Thanos didn't want to be a villain.

"Now, thanks to everyone's efforts, the empire has begun to get back on track. But even more difficult things will follow. We must put in more than 10,000 percent of our previous spirit and attitude to develop our 'Garden' together!"

At this banquet, Dio invited all the Eternal Gods. He fed them pep talks, then simultaneously showered them with both sweet words and harsh criticism. The group, feeling dizzy, promised to dedicate themselves to the cause until their dying breath, putting Dio at ease.

However, we'll have to wait and see what achievements they make in the future!

"After so many years of major reforms, our country and military have made great progress. Rest and recuperation are no longer our top priority. It's time to expand our territory and make those who benefited in the past pay the price!"

Dio put down his wine glass and looked at everyone present.

He was observing these people.

As expected, upon hearing Dio's words, some members of the Eternals froze, their expressions becoming extremely complex.

Dio watched them silently.

His ability to manage both the domestic and international affairs of the empire so efficiently in such a short time is all thanks to his incredible speed.

Just like Superman and the Flash's super speed, he could manage everything in an empire the size of half a galaxy and countless inhabited planets in just half a day.

Moreover, it allows the Astartes and Spartan plans to proceed smoothly.

The price he paid was that a traitor appeared among the Eternals he took in!

Those people enjoyed the high-paying jobs, excellent benefits and social security that Dio provided for them. They didn't work the 996 work schedule but rather 9 to 5 with weekends off, and their work was very easy.

Of course, this excludes those who voluntarily work overtime and high-intensity jobs.

However, some of them secretly sheltered the Cree intellectuals he wanted, provided them with excellent living conditions, and even sympathized with the Crees who were being hunted by Dio and slandered Dio, allowing those Crees to hide in their own territory and live a life of luxury.

You must know that the Eternals and the Kree have a blood feud!

Dio had a deep hatred for traitors. Unless you were a spy deep behind enemy lines, he would eliminate any traitor, no matter the reason.

"I've received information that a group of Kree are openly living within the Empire. You have three days to find them and hand them over to the Inquisition, or I will send the Inquisitor and the Royal Guard to take action!"

Dio waved his hand, and two warriors in full armor immediately stepped out from the side, knelt on one knee with their weapons in hand, and clenched their fists to strike their hearts.

Upon seeing this, everyone was filled with fear and trepidation.

They were aware of the so-called Astartes Project, which was divided into several legions. One of them was the Royal Guard, who served as the guardians of the Temple Star, the headquarters planet of Dio. They wore golden armor made of a mixture of materials, which Dio had accidentally refined and whose hardness was no less than that of Adamantium. Their individual equipment included guard lances that could fire energy bullets or physical explosives, explosive guns, thermoelectric guns, a high-frequency frequency knife, or a weapon that could fire pulse energy.

And the Ultramarines Chapter and the Imperial Fist Chapter, who follow Hela in her battles, are respectively dressed in blue and yellow armor and equipped with various advanced spaceships, airships, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles and dreadnoughts.

Each soldier would be equipped with a firearm, shield, longsword, chainsaw sword, dagger, or long-handled warhammer.

Different styles and functions are equipped with different thick armor and weapons.

Then there are the Grey Knights, a special forces unit within Astartes. The Grey Knights are selected from the most elite soldiers of each chapter, and their armor is the latest and most advanced Grey Knight armor developed by Dio. The material of the armor is highly classified, but its hardness is no less than that of the Imperial Guard's armor, and it also has a field generator inside that can generate a field shield.

These soldiers were equipped with weapons that had disintegration fields or pulse generators, while the firearms were mounted on their forearms.

It is said that each Grey Knight can even manipulate energy to fly and engage in various magical battles.

Finally, there is the presiding judge.

In fact, each battle group has one or more presiding judges, who exist in the form of small groups, and their status is equivalent to that of the battle group's civilian staff and political commissar.

But if you underestimate the presiding judge, you're really playing with your own life.

Their selection process involves choosing those who fail the Grey Knight selection. If they enter the Inquisition, they will receive special training and ideological education no less rigorous than that of the Grey Knights, and then be given custom-made armor.

Moreover, every warrior of Astartes is over 2.5 meters tall, especially the Royal Guard, whose height without armor can even reach 3 meters!

The chief judge that Dio mentioned was actually the chief judge of the Praetorian Guard. Although his position was civilian, he was directly under Dio and almost exclusively obeyed his orders.

Not only was he extremely loyal to Dio, but even though he held a civilian position, he was still very powerful.

The group shuddered, grumbling inwardly about who had leaked the information, but fortunately Dio had given them a time limit, so they went back and handed over the Cree people.

Don't assume that Dio wouldn't harm his own kind. On the contrary, if an Eternal commits a crime, the punishment he receives is usually several times more severe than before!

Moreover, the genetic modifications Dio made to these Astartes are unknown to outsiders. In addition to possessing physical strength comparable to that of the Asgardians and some of the Eternals, they have also gained the ability to manipulate energy.

As it stands, these soldiers are not particularly strong individually, mainly because they are in the early stages and do not yet have many large-scale battles to demonstrate their power. However, it is certain that their direct combat strength is the strongest among all of Dio's legions!

Besides, although they have their own private army, even the vanguard of a frontal charge might not be able to handle these private soldiers, let alone Astartes!

Moreover, all of the above can be achieved without the assistance of other equipment, especially large armored forces in the air and on the ground.

Not to mention that Dio used many planets to fully industrialize as a backup for his empire, resulting in a constant stream of cutting-edge technologies.

After the banquet, Dio spent the next period of time purging traitors within the empire, for there were always those who harbored illusions.

On a colonized, inhabited planet located near the edge of the empire.

"Have the Astartes and Spartan soldiers prepare to land. We'll parachute directly onto the ground!" A commander, his expression serious, gave orders as he looked at the battle situation before him.

"How did these guys manage to get the Kree to deploy firepower and defenses on the planet to this extent?!" a Spartan soldier exclaimed.

"The devil knows!"

"Stop yelling, do a final check of the equipment, then quickly get into the landing craft and prepare for the landing operation!"

"Where are those priests?!"

"Apart from our priests, the others are all internal fleet members casting spells across different areas and won't be going down with us!"

"Priest" is a unique title used within the Astartes to refer to Astartes members who possess magical abilities; it is not an official designation.

Moreover, this planet is currently shrouded in magic, and no magician can open a door to the planet's interior in the short term.

The Astartes threw a dawdling Spartan soldier into the airship, turned around, entered the cone-shaped landing bay, secured himself, and then fell like dumplings into a pot.

Airships were used by Spartan soldiers for amphibious landings, and Astartes also had them, but compared to Spartan soldiers, Astartes' bodies were better able to withstand the immense pressure of falling directly from space onto the planet's surface.

As soon as they left, the troop transport ship carrying the soldiers was simultaneously locked on and targeted by ground fire. The protective shield was instantly breached, and the troop transport ship was destroyed in less than a second.