Emperor, why do you favor him so much?

"Damn you!" Sandman muttered under his breath, leaving the gaudy, gold-filled room without looking back. He then hurried to the Imperial Palace's landing pad.

It wasn't that he didn't want to use psionic teleportation. It was just that, while within the Imperial Palace, the moment he tried to use it, he felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him, rendering him utterly immobile.

"Heh, you think you can use psionic teleportation in the Imperial Palace? You're still far from it," the Emperor chuckled faintly as he sensed Sandman's psionic energy surge and then immediately be suppressed.

"But is what you're doing helping him or harming him?" the Emperor mused to himself.

He was far too familiar with the psionic power within Sandman. He knew all too well where that pure death intent originated from. In fact, it was his own power.

This power, however, came from ten thousand years in the future. In the dark and terrifying 40th millennium, the faith, prayers, worship, and constant sacrifices of trillions of humans across the human species all pointed towards that desiccated corpse seated upon the Golden Throne.

It could be said that the God-Emperor of ten thousand years later was not only the pillar of humanity's faith but no longer a mere Dark King. He was humanity's various gods, the God of Death, the God of Life, the God of Hope...

By the end of the 40th millennium, the God-Emperor was only a single step away from apotheosis, forced by the sheer weight of faith. However, no one knew when that final step would be taken. Time in the material universe held no meaning for deities.

The power emanating from Sandman was, besides the destructive corruption of the Dark King, the most potent force. It came from countless mortal soldiers fighting to the last moment for the Imperium's survival, and from extreme doctrines of death worship.

"Death Worship..." The Emperor searched his mind for the name of that mysterious cult, one that neither the Ecclesiarchy nor the Inquisition was willing to engage with.

"Malcador, increase the resource allocation for the Raven Guard. Draw from those supplies.

World, intensify the training for the Raven Guard Legion!" The Emperor simultaneously transmitted messages to his friend and the commander of the Adeptus Custodes. He needed Sandman to grow quickly; the Raven Guard were currently moving too slowly.

The two of them had already figured out Sandman's cheat. Even if other Primarchs joined his Saviors, it would be useless. Only worlds conquered by Korax or the Saviors could provide a strengthening effect. Upon receiving this information, Sandman was incredibly unhappy.

He had gone to great lengths, traveling across the galaxy to find Primarchs for the Emperor, only to find his cheat wasn't powerful enough. But he also understood that the loophole couldn't be that large. If it were, gathering all 21 Primarchs would make him invincible. However, absorbing Primarchs was still an option.

This was also why the Emperor wasn't angry when Sandman threw the Primarch locations at him and quit. Sandman wasn't entirely giving up, though. He would still go back to find them if they were in nearby war zones, depending on their current operational areas.

"Damn it! I was tricked by that yellow-skinned bastard. Wherever there's war, the Raven Guard go, isn't that what he decides?" Sandman snapped out of his joy at having acquired more fragments of the Void Dragon. That yellow-skinned bastard's carrot-and-stick approach was brilliant.

"Whatever, at least I got some satisfaction. Let's go!" Sandman turned and headed towards his fleet in the void without looking back. His fleet had almost completed its resupply. He just needed to wait on board until it was done before returning to his doghouse.

The main force of the Raven Guard, led by Korax, had already concluded another war while he was en route to Macragge. When he returned, he would be greeted by the Raven Guard's third war mission in the Great Crusade.

In the early stages of Legion formation, the War Council would issue unified war missions. Later, as the Legions grew in size, they would split into different fleets to campaign across the galaxy.

With the highest priority resupply speed, Sandman's fleet quickly completed its replenishment. The massive fleet, like a pod of ferocious orcas, plunged into the vastness of the Warp.

Storm Sector, Savior Star.

"Korax, this is the Legion's report for this quarter that needs your signature. This concerns the Imperium's latest resource allocation, which you need to personally liaise with Lord Malcador on." Erefania piled a stack of reports onto the desk, nearly burying Korax.

"Why are there still so many reports to read!" Korax's already fair complexion turned even paler at the sight of the reports. At that moment, he deeply missed the days when the Legion was in combat.

"Sister, can you handle some of these for me? There are just too many. I haven't slept in three days..." Korax complained to Erefania.

"No, dear. These are all administrative matters that require the Legion Commander's personal attention. The Legion's high-ranking officials have already screened them. These documents require the signature of the Legion Commander or the Deputy Legion Commander. You can rest for ten minutes after you finish these," Erefania said kindly to her brother.

"Alright, Fal, just hang in there a little longer. The boss is already on his way back. Soon, our workload will be reduced by a third, and I'll give you a long leave," Korax said to Fal, who was also buried under various administrative tasks.

His condition was even worse than Korax's. After all, he didn't have a Primarch's monstrous endurance. Korax could go three days without sleep, but Fal could only manage one at most.

"Really?" Fal, buried in a pile of papers, suddenly sat up excitedly. The bloodshot eyes of Fal, who was usually bright-eyed, were now clearly visible. This was almost unbelievable for an Astartes. At that moment, he desperately missed the time before the Primarchs returned, when all supplies were provided by the Imperium.

But ever since the Primarchs returned and began building their own domains, Fal suddenly realized how painful it was. Before, he only needed to manage the Legion's logistics in a general sense, spending most of his time figuring out how to better kill xenos and heretics who betrayed humanity.

Now, he truly understood the terrifying amount of resources required to build a star system from scratch and how complex the relationships that needed to be coordinated were. At this moment, he wished he was just a regular soldier, only responsible for fighting.

"Yes, Fal. The boss sent a psionic message earlier. His fleet has completed the Emperor's mission and is on its way back to Savior Star from Holy Terra. The psionic message also said that in the future, a company of Ultramarines will rotate to help the Raven Guard train a batch of administrative experts," Korax gave a definitive answer.

"When Deputy Legion Commander Sandman returns, I'm taking leave. I'm taking a long leave!" Fal said fiercely, slamming his signature onto a report. He missed the days when his comrades sparred in the ship's fighting cages. Prolonged administrative work made him feel like his combat skills had dulled.

"Achoo..." Sandman, who was navigating the Warp, suddenly sneezed.

"Who's talking about me? Could it be those four damned things?" Sandman immediately became vigilant. It wasn't that he was being overly sensitive; he was currently in Warp transit and naturally wary of such things.

Sandman quickly checked himself and his fleet, and upon finding no anomalies, breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.

"Report, the navigator has sent a message. The fleet is about to emerge from the Mandeville Point. We are about to reach our homeworld," Nekser said to Sandman.

"Good. Send a message to the Primarchs, tell them we're back!" Sandman said happily. This Warp journey had taken much longer than returning to Terra with the Emperor. It took over two months to get from Holy Terra back to Savior Star.

This was one of the inconveniences of Warp travel. Navigators had to rely on their experience to find suitable currents in the Warp and constantly change them to reach their destination smoothly. If a violent Warp storm erupted, the chaotic currents could sweep the fleet to unknown locations. Being flung to the opposite side of their destination was considered lucky. Some unfortunate ships would even crash into planets or be captured by a planet's gravity, leading to their destruction.

Sandman's fleet emerged from the Mandeville Point and finally returned to their long-lost Legion homeworld.

"Wow, is this still our Legion homeworld?" Sandman said in surprise, looking at the planet before him, which was the complete opposite of what it was before.

The outer perimeter of Savior Star, which was originally a yellow, dusty mining planet, now had a massive orbital ring platform built around it. It was covered with various terrifying orbital defense systems, with menacing muzzles pointing into the distance. Huge arrays of Servitors scanned the surrounding star systems non-stop, leaving no hiding place for any approaching enemy.

The barren ground was now dotted with various green plants. The original, low-cost domes had been dismantled. Griffin IV had put in tremendous effort to reshape Savior Star's atmosphere, allowing life to exist normally without the need for oxygen generators. Rivers, plants, blue skies, and white clouds – these essential elements were completely at odds with its former identity as a mining planet.

The most striking feature on the entire Savior Star was the two high towers that were originally the First Dome and the Second Dome. However, these two towers had now been connected to form a vast architectural complex. This complex now had a new name: "Raven Tower," and it was also the headquarters of the Raven Guard Legion.

Many orders from Korax and the Legion's high command were issued from this tower. Raven Tower had become the heart of the Raven Guard Legion.

The Adeptus Mechanicus, using their superior mining technology, had moved mining operations underground. Now, all mining on Savior Star was done by machinery. The people here no longer had to risk their lives daily for dangerous mining work as they did before.