It was as if a thunderclap had exploded. The Empire, which had been busy expanding its forces, was immediately shaken by an unprecedented crisis. Fleets began mobilizing in great numbers, rapidly reinforcing the already-complete defensive system centered around the High-dimensional Fortresses in deep space.
There wasn't enough time. The second-generation Battle Stars had yet to be deployed on a large scale, but the Empire had no shortage of Battle Star Clusters in active service. These massive War Machines were of little use within Imperial territory, but they were extremely effective at intercepting Alien Fleets in deep space.
About six months to a year had passed between the discovery of the Dark Empire's movements and the Corrupted Fleet's arrival. To prepare for war as thoroughly as possible, the entire Empire sprang into action, from the Material Realm to the Psionic Realm.
The Empire had completely lifted restrictions on recruiting clones. In less than five years, the annual population growth rate had exceeded fifteen percent, nearly reaching the current limit.
Most of this new population entered the military as auxiliary personnel for active-duty Imperial soldiers. They helped alleviate the shortage of experienced officers caused by the rapid commissioning of so many fleets, then quickly absorbed genetic memory through Gene Technology training, becoming qualified naval officers or Astartes warriors.
The results were clear. The Imperial Fleet had grown by around fifty percent over the past few years, while the Army, which required less technical expertise, had expanded to more than ten times its former size.
Months later, the Corrupted Fleet appeared at the Empire's border right on schedule. Since deep space was vast and distances between regions varied, different areas came under attack at different times.
Once again, Starships served as "troop carriers" as they charged toward the Imperial border. Given the technological