The Bizarre Adventures of the Oil Man, but Starting with Warhammer 32K

Sevatar's figure had already half merged into the shadows. "I prefer to stay in the dark."

His voice disappeared into the darkness along with his figure, leaving only his last words:

"This is where the Night Lords belong."

Li Ang shrugged and decided to forgive the quirks of these capable people.

He and Otani were the only ones left in the lab. Otani looked at Leon hesitantly: "What do we do now...?"

"I'll take you to the navigation room."

Leon picked her up and felt a cold gaze piercing him from the shadows. He deliberately imitated Sevatar's actions and ruffled the little girl's hair: "Don't be nervous, from now on, this will be your new home."

-

Leon did not mention to the others on the ship what he had communicated with Sevatar.

As he personally taught Otani how to integrate into life on the ship, someone who had been lurking on the ship seemed to become quite depressed. He became more and more ruthless in his fight with the Sharokin who was chasing him.

The unfortunate Crow of Death now has to ring the death knell for itself every day, and has to lie down in Leon's laboratory every few days.

However, thanks to this, his control over the two swords has gradually become more proficient. Now, when he dances with the two swords, there is a faint shadow flowing over him.

Leon was really curious about what the Warhammer-style demon transformation would look like. It was a shame that even after Sevatar had trained Sharokin to this point, Sharokin still hadn't truly awakened. This made Leon feel like it wasn't just a matter of proficiency; perhaps some other triggering factor was needed.

At least I won’t be able to see it for a while.

During this time, Otani quickly integrated into the life on the ship, and everyone on the warship took good care of the little girl.

And just as Sevatar said, Otani, who was once trained as the chief successor on the Indomitable Truth, has received complete training. There is no more outstanding navigator than her in the entire fleet.

With her help, the fleet, which had previously relied solely on observation equipment, moved more smoothly. Although they were delayed by the incident with the Sisyphus, they arrived in Maximus earlier than expected.

——This also means that Leon and Occam will separate earlier.

"Honestly, I'd feel really pressured if you asked me to take someone like this away. Would you really not consider giving him a separate ship?"

"Wouldn't it be enough to squeeze in? All they ask for is an extra ship that can navigate the warp. The Sage Family doesn't even have any extra food."

Occam glanced at Sevatar, who was standing beside him with his arms folded, and sighed deeply.

The arrival of a big boss in his team made him feel pressured. For someone who needs freedom of action, he really doesn't like being burdened by fame.

Malik was very happy, but this was what Ockham was worried about.

By the time Sevatar separated from them, his gang, which already had only a few people, would probably be short of one more person.

Considering that they might not be able to defeat Sevatar together, he chose to compromise for the time being.

Occam couldn't get another ship from the stingy Leon, but he didn't mind chatting with Leon again.

"You have a Raven Guard, and you've found an Iron Father from the Heresy era. What are your plans?"

"Is this important?"

Li Ang asked curiously.

"At least you should reveal what you can. This will also help me to anticipate my next plan."

"Can you tell me?"

Li Ang thought for a moment: "Does the self-reliance of the Iron Hand count?"

Chapter 244 Return to Maxim.

What is the Iron Hand of Self-Reliance?

Even Alpha couldn't keep up with Leon's thinking. Seeing the confusion on Occam's face, Leon could only explain:

"Cooper and the others never truly escaped from the Iron Hands."

Like the Sons of Medusa, the Chapter formed out of exile was never legally established, and they still belonged to the Iron Hands.

If the exiled company were able to continue on its own, this division would eventually lead to an estranged relationship between the Raven Guard and the Carcharodon.

The parent group does not care about them, and the sub-groups formed by exile are responsible for their own profits and losses. They do not need the help of the parent group and will not respond to the call of the parent group.

Cooper hadn't been with the Iron Hands for long, and the relationship hadn't yet evolved into that subtle one. Although they had transformed into Pilots, they could still call themselves the "Iron Hands" if they wanted to.

Under normal circumstances, this is nothing. After all, a group of people whose decision-makers are not even iron hands can't cause any trouble outside.

But the situation is different now. Cooper and the others followed Leon, and this title could in turn become a foreshadowing for Leon to threaten the Iron Hands group.

"An Iron Captain isn't enough, what about the Iron Father from the Great Crusade?"

Ockham fell into thought.

Iron Fathers are a unique feature of the Iron Hands. As a chapter devoted to technology, the Techmarine, often marginalized in other chapters, holds a high position within the Iron Hands. Iron Fathers go a step further than Techmarine, serving as both Forge Master and Chapter Chaplain, achieving a perfect integration of material productivity and spiritual faith.

Every Iron Father is a treasure of the Iron Hands. When the Iron Hands face a major event that requires mobilizing the entire chapter, the temporary elected chapter leader must be selected from the Iron Fathers. They are the irrefutable decision-making level of the Iron Hands.

Ockham certainly knew the importance of veterans from the Heresy to a Chapter. Unlike those who had wandered the chaotic Eye of Terror for years, the surviving veterans were often the benchmarks of a Chapter's spirit, a spiritual treasure that a Chapter would preserve at all costs.

This is the case for ordinary veterans, so what about the Iron Fathers who have survived the Great Rebellion?

The Iron Fathers during the Great Crusade had to be tested and approved by the Primarch Finus. His weight was even greater than those of the Iron Fathers today.

If there really were to be a hierarchy among the Iron Fathers, then Weyland would definitely be the highest among the current Iron Hands. If he returned to the Iron Hands, every clan would treat him as a guest of honor, and it wouldn't be impossible for him to even lead an entire clan.

But Weiland is now in Leon's hands...

Thinking of this, Occam gasped. His eyes flashed as he looked at Leon. The other's boldness made him realize more deeply that Leon was extraordinary.

"You actually want to seize control of the Iron Hands?"

"It's not that exaggerated. It's just a matter of starting a new organization. Who is the legitimate heir? It's up to the already scattered clans of the Iron Hands to decide for themselves, isn't it?"

Sharokin stayed for Weyland, and when Weyland woke up, Weyland would stay for Sharokin in return. With just a little trickery, Leon was confident he could keep the Iron Father and establish a new Iron Hand based on the Iron Pilot.

He hadn't thought through many things yet, but he could use the name of the Iron Hands to train new Iron Hands Astartes. Even if not everyone could become an Iron Pilot, they would be a powerful force in combat and production for the new Forge World.

Facing the surprised Occam, Leon shrugged and said:

“I just made the best use of the resources I had.”

Ockham made no reply.

He had already felt that encountering the Sisyphus was too coincidental, and the person he found on it delivered the "legitimacy" of the Iron Hand to Leon, which made him even more convinced.

Li Ang is the Emperor's chosen one!

In that case, perhaps I should put aside my petty attempts to test the empire's resilience and prioritize Leon...

While he was still thinking, Horner had already started broadcasting to the entire ship.

"All units, prepare yourself. We are about to exit the Warp and arrive at Maximus."

-

A faint glow of psychic energy swirled around Otani. She closed her eyes tightly, beads of sweat oozing from her forehead, but she still maintained precise guidance.

"The channel is stable, the warp tide is decreasing. Estimated time of departure is three seconds. Three, two, one, one—"

The ship jolted violently, as if being pulled from a viscous quagmire by some invisible force. The chaotic turbulence outside the portholes instantly faded, replaced by cold starlight.

The physical universe is before our eyes.

With the cooperation of professional psychics, not only can one navigate in the subspace, but one can also freely choose the time and direction of leaving the subspace.

They leaped out of Mandeville Point, the system's main star emitting a steady glow in the distance. In its orbit, a small forge world quietly awaited their return.

Maxim, a stronghold temporarily captured by Leon.

The plasma engine, which had been preheated in anticipation of jumping out of the subspace, started up and transported Leon and the others to orbit at the fastest speed.

Maxim is a completely different place than when I last left.

Leon could already see the fires reignited on the surface of the planet, and the originally destroyed spaceport had been largely rebuilt.

Although the carrying capacity is far less than before, this steel spine is enough to carry out transportation work more efficiently than the transport boats traveling to and from the surface.

Leon called the Rogue Trader and said, "Holo, pull your transport ship into the spaceport."

"Okay, just leave it to us~"

The unrest caused by Sevatar did not spread to the transport fleet. The merchant fleet, which still maintained order, efficiently docked in the spaceport and docked with Maxim.

Sisyphus was also towed into orbit, where it will undergo preliminary repairs on Maximus.

As Maxim's current foundry director, Sage Lifar came over happily and welcomed Leon.

But when he learned from Leon what they had done on Mars, the sage gasped.

I was wondering why they suddenly had to withdraw all the troops from Maximus. Do you really have the guts to attack Mars with this little force?!

What’s more important is that it actually worked?!

Lifar, who had been feeling smug about becoming the foundry director, suddenly felt his throat dry. He wasn't envious of Leon's achievement, but rather worried about Mars' subsequent reckoning.

He thought that as long as Leon left, he would turn around and acknowledge Mars' rule, and the position of foundry director that he had gotten by mistake would be in his hands, allowing him to sit back and relax and become the local emperor of Maxim.

Who would have thought that Li Ang would directly compete with Mars and win the film?

Lifar knew very well that the oil man had a vengeful nature. As long as Mars came to his senses and came to settle accounts with him, he would be nothing in front of Mars.

He originally had many little thoughts in mind, but now they were completely gone, and he could only look at Li Ang with pleading eyes.

"Hey, can I go with you?"

Leon found his fence-sitting behavior somewhat amusing: "Let's not talk about this for now. Tell me, how is Maxim doing now?"

The large army Hayes had brought with him proved that Maxim was developing well, but seeing it firsthand gave Leon a deeper understanding.

The holographic casting module works well on Maxim. The assembly line, which is broken down into parts, is flexible enough in production and has proven to be no less efficient than those integrated production lines when there is sufficient manpower.

It just so happens that what Maxim lacks the least is low-level mechanical priests who can screw in screws.

Therefore, small production lines based on holographic molds were spread throughout Maxim. Under the day and night labor of the priests, weapons such as laser guns that were fully mastered were disassembled into their various parts and ultimately assembled in the workshops.

"That sounds good, and there are no problems?"

"Do not."

Lifar answered cautiously: "Actually, there are, and there are quite a few problems."

The first to be affected were the priests' complaints.

The "unpaid labor" of priests is often for something higher than material things, that is, knowledge.

In those integrated production lines, they are responsible for the production of a weapon from start to finish. Even if they don't have access to the blueprints, the priests can master the basics over the years and replicate the corresponding weapon or create their own monkey version.

But at Maxim, each priest was responsible for the production of a specific part. Even the most talented priest couldn't infer the entire weapon production process from a single part.

The excitement of being exposed to new production technology was dragged back to reality by the boredom of screwing. The priests who had come to their senses had already put up slogans that read "We want technology, not parts!" and were promoting them on the streets of the hive city.

After the Astra Militarum left Maximus, this propaganda flourished.

It was only a matter of time, otherwise these knowledge-hungry priests would have rebelled.

Li Ang pinched his chin, realizing that this was the issue of knowledge distribution that he had been thinking about for a long time.

He possessed the knowledge to create the Akashic Reader, and now, with Otani as his psychic, perhaps he could find a solution to this problem from the Akashic Reader.

But that should at least be considered after things stabilize.

Putting this question aside, Leon found that Lifar still seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong? Any other questions you didn't ask?"

"Yes, yes. There is also the issue of utilizing production space..."

No matter how simple a weapon is, it is made up of at least a dozen parts. The solid holographic mold provides a template for each part, forming more than a dozen simple production lines that only produce corresponding parts.

But one weapon requires more than a dozen production lines, what about more weapons?

The answer is obvious. The production lines of parts now cover the entire foundry hive.

They take up the vast majority of space. From the perspective of production efficiency alone, it may be the same as before, but if you compare the production efficiency with the floor space, you will find that its conversion ratio is pitifully small.

Although he was surprised that Leon could come up with a new production technology at will, Lifar did not think it was the best option in his heart.

In Warhammer, people are worthless, and neither are planets. But people with knowledge are valuable, and planets with production capacity are even more valuable.

The Empire can send extermination orders to worthless planets one by one, but for a Forge World, the Empire must take it back even at the cost of hundreds of millions of lives.

"The production line extended from holographic solid-state molding technology takes up too much space. It's not a big deal during small-scale production, but once we scale up, we'll need several times more space, manpower, and energy than an integrated production line to produce the same weapon."