Expedition

A long time ago.

Of course, compared to his tens of thousands of years of life, these few hundred years cannot be called "a long time".

That was in Terra, the home planet of humankind, when it had just been reunited after countless years of long civil war.

Before the Golden Throne, which was under constant repair, a group of warriors who had fought alongside him gathered.

Thunder Warrior.

The Emperor created genetically enhanced combat masters using biotechnology from the Old Night. Even when they wore only the most rudimentary Thunder-type Power Armour, they could still unleash combat power far more terrifying than Space Marine.

But this time, their weapons are turned against him.

Standing at the very front of these Thunder Warrior was his friend.

That's Ushatn.

The Primarch of the Thunder Warrior, the one who once raised the flames alongside him.

"This is betrayal, Ushatn."

". Why?"

"Why?"

Ushatn's voice was filled with anger.

"Of course, it's to overthrow you, you tyrant!"

"We gave our last drop of blood for your cause, for the unity of Terra!"

"But what about you?! Not only have you not given us the compensation we deserve, but you also want us to continue working for you until we die!"

Ushatn should have realized this long ago.

In fact, he is no different from the tyrant who once ruled Terra.

To devise a goal that can never be achieved, and to inspire followers to dedicate everything to it.

Even if the goal is achieved, the result will only be that the cunning rabbit dies and the hunting dog is cooked.

If there is any difference, it is that he is more brutal and more unreasonable.

He wouldn't even make an exception for his most loyal subordinates, the Thunder Warrior.

"Ushatn, what I fear is that you will once again become the technological warlords that were once defeated."

Thunder Warrior do possess formidable combat power, but this comes with many unstable side effects.

Manic, irritable, and violent.

Arrogant and disdainful of others.

They believed that, with their strong physique and abilities, they deserved a more worthy position than those weak and pathetic mortals.

Even.

They were no different from the insane technological warlords they had defeated.

They replaced the tech warlords with Thunder Warrior, but nothing changed.

This is not the outcome he wanted.

"And for a better future for mankind, we must launch Great Crusade."

"Pah, what a load of bullshit Great Crusade!"

Ushatn spat on the steps leading to the Imperial Palace.

Not satisfied with the battles already fought on Terra, do they want to continue fighting in the sky until they save them all?!

Ushatn found it all laughable.

How many millions of human worlds have been lost in the galaxy?!

How could they possibly be capable of winning every single battle in this unpredictable Milky Way galaxy?

Does this mean that for the sake of this unattainable dream, generation after generation of Thunder Warrior must sacrifice everything?

"This is just another excuse you use to keep us working ourselves to the bone!"

"Tyrant! Have you ever thought of us?"

"You threw us all into your so-called Great Crusade, only to have us drained of our last drops of blood?"

He fell silent.

Under Ushatn's persistent questioning, he, like those tyrants whose lies have been exposed, was rendered speechless.

"The Great Crusade is necessary."

This was his pale, meaningless excuse.

"Then come on, Tyrant!"

"Let me show you our determination and strength!"

"Thunder Warrior, charge!"

"Yes!"

The shouts behind me were deafening.

Ushatn raised his sword high and led thousands of Thunder Warrior behind him in a final charge toward the Imperial Palace, which stood high above the steps, the very place he had sworn allegiance to.

"My lord, the rebel Ushatn has been beheaded."

Marshal Valdor of the Adeptus Custodes approached and reported to him.

"Ushatn. It's a pity he can't understand our cause."

"And you, Valdor? Do you understand the meaning of our expedition?"

"My lord, I will never betray you."

The answer was irrelevant.

". well."

He sighed.

Just then, another member of the Adeptus Custodes rushed into the Imperial Palace.

"Report!"

"My lord, the underground laboratory! The laboratory is on fire!"

"Not only Ushatn, Lady Astartes has also betrayed us!"

The fire swept away the data containing the records of the Space Marine, the main force of the future expedition, along with the underground laboratory.

He stepped forward and quickly extinguished the flames.

Astartes

This great biologist, with whom he had once worked side-by-side to develop the Space Marine, chose to stand with Ushatn.

Ollanius Persson, Erda, Ushatn, and her.

After the Unification Wars, one familiar name after another chose to leave him.

"It's alright, we still have a backup stockpile of Gene-seed on the Luna."

He offered words of comfort to everyone, and in doing so, he also comforted himself.

The Space Marine program did not fail as a result.

But Astartes perished in the flames and could never return.

"Etc--"

His gaze fell upon the only intact biological container amidst the ashes.

For some reason, the raging fire had no effect on it.

There, a female Space Marine lay perfectly intact.

The world's first female Space Marine.

The latest technology developed by Lady Astartes using the Gene-seed of the Third Legion.

"The female Space Marine is a blasphemous creation. My lord, do you need us to help you destroy her?"

"No."

He gestured for the Adeptus Custodes to stop.

She is not a blasphemous creation.

That was the last gift that Lady Astartes left him.

And her name is—

"It's me."

"Melusine".

Melusine silently pointed to herself.

With everything in Byzas coming to an end, and after Fulgrim and Kasgar returned aboard the Firebird, the Tech-Priest of the 28th Expeditionary Fleet began a new round of construction.

As for Kasgar, he found the Apothecary Melusine not long after everything was over.

As the benefactor who had recently eradicated her Withering Sickness, Melusine was still very polite to him.

"Since you don't want your research to be restricted, I have another offer to make in exchange, Melusine."

"I have another secret I want to know, Apothecary."

Tell me, where exactly are you from?

This is yet another secret of Chief Apothecary Melusine.

Her secrets are arguably the most numerous in the Third Legion.

As for how to find out the secret here, it's quite simple.

"The Terra of the Third Legion are all of noble birth, but you are different."

"We cannot trace your origins."

"Melusine, when Fulgrim and I visited the ancient noble families of Terra to restore the Blood Tithe, you were not among them."

According to the original story, Fabius was born into an Old Europa noble family in Terra.

But after visiting many families and never hearing the name Melusine, Kasgar began to doubt her origins.

As a result, Melusine had no choice but to tell the other party her story.

"You guessed right, I am the first female Space Marine, Melusine."

It seems that in any world, the first female Space Marine would have to be called by this name.

One of the creators of the Space Marine, the Astartes, used their exceptional biotechnology to complete the entire process from cloning to modification.

It can be said that Melusine is her daughter.

"If you have received a satisfactory answer, please leave now."

"I have more research to do."

She told Kasgar to leave.

After Kasgar left, she waited quietly in the laboratory.

After the Tech-Priest and Imperium mortal bureaucrats take complete control of the area, Byzas will be subjected to a complete transformation.

This place will serve as the starting point for the 28th Expeditionary Fleet of the Sons of the Emperor, and will become a model for their future improvements to the conquered planets.

This place will be developed into a beautiful home like Chemos in the future.

Of course, that's a story for another time.

As the Chief Apothecary of the Sons of the Emperor, her research was always more blasphemous than anyone else could imagine.

This is one of the reasons why Melusine never allowed Kasgar into her laboratory before.

One of the many little-known secrets within the Third Legion.

Knock knock.

There was a knock on the door.

"Hello, Demigoddess!"

It was a little girl.

"I was one of the children who participated in the march. I survived thanks to the help of the older children!"

"Thank you, brothers and sisters!"

She watched with delight as Melusine opened the door and handed her a painting that had been prepared for a long time.

That was her gratitude for their saving her during the assassination attempt.

In the scene, a woman with silver hair painted purple hugs her and lifts her high over her shoulder.

The crowd around them clapped and smiled.

The sun was shining brightly overhead, and airships circled in the blank sky.

A peaceful and harmonious scene.

But that's not what Melusine cares about.

Melusine took the comical painting from her hand and remained silent for a moment.

"Big sister, is there something that's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

Melusine bent down and gently stroked her little head.

She hesitated for a moment.

"Well."

Finally, Melusine sighed.

"Good child, go back now."

"Tell those mechanical uncles in Red Robes that Sister Melusine wants you to go home."

"Okay, thank you, sister!!!"

The little girl closed the door and skipped away from the residence of the Sons of the Emperor.

She was alone in the laboratory again.

This isn't like you, Melusine.

Have you become more sentimental?

"No, I didn't."

"."

"Tsk, never mind. There's still a little bit."

She laughed self-deprecatingly, opened the scroll filled with children's whimsical doodles, and the image of Kasgar's cheeky smile came to mind.

Perhaps at some point, the entire Emperor's Children Legion changed.

Melusine reluctantly picked up the painting in her hand.

In the future, it will be placed on the flagship "Pride of the Emperor," at the second point on the Path of Triumph.

The last two hundred Sons of the Emperor were photographed after Chemos.

As the starting point for the Great Crusade by the Sons of the Emperor, a war that required only six Sons of the Emperor (excluding that disgraceful Kasgar).

The outskirts of Byzas.

All kinds of steel machinery are still working non-stop.

Their construction will bring new knowledge and management systems to the inhabitants of Byzas.

Perhaps the Imperium of Man will decay after ten thousand years, but with near-perfect political leaders like the Preacher and Fulgrim, the city's administration is now infinitely better than it once was.

"Is everything taken care of?"

Sitting on the stone platform where the gunboat landed, Fulgrim asked Kasgar beside him.

"It's all because you went off to become a hands-off manager."

"Kasgar said irritably."

"Hehe, just let me have a day off."

"Sigh, I just can't do anything with you." Kasgar said helplessly, pointing to the collar around her neck. "And, sis, shouldn't you take this off?"

Being a servant now is nothing; just treat it as role-playing.

But he will still be the Chief Lord Commander of the Sons of the Emperor in the future. If other Primarch or even the Emperor see this thing, what kind of behavior would that be?

He doesn't want to be the second or eleventh son!

"Oh, right, the collar."

It was only then that Fulgrim noticed this.

I hadn't been able to receive its signal for a long time and thought it was lost.

She reached out to untie Kasgar.

!

But her hand suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Fulgrim.

Did you miss something crucial?

She recalled everything that had happened before.

Wait a moment.

Kasgar!

"Why did you go looking for the Apothecary in the middle of the night?!"

"Uh, I went to treat her illness?"

Kasgar hesitated.

"Treatment?"

Fulgrim laughed in exasperation.

You mean you spent the whole night in the Apothecary Melusine's room and did nothing but treat her, right?

Heal the most skilled Apothecary in the entire Legion, or even the entire Space Marine Legion, right?

She felt a green sensation on the top of her head.

"If you don't believe me, this collar has a recording function!"

"Just open it and listen, you'll know—"

Tell me, what do you really want?

What I want, is there even a need to say more?

Under Fulgrim's manipulation, the collar emitted Kasgar's wanton, lewd laughter.

No, don't come any closer! Stay away from me!

Then came several gasps from Melusine.

"No! What follows will prove that I'm just receiving treatment, we really didn't—"

Zi—

But for some reason, as if it were interfered with, a lot of snow-like noise suddenly appeared in the recording function of the collar.

The beginning and end are gone, only this part was cut off!

That Tzeentch!!!

Even if we don't know if it was Him who did it, we should just curse Him!

Large beads of sweat were forming on Kasgar's forehead.

"Cas-Ga!"

Fulgrim was terribly gloomy.

Her face was now as green as the top of her head.

"Etc!"

"Look at the sky!"

"Kasgar shouted."

"The sky?! Ha, don't try to change the subject, Kasgar!"

"It's right there in the sky! Over there, near our warships!"

"It looks like Orks are attacking!"