Liam continued listening to the Chaplain's sermon: Book of Genesis and Mission, Book of Virtues, Book of Laws, Book of Wisdom, Collection of Prayers and Manifestos...
The contents of each section were not particularly extensive. Most used a little over a hundred words to tell a short story, then admonished people on how they ought to behave. There was also quite a bit of legal knowledge woven into the sermons.
After the sermon ended, the Chaplain set down the scripture and had the clergy at the back of the hall wheel out the Compressed Starch Blocks they had prepared in advance.
"Thank you all for listening today. The Emperor will not let his people go hungry. Please line up now. Each person may receive one Compressed Starch Block."
Liam: "?"
Th-This... using food to win people over? Wasn't that a desecration of the Emperor?
In a daze, Liam followed the queue forward and received a Starch Cube from the Chaplain.
"May the Emperor bless you, child."
"Praise the Emperor."
Liam moved to a chair at the side and sat down, waiting for the Chaplain to finish his work.
Before long, most of the hundred or so people in the sermon hall had left. Only a few remained, speaking to or praying before the Emperor's statue on the dais.
Once the Chaplain was free, Liam approached him. "Chaplain, where are the scriptures from your sermon sold? I'd like to buy a copy."
The Chaplain sized him up. "Are you a new believer?"
Liam nodded.
The Chaplain entered the room behind the sermon hall and soon returned with a copy of Gospel of Humanity, which he handed to Liam. "These are distributed free of charge."
Liam accepted the scripture. "Thank you. My name is Liam, and I'm the deputy supervisor of the Carter District Engineering Team. If you need anything, come find me. I'll do my best to help."
The Chaplain raised his brows. "Oh? Then we're colleagues. I'm James, the chief Chaplain of the Austr District in Carter District. I manage the religious affairs of this street."
Liam was momentarily dumbfounded. "Uh, James, won't talking like that desecrate the Emperor?"
James shook his head. "The Emperor isn't that petty. He's human, just like us. Working hard and treating the people around you well—that's the right path. Just paying lip service is useless."
Remembering the absurd questions from the emergency training meeting, he sincerely felt Liam was making a fuss over nothing.
Even Chapter Master Huron, a Living Saint so favored by the Emperor, could ask such absurd questions and still offer solutions. What was this little matter? Nothing at all.
Not knowing how to respond, Liam used work as an excuse to flee. "Well, I need to get back to work. See you around."
James said, "See you around. Remember to read the 'Ten Commandments' chapter in the scripture. It covers the Badab Codex's provisions on severe crackdowns. Don't break the law without even realizing it."
Liam waved and fled in disarray.
What kind of blasphemous nonsense was that? James dared to say it, but Liam did not even dare listen.
On his way home, Liam looked at the golden scripture in his hands and thought about James's words. For some reason, a feeling of dissatisfaction rose within him.
Too irreverent. Too unprofessional. How could he spread the Emperor's gospel with a mouth full of nonsense? I'd be better off doing it myself.
At the same time, Liam seemed to hear someone by his ear agreeing with him and offering several feasible suggestions.
He nodded repeatedly. "That's right. I'll start with the office and the Engineering Team. First, I'll preach in secret. Then I'll show that fake-believing Chaplain what a real Chaplain is."
No sooner said than done. His coworkers in the office basically obeyed his every command. As deputy supervisor, his words carried even more weight than the supervisor's. They were the perfect starting point for his preaching.
Filled with faith in the Emperor and anger toward that false Chaplain, Liam decided to personally spread the Emperor's true gospel!
Inside the Astral Claws Chapter Master's office, Huron, having just finished a meeting, opened the System Panel.
Political Points: 329 National Focus Slot: New Homeland (359/360) Decision: Not expanded Civilian Factories: 18 Military Factories: 16 Shipyards: 5
After gaining direct control over Palatos Hive, the number of factories had increased noticeably.
In particular, after confiscating the nobles' property and acquiring large quantities of various Bolters, Chainswords, and production lines, basic weaponry no longer needed to take up Military Factory capacity.
Of the sixteen Military Factories, ten produced Cataphractii Terminator armor at a rate of one set per day; two produced Plasma Guns at four per day; two produced power swords at one per day; and two produced Phobos-pattern Land Raiders at one per day.
Honestly, the productivity of Military Factories was downright absurd. With these sixteen alone, he could arm an entire Chapter to the teeth in a year.
The increased number of Shipyards had greatly accelerated the Chapter fleet's voidside repair progress. Combined with taking direct control of the Starport and Shipyard above Palatos, real-world repair progress had accelerated considerably as well.
All six Gladius-class Frigates had reached operational status. Of the four Strike Cruisers, two could be deployed. In addition, one Battle Barge was ready for service.
This level of fleet strength would naturally be insignificant in a place like Cadia, but in the Maelstrom, where the weak squabbled among themselves, it was practically unbeatable.
That gave Huron the confidence to carry out his raiding plan.
Still, he intended to drag both the Lamenters and the Mantis Warriors aboard and get them involved. On one hand, it was for security: as long as each Chapter contributed one Strike Cruiser and a few Frigates, the raiding fleet could still escape even if it encountered a large warband.
On the other hand, it was to win hearts and earn Political Points.
The Chapter was wealthy now, but doing business in the Maelstrom was troublesome. Rather than that, he might as well use the resources to win over the two Chapters.
Besides, Huron had not forgotten about the Maelstrom Wardens faction.
Based on Huron's recent exploration, the system's Political Point gains depended on factors such as the scale of direct control, territorial development, strength of control, external influence, and faction influence. Put simply, the more territory he controlled, the firmer that control was, and the greater his influence, the more Political Points he gained.
There was no need to explain the uses of Political Points. They were practically all-purpose, so Huron needed to find ways to expand his influence. And the best way to do that was naturally to fight side by side.
Unfortunately, the Warp in the Maelstrom was extremely violent and chaotic. The Chapter's Astropaths and those on Badab Primus had worked for nearly a year without managing to contact the Lamenters or the Mantis Warriors. It was simply maddening.
But Huron was not in much of a hurry. After all, time was on his side.
And now, the National Policy he had waited a year for was about to be completed. Huron was somewhat impatient to see what new Decisions would become available.
"National Policy New Homeland (360/360) has been completed. You have gained the five-year 'Build Homeland' bonus, increasing Civilian Factory efficiency by 10%. Related construction and Coreization Decisions have been unlocked. Please choose independently."
Before you continue