Figure King: Oh No, My Collection!

Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story; the cat problem hasn't been solved yet, and now a dog has appeared.

Although the lines were a bit rough and it was an artifact from tens of thousands of years ago, Mordred recognized it as Russ at a glance. After all, the two of them had created the Wolfkin Empire together, and the murals from that period were much more abstract than this.

Why was Russ depicted in a mural?

"Yeah! Seeing Russ turn into a dog made me feel so much more at ease."

"Ah, Angron, when did you wake up?"

Thanks to not being an ordinary Hajimi, the Ultimate Cat that carries Angron's memories has dense muscle groups on its face, enabling it to make a wide range of expressions.

Angron, with a sullen face, jumped onto Mortarion's head and said to Guilliman in a rather resentful tone, "I woke up when you were elbowing me repeatedly. You're really my good brother. Back then, everyone said you Ambition, but I was on your side. Now you're repaying kindness with enmity, meow."

"And Second Brother, you're not dead, meow?"

"Good question. If you can't say auspicious words, then don't. It's already the 41st millennium."

"What? Ten thousand years have passed! No wonder I felt something was off; my father has become a monster."

"That Yellow Skins has never been anything but eccentric. A lot has happened in these ten thousand years; get ready to face reality."

Angron's reaction was normal. Due to amnesia, he now only had memories of the time before he was abducted by the Khorne, and he had made a holy cut with the Angron had the largest share of those memories.

This was Mordred's deliberate act; for safety reasons, she wanted to minimize the influence between the two, even in terms of thought and consciousness.

In other words, in Angron's memory, one second he was playing Battle Royale in front of the Four Gods and crashed headfirst into Khorne's feet, and the next second he turned into a fat cat. The fact that he didn't become an old man is already a testament to his exceptional cat quality.

While Guilliman and Mortarion were giving Angron a crash course in modern knowledge, Mordred focused her attention on the stone slab.

The Empire is currently in a very good position. The Serenity 50 Worlds has been rebuilt, the area around the Maelstrom has been handed over to Huron's jurisdiction, and the Ultramar 500 Worlds is in full production. Logistics can be said to be basically stable, and it won't be long before the Great Crusade can be restored.

Military efforts have not lagged behind either. Since the end of the Plague War, the Indomitable Expedition has been officially launched, and an extremely conservative approach has been adopted.

Five Expeditionary Fleet entered in three waves. Sisyphus led the Third Fleet to expand its advantage around Alicia and clear out the narrow strip of land between the Maelstrom and the Great Rift.

Zhuang Sen led the First and Second Fleets in an uprising in Macragge, aiming to open up this space region from Ultramar to the Maelstrom.

Meanwhile, Luojia Jia led the Fourth Fleet, centered around Holy Terra, to thoroughly purge the Imperial Cult, eliminating unnecessary and complicated factions, simplifying the faith in the Emperor as much as possible, and receiving the Dark Angels.

As for the Fifth Fleet, which was teeming with God-Human, it was entirely Atlas as a production and construction corps. On one hand, it helped Atlas with transportation and logistics, and on the other hand, it went to the local world to rebuild and lay down foundations and erect Divine Seal Spire.

Since these five fleets were mostly formed from various Chapter, they were essentially the best of the best. Each Chapter had different customs, habits, and even fighting styles. Without a strong and capable leader, they would just be a disorganized mess.

Therefore, by selecting the best among the best, the more peaceful Chapter were assigned to the first four fleets, while the most God-Human were given Mordred to work on and improve.

This is the current state of the empire. There is simply no time to deal with the T'au Star Sector and the Storm Sector. Only the Sol Sector has been completely brought under its rule. The main target is still that half of the Extreme Sector.

After all, internal stability must be maintained before external threats can be addressed. The Extreme Sector, which is completely adjacent to the Great Rift, is too important, as is the Nakmund Corridor, the only channel that can connect with the Imperium Nihilus. These must be firmly grasped before there will be time to clean up the Taiping and Storm Starfields.

The most important problem facing Mordred is that their existing productivity cannot keep up with their goals. The empire, which has been plagued by problems for a long time, cannot be dealt with drasticly, as such measures would lead to immediate collapse. They can only proceed slowly and gradually eliminate internal troubles.

"It's still a problem of insufficient manpower. Replenishing and training soldiers takes time, logistics development takes time, and even the construction of the Divine Seal Spire takes time."

Logically speaking, the Empire should not lack manpower at all; there are plenty of garrison troops in any world. However, the garrison troops are different from the Astra Militarum.

Despite being jokingly called "Big Heads, "the Astra Militarum consists of king of soldiers, each one in a million. Their origins can be traced back to the Auxilia during the Legion era, making them the true backbone of the military.

As for those local PDFs, it's hard to describe. Calling them thieves and convicts is a bit of a stretch, but they are still the third-tier of the third-tier troops. They are all unlucky guys that the local Planetary Governor forcibly captured from the Upper Hive.

Mordred couldn't imagine what kind of fighting power a group of people who grew up in the harsh environment of Upper Hive, malnourished, heretical, empty-headed, and riddled with problems—people who were more like ghosts than humans—would have if forcibly conscripted into the army.

These people infiltrating the Astra Militarum will not only fail to increase combat effectiveness, but will also lead to chaos in the command structure and introduce more bad habits.

The Stormcast Eternals fighting power is even stronger than that of the Astra Militarum, are even more formidable, and can be considered the pinnacle of mortal strength. However, their numbers are too small, which is exactly the kind of modern military force Mordred desires.

Atlasian, so compared to other legions, it pays more attention to the combat effectiveness of its Auxilia and emphasizes an elite soldier policy. Even the most ordinary privates are equipped with T3 mechanical exoskeletons.

Mordred has already decided to restart Spartan Project, but that's not enough. Farming takes time to develop, and human energy is limited.

So he went back to his old ways. Within the framework of this already established system, Mordred needed to find as many good brothers as possible and get them to reorganize the legion and open new mines.

Mortarion's return solidified Mordred's thinking; there was no reason why the Yellow Skins could mass-produce 20 Legions on this tiny planet Terra, while Mordred couldn't rebuild the Death Guard.

Mordred carefully analyzed the material composition and age of the stone slab after removing a small piece of it.

Tests revealed that the stone slab dates back approximately 40,000 years, roughly around the time he and Horus last entered the area, which falls during the late Roman Republic.

Judging from the pattern, Russ's arrival was not in the Mediterranean Sea region but in East Asia. However, he did not know which dynasty it was in, since his history class did not cover it in detail when he was in school.

For a science student like him to be able to tell from his clothing choices that he was already quite good-looking in China, even though his high school history teacher was witty, humorous, and rather handsome.

Even Mordred doubted that the history of Old Terra Era was completely different from what he had imagined; his historical knowledge did not include the abstract concept of Perpetual.

There's no point in guessing. It's good enough to know that Russ is still alive. Even if you don't know, there's still Old Man Huang. And even if Old Man Huang doesn't know, there's still this Aeldari assassin.

"Speaking of which, Second Brother, I've been wanting to ask this before: why does this Aeldari assassin have so Terra antiques? Isn't that the Mona Lisa that Malcador treasures? And this one of the silly-smiling girls with earrings."

Fiddled with the scattered pieces of debris in front of him. Among the limbs and pieces of flesh, Guilliman found two portraits, Mortarion found a shard of pottery engraved with a twisted little figure, and Angron picked up a Smith & Wesson revolver, pointing the dark muzzle at Mortarion's skull.

"How would I know if you're asking me? Maybe this guy's a thief, who knows where he came from. And I need to correct you, this Mona Lisa is actually a fake."

"Wait a minute, I remember Malcador showed us his collection back then, and this is that painting. Why didn't you mention it then?"

Taking the masterpiece, especially pausing for a moment on the rather muscular biceps, Mordred felt a pang of unease, even though it wasn't the first time he'd seen it. "I told him it was Mona Lisa, but Malcador wouldn't believe me. He berated me for not appreciating art, saying that's what the Old Terra looked like. What could I do?"

But then again, this thing is definitely an antique. Malcador even collected bronze Gundams from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. You guys don't really think that everyone in the Old Terra Era was an Amuro piloting a Gundam, do you?

The crowd remained silent, but their eyes clearly indicated that they truly believed it. After all, in the early 20th century, the Old Terra had waged two world wars that swept across the Solar System, and that's how these unofficial histories came about.

With things having come to this point, there was no point in dwelling on it anymore. Mordred simply had Isha heal the nearly dead Aeldari assassin and casually swat away a couple of Angron.

Perhaps due to his physical condition, Angron was not annoyed at all; on the contrary, he seemed to enjoy it, making gurgling noises that immediately attracted the attention of others, which made him quite embarrassed.

"Second Brother, if I go out looking like this, won't my reputation be ruined? What will my descendants think of me?"

"You have no reputation to speak of. You're lucky to have survived, at least you weren't tortured. Little Mo, on the other hand, has truly been eating shit for ten thousand years."

Mordred tossed the fat cat into Mortarion's arms and looked at the two unfortunate companions. He had nothing more to say. As for what Mordred offspring thought of them, the legion wasn't even in sight yet, why was he thinking about such trivial things?

As Isha's poisonous milk blew half of her body apart, Sylandri, who was in shock and on the verge of death, slowly woke up. However, she preferred not to wake up at all rather than see the two large and one small cats surrounding her.

But what she found even more unacceptable was that her own Goddess of Life was hiding behind the human Primarch, looking at her with fearful eyes.

"Damn it! How dare you take the goddess hostage! I will not yield! Kill me, Gu Yi!"

Upon hearing this, Isha quickly explained, "You can't say things like that. I wasn't threatened. I did it voluntarily, and I'm doing very well here."

"That's right, he was kidnapped by me. What do you want?" Mordred grabbed Isha, who was trying to explain. His demeanor was completely unlike an actor; he was a complete villain. He even blasphemed in front of Sylandri, lifting Isha up and doing a set of calisthenics.

"Stop! Let him go!"

Seeing this, Sylandri's eyes widened in fury, but before she could resist, Guilliman and Mortarion grabbed her from either side and placed her between them.

Angron instantly switched to his battle form, transforming into a face-bursting bug and pouncing on Sylandri's head, kicking her repeatedly while shouting that he couldn't survive without fighting.

But this level of threat did not subdue Sylandri at all. Instead, she mocked the three of them, saying that they were incompletely evolved Lifeform, crude and inferior Giant Ape, and that she would not say anything.

Mordred and his companions actually asked any questions, their seemingly self-sacrificing expressions were utterly baffling.

But Mordred had plenty of ways and means to deal with these die-hards; he knew that the Aeldari had a fatal weakness.

Mordred snapped his fingers, and Rambo instantly appeared, pulling out a potion marked with a high-risk symbol.

Looking at the unidentified syringe filled with purple liquid, Sylandri subconsciously swallowed. Mordred's slightly sinister voice rang in her ears. "Do you know what this is? This is a combat drug I developed, but because its effects are so potent, it can increase the recipient's nerve sensitivity by 300 times, so I also call it Sandevistan."

"What are you babbling about? Why are you asking me?"

Master Mordred didn't explain, but continued on his own, "This stuff is against nature and the natural order. Even Space Marine can't withstand its effects. Only White Scars can dilute it and inject it, allowing for a desperate last stand at the most dangerous moment."

Rather than using it as a combat agent, I prefer to use it as an interrogation tool. Its 300-fold increase in nerve sensitivity is something no carbon-based life form has been able to withstand to date.

As Mordred whispered, several streaks of emerald lightning appeared, twisting the Physical Laws around them. A platform rose from beneath Sylandri, binding her limbs and removing her shoes.

"Rambo, you know what I mean."

"Don't worry, boss, I'll show her what cruelty really means."

After saying that, Rambo plucked a handful of dog hair from his body, moved closer to Sylandri, and repeatedly tickled the soles of her feet.

This inexplicable behavior left Sylandri completely bewildered. She was indeed a little itchy, but she could easily bear it. "That's all?"

"Haha, good lad, I admire your courage. I hope you can keep up this stubbornness next time."

As the saying goes, you have to love what you do. Even under these circumstances, Mordred strictly followed hygiene rules, disinfecting the thing before injecting the medicine.

Soon, thanks to the Aeldari's incredibly fast metabolism, the potion began to flow rapidly through her blood vessels. For Sylandri, the world before her eyes seemed to slow down countless times.

With each breath, she could feel the air washing over her body. Her heightened nerve sensitivity made her unable to control herself. Even though it was just ordinary, soft dog fur, every time it touched the soles of her feet, the intense itching that exceeded her physiological limits was unbearable, causing her to let out a sharp, piercing scream!

"Oh my god, ahh, ooh ahh!!!"

Not content with that, Rambo, rather unscrupulously, brought over a few bees, smeared honey on the soles of her feet, and let the bees crawl on them.

Under this inhumane torture, Sylandri lasted less than three minutes. Before Ultraman could even flash his lights, she rolled her eyes, spat, and started yelling "Aba aba" incoherently.

Taking this opportunity, Mordred signaled Rambo to stop, pulled out the stone tablet, grabbed the little brat, and demanded, "Tell me, where did you steal this stone tablet from?"

"Pah! I won't say anything."

"Rambo, keep going!"

"Ah!!!!!!"