SWNOVELXO Chapter 70: Chapter 070 - Grey Knights Experiment & Adeptus Custodes Project
Spring had passed. Now, autumn greeted the world.
The branches in the distant forests began to yellow slowly, and the sea breeze carried a gentle chill-signaling that time had moved on.
High above Terra Aeterna, the construction of the Imperial capital had entered its next phase.
From the towering heights of the Imperial Palace, the view of the new capital city was grand and vibrant. Though construction was still ongoing in many areas, the city's foundational structure had been established. Citizens of the Imperium of Man now had permanent buildings to live in.
The city center was designed as the main administrative district-standing tall like a golden palace that reached the skies. Along the main roads stretched residential complexes, scientific research zones, and various other functional facilities.
On the city streets, figures from across multiple universes moved back and forth performing their duties: Imperial Guards, Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus, Bulins, Terran Marines, Firebats, Medics, and many more.
Interestingly, many shipgirls from the Azur Lane port had begun to take an interest in life within the capital. Some even formally registered themselves as citizens of the Imperium of Man-marking a major shift in interdimensional migration patterns.
But of course, the largest populations remained dominated by two small creatures: Bulins and Manjuus.
Thanks to the controlled Bulin fusion project, their numbers across various colonies had skyrocketed exponentially in a very short time. They were then deployed to planets and star systems to accelerate resource exploitation-guided by star charts designed by Admiral Gerard DuGalle.
Far away in the Aegean Sea, dozens of large-scale offshore drilling platforms stood tall. Massive machines continuously pumped crude oil and natural gas from beneath the ocean floor-all to support industrial needs and the shipgirls themselves.
Each platform was managed by hundreds of Bulins-not only nimble and meticulous, but also eternally cheerful without ever complaining. They were no longer just assistants to the shipgirls-they had become the primary labor foundation of the Imperium of Man.
Beyond the core territories, regions like the former American continent and Middle East had transformed into golden fields that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Among the vast wheat fields, tiny yellow chickens could be seen riding tractors-plowing and planting with adorable discipline.
Reuel himself adhered to an integrated development principle-combining agriculture, civil industry, and military industry into a single, sustainable ecosystem.
"Even if shipgirls don't need to eat," he once said, "storing food reserves is a form of preparedness for the future-especially for the humans from other universes, who will someday become citizens of the Imperium of Man as well."
With such a solid foundation in every sector, the future of Terra Aeterna seemed inevitable-a new Imperium rising amidst the ruins of countless universes.
---
"Civilization Overview"
Type of Civilization: Scientific and Technological
Development Stage: Space Age III
Population of the Imperium of Man: 10 billion beings
Species: Humans, Shipgirls, Mechanicus, Manjuu, Bulin
Territorial Reach: Three universes
---
Inside the main chamber of the Imperial Palace, Reuel gazed at the data displayed before him. In just a matter of months, the civilization he had built had ballooned to over ten billion souls.
The scale of control had drastically expanded-from a single point on a planet's surface to dominance over three full universes.
Beyond the Imperial Palace and the surrounding seas, new settlements had sprung up across Terra Aeterna. It had all started from zero. But once the first foothold was established and initial resources consolidated, the growth of civilization became a snowball effect-faster and utterly unstoppable.
From one man to 6.1 billion, and then surging to 10 billion in no time. Each phase marked a civilizational leap that redefined the order.
The infrastructural capacity and production power-bolstered by billions of Universal Bulins-was truly astounding. With efficient logistics and sufficient supply, even the construction of the Imperial Palace-Reuel's seat of power-had reached a point where it could be fully left unattended without causing operational paralysis.
All life-support facilities such as clean water, energy, sanitation, and defense systems had been flawlessly integrated.
---
"Ding!!"
A long-silent system voice once again echoed through the room.
"Detected: Population and technological level of host civilization has reached designated standards. Next mission phase will now begin."
New Mission: Run Toward the Starry Skies
Description:
When early humans first gazed at the starry sky for more than 30 seconds, they ceased to be mere earthbound creatures and became humans capable of thought. Since that moment, the entire history of civilization has been written toward one goal: to break free from gravity and conquer the stars. Humanity shall bow to nothing-not gods, not demons, not even the laws of nature themselves.
Mission Objectives:
1. Immediately establish the Imperial Navy.
2. Conquer at least two additional universes.
3. Seize powers outside the current structure of the Imperium of Man.
Mission Rewards:
1. +10% power of the Emperor of Mankind.
2. One random Chapter containing random Astartes.
3. Bonus power: War Against the Edge of the Universe.
---
Reuel froze for a moment, silent in a long pause.
It seemed the system didn't just respond to the world's condition, but possessed a consciousness of its own in assigning each new phase of civilization development.
Once, he was only tasked with laying the foundation. Now? He was being asked to leap beyond boundaries-to leave the world behind and reach for the sea of stars.
Iron Age? Skipped.
Industrial Age? Untouched.
Nuclear Age? Irrelevant.
Reuel had jumped straight into the Space Age.
His eyes locked onto a single reward line.
"+10% power of the Emperor of Mankind..."
That wasn't just a number. It was a legacy of power that defied all human comprehension. Reuel understood the weight behind it. Lately, he'd begun training his body and mind to control the Emperor's power and memories, which had started to merge with his own.
This power proved especially useful when he had to open pathways between realities-dimension to dimension. Those portals didn't open easily. He had to tear through reality itself manually, using massive amounts of raw psionic energy.
For example, when Ning Hai and Ping Hai were sent to retrieve technology from the Demon Slayer world, it was Reuel who opened the rift. That portal required enormous energy, cooldown time, and absolute caution.
Fortunately, all channels were selective-they could only be opened and entered with the main user's permission. No surprise incursions from hostile entities.
---
Grey Knights Experiment
But Reuel knew he wouldn't always be able to open interdimensional portals alone.
So, secretly, he created a new generation.
The first prototypes of the Grey Knights-elite demon-hunting units-began to take form.
He personally selected ten children with exceptional psionic potential, abducting them from various worlds. Into them, he implanted his own pure geneseed, then trained them himself using the classical methods of Malcador the Sigillite.
All their data, backgrounds, and digital traces were erased. They were no longer anyone-nothing but instruments for the future of the Imperium of Man.
A Fortress-Monastery was built on a hidden moon orbiting Saturn, deep within the Sol System. The project was so secret that even most of the High Lords of Terra Aeterna had no idea it existed.
Bulin units were deployed en masse to build and manage the site.
Reuel trained them himself-in silence, in darkness, with unwavering resolve.
One day, these ten children would become true Grey Knights.
An elite force that could not be bribed, possessed, or destroyed by any demonic force.
At times, Reuel would reflect.
"I don't even have a single Astartes yet... and I've already created the Grey Knights..."
---
Adeptus Custodes Project
Reuel didn't stop there.
He began gathering children with high IQs-especially highly intelligent girls. If possible, he allowed them to conceive and give birth to a new generation. From there, the seeds of his Imperial Household were sown.
Reuel's goal was simple: to create a generation of scientists who, one day, could help him rebuild the Adeptus Custodes.
Creating Custodes was no trivial matter. Unlike the mass-produced Space Marines, each Custodes was a one-of-a-kind-unique, majestic, and irreplaceable.
Their candidates were chosen as infants, and their bodies were completely restructured through bio-alchemy. Unlike Astartes, who were implanted with additional organs (gene-seed), Custodes were not given any organs-they were built from scratch.
Here's the comparison:
Space Marine = a regular computer upgraded into a gaming PC.
Custodes = a supercomputer built from the ground up.
---
Reuel also abducted children with high psionic potential to be trained into High-Level Psykers. Their numbers were extremely limited. After enduring the brutal training regimen of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, Reuel himself wasn't sure how many would survive.
Elsewhere, the Sisters of Battle were undergoing retraining. The newly enrolled children of the Schola Progenium were now being trained directly by Saint Celestine and battle-hardened veterans who had once fought at Cadia.
Reuel had once witnessed their training firsthand-and he had only one conclusion:
"People in the Warhammer universe truly have zero fucking mercy for new recruits."
---
Second Reward: "One Random Chapter"
Reuel turned to the second reward.
"You've obtained one random chapter consisting of random Astartes."
"...What the hell is this?" Reuel muttered, suspicious. "What does random Astartes even mean?"
He started to panic.
What if the system was trolling him and summoned both loyalists and traitors into a single chapter? Wouldn't they start slaughtering each other on sight?
"FOR THE EMPEROR!"
"DIE FOR THE FALSE EMPEROR!"
"IN THE NAME OF THE DARK GODS!"
Reuel let out a long sigh. He tried asking the system over and over again, but as usual, the system remained utterly silent.
"Damn it... it's trying to fucking kill me again."
If an internal faction clash really happened during the summoning, Reuel would have to step in immediately to separate them. After all, these people were supposed to become his troops later on.
"It would be ridiculous if I-the Emperor of Mankind-ended up getting screamed at by fucking traitors!"
---
Third Reward: War Across Universes
Reuel shifted his attention to the final reward.
He recalled the first time he traveled through time to the world of Resident Evil and began laying the foundation of the Imperium of Man. Within his interdimensional system, there were three primary functions:
Diplomacy
Time Travel
Declaration of War
However, the Declaration of War function could only be activated once he had an Imperial Navy.
Now, that function was unlocked.
"Power: War Across Universes"
"Declare war on a target universe and launch a world-class invasion. After war is declared, a permanent two-way communication channel will be established until one side is either defeated or surrenders."
The victor will gain full control over the target world, including all technologies and powers within it.
Note:
Declaring war across universes will make you an enemy of all forces in that world, including any high-latitude demonic entities (if present).
"...???"
Reuel was stunned.
"Is this ability... too fucking tempting?"
"And why does it once again feel like this system is trying to get me killed?"
He let out another long sigh.
"Fucking unlucky."