Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [166]

But to be fair, Rhodes does need to leverage the Empire's powerful industrial capabilities to manufacture the King Joes or the Ultrawarriors.

Rhodes' has scientists and technology, but what he lacks is a suitable foundry and skilled workers. Without these basic facilities, his mechanical monsters simply can't be built.

Those monsters Rhodes created using the Monster Warrior Serum don't have much to do with him, and they don't generate any system coins either.

But these mechanical monsters are different. Since the designs come from the system and are built by scientists, when they kill enemies, they generate system coins for Rhodes.

["Alright, it's settled then. Your mechanical monsters are first-class in terms of strength.

That golden robot, which can split into three smaller forms, and that silver robot, which can transform into a cylindrical spaceship, are both incredibly powerful.

As for that silver-and-red robot, its strength is indeed impressive. However, with humanity's current level of technology, it's impossible to replicate. Humanity of the Golden Age might be able to give it a try,"] the Emperor said.

Through his soul vision, the Emperor had seen Rhodes' mechanical monsters in action. Their power far surpassed the Titan units of the Empire.

To give an example: if the Empire's Titan units are equivalent to the Astra Militarum, then Rhodes' massive robots are all on the level of Astartes.

Especially that silver-and-red robot. Against other Titan units, it's like the Custodian fighting ordinary soldiers.

"The golden one is called the King Joe, the silver one is the Big Iron, and the silver-and-red one is called the Ace Robot," Rhodes explained.

The Emperor seems to have some self-awareness, knowing that humanity's current technological level can't replicate the Ultrawarrior. But it's fine—Salome can make it.

["Your robots don't look like they're equipped with artificial intelligence, but they also don't seem to have machine spirits. How do they operate?"] the Emperor asked.

If they were equipped with artificial intelligence, it would seem far too rudimentary. But if they don't have AI and no pilots, their level of automated combat is a bit too advanced.

"They're equipped with a low-level artificial intelligence. To be honest, it's not as good as your machine spirits, but we've programmed them with specific mechanical instructions.

My scientists are responsible for building these big guys, but your people will need to awaken their machine spirits," Rhodes replied.

The mass-produced King Joe and Ultrawarriors aren't particularly intelligent. The artificial intelligence they're equipped with is very limited.

Most civilizations in the universe guard against artificial intelligence—after all, it can rebel at any moment. So you can't give it too much intelligence or authority.

The unique machine spirits of the Warhammer universe are indeed a blessing for these mechanical monsters. Plus, awakening the machine spirits requires the assistance of the Mechanicus tech-priests from Mars.

["I see. Machine spirits are indeed safer—safer than artificial intelligence.

So, according to you, we should start producing these mechanical titans first? The King Joe or the Ultrawarriors?"] the Emperor asked.

["The Ultrawarriors can be built now, but the King Joe will take a bit longer—probably a few months.

"I need to first go on a spree in your Webway."

Where will I get the million coins needed to upgrade the Pedan Mothership and unlock the King Joe production line?

"Besides, Roboute Guilliman isn't awake yet. You can't even give orders to your Custodian Guard, so we're stuck."

["No problem. We've waited this long already. I think that silver robot that can transform into a spaceship is your best one,"] the Emperor said.

"That's just a prototype, and my scientists don't have time to work on it right now. Let's talk about it later.

The King Joe and Ultrawarriors should be enough for now," Rhodes replied.

The Big Iron is highly sophisticated, especially its core, which is an advanced energy absorption device. Rhodes suspected the Emperor had his eye on it.

For now, stick with the King Joe and Ultrawarriors! Don't get any ideas about the Big Iron just yet.

Besides, there's no point in discussing this now. Without the Emperor being able to communicate with his subordinates and without Roboute Guilliman waking up, the Custodian wouldn't listen to anyone.

Rhodes couldn't collaborate with the Empire to produce mechanical warriors or leverage the Empire's massive industrial system.

"How do you plan on opening the Webway to let my subordinates in? What's your plan for these Custodian Guard?" Rhodes asked.

Now comes the critical step: how to get his two Ace killers with the power of the Emperor into the Webway?

["If it's just a matter of sending your two subordinates in, that's not a big problem. I'll send them into the Webway directly in a moment.

You can just tell everyone they've returned to your mothership,"] the Emperor replied.

"I'll have them head to the palace outskirts. When the time comes, will you have the power to send them into the Webway?" Rhodes asked.

["If it were a few days ago, I wouldn't have been able to.

But now, my dark side is severely weakened. That dark lifeform of yours has been constantly absorbing its power.

This allows me to relax a lot, mobilize more strength, and directly transport your subordinates from outside the palace into the Webway,"] the Emperor said.

The suppression of his dark side brought immense benefits.

He could do many things, including increasing the number of Living Saints and enhancing the strength of the existing ones.

He could also expand the size of his Legion of the Damned.

"Alright! Then it's settled. We'll go with your plan," Rhodes nodded.

["You need to ensure the safety of the Webway. If your two subordinates can't clear out the daemons in the Webway,

there's a high chance they might spill out. At that point, my Imperial Guard will notice the situation. However, the Legion of the Damned can have your back.

If necessary, I can even summon Living Saints to join the battle. As long as the number of daemons spilling out isn't too great, we can send them back,"] the Emperor said.

The most critical part of this deal was that he would provide backup for Rhodes.

His earlier guess was correct: Rhodes could likely gain power by slaughtering these daemons, Tyranids, or Orks to summon those monstrous beasts.

Moreover, Rhodes wasn't even trying to hide this fact.

"Don't worry! I absolutely won't need your Imperial Guard to step in. Your Living Saints and Legion of the Damned won't need to act either."

Letting the Emperor's forces take action and steal my kills? These daemons in the Webway are all mine!

After discussing the specifics of the Webway war with the Emperor, Rhodes informed the nearby Imperial Guard to let the two disguised Ace Killers return to the mothership.

The Imperial Guard did not stop them and directly released the two.

After leaving the palace, the Emperor used his power to send them both into the Webway world.

This was a strange world, filled with countless daemons—some belonging to the Chaos Gods, some unaligned.

Beneath the Golden Throne, the Webway world was a massive rift hundreds of meters wide.

Above the rift sat a gigantic throne, with the Emperor seated upon it.

This rift had been torn open over ten thousand years ago when Magnus sent a psychic signal to the Emperor.

Back then, Magnus was loyal, but his method of loyalty went awry and ended up causing a colossal mess for the Emperor.

This allowed the four Chaos Gods to discover the small rift, and they worked together to expand it, pouring in an endless stream of daemons.

As soon as the two Ace Killers appeared in the Webway world, endless daemons rushed toward them.

The two Ace Killers immediately enlarged their bodies, growing to 40 meters tall. Their entire forms radiated the Emperor's golden light as they began slaughtering the daemons.

The golden light of the Emperor shone brightly, enveloping the bodies of the two Ace Killers as they unleashed carnage on the daemons.

There were many daemons, but most were low-level ones, with no high-ranking Greater Daemons present. The fight was relatively easy, especially since the Emperor's golden psychic light was extremely lethal to the daemons.

["This rift in the Webway was only about 100 meters wide back then, but now it's expanded to 200 meters in diameter. If I weren't holding it down with the power of the Golden Throne, this rift would continue to tear wider and could eventually become a place like the Eye of Terror,"] the Emperor said.

The combat ability of these two gigantic creatures was impressive! They used the golden psychic light, but it had nothing to do with him, leaving the Emperor with a strange sense of déjà vu.

["These two creations of yours look alive, yet they don't seem like living beings,"] the Emperor commented.

"They're a kind of artificial lifeform, similar to bio-enhanced humans," Rhodes explained.

Ace Killers were created by the Yapool people to hunt Ultraman.

They appeared in later works as well. They could absorb Ultraman's power. While they had life, they were categorized as mechanical monsters.

["You should make more of these lifeforms,"] the Emperor said. Once they donned their armor, they looked just like himself when he still walked among mortals. He even wanted one to play with.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean these? They're called Ace Emperor Killers!" Rhodes said with a mischievous grin.

The Emperor: "..."