Expedition! The Planet Under Tau Empire Conquest, Eastern Fringe

"I understand."

"Governor."

Marshal Koro requested instructions from Cisrain behind him.

"Bzzzzzz."

"Bzzzzzz."

The long-absent sound echoed in his mind.

For a period in the past, this sound had been like a daily alarm, urging him on.

Cisrain was almost getting used to it.

He hadn't even been back to rest for a few days.

The Emperor was already pushing the schedule again.

I know you're in a hurry, but hold your horses. Being anxious won't help; even livestock need time to be ready for the market.

You have to give me some time!

This time, taking on the Tau Empire, he didn't harbor any illusions that the Emperor could provide much combat support.

After all, the borders of the Imperium were too vast and the enemies too numerous. Every important battlefield required the Emperor's intervention; even if the legions of the Golden Age were brought back, it might not be enough.

For Cisrain, as long as Chaos, the Imperium, and other battered factions didn't sneak attack his home base while he was busy dealing with other powers, that was enough.

He hoped the Emperor's soldiers would be capable.

Now, all resources from Utopia had been hitched to the carriage of the Great Expedition.

They could no longer stop.

As for his side, there was no need to overthink it; just do it.

If the sky fell on the Chaos side, the Emperor was there to hold it up.

On his own side, he had to resolve every obstacle in the path of his expansion with higher efficiency to rapidly achieve the goal of growing his influence.

Even if this obstacle hadn't provoked him.

Even if the enemy had no intention of being his foe.

He still had to do it.

The radiance of Gamma World had to radiate to every corner of this universe.

His personal will had to transcend all good and evil, right and wrong.

The survival of the human race was always the primary imperative.

Humans had to be the hegemons leading the galaxy.

And the universe had to be led by him through human civilization.

This was the will of Gamma World.

It was also his personal will.

To this end.

Even if it meant using necessary means at necessary times.

To subvert everything that currently existed in the universe.

'We are human.'

'We are the subjects.'

'We know all.'

'We rule all.'

'All great achievements are forged through sacrifice.'

'They need not understand; they must obey.'

'Humanity above all!'

[Event Completed: Salamander Gene-modification Technology (Upgradable)]

[Dark Matter Engine Research: 80% Complete]

[Crisis Progress: 18.9%]

By the time of the expedition, he should be able to fully complete the Crisis Ascension and enter the second stage.

The third stage of the crisis would completely restore the glory of the human Golden Age.

And the fourth stage.

Of course, the prerequisite for all this was capturing the Forge World left behind from the Golden Age.

Regardless of how many people the opponent had or the scale of the war this time.

Cisrain had only one requirement.

"Take it, the Forge World!!!"

"Yes, Governor!"

"Yes, Governor!"

[Salamander Gene-seed Project, mission initiating]

The horn of the expedition sounded across the sky of Gamma World.

The pointer on Utopia in Gamma World pointed toward the two dazzling stars in the sky.

Utopia, the forged foundry, roared with the sound of steel and fire colliding.

The engines of the First Fleet's main battleships spewed plasma flames capable of "burning through" the universe.

This was the first true all-out Great Expedition of Gamma World, and it was an event worthy of being recorded in the long river of history.

Gamma World brought out all its resources from the last decade, mobilizing nearly ten million combat soldiers, logistics personnel, special forces, millions of laborers, assets donated by hundreds of millions of subjects, thousands of military industrial enterprises, tens of thousands of private enterprises, contributing ten mining ships, three exploration ships, one hundred aerial fighters, ten billion bullets, and tens of millions of shells and torpedoes.

Three chief executives, dozens of departments, millions of documents, and hundreds of millions of resource allocations.

Perhaps for a powerful faction, this scale was nothing.

But this was the entire foundation that Gamma World could scrape together from top to bottom.

"Expedition!"

"Expedition!!"

"Expedition!!!"

Above Gamma World.

A massive port held warships that hadn't finished construction, yet they were still dragged out to serve as transport ships. The machinery of the space station filled in module after module, still piling on materials right before launch.

[Force field shield detection, complete]

[Propulsion system detection, complete]

[Turrets...]

Their resources were limited.

Every usable military, civilian, and commercial ship and fleet was drafted into the ranks.

A semi-finished destroyer, ten 300-meter mining ships, three exploration ships, one research ship, followed by a dozen civilian merchant ships.

Ozrax.

A research ship was departing the port in the sky.

"Master Brown, the data inside the Tau Empire's battlesuits and drones has been completely cracked by our master key. All data is being overwritten and wiped. Once we overwrite the data to the enemy's battleship control centers, we can temporarily paralyze their command centers."

"Once the overwriting is complete, transmit the data to the Governor."

"Master Brown, the detectors have discovered a sudden increase in sub-energy blocks in certain areas of Ozrax."

"Understood. Have the biological research lab study it, and ensure every psionic detector is functioning properly. We must spare no cost to ensure the smooth progress of this expedition."

Tangle.

People on the ground looked up at the sky, watching the drop pods constantly whistling past, being recovered by battle barges and drones.

Even those severely damaged were incorporated into the usable pool as long as they still functioned.

The Tau Empire battleship in the sky was urgently controlled and incorporated into the fleet before it had even finished repairs.

On this planet, only the steel furnaces continued to tear through the ore veins. The tunnel boring machines sounded like giant worms swallowing boulders, and the billowing thick smoke began to dye the entire sky into ash.

Beyond the two fortress worlds.

The home world of the Tau Empire.

"Our intelligent systems have discovered technology left behind from the ancient era, seeing the weapon manufacturing templates from the most glorious period of the 'Human Empire'."

"Oh?"

The various races of the Tau Empire performed their own duties, each with a different role.

The Fire Caste of the Tau Empire, being the most physically powerful and warlike, became the absolute combat force of the Tau Empire; all wars involved the Fire Warriors.

The Water Caste was skilled in diplomacy and served as the civil officials of the Tau Empire. The Earth Caste possessed innovative wisdom and mastered technology. The Air Caste piloted airships and battleships, while the Ethereals were the absolute executive managers of the Tau Empire, possessing long lifespans and psionic powers.

In the conflict with the Human Empire.

They had thwarted the proud Human Empire, but they had also learned of the Human Empire, a once-glorious existence. Even the "Forge Worlds" that humans possessed now were few and far between. Noah King, the commander of the Eastern Fringe, could not give up the "Forge World" left in their Tau Empire territory.

"Take it!"