The mountainous region in the early morning was enshrouded in a layer of thin mist. Under the direct irradiation of the sunlight, they would melt away like frost and snow within half an hour.
Soshyan was still staying within the cabin of the Thunderhawk, staring fixedly at the pale-green fluorescent screens.
Before the first ray of morning sun rose, out of the 500 candidates, 82 people had been 'eliminated'; 6 groups had been thoroughly wiped out; and 4 strongholds had changed hands.
Once fresh and living lives had turned into ice-cold corpses overnight.
Soshyan was not one cruel by nature. But just as Sol had said, they were in a stage of total war; not a single bit of weakness could be tolerated.
But he also made a decision: that was to not make the results public externally. Everything would only operate internally within the Chapter. This way, perhaps it could let those parents who delivered their children into his hands still have a bit of hope in their hearts.
Suddenly, the cabin door behind him was opened.
"Soshyan."
Sol appeared behind him.
"Lothar asked me to tell you that that Governor Bastis Venaether has once again applied to meet with you."
Soshyan's shoulders sank slightly.
"The fifteenth time, right."
"No. In actuality, this is the seventeenth time this month."
"Didn't I have Lothar reply to him, saying I am busy?"
"This time he changed his reason."
Sol walked to his side, similarly looking at those display screens pieced together. A portion of them had already extinguished.
Those black blocks appeared exceptionally piercing amidst the encirclement of the shining screens.
"What reason?"
"It's regarding the matter of constructing warships. Said that they have already applied for and received the forge templates from the nearest Forge World, and can begin construction very soon."
This actually made Soshyan somewhat surprised.
After returning to the homeworld, apart from recruiting troops, the second important matter was to expand the scale of the fleet.
His expectation was that by the time the first batch of recruits completed their transformation, the Chapter fleet must possess at least one Battle Barge (converted from Starfire), five Lunar-class Cruisers, and twenty-some Frigates.
A fleet scale like this perhaps wasn't large, but for the sparsely-populated Astral Knights Chapter, it was absolutely enough to use.
And the most crucial point was that Soshyan understood the industrial level of his own homeworld. The orbital shipyards of Nathan IV could easily construct Lunar-class Cruisers, and could even begin construction on several lines simultaneously.
In the planet's history, they had already produced easy-to-construct Lunar-class Cruisers for the sector fleet multiple times. It was only after the planet's minerals were nearly exhausted that production capacity had somewhat declined, and they no longer frequently executed production tasks.
But the production capability was still there.
However, although Soshyan's idea was good, executing it was not easy.
Because according to Imperial law, a planet is not allowed to independently manufacture warships. They must obtain approval documents from the Departmento Munitorum, or authorization letters from certain agencies, before drawing templates from a Forge World to conduct construction.
Although manufacturing Lunar-class Cruisers does not necessarily require templates, this can be considered a procedure internal to the Adeptus Mechanicus.
If skipped over, then in the future when looking for Tech-priests to conduct maintenance, the difficulty coefficient would be very high.
Therefore, after Soshyan brought up his own demands to the Planetary Governor, the other party instead told him that the entire process would be more troublesome than he anticipated.
In theory, the Space Marines' authorization letter can obtain forge templates. But because Nathan IV is not the legal homeworld of the Astral Knights, and the Sector Governor's side does not have related authorizations either, they must undergo many tedious and complicated steps, circling around within various bureaucratic systems, before they can finalize this matter.
Although Soshyan felt urgent towards expanding the fleet, he also knew the sluggishness of the Imperial bureaucratic system. For this matter, even if he pressured the Planetary Governor no matter how much, it would be useless; he could only urge the other party from time to time.
But unexpectedly, the other party's efficiency was surprisingly unexpectedly high. It had only been how many days, and it was already settled.
"Then I really should go meet with him."
Knowing in his heart that the other party must have some request, Soshyan still decided to meet with this planet's ruler.
"I will leave this place to you for the time being, Instructor Sol."
"Mhm, go set your mind at ease."
After leaving the Thunderhawk, Soshyan summoned a Shuttle, and told Lothar that he agreed to meet with the other party.
The location was naturally the Winter Palace.
About half an hour later, Soshyan—bringing along a squad of warriors—arrived at the main hall of the Winter Palace. Guided by servants, he came to a meeting room inside the gorgeous palace all alone by himself.
The Winter Palace is the tallest building on all of Nathan IV, practically above the cloud layers.
Through the giant windows wiped clean as new, from inside the room one could gaze at the saltwater in the polluted bay 50 kilometers away.
Pulling one's line of sight back to the near distance, one could see Ornithopters and Biplanes buzzing loudly as they shuttled between various giant city buildings. The high-power headlights of orbital transport vehicles penetrated the mist and haze, flashing toward the direction of the aprons.
Outside the Hive City, amidst the yellow gloomy air, promethium smelting plants discharged brown smoke and fog into the eternal dusk.
Toxic wastewater rivers encircled those industrial zones. If not for the Adeptus Mechanicus's modification technology, these toxic fogs could easily enshroud the entire Hive City within them.
"The Emperor protects, my lord."
At this time, several maids walked into the meeting room. They all wore blue brocade formal dresses with silk shawls, perfectly meeting most people's requirements for 'beautiful females'.
In their hands they carried exquisite wine jugs and wine glasses, as well as various kinds of fruits and desserts, including hot towels.
In front of the armored Astartes, they appeared exceptionally petite.
"My lord, is there anything you need?"
The vocal lines of these maids were all extremely beautiful and melodious; they were undoubtedly specially cultivated. Even just speaking was exactly like singing.
Soshyan shook his head.
"I do not plan to delay here. Where is Bastis."
"Your request has been received. I am going right now."
The maid slightly bent her knees and retreated out.
Quickly, she brought the master of this place in.
Bastis Venaether, the Planetary Governor of Nathan IV, and also the patriarch of the family that has controlled this planet for over a thousand years.
He was a large man wearing a double-breasted brown robe. But his exquisite, boy-like face made his massive skeletal frame appear not so prominent. A head of dark-brown short hair was combed neatly, shining with oil—there was no doubt this person had utilized certain life-extension surgeries.
Two bodyguards wearing grey uniforms with external breastplates and a petite beautiful lady wearing a dark blue coat accompanied him.
"Governor Bastis Venaether."
Soshyan spoke while gently grasping the hand the other party extended.
"I am the Chapter Master of the Astral Knights Chapter, Soshyan Alexey."
"The ancient Alexei Family is honored because of you, Chapter Master."
Bastis smiled, walked to his own chair, then sat up onto it, and also pointed at a specially-enlarged hardwood chair.
"The Chapter Master's presence brings light to my humble dwelling. Please sit."
"No need. I do not want to waste your time, Governor."
Soshyan spoke as he stepped forward, staring fixedly at the other party's face.
"You obtained the manufacturing permit, right."
Soshyan spoke very straightforwardly, which made Bastis somewhat awkward.
He waved his hand, signaling the others to all leave. After waiting for the door to close once anew, he cautiously said:
"Yes. I mobilized some family connections, and finally managed to settle this matter in the shortest amount of time."
"Then, Governor."
Soshyan took another step forward and said in a low voice:
"This month you sought me out seventeen times. What is the reason for this?"
"Um... it is..."
Governor Bastis Venaether suddenly became somewhat nervous. He pulled out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and gently wiped the sweat on his forehead.
"There's a person—"
"I understand."
Soshyan took a step back.
"In order to thank you for your assistance and contributions to the Chapter, I will give him one final chance."
"Endlessly grateful! Endlessly grateful!"
Bastis clasped his hands into fists and continuously smiled apologetically at Soshyan, as if he was a parent pleading for a teacher's understanding after their child had made a mistake in school. That portion of majesty belonging to a Planetary Governor had vanished without a trace.
"However."
Soshyan's tone took a sharp turn.
"Governor, I hope you can also remember: we are an Astartes Chapter. If he insists on this, then his life will belong to the Emperor. This is something no one can change."
Bastis's complexion instantly turned deathly pale. Meanwhile, Soshyan turned around with a swish and walked towards the main doors without even turning his head back.