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

Hayes, who was still roaring, suddenly paused.

After a long while, he finally explained with difficulty: "The will of the High Lords does not represent the will of the Empire, but the decision made collectively by the High Lords is the decision of the entire Empire. The regrouped legion is too dangerous and will become a force that the Empire cannot control. Such behavior will eventually become a rebellion..."

Rebellion. When this idea came to Hayes, his mind suddenly became clear.

Yes, rebellion!

What's happening on Maximus is a rebellion!

From the Mechanicus fleet that withdrew without a word, to the Rebel-style modified vehicle that picked them up, to the Imperial Fists-style fortress wreckage, Hayes connected all the clues, and these clues ultimately led to a fact that even Hayes was afraid of.

The Imperial Fists launched a riot against the Forge World on Maximus. They had long planned to use this Forge World as their fortress and regroup the entire legion here!

Of course, relying solely on the remaining Imperial Fists and a single Mechanicus Magus wouldn't be enough to accomplish this. Given enough time, they could slowly wipe out any resistance on the ground.

So the key still lies in himself and the fleet he brings!

If the Astartes forces of the Empire on a planet suddenly rebelled, and at that moment a fleet belonging to the Empire happened to be heading towards the Forge World, this fleet was even led by a High Lord himself.

If Hayes were the casting director, what would he think?

He questioned himself and sadly discovered that he would definitely think that this was a premeditated action by the Empire against the Mechanicus.

These Astartes sent personnel to contact them and lure their fleet to Maximus, making them unknowingly accomplices of the Imperial Fists in seizing Maximus.

When this information is brought to Mars, will the Martians see through it?

It's likely that they will, but those oil men certainly won't care. They'll just use this as an excuse to openly challenge the entire empire at the High Lords' meeting.

One end of the Imperial Double Eagle is the Empire itself, the other the Adeptus Mechanicus. The capture of a Forge World by "Imperial forces" would inevitably upset the political balance of the Double Eagle. In that event, the entire Empire would be caught in the ripples of the Double Eagle's division.

And all this is because the Imperial Fists want to regroup their legions!

Hayes felt his breathing was a little difficult. He looked for help at the Imperial Fists beside him, hoping someone could stop Kurland's crazy behavior.

But those warriors who had sworn to protect him had already become estranged from him, and were even moving closer to Kurland. Only his adjutant and personal guards were left staring at each other in bewilderment.

Hayes closed his eyes in pain.

It's bad. I've been a rebel all my life, and now I'm a rebel.

"You can't do this."

He groaned and warned, "Such actions will lead to the division of the Imperium. You will not protect Terra, but will only repeat the mistakes of the Great Heresy!"

But all he got in return was Kurland's cold stare.

"The Empire is the Emperor's Empire, not the High Lord's. It is precisely to protect the Empire that I must do this."

"If the enemy is against me, it means I am doing the right thing. If the High Lord is against me, it means the High Lord has become the enemy too!"

His speech was deafening.

We are the Imperial Fists, we are the Guardians of Terra. We have earned the honor of defending Terra with blood and fire! No Chapter has been more forged in the Heresy than we are, no one has sacrificed more in the Heresy than our Gene-Father, no one!

"Talking to us about rebellion? You're not worthy!"

Kurland nodded briefly to Leon, then walked away. The veterans of the Imperial Fists Honor Company who had been surrounding Hayes hesitated for a moment, but quickly left Hayes behind and chased after him.

Hayes still closed his eyes, seemingly unwilling to face the truth. His adjutant hesitantly confirmed to Leon:

"Are they sending a star message to assemble the legion?"

Li Ang shrugged: "Although some little secrets can be seen at a glance, it's best not to delve into them."

"I just want to share the burden for the commander..."

"He will make his own choice."

Leon cast his gaze on Hayes, "Isn't that what you said, Lord High Lord of the Empire?"

Hayes opened his eyes and sighed softly, "I don't care about this identity."

“But other people do care, so your choice matters.”

"Is this a negotiation? Your plan left me no room for choice from the very beginning! You used the troops I brought with you as your weapons, and used the power of the Empire to drive back the Mechanicus' fleet. These are already established facts. What other choice can I make?"

"We weren't forcing them to retreat. We simply gathered a Forge World that was voluntarily abandoned by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Our methods weren't... smooth, that's all."

"That's not important! What's important is that they've already left. The news that the Imperial forces are invading the Mechanicus' territory will inevitably spread! Since you're going to do it, why not do it quickly? Notify me early and destroy their entire fleet in orbit so that this news never spreads!"

Facing the angry old general, Li Ang raised two fingers.

"First, unfortunately, in my estimation, if we had informed you in advance, the probability of you cooperating with this plan would be less than one percent. Your current thinking is simply about how you could have made things better, given an already dire outcome. If you had known this news in advance, your past experience would have led you to choose a more prudent approach. And that would most likely be to cooperate with the Mechanicus, who are attempting to evacuate, to suppress the Imperial Fists."

"Secondly, do you really think that Mars will assist us in our war against the greenskins if we don't attack a dispensable third-level forge world?"

Hayes was speechless for a moment. "At least Mars won't have a reason to attack the Empire in times of crisis."

"There won't be one now. According to the internal regulations of the Adeptus Mechanicus, a Forge World must elect a new Forge Director if the existing Director is unable to manage the Forge World. I have chosen a sage from Maxim as the Forge Director. His obedience is his greatest strength, and the selection process is in full compliance with the internal regulations of the Adeptus Mechanicus."

"What if my fleet arrives at a critical moment? This won't clear you of suspicion, and I will definitely be considered to be interfering in the Mechanicus' internal affairs on behalf of the Empire!"

"It's just 'intervention,' not 'war.' Even a direct armed conflict would have room for maneuver. An intervention is nothing more than further wrangling in the parliament. The only special thing is that this is the Solar Segmentum adjacent to Terra. The official who will be blamed for this incident and step down will surely be quite important."

Hayes remained silent. He already understood that the sage opposite him didn't care much about what would happen next, and he also knew that he would most likely be among this "heavyweight".

Leon looked at the silent commander of the Star Army in front of him. He looked at the old general's face, which was full of ravines carved by time and gunpowder. Even though the general now looked confused and painful, his face still revealed a deep tenacity.

Leon's actions have actually profoundly changed the fate of many people, such as the commander of the Star Army who serves as the High Lord in front of him.

Although the High Lords were considered insects in the eyes of most people, the Astra Militarum commander before him was probably an exception.

In the original Beast Wars, Leon did not rescue the remaining Imperial Fists from Diamond. When the High Lords Council decided to send Hayes to lead the Astra Militarum and the remaining Imperial Fists companies to Diamond to search for the lost Imperial Fists, Hayes was faced with endless greenskins when he arrived on Diamond.

As the supreme commander of the expeditionary fleet, he had the authority to make the decision to retreat. However, in order to save the survivors of the Imperial Fists, he led the Imperial Guard in a desperate rescue operation. This operation ultimately led to his demise along with the Imperial Fists' Honor Company, but he successfully rescued three Imperial Fists survivors from Diamond Star.

Of the three survivors, only Kurland survived.

Of course, the story has changed now. Kurland is not the only survivor of the Imperial Fists. Commander Hayes and the Honor Company, who were originally just background characters in the rescue operation, have also been saved.

Of course, a rewrite of fate wouldn't alter the character these people had already cultivated. Faced with a High Lord willing to sacrifice his own life to save the Imperial Fist, Leon had some confidence in his ultimate choice.

But before that, he needed to make the possibility clear to Commander Hayes.

"You may choose to leave with your fleet now, report the situation here to the High Lords Council, and leave these troublesome matters to the High Lords themselves. While this will still not secure your position as High Lord of the Floating Seat, your chances of living out your retirement in peace after being dismissed and laid off are at least 80%."

"What is the result of doing this?"

Hayes asked. He actually had his own guess, but he just wanted to get confirmation from Leon.

"The High Lords will quickly warn the Imperial Fists' successor chapters to forbid assembly and cut off their supplies."

"Of course, the ultimate plan for the High Wall was drawn up by their Primarch, Lord Dorn, so most of the Successors will eventually assemble. But being at odds with the High Lords before they're fully assembled will leave these warriors vulnerable from all sides. Their chances of victory against the Orcs will be extremely slim."

Leon projected the battle moon, and the shocking image of the armed satellite immediately captured Hayes's full attention.

"This is the enemy they will face... a wave of greenskins, led by the Battle Moon, that only the Legion can defeat. I believe you have already seen some of the greenskins' edge on Diamond Star. Perhaps other high lords are very happy to see the fall of the Imperial Fists hanging over their heads, but what about you?"

Hayes has realized the necessity of assembling the legion: "What if I don't bring the news of the assembling legion to the High Lords Council?"

"Join us and help us curb this terrible greenskin tide."

Li Ang pointed at his feet: "Starting from this ruined forging world, we will work together to rewrite the pattern of this war!"

Hayes frowned, a look of worry brewing in his brow. Influenced by the High Lords' Council, even though he was not well versed in politics, he began to think about the impact of this move on the entire empire.

"Regrouping the legion is a dangerous signal. I don't need to think about it to understand how much of a shock this will bring to this empire that has just recovered from the great rebellion. As a high lord who is responsible for maintaining the political situation of the empire, I cannot sit idly by and watch this happen..."

Hayes sighed, but his brows relaxed, and he was obviously no longer worried about the above problem.

"But who cares about that position? Until then, I'm just a general who has to keep the empire afloat until I can think about those issues."

He held out his hand to Leon.

"It seems you are the key person planning to seize this Forge World. Let's get to know each other again, Sage Leon. Who are you?"

Leon also stretched out his hand and shook hands with Hayes.

"Just a sage who doesn't care much about the Adeptus Mechanicus."

He replied.

The astropathic message that united the Imperial Fists, carrying an invisible wavelength, passed over Leon and Hayes' heads. Through the sacrifice of the astropath, the message, containing only the four words "The Final Wall," spread throughout the galaxy.

The first to receive the news was the Fists of the Paragon Chapter, based on their homeworld of Edorica. As the planet that the Battle Moon had to pass through on its way to Terra, the Fists of the Paragon Chapter's homeworld was unsurprisingly attacked by the Battle Moon.

The Fists of the Exemplars had received a warning from the Hive World of Endin, and they had assembled all their strength in advance, stockpiling enough void shield energy to defend the Hive World. But even so, the power of a single chapter was too small in front of the Ork Battle Moon.

The gravity weapons on the battle moon repeatedly destroyed the surface of the planet outside the void shield, and the resulting address changes also caused the nest city inside the void shield to be reduced to ruins.

Any attempt to construct any ground defenses proved impossible under the weight of the Battle Moon. Orks, airborne from hollowed-out asteroids, quickly spread across Edorica, overwhelming the outnumbered and under-defended Fists.

Realizing that a ground defense against a Battle Moon attack was impossible, the Paragon Fists organized a boarding attempt. Chapter Master Alameda and the First Captain led their forces aboard an Astartes Strike Cruiser, using the entire ship as a drop zone to launch a decapitation operation against the Battle Moon.

But they failed.

Second Captain Maximus Thorne received no news of them, and the Battle Moon's unstoppable offensive continued.

He took over as Chapter Master of the Paragon Fists and re-planned a boarding mission to Battle Moon, but just as the plan was nearing completion, the Chapter's Astropaths broke into his command room.

Thorne frowned and looked at the Astropath. He didn't understand why the Astropath was so presumptuous.

"We received an astropathic transmission to all Imperial Fists sub-companions. It contained only four words!"

"What four words?"

"'Final Wall'! The importance of this information is marked as most urgent, sir. Do you know what this means?"

Thorne made no comment, seemingly unsurprised by the news. But Zebrian, who had taken over the position of First Captain beside Thorne, tensed his muscles.

Only someone intimately familiar with Space Marine physiology would have noticed the tensing of the muscles in Zeberion's neck. Thorne glanced at him, then dismissed the Astropath.

"I understand, please step back."

The astropath left as instructed, and Thorne returned to the command table. He abandoned the scan projection of the battle moon and instead unfolded a star map, highlighting the Farr system.

"Abandon the plan of boarding the moon and gather all the usable ships in the regiment."

He said: "We are all heading to the Farr system."

"Fal System? Are you sure you want to abandon our Chapter homeworld for a rallying order that goes against the Codex Astartes? Even if it's to fight against the Orks, I would rather die here!"

Zeberian's attitude was fierce, and he clearly opposed Thorne's decision to follow the final call of the wall.

"Chambermaster Thorn, do not forget our name! We are the Fists of the Paragon!"

But Thorne just glanced at Zeberion indifferently, then turned and left.

"Zeberrian, I am the Chapter Master."

Chapter 82 Technical Adjustments.

Three million Astra Militarum troops were brought to the surface of Maxim one after another, but this number was still insignificant in front of the greenskins.

How long they can resist the greenskin offensive depends on how much support and help the Forge World can provide them, which actually tests Leon's ability.

In the coming month of the Greenskins, how will Leon restore a dilapidated Forge World to normal operations?

When discussing this issue, we have to mention the production structure of the Mechanicus.

Although nominally everything on the Forge World is under the management of the Forge Director, the selfish and independent nature of the Mechanicus has actually doomed the Forge Director to be unable to truly manage all production equipment on the Forge World.

The only things a Foundry Director could truly manage were the public production lines built by the Foundry World to meet targets, as well as his own production lines. As for the production lines built by other sages, the Foundry Director only had the power to review them, and could not interfere with their ownership or operation.

This kind of self-built private production line is often very common in a foundry world.

When a mechanical apprentice on a Forge World becomes a Mechanical Priest, they will likely begin preparing a small private forge. This forge is a small production line that they personally own. Unless they are defeated, they will make anyone who dares to covet it know the meaning of "private property is inviolable."

After that, every priest's daily routine would become a cycle of completing production or research tasks assigned by the foundry director or other superior sages during the day, and returning to his own private forge at night to use the knowledge he had mastered to tinker with his own inventions.

If the inventions of these priests are groundbreaking enough and proven to be reliable, they may be promoted to high-level priests or even sages, expand their own production lines, and become part of the task of issuing tasks to other priests.

It can be seen from this that the private production line is the underlying code of the Mechanicus, and it is the basis for the members of the Mechanicus to climb up.

This often makes the situation in the Forge World resemble that of warlords. Whoever controls more production lines and commands more priests has more say.

Of course, the Foundry Director remains the most powerful person in the Foundry World. He controls most of the construction and production targets of the entire Foundry World and is responsible for trade negotiations with other factions. So even if he cannot own the production lines of other sages, he can indirectly restrict the sages who control private production lines in that Foundry World.

At the same time, all the shared production lines in the foundry world are also managed by the foundry director, which makes the director always the person who controls the most production lines and priests.

The so-called shared production line is actually the flagship product of a forge world. For example, Riza is rich in plasma weapons.

This does not mean that other sages or priests in Riza cannot produce plasma weapons on their own, but Riza's largest and most standard plasma weapon production line must be under the unified management of the Director of Foundry.

The advantage of doing this is that it can organize large-scale systematic production and ensure the most fundamental source of life for a foundry world.