After finalizing the production blueprints, Armanius handed the data to the Techmarine beside him, instructing him to arrange for a production line to be set up and produce a few sets to assess the results.
Seeing Huron about to leave, he quickly grabbed the Chapter Master: “Chapter Master, there’s no one else here.
Tell me the truth, did the Emperor bestow upon you an STC template?”
Huron replied somewhat helplessly, “Brother Armanius, the Emperor really didn’t give me an STC template.
Those equipment were given to me by the Emperor on a regular basis.”
Huron had been getting increasingly annoyed by Armanius lately.
He didn’t know what had gotten into Armanius, but Armanius firmly believed that the Emperor had given him an STC template, and that he had manufactured those equipment using STC.
Then he started pestering him every day, trying to get him to take out his STC for research.
If he really had one, he would have taken it out without Armanius even asking, but the problem was, he really didn’t.
Armanius was clearly skeptical: “Chapter Master, don’t try to fool me.
The Emperor is incredibly busy; he wouldn’t have time to screw bolts in for you every day.
That’s ridiculous.”
Huron shrugged: “What if the Emperor has taken a liking to me?
He’s just trying to curry favor.”
The Emperor, secretly watching: “?”
What is this guy talking about?!
Armanius was taken aback, then exclaimed in surprise: “Could it be that the Emperor is a woman?
Really?”
He completely trusted Huron the Chosen, so naturally he wouldn’t doubt Huron’s knowledge of the Emperor.
The Imperium’s secrecy regarding history was also evident here.
Even though the Astral Claws were an excellent Chapter with a long history and outstanding achievements, having split into three successor Chapters, the Chapter still knew nothing about most historical information.
Especially the Emperor’s specific appearance and the events of the Horus Heresy.
The entire Chapter only knew that some Legions had betrayed the Imperium, but which Legions and who were involved were completely unknown.
They only knew there were nine loyal Primarchs, but not the exact number of rebellious Primarchs.
“Of course it’s fake.” Taking advantage of Armanius’s momentary hesitation, Huron quickly pulled his arm away and dashed out of the room.
Leaving only his words echoing in the room: “Don’t worry, when we really have STC, I’ll definitely let you research it.
Now, you should figure out how to debug the Tactical Dreadnought Armour; the Emperor’s blessing on me has been enhanced.”
In the corridor outside the room, Huron walked towards Odinson’s office while opening the system panel.
After more than half a year of production, plus the Chapter’s existing inventory, the Chapter now had over 3,500 power armour sets, most of which were the highly versatile Aquila type.
They were no longer short of power armour.
Therefore, Huron only retained one military factory to continue producing the MK VII Aquila power armour, while the remaining nine factories were used to produce Terminator armour.
There’s no need to worry about the model in this regard, because the Astral Claws Chapter only possesses the production blueprints for the “Indomitus” Terminator, so Huron chose that.
“Indomitus Terminator Production: 0.9/day.”
The production capacity of the Indomitus Terminator is only one-tenth that of the power armour, but it’s definitely worthwhile; the combat effectiveness of one Terminator is far superior to that of ten power armours.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that Astral Claws only has one type of Terminator production blueprint, which might seem low-end.
In reality, most Chapters don’t even have one.
Since the Horus Heresy, the entire Imperium’s Terminator armour production capacity has been steadily declining, and the technology is being lost.
Most Chapters that want to acquire Terminators either rely on allocations from their parent Chapters during splits or on spoils and piecemeal acquisition.
There are essentially no other options, let alone mastering the production blueprints themselves.
That’s something only renowned Chapters can do, like the First Founding Chapters or the Black Templars.
Thinking about this, Huron quickly arrived at Odinson’s office.
He closed his system panel and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Odinson’s voice came from inside.
Huron pushed open the door and saw Odinson’s desk piled high with documents.
Odinson looked up and saw Huron, quickly standing up.
“Chapter Master, what brings you here?”
Huron waved for him to sit down.
“I’ve come to ask how the census in Lower Hive is going.”
“We have the general data, but the specifics aren’t quite there yet,” Odinson recalled.
“Currently, the Lower Hive region has about 18 billion people that can be counted.
Including the Ecclesiarchy’s territory and some overlooked areas, it’s probably over 20 billion.”
He then added, “However, because various forms of killing are happening almost constantly in Lower Hive, the exact number will likely change.”
“Over 20 billion…” Although Huron knew Lower Hive’s population was definitely larger than expected, he hadn’t anticipated that Lower Hive alone would have more than the population on paper.
This gave him a stark realization of the Imperium’s poor administrative capabilities and strengthened his resolve to strengthen administrative control; he couldn’t let Lower Hive remain unchanged.
Therefore, he looked at Odinson: “How’s the monitoring system and network transformation plan for Lower Hive coming along?”
“The plan is almost complete,” Odinson said, a hint of difficulty flashing across his face.
“But, Chapter Master, we’re already overstretched.
The three projects have consumed most of our manpower and resources, so the network transformation of Lower Hive has to be postponed.”
Whether it’s the super-large starch plant, or the subsequent water circulation, air circulation, and plasma reactor projects, they all require a massive amount of resources.
The seemingly enormous sum of billions in labor wages and bonuses is only a negligible part of it.
The resources seized from the rebellious nobles, including various engineering and production equipment, have already been used.
The less useful luxury goods and artworks are being used to exchange for benefits with the nobles, ensuring the smooth progress of the projects.
There simply aren’t enough resources to spare for the construction of the monitoring system and network transformation of Lower Hive.
“It’s alright, no rush.
Just focus on completing the current project.” Huron pondered for a moment, glancing at the nearly completed focus project.
“The Emperor has revealed to me that we’ve done a good job.
He is pleased and will soon bestow an even more powerful blessing.
Then everything will fall into place.”
Odinson breathed a sigh of relief and performed the Aquila: “Praise be to the Emperor, praise be to His mercy and love.”
Huron also performed the Aquila: “Praise be to the Emperor.”
The Emperor: “What does that mean?”
What is this guy talking about?
I don’t know anything about this.
But this guy did a really good job.
If it weren’t for the involvement of that unknown force making Him uneasy, He would have actually manifested His divine power to endorse him.
Let’s wait and see.
Anyway, He hasn’t encountered any major problems yet; He can handle them all himself.
If He encounters any major problems that He can’t solve, then He will manifest His divine power or send a message to the Custodes to endorse him.