"Moravec's Vault involved secret knowledge humanity was never meant to understand. It would never be opened."
The Emperor mercilessly rejected the demands of Karbo and the other Martian lords.
"We only wish to study the unknown technologies left behind by the sages."
Karbo said, "We can swear an oath that we will never abuse the technology within."
"Do you intend to betray the Machine Spirit?"
The Emperor's stance was uncompromising, leaving no room for negotiation.
Karbo and the others were filled with indignation and resentment.
Yet before the Emperor, recognized by the world as the incarnation of the Machine God, they had no way to resist.
"Moravec's Vault is absolutely forbidden from being opened. Nor are you permitted to store any route data leading to Moravec's Vault."
"Should any of you be discovered attempting to open the vault, it will be regarded as betrayal of the Machine Spirit. There will be no mercy."
The Emperor warned Karbo and the others.
He then stood before the vault gates and placed another seal upon them.
Once he had finished, he led everyone back to the surface.
Karbo had originally intended to use the route information stored in his memory to secretly organize people to open Moravec's Vault.
But once he reached the surface and checked his storage unit, he found nothing but a string of meaningless garbled code.
Nothing from the journey had been recorded.
He was driven mad with rage and had even considered threatening the Emperor with force.
As an Archmagos, he had been born with the duty of safeguarding technology, yearning to study ancient mysteries that could bring future glory.
The Emperor had brought him to the gates of Moravec's Vault, only to forbid him from entering.
How cruel was that?
Was such a person truly the incarnation of the Machine God?
Perhaps he was merely a False God who had stolen a deity's title and intended to prevent humanity from evolving to a higher level.
The Emperor had found the legendary Moravec's Vault.
Those lords had no choice but to acknowledge that the Emperor was the physical incarnation of the Machine God.
Mars joining the Empire thus became inevitable.
Karbo and the others were unwilling, but there was nothing they could change.
The fanatical masses would tear them apart alive.
Malcador arrived on the Martian surface with numerous Terra bureaucrats.
They discussed with the local lords the matters concerning Mars joining the Human Empire.
The Empire would protect the Tech-Priests and grant them the right to retain independent armies, priority rights to excavate ruins, recover Golden Age technology, and more.
The administrators of Mars and the Forge Worlds would all be appointed and selected by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
They would be permitted to retain their faith in the Machine God.
They would also be provided with six Navigator families to replace the slave Navigators that had long since vanished from Mars.
This would allow Adeptus Mechanicus ships to safely cross the Warp.
The Archmagos of Mars would also receive a seat on the War Committee and participate in the Empire's various affairs.
In return, the Adeptus Mechanicus would become the Empire's production arm, providing the military with an endless supply of materials.
For the coming Great Crusade, they would build a sufficiently powerful war fleet and provide enough weapons and equipment.
At first, the Emperor had planned for the newborn Empire to sign an alliance pact with the Adeptus Mechanicus.
The Empire would also change its original banner of lightning and eagles into the Double-headed Eagle.
One head would represent the Empire, while the other would represent the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Under the original plan, the Adeptus Mechanicus, who possessed Golden Age technological knowledge and STC, had been too important.
Only with their aid could the Great Crusade be advanced smoothly.
However, Raven's appearance had granted the Emperor the technologies and knowledge of the Super God Universe.
In the future, he would be able to obtain even more.
The importance of the Adeptus Mechanicus thus plummeted.
They no longer carried enough weight to become the other head of the Empire's Double-headed Eagle.
The Emperor abandoned his original plan and intended to make Mars a department of the Empire.
Mars joining the Empire and becoming its production arm caused dissatisfaction among many high-ranking members of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Especially after the Emperor proposed prohibiting excessive research into intelligent entities with self-awareness.
He also classified machinery and science known to blur the line between technology and sorcery as forbidden.
The discontent grew fiercer and fiercer, even showing signs of developing into a war of secession.
Yet just as this dissatisfaction was about to reach its peak, it suddenly vanished.
This was because an Adeptus Custodes implanted with the Empire's first-generation Gene Engine displayed astonishing combat power while suppressing the rebels.
With one halberd strike, he cleaved a fifteen-meter-tall Knight Mech into a smoking wreck.
After realizing that the Adeptus Custodes could easily purge all of Mars, Karbo and the others fell silent.
The wave of resistance disappeared overnight.
After the preliminary integration of Mars, the Empire's four great leaders gathered to discuss their next plans.
"Looks like the Double-headed Eagle banners we prepared earlier will not be needed after all."
Malcador sounded somewhat regretful.
The Emperor said, "The Empire will still use the Double-headed Eagle banner."
"Ah?" Malcador revealed a puzzled expression. "The Empire no longer intends to ally with Mars, so we are still using the Double-headed Eagle?"
The Emperor looked at Raven and, rarely, smiled.
"One head of the Double-headed Eagle represents the Human Empire, while the other represents the Empire's ally. The Adeptus Mechanicus is no longer qualified to be the Empire's ally, but Mr. Raven is."
Malcador and Waldo looked toward Raven, who was wolfing down fries at the table.
Raven: "..."
No, Big Guy, wasn't that joke a little too outrageous?
"If it is Mr. Raven, then he is indeed qualified." Waldo nodded.
A powerful person capable of traveling across countless worlds, yet who spent every day wanting only to wolf down fries.
Making him an ally of the newborn Empire and binding the two together completely was indeed a very good choice.
If Mars became Terra's ally, those Mechanicus Cultists—no, those Adeptus Mechanicus priests—would surely spend every day thinking about how to raise their own independent status.
They might even choose to betray the Empire at a critical moment.
"Everything shall follow Your Majesty's will." Naturally, Malcador would not object.
Raven's appearance had brought them far too much.
And what he sought was so ordinary: nothing more than delicious fries and ketchup.
The Emperor looked at Raven. "Then it is decided. The Empire will adopt the Double-headed Eagle banner as a continuation of our pact. Mr. Raven, do you have any objections?"
Raven looked at Big Guy, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine. No problem."
The Empire's adoption of the Double-headed Eagle banner also marked the true birth of humanity's new Empire.
It represented the two indispensable parts of the Human Empire.
The Emperor and Raven.
Besides discussing the change of banners, the Emperor also had Malcador secretly organize a group of trustworthy Tech-Priests to form the Integration Council.
The Integration Council's first task was to construct the Empire's Celestial Computer.
The Celestial Computers of the Super God Universe were not highly intelligent, but their computing power was terrifyingly immense.
The strongest of them was the Great Clock left behind by the Divine River Civilization.
After the Iron Men rebellion, the Emperor no longer trusted AI with self-awareness.
The Celestial Computers of the Super God Universe were an excellent replacement.
The Emperor said, "Everything humanity has begins with Terra. The first-generation Celestial Computer shall be named Terra Bar."
One week after Mars joined the Empire, the Emperor left the Martian surface and continued advancing the Great Crusade.
Super God Universe.
Earth.
With the Emperor's help, Keisha had not fallen on Emerald Star.
However, Carl had long prepared a backup plan in case Emerald Star failed.
Using Void technology and the Great Clock, she launched another attack on Keisha.
Keisha was severely wounded and fell unconscious, while her sacred body entered a long period of self-repair.
With Morgana's interference, the angels on Earth lost contact with Merlo Heavenly Court.
Forces from every side entered Earth, and a new war erupted.
Xiong Bing Lian was transferred to North Star to participate in the defense of the capital.
They swore to defend humanity's last land of hope to the death.
Under Carl's instruction, civilizations such as the demons, the Taotie, and the Greedy Wolves continuously launched assaults on North Star, intending to make Earth fall completely.
Thanks to the adaptable Gene Engines the Emperor had left behind, Huaxia had an endless supply of super soldiers to replenish battlefield losses.
The angels also provided Huaxia with technologies such as nuclear fusion, the Dark Plane, and wormholes.
Using its powerful industrial capacity, Huaxia rapidly absorbed these technologies and fought numerous civilizations alone.
"A new round of artillery bombardment is about to arrive. Retreat."
Dukao's command rang in the super soldiers' ears.
They withdrew from the battlefield in an orderly fashion, carrying back the bodies of their fallen comrades.
"Damn it, these aliens are like cockroaches. You just can't kill them all."
Liu Chuang dragged the unconscious Ge Xiaolun back inside the protective barrier.
With the angels' help, the entire North Star had been enclosed within a protective barrier.
As long as its energy did not run dry, it could continuously withstand bombardment from starships.
With the angels' help, Ge Xiaolun had fused the Void and anti-Void, developing the combat version of Qiankun and greatly increasing his combat power.
But against those powerful alien civilizations, it was still not enough. Focused fire from the enemy had knocked him unconscious.
"If the boss were still here, we wouldn't have to fight this battle so hard."
Qiangwei, her armor covered in blood, revealed her exhaustion.
Her words carried a hint of longing for the man who had once made the entire academy unable to hold its head high.
If that man were still here, he would surely find a way to lead them out of their current predicament.
"Do you think he really died on Emerald Star?" Liu Chuang asked.
Qiangwei shook her head. "I don't know. Keisha, the only one who knows the truth, is unconscious. And Lena refuses to see us again because of her guilt."
"But I believe he definitely isn't dead. We just don't know where he went."
"One day, he will surely return and crush every alien civilization attempting to conquer humanity."
PS: Loyalty.
Before you continue