It had to be said: when it came to being so absurd that words failed, the Imperium could always come up with something new.
Ever since Mordred sent a message to Terra, the Second Legion had been waiting on Serenity for a full month and a half. Yet the troops dispatched from Terra were still on the way, claiming every time that they would arrive any moment.
"Wenbai is incompetent and has disgraced the nation. A month and a half is enough time for me to purge the court of his corrupt subordinates. Where the hell are my troops? Why haven't they arrived yet? If we wait any longer, we'll have eaten all the rice!"
Bang! A bowl of rice was slammed onto the table, venting the Primarch's fury and leaving the many officers too afraid to speak. They could only bow their heads and shovel food into their mouths.
"Father, please calm down. This really can't be helped. Terra isn't like us, where all we have to do is unload the cargo. The Department of the Munitorum has a lot more to consider."
"Yes, yes! My lord, you may not know this, but this is already fast. At least we haven't lost contact." An Imperial Navy officer attached to the Fourth Legion spoke up:
"Ever since the Great Crusade's spearhead crossed the Sol Sector, the Department of the Munitorum's efficiency has declined exponentially. Once an order is issued, it has to pass through at least a hundred separate certifications before finally reaching the officers who are meant to carry it out.
"Even then, the authorized Imperial Navy still has to assemble the troops and replenish their supplies before departing. And most importantly, they may encounter enemies along the way, causing further delays."
Another Navigator with three eyes immediately added, "Moreover, Your Highness, you must take the tides of the Warp into account. Whenever we encounter a storm, the fleet has to surface immediately.
"If we fail to evade it in time and get caught in the storm, we might lose part of the fleet if we're lucky. If we're unlucky, the entire fleet will be wiped out."
The Navigator was right, and so was the naval officer. At this stage, when the Imperium's territory had only just begun to be reclaimed, taking a month and a half to reach Serenity from Terra really wasn't long. It could even be called efficient.
Even so, Mordred still wasn't used to this damnable transportation speed. No wonder the Emperor had been determined to build the Webway, even if he had to take out a loan. Warp travel was simply too unstable.
After raging helplessly for a while, Mordred could only give up. He scraped the grains of rice on the table into his bowl and began eating furiously, as though taking revenge.
But soon, a piece of news made Mordred slam his bowl onto the table again. The troops he had been waiting for had finally arrived—and they were Space Marines.
At the thought that he could finally begin his own Great Crusade, Mordred went wild with excitement. Leading a huge crowd of followers, he charged toward the starport to prepare a grand welcoming ceremony.
However, Mordred had celebrated too soon. Looking at the three lonely Lunar-class Cruisers docked at the starport and the thousand Space Marines lined up on the pier, he no longer even had the mood to curse.
"My lord, the Alpha Legion's 33rd Grand Company has assembled. Captain Jerry reporting in. Your Highness, what are your orders?"
The Space Marines in Mark II Crusade Pattern Power Armor stood ramrod straight. With his Primarch-level sense of smell, Mordred could even smell the protective oil spread across their armor.
And it was lemon-scented, too.
This clearly showed that these Tin Cans had made ample preparations to meet him. But something was wrong! Where were the hundred thousand troops he had asked for? How had it become only a thousand?
Still unwilling to face reality, Mordred grabbed Jerry and asked in a low voice:
"Captain Jerry, just how many of you came? Surely it isn't only this handful of people!"
"Of course not. How could there be so few of us?"
Hearing that, Mordred nodded. That made more sense. He had asked for the Fourth Legion. Since they had not appeared, these A-Fas must have been sent ahead to coordinate with him.
"Then how many of you came?"
Jerry held up his fingers and gestured a three.
"Thirty thousand Space Marines?" Mordred's anxious heart settled again, and he consoled himself. "Thirty thousand is thirty thousand. The front lines are under pressure, after all. Malcador managing to transfer thirty thousand Space Marines to me is already pretty impressive.
"Well done, Captain Jerry. It really must have been hard for thirty thousand of you to squeeze into those cruisers. Hurry and call them all out. I'll send people to prepare a welcoming feast for our brothers."
With that, Mordred pulled Jerry toward the banquet. But unexpectedly, the captain looked embarrassed and hurriedly waved his hands.
"Your Highness, I wasn't talking about thirty thousand Space Marines. I meant thirty thousand Auxilia—or, more accurately, thirty thousand Solar Auxilia, along with our thousand Space Marines.
"Although the numbers are a little low, there's still good news. The Arch-Magos has ordered Atlas to proceed to Inkarati immediately and support the Fourth Legion. As long as we capture that Forge World, all the Fourth Legion's warriors there will come under your command.
"Your Highness, what's wrong? Why is your face so red? You're not sick, are you?"
As if a Primarch could get sick. Mordred was clearly furious. He had waited a full month and a half, only to receive thirty thousand Auxilia and a thousand Tin Cans. He might as well have gone off on his own. The anger was giving him a headache.
But with so many people watching, Mordred did not want to lose his temper and make things difficult for the captain. He could only forcibly suppress his rage.
"Nothing. I'm just very happy to see you. Look at those Lunar-class Cruisers of yours. They're small, but rather cute. Haha, that's enough."
After saying those insincere words, Mordred only wanted to leave as quickly as possible. But when he lowered his head, he saw Jerry standing before him with an expression that suggested he wanted to speak but didn't dare. The sight of that enormous bald head gave him an indescribably comical feeling.
"What is it? Captain Jerry, commander of thirty thousand troops, do you have something else to say?"
"Well, Your Highness, is that banquet you mentioned still happening? We were urgently transferred here, and we've been eating nutrient porridge every day. Some of us haven't set foot on solid ground in years."
What else could Mordred say? He could only signal his descendants to get moving, give these miserable fellows a proper welcome, and announce that Atlas would set out on a long voyage three days later, with Inkarati as its destination.
Once the order was issued, Atlas, Long Prepared, immediately began making preparations for war. Though calling it "preparations for war" was a bit much—they had already been preparing for a month and a half, so everything that needed to be ready had long since been prepared.
The only thing that needed to be handed over was Atlas Second Company. These Tin Can Kids, specialists in administration, had all flooded into the Duelling Cage in an attempt to escape their bureaucratic duties. Only the victors would be allowed to leave.
Soon, as the third day came to an end, a Pinduoduo Legion consisting of ten thousand Space Marines assembled at the starport. Behind them stood five hundred thousand fully equipped Auxilia armed with Atlas weapons and equipment.
But among the Auxilia, the most eye-catching were the Ogryns being ordered to stand at attention by the Dog-men. After all, in outsiders' eyes, Ogryn Apes clearly had nothing to do with discipline. Yet Atlas's Ogryns actually obeyed commands.
An operation on such a massive scale could not be hidden from everyone. Mordred had never intended to conceal it anyway. An ugly bride would eventually have to meet her in-laws, and after being the Sword Saint Baili Po for more than three years, it was time to announce Atlas's existence to the world.
"On my command, the entire army will advance!"
"Hey-ha! Atlas will be victorious!"
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