Chapter 227 Phaeton Casting World
"Try to contact Phaeton Forge World."
Fu Qinghai said.
"I called for the seventh time, but there was no response."
Xia Long replied.
There was no news from the Phaeton Forge World, which indicated two situations: either there were no astropaths on the forge world at all, or the galaxy where it was located was shrouded in a subspace storm, and communications were blocked.
But the navigator said that the fleet could sail normally to the Phaeton Forging World, so the latter possibility was ruled out.
Without even a astropath, the situation on this marginal forging world might be even worse than Fu Qinghai had imagined.
…
The relationship between Mars and the numerous Forge Worlds is somewhere between "the common ruler of the world under the Western Zhou ritual system" and "the Commonwealth of Great Britain".
Simply put, Mars' control over other forging worlds is slightly stronger than the score seal, but slightly weaker than the Commonwealth.
There are some Forge Worlds that are completely unimpressive, such as Huangquan No. 8, which is famous for its love of studying alien technology. Huangquan No. 8, the "Sleepless One-Eye", once attracted the attention of the Alien Inquisition because of his excessive obsession with alien technology. The High Lords Council sent dozens of Death Watch killing squads to encircle Huangquan No. 8.
There are some forge worlds that have a close but distant relationship with Mars, such as Ryza, which is famous for the research and production of plasma weapons, "Furnace Starlink" Ryza, and all the plasma pistols used by Fu Qinghai were produced in the Ryza Forge World.
There are also some forge worlds that have a very close relationship with Mars, such as Voss Prime, known as the "Right Hand of Mars", and Steel Sphere, known as the "Flashing Giant". These two forge worlds fully agree with the ideas and teachings of Mars and are loyal to Mars.
So what elements does a powerful forging world with a name and a surname need to contain?
First, there must be at least one Titan Legion.
Any world that cannot even support a Titan Legion must be a fake forge world, while some extremely powerful forge worlds, such as Mars, can even support more than one Titan Legion.
Secondly, you need to have a few flagship products that you can show off.
The representative products of the Agrippina Foundry World are the Leman Russ Eradicator, the Engineering Sentinel Mech of the Triple Far Foundry World, and the Grand Chancellor Armored Assault Launcher of the Zhao Akada Foundry World... They are either special products or special models of ordinary products. If it can only produce mainland products, it is obviously an unknown foundry world.
Finally, one must go through the test of war.
For example, "Hollow Forge" Lucius is a hollow planet with an artificial sun surrounded by its crust. The entire planet is a super-large furnace with extremely high forging efficiency. It also masters the synthesis formula of a special alloy called "Yangyan".
Lucius was attacked by the Leviathan Hive Fleet in later lives, and finally they drove the Hive Fleet away - the speed at which the Hive Fleet absorbed the biomass soldiers could not keep up with the speed at which Lucius recast mechanical parts. A forge world of the Mechanicus won a war of attrition against the Tyranids, and the Hollow Forge became famous in the universe.
Having said so much, what kind of casting world is Phaeton Casting World?
Fu Qinghai stood on the bridge, looking at the scan screen of the auspicious instrument in front of him - the empty scorched earth scorched by the light of the stars, and fell into silence.
…
Fu Qinghai piloted the Thunderhawk gunboat and landed on the surface of the planet with Qiao Shida, Camille and Satfaran.
The light here is scorching and dazzling, the earth here is dry and cracked, and the air here is twisted and hot.
The fleet flew around the planet and found that it was not a completely desolate and dead world. It was not that simple. The ship-borne auspicious instrument discovered several artificial structures similar to fortresses and shafts on the surface.
The bow hatch of the Thunderhawk gunboat opened and fell, and four Space Marines walked out along the deck with weapons in hand. Fu Qinghai's magnetic shoes stepped on the dry ground without a trace of moisture, making a crisp "click" sound.
The view through the eyepiece is filled with a vast, withered yellow scene.
"Air temperature, seventy-nine degrees Celsius."
Qiao Shida reported.
"Its main component is carbon dioxide, which is not breathable."
Camille added.
The power armor is completely enclosed, and the life support system in the power backpack is working to maintain the Space Marines' body temperature and moisture. Even in such a harsh environment, the four people did not feel any discomfort.
Fu Qinghai raised his head and looked at the super big sun in the sky.
Fu Qinghai has visited many Earth-like planets. Those Earth-like planets may have three or four "moons", but their "suns" are the same, with almost the same color and size as the sun seen on Earth.
The "sun" in front of us is so big, like a round table hanging in the sky. This shows that the distance between the stars and the planets is too close and it is not suitable for human habitation. However, the data shows that this is a forging world.
So obviously.
Fu Qinghai led the three people towards the huge steel building standing on the scorched earth, an abandoned vertical shaft.
The four of them came to the top of the shaft, where was an old helicopter elevator covered in dried blood and blackened from the explosion. Fu Qinghai squatted down to taste the blood - human blood. Other than that, he didn't get any information.
High temperatures have destroyed the activity of DNA fragments.
Fu Qinghai tried to operate it and found that the elevator was able to operate normally. Fu Qinghai moved the difficult handle of the gear and four Space Marines took the elevator. Amidst the creaking and rumbling sounds, the elevator slowly sank and disappeared into the dark and lightless shaft.
The elevator continued to sink.
It was pitch black all around.
Only the Space Marine's scarlet eyepieces were lit.
Another small screen lit up.
Fu Qinghai held up a handheld auspicious instrument and said,
"We have already descended 300 meters. The auspicious instrument has detected life signals below."
Just as he guessed, this was an underground civilization.
The elevator continued to rumble downward.
"Bang!"
The elevator body shook and stopped.
Fu Qinghai and his companions walked out of the elevator and saw a huge steel door in front of them.
"Thermal bomb."
Fu Qinghai said.
Qiao Shida quickly set up the hot melt bomb.
"boom--"
After the explosion, the Space Marines entered the perimeter of the facility through a doorway that was emitting smoke and covered with slag.
"Click, click…"
They were greeted by a circle of automatic guns, and the faces of the soldiers holding these weapons were all pale and terrified. Among them were children, women, and the elderly, but there were no Crusaders or cybernetic robots.
They are not soldiers.
Fu Qinghai made a judgment instantly.
Fu Qinghai lowered his gun slightly and said,
"I am Qingshan Khan of the White Scars Legion's Brotherhood of God Machines. Put down your weapons and tell me the situation here."
The fear did not fade from the faces of the mortals.
It was not until Fu Qinghai took off his helmet and revealed his face that the elderly, the weak, women and children present finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that there were no protruding sharp corners, no sharp teeth or long tongue on his face.
"You're late, White Scar."
An old man pushed the crowd aside and stood in front.
His eyes were filled with grief and anger as he shouted,
"Aren't you known as the fastest army in the universe? Why are you here only now?!"
"Watch your words, mortal."
Qiao Shida couldn't help but say:
"We are not here on orders, we are just passing by."
"Haha." The old man laughed bitterly,
"See, this is how Terra and Mars treat us. They don't care and don't care."
Fu Qinghai roughly understood what was going on. He strode forward, grabbed the old man by the collar, lifted him in front of him, and said calmly:
"If you really have the courage, you should die in the battle against the enemy, instead of surviving until now to get angry at us. Now, tell me, what happened?"
…
"They easily killed all the Skitarii and Cybertrons, and any Tech-Priests who were unwilling to obey them."
"They took away all the supplies, STCs and young men they could take away."
"They raided the population like crazy, cramming every deck with slaves until there was no room for any more."
An old woman lay in front of Fu Qinghai and cried.
"Everything that couldn't be taken away was blown up by them. The light energy grid array was blown up, the geothermal power station was blown up, all the forges, all the crucibles, all the foundries and production workshops... Woohoo, God of All Machines is above."
Another elderly man added in a hoarse voice.
From the survivors' accounts, Fu Qinghai roughly reconstructed what happened.
Three months ago, the remnants of the Sons of Horus passed by here and easily defeated the weak defenders of the Phaeton Forge World. The Sixteenth Legion began to plunder this place, including supplies, population, and technology. Based on the principle that they could not use them themselves and could not leave them to the false emperor, all the facilities and equipment that could not be taken away were blown up.
These old, weak, sick and disabled people in front of us relied on hiding deep underground, and the traitors were in a hurry and did not want to capture them as slaves, so they were lucky enough to escape.
Fu Qinghai knew why the traitors would smash, loot, burn and plunder like a group of beggars.
Because there is nothing in the Eye of Terror, no humans, no facilities, no supplies... even a sip of clean drinking water and a piece of intact ceramsite armor can cause a bloody fight between Chaos gangs.
I really don't know why they rebelled.
How did the first large-scale conflict between the Traitor Legions that fled into the Eye of Terror break out? It was because the Emperor's Children didn't have enough slaves, so they wanted to rob the Sons of Horus of their slaves.
Space Marines are all masters, used to being served by mortals, how can they survive without slaves? Slaves are not only needed for work, but also for the production of new Space Marines.
The people here should be thankful that the traitor they encountered was the Sons of Horus. Although the Sons of Horus were also corrupted by the power of Chaos, most of them did not believe in the Four Chaos Gods. They believed in Chaos Without Division or had no faith at all. If they encountered the Death Guard, the Emperor's Children or the World Eaters, the starting point of their consideration would not be simple efficiency and profit. They would kill and torture for the love of it.
The Sons of Horus have been gone for three months. It is impossible to catch up with them, and even if you catch up with them, you may not be able to defeat them. Fu Qinghai now only cares about what is left in the entire Forge World.
…
"This is a newly emerging forge world. Only a small part of the underground city has been developed, and many places are still blank."
Fu Qinghai said to Master Quinto.
"I looked through the management log of the former foundry director. Their core technology is mainly geothermal and solar energy extraction equipment. Other than that, there is nothing special. The traitors couldn't take these large facilities away, so they were all blown up. But they should be repairable."
The Phaeton Forge World is really not good. It is located far away from the core area of the empire and close to the edge star area of the Hazy Star Field.
One example can give us a glimpse of the whole picture: Fu Qinghai saw at first glance that they were still using natural reproduction to increase their population, while on a forging world like Mars, no one had given birth to children long ago, and the population was born in a cloning culture factory.
Belisarius Cawl was born in a mechanical test tube and a biochemical cabin. Like most Martians, he didn't know who his parents were.
Forge Worlds are also divided into levels. The production capacity of Forge Worlds is not necessarily higher than that of Industrial Worlds. The real difference is that Forge Worlds are under the jurisdiction of the Mechanicus, and their tax level is the same as that of the Astartes Chapter's home planet, which is special tax exemption. Industrial Worlds are under the jurisdiction of the Human Empire and need to pay industrial products as a tithe.
Why did the Adeptus Mechanicus choose Phaeton as its Forge World? During the Great Crusade, it was originally defined as a forward base for further conquest and development of the Segmentum Obscura. However, with the advent of the Horus Heresy, subsequent development plans were shelved.
"The only good news, Master."
Fu Qinghai said to Master Quinto:
"The former forge director, Buck Hesret, a forger with the title of Forge Master, led some technical priests, as well as STC components and blueprints, and hid in an ancient labyrinth deep underground. The Sons of Horus were unable to find them."
…
The fleet hovers in space orbit.
Camille has to perform reconstructive surgeries on 135 adolescents of childbearing age, and has been very busy recently.
Qiao Shida is leading the new recruits who have successfully survived the transformation surgery to start training, and he is also very busy.
Fu Qinghai would go to the podium of the Xingyu Choir every now and then and spread false information with Xia Long.
"The cruiser Fiery Horse sends a letter to the respected Mars Forge Temple: The Orc Fleet is currently besieging the Phaeton Forge World. The Brotherhood of God Machines and the enemy are fighting repeatedly for the spaceport. The battle is fierce. We request support..."
"The cruiser Fiery Horse sent a letter to the respected Forge Commander Great Sage Cain: The Orc fleet has occupied the spaceport and we are unable to leave the planet. The orcs tried to land but were blocked by the Skitarii led by Qingshan Khan. The orcs suffered heavy losses and retreated to the space orbit to continue the blockade..."
"A letter from the cruiser Fiery Horse to the respected ..."
Text message bombing, oh no, it's star language bombing.
I'm so annoyed with the Great Sage Cain.
A week later, Xia Long found Fu Qinghai:
"Mars wants to have a private conversation with Sage Quinto."
"Uh, okay."
Fu Qinghai agreed and notified Master Quinto on the research vessel to come over.
Master Quinto came to the Star Language Choir platform.
It was said to be a private conversation and Fu Qinghai was standing next to them.
After a while, Xia Long said,
"Mars asked Sage Quinto how long it would take to lift the orcs' siege on Phaeton Forge World."
Fu Qinghai said: "It is estimated to be two years."
Master Quinto nodded.
Xia Long sent a message and after a while, said:
"Mars asked Sage Quinto if the two STCs were intact?"
Master Quinto said, "It's intact."
The two-way telepathic communication continued slowly at a frequency of once every ten minutes or so until...
"Mars asked Sage Quinto if he was willing to rule a Forge World alone."
Here we come!
Master Quinto was about to agree when Fu Qinghai held Xia Long down:
"First ask which forge world it is."
Xia Long sent the message over ten minutes later.
"Phaeton forges the world."
Fu Qinghai sneered and said, "Sure enough."
Totally unexpected.
"Reply yes."
It took Xia Long a long time to receive the last wave of star language transmission. Finally, she slowly read out:
"Great Sage Cain wrote to Sage Quinto: The great faith of the God of All Machines needs to take root in the distant hazy star field. Reviving a forging world is the best reward for the Messiah of Om. As the representative of the God of Machines in the world, you are in charge of His palace and guarding His territory. Quinto Anastasio, this is a supremely glorious task. You swear to defend the last inch of sacred territory and never let it be occupied by aliens!"
What this means is that you can die, but the STC must not be abducted by the orcs.
"I officially appoint you as Phaeton's foundry director today! After the turmoil and catastrophe, too many foundry worlds have forgotten the core essence of truth and logic, and reversed the rotation direction of gears and bearings. Quinto Anastasio, you must inherit and strengthen the faith of Mars!"
Fu Qinghai laughed when he heard this, thinking that the political review of your Mars was really not up to standard. Master Quinto was a big heretic who loved to study alien technology. When he transformed the space marines, he dared to add materials without authorization. His classmate and friend Master Vanak was also a big heretic who was deeply involved in nanotechnology. Even so, he still asked Master Quinto to "inherit and strengthen the faith of Mars"?
It was good that Phaeton did not become the second Huangquan No. 8.
Xia Long continued to repeat the words of the Great Sage Cain:
"Finally, I will personally write to Jaghatai Khan, asking the Primarch to order the Brotherhood of God Machine to garrison the Forge World of Phaeton until the orcs retreat or reinforcements from Mars arrive."
"All glory to the God of all things."
…
The small fleet split up again.
Both the research vessel and the transport ship remained in the Phaeton Foundry World.
Fu Qinghai patted Sartrefan's shoulder and said,
"You stay here and protect Master Quinto closely and help him control this forging world. The Schwerin Nest will replenish the population here. You can try to find the missing forger in the ancient labyrinth, but don't get yourself involved."
Fu Qinghai glanced at the Raven Guard warriors and said,
"No matter who they are, anyone who prevents Master Quinto from controlling this Forge World..."
Fu Qinghai made a throat-slitting gesture.
Sartre Fran nodded:
"Understood, Khan."
Fu Qinghai continued,
"I'll leave a Thunderhawk gunboat for you. Remember, at a critical moment, your lives are more important than any STC."
Master Quinto smiled and said:
"Little Locke, don't be so nervous. The Skitarii and the Armed Servants are all on my side. Strictly speaking, I have more troops than you."
Fu Qinghai said: "It is better to be prepared."
…
Three months later, the fleet was drifting on its way back home.
Xia Long sent a message from the star:
"The cruiser Fiery Horse sent a letter to the respected Forge Commander Great Sage Cain: Under the unremitting efforts of Qingshan Khan and the Brotherhood of the Divine Machine, the Orc fleet has retreated."
......
(End of this chapter)