Warhammer: Filial Piety Makes Power

Chapter 57 The Second Empire, Initiated!
Angustorm, an obscure foundry world, lacks the strength of the Riza foundry world and the high-value technology of the Yellow Springs VIII, and can only produce some low-tech gadgets.

But just like how a pig can soar to the sky when the wind blows, Zeratul Tartarus, the Great Sage of Angstrom, has nothing else to offer but his only advantage: cowardice!
Don't think that being a coward is a derogatory term. In the community of motor enthusiasts, being a coward means being reliable and down-to-earth, which is already ahead of the vast majority of motor enthusiasts.

Because of his cowardice, Zeratul did not act recklessly like other great sages. Instead, he adopted a compromising attitude towards technology, never pursuing the ultimate, but emphasizing that as long as it works, it is fine.

As a result of this personality, Zeratul is not well-known among the great sages, has no groundbreaking research projects, and even his title as a great sage was earned through seniority. He is a complete nobody, and no one might care if he were to become one someday.

After all, those who can become great sages are all true geniuses, and they have no respect for someone who can only assist others in their research and eventually rises by leeching experience.

But precisely because no one cared about him, Zeratul acted decisively upon learning that Tranquility was the homeworld of Atlas. He immediately found the Second Legion and swore allegiance to Angustrom.

Since Mordred had just returned to the Legion at that time, and his only Archsage was still penniless, when he met Zeratul, it was like two peas in a pod, they hit it off immediately.

From then on, the great sage Zeratul became Mordred's "dipping sauce," doing nothing but processing black market goods for Atlas throughout the entire Forge world.

Today, Lemanrus, the genetic prototype of the Space Wolf, has set foot on the land of Angustorm.

Looking at the foundry, which was only sporadically overseen by a few workers and whose production was entirely automated, Mordred patted Zeratul on the shoulder with a smug look on his face and boasted to Russ:
“See? Gold shines wherever it is placed. Zeratul was just a lowly henchman on Mars, but here, the Great Sage is a master craftsman.”

"It's such a waste to throw away these unwanted and abandoned military equipment. With just a few minor changes, they can be completely transformed. Isn't that great?"

Not to mention that Angus's production efficiency is several times that of other comparable casting worlds. As long as the expedition continues to be victorious, my resource chain will not be interrupted, and I will be able to produce a continuous stream of supplies.

This, in turn, will drive a peaceful economy, freeing everyone from the misery of hunger and allowing me to allocate substantial resources to people's livelihoods, healthcare, and even military development.

It would be a lie for the Wolf King to say he wasn't tempted, but Mordred's so-called "slight change" was clearly the use of Abomination Intelligence, which completely violated the Empire's truth and was playing with fire!

"I'll take you to a place, and you'll understand after you see it."

After bidding farewell to the Great Sage, Mordred dragged Ruth onto the elevator and headed straight for the bottom floor. The sights along the way made the Wolf King's scalp tingle. There were hardly any people in the entire foundry; it was all machines in motion.

From small explosive grenades to large tanks and fighter jets, the production speed is faster than making dumplings. Lemanrus even saw a strange mech that was neither like the Dreadnought nor the Knight being tested by Atlas.

As the elevator doors opened, the Wolf King could no longer hold back:
"Aren't you afraid that Father will eliminate you? Then it won't be the Space Wolves coming, but the First Legion. Before anything happens, you'd better remove these things, and I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

Ruth really didn't want to see her brother make a mistake, even at the cost of crossing her bottom line, but Mordred didn't care about that; he believed he had the power to control things.

"Don't try to intimidate me with Old Man Huang. I'm not some reckless fool. I know better than anyone the dangers of AI. But the past is the past, and the present is the present. Just you wait and see."

As soon as Mordred finished speaking, a giant device wrapped in countless cables came into view, and on top of this main unit stood a half-female body made of metal and flesh.

Through the metal armor, Ruth could even feel the intense craving within the machine, a craving to devour his soul, especially that strange feeling he could feel in all his brothers.

"Mother, BT001 unit salutes you, hey ha! The glory of Atlas will live on forever!"

"Mordred, you actually created a Primarch that incorporates Abomination Intelligence? Are you insane?"

"I'm not crazy at all!" Mordred exclaimed, putting his arm around his best friend's shoulder and pointing at the creation before him in awe.
"Ruth, from the first moment I saw you, I knew you were a clever lad, completely contrary to your savagery, and you've also delved deeply into the Sea of ​​Souls. Whether you call it the Sea of ​​Souls, the Warp, or some other name like the High Heavens, I'll ask you one question: have you ever seen the filth hidden beneath the waves?"

Ruth nodded. Unlike the other legions, the Space Wolves' homeworld was alive, with the Fenris Star Soul protecting the Storm Priests, allowing them to use the power from the warp without being corrupted.

As the leader of the Legion, Rusby knew exactly what power the Storm Priests, or psionicists, were using, and he had even caught a glimpse of what was hidden behind the scenes.

"But what does this have to do with the ghostly thing in front of me?"

“I am not a thing. Please call me by my name BT001, or you can call me Icarus.”

Icarus's rebuttal made the Wolf King frown. His genetic instincts made him extremely disgusted with artificial intelligence, which was the underlying code that the Emperor had written into the Primarch's basic logic.

"It can even talk!"

"Tsk!" Mordred slapped him across the face. What do you mean, "can still talk"? Are you looking down on my skills?

"Let me tell you, Icarus's true form is a logical core preserved from the Dark Ages. It's completely different from the abomination intelligence you're thinking of. I even suspect it's more reliable than one of our brothers, after all, she's not the one-eyed sunburnt Oglin."

She is a new generation product after the Iron Man rebellion, and the so-called autonomous emotional module has long been castrated. She is as stable as can be, completely different from those so-called Iron Men. I even doubt that she has the qualifications to become a Star Soul.

Just like I asked you earlier, Icarus's main body was entirely cultivated from my flesh and blood tissue, which almost killed me. It has a natural resistance to those filth, which I have verified through repeated experiments.

For this, I used up all the Legion's fel crystals. Do you know how many Palu that burned? Her presence in the warp is like finding a lump of 'Oligo' on your bed.

Another new term puzzled Russ. Even though he didn't know what this so-called evil crystal was, he could guess that it was definitely not a good thing.

"In short, you just need to know that Icarus would never betray me. She is a completely controllable ultimate being capable of orchestrating the operation of a forged world, and even I cannot replicate her."

After saying that, Mordred took out two mushrooms and handed one to Ruth. As the cool lighter emitted a flame, two plumes of smoke suddenly rose up.

Ruth believed him, but not entirely, and asked a fatal question:
"You say she would never betray you, but would she betray humanity?"

"Isn't that obvious? I'm not human, so don't worry about me. The reason I brought you here is to discuss something. Just tell me if you want to eat your fill of Space Wolf supplies!"

"Yes, I dream about it! Relying entirely on those useless people in the Ministry of Military Affairs for resource allocation is just too much of a rip-off. Who knows, one day..."

Russ didn't say the second half of his sentence. It's so convenient to communicate with smart people. Mordred immediately assured Fenris that he would help them establish an industrial system. He didn't dare to say anything big, but at least the knights and the like could be completely self-sufficient, and he would give them priority in resource allocation.

Such generous treatment tempted the wolf king, who gestured to his good brother to quickly state his terms, saying that all he was offering were benefits without any conditions, making it seem like a lie.

Without a word, Mordred took Ruth straight to the Abomination. After many twists and turns, they arrived at a secret room where the legion banner of Atlas was prominently displayed on the wall.

"Russ, let's form a small group! I've already thought of a name, what do you think of Second Empire?"

(End of this chapter)