Astartes Second Legion Punishers, Serial Number Conquered World—Universe 117, beyond the Honkai Dimension.
...
In the dark void, shimmering with purple-hued radiance, millions of Imperial Navy vessels, ranging from medium to large-scale warships, hovered in the silent abyss—an endless steel metropolis floating in space.
Among them were Legion space carriers, floating fortresses, battleships, cruisers, battlecruisers, frigates, destroyers, and more. These steel behemoths varied in length, purpose, width, and specifications, but they all shared one common trait—
Enormous.
With the continuous advancement of Imperial science and technology, especially in the military sector, the Imperial Navy fleet was expanding every single moment.
The production capacity of the Empire's military-industrial complex had skyrocketed, with new forge worlds rising like mushrooms after rain across resource-rich star sectors under Imperial control.
Most crucially, due to Selene's godlike powers, akin to a Creator, resources could be rapidly replenished!
Additionally, with the mastery of Honkai Energy, a harmless yet highly efficient universal energy source, forge worlds had no fear of resource depletion.
With limitless resources and infinite energy, there was no reason not to mass-produce at full throttle!
And this wasn't just a simple addition, the Empire's military output capacity had been increasing exponentially!
Even if a forge world eventually reached full spatial capacity, it didn't mean production would decline.
Once a forge world reached its physical production peak, it would naturally transition to technological refinement, focusing on qualitative advancements instead.
During such transitions, high-ranking technologists from the Imperial Scientific Bureau Headquarters would be dispatched to assist in further development.
Thus, old and new forge worlds alike never remained stagnant.
Newer forge worlds focused on increasing output, while established forge worlds maintained or slowly expanded their scale while improving product quality.
And when this scaling is applied to the vast star domains of the Empire, the amount of growth at any given moment is truly terrifying.
According to the Imperial Manufacturing Department's reports, submitted to the Imperial Interior Headquarters, production statistics saw drastic shifts every month and multiplied several times over every year.
Simply put, in the Imperial government's eyes, limiting production was never an option.
"Produce as much as you can—I will consume as much as you make."
And as the Empire expanded, demand only continued to rise.
As a result, the Imperial Navy's standard-issue warship technology was undergoing constant evolution—
The size of individual ships was growing rapidly.
Even a light escort frigate, meant for patrolling, had already reached the 10-kilometer class.
Higher-tier warships such as destroyers, cruisers, and battleships had ship lengths of 30 kilometers, 60 kilometers, or even 100+ kilometers.
Due to the Imperial Navy's current state of dynamic development, there was no fixed warship model.
After all—why finalize a standard model today, when a better, larger, and more advanced version will be ready tomorrow?
Retrofitting? Too troublesome.
Just replace the old ones with new ones.
This was what set the Sacred Selene Empire's Manufacturing Department completely apart from its "distant cousins," those "Tech-Priests" who relied on archaic excavation, constantly suffering technological regression due to internal and external chaos.
Of course, Imperial Naval warships were still categorized based on function and purpose.
For example, battleships.
Battleships ranked just below the Supercarriers and Floating Fortresses in the Imperial Navy hierarchy.
These colossal warships were heavily armed and shielded, often serving as flagships for auxiliary fleets or as the personal command vessels of Astartes Commanders and Grand Commanders.
Battleships could be heavily modified depending on combat requirements.
Boarding Assault Variant – Outfitted with massive numbers of strike craft, boarding ships, and drop pods.
Heavy Assault Variant – Distinguished by its overwhelming number of main battleship cannons.
Retribution Variant – Known for its side-mounted heavy firepower, featuring massive broadside batteries and torpedo launchers.
And this was just the beginning, the Imperial Navy's evolution was far from over...
The Imperial Navy's battleships were equipped with planet-destroying weaponry, their firepower unmatched. Their crew capacity ranged from 25,000 to 5 million personnel.
Under special circumstances, depending on logistical feasibility, even more personnel could be deployed.
A fully-manned battleship alone could deploy a Legion-level assault force, capable of launching a planet-wide campaign, making battleships the backbone of the Imperial Navy's siege warfare.
But there was a cost, aside from Warp travel and time-space jumps which required preparation, battleships were notoriously sluggish under normal conditions.
In contrast, cruisers were the mainstay of the Imperial fleet.
Though they lacked the heavy armor and firepower of battleships, and could not deploy a Legion-level force, they were far more agile while still packing deadly weaponry.
Cruisers came in many variations, often built on a shared hull design but outfitted with different weapon systems.
Broadside Cannons for devastating side-firepower
Heavy Battleship-Grade Main Guns for direct assaults
Expanded Hangars for interstellar strike craft deployment.
With these factors in play, the Imperial Navy's shipbuilding cycle was exceptionally rapid.
To manage this, the Imperial military had developed an efficient three-tier phase-out system.
Newest models were assigned to Astartes Legion fleets.
Slightly older models were handed to the Imperial Auxiliary Forces, even older models were transferred to subservient forces.
Beyond this, ships with historical significance could be sent back for specialized refits.
Most decommissioned vessels were either scrapped or turned into museum exhibits.
Some were stripped of their heavy weapons and sold to civilian merchant fleets as deterrents for commercial activity.
Ironically, these civilian trading guilds often acted as explorers, applying for extraterrestrial expeditions beyond hyperspace corridors, venturing as "benevolent interstellar merchants" into unknown regions.
But once outside the Empire, their fate was their own.
Whether they prospered or perished, whether their entire fleet was wiped out, it was no longer the Empire's concern.
And should they be fortunate enough to discover a new world, a resource planet, or alien civilizations such as Elves, Sirens, or Orcs, if they dared attempt to claim control, they wouldn't get the chance.
All lands belonged to the Empress.
Even nobles granted fiefs held land only as Imperial stewards, they had usage rights, not ownership rights.
Even if those rights were perpetual, granting them near-total authority over their domains, true ownership always belonged to one entity alone to the Empress.
...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the endless void, each Imperial warship was like a colossal beehive, teeming with countless 'worker bees'.
A constant stream of strike craft, assault ships, and boarding pods flowed in and out of their decks and hangars.
From a distance, billions of fighter craft and assault carriers moved in harmony with the glowing hulls, engine flares, and illuminated gunports of the warships.
Inside their vast metal frames, mountains of armaments, machinery, and supplies were meticulously arranged, maintained, and deployed by Imperial Navy engineers, logistics officers, and frontline crewmen.
The Astartes, Auxiliary Forces, and Subservient Legions all worked in flawless coordination.
Like the cells of a vast living organism, each played its assigned role, unified under one purpose—to drive and sustain the Imperial war machine.
Not far from the main fleet, where the primary forces of three Astartes Legions had gathered, the violet-red warp gates continued to churn open, forming tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands of warp exit points.
Unlike the previous ceremonial return, where Selene had summoned all twenty Astartes Legions in a grand procession, that had merely been for show, a display of power rather than a true deployment.
This time?
This was real warfare.
At the heart of the fleet, amidst countless escort frigates, three colossal Legion Supercarriers loomed—each over 300 kilometers in diameter.
Among them, one stood above the rest, its immense iron-gray hull emblazoned with the Legion's sigil.
Two massive hydraulic fists, crossed like unbreakable iron.
This was the Astartes Second Legion Punishers' flagship, the Wrath of the Empire.
Torrential rain cascaded over the artificial garden courtyards surrounding the central palace of the flagship.
Within the controlled climate regulation system, there was no sense of motion—no indication that this was a warship rather than a palace on solid ground.
Aside from the fact that the room was 'small', there was no major difference from a planetary estate.
...Of course, that was if one ignored the faint blue rhombus-shaped defense barriers glowing around the chamber.
Beyond the glass windows, rainwater dripped down in golden-tinged droplets, illuminated by the warm hall lights.
Plush brown velvet carpets stretched across the entire hall, while gilded archways framed the room's grand architecture.
A chandelier, plated in pure gold, hung from the ceiling, casting its light upon the Imperial Aquila, whose twin-headed sigil gleamed with resplendent majesty.
Even the dew on the windowpane, touched by the light, seemed to shimmer in a golden radiance.
Selene, standing by her personal bar, withdrew her gaze from the artificial rainstorm and turned to the others.
"So, what did you find out?"
With a soft motion, she poured herself a glass of exclusive brandy, leaning elegantly against the bar as she spoke.
Selene, with crimson rhombus-shaped eyes, held her crystal-clear goblet, her slender white arms glowing under the soft golden lighting.
Her platinum-white gown, adorned with celestial patterns, shimmered like a galaxy of stars, the cascading golden gradients blurring the lines between her silhouette and illusion.
Before her stood three towering Astartes Commanders.
Despite their fearsome and intimidating presence, in front of Selene, they might as well have been house cats—obedient and docile.
One of them, a broad-shouldered man clad in ornate bronze-yellow power armor, took a hearty swig from his drink.
His thick brows and deep-set eyes exuded a straightforward, no-nonsense demeanor.
Unlike many of his kind, his handsome and sun-kissed face bore no unnecessary war paint, nor did he sport one of those ridiculous "dreadlocks."
Instead, his head was cleanly trimmed, displaying a sharp, neatly cropped brown buzz cut.
This was Angron.
His eyes were locked on the holographic projection in front of him, but that didn't stop him from devouring his meal—his mouth constantly moving, feasting without pause.
The projection displayed the combat reports from the Imperial reconnaissance forces, detailing their engagements with alien factions…
"Hey, Angron. Mind your manners—Her Majesty is present."
Standing barely a meter away from Angron, Konrad Curze's pale face looked even ghastlier under the contrast of his jet-black hair and shadowy eyes.
With a melancholic expression, the Night Lords' Commander spoke in a solemn tone.
"Oh, come on, Curze—you're acting like the Grand General now. Why are you being so stiff? This is a private banquet between us three and Her Majesty—why are you acting so formal?"
Still chewing through the bones of a highly dangerous apex predator, Angron mumbled, his words slightly garbled from crushing solid alloy-like bone with his teeth.
"Can't you see that Her Majesty and Budo haven't even spoken yet—Ow!"
Bang!
"Huff...!"
Blowing away the heat from his iron fist, Budo scowled.
"I know asking you is pointless, so just shut up and keep eating, you brute."
It wasn't the first time.
Angron's tactical command ability wasn't bad, but whenever it came to joint operations, he always seemed to take the backseat, practically shoving responsibility onto everyone else with a "Just tell me what to do" attitude.
Seated at the bar, Selene rested her chin in her palm, silver-white hair cascading down her shoulders, watching the interaction between her Commanders with amusement.
This was what Angron should have been.
A version unburdened by the Butcher's Nails—one who had grown up healthy and whole.
He was born with an empathic psychic ability, able to feel and absorb the negative emotions of those around him—someone who should have been gentle and kind.
But fate was cruel.
Instead of becoming a noble protector, he had been twisted into the angriest, most ferocious, most violent butcher in the entire galaxy.
A man who had slaughtered not only his own people but even his most loyal sons without hesitation.
"The Emperor... What should I even say about you?"
"This isn't how Imperial strategy is supposed to work. You knew everything. You could have prevented it. Yet, you chose the worst possible outcome instead."
Selene sighed softly, swirling her drink, the liquid inside shimmering like a galaxy of drifting stars, beautiful beyond measure.
But then, she set the crystal goblet down, her expression shifting to one of firm authority.
"Enough games. Let's get to the point—"
"The Covenant."
"Among the countless xenos we've encountered, how do you propose we deal with them?"
"I want to hear your perspectives."
The three Commanders exchanged glances.
Angron?
Instant response.
"I have no opinion. I follow Your Majesty's orders."
"Get lost and keep eating!"
Selene huffed, laughing as she scolded him.
"Okay! Alright!"
"Alright, the freeloader is out of the discussion. Now, you two—speak."
Konrad Curze, who had been silent this whole time, closed his dossier and suddenly spoke up in a serious tone.
"If we blindly enforce an extermination policy, xenos resistance will be unprecedentedly fierce, severely slowing our conquest efficiency."
"It's not worth it."
"Therefore, I propose that we loosen our approach slightly—conduct a selective screening process. Those who are useful, docile, or harbor no inherent hatred toward humanity can be subjugated instead of eradicated."
As he spoke, Curze's gaze flickered toward Budo beside him.
"Leaving a lifeline will not only reduce resistance but also increase our conquest efficiency. Ultimately, the benefits to the Empire outweigh the risks."
Selene nodded slightly.
Then she turned her gaze toward Budo.
"And you? What do you think?"
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