The Emperor summoned a group of chosen individuals.
Among them were Shi'ens, Luo Ji, Vand, Zhang Beihai, and others.
Faced with the powerful Three-Body civilization, these people had remained steadfast in desperate circumstances, exhausting every possible means to find humanity a sliver of hope.
The strength of character they displayed, along with their loyalty to and protection of humanity, were important reasons they had earned the Emperor's recognition.
"Your Majesty."
"Leader."
When the Emperor emerged, everyone was delighted.
Although they did not know why the Emperor had summoned them, seeing him was always a joyful thing.
The Emperor looked at them and smiled. "No need to be so restrained, everyone."
"I gathered you here because my mission has ended, and you must accept a new one: to protect human civilization and safeguard its course."
"What does that mean?"
A bad feeling rose in Luo Ji's heart.
The Emperor said, "The Three-Body civilization is no longer a threat to humanity. Victory will belong to humanity, and my duty has ended. It is time for me to leave."
"No!" Shi'ens shouted. "How can you abandon us?"
Shock and disbelief filled Vand's eyes.
"You have done so much, helped humanity reach its current heights, and now you are going to abandon everything and leave?"
As human civilization developed, the title of Lord of the Empire would become an honor beyond measure.
Yet the Emperor intended to relinquish the supreme power that countless people dreamed of.
"All I seek is for humanity. Power and wealth are nothing but dirt to me."
The Emperor looked around at everyone, his voice calm.
"You need not grieve either. Parting is for the sake of a better reunion in the future."
"One day, I will appear again and lead humanity toward transcendence."
"The duty of the Guardians is of great importance. You cannot expect the public to remain rational forever."
"When the Empire strays onto the wrong path, you must pull it back."
"After defeating the Three-Body civilization, the crusade cannot stop. In this dark universe, only those who expand aggressively are qualified to survive."
"Before I leave, I will give you one final gift."
The Emperor implanted Gene Engines into Shi'ens, Luo Ji, and the others.
"You will possess long lives, keen minds, and strength far beyond that of ordinary people. In return, you must cast aside personal interests and fight for humanity's interests until your final moment."
"One day, we will meet again. I hope that when that time comes, you will not disappoint me."
"There is one more very important matter. You must plant tomatoes and potatoes across the universe, and develop tomato sauces and fries with different flavors."
Hearing the Emperor's final instructions, Raven raised a thumbs-up with his wing.
Beside him, Waldo rolled his eyes almost imperceptibly.
He suddenly worried that one day, the Empire's soldiers would shout, "For tastier tomato sauce and fries, defeat those enemies!" before charging at the enemy.
After establishing the Guardians, the Emperor publicly announced to the entire Empire that he would soon depart and that the organization had been founded.
"As promised, I will return to you the democracy, human rights, and other things I once demanded that you surrender."
"Use them well. Love your fellow citizens, rather than those things you consider beautiful."
When the news was made public, it caused an unimaginable uproar.
No one had expected the Emperor to abandon such an alluring status and power at this moment and choose to leave.
The instant many people received the news, they broke down in tears.
Countless people surged toward the Emperor's location, hoping to keep him from leaving.
In this cold and cruel universe, they were like children yearning for their father's protection.
Yet in the end, they failed to keep the Emperor.
Before the crowds arrived, the Emperor and Waldo had already departed through the spacetime tunnel opened by Raven.
Over the next few months, people remained immersed in the sorrow of losing the Emperor.
From time to time, the sound of wailing could be heard in the streets.
Those people found it hard to control their emotions. Whenever they saw the Emperor's Sculptures and Portraits, they could not help but weep.
Many people had once believed that the Emperor was merely a dictatorial monarch obsessed with power.
The Emperor's departure shattered the old conspiracy theories and all those supposedly clear-eyed opinions.
It made everyone realize that everything the Emperor had done had been born of his love for humanity.
Only as time passed did people slowly recover from the grief of the Emperor's departure.
They gazed at the stars and resolved to fulfill that man's wish, making humanity the strongest and most glorious race in the universe.
The order to launch a crusade against the Three-Body civilization was issued.
The magnificent fleet set sail.
Before everyone's eyes, thousands of suns appeared in the pitch-black void in an instant, illuminating the cold, dark universe.
They advanced in standard tactical formations, like a magnificent colossal wall.
With overwhelming momentum, they proceeded solemnly into the depths of space.
They displayed humanity's dignity and invincible strength to the entire universe.
The fleet slowly accelerated, ultimately reaching seventy percent of the speed of light as it headed for the Three-Body System.
It was expected to encounter the Three-Body civilization's First Fleet in three years.
At that time, the first war between humanity and the Three-Body civilization would erupt.
Misty Space.
The returning Raven saw the sphere of light representing the Three-Body Universe appear within Misty Space.
Glowing threads sank into Misty Space, continuously supplying it with origin power.
The roiling mist underwent further changes, occasionally outlining grand buildings before quickly collapsing again.
"More is needed."
After observing for a while and confirming the changes, Raven left Misty Space and returned to the Emperor's Grand Plan, which was heading for the Mandeville Point of the Petacanas System.
The Emperor and Waldo had returned ahead of him.
They had remained in the Three-Body Universe for a long time, from the Great Depression era to the crusade against the Three-Body civilization.
Yet only a single day had passed in the native universe, causing no adverse effects.
The fleet headed for the Mandeville Point, where it would tear open the barriers of spacetime, enter the Warp, and begin a new round of conquest.
The magnificent fleet, the Titan Mechs hailed as gods of war, the Adeptus Custodes and Astartes implanted with Gene Engines, and the vast auxiliary forces.
Many human colonies in decline were simply no match for the Empire.
Even if they wished to prevent the Empire's unification, they could not do so.
However, most colonies isolated among the stars welcomed the Empire's arrival and gladly joined it, working together to restore humanity's former glory.
During the crusade, some star systems that still possessed fleets also sent them to join, causing the expeditionary force to expand rapidly.
As the fleet's size increased, the Emperor decided to divide the expeditionary force into separate fleets.
He would have them head simultaneously toward other regions of the Milky Way to reclaim lost colonies.
However, Warp travel was a major problem.
The Emperor also possessed several alternatives for faster-than-light travel.
But neither their cost nor their efficiency could compare to the Warp.
Until a revolutionary technology emerged, Warp travel would remain the Empire's mainstream method.
During the early stages of the crusade, he personally guided the way, so naturally the fleet faced no risk of becoming lost in the Warp.
But not every navigator possessed power like his.
Without an anchor point, fleets could easily become lost in the Warp.
During the Golden Age, humanity built navigation beacons throughout the galaxy.
But with the arrival of the Iron Men rebellion and the strife of the Eternal Night, most of those navigation beacons had been destroyed, or had ceased functioning due to a long lack of maintenance.
Fortunately, good news arrived from Terra at this time.
The Imperial Palace of Terra, built across the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, had achieved critical progress.
With the aid of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the support of the Empire's vast resources, several magnificent structures had been completed.
Among them was the Astral Beacon, which the Emperor had originally planned to use to guide Warp coordinates and navigation.
The Astral Beacon combined many technologies from the Golden Age. Together with the Emperor's psychic power, it could illuminate every corner of the Milky Way.
Anyone with psychic power could observe the Astral Beacon.
Following the Astral Beacon's guidance, Warp travel would become exceedingly simple.
The enormous fleet was divided into more than a dozen groups, each heading toward a different destination.
Some members of the Adeptus Mechanicus also boarded their Explorer Ships and used the Astral Beacon to travel across the galaxy, embarking on grand adventures and journeys of exploration.
Just as everything was proceeding in full swing,
an Adeptus Mechanicus Sage exploring the stars sent back good news.
"We have found Primarch Sixteen. He calls himself Horus."
Before you continue