Chapter 22: The Concept of Summoning the Great Demon E

The Astra Militarum tournament, a contest held for the sake of honor, soon drew to a close. The victors were, for the most part, champions from their respective companies or veterans already accustomed to mechanical prosthetics. Aside from Arthur, the other three also received their own gifts during the ritualistic ceremony.

"Is it just me, or is this blessing a bit ominous? In 999.M41, Cadia is going to get blown to bits by Abaddon," Karna remarked with a laugh. The emotions of youth come and go quickly; he was already in the mood to joke again.

"Then we won't let it be destroyed," Arthur said, clenching his fist. Regardless of the circumstances, the opening of the Great Rift was a colossal tragedy; at the very least, they could ensure its manifestation didn't lead to such catastrophic consequences.

"That might be difficult. We’re strong, sure, and our abilities look impressive, but there are only four of us. At our current rate of development, we’re nowhere near the level required to tip the balance," Romulus sighed. The destruction of Cadia and the tearing of the Great Rift were consensus goals among the Four Ruinous Powers. Even Abaddon himself hadn't anticipated the massive impact of shattering Cadia; he had originally intended to conquer the fortress world before his rage led him to hurl the Blackstone Fortress at it. Furthermore, the Emperor himself likely held an attitude of tacit acceptance toward the event. Keeping Cadia intact under the gaze of the four—or perhaps even five—powers would be no small feat.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. We still have over two hundred years," Ramses said, feeling it more practical to first secure a functional ship as their capital for navigating the galaxy. "And what about this safe house? Should we keep investing in it? The shielding is decent, but the upkeep is too high. It’s a pity that humanity doesn't worship this sanctuary yet, and our relationship with the Emperor isn't exactly pleasant. Otherwise, we might be able to put it to use."

Ramses’ mind was racing. While these humans currently worshipped the Emperor, the Warp’s nature as a realm of consciousness meant they would eventually lean toward Him anyway. But if they had souls under their control, or if the Emperor were willing to cooperate and provide some Legion of the Damned, couldn't they use a ritual similar to a Chaos daemon summoning to pull those spectral warriors directly into the bodies they had created? Daemons could possess the physical forms of psykers after specific rituals by tapping into their Warp connection; theoretically, this should be quite feasible.

A major reason the Emperor couldn't use this method was that, while Space Marines were mass-produced, cultivating them remained difficult after the loss of the Primarchs. Moreover, it wouldn't do for the martyrs who fought for humanity to possess the bodies of their descendants. But these empty shells they mass-produced shouldn't have such restrictions, right? They had everything they needed—even the Warp components were filled in—they were just devoid of souls.

"Hiss..." Ramses felt his idea was perfectly ingenious, drawing astonished looks from his companions.

"I have an idea!" Seeing he had captured their attention, Ramses immediately shared his train of thought.

"It feels highly feasible. Daemons are summoned by sacrificing souls and flesh, right? We have the souls, and we’ve prepared the bodies perfectly."

Romulus agreed it was a viable operation. If they could pull it off, he wouldn't need to exhaust his energy remotely controlling those Space Marines. To cater to Ramses’ devout belief in the "First Science of Warhammer Numerology," he was currently managing 169 Space Marines, a task so taxing his brain felt like it was steaming. But editing souls themselves was both troublesome and costly; if the mental energy lost in the summoning process was less than what they spent editing souls, it would be a net gain.

"We’re literally becoming the Stormcast Eternals now," Arthur nodded, approving of the concept.

"So, we need to focus on information regarding Warp rituals and cultivate our own believers, correct?"

"Believers aren't necessary in the short term. Not to mention we know nothing about religion, and our identities would never pass the Inquisition’s scrutiny. Using the Emperor’s miracles to win over the Sisters of Battle is fine, but it would be a joke if we got branded as heretics by the Ecclesiarchy while playing at religion," Ramses pondered for a moment before continuing. "As for the Warp side, I’ll take responsibility for calling the Emperor via psychic link. If He dares ignore me, I’ll keep pestering Him—who says we can't use Him as a tool? He may not act human, but He’s the biggest pillar of support humanity has. He’s schizophrenic now, but He should still be able to squeak out a response. I’m no psychic muggle like the Thirteenth, so I’ll spend some time seeing if I can extract useful information."

"In the meantime, you guys help me keep an eye on the rituals of Chaos cultists. After all, dealing with the Warp requires Warp methods. We’ll find an opportunity to experiment on a daemon first."

"Understood," the others replied.

For now, it was just a theoretically viable plan. A series of procedures would need to be verified and refined; there was no rush. They had only been transmigrated for a few hours. While their knowledge of this world was broad, it lacked detail. Much of the cultural knowledge, scientific technology, and arcane rituals that couldn't be learned through literary works would require time to study.

"Let's leave it at that for now. Let's get the Astra Militarum settled," Romulus said, cutting the conversation short as he glanced at the soldiers who had finished their surgeries and retraining. They had prepared a mountain of heavy-duty equipment for these troops. There was no helping it; there were only four of them, and even if Romulus sliced his brain into a hundred pieces, he couldn't micromanage the firepower of an entire armored regiment.

Of course, the transmigrators were quite fortunate to have encountered Cadians. Because Cadia was a fortress world, the defensive pressure was immense, and few units were deployed on off-world missions. If the Astra Militarum on this ship had been, say, Scintillan Musketeers or Savlar Chem-Dogs... well, the group would have had to reconsider the gift-giving.

"Lord Romulus!" As the four approached, Kovek—having finished delegating the retraining tasks to the various company commanders—came to the side of the 'angels.' His attitude, beyond the necessary awe, held a touch of newfound intimacy. Clearly, the gift-giving ceremony had significantly narrowed the distance between them.

Raising his right hand to stop Kovek, Romulus asked directly, "Are you proficient in the use of Imperial armored vehicles?"

"?" Kovek looked on in confusion.