stonecrandall Page 45
Page 45
The unfolding of the Great Rift also made the psionic legions even more powerful.
The energy from the warp was easily harnessed by the psionic legions and became a sharp weapon in their hands, fiercely attacking all the invading enemies.
When Zhou Qing arrived at the battlefield with Guilliman, the battle was already almost over.
The Chaos Astartes were overwhelmed by the Planetary Defense Forces' encirclement and suppression.
The Red Pirates suffered heavy casualties in this battle, but their gains were minimal.
After Zhou Qing's warship arrived, he received a communication request, which was from the Red Pirates.
Although the Empire's communication equipment was terrible, they could still communicate over short distances.
Meanwhile, because their communication equipment was so terrible, Zhou Qing had already figured it out.
Now, Zhou Qing looked at the communication request coming from inside his warship, and after thinking for a moment, he chose to accept it.
"I've granted your request to access their communications. I want to see what these guys have to say, and I also want to ask them why they're all so fixated on Guilliman?"
"I just don't understand. Although this guy seems to have signs of ascension, he hasn't completed it yet, so why are you all clinging to him like this!"
"I just want to get to Terra safely and find out what happened. It's ridiculous that these guys are trying to stop me."
Even with his good moral character and high moral standards, Zhou Qing was somewhat irritable and quite dissatisfied at this moment, and he also glared fiercely at Guilliman.
Although he had figured out what the Primarch meant, Zhou Qing thought it shouldn't be that important, right?
What importance is there in a Primarch that hasn't even fully ascended? Shouldn't we at least wait until it has ascended before making any decisions?
So it must be because Guilliman and his brothers didn't get along very well!
Faced with Zhou Qing's gaze, Guilliman became even more awkward, shrinking his head back like a child who had made a mistake.
Seeing the other party's actions, Zhou Qing became more and more convinced that his guess was correct.
Chapter 64 I need the Empire to provide me with psionicists
The communication was connected, and a leader of the Red Pirates appeared on the communication screen. Zhou Qing didn't even wait for him to speak before asking him a question.
"What do you mean? Why are you plundering my fleet? If you can't give me a clear answer, then you're not leaving!"
Before the Red Pirates could recover from the shock of their communication being connected, they were met with Zhou Qing's questions.
This situation undoubtedly left them somewhat bewildered, but they quickly regained their composure, blatantly ignoring Zhou Qing and launching into a tirade against Guilliman.
"You ambitious Guilliman, you still say you have no ambition? Tell me what this is? You actually schemed against us!"
"You brought over 2 Astartes. And so many psykers too. Don't you admit you're ambitious? Damn it! Of all the Primarchs, you're the only one with a truly dark heart!"
The Red Pirate hurled insults at Guilliman, while Guilliman, standing to the side, looked even more innocent. He had done nothing wrong, so why was he being insulted like this?
Guilliman wanted to retort, but he considered that this was Zhou Qing's warship, and Zhou Qing was the owner of this place.
He should wait for Zhou Qing to speak before he speaks, so he waited for Zhou Qing to speak first.
At this moment, Zhou Qing was extremely angry. He had been ignored, ignored by a bunch of idiots. This was simply outrageous!
Zhou Qing clearly didn't want to argue with them, so he directly issued orders to the warship.
"Open fire at full power! Smash those enemy warships to pieces! Let them know what manners are!"
Zhou Qingcai stopped arguing with them and launched a direct attack.
Cyclone missiles, particle light spears, point defenses, and a whole host of other weapons opened fire, launching a massive barrage of attacks directly at the Chaos Fleet.
The next second, the red pirates' warships were instantly reduced to scrap metal, and deep within the whirlpool, a fireworks display began.
Just 10 minutes after the two sides clashed, all of the Red Pirates' warships were reduced to scrap, leaving only those who had boarded the ship.
But it was clear they wouldn't live much longer, because the fact that the Red Pirates had insulted Zhou Qing had directly enraged the planetary defense forces and the psionic legions.
These chaotic forces were so impolite that the Planetary Defense Forces' attacks became even more frenzied.
Just five minutes after the warship was destroyed, all the Chaos Space Marines who had boarded the ship were also wiped out.
The battle was over, leaving behind only a mess.
It's fortunate that these red pirates weren't crazy enough to deploy their Blackrock Fortress, otherwise Zhou Qing would definitely have considered taking it over as well.
With the war over, Zhou Qing's cruisers led the way, guiding the Imperial fleet out of the Great Vortex and back into the reality of space.
Even after the fleet returned to space, Guilliman was still reeling from the shock.
What did he see?
A chaotic fleet was like chicks in front of Zhou Qing's cruiser, and was slaughtered in an instant!
The scene was so vividly etched into his mind that he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
After all, fleet battles in Warhammer require a long time to fight, unlike Zhou Qing's almost overwhelming attacks.
In contrast to Guilliman's continued shock, Zhou Qing was also in a bad mood. He glanced at the Imperial fleet around him.
None of the warships in the entire expeditionary fleet were in good condition; almost all of them suffered varying degrees of damage.
Especially those warships that were boarded, Zhou Qing knew very well that taking these things into this chaotic subspace would only lead to certain death.
However, judging from the human warships in this universe, it would be wishful thinking to expect them to reach the solar system without entering subspace.
That would take far too long; he didn't have that much time to waste.
"What do you mean, Guilliman? Does your fleet have any way to be repaired? Otherwise, I don't think we'll be able to enter the warp. What will happen to our journey then?"
After some thought, Zhou Qing chose to pose the question to Guilliman.
He wasn't without a solution; he simply needed to take out a large number of industrial robots from his small backpack, along with some resources, and he could replenish the fleet.
After all, in his eyes, the warships of this expeditionary fleet had almost no technological sophistication; he had thoroughly mastered them.
But why would he do that? Isn't that using up his resources?
Unless Guilliman offers to reimburse him for the resource, he would never spend that money unnecessarily.
The reason Zhou Qing is asking Guilliman now is because he wants Guilliman to say that he can pay.
Guilliman was pulled back to reality from his shock by Zhou Qing's question.
He took a deep breath, his blue eyes sweeping across the battered, sparkling fleet displayed on the main screen.
Each damaged giant ship felt like a knife to his heart.
These are all valuable military assets of the empire.
Just give up like that?
How to fly back to the solar system in the real universe?
Guilliman rejected the idea as soon as it came to mind, even though he was already at the center of the galaxy. In the real universe, the time span would be measured in years or even decades.
This is an absolutely unacceptable luxury and a huge strategic risk.
But dragging these wrecked ships through the warp?
That's like carrying a torch through an ammunition depot full of lunatics—pure suicide.
"Your Excellency Zhou Qing"
Guilliman thought a lot, and finally he looked at Zhou Qing, who was his last hope.
This mysterious person brought him so many surprises, and everything he saw in the warp also explained some things to him.
"The power you just displayed, and your ability to maintain such a massive and stable hull structure in the warp... is beyond the scope of Imperial technology as we know it."
Guilliman stepped forward: "You must have extraordinary achievements in materials, energy, and engineering to be able to defeat a Chaos fleet so easily."
"Do you have any way to repair these damaged fleets? If there's anything I can do or contribute, please don't hesitate to ask. I will do my best and make any contribution."
He immediately made his promise, and Zhou Qing got the answer he wanted, stating his requirements.
"I don't need much, but as you can see, I have a psionic legion here, and I'm going to take revenge on the Chaos God."
In that case, the Psionic Legion would be indispensable. I need your agreement to waive the blood tax paid to the Empire, while the Empire must provide me with psionicists.
“I need to build a psionic legion to deal with those evil gods in the warp. Since they dared to humiliate me like this, they must pay the price.”
For the time being, he is unable to build the Cataclysmic Artifact.
After all, this thing is a top secret among secrets, a top secret in the Federation's military technology. Even though he is a top scientist in the Federation and had participated in the design of the Cataclysmic Artifact, he only participated in a part of it.
He currently lacks the technology to manufacture this catastrophic artifact.
Most importantly, a portion of the technology behind the Cataclysmic Artifact is still locked, and it's unlikely he'll be able to decipher it in the short term.
However, this does not mean that Zhou Qing can let those chaotic evil gods off so easily; the necessary retribution will inevitably occur.
Since we can't just flush the entire warp with a toilet, let's just form a psionic legion to fight it head-on.
In other words, his actions mean that Zhou Qing is not prepared to pay blood taxes to the empire; instead, he wants the empire to pay blood taxes to him.
Chapter 65 Discovery of a Network Leading Directly to the Moon
After Zhou Qing finished stating all his demands, it was Guilliman's turn to fall silent.
What do Zhou Qing's words, "blood tax," mean?
This means that the empire actually has to pay Zhou Qing a blood tax.
While this statement may be somewhat extreme, it seems to be largely accurate in theory.
Psionic power has always been a force that the Empire is very wary of.
What did this power mean for the Empire? Guilliman couldn't explain it at that moment.
However, on the other hand, he did see the powerful combat capabilities of Zhou Qing's psionic legion, and he also thought of the Grey Knights who had been formed before.
These guys are also highly skilled in psionic abilities, and they have played a powerful role in the Empire.
Although not as powerful as Zhou Qing's psionic legion, they were indeed formidable.
Guilliman stared straight at Zhou Qing. This time, unlike before when he was a little embarrassed, he was very serious.
"Your Excellency Zhou Qing, can you assure me that these psionicists are controllable and will not threaten the human empire or the safety of the human race?"
Guilliman knew that Zhou Qing might not be a member of the Human Empire, so he did not ask directly about the Human Empire, but instead changed it to the human race.