Visiting the Fleet and "Little Gifts"

On one hand, the wills of the other Four Gods had fallen into a deep slumber, and the demons under their command did not dare to provoke the Emperor, which drastically reduced the energy the Emperor had to expend.

On the other hand, it was because the Emperor was now essentially powerful but feeble in actual strength, unable to manage places too far away. The Maelstrom region was just right for Him to exert His influence, allowing Him to concentrate His energy solely on this local patch of territory.

Moreover, there were nearly a hundred bonafide God-Chosen here, providing Him with realistic fulcrums to exert His might.

These overlapping reasons allowed the Astropaths to enjoy unprecedented treatment.

The souls of the three choirs stood dumbfounded and looked at each other within the Emperor's domain, unable to speak for a moment.

Had it not been for the familiar feeling of the God-Emperor's gaze, coupled with watching the surrounding demons wail and run away like ghosts, they would have all thought they had been cursed.

However, while the Astropaths of the choir dared not speak, Amos had no such reservations.

He had just been blessed by the Emperor, and also believed that Huron was the one chosen by the Emperor, so was this current situation really strange?

Don't ask; asking meant the mighty power of the Emperor.

He looked at the members of the other two choirs: "You must be the choirs of the Lamenters and Mantis Warriors Chapters, right? I am the Chief Librarian of the Astral Claws. We wish to travel to your Chapter's garrison to discuss major matters, and we hope to obtain permission to visit."

This was also the reason why Huron needed to contact the two Chapters first.

No matter how it was glossed over, the separatist nature of the Space Marine Chapters could not be washed away. Entering the active zones of other Chapters rashly would be seen as disrespect or even an insult.

Should they encounter some hot-tempered Chapters, starting a fight or even fighting to the death was entirely possible.

The administrators of the other two choirs looked at each other: "Understood, but we need to convey the message to the Chapters before we can decide."

"Very well," Amos suggested, "you can awaken a few Astropaths and have the Chapters' Librarians connect directly to the astropathic network to discuss this."

The two administrators accepted this proposal, and the souls of some choir members vanished from the astropathic network, just like logging off.

After a while, several Librarians from each of the two choirs appeared within the astropathic network.

The Lamenters were led by Chief Librarian Patrick, while the Mantis Warriors were represented by Chief Librarian Ahaz Razar.

Upon entering the astropathic network, they marveled at this face-to-face, real-time astropathic communication method.

Amos greeted them: "Long time no see, Brother Patrick, Brother Ahaz."

As members of the Maelstrom Wardens, they had already fought side by side several times.

Patrick was somewhat amazed: "Incredible, Brother Amos, to think you guys can actually pull off something like this."

Amos shook his head: "This is the mighty power of the Emperor, it has nothing to do with me. I am merely a fulcrum for the Emperor to exercise His might."

Ahaz, however, was more interested in another aspect: "Brother Amos, how long can this method last? Can it be maintained stably? If so, our collaborative combat efficiency in the future will be unimaginably high."

Such real-time, stable communication spanning hundreds of light-years, if it could be maintained long-term, would yield immeasurable benefits.

"This is the mighty power of the Emperor, not something the likes of us can fathom."

"Very well." Ahaz felt a tinge of regret: "Then, Brother Amos, what do you want by contacting us?"

Amos turned serious: "Chapter Master Huron hopes to form a Raider Fleet with you to strike human pirate forces in the Maelstrom region, capture their warships, and strengthen our fleet's power."

Patrick was somewhat puzzled: "Huron? Lufgt Huron? Isn't he the Third Captain? Did Loretz abdicate and yield the position?"

Amos looked somewhat sorrowful: "Chapter Master Loretz fell at the hands of an Ork Warlord. It was Brother Patrick—cough—Brother Huron who led us to break out of the encirclement, so we elected Huron as Chapter Master."

"Condolences." Patrick and Ahaz felt Amos's sorrow as if it were their own: "But we need to discuss this matter with the Chapter higher-ups."

"No problem," Amos naturally wouldn't mind such a thing: "In fact, we plan to dispatch a fleet each, carrying gifts to your garrison to discuss this. This communication was primarily to inform you and obtain consent to avoid misunderstandings."

"That is acceptable. We welcome the arrival of the Astral Claws Battle-Brothers." The two of them could make executive decisions on this matter, so they settled it directly.

As for the gifts, according to Amos, since they had just suffered a defeat, they were presumably just a few master-crafted weapons.

However, Ahaz was somewhat expectant; even the leg of a mosquito was meat. The Mantis Warriors were so poor that they had to ration their bolter shells, so having a few master-crafted weapons wasn't bad either.

After the discussions concluded, the various parties chatted a bit more about their recent situations before reluctantly leaving the Astropathic network.

There was no help for it; this method of communication was simply too alluring, and everyone was reluctant to leave.

Not to mention that being situated within the divine realm of the Emperor was a supreme honor.

Upon exiting the choir ritual, Amos found Huron: "I have successfully fulfilled the mission, Chapter Master. I have already discussed with Brother Patrick and Brother Ahaz, and we can dispatch warships to their operational sectors."

"Very well. You go ahead and continue interrogating those Pure Ones. Remember not to use violent punishments or similar methods, otherwise, making those approved by the Emperor hostile to us would be our shame."

"Understood." Amos left the astropathic chamber with the Librarians.

Huron, meanwhile, began arranging the warships and gifts for the visit.

The warships naturally consisted of one Strike Cruiser accompanied by two Gladius-class Frigates to avoid being intercepted halfway by Chaos or Xenos.

As for the gifts, they prepared 300 sets of basic equipment combinations for each of the two Chapters—each containing Mk7 Aquila Power Armour, a chainsword, and a bolter—along with 10 Phobos-pattern Land Raiders and a vast amount of ammunition.

Although it seemed like a lot, apart from the power armour and Land Raiders, the other items were basic equipment that hive cities could already mass-produce on their own, holding little monetary value.

Not to mention that the chainswords and bolters confiscated from various noble households also amounted to a significant number.

Giving away so many resources was, on one hand, because Huron had already tacitly claimed both Chapters as part of his own domain, and on the other hand, because he feared that some unexpected accident might cause the two Chapters to perish.

The Lamenters were somewhat better off; although unlucky, they possessed incredible tenacity.

However, for a Chapter like the Mantis Warriors, which was so poor that everyone had to piece together mismatched suits of armour, if they were to perish due to a lack of supplies, Huron would have nowhere to cry.

Putting aside the political power represented by an Astartes Chapter, he also intended to establish ties with the White Scars through the Mantis Warriors.

As for the Lamenters, that unlucky wretch was discriminated against by all Imperial forces, even including successor Chapters of the Blood Angels lineage.

To prevent the Lamenters from harboring resentment due to his assistance to the Mantis Warriors, he simply sent a basic supply package to the Lamenters as well. After all, these few pieces of equipment were insignificant to the current Chapter.

Since he intended to act as the big boss, he had to keep the scales even. In particular, Astartes were notoriously stubborn; it wouldn't be funny if trying to save a little penny ended up ruining the big picture.

This was the experience he had gained from playing gacha games for many years.