The war is still going on, and Luojia's temptation also requires cooperation from the battlefield ahead. Although Erebus had made adequate preparations in the battle of Moro in order to retain his power, as the target of the two men, Calvin was not on the front line of the battlefield north of Gian Moro at this time.
On the contrary, at this moment, the forging world Heper in the middle of the star sector was already in chaos, and suddenly received a notification from the galaxy defense system.
"The Endless Crusade?"
The eyes of the Lord of the Forge, Trinary Solan, flickered slightly.
Anyone familiar with his transformation experience knows that this usually means that important information is summarized across conventional intelligence, directly triggering the emergency response mechanism of his deputy brain.
In Cabolet's war temple, all high-ranking priests with different duties were in place.
Together with the supreme leader of the forging world and his team, the digital deputy forging supervisors, they have been arguing for dozens of hours about what happened under the forging furnace of Selind:
The Forge World has invested too many troops here, and it has even affected the Forge World's response to the Inquisition's call for orders.
But this unexpectedly awakened and out-of-control Titan is not only related to some secrets of the Heper Forge World, but it is also the technological wealth monopolized by the top forge world.
It must be recovered as quickly as possible without causing any damage to the Titan. As a result, the troops received strict orders from their superiors before entering the battlefield and were not allowed to use any destructive weapons.
This farce has been going on for several days, and based on the current situation, there is no end in sight in the short term.
This is where the controversy among the top leaders of Forge World lies.
Whether to continue to invest new troops when the combat efficiency has been saturated is a dispute between the six school leaders representing the conservative forces and the deputy foundry supervisors representing the new generation.
But this is just an appearance. The real struggle lies in the right to speak, the stubbornness of the leaders of the school, and the too hasty pace of the deputy casting supervisors.
The status and rights between the two are not equal, even if the deputy supervisors are the nominal masters of the planet behind them.
The Society's status in the Adeptus Mechanicus is so sacred and inviolable that even the Director is afraid of it, and the leaders of the school are even more dismissive of the "officer" nature of the Deputy Directors.
Knowledge is above all else, so academic factions are naturally above all else. This is the rule that has been used to cast the world for thousands of years, and it is also the truth based on the unshakable faith in the sanctity of all machines.
Foundry directors know this.
Because the various departments of the entire forging world seem to be unified, but the root cause is the shadow of the school's support behind them.
Without the support of these schools of thought, the craft of forging the world cannot be preserved and refined.
Without the new blood provided by these schools, there would be no one to pass on the knowledge of the forging world.
Therefore, the school has no authority and does not need authority.
They seem invisible, but through countless technologies and complicated protocols, they truly affect the learning and promotion of every member of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
And the fact that he was selected to this position was the result of unanimous recognition by many schools of thought.
And if everything can continue, no, there is no if...
600 years passed by, and the once high-spirited foundry director Mayne also entered the end of his life cycle.
The simple red robe that used to focus on technology and immerse itself in the laboratory is now gradually submerged in increasingly complex and huge mechanical structures in order to maintain life.
The external environment is also changing, the empire is declining, and Chaos is becoming more active.
In Mayne's 600 years of life, the stability of the first five hundred years made him calm but unable to realize his ambitions;
But in his old age, the empire's environment began to evolve in a turbulent direction.
The system of "school co-management" has spawned countless technological crystallizations, which are undoubtedly the accumulation of wisdom of previous generations, but only for war, it seems clumsy and rigid.
Mayne tried to make some changes to the Hepper Forge world before his death, but this was not easy.
The conservative forces are always unwilling to withdraw from the stage. Although they intend to give in and train new people, there are still too many experiences that new people need to experience personally, and too much wisdom that needs time to be refined and accumulated.
But the newcomers cannot be trusted either. Their too extreme ideas are equally dangerous in Mayne's view. If they are allowed to take power, the Heper Forge World will only perish in madness.
They need time to grow, something Mayne realized as the helmsman of Hepper.
They wanted a slow and orderly handover, which was also the silent agreement between Mayne and the leaders of the school.
As a result, the new generation of technical priests were attracted by Mayne and gradually united around him to form a faction represented by the six deputy foundry supervisors. The leaders of the school also tacitly sang against Mayne. A gradual retreat from arguments and controversies.
But plans never change quickly. Two sudden things happened that permanently affected Hepper's power structure:
One thing is that the genetic master Kozyrev, who is a communication scholar, also brought a top-secret project when he returned from distant Mars.
The technology involved in this project is extremely classified. Although it has not yet had a specific impact on Hepper, if everything goes according to plan, in Mayne's opinion, this technology will be permanently available at some point in the future. It will change the strategic situation of the empire, thereby enhancing the status of Heper Forge World in the entire Adeptus Mechanicus and even the empire.
Apart from himself, only Mayne has the right to know this secret. It was with Mayne's support that Kozyrev established his own experimental system that was almost independent of the forging world.
And it was against this background that the trade policy of Forge Lord Fardin was adopted by Mayne.
On the surface, this is to support the concept of technology diffusion headed by Fardin, but secretly, it is this policy that has spawned key trade lines and maintained the close connection between Hepper and a laboratory on Mars.
The second thing is the appearance of Judge Margarita. This ambitious woman has used all possible means to seize power since she landed in Jamorro.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the case with the new generation of tech-priests as well.
The new generation, who feel they have received external support, are unwilling to remain calm, and the Grand Inquisitor Margarita, who is deliberately taking advantage of them, is constantly fanning the flames.
Kozyrev's laboratory was extremely conspicuous in this environment and became one of the key battlefields in the struggle between the two sides. However, the master of genes could not publish his technological achievements, so the conflict between the two parties could only intensify.
The turmoil reached its peak on the eve of Calvin's arrival, but after the Primarch arrived and the Grand Inquisitor was deposed, everything seemed to return to a brief calm.
But Mayne knew that it was not that simple.
Things are only going to get worse, as the casting assistant superintendents are left with a heightened sense of crisis without outside support.
The incident at the Cedrine Furnace, and even today's tit-for-tat meeting between the two sides, seemed to Mayne to have a strong flavor of conspiracy.
The wind and rain are precarious... Mayne recited the proverbs handed down from ancient Terra.
At this time, he was like a decorator guarding a dilapidated house. He could only struggle to control the new forces in the later stages of his life while completing the process of handing over power with difficulty.
"Solan?"
Mayne Shaft, who was sitting on the Iron Throne, finally spoke, and the priests immediately turned their attention to the Deputy Forge Superintendent in charge of defense and intelligence.
The latter felt the focus of attention, and after getting the casting director's permission, he slowly broke away from the sequence:
"The Lord from the Tribunal has arrived. According to the combined calculations from the observations of the Astropath and the outer orbital scanning array, his flagship has arrived at the outer edge of the star ring."
"...It looks like we have to welcome him." The servo on the foundry director began to buzz, and the throne in the shadow began to slowly deform.
A body weighing dozens of tons slowly stood up from the shadows and walked out of the hall with heavy steps like a knight titan.
The technical priests and slave workers along the way lowered their heads in awe, and the red robes of the high-ranking priests were reflected on the cold floor.
"Probably more than 50% are being questioned," said Deputy Superintendent for Foreign Affairs Serene.
"That would be better than a complete break with them." Fardin, the master of the forge and the leader of the school responsible for industrial production capacity, retorted.
"But we don't want anything from the Inquisition." Another Deputy Foundry Superintendent joined the conversation, but his view was immediately refuted by Fardin.
"Unless you are willing to maintain exports with low-tech products, and there is no better market in the nearby star regions, if you don't want to keep eating Reza's leftovers, you will always have to deal with them for trade routes."
"but……"
"Okay." The casting director interrupted their conversation, which was a clear statement on this dispute.
Trade is important not only for the resources exchanged, but more importantly for the communication channels and technology diffusion maintained through trade. Hepper doesn't lack resources, but it does need a greater reach.
"How was the previous delegation?" the foundry director asked the crowd behind him, and everyone turned their attention to Fardin.
Those envoys had a small accident during their previous visit, and the casting director's implication was whether they were willing to ignore those "unexpected gains."
"It was calm, but I had worse expectations."
"Do you suspect they have remote communication methods?" The foundry director paused slightly and then continued forward.
"Then send them back to the Inquisition."
"Your will."
Everyone disappeared outside the tower. A few hours later, Calvin met with Mayne and others under the largest starport in the forging world.
“Praise the God of all opportunities, praise Him incarnate on earth.”
The moment Calvin's feet touched the tarmac, he could already hear the praises of the conductors on both sides.
The heavy ringing of bells and the whistling of the whistle filled Calvin's field of vision. Under the dim sky, everything as far as the eye could see were made of steel, gold and stone.
Representatives of the local knight families who stayed behind, as well as the governors of nearby mining planets, were all present and stood among the people watching the ceremony on both sides. Their bodies with obvious signs of transformation were covered with precious metal medals inlaid with gems, and their luxurious attires were covered.
The sleeping Titan was awakened and stood under the starry sky under the guidance of the pilot. At the end of the field of vision was the majestic star ring of the planetary shipyard and the unfinished Imperial warships.
What a magnificent scene this is, and this grand welcoming ceremony is just because of one person's visit.
The visit of a Lord of Terra is indeed worthy of making the servants of the Mecha, who always pride themselves on their independence, express sufficient goodwill.
Calvin stopped and looked around. The Purifiers and Imperial Guards were lined up behind him. The foundry director from afar came slowly with a welcoming team. The leaders of the two forces looked at each other in the ceremony, and the appearance of both sides also allowed each other to gain extremely rich information.
"I think you are no different from the previous representatives of the Tribunal." Mayne led the priests to greet Calvin, and behind him was the honor guard whom he had not seen for a long time.
"Oh? Is there any difference?" Calvin also led the Purifiers to greet the crowd.
He did not look at his guard members immediately, but walked alongside the foundry director.
"The Inquisition does have records of Gray Knights becoming representatives, but you are clearly more than that."
Mayne's voice came from Calvin's side, and the meaning of his words also reflected the current situation of several mechanical priests.
Hepper paid little attention to Terra and had no motivation to verify the rumors surrounding the Inquisition in recent years.
But Calvin's appearance was undoubtedly extremely impactful. His iconic body shape made the people on Heper's side finally realize that this Supreme Lord Inquisitor was not the spokesperson who had taken turns in the past, but a person who confused them. And shocked by the unknown existence.
And this knowledge completely overturned their assessment of Calvin. After rejecting Calvin's recruitment before, the visit of this guy who was suspected of being a Primarch made the people in charge of Heper feel intuitive pressure.
"I also serve that great being." Calvin responded to the casting director's words with a smile, and the implicit denial was equivalent to some kind of admission at this moment.
In the foundry director's brain, currents and radio waves were passing crazily:
They can ignore the questioning of an imperial judge, as long as they make up for it in other directions afterwards. Anyway, although the Tribunal is powerful, its specific members are also famous for their complicated factions.
But what about the questioning of a Primarch?
Especially when this original body appears as the Supreme Lord Inquisitor, does that mean that this theoretically the most powerful organization in the empire has been completely absorbed by the Emperor's Children?
impossible! Mayne subconsciously ruled out this option because it was a feat that had never been accomplished.
But even if it is not completely incorporated, can the forging world in which it is located really be able to withstand the pressure from Terra?
Will Mars help me? It should.
But this is based on the assumption that he did not explicitly refuse Calvin’s recruitment, and it is also based on the condition that his secret here is not leaked...
"I deeply apologize to you. We do have our own reasons for rejecting your call."
The humbleness of the foundry director's tone was a huge disparity with his physical strength. Before the staff and school leaders behind him could react, Calvin's understatement dealt a heavy blow to everyone's hearts.
"Is it because of that Emperor-level Titan?" The original body stopped with a half-smile.
"Speaking of which, I'm also curious. According to the Imperial Administration Council's registration, your land does not have the qualifications to station a first-class Titan Legion. So what's the explanation for this Titan...?"
really! What is supposed to come has come!
Starting from Calvin's last sentence, several high-ranking priests had stopped, and when his next question came out, the murderous intent in the air had solidified.
But this giant just stood there quietly, completely ignoring the malice emanating from the people around him.
And it was precisely after seeing the Imperial Eagle emblem on the giant's breastplate that everyone realized why the other party was so unscrupulous.
A Primarch... at this distance, should... be able to easily kill everyone who dares to threaten his safety, right?
renew.
