The Order of the Broken Claw

The Shadow of the Throne, Primarch's Palace.

After listening to the request made by the wise man, the Envoy Magos of Lucius of the Forge World, Nimrod spoke:

"I can allow Lucius to participate in the research on Artificial War Satellite, but I have a condition."

"I am very interested in Lucius's Hollow Furnace, and in return, I will send a technical team to study it."

Nimrod knew that the current center of Lucius's core was an Artificial Sun, providing endless energy to the forging plants that spread across the earth's surface. All the factories would never stop operating until the Great Rift unfolded.

He was very interested in this, and now that he had the opportunity, he naturally wanted to make a request.

"Lord Nimrod," the Envoy Magos's visor flashed for a moment before he spoke, "the Hollow Furnace is part of a great experiment/that cannot be replicated."

"The Sage have studied this and reached a conclusion. I can share their report and proof with you."

"No need," Nimrod interrupted the Envoy Magos. "I believe that anything is possible with human effort. Continued research will at least yield some results."

Even if the Tech-priest couldn't figure out anything, he believed that the Beyonder on the "Paragon" Pathway would achieve research results, and their abilities would improve as their Sequence advanced.

"I only need the research license; Lucius doesn't need to be responsible for the results."

"My lord," the Envoy Magos, not wanting to expose Lucius's secret to others, "Could you change/modify the conditions?"

"No." Nimrod refused decisively.

"I//our unit/cannot decide/will forward your request to the Fabricator-General."

After Lucius's forging Sage departed, Nimrod went to the "Nation of Disorder" and ordered the Space Ape to concoct the "Savant" potion.

He then sent a message to Rian Ramirez.

A moment later, the Great Sage arrived as ordered, and he bowed in respect.

"The Monarch Majesty."

Nimrod looked down at Rian, his attitude like that of a subject, quite different from what he had shown a few months earlier.

"Drink it."

Without asking any Logic Engine or issuing any warnings, Rian walked straight to Nimrod and picked up the golden potion.

A moment later, Nimrod instructed Rian to restrain his own power through Telepathy.

"Thank you for your kindness."

Nimrod slightly. He did not explore STC, allowing Rian to regard him as the divine incarnation of Omnissiah or something similar. This was the effect of "Corrosion," one of the signature abilities of the "Baron of Corruption."

Rian's mind was "Corrosion," and he became loyal to him without even realizing it.

"Rian, you discovered the Standard Template Construct for the Ramillies-class Star Fortress, which has similarities to Artificial War Satellite. The research on the Rangdan Artificial War Satellite is now entrusted to you."

"As you wish," the Great Sage said, bowing.

"The Spiral- Morse Galaxy possesses abundant reserves of stone and metal; you will be responsible for establishing a mining base there."

The enslavement of millions of humans by Rangdan to build Artificial War Satellite also requires corresponding resources.

After Rian left, Arsena Dunn began his report.

"My lord, I have compiled the loss reports submitted by each part of the Expeditionary Force."

"The legion suffered a total of 5,410 casualties, slightly higher than the suppression of the Incaladion rebellion, and only lower than the Battle of the Wheel of Fire."

"The Expeditionary Fleet lost a total of 138 ships, including 24 capital ships."

Nimrod's eyes dimmed as the image of Saisak having his brain swallowed by the Brain-Eaters Warmaster flashed through his mind.

The Battle of the "Wheel of Fire" lasted nearly three years and resulted in the loss of more than 7,000 men. In Incaladion, it lasted nearly two years. In the First Rangdan War, which lasted less than a year, 5,400 men were lost. The Spinning Point- Morse was only a secondary outpost of Rangdan.

Rangdan possesses technology comparable to the Imperium and powerful Psionic Energy, posing a significant threat.

He then considered that the First Legion had suffered 10,000 casualties and lost 50 capital ships, including a Gloriana-class Battleship, and felt that the loss was still acceptable.

Without the Ramillies-class Star Fortress, even with a numerical advantage in warships, the losses against Rangdan's Artificial War Satellite and massive numbers of drones would likely be substantial.

Before the outbreak of the Second Rangdan War in 962, preparations needed to be made in advance, including obtaining strategic weapons such as the Void Claws.

As Nimrod pondered, the silver-haired Arsena continued:

"The Third Legion suffered the most casualties, with a total of 2,740 Shadow of Order. They were the main force on the front lines during the attack on the Fortress of Spiral- Morse Planet IV and the decisive battle on the main planet."

"The 'Mordian Iron Guard' also suffered heavy losses, with 9,270 men killed in action."

"Fortunately, the Third Legion will receive a new batch of recruits in two years, estimated to be 1,630 men."

Nimrod nodded. This was one of the advantages of having a world suitable for recruitment; the troops of the Chapter could be replenished quickly.

However, I have already advanced to the Mid-Sequence, and extracting more genetic material would result in the loss of Beyonder Characteristic.

Although a single extraction may not have a significant impact, repeated extractions over a long period can still result in substantial losses.

It's time for the Legions to rely on their own resources for replenishment. After all, children grow up eventually, and with the surge in Primarch returnees across the Legions, they won't be able to continuously extract Primarch genetic material.

Nimrod recalled that fewer and fewer Apothecary needed to extract genetic material from him, and the Gene-seed produced by Astartes were already sufficient to meet the needs of training new recruits.

[Frequent extractions are needed when a large number of my Vostonians are undergoing modification, and the stockpile of Gene-seed cannot meet the surge in demand.]

It has little impact now.

As Nimrod pondered, the Primarch's Attendants reported the casualties of each participating Chapter one by one, and finally spoke.

"My lord, the awarding ceremony is ready."

"As per your orders, to commemorate this battle, the medal awarding ceremony will be held tomorrow on the Ramillies."

The following day, in the central area of Ramillies.

Nimrod approached Pierre Wright of Kaser People and first presented Pierre with a commemorative badge marking his participation in the First Rangdan War.

The main body of the emblem is black, with seven circles—six large and one small—painted on it, symbolizing the six planets of the Helios- Morse system and Artificial War Satellite.

Every legionary Warrior and Auxilia soldier who participated in the battle will receive a commemorative badge.

Those who are not personally awarded the medal by the Primarch will be granted it by their commander.

He then took the emblem of the Order of the Broken Claw from the tray and began to praise it:

"Pierre, your superb swordsmanship in slaying four Rangdan Overlord is truly admirable."

"Father, I will certainly continue my efforts to slay the Xenos for you."

Nimrod then placed the Order of the Broken Claw's emblem on his head, the emblem of which was a circle passing through three sharp claws.

Nimrod not only directly adopted the name of the "Dark Angels" sect, which targeted Rangdan's Order of the Broken Claw, from his memory, but also directly used their emblem.

[Yes, the "Dark Angels" is no longer the main force against Rangdan.]

Then he walked up to Santiago Bergkamp.

"Santiago, use the power I have given you wisely to achieve victory against the Xenos within the icebergs of Planet VI."

"Father, I will always remember your teachings and use the strength you have given me to achieve even greater victories."

Nimrod placed the Iron Halo behind Santiago's helmet, and the Legion's Tech Sergeant would later paint it on the Power Armor with a red mark.

The Iron Halo is an insignia awarded specifically to outstanding battlefield leaders and tacticians, each demonstrating exceptional initiative.

The Primarch bestowed medals upon each member, thinking to himself.

[The First, Second, Third, Fourth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Chapter —these eight Chapter, which selected the main Beyonder Pathway, comprise a total of 10,700 Royal Court Acolyte.]

The Primarch spent a day reviewing the Legion Warrior casualty data on the Data Slate and then completed the statistics.

Each squad leader is a Beyonder; their presence ensures that the characteristics of each Chapter are implemented at the squad level.

Next, they will be promoted to Sequence 8, and each squad will have two Beyonder at Sequence 9 level in that Pathway, consolidating the unique advantages of each Chapter.

In the final stage, some small teams will be trained to cultivate Beyonder from other Pathway, creating complementary abilities.

While contemplating his three-stage training plan, Nimrod conferred medals upon everyone.

After the awarding of medals was completed, he issued the order.

"The Fourth Legion will remain at Whirlwind- Morse to collect the corpses; the other Chapter will return to rest."

"The Ramillies serves as a research center and training base for technological research."

"Each Chapter selects new recruits to take turns receiving training on the Ramillies to prepare for future long-term threats."

Five days later, the Shadow of the Throne and the fleet of the 11th Chapter set sail back to Vostonia.