The inclusion of Mars injected powerful momentum into the rise of the Empire.
Mars, once a technological wasteland, rapidly transformed into the industrial heart of the Empire after officially becoming part of it.
Its Adeptus Mechanicus, with unparalleled efficiency and fanatical faith in machines, helped the Emperor of Mankind expand the fleet for the Great Crusade.
The Astartes Legions, these gene-enhanced super-soldiers.
Invincible and unstoppable during the Great Crusade, their figures became the symbol of the Empire’s might.
With the unification of the Sol System, the iron hooves of the expeditionary fleets began to tread into the unknown regions beyond the Sol System.
Their mission was to reclaim humanity’s lost colonies, eradicate all non-human races encountered along the way, and plant the Empire’s flag in every corner of the Milky Way Galaxy.
This was an unprecedented journey of conquest, a magnificent expedition aimed at reshaping human dominion.
However, to ensure that humanity could navigate safely within the Warp, the Emperor of Mankind had to take an unprecedented measure.
He mobilized the vast majority of the population on Terra at that time, launching a massive project—the construction of a giant psychic beacon, the Astronomican.
In the Emperor of Mankind’s design, this psychic beacon, driven by his own immense psychic power, would generate a brilliant psychic light.
This light would serve as a beacon for Navigators, allowing them to find their way in the darkness of the Warp, thereby guiding ships to navigate with relative safety.
This structure, the Astronomican, became the foundation of the newborn Empire.
Without the Astronomican to provide positioning information for the Empire’s fleets, they would no longer be able to conduct any normal Warp travel.
Thereby losing actual control over the colonies scattered throughout the Milky Way Galaxy.
The light of the Astronomican became the guarantee of the Empire’s expansion; its existence was the key to the Empire being able to continue its advance.
However, the range that the Astronomican’s light could reach was limited.
Those regions that had exceeded the maximum projection range of this psychic beacon were known as the frontiers of the Empire.
Here, the darkness of the Warp was deeper, and danger was more ubiquitous.
To address subsequent communication problems, the Emperor of Mankind organized a group of psychic communicators for communication—the “Astropath”.
“Astropath” are the Empire’s legal Psykers, and they were entrusted with a special mission: to conduct interstellar communication through psychic power.
However, the Emperor of Mankind did not like psychic power; he knew well that Psykers were easily influenced by the Chaos Gods within the Warp.
If not for the technical necessity and the extreme urgency of unifying the Milky Way Galaxy.
And the problems of space travel and interstellar communication had to be solved, the Emperor of Mankind would never have utilized Psykers.
Even so, every Astropath had to personally undergo the Emperor of Mankind’s scrutiny.
Psykers who passed the screening would undergo a ritual with the Emperor of Mankind known as “Soul Binding”.
In this ritual, the Emperor of Mankind would “bestow” his own psychic power upon these individuals.
This not only amplified these selected Psykers but also enhanced their resistance to the Warp.
However, the Emperor of Mankind’s psychic power was so immense that damage during this process could not be completely avoided; the eyes and some other senses of these Psykers were damaged.
Therefore, Astropaths who successfully survived this stage would lose their sight, and their World would henceforth be shrouded in darkness.
However, compared to other Psykers, being able to become an Astropath was already a very fortunate thing.
In every conquered Imperial World, the Psykers on the Planet would be screened.
Those stable Psykers would be employed and monitored by various Imperial government departments with such needs; their fate was controlled by the Empire, becoming a cog in the Imperial machine.
As for those whose wills were not firm enough, they would be influenced by the Warp, and their souls would gradually corrupt under the erosion of Chaos.
Therefore, these Psykers would have their frontal lobes excised and be transformed into mindless workers, silently contributing to the Empire.
Under the iron-fisted rule of the Emperor of Mankind, every life was assigned a specific mission, regardless of their wishes or their destiny.
X-Men World
“Is it just unconditional exploitation of Psykers?” Professor X cupped his hand over his mouth, his voice carrying a trace of shock and confusion.
His heart was filled with questions: the ruler of this World, the Emperor of Mankind, was clearly the most powerful Psyker in the entire Milky Way Galaxy himself, so why did he implement such strict control over Psykers?
“This approach is so fucking inhumane.
Treating Psykers as tools—isn’t that depriving them of their freedom?”
Logan cursed; the Emperor of Mankind’s actions reminded him of the deeds of an old friend.
[The Great Crusade was like a ruthless storm, sweeping across the entire Milky Way Galaxy.
When those armed forces that refused to surrender and submit were ruthlessly overthrown.
The expeditionary forces quickly established a government on the ruins that operated under the Empire’s legal system, controlling every corner of society with an iron fist.
At the same time, the Imperial Truth, like a powerful ideological torrent, was forcibly instilled into the residents of every Planet, regardless of whether they were willing to accept it.
During this process, the Primarchs created by the Emperor of Mankind were also discovered on one Planet after another.
When the expeditionary fleets arrived, most of the Primarchs had already become overlords or leaders on their own Planets.
They possessed unparalleled strength and wisdom, but before the Emperor of Mankind, their destinies were ruthlessly rewritten.
The Emperor of Mankind explained their origins and destinies to the Primarchs, and most of the Primarchs, after some struggle, ultimately pledged their loyalty to their creator.
However, there were also some Primarchs who refused the Emperor of Mankind’s invitation.
But after a series of bloody events, they were also forcibly drawn into the ranks of the Great Crusade by the Emperor of Mankind, becoming a part of the Empire’s expansion.