But Quan Tiehua had not simply stripped off the armor around his crotch to urinate like he had in his previous life.
The physiological circulation system inside Power Armour was extremely advanced. Even after being worn continuously for months of war, its internal physiological circulation system could still ensure the normal discharge of certain bodily substances.
"Phew—" Quan Tiehua let out a long breath. Shortly after crossing over and being transformed into an Astartes, he had secretly taken a look.
But afterward, that desire had vanished completely, and he had become depressed again.
What the fuck was the difference between this and having nothing at all? It wouldn't even get up.
As for whether Astartes could mate with mortal women and reproduce, he could forget about it.
Setting everything else aside, the elimination of their physiological desires, combined with the functions of their bodies after modification surpassing those of mortals, basically made it impossible for mortal women to bear children with Astartes.
So it was completely impossible.
The number of Astartes could only be increased through the gene-seed nurtured within each Astartes's body and biochemical modification.
He really had no idea what was going on with the Children of Noise.
He was secretly a little envious.
The planet Lers was, honestly speaking, a comprehensive planet.
In other words, it had developed in every area, but it was not proficient in any of them. To be honest, planets like this were already considered first-rate in the worlds of the Imperium.
They could develop agriculture, light industry, military forces, and heavy industry, while also expanding external trade. Furthermore, if the Planetary Governor had even a little ability, it would be easy to drive the trade, economic circulation, and cooperation of the several surrounding colonial planets—or even several colonial star systems—centered around Lers.
Moreover, the Imperial tithe paid by planets like this was often the easiest to replenish in full.
Quan Tiehua looked at some of the more detailed information on the planet. When combat missions were issued, the combat personnel would receive some information, but it was nowhere near as detailed as this.
There were towering hive cities here, with enormous buildings that reached into the clouds, as well as surface cities and farmland like those found on an agri-world.
The hive cities and various industrial districts were distributed across the northern hemisphere, while agriculture and some light industries, such as textiles, were distributed across the southern hemisphere.
To be honest, this planet was quite unusual. There was almost no land connecting the northern and southern hemispheres. In between them—in other words, along the equator—there was nothing but a vast sea.
What was more, the Planetary Governor here was a capable man. He had invited the Adeptus Mechanicus to install filters that purified all the wastewater produced during industrial manufacturing.
Thus, one could say that the Adeptus Mechanicus also held a certain stake in this planet.
But judging from the current state of the war, things were not looking good.
Half of the hive clusters in the northern hemisphere had already been occupied. More than 85 percent of the factories producing weapons, ship components, and heavy equipment had fallen into enemy hands.
The military weapons factories still held by the Imperium could only produce some small arms, ammunition, and partial armor.
Fortunately, they could still produce the bolters used by Astartes, though only standard-issue models.
If daemons like the one that had appeared aboard the Rogue Trader's ship emerged again in the battles to come, these standard-issue shells probably would not be of much use.
Quan Tiehua and a group of Battle-Brothers sat in a circle, organizing and replenishing their respective weapons and ammunition.
This time, they would basically be fighting a positional battle and had to hold out until the Imperial reinforcements arrived.
So at present, they either patrolled the surrounding trenches, directing the mortals to reinforce them or dig new fortifications,
or they patrolled the area, relying on the superhuman senses of the Astartes.
Yet, on the contrary, the few remaining veterans of a century of war, along with Quan Tiehua and the others, were sitting together and replenishing their final ammunition supplies.
The weapons and ammunition around them had been piled into small mountains. The PDFs were still pushing handcarts over to deliver Astartes ammunition.
"Not bad, kid. I never thought you'd actually take down a Greater Daemon." One of the brothers sitting with them had a resolute face, lean brown skin, and gentle Asian features. He grinned and patted Quan Tiehua on the shoulder.
Quan Tiehua suddenly felt a little itchy around his nose. He sniffed hard and stared intently at the long braid atop the head of this Battle-Brother named Gers, whose head had otherwise been shaved completely bald.
During the battle aboard the original ship, this guy had been the fastest runner by far. His speed was so great that even Quan Tiehua might not have been able to catch him. It seemed to truly prove the saying that Astartes could run at sixty kilometers per hour.
Anyone with eyes could tell which Chapter this guy belonged to.
"It was mainly thanks to the Emperor's protection. If He hadn't protected me, that final plasma shot might have overloaded and exploded." Quan Tiehua set down the M2-pattern Carl boltgun he had been wiping.
"Come on, your ability is your own ability. The Emperor is sitting on that toilet seat and can't even get up now. How much energy could He possibly have left to look after us?" another brother said with a grin. His Power Armour was also that of the Blood Angels, but it was decorated with various fragments of the best weapons taken from enemies he had defeated during his century of battle.
For some reason, Quan Tiehua felt a little guilty. "The entire Imperium needs the Emperor's guidance. He loves all of humanity."
"The Emperor is a great figure. More than that, He is the god of humanity. He saved all of mankind, freeing us from confusion, ignorance, and foolishness." At that moment, another brother spoke. His Power Armour was covered with purity seals bearing the Imperial Creed. Some of the Emperor's words had even been engraved directly onto his armor.
Quan Tiehua lowered his eyes and kept his nose pointed at his heart.
He did not want to speak anymore. He had no idea what he could say.
Especially when another brother walked over and slowly sat down among them, making him swallow instinctively.
The decorations on his Power Armour were still those of the Blood Angels, but his helmet was dark green. A standard flamer was strapped to his back. The grenades at his waist were almost all canister-shaped, with patterns on them that increased friction and grip.
By now, fine beads of sweat had appeared on Quan Tiehua's forehead.
"I had their Planetary Governor obtain some highly polluted, highly corrosive chemical waste and use it to make some traps and simple long-range throwing devices." The first words spoken by Quilstein after sitting down in his dark green helmet directly confirmed Quan Tiehua's suspicions.
Then a sudden voice came from the distance, making Quan Tiehua feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
"What kind of defense is this? Once the enemy arrives, they'll probably scatter you in a single charge." His Power Armour had been polished until it was exquisitely bright. Even aboard the Rogue Trader's ship, after that great battle and with only a few hours to make repairs, he had still managed to polish his armor until it gleamed brightly, as if it were brand-new.
"Fuck me." Quan Tiehua's eyes had already gone blank. Looking dazed, he muttered the words under his breath.
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