The team had just started, with only about two thousand people and a little over a thousand guns.
The high-ranking officers of the several Chapters exchanged glances, but no one dared to voice their objections.
They were genuinely increasing the success rate of recruit conversion and could conjure entirely new weapons and equipment out of thin air; no one dared to accuse Huron of impersonating the Emperor.
Since Huron truly was the Emperor’s chosen one, opposing him was tantamount to opposing the Emperor himself.
Moreover, Huron’s claim to be the Governor of the Badab Sector had been unanimously approved.
Seeing no one object, Huron nodded in satisfaction.
“Since no one objects, Galian, you will lead the Apothecarion to begin cultivating the superhuman organs compatible with all the gene-seeds and to modify the recruits.
The Emperor has revealed to me that for the next 29 Terran days, our recruit modifications will be under the Emperor’s protection.
Remember to let me know if you encounter any difficulties.”
Master Apothecary Galian nodded in agreement: “I will complete the organ cultivation as soon as possible, but Chapter Master, where should we prioritize selecting the reserves?”
With a 100% success rate, the gene-seed compatibility rate is no longer the most important indicator, which significantly expands the pool of reserve candidates.
“First, select those from the Chapter’s serfs who have previously failed in their implantation.
Then select serf captains, serf commanders, boarding party members, and others.
If there are any skilled in administration, they can also be given priority.”
Huron had already planned how to select the recruits, although he would prefer to wait until the first batch of auxiliary troops was trained and then select the best from among them.
However, considering the emotions of the other members of the Chapter, it was necessary to first achieve a large-scale successful implantation to give the others confidence before proceeding with subsequent work.
“Then there’s the armoury, Armanius.
Arrange a warehouse for me there.
I’ll put the new equipment the Emperor bestows each day in there; you can just go and get it.”
“Yes, Chapter Master.” Master of the Forge Armanius’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.
He believed the recruit conversion surgery was the Emperor’s blessing, but he didn’t believe these brand-new equipment were also a gift from the Emperor.
More than the equipment, he believed the Emperor had bestowed upon the Chapter Master some powerful STC templates.
Some powerful STC templates could be produced without consuming materials or energy, practically defying logic, perfectly matching the Chapter Master’s performance.
Armanius couldn’t help but feel excited.
As a Techmarine who had studied on Mars and was officially certified by the Adeptus Mechanicus, his enthusiasm for STC research was no less than that of any Magos.
However, the Chapter Master didn’t directly state that he possessed STCs, perhaps to prevent the Cult Mechanicus from using coercion or enticement to steal them.
Anyway, the meat’s in the pot.
Once the Chapter grows stronger, the Chapter Master certainly won’t mind giving some STCs to the armoury for research, just like the Iron Hands and the Salamanders did.
“There’s one more thing,” Huron continued after arranging the recruits, “The Odinson brothers will be in charge of governing Badab on my behalf.
Go to your respective companies and ask if anyone is willing to assist them.”
Everyone looked at each other.
The Astral Claws were a Chapter that honored battle; sending them to govern mortals was practically exile or punishment.
Second Company Captain Corian reacted most vehemently: “Chapter Master, why are you doing this?!
Why punish our brothers who haven’t done anything wrong?!”
Seeing his furious glare, Huron sighed, “Fine, the Tiger Claws don’t need to concern themselves with this.”
The Tiger Claws had been secretly taken in by the Astral Claws for a long time, and Huron knew that the Chapter’s atmosphere was one of universal belligerence, focused solely on combat.
As the nominal second company captain, but the de facto leader of the Tiger Claws, Corian was naturally the most capable fighter and the most loyal member.
Therefore, upon hearing of this punishment, which was tantamount to a slow death, he jumped out to object hastily.
Huron explained, “I’m not advocating for their exile or punishment.
Governing mortals is essential for better fulfilling the Emperor’s great cause.
Handing over Badab to those mortal nobles and allowing them to wreak havoc on the Emperor’s people is a disgrace.”
“Most importantly, without properly developing Badab, we won’t have high-quality manpower, sufficient logistics, or a large fleet.
We can’t just wait for the Emperor to provide equipment, can we?
Making Badab prosperous is the true way of the Emperor.”
Seeing Huron invoke the Emperor’s name, the others seemed thoughtful.
Of course, the most important thing was that Huron’s words were indeed reasonable.
Right now, with only two thousand men, they could only rely on the Emperor for equipment.
What would they do when they expanded their army?
They couldn’t possibly have men waiting for equipment later, could they?
Therefore, properly governing Badab was necessary.
Reclusiarch Damman expressed his support: “Indeed, some Chaplains in the Reclusiam should be interested in enlightening mortals.”
Chief Librarian followed suit: “There are quite a few psykers in Badab now.
Since the success rate of recruit conversion is so high, expanding and training the Librarius is of paramount importance.”
Although the Chaplains and the Librarius weren’t professional administrators, it was enough for Huron.
He wasn’t some grand Astartes idealist.
Even if he were, the Chapter only had two thousand men, including the recruits about to be converted.
How could they possibly manage Badab, which had a population of five hundred billion on paper?
These men were actually Huron’s way of endorsing Odinson.
The real main force of management was the Chapter’s auxiliary army, which Huron planned to train using the system.
The system could train two million soldiers at a time.
With a slight increase in training standards, two million rank-and-file clerks could be produced in a few months.
With this force, Huron could eradicate the Badab nobility, consolidate power, and turn the puppet state into territory under his direct control.
With everything arranged, the meeting adjourned, and everyone went about their own business.
Galian included all the surviving “half-Astartes” from previous failed implantations into the reserve force, and also included many commanders from the Chapter’s serf ranks.
Of course, at the Chapter Master’s request, Galian also selected some administrative staff as reserves; these individuals, like Odinson, would primarily manage Badab.
With the reserves in place, Galian led the apothecaries to begin the implantation surgeries.
Initially, everyone was extremely cautious, fearing any mishaps.
But with the double protection of the system and the Emperor, the apothecaries quickly found the modification process even somewhat tedious.
Incisions were made, gene-seed and superhuman organs were inserted, and then nothing more needed to be done; the modified subject’s own body could handle everything else.
This level of difficulty was far too easy, even for apprentice Apothecaries, let alone seasoned ones.
To improve efficiency, Galian directly assigned the implantation surgeries to the apprentices for practice, assigning only one Apothecary to supervise.
He and the other Apothecaries focused on cultivating superhuman organs.
In this way, over a thousand gene-seeds were implanted in less than ten days, with not a single failure.
At this astonishing speed, even with Huron’s additional assistance, the Armoury couldn’t produce a thousand sets of power armour.
Armanius was sweating profusely with anxiety.
Fortunately, these recruits would need a period of training and development before being issued armour; for now, they only needed to take turns using training armour.
Huron looked at the data panel: “Current total combat brothers: 2026, bolter shortage: 219, power armour shortage: 633…” and couldn’t help but sigh:
“Back when my army first started, I only had about two thousand men and a little over a thousand guns…”
As for what kind of men and guns they were, don’t ask.
But now that the new recruits are properly trained, it’s time to build up Badab and train the auxiliary troops.
His civilian factories are itching for business.