War Preparations

A thousand Manros youths arrived in the Southern Hemisphere via transport ships to participate in a selection that could determine their fate.

Xenos lay prone atop a mountain peak, overlooking the entire selection grounds, a sniper rifle cradled in his arms.

The selection grounds were a primeval forest, teeming with the beasts Xenos was tasked with watching.

"This ghost world called Manros is truly strange."

Before the selection began, Xenos observed every patch of natural ecosystem within his sight using a telescope.

A hive world actually had forests.

Xenos hailed from a hive world himself. In his memory, everything outside the hive cities was a place filled with highly toxic industrial waste and fumes. The pollution spewed by hive industries, accumulated over thousands of years, had destroyed the planet's entire ecosystem.

But Manros was different.

The Northern Continent, where the hive cities were located, had a very harsh environment. It was the standard wilderness of a hive world—toxic waste, fumes, and terrifying mutated monsters whose genes had been altered by chemical elements.

But the South Continent, just across the sea, was as beautiful as the North Continent was harsh.

Even in the ocean... when Xenos arrived by transport ship, he saw a clear dividing line in the center of the ocean. On either side of the line were seawater polluted to a dark green and seawater as blue as gemstones.

After conducting an in-depth scan of Manros, the Ragefang discovered that the landmass of the South Continent and the marine life generally possessed the ability to purify pollution.

"The selection has begun," Kao said.

Hearing his battle-brother's voice over the comms channel, Xenos immediately stopped observing the ecological environment and focused on the thousand youths through his sniper scope.

These youths were divided into groups, led by ten Fierce Angels, and sent deep into the primeval forest.

They didn't need to travel far or engage in wilderness survival, as the Fierce Angels had already captured the "trials" alive and prepared them in a designated location, waiting for them.

Xenos watched as the first group of a hundred entered the forest and arrived at a basin where a five-meter-tall ape lay dormant.

A Space Marine shot the ape's back with a Bolter, waking it up, and then herded the youths, mostly between 14 and 16 years old, into the pit.

The youths were generally in a state of panic.

Some quickly overcame their fear and began dodging the beast's attacks, while others stood frozen in place. Some of the most talented even picked up the long swords they had brought before their journey and attempted to hack at the beast.

Every time the beast attacked and was about to kill someone, Xenos would fire, blasting off its limbs.

After firing a few shots, the beast fell to the ground, dead.

The youths couldn't kill it; Xenos had killed it.

But their performance had already been recorded by the Fierce Angels guiding them.

This selection wasn't about choosing the best fighters, nor was it about having the youths kill the beasts. It was about observing everyone's reactions and selecting those suitable to become Fierce Angels.

As the various groups of a hundred proceeded to the locations with beasts, Xenos's pressure increased slightly.

But this most versatile warrior handled it with ease; keeping track of everyone in different locations simultaneously was simple.

By the end of the selection, not a single person had died.

"The culture of the Manros people has a tradition of martial virtue. Their performance was quite good; twenty-two individuals meet our requirements."

Kao announced the results over the comms channel.

"Was it strict enough?" Xenos asked. "Don't be like the Space Wolves when they recruited on my homeworld, bringing in people who would throw others into the jaws of beasts just to win the selection."

"Space Wolves? Why would they conduct recruit selections on planets outside of their Chapter's homeworld?"

"It was a Chapter marked with a wolf. They called themselves a sub-chapter of the Space Wolves."

"That must be false. The Sons of Leman Russ never recruit on other planets."

Kao ordered the selected individuals to be loaded onto transport ships and taken to the Ragefang for modification.

These individuals were not the strongest or the most skilled fighters among the candidates, but they were definitely the most aligned with the traditional tenets of the Fierce Angels—showing care and protection for others.

This tradition of selecting recruits didn't entirely stem from the Chapter's tenets. In fact, it was largely because the first Apothecaries discovered that psychological traits affected a person's compatibility with the Gene-seed of the Fierce Angels.

The transport ships carrying the new recruits ascended into the sky.

Xenos lowered his sniper rifle and looked up.

He calculated that if the modifications went smoothly, these twenty-two new recruits could complete their transformations before the war arrived and participate directly in the conflict.

Several days later.

A fleet emerging from the Maelstrom arrived in the Manros system.

Huron's envoy, Amanius, descended upon Manros and inquired about recent events at the Governor's mansion.

"You really swallowed Vengar's people."

Amanius said, sitting on the other side of the conference table.

Lu Jin understood from his tone that Huron already knew... it must have been that legendary Daemon advisor who told Huron.

"He has no objections. At this critical juncture, he only cares about whether his strategies can be executed." Amanius, representing Huron, dismissed Lu Jin's actions.

What he didn't say was that Huron found Lu Jin quite capable, fully proving his qualifications and ability to counterbalance Vengar in the future.

Huron didn't believe Lu Jin had suddenly become a genius in ruling, thinking Lu Jin was fundamentally similar to himself when he first entered the Maelstrom—relying on a tight-knit, albeit small, group with terrifying cohesion to influence and control the vast number of scattered individuals.

"But I must warn you," Amanius changed the subject, "do not kill Vengar."

Lu Jin nodded slowly.

"Originally, my engineering fleet would have established defenses after Vengar razed the surface of Manros, but since Manros has already been conquered by you... this is naturally better. We can establish defenses relying on the locals."

"The engineering fleet will establish defenses on the planet's surface and will also deploy a military production line on this planet to produce tanks."

"Resources will also be invested in Manros."

Amanius said slowly.

"What Huron wants is for Manros to be held."

Lu Jin's intention was also to hold Manros, so he had no objections. He merely pondered how much the planned military production line would aid in defense upon hearing about its deployment.

"In the prophecy, Manros will be attacked by two Chapters and hundreds of thousands of Astra Militarum after one solar cycle."

"The reason is that the warp routes leading to the interior of the Maelstrom are plagued by warp storms, except for Manros."

Amanius fiddled with his arms, and a strategic star map projected from a micro-device on his vambrace.

The entire southern edge of the Maelstrom was a war zone designated by the Red Corsairs.

The worlds within the war zone were all connected to the Red Corsairs. Their relationship with the Maelstrom was not like that of Cadia and the Eye of Terror, but rather a chaotic zone that brought profit, and the relationship of those trying to extract profit from the chaotic zone.

In short, most of the Imperial worlds within the war zones were formerly Manros.

Otherwise, Huron's objective of exhausting Imperial military strength outside the Maelstrom would be impossible to achieve; the planetary defense forces of each Imperial world would be enough trouble for him.

"Finally."

Amanius stood up.

"I hope you understand that the Fierce Angels are a part of the Red Corsairs. I know you may have special feelings for Manros, but ultimately, it is not a world within the Maelstrom that belongs to the Red Corsairs."

"If you don't want Manros to become a strategic focal point, then kneel and pray that the warp storms dissipate before the enemy arrives."

"If the storms engulfing other routes dissipate, then Manros will not be a strategic focal point."

Listening to these words, Lu Jin let out a cold laugh. "Are the Red Corsairs like the Space Marine Legions from ten thousand years ago? What makes us and other nominal Red Corsairs members believe we are part of the Red Corsairs?"

Amanius did not feel offended. Instead, he reflected, thinking he had spoken foolishly.

However, what he actually wanted to express was: Manros should be abandoned if necessary; don't cling to it stubbornly. He was well aware that from multiple perspectives, including military technology and engineering, it was impossible for Lu Jin to hold Manros, unless the warp storms dissipated and Manros lost its strategic importance.

As a Forge Master, a craftsman among Space Marines, Amanius always spoke indirectly.

After the Forge Master left, Lu Jin recalled the strategic star map he had just seen.

Manros, as a strategic focal point, should have warranted a massive deployment of troops and war resources from Huron.

But there was none.

Instead, on the "storm-free route" to which the Manros system belonged, the star system at the beginning of the route, named Klima, and the star system at the junction of the route and the Maelstrom, which could be considered behind Manros, had received a large number of troops and resources.

This was difficult not to interpret as Huron's deliberate action.

That night.

Lu Jin convened a war council.

The generals of the rebel forces controlling Manros, the Space Marines of the Fierce Angels except for Xenos, and those among Vengar's followers deemed to have strategic and tactical talent were all gathered in the Governor's Mansion's reception hall.

Only one matter was to be discussed: how to defend Manros.

"Amanius's men have already begun constructing fortresses on the surface and are building a defense hub using the hive city."

"However, this is a mistake born of conventional thinking. Our total troop strength on Manros is only four hundred. If several Chapters attack us simultaneously, those fortresses will be as flimsy as tofu."

The speaker was Vengar.

He sat in his wheelchair, discussing the war very seriously.

The renegade was a pragmatic person. He knew he could no longer leave Manros, so he might as well consider how to survive on it.

At the same time, he regretted not bringing more men to participate in the so-called "Armor Retrieval Operation."

That way, at least before the war, nearly a thousand people could have faced the Imperium together.

"The people of Manros can also be part of the defense!" a mortal general said.

"Everyone can just ignore what the mortals say," Vengar stated.

After a brief silence, Lu Jin asked the mortal, "Are there many ancient underground cities on Manros? I remember someone telling me before..."

"Yes, Lord of Retribution," the mortal saluted. "However, those are barracks. When the World Eaters controlled Manros ten thousand years ago, they built numerous barracks, vast in area, located thousands of meters underground, and capable of housing many people. When Manros suffered a geological disaster centuries ago, we took shelter in the ancient barracks to survive the disaster period."

Lu Jin nodded, pondered carefully, and then addressed the others. "I am not skilled in strategy and tactics. I will only propose a basic strategy: all the people of Manros will move from the hive city into the ancient barracks, along with all industrial production lines and resources... The tank production line Amanius gave us will also be placed in the barracks."

Kao immediately thought of what needed to be done based on this idea. "I will have Amanius build the fortresses above the underground barracks."

Lu Jin nodded, then looked at the others, signaling them to begin discussing strategy and tactics.

"I'm curious about one thing," Vengar said. "How do you ensure that people who aren't Fierce Angels, including myself, behave themselves and contribute during the war?"

"We make sure!"

A deep shout echoed into the audience hall.

A squad of Space Marines clad in crimson armor and adorned with numerous skull decorations marched into the audience hall.

These latecomers were Blood God followers who had previously boarded the Ragefang, drawn by Lu Jin's name.

Over two hundred of them.

"The squad captain, who was also the leader of the Blood God followers previously appointed by Lu Jin, said: 'Whoever doesn't contribute, we'll slaughter! If mortals don't contribute, we'll slaughter mortals. If your people don't contribute, we'll slaughter you!'"

"Huh?" Vengar blinked. "You really came here because of this guy's reputation?"

He had previously thought these people were the Unaligned Warriors sent by Huron to Lu Jin, that their reputation was just a name.

But it turned out...

"Aha!" the captain roared with laughter. "We are the Fierce Angels' MPs!"