By the time Nareth disengaged from the underground caves and returned to the Shadow's Sovereignty, the xenos raiding fleet had already been repelled.
He reviewed the report on the data slate and found the xeno warships were generally streamlined.
The biggest difference compared to Imperial warships was that all their prows were serrated, like the gaping maw of a shark.
Combined with other ship readings, they were identified as the Saharduin.
'Why have the Saharduin come all the way to Veridia?'
Just as Nareth was puzzled, his comm-bead chimed. He accepted the message, and the Voice-master's voice sounded.
"My Lord, a message from the 9th Chapter. They are pursuing the Saharduin and will arrive at Veridia shortly."
Two solar hours later, Nareth met 1st Captain Jorginho, Librarian Nicholas, and Auxilia Commander Matteus Sicarius on the bridge.
It was Sicarius's first time seeing Nareth. He stared in shock at the giant before him.
Even with the Primarch suppressing his presence, Sicarius could immediately tell, from a warrior's perspective, that Nareth was perfect.
'Becoming a Shadow of Order grants superhuman power.'
'Unfortunately, I'm past the optimal age for the transformation surgeries; the risk is too great.'
'Moreover, House Sicarius has just become the ruling family of Talassar; they cannot lose me.'
Sicarius could only place his hopes on his descendants. 'I hope one of my descendants becomes a Shadow of Order and gains the ability to control water.'
Images of the Storm Lord and the 1st Captain manipulating water flashed through his mind.
After saluting, Jorginho began his report.
"My Lord, after repelling the Saharduin raids on Talassar, following your command, the 9th Chapter sought out the domains of the Saharduin."
"We discovered two Saharduin star systems and launched attacks against them."
"After suffering significant defeats in several boarding and landing actions, the Saharduin realized we were targeting their weakness, the water tanks on their backs, and strenuously avoided direct engagement."
Jorginho walked to the strategic table, connected to the cogitator, and a star map unfolded before Nareth, covering numerous star systems from Talassar to Veridia.
Jorginho operated the cogitator, highlighting red shark shapes used to mark the fleets of the Saharduin.
"The Saharduin have dispersed into over a hundred fleets of varying sizes, ranging from large fleets of dozens to hundreds of ships to small fleets of just a few ships."
"They operate like pirates, employing guerrilla tactics."
"They raid worlds along their path, plundering resources for replenishment. The raid on Veridia was one such instance."
Nareth nodded slightly, thinking to himself.
'The Saharduins are powerful xenos. I recall their conflict with the Space Wolves lasted a considerable time.'
Although he was at odds with Leman Russ, he wouldn't underestimate the Space Wolves' keen insight.
It was certain that after fighting the Saharduin for a while, the Space Wolves would also discover the xenos' weakness.
The fact that the Saharduin held out for some time was enough to show they weren't easily defeated.
Moreover, he recalled that although the Saharduin lost control of several star systems, they weren't exterminated. Small forces still existed even after the Great Rift opened.
As Nareth pondered, Jorginho operated the cogitator, highlighting blue ship markers, the color of the ocean, used by the 9th Chapter to mark their fleets.
"The Storm Lord, after ensuring necessary defense of the Talassar System, deployed twelve thousand Shadows of Order and fifty thousand Talassarian Auxilia, with three hundred and eighteen warships."
"To annihilate the Saharduin fleets, the warships are organized into nineteen groups, each centered around a battleship."
"Each group has two to four cruisers as claws. Once they latch onto Saharduin ships, the capital ships, along with other vessels, launch strikes."
"How is the progress?" Nareth asked.
"Relying on astropathic communication, our fleets have better coordination than the xenos, giving us some advantage. We have destroyed over two hundred Saharduin warships."
"But the fleets cannot cover the entire area. The net hunting the Saharduin still has holes."
Nareth issued the command: "The fleets of the 1st and 7th Chapters will join the hunt for the Saharduin."
With over eight hundred battleships joining the hunt, the Saharduin found their operational space shrinking.
Simultaneously, the star map of the entire region became increasingly clear through countless voyages.
Nareth unexpectedly discovered a major prize.
The 1st Company of the 1st Chapter discovered a new star system containing two human-settled worlds.
The planet Ganfall and its moon Gantz.
Seeing Gantz, Nareth immediately realized Ganfall might not be the name he remembered.
After carefully reviewing the report submitted by 1st Captain Dixon, he found that Gantz was a world colonized by Mechanicum exploration vessels, and its scale was only slightly smaller than Incaradion.
[A Mechanicum colonization ark arrived at Gantz. Finding rich mineral resources here, they established a base on this moon and began development.]
[Mars has received the news and has dispatched representatives to Gantz.]
After reading the report, Nareth confirmed that the primary planet of Gantz should be called Konor in his memory.
A complex smile tugged at his lips. He thought to himself.
'Guilliman, I didn't mean to steal your father...'
'Well... I didn't mean to steal the planet named after your adoptive father, Konor Guilliman.'
Of the Ultramar Five Hundred Worlds, Nareth only wanted the Talassar and Veridia systems. His target for the upcoming divination wasn't looking towards the Ultramar Sector.
After the sigh, he returned his focus to Konor itself.
Nareth knew Konor was one of the most important worlds in the future Ultramar Five Hundred, alongside Macragge, Amatura, and Calth.
It was the domain of one of the Tetrarchs of Ultramar, the Northern Tetrarch. It was also a quasi-Forge World, and alongside Calth, a primary shipbuilding site.
The reason Konor would be a quasi-Forge World in the future, not achieving full status, was due to political factors.
Mars believed Konor was subordinate to Ultramar's rule rather than Mechanicus administration, just like the current Triken and the future Cyclothrathe, because after he took control first, it wouldn't be a Forge World.
Because of this, relations between different Tech-Priest factions on Konor were very tense.
Ironically, during the Battle of Calth, some factions believed they should side with Horus, which caused the "Father", Konor, to delay sending support forces to aid the Ultramarines who were locked in bitter combat with the Word Bearers.
After factional struggles, Konor finally dispatched reinforcements.
After the Heresy, Konor was reclassified as a full Forge World, but was later demoted to a research station at some point.
It wasn't until Guilliman's resurrection and the reorganization of Ultramar that Konor became the core of the new Ultramar's northern region again.
This was different from Incaladion, which Nareth controlled, and Mezoa, which was tied to his cause. Both those Forge Worlds were established before the Great Crusade, and their comprehensive strength surpassed Konor's.
Konor was just beginning to grow; its future scale was only that of a second-tier Forge World.
Nareth put down the data-slate and walked to the viewport, looking towards the direction of Ultramar.
'Guilliman, originally, your two major shipyards, Calth and Konor, both belong to me now.'
'However, I believe you can still discover more worlds to replace Konor.'
Just as you found Prandium as the domain for the Western Tetrarch, you will also find a domain for the Northern Tetrarch.'
9th Solar Month, 846.M41.
After over a year of hunting, the number of Saharduin fleets sharply decreased. Several fleets fled in disarray, cornered in an unknown star system.
The 7th Chapter launched the first boarding actions against the xenos warships. The direct combat the Saharduin had always avoided had finally arrived.
When 7th Captain Sanda charged into the Saharduin warship, he was surprised to find the xenos no longer had the water tanks essential for their survival on their backs.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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