Garreon finished the arrangements for Odinson and left the modification chamber, his heart filled with both satisfaction and awe.
Huron watched Odinson’s steady breathing as information regarding the Progenoid Glands surfaced in his mind.
Whether it was the neck gland that matured in five years or the chest gland that matured in ten, both could be harvested and implanted immediately upon maturation!
It wasn’t like the “armchair general” lore he had picked up in his previous life, which claimed the chest gland could only be recovered after the host died.
This meant that every five years, the Astral Claws could welcome a massive wave of new recruits, and the growth rate would only accelerate year after year!
As for why most Chapters always looked so pathetic, as if their gene-seed was never enough, that was due to a combination of factors.
On one hand, the Codex Astartes restricted the size of Chapters, and those without the guts or power didn’t dare “over-produce.” Those with real capability—like the Black Templars—were constantly engaged in massive crusades.
They lost Space Marines in droves, yet their numbers never seemed to dwindle.
On the other hand, factors like the Adeptus Mechanicus’s gene-seed tithe, low success rates for aspirant modification, and weak Chapter logistics all played a role.
Rather than harvesting a gland the moment it matured to create a “blank slate” recruit who might not even be worthy of Power Armor, most preferred to let the gene-seed remain within a veteran.
This allowed it to absorb more of the veteran’s combat experience, resulting in a more potent recruit later on.
Most Chapters were dirt poor.
Though the three “unfortunate brothers” of the Maelstrom Wardens were already struggling, there were plenty of Chapters in the galaxy far worse off than them.
Furthermore, most Chapters viewed themselves as small-scale elites, primarily executing decapitation strikes and shock assaults.
Naturally, they favored quality over quantity.
But in Huron’s vision, the Astartes weren’t meant to be some small-scale elite.
They were meant to gradually replace mortal troops and become the backbone of the battlefield.
If the opportunity arose in the future, Huron even planned to make Astartes modification universal—shifting it from specialized war-machine augmentation to a standard form of genetic enhancement.
After all, this galaxy was filled with too many monsters and demons.
How could an ordinary person survive in this hellish world without becoming stronger?
The terrifying output of his system-provided military factories could support his ambitions.
Currently, twelve factories could produce ten sets of basic Astartes equipment a day.
That wasn’t even counting his plans to open Astartes equipment production lines on Badab itself to further boost capacity.
The growth of his physical manufacturing power would, in turn, increase the number of system factories.
Eventually, he’d be pulling himself up by his own bootstraps.
Turning the Astartes into a standard infantry branch wouldn’t just be a dream—it would be inevitable.
“Just give me a hundred years…
no, fifty years, and I can pump out tens or even hundreds of thousands of Astartes!”
Previously, talking about boarding a Blackstone Fortress was just a way to psych himself up.
But now, seeing how powerful the system’s functions were, Huron truly felt that boarding a Blackstone Fortress was within the realm of possibility.
By the time the Battle of Cadia rolled around, he estimated he could field a hundred million or more Astartes.
At that point, he could drown Abaddon in a sea of ceramite!
However, fantasies were just fantasies.
To reach that future, he had to keep his feet on the ground and solve his current problems.
The most important task was to further solidify his authority within the Astral Claws.
Huron had only been Chapter Master for a few years.
Though he had many battle honors, he had previously only been the Captain of the 3rd Company.
His prestige wasn’t the highest in the Chapter; both the 1st Captain and several of the Venerable Dreadnoughts commanded more respect.
This was why he had used the pretext of the Emperor’s blessing to bring Garreon in for the surgery.
Only by doing this could he strengthen his own authority and better reform the Chapter’s traditions and customs.
While the traditions of the Astral Claws weren’t overly twisted, they still viewed mortal lives as expendable.
Aside from people like Odinson, who was hardworking and exceptionally capable, everyone else was just line-filler and cannon fodder in the eyes of the Astral Claws.
If they died, you just grabbed a new batch.
The Chapter’s recruitment process was also filled with various forms of pure torture, seemingly designed specifically to kill the aspirants.
This naturally conflicted with Huron’s plans.
He intended to reference the Ultramarines’ model, selecting reserves and auxiliaries in bulk.
Otherwise, it would be a joke if he had the gene-seed but no qualified aspirants to put them in.
The next day, Garreon informed Huron that Odinson had regained consciousness.
He was moving freely with no adverse reactions.
Huron immediately convened a high-level meeting of the Chapter.
In the Chapter’s briefing room, the Company Captains, Librarians, the Chief Apothecary, the Master of the Forge, and the High Chaplain—all the Chapter’s leadership—gathered.
They watched Odinson, who was currently dressed in a simple robe.
Huron didn’t beat around the bush.
He spoke directly: “I have received the Emperor’s revelation and blessing.
To better combat the enemies of Mankind, we need to modify some of our recruitment rituals and rapidly expand our Brotherhood.”
Chief Apothecary Garreon immediately nodded in support.
“Indeed.
Brother Odinson is the best proof of the Emperor’s grace.”
The others looked over Garreon’s surgical report and then at Odinson, who had already begun to grow in stature.
They were all somewhat excited.
They knew how difficult the modification surgeries were; Odinson truly was a walking miracle.
None of them lacked ambition.
Now that the Chapter Master had the Emperor’s endorsement and a literal miracle to back it up, modifying the recruitment rituals was a small price to pay.
However, Master of the Forge Amanneus raised a concern: “Chapter Master, we currently have over a thousand gene-seeds in storage, but we have a massive equipment deficit.
If all the transplantations are successful, I’m afraid the new recruits won’t even have a full set of Power Armor.”
Although the Maelstrom sector had the Forge World of Angstrom, the relationship between the Maelstrom Wardens and the High Lords of Terra was extremely tense.
This resulted in the Imperium providing them with almost no supplies.
Without a direct order from the Imperial high command, Angstrom—which was highly independent and backed by an ancient Forge World like Ryza—simply ignored the Astral Claws.
Currently, the Chapter only had about four hundred surplus sets of Power Armor.
If all the new recruits were successfully modified, over six hundred of them would have to fight as “Clever Ogryns” without armor.
And it wasn’t just Power Armor.
For basic weapons like Bolters and Chainswords, the Chapter didn’t have a surplus of a thousand pieces just lying around.
Therefore, Amanneus was curious how the Chapter Master intended to solve this.
After all, a Space Marine without the support of his equipment was likely to be maimed or killed by a single lucky lasgun shot.
Huron glanced at the equipment already produced in his inventory.
With a wave of his hand, ten sets of Power Armor, ten Bolters, and ten crates of bolts appeared in the middle of the briefing room.
Looking at the brand-new, unpainted Power Armor that looked like it had just come off the forge line, everyone was stunned.
Some even hoped Huron would wave his hand a few more times to conjure even more gear.
Huron continued his bluff: “In addition to the recruitment surgeries, the Emperor’s blessing will provide me with this much equipment every single day.”
He paused, then added, “And as long as we practice the Emperor’s Way and annihilate the enemies of Mankind, the Emperor’s blessing will grow stronger, and the amount of equipment provided will increase.
Therefore, we must reform certain Chapter customs and rituals to better serve the Emperor.”
“I have spoken.
Who is with me, and who is against me?”