I Discovered a Symbol

Resources were naturally of paramount importance. Even the Orks, who relied on the Power of Belief to throw themselves into massive construction projects, would fight viciously over a few tons of scrap iron.

The overseers of the forge temples responsible for different production lines argued fiercely in meetings for a larger share of resources. They used all manner of data to prove that their organizations and factories fully deserved such abundant allocations.

Competition for resources to meet production needs was nothing much. More terrifying was the competition for resources driven by the research needs of the Sages.

Every Sage of the Adeptus Mechanicus possessed their own unique technological arcana. Researching those technologies was the foundation of their standing within the organization. Over the long course of research and advancement, a large private army would gradually gather beneath each Sage, centered around them.

These private armies had highly complex compositions. They included the Sage's apprentices, who were not yet capable of standing on their own, as well as various automata, slave laborers, and mercenary companies acquired during explorations of the dark Milky Way. As the Sage's private property, the maintenance and supplies for these things were not recorded in the ledgers of the Imperium Administratum or the Martian Cult.

Administratum, Martian Cult: Sage, I see you do not even have a slave laborer by your side. How frugal of you.

A certain Sage smiled innocently, while who knew how many automata and STC fragments were hidden in the cellar of his private laboratory.

The weapons testing grounds built beside the factories were prepared for forge temples and Sages with resource disputes. Since everyone wanted more resources, they could send out their supporters to have a proper fight within the rules.

After a small-scale battle ended, the victor could gain a larger