.
Raven leaned more toward the Emperor's latter speculation.
Those brainless evil gods would do such work far too crudely. They could not possibly erase every trace.
Only those powerful civilizations could do it so perfectly.
"The civilizations that developed first did not uplift the backward civilizations. Instead, they locked down technology, raised the backward civilizations like livestock, and relentlessly exploited them. That's truly miserable."
"Perhaps all the technological achievements the known-universe civilizations painstakingly develop will ultimately benefit them."
"When we enter the Super God Universe again, we'll find a way to see whether we can unravel those mysteries," the Emperor said. "No matter which possibility it is, I will never allow humanity to become livestock raised by evil gods or those ancient civilizations."
The Emperor's tone was resolute.
He could not tolerate watching humanity become livestock raised by ancient evil gods or civilizations again and again, only to be harvested at regular intervals.
In any universe, humanity should stand supreme.
"Let's conquer Mars first, Big Guy," Raven said.
The Emperor nodded and turned to Waldo.
"Begin the expedition. Mars is our target."
Waldo nodded and had the signal officers relay the order to every ship.
One warship after another ignited its engines, brilliant blue flames illuminating the dark, frozen void.
Terrifying thrust propelled the massive hulls forward.
They followed their predetermined route toward the third world humanity's forebears had conquered.
Mars.
Mount Olympus.
It was a majestic mountain rising from Mars's crimson surface, with cliffs more than thirty kilometers high.
According to Golden Age records, Mount Olympus was the most magnificent mountain on Mars, perhaps in the entire Solar System.
The sky above the summit became unusually wrathful.
Terrifying storms churned the heavy clouds as though the end of the world had arrived.
A tremendous roar descended from the heavens, and golden light occasionally pierced the cloud cover to shine upon the crimson ground.
Such a commotion drew a great deal of attention.
Mars's native residents gathered near Mount Olympus one after another, their faces filled with unease and reverence.
Knights piloting mechs climbed to the mountaintop, activated their shields and weapons, and stood ready.
Before the astonished eyes of the Martian residents, the rolling clouds began to rain—not just over the Mount Olympus range, but across the entire planet.
During the earliest years of humanity's Golden Age, terraforming projects had brought life and hope to Mars.
Yet over the following centuries, Mars had once again been covered with foundries, continent-sized refineries, and millions of weapons factories.
Their appearance killed the Mars that had only just come back to life.
From then on, Mars had never seen rain again.
But today, rain fell on Mars once more.
To those residents who had never seen rain, this sight was no less than a miracle.
As everyone immersed themselves in this miracle, the roar in the sky reached its peak.
Radiant, dazzling light tore through the clouds and streamed down from high above.
Scarlet lightning leaped between heaven and earth like a spiderweb.
A majestic golden city passed through the clouds and slowly descended.
The city shone with brilliant light and color, its immense size beyond mortal imagination.
A gigantic golden eagle prow stood at the front of the city, while towering spires and battlements stretched densely toward the other end.
The engine arrays beneath the city glimmered with unimaginable energy, supporting the enormous city as it hovered within the planet's gravitational field.
It was the Emperor's flagship—the Emperor's Grand Plan.
"By the blood of the Machine God, how did they make something so enormous hover within a planet's gravitational field?"
The Martian knights and native residents all revealed shocked expressions.
The immense vessel hovered less than a hundred meters above the ground.
The engines roared like thunder, deafeningly loud, while the blast they released whipped up violent winds.
Piston mechanisms larger than Titan Mechs screeched as they slowly lowered a gangway wide enough for an entire Ecclesiarchal Legion to descend side by side.
As the gangway lowered, light poured from within the vessel, bathing the Martian ground in warm, fervent radiance.
A man clad in golden armor walked down the gangway, and the light moved with him.
When his feet touched Mars, the storm vanished, as did the light filling the sky.
In the dim world, the golden radiance emanating from his body became the only source of light.
Countless witnesses held their breath.
The newcomer was so perfect, so sacred.
He wore no helmet and no visible breathing apparatus, yet Mars's toxic atmosphere did not affect him in the slightest.
The man walked up to the leading knight and spoke in a steady, melodic voice.
"Your mech is damaged, Taimon Forticodia."
In Mars's low orbit,
Raven, Waldo, and Malcador were aboard a ship.
"Old man, Big Guy has already reached the ground. The Great Omnissiah, the eternal Machine God, is about to display his miracle. Hurry up and make the clouds churn harder."
"Big Corn Cob, hurry up and make it rain. Turn the weather controller up to maximum power and give us a super hurricane. Big Guy doesn't need it down there."
"Where's the lightning? Hurry up, more lightning! I want the entire sky covered in it."
"Can you two even do this? If not, you'll be guarding ponds from now on."
"Make it grander. That's the only way it'll be exciting enough, explosive enough."
Raven shouted nonstop, looking extremely excited.
Malcador: "."
Waldo: "."
You're shouting like this and making us look like fraudulent holy men!!
I read some material saying that the Warhammer universe has wormhole technology.
Humanity in the Golden Age built all kinds of hubs to connect different wormholes, but at its core, it still relied on the Warp for travel.
This is fan fiction. Some basic rules will be merged and expanded upon for a secondary setting. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Before you continue