\After a crucial meeting with the representatives of the troops and refugees who had successfully retreated to the world of Sin'tira, Daniel decided it was time to move.
He asked Arale to locate a specific player known by the callsign, "Midnight Lord." The message was simple: come see the Guide, immediately.
Upon receiving the summons from the Guide, "Midnight Lord" became visibly excited.
He immediately assumed he had maxed out his favorability with the Guide and had triggered a unique, high-value mission—perhaps even one that granted the highly coveted Aquila Medal.
This medal was currently the highest honor achievement in the game, an award so prestigious that to date, only the player Warmaster had received it. The Warmaster had earned his by unexpectedly uncovering crucial intelligence about Star God fragments while serving as a diplomatic envoy in the Tirian Hive.
MidnightLord strode into the briefing room and stood ramrod straight in front of Daniel.
"Guide, you were looking for me?"
Daniel cleared his throat a few times, trying to adopt a suitably imposing persona. "I have a task for you."
No sooner had the words left Daniel's mouth than MidnightLord exploded with a shouted reply, his volume cranked up as if afraid that if he slowed down or lowered his voice, the quest would vanish.
"My esteemed Guide, my life and soul belong to you! I am ready to face any danger, even death. Just give the order, and I will not hesitate to draw my sword against the gods themselves!"
Daniel winced internally. "...Oh, for the Emperor's sake."
These young players were getting better and better at pouring on the flattery! Damn it, he thought, at this moment, I should be speaking out righteously, not soaking up this sycophancy. But the words of righteous indignation simply wouldn't come out. Being praised like this by the younger generation was... strangely enjoyable.
This must all be Slaanesh's fault!
Daniel quickly opened a data projection, displaying the Forge World of Ras.
"Ras is the most important Forge World in the Calixis Sector, and it is our next strategic target," Daniel explained, regaining his focus. "We've amassed our forces and are prepared to seize control of it and keep it firmly in the Imperium's hands."
"But this world is crawling with rebels and is bristling with powerful weaponry. If we launch a head-on attack, we'll bleed out badly. I need someone to infiltrate the planet, gather critical enemy intelligence, and create panic and chaos when the main Imperial force launches its assault. Can you pull this off?"
"In the name of the Emperor, I can accomplish any task you assign me," MidnightLord said, his commitment absolute. An Astartes player could never say no to a direct order.
"Excellent. Go and select a few suitable teammates to form an infiltration team. Arale will give each of you your specific mission parameters, and then you can set off."
Daniel reached out and clapped MidnightLord heartily on the shoulder. "Don't let me down, son."
"Absolutely not, Guide."
After making his confident statement, MidnightLord quickly departed to find his teammates.
He rapidly assembled a squad of the best in the business: Hawkeye (Raven Guard), himself Batman (MidnightLord), AlphaBravo (Alpha Legion), and Joker (Alpha Legion). Each was highly skilled in the arts of disguise, infiltration, and stealth.
Following Daniel's instructions, Arale assigned the full mission briefing:
Mission: Infiltrate the Forge World of Ras
Objective 1 (Loyalist Contact): The loyalist elements on Ras have lost orbital control and are scattered across various planetary zones. Ascertain their status and inform them that Imperial aid is imminent.
Objective 2 (Intelligence Gathering): Gather intelligence on the rebel forces' movements and establish firm contact with the loyalist underground.
Objective 3 (Sabotage & Chaos): Once the Imperial main fleet arrives, sabotage key enemy-controlled facilities. The more strategic damage you cause, the greater the reward.
Basic Mission Rewards (Per Regular Team Member): 50,000 Contribution Points, 15,000 Honor Points, and 3,000 Faith Points.
As the team leader, MidnightLord would receive a 15% bonus on top of these basic rewards. Commissions and bonuses would be awarded based on specific performance metrics, making this mission a massive opportunity for high earners.
The five players wasted no time and immediately set off.
They first traveled by merchant ship, disguising themselves as refugees, to reach the world of Malz. There, they deliberately allowed themselves to be captured by rebel soldiers and enslaved onto a transport ship ferrying forced laborers to the Rasmus system. This elaborate, multi-stage infiltration ultimately landed them on the Forge World of Ras.
The infiltration proceeded remarkably smoothly.
The Forge World of Ras was desperate for manpower due to the ongoing war. Although MidnightLord and the others were Space Marines, their height without their Power Armor was only a little over two meters.
In the crowded Hive Cities, many gang members or bio-enhanced drug addicts had similarly imposing builds, making their physical presence far from unusual or attention-grabbing.
The rebels weren't interested in the slaves' past or origins; they simply needed batch after batch of disposable labor.
Meanwhile, with the issuance of the general war mobilization order, massive numbers of refugees were funneled into factories for work. These facilities, like gluttons, devoured workers endlessly.
The Mining Guild had built multiple mining outposts in the void to exploit resources from the asteroid belt. Farming-themed players had also taken over many factories in the Hive City of Sin'tira.
The player MC Legend, who was on a business trip at company expense, and his friends pooled their contribution points and contracted several decommissioned foundries. After integration, they named the new entity the "Minecraft Dynasty" and began accumulating resources for a grand "wonder project."
MC Legend had only reluctantly joined the Doraemon Workshop initially to earn his "first bag of cash" and had no plans to stay long-term. Once he completed the task of remodeling the Exemplary Holy Fist battleship, he would leave to run his own factory.
As soon as the factory opened, players from Minecraft Legends, Minecraft Epics, and other Minecraft-related games began taking up their posts. They immediately launched the development of new military products at breakneck speed.
Since the Doraemon Workshop had already cornered the market on power armor and mecha, the Minecraft Dynasty cleverly avoided direct competition by focusing on the drone swarm field.
The members of MC Dynasty came from all walks of life, representing top talents in various technical fields. They were united by a shared, singular purpose: to build magnificent wonders across various game worlds.
Once the Minecraft Dynasty was established, these top talents immediately mobilized, offering real-world consultation and technical support. Soon, relying on existing Imperium technology and materials, they designed a unique swarm drone.
To promote its new product, the MC Dynasty cordially invited Daniel, the Guide, along with military generals, influential players, and others, to watch the demonstration of the Dynasty's first drone model.
"This is our initial drone swarm design, named Hunter Killer X1," MC Legend announced with great enthusiasm. "It features a teardrop-shaped streamlined design, is covered with an adaptive color-changing nano-coating for a highly effective stealth effect, and can blend seamlessly into the surrounding environment."
"It's a modular design, meaning it can be disassembled into multiple units, making maintenance simple and cheap—just replace whichever unit is broken."
"It's equipped with an anti-gravity levitation system, allowing it to rely on a quantum force field to break free from gravity, achieving silent hovering and instant acceleration."
"The cogitator intelligent control module allows it to synchronize with the operator's consciousness via a neural interface. The phase pulse emitter can switch between a scanning mode that penetrates buildings and a destruction mode that pierces heavy armor."
"Furthermore, it can be equipped with various weapons, such as multi-barreled explosive guns, laser emitters, and thermal beam emitters."
"The Hunter Killer X1 also incorporates a war swarm design. The entire network can be controlled by a mothership equipped with wet components and can carry out devastating suicide attacks with integrated bombs."
"Most importantly, the cost is extremely low. If mass-produced, one unit can be acquired for only 2,500 Credits."
"2,500 Credits per unit... that is a staggeringly low price," Colonel Quintus murmured, genuinely impressed.
The Imperial Military Affairs Department paid the average Astra Militarum soldier a monthly salary of around three to four thousand. Including war allowances, this could exceed five thousand, with death benefits calculated separately (though the actual payout was a separate matter entirely). According to regulations, this was the mandated salary for an Astra Militarum soldier.
"This is blasphemy against the Omnissiah!" an enraged Magos shouted. "These technologies have not been verified and risk leading to spiritual corruption and heresy!"
"The Messenger of the Omnissiah is standing right there," the person next to him pointed to Daniel in the crowd.
"In any case, these technologies have not been verified by the Mechanicus," the Mechanical Magos insisted. "Using them rashly could lead to unimaginable dangers."
"Apologies, but we are not members of the Mechanicus," MC Legend countered respectfully. "According to Imperial law, you have no right to accuse us. Moreover, these drones are equipped with 'wetware components' and possess 'machine souls.' I daresay they probably have far more flesh and blood than you do."
Daniel interjected, signaling his support for the player's innovative approach.
"The Omnissiah never rejects truth, and rejecting progress has never been His intention," Daniel stated. "The Imperium's technology needs appropriate innovation."
Daniel's words clearly displeased several conservative members of the Mechanicum. They could not accept that the Saints would rashly alter the sacred creations of the Omnissiah. But with Daniel's public endorsement, they had no choice but to comply.
Ironically, the rebellion launched by the Colin family had indirectly benefited Daniel. Without it, if the conservative faction of the Calixis Mechanicum had launched a concerted attack, he would have been in a terrible predicament.
This rebellion had significantly weakened the Mechanicum's control over the Calixis Sector. Otherwise, Daniel and the tech-enthusiast players would have faced several uphill battles before they could continue pushing forward with technological reforms.
The Cult Mechanicus often upheld the Martian Dogma and prevented others from conducting research, frequently out of a need to simply protect their own interests—despite the fact that the Mechanicus themselves were often secretly researching forbidden xenos technology and all sorts of dark and heretical secrets.
With Daniel's endorsement, the swarm drone developed by the MC Dynasty secured several military orders. This marked an excellent start. Once the product quality was verified in the field, it was poised for explosive growth.
"The enemy must have planted agents on the world of Sin'tira to monitor our every move," Daniel said, leading Lothar, Ainge, and others back to the strategy room after the drone demonstration.
"They will undoubtedly try to crush us on the Forge World of Ras, hoping to exhaust the majority of our manpower. Strategically, we can afford to despise the enemy, publicizing their weaknesses and vulnerability. But tactically, we must take the enemy seriously and fight every single battle meticulously."
"All units must make better use of new equipment and develop new tactics. We can no longer afford to be as rigid and outdated as before. Every soldier is the Emperor's currency, and must not be wasted. Of course, I'm not saying that sacrifices are unacceptable, but that sacrifices must be worthwhile."
This was Daniel's criticism of the foolish tactics of mindlessly using human lives to seize victory, urging them instead to arm themselves with the power of technology.
Quintus and the others dared not refute him and listened obediently.
"Your task now is to familiarize yourselves with the newly equipped army as quickly as possible. I don't want you to mess things up when you take over the world of Ras."
As soon as Daniel finished speaking, a messenger walked to the door of the strategy room. After gaining permission from the guard, he stepped inside and performed the Aquila salute.
"Report."
Daniel answered succinctly. "Explain."
The messenger said, "Magos, we have received a communication from a combat barge. They claim to be from the Deathwatch Legion and are requesting our assistance."
Daniel immediately asked, "Did they provide a name?"
"The other party claimed to be the Captain of the Kill Team—Nurrus."
Daniel's eyes widened, a look of profound surprise crossing his face.
Nurrus?
Isn't that the alias Titus used when he was in the Deathwatch?