It had been a full two and a half years since Mordred had returned to the Legion.
During those two and a half years, Atlas had not rushed to prove itself like the other Legions whose Primarchs had just returned. Instead, it had begun a massive infrastructure campaign.
Every day, they worked themselves to the bone, practically dropping dead from exhaustion.
Thanks to Serene World's special tax-exemption policy, the nearby Rogue Traders had all been drawn to Serene World, hoping to make a living under the Imperium of Man's Second Highness. Small trade groups made up the majority.
To the Rogue Traders, Serene World was a piece of prime real estate. While the other Primarchs were fighting xenos on the front lines of the Great Crusade, Mordred, the homebody Primarch, seemed especially precious.
Mordred also returned their favor. He knew exactly what these Rogue Traders wanted, so every so often, he issued a trade license and personally handed it over to the recipient, giving them plenty of face.
Whenever Mordred conducted the handover ceremony, he would turn his Charm Aura up to its maximum and flash his trademark innocent smile before saying, "You're the real heroes."
No matter what purpose these people had come for, once they fell for this combination, they would be kneeling on the ground, wailing and confessing one moment, then swearing allegiance and shouting their gratitude the next. No one ever escaped unscathed.
Many influential Rogue Trader families even spent vast sums just to invite Mordred to dinner, so they could admire this walking angel from up close.
Thanks to the special service of dining with someone in person, the Second Legion acquired a massive amount of foreign currency. Combined with the supplies Malcador had sent over, they completed the framework of the spaceport in less than three years and officially began operations.
Vast quantities of supplies were routed through the Serene World sub-sector and transported to the front lines of the Great Crusade. Some of the shipments were even carried by Space Marine vessels returning for rest and recuperation.
Whenever these warriors finished resting on Serene World, Atlas's oversized Canned Ones would burst out from every corner imaginable and show off their Primarch father in front of their cousins.
At times like this, Mordred would appear at once and use his increasingly refined art of persuasion to trick them into coming to Serene to work on construction.
Most Space Marines would not refuse such an offer. They had nothing better to do anyway, so they might as well treat it as cultivating a personal hobby.
Besides, the work was not unpaid. Thanks to Mordred's simple philosophy, he believed that labor should be rewarded. Before these nephews and nieces left, he would always pack them a batch of ammunition, along with Serene local specialties he had deliberately given away.
For example, there were dinosaurs that Space Marines could ride; Serene Little Earth Chickens that were nearly as large as Dreadnoughts, could peck through Adamantium plates in one bite, laid eggs, and had exceptionally delicious meat; and even the most precious Man-eating Bee Honey...
Mordred wanted to test whether these things had any commercial potential. Perhaps they could become the mainstay industries of the local people on Serene in the future.
As for why the Second Legion had so much ammunition, that had to be credited to their Gene-Seed.
Because of Mordred's higher-dimensional nature, the Second Legion had few members and an extremely low Gene-Seed compatibility rate, but they had also inherited some of Mordred's abilities.
According to the Legion veterans, whenever the Second Legion undertook a Warp Voyage, the Warp Creatures they encountered reacted to them very strangely. Their behavior carried an odd mixture of curiosity and intense disgust.
It was like seeing a turd disguised as chocolate and trying to trick their Warp brethren into eating it.
Thus, after discovering that these oversized cousins could always reach their designated destinations on time, every other Legion without exception chose to have them clean up battlefields and handle logistics. That was also why no one had discovered the Second Legion's thefts all this time.
After all, if you put a rat in charge of guarding your granary, you could hardly complain about how much grain it ate. Consider it payment for its hard work.
Taking advantage of this unique trait, Atlas started a bodyguard and escort business, and Mordred sent nearly half of its members out on assignment.
During this period, Serene's natives saw their world change almost by the day. Backed by immense financial resources, countless pieces of construction machinery roared across the land.
The abandoned Hive City was dismantled and recycled, and those materials were used to repair the remaining half of the Hive City. As for the quality, the buildings preserved from the Dark Age of Technology were so sturdy that there was nothing to complain about.
While everyone was working themselves into a frenzy on the construction sites, Mordred was not idle either. He began living a disciplined life.
As an ordinary person, Mordred knew all too well what a cesspit this universe was. Only strength could grant a person the right to choose. Without strength, one could only be pinned to the ground and brutally ravaged by the strong, then still be forced to say, "You're so manly!"
So what was the fastest way to become stronger? The answer was knowledge. Knowledge was power!
With the excellent physique of a Primarch, Mordred spent twelve of his twenty-seven hours each day in the laboratory of the Abomination Exemplar.
He first assisted the Arch-Magos, then began participating in experiments, and eventually took charge of his own projects. He researched the Blasphemous Technology extracted from the Master Computer's database, including biochemical modification, gene splicing, and AI programming. Mordred wanted all of it.
After finishing his experiments, he went out to earn foreign currency and eat. He ate eight meals a day, then lay down inside the Early Education Machine the Emperor had given him and stuffed his head with knowledge.
As for Legion management and other such work, Mordred dumped it all on Goff. After all, Goff had studied abroad with the Thirteenth Legion. Not letting a natural workhorse process official documents would have been a waste.
Under this monstrous schedule, Mordred experienced the joy of learning for the first time. The only thing that dissatisfied him was that the Early Education Machine the Emperor had given him was a little strange.
The blue Double-headed Eagle serving as his guide kept yapping nonstop all day, and Mordred had no idea how to change it even if he wanted to.
But those were minor issues. Inside the enormous laboratory of the Abomination Exemplar, master and disciple began to let their imaginations run wild as they repeatedly adjusted a massive Incubation Pod.
Through the glass hatch, Mordred could see his creation growing vigorously. Its form was filled with a sense of powerful beauty, and it could even make people hungry, because it was a gigantic Mushroom Folk.
"Your Highness, are you sure this thing can serve as the Legion's new weapon? If the Emperor finds out, won't he silence us?"
The Arch-Magos sounded deeply conflicted. Heaven knew why she had agreed to conduct such a Blasphemous Experiment with Mordred. Wouldn't it have been safer to make some robots?
"Don't worry, my Arch-Magos. I designed this thing based on the Super Mushrooms on our Serene. I've lived here for so many years. No one understands this thing's strength better than I do.
"And so what if Old Man Huang finds out? I've defined the mushroom as emergency food—as military rations! Is he going to stop me from growing vegetables? Just watch!"
Mordred's reassurance did not put the Arch-Magos at ease, but now that things had come this far, she could only follow the path to its bitter end. After all, she also hoped the experiment would succeed.
The Second Legion's Gene-Seed compatibility was far too low. Kragg, who had already become a Mechanicus raised as a household servant, was also worried. If the experiment succeeded, it would mean another layer of protection for the Space Marines.
As the airtight valve opened, a giant mushroom three meters tall walked out of the tank. The two beady eyes beneath its red cap looked utterly vacant, and paired with its short, thick limbs, the whole thing looked ridiculously comical.
However, before master and disciple could test the prototype, a hurried figure arrived in front of Mordred. It was Captain Tom, who had gone out to escort new settlers.
"Father, this is bad. I think I may have killed a new Primarch."
Mordred was a little dazed. "Isn't that a good thing?"
Tom fell silent. Then his face took on the look of someone whose own father had died an incredibly unlucky death. He leaped up, tore the earplugs from his Primarch's ears, and shouted:
"I mean, I think I may have killed a Primarch!"
"What? Say that again."
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