Lord Guilliman, Welcome to Thalassa

The flagship of the Ninth Chapter, the Relic-class battleship the Surge.

Captain's quarters, altar.

After creating a Spirituality atmosphere with a ritual knife, Szczesny knelt on Black Onyx Altar Mat and began reciting the formal incantation in Dunnish:

"The Black Emperor of the Shadow of Order"

I pray for Your watchful gaze.

I offer you a sacrifice.

"The Iron Law of the Monarch, the foundation of Kingdom of Disorder, please transfer your power to my incantation."

As soon as Szczesny finished reciting the incantation, he felt a sudden gust of wind rustling through the sealed Spirituality walls.

As he recited it for the fifth time, suddenly black mist churned in front of him, and a mysterious gate appeared out of thin air.

A fierce wind surged within the Wall of Spirituality, and one after another, the corpses of Sahar-Duin flew into the gate.

Szczesny watched in astonishment until he too was swallowed by the black mist.

When he came to his senses, he found himself in a mysterious land.

The Black Emperor sat high on his throne and spoke in a deep voice.

How is the situation in Thalassa?

Szczesny snapped out of his reverie and began his briefing:

"My lord, the Ninth Chapter has captured Thalassa. I have located the Sicarius family and discovered that their patriarch, Roan, is exceptionally capable. I have appointed him as the Planetary Governor."

Nimrod slightly. The fact that the Sicarius family could become the ruling family in the future shows that this family has undergone a long test of ten thousand years.

To become a member of the ruling family of Thalassa ahead of time is at least a qualification, and there is also the oversight of the Shadow of Order.

"The Talassar System is the intersection of several Warp routes. Once integrated into the Imperium's system, its potential will immediately become apparent. Make good use of this advantage."

"Yes, my lord." The Storm Lord noted it down and continued.

"Thanks to the intelligence you provided about the Sahar-Duin in advance, only 294 Shadow of Order died in the battle."

"Most of them were killed by enemy weapons similar to Bolter."

"Order the Tech Sergeant to study the weapons and equipment of the Sahar-Duin," Nimrod nodded slightly, then added.

"The Sahar-Duin control several star systems; find them and conquer their systems."

"Offer me more Sahar-Duin."

Nimrod has determined that the Sahar-Duin are an ingredient for potions by observing the Spirituality radiance emanating from them.

He determined, based on the intensity of the light, that it was either the primary material for Sequence 6 "Wind-blessed" or the secondary material for Sequence 5 "Ocean Songster".

While harvesting potion ingredients, they also took the opportunity to expand the star system under their control.

"As you wish, my lord." The Storm Lord's figure vanished, and upon returning to the altar, he found the black mist had dissipated.

After praying for a few more moments, Szczesny rose and left the altar.

The Communication Bead in his ear suddenly started beeping. He pressed it and heard the voice of the Vox Master.

"My lord, a fleet has suddenly appeared in the star system. According to the identification data, it belongs to the 12th Expedition Fleet."

"The 13th Legion?" Storm Lord asked.

"Yes."

Five sidereal hours later, at the spaceport of Thalassa.

The Shadow of Order stood in neat rows, flanking the Storm Lord, alongside Planetary Governor Roan Sicarius and his second son, Matthews, who served as military commander.

Knowing he was past the appropriate age to become Shadow of Order, Matthews had no choice but to give up.

He looked enviously at the black-armored Warrior around him. [I currently have two sons and a daughter. If I have eight more children, one of them can skip the initial selection and directly become a candidate.]

The Storm Lord implemented the same policy in Thalassa as in Vostonia: for every eleven children a noble had, one could become a candidate for the Ninth Chapter.

After a commoner has eleven children, one of them can participate in the selection.

Those who succeed become candidates for "Shadow of Order," while those who fail are trained as Auxilia soldiers.

Matthews was responsible for the defense of Thalassa and was also the first commander of the Auxilia.

As Matthews's thoughts raced, he heard the Storm Lord speak.

"Lord Guilliman, welcome to Thalassa."

Robert Guilliman, clad in cobalt blue armor, strode in.

He gazed at the Storm Lord. "I heard that the Talassar System has been invaded by Xenos, so I led my legions to its rescue."

Guilliman surveyed the people of Thalassa. "It seems the crisis has been resolved."

"Yes, sir."

"My Chapter has wiped out all the invading Xenos, and Thalassa is now under sanctuary."

Guilliman's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke:

"Thalassa is strategically located; your Chapter should manage it well and provide support to neighboring star systems."

"Thank you for reminding me. That's what my lord told me too," Szczesny said.

"I am happy to receive your guidance."

"Thalassa has a fairly well-developed agricultural and industrial base; the next step is simply to integrate it into the Imperium's trade system," Guilliman continued after offering his directional advice.

"I have other matters to attend to. Now that the Xenos in Thalassa have been dealt with, I must continue my journey."

As the landing ship slowly took off, Guilliman looked down through the observation window, lost in thought.

[Thalassa, however, is a treasure trove; in my blueprint, it was supposed to be a crucial node.]

I just didn't expect that it had already been taken over by the "Shadow of Order".

We can only choose the most suitable replacement from other star systems, hoping that there are star systems as suitable as Thalassa.

Guilliman thought hopefully, though he didn't have high hopes; galaxies like Thalassa were truly rare.

But there may be similar galaxies in the Galaxy, after all, his expedition had only just begun when he learned of the Talassar System.

My brother Nimrod's insight and Farsight are extraordinary.

His core territory was in the Segmentum Obscurus. Even while overseeing the war at Spiral- Morse, he was still able to foresee the importance of Thalassa and send his offspring to occupy the region.

Nimrod, whom Guilliman admires, is currently in the palace of the Shadow of the Throne, inquiring about war preparations from Arsena Dunn.

"Diana Pauline, have you arrived at the Ramillies?"

The Ramillies was a behemoth; whether measured by its size or manpower, commanding it was more difficult than commanding a dozen capital ships.

Nimrod dispatched the female captain to the Ramillies to ensure the successful first deployment of the Ramillies Starfort in combat.

"My lord, according to the plan, Captain Diana should have already arrived at Cepra Mondi to hold the departure ceremony for the Ramillies."

"In addition, there is another piece of news that should draw your attention."

"The Legion's Fortress-Monastery, completed a standard month ago in Vostonia, is requested to be accepted by the Sage oversaw its construction."

Because Nimrod's demand for an asymmetrical architectural style went against the logic of the Tech-priest, the construction of the Fortress-Monastery took far longer than the expected twenty years.

"After this battle, I will return to Vostonia to conduct the final assessment."

"How is the legion's assembly progressing?"

"My lord, the 72,540 Shadow of Order who have joined the war have already assembled in the Forge World Lucius," the Primarch's Attendants reported.

"The Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Chapter, excluding the garrison troops and members of the Honor Guard, totaled 48,500 men."

"Two thousand men were selected for the Honor Guard this time, and the two companies of the First Chapter that participated in the battle numbered one thousand seven hundred and forty men."

"The 11th Chapter had the largest number of participants, reaching 20,300."

The 11th Chapter recruited new soldiers in Vostonia, and its replenishment capacity surpassed that of other Chapter, making it the largest Chapter in terms of manpower.

"The total number of Auxilia participating in the war was 152,000."

"The Void Walker Titan Legions, with a total of 104 Titan."